Assessment in CLIL: Test development for content and language for teaching natural science in English as a foreign language

Johanna P. Leal

doi:10.5294/6978

Authors

Johanna P. Leal Author Gimnasio Los Andes

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5294/6978

Keywords:

Science, young learners, CLIL, summative assessment, assessment frameworks, reliability

Abstract

On-going bilingual programs without regard to needs analysis; little research on the actual effects of CLIL in Colombia and vague awareness or knowledge about the necessary considerations for effective CLIL programs, underpin the need to address a particular issue of curriculum as it is summative assessment. This small scale study takes place in a Natural Science class using a CLIL approach with thirdgrade students at A2 proficiency level who have been progressively immersed in
a bilingual program at a private school in Bogotá, Colombia. Regularly scheduled tests were analyzed in order to identify suitable assessment items hat simultaneously report on the content and language achievement in order to provide guidelines for test development that are aligned with the teaching goals, consistently measure students’ progress, and facilitate teaching practices. This study entails a systematic examination of test items using formal item analysis to depict test validity from an assessment grid that integrates content, at different knowledge levels, CALP functions and cognitive skills. The study concludes that the assessment grid is a helpful tool to discriminate language and content achievement in the results of multiple-choice CLIL tests, by increasing teachers’ understanding of the language demands of test items and the level of difficulty of content tasks.

doi: 10.5294/laclil.2016.9.2.3

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Author Biography

Johanna P. Leal, Gimnasio Los Andes

Johanna Leal, has a Master Degree in English Language Teaching at the Universidad de La Sabana and Anaheim University’s Graduate Diploma in TESOL. She holds a TEFL certification from University of New York with over eight years of valuable experience working with CLIL in elementary schools. Her research interests include CLIL instruction and assessment, Second Language Acquisition (SLA), and self-directed learning. She is currently responsible for the CLIL implementation at Gimnasio Los Andes in Bogota.

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