EFL teachers’ writing assessment literacy: Surveying teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practises in China
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi40.23812Keywords:
language assessment literacy, writing assessment, EFL teachers, teachers' knowledge, belief and practiceAbstract
Writing assessment literacy (WAL) constitutes an integral part of language teachers’ professional competence, and yet insufficient attention has been paid to the WAL of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers from non-English-speaking countries. This study surveyed the knowledge, beliefs and practices in writing assessment of 219 tertiary EFL teachers from China. Data were collected through a Likert-scale WAL Survey (Crusan et al., 2016), and analysed quantitatively with a focus on the WAL level of tertiary EFL teachers in China and the influence of their demographic characteristics. Additionally, this was the first study exploring the association and relationship among different dimensions of WAL, namely, teachers’ levels of knowledge, beliefs and practices in writing assessment. The findings indicated that Chinese tertiary EFL teachers’ WAL depicted a relatively positive picture and that teachers’ training experiences and academic degrees had significant effects on teachers’ WAL. In addition, teachers’ writing assessment knowledge and beliefs were two significant predictors of their writing assessment practices. Implications for future EFL teacher training programs are discussed.
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References
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Bai, B., Shen, B., & Mei, H. (2020). Hong Kong primary students' self-regulated writing strategy use: Influences of gender, writing proficiency, and grade level. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 65, 100839, 1–11.
https://doi.org//10.1016/j.stueduc.2020.100839
Bailey, K., & Brown, J. (1999). Learning about language assesment: Dilemmas, decisions, and directions & new ways of classroom assessment. Learning, 4(2), 1-8.
Baker, B. (2016). Language assessment literacy as professional competence: The case of Canadian admissions decision makers. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(1), 63-83.
Berry, V., Sheehan, S., & Munro, S. (2019). What does language assessment literacy mean to teachers? ELT Journal, 73(2), 113-123. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccy055
Brindley, G. (2001). Language assessment and professional development. In C. Elder, A. Brown, E. Grove, K. Hill, N. Iwashita, T. Luley, T. McNamara & K. O’ Loughlin (Eds.), Experimenting With Uncertainty: Essays in Honour of Alan Davies (pp. 137-143). Cambridge University Press.
Brown, J. D., & Bailey, K. (2008). Language testing courses: What are they in 2007? Language Testing, 25 (3), 349-383. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532208090157
Brown, G. T., Kennedy, K. J., Fok, P. K., Chan, J. K. S., & Yu, W. M. (2009). Assessment for student improvement: Understanding Hong Kong teachers’ conceptions and practices of assessment. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 16(3), 347-363. https://doi.org/10.1080/09695940903319737
Cohen, J. (1992). Quantitative methods in psychology: A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 155-159.
Crusan, D., Plakans, L., & Gebril, A. (2016). Writing assessment literacy: Surveying second language teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practices. Assessing Writing, 28, 43-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2016.03.001
Davies, A. (2008). Textbook trends in teaching language testing. Language Testing, 25(3), 327-347. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532208090156
DeLuca, C., Chavez, T., & Cao, C. (2013). Establishing a foundation for valid teacher judgement on student learning: The role of pre-service assessment education. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 20(1), 107-126. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2012.668870
Ernest, P. (1989). The knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of the mathematics teacher: A model. Journal of Education for Teaching, 15(1), 13-33. https://doi.org/10.1080/0260747890150102
Fulcher, G. (2012). Assessment literacy for the language classroom. Language Assessment Quarterly, 9, 113-132. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2011.642041
Giraldo, F. (2020). A post-positivist and interpretive approach to researching teachers’ language assessment literacy. Profile Issues in Teachers Professional Developmen 22(1), 189-200. https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v22n1.78188
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Kiomrs, R., Abdolmehdi, R., & Rashidi, N. (2011). On the interaction of test Washback and teacher assessment literacy: The case of Iranian EFL secondary school Teachers. English Language Teaching, 4(1), 156-161. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v4n1p156
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Kremmel, B., & Harding, L. (2020). Towards a comprehensive, empirical model of language assessment literacy across stakeholder groups: Developing the language assessment literacy survey. Language Assessment Quarterly, 17(1), 100-120. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2019.1674855
Kim, A. A., Chapman, M., Kondo, A., & Wilmes, C. (2020). Examining the assessment literacy required for interpreting score reports: A focus on educators of K-12 English learners. Language Testing 37(1), 54-75. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532219859881
Lam, R. (2015). Language assessment training in Hong Kong: Implications for language assessment literacy. Language Testing, 32(2), 169-197. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532214554321
Lam, R. (2019). Teacher assessment literacy: Surveying knowledge, conceptions and practices of classroom-based writing assessment in Hong Kong. System, 81, 78-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2019.01.006
Lan, C., & Fan, S. (2019). Developing classroom-based language assessment literacy for in-service EFL teachers: The gaps. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 61, 112-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2019.03.003
Lee, I. (2017). Classroom writing assessment and feedback in L2 school contexts. Springer.
