Formative assessment in the English as a foreign language classroom in secondary schools in Poland. Report on a mixed-method study

Autor

  • Małgorzata Baran-Łucarz University of Wrocław; Institute of English Studies ul. Kuźnicza 22, 50-138 Wrocław, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9310-0606

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs20192.309.327

Słowa kluczowe:

formative assessment,, Polish EFL context,, secondary school education,, mixed-method approach

Abstrakt

Aim. The paper addresses the problem of formative assessment in the foreign language (FL) classroom. Its main objective is to present the outcomes of a study identifying tendencies related to the use of formative assessment during English lessons in Polish high schools, and students’ opinions on the frequency, type and effects of assessment they had been provided with during secondary school education.

Methods. The data come from a retrospective study applying a mixed-method approach. They were gathered with a questionnaire based on a Likert scale, complemented with a few open-ended questions. The responses were provided by 106 students who graduated various high schools in the years 2014-2017 in 36 towns/cities located in different regions of Poland. The frequencies of using formative assessment in the case of all the FL skills and subskills are presented in comparison to summative assessment. The qualitative data were coded with an aim of finding some common trends.   

Results. The study showed that in the case of the participants of this research, formative assessment in secondary education at EFL classes was evidently neglected. Many students (approximately 25%) acknowledged to never having been provided with formative assessment with regards to pronunciation, receptive and productive skills. The open responses signal students’ awareness of the importance of feedback and of several negative effects resulting from the lack of its regular provision.   

Conclusions. The data gathered in the study seem to call for the need to raise the understanding of the role and the practical abilities to use formative assessment in the EFL classroom both at pre-service and in-service teacher training courses.

##plugins.generic.usageStats.downloads##

##plugins.generic.usageStats.noStats##

Biogram autora

Małgorzata Baran-Łucarz - University of Wrocław; Institute of English Studies ul. Kuźnicza 22, 50-138 Wrocław, Poland

PhD student

Bibliografia

Alderson, J. C., Brunfaut, T., & Harding, L. (2015). Towards a theory of diagnosis in second and foreign language assessment: insights from professional practice across diverse fields. Applied Linguistics, 36, 2, 236-260.

Assessment Reform Group. (2007). Assessment for learning. Retrieved from https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/assessment-reform-group.

Atkin, J., Black, P., & Coffey, J. (Eds.) (2005). Classroom assessment and the national science education standards. Committee on Classroom Assessment and the National Science Education Standards, Center for Education, National Research Council. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Bachman, L. F. (1990). Fundamental considerations in language testing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Bachman, L. F. (2005). Building and supporting a case for test use. Language Assessment Quarterly, 2, 1-34.

Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. (1996). Language testing in practice: Designing and developing useful language tests. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Barbosa, M., & Beserra, L. (2015). Formative assessment in the foreign language classroom. Brazilian English Language Teaching Journal, 6 (1), 100-109.

Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998a). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education, 5, 7-73.

Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998b). Inside the black box: Raising standards through classroom assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, 80, 139-144.

Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (2006). Assessment for learning in the classroom. In: J. Gardner (Ed.), Assessment and learning: Theory, practice and policy (pp. 9–25). London: Sage.

Brookhart, S. M., & Durkin, D. (2003). Classroom assessment, student motivation, and achievement in high school social studies classes. Applied Measurement in Education, 16, 27-54.

Brown, H. D. (2004). Language assessment: principles and classroom practices. New York: Pearson Education.

Butler Y., & Jiyoon, L. (2010). The effects of self-assessment among young learners of English. Language Testing, 27, 5-31.

Chickering, A. W. & Gamson, Z. F. (Eds.). (1991). Applying the seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Choroszczyńska, M., & Kossakowska, B. (2007). Czy doświadczenia polskie w zakresie wdrażania oceniania kształtującego sa OK? [Is Polish experience in implementing formative assessment OK?] Retrieved from http://docplayer.pl/12822499-Czy-doswiadczenia-polskie-w-zakresie-wdrazania-oceniania-ksztaltujacego-sa-ok.html.

Crooks, T. (1988). The impact of classroom evaluation on students. Review of Educational Research, 58, 438-481.

Czura, A. (2010). The influence of assessment type on the development of autonomy in lower secondary school learners (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Wrocław, Poland.

