Assessment of linguocultural competence. Test pack.

Method’s description.

The test “Linguocultural Competence Assessment. Test 2.”can be used both for assessing and building the linguocultural competence of ESL students.

We understand this competence as the ability and readiness to interact with representatives from other cultures, formed on the basis of knowledge about the own and foreign linguocultures, capacity to interpret cultural information in language and skills of communication in accordance with social norms, that all serve to attain the aims of interpersonal communication.

The test consists of four parts. The first one aims at assessing the attitude of the students towards the English-speaking nations and their own one. The second part is an adaptation of "The Life in the UK Test" that helps to assess the factual knowlege about the British culture. The third part of the test contains questions that ​reveal the students' knowledge of ​social norms of behaviour. The fourth part helps to assess the ability to interpret linguocultural information in the text through analysis of nations' descriptions.

The ​answers​ to the first part of the test are analysed individually. Each correct answer in the rest of the test gets one point. The result is calculated according to the following formula: K = n / N, n is the number of points got, N is the maximum possible number of points. If K is 0.7 or less, the competence is formed at a low level, if K is 0.7– 0.9 , the competence is formed at the medium level. If K is 0.9 – 1.0, the level of competence is high.

The approximate time of the assessment is 1 – 2 hours.

Assessment of linguocultural competence

Test 2 by M. Shanina

I.      Write the names of the three famous people that you first think of these countries: Famous people (living or dead) from:

the UK	the USA	Russia

II.   Choose the right answer showing your knowledge of life in the UK:

1.  The UK is part of the United Nations (UN)

                          a. Yes, this is correct                            b. No, the UK is not part of UN anymore

2.  Norwich, Plymouth and Leeds are cities in

a.   Scotland          c. Northern Ireland

b.  England           d. Wales

3.  Who is the patron saint of Wales and on which date is his feast day?

a. St Michel 3rd March	c. St David 1st March
b. St Peter November 29th 4. What is Hogmanay?	d. St James 5th September
a. A Scottish celebration on New Year	c. A Welsh celebration on 27th December
b. The day after Christmas Day 5. Influential British bands are: (Choose any 2 answers)	d. A type of pork meal enjoyed by Scots
a. The Royal Family	c. The National Trust
b. The Rolling Stones 6. What did Guy Fawkes faimously fail to do?	d. The Beatles
a.                   Blow up Buckingham Palace b.                  Blow up Houses of Parliament 7. A National Insurance number is	c. Blow up 10 Downing Street
a. a unique record for the NHS	c. a unique record for the Surgery

b. a unique personal account number

8.  Walking and using public transport to get around when you can is a good way to protect the environment because it creates less pollution than using a car

                          a. Yes, this is correct                                               b. No, because public transport such

as a bus is using more fuel than a car

9.  Who was the only politician to abolish parliament

a.   Cromwell    c. Churchill

b.  Gladstone

10.  Britain has a constitutional Monarchy in which the King or The Queen have unlimited powers

                           a. True                                                  b. False

11.  Is a man allowed to punich his wife physically as long as it's his own home

a.   Yes, also, not with any recognised weapon           c. No

b.  Yes, though only under provocation

12. A fundamental principle of British life is participating in your community

a. True                                                                      b. False

13.  The members of the National Assembly for Welsh (AMs) can only speak in Welsh

          a. Yes, this is correct                                               b. No, They can also speak in English

14.  26 December is traditionally referred to as which of the following?

a.   Christmas Day       c. St George's Day

b.  New Year Eve        d. Boxing day

15. Which of these people are famous UK sports stars?

(Choose any 2 answers)

a.   Sir Chris Hoy  c. Jane Austen

b.  Lucien Freud  d. Dame Kelly Holmes

III. Choose the right answer keeping the English etiquette in mind:

1.  Which of the topic is it better to avoid in a small talk?

a. Sports news      c. Religious belifs b. Celebrity gossip

2.  How to show that you are listening?

a. Interrupt or monopolize the conversation       c. Ask questions during pauses in the conversation b. Tell off-color jokes

3.  What will you do when you see there is a spot on the jacket of the person you are talking to?

a. Will do nothing about it        c. Tell him/her about it directly b. Hint at it using gestures

4.  When you receive an invitation to a party with a request to RSVP, ideally when should you RSVP?

a.  Any time before the party   c. Really doesn't matter – the concept of RSVPing is a dated one

b.  As soon as you know if you can attend or not

5.  How would an Englishman answer this question: – Do you mind opening the window?

a.   – No, it’s too cold in here      c. –  Yes, sure

b.  – No, thanks for asking

6.  How would an Englishman react to a statement:– I'm as right as rain now!

a. – I’m glad your have recovered from that cold  c. – I am glad you have finally got it right b. – Yes, you always know the right answer

 IV. Read the book quotes and guess what nations they refer to. Circle a letter next to each quote: A for the Americans, B for the British, R for the Russians and fill in each gap with a character trait the quote refers to, e.g    A, B, R politeness.

1.                  “Amazing what we do with language; the nuances of politeness. The world's great diplomats, surely.” From “The Queen of the Damned” by Anne Rice. A, B, R __________________

2.                  “She decided that day to study it, the language of violence, terror, and absurdity. She knew she would never be bored.” From “The Boy on the Bridge” by Natalie Standiford. A, B, R __________________

3.                  “They were so...larger than life, these (name of nationality), with their ready smiles and booming voices. And their gratitude....She’d lost track of the times a (name of nationality) had hugged her so tightly she’d come off her feet.” From “The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah.

A, B, R __________________

4.                  “The (name of nationality) abroad is always the voice of caution. Persons of other cultures are known to be undisciplined, prone to leaning out of car windows and cooking with garlic.” From “Tigerman” by Nick Harkaway.

A, B, R __________________ Keys:

II.     1. a; 2. b; 3. c; 4 a; 5. b, d; 6. b; 7. b; 8. a; 9. a; 10. b; 11. c; 12. a; 13. b; 14. d; 15. a, d.

III.  1. c; 2. c; 3. a; 4. b; 5. c; 6. a.  IV. 1. B; 2. R; 3. A; 4. B.

Used materials:

Kate Fox. 2008. ‘Watching the English. The hidden rules of behaviour’. Nicholas Brealey Publishing. London, UK.

Kristin Hannah. 2015. ‘The Nightingale’. by St. Martin's Press, USA.

Nick Harkaway. 2014. ‘Tigerman’. Knopf , UK.

Life in the UK Practice Test 2016. Available at http://www.test-questions.com/life-in-theuk-test.php (accessed on 21, June 2016).

Life in the UK Test. Available at http://www.theuktest.com/ (accessed on 21, June 2016).

Anne Rice. 1997 ‘The Queen of the Damned’. Ballantine Books, USA (first published 1988).

Elena Rozanova. 2015. ‘Metodika formirovania socioculturnoi kompetensii bakalavrov napravlenia Lingvistika na osnove sosialnih servisov’. Moskow, Russia.

George Sandison. 2013. ‘Life in the Uk Study Guide’. Red Squirrel Publishung, UK.

Natalie Standiford. 2013. ‘The Boy on the Bridge’. Scholastic Press, USA.

Краткое описание документа:

В представленном архиве содержится описание методики измерения уровня сформированности линговкультурной компетенции студентов факультета иностранных языков, а так же непосредственно тест для проведения диагностики.

Лингвокультурная компетенция студентов понимается автором как способность и готовность обучающихся к взаимодействию с представителями отличных культур на основе знаний о своей и других лингвокультурах, а также на основе умения интерпретировать культурозначимую информацию в языке и навыков соционормативной коммуникации при решении задач межличностного взаимодействия.