The assessment competence of university foreign language teachers: A Ukrainian perspective
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Olga Kvasova
Olga Kvasova is Associate Professor at Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv and Candidate of Pedagogy (equivalent to PhD). She lectures in the methodology of teaching foreign languages (pre-service teacher education) and supervises teacher-training placements at secondary schools. Her research interests include classroom-based assessment and teacher training in LTA, and course and materials design (academic skills).
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Tamara Kavytska
Tamara Kavytska is a lecturer at Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She teaches English and translation studies and supervises teacher-training placements at secondary schools. She is an external expert in verifying the independent school-leaving National Language Test. Her research interests include teaching and assessing translation, language testing and assessment.
Abstract
This article considers the assessment challenges and prospects faced by foreign language teachers in Ukrainian universities in the context of the country's joining the Bologna Process. A major problem relates to adapting higher education to a common framework designed to facilitate comprehension and comparison of the content and outcomes of degree programmes and devising methods of quality assurance in foreign language teaching. The implementation of reforms in the area includes the improvement of assessment standards, the creation of new assessment instruments, and ensuring that teachers' professional repertoire includes skills in accurately measuring students' performance. Given the increased role of assessment in Ukrainian language education and the challenges this new demand poses to teachers, we investigated university foreign language teachers' readiness to carry out complex and multifaceted functions related to formative and summative assessment. Specifically, we replicated the European Survey of Language Testing and Assessment Needs and carried out a survey of our own design to identify specific strengths and weaknesses in the assessments performed by university foreign language teachers. The surveys yielded results that are broadly comparable with the European data, but with minor variations that mostly have to do with newly introduced forms of assessment. Our study shows that Ukrainian university foreign language teachers are quite test-wise and prepared to do a good job in language testing and assessment. The insights drawn from the data can contribute to developing syllabi for pre- and in-service teacher training in the area.
About the authors
Olga Kvasova is Associate Professor at Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv and Candidate of Pedagogy (equivalent to PhD). She lectures in the methodology of teaching foreign languages (pre-service teacher education) and supervises teacher-training placements at secondary schools. Her research interests include classroom-based assessment and teacher training in LTA, and course and materials design (academic skills).
Tamara Kavytska is a lecturer at Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She teaches English and translation studies and supervises teacher-training placements at secondary schools. She is an external expert in verifying the independent school-leaving National Language Test. Her research interests include teaching and assessing translation, language testing and assessment.
©2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Guest editors' introduction
- A classroom-based assessment method to test speaking skills in English for Specific Purposes
- Using exemption examinations to assess Finnish business students' non-formal and informal learning of ESP: a pilot study
- Piloting a polychotomous partial-credit scoring procedure in a multiple-choice test
- Comparing two theories of grammatical knowledge assessment: a bifactor-MIRT analysis
- Einstufung in UNIcert®-Kurse mittels C-Test
- Sprachenübergreifende Vergleichbarkeit herstellen – aber wie? Ein qualitatives Projekt zur Harmonisierung der Niveaustufe UNIcert® I (B1)
- Standardising assessment to meet student needs in foreign language modules in a university context: Is standardisation possible?
- Investigating language assessment literacy: Collaboration between assessment specialists and Canadian university admissions officers
- The assessment competence of university foreign language teachers: A Ukrainian perspective
- Using Quality Management Systems to improve test development and standards and to promote good practice: A case study of testing Italian as a foreign language
- Testing intercultural competence in (International) English: Some basic questions and suggested answers
- Taking decisions: Assessment for university entry
