269 / 2018-08-31 23:27:07

Students’ Perceptions of Summary Writing as an Assessment Task in the Chinese EFL Reading Context

summary writing,assessment task,student perceptions,Chinese EFL reading context

全体主题 > 面向教学的语言测试与评价

While summary writing has been extensively researched as a task in large-scale tests, relatively few studies have been conducted on the use of summary writing as an assessment task in classroom settings. The present study investigates the use of summary writing as an assessment task in a Chinese EFL reading class. Fifty-six students in an eighteen-week reading course in China participated in the study. They wrote a summary of a passage of around 800 words as a weekly assignment to check their understandings of the passage. Near the end of the course, their perceptions of summary writing as an assessment task of reading were collected through reflective journals. Results showed that the students were positive about the role of summary writing in cultivating their metacognitive awareness of EFL reading, facilitating their development of self-regulated reading habits, and enhancing their self-efficacy about reading. Nonetheless, they were doubtful about the usefulness of summary writing as an assessment task for generating sufficient and valid information about their reading performance. The results were discussed with reference to the Assessment Use Argument approach to the design of assessment tasks, with pedagogical implications drawn.