An investigation into formative assessment of speaking skill at a secondary school in hue city một cuộc điều tra về đánh giá thường xuyên kỹ năng nói tiếng anh tại một trường thcs ở thành phố huế

0 HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES - TRAN DUC QUANG SON AN INVESTIGATION INTO FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT OF SPEAKING SKILL AT A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN HUE CITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, University of Foreign Languages and International studies, Hue University THUA THIEN HUE, 2022 HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES - TRAN DUC QUANG SON AN INVESTIGATION INTO FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT OF SPEAKING SKILL AT A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN HUE CITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 8140111 SUPERVISOR: NGO LE HOANG PHUONG, PH.D THUA THIEN HUE, 2022 ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ - TRẦN ĐỨC QUANG SƠN MỘT CUỘC ĐIỀU TRA VỀ ĐÁNH GIÁ THƯỜNG XUYÊN KỸ NĂNG NÓI TIẾNG ANH TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG THCS Ở THÀNH PHỐ HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 8140111 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS NGÔ LÊ HOÀNG PHƯƠNG THỪA THIÊN HUẾ, 2022 i STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree in any university I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself Signed: ………………………… Tran Duc Quang Son Date: ……/ …… /…………… ii ABSTRACT Formative assessment is crucial for the development of a language education program because it fosters learners’ language acquisition, creates more teaching-learning effectiveness, and enhances reflection Prior research highlighted the great impact of formative assessment in language skill instruction; however, there would be a challenge to summarize the variety of teaching procedures in which formative assessment is employed The current research employs qualitative research, with the aid of the semi-structured interview and classroom observation, to gather the four typical secondary school EFL teachers’ perceptions of the role of formative assessment into speaking class and their proposed teaching models The research setting was placed in Hue city in the first semester of 2021-2022 academic year Findings illustrated an equal evaluation of teachers on the usefulness of formative assessment, notwithstanding the challenges The useful teaching models were reported for further analyses Across four different cases, the study showed that the teachers utilized different formative assessment techniques in their class due to the curriculum, their intention and the students’ interest Future research could employ more classroom observations and other instruments like questionnaire into larger-scale research Key words: Formative assessment, speaking, language education iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS One person cannot write a license essay alone, even if it’s just a name on the front page It's like traveling a long distance in a diverse landscape Many people are on tour with me Thank you all Thanks to my colleagues and students during my teaching period, especially my first position in To Huu Secondary School They trained me as a teacher, Ms Linh, Ms Khoi, Ms Thuy, and Ms Y Thank you, the principal and the vice principal They gave me the possibility of my development: Mr Bao and Mr Nong My parents, they gave me the courage to apply for postgraduate positions in education Following and supporting me in my journey were all members of the 2019-2021 English Language Teaching Theory and Method Master's Program, they are always ready to discuss, support and share useful experiences The incredible environment that …created for graduate students inspired me to meet with experienced and novice researchers, including my mentor, Dr Ngo Le Hoang Phuong When I fall, they always help me stand up again, maintain confidence in my success, point out possible directions and challenge me to see the meaning behind these words Thank you I will also acknowledge all members of B1 French class, especially Mrs Ngan, Mrs Ly, Thu, An, Tham and Oanh, who have shared the struggling, challenging and developing years together with me Thanks for all enlightening discussions on formative assessment and life in general Without informants no study, so thank you, teachers and classes in a secondary school in Hue city, for letting me share your community and learn from you for a while Finally, my grandmother, my aunts, my uncles and my relatives, thank you all for helping and supporting me during the research iv List of Tables and Figures Table 3.1 Background Information of the Teacher Interviewees 18 Table 3.2 Classroom Observation Information 22 Table 4.2 The Challenges of FA in Speaking