The effect of e-portfolio assessment on EFL vocabulary learning and retention

Nava Nourdad, Mohammad Amin Banagozar

Abstract


Vocabulary is one of the main components in learning a new language which provides the ground for language learners to learn and use the language. In this regard e-portfolio, as a recent and novel assessment technique, can have the potential for vocabulary development. This study aimed at investigating the effect of portfolio assessment on Iranian EFL guidance school learners’ vocabulary learning and retention. To this end, 92 guidance school students in the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades, were selected as the participants of the study. They were randomly assigned into two experimental and control groups. While the control group followed the conventional class quizzes the experimental group practiced e-portfolio assessment. The participants in the experimental group were asked to create their e-portfolios and keep a record of what they learned during and after the online sessions. They were also asked to include the reflection sheets in their e-portfolios. Three parallel tests as a pre-test, an immediate post-test, and a delayed post-post were used to gather data about the effect of portfolio assessment in each grade (a total of nine tests). The results of a one-way ANCOVA revealed that the participants of the experimental group outperformed the participants of the control group in terms of EFL vocabulary learning and retention. Considering the outcomes, the study presents some implications for practitioners including language teachers, curriculum and course developers, and language learners.

Keywords


EFL vocabulary; e-portfolio; portfolio assessment; vocabulary learning; vocabulary retention

Full Text:

PDF

References


Afrianto, A. (2017). Challenges of using portfolio assessment as an alternative assessment method for teaching English in Indonesian schools. International Journal of Educational Best Practices, 1(2), 106–114. https://doi.org/10.31258/ijebp.v1n2.p106-114

Ahn, J. (2004). Electronic portfolios: Blending technology, accountability & assessment. The Journal, 31(9), 1-19.

Barrot, J. S. (2021). Effects of Facebook-based e-portfolio on ESL learners' writing performance. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 34(1), 95–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2020.1745822

Berimani, S. & Mohammadi, M. (2013). Investigating the effect of portfolio assessment on vocabulary learning of Iranian EFL learners. ELT Voices. India International Journal of English, 3(3), 29-39.

Brown, H. D., & Abeywickrama, P. (2019). Language assessment: Principles and classroom practices (3rd ed.). Pearson Education.

Chastain, K. (1988). Developing second language skills: Theory and practice (3rd ed.). Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Firoozi, T., Razavipour, K., & Ahmadi, A. (2019). The language assessment literacy needs of Iranian EFL teachers with a focus on reformed assessment policies. