TOPIC: 3. Prepare a diagnostic test for a class of students you are about to take over.

You
should specify the age and approximate suspected level of the students. Briefly explain the
purpose of each section of the test. State any limits imposed; state the expected duration.

Diagnostic English Test (DET) for

Non-native Speakers
Kubra Fidanboylu

TESOL Diploma Course

Module-3 /Assignment-1
October/2014
 Diagnostic English Test (DET) for Non-native Speakers

Diagnostic English test (DET) refers to a test that helps the teacher and learners
identify the problems they have with the English language. DET is generally administered at
the beginning of the year or semester; the scores obtained from the students help the teachers
identify syllabus content that will be covered throughout the year or semester. DET will be
administered for the University English Program in the English language department of XXX
University. The students who qualify to take the DET are ages 18 and above, all of the
candidates have previous exposure to English language.
The test has two main sections; the first section measures the use of grammar and
vocabulary while the second section measures writing skills. The first section of the DET
measures five different levels of language proficiency, as the questions precede the difficulty
level increases;
1) Elementary, questions 0-10
2) Lower intermediate, questions 10-20
3) Intermediate, questions 20-30
4) Upper intermediate, questions 30-40
5) Advanced, questions 40-50
There are ten questions at each level and each question consists of a sentence where a word or
phrase is removed. The student is expected to choose the correct answer from the multiple
choices that are provided. There are four possible choices the test taker can choose from (A,
B, C and D). Some of the questions have the choice “I don’t know”, it is assumed that this
statement indicates; the student does not know the answer or has not been previously
introduced to the provided vocabulary or grammar. On the other hand, the second section
measures writing skills based on the use of; correct grammar, vocabulary, spelling,
punctuation and a proper essay format.
The scores will be presented as a percentage score, a score of 90% or higher
shows that the learner is approaching a native speaker level. On the other hand; a score of
40% or below roughly shows that the learners’ level of English language is insufficient for
academic study (Wood, Morley, n.d.). The students are expected to finish the first section of
the DET in 60 minutes and the second section in 30 minutes, a total of 90 minutes. Due to the
limited amount of time allowed for each section, the students complete the test under a

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considerable amount of pressure. Therefore, only students’ who have a certain amount of
proficiency in the English language will be able complete the test.
The DET aims to measure the students’ general language proficiency which
serves as an indicator of the student’s ability to apply the learned knowledge in academic
situations. All of the test takers have previous experience with the English language; therefore
the expected average student level is intermediate. Nevertheless, diagnostic tests have certain
limitations. Some of these limitations can be stated as; (1) diagnostic tests tend to only
measure the student’s broad ability to use the language, missing out other skills such as
speaking and listening, (2) the experience of taking the exam may cause stress resulting in
lower achievements than the actual potential of the student, (3) some necessary language
topics may not be covered in the DET, this can mislead the teacher during syllabus and course
content preparation. Therefore, the teacher must realize that the aim of the DET is not to
judge the student, regardless; the test will serve as a guide to understand the student’s general
level and will serve as an assistive tool that will help the teacher prepare productive lesson
plans.

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 Diagnostic English Test

Please complete the following questions, do not spend too much time considering your
answers. In order to assess your present language needs the test consists of two sections; (a)
the first section has 50 multiple choice questions and aims to diagnose five different levels,
please choose the answer you think fits best to the sentence, (b) the second section measures
your writing skills, please make sure to choose a topic that you can fully respond to, and make
sure to address all its components. You have 60 minutes to complete section 1 and 30 minutes
to complete section 2: 90 minutes in total to complete the test.
Good luck!

Section 1(60 minutes):

1) She’s _____ children’s nurse.

a. an b. the c. a d. one

1) ______ he like hamburgers?

a. Does b. Has c. Is d. do

2) The girl ______books.

a. reading b. reads c. read d. is reads

3) _______ pencil is that?

a. What b. Who’s c. Whose d. Which

4) _______ tell his mother next time.

a. She does b. She c. She’ll d. She’s

5) He _________to see his professor last week.

a. went b. goes c. has gone d. has been

6) She ______ very hard today.

a. works b. has been working c. is working d. work

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 7) Their pencils ________ than ours.
a. more good b. most good c. better d. gooder

8) They ______ school every day at 9:00 AM.

a. are starting b. starts c. have starting d. start

9) The boy is ______ the room.

a. on b. in c. at d. into

10) I feel ill, I ______ too much juice earlier

a. drink b. am drinking c. drank d. Rinked

11) Can I have _______ cake.

a. some b. any c. all d. few

12) _____ dress is that? Amnah’s.

a. Who’s b. What c. Whose d. Which

13) Where_____ you use to live?

