tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396360.post315750414323699201..comments2023-07-22T23:33:58.038+09:00Comments on EFL in Japan: Japan's Center Exam: What does it really test?5330http://www.blogger.com/profile/11752690938113124517noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396360.post-4797466721113342222011-01-21T15:07:05.430+09:002011-01-21T15:07:05.430+09:00Most likely based on the dictionary pronunciations...Most likely based on the dictionary pronunciations. Most native speakers remain blithely unaware of how lexicographers attempt to represent word pronunciations, nor do they have to be aware usually. I suppose broadcasters do, because they might have to say a word they don't know how to pronounce and want to go with a canonical pronunciation (and dictionaries often provide alternative pronunciations as well). <br /><br />The question about the Center Test for me is: Just how are the scores used to help determine admissions? Tests only test what they test. Generalization to a wider body of knowledge can only be probabilistically inferred. Still, what interests me is more and more how these tests have become a formality, with institutions and departments lowering required scores or waiving them altogether in order to get their quotas.CEJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14080778566145093851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396360.post-6183650324044349322011-01-18T16:13:35.379+09:002011-01-18T16:13:35.379+09:00As for the pronunciation portion of the test, it h...As for the pronunciation portion of the test, it has nor could it have anything to do with the way native speakers of the language pronounce words. When given the variety of pronunciations of words all over the world, it is impossible to answer these questions.<br /><br />They are based purely on the approved pronunciation keys issued by MEXT in the form of approved textbooks. My guess is that linguists would be the most dumbfounded by the questions. <br /><br />So the quick easy answer to your question of what is being tested would be the test taker's ability and willingness to commit these words and pronunciation keys to memory. <br /><br />But as I said, there is much more being tested here than what appears between the covers of the exam booklets.5330https://www.blogger.com/profile/11752690938113124517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396360.post-44674609194302289502011-01-18T15:59:05.471+09:002011-01-18T15:59:05.471+09:00Here is a question that was one the test:
format,...Here is a question that was one the test:<br /><br />format, instance, manage, passion<br /><br />The first "a" in each word is underlined. The test taker must say which "a" sound is different from the others. I figured out that the answer was "instance" but this question in particular made me wonder what is really being tested here.Kirk Masdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05340258920846345185noreply@blogger.com