Session Title: 

Language Assessment Literacy for Practitioners 

Abstract:  

This session aims at improving language assessment literacy of the participants through exposure to and discussion of key concepts in language assessment as well as production of assessment tasks as the final outcome. LAL will be explored and discussed within a collaborative network of practitioners from diverse educational contexts. 

Target audience: 

This session might be of interest to EFL / ESL teachers and educators who would like to enhance their language assessment literacy and share their assessment practices both in classroom and online settings. 

Session objectives: 

By the end of this hands-on session, the participants are expected to enhance their language assessment literacy by :

• learning about or revisiting key concepts in language assessment 
• discussing the implications of the key concepts in assessment of language skills
• observing examples of language assessment tasks from different settings 
• interacting with some of the leading international experts in language assessment during our weekly webinars 
• networking with other participants through asynchronous (e.g. forums, emails) and synchronous (e.g. webinars, meetings) communication
• examining digital tools and uses of educational technology for classroom-based assessment in the post-covid era.
• designing assessment tasks in line with the provided guidelines and sharing them with the other participants. 

Syllabus: 

Week 1: January 9 - 15  

Introduction to the basics of language assessment, to our session & discussion of classroom based assessment challenges

• Purpose of Assessment

• Key concepts in assessment 

• Types of assessment and assessment tools

• Classroom challenges in assessment

Week 2: January 16 - 22

Focus on Assessment of Reading & Listening Skills

• Presentation of basic assessment principles of testing and assessment of reading

• Discussion of task types and practical considerations for designing/choosing reading assessment tasks through collaborative and open discussion on weekly Canvas discussion forum upon visiting the suggested links  

• Presentation of basic assessment principles of testing and assessment of listening

• Discussion of task types and practical considerations for designing/choosing listening assessment tasks through open discussion on Canvas upon visiting the suggested links  

• Integration of online tools in classroom-based assessment of reading & listening skills including, among others: 

• Online Quiz Generators (e.g. Google Forms, Kahoot, Socrative)

• Online Grading Rubric Creators available for teacher's use, self assessment and peer assessment such as

• Rubistar (premade & customizable templates)

• Annenberg Learner 

• iRubric 

• Teachnology   

• PBL Checklist Links 

• RubricMaker

• Teacher Planet 

• Quick Rubric 

• Tools and Apps that can be used to determine difficulty of the texts (Vocabulary profiler)

• Readability Index in the Word Program 

• Lexical Tutor 

• Classroom Polling (e.g. Poll Everywhere, EasyPolls)

   

• Discussion on ways to improve reliability and validity of the use of assessment tools in reading & listening skills  

Week 3: January 23 - 29

Focus on Assessment of Writing & Speaking Skills

• Presentation of basic assessment principles of testing and assessment of speaking  

• Discussion of task types and practical considerations for designing/choosing speaking assessment tasks  through collaborative and open discussion on weekly Canvas discussion forum upon visiting the suggested links  

• Presentation of basic assessment principles of testing and assessment of writing  

• Discussion of task types and practical considerations for designing/choosing writing assessment tasks through open discussion on Canvas upon visiting the suggested links  

• Integration of online tools in classroom-based assessment of writing & speaking skills (e.g. Google Docs, Voice Spice Recorder, Flip, Screencastify, Screencast-o-matic, or Loom for Education etc.)

• Discussion on ways to improve reliability and validity of the use of assessment tools in speaking & writing skills 

Week 4: January 30 - February 5

Focus on evaluating an assessment task that is used to assess receptive and/or productive language skills in participants’ own context by using a given rubric and task specifications framework which guide users to consider the following:

• Assessment Area (skill)

• Subskills/Target objectives to be assessed 

• Purpose (summative, formative, and their subcategories e.g. diagnostic, screening, achievement)

• Grade level of the learners

• Proficiency level

• Task format (e.g. integrated task, selected response [true/false, multiple choice, matching] or constructed response [fill in the blank, short answer, essay], etc.

• Texts (number, genre, source, difficulty level, word limit)

• Delivery Mode (oral/ written) & Administration 

• Time allocation

• Scoring/ weighting of items/questions 

• Reporting & Feedback

• Reliability Issues 

• Validity Issues

Designing own assessment tasks using given guidelines for assessment task evaluation

Receiving and giving peer evaluation and feedback on designed assessment tasks

Week 5: February 6 - 12

• Sharing and disseminating the final version of the suggested/designed assessment tasks

• Finalizing the assessment tasks & uploading them on Canvas

• Presentations by volunteer participants during the final online weekly Zoom meeting

Media: 

• Interactive space: Canvas Free for Teachers
• Live-streamed sessions: Zoom

Other technology tools:

• Google Forms

• Google docs

• Padlet for Teachers

• Other: Please refer to the tools in the weekly syllabus above.

Suggested sponsor(s): 

Moderators: Fill in the table for all session moderators and co-moderators. Please review the requirements for all moderators at EVO Moderator Professional Development (MOD PD--purpose and content as well as the EVO policy for the requirements carefully. First-time moderators are required to take part in the training session; returning moderators are encouraged to participate as well. NOTES: Your list of moderators should be complete when you submit the proposal. Should you identify additional moderators for your session, you are required to notify the EVO Coordination team about their status (new or returning).

Name (last, first)	Email address	Location  (country of residence)	Institutional Affiliation	Status of moderator (new or continuing?)	If continuing, date of Moderator Professional Development session taken	Biodata  (max. 50 words)	Photo
SEVGI-SOLE, Ece	ecesevgi@gmail.com	Italy	University of Milan, Italy	cont.	October, 2021	Ece holds a Ph.D. in Language Assessment from Yeditepe University. She has experience in teaching and testing academic writing, as well as training language teachers and directing a university writing center. Currently, she is offering English language courses at the University of Milan in Italy.
GOKTURK-SAGLAM, Asli Lidice	asli.saglam@usn.no	Norway	South Eastern University, Norway	cont.		Asli has taught English in EAP settings for over 23 years. Currently, she is a postdoc researcher at South Eastern University, Norway. She holds a PhD in language assessment. She is an educational technologies enthusiast. Her research interests include teacher education, educational technology, testing and assessment.

Primary Contact (Lead moderator only, please): The primary contact is the lead moderator of the session. The lead moderator is responsible for making sure that all first-time moderators are registered for the Moderator Professional Development session, and for communicating deadlines, special events like our live webcasts, and other information to moderators.

Name of Lead Moderator: __Ece Sevgi-Sole__________________

Email address: __ecesevgi@gmail.com___________________________

Terms of Agreement (to be completed by Lead Moderators; please confirm by writing “I agree” in each item.)