Chapter I. Studying of question types for language skills

1.2 Important aspect of question types for testing language skills.
In English, there are four types of questions: general or yes/no questions, special questions using wh-words, choice questions, and disjunctive or tag/tail questions. Each of these different types of questions is used commonly in English, and to give the correct answer to each you’ll need to be able to be prepared. 4 Types of Questions in English. In this section, we’ll walk you through each question type and provide real-world examples.
1. General or Yes/No Questions. Common questions that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” are logically called yes/no questions. As a rule, this kind of question relates to the whole sentence, and not to a separate element of it. For example:
- Do you like this country? 
- Does Jane know about your new job? 
- Can I call my sister? 
- Is it cold outside? 
- Are they ready for the trip? 
- Are you hungry? 
To ask such general questions, the appropriate rising intonation should be used at the end of the sentence. The answer can be a brief “yes” or “no.” Or, a longer answer can be given: “Yes, I do.” “No, I don’t like this country.” The response to a question depends on the verb used. Try to remember this formula: answer the question the way it was asked. If the question begins with a form of the verb “to be” – am, is, are – then answer “Yes, I am/he is/they are,” or “No, I am not/he isn’t/they aren’t.” It is similar to auxiliary verbs (do/does, did, will, have/has):

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  Did she clean the room? – Yes, she did/No, she didn’t.
  
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  Have you done your homework? – Yes, I have/ No, I haven’t.
  
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  Will you buy that dress? – Yes, I will/ No, I won’t.
  

2. Special or Wh-Questions. A special question, as you can guess, uses a certain word at the beginning of the sentence to ask a specific question. The questions words who, what, where, when, why, how, how many, etc., are used to begin the question:
- Where is he from? 
- When did you come here? 
- How did you meet her? 
- How many eggs do we need for this cake? 
- Whose children are playing in the yard? 
Note that questions about a subject (who? what?) have their own special structure; they do not require an auxiliary verb, we replace the subject with the question word. For example:
- We go to the cinema. – Who goes to the cinema?
- The glass is on the table. – What is on the?
- Most girls here wear skirts. – Who wears skirts here?
You can see that after the question words who and what, the third-person singular form of the verb should be used. We use special questions to get specific information. This implies that the answer will be more detailed. You can find even more information on this topic in our article on basic small talk questions. Find out yourEnglish level. Take this 5-min test to see how close you are to achieving your language learning goals
3. Choice Questions. Choice questions are questions that offer a choice of several options as an answer (you might recognize them from your exams as multiple-choice questions). They are made up of two parts, which are connected by the conjunction. Choice questions can be either general, open-ended questions or more specific ones. If the question does not center on the subject of the sentence, a complete answer is needed. For example:
- Does she like ice cream or sweets? – She likes ice cream.
- Where would you go, to the cinema or the theatre? – I would go to the cinema.
- Is he a teacher or a student? – He is a student.
However, when the question concerns the subject, the auxiliary verb comes before the second option. The answer is short:

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  Does she make it or do you? – She does.
  
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  Did they buy that house or did she? – They did.
  

