USING ASSESSMENT TO BOOST ADULT ESL ENROLLMENT - PART 1
by Vera Homolka, ABE/ESL teacher, Crete, Nebraska

1. What is ESL assessment?
2. How I assessed my adult ESL students
3. How well did the assessment work?
4. What can be done to make adult ESL assessment work better?

(1) What is ESL assessment?

The limited English skills of a large number of ESL students make both alternative and authentic assessment a necessity. Traditional pencil and paper assessment instruments will work only for those students who have some literacy in the English language. Students with little or no literacy in English require creativity and resourcefulness on the part of the teacher in evaluating their progress, goals, and interests.

(2) How I assessed my adult ESL students

(a) Listening to verbal responses

I spend a large part of the two hour class period listening to students speak. I listen intently to student answers and comments, even if they are in a foreign language. I often deliberately put aside a text, so that nothing interferes with my hearing a student's true response. I also take notes on what students say and how they say it.

(b) Observation

I closely watch students' facial expressions as I am teaching. I also watch body language, especially towards the end of class, and as students are leaving the room. In addition to facial expressions and body language, I pay attention to where students choose to sit and how they interact with other students. I do not pay too much attention to clothing and personal appearance.

(c) Role-playing

My ESL lessons often require students to play the parts of other persons for the purposes of demonstrating that they have mastered the concepts in the lesson. For example, if the students have read a news article about a family who traveled around the world in a wagon pulled by a horse, certain students would pretend to be the family members while other students would "interview" them about their journey.

(d) Informal interview and questioning

When students first enter a class, I ask them what they want to learn. During, and after class, I might ask students whether they understood the material or whether or not the material was valuable for them..

(e) Student evaluation of class

Periodically, I ask advanced students to complete an unsigned evaluation form including the following four questions:

1. What could I or we do differently to make this class better?
2. What things that we have done have been valuable for you?
3. What things that we have done have not been valuable for you?
4. What would you like to learn in the future?

(f) Best Test

Another ESL teacher in the Crete ABE program periodically evaluated my ESL students by administering the Best Test, a formal measuring instrument for English as a Second Language Students. The teacher came to my class and took out one student at a time for a period of about 20 minutes.

(g) TABE Test

I administered the TABE, Forms 5 and 6, Level D to a group of three advanced students and then we went over the test during the next class.

(h) Pre-tests in texts

Three advanced ESL students in the Crete city library were studying a vocabulary chapter from a textbook. Before starting this chapter, they completed the vocabulary pre-test as a group project.

(i) Teacher-constructed tests

After completion of a segment of a lesson, I asked a series of oral questions based on that segment. Another time, I asked students to write cloze type or multiple-choice questions on a lesson segment and then gave those questions to other students to answer. Another time, I asked students to write a group paragraph on what they had learned about a lesson segment. For example, the librarian at the city library gave a presentation to the ESL students on how to use the computerized card catalog plus another library computer. After the presentation, students contributed sentences to a group paragraph which they all copied.

(j) Teacher evaluation of class

At the conclusion of a class, I think about what has worked well and what has not worked well. Sometimes I write down notes, and sometimes not. If something does not work well, I try to determine why. If an activity or practice does work well, I use it or variations of it in future lesson plans

(3) How well did the assessment work?

(a) Listening to verbal responses

I have been more successful with this assessment strategy than with any of the others because I attended a training session once which taught me now to listen better. Rather than thinking about my next comment, I fully concentrate on what each student is saying. When students see that the teacher is listening that intently, they are more apt to speak correclty and to speak more.

(b) Observation

Observation of facial expression, body language, and student interaction has also served me well in helping to evaluate students. A strong need to know whether or not my students were interested and learning has led to my sharpening my observation skills. My natural poor powers of observation, however, have made it difficult to use observation to its best advantage.

(c) Role-playing

Role-playing consistently works well as an assessment tool because taking the part of a character brings students closer to a real-life situation. ESL curriculum presents numerous opportunities for role-playing such as inviting someone to a party or opening a checking account. The only thing that has made it difficult to implement role-playing as an assessment tool has been a shortage of time to create some of the novel ideas not found in textbooks.

(d) Informal interview and questioning

Informal interview and questioning has been successful as far as it has ben used. My not leaving room for informal questioning in the lesson plan has made it difficult to get an adequate amount of informal interview data. Also, my not having pre-set questions in mind has reduced the efficacy of informal interview as an assessment tool.

(e) Student evaluation of class

The written student evaluation form was successful when given to advanced students who could write down their ideas in English. Although no one listed anything that had not been valuable for them, some had specific ideas on what they would like to learn in the future. A low level of ESL reading and writing skills among beginning students has made it difficult for me to implement this evaluation form on a broader scale in my classes.

