ESL is always a top priority field in Vietnam. However, in order to make further progress in the field of ESL learning, there’s a need of a combination of many factors and assessment methods are one of these. But contrary to its importance, the assessment method has not received much attention. Teacher feedback or comments are important to the teaching process as it is one of the ways teachers can make formative assessment in the classroom (Wiliam, Lee, Harrison, & Black, 2004). Unfortunately, assessment methods in Vietnam mainly focus on testing and exam, and they are often used to assess student progress at all levels of the education system with all subjects. Hence, for most Vietnamese students, their learning goal is to pass exams and for most teachers, their role is to provide knowledge to help students get the marks they need (Tran, 2015 cited in Dore, 1997a; Stobart, 2008). Evaluating student performance is a more complex matter than that. ‘Assessment as a driver of learning’ (Cowan, 1998, p.12). It is a powerful means of directing student learning. However, like other powerful tools, it needs to be used with care, otherwise it can become counterproductive and even harmful. Therefore, learning about how to assess the EFL learning process of students in Vietnam will open many solutions and directions to improve EFL teaching and learning.

1. Assessing students by giving comments
basing on students' learning process
through web portal and students' notebooks
Table of Contents
I. Introduction...........................................................................................................................................1
1.1. Background of The Study .............................................................................................................1
1.2. Statement of The Problem.............................................................................................................2
1.3. Limitations of Research ................................................................................................................2
II. Literature Review..................................................................................................................................3
2.1. Assessment....................................................................................................................................3
2.2. Formative Assessment ................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.3. Formative Assessment Challenges and Solutions.........................................................................4
2.4. Review of related research............................................................................................................4
III. Findings.............................................................................................................................................5
3.1. Understanding formative assessment implementation in Vietnam ESL Learning........................5
3.2. Identifying formative assessment challenges................................................................................6
IV. Discussion and Recommendations....................................................................................................6
4.1. Implementing formative assessment to assess students in primary school...................................6
4.2. Solutions to address formative assessment challenges .................................................................6
V. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................7
Reference ......................................................................................................................................................7
I. Introduction
1.1. Background of The Study
ESL is always a top priority field in Vietnam. However, in order to make further progress
in the field of ESL learning, there’s a need of a combination of many factors and assessment
methods are one of these. But contrary to its importance, the assessment method has not received
much attention. Teacher feedback or comments are important to the teaching process as it is one
of the ways teachers can make formative assessment in the classroom (Wiliam, Lee, Harrison, &

2. Black, 2004). Unfortunately, assessment methods in Vietnam mainly focus on testing and exam,
and they are often used to assess student progress at all levels of the education system with all
subjects. Hence, for most Vietnamese students, their learning goal is to pass exams and for most
teachers, their role is to provide knowledge to help students get the marks they need (Tran, 2015
cited in Dore, 1997a; Stobart, 2008). Evaluating student performance is a more complex matter
than that. ‘Assessment as a driver of learning’ (Cowan, 1998, p.12). It is a powerful means of
directing student learning. However, like other powerful tools, it needs to be used with care,
otherwise it can become counterproductive and even harmful. Therefore, learning about how to
assess the EFL learning process of students in Vietnam will open many solutions and directions to
improve EFL teaching and learning.
1.2. Statement of The Problem
The potential of assessing students by giving comments basing on students' learning
process to improve learning has been studied extensively in many areas (Ash & Levitt, 2003; Buck
& Trauth-Nare, 2009; Cauley & McMillan, 2010). In addition, studies on giving comments for
students as an assessment strategies have also supported the central role of formative assessment
in enhancing learning ability (Heritage & Heritage, 2013; Ozuem & Lancaster, 2015). Although
these studies have shed light on how teacher feedback is implemented, most research on giving
comments as assessment has been done in the areas of mathematics and science instruction
(Brookhart & Durkin , 2003; Opre, 2015; Taras, 2010). Moreover, there are not many studies on
this kind of assessment in EFL teaching and learning in Vietnam because it is a relatively new
method. Especially studies at the primary education level. However, the method of assessing
students right from the primary school level can greatly affect the learning process later. Therefore,
a study to understand the implementation of assessing students by giving comments basing on
students’ learning process in EFL learning in primary school, the difficulties and ways to overcome
them is very necessary.
1.3. Limitations of Research
The main limitation of the research is the subject of the study. There are many primary
schools in Vietnam, so observing at one school may not be enough to reflect all the pros and cons
of this kind of new assessment method, challenges and practical solutions. In addition, the duration
of the study was not long enough to see the long-term effects of giving comments instead of scoring
on students' EFL performance.

