Distribution tests

Distribution tests can be applied to checking different habits and skills using the techniques of distributing items within a group. They may ask for 1) excluding an extra item according to its lexical, grammatical or stylistic meaning; 2) grouping items according to the same criteria; 3) generalising the meaning of the items included into a group with a family name; 4) arranging the items in a certain order.

1) An exclusion test:

a) Instruction: Define which of the words doesn’t belong to the group:

A. tomatoes B. cucumbers C. onions D. peaches

b) Instruction: Define which of the phrases doesn’t belong to the group:

A. How are you getting on?

B. How do you do?

C. How’s life treating you?

D. How have you been doing?

2) A grouping test:

Instruction: Divide all the adverbial modifiers given below into those referring to the past simple tense and those referring to the present perfect tense:

Lately, recently, a short while ago, the day before yesterday, for ages, since childhood, never in my life, this morning, this year, for a long time.

3) A generalising test:

Instruction: Write the common name for all these words:

A table, a chest of drawers, a stool, a bookcase, a wardrobe, a shelf, an armchair, a cupboard, a dressing table, a desk, a sofa, a bed.

4) An arrangement test:

a) Instruction: Arrange the following quantifiers in the order of increasing:

No, a lot of, several, some, a few, a number of.

b) Instruction: Arrange the following adjectives starting from the most generous praise to the most reserved:

Wonderful. Not bad. Excellent. Well-done. How smart! Good. Good work.

16.6.4.5. Monolingual/bilingual matching tests

Monolingual and bilingual matching tests usually imply finding equivalents or correspondences in two lists of items (words and word combinations, grammatical structures, phrases).

1. A monolingual grammar matching test:

Instruction: Which of the phrases in the left column correspond to those in the right?

1. He had left by the time I came. 2. He left when I came. 3. He was leaving when I came. 4. He left after I had come.

A. He’s been waiting for me to come. B. I had no chance to see him. C. We met at the door. D. We had little time to speak.

2. A monolingual lexical test:

Instruction: Match the names of occupations to the names of tools:

1. a dress-maker 2. a hair-dresser 3. a teacher 4. a driver a builder

A. a blackboard B. a sewing-machine C. a brake pedal D. a crane E. a pair of scissors

3. A bilingual lexical test:

Instruction: Match the words to their equivalents:

1. to tell 2. to speak 3. to talk 4. to chat 5. to discuss 6. to contradict 7. to say 8. to confirm

A. подтвердить B. рассказать C. болтать D. произнести E. возразить F. поговорить G. выступать H. обсудить

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