E-course
Assessing learning
Module 1 | Unit 6
Introduction
Assessing your learning is one of the crucial steps towards accomplishing your goal of learning a foreign language. The main purpose of learning assessment is measuring the level of your success and seeing if you reached your learning goals. In the case of learning a foreign language by yourself, you need to self-assess — and you can do that with the help of plenty of useful techniques and online tools. By defining good assessment criteria, self-assessment can encourage you to think about your weaknesses and strengths and the ways you can enhance your learning process.
Getting started
Tips
USING GAME-BASED LEARNING TO ASSESS YOUR ACHIEVEMENT
Do you like playing games? Who doesn’t?!
There are many ways to learn today. Development of different learning applications has made learning much easier and more fun. One of the best things about applications is the fact that you can carry your knowledge around in your pocket if you decide to download the application to your mobile phone.
Why use applications for learning? Because then you can have all the words, grammar, or structures in one place and take it with you wherever you go. Few most popular applications that we would like to suggest are Quizlet and Kahoot. They allow you to assess your knowledge, play and have fun at the same time. For example, Quizlet is a learning tool that allows you to note all the vocabulary you have been learning in form of flashcards and let you play the games to check how much you have learned. Another fun application is Kahoot which gives you many different games to get you revise the knowledge gained through learning. In the end you get a result of how many correct or incorrect answers you had and see what you should work on more. Is there a better way to revise than by playing games?
USING RUBRICS TO DETERMINE YOUR LEVEL
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, so called CEFR (crosslink), is an international standard for describing language ability. It contains a six-point scale to describe language ability, from A1 for beginners, up to C2 for the highest level of those who have mastered a language. Using CEFR rubric to determine your level of knowledge makes it easy for anyone involved in language teaching and testing, namely teachers and learners, to determine the level of speaker’s use of the language.
It is always good to decide what level of a language you would like to achieve and set your goals accordingly. For example, if you want to improve your knowledge and know what level you need to reach, you could explore this level further to learn what exactly you need to know, what structures you need to use and what grammar to cover in order to reach the desired level.
SCHEDULING DEADLINES TO REACH YOUR GOALS
Every process of learning or training we decide to take on needs to have a goal. When we know what our goal is and how much time we have to accomplish it, then it is easier to make a timetable or schedule a reasonable deadline. Therefore, completing a table that will contain information on all the phrases, grammar structures and/or key vocabulary, along with the set date until which you would like to reach it, will make it simpler for you to complete the set goal. Just like when you decide to lose weight – if you know how much you would like to lose and what amount of (reasonable) time you have to reach it, it is easier to make a schedule for yourself when it comes to food and exercising. The example table is below:
CONNECT WITH NATIVE SPEAKERS
If you would like others to assess your knowledge, a great way to do that is to connect with native speakers of your targeted foreign language and video chat with them. Not only does this opportunity provide you with the chance to receive feedback from another experienced speaker, but also to enhance your speaking and communication skills and put your knowledge of vocabulary and grammar into action. A native speaker is someone with whom you can exchange your experiences and who can give you useful suggestions for improving your language learning. Find your speaking partner online, through language learning communities and forums on websites like Fluent in 3 months or on apps such as HelloTalk, Chatterbug and Tandem.
TAKE ONLINE TESTS
Online tests can be the final step in your self-assessment process. Although self-assessment is more about personal growth than earning good grades, it’s useful to have a numeric kind of feedback as well. An online test is a great tool for measuring knowledge, primarily of grammar and vocabulary, but also of other comprehension skills. The results of online tests are immediate and can be a trustworthy indicator of your progress and areas that need improving. There are plenty of great sites, like Agenda Web, Europass, German.net and Todo-Claro that offer free online tests for different areas of language knowledge.
More resources
Practical tasks
Take an online test on sites like Agenda Web, German.net, Todo-Claro. The benefit is that it gives you instant results and you immediately know what parts of language you need to work on more.
Find your speaking partner online, through language learning communities and forums on websites like Fluent in 3 months or on apps such as HelloTalk, Chatterbug and Tandem. Video chat with them and ask them to give you feedback on your language knowledge. Prepare questions for them to learn more about the other person. Practice parts of language that you believe could be useful – role-play.
Download an app Duolingo and play a daily game. If you commit to learning something every day, you will see progress more quickly.
Go to Quizlet or Kahoot and play a game. These free game-based-learning platforms allow you to play and learn at the same time: they are completely free and have many different games to check on daily basis. They are among most popular online games and learning platforms among millions of students in the world – learn why.
Put yourself in a teacher’s position and create your own test for last three lessons that you’ve learned. Wait for a few days and then take the test. One of the mosr efficient ways to learn is to create tests.
Test your language level by taking an online CEFR (Common European Framework Reference) test. It will be very helpful to know exactly what your level is.
Unit test