3. II. Literature Review
2.1. Assessment
Jang (2014) states that language assessment is “a purposeful activity to gather information
about students' language development. It is a means for a wide range of educational purposes and
is fundamental to all educational ends” (p.5). It has recently been recognized that assessment has
great potential in enhancing student learning (Black, 2010; William, 2011). However, the
educational values of assessment do not seem to be fully understood and exploited in many
educational contexts (Berry & Adamson, 2011; Broadfoot, 2009). These researchers showed in a
review of their work that with the effective use of feedback, assessment can raise standards of
student academic achievement (Black & William, 1998). However, it is acknowledged that
problems can arise when ideas are transferred from one context to another, due to sociocultural
factors (Holliday, 1994) and learning assessment are no exception (Careless, 2011; Pham &
Renshaw, 2014). Thus, the way in which learning is supported by assessment varies according to
the different sociocultural contexts in which it takes place.
2.2. Assessing Students by Giving Comments Basing on Students' Learning
Process
In academic terms, assessment is divided into two streams, formative and summative.
Much literature suggests that both assessment streams are equally important and have the potential
to improve learning (Black, 2012; Broadbent, Panadero, & Boud, 2017; Lau, 2016). Although
formative and summative assessment are equally important, teachers should focus on formative
assessment as it provides valuable information about the day-to-day basis of student learning.
Assessing students by giving comments basing on students’ learning process is an effective
formative assessment (Sadler, 1989). A number of research have demonstrated that the connection
between giving comments and formative assessment is inevitable (Black & Wiliam, 2003;
Heritage, 2010; OECD, 2005). Comment can be broadly defined as information provided to a
student that focuses on describing the student's achievement after completing an academic task.
Meanwhile, Hattie and Timperley (2007, p.81) simply define feedback as the 'consequence of
learning'. sent in text or speech, or even as a gesture, as long as it includes constructive criticism,
affirmation/negative, and advice as its focus (Moss & Brookhart, 2009). Traditionally, the teacher
was the sole provider of feedback; however, recent studies have mentioned that feedback can also

4. come from sources such as peers, books or parents (Brookhart, Moss, & Long, 2009; Colby-Kelly
& Turner, 2007).
2.3. Giving Comments Basing on Students' Learning Process Challenges and
Solutions
The formative assessment literature has highlighted a number of factors that may create
barriers for teachers to implement giving comments basing on students’ learning process. The first
factor is the large classes. Despite different definitions, researchers generally agree that large
classes can be challenging (Ballantyne, Hughes, & Mylonas, 2002; Hancock, 2010; Schanzenbach,
2014). Large classes can interfere with giving comments as teachers need to accommodate the
diverse learning needs of students, especially when providing feedback to move forward and
organize students (Brady, 2012). According to an OECD report (2005), teachers in secondary
schools, in eight different countries, consider it impractical to apply formative assessment due to
large classes and the need to equip materials outlined in the curriculum.
The second factor that can hinder the implementation of giving feedback is the level of
assessment culture. A recent meta-analytical study conducted by Quyen and Khairani (2016)
shows that in the Asian context, giving feedback as assessment method barriers are directly related
to teachers' perceptions of assessment. This kind of formative assessment is time consuming and
burdensome, and teachers lack understanding of what effective comment is and how to implement
it in their daily practice.
According to Fulcher (2012), teachers want clear, practical, easily implemented activities,
rather than instructions that require them to spend more time customizing the teaching concept. As
a result, giving comments basing on students’ process can become difficult for teachers if not
supported with examples of how the assessment is done that will then be customized in the
teacher's own context. Pham and Renshaw (2015) emphasize that any assessment reform has the
potential to be adopted, modified or rejected by both teachers and students even though the reform
requires them to adjust their beliefs and attitudes.
2.4. Review of related research
There are many studies on this topic that have been done on different aspects with different
subjects. For example, Rea-Dickins and Gardner (2000) studied how teachers conduct classroom
assessment in nine primary schools in the UK. They reveal that classroom assessment offers

