Assessing perf orm ance

74 © M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom.

3.3 Assessing perf orm ance

Having est ablished t he f oundat ions f or self -assessm ent in t he early part of t he course, self -assessm ent t hen needs t o be int egrat ed int o day t o day classroom act ivit ies. The assessm ent of st udent s’ ow n perf orm ance should becom e an int egral part of com m unicat ive act ivit ies. In t his w ay learners cont inually keep t rack of t heir progress and t hink about how t hey can im prove in t he f ut ure. Self -assessm ent can also give t he t eacher f eedback about perf orm ance w it hout having t o correct every single act ivit y done in t he classroom . There are m any occasions w hen st udent s can get as m uch f rom correct ing or assessing t heir ow n or each ot her’s w ork, t han f rom f eedback f rom t he t eacher.and w hen w e do correct and assess our st udent s’ w ork, it is im port ant t hat w e m ake t he m ost of t he f eedback w e are giving by get t ing st udent s t o t hink about t heir perf orm ance as w ell. Reading and list ening Bef ore w e ask st udent s t o assess t heir ow n perf orm ance in reading and list ening, it is usef ul t o do learner t raining act ivit ies t o m ake t hem aw are of diff erent t ypes of reading and list ening. It is vit al f or st udent s t o realise t hat of t en t hey do not have t o underst and everyt hing t o do a reading or list ening t ask. They also need t o be aw are t hat som e t ext s are m uch m ore dif f icult t han ot hers. If t hey do not realise t his and only see progress in a purely linear w ay, learners can becom e very f rust rat ed. For bot h reading and list ening, usef ul aw areness act ivit ies are t hose in w hich st udent s grade t ext t ypes according t o diff icult y or t hink about diff erent t ypes of reading and list ening, how much of a t ext t hey need t o underst and t o do a t ask. Here it can be usef ul t o get st udent s t o t hink about reading and list ening in t heir ow n language as w ell. Learner training reading Think about these three learner training activities yourself. Then try them out with your students in students’ L1 if necessary. Tell students to think about reading in their language and in English. 1 Rank these reading texts in order of difficulty: • postcards from friends • newspaper articles about politics • comic strips • extracts from children’s fiction • encyclopaedia extracts 2 How much of a text do you need to understand to do the things below? eg 1 = 25 100 = all of it 75 = most of it 50 = the general idea 25 = some of it • Find out the main stories in a newspaper. • Read a comic story for pleasure. • Follow instructions to assemble a machine. • Get a fact from an encyclopaedia article. • Get an idea of what a magazine is like by flicking through it. • Read a holiday brochure and choose a holiday. • magazine articles about people • notices • instructions for machines • travel brochures • letters from friends © M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom. 75 Likew ise f or list ening it is usef ul f or st udent s t o t hink about som e of t he variables t hat can aff ect underst anding such as accent , background noise, visual clues and num ber of speakers. And as w it h reading it is usef ul t o t hink about how m uch w e need t o underst and w hen w e are doing diff erent kinds of list ening. Learner training listening Look at the learner training activity for reading and produce a similar activity for listening. • Ranking different listening situations eg listening to your teacher telling a story listening to a conversation between three native speakers. • Working out how much you need to understand to do different things eg listening to find the main points of the news = 50. W hen st udent s are act ually doing reading or list ening t asks, t he m ost obvious w ay of assessing perf orm ance is by assessing com plet ion of t he t ask. For m ost t asks t his m eans w orking out how m any correct answ ers t he st udent gave and w hy t he answ ers are right and w rong. St udent s can eit her do t his t hrough self -correct ion t hem selves or ot her st udent s can correct t heir answ ers. They can t hen keep a record of t heir ow n result s, possibly in t heir learner diaries. If t hese m arks carry w eight in overall assessm ent , t his procedure is not t ot ally reliable as st udent s could be t em pt ed t o cheat . How ever, if t his is not t he case, st udent s have no need t o m islead you about t heir ow n result s. Answ ers can be gone over w it h t he w hole class and you can elicit f rom st udent s w hy cert ain answ ers are right or w rong. W hen discussing result s in class it is very