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Applying action research to investigate the use of goal setting for ESL writing

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 Applying action research to investigate the use of
goal setting for EFL/ESL writing

Emily Edwards

English Language Company

This paper reports on the results of a formal action research project in

Australia which focused on the use of goal-setting activities to assist
EFL/ESL learners in making progress with their written assignments.
The intervention was centred around a set of assessment rubrics used
for scoring and feedback, with the aim of exploring Assessment for
Learning (AfL) principles and determining the effect of their application
on students’ short-term writing development. Despite considerable
research into AfL in the public education system, relatively little has
been done in the private EFL/ESL provider sector, so the current study
goes some way in addressing this need. Results indicate the benefits
of applying AfL, particularly goal setting and monitoring, in terms of
motivation and learner independence, and the findings also highlight
both the importance of teacher guidance in self-directed learning and
the value of integrating assessment rubrics into EFL/ESL teaching.

Introduction
This study was completed as part of the 2012 English Australia Action Research in
ELICOS Program, supported by Cambridge English Language Assessment, an annual
program first implemented in 2010 that involves a small group of ELICOS (English
Language Intensive Course for Overseas Students) teachers in Australia being initiated
into the classroom-centred process of ‘action research’ and then undertaking projects
relevant to their own teaching environments. Action research is widely accepted as a
pertinent form of research for English language teachers (Burns, 2010; Nunan, 2001),
permitting them to become active participants in the research community. Further,
it is one example of ‘reflective pedagogy’, encouraging teachers to contemplate and
better understand their practice in order to make informed improvements in their
classrooms (Bailey, 2009; Nunan, 2001; Wallace, 1991). In addition to presenting
the results of the current project, this article aims to provide an example for other
teachers of how they could investigate a classroom ‘issue’ using an action research
approach in their own contexts.

Volume 29 No 1 English Australia Journal 19

The context of this study is relatively unique in that it involves a combined EAP
(English for Academic Purposes) and IELTS preparation course, henceforth referred
to as ‘Academic English’, at an ELICOS school in Australia operating on a rolling intake
system. This contrasts with most Academic English/EAP courses taught in private
language schools and colleges in Australia, which run in 5 or 10-week blocks. In
terms of assessment, students complete a series of weekly tasks, alternately written
assignments and oral presentations, which are scored and used as coursework grades.
Although these would be defined as summative assessment (see Hughes, 2003), they
are used formatively (see Black & Wiliam, 1998; Davison & Leung, 2009) with the
purpose of evaluating learners’ progress at their specific stage of study, and providing
feedback and encouragement to achieve their target summative score. Assessment
for Learning (AfL) theories underpin this project, and AfL usually relates to formative
assessment; however, this study will show how it certainly can and should also be
associated with summative assessment, which can be used formatively to enhance
learning and teaching throughout a course (Davison & Leung, 2009). The focus on AfL
in the current action research project stems from a classroom ‘issue’ that had been
noticed: the need to integrate newly developed transparent assessment rubrics and
more assessment feedback into the school’s Academic English course as effectively as
possible, in order to help students learn quickly and successfully on this high-stakes
program, while also developing independent study skills.

Theoretical overview
The action research process involves consulting the literature during the research
itself and to a large extent at the analysis stage; however, the relevant theories
and studies will be summarised here in order to provide a clear theoretical context
from the outset. As mentioned above, AfL is the main concept investigated in this
study, and so the relevant aspects of AfL will be outlined first of all. Over the last
20 years, Assessment for Learning (also termed Assessment as Learning by some
researchers such as Earl, 2003) as opposed to Assessment of Learning, has become
a major educational trend, especially in mainstream education, encouraging a focus
on formative assessment. According to the UK-based Assessment Reform Group’s
(ARG) main definition, AfL is:
the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their
teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to
go and how best to get there (2002a, p. 2).

Embedded in this definition are three aspects that have been transformed into three
questions students need to ask themselves (with guidance from their teachers) in
relation to assessment and learning:

20 English Australia Journal Volume 29 No 1

 • Where am I now?

• Where do I need to go?

• How can I best get there?

