Gaining insights on EFL student performance through meaningful assessment tools - Gallardo Changotásig, Consuelo; Cajamarca Illescas, Carmen; Quito Gutiérrez, Isabel (Machala : Universidad Técnica de Machala, 2018)
Individuals´ learning of a second or foreign language has been traditionally measured with paper-and-pencil tests. Unfortunately, such assessment practice prevents learners from demonstrating the skills gained throughout the teachinglearning processes and thus, their actual ability to use the target language effectively. It also limits learners from receiving positive feedback; which opens doors for them to improve their language skills. The language teaching field demands that English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers have a vast knowledge of the fundamental concepts and theories that surround the assessment of EFL learning. It also requires that professionals who teach a foreign language keep up to date with assessment tendencies that go beyond paper-and-pencil tests as is the case of authentic assessments. Assessment practices that go beyond traditional paper-and-pencil tests provide students with opportunities to be assessed in mental stress-free environments. Teachers who promote this alternative form of assessment prompt learners to perform real-world tasks so that they can demonstrate their capability to apply essential knowledge and skills in creative and meaningful ways. In other words, teachers gain insights about how much students have grasped by their actual ability to perform in a specific situation instead of the number right or wrong answers they have made on a test.
Keywords: ENGLISH PRATICES