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Formative Assessment Strategies for ESL

The document outlines a formative assignment by Sherali Xusanov for the MA TESOL program at Webster University, detailing his teaching experience and instructional methods for ESL learners. It includes a description of the learners' proficiency levels, reading and writing activities designed to enhance their skills, and justifications for these activities based on educational research. The assignment emphasizes the importance of inferencing in reading comprehension and the use of infographics to improve writing organization.

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murodullaevabdulloh95
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18 views7 pages

Formative Assessment Strategies for ESL

The document outlines a formative assignment by Sherali Xusanov for the MA TESOL program at Webster University, detailing his teaching experience and instructional methods for ESL learners. It includes a description of the learners' proficiency levels, reading and writing activities designed to enhance their skills, and justifications for these activities based on educational research. The assignment emphasizes the importance of inferencing in reading comprehension and the use of infographics to improve writing organization.

Uploaded by

murodullaevabdulloh95
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Formative Assignment week 3 Reading and Writing outlines

Student: Sherali Xusanov

MA TESOL Program KJ F1 2025 Webster University (Tashkent)

TESL 5139 KJ F2 2025 Instructional Methods for Language Classrooms

Professor: Akbar Xudoyqulov


Statement of Originality and Assistance

I only utilized Microsoft Office word to make this assignment. I followed instructor`s feedback

to do this assignment. I can safely say that is all my work, besides I looked at our weekly reading

materials to include references in my piece of work.

Disclosure of Prior Existing Material

While I was writing this task I did not use any prior assignment and I did not have to use any

internet sources. I only paid attention to the guidance in Canvas and I tried to follow instructor`s

feedback for my prior assignment. So, it`s all my work.


Description of learners

Currently, I am an ESL teacher at Target International school. I have been teaching 15-16 years

old 9 and 10th grade students here. All of them are at B2 (intermediate) level, therefore, they have

good grasp of general English in spite of their some mistakes . These learners have secondary

school instructions here as they follow our school rules and curriculum. Since the school is

specialized on Business and English teaching, they have more academic hours of these subjects.

Based on the school syllabus, the English language is taught two pairs a day each pair lasts 90

minutes. The learners have been taught by Solutions, Reading Challenge, listening tactics, Basic

IELTS Listening and other IELTS materials. During my lessons I divide my students into small

groups to make them collaborate with each other. Admittedly, I check students` progress based

on what I taught them, so obviously I prepare tests, handouts and other activities such as project

work as formative and summative assignments at the end of each term. Hence, I prepared a

project work as a formative assessment, in which they are supposed to do a presentation of

topics, for instance, Food and Sport. Their task is to come up with ideas about pros and cons of

both homemade and restaurant meals as well as benefits of sports. According to their

performance and participation they are evaluated. Luckily, they are doing well in Listening &

Speaking as these skills are related to conversation and auditory stimuli. They are trying to move

from B2 to C1 level of proficiency that`s why they are working on both productive and receptive

skills of the language. As for reading, these learners are better at doing MCQ, Gap filling and

Headings and for writing they can easily write complaint, invitation, business, formal and

informal letters, map and process reports. I always pay attention to the materials I am giving to

the learners in my classes whether they are authentic, relevant and suitable for their level

regardless of writing and reading I am teaching. Anderson (1999) also argues that selecting

appropriate reading material is very important, as he considers this one of the eight beneficial

strategies to teach reading. Simultaneously, learners make a bit more mistakes when they do
correct ending and summary question types in reading while they are bad at writing line and bar

graphs.

I followed my instructor`s oral feedback, I was told to provide more details in the description

learner section and I could have done the work better by adding many specific examples in that

part. So for this assignment I did my best to address all criteria to make a decent piece of writing.
Reading activity

Instruction: read the following example sentences and make inferences using those sentences

1. John broke his leg. He was not permitted to play football for a while.

2. Anna did not study hard. She could not win the scholarship.

3. Husniddin practiced speaking every day. He achieved near native competence in fifty

days from B2 level.

4. Selena read articles and analyzed them. She did not have any difficulties in her reading

formative assessment.

Justification for the reading activity

As my target learners find it hard to do summary based question types, making

inferences can be a practical solutuion to them. To have better reading comprehension

students are advised to work with inferencing because inferences help students to

improve reasoning and critical-thinking skills let alone good summary making. Learners

are able to better summarize paragraphs and contexts focusing on main ideas, then they

will progress in doing summary related question types. The importance of making

inferences is also highlighted by researchers and scientists, Samuels and Kamil (1984)

for instance, mention that having the most basic type of reading comprehension

inferencing is required. Besides, Van den Broek supports the idea of making inferences

is a key for “successful reading as it is the construction of a functional, coherent

representation of texts in memory… The construction of a representation might be seen

as a problem-solving process in which reader infers relationships among ideas, events,

and states”.
Writing activity

Instruction: complete the following infographics with necessary data and ideas to write a

report. Then create a new infographic to practice more writing.