a. do b. have c. did d. are

14) Look, they _____ got a new car.

a. have got b. got c. have get d. gets

15) I’m seeing her _____2 o’clock ______ Thursday.

a. on, at b. with, on c. at, on d. at, in

16) _______ in the united Arab Emirates before?

a. Have you been b. Be you c. Are you d. Went you

17) She always eats too______.

a. fastly b. fast c. quick d. hard

18) ______ you finish your homework yesterday?

a. Do b. Have c. Did d. Are

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 19) If I ________ a million Saudi Riyals, I would buy a Ferrari.
a. have b. had c. will have d. would have

20) It is October. In November I ________finished my assignments.

a. have b. will have c. - d. am going to

21) It’s the nineteenth ______ July.

a. of b. from c. in d. –

22) The shawls_______ in Riyadh.

a. is made b. made c. are made d. make

23) He said that she _______ sightseeing.

a. is gone b. be gone c. had gone d. was gone

24) When I saw Aisha last Monday she was tired, she ______the hospital the night before.
a. was to b. has been to c. had been to d. I don’t know

25) I have been married to him _____1985.

a. for b. since c. now d. I don’t know

26) Omar is the uncle ______.

a. myself b. mine c.jog d. I don’t know

27) ______ is not just her sport it’s also her hobby.
a. to cycle b. cycling d. cycle d. I don’t know

28) Where shall we meet _______at the campus?

a. us b. each other c. ourselves d. I don’t know

29) When the bell rang, he ________the car.

a. was fixing b. fixed c. has fixed d. I don’t know

30) The only thing ______ I care about is life.

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 a. that b. what c. who d. I don’t know

31) The plane _______ in at six o’clock last morning.

a. flied b. flew c. has flown d. I don’t know

32) “_____ you jog 3 km?” “Yes but I haven’t for a long time.”
a. Will b. Can c. Could d. I don’t know

33) If it snows, you_______ take the bus.

a. will b. would c. should d. I don’t know

34) This time next month, I _________ in the mountains.

a. be skydiving b. am skydiving c. will be skydiving d. I don’t know

35) Have you seen the CD______ I was watching?

a. who b. that c. what d. I don’t know

36) She put her glasses________ the drawer.

a. into b. onto c. at d. I don’t know

37) She is always thinking about _____

a. Her b. Herself c. She d. I don’t know

38) He told us that after visiting America________ visiting Saudi Arabia.

a. visits b. had visited c. was visiting d. I don’t know

39) He always gets more credits than _______.

a. myself b. me c. I d. I don’t know

40) Rumi _____written many beautiful poems.

a. has written b. had written c. wrote d. I don’t know

41) You _______have been here two hours ago. But you didn’t show up.
a. Should b. could c. would d. I don’t know

42) I would tell you her name if I only ______ it.

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 a. would know b. know c. knew d. I don’t know

43) Could you translate this essay _____Arabic?

a. in b. to c. into d. I don’t know

44) After I _________ for a couple of hours, I decided to stop.

a. was climbing b. had been climbing c. climb d. I don’t know

45) He completed his PhD _____for years

a. Since b. during c. in d. I don’t know

46) The street lights switch _______ off in the morning.

a. them b. theirselves c. themselves d. I don’t know

47) The winner of the contest ________ a laptop.

a. gives b. is given c. has given d. I don’t know

48) I asked them if they ________ come with me.

a. will b. would c. can d. I don’t know

49) “You _______ come along with us, Ms” the officer said.
a. will b. would c. could d. I don’t know

50) She ________her arm while she ______ tennis.

a. was breaking, played
b. broke, was playing
c. breaks, is playing
d. I don’t know
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Continue to section 2.

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The multiple choice exam has been prepared based on the English Diagnostic Test of Maastricht University.
The reference can be found on the reference page.
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Section-2 (30 minutes):
Write a short essay of 300+ words with one of the following topics. Please make sure to
choose a topic that you can fully respond to, and make sure to address all its components. 2

1. People attend college or university for many different reasons (for example, new experiences,
career preparation, and increased knowledge). Why do you think people attend college or
university? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

2. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Parents are the best teachers. Use
specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

3. If you could change one important thing about your hometown, what would you change? Use
reasons and specific examples to support your answer.

End of exam!

2
The essay topics listed above were retrieved from www.unrestrictedarea.com.
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 References

○ English Diagnostic Test, 2002. Version 2 (standard), Maastricht University Language

Center, English department.

○ Wood, M., & Morley, J. (n.d.). Question Types in English Language Diagnostic

Testing. 1-14.

○ Writing Topics. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.unrestrictedarea.com/esl/compositiontopics.html, October 1, 2014.

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