Research Article
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Primary School Teachers’ Classroom-based Assessment Feedback Culture in English Language

Year 2018, , 32 - 47, 19.05.2018
https://doi.org/10.24331/ijere.425151

Abstract

Classroom-based assessment feedback is considered pivotal for language learning especially for ESL, where it is used for instruction and daily chores. It is important for Communicative Language Teaching curriculum, where the emphasis is to engage the learner in an interactive fashion. Through classroom-based assessment feedback learners are scaffolded to new knowledge and skill in English language. As a result, teachers’ classroom feedback could be important in enhancing the language of a learner, although the question of relevant and appropriacy looms up. It would be difficult for learners to process classroom-based assessment feedback that develops and improves their English, if there is no alignment between the objective of a lesson and feedback from the teaching input.This article is concerned with the culture of primary school teachers’ practice of classroom-based assessment feedback in English-speaking Cameroon where the language is a school subject as well as it is used across the curriculum. The researcher sat through 30 different lessons as a non-participant observer. In addition, 100 pages of photocopies from children’s English language exercise books of lessons observed were collected. A semi-structured interview was also conducted with teachers observed. From the analysis of data, it was shown that teachers most of the times made classroom-based assessment feedback culture of learning, not for learning. It was also indicated that teachers conflated the notions of assessment feedback, evaluation, and test. While teachers were aware of feedback but it was only on the surface, just like Continual Professional Development (CPD). Several factors appear to work against effective classroom-based assessment feedback culture feedback such as government policy on school assessment, inadequate teacher professional development support, difficult working conditions, and lack of knowledge base for different domains of feedback. The findings are discussed and implications drawn regarding appropriate classroom-assessment feedback culture both in national and similar international contexts for teachers, teacher trainers, school supervisors, and researchers.

