Language Assessment: What Do EFL Instructors Know? What Do EFL Instructors Do?

Introduction

Assessment has an indispensable role in both teaching and learning as it initiates the process like an engine (White, 2009). In other words, assessment gives teachers the chance to evaluate whether their classroom practices are effective or not. However, there is confusion about the terms “assessment” and “testing”. Tests are tools concerning administrative issues, and learners are aware that they will be evaluated; on the other hand, assessment is “an ongoing process that encompasses a much wider domain” (Brown, 2003; p. 15). To clarify, even though assessment is usually accepted as tests conducted at the end of the courses in order to find out whether the course goals are accomplished, it also has a place at the very beginning of the curriculum development process since it is able to detect the problems learners might face.

When it comes to foreign language learning/teaching, assessment becomes much more prominent. Language assessment is defined as “a broad term referring to a systematic procedure for eliciting test and non-test data for the purpose of making inferences or claims about certain language-related characteristics of an individual” (Purpura, 2016; p. 191). Language assessment is among the indispensable practices in language teaching/learning as it brings out the quality of instruction (Stiggins, 1999). Brown (2003) highlights how significant language assessment is in the following seven items:

• 1.

  Periodic assessments, both formal and informal, can increase motivation by serving as milestones of student progress.

• 2.

  Appropriate assessments aid in the reinforcement and retention of information.

• 3.

  Assessments can confirm areas of strength and pinpoint areas needing further work.

• 4.

  Assessments can provide a sense of periodic closure to modules within a curriculum.

• 5.

  Assessments can promote student autonomy by encouraging students’ self-evaluation of their progress.

• 6.

  Assessments can spur learners to set goals for themselves.

• 7.

  Assessments can aid in evaluating teaching effectiveness.

As can be understood, language assessment practices are good informants of students’ language progress. However, what is the role of instructors in language assessment?

Teaching and assessment are two concepts strictly related; they give information about one another and, as a result, develop each other (Malone, 2013). Teachers/instructors have a critical role in bridging teaching and assessment (Leung, 2014). That is to say, the more knowledgeable and skillful the teachers/instructors are, the more effective and powerful the assessment becomes (Popham, 2009). This means that language instructors are expected to integrate various assessment strategies into their teaching in order to make better decisions about the learners’ progress, which highlights the term “assessment literacy”.

Assessment literacy is defined as “teachers’ knowledge and abilities to apply assessment concepts and techniques to inform decision making and guiding practice” (Mertler & Campbell, 2005; p. 16). On the other hand, when it comes to language assessment literacy, Malone (2013) defines it as “language teachers’ familiarity with testing definitions and the application of this knowledge to classroom practices in general and specifically to issues related to assessing language” (p. 329). As can be understood, the main focus is on the teachers/instructors since they are responsible for developing assessment methods, administering those methods to the language teaching/learning process, interpreting the results, and making educational decisions (Stiggins, 1999). All in all, teachers/instructors are the leaders, facilitators, and directors in the assessment process, and hence it seems essential for them to have a certain degree of language assessment knowledge (Popham, 2006).