1. Assessing Young Learners

2. Evaluation, assessment, testing
the process of collecting relevant information to determine the successfulness of a program
relevant information, e.g. teachers’ & parents’ opinion, textbook quality, etc.
evaluation tools, e.g. tests, questionnaires, etc.

3. Evaluation, assessment, … (cont’d)
all methods used to collect information about children’s knowledge, ability, understanding, attitudes & motivation
assessment instrument, e.g. tests, self-assessment
can be formal or informal
Formal assessment  under controlled condition
Informal assessment  by observing children’s behavior

4. Evaluation, assessment, … (cont’d)
Testing
one of the procedures used to assess the performance of a child
has a certain objective  checks whether the child achieves the objective or not
can be in the form of tasks or exercises
can be marked or graded

5. Teaching & assessment Assessment should
closely linked to teaching methodologies (CLL, task-based & authentic learning, children autonomy, critical reflection) used with children
not be seen as something different but as something fun to do
not create anxiety or other negative feelings

6. Why assess YLs? to monitor & aid their progress
to provide them with evidence of their progress  enhance motivation
to monitor the teacher’s performance & plan future work
to provide information for parents, colleagues & school authorities

7. What do we assess? Skills development
listening  check progress in a variety of listening sub-skills
speaking  check communicative ability in basic functions
reading  assess reading sub-skills
writing, e.g. mastering the Roman alphabet, copying, handwriting, etc.

8. What do we assess? (cont’d)
Learning-how-to-learn skills
help children develop useful learning habits
Attitudes
can be done during conferencing, questionnaires & observation
create profiles of individual children
enable teachers to interfere if a child expresses (over)negative feelings
Conferencing  informal & friendly chats with children

9. What do we assess? (cont’d)
Behavioral & social skills
Is a child
a good team member?
being polite?
sensitive to others’ feeling?
appreciative of others’ efforts?
etc.

10. How do we assess YLs? Language portfolios
a collection of work samples produced by a child over a period of time
can include written work, drawings, projects, etc.
offers a more complete picture of a child’s work & development
should be for the child him/herself

11. How do we assess YLs? (cont’d)
Structured activities/tasks
assess knowledge, skills, attitudes & the ability to apply them to new situations
reflect main teaching principles (e.g. authenticity, child-centered, etc.)

12. How do we assess YLs? (cont’d)
Projects
assess mix-ability groups
can integrate language skills & promote creativity
should assess group as well as individual work

13. How do we assess YLs? (cont’d)
Self-assessment
promotes very useful learning skills (e.g. monitoring one’s own progress, reflecting on one’s abilities & learning style, etc.)
gives children an insight into the criteria used by others
gives children a sense of empowerment
examples: portfolios, questionnaires, conferencing, etc.

14. How do we assess YLs? (cont’d)
Peer-assessment
help children learn to respect, accept & learn from each other
help children gain insight & be responsible in applying certain criteria
promote the feeling of togetherness

15. How do we assess YLs? (cont’d)
Traditional tests
examples: multiple-choices, true-false, cloze-tests
objective, easy to mark, easy to prepare
intimidating & stressful for children
do not tell much about children actual ability

16. How do we assess YLs? (cont’d)
Learner-developed tasks
encourage responsibility & maturity
children can contribute or help create a task
children have to think about what they are supposed to know
children have to set appropriate criteria
personalized
less threatening

17. How do we assess YLs? (cont’d)
Take-home tasks
completed at home after discussion in class
should have a deadline
usually integrative (e.g. projects)
suitable for mixed-ability classes
promote autonomous learning
go hand-in-hand with learning-how-to-learn skills

18. How do we assess YLs? (cont’d)
Observation
assess children’s behavior, attitudes & performance
very subjective  should be used in combination with other methods

19. How do we assess YLs? (cont’d)
Conferencing
children should feel comfortable to express themselves freely
can be one-to-one or in groups of four
suitable for assessing speaking skills, attitudes, learning styles & extensive reading
can be written (e.g. evaluation sheets, questionnaires)

20. Is this assessment? Aim check children’s LL progress
Measurable results
measurable evidence of children’s language development
Criteria
each task specifies a set of criteria defining what children should be able to do to show understanding

21. Is this assessment? (cont’d)
Children’s tendency towards assessment
children behave differently during assessment period
Specific timing
Children’s participation
Record keeping/learner profiling

22. How to give feedback feedback should be given ASAP
… can be given in a variety of ways (e.g. individually, in groups, to the whole class)
… can be self-correction or peer-feedback
… helps children to discover their strengths & weakness, to persist in their learning

23. Marking schemes Discrete-point marking schemes
used for activities having clear-cut or objective answers
usually associated with number or mark
should be accompanied by comments on individual performance
Marking schemes  a way of indicating the level of children’s achievement  how they have achieved the aims of the assessment task

24. Marking schemes (cont’d)
Speaking & writing marking schemes
a form of record keeping & reporting
serves 2 purposes:
more practical & less time-consuming
provides consistent criteria

25. Assessment of group work
feel much safer than individual assessment
suitable for mixed-ability classes
provides opportunities for assessing social skills (e.g. cooperation)
should value individual contribution
can be teacher-, self- or peer-assessment