Oral Diagnostic Assessments for ELLs
Oral Tests Provide Information for Intervention and Instruction
Sep 7, 2009
Some English language learners may not be up to standards of the targeted reading goals, which is why teachers should consider using oral diagnostic assessments to evaluate the performance of those ELLs who are at-risk or struggling in some categories of reading and decoding, but are progressing in others. This information also provides teachers with invaluable information on instructional support and early intervention strategies especially for those ELLs in question.
Oral Diagnostic Assessments Provide Early Intervention Strategies
Initially, diagnostic tests should be designed and implemented according to their own set of criteria and standards for a particular class. When implemented at the onset of instruction, diagnostic tests, along with classroom observation and student classroom performance, can help identify and target difficult areas for ESL and ELLs and thus, help drive initial instruction.
Teachers can use the knowledge demonstrated through student performance to determine the type of interventive strategies needed. One such measure might include various reading strategies for instruction in small groups.
Use Oral Assessment to Identify Learning Disabilities
Teachers can use oral diagnostic assessments to assess those struggling English language learners who experience serious reading problems and other difficulties such as dyslexia. If the student in question has not yet been assessed by a professional, then this should be done if the teacher does find any indications of learning disabilities such as dsylexia during initial classroom assessments.
Use Oral Diagnostic Assessment to Evaluate Phonological Awareness
Teacher can complete specific diagnostic assessments that focus on recognizing the sounds of whole words as well as individual initial and last sound-letter correspondence in the area of phonological awareness. One example of oral diagnostic assessment tool is flashcards. When first introducing flashcards in the classroom, the teacher needs to explain their purpose. Students should understand that using flashcards provides a structured and one on one opportunity to review sounds and words.
Flashcards can be used once or twice a week for part of a lesson; usually twenty to thirty minutes in a one on one or very small group format suffices. Teachers can easily keep track of the students' progress by checking off which sound blends or words students in a support group are still experiencing difficulties with.
Oral Diagnostic Activities
Teachers can begin by showing flashcards of all of the consonants, separate cards for capital and small letters, two shapes of g (g), diphthongs and blends such as /sh/ /ch/ /th/ /br/ and /dr/. Other examples include:
- Teachers show flashcards for each word family introduced separately; (i.e. bat, can, had, tag) four words on one card.
- Teachers show individual letters to the student. Students produce the appropriate sounds.
- Students tick off sounds they know and do not know on the chart.
Note: If students continue to have a problem with five or more consonant sounds, teachers do not test the words.
In a private tutorial or in small groups, teachers show the word family cards to the students. Teachers check off word families students know or do not know.
Note: If a student struggles with one or two words, teachers do not test all the rest of the words in that particular word family. Teachers do not have to test sounds that have not yet been taught.
Teachers should also determine the cut-off point for areas of decoding and reading to decide who is at-risk before mapping the results of student performance. ESL teachers can consult either with other ESL teacher or general education teachers in order to decide the cut-off level for at-risk instruction.
When used at the beginning of the school year, oral diagnostic assessments provide teachers with information about their ELLs' reading abilities so teachers can effectively provide early interventive strategies and instructional support.
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