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Accuracy checking, or testing, is something that is done explicitly or implicitly in almost every class.  It can focus on either comprehension or productive ability.  Listed below are methods and activities that test these abilities in ways that try to minimize students’ affective response.  By minimizing student stress in the classroom, we help to maximize student motivation.

Comprehension-

• Responding in Japanese (spoken or written), whole class or students 1-on-1 with teacher.
• Groups/Classes chorally answer before getting individual answers.
• O/X Game- listen, repeat & respond (this is a more indirect student self-test of comprehension and meaning.)
• Pair Slap.
• Play Dictionary--say the clues in Japanese in a sentence or question; the students respond with the English word or sentence/question

• CROSSFIRE/Linefire- Listen & Repeat and other conversation skills mostly concerned with form
  1-on-1 Translation with Teacher- student responds in English.
  Hot Potato (see testing option at end)- losing student stands and says a sentence/question for all to hear.
  

There are many ways students can demonstrate comprehension in the Eigo Noto lessons. They don't have to respond in English to show they understand.
Some ways you can know students understand:

• Students point to pictures in a textbook when you call out the English word or phrase
• Students respond in Japanese
• Students respond with body language or gestures
• Play Karuta with cards in pictures or Japanese

Ohajiki is another game from the Eigo Noto activities. It looks like a blend of Karuta and Bingo...
Each student has several words, pictures, letters, numbers, etc. in front of them (on a page in the textbook, for example). Or the students or teacher can make a print similar to Pair Karuta.
To begin, each student places a small cover over a set number of the words/pictures (five). As the teacher calls out the word, students can take the cover off the word (if they have covered it). The first student to remove all of their covers wins.
Instead of calling out a single word, the word (or letter or number...) can be included in a sentence, Q&A, or short dialog.
Time: about 10 minutes (with 5 words covered)
Suggestion: Students don't have a ready set of things to use to cover the words or pictures in their pencil case, so I cut paper into strips about 1 cm X 7-8 cm. The students can use these to tear into 5 pieces and use.

The O/X Game is a very powerful classroom activity- In one activity students participate in all of the categories of activities on The Minimalist ALT. It is also very flexible, making it useful for almost any language pattern. Learn to use it well!


This is the activity sequence for the O/X Game--
*Listen, Repeat, Respond, Repeat, Answer & Score*

For Sentences:
Ready (optional, but suggested for elementary classes):
-WRITE a target sentence or question pattern on the blackboard, underlining or using a different color chalk for the part/parts that will be changed.

Play:
-CHOOSE a student with the dice.
-SAY a sentence aloud.
-All students REPEAT.
-All students RESPOND-raise hand for ‘O’, or don’t for ‘X’.
-SAY the sentence again.
-Students REPEAT.
-Chosen student ANSWERS- ‘O’ or ‘X’.
-Correct students SCORE a point (chosen student, too).

For Yes/No Questions:
Play:
-WRITE and PRACTICE answer patterns on blackboard.
-ASK a question.
-All students REPEAT.
-CHOOSE an answering student with the dice.
-ASK the question again.
-All students REPEAT again.
-All students RESPOND by raising hands (‘O’) or not (‘X’) to guess the chosen student’s answer.
-ASK the question again, to the chosen student.
-The chosen student ANSWERS.
-Correct students SCORE a point (chosen student, too).

Hints:

• be creative with play style and language use. For example, when teaching the pronouns he and she, ask the student a question, or use a sentence, using the student’s name. Then, ask the same student a second question, or say a second sentence, using he or she in the question or statement. When teaching we, first ask the chosen student a question, or say a sentence. Then the second time, stand next to the student, use the same language, except use we for the subject. Or, you can use a second student: after asking the first student a question, or saying a sentence about the student, use the same sentence, except use they, indicating the first student and second student.

• If you use English names for the students, this is a good time to practice ‘What’s your English name?’ before making a question/sentence about that student.

• For Wh- questions (for example, ‘What color do you like?’), put two (or more) choices for the chosen student to answer from on the blackboard (O=I like blue. / X=I like red.) This will also show the students a written model of the correct answer form.

Karuta is a classic Japanese school game. A set of cards is spread face up on the desk, and when a clue is called out, students try to be the first to take the matching card.
In this simplified version, there are no prepared cards. Instead, a pair of students is given a blank piece of paper.


They then write in random places on the paper a list of words, numbers, letters, phrases, etc., that the teacher tells/shows them. The teacher then calls out, or gives a clue to, one word at a time. The paired students each use a different colored pencil to circle the words they get first. Points can be given to the student winning in each pair (most words circled), each student receives all or half of the number of their circles, or the student pairs can play Hand Sandwich.
Variations to use:
Prepare a print with written material on it for the students to use (when the students can’t write English letters yet).
Students can write words in Japanese, and the teacher calls out the words in English (great for vocabulary practice).
Students write individual words in English, and the teacher calls out in Japanese or English.

Time: about 15 minutes with 12-15 words/letters, etc.

CROSSFIRE

With the classroom set up with the desks in 6 rows facing forward, choose one row -either front-to-back or side-to-side- to stand and respond. After the teacher says a sentence or asks a question, the student with the first hand up can respond. If the response is correct, this student may sit down (if incorrect, the student remains standing, and the next fastest student may respond). This pattern continues until there is one original student standing in the line. At this time, the line of students ninety-degrees opposed to the original line and containing the last standing student, stand and become the responders.

Continue play until the students sufficiently understand the correct patterns for responding to be able to continue to the next activity.

LINEFIRE

With the classroom set up with the desks in 6 rows facing forward, choose one row to stand (I usually roll a single die/dice to choose one row, counting from left to right). This row stands, and in order (front-to-back or back -to-front) each student in turns responds. If the response is correct, the student sits down; if not, the student remains standing, and the chance to respond moves to the next. When all students have responded correctly and sat down, the student who answered incorrectly is given another chance. 

Choose another row to stand and continue as above.

Asking an individual student to translate your spoken or written English word or structure into Japanese can be an effective way to test comprehension of meaning and to reinforce it for the entire class. It also follows the good teaching practice of not telling an answer, but rather challenging the students to elicit it.
Beware, though, that this is a test. The student's answer will be either correct or not. And all of the other students are watching and listening. This raises the answering student's affective filter and anxiety level.
To lessen the anxiety, I usually ask the whole class to first chorally give me the translation, giving everyone the challenge. Then after this, I ask for a volunteer, or choose one by rolling the dice, to tell me the correct translation. Asking for a volunteer or choosing a volunteer by dice, rather than choosing one yourself, lessens more the stress on the lone answering student.

This is a simple twist on the Find 3 People activity that makes it into a testing activity. Simply require that students who have found their 3 people come to the teacher and perform the Q & A with the teacher before sitting down (and to perhaps receive points).