Assessment for Learning in the Acquisition of Vocabulary in the English Classroom

Setting

Helen Valeria Corredor Pabon

Oscar Ricardo Amortegui

Universidad Pedagógica Nacional

Facultad de Humanidades

Departamento de Lenguas

2023
The research problem statement

Contextualization of the research problem

The Magdalena Ortega de Nariño school is a female public school that encompasses

both primary and secondary education levels. In the afternoon shift, it has been identified

that teachers must cover a majority of subjects including English, even if they are not experts

in that subject. Unfortunately, this has resulted in a lack of a designated teacher for the

English language, thereby leading to a misalignment between the grade levels and the

English proficiency of students, particularly in second grade.

Moreover, the assessment practices in the English language curriculum primarily rely

on summative evaluations, with limited incorporation of formative assessment strategies.

This predominant reliance on summative assessment may not effectively measure the

ongoing progress and understanding of students, hindering their optimal language

development, especially in the acquisition of vocabulary. So, this proposal seeks to answer

the following research question: To what extent does the implementation of formative

assessment impact the vocabulary acquisition of second-grade students in the EFL

classroom at MAONA School?

Context

Contextualization of the school

The school where the investigation takes place is called Magdalena Ortega de

Nariño (MAONAIED) and it is situated at Carrera 69 B N. 78 A – 36 in the 10th locality of

Engativá, Bogotá. This is a public school, conformed only by female students. The school is

located in the industrialized neighborhood of Las Ferias, characterized by a stratification

level of two and three. In the vicinity of the institution, there is a district school named Juan

del Corral, which is a coeducational establishment, and various commercial enterprises,

predominantly motorcycle stores. In terms of accessibility, the school is conveniently located

near Avenue 68, Ferias Transmilenio stations, and several SITP bus stops.

Magdalena Ortega de Nariño school is an institution consisting of three school shifts

—morning, afternoon, and evening classes— enrolling approximately one thousand six

hundred students across all shifts. The academic staff comprises thirty-eight educators and

six school administrators in the head of school. Regarding the facilities, each classroom is

equipped with essential elements, including a television, a materials shelf, two boards in

elementary classrooms, and a table with a chair designated for each student. Furthermore,

the institution features two technology laboratories, recreation areas, a nursery room, and a

cafeteria. It is noteworthy, however, that there is an absence of green spaces within and

around the institution. In terms of security measures, the school maintains a contingent of

four security guards.

The mission of MAONA’S school is “to provide a competent educational service for

the benefit of the training of women, young people and competent adults and the vision is to

be a suitable space with a high level of humanity, social and cognitive quality” (Magdalena

Ortega de Nariño, 2022). According to the official documents of the school, they mention that

“the school fosters its students to achieve a set of virtues: integrity, autonomy, critical

women, entrepreneur, engaged, sensitive, respect, assertive, perseverant, responsible,

studious and grateful” (Magdalena Ortega de Nariño, 2022).

Description of the participants

Concerning the population of this action research, they belong to second grade; there

are twenty-four girls, their age range is from 7 to 9. The socio-economic strata is between

two and three among the students. The second grade students take one hour and a half of

English per week that is taught by the same professor of all the subjects, except technology

and physical education. The main teacher in the interview has mentioned that he has a

degree in physical education, therefore the students do not have an EFL teacher.
 In order to know about the second grade population, two instruments were used, the

first one is field notes which helped to get the numbers of students and the second one is

questionnaires that were applied in order to identify students' perspectives about English

classes and their interests. Most of them express an interest in learning English classes and

… like to participate in dynamic activities such as singing, dancing, drawing or writing, in the

questionnaires made. However, it is crucial to note that the girls' learning experience in

English and other subjects has been characterized by inconsistency and interruptions,

primarily attributable to the frequent turnover of teachers. Therefore, the tenured teacher

reinforced subjects like Spanish and Mathematics because some girls have no Phonemic

awareness and they only copy and write when the teacher writes on the board, but they do

not distinguish sounds.

Research question:

To what extent does the implementation of formative assessment impact the

vocabulary acquisition of second-grade students in the EFL classroom at MAONA school?

General Objective

Evaluate the impact of formative assessment in the vocabulary acquisition of second-

grade students in the EFL classroom at MAONA school

Specific Objectives

● Designed classes with Assessment for Learning that generate an impact in

vocabulary acquisition.

