Alternative Assessment Procedures in Iranian EFL Writing Classes: The Washback Effect and Learners’ Attitudes

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the washback effect of three alternative assessment procedures, namely oral-conferences, portfolios, and corpora-based feedback on the writing achievement and attitudes of Iranian EFL university learners. The participants taking part in the study were 156 native Iranian students in a mixed Reading-Writing course. Through the two three-month semesters, the learners were studied in terms of three experimental and one control groups. It should be mentioned that revision was a major component of the pedagogy and learners were asked to incorporate feedback into their revision processes. The findings revealed that the aforementioned assessment procedures led to a significantly better performance of the participants and created a considerable change in their attitudes.

Keywords


Alderson, J. C. (1986). “Innovations in language testing”, in Portal, M. (ed.), Innovations in Language Testing,NFER Nelson, pp. 93-105.

Barrett, H. C. (2000). Electronic teaching portfolios: Multimedia skills+ portfolio development= powerful professional development. Proceedings of the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Training (SITE) Annual Conference. Montreal Canada.

Benson, P. (2001). Teaching and Researching Autonomy in Language Learning, Harlow: Longman.

Black, P., and William, D. (1998). “Assessment and classroom learning”, Assessment in Education, 5 (1), pp. 7-74.

Bruffee, K. (1984). “Peer tutoring and the conversation of mankind”, in Olsen, G. (ed.), Writing Centers: Theory and Administration, Urbana, IL: NCTE, pp. 3-14.

Burch, C. B. (2000). “Inside the portfolio experience: The students’ perspective”, Trends and Issues in Post-secondary English Studies, NCTE, pp. 148-164.

Dauod, S. A. (1998). “How to motivate EFL learning and teaching of academic writing by cross-cultural exchanges”, English for Specific Purposes, 17(4), pp. 391-412.

Gaskell, D., and Cobb, T. (2004). “Can learners use concordance feedback for writing errors?”, System, 32(3), pp. 301-319.

Goldstein, L., and Conrad, S. (1990). “Student input and negotiation of meaning in ESL writing conferences”, TESOL Quarterly, 24(3), pp.443-460.

Hamp-Lyons, L. (1991). “Scoring procedures for ESL contexts”, in Hamp-Lyons, L. (ed.), Assessing Second Language Writing in Academic Contexts, Norwood, NJ: Ablex, pp. 241-276.

Hamp-Lyons, L. (1992). Holistic Writing Assessment for LEP Students. Proceeding of the Second National Research Symposium on Limited English Proficient Issues: Focus on Evaluation and Measurement. OBEMLA, available at: http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/symposia/vol2/ holistic-ref.htm.holistic-ref.htm.

Hamp-Lyons, L. (1995). “Rating non-native writing: The trouble with holistic scoring”, TESOL Quarterly, 29 (4), pp. 759-765.

Harris, J. (1986). “Assessing outcomes in higher education”, in Adelman, C. (ed.), Assessment in American Higher Education, Washington, D. C: GPO, pp. 19-34.

Hughes, A. (1989). Testing for Language Teachers,Cambridge University Press.

Jing, H. (1998). “English corner activities”, English Journal, 72 (8), pp. 45-46.

Koosha, M., and Jafarpour, A. (2006). “Data-driven learning and teaching collocation of prepositions: The case of Iranian EFL Adult Learners”, Asian EFL Journal, 8 (8), pp. 192-209.

Kroll, B. (1990). Second Language Writing: Research Insights for the Classroom, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Lee, L., and Gunderson, E. (2001). Select Readings, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Linn, R., and Baker, E. (1996). “Can performance-based student assessments be psychometrically sound?”, in Baron, J. and Wolf, D. (eds.), Performance-Based Student Assessment: Challenges and Possibilities, Ninety-fifth Yearbook (Chicago, IL, National Society for the Study of Education).

Macellan, E. (2004). “How convincing is alternative assessment for use in higher education?”, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 29 (3), pp. 311-321.

 McBurney, D. H. (2001). Research Methods, Belmont: Wadsworth Thomas Learning Incorporation.

Milton, J. (2006). “Resource-rich web-based feedback: Helping learners become independent writers”, in Hyland, K. and Hyland, F. (eds.), Feedback in Second Language Writing: Contexts and Issues, New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 123-139.

Nelson, B. (2000). Identifying and Language Learning, Harlow: Pearson Education.

Robinson, P. (1997). “Individual differences and the fundamental similarity of implicit and explicit adult second language learning”, Language Learning, 47, pp. 45-99.

Saif, S. (2006). “Aiming for positive washback: a case study of international teaching assistants”, Language Testing, 23 (1), pp. 1-34.

Sewell, M., Marczak, M., and Horn, M. (2000). “The use of portfolio assessment in evaluation”, Cyber Net Evaluation, Tuscan, Arisona: University of Arizona Press.

Song, B., and August, B. (2002). “Using portfolios to assess the writing of ESL students: A powerful alternative?”, Journal of Second Language Writing,11(1), pp. 49-72.

Sun, Y. C. (2000). Using on-line corpus to facilitate language learning. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, British Columbia, Canada.

Tanner, R., Longayroux, D., Beijaared, D., and Verloop, N. (2000). “Piloting portfolios: Using portfolio in pre-service teacher education”, ELT Journal, 54(1), pp. 20-30.

Thurstun, J., and Candlin, C. (1998). “Concordancing and the teaching of the vocabulary of academic English”, English for Specific Purposes, 17(3), pp. 267-280.

Tiwari, A., and Tang, C. (2003). “From process to outcome: The effect of portfolio assessment on student learning”, Nurse Education Today, 23 (4), pp. 269-277.

Todd, R. (2001). “Induction from self-selected concordances and self-correction”, System, 29 (1), pp. 91-102.

Vernon, P. E. (1956). The Measurement of Abilities, University of London Press.

Watt, R. J. C. (1998). Technology Applications Program, available at: http://www.dundee.ac.uk/English/wics/wics.htm.

Wichmann, A. (1995). “Using concordances for the teaching of modern languages in higher education”, Language Learning Journal, 11, pp. 61-63.

Williams, J. (2004). “Tutoring and revision: Second language writers in the writing center”, Journal of Second Language Writing,13 (3), pp. 173-201.    

Willis, J. (1998). “Concordances in the classroom without a computer”, in Tomlinson, B. (ed.), Materials Development in Language Teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wiseman, S. (1961). “The efficiency of examinations”, in Wiseman, S. (ed.), Examinations and English Education, Manchester University Press.