Lyn May

Co-constructed interaction in a paired speaking test: The rater's perspective

The definition and operationalization of interactional competence in speaking tests that entail co-construction of discourse is an area of language testing requiring further research. This article explores the reactions of four trained raters to paired candidates who oriented to asymmetric patterns of interaction in a discussion task. Through an analysis of candidate discourse combined with rater notes, stimulated verbal recalls, rater discussions and scores awarded for interactional effectiveness, the article examines the extent to which raters compensate or penalize candidates for their role in co-constructing asymmetric interactional patterns. The article argues that key features of the interaction are perceived by the raters as mutual achievements, and it further suggests that the awarding of shared scores for interactional competence is one way of acknowledging the inherently co-constructed nature of interaction in a paired speaking test.

Interactional Competence in a Paired Speaking Test: Features Salient to Raters

Paired speaking tests are now commonly used in both high-stakes testing and classroom assessment contexts. The co-construction of discourse by candidates is regarded as a strength of paired speaking tests, as candidates have the opportunity to display a wider range of interactional competencies, including turn taking, initiating topics, and engaging in extended discourse with a partner rather than an examiner. However, the impact of the interlocutor in such jointly negotiated discourse and the implications for assessing interactional competence are areas of concern. This article reports on the features of interactional competence that were salient to four trained raters of 12 paired speaking tests through the analysis of rater notes, stimulated verbal recalls, and rater discussions. Findings enabled the identification of features of the performance noted by raters when awarding scores for interactional competence and the particular features associated with higher and lower scores. A number of these features were seen by the raters as mutual achievements, which raises the issue of the extent to which it is possible to assess individual contributions to the co-constructed performance. The findings have implications for defining the construct of interactional competence in paired speaking tests and operationalizing this in rating scales.

Interpretations of formative assessment in the teaching of English at two Chinese universities: a sociocultural perspective

Formative assessment is increasingly being implemented through policy initiatives in Chinese educational contexts. As an approach to assessment, formative assessment derives many of its key principles from Western contexts, notably through the work of scholars in the UK, the USA and Australia. The question for this paper is the ways that formative assessment has been interpreted in the teaching of College English in Chinese Higher Education. The paper reports on a research study that utilised a sociocultural perspective on learning and assessment to analyse how two Chinese universities – an urban-based Key University and a regional-based Non-Key University – interpreted and enacted a China Ministry of Education policy on formative assessment in College English teaching. Of particular interest for the research were the ways in which the sociocultural conditions of the Chinese context mediated understanding of Western principles and led to their adaptation. The findings from the two universities identified some consistency in localised interpretations of formative assessment which included emphases on process and student participation. The differences related to the specific sociocultural conditions contextualising each university including geographical location, socioeconomic status, and teacher and student roles, expectations and beliefs about English. The findings illustrate the sociocultural tensions in interpreting, adapting and enacting formative assessment in Chinese College English classes and the consequent challenges to and questions about retaining the spirit of formative assessment as it was originally conceptualised.

The enactment of formative assessment in English language classrooms in two Chinese universities: teacher and student responses

The College English Curriculum Requirements, announced by the Chinese Ministry of Education in 2007, recommended the inclusion of formative assessment into the existing summative assessment framework of College English. This policy had the potential to fundamentally change the nature of assessment and its role in the teaching and learning of English in Chinese universities. In order to document and analyse these changes, case studies involving English language (EL) teachers and learners were undertaken in two Chinese universities: one a Key University in the national capital; the other a non-Key University in a western province. The case study design incorporated classroom observations and interviews with EL teachers and their students. The type and focus of feedback and the engagement of students in assessment were analysed in the two contexts. Fundamental to the analysis was the concept of enactment, with the focus of this study on the ways that policy ideas and principles were enacted in the practices of the Chinese university classroom. Understandings of formative assessment as applied in contexts other than the predominantly western, Anglophone contexts from where many of its principles derive are offered.

Chinese EFL students' response to an assessment policy change

The relationship between assessment and learning has been an enduring focus of research in educational contexts (Broadfoot, 2007). There is now a consensus that assessment and student learning are mutually and inextricably linked: it is clear that assessment shapes students’ learning. This has been amply documented in research from a variety of educational contexts. Crooks (1988), for instance, in an extensive review, suggests that assessment plays a key role in influencing students’ learning in multiple aspects, which range from the ability to retain and apply what has been learned to the development of students’ self-efficacy as learners. Assessment was found to have considerable impact on how educational courses are perceived (Marton & Saljo, 1997), conditioning learning goals (Boud & Falchikov, 2007), shaping students’ approaches to their learning (Ramsden, 2003), deciding on the quality of the learning outcomes (Biggs, 1999) and even the development of the students’ future learning (Struyven, Dochy, Janssens, Schelfhout & Gielen, 2006). It is therefore unsurprising that assessment has been used in many educational contexts by policy makers as a “tool” (Hamilton, 2003) to effect changes in pedagogy and learning. This use has become more pronounced in the past decade, as the development of assessment theory has brought formative assessment and its potential to enhance learning into focus (Carless, 2011; Ross, 2008).