View of IMPROVING COGNITIVE SKILLS AMONG EFL STUDENTS’ OF KING KHALID UNIVERSITY WITH PERFORMANCE - BASED ASSESSMENTS METHOD

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Vol. 05,Special Issue 03, (IC-WESD-2020) March 2020, Available Online: www.ajeee.co.in/index.php/AJEEE

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IMPROVING COGNITIVE SKILLS AMONG EFL STUDENTS’ OF KING KHALID UNIVERSITY WITH PERFORMANCE - BASED ASSESSMENTS METHOD

Aayesha Sagir. Khan¹, Samar Y. Alnmer², Sagir Ahmed Khan³

Assistant Professor, KKU—King Khalid University, Ahad Rufaida, Abha, Saudi Arabia Head of the Department KKU— King Khalid University, King Abdullah Road, Abha, Saudi

Arabia

Abstract:- Improving the Cognitive skills of the students‘ benefits them to enter the global business world with poise. Increasing the level of motivation among English as second language learners is important as the students need encouragement and proper guidance in their further academic and job endeavors. Assessment of the students‘ knowledge of the particular course she is undertaking is a multi-faceted issue and that has been the focus of considerable attention in education over the past decades. It determined for by Saudi Government for Saudi children, that wherever they live, to enjoy the higher quality, multi- faceted education. This research was carried out with the final year students of English Department.100 students were selected randomly for the same and a questionnaire was administered to measure the impact of the assessment and students‘ motivation and inclination between the traditional assessments and Performance - Based Assessment Method. The benefits and challenges of using Performance Based Assessment techniques are applicable not only to English language learners, but also for the students of different streams, and it can prove to establish a well-educated student community.

Keywords:- Performance - Based Assessments, Traditional Assessment, motivation, English Language learning.

1. INTRODUCTION

This paper aims to contribute to EFL research by introducing a performance-based assessment designed to measure oral competences of the students which is one of the main aspects of learning a foreign language. In the academic domain test and assessment are often used as one term for the evaluation of the student, but practically they do mean something dissimilar. Categorizing self-motivation in order to understand why the student needs this language and how he is going to use it is very important. It is very essential for students to identify that Language barriers can also be a barrier to your career. Therefore the most challenging action about learning the language is staying dedicated and enthusiastic, particularly when motivation or the spirit is on the decline.

Not only in students‘ age but at every level being bilingual is not only impressive, but also proves to be a building block for building a career. As Linn, Baker(1993) states:

Performance assessments are characterized by the use of open-ended tasks and complex problems that require students to display their skills in several types of performance that usually focuses on higher-order skills. Performance - Based Assessments helps students‘ to enhance their Cognitive skills and to put up their best results in Language learning class, this technique can be applied in other courses as well to evaluate the strengths of the students.

Many recent researches have proved that the traditional paper-pencil tests are not enough to evaluate whether students are absorbing the complete information the teacher wants or wishes his or her student to know. The importance of testing, as discussed by Farhady, Jafarpur, and Birjandi (2006) and Hughes (2003), makes us act more meticulously when making a decision about the testing approach that best fits our objectives and purposes. The mission of any government, while planning for big Universities with great infrastructure in the country is to impart best education to the students of the nation. As clearly stated on the official website of (Saudi Arabia Vision 2030), ‗An education that contributes to economic growth, We will close the gap between the outputs of higher education and the requirements of the job market.

We will also help our students make careful career decisions, while at the same time training them and facilitating their transition between different educational pathways. To this end, we will prepare a modern curriculum focused on rigorous standards in literacy, numeracy, skills and character development. Keeping the same in mind the research has put forward the role of Performance -Based Assessment in the domain of language learning practice, as testing in the current decade has also undergone outstanding changes, with the

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rise of the Communicative Language Teaching, which resulted in the advent of the performance-based assessment.

As Darling-Hammond (2006) indicates: Performance assessments that require students to evaluate and solve complex problems, conduct research, write extensively, and demonstrate their learning in projects, papers, and exhibitions have proven key to motivating students and attaining high levels of learning in redesigned high schools.

Research by (Abedi, 2006; Solano-Flores & Trumbull, 2003; Solano-Flores, 2008) clearly demonstrates that some variables unrelated to the focal measurement construct (e.g., unnecessary linguistic complexity, cultural biases in construction of items) can affect the quality of high-stakes assessments for these students. Therefore, the outcomes of these assessments may not be reliable and valid, and they may not yield sufficient evidence for making important decisions regarding a student‘s academic career.

Performance-based learning is when students contribute in the execution of tasks or activities that are related to their courses and are expressive and pleasing. The purpose of this kind of learning is to benefit students to obtain and apply acquaintance, practice skills, and develop autonomous and collective work habits. Cognitive research (Gardner 1993) indicates that most learning goes on within an active, rather than a passive, context and

―that children construct knowledge from their actions on the environment‖ (Wadsworth 1989, p. 156). Bass, Magone, and Glaser (2002) observe that performance assessments allow all students, especially those with different language backgrounds, to engage in cognitively complex activities such as generating strategies, monitoring work, analyzing information, and applying reasoning skills. A test is a ―product‖ that measures a particular behavior or set of objectives.

