Learning-oriented assessment of L2 argumentative writing ability: Its impacts on EFL undergraduate students’ writing ability and academic resilience

Abstract

The notion of utilizing assessment to facilitate learning has garnered significant momentum in language education. Nevertheless, a substantial portion of the pertinent theoretical and research literature tends to concentrate on the dynamics of the teaching-learning interface, often neglecting the critical role of effective teacher and peer interaction in augmenting student learning. The current study explored the learning-oriented assessment of EFL learners’ writing ability. Specifically, the study involved the development and administration of learning-oriented writing assessment (LOWA) tasks that aimed to measure 67 learners’ ability to display competency in L2 writing ability by building an argument. In addition, the study aimed to examine whether implementing LOWA tasks can help enhance learners’ academic resilience. Following a quasi-experimental mixed-methods approach, results from the assessment administration were analyzed using robust statistical analyses and qualitative analysis of the responses. A learning-oriented approach to assessment as a design and validation framework was used to interpret qualitative and quantitative evidence. The findings revealed that the students’ L2 argumentative writing ability and academic resilience improved as a result of the LOWA tasks where the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in the post-test. Moreover, focus-group interviews revealed favorable perspectives towards LOWA while also expressing some concerns on giving feedback. It is hoped that this research will shed light on the language assessment within complex tasks and will help understand the affordances of implementing embedded assistance in language assessment.