im port ant t o be posit ive and concent rat e on w hat st udent s achieved, rat her t han on w hat t hey got w rong. It is also im port ant not t o m ake st udent s say t heir ow n result s in public, t o avoid highlight ing f ailure and encouraging com pet it ion. Anot her alt ernat ive is f or st udent s t o hand in t asks f or you t o look at af t er t he class. In addit ion t o t his kind of correct ion, it can be very usef ul t o est ablish list ening and reading records, w hich can com plem ent t he st udent s’ learner diaries. A sim ple w ay of doing t his is t o give st udent s a t able or graph, w here t hey assess w hat proport ion of a t ext t hey underst ood each t im e t hey read or list ened t o it . For exam ple, t he f irst t im e t hey m ay underst and 20 of a t ext I could underst and w hat it w as about m ore or less. The second t im e t hey m ay underst and 50 I underst ood t he sit uat ion quit e w ell, but I m issed a lot of det ails. The advant ages of t hese records is t hat t hey are easy t o f ill in and st udent s can keep t rack of t heir ow n perf orm ance in list ening and reading. At t he sam e t im e st udent s can also t hink about how w ell t hey com plet ed t he t ask. They can t hus be m ade aw are of t he f act t hat t o do a t ask t hey do not need t o underst and everyt hing. Look at the example of a listeningreading record. Listen to something in English yourself and complete it. Then copy the record sheets and try out this activity with your students while doing a listening or reading activity the descriptions of levels of understanding can be in students’ L1 if necessary. With difficult texts you may find that students only understand 25 the first time but up to 65 the second time. However, unless the tasks are too difficult, they should have been able to complete the tasks for both first and second listening. Use these scales to complete the listeningreading graphs below. At the same time say if you managed to complete the task. 100 = I understood absolutely everything 90 = I understood nearly everything. I only missed a few words. 75 = I understood most of it, but I didn’t understand a few sentences. 50 = I understood the situation quite well, though I missed a lot of the details. 35 = I got the general idea, but at times I got a bit lost. 20 = I could understand what it was about more or less. 10 = I understood a few words here or there 0 = I didn’t understand a single word Listeningreading record Date................ Kind of listeningreading:................................. First time Second time 100 90 75 50 35 20 10 Task completed: yesno Task completed: yesno Writ ing It is diff icult t o assess one’s ow n w rit t en product ion; t heref ore st udent s do need correct ion and assessm ent of t heir w ork by t he t eacher. How ever, t his is not enough. As m ent ioned earlier, w hen t eachers give back correct ed and assessed w ork, st udent s of t en just look at t he m ark and ignore t he rest . Thus a lot of w ork on t he t eacher’s part is w ast ed. If learners are t o im prove t heir ow n w rit ing t hey 76 © M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom. need t o t hink about t heir ow n perf orm ance and t hen com pare t heir judgem ent w it h t hat of t he t eacher. They also need t o t ry t o correct t heir ow n m ist akes and t o t hink about t hem , so t hat in f ut ure t hey w ill be able t o avoid t hem . It is usef ul t o do learner t raining act ivit ies t hat m ake st udent s aw are of t he various st ages in t he w rit ing process. It is part icularly im port ant f or st udent s t o realise t he need t o check and assess t heir ow n w ork w hen t hey have produced a draf t . If t here is t im e t hey can t hen go on t o w rit e a f inal and correct ed draf t . One w ay of developing your st udent s’ abilit y t o assess t hem selves is by get t ing t hem f irst ly t o assess t ext s and t hen t o edit t hem . In t his w ay t hey are m ade aw are of som e of t he crit eria involved in assessm ent . W hen you do w rit ing act ivit ies in class, t he f irst t hing t o do is t o est ablish clear crit eria f or assessm ent bef ore st udent s have st art ed t o do a t ask. Depending on t he level and t he kind of w rit ing t ask, crit eria could include t he f ollow ing: ◆ int erest and relevance of cont ent ◆ organisat ion of ideas ◆ appropriacy of st yle ◆ linking and punct uat ion ◆ present at ion ◆ gram m at ical accuracy and punct uat ion An alt ernat ive, w hich can be part icularly usef ul f or project w ork, is t o negot iat e crit eria w it h st udent s. You can ask st udent s how t hey t hink t he project should be m arked and t hen w ork out a sim ple m arking schem e