Meanwhile, assessment is seen as a procedure instead of a product. Assessment is used during and after the instruction has taken place. According to The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, 1999 test is an evaluative device or procedure in which a sample of an examinee‘s behavior in a specified domain is obtained and subsequently evaluated and scored using a standardized process. As asserted by Clark (1972): Indirect tests of proficiency do not provide an opportunity for the student to try out his language competence in realistic communication situations.

Although they correspond in a statistical sense to direct tests of proficiency, paper- and-pencil tests, tape-recorded listening and speaking tests, and similar measures cannot have the same psychological value for the student or the same instructional impact. For this reason alone, the administration of a direct test of communicative proficiency at one or more points in the student‘s language-learning career would be a very worthwhile undertaking. According to Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics (Richards and Schmidt, 2002, p. 392), performance-based assessment is ―an approach to assessment that seeks to measure student learning based on how well the learner can perform on a practical real task.‖

1.1 Statement of Problem

Finding adequate and appropriate assessments is a constant challenge for teachers (Rulon, 2002). Using students‘ prior knowledge encourages student involvement in the learning process. ―Using examples from students‘ experiences…allow students to bring previous knowledge into working memory to accelerate making sense and attaching meaning to the new learning‖ (Sousa, 2006). Assessing the students‘ comprehension of learning the language considering the objectives of a course can be a difficult process i.e. the students‘

outcomes of a certain course cannot sometimes be reflected by the traditional form of assessment. Assessing students cognitive skills is a complicated process that cannot be achieved only through exam paper especially in the field of learning a language.

1.2 Research Questions

In the study following main questions were taken as the standard.

 To identify the role of Performance based assessment to enhance the cognitive skills of EFL students?

 To identify effect of results on the motivation of EFL students after applying the method?

 To identify the students perspective towards Performance Based Assessments?

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 To identify the role of practical language learning in carrier building of the students for the future?

2. METHODOLOGY

Assessment is quite important in language instructions and it is not an end in itself but a vehicle for educational improvement (Dorobat, 2007).Assessing the students skills of learning the language through oral presentations or various practical learning based performances is the current trend in many of the educational institutes. When such techniques are adopted as an ongoing basis in the campus, it‘s a great way to monitor a student‘s comprehension through a longer period of time. 100 students under graduate students of King Khalid University, Female Campus were selected randomly for the study.

All the students were of English Department and of graduate level.

Students of this level were purposely chosen as they were in the final semester and most of them were enthusiastic to enter in the global business world. The students were assessed on the bases of their oral work, with the help of checklist that highlighted the entities, like pronunciation, pitch, pace and content of written work. There are different methods and techniques under the umbrella of Performance Based Assessment. For this study the method of assessing the students‘ knowledge was evaluated by writing research task and oral presentation based on their work. Students were also asked to prepare a questionnaire for their task.

The students‘ enthusiasm was marked by the efficient response for the practical task. For this paper the participants were given to complete a questionnaire based on Likert scale pattern which is used to measure respondents‘ attitudes to a particular question or statement. To analyze the data it is usually coded as follows.

 1 = Strongly disagree

 2 = Disagree

 3 = Neutral

 4 = Agree

 5 = Strongly agree.

Later the data collected of 65 students was analyzed by using SPSS for the mean and the SD. Prior to the distribution of the questionnaire to the students after the completion of the task, a short interview was taken. In the interview the students who participated in the study were asked question regarding oral communication skills, importance of assessment and other related questions to the research.

3. DISCUSSION AND FINDINGS

In her 2007 article Tomlinson writes, ―Over time, I became aware of students who did poorly on tests but who showed other evidence of learning. They solved problems well, contributed to discussions, generated rich ideas, drew sketches to illustrate, and role-played…when one form of assessment was ineffective for a student [it represented]…a poor fit between the student and the method through which I was trying to make the student communicate‖

This is the supremacy and strength of Performance Based Assessment technique to bring out the nervous and hidden talents of the students.

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Table 1. Detail result of the findings the Mean and Std. Deviation of the data.

Fig.1 Learning English is important?

The Fig.1and the Mean and Std. Deviation regarding the first question indicates that the experience of the students make them to rethink about leaning the English Language no matter as a Second Language. They find it difficult to get through it. This result demand the practical way of teaching the language is the demand of the time and students.

Fig 2.

In Figure 2 proves that the students prefer the practical way of learning the language, which is by the technique of Performance Based Assessments methods. As this helps them to be self-motivated and this is what required by the university and the

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students‘ themselves. As the higher the students‘ motivation will be, the better the students‘

English proficiency in the language will be. Motivation to learn the language is very important as it requires the practice outside the classroom as well. The evaluation of the performance does have a strong impact on the motivation of the students. This cannot be denied.

