Typos in tests

[Tamara]

Hi

Sometimes, while doing ESL tests, I encounter minor typos in the test texts.
I’ll just put some here. My yesterday’s "take".

TOEIC/W61
Meaning 7
n. festival; exhibtion; show; market; bazaar

TOEIC/W190
Meaning 8
happend faster

TOEIC/W210
Meaning 8
vauge (vague)

TOEIC/W306
Meaning 9
severar (several)

Tamara
_________________
It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…

[Torsten]

Hi Tamara, many thanks for pointing out the typos. We are going to spell check the entire vocabulary test batch...

TOEIC listening, photographs: Storage racks

[Mister Micawber]

.
Spell check it? You mean with software? A risky business:

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rarely ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect in it's weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

-- Sauce unknown
.
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Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Tamara]

Hi

In addition to the 'spelling point', sometimes I'm a bit confused with combinations of a test question and a test answer.

Just for example:

Test # TOEIC/W306
Meaning 6

Question:
conj. precedes two or more coordinate words or phrases, either... or

List of possible answers:
(a) unless (b) either (c) immediately (d) directly

with either as the correct answer.

This is a vocabulary test.

Sometimes I meet such cases that seem to me a bit strange - as language tests.
Or there is something I just don’t understand (as I often suppose, for sure :)).

Tamara
_________________
It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…

[Tamara]

Just to make my point a bit more specific:

who tests tests? (TOEIC ones, in particular)
_________________
It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…

[Torsten]

Hi Tamara, you are right. The vocabulary tests are different from the tests Alan has written because the former need an overhaul in order to make them even more useful. This is an ongoing process it would be great if you could continue sharing your thoughts with us.

Many thanks,
Torsten

TOEIC listening, photographs: Going for a walk

[Yankee]

Hi Torsten

There are other kinds of typos/slip-ups in the ESL tests that a spell-checker won't catch. For example, in the intermediate homophones tests, there are quite a number of test questions with run-on sentences. (I looked at them last night and, as I recall, there was at least one run-on sentence in every test.)

I think I've voiced my opinion to you on this before: I think the tests ought to be proofread (by someone other than the author) and corrected prior to being made available online.

Just my two cents...

Amy
_________________
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln

[Torsten]

OK Amy, I hear you...

TOEIC listening, photographs: Past due notices

[Tamara]

Test: TOEIC/W186

Meaning 4

n. series of activities organized to accomplish a goal such as in an advertising campaign

(a) florist (b) negligence (c) campaign (d) screen

Answer 4
n. series of activities organized to accomplish a goal such as in an advertising campaign

campaign
Your answer was: correct

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I'm not a language teacher and don't know linguistic terms for that. I'm a learner.
Could anybody say is it good/right combination of question-variants_of_answer for a vocabulary test?

(I mean, when the text of a test question strongly suggests that a learner is already well familiar with the meaning of the word that is, in fact, the correct answer.)
?
_________________
It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…