Enhancing Language Skills Assessment in Education: A Curriculum Improvement Perspective

As a doctoral candidate in education, I recognize the need to enhance the teaching evaluation of the course to better assess students' language skills and engage their interest in learning. The current formative evaluation, which consists of classroom performance and assignments, provides some insights into students' progress. However, it fails to capture their listening and speaking abilities, which are crucial aspects of language acquisition.\n\nTo address this issue, I propose incorporating additional assessment methods that encompass listening and speaking skills. One possible approach is to introduce regular oral presentations or discussions as part of the classroom performance evaluation. This will allow students to actively participate in class, share their thoughts, and demonstrate their speaking abilities. Moreover, it will encourage students to listen attentively to their peers, fostering their listening skills as well.\n\nIn addition to oral assessments, the summative evaluation should be diversified to reflect students' real language skills more accurately. While the current written test assesses vocabulary, multiple choice, and translation between Japanese and Chinese sentences, it overlooks the crucial aspects of listening and speaking. To rectify this, a separate section dedicated to listening comprehension could be added to the final test. This section could include audio clips with questions that require students to understand and respond appropriately, thereby measuring their listening skills effectively.\n\nFurthermore, to assess students' speaking ability, an oral component could be included in the final test. This could involve a dialogue or role-play scenario where students demonstrate their ability to communicate effectively in the target language. By incorporating these changes, the evaluation will become more comprehensive, capturing a broader range of language competencies.\n\nTo stimulate students' interest in learning, it is essential to make the assessment method more engaging and reflective of real-life language use. One way to achieve this is by incorporating authentic materials and tasks in both formative and summative assessments. For instance, instead of relying solely on textbook exercises, real-life scenarios, such as listening to and summarizing news articles or watching and discussing videos in the target language, can be integrated into the evaluation process. This approach not only fosters students' interest but also prepares them for real-world language use.\n\nLastly, it is crucial to provide opportunities for students to showcase their listening and speaking abilities throughout the semester, rather than relying solely on their willingness to raise their hand during class discussions. This can be achieved through periodic listening and speaking assessments, such as small group activities, presentations, or recorded conversations, which can be evaluated by the instructor. These assessments should be given appropriate weightage in the overall evaluation to ensure that students' progress in listening and speaking is adequately reflected.\n\nIn conclusion, to improve the teaching evaluation of the course, it is essential to diversify the assessment methods and incorporate listening and speaking components. By incorporating oral assessments and incorporating listening comprehension tasks in the final test, students' real language skills can be better measured. Furthermore, incorporating authentic materials and tasks throughout the evaluation process will stimulate students' interest in learning. Finally, providing regular opportunities for students to demonstrate their listening and speaking abilities will ensure a more comprehensive evaluation of their language proficiency.