The Birth of the Test
I usually taught students in their language preparatory years, where they had 12 English lessons and 6 second foreign language lessons per week. External expectations required them to take language exams, but relatively few could reach this goal. We wanted to find out why: Did they have aptitude or attitude problems? We also wanted to test future candidates applying to our school and try to identify those who were most likely not capable of successfully completing this special year.
First, I reviewed online tests and read surveys about them. However, due to a strict time limit — only 10 minutes for the writing part and 5 minutes for the discussion — we decided to create our own shorter version, selecting task types from existing tests that suited our purposes.
Why Esperanto?
We chose Esperanto because:
- It has simple rules with no exceptions.
- Most students were unfamiliar with it, which was important because we wanted to test logic, not prior language knowledge.
- We didn’t have time or resources to invent our own language.
- A colleague of ours could speak Esperanto.
What Did We Test?
According to John B. Carroll, language aptitude tests aim to “predict the degree of success a candidate will have with a new language.” Many tests evaluate the following abilities:
- Phonetic coding ability: recognizing and remembering different sounds.
- Grammatical sensitivity: identifying the grammatical function of words or phrases without explicit grammar training.
- Rote learning ability: learning new words in a foreign language and retaining them.
- Inductive learning ability: discovering or guessing the logic behind language rules.
The Test Structure
Here’s a breakdown of the tasks and what they evaluate, with my comments:
- Task 1: Tests inductive learning ability — recognizing simple rules. Students with low scores here often struggle to see patterns without explanation.
- Task 2: Tests grammatical sensitivity — identifying the function of lexical elements. A common error: leaving out prepositions, such as “in” in “in the garden.”
- Task 3: The most difficult task, also testing inductive learning ability. Many students eventually give up and guess, losing the most points here.
- Task 4: Tests rote learning ability — recognizing similar-looking or -sounding words and deducing meanings. For example, students often confuse gesticulate with articulate or struggle with the nuance of szimpatikus (“likeable”). This task highlights students’ ability to deduce meanings from familiar patterns.
- Task 5: Tests grammatical knowledge in their own language, which is important for understanding grammar explanations (e.g., verb, noun, preposition). High scores here indicate students can learn foreign grammar rules more easily, but low scores in other parts may hinder practical use. Conversely, students with low scores here but high scores elsewhere often excel due to strong language logic.
How We Administered the Test
- Students had 10 minutes to complete the written part independently.
- A colleague marked their answers.
- In the 5-minute discussion, I went over Tasks 4 and 5 with them.
- If time allowed, I tested memory and rote learning by asking them to recall 5 Esperanto words or expressions from the first three tasks.
Observations
- Language learning is not a “cookbook.” Aptitude and attitude are important, but other factors also play a role: family background, self-confidence, stress management, focus, and adolescence.
- After introducing the test, students appeared more motivated and focused on English. While it’s unclear whether this was due to selecting more capable students or the entrance exam signaling the school’s seriousness, the effect was noticeable.
- The test could not perfectly predict success: some low scorers still performed well if they excelled in other areas, while some admitted last-minute struggled the most.
- Learning difficulties affected outcomes: even high scorers with challenges found it harder to succeed at the same pace.
- Prior experiences with foreign languages, particularly negative ones, could create anxiety that affected performance.
- Motivation and effort remain crucial. Questionnaires provided some insights, but close observation of students was often far more revealing.
You can find the language aptitude tests here in English and Hungarian.