Abstract
A high-stakes Portfolio-Based Language Assessment (PBLA) protocol that was fully implemented in all Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) programs in 2019 requires instructors and students to set language-learning goals and complete, compile, and reflect on numerous authentic language tasks. Due to the language barriers incurred when communicating with beginner English-as-a-second-language literacy learners (BELLs), no PBLA research has been conducted with BELLs. To address this gap, we interviewed 26 BELLs (n = 2 from 13 L1s) and their instructors (n = 4) about their understanding and use of PBLA. Student interviews were conducted with the assistance of bilingual interpreters in the students’ L1s. All the interviews were then transcribed and thematically analyzed in relation to PBLA’s alignment with the six dimensions in Turner and Purpura’s (2016) learning-oriented assessment framework: contextual, elicitation, proficiency, learning, instructional, interactional, and affective. Results have implications for optimizing learning, and task-based instruction and assessment practices in LINC.
Highlights
Background to Portfolio-Based Language Assessment (PBLA) and Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) LiteracyPrior to the implementation of PBLA in LINC, Makosky (2008) reported that LINC exit assessment results were not comparable across programs
Through the use of illustrative quotes, we address our research question by discussing the themes that were drawn from the interview data segments coded in each dimension of Learning-Oriented Assessment (LOA)
Formal evaluations of PBLA task performance have the potential to inform learning through learner activities such as the regular review of the feedback they have received on these evaluations, the ability to facilitate such activities is diminished when external audits prevent the students from taking their portfolios home to review and limit students’ ownership of their portfolios. These findings suggest that the PBLA portfolio is an evaluation portfolio rather than a learning portfolio as claimed by the Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (2019)
Summary
Prior to the implementation of PBLA in LINC, Makosky (2008) reported that LINC exit assessment results were not comparable across programs. In a subsequent report, Nagy and Stewart (2009) recommended that the LINC assessment system be revised to include an “informal assessment component” Makosky’s and Nagy and Stewart’s (2009) reports led the Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (2019) to conclude that “assessment in LINC programs was ad hoc and inconsistent” In a 2013 operational bulletin, the federal government added the following purposes of PBLA: “to address the need for a standardized in-class language assessment protocol in LINC” and “to measure the impact of LINC...on participants’ language learning” (Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 2013a, para 2-3). PBLA is the mandated assessment protocol in all LINC programs throughout the country. The Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (https://www.language.ca/home/) provides LINC instructors with online PBLA training, resources, and support (https://www.language.ca/workshopstraining/pbla-training/)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
