Google
English-Test.net
Find penpals and make new friends today!
 
cautious; particular; concentrated; meticulous
adequate
glossy
serious
careful
full quiz correct answer
 
Username
Password
 Remember me? 
Search   Album   FAQ   Memberlist   Profile   Private messages   Register   Log in 

Errors in the tests


Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3 ... 6, 7, 8 ... 22, 23, 24  Next
 
ESL/EFL Worksheets and Handouts for Students Printable, photocopiable, clearly structured
Designed for teachers and individual learners
For use in a classroom, at home, on your PC
ESL Forum | Feedback, Comments and Suggestions
Are you going to publish new materials (stories and articles?) | Hello English test! Thank you for sending me the lesson every time...
listening exercisestell a friend
Message
Author
errors in the tests #91 (permalink) Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:11 am   errors in the tests
 

Yankee wrote:
.
Here's another typo:
http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic7990.html#65500

The word 'of' is repeated. One of them needs to be deleted.
.


Hi Amy,

Thanks for pointing this out -- we'll change it soon.
Regards,
Torsten

TOEIC listening, photographs: A basket maker
Torsten
Learning Coach
Torsten Daerr

Joined: 25 Sep 2003
Posts: 14508
Location: EU

errors in the tests #92 (permalink) Mon Sep 24, 2007 19:53 pm   errors in the tests
 

Hi Torsten

There is a small typo in this test question (Question 3).
The word paperweight is not hyphenated.

In question 10 of the same test, the word is should be changed to are:
Do you know how many ......... of wallpaper are needed to decorate this room?
http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ii116/esl-test.php
_________________
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8316
Location: USA

Do you know how to use the relative pronoun?English grammar exercises — improve your English knowledge and vocabulary skillsAre you a native speaker of English? Then you should read this!Here is how you can learn English the fun way! Click to subscribe to free email English course
errors in the tests #93 (permalink) Mon Sep 24, 2007 22:48 pm   errors in the tests
 

Many thanks Amy for your corrections.
I'll make them tomorrow.
Slava
Slava
Programmer and Co-founder


Joined: 27 Sep 2003
Posts: 378
Location: EU

errors in the tests #94 (permalink) Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:26 am   errors in the tests
 

.
Number 9 in this test needs a space between 'to' and 'trick': http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ii217/esl-test.php#nine
.
_________________
Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's
Mister Micawber
Language Coach


Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 13015

errors in the tests #95 (permalink) Wed Sep 26, 2007 12:22 pm   errors in the tests
 

Many thanks Charles,
I did it.
Slava
Slava
Programmer and Co-founder


Joined: 27 Sep 2003
Posts: 378
Location: EU

errors in the tests #96 (permalink) Wed Oct 03, 2007 8:20 am   errors in the tests
 

.
In case Alan doesn't mention it: http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic7491.html .
.
_________________
Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's
Mister Micawber
Language Coach


Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 13015

errors in the tests #97 (permalink) Fri Oct 19, 2007 6:12 am   errors in the tests
 

This test needs a bit of repair:
http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ae045/esl-test.php

Sentence 1 would be better (more typical/standard) with a possessive adjective -- like this:
1. That little boy has ants in his pants.

Sentence 5 has the two most important words of the idiom in the wrong order! It should read this way:
5. I think her new boyfriend is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

FYI:
The idiom in sentence 6 is not idiomatic in North America, and probably would not be understood there at all.
_________________
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8316
Location: USA

errors in the tests #98 (permalink) Fri Oct 19, 2007 8:45 am   errors in the tests
 

Hi Amy,

Thanks a lot for your comments. I've changed sentence 1 and 5 accordingly. As for the idiom in sentence 6, I've asked Linda to clarify this because she is from Canada (North American) and I can't see why she would use idioms nobody in Canada understands.

TOEIC listening, photographs: About to strike
Torsten
Learning Coach
Torsten Daerr

Joined: 25 Sep 2003
Posts: 14508
Location: EU

errors in the tests #99 (permalink) Fri Oct 19, 2007 13:22 pm   errors in the tests
 

Hi Torsten

That is mysterious.
_________________
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8316
Location: USA

errors in the tests #100 (permalink) Fri Oct 19, 2007 14:38 pm   errors in the tests
 

Yankee wrote:
Hi Torsten

That is mysterious.


Why mysterious? Don't tell me Canadians never use British expressions.

Another question, Amy: should phrases/expressions/sayings be banned or not included in tests because they aren't popular in the US (that's what your comments seem to imply)?
Conchita
Language Coach


Joined: 26 Dec 2005
Posts: 2826
Location: Madrid, Spain

errors in the tests #101 (permalink) Fri Oct 19, 2007 21:50 pm   errors in the tests
 

Hi Conchita

Quote:
Another question, Amy: should phrases/expressions/sayings be banned or not included in tests because they aren't popular in the US (that's what your comments seem to imply)?
No, that is neither what I said nor what was implied. It seems to me that as an English teacher you would agree that learning appropriate usage is an important element of learning a language. And some idiomatic expressions have extremely limited usage. I speak American English, and therefore I can offer information about American English. Do you suppose a Brit would know better than I do what is and is not used in American English?

