Iranian EFL Learners' Opinions about the Effect of Self-assessment on Their Productive Skills

Self-assessment has effects on learners' learning achievement (Taras 2001, 2002). It affects writing and speaking of language learners too (Alibakhshi & Abbaszadeh, 2012). This study was undertaken to explore the opinions of Iranian EFL learners about the effect of self-assessment on their productive skills (speaking and writing). For this reason, 36 Iranian EFL learners at Islamic Azad University, Neka Branch, were selected through convenience sampling. The learners were taught on how to self-assess. They self-assessed their writings and speaking during the study. In fact, their production during the term was videotaped. Each student was forced to watch the videotapes after the class and self-assessed his/her works. The researcher also asked the learners to use progress cards. Each session, these cards were ticked first by learners and then by the teacher. After 14 sessions (an academic semester) they were asked to fill in a questionnaire and comment on the effect of self-assessment on their productive skills. The data was collected and analyzed. The results indicated that self-assessment considerably improved Iranian EFL learners' writing and speaking skills. It also leads to students' reduction of stress and anxiety, their awareness of their strengths and weaknesses in language learning, and increasing self-confidence. Undoubtedly the results are important for EFL learners, teachers, administrators, curriculum designers and test-developers. The researchers' suggestion is that self-assessment can be a good alternative for traditional approaches of language testing

کلیدواژه ها:

self-assessment ، EFL learners ، and productive skills