Formative Assessment in a Blended Learning English Course

Abstract

At present, formative assessment is widely used since it seems to significantly improve student achievement results. Most recently, it has become an inseparable part of the so-called blended learning (BL), which currently combines the use of mobile learning and face-to-face instruction. The implementation of formative assessment in a BL environment is increasing because it can enhance the learning quality. Moreover, research reveals that 87% of the formative assessment in BL is conducted automatically because it provides more flexible, timely and prompt feedback to students. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how the formative assessment in a blended learning English course taught at the Faculty of Informatics and Management of the University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, can help students to improve their English proficiency. The methods include a literature review of available sources found on the research topic in the world’s acknowledged databases such as Scopus and Web of Science, a method of analysis of students’ performance in a mobile app, and a method of analysis of students’ final test results in order to illustrate the effectiveness of the formative assessment and discuss its implementation in the English course. The findings of the statistical analysis and students’ performance in the mobile app reveal that the formative assessment has a positive impact both on students’ learning and teacher’s instruction.