Integrating Assessment into Early Language Learning and Teaching

Danijela Prošić-Santovac is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English Studies and the Head of the Centre for Languages at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad, Serbia. She teaches methodology courses on English Language Teaching at preschool and early school age as well as academic writing courses. In addition, her research interests include integrating children's literature into teaching, and her most recent publication is The Magical Art: Appropriation, Reception and Interpretation of Fairy Tale (2019). Shelagh Rixon was an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Linguistics at the University of Warwick, UK until her retirement in 2010. Currently, she is an Associate Tutor for the MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL at the University of Leicester, UK. Her research interests include the teaching of early English literacy to children learning English as a Foreign Language and the roles of assessment in primary school level English Language Teaching.

The chapters in this book widen the scope of discussions on age-appropriate language pedagogy. They offer insights into how formative assessment has been implemented with the help of innovative approaches and assessment tasks in many contexts, and how children’s attitudes, motivation, anxiety, and aptitude interact in the process of learning and testing. The volume triangulates teachers’ and young learners’ perspectives. I recommend it for pre- and in-service teachers, teacher educators, and researchers.

• Chapter 1. Shelagh Rixon and Danijela Prošić-Santovac: IntroductionPart 1: Why testing is not enoughChapter 2. Jelena Mihaljević Djigunović: Affect and Assessment in Teaching L2 to Young LearnersChapter 3. Małgorzata Tetiurka: Towards Developmentally Appropriate Assessment of Learning in a Young Learner ClassroomChapter 4. Irma-Kaarina Ghosn: Integrating Instruction and Assessment in the Young Learner ClassroomChapter 5. Danijela Prošić-Santovac, Danijela Radović and Stanislava Popov: We Scare Because We Care: Young Learners and Test AnxietyPart 2: Integrating Assessment into Learning and Teaching: ApproachesChapter 6. Gail Ellis and Shelagh Rixon: Assessment for Learning with Younger Learners: Is Thinking about Their Learning a Step Too Far?Chapter 7. Alison Porter: Exploring Roles for Formative Assessment in Primary FL Classrooms: Looking Through a Primary FL Classroom WindowChapter 8. Sandie Mourão: Collaborative Approaches to Assessing Progression in English in an Early Language Learning Initiative: A Case StudyChapter 9. Sharon Ahlquist: Opportunities for Formative Assessment in the Storyline Approach Part 3: Integrating Assessment into Learning and Teaching: ToolsChapter 10. Louise Courtney: Role Plays: A Versatile Tool for Assessing Young LearnersChapter 11. Danijela Prošić-Santovac and Ana Navratil: Assessment of Very Young Learners of English and the Joy of Puppetry: A Multiple Case StudyChapter 12. Dorota Campfield: Elicited Imitation: Potential for Integrated Teaching and AssessmentChapter 13. Thomaϊ Alexiou, Shadan Roghani and James Milton: Assessing the Vocabulary Knowledge of Pre-School Language LearnersPart 4: From Policy to Practice through Professional DevelopmentChapter 14. Joan Kang Shin and Joann (Jodi) Crandall: Developing Formative Assessment Practices for Young Learner English Teachers: A Professional Development Model in PeruChapter 15. Samúel Lefever: Assessment Policy and Practices of Early Language Learning in IcelandChapter 16. Danijela Prošić-Santovac, Vera Savić and Shelagh Rixon: Assessing Young English Language Learners in Serbia: Teachers’ Attitudes and Practices