European Journal of English Language Teaching ISSN: 2501-7136 (on-line) ISSN-L: 2501-7136 (print) Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu 10.5281/zenodo.51827 Volume 1│Issue 1│2015 LEARNING ASSESSMENT AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING PROFESSORS Anastazy Brozek Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland Abstract: The present research investigates the professional progress of English language teachers related to the language assessment and teaching methodologies and represents a theoretical planning of the field of curriculum and assessment in English Language Teaching and its effect in terms of professional and qualified development. Assessment is an essential section of the educational process, as it controls whether or not the goals of instruction are being achieved. Assessment influences decisions about ratings, assignment, improvement, instructional requirements, curriculum, etc… A qualitative connection between theory and implementation of well-developed practices in assessment contribute to positive achievements to in-service teachers. The major achievement of the study is that English teachers' professional progress is eloquent only if the assimilated information is applied in their environment. Keywords: professional development, language acquisition, English Language Teaching assessment . 1. Introduction Today's students must have knowledge not only of the basic reading and arithmetic skills, but also must develop abilities that will permit them to survive and progress on an environment that is continually evolving. They must be competent to think critically, to examine, and to make inferences. Modifications in the skills base and knowledge of our scholars require new scholarship aims; these new learning aims modification change the connection between assessment and education. An essential characteristic of teachers’ professional knowledge and competence is the capability to evaluate scholars’ realizations adequately. “ccording ratings is one Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved Published by Open Access Publishing Group ©2015. 36 Anastazy Brozek – LEARNING ASSESSMENT AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING PROFESSORS classical mission in this context. Besides giving evaluations, assessments for school assignments or following verdicts belong to these responsibilities. Teachers must have a dynamic role in making judgments about the determination of assessment and the content that is being assessed. “ppropriate students’ individualities which influence teachers’ evaluation do not only involve academic achievement but also students’ answers to diverse assignment demands as well as non-academic features such as learning impulse or school apprehension. Professional development processes are considered relevant spaces for modern organizations. In order to be at the forefront, education systems are committed to analyse the skills and professional performance of teachers. This perspective frames the consideration that the teachers of English have training needs as they progress in their career, which requires an updated teacher to know, to know how to be and know how. Teacher professional development is an on-going process that includes opportunities and experiences planned systematically in order to promote substantive improvement of educational processes from problematizing reflection of situations faced in their daily lives. Placing at the centre the English teacher who faces great challenges and demands of a society that aspires to improve language skills, the course learning assessment was planned considering the reality of the MEP from an andragogic approach. Planning and implementation of professional development activities should answer the questions: what to teach?, how to teach ?, when teaching? and why teach / who? Coherence between these aspects is a prerequisite for participants and facilitators of lifelong learning activities achieve significant learning factor. The work of teaching involves among other things provide training goals to organize the pedagogical action. On this regard, Hernandez (1995) states: "Programming is a process of give unity and structure to the educational work process, taking into account the students themselves, their environment, media and materials available, in terms of achieving the goals, general and often, educational administration fixed for this purpose. Programming requires goals which serve to determine the degree of progress and guide the actions of the teaching-learning process. Not less important is the content, what you want to teach must meet the objectives which reflect the knowledge to achieve. Coll, C. (1995) suggests three types of content, namely: cognitive, procedural, attitudinal. Addressing these must establish meaningful relationships considering the context and previous knowledge of the participants. European Journal of English Language Teaching - Volume 1 │ Issue 1 │ 2015 37 Anastazy Brozek – LEARNING ASSESSMENT AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING PROFESSORS The educational concept and the principles governing the design of professional development activities largely determine the procedures regarding the pedagogical mediation. Within this concept the facilitator should be creator of a favourable climate for learning and an emotional environment that serves as support for the process of teaching and learning. The cognitive, emotional, praxis and values are inseparable from this concept. However, what are the substantive aspects of a pedagogical practice that allows such consistency? Two Freire's ideas seem basic and