Addressing these questions essentially requires an acute awareness of the learning
process, as well as the integration of useful teacher feedback into this process,
meaning that assessment should be used as a tool for further learning rather than as
merely a device for measuring and scoring proficiency and ability (which is Assessment
of Learning). In their 2002 review of research that has connected testing, motivation
and learning, the ARG provided many useful implications for (mainly public high
school) classroom teachers, with the following two being of most relevance to this
action research study (2002b, p. 8):

• [Teachers should] help pupils to understand where they are in relation to

learning goals and how to make further progress.

• [Teachers should] give feedback that enables pupils to know the next steps
and how to succeed in taking them.

In order to follow these recommendations, transparency in the assessment process

is vital in helping students understand where they are, and in the context of EFL/ESL,
the use of speaking and writing assessment rubrics allows teachers to implement
AfL and support their students in making progress (Brown, 2004-5; Fyfe & Vella,
2012; Pooler, 2012). Fyfe and Vella’s (2012) action research report is of particular
relevance to this study, resulting from the same English Australia Action Research
in ELICOS program one year earlier, and in a similar context of EAP in an Australian
language school. They reported that analysis of writing assessment rubrics in class
greatly enhanced students’ understanding of how to improve their writing, leading
to them achieving success upon completion of the language program. The current
study aims to build on Fyfe and Vella’s report, by using a similar methodology but
in the context of a rolling intake school system, and to show in particular how goal-
setting using assessment rubrics can be of great pedagogical assistance to English
language learners. Apart from Fyfe and Vella’s report, little research has been
conducted into the use of AfL principles in ELICOS teaching, and there is certainly a
need for more research into ways of using AfL in EFL/ESL classrooms, where often
in the private sector such recommendations are not explicitly (if at all) part of the
curriculum. The current action research project aims to start addressing this need
in the Australian ELICOS context.

Volume 29 No 1 English Australia Journal 21

Goal-setting and motivation theories are also closely linked to AfL, and previous
action research reports (Koromilas, 2011; McCrossan, 2011) have suggested strong
links between motivation, goal setting and progress at higher levels of language
proficiency. Both studies found that although learners may have difficulty setting
clear and realistic progress goals, discussing and setting these goals in class can
positively impact student motivation. When the goals correspond to assessment
tasks or criteria, this relates back to AfL as described above. The importance of
setting and monitoring language learning goals has been consistently confirmed
by researchers, and indeed is an integral part of AfL, featuring in one of the 10 key
research-based principles provided by the ARG (2002a, p. 2): ‘Assessment for Learning
should promote commitment to learning goals and a shared understanding of the
criteria by which they are assessed.’ It should also be noted that goal setting is an
example of a successful learner strategy, and as Dörnyei (2005) and Ellis (2008) argue,
students who are able to self-monitor and regulate their own learning may be more
motivated and more likely to learn better. In addition, Hattie and Timperley (2007)
state that setting appropriate and attainable goals is fundamental, and that these
should be based explicitly on assessment feedback in order to unlock the power of
this feedback. Fyfe and Vella (2012) have already confirmed the usefulness of explicitly
analysing assessment rubrics in an Academic English context, so the current study
also endeavoured to build on their findings by focusing on goal-setting.
Methodology and research focus
The overarching methodology employed in this study was action research, a four-
step process involving cycles of planning, action, observation and reflection (Burns,
2010), as shown in Figure 1, an adaptation of Kemmis and McTaggart’s (2000) action
research spiral.

Reflect
Plan
CYCLE 1
Observe
Action

Reflect
Revised
Plan
CYCLE 2 Observe
Action

Figure 1: Cyclical action research

model (Burns, 2010, p. 9).

22 English Australia Journal Volume 29 No 1

This article describes the second of two action research stages, the first having
investigated various methods of integrating new assessment rubrics into lessons in
ways that aimed to increase learner autonomy (e.g., peer evaluation, self-editing
and goal setting). It was analysis of and reflection on the first stage, based on data
collected via questionnaires, a focus group and tracking assignment scores, which led
to the conclusion that setting goals was the most beneficial of the methods tested
in this context. Based on the first stage, a view of goal setting as a four-step process
was formed, as shown in Figure 2.

STEP 1: STEP 3: STEP 4: Check

Identify area STEP 2:
Choose specific whether goal
of weakness Set goal
methods was achieved

Figure 2: Goal-setting steps.

