In education and training there are 4 assessment methods: initial assessment, diagnostic assessment, formative assessment and summative assessment. In this article you are going to learn about those 4 methods from the specific perspective of the assessment in language teaching.
The 4 assessment methods at a glance:
- Initial assessment: prior to learning; aims at collecting information on the learners
- Diagnostic assessment: prior to learning; aims at collecting specific learning needs
- Formative assessment: during learning; aims at assessing ongoing achievements
- Summative assessment: at the end of learning; aims at assessing final achievements.
Let’s dive in!
Initial assessment in language teaching
Initial assessment takes place prior to language training and it aims at collecting relevant information on the learners and who they are, for instance: social and cultural background, experience, achievements, aspirations, interests, skills. The outcome of initial assessment is a picture of the learners. It will be used for setting the training goals and for coming up with a macro design of a language training course/programme that meet those goals.
N.B.: In this phase you will be collecting information on the learners’ skills in terms of language certifications they got, or years they have been learning the target language. Also, here it is interesting to ask for a self-assessment: how do the students perceive themselves and their language skills? This will help you to spot any gap between what they think about themselves and their actual skills level – which you will assess later.
Examples of initial assessment in language teaching are:
Questionnaires, interviews, self-assessment, observations, appraisal of written certifications.
This type of assessment in language teaching is confidential and must be delivered through safe tools (no leeks of information allowed!), although the communication style can be informal and conversational. Remember: this is your first approach to your students.
Why is it important to involve the students in this phase?
Involving the learners is important to prepare the students to the learning experience, by pointing their attention towards the learning experience and how they want to make the most of it.
Question for language teachers:
Do you collect information on your students before the language course starts?
Next, easy-to-implement step for language teachers:
Online questionnaires are easy to set up, at no cost, and can provide you with tons of information about your students. You may want to prepare a welcome questionnaire with the purpose to get to know your students before the language course or the academic year actually starts.
Diagnostic assessment in language teaching
Diagnostic assessment also takes place prior to training, although it aims at collecting laser information on the learners’ specific learning needs: specific skills level, strengths and learning gaps to be filled. The outcome is the basis for planning an effective training that meets the learners’ specific learning goals and helps to develop specific skills.
Examples of diagnostic assessment in language teaching are:
Diagnostic assessment tools for language skills, interviews.
This type of assessment in language teaching is formal.
Question for language teachers:
Do you assess your students’ skills before the language course starts?
Next, easy-to-implement step for language teachers:
Choose an official, diagnostic assessment tool provided by a certified body or a recognised institution and invite your students to take the assessment.
Formative assessment in language teaching
Formative assessment is an ongoing assessment as it takes place during the language training, usually at the end of each Acquisition Unit, lesson, Didactic Unit. It is also called “informal assessment” because it aims at bringing up whether the learners achieved the objectives in each training session/lesson/learning unit. Hence, it assess the learners’ progress. The outcome is helpful both for the students to become aware of their learning process and for the teacher to identify those topics the students need to solidify.
On one hand, the formative assessment helps the teacher to adjust the lesson plan and to go back to the content the learners need to revise. On the other hand, it helps the teacher to spotlight the learners’ ongoing achievements and perhaps to provide them with extra, “bonus” content.
Example of formative assessment in language teaching are:
Quizzes, role plays, journaling, peer assessment, worksheets, simulations, discussions.
This type of assessment in language teaching can be informal and playful because, after all, for the learners it represents an opportunity to spot any gaps, revise and consolidate what they learned until that point.
Why is it important to involve the students in this phase?
Involving our learners in this phase is important because it helps them to keep the pulse of their progress, to spot right away what they thought they understood (whilst, instead, they need to review it), to become aware of what they learned up to a certain point of the training.
In this phase, involving our learners ensures they actively engage with the learning process, they take responsibility for their learning, they become the main, active characters of the learning experience.
If we decide to involve other people in this phase (e.g. in peer assessment), we do it because we want to provide the learners with constructive and supportive feedback from a fresh perspective.
Question for language teachers:
Do you assess your students’ progress at the end of each lesson, AU or DU? How can you help your students to keep track of their progress during the language course?
Next, easy-to-implement step for language teachers:
If you are not sure about what to do here, pick quiz as a method. It’s easy to create, it’s reliable, fun, and there are tons of tools (online, included) you can use for delivering quizzes. My favourite? Mentimeter!
Summative assessment in language teaching
Summative assessment is a final and formal assessment taking place after learning. At the end of the course, the learners are asked to complete the tasks included in the summative assessment in order to formally prove they achieved the goals of the course/programme.
Examples of summative assessment in language teaching are:
Dissertations, assignments, questionnaires, tests, essays, presentations.
This type of assessment in language teaching is formal.
N.B.: We shall use the same methods we used previously in other assessment phases. The students shall be familiar with the types of methods and tools. What we want to assess is the final achievements, rather than the students’ ability to deal with new methods or tools. For example: if they have never submitted an essay, we can’t ask them to write an essay as a final assessment method.
Why is it important to involve the students in this phase?
In the summative assessment, involving the learners is essential because we need to test and certify their final achievements. Also, involving other professionals and experts can be useful to add an impartial third part to the final assessment phase. At the beginning of the training, it is important to explain what the pass mark is, how to achieve it, who is going to assess the learners and where (in the training room the learners know already, in a different venue, rather than online).
Question for language teachers:
Do you assess your students’ final achievements at the end of your courses?
Next, easy-to-implement step for language teachers:
Look out for formal language tests.
Wrapping up
Involving our learners in the assessment process is important for helping them to increase their awareness about their learning curve, achievements, strengths and improvement areas. Since the assessment sets the metrics, it helps the learners to get clear on the expectations, therefore, to take control of their learning.
