title: Self-assessment in EFL speaking classroom and its effect on achievement, self-regulated learning, and critical thinking: students’ voices from Saudi Arabia
Creators: name: Alghanmi, Bayan Fahad
Publisher: name: University of Glasgow
Year: 2023

description: In light of the growing need to enhance the quality of education to overcome social and economic issues, assessment systems and curriculum have undergone significant modifications and reforms in many countries. Saudi Arabia is no exception. The literature suggests that innovative approaches to assessment, such as self-assessment, have the potential to promote lifelong skills, empower learners, and enhance learning. Nonetheless, traditional assessment practices continue to dominate in Saudi Arabia, particularly in higher education English language courses. Review and reframing of assessment approaches are, therefore, necessary in Saudi Arabia to improve the quality of learning and to develop learners’ lifelong skills, including self-regulated learning skills and critical thinking skills. Despite the growing interest in self-assessment as a practical instructional strategy that draws on formative assessment to promote self-regulated learning and critical thinking, relatively few studies have addressed this topic in English language courses in higher education, and none have addressed it in the context of Saudi Arabia. The evidence regarding the impact of self-assessment on the quality of learning and the empowerment of learners may help to guide the Saudi education reform. Nonetheless, traditional assessment practices continue to dominate in Saudi Arabia, particularly in higher education English language courses. Therefore, reviewing and reframing of assessment approaches, specifically to improve the quality of learning, are necessary in Saudi Arabia to develop learners’ lifelong skills, including self-regulated learning skills and critical thinking skills. Recently, self-assessment has emerged as a practical instructional strategy that draws on formative assessment to promote selfregulated learning. However, most research on formative assessment and self-regulated learning has portrayed results related to self-assessment as generalisable, despite the need for research across various educational contexts. The aim of this research is to explore in depth the participants’ perceptions and experience of self-assessment in speaking classrooms and the impact of self-assessment on learners’ self-regulatory skills, critical thinking, and speaking language performance within the EFL context. This study also examines the relationship between learners’ self-regulated learning and their critical thinking skills. Pre- and post-tests were conducted with 27 EFL students before and after a self-assessment intervention. In addition, a self-assessment proforma, audio recording, and semi-structured interviews were collected and conducted with 10 of the 27 students. All these tools played an essential role in investigating the participants’ perceptions and experience of self-assessment and its impact. Overall, the participants in this study displayed favourable attitudes towards self-assessment. The findings indicate that a variety of factors influenced the learners’ perspectives, including learners’ prior experience with traditional speaking assessment, learners’ motivation and willingness to self-assess, learners’ awareness of assessment criteria, and learners’ perceptions and experiences of feedback. The findings also reveal the positive impact of self-assessment on learners’ self-regulated learning skills, critical thinking skills, and achievement, as well as a positive medium-strength relationship between learners’ self-regulated learning skills and critical thinking skills. The study concludes with recommendations for educational policy-makers who are aiming to establish practices that support and empower learners. For example, the study encourages the use and adaptation of the self-assessment proforma in the English language as a reliable scaffolding method of assessment that can foster deep learning and self-regulated learning.