ASSESSMENT
ISSUES
IN
CLIL
ASSESSMENT PROCESSES
SUMMATIVE



Makes a judgement on the
capability of the learner at a
certain point in time
Leads to some form of infogiving to another party (ex.,
school management/parents)
It is associated with formal
testing (end-of-unit, final
result)
FORMATIVE

It is more complex

Its intention is diagnostic

It has an impact on the
learner’s next step

It is also formative for the
teacher, because it can alter
planning
CLARKE (2001)

SUMMATIVE
The simple
measurement of
a plant

FORMATIVE
The feeding
process which
leads to growth
AfL (Assessment for Learning)
Black, William, UK, 1998 – 2002
KEY PRINCIPLES
•
THE SHARING OF LEARNING INTENTIONS
Teachers tell students at the beginning of the lessons
what they will learn
•
THE USE OF SUCCESS CRITERIA
Students will be told what the task will involve and what
the outcome will contain
•
THE IMPORTANCE OF FEEDBACK
which affects the learner’s self-esteem and should
positively impact on motivation
We Will Focus On
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
WHY?
because it is to be used on a regular
basis
because it promotes learning and,
therefore, better summative results
because it is INSIDE, not OUTSIDE
the teaching/learning process/activities
because it is CONTINUOUS and within
classroom practice
MAYOR QUESTIONS
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
What do we assess? CONTENT or LANGUAGE?
In what language do we assess?
What tools can we use for assessment?
How can we assess previous knowledge and/or
progression?
How can we minimize the effects of the
language in the content assessment?
How can we evaluate the skills/processes?
How can/should we assess group work?
3 BASIC ISSUES
Do we assess
content, language,
or both?
Which is more
Important?
How do we do this?
(Who assesses,
When, how)
The fact is, that CLIL Units must have
CLEAR OBJECTIVES
What really matters is PRIORITY.
In my opinion, being CONTENT TEACHERS,
CLIL teachers should always have
CONTENT as dominant OBJECTIVE.
Then, of course, language will be learnt
in the process.
Therefore, CONTENT first, then LANGUAGE
1. ASSESSING CONTENT
Basic Principles
CONTENT OBJECTIVES
should be the same for
native or secondlanguage speakers
BUT
CLIL teachers should choose
a method of assessment
which uses the least
language
CONTENT is clear and wide
in the STUDENT’S MIND
BUT
When it comes to
communicating it to
someone else, MOUTHS
are SLOW
2. WHICH ASPECT of the CONTENT are we
ASSESSING?
Factual knowledge (checking detail)
General Understanding (Major points)
Ability to manipulate content
(interpretaion/analysis/synthesis/application)
3. If we focus on CONCRETE objectives,
THEN regular assessment opportunities
COME!!
 We should
propose purposeful
learning activities,
which involve
students in thinking
and problemsolving, in pairs or
in groups
In this way, it may
not be necessary to
create a specific
TEST, because the
activities themselves
can be used for
monitoring and can
provide real evidence
of learning
4. If a 3-part lesson is implemented,
LESSON
STARTER
Introducing:
Brainstorming,
Visuals,
Questions
MAIN ACTIVITIES
Task-based
Set by the teacher
Monitor/observe
PLENARY
T/SS together
summarize the
learning, in
order to move on
THEN, assessment will not always deal with
individuals, but also with groups of learners
 It
may be difficult to decide who knows
what, but this is less important, because
the FINAL OUTPUT MAY BE MORE THAN
THE SUM OF ALL THE PARTS
 In addition, such tasks raise different
areas for assessment: - teamwork
- project work
- self assessment
1.
ASSESSING LANGUAGE
To begin with, just as with content, we need to be
sure which aspect of language we are assessing:
 Subject-specific vocabulary
 Listen/read for meaning
 Present/discuss effectively
 Demonstrate thinking/reasoning in the CLIL
language
 Show awareness of grammatical features of the
language
2. HOW TO ASSESS LANGUAGE:
through a variety of approaches
CONSTRUCTED
RESPONSE
Fill-in
Short answers
Performance
assessment
SELECTED
RESPONSE
True/False
Matching
Multiple choice
PERSONAL
RESPONSE
Portfolio
Essay-writing
Oral reports
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
FORMATS
It requires little
language knowledge
to stimulate content
recall
• It activates/organizes
thinking
• Once completed, the
grid can be used for a
further task, involving
pair work
(negotiating)
•
A. RECORDING TO A
GRID
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
FORMATS
Matching pictures to
vocabulary
 True/false
 Gap-filling from a box
 Decision task: two
versions are given
and the correct one
has to be chosen

B. READING
Visual texts
of all
types
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
FORMATS
With this format,
demonstrating
comprehension
should always involve
real decision based on
concept
understanding. (Ex.:
matching sentence
halves)
o The focus is on
MEANING
o
C. MATCHING
INFORMATION
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
FORMATS
The simplest of all the
productive formats, it
comes in single-word
form.
 Very useful at
elementary level, or in
the introductionphase of the lesson

LABELLING
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
FORMATS
•
•
OTHER
PRODUCTIVE
FORMATS
•
•
They are more complex
When you want your
students to SPEAK or
WRITE, they need a
MODEL
They also need
SCAFFOLDING activities
(note-taking, fill-in a grid)
First in PAIRS/GROUPS,
then INDIVIDUALLY
SUMMARY
1.
2.
3.
Clear Learning OBJECTIVES; they will usually
include CONTENT/SKILLS first, then
LANGUAGE in some form
Because of INTEGRATION and DUAL FOCUS,
in CLIL lessons we cannot always assess
everything
We shloud use a mixture of formal/informal
assessment, which is both task-based and
assignment based
SUMMARY
4.
5.
6.
Learners should be aware of assessment
measures and success criteria, expressed in a
student-friendly format
Content knowledge should be assessed using
the simplest form of language which is
appropriate for that purpose
Language should be assessed for a real
purpose in a real context – sometimes it will be
for form/accuracy, sometimes for
communicative competence/fluency
SUMMARY
7.
8.
If assessment is orally-based, then WAIT TIME
is crucial (thinking and expressing what they
tink takes time!!)
SCAFFOLDING is not CHEATING. We need to
assess what students can do with support,
before we assess what they can do without it.