substantial as a starting point: overcome any banking concept of education and pass a pedagogy of response (in which the teacher says what seems interesting) to a pedagogy of the question (the teaching and learning are answers to questions and interests that "connect" with students). This allows us to enter into a substantive aspect of any educational practice: attending the prominence and self - realization of students. (Ander Egg, 2001 p. 117) Continuing education promotes transfer of learning to the workplace. Ander Egg (2001) makes us reflect on the importance of considering who directed training activity is. These activities should be geared to improving the teaching work by reference to their experience and prior knowledge. In this regard, Casanova (2012) refers to the conclusions of the Kinsey Report MC 2007 when its conclusions states ... the quality of an education system will never be above the quality of its teachers. In short, quality is a dynamic concept in essence that will remain alive and always updated to continue to innovate in education in view of the social events that occur and scientific findings (psychological, educational, neuroscientists, etc.) and that should count as training base and the prestige of its teachers. (p. 09) The statements in the McKinsey report reaffirms the importance of training programs with a planned orientation to strengthen the development of teachers so that the thematic content of the curriculum and professional experience are linked. 2. Context of the Evaluation At the beginning of the century, the society demanded a range of skills in various fields of professional life. The economic development of countries, globalization and job creation has been and will be a priority of the states of the world. To achieve an efficient performance work, better competitiveness, sustainable productivity growth, all human activity must be inherent in an on-going process of evaluation. European Journal of English Language Teaching - Volume 1 │ Issue 1 │ 2015 38 Anastazy Brozek – LEARNING ASSESSMENT AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING PROFESSORS Today the world is more mechanized, more and more homogenized and exposed almost entirely to the use of technology; this is a determining factor in the economic growth of a country. The industries of the future are developed from research, evaluation, innovation and creation. To compete in a globalized world, people not only need to acquire a profession but is also necessary to be bilingual, trilingual or multilingual. Speaking a second language is as important as having a profession and this is much more relevant when the person makes the language a profession which needs to be competent not only in the domain of language as such but also in becoming a teacher Of the same. (Saorin 2003) states that "…the language of research and scholarly publications is English…" this is corroborated by the statistics that determine that 70% of scientists publish their information in this language, 85% of the world 's mail is written in this language and 90% of the information in electronic media it is in this language. For such reason the importance of learning of a language that connects everyone in any context became vital. Learning a language is an on-going process that requires practice and application of it in real life situations. So learning a foreign language in an unfavourable context is a difficult task, since learners do not face a real world in which they can communicate and apply their language skills acquired. Today, despite the value that is given to the evaluation process, we can realize that the evaluation of results is very important, because students must always meet standards set for access to school, to college and even it aims to certify a profession through a test in which a professional demonstrate their knowledge and skills, and attitudes that it has acquired during his student life. This assessment approach determines the user to transfer knowledge to skills, ie know-how, which involves mobilizing them to various communication situations and putting into practice this knowledge. That is, it is considered that a person is a competent reader or speaker when you can use the language in the most varied discourse genres, either oral or written situations. From this perspective the assessment of language skills in learning a foreign language should include a criterion of achievement, should allow the student a gradual training evaluative techniques so that contributes to the development skills of comprehension and oral expression, reading comprehension and written expression. All this alludes that the assessment should be taken as a concomitant practice the teaching-learning process. The demonstration of a competency evidences the implementation of various skills but should not manifest itself only in action but it is necessary to include a level of European Journal of English Language Teaching - Volume 1 │ Issue 1 │ 2015 39 Anastazy Brozek – LEARNING ASSESSMENT AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING PROFESSORS efficiency and effectiveness. Efficacy results of the proposed objectives and efficiency optimization level of cost, time, resources and quality in meeting the objectives. 