Báo cáo nghiên cứu khoa học: Training students’ self-expression in English through portfolio assessment: A trial in English literature

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Báo cáo nghiên cứu khoa học: "Training students’ self-expression in English through portfolio assessment: A trial in English literature"VNU Journal of Science, Foreign Languages 26 (2010) 226-233 Training students’ self-expression in English through portfolio assessment: A trial in English literature Nguyen Thi Thu Ha* Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of English-speaking Countries, College of Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Pham Van Dong Street, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam Received 02 September 2010 Abstract. The recent approach to language teaching and learning has been focusing on communication as getting things done in the utilitarian sense. However, the core of communication, if it wishes to mean anything significant to the world at all, should be self-expression. The ultimate aim of foreign language teaching, therefore, should be to create individual learners who have their own foreign language personalities and know how to express themselves in the target language. Making use of primarily qualitative methods, this study is an investigation into the implementation of the literature portfolio and its effects on students’ self-expression in written and spoken English. With a carefully developed portfolio design and assessing criteria, the portfolio implementation not only uncovered the students’ problems but also brought about highly favorable learning processes and results regarding self-expression ability. In this study, the literature portfolio was used not only as a fair process assessment tool but also as a way to train students’ self-expression in English. Keywords: Self-expression, portfolio assessment, literature, qualitative research.1. Introduction* interests, thoughts and feelings, such a view as to deny them voice and identity only frustrates The teaching of ESL/EFL has recently been and hinders learning. Thus, the natural need todominated by the utilitarian point of view, allow and encourage self-expression inwhich sees language as a mere tool to get language learning has become urgent.things done in a practical world. At its extreme, Portfolio assessment can provide just thecalculative thinking views language teaching as opportunity to meet this need. In English andno more than a mass-production process, with American Literatures, by working on a regularstudents as the input and automated basis on their own portfolios, students arecommunicating learners-entities as the output given every chance to exercise greater(Lehtovaara, in Kohonen et al 2001, p. 145). initiative and autonomy in responding to greatHowever, since language learners are unique literatures and expressing their feelings andhuman beings who inevitably bring into the opinions for themselves. The literaturelearning process their own life experiences, portfolio is worth trying out precisely because______ it would train students’ self-expression in the target language.* Tel: 84-953305997. E-mail: thuhavh288@yahoo.com 226 227 N.T.T. Ha / VNU Journal of Science, Foreign Languages 26 (2010) 226-233 relational language.” (p.212). Looking back at the literature, manystudies have focused on different humanistic Savignon (2002, p.5) suggests thatelements of language teaching and learning learners’ self-expression can be encouraged by(e.g. language anxiety and fear of negative promoting personal language use, which meansevaluation; the role of affect; improvisations in teachers should focus on meaning rather thanthe classroom), but no systematic study exists form whenever appropriate in order to givewhich explores learners’ self-expression in the students enough linguistic freedom to venturetarget language. Also, while there are abundant self-expression in the target language. Moreover, learners “should be encouraged tostudies on the use of English Literature to develop an English language personality withapproach whole-person development (e.g. which they are comfortable.” (p.5) While thisProdromou 2000; Sivasubramaniam 2006) and is challenging, it can be exhilarating at theon the portfolio approach to instruction and same time, as learners may discover a newassessment (e.g. Porter and Cleland 1995; freedom of self-expression in their newChen 2006; Hung 2009), a gap still opens for a language. Speaking, writing, and responding tostudy that researches the portfolio approach in ...