Önalan, O., & Gürsoy, E. (2020). Private school EFL teachers’ perceptions on assessment: A case study in Turkey. Porta Linguarum, 33, 249-264.
Plake, B. S., Impara, J. C., & Fager, J. J. (1993). Assessment competencies of teachers: A national survey. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 12(4), 10-12.
Rogers, W. T., Cheng, L., & Hu, H. (2007). ESL/EFL instructors’ beliefs about assessment and evaluation. Comparative and International Education/´Education Compar´ee et Internationale, 36(1), 39-61. https://doi.org/10.5206/cie-eci.v36i1.9088
Schmider, E., Ziegler, M., Danay, E., Beyer, L., & Bühner, M. (2010). Is it really robust? Reinvestigating the robustness of ANOVA against violations of the normal distribution assumption. Methodology, 6(4), 147-151. https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-2241/a000016
Taylor, L. (2013). Communicating the theory, practice and principles of language testing to test stakeholders: Some reflections. Language Testing, 30(3), 403-412. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532213480338
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. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2014.960046
Vogt, K., & Tsagari, D. (2014). Assessment literacy of foreign language teachers: Findings of a European Study. Language Assessment Quarterly, 11(4), 374-402. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2014.960046
Wang, L., Lee, I., & Park, M. (2020). Chinese university EFL teachers’ beliefs and practices of classroom writing assessment. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 66, 100890. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2020.100890
Weigle, S. C. (2007). Teaching writing teachers about assessment. Journal of Second Language Writing, 16(3), 194-209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2007.07.004
Wilkins, J. L. (2008). The relationship among elementary teachers’ content knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 11(2), 139-164. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-007-9068-2
Xu, Y., & Brown, G. T. (2016). Teacher assessment literacy in practice: A reconceptualization. Teaching and Teacher Education, 58, 149-162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.05.010
Xu, Y., & Brown, G. T. (2017). University English teacher assessment literacy: A survey-test report from China. Papers in Language Testing and Assessment, 6(1), 133-158.
Zhang, L. J. (2016). Reflections on the pedagogical imports of Western practices for professionalizing ESL/EFL writing and writing-teacher education. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 39(3), 203-232. https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.39.3.01zha
Zhang, S. (2009). Has portfolio assessment become common practice in EFL classrooms? Empirical studies from China. English Language Teaching, 2(2), 98-118. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v2n2p98
American Federation of Teachers, National Council on Measurement in Education, & National Education Association (AFT, NCME, & NEA). (1990). Standards for teacher competence in educational assessment of students. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 9(4), 30–32.
Askew, M., & Askew, M. (1997). Effective teachers of numeracy. King's College London.
Ataie-Tabar, M., Zareian, G., Amirian, S. M. R., & Adel, S. M. R. (2019). A study of socio-cultural conception of writing assessment literacy: Iranian EFL teachers’ and students’ perspectives. English Teaching & Learning, 43(4), 389-409.
Bai, B., Shen, B., & Mei, H. (2020). Hong Kong primary students' self-regulated writing strategy use: Influences of gender, writing proficiency, and grade level. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 65, 100839, 1–11.
https://doi.org//10.1016/j.stueduc.2020.100839
Bailey, K., & Brown, J. (1999). Learning about language assesment: Dilemmas, decisions, and directions & new ways of classroom assessment. Learning, 4(2), 1-8.
Baker, B. (2016). Language assessment literacy as professional competence: The case of Canadian admissions decision makers. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(1), 63-83.
Berry, V., Sheehan, S., & Munro, S. (2019). What does language assessment literacy mean to teachers? ELT Journal, 73(2), 113-123. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccy055
Brindley, G. (2001). Language assessment and professional development. In C. Elder, A. Brown, E. Grove, K. Hill, N. Iwashita, T. Luley, T. McNamara & K. O’ Loughlin (Eds.), Experimenting With Uncertainty: Essays in Honour of Alan Davies (pp. 137-143). Cambridge University Press.
Brown, J. D., & Bailey, K. (2008). Language testing courses: What are they in 2007? Language Testing, 25 (3), 349-383. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532208090157
Brown, G. T., Kennedy, K. J., Fok, P. K., Chan, J. K. S., & Yu, W. M. (2009). Assessment for student improvement: Understanding Hong Kong teachers’ conceptions and practices of assessment. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 16(3), 347-363. https://doi.org/10.1080/09695940903319737
Cohen, J. (1992). Quantitative methods in psychology: A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 155-159.