5. opportunities for both formative and summative purposes, and it is complex to distinguish between
them. The results of these studies are consistent with much of the formative assessment literature,
which emphasizes that the nature of formative assessment depends on how learning evidence is
used.
One of the studies focusing on the effectiveness of giving comments on students’ progress
was done by Colby-Kelly and Turner (2007). This mixed-method study investigated whether
teacher-student interactions, when used as formative feedback, had a positive impact on learning.
The researchers classified formative feedback into two components: a motivational component
and a learning component. Based on data from analysis of curriculum materials, questionnaires,
interviews, and classroom observations, the researchers concluded that students who value
comments from teachers can improve their speaking performance.
Another study regarding the effectiveness of formative assessment was done by Wei
(2015). Specifically, her research focuses on the contribution of formative assessment to enhancing
teacher instruction. The research was conducted in higher education in Vietnam and the data
collected included students' course experiences and classroom observations. Research shows that
the use of classroom observations as a tool for assessment forms on teacher performance, provided
that teachers understand what constitutes good teaching and can generate helpful comments.
III. Findings
3.1. Understanding giving comment assessment implementation in Vietnam
ESL Learning
After observing classroom activities and studying documents at Bac Hai primary school,
the researcher has understood how they apply giving comment assessment in teaching EFL in
Vietnam. Specifically, at present, the Ministry of Education does not allow the assessment of
students' progress by grades, but instead is assessed by comments, which can be verbal or written
assessment in their notebooks. Currently, there are 3 ways to evaluate students by giving feedback:
on the website portal, face-to-face feedback during class and writing comments in students’
notebooks. An assessment has 3 parts. Part 1 will include what the students did. Part 2 represent
things that students have not done. Finally, part 3 is recommendation for improvement. These
feedbacks are regularly updated on the portal. Teachers will comment on students once a month
on this portal. This is a new approach compared to the traditional exam and scoring that Vietnam

6. has applied for many years. Therefore, teachers are still quite unfamiliar with the application of
this approach.
3.2. Identifying giving comment assessment challenges
As mentioned above, this is a relatively new form of student assessment in Vietnam. So,
teachers need time to get familiar with this kind of assessment approach and invest more effort in
making feedback. How to make their comments really useful and help students in learning is a
difficult thing. Especially when elementary school students are too young. Therefore, they will not
fully understand the teacher's complicated comments in English during the class. General
comments are not constructive as well. Moreover, writing comments specifically about the
learning progress of all students in a class is also a problem for teachers because it takes more time
and effort than grading. Technology can be considered as a drawback of giving comment
assessment through website portal as teachers and parents might face difficulties to access these
tools.
IV. Discussion and Recommendations
4.1. Implementing giving comment assessment to assess students in primary
school
The implementation of giving comment to assess students in primary schools has both
advantages and limitations. The advantage of giving comment assessment is indisputable when
students are assessed throughout the learning process, not just through an exam. This way, students
will be motivated to really improve their abilities in each lesson, not just trying to get a high score
on the final exam. Less depending on the score, grading or final exam also reduces pressure on
students and avoids discrimination among students. Giving comment assessment also helps on
closely monitoring students' learning progress and making timely comments on the good, the bad
and how to fix it. As a result, it can help students quickly solve existing problems in learning.
Although there are inevitable difficulties in applying giving comment assessment methods such as
time-consuming, technology challenges and finding suitable feedback for young students, this
method of assessment should be implemented nationwide in all levels of education.
4.2. Solutions to address giving comment assessment challenges
The biggest difficulty for teachers when applying giving comment assessment is that they
are not familiar with this method and sometimes cannot find a way to give appropriate comments
to the specific audience such as children. The first solution to this challenge is support from the

