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A Review of Formative Language Assessment Research and Implications for Practitioners

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Innovation in Learning-Oriented Language Assessment

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Abstract

Formative assessment is any assessment that promotes students’ learning. Learner-centeredness is vital for formative assessment or assessment for learning to succeed. This chapter reviews the most recent research on formative language assessment and sums up the implications for practitioners. Database searches in the largest databases for educational research (ERIC and SCOPUS) with a combination of the keywords “formative”, “language” and “assessment” were conducted. The searches were limited to the last five years (2016–2021) and to peer-reviewed articles only. The analysis categorized the articles’ contents according to the nature of formative assessment (e.g., peer assessment, self-assessment, portfolio assessment), the mode of formative assessment (e.g., written, oral, multimodal), the context of formative assessment (e.g., country, class level, language subject, duration) and the methods used (e.g., observations, interviews, surveys). A final synthesis of the findings resulted in practical advice for practitioners and possible further avenues for research and development projects in schools.

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Correspondence to Tony Burner .

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Burner, T. (2023). A Review of Formative Language Assessment Research and Implications for Practitioners. In: Chong, S.W., Reinders, H. (eds) Innovation in Learning-Oriented Language Assessment. New Language Learning and Teaching Environments. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18950-0_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18950-0_2

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-18949-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-18950-0

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