(f) Best Test

Using the Best Test to test my students' ESL ability has been partially successful. Since another teacher has been designated to do the testing, the testing is sometimes not at a convenient time for my class. Also, intervals between testing are too long. New students are not tested and other students leave the program without being re-evaluated to determine the progress they have made. Also, the test results are difficult to access.

(g) TABE Test

I have not been successful using the TABE test because it was too hard for beginning ESL students and discouraging for higher level students when they missed some of the vocabulary words. ESL stresses speaking, which the TABE test does not evaluate as much as it does reading and comprehension. Not explaining this test properly to my advanced students has made it difficult for me to obtain significant results from administering the TABE Test.

(h) Pre-tests in texts

Using the pre-test for the vocabulary chapter in the textbook was very successful because it gave the teacher an idea of whether or not the material was the right level for the students. If the group could work through the pre-test, then they could work on learning the material in the chapter also. In addition, the pre- test was already written, so the teacher did not have to take time to create a special test.

(i) Teacher-constructed tests

Teacher-constructed tests have been very successful because I know what my goals are in teaching a lesson segment. I teach the lesson by different methods until the students have learned it. Then I create the test on what they already know. Also, subjective tests where students have to create sentences or a paragraph require more language skill than just marking answers.

(j) Teacher evaluation of class

The necessity of retaining students and recruiting new ones has contributed to my implementation of this very successful technique of teacher evaluation of the class. What has made it difficult to implement this technique, however, is that immediately after a class, when the replay is still fresh in my mind, I have to hurry to do something else rather than write down comments about my last class.

(4) What can be done to make adult ESL assessment work better?

As I have improved my listening skills, so might I also try to improve my observation skills. Since I already feel I can guage individual interest, boredom, like, dislike, fear, discomfort, and enthusiasm, I will try to observe more closely how members of my class relate to one another. Hopefully, my observation skills will help me to assess my class in order to forge a stronger group spirit within my classroom.

Besides observation and listening, an equally important assessment tool for ESL is role-playing. Role-playing proves students' language skills both to the teacher and to the student. An ESL teacher should spend as much time as possible to create role-playing situations to use in ESL class.

Also invaluable as an ESL class assessment tool is informal interview and questioning along with written student evaluation of the class. In the future, I am going to pay more attention to such comments as: "That was too hard." If something is too hard, I get discouraged and stop studying." "Let's do some pronunciation." "I had this before." "This was a good class." Also,I will make simpler "student evaluation of class" forms and use them more often.

Another assessment tool which I plan to use more often is the Best Test. I need to obtain a copy of this test myself, use it to test my students at more frequent intervals, and also to test new students at the beginning of their study. Doing the testing myself will enable me to access the results more easily and to use the results to prepare more suitable lessons.

Other assessment tools which I plan to use more often are the TABE Test, pre-tests in texts, and teacher-constructed tests. The TABE Test would determine the reading level of more advanced students, pre-tests from texts would show what students already knew, and teacher-constructed tests would prove to students that they had indeed learned their ESL lesson.

Finally, I am going to write all my "teacher evaluation of class" comments in a special notebook right after the class is over while those impressions are still fresh in my mind. Then, if I act on those comments, my classes should become better and better for the students. I believe that continual self-assessment will enable me to minimize my weaknesses and capitalize on my strengths as an ESL teacher.

(5) My overall experience with adult ESL assessment

1. teach listening and assessment skills to students
2. observe how class members relate to one another and work on forging a group spirit
3. spend more time creating role-playing situations to assess student progress in ESL class
4. pay more attention to student comments about the class and the material
5. make simpler "student evaluation of class forms" and use them more often
6. use the Best Test, TABE Test, pre-tests in texts, and teacher-constructed tests more often
7. keep a "class evaluation" journal and utilize the comments to plan the "next class."

USING ASSESSMENT TO BOOST ADULT ESL ENROLLMENT - PART II

INTRODUCTION

Since I have perceived assessment to be the weakest part of my ESL teaching, I have tried to gather together and present in Part II of this paper some practical, useful, and effective assessment techniques which I can use to improve my classes in the future.

For adult ESL, I need assessment tools which do the following:

1. demonstrate to the program funders that the learner has gained from the program and that the program has been successful
2. demonstrate to my ESL students that they have improved in English proficiency and literacy as a result of the program
3. demonstrate to myself what my students have learned and what they have not (Burt & Keenan, 1995)

More appropriate ways of assessing beginning ESL learners who do not read and write in any language might include assessing orally by having a native speaker of the student's language ask about his or her educational background. Assessing through reading might involve having the student complete an alphabet cloze, copy a sentence, read two simple sentences, point to letters which the teacher says, and read aloud several unfamiliar or nonsense words. Assessing through writing might include asking the students to fill out a registration form. Assessing through classroom observation would show the teacher how learners hold their pencils and their books, how their eyes move to follow the words, how quickly they can write, and how they interact in large and small groups. ESL teachers are responsible for matching assessment tools with the various levels of their individual students. (Shank & Terrill, 1995)

