An Action Research On The Process Assessment In English Lexicology Course

As a subject specialized in English vocabulary,English lexicology course is significant in that it cannot only facilitate students' words accumulation,but as a branch of linguistics,contribute to the construction of integrated theoretical system of English disciplines and cultivation of students' professional overall qualities.Presently,the prevailing summative assessment mode in English lexicology class gives rise to students' lack of learning motivation and inability of autonomous leaning,which is adverse to the realization of the teaching goals of the curriculum.Process assessment,a novel evaluation method,is winning an increasingly prominent significance in educational evaluation scenario.However,previous researches on process assessment focus mostly on the development of the evaluation tools and justify the application effect in different disciplines.In the domain of higher education,the focus is set on public college English courses meanwhile the applied research on professional English course,especially English lexicology,has received scarce attention.Therefore,it is of theoretical and practical significance to apply the process evaluation framework to English lexicology course to explore its feasibility and effects.Related concepts such as English lexicology,process evaluation and action research were first reviewed to provide theoretical preparation for subsequent research.Action research was the cardinal research method in the present study and the participants are 119 sophomores majoring in English.The action plan was modified constantly after implementation and timely reflection within the whole action process.Triangulation method was employed in the collection and analysis of data to guarantee the reliability and validity of the research.Specifically,varied instruments like questionnaire,semi-structured interview,classroom observation and product analysis were adopted and the data were analyzed from diverse viewpoints:the researcher,the teacher and students.This action research lasted about five months,containing preliminary investigation and two rounds of action.In light of the problems and students' need,the process evaluation framework in English lexicology course was illustrated at length from evaluation methods,content and subjectivity after preliminary investigation.Problems detected in the first round were:from the perspective of evaluation methods,more guidance and support were needed in team presentation and problem-solving section in diagnostic tests and enquiry assignment;as for the evaluation effect,students' practical and collaborative ability and presenting skills called for further improvement;Operational problems were detected as well,such as the degree of the acceptance of peer feedback was unsatisfying;peer review rubrics and the evaluation results hadn't been fully utilized,etc.Corresponding improvement measures had been taken in the second round of action.After the reflection on the newly-emerging problems,directions and suggestions were put forward for the future instruction and research.It turned out that most of the students welcomed the execution of such an evaluation framework in English lexicology study.Their perception about English lexicology had been altered eventually.Instead of fear and anxiety,they experienced the utility and interest of learning English lexicology by themselves.Instead of"fighting" alone,they got more accustomed to work collaboratively in acquisition ad internalization process.These various evaluation methods like diagnostic tests and enquiry assignment and team presentation enable students to better internalize the knowledge,conducing to practice their presenting skills and problem-solving ability and cultivating their cooperative awareness and innovative spirit.Apart from students'self-retrospection,the implementation of process evaluation also brought changes to the teacher in her teaching belief and promoted self-reflection and further professional development.Furthermore,the author put forward with some suggestions for future research:to start with,greater importance was expected to be attached to the cultivation of students' evaluative ability and efficacy.Then measures should be taken to stimulate students for ongoing consolidation of their learning,such as peer monitoring and online learning limit.Technological devices could be considered to be added to simplify the evaluation process and improve the evaluation efficiency.