The Effects of Formative Assessment on Learner Autonomy in English Teachin

Abstract：In recent years， formative assessment is attracting more and more domestic and foreign scholars and their theoretical achievements are remarkable. Actually， the functions of formative assessment are having been pitifully neglected in English teaching. Therefore， focusing on the formative assessment and exploring the practical assessment model are badly necessary.

Key words： formative assessment； learner autonomy； English teaching

1.Learner autonomy

Learner Autonomy， as a kind of learning ability， is beneficial to improve the students' English achievements， and will be the foundation of students' life-long learning and development.

1.1 The definition of learner autonomy

Although the thought of autonomous learning has a long history and has attracted scholars’ attention at home and abroad， it is difficult to reach a consensus about the definition of “autonomy”. One reason is that different scholars interpreting the concept from different points of view.

Henri Holec（1981）， as the pioneer studying learner autonomy， does his analysis from the perspective of responsibility， giving the earliest and most frequently cited definition of autonomy as “the ability to take charge of one’s learning”， that is， “autonomy” is mainly the ability to learn and learners are willing to be responsible for their own learning process. Zimmerman（1997：105～125）， American psychologist， social cognitive school， describes the state of autonomous learning from five dimensions： autonomous learning motivation and attitude， learning method， learning plan， monitoring， the utilization of materials and social environment. Pang Weiguo（2003）， Chinese scholar， also gives a definition on “autonomous learning” that the students should be able to learn based on the development of the self-consciousness， should be willing to learn based on the intrinsic motivation， should be good at learning based on certain strategies， and should be able to persist in learning depending on the persistent will.

1.2 Characteristics of learner autonomy

Dickinson（1993：330～331） shows five characteristics of autonomous students： （1）They understand what is being taught； （2）They are able to formulate their learning objectives； （3）They are able to select and make use of appropriate learning strategies； （4）They are able to monitor their use of these strategies； （5）They are able to self-access， or monitor their own learning.

All these characteristics relate to meta-cognitive learning strategies， such as planning， monitoring and evaluating in the controllable learning process. The autonomous learners are able to determine their learning objectives according to their own situation， define the contents and progressions， select the effective learning strategies， monitor the procedure of acquisition and the implementation of progressions， and finally evaluate what has been acquired.

Summing up all the theories above， “autonomous learning” is generalized as a learning model that the students finish the specific learning objectives by self-adjustment and self-control based on the curriculum standard and the teachers’ guidance. Fostering learner autonomy means helping learners equip with the characteristics of autonomous learners in the process of English learning so as to improve their autonomous learning （Shen Changhong， Wang Zhijiang， 2005：83）. The learner autonomy not only depends on the learning motivation and the learning capacity， but also relies on the external learning direction and learning resources. In autonomous learning， many factors of learner self will directly affect the effect and the process of autonomous learning， such as interest， motivation， attitude， self-confidence， cognitive method and learning strategies， which are just the specific requirements of the diversity of the formative assessment content.

2.Formative assessment

2.1 The definition of formative assessment

The term “formative assessment” was put forward by the American philosopher M. Scriven （1986） in his classic work “the Methodology of Education” and was introduced to the educational circles by the American educational psychologist B. S. Bloom and some other educators. Then it is interpreted by different scholars.

Paul Black（1995， 5（2）：7～11） stated that the distinguishing characteristic of formative assessment is that the assessment information is used， by the teachers and pupils， to modify their work in order to make it more effective. Hedge（2002） defines formative assessment as a process of “keeping track of the learners’ progress as it happens and identifying ways of helping it along”. Its focus is on the process of learning. “Formative assessment is a kind of assessment providing feedback information for ongoing education activities to improve the quality of those ongoing education activities by diagnosing the problems existing in the education projects or plans and the education process or activity （Chen Yukun， 1999：12）.”

From above definitions， we can see the basic idea of formative assessment. It is playing a primary role in the ELT with the teachers’ and students’ participation， aiming to improve students’ learning by paying special attention to students’ language performance and achievements during the learning process.

2.2 Characteristics of formative assessment

Formative assessment is more humanistic and student-centered. Student's need， interest， attitude， motivation and differences in abilities are top concern in formative assessment. All the formative assessment activities are aiming at student's development （Guo Qian， 2004 （2）： 66～68）.

Formative assessment is multiple in ways， tools， contents and methods and provides two-way feedback. Through formative assessment， students' learning process is well recorded and to provide timely feedback to both teachers and students who can modify their teaching and learning accordingly （Luo Shaoqian， 2003：18）.

In short， formative assessment is more humanistic and objective with a variety of contents， methods and agents， and so on. What is more important is that it makes students learn initiatively rather than passively， and helps students learn from reflection through self-assessment， cultivate their cooperative spirit through peer-assessment.

2.3 Function of formative assessment

The implementation of formative assessment can impel students to form good response and effective tactics to keep learning motivation. During the forming of good response and effective learning strategies， the ability of self-access is cultivated synchronously （Chi Xin， 2005（12）：50）. By conducting formative assessment， the teacher helps students motivate， monitor， and modify their learning.

（1）Motivation

Formative assessment helps students set their goals， and then make efforts to accomplish their goals. It enhances students' confidence by helping students know well about their learning progress. By the application of formative assessment， students are centered in their own learning and teachers effectively cultivate the students' motivation and interest and arouse the enthusiasm of their learning.

（2）Monitor

Formative assessment is ongoing throughout the whole learning process， diagnosing students' strengths and weaknesses and providing feedback to both teachers and students. It can monitor the students' whole situation in their learning， including their progress， attitude， goals， likes and dislikes， and other qualitative information.

（3）Modification

Formative assessment makes both teachers and students reflecting from the feedback， which helps students become aware of any gap that exist between their desired goals and their current knowledge， understanding， or skills and guides them modify their actions necessary to obtain their goals.

With the application of assessment methods： observation， interview， portfolio， etc.， formative assessment provides the feedback information for teachers and students， giving direction to teaching to make teaching process more effective. And five elements are included in formative assessment （Black P， William D， 1998）： the identification of learning goals and criteria by teachers and students； rich conversations； efficient and timely feedback； the active involvement of students； teachers modifying their teaching approaches. During the process， paying much more attention to the students’ progress， the assessment makes students join in the activities， show their progress， feel the sense of achievement， enhance self-confidence， adjust and control their learning process， adjust emotion， form efficient learning strategies and develop their autonomous abilities.

3.Effects of formative assessment on learner autonomy

According to Zimmerman（2002（2）：67～70）， formative assessment can help students develop their learner autonomy from three stages： planning stage， performance control stage， and self-reflection stage.

In the planning stage， formative assessment helps students identify their learning goals， choose tasks and strategies， which can strengthen the students' self-learning confidence and motivation.

In the performance control stage， formative assessment monitors the learning process and provides guidance to students through a systematic feedback that encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning.

In the self-reflection stage， formative assessment diagnoses students’ objectives and provides opportunities for students and teachers to analyze the causes of interference factors in their learning and teaching.

Bibliography

[1]Black，P.Can Teachers Use Assessment to Improve Learning[J].British Journal of Curriculum and Assessment， 1995（2）：7～11.

[2]Black，P.and William， D.Inside the Black Box： Raising Standards through Classroom Assessment [M].London： GL assessment Limited，1998.