Speaker
Description
This paper reports on a project which explored the classroom-based assessment practices and attitudes towards assessment of English language teachers in Viet Nam. The practices were viewed through the prism of Language Assessment Literacy and a sociocultural perspective informed data collection and analysis.
A mixed-methods approach to data collection was adopted. A questionnaire was completed by 2 566 teachers from both urban and rural areas. Teachers working in all four stages of education in Viet Nam completed the online survey. The survey covered three broad areas: the teachers’ experiences of assessment when they were language learners, the teachers’ experiences of assessment training in both initial teacher training and in-service courses, and, finally, their current assessment practices. Teachers from both public and private institutions completed the survey. Qualitative data were collected through classroom-observation with follow-up interviews and focus-group discussions (FGD). Eight teachers from all four levels of education were observed and both public and private institutions were represented. To develop an understanding of the thinking behind the assessment activities deployed the teachers were interviewed as a follow-up to the observations. The FGD participants discussed their assessment practices and how assessment activities were created and implemented.
Following discussion of the data collection process the paper will present key findings and conclude with the introduction of a set of on-line training materials which were created to respond to the training needs raised by the participants.
