Language testing in Colombia

This article was made as a call for raising awareness among the language teaching in Colombia, in the light of assessment. There are many issues that affect proper assessment procedures in our country; for instance the negative connotation that the word (assessment) itself has in our teachers due some bad experiences through their education and teaching process. I consider that this happens in Colombia just because there is a tendency to associate the term assessment with stress, pressure anxiety or the felling of losing or wining.

Personally, and I am very sure most of us share this experience, during my educational process since the very early years, I just had the misconception that tests only determine who deserves a good and/or  a bad grade. Not until I take this course I realized that tests (assessment) are more than just establish who passes or not. However, it is clearly the conception that the majority of people still got. So, that is why not only teachers but also students are not interested or connected with the assessment impeachment.

            Besides, I dare to say that a vast majority of teachers in Colombia, do not have a single clue of what exactly assessment means. That there are plenty of ways to guarantee a correct assessment process for students, like alternatives ways to assess, that not only assessment exits in the form of formal procedures (tests) but also in some informal interventions and class performances.

In order to conclude, I would say that appropriate assessment in Colombian English classes will not ever occur until teachers give up the bad idea of assessment as a simply evaluation process, and also when they get a certain level of awareness towards the different ways than can be implemented in the assessing educational process.

National Bilingual Program

Great Ideas Not Put Into Practice

In a valiant attempt to promote and ameliorate the levels of proficiency in the use of a second language like English in Colombia, the government has created a long-term plan which aims to improve levels of bilingualism in all aspects of education especially public education across the country, and that is the reason why the national bilingual program or " Plan Nacional de Bilingüísmo" was born.

            The bilingual Colombian program has been set for the period from 2004 to 2019 with the goal of ameliorating the quality of English language teaching at all levels of education. The purpose is that by 2010 students all over the nation should have a B1 or pre-intermediate level and teachers at least B2. By 2019, the final students’ level should be B2 or intermediate and their teachers should be at minimum B2 too.

            But in spite of being a great plan, which printed on paper looks really bright and is an outstanding example for any nation wishing to promote the teaching of a foreign language to follow; this plan is still very difficult to carry out in a country like our for many reasons. Colombia is a country  in which is very difficult even just to go to school, where poverty rates hinder access to quality education and make children think first about how to survive with their families prior to study and succeed.

First of all, a very good reason why this program is very difficult to implement successfully is that numbers vary or fluctuate much from reality. as mentioned by Cardenas (2006) questioning the suitability of the conditions of the country for a bilingual status, as stipulated few hours for the teaching of English, a shortage of materials and qualified teachers, classes are numerous and generally there are few opportunities to use English in real communication. According to Cardenas, PNB brought the definition of national standards for learning, teaching and assessment of foreign languages ​​without a thorough analysis of their implementation in the light of the social, cultural and economic aspects of our country.

            Secondly, I would also assure that there is a lack of good qualified training for English teachers in our country, and it is at this point when the government (project developers) have great guilt, since not only do not take into account the socio-economic reality of the country to create this plan but also they do not promote adequate preparation of teachers, hence in Colombia there are very few spaces based on conscious and genuine preparation in teaching and proficiency levels for teachers in order to reach their dreamed level per academic year. As Cárdenas mentioned (2006) “No one denies the need of teacher education. Nonetheless, the prescriptive practices for teaching and learning and the promotion of teacher qualification by the BCP can be contrasted with the critical dimension of language education. Furthermore, there is a need for more collegiality, openness to debate, and revision and implementation of actions based on knowledge coming from more local communities.” 

            Moreover, another great disadvantage for me is that it seems that the government’s main objective with the PNB is to establish an instrument by the teaching of foreign languages to help the economics conditions and country's development instead of being a tool for people’s intellectual development. In fact, the program assures that wants to "make citizens able to communicate in English, so that, they can insert the country in universal communication processes in the global economy and cultural openness internationally comparable standards" Ministry of Education (2006). In light of this statement, the program seems to be a pragmatic response to the economic needs of the country and therefore it is not an initiative to get citizens to become competent in the use of a foreign language, but to think of them as a spare tire to improve the economic conditions of the nation.

            And finally, another major shortcoming of the plan is that it is not implemented responsibly. For instance, if you think about the condition of our school buildings, the lack of interest of the national government to improve facilities, improve teacher quality and more importantly, the consideration of the student as a number instead of really thinking about their interests and the way they are taught a foreign language, the plan cannot be successful. The withdrawal rates are mostly due to the poor conditions of schools and now if we consider all these issues, what are the chances that students from most vulnerable sectors of society can be interested in learning English? And if we add that the program is not designed to be an option in education but an educational imposition. Many students will lose even more interest in learning foreign languages, as it is well known that all things that are mandatory are not pleasant for anyone or anything.