Classes 26 Figure 3.1 The Research Design 16 v List of Abbreviations EFL English as a Foreign Language FA Formative Assessment SA Summative Assessment vi TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP i ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii List of Tables and Figures iv List of Abbreviations v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Background to the Study 1.2 Statement of the Problem 1.3 Rationales 1.4 Research Aim and Objectives 1.5 Research Questions 1.6 Scope of the Study 1.7 Significance of the Study 1.8 Structure of the Thesis Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Literature review 2.2.1 Speaking 2.2.2 Formative Assessment 2.2.2.1 Definitions 2.2.2.2 The Role of Formative Assessment in EFL Classes 2.2.2.3 EFL Teachers’ Deployment of Formative Assessment 2.3 Previous Related Studies 11 2.4 Summary of the chapter 14 Chapter 3: Methodology 16 3.1 Introduction 16 3.2 Research Design 16 3.3 Research Method 17 3.4 Research Setting 17 3.5 Sampling and Participants 17 3.6 Instruments 19 3.6.1 Semi-structured Interview 19 3.6.1.1 Principles 19 3.6.1.2 The Current Semi-Structured Interview 20 3.6.2 Classroom Observation 20 vii 3.6.2.1 Principles 20 3.6.2.2 The Current Classroom Observation 21 3.7 Data Collection Procedure 22 3.8 Data Analysis Procedure 23 Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion 24 4.1 Introduction 24 4.2 Teachers’ Perceptions of Formative Assessment (FA) 24 4.2.1 The Roles of FA in Speaking Classes 24 4.2.2 Challenges of FA in Speaking Classes 25 4.3 The Implementation of FA in Speaking Classes 28 4.3.1 Low-stakes Quizzes and Polls 29 4.3.2 TAG Feedback 32 4.3.3 Students’ Group Discussion 37 4.3.4 Misconception Check 41 4.4 Cross-case Analysis 44 4.4 Discussion 44 4.4.1 EFL Teachers’ Perception of Formative Assessment in Speaking Class 44 4.4.2 The Implementation of Formative Assessment in Speaking Class 46 Chapter 5: Conclusion and Implication 49 5.1 Conclusion 49 5.2 Limitations 52 5.3 Implications for EFL teaching and learning 53 5.4 Recommendations for future research 55 References 57 Appendix A: 61 Appendix B: 65 Appendix C: 66 55 Discussion is also a possible type of formative assessment Teachers can apply group discussions to motivate students to speak out loud their ideas or work collaboratively on a small project Teachers can start the lesson by eliciting students’ opinions on a topic, and then notice/ interpret their answers, and further acting by delivering more tasks or giving feedback Students can peer review their friends’ answers in some cases Misconception check, quite similar to TAG feedback, takes its goal to measure students’ higher-order thinking because students are asked to express their personal opinion on a scientific or social topic, rather than a particular point of the lesson Also, the teachers elicit students in misconception check by giving them a wrong fact or piece of information that stimulates their criticism or arguments Overall, these four activities, low stakes quizzes and polls, TAG feedback, discussion, and misconception could be adapted into current EFL speaking classes 5.4 Recommendations for future research The current study might recommend a few trends of further research First of all, mixed methods research could be conducted in order to obtain both quantitative (via questionnaire) and qualitative data (via interview, classroom observation, documents) to yield the variety of research findings of speaking formative assessment activities Next, the participants could be different Future research could include primary school students, high school students, tertiary level students (university EFL learners: English majors or nonEnglish majors), and pre-service EFL teachers in order to shed lights on different insights into the research phenomenon Still, further research could be done in order to examine the impacts of formative assessment on the students’ language skill development (e.g., writing, reading, listening), language areas (e.g., pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar), or even higher- 56 level professional skills (e.g., translation, interpretation, research) The application of instructional technologies into formative assessment activities could create the wide range of research according to the use of particular innovations Finally, there have been not many studies into Vietnamese EFL teachers’ perception and deployment of formative assessment in language classrooms, especially speaking class; therefore, the current research into the employment of speaking instruction could be conducted at a larger scale, with the participation of more teacher participants, as well as other speaking activities, namely presentations, academic speeches, and so forth All of this would create the mosaic of the function of formative assessment in EFL speaking teaching and learning 57 References Bacquet, J N.