Aleph
Volume 9, Numéro 3, Pages 359-377
2022-06-25

Continuous Assessment In Higher Education: Efl Teachers’ Practices & Challenges

Authors : Senouci Madiha .

Abstract

The present paper aims to explore teachers’ practices and faced challenges of continuous assessment (CA, henceforth) in the English department at Mohammed Lamine Debaghine-Setif-2 University. To achieve the purpose of this study, an exploratory design is followed. For data collection, a semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 36 EFL teachers who were selected based on a convenience sampling technique. The data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings indicate that the implementation of CA by teachers is limited; and teachers tend to focus on quizzes, take home projects and group oral presentation as the major strategies for their CA practice. Another finding reveals that teachers are facing a number of challenges when implementing CA among which are: large class size, course overload, time constraints, and teachers’ lack of training with CA implementation. Accordingly, a number of pedagogical implications is offered. First, the number of students per class should be revised and reduced. Second, teachers should receive training on the use of CA strategies in the EFL classroom and should be equipped by a well-designed manual of CA practices. Finally, learners should be encouraged to actively engage in the process of assessment through peer and self-assessment.

Keywords

continuous assessment ; Higher Education ; practices ; challenges ; EFL teachers