3. Evaluation of Learning in English Teaching Recent research has been interested in how the brain works and how you learn; these studies have highlighted the need of not only new teaching methods, but also the urgency to consider new ways of evaluating. The evaluation of learning processes in the classroom is part of the formal structure of any educational process; the controversy is how to do to respond to the new assessment approaches which are supported from a more holistic view of learning as a process. The evaluation as process involved in learning and motivation of children of school age to acquire a foreign language is a guiding principle of best evaluation practices. Rodriguez, et al. (2012), Atina stating that "…through education evaluation can learn to set criteria (and hence priorities), to reflect on the positive and negative realities, to assess (and compare) the objects of evaluation and above all, to make fundamental and justified decisions… " pag. The way how the assessment to fulfil its purpose of contributing positively on the progress of students represents an educational challenge is made. According Linse and Nunan (2005), an English teacher, put careful attention to what students do in class, and based on that observation modify their planning, activities and teaching techniques. Similarly, Brown (2004) suggests that teachers evaluate English language proficiency of their students as part of a continuous process, each time a student participates in an activity. Progress is needed on the appropriate assess student progress reflected in the development of language skills and emotional development involving the child's interest and the significance of what you learn ways. It is necessary to harmonize the evaluation culture of schools and the design and implementation of evaluation instruments. The academic achievement of children in the acquisition of English should be reflected in a performance - oriented students closely with the pedagogical approach and the principles of teaching and learning a foreign language. The evaluation of learning is a process on-going of information and reflection on the process of production of learning and required for execution of the implementation of the following processes: European Journal of English Language Teaching - Volume 1 │ Issue 1 │ 2015 40 Anastazy Brozek – LEARNING ASSESSMENT AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING PROFESSORS a) Collection and selection of information about student learning through the interaction with them, the application instrument, situations of evaluation, and so on; b) Interpretation and evaluation of learning in terms of the degree of development of the evaluation criteria established in each area and therefore the degree of development of competition. The assessment should be in qualitative terms. c) Decision making, which involves the establishment of a plan of action that allows students to learn, reinforce and stimulate learning to be developed with the help of teachers, who must plan new strategies of teaching-learning, according to the conclusions is reached in the evaluation. 4. Principles and Purposes The system of learning assessment is to contribute to improving the quality of teaching and learning, therefore it should be given before, during and after these processes allowing regulation of interrelationships, detect difficulties that are presenting, find out the causes and take timely action without waiting to complete the process; therefore it is of nature training . Similarly, the assessment of learning assumes that its object what are the criteria and indicators for each curriculum area, which serve as benchmarks to assess progress and difficulties of students. These criteria constitute the unit for the collection, recording, analysis and communication of the evaluation process, giving the nature of judgment: a) It is part of the planning effective teaching and learning. b) It focuses on how students learn. c) It is central to classroom practice. d) In a key professional skill. So it is important the feedback. e) Is sensible and constructive since the assessment carries an emotional impact. Therefore it should be emphasized the progress and achievements of students rather than their failures, therefore there must be a constructive feedback focusing on work and not on the person. f) The evaluation promotes motivation in students and this in view It should serve to student progress. In this regard it is important not to make comparisons with those students who have had greater success. g) Promotes understanding of goals and criteria. h) Help students to know how to improve. Therefore must use methods that encourage student autonomy and to allow some choice and opportunities for self-direction. European Journal of English Language Teaching - Volume 1 │ Issue 1 │ 2015 41 Anastazy Brozek – LEARNING ASSESSMENT AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING PROFESSORS i) Develop capacity self-assessment. j) Recognizes all educational achievements. 5. Why and What to Evaluate Student Learning? There are many groups interested in evaluating the language skills of these students are teachers, department heads, parents of families , governments and of course the same students. However, we all believe the four main reasons for evaluating: a) To compare students to each other b) To see if students achieve a particular standard c) To help students learn d) To check if the program is doing its job e) To promote, demonstrate and certify a) To compare students to each other. Today if students want to go to a university to study any career, the university has to select the "best students". This decision has a comparative basis for example if the university takes 80% of the best candidates but the consistency problem is that this is determined through an examination and notes of his collegiate life depicted in his bachelor's degree. However, what really sets are the best students if only a minimum percentage of 20% of candidates achieved inserted into a university. Although