Assessment for learning in the English language classroom

• Autor(a) principal: Torres, Maria La Salete Sacramento
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/128130
• topic: Assessment for learning; Motivation; Engagement; Learning; Formative and summative assessment; Self-assessment; Assessment of Learning; Peer assessment; Behavioural engagement; Feedback; Avaliação para as Aprendizagens; Avaliação das Aprendizagens; Autoavaliação; Avaliação de pares; Envolvimento comportamental; Domínio/Área Científica::Humanidades::Línguas e Literaturas; Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais::Ciências da Educação

Assessment is part of every English Language Teaching (ELT) classroom and though there are different types of assessment, there are two which clearly stand out: Assessment of Learning (AoL), which is about the final product, and Assessment for Learning (AfL), which is about the process and how learners can be involved in their learning and assessment. Recent methodologies suggest that teaching should be learner-centred and that learners should be part of the teaching and assessment process. As a result, in Assessment for Learning, teachers and learners share responsibilities concerning the teaching/learning process. Timely and adequate feedback given to learners throughout tasks helps learners to adjust their learning in order to achieve their learning goals. Self-assessment (SA) becomes a regular practice and allows students to reflect upon their performance. Another procedure is peer assessment (PA). By assessing their peers’ work, students also reflect about their own. Literature confirms that Assessment for Learning promotes learning and fosters motivation and engagement in learners. My research focuses on Assessment for Learning in the English Language classroom. The research was carried out during 6 lessons and was classroom-based. My research focused on AfL and behavioural engagement as it referred to how learners reacted to tasks and engaged with them during class. As it was more visible than other types of engagement (for example cognitive), it allowed me to observe students’ performance and to monitor their involvement with tasks. Students were asked to answers questionnaires and exit tickets and to do self- and peer assessment. Results show that students benefited both from self- and peer assessment and seemed more engaged with activities. In Assessment for Learning, when students reflect upon their performance and engage in self-assessment, they are learning, they are overcoming the gap between where they are at the moment and where they want to be. This process motivates and engages students in their learning, avoiding school failure and consequently, school drop-out. My findings support that AfL can promote behavioural engagement in students through activities and SA and PA, where students are in charge of their learning and can make decisions about the learning process together with the teacher.