Language assessment literacy of language teachers in the context of adult education in Spain

Abstract

Recent years have seen a growth in the use of language tests as measures of accountability within the education sector. In many countries, governmental institutions have promoted the involvement of teachers in language testing, providing training to boost the language assessment literacy (LAL) of teachers. This study aims to analyse the results of a large-scale effort to increase teachers’ LAL within the context of public language education for adults in Spain by shedding light on the scale and nature of teacher LAL, the impact of training as perceived by teachers, and their self-perceived further needs. Results show that, similarly to other countries in which teacher LAL has been studied, training in assessment is strongly influenced by contextual factors. Moreover, teachers perceive that this training has an impact not only on assessment-related tasks, but on their general teaching practice. Lastly, the findings reveal a significant correlation between the contents of assessment training courses and the teachers’ perception of further training needs. This could indicate that the more teachers learn about specific areas of language assessment, the more training in assessment they feel is needed, suggesting a gap in teachers’ awareness of their own LAL that materialises once training is provided.