Tímarit um menntarannsóknir - 01.01.2009, Page 123

121
Tímarit um menntarannsóknir, 6. árgangur 2009
Breytingar á uppeldissýn í leikskóla
steady and frequent, focus on listening and
speaking in English, and gradually begin to
include reading comprehension and spelling.
Pupils should receive informative and positive
feedback (written and/or oral) about their
progress in the various English skill areas.
Self-assessment should be a part of overall
assessment along with teacher assessment
(Menntamálaráðuneytið, 2007).
The majority of the surveyed teachers in
grades 1-4 did not use formal assessment; instead
they reported using on-going assessment or
portfolios (Lefever, 2007). Many of them based
their assessment on the children’s participation
and their work over the course of the winter.
Some teachers gave written comments on
pupils’ report cards rather than letter or number
grades. However, a few teachers said they used
written tests, e.g. end of term tests, to assess the
children’s learning.
On the other hand, the findings from the
teacher survey in grades 5-7 showed that a
large majority of the teachers (85%) used
written tests to assess the pupils (Lefever,
2008a). Fewer than half of the teachers
reported using a combination of continuous
assessment and oral tests or activities. Once
again, few teachers said they used portfolio
or self-assessment (12.5%). Thus, assessment
practices at the primary level, as with the lower
secondary level, seemed to fall short of the
National Curriculum recommendations, since
formal written tests were widely used in grades
5-7 and even in a few cases in the lower grades.
Just as serious is the hesitancy of teachers
to implement more learner-centered and
performance-based methods such as portfolio
assessment and self-assessment.
Traditional written tests are deemed
unsatisfactory for a number of reasons. One of
their largest shortcomings is that they do not
include all skill areas such as the oral skills of
spoken interaction and production. It is also
difficult to assess creative writing, authentic-
like English use, and integrated language use
in a written test format. Written tests generally
consist of discrete items which test grammar
and vocabulary out of context or reading
comprehension and content area knowledge
with questions that are far removed from real-
life interaction. Perhaps most importantly,
written tests rarely focus on what students can
actually do in the language, and most students
do not see them as positive and motivating
(Alderson, 2002; Auður Torfadóttir, 2005;
Bachman & Palmer, 1996; McKay, 2002;
O’Malley & Valdez Pierce, 1996). Therefore,
the overreliance on traditional assessment
methods and the failure to introduce holistic,
learner-centered methods such as portfolio and
self-assessment are serious flaws in English
instruction at the compulsory school level.
Discussion
The findings of the Icelandic studies that look
at English teaching methods in compulsory
schools draw attention to a disparity between
communicative teaching methods recommended
by the National Curriculum Guide and those
used in English instruction. In grades 1-4, a
wide range of teaching methods were found
and teaching practices were generally in line
with the curriculum objectives for that level.
The majority of teachers put emphasis on using
songs and games in lessons and introducing
new vocabulary to learners. Most teachers
used conventional whole group instruction
and informal assessment methods for this age
group. Although teachers attempted to use
English in the classroom, more than half of
them said they used it less than half the time
during lessons.
In grades 5-10, the results of the studies
indicate that teachers tended to emphasize
traditional, text book-bound, teacher-directed
methods that primarily focused on listening
and reading in English, workbook use, and
grammar exercises. Much less emphasis seems
to be put on communicative activities. These
results are similar to those found in a survey
of 30 English teachers in Japan which showed
that teachers used most of the teaching time
for grammar instruction, vocabulary work and
reading aloud (Sakui, 2004). Although the