Effective Classroom Assessment for EFL Learning in Chinese Context

1. Effective Classroom Assessment for EFL Learning in Chinese Context Zhihong Huang Teaching Research Office, Education Department of Guangdong E-mail: helenhzh@163.com

2. Challenges to teachers Sept. 2002

3. Purpose of the study To find out practical ways for EFL teachers to make classroom assessment more effective in learning process in Chinese context

4. Parts of the talk • Why classroom assessment is recommended • What should be assessed • Alternative techniques for effective classroom assessment • Suggestions on feedback • A case of classroom assessment

5. Why classroom assessment CA is a simple method used to collect feedback for improving learning and teaching. Purpose: • Help students check their strengthens, problems or difficulties in learning for improving learning as often as needed • provide quick guidance and feedback to teachers for improving their teaching plans and strategies

6. Features of CA (Briggs, 2003) • Embedded in the teaching and learning process • Involves sharing learning objectives with students • Involves students in self- (group-) assessment An effective way to support teaching and learningin ELT classroom

7. What to assess Adopted from Liu Zhaoyi’s PPT

8. What to assess Students' comprehensive ability in using English which is in 5 major areas: • language skills • language knowledge • affective and attitudes • learning strategies • and cultural awareness

9. Basic principles for CA What we assess should meet with what we teach. An example: to show how to make the five targets go down to teaching objectives, and then to assessment criteria

11. In fact, it is sometimes unable to cover all the aspects of the course targets in one lesson or a unit due to the limitation of the topic or the contents

12. Alternative assessment techniques Non-verbal Responses Oral Interview Observation Effective questioning Role Play with peer assessment They are informal, non-tested, unconscious.

13. Exemplar1: Non-verbal Responses

14. Exemplar 2: Oral Interview

15. Checklist on mini-talk

16. Exemplar 3: Observation Observation Sheet

17. Exemplar 4: Effective questioningQuestion sheet(For the primary textbook: Friends With English, Book 4 Unit 3 I’m washing the car.)

18. Exemplar 5: Role Play with peer assessment

19. More other types projects, portfolios, learning tasks, activities of games, quizzes, conferencing, dialogue journals, self-assessment, peer and group assessment or process writing and speaking

20. However, teachers should • not expect to use any techniques exclusively • consider about their own teaching contexts, esp. their students’ need • know very well about each technique’s merits, uses, problems and shortcomings

21. Suggestionson feedback Let students know about • their performances • the suggestions on how to build on their strengths and overcome their weaknesses in learning • how to make good use of the feedback and wash back to their learning

22. Feedback Positive comments and constructive criticism will be more helpful for students to “bridge the gap” between the present performance and the future goals (Briggs.M & Woodfield A., 2003).

23. Checklist on mini-talk Name: Lin feng Time: 2004-3-23

25. Feedback to Lin Feng

26. A case of classroom assessment The exemplaris from my project “On research of assessment tools for and of Basic English learning” (one of the key projects of Basic Education in the 15th Guangdong Education Development Plan )

27. Be clear about: • Who to be assessed? • What to assess for? • What Ss have learned? • What is the focus? • What are the criteria? • What tools to be used? • Who to be assessors? • What resources to be needed? • How to manage the task? • And how to use the feedback, for what?

28. Task: A city poster Level: Grade 1, junior school = Band 3 Purpose: To collect on-going information about how well students have learned the topic my city in the process of teaching and learning and then wash back to improve their future learning.

29. Assessment criteria • Have the concept of city life either in China or in the other countries; • Be able to collect the information needed about the city to be talked; • Be able to present the city tour information in both oral and written forms with visual aids; • Be interested in and actively involve the group activities cooperatively; • Be able to design the city poster as required.

30. Task description Each group chooses a familiar city and makes a poster illustrated with photos and an English introduction in order to attract tourists to come. The poster should provide necessary information about the city for tourists, such as its area, population, climate, scenic spots and something interesting to do in the city, etc.

31. Then one student is selected from each of the groups to introduce the city and the scenes in class according to the poster as a local tour guide. Meanwhile, the other students will assess the partners’ performance with the checklist. At last, the teacher and the class students will vote for the best poster, the best introduction and the best tour guide.

32. Checklist (Peer-assessment) for the task: A city poster

33. Positive and constructive feedback

34. How to carry out the task? Before assessment, • create warm atmosphere • give clear instructions • inform students assessing criteria

35. During assessment, • monitor students’ performances • support their work if necessary • take some notes with appropriate checklists

36. After assessment, • make comments on students’ work or grade and mark their work • interpret the result • write feedback to students

37. Questionnaire for the students: 1. Did you know you were being assessed during the class? 2. If you have a right to choose, which do you prefer, a paper test or such kind of task? 3. Do you think the result given by your partner is fare to you? 4. Can what you have learned in this unit greatly help you to finish the task? 5. What are your strengths and weaknesses in doing the task?

42. 5. What are your strengths and weaknesses in doing the task? Personalized

43. One of the teachers said, “I have never thought that my students could do such a good job. I found them enjoyable.”

44. The other teacher reflected: The task can help us assess what we have taught. I found my students felt free when they were being assessed. I am sure they will like to learn English if we assess them in this way. However, if I am asked to design such a task, I may not be able to do. I have no time. On the other hand, I feel challenging to manage about 60-student class. It is hard to monitor their activities.

45. Implications The feedback indicates that CA can • reduce the pressure and make Ss feel free to express • reinforce the current teaching and learning and make it effective • observe or assess more than testing • provide a real environment to use English and more English exposure

46. Peer assessment can • help student see the purpose of their study • make them take the responsibility for their own study • learn to cooperate with others

47. Issues and conflicts • No good policy to make CA accountable as a part of outcome for graduation • Difficult to ensure the reliability and the moderation in self- assessment or peer-assessment with large-scale classes

48. Difficult to ensure each of the teachers to be a good designer and assessor in terms of the curriculum according to their own context • Time-consuming while using some good tools like portfolios

49. Although we have embraced the idea of changes and have thus done considerable work to push the reform forward, we still have a long way to go. Therefore, further research in the Chinese context is much needed to bring the formative assessment into classroom that will not only reward students and teachers, but also make it an integral part of the school assessment policy.

50. Reference: Asher, J. 1988. Learning another language through actions: The complete teacher's guidebook, (3rd ed.), Los Gatos, CA: Sky Oaks Productions. Briggs, M. Woodfield, A. Martin, C. Swatton, P. (2003) Assessment for learning and teaching in primary school Learning Matters Ltd. Brown, J.D. 1998, New Ways of Classroom Assessment. TESOL Inc. Cameron, L. 2001. Teaching Languages to Young Learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press