Illuminating Learners' Voices: Inviting Learners to Share Responsibility in Developing Language Assessment Literacy

Abstract

To better understand learners’ language assessment literacy (LAL), which refers to stakeholders’ understanding and practice of language assessment, this study invited 14 adult English language learners to a series of LAL enhancement tasks. The tasks provided opportunities for them to discuss qualities of testing items and select formats, content, and item types to design a English-as a second language reading test. The participants also completed pre and post-study surveys regarding their perspectives on assessment experience and participated in focus-group interviews, which were audio-recorded and transcribed. Thematically analyzed, the initial data analysis revealed that learners have unique LAL to share with the researchers, and the LAL enhancement tasks motivated their interests in actively engaging in assessment as autonomous agents.