THE 4 TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL TESOL CONFERENCE Ho Chi Minh city, 29-31 August 2013

1. FOSTERING LEARNER AUTONOMY THROUGH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES IN A “CRITICAL READING” CLASS THE 4TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL TESOL CONFERENCE Ho Chi Minh city, 29-31 August 2013 Trịnh Ngọc Anh M.A Banking Academy of Viet Nam ngocanh1211@gmail.com

2. ABSTRACT This paper ultimately aims to highlight the interdependent bond between Learner Autonomy (LA) and Formative Assessment (FA) activities within the discipline of Critical Reading taught to English-major students at Banking Academy of Viet Nam. It commences with theoretical insights into the notions of LA and FA on the sound basis of related research, and subsequently deals with a number of following tasks: (1) describing the implementation process of FA  in teaching and learning practices within and out of classroom, which plays as a crucial setting for the enhancement of LA; (2) exploring the facets of LA through a set of the mentioned strategies.(3) proposing several recommendations to create the most fruitful conditions for LA to flourish. In order to well address these issues, three surveys of “Pre-treatment”, “While-treatment” and “Post-treatment” were administered to 80 students of three “Critical reading” classes at different points of time within the course. The findings suggest that students’ autonomous learning has been gradually progressed during the course, in particular when undertaking FA tasks. In turn, the efficiency of FA could be, to certain extent, valued by the degree of LA in learning performances. What is more, institutional and teacher factors that are likely to hinder the development of LA are also clarified. Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

3. 1 3 2 4 Recommendations and Conclusion PRESENTATION OUTLINE Introduction to the research context Literature review The bond between FA and LA 5 Q&A Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

4. I. Introduction to the research context I.1. Student background 80 students of post-intermediate level in 3 classes • have mastered basic and IELTS reading skills through 2 previous modules. • have possessed a team working capacity • have owned paragraph writing skill I.2. Module introduction (see the handout 1) • Module aims: To enable students to • develop their critical skills (i.e. analysis, synthesis and evaluation) through academic reading concepts (i.e. rhetorical devices, facts, opinions, tone, purpose, bias, argument) • foster their understanding of more complicated literature patterns • exercise their critical skills in the study of other disciplines Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

5. I. Introduction to the research context • Teaching& Learning: Under the employment of formative assessment strategies • Alternation between lecture time and practice time • Alternation between independent and collaborative learning modes • Frequent use of questioning and discussion • Frequent use of mini-test Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

6. I. Introduction to the research context • Module assessment Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

7. GUIDE TO GROUP WORK PERFORMANCE

8. II. Literature review II. 1. Learner Autonomy (LA) • Definitions: • “the ability to take charge of one’s learning” • “to have, and to hold all the responsibility for all the decisions concerning all aspects of this learning: • determining the objectives; • defining the contents and progressions; • selecting methods and techniques to be used; • monitoring the procedure of acquisition properly speaking (rhythm, time, place, etc); • evaluating what has been acquired” (Holec, 1981, p.3, as cited in Nguyen, 2011) Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

9. II. Literature review II. 1. Learner Autonomy (LA) • Definitions: • as the capacity to take control over one’s own learning” • as a multidimensional capacity in different forms for different individuals, and for the same individuals this capacity may differ depending on the context. • does not mean learning in isolation without peers and a teacher, but develop a sense of interdependence towards shared goals (Benson, 2001, p. 2) Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

10. II. Literature review II. 1. Learner Autonomy (LA) • Definitions: • ability and willingness to make choices independently” (Littlewood, 1996, p. 97) • capacity for detachment, critical reflection, decision-making, and independent action” (Little, 1991, p. 4) • ability to learn without the involvement of a teacher (Dickinson, 1987, p. 11) Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

11. II. Literature review II. 1. Learner Autonomy (LA) The researchers mention different attributes of LA but hold the same view on the central one which is the self- awareness, self-responsibility and the aptitude of directing, regulating and managing one’s own learning process. Multiple variations in defining LA under four main different perspectives: psychological, technical, socio-cultural and political-critical (Benson, 1997, 2006; Healy, 2007; Sin-clair, 2000; Oxford, 2003; as cited in Dang, 2012). Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

12. In the current paper, LA is • defined as the faculty of self- monitoring, self-regulating, self-evaluating of and self- reflecting upon learning products, progress and outcomes through formative assessment practices in collaboration with peers as well as under teacher facilitation. • linked closely with autonomous learning (since once learners exercise their autonomy in their learning, learning has become autonomous and vice versa) Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

13. II. Literature review II. 1. Learner Autonomy (LA) • Benefits • learners’ active participation in classroom activities (Benson, 2007; Dam, 1995; Dang, 2012; Natri, 2007; Nunes, 2004; Rao, 2005; Nguyen, 2009,) • increased learner motivation (Lee, 1996; Tagaki,2003, as cited in Nguyen, 2009) • enhanced responsibility for learning (Cunningham& Carlton, 2003; Mizuki, 2003; Stephenson& Kohyama,2003, as cited in ibid) • advanced language proficiency (Champagne et al., 2001; Dam& Legenhausen, 1996; Dafei, 2007; Little, 2007) Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

14. II. Literature review II. 2. Formative Assessment (FA) • Definitions • encompasses all activities undertaken by teachers and/ or by students to generate feedbacks on performance to accelerate learning and modify teaching (Sadler, 1998 cited in Mwebaza, 2005). • “What makes formative assessment formative is that it is immediately used to make adjustments so as to form new learning” (Shepard , 2008, p. 281) Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

