Applications of IT in evaluating linguistic competence

Abstract

The evaluation and self-evaluation based on IT means presents a number of advantages in comparison with the classical means. Among them, one could mention: the possibility to evaluate several aspects (writing, and reading comprehension); less time spent to produce a written piece of work by eliminating the preparation stages, such as jotting down the subjects of the test by the students; the possibility of long distance evaluation, with the advantages pertaining to this kind of learning; combining various types of subjects; an increased amount of information / data and a relatively small storage space; less time devoted to marking. The programs to be used include: Microsoft Access (to design forms), and various resources for audio-visual files: Windows Media Player, MS Office Power Point, and Windows Sound Recorder. The most important innovation is the fact that the organizer has to facilitate the access of the students to the body of courses. This can be done in various ways: printing the textbooks as such, virtual courses on CDs or online, TV programs broadcast on their own TV stations, etc. The virtual courses and questionnaires have the advantage that they can be accessed and sent to long distances at any time.