4. Disjunctive or Tag Questions. This type of question is also made up of two parts, where the first part is a statement, and the second part is negative, or vice-versa. The first part of the sentence defines the expected answer. If the statement is positive, a positive answer is expected; if the statement is negative, a negative answer is expected. For example:
- She sent him an invitation, didn’t she? – Yes, she did.
- You aren’t getting married, are you? – No, I am not.
- Jane isn’t in France, is she? – No, she isn’t.
- Our dad will come soon, won’t he? – Yes, he will.
There are also exceptions: I am going with you, aren’t I? – Yes, you are. You can’t say, “I am a great person, am I not?” That would be incorrect. Just remember that when the pronoun “I” is used, the tag is are/aren’t. Tag questions are only used in conversational speech to clarify information or to confirm or refute something if there are doubts. You can find more materials on this and other types of questions by reading our article on conversation questions to sharpen your skills and catch native speaker’s attention. So now you how to ask simple questions in English with confidence! If you learn English by yourself, make sure you practice some extra language activities to memorize the material you’ve just read. Language tests should be taken under conditions which are equally fair for all test-takers. This entails that test centres are suitably accredited for the administration of the tests and meet general quality requirements ; test centre staff are professionally competent; a high level of security and confidentiality is maintained throughout the testing process; physical conditions in the test centre are appropriate (e.g. noise and temperature level, distance between candidates); and all necessary arrangements are made for test takers with special requirements. If not appropriately managed, each aspect of test administration has the potential to infringe the human rights of test-takers. Objectively marked test items (e.g. multiple choice questions used in tests of listening and reading) can be accurately scored by machines or by trained markers; subjectively marked items (used to assess speaking and writing) need to be scored by trained raters whose work must be constantly monitored. In general tests should be kept under continuous review in order to ensure that they test the abilities they claim to test, the abilities are measured in a consistent way by all versions of the same test, and each test works in a way that is fair to all test-takers, whatever their background. These issues are clearly of central importance when tests are aimed at adult migrants. So too is the issue of access to the test: requiring adult migrants to pay a fee may be a disincentive and lead to discrimination. Forms of Language Testing. There are five main types of language assessments — aptitude, diagnostic, placement, achievement, and proficiency tests. 1. Aptitude Tests. Aptitude refers to a person's capacity for learning something. Language aptitude tests assess a person's ability to acquire new language skills. Because of the nature of these tests, they are more general than most other language tests and don't focus on a particular language. Instead, they assess how quickly and effectively a person is able to learn new language skills. An employer might use an aptitude test to select the best employees to take language courses so they can aid in the setup of a new international branch or provide bilingual customer service. 2. Diagnostic Tests. Diagnostic tests are aimed at diagnosing the state of a person's abilities in a certain area — in this case, their language abilities. In contrast to achievement and proficiency tests, diagnostic tests are typically given at the start of a language learning course or program. On a diagnostic test, most test-takers encounter questions or tasks that are outside the scope of their abilities and the material they're familiar with. The results of the test reveal the strengths and tweaknesses in one's language abilities. Having a student's diagnostic test results can help teachers formulate lesson plans that fill the gaps in the student's current capabilities. Students can also use diagnostic tests to determine which areas they need to work on in order to reach a higher level of proficiency. 3. Placement Tests. Placement tests share some similarities with diagnostic tests. They are used for educational purposes and are administered before a course or program of study begins. In this case, the application is a bit different. Educators and administrators use placement tests to group language learners into classes or study groups according to their ability levels. A university may give a placement test to determine whether a new French major needs to take introductory French courses or skip over some courses and begin with more advanced classes. Placement tests are also an important type of test in English language teaching at the university level, since international students typically come in with different English-learning backgrounds and proficiency levels. 4. Achievement Tests. An achievement test evaluates a student's language knowledge to show how their learning has progressed. Unlike diagnostic, aptitude, and placement tests, achievement tests only cover information the student should have been exposed to in their studies thus far. Achievement tests are typically given after a class completes a certain chapter or unit or at the conclusion of the course. A language teacher may give a final exam at the end of the semester to see how well a student has retained the information they were taught over the course of the semester. Achievement tests are typically graded and are meant to reflect how well the language tester is performing in their language learning studies. 5 Proficiency Tests. Proficiency refers to a person's competency in using a particular skill. Language proficiency tests assess a person's practical language skills. Proficiency tests share some similarities with achievement tests, but rather than focusing on knowledge, proficiency tests focus on the practical application of that knowledge. Proficiency tests measure a language user’s comprehension and production against a rating scale such as the ACTFL, ILR, and CEFR scales. Whereas most of the tests we've looked at are primarily associated with academic contexts, proficiency tests are useful in a variety of settings. Anyone can take a language proficiency test, regardless of how they learned the language and where they believe they are in their level of competency.