A Study On Language Assessment Literacy Of Novice Secondary School English Language Teachers

As an important part of English language teaching,language assessment has received increasing attention in the field of second language teaching in recent years.Many researchers have studied language assessment literacy of English language teachers in various contexts.Some have pointed out the contextual and experiential nature of language assessment literacy.However,scant attention was placed on the language assessment literacy of novice secondary school English language teachers.Compared with their experienced colleagues,novice teachers present a few unique features which include lack of teaching experience and the transitional adaptation from university learning to school teaching.Since these features may exert influence on their language assessment literacy,it is necessary to examine the status quo of novice English language teachers’ language assessment literacy.Focusing on novice secondary school English language teachers’ language assessment literacy,the study employed a mixed-methods design using questionnaire,elicited metaphors and semi-structured interviews in order to investigate the current profile of novice secondary school English language teachers’ language assessment literacy as well as to unveil the potential factors that affect the literacy development.After reviewing relevant literature,the study adopted the TALiP(Teacher Assessment Literacy in Practice)model as the theoretical framework and classified language assessment literacy into three dimensions,namely assessment knowledge,assessment practices and assessment conceptions.Targeting at novice secondary school English language teachers with three or fewer years of teaching experience,the study collected 102 questionnaires and recruited five novice English language teachers for elicited metaphor procedures and semi-structured interviews.Based on the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data,the language assessment literacy of most novice secondary school English language teachers was found to be at a moderate level.Plus,a slight inclination towards exam-related assessment methods was demonstrated in their assessment knowledge,assessment practices and assessment conceptions.Additionally,novice teachers’ development in language assessment literacy was under the influence of both external contexts and teacher learning.From the interview data,it can be inferred that favorable context may serve as a prerequisite for teacher learning.Yet,favorable context alone may be insufficient to advance the development of assessment literacy,as teacher learning may serve as a necessary condition for facilitating the development in language assessment literacy.The study endeavored to provide a deeper understanding of second language teachers’ language assessment literacy and enrich the knowledge base in the field of language assessment.Moreover,suggestions based on the findings of this study are presented to serve as a reference for developing novice secondary school language teachers’ language assessment literacy as well as for improving their teaching practices.