This view, combined with reading articles about AfL and goal-setting principles, led
to the research question for the second stage of the project:

How can goal setting using assessment rubrics in my Academic English class
most effectively enable students to assess and monitor their own written
assignments?

In addition to answering this question, this second stage also had the objective of
integrating assessment with classroom learning and teaching, in accordance with
AfL principles. The intervention involved implementation of goal-setting activities
based on assessment rubrics over a period of eight weeks in three cycles, shown in
Figure 3, accompanied by continuous qualitative and quantitative data collection.
After introducing the participants, the specific procedure for each cycle will then be
described in turn, followed each time by the results and analysis of each cycle. This
sequencing has been chosen to illustrate as accurately as possible the action research
‘thought process’ for this study, and the headings reflect the action research stages
(see Figure 1) of ‘planning’, ‘action’, ‘observation’ and ‘reflection’.

Volume 29 No 1 English Australia Journal 23

Figure 3: The three action research cycles used in this project.

24 English Australia Journal Volume 29 No 1

Participants
The 11 mixed-nationality students who participated in this stage of the project were
studying in a high-level Academic English class, with proficiency levels ranging from
B2 to C1 on the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference), or IELTS 6.0 to
7.0. All of the students, 7 males and 4 females, were taking this course in order to
gain entry to a university or college, most in Australia, so their levels of instrumental
motivation were high, meaning that the ‘concrete benefits’ they would be afforded
by improving their English served to motivate them as a goal (Ellis, 2008, p. 682). As
their teacher, I was also a participant in the study, and the students were recruited
from my class alone, following action research procedure. Ethics approval was
received through UNSW as part of the English Australia Action Research in ELICOS
project and student participation was voluntary for members of my class; however,
the majority chose to take part.

Action research Cycle 1: Observation

The first cycle did not include ‘action’ (see Figure 3 for the action research stages of
each cycle), but was more of an initial observation to determine the first activity to
be used. A questionnaire comprising three closed and four open-ended questions
was administered (see Appendix A), asking students to give their opinions on goal
setting and to provide examples of their current goals for writing. The aim was to
discover to what extent students needed further guidance from the assessment
rubrics to help them with goal setting.

Action research Cycle 1: Reflection

The importance of goal-setting
The closed questions uncovered students’ attitudes to goal setting as part of the
language learning process, and also allowed them to self-evaluate their writing needs.
A very positive attitude to goal setting was demonstrated with a unanimous ‘Yes’ in
response to the question, ‘Do you think it’s important to set goals to improve your
English?’ The question ‘Which area [relating to the writing criteria] do you need
to improve most?’ resulted, as expected, in a wide variety of responses, indicating
the difficulty most teachers face in meeting their students’ diverse needs, an issue
magnified on a course with a rolling intake. ‘Structure & organisation’ was identified
as the area of most need for 4 of the 11 students, while grammar (3 students),
vocabulary (2 students) and response to question (2 students) were all the main
concerns of a few students. Surprisingly, none of the students chose the fifth overall
criterion, ‘research & referencing’ as their main problem area. In the open-ended
survey questions, students expanded on their positive response to the importance
of goal setting with comments such as those shown in Table 1, which are coded by
the themes that emerged.

Volume 29 No 1 English Australia Journal 25

 Theme Student comments

1) Goals develop It’s fundamental to set goals because it allows me to be aware of my

awareness progress and my difficulties.

2) Goals provide a It helps me to focus on my needs and to do the activities that really
focus to improve will improve my knowledge.
If you don’t know where do you want to go, you will not go anywhere.

3) Goals provide Setting goals provide you the motivation to reach a target, in that case
motivation improving English.

Table 1: Student comments about the importance of goal-setting.

The students in this class clearly had an awareness of the importance of and reasons
for goal setting, probably because they all had specific goals in terms of achieving
an IELTS score or an Academic English level to enter university. However, despite
the learners’ keen awareness and although most of them were able to express their
writing goals quite well in relation to the assessment criteria, they found it much
more of a challenge to specify relevant methods of achieving these goals – as shown
through selected examples in Table 2.
Responses to question 4: What goals do you Responses to question 5: How are you going
have to improve your essays? to achieve these goals?

(4a) I have to improve my academic (5a) I’m going to write more essays and try to
vocabulary and grammar such as prepositions. learn new vocabulary as much as I can.

