It is an indicator of how well a foreign language learner uses receptive and productive skills as well as other language competencies such as syntax, morphology, semantics, and vocabulary regarding the context, task demands, and other agents’ characteristics.
Published in Chapter:
Parents' Perceptions of Foreign Language Assessment and Parental Involvement
Nesrin Ozturk (İzmir Democracy University, Turkey) and Begum Atsan (İzmir Democracy University, Turkey)
Copyright: © 2023
|Pages: 22
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-5660-6.ch014
Abstract
International and national foreign language education policies recognize the invaluable role of parents. Because parents' perceptions of foreign language assessment may initiate any parental involvement behavior, a qualitative descriptive study was conducted to investigate the phenomenon. Data were collected from 25 parents via semi-structured interviews and analyzed thematically. Findings confirmed parents' understandings of a foreign language proficiency pertain to communicative use of the language. However, assessment practices at schools are test-driven, and they may not be authentic, valid, and criterion-referenced practices. Parents, moreover, highlighted a need for assessment literacy; nevertheless, they do not get any support from any stakeholders. Also, assessment practices' outcomes may initiate parental involvement behaviors that pertain to parenting helping, communicative effective, and learning at home. This study highlights an urgent need to improve parents' foreign language assessment literacy and parental involvement behaviors to enrich learners' development.