How to explore your students existing knowledge?

By Dedi Turmudi, S.Pd.,M.A TESOL

Often does a lecturer feel confused on how to know the students skills in a certain subject or a course. Let's say in writing. The only known thing by conventional lecturer and even the majority of my lecturers in my undergraduate level were through a pre test. A lecturer assigns the students to write something based on the questions. The result therefore, is considered to be a pretest to know the students real ability or input skills. Hence, as a lecturer, I have different way to do the same thing, though it is reliable and valid. I assigns my students to write a letter called " wish letter."
Here are the steps how to do that in your class.

First, as you attend the first meeting and set up a conference in which you make a deal with them on what you will do and what your students shall do during the whole course, just tell them to prepare a piece of paper. Second, pass out the guide line for the letter they have to write. Third, let them enjoy writing and make sure that everything is clear. Fourth, remind them about timing and let them know that they have 10 minutes left before it ends. Finally you are done with your initial assessment or what is so called pre-test.

In addition here is an example of guideline for you. I hope it may work for your situation. Unless, you can create your own guideline.

Write a letter to me as your lecturer and include the following aspects:
1. Your identity
2. Your education background before University; Kids, Elementary,SMP,SMA, course, etc.
3. Your course ( e.g. in writing 1) before this course and the score you got.
4. What you hope from me as your lecturer and how I can help you ( specific order may be)
5. What goal you want to achieve in this course
6. How are you going to do in order that you can achieve this set up goal
7. Close your letter with a jargon or yell yell that indicate your uniqueness.

Raise your hand if you don't understand during writing this letter.
Good luck.
Thank you.

As you get your students' writing piece, you will find much information about your students related to your course of writing or others. In my case, for example, I found some essential information to bear in mind. They are individual skills in grammar such as; sentence pattern and complexity of sentence, the degree of thought, the unity and coherency, the level of diction or vocabulary. and others.

The gained information, of course, can be used to measure your students achievement at the end of program. But the most important point is that you know exactly the input skills of your students. Implicitly, you have made your students write something beyond their awareness.This means you might know the originality of your subsequent assignments.

Have you ever tried this?. I wish you had. Unless why don't you try this. I bet it will works.