Exploring Chinese university EFL students’ perceptions of formative assessment: A qualitative study

Abstract

Formative assessment (FA) has gained increasing prominence in the field of L2 education. However, how L2 students actually perceive FA has remained underexplored, and this is a critical gap because students' perceptions of assessment can exert a significant impact on their approaches to learning and learning outcomes. Situated within a college English course at a single Tier One university in southwestern China, this study investigated students' perceptions of the benefits and challenges of FA. Five major FA activities were integrated into the course, including writing learning journals, clarifying assessment criteria, conducting peer assessment of course essays, conducting self-assessment of course essays, and providing teacher feedback on course essays. These activities were designed on the basis of Black and Wiliam's (2009) framework for effective formative assessment. Adopting a qualitative approach, the researchers collected semi-structured written reflections from 47 students at the end of the course. The study provides insights into the potential of FA in improving EFL students' self-regulation and English language proficiency, as well as enabling students to develop new perspectives on language assessment. It also reveals an array of challenges faced by the EFL students, pertaining to their own characteristics, the assessment tasks, and school and systemic issues.