Performance-Based Vocabulary Assessment: Effects on Teachers, Students and Classroom Practices

Although discrete point testing of vocabulary items had long been regarded as a convenient method in terms of its practicality in both scoring and administering, it has lost its popularity with the rising understanding of a... [ view full abstract ]

Although discrete point testing of vocabulary items had long been regarded as a convenient method in terms of its practicality in both scoring and administering, it has lost its popularity with the rising understanding of a need to integrate other skills into vocabulary testing to ensure that the assessment tool reflects real-life competency of the learner. This paved the way to the rise of performance based assessment. Since performance-based assessment requires the language learner to become involved in more realistic situations rather than answering a multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blanks type of question, it is believed that performance-based tasks reflect the abilities of the learners more accurately (McNamara, 2000:74). Therefore, they tend to have more positive washback effect on the teaching and learning processes. It is also possible to assume that performance-based assessment tools foster communicative language teaching practices, as getting prepared for such a task requires real-life like procedures. With these in mind, I will first talk about the vocabulary assessment practices in İstanbul Şehir University context. Then, I will explain the differences of student performances in a performance-based vocabulary quiz and discrete point testing of vocabulary in the achievement tests. Then, I will present the results of surveys and individual interviews on students’ vocabulary learning perceptions. Next, I will explain teachers’ classroom practices and their perceptions of vocabulary teaching with reference to classroom observations and survey results. Finally, I will discuss the effects of this assessment tool in the curriculum designing process.

Performance-based assessment (PBA) has been known for its positive implications in classroom for stimulating communicative language teaching practices. This talk explores how PBA of vocabulary differs from discrete-point... [ view full abstract ]

Performance-based assessment (PBA) has been known for its positive implications in classroom for stimulating communicative language teaching practices. This talk explores how PBA of vocabulary differs from discrete-point testing with regard to its effects on performances and perceptions of teachers and learners with survey findings, interview results and classroom observations.