Synergies in Developing Pre-Service Teachers’ Language Assessment Literacy in Ukrainian Universities
Developing the language assessment literacy (LAL) of pre-service foreign language (FL) teachers is thought to be beneficial both to trainee teachers themselves and to their future students and schools. However, it also presents a number of challenges to teacher educators involved in training these c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Education Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/3/223 |
| _version_ | 1797241394636521472 |
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| author | Olga Ukrayinska |
| author_facet | Olga Ukrayinska |
| author_sort | Olga Ukrayinska |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Developing the language assessment literacy (LAL) of pre-service foreign language (FL) teachers is thought to be beneficial both to trainee teachers themselves and to their future students and schools. However, it also presents a number of challenges to teacher educators involved in training these cohorts. Ensuring that pre-service FL teachers are fully confident and competent in assessment requires the design of a preparation programme that is detailed and relevant to their needs. While Taylor has argued that different stakeholders have different language assessment literacy needs, there will also be different needs within groups according to their specific assessment responsibilities. Thus, for language educators, the needs of pre-service teachers are likely to be different from those of in-service classroom teachers, and this should be reflected in the content of their training. However, research has shown that across Europe, training practices vary considerably, often with no training provided in teacher training programmes at all. In this study, I address this issue through a discussion of current approaches to the pre-service development of language assessment literacy across Ukrainian universities. Due to the principle of organizing the learning process at Ukrainian tertiary institutions in blocks of disciplines of general and professional preparation and practical training, students acquire knowledge and develop skills in the field of assessment gradually, through studying various subjects, and not only within one course. This interaction of different subjects with each other and with school placements presents synergies that can enhance LAL, if the corresponding programme takes into account these connections. In order to have a full picture of Ukrainian pre-service teachers’ language assessment development, the current study presents a description of the training system and its LAL-related components retrieved from educational and professional training programmes and discipline curricula of the Ukrainian universities providing relevant preparation programmes. I provide a list of components and discuss didactic conditions that aid the acquisition of LAL by future teachers. I argue that these synergies in the Ukrainian system may provide a useful example of practice for other universities in the European context. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:22:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-abf18ccc9cbe46c692d11bc908d42397 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:22:38Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-abf18ccc9cbe46c692d11bc908d423972024-03-27T13:34:15ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022024-02-0114322310.3390/educsci14030223Synergies in Developing Pre-Service Teachers’ Language Assessment Literacy in Ukrainian UniversitiesOlga Ukrayinska0Department of Foreign Philology, H. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogic University, 61000 Kharkiv, UkraineDeveloping the language assessment literacy (LAL) of pre-service foreign language (FL) teachers is thought to be beneficial both to trainee teachers themselves and to their future students and schools. However, it also presents a number of challenges to teacher educators involved in training these cohorts. Ensuring that pre-service FL teachers are fully confident and competent in assessment requires the design of a preparation programme that is detailed and relevant to their needs. While Taylor has argued that different stakeholders have different language assessment literacy needs, there will also be different needs within groups according to their specific assessment responsibilities. Thus, for language educators, the needs of pre-service teachers are likely to be different from those of in-service classroom teachers, and this should be reflected in the content of their training. However, research has shown that across Europe, training practices vary considerably, often with no training provided in teacher training programmes at all. In this study, I address this issue through a discussion of current approaches to the pre-service development of language assessment literacy across Ukrainian universities. Due to the principle of organizing the learning process at Ukrainian tertiary institutions in blocks of disciplines of general and professional preparation and practical training, students acquire knowledge and develop skills in the field of assessment gradually, through studying various subjects, and not only within one course. This interaction of different subjects with each other and with school placements presents synergies that can enhance LAL, if the corresponding programme takes into account these connections. In order to have a full picture of Ukrainian pre-service teachers’ language assessment development, the current study presents a description of the training system and its LAL-related components retrieved from educational and professional training programmes and discipline curricula of the Ukrainian universities providing relevant preparation programmes. I provide a list of components and discuss didactic conditions that aid the acquisition of LAL by future teachers. I argue that these synergies in the Ukrainian system may provide a useful example of practice for other universities in the European context.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/3/223educational and professional training programmediscipline curriculumlanguage assessment literacypre-service FL teacherssynergies |
| spellingShingle | Olga Ukrayinska Synergies in Developing Pre-Service Teachers’ Language Assessment Literacy in Ukrainian Universities Education Sciences educational and professional training programme discipline curriculum language assessment literacy pre-service FL teachers synergies |
| title | Synergies in Developing Pre-Service Teachers’ Language Assessment Literacy in Ukrainian Universities |
| title_full | Synergies in Developing Pre-Service Teachers’ Language Assessment Literacy in Ukrainian Universities |
| title_fullStr | Synergies in Developing Pre-Service Teachers’ Language Assessment Literacy in Ukrainian Universities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Synergies in Developing Pre-Service Teachers’ Language Assessment Literacy in Ukrainian Universities |
| title_short | Synergies in Developing Pre-Service Teachers’ Language Assessment Literacy in Ukrainian Universities |
| title_sort | synergies in developing pre service teachers language assessment literacy in ukrainian universities |
| topic | educational and professional training programme discipline curriculum language assessment literacy pre-service FL teachers synergies |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/3/223 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT olgaukrayinska synergiesindevelopingpreserviceteacherslanguageassessmentliteracyinukrainianuniversities |