Assessing English Language Learner - A Review on the Webinar

This is a review of a webinar on education that I watched on Saturday, 16^th of May 2020, from 9.00 pm to 10.20 pm.

Title: Webinar 1 – Assessing English Language Learner

Discussants:

• Datin Dr Mardziah Hayati Abdullah – The member of the English Language Standards and Quality Council, Ministry of Education Malaysia and retired associate professor from the Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia.
• Ms. Jayapushani Ponnudurai – The member of the English Language Standards and Quality Council, Ministry of Education Malaysia, a Cambridge Examiner Trainer and Examiner for IELTS and Life Skills.
• Dr Ramesh Nair – The associate professor at the Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA and president of the Malaysian English Language Teaching Association.

Moderator:

• Dr. Premalatha Nair – The senior lecturer at the Institute of Teacher Education, International Languages Campus Kuala Lumpur.

Organisers: Malaysian English Language Teaching Association and Oxford Fajar.

Focus One – Curricular Reforms and Common European Framework of Reference

Reforms in education in Malaysia have been a continuous process, according to the needs of the local and global society at particular moments. Curricular reforms in Malaysia that involve English particularly are extensive. In 2011, Malaysia began its latest curricular reform, Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah (KSSR), which is then continued with Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Menengah (KSSM). One specific aspect of this new curriculum for English is the implementation of Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) in 2018.

Malaysia’s CEFR-aligned Curriculum is a part of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 and is aimed to make learners gain knowledge and skills relevant for the 21^st century. CEFR is designed as a framework for describing fluency and linguistic skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) for learners and forms the basis of teaching and learning. It helps the process of learning and teaching by assigning tangible descriptors of what learners can do at various levels. The levels being A1 from the lowest to C2 as the highest. This helps educators and parents to give a more concrete response for learners’ progress and proficiency and be able to dictate the next steps taken to ensure their advancements. A particular focus of CEFR-aligned Curriculum is on the communicative ability of learners, which is one important aspect of learning any languages. Understandable interaction can still occur with slight errors, and this is a facet of language learning that CEFR purposefully wants educators to also rectify upon, as before this, the view is that a proper linguistic knowledge in terms of grammar are absolutely important tool to express ideas, thoughts, opinions, and other communicative skills.

Nevertheless, to think that CEFR is only about descriptive levels is a wrong concept. CEFR also focuses on what learners can do, through can-do statements (such as ‘pupils can narrate short stories’ or ‘pupils can understand the main idea of a text’). The focus on can-do statements acts as a positive enforcement for learners as they know what their goals are and find ways to reach those goals. This focus on learner awareness is beneficial to their self-learning.

Something to note is that we must reiterate that CEFR is not an example, tool, or technique. It is simply an outline or a guide for helping educators to put into places a systematic thinking about where their pupils or students are, and where to go next. Besides that, as CEFR is a global in its structure, the same levels and descriptors are used throughout the world. Different countries nevertheless may have a different set of exit targets for their learners. CEFR in Malaysia is definitely aligned and suited to our country’s environment and society.

As far as I am concern, CEFR-aligned Curriculum does help a teacher in determining the problems that their pupils or students are facing, knowing setting the targets for them to achieve, and creating lessons that are shaped by learners’ abilities. It is undeniable that sometimes, teachers might be at a lost on what to target or focus on, so a framework like CEFR brings about a proper guide for them to be more concern of their learners’ achievements in class.

A focus on communicative aspect is also another good thing about CEFR. While former curricular are highly focussed on grammar, which is undeniably important, it is highly concentrated on reading and writing to the detriment of speaking and listening. We do not need to have a highly accomplished grammatical knowledge to make ourselves understandable. While it might be needed depending on where we reside or work (and as teachers, teaching grammar is needed), as a general skill, making ourselves comprehensible through a clear presentation of ideas and expressions of our thoughts should suffice.