References

  • Abbasnasab Sardareh, S., and Saad, MRM. (2012). A sociocultural perspective on assessment for learning: The case of a Malaysian primary school ESL context. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 66, 343-353. Abdullah, H. and Sidek, H.M. (2012). L2 writing feedback: Alignment of Instructional planning and implementation. ELTED, 15, 15-24 Akter, L. (2010). Teacher talk time in esl classroom in bangladesh. Unpublished M.Ed Thesis, BRAC University, Dhaka. Alobwede, d’Epie, C. (1998). Banning pidgin english in cameroon. English Today, 14 (1), 54-56 Altinyelken, H. K. (2010b). Curriculum change in Uganda: Teacher perspectives on the new thematic curriculum. International Journal of Educational Development, 30 (2), 151-161 Altinyelken, H.K. 2010a. Pedagogical renewal in sub-Saharan Africa: the case of Uganda. Comparative Education 46 (2), 151-171 Askew, S., and Lodge, C. (2000). Gifts, ping-pong and loops: Linking feedback and learning. In S. Askew (Ed.) Feedback for learning (pp. 1-18). London: Routledge Bachman, L. F., and Palmer, A. S. (1996). Language testing in practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Beets, P., and T. Van Louw. (2011). Social justice implications of South African assessment practices. Africa Education Review, 8, (2), 302-317 Bitchener, J. (2012). Written corrective feedback for L2 development: Current knowledge and future research. TESOL Quarterly, 46 (4), 855-860 Bobda, A. S. (2004). Linguistic apartheid: English language policy in Africa. English Today, 20 (1). 19-26. Brophy J. (1981). Teacher praise: a functional analysis. Review of Educational Research, 51 (1), 5–32. Chisholm, L. and R. Leyendecker. (2008). Curriculum reform in post-1990s sub-Saharan Africa. International Journal of Educational Development 28, 195–205 Cohen, L., L. Manion and K. Morrison. (2011). Research methods in education. 7th Edition. Abingdon: Routledg Ellis, R. 2009. A typology of written corrective feedback types. ELT Journal, 63 (2), 97-107 Fagan, D. S. (2014). Beyond “Excellent!”: Uncovering the systematicity behind positive feedback turn construction in ESL classrooms. Novitas-ROYAL (Research on Youth and Language), 8(1), 45-63.) Ferris, D.R. (2012). Written corrective feedback in second language acquisition and writing studies. Language Teaching, 45 (4), 446-459 Guenette, D. (2007). Is feedback pedagogically correct? Research design issues in studies of feedback on writing’. Journal of Second Language Writing, 16, 40–53. Hardman, F., J. Abd-Kadir, C. Agg, J. Migwi, J. Ndambku and F. Smith. (2009). Changing pedagogical practice in Kenyan primary schools: the impact of school-based training. Comparative Education, 45 (1), 65-86 Hardman, J. and A-Rahman, N. (2014) Teachers and the implementation of a new English curriculum in Malaysia. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 27 (3), 260-277 Hattie, J. C., and Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112. Hollowel, K. (2011). The Importance of Assessment in Primary Education. Retrieved April 18, 2018, from http://connected.waldenu.edu/issues-ineducation/standards-and-assessments/item/891importance-of-assessment-primary-education Hyland, K. & F. Hyland. (2006). State-of-the-art article: feedback on second language students’ writing. Language Teaching 39, 83–101. Hyland, K. and Hyland, F. (2006). Contexts and Issues in Feedback on L2 Writing: An Introduction. In K. Hyland and F. Hyland (eds) Feedback in Second Language Writing: Contexts and Issues (pp.1-10). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Jenks, C.J. (2013). Your pronunciation and your accent is very excellent: Orientations of identity during compliment sequences in English as a lingua franca encounters. Language and Intercultural Communication, 13, 165-181. Johnson, M. F. (2000). Evolution of private education in Cameroon. In T. M. Ndongko and L. I. Tambo (eds). Educational development in Cameroon 1961 – 1999: issues and perspectives (pp. 23-36). Platerville, Madison: Nkemnji Global Tech and University of Regina Press. Karaaĝaç, P. (2017). Teachers’ views on activities practised in elementary schools. International Journal of Educational Research Review, 2 (1), 34-40. Keh, C. L. (1996). Feedback in the writing process: a model and methods for implementation. In T. Hedge and N. Whitney (eds). Power, Practice and Pedagogy (pp. 271-282). Oxford University Press. Kouega, J.P. (1999). Forty years of official bilingualism in Cameroon. English Today 15, no. 4: 38-43. Kouega, J-P. (2002). Uses of English in Southern British Cameroon. English World-wide, 23, no. 1: 93-113. Kumar, R. (2005). Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. London: Sage Publications. Lankshear, C. and M. Knobel. (2004). A handbook for teacher research: from design to implementation. Berkshire: Open University Press. Lantolf, J., & Poehner, M. (2014). Sociocultural theory and the pedagogical imperative in L2 education: Vygotskian praxis and the research/theory divide. New York: Routledge. Lee, I. (2003). How do Hong Kong teachers correct errors in writing? Education Journal, 31 (1), 153-169. Lu, Y. (2010). The value of direct and indirect written corrective feedback for intermediate ESL students. Auckland University of Technology Scholarly Commons. Lubisi, R.C. and R. J. L. Murphy. (2002). Assessment in South African schools. Assessment in Education 9 (2), 255-268. Lyster, R., & Ranta, L. (1997). Corrective feedback and learner uptake: Negotiation of form in communicative classrooms. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 37-66. Ministry of National Education. (2000). National syllabuses for English-speaking primary schools in Cameroon. Yaounde: L’imprimerie Saint John. Nwana, E.M. (2000). Coping with British and French inherited systems of education. In T. M. Ndongko and L. I. Tambo (eds). Educational development in Cameroon 1961 – 1999: issues and perspectives (PP. 10-22). Platerville, Madison: Nkemnji Global Tech and University of Regina Press. pp. 10-22. O’Sullivan, M. C. (2004). The reconceptualisation of learner-centred approaches: a Namibian case study. International Journal of Educational Development, 24, 585-602 Omodiaogbe, S.A. (1992). 150 Years on: English in the Nigerian school system-past, present, and future. ELT Journal 46, no. 1: 19-28. Ovanda, M. N. (1992). Constructive Feedback: A Key to Successful Teaching and Learning, Retrieved April 18, 15, 2011, from http:// www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/ detailmini.jsp_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED404291&ERICExtSearch_ SearchType_0=no&accno=ED404291 Pryor, J. and Lubisi, C. (2002). Reconceptualising educational assessment in South Africa —testing times for teachers. International Journal of Educational Development, 22, 673–686 Rahman, Md. F., Babu, F., and Ashrafuzzaman, Md. (2011). Assessment and Feedback Practices in the English Language Classroom. Journal of Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association (NELTA), Vol. 16 (1-2), 97-106. Ranta, L., and Lyster, R. (2007). A cognitive approach to improving immersion students’ oral language abilities: The Awareness-Practice-Feedback sequence. In R. DeKeyser (Ed.), Practice in a second language: Perspective from applied linguistics and cognitive psychology, (pp. 141-160). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Reigel, D. (2008). Positive feedback in pairwork and its association with ESL course level promotion. TESOL Quarterly, 42, 79-98. Sadler, D. R. (2007). Perils in the meticulous specification of goals and assessment criteria. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice, 14, 387- 392. Salahuddin, A.N.M. (2013). Challenges of implementing English curriculum at rural primary schools of Bangladesh. The International Journal of Social Sciences, 7(1), 34-51. Sarantakos, S. (1998). Social research. 2nd Edition. London: Macmillan Press Ltd. Sardareh, S. A. (2016). Formative feedback in a Malaysian primary school ESL context. The Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Science, 4 (1),1-8. Saputrii, D. Y., Rukayah, & Indriayu, M, (2018). Need assessment of ınteractive multimedia based on game in elementary school: A challenge into learning in 21st century. International Journal of Educational Research Review, 3(3),1-8. Shu, S. (1982). Education in Cameroon. In A.B. Fafunwa and J.U. Aisiku (eds). Education in Africa: a comparative survey (pp. 29-48). London: George Allen & Unwin. Stoynof, S. (2012). Looking backward and forward at classroom-based language assessment. ELT Journal, 66 (4), 523–532, Tabulawa, R.T. (2009). Education reform in Botswana: reflections on policy contradictions and paradoxes. Comparative Education, 43 (1), 87-107 Truscott, J. (1996). The case against grammar correction in L2 writing classes. Language Learning, 46, 327-369 Wong, J. and Waring, H. Z. (2009). Very good as a teacher response. ELT Journal, 63 (4), 195-203.
Year 2018, , 32 - 47, 19.05.2018
https://doi.org/10.24331/ijere.425151

