suggestions?? + info

I am going to interview a student and need to ask questions- to test their knowledge. Does anyone have a list of questions they use to do such a assessment?
This oral assesment will be followed by a written task to do the same thing for written analysis. - If anyone has any ideas or suggestions It would be greatly appreciated....

Any help would be greatly appreciated.. Yours miss confused

Info- student is not a native speaker, and is about pre-intermediate level. The test format is an informal interview (recorded) + a short written task to be analysed later.

[Tdol]

I don't use a fixed list. I use certain areas that will expose their language to certain constraints. At this level, I'd start with a few personal questions to see how pre-prepared they were. If I suspected that they had practised their answers, I'd throw a surprise at them to knock them off that track. If not, I'd get them to talk about their current life, to see how they can handle present tenses, then go through things that would test their ability to talk about the past and the future, again based on themselves. This way, you'll also get a good idea about their vocab range, prepositional accuracy, etc. try to make it as much like a conversation as possible, but run through something systematically that will show what they are capable of.

For written tests, any basic writing task will do, but if you want to go further, then try some placement tests, like the ones OUP produce:

http://www.oup.com/elt/global/isbn/7160/

You can also try online tests if you like; here are some links:

http://www.usingenglish.co.uk/links/..._Online_Tests/

I hope this helps. I don't know if you are a new teacher opr what and don't want to sound patronising, but this is how I conduct interviews. I try to make it as natural conversation as I can, but try to ensure it has a structure that allows me to view grammar and, along the way, other language elements. I prefer this approach to the list of fixed questions, which strikes me as slightly pseudo-scientific and less natural. the more natural you can make it the closer to the truth you'll get. I'm not a fan of the tick-box approach and many will defend it as more accurate. Above all, let your own style develop. do what you feel is best, but have a reason for it. There are many roads to Rome.

[Tdol]

PS- You started this thread in answer to what MikeNewYork said when you first posted. There's no need to start a new thread, simple reply where you started the question. That way, you stand more chance of getting replies- Mike might not see this thread.

PPS- If you register, you'll get e-mails notifying you when your questions are answered. It also allows full editing capabilities, including bold, hyperlinks, etc. If you're going to ask more questions, it might make sense to do so. If not, you'll have to come back the way you came. Nice to see you here anyway. If I can help, I will.