Students' Preparation for a Standardised Test in English

Abstract

This diploma thesis deals with students of upper secondary general education and their preparation for standardised tests in English. The first chapter of the theoretical part introduces formal education through the aims of foreign language teaching. The focus is on the aims of teaching, communicative competence, classification of education in the Czech Republic, and teaching English in upper secondary general schools. The second chapter deals with the verification of English language learning outcomes through various types of tests, with an emphasis on the proficiency test, the State English Maturita exam and selected standardised tests replacing the School English Maturita exam. The third chapter deals with non-formal and informal contexts of foreign language learning of Czech students in the upper secondary general schools. The practical part of the diploma thesis is based on quantitative research using the technique of a questionnaire. The research aim is to find out what type of standardised test the students of the selected upper secondary general school choose and how they prepare for it.