Assessment

Implications For assessment

In designing an assessment, the teacher should recognize these two points. The first is, the effectiveness, an assessment is not effective when it sets power relationships that become established and habitual (Foucault, 1979). That's why the assessment should provide information to administrators and parents about their children. Also, giving educators feedback in the teaching-learning process, and for students' knowledge on their progress. Then, the other point is the assessment should fair, such as provide meaningful and appropriate information about a child's language useability. Also, avoid bias against any child because of that child's characteristics.

Assessing Young Learner 

Cognitive Growth Development

• 5–7 years; Students learn by direct experiences (Real-Life Learning).

• 8 –10 years; Students are trying to manipulate ideas, but direct experience is still very important.

• 11 – 13 years; Students possibly use the L2 to talk about recent events, plans for the future, and career aspirations.

During a "Cognitive Growth, the young learner is developing abilities to think in new ways. In this stage, it's important to take into account development for appraisal assessment. So, the assessment should take place in a quiet setting and the teacher can implement it by using a group game. Peer influence may affect the reaction to certain tasks. Then, for their "Emotional and Social Growth", socioeconomic and cultural background influence children's individual experience of the world and they can start learning to develop a positive or negative concept of a self through that. In this stage, the young learner needs love, security, and recognition to function in groups. So, teachers should build up students' social skills and can take into account student's likes and interests. The assessment should involve cultural-based topics and tasks also "psychologically safe".  For tasks teacher can involve movement and play with instructions and reviews should be clear. Then, for feedback, it needs to be immediate and friendly.

Physical Growth Development

•  5 to 7 years; The learner gets tired more easily sitting than moving. The teacher can design an assessment task that involves movements such as playing since they incorporate fantasy, reality, and fun. 

• 9 to 13 years; The learner needs to take into account assessment tasks in terms of tiredness and hand-eye coordination Involve safe and physical activities to assess.

During assessing physical activity for the young learner, the activity important to accompany language-related responses. For example in "Gross-motor skills" such as run, climb, balance and "Fine-motor skills" such as write, cut, draw or Hand-eye coordination implies.

Literacy Skills Development

• 5 –7 years; Children have started to write, with well developed oral skills in their first language. Students understand that the print "tells" the story. They develop their basic vocabulary and can read slowly because at this age they start to understand how literacy works.

• 8 –10 years; Students start to organize ideas to write and begin to self-correct errors. Students still combine drawings with words and start reading or writing for specific purposes.

• 11 - 13 years; Students can read and write about fiction or non-fiction. The learner increasing they their silent reading rate because they start to developing critical thinking. They can read for pleasure and 

understand that people can interpret in different ways with the same material. 
When assessing young learners for their literacy skills, a teacher should be using text that students can read and understand. The teacher should design a task that helps them to feel good and to encourage creativity. So, the task must be set with a clear expectation. Also, the assessment should give students a sense of progression with friendly feedback to avoid loss of motivation.  Because student's self-esteem can be affected by experiences at school.

As a conclusion, we can see that it is important for teachers to take into account students' cognitive, social, emotional, and physical growth to design appropriate tasks for assessment. Then, the assessments must be valid and fair, that need to evoke positive emotions in children about language learning, about themselves and others, because they might have a positive or a negative impact on students lives. Teachers also need to know if the assessment should be considered as a tool of reference for young students in their process of learning an L2. Therefore, when giving feedback teachers should be concerned to improve the learning process and encourage them, by giving motivate in their learning language process. 
Because a good language assessment builds up children's abilities to use language in the full meaning of the term. But, we have to consider if language learning is a social process rather than an individual process. That's why every child can not develop in the same way in all of the dimensions at the same time. Because it depends on their enviroment. 

Sources:

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