c du toit and fj potgieter - nwu rating...to refer to: (a) ascribing value to, (b) stepping back,...

9 The chapter at a glance

1 Learning Outcomes 2 Introduction 2.1 Languages: approaches and assessment practices 2.2 Assessment versus evaluation 2.3 Language and communication 3 The purpose of Language education in the South African

context 3.1 The scope of Language education in South African

schools3.1.1 Inclusivity3.1.2 Home Language3.1.3 First Additional Language3.1.4 Second Additional Language

4 Learning Outcomes for Language education in South Africa 4.1 Listening and speaking 4.2 Reading and viewing 4.3 Writing and presenting 4.4 The importance of using texts for the teaching of

Languages 5 Assessing the performance of Language learners 5.1 Structuring cognitive processes and types of

knowledge 5.2 Practical examples of assessing Language learners’

performance 6 The use of rubrics as an assessment tool 7 Reporting performance and achievement 7.1 What Report Cards should reflect 7.2 Reporting Languages 8 Conclusion 9 References.

ASSESSING LANGUAGES

C du Toit and FJ Potgieter

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180 Outcomes Based Assessment

1 Learning Outcomes

After completion of this chapter, the reader should be able to:Interpret some of the key issues underpinning outcomes-based assessment •in LanguagesDemonstrate familiarity with the concept that language assessment •practices follow philological paradigmsExplain that Language educators do not have the comfort of rigid, objective •evaluation structuresDistinguish between assessment and evaluation of Languages in OBE•Reflect on the implications of the diversity of Languages offered in South •African schools and the consequent divergent approaches for language assessment practicesMake judgements about the value of rubrics to assess written work•Select, create, justify, deliver, reflect upon and improve approaches and •techniques of assessment.

2 Introduction

The National Curriculum Statement (Home Language) Grades 10 − 12, gives a generally accepted definition of language, namely that it is a tool for thought and communication. The documents affirm that cultural diversity and social relations are expressed and constructed through language, and state confidently that:

… learning to use language effectively enables learners to think and acquire knowledge, to express their identity, feelings and ideas, to interact with others and to manage their world. (DoE 2003:9)

Educators who endorse the basic tenets of outcomes-based teaching would, of course, regard these statements as laudable aims; they would confirm that these objectives constitute the very essence of language teaching, as well as of humanity itself. They would, perhaps, further elaborate on the definition of language endorsed by the National Curriculum Statement (NCS), adding, among others, language as an implement for control of the environment or language as creative expression. While advocating these and other principles of language, they may express misgivings about the complexity of attempting to assess ‘effective language’ usage, or the objectivity required to evaluate the ‘developmental levels’ of a learner’s language proficiency. Although effective outcomes-based educators are not the first to grapple with the issues of language assessment, they often articulate the difficulties they encounter when evaluating language competencies, such as assessing their learners’ development of ‘abstract language skills required for academic learning across the curriculum’, ‘the aesthetic appreciation and

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Chapter 9 Assessing languages 181

enjoyment of texts’, ‘the confident expression and justification of own ideas’ and the verbalisation of ‘independent and analytical’ thinking.

Language educators often state that assessing a learner’s language skills is more complex than, for instance, assessing mathematical literacy or evaluating the outcomes of a scientific experiment, believing − perhaps mistakenly − the assessment practices of the Natural Sciences to be exact, obvious, structured and clearly measurable. Language assessment practices are fraught with the pitfalls of educator and learner subjectivity and attitudes, with personal opinions, fashionable language teaching paradigms, individual proficiency and current linguistic theories.

This chapter focuses on some of the central challenges of OBE language assessment and attempts to offer some solutions to a multi-faceted problem. Since the search for ideal yet feasible assessment practices starts within a framework of current language acquisition theories, it is important to trace briefly the development of these theories and their influence on current practice.

2.1 Language: approaches and assessment practices

Fifty years ago it was possible to assess language practices formally and often quite rigidly, with rigorous standards of written language that could be marked according to a mostly fixed memorandum. This was in accordance with principles advanced by developments in philological research and it gave rise to formalised language teaching approaches that necessitated formalised assessment practices.

When a second language, for instance, was taught by the grammar-translation method, form and accuracy were the basic tenets. Grammar-translation assessment practices consisted solely of the evaluation of written work, allocating marks for, inter alia, correct spelling, choice of vocabulary, use of concord, idiomatic expressions and structured knowledge of linguistic constructions. Rote learning formed the basis of the traditional teaching practices of foreign languages such as Latin or Greek and marks could confidently be allocated for the correctness of memorised constructs and linguistic ‘rules’. Deductive application of these memorised models, it was believed, would lead to the successful acquisition of a foreign language.

The grammar-translation method served as model for the teaching of second languages and the approach was made possible by linguists’ firm view of what constitutes language. When teaching a Language, use could be made of structured applications, such as filling-in exercises that could be marked rigorously and

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awarded a percentage of correct ticks. Direct translations of sentences or paragraphs could be ‘marked’ according to a strict memorandum and this practice was considered sufficiently comprehensive to ‘grade’ a learner’s language competency.