Crusan, D., Plakans, L., & Gebril, A. (2016). Writing assessment literacy: Surveying second language teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practices. Assessing Writing, 28, 43-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2016.03.001
Davies, A. (2008). Textbook trends in teaching language testing. Language Testing, 25(3), 327-347. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532208090156
DeLuca, C., Chavez, T., & Cao, C. (2013). Establishing a foundation for valid teacher judgement on student learning: The role of pre-service assessment education. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 20(1), 107-126. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2012.668870
Ernest, P. (1989). The knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of the mathematics teacher: A model. Journal of Education for Teaching, 15(1), 13-33. https://doi.org/10.1080/0260747890150102
Fulcher, G. (2012). Assessment literacy for the language classroom. Language Assessment Quarterly, 9, 113-132. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2011.642041
Giraldo, F. (2020). A post-positivist and interpretive approach to researching teachers’ language assessment literacy. Profile Issues in Teachers Professional Developmen 22(1), 189-200. https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v22n1.78188
Harding, L., & Kremmel, B. (2020). SLA researcher assessment literacy. In P. Winke & T. Brunfaut (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of second language acquisition and language testing (pp. 54-66). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351034784-7
Inbar-Lourie, O. (2008). Constructing a language assessment knowledge base: A focus on language assessment courses. Language Testing, 25(3), 385-402. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532208090158
Inbar-Lourie, O. (2017). Language assessment literacy. In Language Testing and Assessment (pp. 257-270). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02261-1_19
Kiomrs, R., Abdolmehdi, R., & Rashidi, N. (2011). On the interaction of test Washback and teacher assessment literacy: The case of Iranian EFL secondary school Teachers. English Language Teaching, 4(1), 156-161. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v4n1p156
Kremmel, B., & Harding, L. (2019, March). Exploring the language assessment literacy of SLA researchers [Conference presentation]. 2019 Conference of the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL). Atlanta, GA. United States.
Kremmel, B., & Harding, L. (2020). Towards a comprehensive, empirical model of language assessment literacy across stakeholder groups: Developing the language assessment literacy survey. Language Assessment Quarterly, 17(1), 100-120. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2019.1674855
Kim, A. A., Chapman, M., Kondo, A., & Wilmes, C. (2020). Examining the assessment literacy required for interpreting score reports: A focus on educators of K-12 English learners. Language Testing 37(1), 54-75. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532219859881
Lam, R. (2015). Language assessment training in Hong Kong: Implications for language assessment literacy. Language Testing, 32(2), 169-197. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532214554321
Lam, R. (2019). Teacher assessment literacy: Surveying knowledge, conceptions and practices of classroom-based writing assessment in Hong Kong. System, 81, 78-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2019.01.006
Lan, C., & Fan, S. (2019). Developing classroom-based language assessment literacy for in-service EFL teachers: The gaps. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 61, 112-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2019.03.003
Lee, I. (2017). Classroom writing assessment and feedback in L2 school contexts. Springer.
Önalan, O., & Gürsoy, E. (2020). Private school EFL teachers’ perceptions on assessment: A case study in Turkey. Porta Linguarum, 33, 249-264.
Plake, B. S., Impara, J. C., & Fager, J. J. (1993). Assessment competencies of teachers: A national survey. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 12(4), 10-12.
Rogers, W. T., Cheng, L., & Hu, H. (2007). ESL/EFL instructors’ beliefs about assessment and evaluation. Comparative and International Education/´Education Compar´ee et Internationale, 36(1), 39-61. https://doi.org/10.5206/cie-eci.v36i1.9088
Schmider, E., Ziegler, M., Danay, E., Beyer, L., & Bühner, M. (2010). Is it really robust? Reinvestigating the robustness of ANOVA against violations of the normal distribution assumption. Methodology, 6(4), 147-151. https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-2241/a000016
Taylor, L. (2013). Communicating the theory, practice and principles of language testing to test stakeholders: Some reflections. Language Testing, 30(3), 403-412. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532213480338
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. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2014.960046
Vogt, K., & Tsagari, D. (2014). Assessment literacy of foreign language teachers: Findings of a European Study. Language Assessment Quarterly, 11(4), 374-402. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2014.960046
Wang, L., Lee, I., & Park, M. (2020). Chinese university EFL teachers’ beliefs and practices of classroom writing assessment. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 66, 100890. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2020.100890
Weigle, S. C. (2007). Teaching writing teachers about assessment. Journal of Second Language Writing, 16(3), 194-209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2007.07.004
Wilkins, J. L. (2008). The relationship among elementary teachers’ content knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 11(2), 139-164. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-007-9068-2
Xu, Y., & Brown, G. T. (2016). Teacher assessment literacy in practice: A reconceptualization. Teaching and Teacher Education, 58, 149-162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.05.010
Xu, Y., & Brown, G. T. (2017). University English teacher assessment literacy: A survey-test report from China. Papers in Language Testing and Assessment, 6(1), 133-158.
Zhang, L. J. (2016). Reflections on the pedagogical imports of Western practices for professionalizing ESL/EFL writing and writing-teacher education. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 39(3), 203-232. https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.39.3.01zha
Zhang, S. (2009). Has portfolio assessment become common practice in EFL classrooms? Empirical studies from China. English Language Teaching, 2(2), 98-118. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v2n2p98
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Published
2023-06-27
How to Cite
Weng, F. (2023). EFL teachers’ writing assessment literacy: Surveying teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practises in China. Porta Linguarum An International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Learning, (40), 57–74. https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi40.23812
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