The Effect of Portfolio Assessment on Iranian EFLLearners'Expository Writing Accuracy and Complexity

This quasi-experimental study examined the effect of portfolio assessment (PA) on IranianEFL learners'expository writing accuracy and complexity. It was hypothesized that engaginglearners in the process of assessing their performance can focus their attention on formal andtextual features and thereby promote their writing. ۲۰ male learners at the intermediate andhigh level of proficiency in Iran Language Institute (ili), Khoy Branch who were within theage range of ۱۵-۲۰ were participated in the study and were randomly assigned as the controland experimental groups after their homogeneity was assessed based on a Oxford PlacementTest and a writing test. Both groups received one session as pretest and three sessions asposttests. The experimental group was provided with some information about the nature andgoal of the portfolio assessment at the beginning of the class and additionally experiencedboth paper correction by their teacher and portfolio activities such as collecting eachparticipant's papers in personal files and special kind of feedback which is related to theiraccuracy and complexity. The paired samples t-test analysis of their writing post-test revealedthat the experimental group surpassed the control group and produced more accurate butsame complex texts. The findings highlight the importance of engaging intermediate andadvanced TEFL students not only in the learning process but also in the process of evaluatingtheir own progress over time and offer pedagogical implications.

کلیدواژه ها:

accuracy ، complexity ، interactive feedback ، portfolio Assessment ، writing