Focus Two – Exam-oriented Education System and Teachers’ Concerns

The educational system in Malaysia has always been oriented towards exams, as evident from the number of exams that a pupil will go through throughout their life such as UPSR, PT3, SPM, and STPM. Many teachers are concerned about teaching as they are divided between teaching for their learners’ own skills and knowledge and/or just to pass major examinations. Malaysian society as a whole has been ingrained with this idea that grades and marks are the most important thing in a learner’s educational life. Vital decision-making is attached via exams and this is not a way to go for the future. Advocates for changes have long stated that some exams or assessment methods should be reformed.

In terms of the English Language Education (ELE), it is seen as a continuous process. ELE should be regarded as a non-stop learning experience or journey from pre-school and tertiary education (if a learner chooses to enrol in tertiary education). The implementation of CEFR can be seen as a way to reduce the dependence on exams.

The levels and descriptors can be used to determine and assess their knowledge and what they are capable of doing. It is not surprising to encounter moments when a learner’s grade does not really show what he can actually do as assessment through final examinations can be a limited and inaccurate system. Grades in the form of As, Bs, Cs and so on only matter if they are able to be interpreted into something that show what learners can do.

The role of CEFR in helping learners, their teachers, or even their parents to evaluate themselves is an important tool in ELE and encourages self-learning. They can have noticeable and real views on what they are capable of and what they should concentrate on next. For educators, this opens an avenue for them to properly conduct lessons that are built around skills and linguistic awareness that their learners already have or not have. Indeed, a continuous assessment via visible descriptors are far better than only a final exam.

Another primary concern of teachers are the format of tests. While undeniably, learners should know about the format of tests, it should not be a primary issue. The ways we teach should not have an overbearing concern on the exam format. CEFR-based lessons are based on things to be learnt and tested on pupils. Teachers could just teach as according to the descriptors and requirements of the CEFR-aligned Curriculum. Learners should gain knowledge and skills for the progress of their lives, and not just for a day during the examination period. Exam can be important, but it is not necessarily a be-all and end-all means to determine learners’ capabilities and knowledge.

In my humble two-cents, a reduced focus on end examinations can help reduce stress as learners are not overwhelmed by a deluge of information to be taken in and regurgitated in a short amount of time, when they themselves might not be able to dictate their strengths and weaknesses. Through descriptors and continuous assessments, learners can also build their learning through easy steps and set targets to be achieved. A realisable pace of learning and teaching will help in ensuring learners’ mastery and build upon what they have encountered earlier. The process of using CEFR descriptors for measuring learners capabilities and what they can do also take the burden out of teachers’ shoulders as they have concrete ideas and suitable guide to create lessons that help in the step-by-step learning process.

Focus Three – Formative Assessment

Learning is a continuous process. In this manner, giving assessment only at a particular timer during the learning period does not suffice. In fact, there are differences between formative assessment and examinations (which can be considered summative).

Formative assessment is seen as a process used to improve on the learning process, in which evidence from learners are taken into consideration when giving feedback and crafting the subsequent stages for learners. Assessment is also collaborative effort between teachers and learners. Without substantial evidence and collaboration, learners cannot be measured appropriately. This is where CEFR descriptors can come into play. Targets set by teachers are plans that learners need to achieve.

Summative complements formative assessments in aspects that formative assessments cannot, especially for exit targets and determining pupils’ capabilities at the end of the learning period.

Focus Four – Highly Immersive Programme

The reform plan does not only concern CEFR. Another part of the plan is Highly Immersive Programme (HIP). One important factor that makes learning a language easier is a constant exposure to and use of a language in the surroundings. HIP necessitates this by having schools create an environment where English is used through physical and visible elements and through communicative aspects. HIP and CEFR are not equivalent to one another, but the design of HIP is made to complement and support CEFR-aligned Curriculum in schools. This can be done as teachers can design activities carried out through communication and interaction.

It is of my opinion that an appropriate environment where language is highly visible and used throughout the day helps learners to shed some of their qualms and fear in interacting using it. A continual effort to increase learners’ engagement with English can make them realise that English is not just to be used inside the four corners of classroom but also have valid real-world usages, even if the usages might be limited to personal or educational reasons only during the school years. Engaging learners to use or see or interact in English through the participation of other subjects also help them to see that English language is not narrowed by only the usage of the language in the classroom. In fact, English can matter through various roles and topics.

This webinar can be watched here.