on t he board. This act ivit y provides t he vit al f unct ion of m aking st udent s aw are of w hat const it ut es a successf ul piece of w rit ing. It also involves st udent s in t he assessm ent process. The next st ep is t o m ake sure t hat w hen st udent s have f inished a draf t of t heir w ork, t hey check over it , t ry t o correct any sim ple m ist akes t hey have m ade and assess t he st rengt hs and w eaknesses of t he w rit ing. It can be a good idea t o m ake st udent s show you an edit ed version of a f irst draf t bef ore t hey go on t o t he f inal draf t . At t his st age, peer assessm ent of w ork is also very usef ul. St udent s can pass t heir com posit ions t o t heir part ners, w ho check t hrough it f or m ist akes and assess it . In t he case of group w rit ing, st udent s can check t he w rit ing done by ot her groups. Having produced a f inal version you can also ask st udent s t o m ake a f inal assessm ent of t heir w ork, assigning a m ark according t o t he crit eria agreed at t he beginning. Once again, ot her st udent s can assess t he w ork and give a m ark. This can be done by displaying w ork around t he classroom or by passing t he pieces of w rit ing around t he class. At f irst st udent s f ind t his diff icult and m ost t end t o give ot her st udent s high m arks, as t hey do not t hink t hat it is up t o t hem t o crit icise t heir classm at es and f riends. How ever, having done self and peer assessm ent f or a w hile, m arks t end t o be m ore realist ic. The next st age is assessm ent by t he t eacher according t o t he agreed crit eria. The t eacher’s m ark is t hen added t o t hose of t he w rit er and of ot her st udent s. At t he sam e t im e t he t eacher should provide f eedback about t he problem areas in t he com posit ions. The best w ay of doing t his is t hrough t he use of correct ion codes. W hen t he com posit ions are given back t o st udent s see if t hey agree w it h your assessm ent . If t hey can argue coherent ly t hat t hey deserve m ore m arks f or one of t he f act ors considered and you f eel t hat t hey are just if ied, you can change t he m ark. In t he case of group w ork, t he m arks can be discussed w it h t he w hole class. You can explain w hy you gave t he m ark you did and alt er it if t he st udent s give convincing reasons. W hile t his process should not degenerat e int o a bargaining about m arks, it is im port ant t o t ake st udent s’ opinions int o considerat ion and t o show t hem t hat ‘ t he t eacher is not alw ays right ’ . This m ay seem t o underm ine t he t eacher’s aut horit y, but t his is only t he case if it is not part of a general approach. © M ichael Harris, Paul M cCann 1994, M acmillan Publishers Ltd 77 78 © M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom. Look at these procedures for carrying out self assessment of writing described in the preceding paragraphs. Try out one or more stages with a class. While some of the stages are best suited to higher level learners eg negotiating criteria, other stages like stage 2- checking and editing can be done with low level students. Stage 1: Negotiating criteria especially good for projects Before beginning a writing activity, outline or negotiate criteria for assessing finished work. Write the criteria on the board. One or a combination of these criteria can be used: • presentation handwritingdrawings etc • contentmessage interestingrelevant to situation • organisation formatparagraphsorganisation of ideas • linking use of linking words and expressionspunctuation • vocabulary adequacy of vocabulary for purpose • accuracy grammatical inaccuraciesspellingvocabulary Decide how many points to be given for each area: Example: content 10 accuracy 10 Stage 2: Checking and editing When students have finished writing their first draft, tell them to show it to you. Then they check it for mistakes and give it to their partner to edit. Stage 3: Final self-assessment When they have finished the final draft, ask students to assess their own work according to the established criteria. Stage 4: Final peer-assessment Display written work around the classroom. Students circulate and write their assessments of each other’s work on forms or pieces of paper provided. At the same time, go around yourself and assess work, using the same criteria. Stage 5: Comparing assessments better for group writing Choose a few pieces of work and compare the different assessments. Discuss differences. Don’t be afraid to modify your assessment if students give convincing arguments in favour of a different mark. © M ichael Harris and Paul M cCann 1994. This page may be photocopied for use in the classroom. 