Since students are more likely to attend and return to a class where they feel comfortable and understand the procedures, teachers of ESL students should explain the rationale and format of American means of assessment. Students might believe that multiple-choice exams promote quessing instead of knowing. While it is true that anyone may mark answers at random on a multiple-choice test, well- made multiple-choice exams require students to sort through several similar distractors and recognize what is and is not the best answer. They require more reading comprehension and more complicated language processing than some other types of tests. Teachers need to spend more time explaining an assessment instrument to ESL students than they might spend on assessment orientation for American students. (Mohr, 1994)

Evaluation of a multilevel class in ESL begins before the class does and continues on throughout the program. The basic steps in an evaluation process are:

• Assess the needs.
• Select goals and objectives.
• Select measures of success.
• Perform ongoing assessment.
• Modify program or approach if necessary. (Bell, 1991)

Assess the needs

One way to help learners set realistic goals is to give them several possibilities and then have them choose which they prefer. It is possible that each learner in a class may have different goals. To solve such a problem, the teacher should dwell on process goals such as using appropriate body language or listening effectively in high-content situations. (Bell, 1991) Selection of measures of success

Formal examinations do not tell us whether the student can produce the language in a real-life situation, do not pinpoint the student's progress, and if they challenge the advanced student, they are not comprehensible to the beginners. Individual assessment should be conducted instead. As the teacher circulates among the students, she should be conducting an informal observation which will be written in a more formal record later on. The second type of individual assessment is self-assessment by the student. The teacher makes an assessment chart for each student. Beginners would have a simple form while more advanced students would have a form with more entries. At the beginning of the course, the students sit down individually with the teacher and grade themselves for each entry. Every month or so, this self- assessment process is repeated. Setting up a system of individual self-assessment forces the ESL teacher to think about exactly what she wants her students to achieve and what success means for each individual student. (Bell, 1991) Perform ongoing assessment

One of the most useful ongoing assessment tools is the teacher journal. At the end of the class, the teacher writes down what actually happened compared to what was planned for. A teacher with a multilevel class can keep track of the success of the various activities of the different levels of students. Activities which did not go well might be re-evaluated or changed. (Bell, 1991)

Another aid in planning future student activities is the teacher checklist. Teachers might write their own checklist which would include such points as the following ones related specifically to a multilevel class.

• Did I allow for some self-sleection of activities?
• Did I include some whole-class activities to develop group spirit?
• Did I make clear to the students the purpose of their activities?

The final tool for ongoing assessment would be keeping samples of the students' work. Student writing could be collected in a folder. Tapes of student oral interaction or monologue would also provide a useful record. If the teacher could obtain a camcorder, videotapes would give information about nonverbal language uses. (Bell, 1991)

Modify program or approach if necessary

Just as there is no one "perfect" textbook for use in an ESL class, there is no single assessment instrument that is going to satisfy program funders, ESL students, and ESL teachers equally well. I believe that the creative and analytical teacher will need to use many modes of assessment while teaching her class. Program funders, ESL students, and ESL teachers each have an equal need to see proof of student progress. In a voluntary class, effective assessment must be foremost on the teacher's mind.

Few other professionals have as much power and influence on a student as does a teacher. The teacher is the guide through the unknown. We must always encourage and must use all we can to guide our students through the transformative process of reaching their greater potential. We are a shaman enticing people through the wilderness. Out of logic, reason, facts, assessment, knowledge, understanding, emphathy, and inspiration, we create either chaos or magic.

Out of the variety of assessment tools suggested for adult ESL classes, the idea of individual student self-assessment (Bell, 1991) offers me the greatest opportunity to improve my class and satisfy my students. I will need to draw up an assessment chart for each student with some skills broken down into detail. Students would then grade themselves on these skills when they first start the class and then again later at different intervals throughout their study in the class. Also helpful was the emphasis Bell gave on encouraging students to think about the learning process and asking them to suggest ways they would prefer to do things. I believe that the combination of student self-assessment and asking students what they think of activities (after I have explained what we are trying to do) will make my classes more valuable to ESL students.

I was disappointed not to have found any research on using assessment to boost adult ESL enrollment. Since my own assessment methods have not been fully implemented for a sufficient period of time, no conclusion can be drawn as to whether an improvement in assessment procedures will increase adult ESL class attendance. This hypothesis will be left to a future researcher to prove.

My study of assessment through Module 2 of the Adult Basic Education Teacher Training Institute has changed my perception of assessment from a boring and tedious necessity to a viable and exciting tool of unlimited value in improving my ESL classes.

REFERENCES

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