● Analyze the effectiveness of formative assessment in the students’ vocabulary

acquisition.
Literature Review

For the research, it is essential to have support in previous studies that develop the

main topics in this investigation. Therefore, this section of the document presents seven

previous studies that will give an overview of the characteristics and results of working with

the idea of formative assessment, vocabulary acquisition in EFL and self-regulation

strategies.

Formative assessment

To begin with, the first project, The Formative Assessment Techniques in the

Classroom as an English Learning Strategy in the Basic Primary of the Manacal Rural

School by Arenas (2022), is a qualitative research model with an ethnographic approach and

a quasi-ethnographic research design. It worked with 26 fourth and fifth graders students in

the Manacal Rural School. This study aimed to improve the reading comprehension of the

basic primary Manacal Rural School students by implementing the Formative Assessment

Techniques in the Classroom. The findings in this research show that teachers implemented

formative assessment intuitively, as part of the class, incorporating some aspects of

formative assessment in their teaching processes. With respect to students’ English level, …

is deficient. Finally, it is important to mention that in this study both students and teachers

need a change in the way they assess, and in reading comprehension to be more effective

when assessing or preparing students for tests.

This project is relevant for the present study because it evidences, through different

arguments, the necessity of implementing formative assessment not only in the particular

school context but also in all the schools that have traditional ways to assess. Hence,

Formative Assessment Techniques in the Classroom are essential when assessing

children's performance to give an effective assessment of their process and students’

learning. Since at MAONA, as it was mentioned, the teacher applies some aspects of
formative assessment, however, there is not an effective way to assess children vocabulary

acquisition.

The second research, Formative Assessment in Efl Classroom Practices by

Widiastuti & Saukah (2017), included three junior high school English teachers and three

junior high school students with the criteria that the teachers have been teaching English in

junior high schools ranging from 2 to more than 10 years. This study aimed to investigate

teachers’ understanding of formative assessment and the actions taken after the

implementation of this type of assessment in order to observe if teachers’ understanding has

an influence in their actions in the classroom.

Regarding the findings, the teachers’ understanding of formative assessment has not

a unique conception about the purposes and what it implies. Nevertheless, there is not an

accurate understanding and still is not sufficient. Regarding feedback, the data points out

that teachers have difficulties in finding the appropriate ways of giving feedback with the

purpose that students would be aware about their learning process. Additionally, the results

showed that the English teachers do some follow up actions, however, due to their low

understanding of formative assessment there are not big changes because they also feel

pressure in the schools to have scores. This study indicates that EFL teachers need urgent

further intensive training on the appropriate implementation of formative assessment and

how follow up actions should be integrated into classroom practices.

The study previously reviewed is important for this project because it reveals that

formative assessment, despite its importance, has not been thoroughly researched and

implemented in schools. This gap in understanding, particularly among teachers,

subsequently gives rise to challenges in effectively evaluating students' learning processes.

Finally, the third study, Formative assessment as a means of encouraging teenagers

english language learning (Rodríguez & Leguizamón, 2015), was conducted with an English

class at a school in Bogotá. This study aimed to analyze the teenagers’ attitudes and
behaviors towards formative assessment, and the use of prior knowledge as a basis to

assess English Language Learning (ELL). The findings suggest that by using Formative

Assessment, perceptions towards English learning can change, at the beginning learners

were not aware of the role English played in their life; at the end more than half of …

highlighted the relevance of English in their education.

This research reveals the importance of implementing Formative Assessment in

students' learning since it helps them to be conscious of their learning process and take

actions in order to enhance their performance in … English classes. Therefore, this research

gives the perspective that implementing formative assessment can impact on the students’

learning of vocabulary acquisition.

Vocabulary in EFL

In the work of Cormane (2021), … carried out an investigation in which the

population is a second grade from IED Prado Veraniego School, the range of age is from 6

to 9 years old. The main aim was “To analyze the improvement of Vocabulary Learning

through activities framed within Multimodality in the grade 201 at the IED Prado Veraniego”

(2021, p. 17). The data was collected from field notes, videos, and artifacts as production

from students. Related to the findings in this research, … were that the use of multimodality

improved the learning of vocabulary in students. Therefore, the first objective was reached

because students proved to learn vocabulary thanks to the motivation, excitement, and fun

atmosphere that the different activities within multimodality brought to the class. Regarding

the images, … helped students to interpret the meaning of words and learn better

vocabulary. Hence, the images are a useful tool to enhance the vocabulary learning process

of students due to all the characteristics and benefits of using images in the English class.