(2020).Implications of summative and formative assessment in Japan–A review of the current literature International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 8(2), 28-35 https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.8n.2p.28 Black, P., & Wiliam, D.(2018).Classroom assessment and pedagogy Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 25(6), 551-575 https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2018.1441807 Burns,A.,&Seidlhofer,B.(2020).Speaking and pronunciation In N Schmitt &Rodgers,M.P.H (Eds.) An introduction to applied linguistics, pp.240-258.NY:Hodder & Stoughton Correia, C F., & Harrison, C.(2020).Teachers’ beliefs about inquiry-based learning and its impact on formative assessment practice Research in Science & Technological Education, 38(3), 355-376 https://doi.org/10.1080/02635143.2019.1634040 Creswell, J W.(2012).Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative, (4th, ed.) Prentice Hall Dini, V., Sevian, H., Caushi, K., & Orda Picón, R.(2020).Characterizing the formative assessment enactment of experienced science teachers Science Education, 104(2), 290325 https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21559 Dörnyei, Z.(2007).Research methods in applied linguistics: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodologies Oxford University Press Gotwals, A W., Philhower, J., Cisterna, D., & Bennett, S.(2015).Using video to examine formative assessment practices as measures of expertise for mathematics and science teachers International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 13(2), 405–423 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-015-9623-8 58 Griffee,D.T.(2012).An introduction to second language research methods: Design and data.TESL-EJ Publications Hasim, Z., Di, S., & Barnard, R.(2018).Eliciting teachers’ understanding and their reported practices on school-based formative assessment: Methodological challenges Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 8(1), 158-166 doi: 10.17509/ijal.v8i1.11476 Haug, B S., & Ødegaard, M.(2015).Formative assessment and teachers’ sensitivity to student responses International Journal of Science Education, 37(4), 629–654 https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2014.1003262 Huisman, M.(2018).Formative assessment and the impact on student learning.Master's Theses & Capstone Projects Retrieved from https://nwcommons.nwciowa.edu/education_masters Kırkgöz, Y.(2018).Fostering young learners’ listening and speaking skills In The Routledge handbook of teaching English to young learners (pp 171-187) Routledge Lee, H., Chung, H Q., Zhang, Y., Abedi, J., & Warschauer, M.(2020).The effectiveness and features of formative assessment in US K-12 education: A systematic review Applied Measurement in Education, 33(2), 124-140 https://doi.org/10.1080/08957347.2020.1732383 Liu, J H., Liang, W X., & Li, X D.(2018, July).Formative assessment system of college English based on the big data In International symposium on computational science and computing (pp 472-480) Springer, Cham https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-021160_55 59 Ma, H A.(2021).From testing to active student learning: Vietnamese EFL teachers’ perception of formative assessment (Doctoral dissertation, Victoria University) McIntosh, M J., & Morse, J M.(2015).Situating and constructing diversity in semi-structured interviews Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 2, 1-12 https://doi.org/10.1177/2333393615597674 Nguyen, H.T., Duong, T.A., Mai, V.L., Nguyen, M.N., & Nguyen,T.V.(2020).Formative assessment in the teacher education in Vietnam Journal of Hunan University Natural Sciences, 47(8) Ruiz‐ Primo, M A., & Furtak, E M.(2007).Exploring teachers' informal formative assessment practices and students' understanding in the context of scientific inquiry Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44(1), 57-84 https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20163 Simon, W E.(2019).Evaluation of online formative assessment practices at higher education institutions (Doctoral dissertation, University of Pretoria) Tang, L.(2016).Formative assessment in oral English classroom and alleviation of speaking apprehension.Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 6(4), 751 http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0604.12 Thomas, C., & Brown, B.(2021).Formative assessment strategies used to support group work Education in the North, 28(2),134-155 https://doi.org/10.26203/z6ab-rm62 Ur, P.(1996).A Course in language teaching Cambridge University Press Walliman,N.(2011).Research methods: The basics Routledge 60 Widiastuti, I A M S., Mukminatien, N., Prayogo, J A., & Irawati, E.