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5. Flowerdew, John, and Lindsay Miller. *Second Language Listening: Theory and
Practice*. Cambridge University Press, 2005.
ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION
Jumabaeva Maya,
Student of KSU
Scientific advisor:
Khabipova Revanna
Annotation
The article deals with the prominent roles of assessment in language acquisition. In
the paper, a bunch of theories and thoughts by diverse professors and scholars were discussed. It
provides a general understanding of assessing as well as qualities needed for the process.
Moreover, some aspects of evaluating properly and its effects are mentioned.
Key words:
learning language, evaluating, knowledge, valid, assignment, complex tasks,
methodology, literacy, assessors, traditional testing, demonstrating knowledge.
Assessment is one of the crucial aspects of learning languages effectively. It refers to the
process of evaluating a student's understanding, skills and progress in learning. It also serves as a
useful tool that allows teachers to see their students improving and gaining essential knowledge.
By using evaluation tasks appropriately, both educators and learners could benefit. Namely,
teaching and learning languages mainly depend on motivation and enthusiasm, therefore without
them the process can have tendencies to become dull and unbearable.
As explained by Dina Tsagari, language assessment is the practice of evaluating the extent to
which learning and teaching have been successful, focusing on what learners can do with the
language, on their strengths rather than their weaknesses. This evaluation usually involves forms
other than paper-and-pencil tests, such as portfolios (i.e., compilations of learners’ essays, reports,
other assignments that may have been carried out), presentations or demonstrations. Assessment
works best if it is continuous (or ‘on-going’), i.e., carried out throughout the entire process of
teaching and learning, not just on completion of the learning/teaching process. When assessing is
learner-oriented, it helps establish whether learners’ learning needs and styles have been made
good use of. Appropriate assessing is also very helpful for teachers because it can facilitate
self-evaluation of their own pedagogical decisions. [1:184] Assessing process can benefit both
learners and teachers if it is used properly. According to H. Douglas Brown “Assessment is an
ongoing process that encompasses a wide range of methodological techniques.” [4:3] Availability
of various ways of assessing learners could enable educators to judge them effectively and fairly.
Teresa McConlogue emphasizes that each learner is unique with a range of characteristics, prior
learning experiences and diverse needs, and each teacher is equally unique. To investigate teaching
and learning, it is important to choose a methodology that recognizes and explores this
uniqueness. [6:4]
Therefore, evaluating tasks should not solely depend on facts, it is essential to take into
account learners’ experience and needs. Effective assessment includes providing some
information to students about their understanding, however occasionally not only teachers but also
pupils tend to focus on grades and numbers rather than literacy. Grant Wiggins has pointed out
that “Assessments don’t always provide adequate evidence regarding the most important
understandings of the unit. I tend to test what is easy to test instead of assessing what is most
61
important, namely the understandings and attitudes students should take away, above and beyond
nutritional facts. In fact, one thing that has always disturbed me is that the kids tend to focus on
their grades rather than on their learning. [2:171] Due to this, it is of importance to explain the aim
of evaluation which is gaining knowledge. Glenn Fulcher advocates that teachers are constantly
assessing, but the primary purpose of the assessment is to inform better teaching and more efficient
learning. In the classroom the assessor is therefore deeply involved in the assessment, and cares
about the outcomes of the assessment. There is nothing distant or neutral about intervening in the
lives of learners. [3:27]
Additionally, the issue with managing to judge students properly mainly depends on tasks
and activities they are given. There are three main concepts in determining meaningful language
assessment: validity, reliability, and feasibility.
1.Validity means that what is assessed should actually be assessed.
2.Reliability refers to the accuracy of the decisions made from the assessment.
3.Feasibility means that the assessment has to be practical. [7]
In the opinion of Teresa McConlogue, a valid assessment measures what it claims to
measure at the appropriate level. Validity is linked to the aim of the programme and the level of
programme. If students have learned about X, and are then tested on Y, the test is not valid.
Reliability means that assessors make similar judgements about the quality of students’ work;
reliable assessors have a common understanding of the standards students are required to meet
and how these standards are represented in the assignment. With this understanding they are able
to make similar udgements about student performance.
