VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES PHAM LAN ANH AN INVESTIGATION INTO ENGLISH CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT PRACTICES IN THREE PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN HA NOI Điều tra thực trạng giáo viên Tiếng Anh đánh giá học sinh trong quá trình hoc tập trên lop A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Major: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 62140111 Hanoi, 2015 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES PHAM LAN ANH AN INVESTIGATION INTO ENGLISH CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT PRACTICES IN THREE PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN HA NOI Điều tra thực trạng giáo viên Tiếng Anh đánh giá học sinh trong quá trình hoc tập trên lop A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Major: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 62140111 Supervisor: Dr. TO THI THU HUONG Hanoi, 2015 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I, the undersigned, certify my authority of the dissertation entitled “An Investigation into English Classroom Assessment Practices in Three Primary Schools in Ha Noi” in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy. Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the dissertation. PHAM LAN ANH ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AFL Assessment for Learning AOL Assessment of Learning ASL Assessment as Learning AFT Assessment for Teaching AI Assessment Incident AT Assessment Task CA Classroom Assessment CBA Classroom-Based Assessment DoET Department/Division of Education and Training DYNED Dynamic Education (software) EAL English as an Additional Language EFL English as a Foreign Language EPH Education Publishing House, Vietnam ESL English as a Second Language FA Formative Assessment IRF Initiative-Responsive-Feedback L2 Second Language MOET Ministry of Education and Training NIESAC National Institute for Education Strategy and Curriculum Development OUP Oxford University Press PIP Primary Innovation Project PPP Presentation-Practice-Production PToT Trainer of Primary Teachers Ss.
Students TEYL Teaching English to Young Learners ZPD Zone of Proximal Development 1 ABSTRACT Assessment has been one of the most heatedly debated issues worldwide. While on the global scale, classroom assessment (CA) has gained an increasing attention in educational practices and in research for decades, this type of assessment has very recently received an initial recognition in Vietnamese primary schools. The impact of CA in student learning, therefore, remains inclusive and needs further research. The study presented in this thesis was designed to seek deep insights into the CA practised by a group of primary EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers and the factors underlying such practices.
To address this complex issue, a collective case study was conducted with 8 primary EFL teachers of English in 3 schools in Hanoi, Vietnam. Data were collected through classroom observations, interviews with teachers and students, and through assessment-related document/materials. The methodology was framed by a sociocultural constructivist approach that focused on 6 assessment components of CA (why, what, how, who, when, and how well to assess). The findings showed that the teachers’CA practices were influenced by personal and contextual factors such as their beliefs of how children learn, constraints built into the curriculum, and institutional assessment requirements.
There was a complex and non-linear relationship between teaching, learning and assessment practices related to CA due to the teachers’ internalized conceptions of CA and contextual constraints including the educational policy. 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the ongoing support and encouragement of a very large number of professors, colleagues and my family. Without the endless empathy, encouragement and expertise from Dr. T6 Thi Thu Huong — my supervisor, the completion of this study would never have happened.
I would like to thank Assoc. Lê Hùng Tién, Dr. Huynh Anh Tuan and the support staff and librarians at the Faculty of Postgraduate Studies who are ever so kind and helpful. A sincere appreciation goes out to the members of the special topic and the institutional panels: Assoc.
Nguyén Phuong Nga, Dr. Duong Thi Nu, Dr. Lé Van Canh, Dr. Hoàng Thi Xuân Hoa, Dr.
Hà Thị Câm Tâm, Dr. Nguyễn Huy Kỷ, Dr. Duong Thu Mai, and Assoc. Võ Đại Quang for the assistance, guidance and enduring patience.
In addition, I wish to express my gratitude to my colleagues — Nguyễn Chi Lan, Nguyễn Ngọc Lan, and Nguyễn Thúy Hanh, whose comments made this study possible. Iam also grateful to David Carless, David Vale, Janet Enever, Jaynee Moon, Rebecca Hales, Laura Grassic and Sophie Ioannou Georgiou for the invaluable ideas shared with me. I would also like to thank the administrators as well as the teachers and students of the three schools involved in my study for many acts of kindness, generosity and patience. Finally, my deep gratitude will always be with my family, my dear and supportive parents, my husband and my little children.
1V TABLE OF CONTENTS Ii9:49)9)6 60/9) 12. Significance Of the SfUY.- -ó- s1 HH HH TH HT nu HH TH HT TH 2 3. Context Of the S{UY.- G1 HH TH HH HH HH 2 4. Aims and objectives of the n6.
Structure of the Study oo. 9 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW. Formative and summative aSS€SSIT€IE. Boundary and definition of classroom asSeSSI€NT.