15. II. Literature review II. 2. Formative Assessment (FA) • Definitions • a sort of AFL which is defined 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 next, and how best to get them there” ( as cited in the booklet “Assessment for Learning: 10 principles” (2002) by The Assessment Reform Group, UK) • an integral part of the learning and teaching process, and evidence is actually used to modify teaching to meet students’ needs and improve learning (Black &William ,1998) Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

16. Summative Assessment (SA) v.s Formative Assessment (FA) SA FA allows learners to attain more opportunities for self-regulated learning and learning ownership since they are actively involved in shaping subsequent steps of learning (Black and William, 1998). places a stress on the process of learning and deals with informing the learning progress and teaching efficacy through evidence of feedback. • provides an overall picture of student competence and program effectiveness for the main purpose of making final judgments • places a stress on the end product of learning Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

17. II. Literature review II. 2. Formative Assessment (FA) • shows more remarkable strengths in benefiting learners, teachers and administrative bodies. • functions as directions for teaching and learning through providing feedbacks. Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

18. The bond between LA and FA • LA and FA share a striking attribute that nominates learners to the spotlight and helps advance learning process. HOWEVER, • Little emphasis has been placed on this bond, hence, quite a few studies on LA in connection with Assessment have been conducted. The reason may lie in the common assumption that LA is boosted through learning practices detaching from assessment. Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

19. II. Literature review II.3. Critical Reading • Definitions • an analytic activity in which readers identify “patterns of elements - information, values, assumptions, and language usage throughout the discussion. These elements are tied together in an interpretation, an assertion of an underlying meaning of the text as a whole” (Kurlan, D., 2000). • a more active way of reading. It is a deeper and more complex engagement with a text. It involves a process of analyzing, interpreting and, sometimes evaluating the larger meanings of a text and how those meanings are created by the text” (Duncan, J. (2004) Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

20. II. Literature review II.3. Critical Reading “Critical Reading” is closely connected with “higher-order thinking” skill and requires much mental power. It is not merely the task of reading for memorizing bits of information and knowledge, but “the act of analyzing and evaluating what you are reading as you progress, or as you reflect back” (Flemming, G., 2005) Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

21. III. The bond between FA and LA III. 1. FA activities - degree of frequency - facets of LA ( Please see further in the handout ) Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

22. III. The bond between FA and LAIII.2. Discussion from survey findings LA , in the present paper , could be viewed under three following perspectives: • Psychological Perspective (Benson, 2006): a capacity of initiating, monitoring and regularly evaluating their learning process (Little, 1990, 2003, as cited in Dang, 2010, p. 3) with clear objectives and goals set in advance (Purdie, Hattie, & Douglas, 1996; Schunk& Zimmerman, 1994, as cited in ibid). Additionally, a critical reflection upon created materials , course, and quests for significant changes (Rivers, 2001, as cited in ibid) • Technical Perspective (Benson, 2006): a “situation” where learners are completely responsible for the performance of their learning activities (Dickinson, 1987, as cited in ibid) and free with abundant resource choices. • Sociocutural perspective (Benson, 2006; Oxford, 2003): a socially-shaped variable (Smith& Ushioda, 2009, as cited in ibid) constructed during students’ negotiation with learning environment in which exists the teacher and peers. Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

23. III. The bond between FA and LAIII.3. Module students as autonomous learners The students in the case are characterised as autonomous learners who: • have experienced a gradual shift from reactive autonomy to proactive autonomy (Littlewood, 1999) • own a range of following characteristics: being ready to cope with learning challenges, taking control of their own learning by choosing and creating learning materials, evaluating their learning progress and process, interacting and collaborating with peers. Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

24. III. The bond between FA and LAIII.3. Module students as autonomous learners These attributes of autonomous learners in the current study share some similarities with what put forward by Boud (1988) and Nunan (1997) when they feature autonomous learners and the development process of LA (Nunan’s five- level model of LA - Nunan, 1997, p. 195, as cited in Dang, 2012, p. 54)

25. IV. Recommendations and Conclusion • Like any East Asian learners of English as a foreign language, Vietnamese learners have with confronted with huge challenges in developing their learning autonomy due to the rigid “top-down” educational and training system as well as the conventional approach of teacher authority. Hence, as Littlewood(1999) claim they tend to demonstrate autonomy in the private rather than in the public domain. • Creating the environment for the flourish of LA is not an “overnight” job. It needs much in teachers’ perception and practice since the development of LA depends on the development of teacher autonomy (Little, 2000, p. 45), or as Breen (1997, p104) states that “an essential precondition for the teacher to be able to foster autonomous learning is an explicit awareness of the teacher’s own self as a learner”. Once the gap in the teaching and learning roles has been bridged, there will definitely be a rise in LA. Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

26. IV. Recommendations and Conclusion Although the subject matter of LA has received increasing interest from worldwide and Vietnamese researchers, particular study cases have not been much investigated. This present paper aims to highlight the interdependent relationship between LA and FA in English language learning through illustrating a formative assessment framework of a discipline within a tertiary context. It is suggested that further studies place more emphasis on LA in practice in such specific cases so that teachers and other stakeholders could promote it through their practical work on a regular basis. Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com

27. V. Q&A Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - ngocanh1211@gmail.com