Validity and reliability are often at variance. Setting a task which requires students to be
creative, critical
thinkers, and then assessing it through multiple-choice questions which
focus mainly on factual recall, is an example of an assessment that is high in reliability but
low in validity. The type of assessment task and complexity of learning affect validity and
reliability. More complex tasks are often high in validity as they enable students to demonstrate
higher order achievement, but assessing these tasks is more problematic. Judgements on the quality
of students’ work are often subjective and less reliable. The assessment tasks in a module
need to be designed so that they provide an opportunity for students to learn, show what
they have learned and demonstrate that they have achieved competency in the knowledge,
skills and
becoming
the module covers. If assessors believe the assessment tasks
provide these opportunities, then the tasks are seen as having validity; similarly, students
perceive tasks as valid if they provide them the opportunity to explore their understanding of
module knowledge and skills. [6:24] In the opinion of Glenn Fulcher “In the qualitative
research class, there are two major interrelated projects which are designed to engage
students in the practices of qualitative research and learning about qualitative research: an
individual research proposal and a collaborative research project where students study the process
of developing research proposals. Each of these projects is broken down into a series of smaller
activities that builds on the previous activities and introduces a new challenge. While these
experiences provide rich opportunities for assessment, they are much more than that: they provide
the focus around which learning is organized. Activities serve purposes conventionally
associated with assessment – informing instructional decisions, providing opportunities for self-
assessment and feedback from others, monitoring learning, holding students accountable, and
so on;equally importantly,
they also provide students with opportunities to engage in the
62
practice of qualitative research, not just as a learning exercise, but as an activity that can have
purpose and meaning within and beyond the class.” [3:195]
Another thing to mention is that being able to do well in tests can be quite motivating which
helps to develop interest for learning. Jeremy Harmer advocates that nothing can motivate like
success. Part of a teacher’s job, therefore, is to set an appropriate level of challenge for the
students. This means setting tests that are not too difficult or too easy, and involving students in
learning tasks they can succeed in. It also means being able to guide students towards success by
showing them how to get things right next time. [5:101]
In my point of view, Jeremy Harmer has mentioned the importance as well as the beneficial
side of assessment in language acquisition. Choosing the right activities for students not only
assists in observing the learning process but also could encourage them to learn in their own way
and constantly work on themselves. This means that students who correct their own mistakes are
not likely to do it next time and keep improving their skills. On the contrary, if we mainly count
on traditional testing learners will probably lose their enthusiasm. The reason for this is the
majority of them suffer from stress while doing a test which causes them to miss the opportunity
to demonstrate their overall knowledge. As a result, students who fail have tendencies to go into
depression. If this happens again and again, they will give up learning languages and lose the
desire to use the knowledge they have gained.
In conclusion, assessment has a significant role in language acquisition. It could be a
powerful weapon that can either encourage or prevent students from learning. For that reason, it
should not be ignored by teachers. As a result, the success rate in learning can increase
considerably.
References
1.Dina Tsagari, Karin Vogt, Veronika Froehlich, Ildikó Csépes, Adrienn Fakete, Anthony Green,
Liz Hamp-Lyons, Nicos Sifakis, Stefania Kordia. (2018). “Handbook of assessment for language
teachers”. http://taleproject.eu
2.Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe. (2005). Understanding by design (second edition). Association
for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
3.Glenn Fulcher and Fred Davidson. (2007). “Language testing and assessment”. Routledge
4.H. Douglas Brown. (2004). “Language Assessment: principles and classroom practices.” (third
edition). Priyanvada Abeywickrama.
5.Jeremy Harmer. (2001) “ The Practice of English Language Teaching” (third edition). Longman.
6.Teresa McConlogue. (2020) “Assessment and Feedback in Higher Education”. UCL Press.
https://www.twinkl.com.tw
МУЛЬТИДИСЦИПЛИНАРНЫЕ МЕТОДЫ НА УРОКАХ РУССКОГО ЯЗЫКА ПРИ
ФОРМИРОВАНИИ КОГНИТИВНЫЕ УНИВЕРСАЛЬНЫЕ УЧЕБНЫЕ ДЕЙСТВИЯ
Журазода Моҳинахон
Ибодуллохон кизи,
Базовый докторант НамГУ
