Summary on "Self-assessment" - Unit 4 - Perak 5 - B1 - PDP 4 ELT - British Council Malaysia

1. Self-Assessment
British Council Malaysia
PDP 4 ELT
B1 – Perak 5
Unit 4

2. Worksheet 1
We can do this activity at the end of a lesson. I think this
activity is suitable for secondary school children aged 13-17.
We can start by explaining how it works before carrying it
out. We can pin the worksheet at the back of the classroom
and ask the lower level students to fill it in. We can
distribute the worksheets to good students and ask them
to fill them in individually once a week or depending on
how many times you want your students to assess
themselves.

3. Worksheet 2
We can carry this activity out before we start our lesson.
The first two parts can be completed first before we plan
our lesson in order to get to know our students. This
activity is suitable for primary school children aged 7-12. We
can explain how to fill in the worksheet to students. For
weak or average students, we can pin the worksheet at the
back of the class and ask them to fill it in. We can give good
students the worksheet and ask them to fill it in individually
once a week or depending on how many times you want
them to assess themselves.

4. Worksheets 1 and 2
We can work on these activities outdoors. We have to find
ways to grab our students' attention so that they will do
the activities we propose and will enjoy them. We can pair
them up and they can talk to each other. Of course, we'll
guide them fully throughout the activity.

5. Some information on Selfassesment
According to Penny Ur in her book A
Course in Language Teaching: Practice
and Theory (1996), self-assessment takes
place when “the learners themselves
evaluate their own performance, using
clear criteria and weighting systems
agreed on beforehand.”

6. According to H. Douglas Brown in his book
Teaching by Principles: An Interactive
Approach to Language Pedagogy (Second
Edition – 2001), the advantages of selfassessment are “speed, direct involvement of
students, the encouragement of autonomy, and
increased motivation because of selfinvolvement in the process of learning.”

7. Jeremy Harmer in his book The Practice of English Language
Teaching (Fourth Edition – 2007), says that “involving
students in assessment of themselves and their peers occurs
when we ask a class ‘Do you think that’s right?’ after writing
something we heard someone say up on the board, or asking
the class the same question when one of their number gives
a response. We can also ask them at the end of an activity
how well they think they have got on – or tell them to add a
written comment to a piece of written work they have
completed, giving their own assessment of that work. We
might ask them to give themselves marks or a grade and
then see how this tallies with our own.”

8. He also mentions that “self-assessment can be made
more formal in a number of ways. For example, at the
end of a coursebook unit we might ask students to
check what they can now go, e.g. ‘Now I know how to
get my meaning across in conversation/use the past
passive/interrupt politely in conversation’, etc.”

9. References:
Brown, H. Douglas. Teaching by Principles: An
Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy. New
York: Pearson Education, 2001 – 2nd Edition.
Harmer, Jeremy. The Practice of English Language
Teaching. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2007 – 4th Edition.
Ur, Penny. A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and
Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

10. References:
Brown, H. Douglas. Teaching by Principles: An
Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy. New
York: Pearson Education, 2001 – 2nd Edition.
Harmer, Jeremy. The Practice of English Language
Teaching. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2007 – 4th Edition.
Ur, Penny. A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and
Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.