Private School EFL Teachers’ Perceptions On Assessment: A Case Study In Turkey
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi33.26659Keywords:
EFL assessment techniques, formative assessment, perceptions on assessment, summative assessment, metaphorsAbstract
Teachers’ selection and use of appropriate assessment methods requires not only their contemplation on lesson objectives, but also their knowledge, awareness and understanding of assessment processes. The present study aims to investigate Turkish private school language teachers’ perceptions, use and understanding of assessment as an integral part of their teaching practices. Using a sequential mixed method approach, researchers triangulated the data to get an in-depth understanding of the phenomena: a 5-point Likert type online survey, participants’ self-reports on assessment terminology as a part of an inservice training session, and participants’ metaphors to explain formative and summative assessments which were collected during the same training. Results revealed participants’ high self-confidence on traditional summative uses of assessment, but moderately low perceptions on using assessment formatively. Findings showed significant inconsistency between participants’ limited knowledge on assessment terminology as opposed to high self-perceptions.
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References
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Arslan, D., & Karatas, Z. (2015). Mirror of prospective teachers’ mind. Metaphors. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 197, 1464-1471.
Balagtas, M.U., Dacanay, A. G., Dizon, M.A., & Duque, R.E. (2010). Literacy level on educational assessment of students in a premiere teacher education institution: Basis for a capability building program. The Assessment Handbook, 4(1), 1-19.
Balbay, S., Pamuk, G., Temir, T., & Doğan, C. (2018). Issues in pre-service and in-service teacher training programs for university English instructors in Turkey. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 14(2), 48-60.
Bloom, B.S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives, handbook I: The cognitive domain. David McKay Co Inc.
Boyd, P., & Bloxham, S. (2014). A situative metaphor for teacher learning: The case of university tutors learning to grade student coursework. British Educational Research Journal, 40(2), 337-352.
Craig, C. J. (2018). Metaphors of knowing, doing and being: Capturing experience in teaching and teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 69, 300-311.
Crusan, D., Plakans, L., & Gebril, A. (2016). Writing assessment literacy: Surveying second language teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practices. Assessing Writing, 28, 43-56.
Demirtaş, Z.T. (2008). An evaluation of the relationship between teachers’ perception of institutional communication and in-service training in primary schools (Unpublished master’s thesis). Yeditepe University, İstanbul, Turkey.
DeLuca, C., LaPointe-McEwan, D., & Luhanga, U. (2016). Teacher assessment literacy: A review of international standards and measures. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 28, 251–272.
DeLuca, C., Valiquette, A., Coombs, A., LaPointe-McEwan, D., & Luhanga, U. (2018). Teachers’ approaches to classroom assessment: a large-scale survey. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 25(4), 355-375.
Dornyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford University Press.
Earl, L. (2003). Assessment as learning. Thousand Oaks.
Erarslan, A. (2019). Factors affecting the implementation of primary school English language teaching programs in Turkey. The Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, 9(2), 7-22.
Erden, H. (2016). Pre-service teachers’ perceptions on being a teacher through a metaphoric perspective. The Anthropologist, 24(1), 134-147.
Erickson, L. B., & Pinnegar, S. (2017). Consequences of personal teaching metaphors for teacher identity and practice. Teachers and Teaching, 23(1), 106-122,
Farley-Ripple, E. N., Jennings, A. S., & Buttram, J. (2019). Toward a framework for classifying teachers’ use of assessment data. AERA Open, 5(4), 1-18.
Garton, S. (2014). Unresolved issues and new challenges in teaching English to young learners: The case of South Korea. Current Issues in Language Planning, 15(2), 201-219. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2014.858657
Giraldo, F. (2018). Language assessment literacy: Implications for language teachers. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 20(1), 179-195.
Gürsoy, E., Çelik Korkmaz, Ş. & Damar, E.A. (2017). English Language Teaching within the New Educational Policy of Turkey: Views of Stakeholders. International Education Studies, (10)4, 18-30.
Gotch, C. M., & French, B. F. (2014). A systematic review of assessment literacy measures. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 33, 14–18.
Hatipoğlu, Ç. (2015). English language testing and evaluation (ELTE) training in Turkey: Expectations and needs of pre-service English language teachers. ELT Research Journal, 4(2), 111-128.
Herrera, L., & Macías, D. (2015). A call for language assessment literacy in the education and development of teachers of English as a foreign language. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, 17(2), 302-312.
Hopfenbeck, T.N. (2019). Assessment literacy across contexts and competencies. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 26(2), 119-122.