Abstract

References

  • Abbasnasab Sardareh, S., and Saad, MRM. (2012). A sociocultural perspective on assessment for learning: The case of a Malaysian primary school ESL context. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 66, 343-353. Abdullah, H. and Sidek, H.M. (2012). L2 writing feedback: Alignment of Instructional planning and implementation. ELTED, 15, 15-24 Akter, L. (2010). Teacher talk time in esl classroom in bangladesh. Unpublished M.Ed Thesis, BRAC University, Dhaka. Alobwede, d’Epie, C. (1998). Banning pidgin english in cameroon. English Today, 14 (1), 54-56 Altinyelken, H. K. (2010b). Curriculum change in Uganda: Teacher perspectives on the new thematic curriculum. International Journal of Educational Development, 30 (2), 151-161 Altinyelken, H.K. 2010a. Pedagogical renewal in sub-Saharan Africa: the case of Uganda. Comparative Education 46 (2), 151-171 Askew, S., and Lodge, C. (2000). Gifts, ping-pong and loops: Linking feedback and learning. In S. Askew (Ed.) Feedback for learning (pp. 1-18). London: Routledge Bachman, L. F., and Palmer, A. S. (1996). Language testing in practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Beets, P., and T. Van Louw. (2011). Social justice implications of South African assessment practices. Africa Education Review, 8, (2), 302-317 Bitchener, J. (2012). Written corrective feedback for L2 development: Current knowledge and future research. TESOL Quarterly, 46 (4), 855-860 Bobda, A. S. (2004). Linguistic apartheid: English language policy in Africa. English Today, 20 (1). 19-26. Brophy J. (1981). Teacher praise: a functional analysis. Review of Educational Research, 51 (1), 5–32. Chisholm, L. and R. Leyendecker. (2008). Curriculum reform in post-1990s sub-Saharan Africa. International Journal of Educational Development 28, 195–205 Cohen, L., L. Manion and K. Morrison. (2011). Research methods in education. 7th Edition. Abingdon: Routledg Ellis, R. 2009. A typology of written corrective feedback types. ELT Journal, 63 (2), 97-107 Fagan, D. S. (2014). Beyond “Excellent!”: Uncovering the systematicity behind positive feedback turn construction in ESL classrooms. Novitas-ROYAL (Research on Youth and Language), 8(1), 45-63.) Ferris, D.R. (2012). Written corrective feedback in second language acquisition and writing studies. Language Teaching, 45 (4), 446-459 Guenette, D. (2007). Is feedback pedagogically correct? Research design issues in studies of feedback on writing’. Journal of Second Language Writing, 16, 40–53. Hardman, F., J. Abd-Kadir, C. Agg, J. Migwi, J. Ndambku and F. Smith. (2009). Changing pedagogical practice in Kenyan primary schools: the impact of school-based training. Comparative Education, 45 (1), 65-86 Hardman, J. and A-Rahman, N. (2014) Teachers and the implementation of a new English curriculum in Malaysia. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 27 (3), 260-277 Hattie, J. C., and Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112. Hollowel, K. (2011). The Importance of Assessment in Primary Education. Retrieved April 18, 2018, from http://connected.waldenu.edu/issues-ineducation/standards-and-assessments/item/891importance-of-assessment-primary-education Hyland, K. & F. Hyland. (2006). State-of-the-art article: feedback on second language students’ writing. Language Teaching 39, 83–101. Hyland, K. and Hyland, F. (2006). Contexts and Issues in Feedback on L2 Writing: An Introduction. In K. Hyland and F. Hyland (eds) Feedback in Second Language Writing: Contexts and Issues (pp.1-10). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Jenks, C.J. (2013). Your pronunciation and your accent is very excellent: Orientations of identity during compliment sequences in English as a lingua franca encounters. Language and Intercultural Communication, 13, 165-181. Johnson, M. F. (2000). Evolution of private education in Cameroon. In T. M. Ndongko and L. I. Tambo (eds). Educational development in Cameroon 1961 – 1999: issues and perspectives (pp. 23-36). Platerville, Madison: Nkemnji Global Tech and University of Regina Press. Karaaĝaç, P. (2017). Teachers’ views on activities practised in elementary schools. International Journal of Educational Research Review, 2 (1), 34-40. Keh, C. L. (1996). Feedback in the writing process: a model and methods for implementation. In T. Hedge and N. Whitney (eds). Power, Practice and Pedagogy (pp. 271-282). Oxford University Press. Kouega, J.P. (1999). Forty years of official bilingualism in Cameroon. English Today 15, no. 4: 38-43. Kouega, J-P. (2002). Uses of English in Southern British Cameroon. English World-wide, 23, no. 1: 93-113. Kumar, R. (2005). Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. London: Sage Publications. Lankshear, C. and M. Knobel. (2004). A handbook for teacher research: from design to implementation. Berkshire: Open University Press. Lantolf, J., & Poehner, M. (2014). Sociocultural theory and the pedagogical imperative in L2 education: Vygotskian praxis and the research/theory divide. New York: Routledge. Lee, I. (2003). How do Hong Kong teachers correct errors in writing? Education Journal, 31 (1), 153-169. Lu, Y. (2010). The value of direct and indirect written corrective feedback for intermediate ESL students. Auckland University of Technology Scholarly Commons. Lubisi, R.C. and R. J. L. Murphy. (2002). Assessment in South African schools. Assessment in Education 9 (2), 255-268. Lyster, R., & Ranta, L. (1997). Corrective feedback and learner uptake: Negotiation of form in communicative classrooms. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 37-66. Ministry of National Education. (2000). National syllabuses for English-speaking primary schools in Cameroon. Yaounde: L’imprimerie Saint John. Nwana, E.M. (2000). Coping with British and French inherited systems of education. In T. M. Ndongko and L. I. Tambo (eds). Educational development in Cameroon 1961 – 1999: issues and perspectives (PP. 10-22). Platerville, Madison: Nkemnji Global Tech and University of Regina Press. pp. 10-22. O’Sullivan, M. C. (2004). The reconceptualisation of learner-centred approaches: a Namibian case study. International Journal of Educational Development, 24, 585-602 Omodiaogbe, S.A. (1992). 150 Years on: English in the Nigerian school system-past, present, and future. ELT Journal 46, no. 1: 19-28. Ovanda, M. N. (1992). Constructive Feedback: A Key to Successful Teaching and Learning, Retrieved April 18, 15, 2011, from http:// www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/ detailmini.jsp_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED404291&ERICExtSearch_ SearchType_0=no&accno=ED404291 Pryor, J. and Lubisi, C. (2002). Reconceptualising educational assessment in South Africa —testing times for teachers. International Journal of Educational Development, 22, 673–686 Rahman, Md. F., Babu, F., and Ashrafuzzaman, Md. (2011). Assessment and Feedback Practices in the English Language Classroom. Journal of Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association (NELTA), Vol. 16 (1-2), 97-106. Ranta, L., and Lyster, R. (2007). A cognitive approach to improving immersion students’ oral language abilities: The Awareness-Practice-Feedback sequence. In R. DeKeyser (Ed.), Practice in a second language: Perspective from applied linguistics and cognitive psychology, (pp. 141-160). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Reigel, D. (2008). Positive feedback in pairwork and its association with ESL course level promotion. TESOL Quarterly, 42, 79-98. Sadler, D. R. (2007). Perils in the meticulous specification of goals and assessment criteria. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice, 14, 387- 392. Salahuddin, A.N.M. (2013). Challenges of implementing English curriculum at rural primary schools of Bangladesh. The International Journal of Social Sciences, 7(1), 34-51. Sarantakos, S. (1998). Social research. 2nd Edition. London: Macmillan Press Ltd. Sardareh, S. A. (2016). Formative feedback in a Malaysian primary school ESL context. The Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Science, 4 (1),1-8. Saputrii, D. Y., Rukayah, & Indriayu, M, (2018). Need assessment of ınteractive multimedia based on game in elementary school: A challenge into learning in 21st century. International Journal of Educational Research Review, 3(3),1-8. Shu, S. (1982). Education in Cameroon. In A.B. Fafunwa and J.U. Aisiku (eds). Education in Africa: a comparative survey (pp. 29-48). London: George Allen & Unwin. Stoynof, S. (2012). Looking backward and forward at classroom-based language assessment. ELT Journal, 66 (4), 523–532, Tabulawa, R.T. (2009). Education reform in Botswana: reflections on policy contradictions and paradoxes. Comparative Education, 43 (1), 87-107 Truscott, J. (1996). The case against grammar correction in L2 writing classes. Language Learning, 46, 327-369 Wong, J. and Waring, H. Z. (2009). Very good as a teacher response. ELT Journal, 63 (4), 195-203.
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Primary Language English
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Achu Charles Tante This is me

