The Role of Assessment and Feedback in the EFL Teaching

According to the Federal Way Public Schools (2008), the word “assessment” is derived from the Latin verb assidere, which means “to sit with”. In the assessment of the teaching and learning process, a teacher is expected “to sit with the learner” and deal with the issue

of student’s learning closely. This shows that assessment is an activity teachers do “with and for students and not to students”. In other words, the issue of assessment is concerned with helping students to learn effectively.

Assessment is expected to play a key role in the teaching and learning process. Li and Barnard (2011: 138) mention that there are three functions of assessment: supporting learning, judging achievement and maintaining disciplinary and professional standards. McNamara (2009: 618) also adds that language testing has got its own impact (backwash effect) on the teaching and learning process of English. Problems in the assessment techniques are counterproductive in that students resort to low level cognitive activities, and a test-wise approach instead of engaging in tasks for deeper understanding (Biggs, and Tang, 2007: 21).Therefore, to change this type of development among the student population, it is good to influence students by designing appropriate problem solving tasks, instead of testing rote learning in the assessment procedure (Newstead and Hoskins, 2003: 71).

Similarly, Graves (2008: 167-168) reported that an examination-oriented English language teaching in Hong Kong was found to be an obstacle to the effectiveness of the teaching and learning process. This was because students and parents focused on textbooks that help students to pass written examinations, and did not accept teachers’ recommendation to focus on improving communication competence.

The components of classroom tests and national EFL examinations highly influence the areas students study. For example, the national EFL examination in Turkey focuses on grammar, vocabulary, and reading, while the other components, i.e. speaking, listening, and writing skills are not covered (Akin, 13: 2016). As a result, based on the findings of Akin (2016:13), these tests positively affected the reading and grammar skills of students, yet they had negative impact on the development of other language skills - i.e. productive skills and listening skills - among the student population. This is because students learn and prepare themselves based on the way they are going to be evaluated.

This reminds teachers to reconsider the issue in a more serious way to mitigate some of the drawbacks that may affect language instruction. This is because the effect of tests is not limited to only educational values but also has got other impacts in the welfare and social justice in some countries (McNamara, 2009: 618).

However, all of these roles may not be practiced in the actual teaching and learning environments for some reasons. For example, summarising the findings of some researches, Li and Barnard (2011: 138) reported that writing teachers used assessment mostly for grading purpose and to defend themselves for their marking, not to facilitate students’ learning. In another survey study at New Zealand University, Li and Barnard (2011: 146) reported that writing tutors were more concerned with grading the assignments than improving students learning. Moreover, mentioning the cases of U.K and American universities, Rust, O'Donovan, and Price (2005: 231) assert that assessment practice has been criticised for its weakness, not following the current thinking and principles including supporting learning.

There are two methods of assessment of speaking skills: holistic (with no clear criteria) and analytic (with a set of criteria) (Chuang, 2009: 168). Therefore, teachers can develop holistic assessment easily and quickly, but the use of analytic scale is time consuming to prepare and use for scoring. Chuang (2009: 170) advised that EFL teachers should consider the backwash effects of speaking tests, for it plays either negative or positive role in learning speaking.

Generally, assessment has a strong effect on the type of learning students may have, i.e. surface or deep learning (Rust, O'Donovan, and Price, 2005: 231). In relation to this, Tiwari and Tang (2003: 270) advised that it is good to match teaching and assessment for a positive backwash effect . That means students will study their course deeply if they think that their test / assessment will be more of higher order thinking skills, and they will use surface level approach if they know that the test requires rote learning. In relation to the composing process, teachers are advised to shift from indirect assessment (form- based and multiple choice type) to more of direct assessment (meaning focused and subjective type) of writing skills (Behizadeh and Engelhard, 2011: 203). In the constructivist approach to learning, assessment is done both by the students and their teachers, and its aim is primarily to maximise students’ learning.

2.10.1 Self-Assessment

As part of the teaching and learning process in the language classroom, assessment is important to promote learning, raise students’ awareness, participate in setting learning goals, foster lifelong learning, and promote democratic learning processes and needs analysis (Esfandiari and Myford 2013: 112). Furthermore, Esfandiari and Myford (ibid) add that self-assessment increases self-confidence, creates awareness, enables to

differentiate performance and competence, and helps to identify strengths and weaknesses. If it is properly implemented by training the students and teachers, it is likely to create positive impact in the language classroom.

