The present research project is related to the impact that an electronic portfolio could potentially have on the assessment of discursive competence in English as a Foreign Language, in students from Cristobal Colon School in Bogotá, Colombia. Therefore, this is “action research” in which, “participants [researchers] regard their own educational practice, using the techniques of research that are founded on hypothesis such as ‘teachers and principals work best on problems they have identified for themselves’.”(Ferrance, 2000).Also, researchers designed an electronic portfolio as a resource in order to help students in communicative competence assessment; this electronic portfolio was created on a Google+ platform and applied in the Computer lab. The outcomes of this research show that the implementation of the electronic portfolio had a great impact in the assessment of discursive competence in English, including improvement in fluency, vocabulary and self-awareness. Key words: assessment, communicative competence, discursive competence, electronic portfolio.

1. Assessment of English discursive competence
Authors’ Names: CHUN YI LEE, Fabio Meneses and
Laura Romero.
Advisor’s Name: Wilder Escobar
Academic Program: Bilingual Education Degree
Institution: El Bosque University
2013

2. Theoretical Framework
Discursive
Competences
Canale (1984)
Communicative
Competences
Canale (1984)
Assessment
Nicol &
Macfarlane (2007)

3. Assessment
Nicol &
Mcfarlane
(2007)
Clarify what
good
performance
is
Students’
information
about their
learning.
Teacher and
peer
dialogue
Self-
assessment
in learning.

4. Communicative
Competences
Discursive
competence
Meaningful unity of
spoken or written texts
Pragmatic
competence
Creating and
understanding
discourse
Language
competence
Use language
resources to
form well-
structured
messages

5. Discursive Competences

6. • Resources to
assess
discursive
competences.
Statement
of the
problem
• Learning goals
for discursive
competences.
Statement
of the
problem
• Electronic portfolio as
an important tool.
Rationale
• Assess fluency and
grammar.
• Compare and contrast
students’ oral
production.

7. Research question:
What is the impact of an electronic portfolio
on the assessment of English discursive
competence for tenth grade-students’ in a
public High School in Bogotá, Colombia?
General Objective:
To attest the impact of electronic portfolios
on the assessment of English discursive
competence.
Specific Objectives:
To describe the processes of designing lessons for, and
assessment of, discursive competence through
implementing electronic portfolios.
To establish learning goals to assess discursive
competence in EFL learners based on their progress and
performance, using electronic portfolios as an assessment

8. Type of study:
1. Qualitative Research:
Denzin & Lincon (2000).
2. Descriptive research:
Gay (2006).
3. Action Research:
Ferrance (2000).
Instruments:
Interviews:
Tests:
Electronic portfolio

10. Setting and participants: Population:
 Institution: Cristobal
Colon High School.
 Grade: Tenth
 Location: San
Cristobal Norte
 Schedule: 6:30 p.m.
to 10:00 p.m.
 Number of students:
30
 Ages: 16 – 59 years
old
 English level:
Elementary

11. Instructional Design
Field observation
Teachers needed to
improve student
assessment practices
Planning
Researchers gathered
information and collected
data
Tests
Speaking tasks were
designed by researchers

12. Categories
Fluency
Vocabulary
Self-
awareness

13.  “Monserrate is good
place /pla-ce/ in the
downtown you can
find a catholic
church, restaurants
and a beautiful /be-a-
u-ti-ful/ riew of the
city”.Pronunciation
Hesitation
“e… I……. Stay in
Bogota, este…….
To…. visit the place”.
Pronunciation
To speak the
properly Phonetics.
Gilakjani (2011)
Hesitation
Pauses of varying
lengths.
Rieger (2003)
Fluency

14. Vocabulary
TOPIC: KINDS OF
TRANSPORTATION IN
BOGOTA AND HOW
INTRODUCE THEM TO
FOREIGN PEOPLE
DATE: September 14th 2012
Types of transportation:
1. Bicycle
2. Bus
3. Car
4. M otorcycl e
5. T axi
6. T ransmileni o
Verbs:
1. Can (auxilia r y)
2. Get (v erb)

15. Self-awareness
Self- reflection
A tool for
professional
development.
Lenburg (2000)
Self-correction
Learners notice
some of their
errors.
Makino (1993)
“Me gustaría aprender a
pronunciar y a escribir
bien en ingles”.
Tenth grade-students of
English.September21st.
“Monserrate is good place
/pla-ce/ in the downtown
you can find a catholic
church, restaurants and a
beautiful /be-a-u-ti-ful/
view of the city”.

16. Used to assess other
competences or
different subjects in
different contexts.
Teachers could
modify and improve
their further
activities.
1. Fluency improvement
through watching
videos.
2. Vocabulary
improvement through
visual aids.
3. Self-awareness
improvement through
analysis.
Conclusions

17. References
 Canale, M. (1984). Communicative Competence Approaches to Language Proficiency
Assessment: Research and Application. Clevedon, Avon. Multilingual matters Ltd.
 Cunningham, M. (1999).Improving adult English language learners’ discursive skills.
Washington, DC: National Center for ESL Literacy Education.
 Gilakjani , A. (2011). Why is Pronunciation So Difficult to Learn? English Language
Teaching, 4(3), 74-83.
 Lenburg, C. (2000). Promoting Competence through Critical Self-Reflection and
Portfolio Development: The Inside Evaluator and the Outside Context. Tennessee
Nurse, 63(3), 11-18.
 López, R. (1995). Teaching and learning vocabulary: an introduction for English students.
Magisterio de Albacete. UCLM,1(1), 35-49.
 Makino, T. (1993).Learner self-correction in EFL written compositions.ELT
journal, 47(4), 337-341.
 Nicol, D.& Macfarlane‐Dick, D. (2007). Formative assessment and self‐regulated
learning: a model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies in Higher
Education. 31 (2), 199–218.
 Rieger, C. (2003). Disfluencies and hesitation strategies in oral L2 tests.ISCA Archive, 5
(8), 41–44.