Changing philosophies about the nature of language brought about transformations in Language teaching, ranging from memorisations out of context and formalised instruction methods, to more direct interactive practices. Each change or new development in Language instruction gave rise to an altered assessment practice. When, for instance, the audiolingual method ordained that the input learners received be graded and structured, the assessment criteria that were followed were similarly graded and structured. When linguists asserted that Language learning was simply the acquisition of a habit, learners had to demonstrate a mastery of language structures, which were committed to memory through constant repetition and rote learning of patterns. The constructs could then be deduced or generalised to other aspects of the particular Language. Therefore, model sentences could be learned by rote so that memorised constructs could be tested and success rewarded – again by awarding a percentage to correspond to the fraction of ‘correctness’ as a part of the whole.

The communicative approach swung the methodological pendulum from structure and form towards meaning and authentic language task-oriented activities required completely new assessment practices (Angélil-Carter et al 2000). Language was no longer learned or assessed in isolation and rote learning was banned; instead, learners were given opportunities to further exercise their newly developed language skills in appropriate, recognisable situations within mock-realistic settings designed by the educator. With the advent of the communicative approach, learners were required to ‘use language with increasing fluency, proficiency and accuracy in a broadening range of situations’ (DoE 2003:43). According to this paradigm, language learning required greater input from the learners and offered opportunities to further apply language structures already acquired in real-life contexts. However, the very facility and informality with which language learning was considered to take place by means of these more communicative and interactive approaches, complicated assessment practices. How, for instance, do you measure ‘fluency’? By whose standard is a learner ‘proficient’? What if communication is only ‘effective’ when explicated by non-verbal messages? How does an educator assess the success of such language learning when communication takes place in informal, yet mock-realistic settings (Du Plessis and Richards 2000)?

In spite of these caveats, the teaching of Languages metamorphosed remarkably

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effortlessly in most schools from the communicative approach, through facilitation to outcomes-based education. In other schools, perhaps with more inexperienced educators or with older educators, more comfortable with ‘traditional’ methods, outcomes-based assessment practices took longer to become acceptable. Before proceeding with current trends in Language education and their corresponding assessment practices, it is important to understand from the outset what the terms assessment, evaluation and language mean.

2.2 Assessment versus evaluation

In South Africa, wide-ranging confusion apparently still persists among educators when it comes to explaining the central semantic differences between the terms ‘assessment’ and ‘evaluation’. In the NCS, the term ‘assessment’ is defined as:

… a process of collecting and interpreting evidence in order to make a judgement based on a learner’s competences. (DoE 2003:69)

From this definition, it appears that Language ‘assessment’ and ‘evaluation’ are assumed to have similar semantic values. However, the etymology of ‘assessment’ and ‘evaluation’ suggests that these two terms have very different semantic histories. Tracing ‘assessment’ back to the original Latin verb stem assidere demonstrates that this term originally meant: (a) to sit beside/ close by (Brainard 1997:164), (b) helping along, and (c) to watch closely.

In contrast, the term ‘evaluation’, according to its Latin roots, was originally used to refer to: (a) ascribing value to, (b) stepping back, and (c) passing judgement. There is clearly a significant difference between sitting beside language learners, watching them closely by helping them along and stepping back from, ascribing value to and passing judgement on their capacity to demonstrate their mastery of Learning Outcomes in a Language, on the other. Essentially, ‘evaluation’ is always an inclusive, holistic and value-driven exercise, while ‘assessment’ is considered to have more of a motivational, corrective and progressive purpose with regard to a Language learner’s performance.

In attempting to distinguish clearly between ‘assessment’ and ‘evaluation’ you need to go further and ask an even more fundamental question, namely, what constitutes ‘language’?

2.3 Language and communication

In addition to the definition in the NCS (2003:9), stating that language is:

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... a tool for thought and communication [and a means of expressing]cultural diversity and societal relations ... identity, feelings and ideas…

Language can above all be described as a correlative for being human (Jones 1984; Glover et al. 2000). Language is the apparel in which people parade their thoughts before others (Hendricks 1988:38) and as such, it is not a mere ‘form’ of communication – it essentially is communication.

The English verb stem communicate not only derives from the Latin word communis, which means to make common and thus to impart, to share, to pass along and to transmit, it also derives from the Latin words communicare and communicatio, meaning to associate with and announcement or dialogue. It is in this respect that the Department of Education’s definition of language possibly denotes too little. Within a Language education context, the etymology of the term communication suggests that the educator and the learner are always in a specific relationship and therefore, intrinsically connected to each other – ‘communication’ is thus effected. During Language learning, the educator/learner relationship is, more than in any other Learning Area, one of listener/speaker.