(4b) Improve grammar, I think sometimes (5b) Ask teacher and try to find the
when I write essay I confuse some tenses. information how to use that tense from books
or the Internet.

(4c) I need to answer the question correctly. (5c) Practise more. Learn from the mistakes.
Use the topic we learn from the class. Pay
attention.

(4d) Structure and organisation, it is really (5d) Reading and writing.

difficult for me make the correct structure.

Table 2: Examples of goals and methods specified in response to the questionnaire.

Notes: Numbers (4) and (5) refer to the two questions asked, and letters (a) to (d)
refer to the answers from four different students.

The need to focus on methods

Analysis of Table 2 shows that of all the methods specified, (5b) appears to be
the most useful, because the student has a particular tense they need to master
through further grammar revision, and shows awareness of some practical methods

26 English Australia Journal Volume 29 No 1

of achieving this goal. Meanwhile, methods (5a), (5c) and (5d) are not specific or
easily monitored and achieved. For instance, ‘learn from the mistakes’ (5c) relates to
student C’s need to ‘answer the question correctly’, so a more specific goal should
focus on the learner answering the question better next time. It might be worded as
follows: ‘I need to highlight and analyse the next essay question carefully, check with
the teacher if I am not sure, and then plan each paragraph of my essay to correspond
to the parts of the question.’ This clear need for more work on articulating methods
of achieving goals led to the second research cycle.
The findings of this first observation were consistent with current goal-setting theory
and research. Firstly, McCrossan’s (2011) action research project also highlighted the
value ELICOS students in Australia see in working towards progress goals; however, both
McCrossan (2011) and Koromilas (2011) concluded that their students had significant
difficulty in setting short-term attainable goals, and needed specific teacher guidance
on how to do this: ‘work on motivation . . . must begin with teaching students how to
break down long-term goals into short, clear and achievable daily and weekly goals’
(Koromilas, 2011, p. 17). These ideas fuelled the next research cycle of the project.

Action research Cycle 2: Action and observation

Consequently, the second cycle involved the integration of a goal-setting activity
which focused students on the specific language of the school’s newly developed
Academic English assessment rubrics and how this language could be used to set
goals, and then on potential methods of achieving these objectives, employing
cognitive processing through card-matching and with examples provided by the
teacher (see Appendix B). In order to reflect on and discuss this activity and goal-
setting more deeply, a few days later a semi-structured 30-minute focus group was
held and recorded with a group of five volunteers from the class, and this was then
transcribed and coded according to the key themes that arose.

Action research Cycle 2: Reflection

The need for teacher guidance
A productive teacher-learner dialogue about goal setting was constructed through
the focus group, perhaps also encouraging the students to share their thoughts
with me, their teacher, more frequently. The first key result was that the students
found the card-matching activity (focusing on which methods would be suitable for
which goals) useful and thought provoking. For instance, one student commented:
‘It makes us think about exactly which are the points that we have to make.’ Several
participants confirmed the difficulty of specifying goals and methods (as discovered
in Cycle 1) and the need for teacher guidance in this process:

Volume 29 No 1 English Australia Journal 27

 Now I think that when you have to write your own goals to improve, it’s not
easy at all and you need some help or you need some extra information, so
it’s good to say clearly I need to do that, so I think it’s not always easy to know
what’s your goals.
The need for self-study material
Further discussion of this issue led to a joint decision that the creation of self-study
worksheets based on the assessment criteria and goals would be extremely beneficial.
One student summed up this need very well:
But I also wish there were more like uh exercise sheets or something, to show
how to do it, because I don’t know why or not it’s wrong the sentence I wrote,
so I need some more examples and I tried to search in the Internet or a book
and it takes too long and by the time, you know . . .
So this dialogue resulted in the decision to design and utilise two further activities,
making a link between goal setting and self-directed learning: (1) a record sheet for
students to write down and continuously monitor their goals, methods and progress,
and receive feedback on this progress (see Appendix C), and (2) a set of 15 self-study
worksheets for the library, each one based directly on one of the writing assessment
rubric criteria. It was significant that the students voluntarily commented on the
need for more self-directed study materials, thereby confirming their motivation for
and value of autonomous learning strategies. These skills are extremely important
on Academic English courses, and indeed, Cotterall (2000) recommends that one
of the methods of promoting self-directed learning is to ‘encourage learners to set
personal goals, monitor and reflect on their performance, and modify their learning
behaviour accordingly’ (p. 116). Pooler (2012) provides some specific examples of how
to do this. For instance, in response to the AfL questions, she suggests that teachers
train their students in self-assessment and goal setting, using ‘student-friendly’
assessment rubrics as the basis for these activities, as well as feedback (2012, p. 28).
This support from the literature for what was happening in the classroom spurred
on the third cycle, in which the link between learner autonomy and goal setting was
brought to the forefront.

