diff --git a/packages/compiler-cli/src/ngtsc/testing/in_memory_typescript.ts b/packages/compiler-cli/src/ngtsc/testing/in_memory_typescript.ts
index aea082817c..b76ab4724a 100644
--- a/packages/compiler-cli/src/ngtsc/testing/in_memory_typescript.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler-cli/src/ngtsc/testing/in_memory_typescript.ts
@@ -9,20 +9,31 @@
 import * as path from 'path';
 import * as ts from 'typescript';
 
-export function makeProgram(files: {name: string, contents: string}[]):
-    {program: ts.Program, host: ts.CompilerHost} {
+export function makeProgram(
+    files: {name: string, contents: string}[],
+    options?: ts.CompilerOptions): {program: ts.Program, host: ts.CompilerHost} {
   const host = new InMemoryHost();
   files.forEach(file => host.writeFile(file.name, file.contents));
 
   const rootNames = files.map(file => host.getCanonicalFileName(file.name));
   const program = ts.createProgram(
-      rootNames,
-      {noLib: true, experimentalDecorators: true, moduleResolution: ts.ModuleResolutionKind.NodeJs},
+      rootNames, {
+        noLib: true,
+        experimentalDecorators: true,
+        moduleResolution: ts.ModuleResolutionKind.NodeJs, ...options
+      },
       host);
   const diags = [...program.getSyntacticDiagnostics(), ...program.getSemanticDiagnostics()];
   if (diags.length > 0) {
-    throw new Error(
-        `Typescript diagnostics failed! ${diags.map(diag => diag.messageText).join(', ')}`);
+    const errors = diags.map(diagnostic => {
+      let message = ts.flattenDiagnosticMessageText(diagnostic.messageText, '\n');
+      if (diagnostic.file) {
+        const {line, character} = diagnostic.file.getLineAndCharacterOfPosition(diagnostic.start !);
+        message = `${diagnostic.file.fileName} (${line + 1},${character + 1}): ${message}`;
+      }
+      return `Error: ${message}`;
+    });
+    throw new Error(`Typescript diagnostics failed! ${errors.join(', ')}`);
   }
   return {program, host};
 }
@@ -39,7 +50,7 @@ export class InMemoryHost implements ts.CompilerHost {
       onError && onError(`File does not exist: ${this.getCanonicalFileName(fileName)})`);
       return undefined;
     }
-    return ts.createSourceFile(fileName, contents, languageVersion, undefined, ts.ScriptKind.TS);
+    return ts.createSourceFile(fileName, contents, languageVersion);
   }
 
   getDefaultLibFileName(options: ts.CompilerOptions): string { return '/lib.d.ts'; }