A Tale of Two Teachers: Construction of Novice University English Teachers’ Assessment Identity
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Ling GAN
Ling GAN is Lecturer at School of Foreign Languages, Beijing Technology and Business University. She is also a PhD candidate in the Department of Education Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University. Her research interests include language assessment literacy and teacher professional development.
Ricky LAM is Associate Professor and Associate Head in the Department of Education Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University. He is an associate editor of Frontiers in Psychology and has served in several international editorial boards, such as Assessing Writing, RELC Journal, Journal of Asia TEFL and so on. His research interests include L2 writing assessment, digital portfolios, and language assessment literacy. His publications have appeared in Language Assessment Quarterly, System, Assessing Writing, Language Testing, TESOL Quarterly, ELT Journal, and other SSCI- and SCOPUS-indexed journals. He is also the author of Using Digital Portfolios to Develop Students’ Writing: A Practical Guide for Language Teachers (Routledge, 2022).
Abstract
While teachers’ language assessment literacy (LAL) development has been researched exponentially, little is known about the construction of teachers’ assessment identity in their LAL development. The current study attempts to fill this gap by exploring how two novice university English teachers constructed their assessment identity in the Chinese context. Data were collected over three semesters through narrative frames, interviews, and field observations. The data revealed that the two teachers experienced a shift from not identifying themselves to be an assessor to being an assessor, along with their LAL development. They constructed their assessment identity with different trajectories. Specifically, one informant proactively made sense of her identities as an unswerving assessment practitioner and an ardent assessment explorer but preferred to label herself as a guide and “a stumbling novice assessor.” The other developed his identities as a confident feedback giver and a lenient marker, preferably identifying himself as “a life mentor.” These idiosyncratic construction trajectories were mainly influenced by teachers’ conceptions of assessment, prior assessment experiences, personal dispositions (e.g., self-efficacy, agency, reflection) and institutional requirements. Findings of this study offer insights into the under-researched area of teacher professional identity in language assessment and provide implications on how to become effective language assessors.
About the authors
Ling GAN is Lecturer at School of Foreign Languages, Beijing Technology and Business University. She is also a PhD candidate in the Department of Education Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University. Her research interests include language assessment literacy and teacher professional development.
Ricky LAM is Associate Professor and Associate Head in the Department of Education Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University. He is an associate editor of Frontiers in Psychology and has served in several international editorial boards, such as Assessing Writing, RELC Journal, Journal of Asia TEFL and so on. His research interests include L2 writing assessment, digital portfolios, and language assessment literacy. His publications have appeared in Language Assessment Quarterly, System, Assessing Writing, Language Testing, TESOL Quarterly, ELT Journal, and other SSCI- and SCOPUS-indexed journals. He is also the author of Using Digital Portfolios to Develop Students’ Writing: A Practical Guide for Language Teachers (Routledge, 2022).
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© 2023 FLTRP, Walter de Gruyter, Cultural and Education Section British Embassy
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Developing Assessment Literacy for Classroom-Based Formative Assessment
- Assessment Literacy in a Better Assessment Future
- Assessment Literacy: Changing Cultures, Enculturing Change in Hong Kong
- Developing Classroom-Based Formative Assessment Literacy: An EFL Teacher’s Journey
- A Tale of Two Teachers: Construction of Novice University English Teachers’ Assessment Identity
- How Personal, Experiential, and Contextual Factors Mediate EFL Teachers’ Conceptions of Assessment: A Narrative Study
- Teachers’ Qualitatively Different Ways of Experiencing Assessment Feedback: Implications for Teacher Assessment Literacy
- Peer Review Circles: The Value of Working in Triadic Groups and Oral Observational Peer Feedback in the Development of Student Feedback Literacy
- A Difficulty-Informed Approach to Developing Language Assessment Literacy for Classroom Purposes
- Understanding and Implementing Learning-Oriented Assessment: Evidence From Three Chinese Junior High School EFL Teachers
- Chinese Abstracts
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Developing Assessment Literacy for Classroom-Based Formative Assessment
- Assessment Literacy in a Better Assessment Future
- Assessment Literacy: Changing Cultures, Enculturing Change in Hong Kong
- Developing Classroom-Based Formative Assessment Literacy: An EFL Teacher’s Journey
- A Tale of Two Teachers: Construction of Novice University English Teachers’ Assessment Identity
- How Personal, Experiential, and Contextual Factors Mediate EFL Teachers’ Conceptions of Assessment: A Narrative Study
- Teachers’ Qualitatively Different Ways of Experiencing Assessment Feedback: Implications for Teacher Assessment Literacy
- Peer Review Circles: The Value of Working in Triadic Groups and Oral Observational Peer Feedback in the Development of Student Feedback Literacy
- A Difficulty-Informed Approach to Developing Language Assessment Literacy for Classroom Purposes
- Understanding and Implementing Learning-Oriented Assessment: Evidence From Three Chinese Junior High School EFL Teachers
- Chinese Abstracts
