Alternative assessment of reading skills in foreign language teaching

Recenzowane materiały z konferencji z okazji jubileuszu 70-lecia prof. dr. hab. Władysława Miodunki: O lepsze jutro studiów polonistycznych w świecie; 2015-06-18; 2015-06-20; Kraków. Streszcz. po ang.

The article is concerned with alternative forms of assessing reading comprehension in the foreign language classroom. Although traditional reading tests remain an important instrument for testing reading skills and are widely used in high-stakes testing situations, they have significant limitations because of their primary focus on the product of reading comprehension. Alternative assessment tools appear to complement more traditional approaches by providing insight into the reading process, helping to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses, integrating assessment with instruction and promoting autonomous learning. Among the alternative assessment instruments which may prove valuable in both developing and assessing the reading skills of students are: observing students’ behaviour, miscue analysis, think-aloud protocols and introspection, interviews and class discussions, reading logs, reading rate charts, project work and task-based assessment, proficiency level descriptors, self-assessment and language portfolios. It is not necessary to implement all of these ideas during each language course. Instead, their selection should depend on the context in which reading instruction takes place.