2.10.2 Peer-Assessment

According to Esfandiari and Myford (2013: 113) peer-assessment is defined as a process in which equal-status students in groups or in pairs rate the writings of their fellows. More over, peer assessment is said to have a number of advantages in the language classrooms: to save time for the teacher as they help each other, students may learn something from their friends than from their teacher, students take responsibility for their own learning, students develop motivation for their learning and positive attitude to help each other and o develop the students’ higher order thinking and reasoning (Esfandiari and Myford ,2013: 114). Although it has got some limitations, peer-assessment plays an essential role in the language classrooms.

In a study comparing the students’ preferences for teacher’s feedback versus peer feedback, Zhao (2009: 13) found that students generally valued their teachers’ feedback (over that of their peers) when correcting their work, even if they did not actually understand this feedback. This is because the students felt that their teachers were better positioned than their friends to provide relevant and correct comment (Dueraman, 2012: 272).

2.10.3 Teacher Assessment

In contrast to the above ways of assessment, which are done by students, this one is done by teachers. This could be done in formative or continuous and summative ways. Formative assessment is different from the summative one. Summative assessment focuses on the final/ terminal aspect of the assessment. It is given at the end of the programme, unit, chapter or year of the programme with a purpose in mind to check the attainment of learning objectives. It does not give chance for further improvement on the given learning content. It is separate from the teaching and learning process.

In contrast to this, formative assessment is done simultaneously with the teaching and learning process. It gives chance for the students and the teacher to make some changes to attain the learning objectives. It is done not formally, but informally, with interactive and

impact on learning and achievement (The Federal way public Schools, 2008). Many researchers in the field of education claim that assessment methods and systems play an important role in influencing students’ behaviour and learning. In relation to this idea, Rust (2002: 145) explains the importance of linking teaching with classroom assessment in the following manner.

Assessment defines what students regard as important, how they spend their time and how they come to see themselves as students and then as graduates [...] If you want to change student learning then change the methods of assessment.

(Rust, 2002: 145)

This idea is introduced as a result of the paradigm shift of thinking from teaching or teacher-centred to learning or student-centred approach in the teaching and learning process. Here students are expected to gain skill, knowledge and attitude, which are important to the students’ life after graduation (Rust, 2002: 146).The learner-centred approach means self and life-long education when teachers should change their traditional roles from teller to coordinator and from material users to teaching material providers (Baldauf and Moni, 2006: 7 ).

In such a way, the students are likely to give high value for their learning and work hard to attain the given lesson objectives. As teaching, learning and assessment are closely linked, there should be no mismatch among them.

In connection with the teaching of productive skills, there should be clear relationship between the teaching and learning process and the assessment procedure. The students should be aware of the relevance of the lesson and work hard to meet the lesson objectives, and then assessment should be done accordingly. Students show either deep or surface approach to their learning based on the style of the presentation in the classroom and the assessment technique their teachers use (Rust 2002: 148; Davis, 2003: 250). Thus, it is very important to reconsider whether the assessment is in line with the teaching and learning process so that assessment could have a positive outcome to the students’ learning.

Jin (2010: 556) explains that testing needs high level training for teachers, and many technologies, and it is closely related to language teaching. Jin (ibid ) comments that test construction needs a thorough grasp of subject matter, a clear conception of the desired learning outcomes, a psychological understanding of pupils, sound judgment, persistence, and a touch of creativity .

As part of the worldwide movement to combine assessment of learning with assessment for learning in order to promote students’ learning, standards-referenced school-based assessment (SBA) has recently been introduced into the Hong Kong Certificate (Cheng, Andrews, and Yu, 2010: 221). Rust (2002: 148) states that a good teaching and learning process makes clear relationship between the teaching method and assessment with the learning tasks and activities students experience in the process so that they will attain the learning objectives successfully. This helps to avoid the mismatch between assessment and teaching, which is often observed in the language classroom. Furthermore, to make the assessment contribute to students’ learning and to make it less threatening as much as possible, the students should be clearly informed about the assessment process and criteria so that they can prepare themselves to achieve the learning objectives (Rust, 2002: 151).

When giving feedback after the marking, the teacher has to forward it in a more encouraging way focusing on good sides as well as weakness, giving suggestion and reference for future work, and balancing negative with positive comments (Rust, 2002: 153). In relation to this, Mutch (2003: 26) states that “lecturers are often criticized for failing to give provide sufficient feedback on the quality of a student’s work or the level of attainment reached by the student”.

Moreover, as part of the grading of assignments and examinations, it is essential giving prompt feedback on assignments even if the number of students is big (Haddad, 2006: 47). This could be done by giving group assignments and forwarding the feedback as soon as possible so that it could affect /impact students’ learning. Students could be involved in giving feedback to their friends and themselves if they are given answer sheets or guidelines to mark.