This project is relevant for the present study because it evidences how children

acquire vocabulary in the EFL through multimodality and give ideas … how to teach

vocabulary in EFL classrooms.

 In the second study, Enhancing vocabulary learning through two different techniques

from a PPP approach by Ocampo (2019), was conducted with a fourth-grade group (405)

composed of 38 students with ages among 8 and 10 years old, all of them are girls. The

research general objective is “To analyze the incidence of using decontextualizing and semi-

contextualizing vocabulary learning techniques in the process of vocabulary learning of 405

students of Liceo Femenino Mercedes Nariño” (2019, p. 19). The data was gathered by

observation in order to analyze and describe the classroom environment, the participants’

learning processes, behaviors and knowledge, surveys and artifacts that are worksheets.

Regarding the findings, it was possible to establish that the students' vocabulary learning

process was developed in an organized manner. Additionally, the use of the two different

techniques allowed establishing an order in the way of presenting the contents, starting from

the simplest exercise to the most complex. Finally, it was possible to determine the

relevance of using the presentation-practice-production approach.

This project reveals the importance of implementing a PPP approach when teaching

vocabulary. However, it is essential to mention that this study is relevant for the present

study because it shows that the students’ vocabulary learning process must be developed

following a structured way, taking into account their level, age, context, and so on.

Self-regulation strategies

For instance, the first project, Self-regulation in learning, motivation and learning

environments: Great challenges for learning the English language by Viveros, Mahecha, &

Conejo (2022), took place in an institution in Buenaventura-Colombia and the participants

were high school students. The instruments used to collect information were semi-structured

interviews and the focus group. The interpretation of the results was analyzed through the

triangulation of the information. The findings in this study were important shortcomings both

in the teaching methodology and in learning strategies and environments. Regarding self-

regulation in learning, it is important to mention that it is a strategy that not only helps and
facilitates learning but also allows students to gain independence and autonomy while

learning. On the other hand, emotions and motivation are aspects of man and represent an

intrinsic force that moves him towards his objectives.

The relevance of this research in the present investigation is the importance of self-

regulation students when they implement and they develop independence and autonomy

while learning that it is an important point in formative assessment.

Shing & Rameli (2020) research attempted to highlight the influence of self-regulation

strategies in primary students’ academic achievement in English in Johor Bahru. The study

took place in Chinese primary schools in Johor Bahru with a population of 389 Primary 4 and

Primary 5 students. The data was collected from a Self-Regulated Learning Questionnaire.

The findings showed there is significant influence of self-regulation towards upper primary

students’ academic achievement in English during the forethought and performance phase.

On the other hand, the results indicate that female students are more self-regulated than

males in learning. Finally, during the three phases there is a difference of self-regulation in

learning English across student achievement levels, which are the forethought phase,

performance phase and self-reflective phase. The findings of the study provide instructional

implications for teachers and English language learners, as well as to enrich the current

empirical research data in Malaysia context.

This study helps this present research to take into account the self-regulation

strategies in students’ learning when teachers are going to implement formative assessment

in EFL classrooms because there is an element within formative assessment which is self-

assessment where students need to be conscious of their learning and academic

achievement.
Theoretical Framework

For this research, three main concepts will be developed, Formative Assessment,

Vocabulary in EFL and Self-regulation Strategies. First, Formative Assessment will be

described because it is the main concept that leads this research. Second, Vocabulary in

EFL classroom and finally, Self-regulation Strategies because this concept is linked with self-

assessment, a manifestation of formative assessment.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment is one of the two main types of assessment carried out in

classroom learning practices. This type of assessment has not an agreement in their

definitions, therefore, there is a lack of empirical evidence concerning formative practices

which does not allow to demonstrate positive effects (Dunn & Mulvenon, 2009).

Black and Wiliam (1998) defined formative assessment as “all those activities

undertaken by teachers, and/or by their students, which provide information to be used as

feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged” (p. 10). In

the same way, Cowie & Bell state that formative assessment is “the process used by

teachers and students to recognise and respond to student learning in order to enhance that

learning, during the learning” (1999, p.32). It is essential to mention that in this type of

assessment, students and teachers seek to improve the learning and the teaching process

and as it is a process is a sequence of activities during the learning process and not is

focused only on the final product. In this sense, Shepard, Hammerness, Darling-Hammond,

Rust, Snowden, Gordon, Gutierrez, & Pacheco (2005) point out this is an “assessment

carried out during the instructional process for the purpose of improving teaching or learning”

(2005, p. 275).

