Abstract:
Assessment for Learning (AfL), an assessment reform agenda arising from Anglophone
culture, is believed to contribute greatly to student learning outcomes and learner
autonomy. In recent years, the Chinese government introduced assessment reform
initiatives to incorporate AfL in university English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL)
classrooms. However, little is known about how this imported policy has been
implemented. This study, therefore, aims to investigate how the core AfL strategies are
interpreted and implemented in Chinese university EFL classrooms.
A mixed-methods design comprising two phases was utilised in the study. The first
phase was a questionnaire-based quantitative survey to elicit Chinese university EFL
teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the frequency of the AfL strategies used in their
classrooms as well as the values they ascribed to each of these strategies. Data were
collected by using two self-developed instruments—the Assessment for Learning
Strategy Questionnaire for Teachers (AfLSQ-T) and the Assessment for Learning
Strategy Questionnaire for Students (AfLSQ-S). A total of 409 teachers from eight
universities in Northwest China and 1191 first- and second-year students from two of
the eight universities responded to the two questionnaires. Findings showed that both
teachers and students placed the lowest importance on student-led AfL strategy (peerand
self-assessment), and they both reported the lowest level of practice for this strategy.
The second phase qualitative study explored how Chinese EFL teachers understood and
applied each AfL strategy in their instruction, how Chinese EFL students responded and
were engaged in each strategy and, most importantly, what factors influenced their AfL
practices. Three teachers, who had participated in the first-phase survey, together each
with seven to eight of their students (in total 23 students), were invited to participate in
the case study. Data collected from semi-structed interviews, focus groups, stimulated
recall interviews, and classroom observations suggested that Chinese teachers did not
appreciate the value of AfL in promoting student learning, and that their AfL practices
were limited and superficial. Students also indicated resistance to AfL and did not
engage fully in all the AfL strategies, especially peer-and self-assessment.
Taken together, from the results of the two phases it was concluded that AfL in Chinese
EFL classes is not fully valued and implemented. Teachers and students are hindered
largely by contextual influences, including the long-standing examination tradition, the
Confucian Heritage Cultural values in China, the lack of a trusting classroom
atmosphere, and practical classroom-level constraints. In addition, some individual
factors, such as teachers’ and students’ low levels of assessment literacy, as well as
students’ low levels of self-efficacy also impeded teachers and students from embracing
AfL in their classes.
Chinese teacher educators are expected to strengthen teacher education programmes to
enable teachers to fully understand the principles and theories underlying AfL as well
as its value in enhance learning. They should also take into consideration the contextual
realities and provide adequate practical and realistic guidance for teachers to adopt AfL
in their classrooms. Furthermore, teachers are expected to equip students with the
knowledge and skills needed for the successful implementation of AfL and increase their
confidence in their capabilities to take control of their own learning.