It is precisely here that the close relationship between ‘communication’ and ‘assessment’ becomes apparent. If Language is all about communication and communication is all about establishing and maintaining relationships by extracting and assigning meaning and significance to these through our use of language, then the ubiquitous presence of a facilitating, understanding, caring and helpful Language educator is axiomatic. This is why educators (especially Language educators) must ensure that they have something that is worth saying to their learners – a message that not only speaks to the need of the hour, but also to the flame of eternity! Furthermore, communication also implies that there is a listener, whether peer or educator, and it is this dialogue, this very act of listening, that is fundamental to assessment. Language educators need to appreciate what the purpose of Language education, especially in the South African context, entails.

3 The purpose of Language education in the South African context

In view of the linguistic and cultural diversity of South Africa, its citizens must be able to communicate across language barriers and foster intercultural and linguistic understanding and tolerance. South Africa’s linguistic diversity is acknowledged and valued in the constitutional recognition of 11 Official Languages and the language-in-education policy of additive multilingualism.

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According to the NCS (DoE 2003:11), South Africa’s learners will be obliged to include at least two Languages as fundamental subjects, while further Languages may be taken as core and/or electives.

In the General Education and Training (GET) band, a thorough knowledge of a learner’s Home Language is developed, which provides a sound base for learning Additional Languages. By the time learners reach Grade 10, they will have experienced and explored Additional Languages and may have used an Additional Language as the Language of Learning. The curriculum for the Further Education and Training (FET) band provides opportunities for learners to strengthen and develop their multilingual skills. As learners move through the grades, they are required to use language with increasing fluency and accuracy in a broadening range of situations. They will take greater responsibility for their own learning and apply their language skills in more challenging and complex ways (DoE 2003:11).

The range of literacies needed for effective participation in society and the workplace in the knowledge-based economy of the 21st century has expanded beyond listening and speaking, reading and writing, to include various genres ranging from the oral tradition through to visual, and from critical and cultural to the cybernetic and graphic media (Moeng 2002).

The inclusive Languages Curriculum attempts to prepare learners for the challenges they will face as South Africans and as members of the global community by enabling them to (DoE 2003:11-12):

broaden and deepen their Language competencies developed in the GET •band, including the abstract language skills required for academic learning across the curriculum and the aesthetic appreciation and enjoyment of texts, so that they are able to listen, speak, read and write with confidence and enjoymentuse Language appropriately in real-life contexts, taking into account •audience, purpose and contextexpress and justify their own ideas, views and emotions confidently in •order to become independent and analytical thinkersuse Language and their imagination to represent and explore human •experienceuse Language to access and manage information for learning across the •curriculumuse Language as a tool for critical and creative thinking − this objective •recognises that knowledge is socially constructed through Language and that Language and thought are closely connectedexpress reasoned opinions on ethical issues and values, especially after •

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reacting critically and reflectively on the perspectives, values and power relations embedded in textsrecognise the unequal status of different Languages and Language varieties.•Learners will be able to challenge the domination of any Language or •Language variety and assert their Language rights in a multilingual society.

To realise these objectives, it is critically important to demarcate the scope of Language education in South African schools in terms of the fundamental principle of inclusivity and the classifying notions of (a) Home Language, (b) First Additional Language, and (c) Second Additional Language.

3.1 The scope of Language education in South African schools

3.1.1 Inclusivity

The Department of Education makes it clear that Language teaching and assessment should make provision for learners with special educational needs and barriers to learning and that strategies should be found to assist these learners in accessing or producing Language texts. A variety of methods, such as Braille, sign language, video and audio recordings and assisted writing, could be used to enable such learners to meet Language Learning Outcomes (DoE 2003:10).

Language learning in Grades 10 to 12 includes all the Official Languages, namely Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sesotho sa Moshoeshoe (South Sotho), Sesotho sa Leboa (Sepedi), Setswana, Siswati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga and sign language (including Braille) and can be extended to other Languages endorsed by the Pan South African Language Board (PANSALB) (DoE 2003:11). All languages can be offered at the following levels:

3.1.2 Home Language

The learners’ Home Language needs to be strengthened and developed in order to provide a sound foundation for learning Additional Languages. It may be used as the language of learning and teaching (LOLT) and speaking skills will be further developed and refined. However, the emphasis at this level falls on developing the learners’ reading and writing skills (DoE 2003:12).

3.1.3 First Additional Language

Learning a First Additional Language promotes multilingualism and intercultural communication. In addition, it may be used as the LOLT. There will be an equal

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emphasis on the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing (DoE 2003:12).

3.1.4 Second Additional Language

Learning a Second Additional Language promotes multilingualism and intercultural communication. Although reading and writing skills will be developed, the emphasis at this level falls on developing listening and speaking skills (DoE 2003:12).

4 Learning Outcomes for Language education in South Africa

Outcomes-based Language assessment practices closely follow Language learning activities. These activities are hierarchical. In simple terms, listening precedes speaking, reading (including viewing) before writing (and presenting). For example, when teaching a First or Second Additional Language, educators using a communicative approach are exhorted not to expect their learners to say what they have not heard, to read what they have not spoken and to write before they have read. It seems the communicative shoe still fits snugly on the OBE foot.