Action research Cycle 3: Action and observation

The third cycle saw the implementation of the goal-monitoring record and first
self-study worksheet, and throughout the rest of the project (six weeks), students’
fortnightly written assignment scores were monitored, copies of their goal record
sheets were kept, and feedback was given on their progress in terms of the criteria
they decided to focus on and the methods they selected. At the end of this cycle,
a series of four individual, semi-structured, 10-minute interviews were held with
students chosen as representing a range of reactions to the intervention: one whose

28 English Australia Journal Volume 29 No 1

scores for their chosen focus areas had decreased (Student 3 – see Table 3), one
who had experienced a dramatic increase (Student 5), and two who were making
slow but steady progress (Students 1 and 8). They were questioned about their
views on the goal record sheet, the self-study material, and goal setting in general,
and the interviews were then transcribed and coded in terms of three key themes
that emerged.
Action research Cycle 3: Reflection
Quantitative results
Significant results could be noticed from recording student assignment scores on
the goal-monitoring sheet over a six-week period. There were 23 instances of goal
setting (each instance being one student setting one goal based on a criterion after
receiving feedback on a written assignment), and in 83% of instances, the score for
that criterion focused on had increased from the previous assignment criterion score.
Further, taking these positive occurrences, the average increase in score was 2.6%,
which is quite a substantial improvement to make in an identified problem area. It
should also be remembered that that this focus would only have been for one of five
criteria, thus it is possible that a student could have increased their score for other
criteria too (but this was not recorded since the focus was on specific goal setting,
not overall attainment). Table 3 shows the patterns of increases and decreases in
score for the 11 students over the cycle, each time for the one criterion they chose
to focus on. The figures in columns ‘Week 2’, ‘Week 4’ and ‘Week 6’ demonstrate the
percentage change in students’ scores for one criterion (chosen by each student) as
a result of them setting a goal and focusing on that one specific criterion to improve
their writing.
Student Week 2 (goal- Week 4 (goal-setting Week 6 (goal- Total change
setting instance 1) instance 2) setting instance 3) over period
1 No change +1% N/A +1%
2 -1% +6.5% N/A +5.5%
3 +2% -1% N/A +1%
4 +1% +3% +3% +7%
5 +2% +2.5% +4.5% +9%
6 N/A +5% +2% +7%
7 +5.5% N/A N/A +5.5%
8 +1% No change +2% +3%
9 +4% N/A N/A +4%
10 +1% +2% N/A +3%
11 +1% +1% N/A +2%
Table 3: Focus area score % increase and decrease patterns (over six weeks)
Key: Light grey = above average increase in score; dark grey = decrease in score;
N/A = not applicable as student was not in the class at this point.

Volume 29 No 1 English Australia Journal 29

Analysis of the scores in Table 3 demonstrates that setting a goal to focus on one
rubric criterion at a time was often highly effective for over 50% of the students (e.g.,
Students 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9), and slightly effective for others (e.g., Students 1, 8, 10 and
11). A key trend was that 9 of the 11 students actually increased or maintained their
score increase for each assignment over the six weeks. Of course, a certain increase
in score would be expected over six weeks of an Academic English program as the
students develop their writing abilities, making it difficult to identify which increases
may actually be due to the goal-setting intervention. However, the numerical data
hints that learners such as Students 4 and 5 clearly benefit enormously from setting
goals, with steady increases that can be maintained and would probably therefore
continue over time. These results add significantly to Fyfe and Vella’s (2012) findings.
Although not focusing on goal-setting, their explicit analysis of assessment rubric
language in the classroom led to students both achieving the scores they needed to
pass the course, as well as them realising a sense of progress: ‘the majority of the
participants (85% and higher) felt that analysing the assessment criteria aided their
writing performance across all four criterion sets of the rubric’ (p. 32). Both their
study and the current project confirm the value of implementing AfL principles into
high-stakes Academic English programs, firstly by unpacking rubric language in the
classroom, and secondly by setting goals for further progress based explicitly on
these rubrics.
Qualitative results
The results of semi-structured interviews uncovered four students’ reactions to
the whole intervention, self-directed goal setting and monitoring. They have been
divided into three themes.