Classroom assessment for young EFL learners. Characteristics of young EFL learners. Principles of classroom assessment of young EFL learners. Components of classroom asseSSMeNt .- 6 G2 2 19119911193 910 91 ng ng ng kế 17 1.
Purposes of aSS€SSITIH.- Ghi gh nh n 19 1. Assessment approaches and methOdS. Agents of aSS€SSINTI(. G2 S ST TH TH HT TH HH 23 1.
ASSESSMENE DFOC€dUTC. Definitions of teachers’ beÌI@ÏS.- --- «+ 1319991 91 911 nh gu ng my 27 1. Rationale for exploring teachers’ beÌI€ÍS. Factors shaping teachers’ beÌI€ÍS.
| Previous studies on teachers’ beliefs about CA. Approaches to explore teachers’ beliefs. Teachers’ classroom assessment PractiCes. Definition of classroom assessment PractiCes.
Previous studies on classroom assessment PractiCes. Approaches to explore teachers’ classroom assessment practices. 38 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. Rationale for the research đ€S1g11.-- c1 1121119119911 9111910191 HH HH kết 40 2.- SG HH HH Hệ 40 2.
Description of the three SChOOI]S 1000. Data CONCCtION oc. Instruments for data Collection. eee ee ce 5 + 1E 931991 91 1 TH HH nh nh tư 54 2.
Questionnaire and follow-up interview to select teachers in Stage l. Focus-group interviews in Stage 2 and Stage 3 oo. Stimulated recalls after each classroom observation session in Stages 2, 3. Individual interviews after classroom observation process in Stage 3.
-ó- + 5 h1 n HT TH TT HH TH nà 59 2. Artefacts occ ốố ố ố ố. Data amalySis nh. Measures to reduce subjectivity and increase Validity.
63 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS. Teachers’ self-reported practices and beliefs .- --- -s + k+k k9 vs ng nưệp 65 3. Teachers’ beliefs about children as young language Ï€arn€rs. Teachers’ beliefs about assessment.
Teachers’ classroom assessmenf DACfICCS. -- 6 6s 3 1121 2319 1 91 21 2 ng nưệp 77 KV. Observing a typical student work to provide feedback for the whole class. Teachers’ marking/grading 0.
Approach and focus Of asSeSSMEMt. «5 61 23 v9 HH nh nh rêp 89 3. Approach and focus of assessment as reflected in the teachers’ lesson plans. Approach and focus of assessment as reflected in periodic and final tests.
Approach and focus of assessment as reflected in daily assessment. Agents of assessment and assessment SfTAf€Ø1€S. Sharing learning goals and information on assessment with students. Eliciting student understanding.
Extending student Ï€arn1ng. - --- 5 + xxx 1919 1v ng TH HH rệt 118 3. Assessment strategies reflected in evidence of student learning. Purposes Of ASSCSSMENE.
Relationship between teachers’ beliefs, practices and contextual constraints. Consistencies and discrepancies between teachers’ beliefs and practices. Recapitulation of the main findingS. SG TH Họ tườ 147 5.
Suggestions for further sfUIS.-- --- 5 52 + k1 3 TH HH TH ng nà rệt 148 35354500177. 149 APPENDIX 1: DATA COLLECTION PROTOCOL .- - 555555 2<£s£ssseseesees CLXX APPENDIX 2: DATA ANALYSIS PROTOCOL,. 5555555 +++£+s+eexsersersrree CLXXII APPENDIX 3: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE IN STAGE I.- -----+ CLXXVII APPENDIX 4: ANALYSIS OF THE SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE IN STAGE 1. CLXXXVI APPENDIX 5: FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEWS IN STAGE l.----5- << c+ccssxs+ CCH APPENDIX 6: SAMPLE OF FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW.ccccccee- CCVII APPENDIX 7: EXAMPLE OF PROCESSING DATA FROM FOCUS GROUP 0050402) S11 —.
CCXVII APPENDIX 8: PROCESSED DATA FROM FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEWS. CCXXI APPENDIX 9: SOURCES OF TEACHERS’ BELIEFS AND VALUES. CCXXIV APPENDIX 10: EXAMPLE OF FINDINGS IN SINGLE CASE. CCXXXII SINGLE CASE (HÏSÏS.
0G HHHư CCXXXH APPENDIX 11: FINDINGS ACROSS CASES. -Ặ se CCXXXIV Meta-matrix for CrOSS-CASC ŒHQÏÿ/§ÏS. HH CCXXXIV APPENDIX 12: FEEDBACK PATTERNS .cccccceccesceseeeceeeeeseeseeeeeeeeeseeaeeneeeeees CCXXXVII Q Feedback Patterns .ccccccccccsccesscesscesscesseesceesseesceseseceseceseceseceseceseceaeceeeeneeeseeentenses CCXXXVII Most used feedback patterns by every Single COSC .- 255k CCXXXIX APPENDIX 13: INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEW IN STAGES 2, 3. CCXL APPENDIX 14: CHECKLIST FOR CLASSROOM OBSERVATION IN STAGES 2, 3 ¬.
