Abstract:

Until recently, online environments were just beginning to gain popularity as a viable option for language learning (Meskill & Anthony, 2015). Such popularity and acceptance has already been enjoyed by many other disciplines for some time. At the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, however, most language programs were forced to make a rapid transition to fully online format. As students and instructors adapt to online language teaching, one of the main challenges they identify is the difficulty in monitoring student progress in class and identifying struggling students (Vonderwell & Boboc, 2013). Even in videoconferencing classrooms, teachers have limited access to immediate student feedback made available through non-verbal cues, e.g., facial expressions, body language, gaze, and gestures. As a result, instructors may not always accurately gauge if every student comprehends the input, follows instructions or stays on task. Therefore, pinpointing each student’s unique needs and challenges in synchronous online environment becomes an overwhelming challenge for many language educators. To address this challenge, effective real-time formative assessment that allows teachers to see each student’s work as the lesson progresses should become an essential component in every synchronous online classroom.

This paper describes the authors’ experience incorporating systematic formative assessment in a synchronous online language classroom. Nearpod, an interactive instructional platform, was utilized for that purpose. The platform allows teachers to monitor each student’s progress as they work on assignments and collects real-time feedback on student learning. The paper will describe the formative assessment tools used, formative assessment data collected, and instructional decisions made based on the data. The authors will evaluate the suitability of the platform for online language classroom. Recommendations for incorporating formative assessment in online instruction will be made.

References:
[1] Meskill, C., & Anthony, N. (2015). Teaching Languages Online (2nd ed.). Multilingual Matters.
[2] Vonderwell, S. K., & Boboc, M. (2013). Promoting formative assessment in online teaching and learning. TechTrends, 57(4), 22-27.

Keywords:

Formative assessment, online learning, language teaching.