Theme 1: Progress and motivation

Monitoring assignment scores and seeing their progress in a written form was
extremely motivating for most of the students. For example, Student 5 explained:
‘When I see my improvement, I feel very very good . . . and it helps me to be proud
of me.’ In addition, two of the students explained that keeping track of their goals
and scores pushed them to improve more, because they felt they could do better:
Sometimes I feel good because I increase, but sometimes I want increase more.
[Student 8]

I think my potential is not improved very much, because just one mark, I think I
have to improve more than this. So that’s why I have to see about the feedback
what is the point I have to fix and how to find a method to get a higher mark
than before. [Student 1]

30 English Australia Journal Volume 29 No 1

Student 3 experienced a decrease in score from one assignment to the next during
this action research cycle, and he noted, quite rightly, that scores are not the only
measure of progress: ‘Actually, I don’t know why [the score has decreased], because
I feel more confident . . . Actually I don’t care about scores.’ So, perhaps setting
and monitoring goals is not suited to this learner’s style, and in his case was not
a useful method of motivation to make progress; however, he did admit to feeling
‘more confident’, and for the majority of students it did seem to be motivating.
McCrossan’s (2011) research supports this link between progress and motivation,
also in the context of high-level (B2-C1) language learners. She concluded that ‘the
majority of participants . . . considered that being able to see progress leads to an
increase in motivation’ (p. 10), and that progress goals were a valuable method of
allowing students to be more actively involved in tracking this progress.

Theme 2: Self-directed learning

All four students commented on how useful extra self-study materials in the library
would be, based explicitly on the writing assessment rubrics, so that they could tailor
their individual study specifically to their writing goals. The concept of easy access
to such materials was a major theme, and as Student 8 noted: ‘We can feel free to
use it, and also we can do it anytime, in the break, after school or whenever.’ When
discussing the self-monitoring materials and activities recently used in goal-setting
lessons, there was unanimous agreement on the importance of this ‘training’ in
becoming an expert language learner. The students all made comments such as: ‘I
think they [students] have to practise by themselves to be like a professional, how
to correct it.’
It is fortunate that the students in this Academic English class were highly motivated
to study outside of class and were in complete accord with the notion of becoming
self-directed learners. While at the beginning of the project, I had reflected on the
need for my students to become more autonomous, it really became clear by the
end that they already had the aptitude and motivation to learn independently, but
needed more guidance and scaffolding from the teacher. This important theme will
be discussed next.

Theme 3: Learner autonomy with teacher guidance

The students’ interview comments about learner autonomy were consistent with
those made in the earlier focus group in that the teacher’s guidance is crucial,
especially at the beginning of the language learning journey. For instance, Student
5 explained that ‘in the beginning we need a tutor that show us the way how
to do it, but after we know the way, we can work by ourselves.’ Such comments
reinforced the need for class time spent on learning and goal-setting strategies, as

Volume 29 No 1 English Australia Journal 31

well as the use of guidance methods such as the goal-monitoring record and the
teacher identifying achievements and suggesting methods for further improvement.
A final point of interest is that three of the four students made reference to the
fact that although they might be quite autonomous normally, when it comes to
English language learning and the difficulties that presents, they cannot achieve
study independence by themselves. Student 1 described the problem as follows:
‘I like to be autonomous, but sometimes it’s difficult because it’s not my language
. . . and it’s difficult to do it by myself.’ Of course, the need to receive such guidance
is precisely why language learners attend formal courses. In terms of support from
the literature, McCrossan (2011) also investigated the role of the teacher in the
students’ attainment of their progress goals, and concluded that this role is vital in
both motivating learners and tailoring lessons to their needs. Rotem (2012) agrees,
stating that in his action research project he assumed the role of learning facilitator
in order to encourage his students to be more autonomous. It is clear, therefore, at
least from the perspective of classroom-based research, that the language teacher
ignores their role in guiding and motivating students, expecting them to magically
be autonomous, at their peril.

