What are we testing in EFL : linguistic or communicative competence :

الملخص EN

This paper examines the type and validity of the testing procedures currently in use in Jordanian Public Schools at the basic education stage where a communicative teaching/learning programme has been adopted since 1984.

The author will attempt to prove that the move towards communication in the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) is not matched by parallel developments in language testing in the schools of Jordan.

The study begins with a brief look at the development of language testing, then considers the current status of EFL testing in Jordan.

The paper discusses the principles that underlie communicative teaching and testing, and suggests some criteria for communicative testing.

Then the writer checks the content of a random sample of teacher-made tests in Jordanian schools to establish whether the testing techniques employed conform to the course materials, classroom practices and teaching methodology as specified by the English language syllabus, To improve the teachers' skills in constructing satisfactory and valid tests, the paper provides some practical tips to be considered when preparing classroom achievement tests which aim at the effective assessment of the students' communicative ability and linguistic mastery required at this level of English instruction