AN INVESTIGATION INTO EFL PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHER’S COMPETENCE IN DESIGNING AND IMPLEMENTING ASSESSMENT FOR YOUNG LEARNERS


Date Published : 30 May 2025

Contributors

Rokhmani, Bintang Cahya Dwi Putra

Author

Keywords

Alternative Assessment English for Young Learners Language Assessment Literacy Primary School Teachers.

Proceeding

Track

General Track

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Proceedings UHAMKA

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Abstract

The implementation of English for Young Learners (EYL) requires teachers to possess not only pedagogical skills but also advanced language assessment literacy (LAL). This descriptive case study investigated primary school English teachers' competence in designing and implementing language assessments for young learners at Sekolah Dasar Islam Ruhama. Data were qualitatively gathered through open-ended electronic questionnaires and artifact documentation from two English teachers with contrasting academic backgrounds and teaching experiences. The findings revealed a noticeable gap between the teachers’ high declarative knowledge of assessment concepts and their actual classroom practices. Despite claiming a robust understanding of assessment principles (validity, reliability, and authenticity), traditional structural-based assessments heavily dominated their practices. Grammar and vocabulary were predominantly evaluated through rigid paper-and-pencil tests and rote-learning methods. Furthermore, alternative assessment techniques, such as self and peer-assessment, remained completely unprescribed due to a lack of practical guidelines. The study also highlighted that the teacher with a linear postgraduate degree in English education demonstrated more communicative assessment variations than the teacher from a non-linear science background. This study underscores the urgent need for continuous professional development and targeted workshops on child-friendly alternative assessment rubrics to align classroom evaluation with young learners' cognitive development.

References

Biggs, J. (2014). Constructive alignment in university teaching. HERDSA Review of Higher Education, 1(1), 5-22.
Birdsong, D. (2018). Plasticity, age, and the critical period hypothesis. Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Bilingualism, 143-159.
Brown, H. D., & Abeywickrama, P. (2019). Language assessment: Principles and classroom practices (3rd ed.). Pearson Education.
Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods (5th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Butler, Y. G. (2019). Assessment of young learners. The Routledge Handbook of Teaching English to Young Learners, 339-355.
Cahyati, S. S., Parmawati, A., & Atmawidjaja, N. S. (2019). Optimizing English teaching and learning process to young learners. Journal of Educational Experts (JEE), 2(2), 107-114.
Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching languages to young learners. Cambridge University Press.
Copland, F., & Garton, S. (2014). Key themes and future directions in teaching English to young learners. TESOL Quarterly, 48(4), 653-662.
Copland, F., Garton, S., & Burns, A. (2014). Challenges in teaching English to young learners: Global perspectives and local realities. TESOL Quarterly, 48(4), 738-762.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Denzin, N. K. (2017). The research act: A theoretical introduction to sociological methods. Routledge.
Garton, S., Copland, F., & Burns, A. (2016). Investigating assessment in meaningful contexts for young learners. British Council English Language Teaching Research Papers, 16(2), 1-24.
Hawanti, S. (2014). Implementing English in Indonesian primary schools: Teachers’ viewpoints. International Journal of Primary Education, 13(1), 51-64.
Inbar-Lourie, O. (2017). Language assessment literacy. In Language testing and assessment (pp. 257-270). Springer, Cham.
Ioannou-Georgiou, S., & Pavlou, P. (2003). Assessing young learners. Oxford University Press.
Krashen, S. (2013). The affective filter hypothesis and its injury to language acquisition. Language Learning Journal, 41(2), 112-121.
Lestari, S. (2021). Developing English supplementary reading materials for young learners. Journal of English Language Teaching, 10(2), 85-94.
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. SAGE Publications.
Linse, C. T. (2005). Practical English language teaching: Young learners. McGraw-Hill.
Maili, S. (2018). Bahasa Inggris pada sekolah dasar: Sebuah tinjauan kompetensi guru. Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa, 7(1), 33-46.
Mardani, R., & Ashadi, A. (2022). Investigating EFL teachers' assessment literacy and their classroom practices. Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra, 22(1), 45-58.
McKay, P. (2006). Assessing young language learners. Cambridge University Press.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Musthafa, B. (2010). Teaching English to young learners in Indonesia: Essential requirements. Educationist, 4(2), 120-125.
Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Pinter, A. (2017). Teaching young language learners (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Priyanti, N. K., Artini, L. P., & Padmadewi, N. N. (2023). Assessment literacy of EFL teachers in secondary schools. Journal of Language Education and Research, 9(2), 112-126.
Rachmajanti, S. (2022). Material development for young learners: Challenges and ways out. Indonesian Journal of ELT, 14(1), 55-68.
Read, C. (2015). Seven things to know about teaching young learners. Macmillan Education.
Rea-Dickins, P. (2016). Assessment in early language learning contexts. The Handbook of Second Language Assessment, 229-246.
Rixon, S. (2015). Primary English policy and implementation in Europe. In International perspectives on teaching English to young learners (pp. 31-48). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Shin, J. K., & Crandall, J. A. (2014). Teaching young learners English: From theory to practice. National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.
Slattery, M., & Willis, J. (2001). English for primary teachers: A handbook with activities and classroom language. Oxford University Press.
Stiggins, R. J. (1991). Assessment literacy. Phi Delta Kappan, 72(7), 534-539.
Sukmahidayanti, T. (2021). The utilization of paper-and-pencil test in primary English classrooms. Journal of English and Education, 9(3), 201-215.
Sulistiyo, U., Aliyyah, R. R., & Warni, S. (2020). Evaluating the competence of primary school English teachers in designing assessment. Journal of English Education and Linguistics Studies, 7(2), 211-235.
Taylor, L. (2013). Communicating the theory and practice of language assessment literacy. Language Testing, 30(3), 403-412.
Vogt, K., & Tsagari, D. (2014). Assessment literacy of foreign language teachers: Findings from a European study. Language Assessment Quarterly, 11(4), 374-402.
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Zein, M. S. (2017). Elementary English education in Indonesia: Policy and implementation. Language Policy, 16(4), 463-479.
Zein, R. (2020). English education for young learners in Indonesia: A focus on teacher professional development. Routledge.

Downloads

How to Cite

Rokhmani, Bintang Cahya Dwi Putra, R. B. C. D. P. (2025). AN INVESTIGATION INTO EFL PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHER’S COMPETENCE IN DESIGNING AND IMPLEMENTING ASSESSMENT FOR YOUNG LEARNERS. Proceedings UHAMKA, 3(1). https://conferences.uhamka.ac.id/uhamka/paper/view/188