LXXX APPENDIX 15: TALLY SHEET FOR CLASSROOM OBSERVATION IN STAGE 2 ——. LXXXI APPENDIX 16: ARTEFACTS: PERIODIC AND FINAL TESTS. XCVII Test BM2014 vocceccccscccsscesscesseesccesnecesecesecsseceseseseceseceseceaeceseeeseeeseeessesseeeseeeaeeesaeceaeceaeeeaeenas XCIX APPENDIX 17: ANALYSIS OF PERIODIC AND FINAL TESTS .‹--- CH Periodic test CValUAtION 0-4413. Ci Overall evaluation of periodic and final Í€ SfS.
chgiết CVII APPENDIX 18: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ALL ACTIVITIES IN 39 OBSERVED LESSONS oe cecceesccesscesseeseceseesscecseeesceescecscecsaeceeecseceaeceseceaeceseceseceseceseceaeceseeeseesseesseeeeeeeeesees CIX APPENDIX 19: ARTEFACTS: SAMPLE OF A LESSON PLAN. --CXVII Tacher D’s Lesson Plan. CXVII APPENDIX 20: EXAMPLE OF TRANSCRIBED LESSON .eccccesseeseesseeseeeeeeeeneees CXX Transcription of teacher D’s lesson: Unit 3, Grade 3. ---- 55s +++sesseese CXX APPENDIX 21: EXAMPLE OF STIMULATED RECALL.--- --- --++-+>+s>>s52 CXXV Stimulated recall, Teacher D, Unit 3 Grade 3, Stage 2.
---- s5 c+cs+cscses CXXV APPENDIX 22: EXAMPLE OF PROCESSED DATA FROM RAW DATA. CXXVIII Unit 13 Lesson 2, English 3, Grade 3, Teacher B, Stage .«-< «<< x<<+ CXXXI LesSOn pDÏATn. G1 HH CXXXI IE oi°8 ` on a5". CXXXVII RE t0iceII 01188.
CLV APPENDIX 23: STUDENT EVIDENCE AND SAMPLES OF STUDENTS’ WORK.CLX Workbook, Student SIB2F10 (in Teacher B2’s class, Grade Š).----«<<<+++ CLXIIH Writing book, Student 2452Ì. -- «xxx HH it CLXX APPENDIX 24: EXAMPLE OF POST-OBSERVATION FEEDBACK SESSION TO k9)S1 5. CLXXVII TOdCH CY C2 viceeccccscccssecsscesseesseceaecesecesecesscssceesceesceeeecesecesecceceaeceaeceseceaeceaseneeeneeeneeeags CLXXVII vill LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1.1: Relationship between testing, measurement, assessment, and 13 classroom assessment LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1.1: View on relative distinctions of Formative/Summative vs. 19 AOL/AFL/AFT/ASL Table 2.1: Sources of data for the research sub-questions 43 Table 2.
Brief profile of the five additional cases in Stage 3 48 Table 3.1: Common procedure: Whole-class teaching/revisiting of the content 80 as the result of checking a sample of students Table 3.2: Common procedure: Developing mental framework for future 82 remedies Table 3.3: Common procedure: Marking based on intuition 84 Table 3.4: Common procedure: Marking for managerial purpose 86 Table 3.5: Characteristics of CA practices employed by the eight teachers 128 Table 3.6: Teachers’ purposes of assessment 132 Table 3.7: Summary of findings 136 1X INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale Following the growing tendency of lowering the age of EFL learners, together with innovations in education, the field of language assessment for young learners has received an increasing attention. Since young language learners possess special characteristics, assessing them needs to be motivational and child friendly as they have no reasons for learning a foreign language (Cameron, 2001; Hasselgreen, 2005; Mckay P. Moreover, classroom assessment practices for young learners demand a focus on the long-term learning process, rather than on the short-term outcome (Cameron, 2001; Hasselgreen, 2005; Hill & McNamara, 2011; Mckay P.
This trend is parallel with the development of learning theories from Behaviourism to Sociocultural Constructivism, with the former being characterized as teacher-centeredness, surface learning, assessment of the final product of learning and a separation between teaching and assessment while the latter placing learning at the center of all educational activities and embedding assessment throughout the learning and teaching process (Cameron, 2001; Lambert & Lines, 2000; Mohamed, 2013; Popharm, 2008, Swaffield, 2008).