Activities for Alternative Assessment: Monitoring Learning Accomplishments in the ELT Classroom
Innovation in Learning-Oriented Language Assessment

Extract

How to assess students in a fair and effective way without overstretching our resources remains a challenging question for many language teachers. Alternative assessments provide a variety of avenues to explore in response to this conundrum, and, when done well, provide valuable insights into how our students progress, while also improving student agency and motivation. As learners tend to be more actively involved in alternative assessment processes, they may develop a better understanding of the learning goals and how to gear their learning towards them. This review will cover two recently released books that promise to be offering ideas and strategies on what learner-oriented language assessment may look like in different contexts.

Let me begin by focusing on Selivan’s Activities for Alternative Assessment, one of six volumes in the ‘Ideas in Action’ series by Delta Publishing, aiming to ‘bridge the theory–practice divide in language teaching’ (Preface, Anderson [series editor], p. 3). After a theoretical introduction (Chapter 0) and a collection of highly flexible micro strategies (Chapter 1), the book includes eight practical chapters which cover activities to implement self-assessment (Chapter 2), peer assessment (Chapter 3), portfolios (Chapter 4), projects (Chapter 5), informal assessment of grammar and vocabulary (Chapter 6), receptive skills (Chapter 7), and productive skills (Chapter 8) into language classrooms. The thirty-eight activities in these chapters are each introduced by theory-grounded rationales (labelled ‘summary’ by the author), a note on how to use the activity for assessment purposes (labelled ‘assessment opportunity’), and a thorough description of key characteristics (target levels, learner age, length, language/skill focus, materials) as well as how to prepare and run the activity. In addition, most activities are accompanied by photocopiable materials, examples, links to online resources, or further recommendations on how to vary, extend, or follow-up on the activity. Most of the activities are geared towards the A2+ level and higher and can be used or adapted for different learner groups (usually categorized as suitable for ‘any’ age group or ‘teens and adults’), with only a handful of activities signposted as specifically suitable for younger learners. Downloading the Delta augmented app will grant access to four additional activities and a collection of URL links.