Theme: assessing spoken production plan: I. Introduction II. Main part

Teachers regularly provide appropriate feedback

In the past, assessment meant measuring what students can’t do. Now language teachers are trying to put more focus on the progress students are making.
“We’re absolutely not marking every error and all the more so when they’re speaking; we’re not going to interrupt students speaking to let them know that they said this or that wrong,” Blouwolff explains. “Number one, it’ll just shut them down. Number two, they’re never going to remember the correction and reuse it in all likelihood. They’re too busy thinking of what they’re going to try to say.
“So I think what teachers can do is look for patterns of error and think about giving maybe one or two pieces of feedback to students on their work. I really like that model of glow and grow: Here’s something that you did really well, here’s an area where you could improve.”
To help teachers get a sense for what students should be capable of at each stage of language learning, ACTFL has defined proficiency levels students go through as they progress in their language development. Blouwolff appreciates having these targets on hand. “I know, for example, in French 7, I need to get my kids to what we call a Novice High. And that level has very particular characteristics that I want my students to know and understand in a really deep way, so that they know what they need to do to reach that level and then even to surpass it.”
Other frameworks like Shrum and Glisan’s T.A.L.K. rubric measure qualities beyond language proficiency, like whether students are cooperative with other group members in a discussion. Including factors like these in assessment and feedback furthers the big-picture emphasis on quality communication.
“Years ago,” Blouwolff says, “I was having kids recite skits where it literally did not matter what the other person said, because you’d memorized your half, and you were reciting that no matter what happened. This is much more like what they’re working towards: talking to people in another language.”
Incorporated into many language classrooms, role plays or asking the students to create a dialogue is a practical and effective way to get students speaking in a natural context. For instance, if I teach a lesson on injuries and illnesses, I can ask the students to act out a doctor's office scene using the vocabulary the lesson focused on. For all students, especially lower-level ESL students, make sure instructions and expectations are clear. For example, "Each student needs to talk five times and use a minimum of three vocabulary words." OR "The customer must order a drink, a meal and a dessert." As teachers, we can bring in props or realia and make this a really fun experience for our students!