7. Ministry of Education and schools with training sessions to improve expertise in student
assessment and the application of giving comment assessment for teachers. A specific guideline
with useful examples will be a resource to help teachers create a culture of using giving comment
assessment. From there, they can create their own way without fear of going far from the original
orientation. Schools should also regularly pay attention to and recognize the difficulties that
teachers are facing in the process of using giving comment assessment to provide timely solutions.
Schools should also provide technical support to make accessing the portals simple and
user-friendly for both teachers and parents. Regular training courses to improve skills in using
technology is also a solution to limit the risks when using electronic portals. The proficient use of
these tools also partly reduces the time-consuming for teachers to evaluate students later on.
V. Conclusion
Overall, research has found that teachers at Bac Hai Primary School have the potential to
implement giving comment assessment and reap its potential benefits. Although many teachers
still have difficulty with this form, the teachers in this study have somewhat successfully applied
giving comment assessment to their teaching practice. Challenges such as not having comments
that are both understandable to students and constructive for the learning or time-consuming
process still need more attention. However, this study has shown that although the teachers
involved in this study had differing opinions on how giving comment assessment should be
defined, they understood how giving comment assessment could be used to improve student
learning. Therefore, this study indicates that giving comment assessment can be successfully
conducted in the Vietnamese environment and its potential benefits can be achieved.
Reference
Ballantyne, R., Hughes, K., & Mylonas, a. (2002). Developing Procedures for Implementing Peer
Assessment in Large Classes Using an Action Research Process. Assessment & Evaluation in
Higher Education, 27(925215345), 427–441. https://doi.org/10.1080/026029302200000930
Berry, R., & Adamson, B. (Eds.). (2011). Assessment reform in education: Policy and practice.
London and New York: Springer.
Black, P. (2010). Formative Assessment. In B. McGaw, E. Baker & P. Peterson (Eds.),
International encyclopedia of education (3rd ed., pp. 359-364). Oxford: Elsevier Science.

8. Black, P. (2012). Formative and Summative Aspects of Assessment: Theoretical and Research
Foundations in the Context of Pedagogy. In J. . McMillan(Ed.), SAGE Handbook of Research
on Classroom Assessment(pp. 167–178). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Inside the black box: Raising standards through classroom
assessment. The Phi Delta Kappan, 80(2), 139-148.
Black, & Wiliam, D. (2003). “In praise of educational research”: formative assessment. British
Educational Research Journal, 29(5), 623–637.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0141192032000133721
Brady, B. (2012). Managing assessment in large EFL classes. In C. Coombe, P. Davidson, B.
O’Sullivan, & S. Stoynoff (Eds.), The Cambridge Guide to Second Language Assessment(pp.
291–298). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Broadbent, J., Panadero, E., & Boud, D. (2017). Implementing summative assessment with a
formative flavour: a case study in a large class. Assessment andEvaluation in Higher
Education, 2938, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2017.1343455
Broadfoot, P. (2009). Signs of changes: Assessment past, present and future. In C. Wyatt-Smith &
J. Cumming (Eds.), Educational assessment in the 21st century: Connecting theory and
practice (pp. v-xi). London and New York: Springer.
Brookhart, S. M., & Durkin, D. T. (2003). Applied Measurement in Education Classroom
Assessment, Student Motivation, and Achievement in High School Social Studies Classes.
Applied Measurement In Education2, 16(1), 27–54.
Brookhart, S. M., Moss, C. M., & Long, B. A. (2009). Promoting Student Ownership of Learning
Through High-Impact Formative Assessment Practices. Journal of MultiDisciplinary
Evaluation, 6(12), 52.
Buck, G. A., & Trauth-Nare, A. E. (2009). Preparing teachers to make the formative assessment
process integral to science teaching and learning. Journal of Science Teacher Education,
20(5), 475–494. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-009-9142-y
Carless, D. (2011). From testing to productive student learning: implementing formative
assessment in Confucian-heritage settings. New York: Routledge.

