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13 - Task-Based Language Assessment

from Part VII - Task-Based Assessment and Program Evaluation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 November 2021

By
John M. Norris  and
Martin East
Edited by
Mohammad Javad Ahmadian  and
Michael H. Long
Mohammad Javad Ahmadian
Affiliation:
University of Leeds
Michael H. Long
Affiliation:
University of Maryland, College Park
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Summary

This case study discusses an online second language teacher education course, designed for teachers, teacher educators, directors of studies and course designers, created and run by the authors, who are both members of a language services cooperative in Barcelona. Information about the cooperative is given, and the events leading to the start of the project are described. Having outlined Long’s (2015) approach to task-based language teaching (TBLT), which serves as the model for the course, we describe the course itself, and the components of its twelve sessions. We go on to explain how we wrote the course and how, once complete, it was marketed. The first implementation of the course is then described, including details of the participants’ working roles; their highest qualifications; their engagement with course activities; the completion rates; and feedback. We then explain how the second implementation reflected changes we made to the course as a result of our reflections and feedback. Finally, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the course, paying particular attention to loop input (Woodward, 2003) and to the principle of faithfully reflecting TBLT processes so that the course practices what it preaches.

Keywords

Authenticitytest useperformance assessmentformative assessmentsummative assessmentwashback effects
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Task-Based Language Teaching , pp. 507 - 528
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

Further Reading

East, M. (2015). Coming to terms with innovative high-stakes assessment practice: Teachers’ viewpoints on assessment reform. Language Testing, 31(1), 101–20.Google Scholar
Norris, J. (2009). Task-based teaching and testing. In Long, M. and Doughty, C., eds. The handbook of language teaching. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 578–94.Google Scholar
Norris, J. M. (2018). Task-based language assessment: Aligning designs with intended uses and consequences. JLTA Journal, 21, 3–20.Google Scholar
Van Gorp, K. and Deygers, B. (2014). Task-based language assessment. In Kunnan, A., ed. The companion to language assessment. Cambridge: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 578–93.Google Scholar
Wiggins, G. (1998). Educative assessment: Designing assessments to inform and improve student performance. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.Google Scholar

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