The current practices of classroom speaking assessment at secondary schools in phu tho town phu tho province

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION GRADUATION PAPER THE CURRENT PRACTICES OF CLASSROOM SPEAKING ASSESSMENT AT SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN PHU THO TOWN, PHU THO PROVINCE Supervisor: Dương Thu Mai, Ph.D Student : Lê Thùy Dương Course : QH2016.F1.E2 HA NOI - 2020 ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP THỰC TRẠNG KIỂM TRA ĐÁNH GIÁ KĨ NĂNG NÓI TRÊN LỚP TẠI CÁC TRƯỜNG THCS, THỊ XÃ PHÚ THỌ, TỈNH PHÚ THỌ Giáo viên hướng dẫn: T.S Dương Thu Mai Sinh viên : Lê Thùy Dương Khóa : QH2016.F1.E2 HÀ NỘI - 2020 Signature of Approval: _ Supervisor’s Comments & Suggestions _ _ _ _ _ Date _ ACCEPTANCE PAGE I hereby state that I: Lê Thùy Dương, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origins of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper Signature _ Date _ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I wish to express my sincerest gratitude to my supervisor Ms Duong Thu Mai for her great dedication, careful guidance and critical comments If it had not been for her patience to accompany me during tough time, my graduation thesis could not have been completed I am indebted to all of her effort to carefully read my thesis to provide constructive advice Secondly, I would like to thank 28 teachers from 10 secondary schools in Phu Tho Town, Phu Tho Province for their enthusiastic participation in my study I am also grateful to my classmates from 16E2 class, particularly Tran Hoai Linh, Vu Phuong Anh, Ngo Thu Phuong and Nguyen Thuy Vi I appreciate all the moments that they intently listened to my difficulties and encouraged me to thrive for the best Additionally, my thankfulness is dedicated to my dearest friends, Titatito and AL It is no exaggeration to say that their presence is truly a blessing in my life Last but not least, my heartfelt thanks are towards my beloved family, who have been a pillar of strength all the time Their unwavering and wholehearted support has been a firm base for me to achieve any goal i ABSTRACT Classroom assessment has been given more attention in the context of Vietnam In recent years, an increasing number of studies have been conducted to examine the current status of classroom assessment at primary and high schools However, there has been little research scrutinizing how teachers actually assess students’ skills, particularly speaking skills in the classroom of secondary schools With mixed methods design, the study aims at investigating secondary school teachers’ practices of classroom speaking assessment and exploring factors affecting their practices The participants included 28 teachers from ten secondary schools in Phu Tho Town, Phu Tho Province A questionnaire and semi-structured interview questions were used as data collection instruments in this study The results reveal that teachers’ practices were reflected in all five dimensions of in-class speaking assessment including assessment purposes, targets, measure, interpretation and use Teachers employed various purposes along with diverse methods and criteria for classroom assessment However, teachers showed their incompetence in writing assessment speaking targets and designing speaking tests To explain the reasons behind their implementation of speaking assessment practices, internal factors such as teachers’ beliefs and values, teachers’ assessment literacy, work load and class size and external factors including speaking policies of MOET and high school entrance exam were identified Teachers’ practices of in-class speaking assessment were hindered by their heavy workload, large-sized classes and the effect of high school entrance exam meanwhile their positive beliefs and values facilitated the speaking assessment process These results suggest that in-service secondary school teachers should be provided with further training on language assessment as well as administrative support ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i ABSTRACT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Statement of research problem and rationale for the study 1.2 Scope of the research 1.4 Method of the study 1.5 Organization of the paper Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Defining assessment and classroom assessment 2.2 Components of classroom assessment 2.2.1 Purposes 2.2.2 Learning objectives or targets 2.2.3 Measurement 2.2.4 Interpretation 11 2.2.5 Use 11 2.3 Factors affecting classroom assessment 12 2.4 Speaking assessment 14 2.4.1 Defining the construct of speaking competence 14 2.4.2 Criteria for speaking assessment 16 2.4.3 Speaking assessment methods 18 iii 2.5 Requirements for teachers in conducting speaking assessment in 20 Vietnam 20 2.6 Related studies 22 2.6.1 Related studies on classroom assessment practices 22 2.6.2 Related studies on factors affecting teachers’ assessment practices 23 2.6.3 Related studies on practices of classroom speaking assessment 23 Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 25 3.1 Settings of the study 25 3.2 Sampling and participations 25 3.3 Data collection 26 3.3.1 Data collection instruments 26 3.3.2 Data collection procedure 29 3.4 Data analysis methods 30 Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 32 4.1 Purposes of classroom speaking assessment 32 4.2 Targets of classroom speaking assessment 34 4.3 Criteria for classroom speaking assessment 35 4.4 Methods of classroom speaking assessment 37 4.5 Procedure of classroom speaking assessment 39 4.5.1 Sources of assessment items and tasks 39 4.5.2 Steps to design speaking tests in the classroom 40 4.5.3 Types of evidence for classroom speaking assessment 41 4.5.4 Methods for interpreting assessment results 42 4.5.5 Methods for providing feedback and reporting 43 4.5.6 Time spent on assessment and evaluation 44 iv 4.6 Factors affecting classroom speaking assessment 45 4.6.1 Internal factors 45 4.6.1.1 Teacher beliefs and values 45 4.6.1.2 Teacher’s assessment literacy 47 4.6.1.3 Teacher’s workload 49 4.6.1.4 Class size 50 4.6.2 External factors 51 4.6.2.1 Speaking assessment policies 51 4.6.2.2 High school entrance exam 53 Chapter 5: CONCLUSION 55 5.1 Major findings of the study 55 5.2 Pedagogical implications 57 5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further study 58 REFERENCES 59 APPENDICES 68 v LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES List of Figures Figure 1: Components of classroom assessment Figure 2: Factors affecting teachers’ assessment practices 13 Figure 3: A framework for describing speaking construct 15 Figure 4: Criteria for classroom speaking assessment 36 Figure 5: Methods of classroom speaking assessment 37 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Please put a check mark (√) in the