Department of Applied Linguistics

All MA-TESOL students admitted in Fall 2003 or later must **either** take Ling 492, "Structure of English" **or** pass the Applied Linguistics departmental test with a minimum score of 75% in order to fulfill the grammar proficiency requirement.

The Grammar Proficiency Test must be taken during your FIRST quarter in the M.A. program or BEFORE you officially start the program.

If you know that your background in grammar is very weak, you should simply plan on taking the "Structure of English" course. We want you to be a grammatically confident ESL/EFL teacher and applied linguist!

CAN I POSTPONE TAKING THE TEST, and WAIT FOR A LATER QUARTER?

No. If you don't take the test before or during your first quarter in the program, you need to take the Structure of English course. (And take Structure ASAP! This is a PRErequisite requirement.)

WHAT IS THE TEST LIKE?

The test has 40 multiple choice questions. It covers basic descriptive English grammar. You will read a short passage taken from a conversation, book, or newspaper, and then be asked to identify particular language structures and functions.

(1) word classes such as nouns, determiners, adjectives, modals, demonstrative pronouns
(2) phrase and clause types such as prepositional phrases, relative clauses, complement clauses
(3) verb tense, aspect, voice and transitivity (transitive and intransitive)
(4) functional sentence categories such as direct object, complement, adverbial
(5) sentence patterns such as subject-verb-object, subject-verb-complement, subject-verb-adverbial.

If these terms and concepts are not familiar to you, you should take the Structure of English course!

WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO REVIEW IF YOU HAVEN'T WORKED WITH GRAMMAR FOR A FEW YEARS?

Any basic descriptive grammar book can help you review. Many students have found it useful to review The Structure of English book by Jeanette DeCarrico, (Univ of Michigan Press). However, if the book doesn’t seem like review for you, take the "Structure of English" course.

WHAT IF I DONT PASS THE TEST?

You should plan to take "Structure of English" (Ling 492) when it is next offered.

CAN I TAKE THE TEST MORE THAN ONCE?

No. Only once.

HOW OFTEN IS THE TEST OFFERED?

It is usually offered twice per calendar year: once at the beginning of Fall Quarter, and once at the beginning of Spring quarter.




		MA-TESOL: Grammar Proficiency Requirement WHO SHOULD TAKE THE GRAMMAR TEST? All MA-TESOL students admitted in Fall 2003 or later must either take Ling 492, "Structure of English" or pass the Applied Linguistics departmental test with a minimum score of 75% in order to fulfill the grammar proficiency requirement. When should I plan to sit for the Test? The Grammar Proficiency Test must be taken during your FIRST quarter in the M.A. program or BEFORE you officially start the program. If you know that your background in grammar is very weak, you should simply plan on taking the "Structure of English" course. We want you to be a grammatically confident ESL/EFL teacher and applied linguist! CAN I POSTPONE TAKING THE TEST, and WAIT FOR A LATER QUARTER? No. If you don't take the test before or during your first quarter in the program, you need to take the Structure of English course. (And take Structure ASAP! This is a PRErequisite requirement.) WHAT IS THE TEST LIKE? The test has 40 multiple choice questions. It covers basic descriptive English grammar. You will read a short passage taken from a conversation, book, or newspaper, and then be asked to identify particular language structures and functions. Examples of the sorts of things you will be asked to identify are: (1) word classes such as nouns, determiners, adjectives, modals, demonstrative pronouns (2) phrase and clause types such as prepositional phrases, relative clauses, complement clauses (3) verb tense, aspect, voice and transitivity (transitive and intransitive) (4) functional sentence categories such as direct object, complement, adverbial (5) sentence patterns such as subject-verb-object, subject-verb-complement, subject-verb-adverbial. If these terms and concepts are not familiar to you, you should take the Structure of English course! WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO REVIEW IF YOU HAVEN'T WORKED WITH GRAMMAR FOR A FEW YEARS? Any basic descriptive grammar book can help you review. Many students have found it useful to review The Structure of English book by Jeanette DeCarrico, (Univ of Michigan Press). However, if the book doesn’t seem like review for you, take the "Structure of English" course. WHAT IF I DONT PASS THE TEST? You should plan to take "Structure of English" (Ling 492) when it is next offered. CAN I TAKE THE TEST MORE THAN ONCE? No. Only once. HOW OFTEN IS THE TEST OFFERED? It is usually offered twice per calendar year: once at the beginning of Fall Quarter, and once at the beginning of Spring quarter. Look for an announcement of the upcoming test sitting, via the appling listserve or contact the Dept of Applied Linguistics. This page was last updated on 05-Feb-2008