The Assessment Beliefs and Practices of English Teachers in Japanese Universities

Abstract

Any discussion about English education in Japan is invariably bound up with a discussion about assessment. All too often, such discussions have focused on entrance examinations and other high stakes summative tests. However, language testing and assessment do not take place in a vacuum, but are deeply affected by broader social and cultural contexts, as well as individual features of the school and the classroom. In particular, perhaps more than any other factor, it is the teachers who have great influence over how tests are created, conducted and interpreted. In order for universities to foster an environment in which reliable assessment can take place, it is not enough to provide well-designed, rigorous tests. It is also imperative that teachers' beliefs and practices concerning assessment be taken into account. This paper seeks to answer the question, what are the assessment beliefs and practices of EFL teachers working in Japanese universities? To answer this question, survey responses were gathered from English language teachers working in Japanese higher education. The results indicated some slight differences in belief and practice between native speaker teachers and non-native speaker teachers, as well as between full-time and part-time teachers. Despite these differences, it seems that most teachers have a learning-oriented approach to assessment. The findings provide support and direction for policy-makers and educational leaders seeking to promote better testing practice.

Teachers’ Beliefs About Classroom Language Assessment: Collaborative Discussion as a Mediational Space

“…Similarly, the results of Elshawa et al (2017) revealed that their participants, who were Malaysian English language teachers in tertiary ESL classrooms, conceived the aim of language assessment to be the improvement of teaching and learning. Likewise, the participants in Wicking (2017), who were EFL teachers at Japanese universities, believed in language assessment as a positive force that could improve learning. Having a clear understanding of the aims of language assessment can help teachers align their assessment practices with these goals.…”

“…A body of research on language teachers' beliefs and practices of assessment has been conducted in the tertiary/university context (e.g., Elshawa et al, 2017;Önalan & Karagül, 2018;Rasyid, 2022;Wang et al, 2020;Wicking, 2017). For instance, Wang et al (2020) limited their research to Chinese EFL teachers' beliefs and practices of writing assessment.…”

“…In addition, the results revealed that the participants' teaching experience did not influence their reported beliefs about language assessment. Along the same lines, Wicking (2017) focused on native and non-native EFL teachers' beliefs and practices of language assessment in the EFL context of Japanese universities. The findings showed differences between native speaker teachers and non-native speaker teachers regarding their beliefs and practices of language assessment.…”

Classroom-based assessment in TEFL as a form of formative assessment: Enquiries into theory and practice

“…In this section, I review empirical studies on CBA practices in TEFL that have been conducted since 2000. While many quantitative CBA studies have addressed the efficiency of CBA practices (Joo, 2016;Mak & Wong, 2018;Nunes, 2004;Song & August, 2002), qualitative research on the topic often seeks to explore teachers' and students' perceptions of CBA (Davison, 2004;Davison, 2007;Wicking, 2017). Three types of CBA activities are selected for review: portfolio, peer assessment, and self-assessment (Brown & Hudson, 1998;Lewkowicz & Leung, 2021)…”

Assessment Practices of Teachers in Selected Primary and Secondary Schools in Jamaica

“…The findings showed that the teachers did not use a variety of assessment methods. On the contrary, in Japan, Wicking [21] examined the English teachers' beliefs and assessment practices and concluded that the teachers used a variety of assessments, including teacher-made paper-and-pencil tests as well as items from the textbooks. On the other hand, Yang [22] investigated the factors affecting English teachers' use of multiple classroom assessment practices among young language learners in Taiwanese elementary school.…”