Exams are so important?

[aqvip]

Hi, all
I am a postgraduate student in a normal university in China. Last week, I conducted a questionare concerning elementary students' interests in English learning. There are more than 1000 students, aging from 10 to 13, involved in the project. After collecting the data, I found most students are interested in English learning, however, quite a number of them express their dislike of exams. A pupil said, I like English learning, but I hate doing the cloze exercise. Another pupil said, if there are no exams, I would be more interested in English learning. So I wondered is it necessary or important to have exams in elementary school? I think more atteniton should be paid to developing students' interests in foreign language learning in elementary school. What is your opinon?

[Senorita Daniels]

I think that it is important to do some kind of activity to see how much kids learn and remember. How often are tests given in China? Do the kids feel like there are too many tests and not enough actual learning activities? Is the opinion one they have about just English class or all in general?

[aqvip]

Exams are very important in Chinese education system. Though the situation has improved a lot, students are judeged mainly by scores they gained in the exams even if they are elementary students. However, I think educators should pay more attention to developing students' interests to foreign language and culture,when a second language taught in elementary school. Maybe some tests are necessary ,but not too often.

[cindyjbj]

I can understand the situation as I face a similar one in my place here in Malaysia. Though the English language is considered the second language in my country and is widely used throughout the nation, the place where I have been posted to teach is quite rural and exposure to the English language is very minimal. The system of education however requires the students to pass an examination where the questions are designed by the Ministry of Education. As it is, many of my students have difficulty passing the exam as the questions are always too difficult for them. Because of this situation, I am always stressed and find myself torn between wanting to make the language fun and interesting for the students and to carry out mechanical grammar drills and other 'not-so-interesting' exam-based activities in order to help the students to pass. In my personal opinion, exam and tests are important only if we want to keep track of how much the students have learnt. Exams and tests should never become a burden that hampers the students' interest in learning the language.

[ZhuSha]

I think we still need exams, which is a good way to evaluate how the students learn and is a push for the students to work hard to learn better! However, the form of the exams could be improved and various and suitable for the different ages of the students .