An Empirical Study Of Training Self-access By Formative Evaluation In Junior English Teaching And Learning

With the publication of the new English Curriculum Standards (draft) in July, 2001, curriculum reforms have been implemented one after another in many parts of China. Looking far and wide, in contrast to materials reform and classroom teaching reform, few measures are taken on evaluation and result in ineffectiveness. There exist large-scale examinations of various kinds, among which High School Entrance Examination and University Entrance Examination are still overstating their selection and identification functions while overlooking their serving learners'growth and development functions. They overemphasize the tests of learners'proficiency of language knowledge and language skills while neglecting the cultivation and the tests of learners'feelings, attitudes, cultural awareness and comprehensive qualities, such as creativity, problem-solving ability, collaborative ability, proper sense of value, and so on. And these are in effect the disadvantages of summative evaluation that only grades students and decides whether they pass or fail at the end of the course or term. In contrast, formative evaluation, which begins with instruction, is learner-centered, teacher-guided and process-oriented instead of teacher-centered and final-result-oriented. It embodies humanism, fairness, multi-facets, opening and development. So it is advisable to combine the traditional evaluation with the modern evaluation. That is evaluation should"embody student-centeredness and apply many effective methods. Both the process of the students'integral competence development and the effect of learning should be given full consideration. Formative evaluation can play an important role. It is best to unite formative evaluation with summative evaluation so as to care for both the process of learning and its results."(English Curriculum Standard, 2001:37).On the theoretical basis of humanism, achievement goal orientation and constructivism, the research focuses on exploring the relationship between formative evaluation and self-access, and tries to find out how formative evaluation promotes learners'self-access and trains their autonomy. First, at the beginning of the term, the same questionnaire has been done both in Class 7(experimental group), and Class 8(control group) in Grade 8. The result shows that about 82% of the students wish their teachers and parents to give them chances and space to train the ability of self-access, and 65% of the students tend to combine formative evaluation to summative evaluation. Afterwards, with the support of the parents, three methods of formative evaluation have been carried out in Class 7. They are: English learning contract, English class oral presentation and software making. As a result, 17.2% of the students believe that the contract is very helpful to their learning and 73.9% of them think it quite helpful. In the presentation, 45.8% of the students find that they have gained quite a lot because they can choose on the basis of their own level the materials they are interested in and accordingly know more about themselves and better train themselves in self-access. Although 8% of them do not have full preparation for it, none of them think of the presentation as meaningless. As for the software (powerpoint) making, it best embodies the idea of learner-centeredness. Through the collecting of the English words and expressions around them, the students learn English not only from the textbooks, but also from other materials they are keen on and interested in. Collecting materials contributes to self-access in that the students can use their mind and enrich the learning materials and acquire some English knowledge in such relaxing and cheerful atmosphere. Furthermore, the students have learned how to collaborate well and develop their self-access. At the end of the term, the questionnaire has been done a second time. The results show that something has changed in Class 7. More students in Class 7 like to communicate with others and often reflect on their learning. And they are becoming more and more active than those in Class 8. To a certain extent, the four methods of formative evaluation has trained the students'self-access.To summarize, even though nowadays examination promotion system exists, formative evaluation has its own position and guiding significance to day-to-day instruction. Undoubtedly, it is not as direct, simple and convenient as summative evaluation, but if it is brought into play well, it may help increase learners'scores more or less in summative evaluation. More rewarding, it can stimulate learners'interest in learning; it can help learners adopt correct learning strategies and further foster their autonomous learning. Only in such circumstances, the evaluation can actually show that teaching, learning and evaluation are integral to instruction and thus ensure the successful reform on teaching and learning, and eventually embodies that the essential and final objective of education is to promote learners'sustainable development.