If you want to test the students � vocabulary knowledge, and nothing else, you give them,  for example, a matching exercise in which they have to associate an image to the right word.

 

 If you want to test their communicative competence, you give them a situation as close as possible to the real world and see if they are able to mobilize the knowledge they �ve acquired and use it appropriately in that particular situation.

 

For example, you are teaching "Food" and you want your students to be able to order food in a restaurant. First, you give them the input, the knowledge - food and drinks, different dishes, ordering food in a restaurant, etc. When they have the knowlege, it �s time for developing their speaking competence - they do a roleplay "at the restaurant" in which they �ll have to use all the knowledge they have acquired during the task. What is knowledge for if not to use it in real contexts, in our everyday life?

 

Have a nice day,

mena