A TWO-FOLDED PERSPECTIVE ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE ONLINE COURSES AND ASSESSMENT
A TWO-FOLDED PERSPECTIVE ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE ONLINE COURSES AND ASSESSMENT

Summary/Abstract: There are several approaches to learning but the ones that mostly stand out are the surface and the deep approach. The surface approach to learning is evaluated using methods that are mostly traditional, based on rote learning and not so much on communication abilities,such as multiple choice questions, true / false statements, open-ended questions referring to the studied material, etc. The deep approach to learning presupposes more complex means of evaluation in accordance with the competencies it aims to develop in the students. This is a kind of evaluation based on performance testing using authentic situations that assess the students’ abilities to cope in collaborative, workspecific, task-based, performance-centered assessments. All these types of tests have been adapted to the on-line environment for different subjects, but further study is needed when discussing foreign language learning experiences, as well as formal educational settings. The focus of the present paper is to analyze the ways in which all the above-mentioned kinds of tests can be used for the foreign language study programs. Special attention is paid to the role of collaborative tasks both in the learning process as well as in the assessment procedures. We shall focus on three types of evaluation: placement, progress and end-of-course assessments and we shall analyze the ways in which these kinds of tests can be adapted to the online environment, what the advantages and strong points may be and what drawbacks may appear that may be general for all domains of study or specific to the study of foreign languages.

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