Portfolio Based Language Assessment (PBLA) in Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) Programs: Taking Stock of Teachers' Experience

Nwara Abdulhamid,Janna Fox

doi:10.37213/cjal.2020.31121

Abstract

This study examined seven Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) teachers’ accounts of current Portfolio Based Language Assessment (PBLA) practices, elicited through semi-structured interviews, in order to explore washback - the effects of PBLA on teaching and learning. Portfolios are primarily useful as formative assessment tools (i.e., informing teaching and learning) (Fox, 2014; Little, 2007); conversely, when used solely as summative tools (i.e., achievement measures), they can result in portfolio prisons, which undermine teaching and learning (Hargreaves et al., 2002). To investigate the washback effect of PBLA, data were qualitatively analyzed, synthesized, and merged in development of recurring themes (Charmaz, 2006). Findings suggest that PBLA may have had washback on both teaching and learning. However, teachers’ individual classroom situations determined the direction and intensity of reported PBLA washback. The study highlights leverage points (Fox, 2004) where interventions (e.g., additional support, resources) might address negative washback.

Highlights

Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) and Portfolio Based Language Assessment (PBLA)Below, we provide a brief description of the LINC Program in Canada and a general overview of portfolio use in classroom-based assessment
A decade after PBLA’s initial development, it is important to take stock of what is happening at the chalkface with PBLA. In this exploratory case study, we investigated LINC teachers’ accounts of and practices using PBLA for the purpose of making recommendations regarding leverage points: “points in a program – which are replete with curricular potential and need, and sites for positive intervention” (Fox, 2004, p. 1)
This is followed by a description of the use of PBLA within the Canadian language learning context highlighting its evolution in LINC programs

Summary

Introduction

We provide a brief description of the LINC Program in Canada and a general overview of portfolio use in classroom-based assessment. This is followed by a description of the use of PBLA within the Canadian language learning context highlighting its evolution in LINC programs. LINC programs, in their present form, have been in place within the Canadian context since 1992, similar federally and provincially funded programs for newcomers to Canada date back over fifty years. In 1993, the National Working Group on Language Benchmarks was established and by 1996, CIC published an initial Working Document (Canadian Language Benchmarks: English as a Second Language for Adults), which defined criterion-referenced standards of English proficiency for adult newcomers to Canada. A new version of the CLB was published (Pawlikowska-Smith, 2000)

Methods

Results

Conclusion