Language Assessment In English, English english

English Assessment

1. Technology Assisted Language Assessment Abdul Fikri Tia Gustiani

2. Manson’s e-Portfolio program Evaluation of e-Portfolios Manson’s e-Portfolio program emphasised three features. First, Manson provided students with multiple opportunities to improve writing. The process-oriented approach could enhance motivation and self-efficacy. After all, Manson’s students were not top-scorers, and were still struggling with how to write accurately and fluently for the public exam. Second, Manson utilised Google Classroom as a peer learning site to display students’ drafts during the pre-writing (brainstorming) and while-writing stages (drafting). Additionally, to promote collaborative writing in the post-writing stage (revising), Manson created a Google Docs, in which students could edit and rewrite their rebuttals during online class time by either consulting Manson or referring to exemplars composed by former graduates.

3. Manson’s e-Portfolio program Evaluation of e-Portfolios Third, Manson was able to monitor students’ writing progress more frequently on virtual classes than via in-person classes, as the e-Portfolio tool was highly accessible and synchronised. Due to the dynamic nature of Google Classroom and Google Docs, Manson managed to encourage peer assessment skills and a community of practice throughout the program.

4. Post-Pandemic Lessons Learnt E-Portfolios are indeed a viable and laudable alternative in language assessment, but they are less likely to substitute for in-person teaching and assessment after the global pandemic. Teachers and other stakeholders need to evaluate their school-based e-Portfolio programs with test usefulness and its associated test qualities. The lessons learnt from the use of e-Portfolios as an alternative assessment approach during the COVID-19 pandemic include: how to increase construct validity, how to create positive washback on teaching and learning, and how to warrant high practicality and dependability. To improve construct validity, teachers should develop an awareness of the assessment purposes, ensuring what specific language sub-skills and grammar patterns will be summatively evaluated. To create positive washback on language instruction, teachers need to upgrade assessment literacy by incorporating assessment for learning practices into their e-Portfolio programs, namely mini-research projects, peerassessment exercises, and collaborative writing assignments.

5. Post-Pandemic Lessons Learnt To achieve high practicality and dependability, teachers should take human, material, and time resources into consideration. For human resources, learning how to score students’ e-Portfolios summatively requires skills and extra time. For material resources, teachers may get sponsorship from small grants, applied research funds, or professional development subsidies to start up their e-Portfolio programs, since they need to pay subscription fees of commercial e-Portfolio systems, purchase essential digital gadgets, and acquire some e-learning or e-assessment software tools.

6. Research: “THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY FOR REDESIGNING L2 LANGUAGE ASSESSMENTS” Research Questions: Research Q1 How were assessment practices influenced by the Pandemic? Research Q2 What were learners’ views of language assessments in a virtual mode during the Pandemic?

7. Method This case study presents the perspective of a LCE (T) who, as a teacher/ researcher, is also a teacher/assessor and task/rubric designer. T adapted most assessments, during initial lockdowns and restrictions of movement in Melbourne, Australia Data The students in the Spanish Program are enrolled in the Bachelor of International Studies, where four consecutive semesters.

8. Data The levels comprise approximate Common European Framework of Reference levels. Semester 1, 2020, Spanish 3/A2 comprised 41 students (30% male/70% female). From Semester 1 A2, 50% continued to Semester 2, Spanish 4, which comprised 33 students (30% male/70% female), the remainder of the cohort comprised students who completed Spanish 3 in previous semesters or had tested into the level. Semester 1 B2/Spanish 5 comprised 19 students (40% male/60% female), some of whom had continued from Spanish 4 in 2019, but others were new and had taken a placement test for this level.

9. RQ1 How Were Assessment Practices Influenced by the Pandemic? Spanish 3 The major challenge addressed in level 3, regardless of the delivery format, is the return to language study after a four-month break. Many have low vocabulary retention The stimulation of fun interactive activities to help stimulate recall was hard to replicate online because they are typically oral and involve walking around the room. Instead, students wrote in a chat but first translated online, which is undoubtedly a different skill to speaking face to-face (hands-free from a mobile) to gesticulate your meaning to a partner. the early assessment task for level 3 was a reading passage with short answer questions and a video listening comprehension of a monologue with short comprehension questions. It is a passive task in the sense that learners listen or read, write free text responses, and can write verbatim parts of what is understood. Both tasks had been adapted from materials online, considering several key factors.

10. RQ1 How Were Assessment Practices Influenced by the Pandemic? Spanish 4 Some of the challenges addressed in level 4, regardless of in-person or online delivery, comprise lexical variety, increasing accuracy, and the ability to write longer coherent texts. The internet was good for developing learner autonomy. In Semester 4, the last in the compulsory language study for the degree, it meant that students had more confidence in their abilities, and we made them feel proud that they would write an essay in their L2 of two years. Feedback online was constructive and more successful than in the past.

11. RQ1 How Were Assessment Practices Influenced by the Pandemic? Spanish 5 Regardless of delivery, the challenges addressed in level 5 are the disparate class levels combined at B2.1 level. Students may have travelled, completed internships or language exchanges, be from a Spanish speaking heritage, have taken high school Spanish, be fluent in other Latin languages, and among them all are students who have studied four semesters of L2 continuously from beginners’ level over two years at our university. Online allows students to progress at their pace in reading, writing, and grammar study, which is a plus for more proficient students who view their learning as more autonomous

12. Challenges Encountered Adapting Assessments Tasks for ERT T redesigned the tasks, with little discussion or consultation available. T searched online for help with the Instructure CANVAS platform and struggled. The reading, writing, listening, and speaking tests were all converted for delivery as CANVAS tests. The written instructions, the images, and audio files for each test task were included. In class, T extended the time for the tests to reduce the stress the technology caused. T reassured learners that if the browser closed, the system saved their work, and they could recommence unattempted questions with a second attempt.

13. RQ2 What Were Learners’ Views of Learning a Language in a Virtual Mode during the Pandemic? Technology Learners were unhappy with changes involving technology. Assessment Students recognised that ‘the assessments are mostly fair and reasonable based on learning format. Cultural Assessment The cultural assessments comprise group oral presentations, and summaries or essays that are longer by proficiency level.

14. Thank You