Izadinia, M. (2016). Student teachers’ and mentor teachers’ perceptions and expectations of a mentoring relationship: do they match or clash? Professional Development in Education, 42(3), 387-402.
Kvasova, O. & Kavytska, T. (2014). The Assessment Competence of University Foreign Language Teachers: A Ukranian Perspective. CercleS, 4(1), 159-177.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. Chicago University Press.
Leavy, A.M., McSorley, F.A., Boté, L.A. (2007). An examination of what metaphor construction reveals about the evolution of preservice teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(7), 1217-1233.
Low, G. (2008). Metaphor and education. In R. W. Gibbs (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of metaphor and thought (pp. 212-231). Cambridge University Press.
Malone, M. (2013). The essentials of assessment literacy: Contrasts between testers and users. Language Testing, 30(3), 329-344.
Mede, E., & Atay, D. (2017). English language teacher’s assessment literacy: The Turkish context. Ankara Üniversitesi Tömer Dil Dergisi, 168(1), 43-60.
Mellado, L., Bermejo, M.L., & Mellado, V. (2012). Personal metaphors of prospective secondary economics and science teachers. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 40(4), 395-408.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldana, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). Sage.
Nguyen, H. T. M. (2011). Primary English language education policy in Vietnam: Insights from implementation. Current Issues in Language Planning, 12(2), 225-249. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2011.597048
Owen, L. (2016). The impact of feedback as formative assessment on student performance. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 28(2), 168-175.
Ölmezler-Öztürk E., & Aydın B. (2019). Investigating language assessment knowledge of EFL teachers. Hacettepe University Journal of Education, 34(3), 602-620.
Önalan, O, & Esim, G. (in press). Primary and secondary level EFL teachers’ use of assessment and assessment results in Turkey. Journal on English Language Teaching (JELT).
Öz, S., & Atay, D. (2017). Turkish EFL teachers’ in-class language assessment literacy: perceptions and practices. ELT Research Journal, 6(1), 25-44.
Paranosic, N., & Riveros, A. (2017). The metaphorical department head: using metaphors as analytic tools to investigate the role of department head. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 20(4), 432-450.
Popham, J.W. (2009). Assessment literacy for teachers: Faddish or fundamental? Theory into Practice, 48, 4-11.
Popham, W. J. (2013). Classroom assessment: What teachers need to know (7th ed.). Pearson.
Saban, A. (2010). Prospective teachers’ metaphorical conceptualizations of learner. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(2), 290-305.
Saban, A., Kocbeker, B.N., & Saban, A. (2007). Prospective teachers’ conceptions of teaching and learning revealed through metaphor analysis. Learning and Instruction,17(2), 123-139.
Sarıçoban, G. (2012). Foreign language education policies in Turkey. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 46, 2643–2648.
Schmitt, R. (2005). Systematic metaphor analysis as a method of qualitative research. The Qualitative Report, 10(2), 358-394.
Selvi, A. F. (2014). The medium-of-instruction debate in Turkey: Oscillating between national ideas and bilingual ideals. Current Issues in Language Planning, 15(2), 133-152. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2014.898357
Stoynoff, S., & Chapelle, C.A. (Eds.). (2005). ESOL tests and testing: A resource for teachers and program administrators. Alexandria, VA: TESOL.
Tabachnick B.G., & Fidell, L.S. (2013). Using multivariate statistics (6th ed.). Pearson.
Treagust, D. F., & Duit, R. (2015). On the Significance of Conceptual Metaphors in Teaching and Learning Science: Commentary on Lancor; Niebert and Gropengiesser; and Fuchs. International Journal of Science Education, 37, 958-965.
Tsagari, D., & Vogt, K. (2017). Assessment Literacy of Foreign Language Teachers around Europe: Research, Challenges and Future Prospects. Papers in Language Testing and Assessment, 6(1), 41-63.
Veneziano L. & Hooper, J. (1997). A method for quantifying content validity of health-related questionnaires. American Journal of Health Behavior, 21(1), 67-70.
Vogt, K., & Tsagari, D. (2014). Assessment literacy of foreign language teachers: Findings of a European study. Language Assessment Quarterly, 11(4), 374-402.
Wormeli, R. (2009). Metaphors and analogies: Power tools for teaching any subject. Stenhouse Publishers.
Yamtim, V., & Wongwanich, S. (2014). A study of state and approaches to improve classroom assessment literacy of primary school teachers. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, 2998-3004.
Xu, Y., & Brown, G. T. L. (2016). Teacher assessment literacy in practice: A, reconceptualization. Teaching and Teacher Education, 58, 149-162.
