Leblay, Tarja

Oh no, they are so good compared to me! The functionality of a new selfassessment

method of French oral language skills

This empirical study focuses on the French oral language skills and self-assessment. The

main purpose of the study was to test the functionality of a new type of speech samplebased

self-assessment. The study was designed to explore how well the learners could use

different methods of self-assessment as well as the extent to which different selfassessments

corresponded to each other and to external evaluation. Through qualitative

analysis the study aimed at investigating among other things the perceptions of the learners

concerning the functionality of the written self-assessment statements. In addition, the

study examined the characteristics of those speech samples which the students considered

to be either particularly easy or difficult. In the new method of self-assessment learners

compared their performances on speaking tasks with speech samples collected from other

learners. The results of the speech sample-based self-assessment were then compared to the

results of the traditional paper-based self-assessment and to those of the external evaluation.

The data were analysed by using both classical and IRT-based item analyses. In addition,

the study included a qualitative part which provided additional information about

students’ reflections and feelings about their own actions in the self-assessment process.

The study involved 209 Finnish students studying French, most of whom were university

students. The research material consisted of two French speaking tasks, which the students

did in the language laboratory, as well as four different self-assessment instruments (general

self-assessment on paper, situation-specific self-assessment on paper, self-assessment

based on speech samples in tasks 1 and 2). The first two above-mentioned instruments,

general self-assessment and situation-specific self-assessment (on paper), were developed

for the DIALANG

relates to the Council of the Europe’s Common European Framework of Reference

Finnish National Certificates of Language Proficiency

that the self-assessment based on listening to speech samples and comparing one’s own

performance with them functioned very well. This result is quite promising especially due

to the fact that the majority of the participating students did not have prior experience with

self-assessment. However, it should be noted that in this study the students managed relatively

well also in the self-assessment on paper based on situation-specific self-assessment

statements.

Keywords: Self-assessment, assessment, self-assessment statements, paper and pencil selfassessment,

self-assessment on paper, self-assessment based on speech samples, selfassessment

methods, reliability of self-assessment, self-assessment and students’ perceptions,

French as a foreign language, speaking, oral proficiency, reflectivity