Fig. 3

The above result very evidently indicates the role of performance based assessment.

In the interview taken, before the task, the students stated that they were not ready to participate in any oral presentation task in which they have to speak for around 4-5 minutes on the topic. They were afraid to speak in English. But after the completion of the task, which they themselves had done they were ready and enthusiastic to speak on the task done by them. The task based analysis of the students made them to choose Performance Based Assessments over the traditional one. As Aidogmus, Aksu & Rich (2014) state that a motivation is very closely linked to the students‘ ability to communicate orally.

Fig.4

The Figure 4 proves that if the outstanding performance of the students is demanded by the university and the family of the students, first the teachers have to check the level and factors affecting the level of motivation of students towards learning the language. Cognitive Skills can only be improved if the student herself is ready to participate in the learning process. By the end of the task of writing the research and giving oral presentation the students were well aware of the difference between the two technique of assessment, PBA and the traditional methods .students‘ perspective was quite indicative

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that they prefer PBA as it will enhance their skills which they need for the carrier and further studies.

Fig.5

Oral Speaking or Speaking Skills is the key to learn a Second Language and this also goes with English. As this not improve the language learning skill but also the confidences of the learner. This was also proved in the research done on 100 students. They felt more comfortable and relaxed while handling the language in public while giving oral presentation and applying the PBA.

4. CONCLUSION

Current research indicates that students need dependable, evocative curriculum to remain involved with the language learning process in class and outside the class. As per the discussion of the research findings above, it can be concluded that performance-based assessments is the demand of the time and the requirement of the EFL students‘. The benefits and challenges of using the various technique of PBA are just not confined English as Foreign language learners, but will also prove beneficial to a number of other students from different courses of the Kingdom.

Therefore, this study is helpful for a variety of audiences. The practical involvement in the process of learning English as the Second Language forms a habit of learning lessons and as a result English itself become a part of a daily routine of the student. Performance- based assessment trials a student‘s capability to relate the skills learned in an accurate way. Thus this makes advantageous in order to prepare a strong and concrete base for the nation as well.

5. LIMITATIONS

Quadir (2014) also points out that the motivation has strong correlation with verbal or oral communication skills, especially for students who are learning English as a foreign language. The research was carried out within the time limit as the students‘ were for one semester only. In depth study can be done in order to understand the various techniques under the umbrella of PBA.

―Performance-based assessment describes one or more approaches for measuring student progress, skills, and achievement…one way of looking at performance assessment is to think of it as the ultimate form of linking instruction with assessment‖ (Cohen &

Spenciner, 2003, p. 165). One aspect was low number of participants. Hence the training of the teacher is also required in order to plan the task as per the requirement of the students and their level As these task are not doubt time consuming.

REFERENCE

1. Abedi, J. (2006). Language issues in item-development. In S. M. Downing & T. M. Haladyna (Eds.), Handbook of test development (pp. 377–398). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

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2. Aidogmus, Y; Aksu, R; & Kaya, M.F. (2014). The relationship between communication skills of geography teachers and students‘ level of motivation towards geography lesson. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences 4 (5).

3. Bass, K. M., Magone, M. E., & Glaser, R. (2002). Informing the design of performance assessments using a content-process analysis of two NAEP science tasks. (CSE Technical Report No. 564). Los Angeles:

National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing.

4. Clark, J. L. D. (1972). Foreign language testing: Theory and practice. Philadelphia, PA: The Center for Curriculum Development.

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8. Farhady,H.,Jafarpur,A.,&Birjandi,P.(2006).Testing language skills‖ Fromtheory to practice Tehran: SAMT.

9. Gardner, H. 1993. Frames of mind. 4th ed. New York: Basic Books.

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Appendix

List of Performance Assessments:

Below is a short list of Performance Assessments. These ideas have been divided into four areas: visual work, written work, oral/spoken work, and production/performance.

Visual Work

 Developing Portfolios

 Creating a collage

 Creating a picture postcard

 Creating a slide show/PowerPoint

 Creating a brochure

 KWL charts

 Creating a board game

 Illustrating a story or characters from a story Oral/Spoken Work

 Presenting a political campaign speech

 Presenting a debate or a speech

 Reciting a poem

 Explaining or describing a poster, collage, art work, etc.

Written Work

 Writing a political campaign speech

 Creating a comic strip

 Writing a compare/contrast essay

 Writing a persuasive essay with pictures

 Journal response writing

 Writing an historical fiction short story

 Creating a resume Performance/Production

 Creating a museum exhibit

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 Performing a dance

 Performing a song

 Creating an art work, sculpture, etc.

 Constructing a playground, city, farm, etc.

 Growing plants

 Acting out a play