            As a matter of conclusion, I would like to say that instead of offer a bilingual country, we do have to link together all the work to increase the standards of teacher and student preparation to be able to communicate in English as well as in Spanish. Cárdenas (2006) “It is then our challenge to work towards better proficiency in language and in teaching. In the same line, we should admit Colombian universities’ responsibility in supporting the development of high proficiency levels of English among prospective teachers. It is also our challenge to care for a strong cross-cultural component in the school curriculum so that teachers promote intercultural awareness”.

Teachers and Students’ Perceptions regarding Portfolio Assessment

Teachers and Students’ Perceptions regarding Portfolio Assessment

As one of the most powerful tools when implementing alternative assessment, without any doubt is the use of portfolios, which  is one of the largest and  useful instruments when evaluating the performance of our students throghout a period of time.

A portfolio, as a collection method of evidence (writing, reading and class materials) assembled and managed by a student by its own, usually shows demostrations of students' abilities and enhance opportunities for self-expression; which fosters intrinsic motivation, responsability and language ownership. it also promotes student-teacher interaction and as a student-centered device it encourages student to self assessment and develop some mental skills.

But the portfolios themselves are not easily applied when it come to classroom. It takes a total commitment from teachers who must make a very complete structural plan since the very beginning, agree with the students about what to include and what not to, devote plenty of time to check and correct and also open some discussion in class, all to guide the process of students record keeping.

In addition, students must also go with a large burden of responsibility as it is they who must make entries and keep their own records which involves the use of time and skills.

The point I am trying to reach is that due to the fact that portfolios usage as alternative ways of assessment, can be of great help but just if we know exactly how to use them (instructed teachers) and how to present them to students so that they will not grow weary and lose interest to do this hard work, that will be a great boost in assessing their  own learning process.

Here I submitted an interesting video which illustrates how can we easily assess portfolios in the classroom.

Portfolio Assessment

A framework for evaluation

            The most important thing I want to highlight about this chapter is that, assessment/evaluation in class is a complex system or process of decision making during the school proceeding.  But what does it mean a process of decision making?

            Sometimes teachers must face certain parameters or evaluation criteria dictated by some institutions' rules, which should supposed to be a tool to judging the performance of students and the way they adapt to the rules of these institutions. However, there are many times where there are no parameters to follow and decisions should be made to not truncate the collective students’ performance. That's when the decision-making process becomes crucial for teachers and students.

            For instance, when a teacher has to evaluate a student which is outstanding academically in comparison with the other ones, and he/she (the teacher) does not have an explicit parameter to set if that student could be promoted to the next year or not. Here is when a teacher should come up with a plan a decide what to do, due to the fact that it does not exit a frame to evaluate such a thing.

            So, in order to give sense to the process of decision-making I will dare to say that teachers need to establish a strategy to do it correctly. Which is: identifying the purpose for evaluation, collecting information, interpreting that information and finally making decisions.  

            Just to conclude, according to the author the strategy for making decisions at the moment of evaluate or assess students in a proper way there should exits a comparison of objectives, plans, practices, input factors and learning outcomes with one another when there is a discrepancy between them.

Alternatives in Assessment

In a deep self-evaluation, which I made just after reading the material, I came to the uncomfortable conclusion that many of us as teachers and even more as foreign language teachers, when it comes to assess students, we are still too close or stick to one of the most effective but at the same time old fashioned methods, the examination or test.

I realized that tests are not the only way to assess the performance of my students, and I also noted that the majority of my students learning process cannot be set just by a grade. As proposed by Brown the alternatives in assessment, could be a magnicifent tool to be implemented at the classroom. He proposed the usage of portfolios, journals, interviews, conferences, self-assessment, and peer assessment in order to guarantee an accurate approach to correct feedback aplication and therefore an excellent learning process.

I also reached the conclusion that, by the implementation of these techniques in our classrooms, we ensure a continous assessment process, ie, students are constantly being evaluated, on a dialy daily basis. which I think is by far the most accurate way to assess because students will have more opportunities to receive feedback and thus more opportunities to do better.

Finally, I would like to say that in our country, with our poor educational conditions and overcrowded classrooms, it is goddamned difficult even to think about applying these methods. But I am trully sure that with a lot of effort from our part, vocation and love for education, these techniques or alternative assessment will no longer be a dream but a beautiful reality being applied in every single Colombian classroom.

From the Tuesday assessment class, I broke some misunderstandings that I had about the difference between the concept of assessment and evaluation. I as many people, used to think that both concepts remain the same, but they are too far distance from reality.

Assessment is a complete process which involves information gathering and analysis of some issues that appears from time to time. While on the other hand, evaluation means a determination of a subject's merit, worth it by using criteria stablished by a set of standards.

Therefore, in order to conclude I would say that the purpose of this class is to break the paradigm and make people get involved in the process of assessment in education. So, what I like to say is that the process of second language evaluation as life itself is a matter of decision-facing and decision-making, since the very beginning that the class starts.