Looney (2005) adds to formative assessment that it is an “interactive assessment of

students’ progress and understanding to identify learning needs and adjust teaching

appropriately (2005, p. 21). On the other hand, Kahl (2005) offers a broader definition of
Formative assessment as “a tool that teachers use to measure students grasp of specific

topics and skills they are teaching. It’s a ‘midstream’ tool to identify specific student

misconceptions and mistakes while the material is being taught” (2005, p.11). Hence, it is

evidence that the implementation of formative assessment will help learning and teachers

take actions in their teaching practices.

It is important to mention that Formative Assessment is also called Assessment for

Learning that embodies additional points of view. In this sense, Broadfoot et al. (1999)

suggest:

The term ‘formative’ itself is open to a variety of interpretations and often means no

more than that assessment is carried out frequently and is planned at the same time

as teaching. Such assessment does not necessarily have all the characteristics just

identified as helping learning. It may be formative in helping the teacher to identify

areas where more explanation or practice is needed. But for the pupils, the marks or

remarks on their work may tell them about their success or failure but not about how

to make progress towards further learning. (1999, p. 7)

Therefore, they defined Assessment for learning as “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” (Broadfoot et al., 2002, p.

2-3).

Therefore, Assessment for learning is defined as any assessment for which the first

priority in its design and practice is to serve the purposes of accountability, or of ranking, or

of certifying competence. An assessment activity can help learning if it provides information

that teachers and their students can use as feedback in assessing themselves and one

another and in modifying the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged.

Such assessment becomes “formative assessment” when the evidence is actually used to
adapt the teaching work to meet learning needs. (Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall & Wiliam,

2004 p. 10).

Vocabulary in EFL

Vocabulary is a specific component in language acquisition. In this section, it is going to

expose some conceptions of what vocabulary is in EFL.

In this sense, Richards and Renandya (2002) point out that “Vocabulary is a core

component of language proficiency and provides much of the basis for how well learners

speak, listen, read, and write” (p.255). This definition gives a first insight of the importance of

vocabulary in learning a new vocabulary because it provides the basis of the development of

the skills in a language. Therefore, if there is a lack of vocabulary knowledge, the

understanding and achievement of an EFL learner will be limited because they are not going

to be able to express their ideas and comprend what others communicate. To support that,

Abrudan (2010) states that “If language structures make up the skeleton of a language, the

vocabulary provides the flesh and the vital organs” (p.270).

Concerning the importance of vocabulary within language learning, Krashen, as cited

in Lewis (1993) states “First, a large vocabulary is of course essential for mastery of a

language. Second language acquirers know this; they carry dictionaries with them, not

grammar books, and regularly report that the lack of vocabulary is a major problem’’ (p.25).

This idea gives the point of view that acquiring vocabulary knowledge is important in order to

become a proficient language learner.

The above ideas support the idea of developing vocabulary acquisition in EFL

classrooms by implementing effective assessment for learning in order to enhance pupils'

performance and their progress in the language learning. It is important to build a vocabulary

not as a set of words but as contextualized words in order to become a proficient language

speaker with a wider and deeper vocabulary knowledge.

Self-regulation strategies

The development into a self-regulated individual involves four levels: observation,

emulative, self-control, and self-regulation (Schunk & Zimmerman, 1997). On the other hand,

Zimmerman (2002) states that self regulation is “focused on what students needed to know

about themselves in order to manage their limitations during efforts to learn” (p. 65). In this

sense, Zimmerman (2002) points out “Self-regulation is not a mental ability or an academic

performance skill; rather it is the self directed process by which learners transform their

mental abilities into academic skills.” (2002, p. 65). This definition reveals that self-regulation

in learning is a process in which students are going to develop skills in order to enhance

their academic progress. Additionally, Zimmerman, as cited in Zimmerman (2002) states

“self-regulation refers to self-generated thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are oriented to

attaining goals”. (p. 65).

On the other hand, motivation is included in self-regulation as a key component in the

learning process. As Zumbrunn, Tadlock and Roberts (2011) have pointed:

“When students are motivated to learn, they are more likely to invest the necessary

time and energy needed to learn and apply appropriate SRL skills, and when

students are able to successfully employ self-regulation strategies, they are often

more motivated to complete learning tasks”. (pp. 8-9)

Based on that, it is important that students have motivation learning English to

develop self-regulation strategies which will help them to monitor their language learning

progress in an effective way.