Xu, Y., & Brown, G. T. L. (2017). University English teacher assessment literacy: A survey-test report from China. Papers in Language Testing and Assessment, 6(1), 149-162.
Yob, I. M. (2003). Thinking constructively with metaphors. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 22, 127-138.
Zhao, H., Coombs, S., & Zhou, X. (2010). Developing professional knowledge about teachers through metaphor research: Facilitating a process of change. Teacher Development, 14, 381-395.
Arslan, D., & Karatas, Z. (2015). Mirror of prospective teachers’ mind. Metaphors. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 197, 1464-1471.
Balagtas, M.U., Dacanay, A. G., Dizon, M.A., & Duque, R.E. (2010). Literacy level on educational assessment of students in a premiere teacher education institution: Basis for a capability building program. The Assessment Handbook, 4(1), 1-19.
Balbay, S., Pamuk, G., Temir, T., & Doğan, C. (2018). Issues in pre-service and in-service teacher training programs for university English instructors in Turkey. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 14(2), 48-60.
Bloom, B.S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives, handbook I: The cognitive domain. David McKay Co Inc.
Boyd, P., & Bloxham, S. (2014). A situative metaphor for teacher learning: The case of university tutors learning to grade student coursework. British Educational Research Journal, 40(2), 337-352.
Craig, C. J. (2018). Metaphors of knowing, doing and being: Capturing experience in teaching and teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 69, 300-311.
Crusan, D., Plakans, L., & Gebril, A. (2016). Writing assessment literacy: Surveying second language teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practices. Assessing Writing, 28, 43-56.
Demirtaş, Z.T. (2008). An evaluation of the relationship between teachers’ perception of institutional communication and in-service training in primary schools (Unpublished master’s thesis). Yeditepe University, İstanbul, Turkey.
DeLuca, C., LaPointe-McEwan, D., & Luhanga, U. (2016). Teacher assessment literacy: A review of international standards and measures. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 28, 251–272.
DeLuca, C., Valiquette, A., Coombs, A., LaPointe-McEwan, D., & Luhanga, U. (2018). Teachers’ approaches to classroom assessment: a large-scale survey. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 25(4), 355-375.
Dornyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford University Press.
Earl, L. (2003). Assessment as learning. Thousand Oaks.
Erarslan, A. (2019). Factors affecting the implementation of primary school English language teaching programs in Turkey. The Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, 9(2), 7-22.
Erden, H. (2016). Pre-service teachers’ perceptions on being a teacher through a metaphoric perspective. The Anthropologist, 24(1), 134-147.
Erickson, L. B., & Pinnegar, S. (2017). Consequences of personal teaching metaphors for teacher identity and practice. Teachers and Teaching, 23(1), 106-122,
Farley-Ripple, E. N., Jennings, A. S., & Buttram, J. (2019). Toward a framework for classifying teachers’ use of assessment data. AERA Open, 5(4), 1-18.
Garton, S. (2014). Unresolved issues and new challenges in teaching English to young learners: The case of South Korea. Current Issues in Language Planning, 15(2), 201-219. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2014.858657
Giraldo, F. (2018). Language assessment literacy: Implications for language teachers. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 20(1), 179-195.
Gürsoy, E., Çelik Korkmaz, Ş. & Damar, E.A. (2017). English Language Teaching within the New Educational Policy of Turkey: Views of Stakeholders. International Education Studies, (10)4, 18-30.
Gotch, C. M., & French, B. F. (2014). A systematic review of assessment literacy measures. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 33, 14–18.
Hatipoğlu, Ç. (2015). English language testing and evaluation (ELTE) training in Turkey: Expectations and needs of pre-service English language teachers. ELT Research Journal, 4(2), 111-128.
Herrera, L., & Macías, D. (2015). A call for language assessment literacy in the education and development of teachers of English as a foreign language. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, 17(2), 302-312.
Hopfenbeck, T.N. (2019). Assessment literacy across contexts and competencies. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 26(2), 119-122.
Izadinia, M. (2016). Student teachers’ and mentor teachers’ perceptions and expectations of a mentoring relationship: do they match or clash? Professional Development in Education, 42(3), 387-402.
Kvasova, O. & Kavytska, T. (2014). The Assessment Competence of University Foreign Language Teachers: A Ukranian Perspective. CercleS, 4(1), 159-177.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. Chicago University Press.
Leavy, A.M., McSorley, F.A., Boté, L.A. (2007). An examination of what metaphor construction reveals about the evolution of preservice teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(7), 1217-1233.
Low, G. (2008). Metaphor and education. In R. W. Gibbs (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of metaphor and thought (pp. 212-231). Cambridge University Press.
