Abstract:

Although the training of future teachers of English comprises several academic courses that provide student teachers with general pedagogy in the bachelor’s degree programme and an English Language Teaching (ELT) course in their master’s degree programme, the domains of language teacher training require a systematic approach and regular evaluation. Given the dearth of English teachers in the country, The Faculty of Education, Trnava University, has identified the training of future English teachers as a key priority, with a particular focus on introducing concepts presented in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (2001) and its Companion Volume (2020).

The principal English Language Teaching (ELT) course is a two-semester academic course, designed to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and skills related to teaching English. It encompasses a comprehensive exploration of contemporary trends in language education. The introduction of assessment is covered in two lectures, with further practice in seminars. However, this is not sufficient to prepare student teachers to design their own reliable and valid tests that will enable them to assess their students objectively. Furthermore, formative assessment, which is as important as summative assessment, also requires intensive training. Consequently, a new course on the evaluation and testing of communicative language competences has been introduced as a mandatorily optional course. This allows student teachers to gain sufficient understanding of the fundamental concepts behind communicative testing.

Student teachers who had elected to pursue the course were invited to participate in a study that examined their reflection on their ability to design assessment tools, to identify the areas for improvement in a learner’s performance (formative assessment), to assess their learners’ performances reliably and validly (summative assessment), to assist learners in assessing their own performances (self- and peer-assessment) and other aspects related to assessment and testing. The participants were required to respond to questions concerning the principal issues of their competence in communicative testing.

The methodology of the study involved the collection of appropriate data from the student teachers’ records in their portfolios, which referred to six aspects within the domain of assessment, adapted from the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL). The selected aspects encompass 24 can-do descriptors, which are presented in a positive manner. These enable student teachers to evaluate their progress in becoming aware of the appropriate content, times, testing techniques, and purposes for assessing language learners, as well as the ways in which assessment can facilitate language learners’ learning and language teachers’ teaching.

The study presents a summary of the data obtained from the responses to 24 descriptors, which enabled the evaluation of student teachers’ competencies in assessment. The responses provided by the student teachers are subjected to a comprehensive analysis, which is then complemented by their comments and the exact wording used to provide evidence of the development of student teachers’ ability to apply the theoretical framework in practice.

Keywords:

Assessment, student teachers, assessment tools, a survey, quantitative and qualitative data.