9. Cauley, K. M., & McMillan, J. H. (2010). Formative Assessment Techniques to Support Student
Motivation and Achievement. The Clearing House, 83(August 2012), 1–6.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00098650903267784
Colby-Kelly, C., & Turner, C. E. (2007). AFL Research in the L2 classroom and evidence of
usefulness: taking formative assessment to the next level. Canadian Modern Language
Review, 64, 9–37. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.64.1.009
Cowan, J. (1998). On Becoming an Innovative University Teacher –Reflection in Action.
Buckingham: Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press.
Fulcher, G. (2012). Assessment Literacy for the Language Classroom. Language Assessment
Quarterly, 9(2), 113–132. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2011.642041
Hancock, T. M. (2010). Use of audience response systems for summative assessment in large
classes Summative assessment in large classes. Australasian Journal of Educational
Technology, 26(2), 226–237. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.1092
Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational Research,
77(1), 81–112. https://doi.org/10.3102/003465430298487
Heritage, M. (2010). Active Learning through Formative Assessment. London: Corwin.
Heritage, M., & Heritage, J. (2013). Teacher questioning: The epicenter of instruction and
assessment. Applied Measurement in Education, 26(3), 176–190.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08957347.2013.793190
Holliday, A. (1994). Appropriate methodology and social context. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Jang. E (2014). Focus on Assessment. Oxford University Press. England
Lau, A. M. S. (2016). ‘Formative good, summative bad?’ –A review of the dichotomy in
assessment literature. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 40(4), 509–525.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2014.984600
Moss, C. M., & Brookhart, S. M. (2009). Advancing Formative Assessment in Every Classroom.
Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

10. OECD. (2005). Formative Assessment: Improving Learning in Secondary Classroom. Paris.
Opre, D. (2015). Teachers’ Conceptions of Assessment. Procedia -Social and Behavioral Sciences,
209(8), 229–233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.11.222
Ozuem, W., & Lancaster, G. (2015). Questioning: a path to student learning experience. Education
+ Training, 57(5), 474–491. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-04-2014-0039
Pham, T. H. T., & Renshaw, P. (2014). Formative assessment in Confucian heritage culture
classrooms: Activity theory analysis of tensions, contradictions and hybrid practices.
Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. doi: 10.1080/02602938.2014.886325
Pham, T. H. T., & Renshaw, P. (2015). Formative assessment in Confucian heritage culture
classrooms: activity theory analysis of tensions, contradictions and hybrid practices.
Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 40(1), 45–59.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2014.886325
Quyen, N. T. Do, & Khairani, A. Z. (2016). Reviewing the Challenges of Implementing Formative
Assessment in Asia: The Need for a Professional Development Program. Journal of Social
Science Studies, 4(1), 160. https://doi.org/10.5296/jsss.v4i1.9728
Rea-Dickins, P., & Gardner, S. (2000). Snares and silver bullets: disentangling the construct of
formative assessment. Language Testing, 17(2), 215–243.
https://doi.org/10.1191/026553200673636547
Sadler, D. R. (1989). Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems.Instructional
science,18(2), 119-144.
Schanzenbach, D. W. (2014). Does class size matter?Boulder, CO.
Taras, M. (2010a). Assessment for learning: Assessing the theory and evidence. Procedia -Social
and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 3015–3022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.457
Tran, T. D. (2015). An exploratory study of the current assessment practices for improving the
learning of English as a foreign language (EFL) in two Vietnamese universities. (Doctoral
dissertation). Queensland University of Technology, Australia.

11. Wei, W. (2015). Using summative and formative assessments to evaluate EFL teachers’ teaching
performance. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 40(4), 611–623.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2014.939609
Wiliam, D. (2011). What is assessment for learning?Studies in Educational Evaluation, 37(1), 3-
14. doi: 10.1016/j.stueduc.2011.03.001
Wiliam, D., Lee, C., Harrison, C., & Black, P. (2004). Teachers developing assessment for
learning: impact on student achievement. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy &
Practice, 11(1), 49–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594042000208994