Exploring How ELT Teachers Perceive and Practice English Language Assessment

Ali Isik

doi:10.17323/jle.2021.10296

Abstract

As a well-designed language education program naturally requires a well-designed assessment component, the pivotal role of assessment in language education needs to be stressed. This study focuses on how English language teaching (ELT) teachers receive training in English language assessment, and how they perceive and practice assessment in Turkey. The study was conducted with the participation of 198 ELT teachers from 24 K-12 level schools and eight universities. A mixed-methods research design was chosen and the data were collected through a questionnaire, follow-up interviews, observations, personal conversations, and sample exam evaluations. The findings indicated that the assessment practices of the teachers were shaped by the teachers’ language learning and teaching experiences, their intuition, adherence to assessment traditions, and the emulation of what other teachers conducted to conform to group norms. It was also observed that as the teachers did not receive proper pre-service and in-service assessment training, their assessment knowledge was low. Moreover, it was found that the assessment component of teacher training programs remained peripheral and did not help equip teachers with assessment-related theoretical knowledge and practical skills. Finally, the assessment quality in these schools was found to be low and assessment was taken as a formal requirement to grade students. In the final part of the paper, some suggestions for effective assessment are put forward.

Highlights

The demand for efficient language assessment, one of the widespread issues in language education, is on the rise. (Baker, 2016: Fulcher, 2012; Tsagari, 2016)
It is argued that assessment is to be considered within the framework of language teaching methodology, not as an entity exclusive from it, and teachers are to be equipped with fundamental theoretical knowledge and practical skills and strategies to design/implement high-quality assessment (Brunfaut, 2014; Douglas, 2010; Jiang, 2017; Vogt, Tsagari, & Spanoudis, 2020)
The data obtained from the teacher questionnaire were discussed in four parts, namely teacher training in assessment, classroom-focused assessment literacy, the purposes of assessment, and the content and concepts of assessment literacy

Summary

Introduction

The demand for efficient language assessment, one of the widespread issues in language education, is on the rise. (Baker, 2016: Fulcher, 2012; Tsagari, 2016). In addition to designing and implementing tailor-made assessment, they are expected to know how to utilize assessment to improve teaching by viewing it as a joint venture and by communicating assessment goals and data to stakeholders (Coombe et al, 2020). In other words, they need to be qualified enough to exploit assessment data to evaluate a language course and its constituents and revise them both to improve student learning and meet program goals via sharing assessment data with related stakeholders (Kremmel & Harding, 2020; Norris, 2016; Scarino, 2013; Tsagari et al, 2018)

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Discussion

Conclusion