Publication Date May 19, 2018
Published in Issue Year 2018

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APA Tante, A. C. (2018). Primary School Teachers’ Classroom-based Assessment Feedback Culture in English Language. International Journal of Educational Research Review, 3(4), 32-47. https://doi.org/10.24331/ijere.425151
AMA Tante AC. Primary School Teachers’ Classroom-based Assessment Feedback Culture in English Language. IJERE. October 2018;3(4):32-47. doi:10.24331/ijere.425151
Chicago Tante, Achu Charles. “Primary School Teachers’ Classroom-Based Assessment Feedback Culture in English Language”. International Journal of Educational Research Review 3, no. 4 (October 2018): 32-47. https://doi.org/10.24331/ijere.425151.
EndNote Tante AC (October 1, 2018) Primary School Teachers’ Classroom-based Assessment Feedback Culture in English Language. International Journal of Educational Research Review 3 4 32–47.
IEEE A. C. Tante, “Primary School Teachers’ Classroom-based Assessment Feedback Culture in English Language”, IJERE, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 32–47, 2018, doi: 10.24331/ijere.425151.
ISNAD Tante, Achu Charles. “Primary School Teachers’ Classroom-Based Assessment Feedback Culture in English Language”. International Journal of Educational Research Review 3/4 (October 2018), 32-47. https://doi.org/10.24331/ijere.425151.
JAMA Tante AC. Primary School Teachers’ Classroom-based Assessment Feedback Culture in English Language. IJERE. 2018;3:32–47.
MLA Tante, Achu Charles. “Primary School Teachers’ Classroom-Based Assessment Feedback Culture in English Language”. International Journal of Educational Research Review, vol. 3, no. 4, 2018, pp. 32-47, doi:10.24331/ijere.425151.
Vancouver Tante AC. Primary School Teachers’ Classroom-based Assessment Feedback Culture in English Language. IJERE. 2018;3(4):32-47.

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