Abstract:

Formative methods of assessment such as Peer- and self-assessment are considered as a learning tool that helps students to become autonomous while they are involved in the process of assessing others and being assessed (Lindblom-Ylänne et al,2006). Peer- and self-assessment arguably contribute to the ongoing improvement of students' performances in the classroom. So far, however, there has been little attention to the implementation of formative assessment in English for the specific purpose (ESP) classroom in Saudi Arabia .The purpose of the study was to examine the potentials of implementing formative methods of assessment in ESP course in Saudi Arabia. The data were collected using students' logs entries, presentation assessment questionnaire, observation , and focused groups. Participants were 20 Saudi premedical undergraduate students ranged in age from 17-to-19 years and they were enrolled in a preparatory year program. The results revealed that the participants commented positively on the usefulness of self-assessment as part of their ongoing learning. Nevertheless, in terms of the implementation of peer assessment, participants indicated that they learned from the experience of evaluating each other but they resisted this new method of assessment. The majority expressed different reasons for refusing to judge one another, stating that the teacher knows best. They are also concerned about fairness as they think that their peers shouldn't have the right to judge their performance. Others expressed the view that they all need good marks so consequently they feel that they have to give their peers the highest marks possible. This primarily results suggest that there is a need for further longitude study to give more insight into the implementation of formative assessment in ESP course.

References:
Lindblom-ylänne, S., H. Pihlajamäki, and T. Kotkas. 2006. Self-, peer- and teacher-assessment of student essays. Active Learning in Higher Education 7, no. 1: 51-62.

Keywords:

Formative methods, Peer- and self-assessment, Teacher-assessment, English for the specific purpose.