Presented by Dr. Larry Vandergrift
- Checklist to guide listening performance (.pdf)
- Self-assessment checklist for Level B1 (CEFR)(.pdf)
- Guide for Listening (.pdf)
- Worksheet for Discovery Listening (Wilson, 2003) (.pdf)
- Activity ‘Strange but true!’ (.pdf)
- Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire (MALQ) (.pdf)
- References Page (.pdf)
The word assessment comes from the Latin assidere, meaning to sit beside. This notion evokes the image of learner and teacher working together to improve learning and teaching. Involving learners in assessment helps them reflect on their learning, set goals, monitor progress, and regularly evaluate their goals. In the case of listening, learners become aware of the cognitive processes and develop greater metacognitive awareness of listening to help them better regulate their comprehension processes. This leads to greater learner investment and motivation and, ultimately, autonomous language learners.
Comprehension, the product of listening, can be assessed by a variety of informal and formal methods. In this webinar, we will examine and discuss a number of examples of formative assessment of listening. We will then discuss some issues related to these examples, as well as some well-known examples of summative assessment, in light of five important criteria: 1) validity; 2) reliability; 3) authenticity; 4) washback; and 5) practicality.
1. Reflect on assessment of listening
- Your challenges
- Listening assessment in Louise’s classroom
- Formative and summative approaches to assessment
- decision to make
- audience for each
2. Briefly discuss relationship between formative assessment and development of metacognitive knowledge about L2 listening
3. Examine different formative assessment tasks and instruments for listening development
- Core of the webinar
- Be sure to download the webinar attachments so you can follow along as I explain how the instruments/tasks work and how they develop listener metacognitive knowledge
4. Clarification questions on the tasks and instruments
5. Discuss some fundamental issues related to listening assessment
6. Question and answer session
Larry Vandergrift is a recently retired Professor from the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute at the University of Ottawa. He has published widely on listening, particularly the role of metacognition in successful L2 listening. He has recently published a book, with Christine Goh, entitled Teaching and Learning Second Language Listening: Metacognition in Action. He has also been a co-editor of the Canadian Modern Language Review. In 2009, the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers honored him with the Robert Roy Award for his teaching, research, writing and dedication to the improvement of L2 teaching and learning in Canada.