Malone, M. (2013). The essentials of assessment literacy: Contrasts between testers and users. Language Testing, 30(3), 329-344.
Mede, E., & Atay, D. (2017). English language teacher’s assessment literacy: The Turkish context. Ankara Üniversitesi Tömer Dil Dergisi, 168(1), 43-60.
Mellado, L., Bermejo, M.L., & Mellado, V. (2012). Personal metaphors of prospective secondary economics and science teachers. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 40(4), 395-408.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldana, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). Sage.
Nguyen, H. T. M. (2011). Primary English language education policy in Vietnam: Insights from implementation. Current Issues in Language Planning, 12(2), 225-249. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2011.597048
Owen, L. (2016). The impact of feedback as formative assessment on student performance. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 28(2), 168-175.
Ölmezler-Öztürk E., & Aydın B. (2019). Investigating language assessment knowledge of EFL teachers. Hacettepe University Journal of Education, 34(3), 602-620.
Önalan, O, & Esim, G. (in press). Primary and secondary level EFL teachers’ use of assessment and assessment results in Turkey. Journal on English Language Teaching (JELT).
Öz, S., & Atay, D. (2017). Turkish EFL teachers’ in-class language assessment literacy: perceptions and practices. ELT Research Journal, 6(1), 25-44.
Paranosic, N., & Riveros, A. (2017). The metaphorical department head: using metaphors as analytic tools to investigate the role of department head. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 20(4), 432-450.
Popham, J.W. (2009). Assessment literacy for teachers: Faddish or fundamental? Theory into Practice, 48, 4-11.
Popham, W. J. (2013). Classroom assessment: What teachers need to know (7th ed.). Pearson.
Saban, A. (2010). Prospective teachers’ metaphorical conceptualizations of learner. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(2), 290-305.
Saban, A., Kocbeker, B.N., & Saban, A. (2007). Prospective teachers’ conceptions of teaching and learning revealed through metaphor analysis. Learning and Instruction,17(2), 123-139.
Sarıçoban, G. (2012). Foreign language education policies in Turkey. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 46, 2643–2648.
Schmitt, R. (2005). Systematic metaphor analysis as a method of qualitative research. The Qualitative Report, 10(2), 358-394.
Selvi, A. F. (2014). The medium-of-instruction debate in Turkey: Oscillating between national ideas and bilingual ideals. Current Issues in Language Planning, 15(2), 133-152. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2014.898357
Stoynoff, S., & Chapelle, C.A. (Eds.). (2005). ESOL tests and testing: A resource for teachers and program administrators. Alexandria, VA: TESOL.
Tabachnick B.G., & Fidell, L.S. (2013). Using multivariate statistics (6th ed.). Pearson.
Treagust, D. F., & Duit, R. (2015). On the Significance of Conceptual Metaphors in Teaching and Learning Science: Commentary on Lancor; Niebert and Gropengiesser; and Fuchs. International Journal of Science Education, 37, 958-965.
Tsagari, D., & Vogt, K. (2017). Assessment Literacy of Foreign Language Teachers around Europe: Research, Challenges and Future Prospects. Papers in Language Testing and Assessment, 6(1), 41-63.
Veneziano L. & Hooper, J. (1997). A method for quantifying content validity of health-related questionnaires. American Journal of Health Behavior, 21(1), 67-70.
Vogt, K., & Tsagari, D. (2014). Assessment literacy of foreign language teachers: Findings of a European study. Language Assessment Quarterly, 11(4), 374-402.
Wormeli, R. (2009). Metaphors and analogies: Power tools for teaching any subject. Stenhouse Publishers.
Yamtim, V., & Wongwanich, S. (2014). A study of state and approaches to improve classroom assessment literacy of primary school teachers. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, 2998-3004.
Xu, Y., & Brown, G. T. L. (2016). Teacher assessment literacy in practice: A, reconceptualization. Teaching and Teacher Education, 58, 149-162.
Xu, Y., & Brown, G. T. L. (2017). University English teacher assessment literacy: A survey-test report from China. Papers in Language Testing and Assessment, 6(1), 149-162.
Yob, I. M. (2003). Thinking constructively with metaphors. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 22, 127-138.
Zhao, H., Coombs, S., & Zhou, X. (2010). Developing professional knowledge about teachers through metaphor research: Facilitating a process of change. Teacher Development, 14, 381-395.
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Published
2020-01-31
How to Cite
Önalan, O. ., & Gürsoy, E. (2020). Private School EFL Teachers’ Perceptions On Assessment: A Case Study In Turkey. Porta Linguarum An International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Learning, (33), 249–264. https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi33.26659
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