Unveiling learning regulations through reflective notes

Abstract

While self-regulated learning (SRL) has been studied in various disciplines, insufficient attentionhas been paid to how formative assessment/assessment for learning (AfL) promotes students’ SRL in learning English as foreign language (EFL) context. The present study attempted to address the gap. Forty four non-English majors in the second year of an undergraduate program at a Chinese university participated in the research. They completed 5 writing tasks, performed peer assessment, and wrote reflections to record their perceptions of the experience. Scoring rubrics was developed based on China’s Standards of English Language Abilities (CSE) for the participants to use in peer assessment and complete a peer assessment report for essay revision. Analysis of the reflections suggests that CSE rubrics referenced peer assessment involved extensive SRL processes of planning, monitoring, regulating, reflecting, and resource management, which were closely related to three contextual artifacts: rubric, peer assessment report, and essay script. These are important factors in support of the participants’ SRL engagement from a social cognitive perspective. Implications are discussed with reference to language teaching and learning with a view to developing EFL learners’ SRL capacity.