SECOND LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT Maria del Mar Sáez Ortega Olivia Sánchez Caton Ana Stelea Déborah Vera Perez

1. Introduction What is SL Assessment?? The way to determine students’ knowledge of the second language. Three main aspects of SL assessment: Three main aspects of SL assessment: - Information - Interpretation - Decision making

Traditional vs alternative/authentic SL assessment Traditional assessment Evaluations that include standarized and classroom achievement tests with different types of exercises Alternative/authentic assessment New method to assess that reflects student learning, achievement, motivation, and attitudes on instructionally-relevant classroom activities

3. Alternative/authentic SL assessment techniques and procedures: 3.1. Performance- based assessments 3.2. Portfolio assessment 3.3. Journals/blogs 3.4. Conferences and interviews 3.5. Observations (by the teacher) 3.6 Self– and Peer- assessment

3.1. Performance- based assessment It usually involves oral production, written production, open-ended responses, integrated and group performances and other interactive tasks. Oral interview: A strong example of interactive language assessment procedure. (Brown 2004 :255)

Characteristics of performance assessment: Students make a constructed response They engage in higher-order thinking, with open-ended tasks Tasks are meaningful, engaging, and authentic Tasks call for the integration of language skills Both process and product are assessed (O´Malley 1996:5)

3.2. Portfolio assessment It is a purposeful collection of students’ work that demonstrates their efforts, progress, and achievements in given areas Portfolios contain materials such as : Essays, compositions, reports, projects, presentations, conversations, personal reflections that have to do with the language learning process. (Brown 2004:256-7)

3.3. Journals Interactive diaries of one´s feelings, thoughts, assessments, ideas, progress towards goals, among others, collecting information for evaluation Pedagogical purpose: Communication student- teacher Important role in the teaching-learning process: teacher feedback (Brown :260, Genesse :119)

3.3. Blogs Online journals which contain chronological entries of personal thoughts or points of view and that are frequently updated. Types: Personal, journalistic, commercial, educational blogs, organizational, … Types: Personal, journalistic, commercial, educational blogs, organizational, … Practice of L2 skills: Writing and Reading Practice of L2 components: Grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation

3.4 Conferences and interviews Conferences: Teacher´s feedback for student´s specific needs for example, portfolios and journals Teacher´s feedback for student´s specific needs for example, portfolios and journals Formative, not summative Main purpose: To offer positive washback Specialized conference: INTERVIEW (Brown 2004:264-5) (Brown 2004:264-5)

Teacher interviews a student for a designated assessment purpose Several possible goals Assess the student´s oral production Ascertain a student´needs before designing a course or curriculum Seek to discover a student´s learning styles and preferences Ask a student to asses his or her own performance, and requests an evaluation of course

3.5. Observations (by the teacher) Seen as a systematic, planned procedures for real-time recording of students verbal and nonverbal behaviour in form of anecdotal records, checklists or rating scales. Objective: Assess students without their awareness

Anecdotal records: Should be specific, focusing on the objective of the observation. Checklists: Viable alternative for recording observation results. They focus on only a few factors within real time. Rating scales: Appropriate for recording observations after students make activities (Brown 2004:267-9)

3.6. Self– and Peer- Assessment Self-assessment principles: Autonomy: Ability to set one´s own goals Intrinsic motivation: Desire to excel Peer-assessment principles: Cooperative learning: Collaboration in learning among the students teaching and helping each other (Brown 2004:270) (Brown 2004:270)

Types of Self- and Peer- Assessment: Direct assessment of (a specific) performance Indirect assessment of (general) competence Metacognitive assessment (for setting goals) Socioaffective assessment Student – generated tests Guidelines of Self- and Peer- Assessment: Tell students the purpose of the assessment Tell students the purpose of the assessment Define the task(s) clearly Encourage impartial evaluation of performance or ability Ensure beneficial washback through follow-up tasks

Comments: To set traditional testing and alternatives against each other is counterproductive. All kinds of assessment are needed to assemble information on students The Alternative Assessment methods which we have seen previously lead to the incorporation of the results they provide into students´ grades Alternative assessment is a complementary technique that can be beneficial to students because it provides teachers with wider information in order to evaluate students

References Brown, H.D. Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices. (2004). Longman Genesee, F. & Upshur, J. A. (1996). Classroom-based Evaluation in Second Language Education. CUP O´Malley, J.M. & Valdez, L. () Authentic Assessment for English Language Learners: Practical Approaches for Teachers. (1996). Addison-Wesley Publishing Company