4.1 Listening and speaking

Language Learning Outcomes enable learners to listen and speak for a variety of purposes, to a variety of audiences and within a variety of contexts. Learners are expected to understand that speaking and listening are social activities that take place in particular contexts, for various purposes and audiences, and that oral genres and registers vary accordingly. Listening and speaking are central activities, not only in the field of Languages, of course, but also in all learning.

Through effective listening and speaking strategies, learners collect and synthesize information, construct knowledge, solve problems, and express ideas and opinions. Critical listening skills enable learners to recognise values and attitudes embedded in texts and to challenge biased and manipulative language. (DoE 2003:12)

4.2 Reading and viewing

Another crucial Learning Outcome is the empowering of learners to read and view for enjoyment and to evaluate and respond critically to a wide range of literary and non-literary texts. Learners must recognise how genre and register reflect the purpose, audience and context of texts. They must make meaning from texts, identify values and assumptions and respond critically. Through

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reading and viewing, learners also explore and reflect on the interrelationship of their own existence with that of others. Reading literary texts provides learners with models for their own writing (DoE 2003:12; Kilfoil and Van der Walt 1991; Simmons 2000).

4.3 Writing and presenting

The learner must be able to write and present for a wide range of purposes, as well as for a wide range of audiences, using conventions and formats appropriate to diverse contexts. Writing practice across a variety of contexts, tasks and fields enables learners to communicate functionally and creatively. The aim is to produce competent, versatile writers who will be able to use their skills to develop appropriate written, visual and multi-media texts for a variety of purposes (DoE 2003:12).

Ultimately, Language learning should empower the learner to use language structures and conventions effectively. Through interacting with a variety of texts, learners extend their use of vocabulary and apply their understanding of language structures. Learners develop critical awareness of how values and power relations are embedded in Languages and how this impacts on others (DoE 2003:12).

4.4 The importance of using texts for the teaching of Languages

The term ‘text’ in the FET National Curriculum Statement for Languages has the widest possible meaning, including all oral, written and multi-media forms. In Language teaching, various texts are used as, for example, introductions to themes, an exploration of moral issues, or an investigation of linguistic aspects. Some types of texts are studied and others are produced as the product of various processes. Since the reading and production of texts increase in complexity from Grade 10 to 12, the relevant Assessment Standards should likewise show progression.

The full range of texts used and produced should expose the learner to:rich and appropriate social, cultural and historical settings that develop •understanding of the heritage of the Languagechallenging and stimulating themes that develop critical understanding of •values, and appreciation of the important sociocultural and ethical issues which are relevant to the lives of South African learnersa wide range of points of view•models of written and spoken Language with a wide variety of structures •to help the learner develop correct and appropriate use

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analysis of stereotypes, bias and generalisations to develop critical thinking•persuasive and manipulative forms of Language•power relations within and between Languages•developing awareness of audience, purpose and context with appropriate •mood, tone and registerfeatures and elements of a wide range of literary and non-literary texts, •including visual textsvarieties of style and stylistic devices, such as a wide range of figurative and•creative Language.•

To determine whether learners can apply the knowledge, skills and attitudes they have acquired by being exposed to these concepts in the Language class, their performance needs to be adequately assessed.

5 Assessing the performance of Language learners

5.1 Structuring cognitive processes and types of knowledge

Following advice in Chapter 2, you can argue that Language learners’ performance may be regarded as successful when they:

possess the necessary knowledge and skills (content)•are able to carry out a performance process (competence or proficiency)•are keen, inspired, encouraged and confident enough to carry out the •performance under the conditions defined (confidence).

It is clear that when Language educators assess the result of learning activities, they can start by reflecting on the extent to which learners may have acquired factual or conceptual knowledge of the concepts quoted in section 4.4 (so-called product assessment). This may even be sufficient when Second or Third Language linguistic endeavours or contextualised literature assignments have to be assessed. However, when literary essays, especially in the First Language, are assessed (and because learners’ willingness to learn derives from a sense of wanting answers to the purpose of meaning and the relevance of what they are leaning), it is even more important to determine the quality of Language learners’ higher-order learning and divergent thinking about these concepts (so-called process assessment) (Elen and De Corte 1999:91).

Studying Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive outcomes confirms that Language educators should do more than assess learners’ memorisation and evocation of specific information (knowledge), their level of understanding, their ability to translate information into their own words (comprehension), and even their ability

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to access and utilise information and ideas in real-life situations (application). More is needed from Language learners than merely applying and exploiting their newly acquired knowledge and comprehension. To be able to survive in ‘a complex, challenging, high-tech future’ (Spady and Marshall 1991:70), they have to learn how to develop new insights and innovative thoughts and how to express these insights and thoughts through the written and spoken word. This means the learners’ ability to analyse, differentiate, categorise, classify, relate, illustrate, contrast, explain and hypothesise (analysis) must be assessed. Their ability to use language creatively by combining several pieces of knowledge and comprehension to construct an essay or create a poem (synthesis), together with their ability finally to make value judgements (evaluation) about the inherent quality of, for example, a poem by Dylan Thomas, a Shakespearean play or a HIV/AIDS awareness programme, must also be assessed.

Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) argue that to assess accurately what learners are required to do, educators need to account for the six levels of cognitive processing (see above) as well as the four distinct types of knowledge (factual, conceptual, procedural and metacognitive). Educators need to assess learners in terms of how well they can (a) remember, (b) understand, (c) apply, (d) analyse and (e) evaluate what they have learned in the Language class and how well they are able to (f) express themselves resourcefully through functional and creative writing.

Language structures and vocabulary (factual knowledge)how subjects, verbs and objects should be combined to construct •meaningful sentences (conceptual knowledge)how to make themselves understood in particular real-life situations•how to create mood and atmosphere and how to convey emotions •(procedural knowledge)own personal Language strengths and weaknesses•the role that strategic knowledge can play in terms of, for example, curbing •discriminatory practices (metacognitive knowledge).

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Table 9.1: Outline of the assessment processes and options (based on Krathwohl and Bloom’s

taxonomy)

DOMAIN ASSESSMENT OPTIONS

ReceivingObservations of learners’ discussions in and about the Language

questionnaires

RespondingObservation of learners’ participation in the Language classroom

Interviews

Valuing

Interviews

Questionnaires

Opinionnaires

Essay tests

Organisation Observation of learners’ choices about the Language

Characterisation

Learners’ Language classroom responsibilities

Learners’ Language classroom projects (taking a position)

Learners’ debates in and about the Language

DOMAIN ASSESSMENT OPTIONS

KnowledgeWritten tests (fill in the blanks, matching, simple multiple- choice, listing, etc.)

Observation of learners’ responses

Comprehension

Written tests (true-false, multiple choice, short answers, listing, etc.)

Assignments, summaries, explanations

Observation of learners’ discussions

Interviews

Application

Written or oral problem solving

Observation of simulations, role play

Performance tasks

Projects

Analysis

Essay tests

Multiple-choice tests that require classifying, coding, inferring, using specified criteria

Assignments (comparisons)

Portfolios

Synthesis

Essay tests

Projects with a plan; product

Written or oral problem solving

Portfolios

Evaluation

Essays

Projects (evaluating process and product)

Portfolios (judging merit, value of contributions

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5.2 Practical examples of assessing Language learners’ performance

In light of the above, here are a few examples of how practical effect may be given to assessing learners’ performance in a Language.

Example 1

The learners are required to study the poem by Dylan Thomas: Do not go gentle into that good night.

To assess Grade 12 learners’ factual knowledge (First Additional language) •on a level of remembering and understanding, they may be asked: Two refrains are used in this poem. Quote them.Another example of assessing their level of factual understanding is: •Complete the following statement by filling in a suitable word/ phrase:

The poet makes use of _________ to describe dying as ‘good’ or ‘acceptable’.

(Answer: euphemism)

It is clear that product assessment will suffice in both cases since a single correct answer is required.

To assess their conceptual understanding, learners may be asked: • Compare the attitudes of wild men (line 10) and grave men (line 13) towards life.To assess both their application and creative knowledge on a metacognitive •level, learners may be asked: Write an essay in which you relate the insights you have gained from Dylan Thomas’s poem Do not go gentle into that good night to the theme of ‘Carpe Diem’ as explored in the film ‘Dead Poets’ Society’. Compare these to your own views on life and death.To assess the ability of a group of Grade 10 learners to communicate •successfully by means of a shorter piece of creative writing on the level of applied, procedural knowledge, they may be asked to respond in writing to the following social predicament: You have made an insensitive remark to a member of the opposite sex that was perceived as gender bias on your part. Write a note to apologise to him/her and explain the circumstances.

When assessing this creative writing assignment, the Language educator will first assess the learners’ application of accepted, formalised ‘rules’ for writing a note, which were discussed in class before the assignment was given, or which were already a familiar schema acquired prior to the lesson. The learners are expected to demonstrate their procedural knowledge, namely a note is not structured like a business letter or a memo. The educator will assess the level of attainment according to a preset rubric that only takes care of structure and format. In formal writing this accounts for approximately 50% of the mark. Metacognitive

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knowledge is demonstrated in the second part of the injunctive consisting of three aspects, namely explaining insensitive behaviour which displayed gender bias, phrasing and an acceptable apology.

Example 2

This example is an assessment of Grade 12 learners’ ability to analyse the motives of a character in a play, for example Macbeth:

Act 1 Scene 7A side-room in Macbeth’s castle. King Duncan has just arrived.

