Asma Maaoui

This study investigated language educators’ readiness in coping with language assessment during the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the enforced move to Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). This pandemic prompted debates on language assessors’ roles in adjusting to a New Normal. While a good body of research has investigated the role of teacher assessment perceptions versus assessment behavior for many decades, little is known about the factors that may have impacted language educators’ assessment perceptions and practices during the recent crisis. To address this issue, an online survey was administered to 256 language educators. Pearson correlations and simple linear regression were utilized to determine if the language educators’ perceptions of (1) the official assessment measures, (2) purposes, and (3) their assessment self-efficacy were predictors of their assessment practices during this crisis. The results revealed a total absence of any correlations between these variables. The findings suggest that the assessment accommodations adopted by the teachers were not determined by their assessment perceptions. Other factors such as assessment policy and the assessment culture may have shaped their practices during this crisis.

Assessment Literacy (AL) has been shown to determine the way assessment is carried out in various teacher-led assessment contexts. Presumably, language teachers should be able to implement theory and policy-supported recommendations for more learning-driven assessment. Following the 2006 higher education reform in Tunisia, research has revealed that teachers either have a limited understanding of language assessment or misconceptions about its pedagogical role. In line with the proliferation of the Language Assessment Literacy (LAL) literature, this study sought to examine English language teachers' Assessment for Learning (AfL) knowledge base and their self-efficacy about their roles as formative assessors relying on an online survey with 153 university teachers. The analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data revealed these teachers' rather deficient AfL knowledge marked by a general uncertainty and misconceptions about assessment purposes for learning. Additionally, the participants' self-efficacy was found to be moderate-to-low. This may hamper assessment reform initiatives in this educational context. Thus, this study is a call for further professional development and the adoption of clearer assessment guidelines during reforms.

Assessment Literacy (AL) has been shown to determine the way assessment is carried out in various teacher-led assessment contexts. Presumably, language teachers should be able to implement theory and policy-supported recommendations for more learning-driven assessment. Following the 2006 higher education reform in Tunisia, research has revealed that teachers either have a limited understanding of language assessment or misconceptions about its pedagogical role. In line with the proliferation of the Language Assessment Literacy (LAL) literature, this study sought to examine English language teachers' Assessment for Learning (AfL) knowledge base and their self-efficacy about their roles as formative assessors relying on an online survey with 153 university teachers. The analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data revealed these teachers' rather deficient AfL knowledge marked by a general uncertainty and misconceptions about assessment purposes for learning. Additionally, the participants' self-efficacy was found to be moderate-to-low. This may hamper assessment reform initiatives in this educational context. Thus, this study is a call for further professional development and the adoption of clearer assessment guidelines during reforms.

Using Oxford’s (1990) Language Learning Strategies (LLS) taxonomy, this study departs from prior classroom-based research to investigate the question of metacognitive strategy training in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes in Tunisia. 44 teachers of First Year learners of EFL took part in the present study. A self-completion questionnaire was used to examine teachers’ beliefs to find out whether they adopted the new teaching and learning principles. These stated beliefs by teaching experience were also investigated using chi-square. Transcriptions of 8 audio taped lessons along with corresponding briefing and debriefing teachers’ comments were ethnographically examined to determine two key aspects: (a) the teachers’ training of their learners in metacognitive strategy application in class and (b) the degree of explicitness of the potential training. The findings of this study highlight the relevance of evaluating strategy instruction in language classroom settings either in Tunisia or the world. Main findings indicate that: (a) overall, teachers made a conceptual shift towards a strategy-based instruction, (b) there was no significant relation between the subjects’ teaching experience and their considered beliefs, (c) their analysed classroom practices showed only limited aspects of metacognitive training and (d) this instruction was generally implicitly carried out. The results highlighted so far are indicative of the disparity between the subjects’ beliefs and their classroom practices. Besides, because these EFL teaching aspects have a direct impact on the learning process, future research should take into account the importance of investigating strategy instruction in different cultural contexts.

Based on a socio-cognitive framework, this study investigates the construct validity of a reading comprehension test as a measurement tool of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading ability in Tunisian higher education. A model is tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to examine the relationship between cognitive and metacognitive strategies, self-efficacy beliefs and reading achievement for First Year students of English in Tunisia (N=571). These variables were measured by means of three questionnaires with the test takers and the achievement test scores. Post-test retrospective verbal protocols with 22 test takers were equally used for a qualitative, in-depth analysis of the strategic behaviour of individual examinees. Verbal protocol data were triangulated with the test designers’ perceptions and reported test
design practices collected through semi-structured interviews. The testing of the model through SEM revealed significant causal relationships between strategies, self-efficacy and achievement, with a more positive relationship with metacognitive strategies. The qualitative analyses provided evidence for issues of validity. Limitations of this study are discussed, and recommendations for further research in testing reading ability in English as a foreign language are presented.