English as a foreign language teachers' understanding of formative assessment and its application

Abstract

This MA thesis discusses teachers’ perceptions of formative assessment and its application in English as a foreign language classes. Formative assessment is a required form of assessment as stated by the Estonian National Curricula. Since more and more Estonian schools have and still are incorporating this assessment approach to move towards a more student-focused learning environment, it is necessary to examine how teachers who claim to use formative assessment perceive and apply it. Teachers’ perception of education reforms merits research, as teachers’ perceptions have a profound influence not only on their practice but also on curriculum implementation. The aim of the thesis is to study Estonian English teachers who claim to use formative assessment in order to gain an understanding of their perception of formative assessment and examine the methods they use to conduct this assessment procedure. The study also attempts to determine which of the methods proposed by theorists and education specialists those used by the teachers of this case study comply with