this system may not be as fair, this is often used by governments and parents to judge the quality of the educational institution. b) To see if students are to reach a particular. Large organizations such as the state or international examination bodies have certain standards of proficiency that students should have. These standards do not necessarily reflect the teaching program the students have followed, ie, different institutions may have different texts or programs . In the case of a race where language students study English as a language of instruction they must also undergo the evaluation criteria of these institutions to end his career to determine the level of proficiency in the language through a proficiency test. Educational institutions such as universities and much more, also have certain standards based on individual criteria and framed in international, which generally is also a quality criterion. Educational institutions base their evaluation system in their own teaching program. Generally they analyse what students cover in a classroom, and then assess whether students have learned often through a performance test. Another reason to evaluate is the initial location. You can analyse the skills of students to see if they are European Journal of English Language Teaching - Volume 1 │ Issue 1 │ 2015 42 Anastazy Brozek – LEARNING ASSESSMENT AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING PROFESSORS part of the system. For example, if the institution has restrictions regarding classroom space, or certain language own criteria such as: proficiency in grammar, pronunciation, fluency, etc., which can also be location criteria. c) To help the student learning when the teacher applies a performance test to see if students need more help or reinforcement, for example, most students achieved a good result to write an advertisement but had many errors in grammar used, then you need to re-plan and strengthen the teaching in that particular area. d) To check if the program is doing its job, ie if many errors are evidence in a particular grammar, the teacher may decide to completely change the program to help students focus on a different context of teaching and learning. Or large - scale higher organism can decide to change the curriculum of a career. e) To promote, accreditation and certification, students within the social dimensions involving, among other things, the legitimacy of skills professionals from the rest of society. 6. What to Evaluate The answer to Assess What? should be organized around the object of evaluation in the case of learning a foreign language should assess knowledge and skills in that language and usually include listening, speaking, reading and writing together with the components of language as are grammar and lexicon. The objectives, defined as the knowledge, skills and attitudes pursued in a program, in a cycle or a class. These objectives are expressed in terms of capacity or general or specific skills, which can be specified in a given time. This concept of objectives presents the difficulty that the capabilities are not directly measurable and that its development is more or less constant continuum evidence generally short or long term. (...) To appreciate the development of capabilities must resort to standards that are susceptible to some kind of finding, albeit indirectly: these are the content, tasks and performance of the student in the performance of the latter" If you are evaluating the grammatical error message the first response does not limit the communication of the idea, so the answer is correct and if we are evaluating the second half is also correct. For these reasons the teaching of a language must not forget that there are two different corrections to the message and the medium. European Journal of English Language Teaching - Volume 1 │ Issue 1 │ 2015 43 Anastazy Brozek – LEARNING ASSESSMENT AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING PROFESSORS It is also necessary to clarify the language skills we evaluated, ie if we evaluate the components of language (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation) or if we evaluate how the student connects these components when used in language that is the four skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) communicatively. We must also assess skills in speech as: use the language that is socially appropriate can be formal or informal; strategic skills are as taking turns in conversation, get information from a text or listen to the main idea; language learning skills such as ability to use the dictionary, the ability to deduce the meaning of words in context, meta-language learning as the teacher ask: what is the past of the verb find? etc.; learn skills in general and the contribution to and within the group, the ability to distinguish what you know and do not know yet, to follow directions; and social skills behaviour such as sit in the chair without interrupting the class or develop their test yourself without trying to copy: and the criteria to qualify, evaluations give results in numbers are easy to qualify, simply type rating in numbers or percentage converted into different scales a note on a score of 10 or AE. Specifically, the teaching of any foreign language under the communicative approach leaves no doubt that should assess knowledge, skills, communicative performance in the use of foreign language, so the level of competition communicative acquired, feelings, values and attitudes. However, the fact that the language skills they acquire students as part of their stands interaction with the system of the language study and the level of development of language skills are necessary to evaluate them through own communication of students in the foreign language as an expression of the level of development of communication skills acquired. It is precisely in the communicative practice that the teacher and the student can watch repeatedly and evaluate communicative student performance in the foreign language. Attitudinal knowledge perhaps could be difficult finding in other subjects but in the foreign language can be evaluated through student performance in communication, where you can appreciate its capacity for collaboration, their attitudes to the group, their preferences, own interests in the tasks of learning the language, but also can inquire directly about their ways of thinking and acting in each communicative situation which makes this knowledge becomes observable. 