Assessment of Young Language Learners: Perceptions and Practices of Turkish EFL Pre-service and In-Service Teachers

TANYER S., SUSOY Z.

JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING, vol.8, no.2, pp.127-149, 2018 (ESCI) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Review
  • Volume: 8 Issue: 2
  • Publication Date: 2018
  • Journal Name: JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING
  • Journal Indexes: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)
  • Page Numbers: pp.127-149
  • Keywords: Young language learners, Foreign language teachers, Assessment, Practices, Perceptions, ASSESSMENT LITERACY, ISSUES
  • Anadolu University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Reporting on perceptions and practices of Turkish EFL teachers regarding young language learners' assessment, this study addresses the deficiency in the body of knowledge of pre-service and in-service EFL teachers' understandings regarding young language learners' assessment and the lack of clear guidelines in the assessment of 2nd and 3rd graders. It holds two main purposes; a) to explore fourth-year pre-service EFL teachers' perceptions about the assessment of young EFL learners; b) to understand the nature of young learners' assessment at 2nd and 3rd grades. A qualitative research paradigm was adopted to analyze 13 Turkish EFL teachers' responses to semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed insights and comparisons of how the young language learners' assessment was viewed by pre-service teachers and how it was being tackled in reality by in-service teachers. With this respect, related suggestions and comments have been presented. (c) Association of Applied Linguistics. All rights reserved