I have long felt that slang language or language that is very limited in usage ought to be noted as such. I feel it is helpful for many learners to know and/or have access to such usage information. Usage, Conchita, usage!!! Why should usage information be hidden or somehow considered undesirable??? Why not let test-takers know when a particular idiom with extremely limited usage is being tested? To me, not doing so misrepresents the usage of the idiom/slang expression to the test-taker.

Respected British and American dictionaries regularly point out that a particular usage is "chiefly American" or "chiefly British". Don't you think there is a reason for this? Don't you think it is helpful for learners? Why in the world would you choose to criticize me for mentioning the very same thing? I mention these things because I strongly feel that knowing the restrictions of a particular usage is useful information for learners. Surely you don't believe that usage information is irrelevant when learning a language.

It is a fact that there are some differences between the various versions of English.
It is a fact that there are some idioms that simply are not idiomatic in all versions of English.
It is a fact that there are some expressions that have such limited usage that they won't be understood by a large number of native-speakers of English.

You may have noticed that my original comment was simply headed "FYI". That means "for your information". I can't single-handedly ensure that the British idiom in question here comes to be widely used and understood in American English. What I can do, however, is offer the information that it is not used.

Personally, I feel that suggesting that all idioms are universally used by all native speakers of English is a disservice to learners. I see no good reason whatsoever to attempt to hide or suppress usage information!
.
_________________
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8316
Location: USA

errors in the tests #102 (permalink) Fri Oct 19, 2007 23:59 pm   errors in the tests
 

.
I hadn't heard 'mutton dressed as lamb' (usually no article-- 'dressed', I think, is a culinary term here) either, and I lived 20 years in Canada (1967-87)-- it is evidently quite BrE. I like it, though-- nice image.
.
_________________
Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's
Mister Micawber
Language Coach


Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 13015

errors in the tests #103 (permalink) Sat Oct 20, 2007 1:25 am   errors in the tests
 

Hi

Then as have a dichotomy of "standard/international" English versus adjustable English. Labeling is a good idea, but we have to take into consideration the many phrases that Brits or Aussies would know from America and visa versa.

How can we resolve this?

Lets take a phrase like "more bang for your buck" this is widely known in the UK or Business English, and then how do we balance it with " it turns up like a dirty penny".

I think all we can do is expose people to variations and specify a necessary area of restriction if they need it; i.e. working in USA or studying British Lit. Beyond this we will always get into arguments about what is good and best.

However I do agree that labeling is important and in the tests it happens often both ways. But is the label as important as the parsing?

cheers stew.t.
_________________
Please meet Stewart Tunncilff
Stew.t.
I'm here quite often ;-)


Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 561
Location: Leipzig, Germany

errors in the tests #104 (permalink) Sat Oct 20, 2007 3:22 am   errors in the tests
 

.
Usage is something that ESL teachers talk about constantly -- be it grammar, vocabulary, idioms, register, or what have you.

There is nothing at all unusual about mentioning how, when, where, why or by whom specific language is used or not used. It happens all the time!
.
_________________
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8316
Location: USA

errors in the tests #105 (permalink) Sat Oct 20, 2007 3:45 am   errors in the tests
 

stew.t. wrote:
How can we resolve this?
One way to resolve a few of the kinks in the tests here has already been suggested: Peer review prior to publishing/posting each test. It would probably be most effective if the review were done by native speakers of various versions of English -- especially when idioms are tested. At least that way you'd get the usage input beforehand rather than after the fact.

stew.t. wrote:
But is the label as important as the parsing?

According to the online dictionaries I checked, the "mutton dressed as lamb" idiom is quite derogatory. Is that true?
Not only did I not understand this idiom prior to looking it up, but I also didn't pick up on the extremely negative nature of the idiom from the test sentence itself. I mean, to someone who isn't familiar with the idiom, the meaning might just as well end up interpreted as being positive or complimentary -- e.g. she looks younger than she is. :?

That was part of the reason I made a point of mentioning that the idiom is not used over here.

Can a test-taker guess the answer from the choices given? I hope so. But that doesn't change the fact that a large proportion of the English speaking world is not going to be familiar with the idiom.

Last but not least, there is now a question in my mind about whether the idiom is ever used with the article 'a', and whether the test needs some tweaking in that regard too. Is it "a mutton dressed as a lamb", "mutton dressed as lamb", or are both versions commonly used in Britain? :? If the BNC is any indication, the two indefinite articles are not used in the expression.
.
_________________
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8316
Location: USA

Display posts from previous:   
Are you going to publish new materials (stories and articles?) | Hello English test! Thank you for sending me the lesson every time...
ESL Forum | Feedback, Comments and Suggestions All times are GMT + 1 Hour
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3 ... 6, 7, 8 ... 22, 23, 24  Next
Page 7 of 24
Latest topics on English Forums
When are you going to log on to the forum?I dont received your course since November, 20, 2008...Too many email notifications?Hi Torsten... I invited all my friends to join this communityConfirm this email: Information Communication Technology [ICT]Dear forum team, I don't get any answer...Is there a place here at this forum where i can practise my spoken enlish?How can I find out the reply of my comment?Accounting site?Do I have to make the tests again and again until I have no mistake?Good morning everybody: I'm very interresting with your lessons and storiesProgress reportYour site is wonderful!

 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Subscribe to FREE email English course
First name E-mail