7. Conclusion Today, you can make use of many assessment tools, taking advantage of information technologies and communications so as to allow demonstrate the gradual and European Journal of English Language Teaching - Volume 1 │ Issue 1 │ 2015 44 Anastazy Brozek – LEARNING ASSESSMENT AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING PROFESSORS incremental progress in developing skills of listening and speaking a foreign language. Instruments should be implemented taking advantage of advances in information and communications technology such as: email, the chat, open forums, the web-folios, graphic organizers, web-quests, the blogs; and instruments that promote the registration of progressive advances of the sub-skills of students as reflective journal, surveys, interviews, scales reliability, evaluative scales or rubrics, bands, among others. The development of communication skills in learning a foreign language is so complicated that involves the integration of oral or written comprehension and verbal and written expression simultaneously and coupled to situations which involve the development of other skills such as socio-linguistic, strategic, pragmatic and require the application of specific techniques that allow the progressive evaluation of micro-skills that will gradually becoming competitive standards domain and demonstrate greater skill in the practical demonstration of language in real communicative situations. design techniques are then suggested as panels, forums, dialogues, troubleshooting, graphic organizers, portfolios, projects, among others, participating students and evaluate the process and the teacher diversify the techniques and assessment tools so that is not only examining the only instrument to assess or grammar aspect evaluated the learning of English. References 1. Hernandez, Pedro. (1995). Design and Teaching: Theory and Techniques of Programming and Educational Project. Madrid: Narcea. 2. Casanova, Maria Antonia. (2012). Curriculum Design and Educational Quality Factor. REICE. Revista Iberoamericana on Quality, Efficiency and Change in Education, 10 (4), 6-20. 3. Coll, Cesar. (1995). The contents of Reform: Teaching and Learning Concepts, Procedures and Attitudes. Barcelona: Ediciones Santillana SA 4. Linse, Caroline and Nunan, David. (2005). Practical Language Teaching Young Learners. New York: McGraw-Hill. 5. Alvarez, Carmen. (2012). Principles of Procedure in the Curricular Design: Key to the Improvement of Education Theory-Practice Relations. 6. Ander Egg, Ezquiel. (2001). The Challenges of Education in the XXI Century. Argentina: Homo Sapiens. European Journal of English Language Teaching - Volume 1 │ Issue 1 │ 2015 45 Anastazy Brozek – LEARNING ASSESSMENT AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING PROFESSORS 7. Cols Avolio, Susana and Lacolutti, Maria Dolores. (2006) Teaching and Assessing training for job skills. Concepts and methodological orientations Buenos Aires: Inter - American Development Bank. 8. Brown, Douglas. (2004). Language Assessment and Classroom Practice Principles s. United States: Longman. 9. Cols Avolio Susana, 1987, Evaluation of teaching - learning process, Buenos Aires Myramar, 1st Ed. 10. ”“XTER “ndy, , Evaluating Your Students ", Series Editor Paul Seligson, Richmond Publishing. 11. Cazares, Leslie. (2008). "Planning and competency - based assessment: fundamentals and practices for the development of teaching skills, from preschool through graduate school." Trillas. 12. Catch, Richie, Tarquet, Francesca, 1998, "Stimuli Sensory develop in the Classroom". Creative Commons licensing terms Authors will retain the copyright of their published articles agreeing that a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) terms will be applied to their work. Under the terms of this license, no permission is required from the author(s) or publisher for members of the community to copy, distribute, transmit or adapt the article content, providing a proper, prominent and unambiguous attribution to the authors in a manner that makes clear that the materials are being reused under permission of a Creative Commons License. Views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this research article are views, opinions and conclusions of the author(s). Open Access Publishing Group and European Journal of English Language Teaching shall not be responsible or answerable for any loss, damage or liability caused in relation to/arising out of conflict of interests, copyright violations and inappropriate or inaccurate use of any kind content related or integrated on the research work. All the published works are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and noncommercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). European Journal of English Language Teaching - Volume 1 │ Issue 1 │ 2015 46