VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HO CHI MINH CITY

UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE

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COURSE SYLLABUS
I. Course title: Classroom-based Assessment (for BA in English Linguistics & Literature)
II. Course code: NVA203.1
III. Course credits: 3 credits (60 periods)

IV. Course prerequisites: Students are expected to have completed foundation courses and
Teaching Methodology.

V. Course overview:
This course is designed to provide participants with:
• knowledge and understanding of fundamental concepts, theories, and principles of
language assessment, and their practical application in the classroom; and
• opportunities to practice designing test items and alternative assessment tasks based
on selected teaching materials used in the classroom.

VI. Course contents:

• Key concepts, theories, and principles of language assessment
• Designing test specifications
• Designing classroom-based assessments of the four skills: listening, speaking,
reading, and writing
• Alternatives in assessment
• Grading and student evaluation

VII. Course goals (CGs)

This course has three overall goals: to educate students who are able to
1. demonstrate in-depth knowledge and understanding of language assessment
fundamentals.
2. design classroom-based tests and assessment tasks.
3. develop essential transferable skills in teaching or relevant professions.

VIII. Course learning outcomes (CLOs):

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. analyse concepts, theories and principles of testing and assessment
2. successfully design classroom-based tests and assessment tasks for listening, reading,
speaking and writing
3. develop their critical thinking skills
4. develop the ability to work individually
5. foster their teamwork skills
6. improve their presentation skills

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IX. Assessment scheme:

Assessment Score Percentage Note

Task of the final grade
A1. Presentation 100 Midterm 30% To be computed by the
Progress test pts score University Admission
Office

A2. Group 100 Final score 70% To be computed by the

portfolio pts University Admission
Office
100%

Passing grade: 5/10

Guidelines for group portfolio, progress test and final test:

(1) Group presentation:

• Each group will summarize and synthesize the main points from the assigned
readings, and present their outputs in around 15 minutes plus 15 minutes for questions
and answers.
• Selected groups will present their preparation in power point slides or any
presentation tools.

• Evaluation: Preparation 25%, Content 25%, Performance 25%, Reaction 25%

(2) Progress and Final tests:

• Test dates (TBA): scheduled by the academic office after the course

• Aim(s) of the progress and final tests: The purpose of the progress and final
tests is to assess how the students demonstrate their understanding of theoretical
fundamentals in language testing and assessment and how they design and
evaluate a given language test in practice.
• Format of the tests: to assess if the students will be able to (i) demonstrate their
understanding language assessment fundamentals; (ii) identify the specification of
the assessment tasks with aims of task, the tasks themselves, and scoring; (iii)
design some test items on 4 skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
(3) Group portfolio:
• Each group will design an assessment portfolio for a General English course for
adults at a pre-intermediate level. The portfolio includes an assessment scheme,
test specifications, alternative assessment tasks and an achievement test based on
the materials given by the course instructor. This portfolio is an integral part of the
teaching and learning process in which students will get feedback from the course
instructor and their peers in order to improve it.

• Specifically, the portfolio (in MS word format) should contain the following
sections:
I. Title page (Institution/Faculty name, title of the portfolio, names of group
members, student code, instructor, date of publication)
II. Introduction to the portfolio (including the objectives of the portfolio)
III. Description of the students (their age, English proficiency level, etc.)

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 IV. Objective(s) of the assessment tasks to be designed (to be kept in line with
those of the lessons given)
V. The actual assessment tasks designed to assess listening, speaking, reading,
writing, grammar and vocabulary
(This section should also be supported with theory-based explanations of
a. what to be assessed,
b. why it/they is/are assessed,
c. how the items will be scored,
d. why they are scored in such a way,
e. what the scores mean and indicated
VI. Some possible lessons/ reflection / difficulties the group learned during the
designing of these assessment tasks
VII. References and appendices (if any)
• The portfolio should be around 2,000 - 2,500, of 1.5-line spacing, using Times
New Roman font style (font size 12) (excluding references and appendices).

