Relationships between Peer- and Self-Assessment and Teacher Assessment of Young EFL Learners’ Oral Presentations

Abstract

As the traditional grammar translation approach is being gradually replaced by communicative approaches, paper-and-pencil tests do not meet the course goals. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate how two forms of alternative assessment, peer and self-assessment, can be implemented to evaluate young EFL learners’ oral presentations and how the students perceive this experience. The study was conducted with 69 sixth graders (age 12) in Taiwan. The students formed groups of six to discuss and give grades after each individual student’s oral report. Three types of data sources included evaluation rubrics, student survey, and a teacher interview. The results show that peer and teacher assessment had strong positive correlation, whereas self- and teacher assessment were moderately correlated. Though learners responded positively to the assessing experiences, they expressed concern that some grades assigned by peers were not fair and a few group members dominated the grading process. The findings shed light on benefits of combining peer and self-assessment and suggest training should emphasize self-assessment, evaluation criteria related to content of the presentation, and students’ social skills to work in groups.