(2020).Dissonances between Teachers' Beliefs and Practices of Formative Assessment in EFL Classes International Journal of Instruction, 13(1), 71-84 Winstone, N E., & Boud, D.(2022).The need to disentangle assessment and feedback in higher education Studies in higher education, 47(3), 656-667 https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2020.1779687 Zainuddin, Z., Shujahat, M., Haruna, H., & Chu, S K W.(2020).The role of gamified equizzes on student learning and engagement: An interactive gamification solution for a formative assessment system Computers & Education, 145, 103729 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103729 61 Appendices Appendix A: Interview Questions and Transcriptions TEACHER 1 What you think about the role of formative assessment in speaking classes? Hoa: “Speaking is quite challenging to many young EFL learners, so if I just use summative assessment, it is hard to understand students’ progress to give the right evaluation Formative assessment is crucial because it helps me test my students’ speaking abilities throughout the course.” What you think about the challenges of formative assessment for you and even for your students? Hoa: “To me, it is not difficult to apply formative assessment, so it’s quite hard to talk about the challenges But if one, I may say that the students may feel stressed when they have to take many tests during the course.” What types of formative assessment have you used in your speaking class? Why you use them? Hoa: “For grade 6, I would like to apply many interesting communicative games (e.g, low-stakes quizzes) to warm them up and give them more time to remember and use vocabulary, and even grammar points to speak and write Because my students are young learners, I would like to use some modern visual aids to catch their attention before they join 62 an activity No need for them to speak something complicated, but need to speak a little in English with clear ideas I think that’s all relevant to my students.” TEACHER What you think about the role of formative assessment in speaking classes? Ha “Formative assessment plays an important role in students’ speaking improvement as they can know what problems they have and how to deal with.” What you think about the challenges of formative assessment for you and even for your students? Ha “I think the problems can be from the school, whether the curriculum allows or hinders speaking activities We can’t deny that the students have to pay attention to other skills, such as reading and listening, etc., to join important official English examinations at my school So if I focus more on designing speaking formative assessment, the students may get distracted.” What types of formative assessment have you used in your speaking class? Why you use them? Ha “I have been using more question and answer activities in my class, because at the age of 13-14 years old like my students, they need to react more quickly to simple English questions I think the post-stage of a lesson is a great time for me to look back at my students’ progress every lesson That’s why at that stage I tried to raise many questions from students and we together sought solutions.” 63 TEACHER What you think about the role of formative assessment in speaking classes? Hien “Students gain much more benefits from formative assessment in speaking class because they can check their speaking abilities right away without waiting for the final examination and have more opportunities to practice speaking.” What you think about the challenges of formative assessment for you and even for your students? Hien “It’s sometimes difficult to give proper feedback to the students’ speaking activities, especially when I apply peer feedback It’s because the students share the same problems I need to select a valid rubric for measuring their speaking activities, which may occupy more time.” What types of formative assessment have you used in your speaking class? Why you use them? Hien “I have been teaching English to eighth graders in this school; most of them have learned English for at least or years, so they can get used to using English in class and also reading materials I really want to focus more on the activities in the textbook and guide them to find the best answers It would save more time and be useful enough The most common activity I use is the discussion when students have to work in small groups and share ideas I think this activity is a great chance for them to practice peer feedback and thinking.” 