Limitations
There were several limitations of this study that should be noted. Firstly, the data
collected are only able to show short-term change over eight weeks and therefore
a longitudinal action research study exploring a similar theme would be valuable.
Additionally, it was not possible to study a control group due to the nature of the
rolling intake system; however, this was countered considerably by triangulation of
the data. It is also likely that a range of factors were involved in determining each
student’s score for each assignment (such as motivation for the topic, time available,
class attendance), so it would be misleading to conclude that each increase in score
analysed was due to the effect of the goal-setting intervention.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

This study aimed to explore the use of AfL principles to enhance student progress
on a high-stakes Academic English course in Australia, using action research as the
guiding process. Although, as explained above, it is impossible to state categorically
from this study that the implementation of goal-setting activities resulted in all
students making progress with their writing, it is certainly clear that these methods
benefited many of the Academic English students involved, equipping them with study
skills that will also be useful in the future. The usefulness of employing assessment
rubrics in feedback and as the basis for goal setting has also been highlighted, but

32 English Australia Journal Volume 29 No 1

provided that the rubrics are easy to understand and are accompanied by frequent
use of exemplars (Rust et al., 2003). By way of a conclusion, some recommendations
based on the results of this study are summarised in Table 4 in relation to the three
AfL questions that students should ask themselves, and teachers should guide them
in, in order to learn effectively from assessment.
AfL learner Recommendations for EFL/ESL teachers
questions
Where am I Integration of assessment rubrics into the curriculum, with exemplars to
going? show (high) standards, will show students what they have to aim for.
Where am I Use of rubrics as feedback sheets (e.g., with criteria circled and comments
now? made) will show students where exactly they are in relation to their ultimate
goals.
How can I close Setting goals based on areas of need (identified through assessment rubrics),
the gap? followed by choosing suitable methods for achieving the goals and then
monitoring them, will help students close the gap.
Table 4: Recommendations for implementing AfL principles using assessment
rubrics and goal-setting.

Numerous AfL studies have already been undertaken in the public education sector;
for example, Black and colleagues (1998, 2004) have done much work with teachers
from public high schools in the UK, promoting AfL principles and their integration into
classroom teaching and assessment. There is now a need for more research into AfL
in the private EFL/ESL sector, especially action research, since this is a vital method
of bridging the gap between theory and practice and making research accessible
and relevant to teachers (Allwright & Bailey, 1991; Nunan, 2001).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank English Australia, Cambridge English Language Assessment,

Professor Anne Burns, and the staff at English Language Company for their support
that allowed this action research project to be completed. I am also grateful to the
journal reviewers, whose feedback was very helpful in improving this article.

Volume 29 No 1 English Australia Journal 33

 REFERENCES

Allwright, D. & Bailey, K. M. (1991). Focus on the language classroom. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.
Assessment Reform Group. (2002a). Assessment for Learning: 10 principles –
Research-based principles to guide classroom practice. London: Assessment Reform
Group.
Assessment Reform Group. (2002 b). Testing, motivation and learning. London:
Assessment Reform Group.
Bailey, K. M. (2012). Reflective pedagogy. In A. Burns & J. C. Richards (Eds.), The
Cambridge guide to pedagogy and practice in second language teaching (pp. 23-29).
New York: Cambridge University Press.
Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & Wiliam, D. (2004). Working inside the
black box: Assessment for learning in the classroom. Phi Delta Kappan, 86(1), 9-21.
Black, P. & Wiliam, D. (1998). Inside the black box: Raising standards through
classroom assessment. Retrieved from http://weaeducation.typepad.co.uk/files/
blackbox-1.pdf
Brown, S. (2004-5). Assessment for learning. Learning and Teaching in Higher
Education, 1, 81-89.
Burns, A. (2010). Doing action research in English language teaching: A guide for
practitioners. New York: Routledge.
Cotterall, S. (2000). Promoting learner autonomy through the curriculum: Principles
for designing language courses. ELT Journal, 54(2), 109-117.
Davison, C. & Leung, C. (2009). Current issues in English language teacher-based
assessment. TESOL Quarterly, 43(3), 393-415.
Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in
second language acquisition. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Earl, L. M. (2003). Assessment as learning: Using classroom assessment to maximize
student learning. California: Corwin Press.
Ellis, R. (2008). The study of second language acquisition (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Fyfe, B. & Vella, C. (2012). Assessment rubrics as teaching tool: Learning how to ‘tick
all the boxes’. Cambridge Research Notes, 48, 30-36.
Hattie, J. & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational
Research, 77(1), 81-112.