MACBETH: … He’s here in double trust. First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, Strong both against the deed; then, as his host, Who should against his murderer shut the door 5 Not bear the knife himself. Besides, this Duncan Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been So clear in his great office, that his virtues Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against The deep damnation of his taking off 10 I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself, And falls on the other -

Assignment: In this soliloquy, Macbeth wrestles with his conscience as he considers his duty to King Duncan. Explain, in your own words, the reasons why he feels he should not kill the King and point out his only reason for wanting to murder the King.

In order to assess whether the learners are able to make value judgements •on a level of metacognitive evaluation, the same extract from Macbeth may be used in the following manner:

From the evidence in this scene, do you think Macbeth would have murdered Duncan if the witches and Lady Macbeth had not incited him? Substantiate your point of view with evidence from the text.

Reliable starting points for assessment of an essay are the taxonomies designed by Bloom (ca. 1964 and updated in the 1990s) and Anderson and Krathwohl (2001). The higher levels of cognitive processing are more applicable to this kind of essay than mere ‘remembering’. A close analysis of the text (comparing, examining, relating and explaining) will precede evaluation of Macbeth’s motives

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(analysis and interpretation of his words and deeds) and this knowledge will finally inform the creation of the essay (planning, combining, designing, reconstructing and producing).

However, the essay at this level needs to be more than the sum of the ‘totals’ analysis, evaluation and creation: it must also be a convincing argument clothed in an elegant piece of creative writing. To properly assess this, Killen suggests the SOLO (Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome) taxonomy that allows for a final higher order assessment level, namely a relational or an extended abstract (Killen 2004:78). Since analysis of a Shakespearean play also takes place within a specific paradigm (for instance from a Marxist or historical perspective, with a moral, political, psychoanalytical or feminist bias, in New Critic or a Post-Modernist mode), the learners’ discussion of Macbeth’s motives and destiny only has credibility within an extended abstract response that recognises several possibilities.

Example 3

Learners are required to write about an HIV/AIDS awareness programme.

As a concerned citizen you have identified a serious lack of HIV/AIDS awareness programmes in your area. Write an e-mail letter to the editor of your local newspaper expressing your concerns and suggesting suitable programmes that could be introduced to your community.

In the first place, learners require procedural knowledge to write an e-mail letter to the editor of a newspaper and this can be assessed according to standard rubric benchmarks. The higher levels of the SOLO taxonomy can be employed to assess the content of the letter. In assessing the learner’s discussion of the lack of HIV/AIDS awareness programmes, a relational focus is required. When advancing solutions, an extended abstract recognising possibilities is needed. However, the question of how an educator determines, as objectively as possible, to what degree of proficiency a learner has performed on each of these levels, is a crucial one.

Example 4

Assessment specifically for Language learning is about advancing learners’ Language learning in – and outside – the Language classroom. How do we ‘advance’ their learning? This can be accomplished by, inter alia:

understanding and articulating in advance the teaching the learning •outcomes that we expect of the learners in Language lessonsinforming learners about these learning outcomes in terms that they can •understand and relate totransforming learners’ expectations into assessment exercises and scoring •

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procedures that accurately reflect their learning achievements in Language lessonsusing assessment in Language classrooms to build learners’ confidence in •themselves and help them take responsibility for their own learningtranslating assessment results into • descriptive feedback, rather than ‘judgmental’ feedback, in other words, providing Language learners with insights as to how to improve their own individual Language learning performancecontinuously adjusting Language teaching, based on the results of •assessmentsengaging Language learners in regular self-assessment exercises with •standards held constant, so that they can watch themselves grow over time.

Consider the following two examples. Which of these would you say is an example of assessment for learning, and why?

Functions of the Passive Voice:• In the following matching exercise, match the items on the right to the items on the left.

FUNCTION EXAMPLE

Agent is not known or unimportant The gases are heated over a Bunsen burner.

Agent is ‘people in general’ He was arrested.

Agent is obvious The world is believed to be round.

Continuity – to keep the same subject My bicycle has been moved.

In scientific/ manufacturing processes He arrived and was greeted by the mayor.

Structured essay:• Write an essay about the cartoon below. Prepare for your essay by looking at the cartoon closely for a few minutes, thinking about what the cartoon means to you and how it makes you feel. Then write the essay following these steps:

Write about 50 words (about six to eight lines of average handwriting) in which you describe the cartoon, giving details about what you can see.

Write about 100 words expressing the thoughts of the learner, as well as the thoughts of the teacher in the cartoon.

Write about 100 words in which you discuss what the cartoon implies about children’s rights versus teachers’ rights.

Finally, write the conclusion to your essay, in which you give your personal response to the cartoon. You might like to say what you think the ‘hidden’

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message of this cartoon is,whether you liked the cartoon or not, and what sort of feeling it caused you to have, for example, amusement, anger, disbelief, disgust, etc.

Assessment for learning compels the educator to answer a number of questions honestly and frankly before administering a set of assessment activities. Two of the most fundamental questions, include:

How do these assessment •activities assist my learners to want to learn the Language that I teach?How do these assessment activities empower my learners so that they feel •that they are able to learn the Language that I teach?

