L'impact des nouvelles technologies sur les pratiques evaluatives en langues vivantes

Abstract

The aim of the author was to analyze some possibilities that go with the use of information and communication technologies in the process of learner evaluation in foreign language acquisition. The research focused on the process of receiving and providing feedback information, which is one of the key concepts of assessment for learning, otherwise known as formative evaluation. Taking the view that feedback is one of the most important elements in the process of acquiring new knowledge and skills in a foreign language, as well as that it has a direct influence on effective learning and teaching processes, the question is to know whether and to what extent a change in broadly understood teaching/learning techniques can entail a change in received/provided feedback information (its nature, quality, quantity, etc.). Thus defined research problem required, on the one hand, a deep analysis of the key concept, along with the explanation of closely related notions (such as language norm and language error) and, on the other hand, a detailed analysis of techniques that enable information transfer between a teacher and a foreign language learner, with special emphasis on the socalled new techniques of teaching/learning that are provided by means of educational ICT tools. The above-delineated analyses were taken as a point of departure in planning the research that was conducted as a didactic experiment. The research predominantly focused on the process of teaching/learning a foreign language on elementary level, synonymous with A1 and A2 levels according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The participants were students who have taken up French as another foreign language after English and their mother tongue (Polish). The main purpose of the research was to find an answer to the following question: Do feedback acquisition and provision via electronic way provide a teacher as well as a learner with the same benefits as traditional techniques in the evaluation of learner’s progress? It should be stressed that for the purpose of this study electronic feedback has been defined as a sort of information accessible only via computers and the Internet, whereas traditional techniques of transferring and acquiring feedback information applied to the process of information exchange between the student and teacher occurring directly in the foreign language classroom. The research material that was used to compare the effectiveness of both types of feedback was based on written exercises. Detailed analyses of the research results clearly showed that, from the perspective of learning effects, both forms of feedback provide comparable benefits for the learner. Nevertheless, a crucial difference has emerged as far as teacher’s work is concerned, that is, thanks to electronic tools a teacher gains additional information on the quality of the answers given by learners, as well as certain strategies used by learners in order to accomplish a language task. Information gained in this way enables the teacher not only to diagnose linguistic and communication problems that an individual learner may encounter but also to adjust the nature of feedback information to each learner’s individual needs.