References

Abrudan, C. (2010). Vocabulary and Language Teaching. Annals of the University of

Oradea: Economic Science.

Arenas, A. (2022). The formative assessment techniques in the classroom as an

English learning strategy in the basic primary of the Manacal rural school. [Proyecto de

investigación]. Repositorio Institucional UNAD.

https://repository.unad.edu.co/handle/10596/51419

Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in

Education, 5(1), 7-74.

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), 8-21.

Broadfoot, P. M., Daugherty, R., Gardner, J., Gipps, C. V., Harlen, W., James, M., &

Stobart, G. (1999). Assessment for learning: beyond the black box. Cambridge, UK:

University of Cambridge School of Education.

Broadfoot, P. M., Daugherty, R., Gardner, J., Harlen, W., James, M., & Stobart, G.

(2002). Assessment for learning: 10 principles. Cambridge, UK: University of Cambridge

School of Education.

Cowie, B., & Bell, B. (1999). A model of formative assessment in science education.

Assessment in Education: Principles Policy and Practice, 6(1), 32-42.

Cormane, S. E. (2021). Vocabulary Learning through Activities Framed within

Multimodality.. Recuperado de: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12209/13422.

Dunn, K. E., & Mulvenon, S. W. 2009. A Critical Review of Research on

Formative Assessments: The Limited Scientific Evidence of the Impact of Formative

Assessments in Education. Practical Assessment & Research and Evaluation,14 (7): 1-11

Kahl, S. (2005) Where in the world are formative tests? Right under your nose!

Education Week, 25(4), 11.

 Lewis, M. (1993), The Lexical Approach, Hove: Language Teaching Publications.

Looney, J. (Ed.). (2005). Formative assessment: improving learning in secondary

classrooms. Paris, France: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Ocampo, C. (2019). Enhancing vocabulary learning through two different techniques

from a PPP approach.. Recuperado de: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12209/10398

Richards, J. C. and W. A. Renandya. (eds.). 2002. Methodology in Language

Teaching: An Anthology of. Current Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University.

Rodríguez Cuervo, A. L. & Leguizamón Lesmes, J. P. (2015). Formative assessment

as a means of encouraging teenagers english language learning. Recuperado de:

http://hdl.handle.net/11349/15165 .

Schunk, Dale & Zimmerman, Barry. (1997). Social origin of self-regulatory

competence. Educational Psychologist - EDUC PSYCHOL. 32. 195-208.

10.1207/s15326985ep3204_1.

Shepard, L. A., Hammerness, K., Darling-Hammond, L., Rust, F., Snowden, J. B.,

Gordon, E., Gutierrez, C., & Pacheco, A. (2005). Assessment. In L. Darling-Hammond & J.

Bransford (Eds.), Preparing teachers for a changing world: what teachers should learn and

be able to do (pp. 275-326). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Shing, L.S., & Rameli, M.R. (2020). The Influence of Self-Regulation towards

Academic Achievement in English among Malaysian Upper Primary Students. Universal

Journal of Educational Research, 8, 1-11.

Viveros, T., Mahecha, J. y Conejo, F. (2022). Self-regulation in learning, motivation

and learning environments: Great challenges for learning the English language. Conejo, F.

(Eds.) Experiencias aplicadas en autorregulación del aprendizaje : Aspectos metacognitivos

para la educación actual. (pp. 157 - 178). Corporación Universitaria Minuto de Dios -

UNIMINUTO.
 Widiastuti, Sri & Saukah, Ali. (2017). FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN EFL

CLASSROOM PRACTICES. Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni dan

Pengajarannya. 45. 050-063. 10.17977/um015v45i12017p050

Zimmerman, Barry. (2002). Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner: An Overview.

Theory Into Practice. 41. 64-70. 10.1207/s15430421tip4102_2.

Zumbrunn, Tadlock & Roberts. (2011). Encouraging Self-Regulated Learning in the

Classroom: a review of the Literature. . Virginia Commonwealth University.

What kind of methodology are you planning to use in your classes? Check the

communicative approach principles or task-based learning. Include this approach in

the theoretical framework. What kind of activities are you planning to use? Design the

activities based on a specific methodology.

Do you think your intervention will affect exclusively vocabulary acquisition? Think about

it? Assessment has many implications on the learning process.

Work on the corrections I have made. Check them carefully. Be careful with countable and

uncountable nouns.

4.6