• Scoring scheme for the portfolio:

Organization 30%
Development of ideas 30%
Grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, and 30%
spelling
Style & referencing 10%
100%

X. Course policies on learning and assessment

• The course will be conducted in different modes including lecturing, discussion,
practice, and group presentation.
• Attendance in all sessions is strongly recommended. Participants are required to give
advance notice of their absence in case of illness or any other situations. However,
they must attend at least 80% of the sessions in order to pass the course.
• Participants are expected to be well prepared and take an active role in class
discussions and work collaboratively with their peers.
• Failure of the assignment will be imposed as a penalty for cheating and plagiarism.
• For late submitted work, 5% of the component grades will be deducted per day.

XI. Reading texts:

Required reading:
Brown, H. and Abeywickrama, P. (2019) Language assessment – Principles and
classroom practices. New York: Pearson Longman, 3rd edition.

Optional readings:
• Cheng, L. and Fox, J. (2017) Assessment in the Language Classroom: Teachers
support student learning, UK: Palgrave.
• Coombe, C., Davidson, P., O'Sullivan, B., & Stoynoff, S. (Eds.) (2012) The
Cambridge guide to second language assessment, Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
• Fulcher, G. (2010) Practical language testing, London: Hodder Education.
• Hughes, A. (2003). Testing for language teachers (2nded.). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

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XII. Detailed course contents
Sessions Topics
1 - Course introduction
- Assessment concepts
and issues
2 Principles of language
assessment
3 Designing classroom
language tests
4 Standards-based
assessment
5 Standardized testing
6 Assessing listening
7 Assessing speaking
8 Assessing reading
9 Assessing writing
10 Assessing grammar
and vocabulary
Required Readings Teaching and learning
activities
Brown, H. and Lecture and discussion
Abeywickrama, P. (2019)
Chapter 1, pp. 1-26
Brown, H. and (Group presentation) +
Abeywickrama, P. (2019) Discussion + Questions and
answers (Q&A) + lecture
Chapter 2, pp. 27-56
+ Practice: designing test
specifications
Brown, H. and (Group presentation) +
Abeywickrama, P. (2019) Discussion + Q&A +
Chapter 3, pp. 57-89 lecture+ Practice: designing
test items
Brown, H. and (Group presentation) +
Abeywickrama, P. (2019) Discussion + Q&A + lecture
Chapter 4, pp. 90-109
Brown, H. and (Group presentation) +
Abeywickrama, P. (2019) Discussion + Q&A + lecture
Chapter 5, pp. 110-127
Brown, H. and (Group presentation) +
Abeywickrama, P. (2019) Discussion + Q&A + lecture
Chapter 6, pp. 128-155. + practice: designing
Listening assessment tasks
Brown, H. and (Group presentation) +
Abeywickrama, P. (2019) Discussion +Q&A + lecture
Chapter 7, pp. 156-195 + practice: designing
Speaking assessment tasks
Brown, H. and (Group presentation) +
Abeywickrama, P. (2019) Discussion + Q&A + lecture
Chapter 8, pp. 195-226 + practice: designing
Reading assessment tasks
Brown, H. and (Group presentation) +
Abeywickrama, P. (2019) Discussion + Q&A + lecture
Chapter 9, pp. 227-259 + practice: designing
Writing assessment tasks
Brown, H. and (Group presentation) +
Abeywickrama, P. (2019) Discussion + Q&A + lecture
Chapter 10, pp. 260-285 + practice: designing
grammar and vocabulary
assessment tasks
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 11 Grading and student Brown, H. and (Group presentation) +
evaluation Abeywickrama, P. (2019) Discussion + Q&A + lecture
Chapter 11, pp. 286-311
12 Beyond letter grading Brown, H. and (Group presentation) +
Abeywickrama, P. (2019) Discussion + Q&A + lecture
Chapter 12, pp. 312-330
TBA Group portfolio
(submitted two weeks
after the final
session)