A knowledge base of language assessment literacy for Colombian teachers of English

• Autores: Sonia Patricia Hernandez Ocampo
• Directores de la Tesis: Anne-Marie de Mejía (dir. tes.)
• Lectura: En la Universidad de los Andes (Colombia) ( Colombia ) en 2022
• Idioma: inglés
• Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Heike Neumann (presid.), Isabel Tejada Sanchez (presid.)
• Enlaces
  • Tesis en acceso abierto en: hdl.handle.net
• Resumen

  • The need to train language teachers in assessment has been identified worldwide. Besides, scholars have stated the importance of identifying teacher cognition so that learning of new content can be more effective. Considering these two aspects, this research proposes a knowledge base of language assessment literacy (LAL) for language teacher education programs in Colombia. To do so, I first determined what LAL should mean to the language teachers in the context for their practice, the classroom. Second, I analyzed how pre-service teachers were being trained in assessment in their programs, how they were being assessed in their English classes, as well as both pre- and in-service teachers' cognition about assessment. I used a variety of instruments to collect information in three cases that this qualitative multiple-case study was based on. These instruments-interviews, class observations, think-aloud protocols, questionnaires, and focus groups-were administered to both in-service and pre-service teachers in each of the cases; I also analyzed the assessment and English courses syllabi. Findings from the empirical study show that although there has been some progress in the training in assessment in Colombian language teaching programs, this is not enough. In addition, despite the acknowledgement of the importance of formative assessment and the need for summative assessment in the classroom, there seems to be a disregard for the latter and a non-coexistence of them both. This might imply low levels of LAL. Finally, the proposed model of a knowledge base of LAL for pre-service language teachers in Colombia emphasizes the commitment of in-service teachers to explicitly model assessment practices in their language lessons as a complement to the training offered in the language assessment courses included in the curricula.