34 English Australia Journal Volume 29 No 1

Hughes, A. (2003). Testing for language teachers (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Koromilas, K. (2011). Obligation and motivation. Cambridge Research Notes,
44, 12-20.
McCrossan, L. (2011). Progress, motivation and high-level learners. Cambridge
Research Notes, 44, 6-12.
Nunan, D. (2001). Action research in language education. In D. R. Hall & A. Hewings
(Eds.), Innovation in English language teaching: A reader (pp. 197-207). New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Pooler, E. (2012, April). Implementing assessment for learning in English language
programs. Paper presented at the NEAS Sixteenth Annual ELT Management
Conference, Sydney, Australia.
Rotem, A. (2012). Developing greater learner autonomy. Cambridge Research Notes,
48, 24-29.
Rust, C., Price, M., & O’Donovan, B. (2003). Improving students’ learning by
developing their understanding of assessment criteria and processes. Assessment &
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Wallace, M. (1991) Training foreign language teachers: A reflective approach.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Emily Edwards has taught English in Europe, Japan and Australia, and is
currently working as an Academic English Coordinator at English Language
Company in Sydney. She is hoping to start her PhD studies soon.

e.c.edwards@hotmail.co.uk

Volume 29 No 1 English Australia Journal 35

 Appendix A

Questionnaire used in Cycle 1

How do you feel about goal setting for your essays?

Name: ..................................... Date: ......................

1. Do you think it is important to set goals to improve your English?

Please circle: yes/no

2. On your essay feedback sheet, the final section asks you to set goals to
improve your next essay based on that first essay feedback. Do you like
doing this? Please circle: yes/no
Do you think it helps you to improve your writing in your next essay?

3. Which of the 5 criteria areas for your essays do you think you need to
improve most? Please tick ü ONE area only:

• Response to question
• Structure & organisation
• Vocabulary
• Grammar
• Research & referencing (for EAP students)
4. What goals (if any) do you currently have to improve your essays?
Please explain them here:

5. How are you going to achieve this goal/these goals (i.e., what are you
going to do exactly)?

36 English Australia Journal Volume 29 No 1

 Appendix B

Card-matching activity used in Cycle 2

The following grid shows how cards were designed based on the specific criteria of the
assessment rubrics. For each specific criterion, two methods were supplied by the teacher,
and then the grid cut up to make cards. Learners then had to match methods (white cards)
to goals (dark grey card).

Overall Specific criteria (my How to achieve my goal A How to achieve my goal B
criteria goal is to improve
this)
• I will highlight/ • I will highlight/
underline the parts underline the parts of
of the task/question the task/question in
Responds to all parts
Response to in different colours different colours and
of the task fully
and then highlight my then make an essay
question answer to each part in plan which covers all
my final essay aspects of the question
• When I’ve finished my • I will check in my
Includes a clear essay, I will highlight/ notebook/ textbook or
position/thesis underline the position with another student
statement /purpose/ and outline statements for ideas on how to
outline in my introduction write clear position
statements and outlines
• I will ask myself: does • I will ask myself: have I
Presents relevant each point I make explained each point I
information which is relate directly to the make clearly, and have
well developed and question? I supported each point
supported with an example?

Volume 29 No 1 English Australia Journal 37

 Appendix C

Goal monitoring record sheet used in Cycle 3

This sheet was used for students to record their writing goals, methods, and progress. It was
designed to encourage self-directed study and monitoring of progress, but also incorporated
feedback from the teacher in the form of encouragement or tips relating to the methods
chosen. An example of one student’s completed sheet can be seen at the bottom of this page.

Name: ..................................

1) Date: ................................

Goal (based on essay Result – did this help me

Method
criteria) get a higher score?

2) Date: ................................

Goal (based on essay Method Result – did this help me

criteria) get a higher score?

38 English Australia Journal Volume 29 No 1

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