space to the left for each criterion you use to evaluate your students’ speaking skills Criteria for classroom speaking assessment Grammar Vocabulary 69 Yes No Pronunciation Fluency Conversational skill Sociolinguistic skill Non-verbal language Content Other: D Methods of speaking assessment Several assessment methods can be used to assess students’ speaking skills You will be provided with the table below I would like to know: What assessment methods you use to evaluate your students? Please put a check mark (√) in the space to the left for each method you use to evaluate your students’ speaking skills Spaces have been provided at the end of the list for methods not on the list If you use other methods, please be sure to write or describe what the other methods are Methods I use to assess Assessment methods speaking skills (√) Oral reading Interviews Discussion Presentation Public speaking Role-play Debate Story-telling Picture description 10 Peer assessment 11 Self-assessment 12 Other: 70 13 Other: E Procedures of assessment and evaluation Which of the following represents your primary source(s) for test items and other assessment procedures? Please circle all that apply a Items developed by myself b Items prepared together with other teachers c Items from published textbooks d Items found on the Internet e Other published test items f Other (please specify): _ Do you have periodical 45-minute tests for Speaking skills? a Yes b No Do you have end-of-term tests for Speaking skills? a Yes b No If your answer is “Yes” for question or 3, please continue with question If your answer is “No”, please skip question 4 Which steps you follow when designing your speaking test in classroom? Please check (√) all that apply a Determine the purpose of your test b Write the targets of your test c Select the test content d Develop test specifications (including scoring procedures) and write test items e Pilot your test instrument f Analyze the data from your trial 71 g Revise test materials and specifications h Implement and monitor the test under operational conditions i Other (please specify): _ Which types of assessment evidence you gather? Please check (√) all that apply a Scores b Rankings c Comments on speaking competences d Other (please specify): _ Which methods you use to interpret the assessment results? a Norm-referenced interpretations b Criterion-referenced interpretations c Other (please specify): _ When you give feedback to your students during the course, how you provide that feedback? Please check (√) all that apply a Verbal feedback b Checklist c Written comments d Teaching diary e Conference with student f Total test score h Other (please specify): _ When you give a final report to your students, how you provide that information? Please check (√) all that apply: a Checklist b Written comments c Teaching diary 72 d Conference with student e Total test score g Other (please specify): _ Approximately what percentage of the total time you spend on instruction and assessment during a term or semester you spend on preparing for an assessment, collecting the assessment information, scoring the responses, and reporting assessment results? Please include time spent both at your school and at home a 5% b 10% c 15% d 20% e 30% f 40% g 50% h more than 50% F About you and your classes Now we would like to know something about you and your classes Please circle your answer I am a Female b Male c Other How old are you? (Please select one) a Less than 25 ——— b 26 – 30 ——— c 31- 35 ——— d 36 - 40 ——— e 41 – 45 ——— f 46 – 50 ——— My educational qualifications include: a Bachelor Degree b Master Degree 73 c Phd Degree d Other (please specify): I have taught English for —— years How many classes are you teaching per week at this time? _ What is the average size of your classes? Have you completed a full course in assessment and evaluation, a course in which assessment and evaluation was one of the topics, or a workshop of more than three hours on assessment and evaluation? (Please circle all that apply) a Yes, I have completed a full course on assessment and evaluation b Yes, I have completed a course in which assessment and evaluation were topics c Yes, I have completed a workshop on assessment and evaluation d No, I have attended no courses or workshops on assessment and evaluation Your name: _ Email address: Telephone number: _ (All your personal information will be kept confidential) - THANK YOU VERY MUCH - 74 APPENDIX 2: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS I am Le Thuy Duong, a fourth-year student at University of Languages and International Studies I am conducting a study entitled: The current practice of classroom speaking assessment at secondary schools in Phu Tho town, Phu Tho province as my graduation paper With your prior agreement, today I am conducting this interview to collect data for my study Personal questions What is your highest school level, your academic qualification? How many years have you been teaching at this particular school/grade? Did you get any assessment training for speaking? When? For how long? What was it like? Who conducted that training? Questions related to speaking classroom assessment practices Please briefly describe methods of speaking assessment that you use for your class Why you use these particular methods of assessment? Have you ever changed your assessment methods? What is your belief towards speaking assessment? How important is your belief when planning and implementing your speaking assessment? Why you spend a big/ small amount of time on classroom speaking assessment? How you think of your assessment knowledge and skills? How does your assessment knowledge and skills affect your speaking assessment in the classroom? What is your understanding of the current assessment policy of MOET for speaking skills? Which dispatch you base on to conduct your speaking assessment? How important is the policy when planning and implementing your speaking assessment? How high school entrance exam without speaking assessment affect your speaking teaching and speaking assessment in the classroom? 10 What factors hinder your speaking assessment practices in your school? - THANK YOU VERY MUCH 75 ... What are the current practices of classroom speaking assessment conducted at Vietnamese secondary schools in Phu Tho Town? What factors affect the practices of classroom speaking assessment of English... conducted in Phu Tho Town, Phu Tho Province due to a special focus of the provincial Department of Education and Training (DOET), which emphasizes that assessment in secondary schools should assess the. .. particularly speaking skills in the classroom of secondary schools With mixed methods design, the study aims at investigating secondary school teachers’ practices of classroom speaking assessment