79 Speaking Speaking is anot her area w here it is very dif f icult t o assess one’s ow n perf orm ance. How ever, a sim ilar approach can be t aken as f or w rit ing. As t his cannot be done f or every speaking act ivit y t hat st udent s do in class, it is best t o f ocus on act ivit ies w here perf orm ance is an im port ant elem ent , f or exam ple roleplay or sim ulat ion rat her t han survey act ivit ies w here t he inf orm at ion is m ore im port ant . It is also advisable t o f ocus on group or pair perf orm ance rat her t han on individual perf orm ance, w here peer assessm ent is involved. Crit icism of individual perf orm ance how ever posit ive can be very dam aging if it com es f rom f ellow classm at es. As f or w rit ing, it is im port ant t o est ablish crit eria f or assessm ent bef ore st udent s begin t he t ask: f luency and lack of hesit at ion, relevance and int erest of t he perf orm ance, pronunciat ion: soundsrhyt hm w ord and sent ence st ressint onat ion, appropriacy of language, gram m at ical accuracy and use of suit able vocabulary. At low er levels st udent s can be encouraged t o t hink about only one or t w o of t hese crit eria, in part icular int erest of perf orm ance and gram m at ical accuracy. At higher levels all of t hese elem ent s need t o be considered at one st age or anot her. Perhaps bef ore you get st udent s t o t hink about crit eria f or assessing t hem selves, it is usef ul t o m ake t hem aw are of t hem in general t erm s. The f ollow ing learner t raining act ivit y helps st udent s t o t hink about w hat is involved in successf ul com m unicat ion. It also gives t hem m odels f or oral self -assessm ent . Oral self-assessment Do this activity yourself. Then try it out with your students. a Look at the two self-assessments below, with two people assessing how well they performed in an oral exam a shopping roleplay. Which of them do you think did best in the oral interview? b Which of these areas do they mention in their self-assessments? • pronunciation • grammatical mistakes • vocabulary • fluency and hesitation • getting the message across • using the appropriate language in terms of formality for the situation A ‘I made very few grammatical mistakes, but I spoke very slowly. Sometimes I couldn’t think of the word and had to stop completely. My pronunciation was not too bad, but the other person did not understand one or two words and I had to repeat them. I only bought three of the six things I wanted to get.’ B ‘I made a lot of grammatical mistakes, but the ‘shop assistant’ was able to understand me. I think my pronunciation was not very good and some words were wrong. I spoke at normal speed and when I couldn’t think of a word in English I described what it was. I bought what I wanted.’ Check your answers on page 88. 80 © M ichael Harris, Paul M cCann 1994, M acmillan Publishers Ltd An im port ant point about self -assessm ent of speaking is t hat rat her t han asking st udent s t o give t hem selves m arks, t he m ain t hing is f or st udent s t o t hink about t heir problem s and t heir achievem ent s. Peer assessm ent should be done during t he act ivit y, so t hat st udent s perf orm ing t he act ivit y get f eedback im m ediat ely af t erw ards. This can eit her be done in groups or w it h t he w hole class. For exam ple, in groups of f our, t w o st udent s can act out roleplays w hich t hey have previously pract ised. The ot her pair can t hen give t hem f eedback about t heir perf orm ance. W hen st udent s act out roleplays or sim ulat ions in groups, t hey can t hen act t hem out in f ront of t he class and t he ot her st udent s can assess t he overall perf orm ance of t he group. Self -assessm ent of perf orm ance can be done im m ediat ely af t er an act ivit y has f inished. St udent s can assess how t hey perf orm ed, eit her in very general t erm s or in t erm s of f luency, accuracy, pronunciat ion et c. Audio and video t aping is of part icular use here, as st udent s can go back and see or list en t o t heir ow n perf orm ance. These recordings can also be used t o com pare perf orm ance at diff erent st ages of t he course, giving st udent s concret e evidence of t heir progress in speaking. It is im port ant t o com plem ent self -assessm ent of speaking w it h your ow n observat ion and f eedback, point ing out problem areas and encouraging st udent s on w hat t hey have achieved. Assessm ent can also be linked w it h learner t raining act ivit ies. Having assessed perf orm ance in an act ivit y, st rat egies f or im proving com m unicat ion can t hen be discussed, eg avoiding w ords t hat t hey do not know, using gest ure and m im e, using w ords and expressions t o hesit at e.

3.4 Review ing progress