Looking at the two examples of assessment activities above, how would you answer these two fundamental questions with regard to each of them?

5.3 Assessment for Language learning and the role of context

Authentic assessment for learning means that the assessment must be as close to real-life situations as possible. Study the same two examples of assessment activities quoted above once more. Which of these two assessment activities is closest to a real-life language situation and why? How would you improve the real-life language character of this particular assessment activity if you were teaching (a) in a farm school in deep-rural KwaZulu-Natal or (b) in a well-resourced inner-city school in Egoli?

The success of assessment for learning may also depend on the context in which learners are expected to learn. The two photographs below give a picture of two different classrooms. What role does locale (for example, the socioeconomic, educational, psychological, geographical context in which learners live their everyday lives) play when you are planning your assessment activities?

With reference to these two photographs, what would your answer be to the following questions?

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Questions:

‘Only one of these photographs supports the notion of assessment for •learning.’ Would you agree with this conclusion? Why?What role do you think infrastructure and resources play in the creation and •maintenance of an assessment environment that invites and supports learning? (Think very carefully about this before answering.)How may your classroom environment and climate inform the assessment •decisions that you need to take in your Language lessons? How may your classroom environment and climate motivate your learners •in their learning of and about the Language that you teach?

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How could you change your own classroom environment and climate to assist •you to improve conditions for the learning of the Language that you teach?How may an improved classroom environment and climate improve your •own interpretation and implementation of the Language curriculum? In which of the two classroom environments shown above will you best be •able to measure the extent to which your learners are able to demonstrate their mastery of the specified Learning Outcomes and why?Let us assume that theme that you are using is ‘What if...?’ Which of the •locales depicted in the photographs support your choice of the following three topics (for Learning Outcome 3: Writing and Presenting) the best and why? What if ... I lived underwater, or in outer space, or on Robben Island? What if ... I could see into the future? What if ... I could build any kind of invention I wanted?

6 The use of rubrics as an assessment tool

Rubrics may be viewed as a hierarchy (or graded levels) of standards – with benchmarks – that describe the minimum level or standard of acceptable performance for each criterion. Rubrics require educators to know exactly what is important and to prioritise minimum standards. Two types of rubric – holistic and analytic – are used. Holistic rubrics assess a section of work as a whole, while analytic rubrics analyse discrete features of the work. However, learners have to have the criteria explained before such a task list can be utilised properly. It is, therefore, imperative that the criteria for scoring are included in the brief the learners are given to serve as guide and structure for their work. For instance, when expected to write an essay, it is necessary to supply the learners with rubrics such as the one for assessing creative writing in the Subject Assessment Guidelines for Languages Grades 10 – 12 (DoE 2007:61-62). This document is helpful in suggesting that the educator:

… strengthen the construction of essay items [by constructing the item to elicit the identified skills to be assessed]. For example, if the purpose is to assess reasoning, the following item stems could be used; compare, indicate the cause and effect, summarise, generalise, make inferences, classify, create, apply, analyse, synthesise, evaluate etc.

Educators should also delineate the item clearly and unambiguously if it is to aid the learner:

Another way to clarify to the learners the nature of the task is to indicate the scoring criteria. This indicates to the learners what you will be looking for when grading the answers. (DoE 2007)

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Name: _________________________________________________________________________

From this activity, I have learned the following: _______________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

If I have a look at my work, I particularly like the following: ___________________

________________________________________________________________________________

I award myself the following mark out of 10, _____ because ___________________

________________________________________________________________________________

I wish I had ___________________________________________________________________

I now underline all the actions I have performed for this activity:write listen drawedit observe critically reflectcomplete plan learndescribe investigate thinkbrainstorm make decisions understanduse my own words synthesise evaluateanalyse judge reflect

Figure 9.1: Peer and self-assessment can be facilitated through the use of a simple rubric

The next logical step concerns the ways in which language learners’ performance and achievement may best be reported to their parents and role-players.

7 Reporting performance and achievement

Reporting performance and achievement informs critical role-players of what Language learners have achieved once the evidence has been collected and interpreted. Language educators need to record their learners’ achievements formally so that these can be captured. A report should make a statement about the standard achieved by a learner. For instance, the NCS for Grades 10 − 12 adopts a 7-point rating scale of achievement (see Chapter 5,7.13).

In line with the principles and practice of outcomes-based assessment, all assessment of Language learning should primarily be criterion-referenced (Maley and Duff 1991; Stirling and Riley 2000). Marks can, however, be used in evaluating specific assessment tasks. Assessment tasks should generally be assessed in their entirety instead of, as with past practices, simply ticking right answers and awarding marks or percentages in terms of the number of ticks. Marks on a rubric are awarded by the educator on a sliding scale and are based on the educator’s professional judgement.

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7.1 What Report Cards should reflect

Report Cards should include information about a learner’s overall Language learning progress. This includes:

the learning achievement•the learner’s Language strengths•support needed or provided, where relevant•constructive feedback that comments on the learners’ performance in •relation to their previous performance and the requirements of the Language.