64 TEACHER What you think about the role of formative assessment in speaking classes? Hue “Formative assessment is important for my students to improve speaking and also for me to reflect my teaching process Without any formative assessment, I can’t know how well my students can speak during my course and what can be certain problems with my teaching as well.” What you think about the challenges of formative assessment for you and even for your students? Hue “Needless to say, F.A can make me stressed more when I am old like this I need to prepare many things, especially motivating tasks, to encourage all students to join and also be quicker to give them immediate comments However, applying high technology in class is not my strength, so it’s no easy in a long run For my students, maybe with an old teacher like me, if I can’t create any interesting formative assessment activities, they may get bored and still shy of speaking.” What types of formative assessment have you used in your speaking class? Why you use them? Hue “My students need to pay more attention to taking important exams, so I usually choose a few speaking activities (such as speaking in small groups about a topic and justify their personal opinions) in the book for them to practice Most of the time I still spend for grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, reading, and writing Students at grade 9, I think, are old enough to work more independently to practice higher-level skills.” 65 Appendix B: Observational field notes (adapted from Creswell, 2012, p.216) Lesson: _ Unit: Setting/ Class: _ Observer: Time: _ Classroom activities Reflective notes 66 Appendix C: Comparison tables of the ways how teachers apply formative assessment in speaking skill ≡ Similarities: Pre-While-Post form, student center, Communicative Approach, Eliciting technique ≥≤ Differences: (T = Teacher, S = Student) ►Table 1: Teacher Teacher of grade (28 T7 (37 years T8 (47 years T9 (52 years old) old) old) Post stage While stage Pre stage TAG Feedback Participation Misconception Check years old) Criteria Formative Pre stage assessment (FA) use in Activity related Low-stakes to FA quizzes and Cards (T, tell polls (Discussion) something you like A, ask a question G, give a suggestion.) 67 implementation Ss scan the QR At the Participation process (How code by smart completion of a cards are a set of about the use of English: they do) devides/ Go to lesson, Ss select index cards www.menti.com which work they which have -T presents a false fact “Learning by heart is the best way to master and use the code want to critique labels on them I English” 1199 0772 Ss always want agree, I to start with a disagree, or I - Each S decides (If you can not whether he/she agrees or positive, don't know how scan the QR disagrees with the fact something that to respond T code) Then Then presents his her they did well uses them to answer the agreement/disagreement Then A, ask a assess Ss' question Why understanding, - T notes Ss’ did you make but he/she also agreement/disagreement this decision? uses them to with the false fact and question by recording your voice The website uses How did you give Ss voice their reasoning Artificial that? And then So T first pose a G, give a question: Intelligence - T adjusts his/her (AI) to rate your teaching for the suggestion, what “Do you believe remaining part of the pronunciation of they can to English words in the existence class period or for the improve their Last but not of other life work Ss share least, T gives forms in the out their galaxy?” Then feedback to feedback and each S on the Ss will share next day 68 comment their next steps section their responses by using Finally, T participation delivers TAG cards protocol sheets to Ss to write their feedback Effect of the - Find out - Dig a little - Give T an activity whether Ss deeper into Ss’ unobtrusive way evaluate their really know as understanding of to see what Ss agreement/disagreement much as T content with the false fact and are thinking thinks they make adjustments for - When T have - T cannot have know - T gets insight - Ss learn how to their learning Ss share the all Ss speaking feedback they at the same -T discovers what Ss into what facts, have for a peer, time, but he/she know while they are still vocabulary T gain insight want every S to in the process of terms, or into both feel their ideas processes Ss students’ matter Even if remember learning (save some Ss are time) very shy and learning it -T uses it to figure out what comes next - T provides they don't feel guidance to Ss comfortable, and helps them their voices learn were still heard 69 Sub-skills that Pronunciation Pronunciation, Pronunciation, Pronunciation, are assessed intonation, intonation, intonation, critical organisational recognition of thinking and synthesis and intonation and editing skills connected speech and understanding gist ►Table 2: Teacher Teacher of T7 (37 years grade (28 old) T8 (47 years old) T9 (52 years old) Criteria years old) Game Highest High Not use Not use Technology Highest High Few Not use Creativity High High Follow closely on Follow closely on textbook textbook Few Few Teaching appliance Diverse Diverse