Write a line graph or a bar chart


Idea generation process Writing or producing a text

Create ideas
Support idea
Idea translation
Using task-based vocab

Justification for the writing activity

Since my learners have problems with writing line graphs and bar charts, this type of

activity will really help them. Working with infographics, guide them with flow while

writing reports. The reason why many students stuck during the writing process is they

do not either plan or create such brainstorming beforehand. With this approach, learners

know where are they going, what follows next and they will have an accuracy and order.

Otherwise learners will end up pausing many times in the middle of writing which is too

bad as it wastes time and they cannot organize reports clearly. Overall the whole goes

smooth, and writer knows how to separate paragraphs, makes sure where to put important

data. Furthermore, one of researchers also supports almost the same idea by claiming

Infographics let writers focus on organizing thoughts effectively without worrying about

generating texts (Kellogg, 1988).


References

Eskey, D. E. (2002). Reading and the teaching of L2 reading. TESOL Journal, 11(1), 5–9.

[Link]

Lee, H. C. (2013). Thinking matters: Inferencing in ESL reading lessons. TESOL Journal, 4(4),

717–742. [Link]

Maamuujav, U., Krishnan, J., & Collins, P. (2019). The utility of infographics in L2 writing

classes: A practical strategy to scaffold writing development. TESOL Journal, 11(1),

Article e484. [Link]

Common questions

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Intermediate ESL students often struggle with writing line and bar graphs and correcting endings and summary question types in reading. These challenges hinder their ability to progress to a higher proficiency level, as proficiency in these areas is crucial for moving from B2 to C1 level. Without improvement, students may face difficulties in complex comprehension tasks and producing structured written reports .

Integrating infographics into the learning process helps ESL students by providing a clear structure for organizing thoughts and ideas, which is crucial for writing tasks such as line graphs and bar charts. Infographics guide students in the flow of their writing which prevents them from pausing frequently, thus maintaining the coherence and accuracy of their reports . This method reduces cognitive overload by allowing students to focus on content organization rather than text generation .

Project-based learning contributes to ESL students' progression by immersing them in language tasks that require the application of multiple language skills - speaking, listening, reading, and writing. This approach encourages critical thinking, collaboration, and practical use of language in real-world scenarios, which are essential for the transition from B2 to C1 proficiency levels. The collaborative projects also expose students to diverse vocabulary and complex structures, which are critical for advanced language use .

Selecting authentic and relevant reading materials is vital in ESL contexts as it directly affects student engagement and the development of comprehension skills. Anderson (1999) highlights this selection as one of the eight critical strategies for teaching reading, suggesting that appropriately chosen materials help in building contextually rich learning experiences that accommodate students’ language levels and interests, enhancing their reading development .

Inferences can be a key focus for improving reading comprehension because they help learners develop reasoning and critical-thinking skills necessary for understanding underlying meanings and connections within texts. Researchers like Samuels and Kamil emphasize that making inferences is essential for constructing a coherent mental representation of texts, which enhances comprehension .

Collaborative group work enhances ESL students' language development by fostering interactive learning environments that focus heavily on listening and speaking skills. Students benefit from auditory stimuli and conversational practice, which not only aid in improving these specific skills but also simulate real-life language use scenarios, helping them reinforce and apply their learning effectively .

Feedback from instructors, both oral and written, is instrumental in shaping ESL students' performance and skills. It serves as a means to identify strengths and areas needing improvement, guiding learners toward better practices. Effective feedback helps clarify learning objectives and expectations, providing learners with direct strategies to improve language skills. Regular feedback enables consistent progress through targeted corrections and encouragement .

Planning and idea organization are crucial in the writing process for ESL learners because they help structure thoughts, reducing the cognitive load during writing. Effective planning ensures a clear flow of ideas and minimizes frequent pauses, thereby enhancing coherence and precision in reports. Without planning, learners risk disorganized content and frequent interruptions in thought processing .

Formative assessments in ESL classrooms serve as a diagnostic tool to gauge students' current understanding and skills. These assessments, through tools such as project work and presentations, not only evaluate student performance and participation but also provide immediate feedback that is crucial for guiding future instruction and supporting language acquisition. They enable continuous monitoring and adaptation of teaching strategies to meet learners' needs .

Utilizing Microsoft Office tools in ESL formative assessments aids in organizing and presenting students' work efficiently, enhancing productivity and presentation quality. These tools allow for clear formatting and easy adjustments, which streamlines the revision process and encourages a more sophisticated presentation of ideas. The use of such technology can also familiarize students with commonly used business tools, thereby enhancing their digital literacy and preparedness for future workplace environments .

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