Abstract
Many researchers have highlighted the central role that assessment plays in second language (L2) classrooms and have expressed the need for research into classroom-based language assessment (CBLA), an area that is gradually coming into its own in the field of language testing and assessment (e.g., Hasselgreen, 2008; Leung, 2014; Hill & McNamara, 2012; Turner, 2012). Motivated by the prominence of CBLA in recent discussions, the present study set out to investigate the CBLA practices, knowledge and skills of Greek and Cypriot primary school EFL teachers. The data was collected through teacher interviews and classroom-based tests. The results showed that teachers employ a summative orientation towards evaluating their students’ performance and seem to have unclear ideas about the purposes and implementation of formative assessment, mainly due to lack of professional training in language assessment. The paper concludes with suggestions as to how EFL teachers’ CBLA literacy can be enhanced.
Highlights
Assessment constitutes an important aspect of teachers’ daily practice in the broad field of English language teaching (ELT) programmes worldwide
It clearly shows that the implementation of the CEFR for assessment purposes – in particular assessment for learning, which is one of the most important issues for early language learning today – is very slow in classrooms in Europe
It seems that language learning still relies on summative testing of vocabulary, grammar and writing in the so-called communicative language classroom
Summary
Assessment constitutes an important aspect of teachers’ daily practice in the broad field of English language teaching (ELT) programmes worldwide. Researchers call for further investigation into teachers’ CBLA practices (Leung, 2014), as we still do not have a complete picture of the ways in which language teachers cope with assessment demands and whether they possess the required competencies to carry out effective assessments. Motivated by such calls, the current small-scale comparative study will attempt to delineate the CBLA landscape in two Mediterranean countries and investigate the status quo of teachers’ CBLA literacy in the state primary school sector
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