Ali Alamry
In L2 writing classes, instructors assign writing tasks for learners and then measure their writing ability using different holistic or analytical performance assessments such as rubrics or mark sheets. However, to give the proper writing task for L2 writers, the instructors have to consider the measures of good writing assessment tasks, which include:
Validity
Validity in testing means that a test is measuring what it claims it measures. In the L2 writing context, the teacher has to make the writing task valid, which means that the task truly measures the areas in the learner’s L2 writing that the teacher wants to assess to help the learner find the strengths and remedy the weaknesses. For example, when students learn to use the passive voice, the related writing assignment should test their ability to write in the passive voice, say to describe a scientific experiment where passive voice tends to be used more. If an assignment does not account for what the instructor wants to measure in the learners’ writing, it won’t be valid.
Reliability
One among many of the features of a reliable test is to have consistent results using the same test. Having a reliable writing task means that you, as an instructor, approach students’ writing with the same standards. For example, if students were asked to write freely about something and were told not to worry about their spelling mistakes, their scores in that task should not vary based on their spelling accuracy. Within a single L2 writing task, the teacher should mark students’ writings equally.
Fairness, as was one aspect of a reliable assessment of L2 writing, comes from the successful interaction between the different assessment measures. It is one of the most apparent yet most troubling features to implement. Students always look for high grades in their writing assignments; however, maintaining fairness when marking their assignments while accounting for their individual differences and needs is paramount. When designing writing tasks, clear writing tasks instructions on what language features are they going to practices and teacher’s assessment criteria, and so on help maintain fairness among students and help them see areas of improvement in their L2 writing.
Authenticity
To L2 writing classes, authenticity means that what students work on to produce written texts is extracted from real-world contexts. For example, training L2 students who are going for a science major to write a scientific report for a science class is considered an authentic task. When L2 Students in Leki and Carson (1997) were interviewed, one commented on what they were asked to write in L2 classes versus what they would write on their future jobs by saying that they were coming from “completely different worlds.” This happens probably because the L2 writing tasks were not authentic.
Authentic L2 writing materials may not always be teachable materials that are mean to be used as writing models for students to dissect and carefully analyze or imitate. However, they are genuine writing texts that learners expect to see and produce in their future jobs, such as magazine articles, business reports, or even machine manuals. Acknowledging their raw nature and adjusting them accordingly in L2 writing classes would make them suitable for L2 classes. Working on such authentic materials makes L2 classes more desirable and practical.
Practicality
Practicality can be achieved by setting reasonable goals and expectations for both the L2 learners and instructors. As instructors, we tend to be carried away by the amount of information we want to transfer to our learners and see them reflected in their writings. However, we need to remind ourselves that some tasks are not practical or plausible either because teachers do not account for the time necessary for them to be done correctly or that the teachers cannot provide the needed assistance to the students upon the completion of that task for one reason or another. The students consequently become frustrated and demotivated because they do not see the point of assigning such tasks. Students’ essays will eventually improve with practice and corrective feedback. However, setting extremely optimistic writing tasks to students or refraining from giving reasonable ones under the impression that they will never benefit from their small incremental developments lead to unfair judgments of students’ L2 writings and affect their L2 proficiency assessment altogether.
Teachers and Learners in L2 Writing Classes
The assessment measures mentioned above summarize, to a great extent, some acceptable practices in L2 writing classes. They interact with one another at multiple levels. This interaction comes in different shapes. For instance, students expect us as instructors to mark their writing assignments by providing written and oral feedback that deals with the process and the L2 writing product explicitly in the shape of written correction and implicitly by referring the writer to some grammatical rules, comments, or elicit further clarifications. Some L2 writers prefer holistic evaluations and feedback on their writings on some occasions; others prefer analytical assessments, so diversifying the types of corrective feedback on students’ L2 writings brings the best of both worlds.
It is essential to have an agreement between the instructor and the students as to what practically speaking can be done, all things considered. Such mutual understanding helps avoid complaints and maintain fairness in L2 writing classes. It is important to remember that L2 writing is a recursive process that takes time and effort to master. It is also important to remember that “it takes two to tango” in L2 writing; both the instructor and the L2 writer have to work diligently in the L2 classroom to maintain a positive attitude to the learning environment. L2 teachers and learners are equally responsible for making the L2 writing classroom successful. By implementing these assessment measures in their L2 writing, we will be rewarded with excellent L2 writers that we successfully accounted for their L2 writing aspirations.
References
Leki, I., & Carson, J. (1997). “Completely different worlds”: EAP and the writing experiences of ESL students in university courses. TESOL quarterly, 31(1), 39-69.
Plakans, L., & Gebril, A. (2015). Assessment myths: Applying second language research to classroom teaching. University of Michigan Press.
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