The Impact of Formative Assessment on EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Enhancement

Abstract

The purpose of the current paper is to investigate whether and to what extent formative assessment influenced the EFL learners’ vocabulary enhancement. It also aimed at determining the students’ attitudes towards using formative assessment in the vocabulary learning process. The study was carried out in the Experimental English Classes (EEC), Department of English Programs (DEP) at the American University of Armenia (AUA). Two groups were involved in the study, the experimental and the comparison. The experimental group practiced the vocabulary with the help of formative assessment, whereas for the comparison group traditional exercises and activities were implemented. The research was quasi-experimental: both qualitative and quantitative data were employed. The instruments used were 1) pre- and post-tests, 2) an attitudinal questionnaire for students, 3) a semi-structured interview with students on formative assessment. The pre- and post-test results were analyzed quantitatively implementing the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). For the pre- and post-tests’ analysis Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests were implemented to compare the scores obtained from the performance of the experimental and comparison groups. The analysis of the pre- and post-tests showed a significant difference between the experimental and comparison groups. The results of the attitudinal questionnaire were analyzed through frequency analyses. For the analysis of the qualitative data collected through the interview, a content analysis was applied that integrated identifying the key topics and categories in the data. The results of the questionnaire and the interview revealed that formative assessment had positive influence on the learners’ vocabulary enhancement. The students claimed that formative assessment techniques helped them to become actively involved in their learning process and motivated them to learn the English vocabulary.