Derwing, T. M., & Munro, M. J. (2015). Pronunciation fundamentals: Evidence-based perspectives for L2 teaching and research. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Fernandes, D. (2011). Avaliar para melhorar as aprendizagens: Análise e discussão de algumas questões essenciais. [Evaluate to improve learning: Analysis and discussion of some key issues.] In: I. Fialho, & H. Salgueiro (Eds.), Turma Mais e sucesso escolar: Contributos teóricos e práticos, (pp. 81-107). Évora: Centro de Investigação em Educação e Psicologia da Universidade de Évora.

Fontana, D., & Fernandes, M. (1994). Improvements in mathematics performance as a consequence of self-assessment in Portuguese primary school pupils. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 64, 404-417.

Harlen, W., & Winter, J. (2004). The development of assessment for learning: Learning from the case of science and mathematics. Language Testing, 21, 390–408.

Harris, M., & McCann, P. (1994). Assessment (Handbook for the English classroom). Oxford: Heinemann Publishers.

Horwitz, E. K. (2017). On the misreading of Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986) and the need to balance anxiety research and the experiences of anxious language learners. In: C. Gkonou, M. Daubney, & J. M. Dewaele (Eds.), New insights into language anxiety: Theory, research and educational implications (pp. 31–47). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Gardner, J. 2006. Assessment and learning. London: Sage.

Gardner, C. R. (2010). Motivation and Second language acquisition: The psycho-educational Model. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.

Gardner, C. R., & Clément, R. (1990). Social psychological perspectives on second language acquisition. In: H. Giles, & W. P. Robinson (Eds.), Handbook of language and social psychology (pp. 495-517). London: Wiley.

Gattullo, F. (2000). Formative assessment in ELT primary (elementary) classrooms: an Italian case study. Language Testing, 17 (2), 278–288.

Geeslin, K. (2003). Student self-assessment in the foreign language classroom: The place of authentic assessment instruments in the Spanish language classroom. Hispania, 86, 857-868.

Ketabi, S., & Ketabi, S. (2014). Classroom and formative assessment in second/foreign language teaching and learning. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 4(2), 435-440.

Lewy, A. (1990). Formative and summative evaluation. In: Walberg, H. & Haertel, G. (Eds.), The international encyclopedia of educational evaluation (pp. 26-28). Oxford, England; New York: Pergamon Press.

MacIntyre, P. D., & Gregersen, T. (2012). Emotions that facilitate language learning: The positive-broadening power of the imagination. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2, 193-213.

McDonald, B., & Boud, D. (2003). The impact of self-assessment on achievement: The effects of self-assessment training on performance in external examinations. Assessment in Education, 10, 209-220.

Nitko, A. J. (1993). Designing tests that are integrated with instruction. In: Linn, R. L. (Ed.), Educational measurement (pp. 447-474). Phoenix, Arizona: Oryx Press.

Radford, B. W. (2015). The effect of formative assessments on language performance (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Birmingham Young University, Provo, USA.

Rea-Dickins, P., & Gardner, Sh. (2000). Snares and silver bullets: disentangling the construct of formative assessment. Language Testing, 17(2), 215-243.

Schmidt, R. (1990). The role of consciousness in second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 11, 129-158.

Shohamy, E. (1995). Performance assessment in language testing. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 15, 188-211.

Shohamy, E. (2001). The power of tests. London: Longman.

Stiggins, R. (2007). Assessment through the student’s eyes. Educational Leadership, 64(8), 22-26.

Szpyra-Kozłowska, J. (2015). Pronunciation in EFL Instruction: A Research-Based Approach. Bristol, Buffalo, Toronto: Multilingual Matters.

Triggs, P., Weeden, P., Winter, J., & Broadfoot, P. (2000). The LEARN project Phase 2: Developing assessment in the primary school project report (University of Bristol Graduate School of Education CLIO Centre for Assessment Studies). Report for the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. Retrieved from http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_4490.aspx.

Van de Watering, G., & Van der Rijt (2006). Teachers’ and students’ perceptions of assessments: A review and a study into the ability and accuracy of estimating the difficulty levels of assessment items. Educational Research Review, 1, 133–147.

Opublikowane

2019-09-02

Jak cytować

Baran-Łucarz, M. (2019). Formative assessment in the English as a foreign language classroom in secondary schools in Poland. Report on a mixed-method study. Journal of Education Culture and Society, 10(2), 309–327. https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs20192.309.327

Numer

Dział

LOCAL CULTURES AND SOCIETIES