Abstract:

Formative assessment in English Language Teaching (ELT) has become a central element of educational reforms worldwide, including in the Slovak Republic. However, formative assessment practices among pre-service primary and secondary school EFL teachers in Slovakia remain underexplored in the literature. This study aims to explore pre-service teachers’ perceptions of selected formative assessment practices implemented during their training. The participants were young adult pre-service EFL teachers enrolled in the full-time course Testing and Assessment in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning during their Master’s (MA) studies. A convenience sample of 14 students was drawn from those who attended the course in March and April 2026. The study adopts an action research design in which participants implemented three formative assessment techniques selected from the Handbook of Formative Assessment (Freibrun and Brunet, 2025), applied at different stages of instruction: before instruction, during instruction, and after instruction. After implementing the techniques, the students completed a semi-structured questionnaire designed to collect qualitative data on their experiences and perceptions. The collected data were analysed using a coding procedure to identify recurring themes. To enhance the reliability and validity of the findings, students’ responses were triangulated with the instructors’ observations and reflections. The findings are expected to identify which formative assessment techniques pre-service teachers perceive as most useful and feasible in practice. The results may also inform teacher education and support the implementation of formative assessment strategies within the ongoing curricular reform in Slovakia.

Keywords:

Formative assessment, English as a Foreign Language (EFL), Pre-service teacher education, Action research, Teacher perceptions, Slovakia.