Using Assessment to Enhance Learning in English Language Education

Abstract

The concept of using assessment to enhance learning has almost become taken for granted in teaching in English as a second/additional language education in the past 10 years; however, the field still lacks any consensus about terminology and scope, and few examples exist of large-scale assessment systems where the principles underpinning the concept can be seen in practice. This chapter first explores the issues of definition and scope and then describes one example of a large-scale assessment system which exemplifies the core attributes of the concept, the Tools to Enhance Assessment Literacy for Teachers of English as an Additional Language (TEAL), an online resource system developed to help Australian primary and secondary teachers assess the stage of development of EAL students in speaking, listening, reading, and writing, to improve learning and teaching. The chapter will conclude with some of the unresolved issues and implications for the wider field of second/additional language education.