The TKT - Teaching and Knowledge Test
Clare Harrison
Clare Harrison is Subject Officer - Teaching Awards, University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (English for Speakers of Other Languages). Web site with more TKT info is: www.cambridgeesol.org/TKT
The TKT (Teaching Knowledge Test) is becoming seen as a badge of professional knowledge among teachers worldwide as it starts to be used by teachers and employers internationally. Clare Harrison of the University of Cambridge writes on why the TKT was created and how it can be possible to test such a diverse range of teacher types.
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Introduction
What is TKT
Developing the test
The Test
Content
Conclusions
Introduction
English language teachers are in demand worldwide. In such a rapidly growing field and with the range of experience and types of English teacher, how can institutions be certain of their quality? And how do teaching professionals set themselves apart and develop their careers?
Requests from government ministries and schools around the world has led to Cambridge ESOL creating the Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT), a new qualification focusing on the core professional knowledge needed by all teachers of English as a second language. TKT is intended to be accessible and relevant to teachers at any stage in their career, whatever their background and teaching experience, and is ideal for teachers who need to enhance their knowledge, as well as people aiming to enter the teaching profession. TKT was launched in Greece on 11 February this year, and the first administration of the examination will be announced shortly.
What is TKT
TKT is a flexible test - created specifically to fit in with busy working lives. The three modules (Language and background to language learning and teaching; Lesson planning and use of resources for language teaching; Managing the teaching and learning process) can be taken together in one session or separately, as well as in any order. There is no compulsory course component or teaching practice in TKT: candidates can choose to prepare for the test through self-study or by following a guided course of study. Results are given in bands, with the opportunity for both inexperienced and experienced teachers to demonstrate their particular level of knowledge.
The range of teacher experience within the profession is huge. From new graduates with no training attracted to carrying out short stints of English language teaching in an overseas country, qualified teachers given new responsibilities for English to the more experienced teachers working in many schools. How do you create a test for teachers which will be appropriate and valuable to the full range, no matter their situation, their level of English, the age group they are teaching, and the context in their country?
Developing the test
Developing TKT has been a major exercise in consultation and testing. In late 2002, Cambridge ESOL sent out questionnaires to various teacher training institutions worldwide in order to gain reactions to the proposal to develop a new test for teachers which would be quite different in format and concept from the existing Cambridge ESOL teaching awards. The consultation provided a basis for Cambridge ESOL to develop TKT in such a way that it would have relevance to teachers working in different educational sectors in a wide range of countries.
A Working Group, consisting of Cambridge ESOL staff and external consultants with considerable experience in teacher education and test development was established in 2003. The group met regularly to develop the TKT syllabus and produce materials. Each version of the syllabus was sent out for review by teacher development professionals with experience of working in the countries where there had already been interest in TKT. Constant revisions to the syllabus were then made from the feedback, and materials writers were commissioned to start producing test items to fit with the evolving consensus over an ideal syllabus.
During 2004, 1500 English language teachers in Europe, Latin America and Asia took part in TKT trial tests. The sample was representative of the target groups for TKT, involving both in-service and pre-service teachers, those working with different age groups and with a range of teaching experience. Several instruments were used during the trials. In addition to full versions of all three TKT modules, a language test was used to enable us to gauge the extent to which candidate performance on TKT might be affected by language proficiency. Questionnaires were also administered to key stakeholders and all participating teachers in order to gather feedback on the examination.
The major findings from this trial were that language proficiency did not appear to be an obstacle to performance by teachers.. Also, age did not seem to be a factor in affecting how they did. Feedback from the trialling has played an important role in the subsequent development of TKT. Positive feedback was received in terms of the coverage of TKT content, its appropriateness for different groups, interest for teachers and relevance to local contexts. Potential candidates saw sitting for an exam such as TKT to be a useful learning experience in itself. They welcomed the chance to reflect on their teaching practice and teaching knowledge.
The Test
An exploratory standard-setting activity was conducted to inform the reporting of results and the grading stage of TKT. Ten judges with expertise in teacher training, rater training, setting performance criteria, and language testing were assembled to give their input. Judges were asked to go through each module, answer each item and provide a rating on a four-point difficulty scale with 1 being the easiest and 4 being the most difficult. Differences between the ratings given were discussed and a rationale to explain those differences was provided. The activity proved to be very useful in making further refinements to the candidate profile at each of the four bands which will be used for reporting performance on TKT.
For each module, candidates are required to read and then answer questions by selecting the correct letter. Listening, speaking or extended writing are not required when taking TKT. Modules can be taken together in one examination session or separately, in any order, over three sessions. TKT modules are free-standing, and there is no aggregate score for candidates taking more than one module. There is no pass/fail in TKT, and candidates receive a certificate for each module that is taken.
TKT is designed to offer maximum flexibility and accessibility for candidates, which means no compulsory course component or compulsory teaching practice. However, it is likely that teacher training centres other institutions will want to offer courses for TKT preparation, and these might include some teaching practice. Evidence from various countries so far suggests that the TKT syllabus can easily be linked to these kinds of activities.
Content
The knowledge tested by TKT includes concepts related to language and language use, and the background to and practice of language learning and teaching. Each module contains a range of tasks with a total of 80 objective-format questions. The testing syllabus for TKT has theoretical, practical and classroom management strands, and covers universal aspects of what a successful teacher of English needs to know. The broad syllabus areas have been grouped into three equally balanced modules which can be embedded into existing teacher training courses as well as providing a useful starting point for course design.
In future, TKT candidates will also have their own portfolio. This will be an electronic resource which candidates can use to keep a record of their teaching experience, beliefs and aspirations for the future. By using the portfolio candidates are encouraged to become more reflective practitioners by analysing their teaching and how this impacts on their students' learning.
Conclusions
The first live administration of the test took place in Toronto, Canada in April 2005, and the response from the international English language community has been strong evidence of the need for TKT. In the first six months following the launch, candidates sat for 3,300 modules at centres in 21 countries. In one of the first regions to take advantage of TKT, Latin America, private institutions are already offering dedicated TKT courses and TKT has been used as a benchmark by school chains and franchises when assessing the knowledge of their teaching staff. The Chilean Government is using TKT to re-train in-service teachers and plans to incorporate the test into teacher training programmes in state universities.
In terms of justification for the development of TKT, the feedback from experienced teachers has been important. They have found that in addition to the value of having the badge of professional knowledge represented by TKT, the process of taking the test in itself is valuable - it encourages them to think again about what they do, refreshes their knowledge, and leads to new ideas for classroom work.
Following the extensive design, development and trialling phases, Cambridge ESOL continues to engage in a programme of research and validation activities in relation to TKT. Planned studies include detailed investigations of the suitability of TKT for the range of teacher types, comparing the performance of specialist and non-specialist English language teachers, as well as native and non-native speakers. Such validation activities are required to ensure that satisfactory standards are met in line with the established principles of good testing practice, covering validity, reliability, impact and practicality.
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