In line with the definition of the term ‘assessment’ earlier in this chapter, the Report Card should aim at describing the learners’ strengths and developmental needs or areas of support needed by the learners for each of the Languages they study.

The Report Card should also provide a short comment on the quality of achievement of the learner in each Language studied, with a special emphasis on where learners have exceeded the requirements and achieved excellence or where additional support is needed.

7.2 Reporting Languages

The guidelines for the assessment of Languages as described in the NCS are comprehensive and idealistic. For these very reasons they are commendable. However, Language educators may be forgiven for often feeling bewildered and hard-pressed when expected to assess, for instance, ‘individual learner participation within the class discussion’ (and this in a class of 40 or more voluble learners) and directed to assess learners against the following criteria (10 marks):

participation and effective communication in classroom discussions (5 marks)•ability to explain an own point of view (5 marks).•

Some assessment ‘hints’ are supplied:try to observe all the learners and record this brief observation during the •group activityencourage discussion after each report back during which learners can •comment on the presentation as a whole and also pick up on points raised in the argument presented.

Such an assessment practice, with admirable aims and an idealistic approach, clearly expects much of the educator; often under trying circumstances. However, in practice, sometimes very little can be achieved.

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Of course, not all assessment practices are equal. The rubrics designed for OBE creative writing exercises, for instance, repeat to a great extent, the criteria endorsed by the traditional communicative approach (and even earlier methodologies), although the Subject Assessment Guidelines (DoE 2007: Appendix 7) show traces of movement towards a greater variety of interpretation and creative assessment.

8 Conclusion

Language is humankind’s uniquely compliant and intricate system of communication.

When designing Language assessment practices, Language educators must, therefore, take care to reflect this flexibility, as well as focus on the communicative aspects of language. Language assessment practices should take place in a spirit of dialogue – whether as a means to communicate with others (in spoken or written form) – or seen as evidence of interior monologue, in the form of thinking.

To adequately, comprehensively, objectively and reliably assess a learner’s use of a Language is a very difficult task indeed; it is fraught with dangers such as an educator’s own proficiency, subjectivity, opinions; it depends on situation, customs and audience; and it is an instrument for expressing cultural diversity and social relations. If Language is, above all, a means of expressing identity, feelings, ideas and creative insights, there is little doubt that Language assessment practice entails much more than a measure of a learner’s linguistic competence.

With the advent of OBE in South African schools, the focus of Language instruction has shifted from Language to impress, to Language to express, to impart and also to transform. Language educators in South Africa can no longer be the primary communicators, the transmitters of learning content, the prima donnas of the class who award percentages for work approaching their own level of articulation. The spotlight now falls on the Language learners and their communicating and thinking. The real purpose of communication is not simply to convince, but to change. It seems that many educators are focused on the wrong end of the process. They are focusing on what they are doing as communicators, as senders, rather than on what their learners, the receptors, are doing.

To be able to assess Language learners’ performance accurately, skillfully and efficiently, Language educators in an OBE paradigm assess their learners in a spirit of cooperation while sitting beside them, watching them closely, and helping

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them along. This has always been fundamental to good communication; the good news is that it has now become official policy. Consequently, Language educators constantly need to remind themselves that it is not a word message that they are trying to communicate to their learners in the Language classroom; it is, in fact, a life message.

Equally important is the Language educators’ ability to recognise that the assessment of their learners’ performance in the Language lesson is not something that comes as some kind of ‘add-on’ at the end of the learning process. It is essentially an integral part of the whole Language teaching and learning process. Consequently the success of Language teaching and learning hinges upon Language educators’ commitment to structuring their planned learning experiences in such a way that they sit close by their learners with a view to helping them along, instead of always wanting to step back from their learners, ascribing value to and passing judgement on their performance.

To be able to do this successfully and consistently, Language educators need to be au fait with the purposes and recommended scope of Language education in the South African context, Learning Outcomes for Language education, the importance of using texts for the teaching of Languages and how the innovative application of, for example, the Anderson-Krathwohl taxonomy (2001) may be used to assess adequately the performance of learners. In this regard, the correct use of, inter alia, rubrics and a good working knowledge of how learners’ performance and achievement may best be reported, assist Language educators in their efforts to teach their learners how Language is employed in a flexible and intricate way to cope with the world.

In summary, the following diagram clearly expresses the interrelatedness of teaching, learning and assessment of Languages.

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Figure 9.2: The interrelatedness of teaching, learning and assessment of Languages

Measures knowledge of

language

Assessment of Languages must be accurate, objective, valid,

fair, manageable

Assessment in Languages is continuous

Language assessment provides a multi-dimensional picture of what learners know and can do. It respects

Language diversity in ways of understanding

Measures language behaviour

Measures language

performance

WHY?

Measures values regarding language

Assessment of Languages must be free from bias, sensitive to

gender, cultural identity, disability

Measures attitudes to language

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