Although the literature widely acknowledges the benefits of formative writing assessment in daily teaching, there is limited understanding of how frontline teachers implement it and the reasons behind their approach, particularly in EFL secondary school contexts where assessment has predominantly served selective purposes. Drawing on interviews,…

While teacher assessment and student engagement are emerging topics in the field of second language (L2) writing, little is known about the possible correlations between the two important constructs. This mixed-methods study first surveyed the perceived teacher assessment approaches among L2 learners whose majors are English, Japanese and French…

Formative assessment (FA) has been widely adopted in higher education instruction yet university teachers' use of FA is underexplored. In the Chinese context of teaching English writing to students who learn English as a foreign language (EFL), the use of FA is intriguing because of both the university students' generally poor English writing…

Under the development of the information age, traditional Chinese teaching model of college English reading courses can no longer meet the needs of the times, and needs to be reformed urgently. From the perspective of mobile learning, this paper tries to combine modern educational technology with classroom teaching by using an online English…

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a serious impact on education at all levels and types, and the education system, including colleges and universities, has been forced to respond by a sudden shift to online teaching. Successful online teaching requires careful thinking, planning, and technical and human support from teachers. Based on the reflection…

The unexpected COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges to teachers' feedback-giving practice. This study reports on an inquiry into 16 Chinese EFL teachers' feedback changes during the pandemic, with a focus on whether and how the teachers changed their feedback practice when a range of digital assessment tools and online instructional…

Previous studies have shown that inquiry-based learning (IBL) and flipped learning effectively promote student engagement and learning outcomes in language classrooms. Meanwhile, technology-enhanced formative assessment (TEFA) with well-designed instructional strategies can provide engaging learning opportunities for learners of English as a…

Through literature study of researches on critical thinking, this paper gives an analysis of the present situation and existing problems of critical thinking cultivation in Chinese college English classes, probes into the rationale for critical thinking cultivation and discusses how to cultivate students' critical thinking in Chinese college…

This paper presents the reflections of one of the authors, a junior faculty member, on teaching a master's level, English-medium instruction (EMI) course. The course was titled, "International Research on Teacher Education," and it took place in a Chinese research-intensive university. It was, in part, a response to the need for…

This study explores how preschool educators could assess dual language learners' (DLLs) English language abilities using formative instruments in school settings. It specifically examines (1) DLLs' receptive and expressive language proficiencies measured using the instruments and (2) educators' perceived usefulness of them for informing…

Objective: To describe the process of developing a Health Qigong programme for stressed children using a formative evaluation approach. Methods: A multi-step formative evaluation method was utilised. These steps included (1) identifying programme content and drafting the curriculum, (2) synthesising effective and age-appropriate pedagogies, (3)…

As an undergraduate program, Business English is still in the initial stage of development in China. It is a new inter-disciplinary and applied discipline, the teaching of which is practical and diverse. Teaching assessment is an important part of the curriculum teaching because it is beneficial for the teacher to obtain feedback, improve teaching…

Previous research has revealed that teacher feedback encourages students' learning of a second language and improves task performance. While former quasi-experimental studies emphasized the positive effects of formative assessment and feedback by teachers on developing oral presentation competence, it remains unclear about the processes during…

Background: This article critically discusses the key tensions and challenges arising from the educational policy borrowing in China, through its current education reform. Focussing on the new curriculum reform (NCR), the paper highlights the interactions and conflicts between foreign and local ideologies and practices. Sources of evidence: The…

Background: This paper reports on the use of classroom assessment techniques (CATs) by primary school mathematics teachers in China. CATs are short, focused assessment activities that can reveal students' understanding of specific mathematical subjects. The study involved six female third-grade mathematics teachers from Nanjing, China. The focus…