Part 3
Assessments are an essential feature when teaching young learners. Types of assessment vary; some can enforce confidence in learners to improves when provided feedback, while other forms teach and empower learners to take control of their learning by becoming more aware of what helps them succeed as well as how to work toward specific language goals (British Council, n.d.).
TEYL educators often differentiate between formative and summative assessments. Formative focuses on the process of learning and summative focuses on the final product (Pinter, 2017).
Factors
Various factors need to be considered when assessing young learners. Children think, function, and learn differently from adults and they develop their cognition as they mature (Maria Britton, 2015). Assessing them subsequently becomes difficult as a lot of their learning is comprised of learning through games, visual learning, music etc. which is more prevalent in line with Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences that intellectual competencies influence children’s understanding of the world, and subsequently their learning methods (Vukadin, 2021).
Summative Assessment:
Summative assessments aim to evaluate student learning at the conclusion of an instructional period. Unlike formative assessments, these are more structured and are used to determine if the educational objectives have been met. Traditional exams, class tests, and final projects can be categorised under this form of assessment. Whilst these types of assessment are a lot simpler for teachers to execute due to their simplicity of setting up and marking as well as non-intrusive (Pinter, 2017), it leads to a ‘washback’ effect on younger learners. This being things like stress being placed on children as well as individual needs are often disregarded in favour of syllabus content (Cameron, 2021).
Formative Assessment:
Formative assessments, on the other hand, such as observations and peer and self-assessments, are integral for ongoing feedback and development. Observations, for instance, are a good method of assessment. They are a less stressful and non-intrusive way to gauge a student’s non-linguistic skills such as creativity and interaction in the classroom, allowing teachers to tailor their instructional approaches to meet individual needs effectively (Pinter, 2017). Peer and self-assessments, like the traffic light system (Figure 1), encourage young learners to engage in reflective practice, developing their metacognitive skills by assessing their own learning and that of their peers following an activity. Even though they do not abide to traditional frameworks of assessment, they allow teachers to also adapt their methods to suit learner needs.
As someone who has taught English to a mixed age group in an online environment, I have found summative assessments to be a lot more convenient as they do not interfere with the process online teaching, which require audio-visual learning and verbal tasks. However, I have found the younger learners, and their parents would always request and appreciate immediate insights and feedback which would help them reflect on their linguistical skills and become more adaptable in a different learning environment.
To adapt to young learners, a suggestion of using digital portfolios (Figure 2) can serve as a repository for student work, reflecting individual progress and learning over time. Both summative and formative forms of assessment can be uploaded and shared with teachers and parents which in turn fosters not only a collaborative, but also supportive system for young learners.
Appendices
Figure 1
Traffic Light Self-Assessment
t-c-2548947-selfassessment-traffic-light-cards_ver_1.pdf (n.d.). twinkle. https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-c-2548947-self-assessment-traffic-light-cards
Figure 2
Traditional Vs. Digital Portfolio
teaching-portfolio-examples-3 (n.d.) We Are Teachers. https://www.weareteachers.com/teaching-portfolio-examples/
References
British Council. (n.d.). Assessment for learning. TeachingEnglish. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/professional-development/teachers/assessing-learning/articles/assessment-learning
Britton, A. (2015). Assessment for Learning in teaching English to Young Learners: teachers’ understanding, classroom practice and impact on interactions. (p. 37). https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/41939/1/21803102_Britton_thesis.pdf
Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching languages to young learners. (p. 216). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511733109
Pinter, A. (2017). Teaching Young Language Learners, second edition (2nd ed, pp. 141-147). Oxford University Press.
Vukadin, M. A. (2021, December 14). Multiple intelligences Theory in the ELT classroom – Adapting your instruction to fit students’ learning styles. https://aliceinmethodologyland.com/2020/11/08/multiple-inteligences-theory-in-the-elt-classroom-adapting-your-instruction-to-fit-students-learning-styles/
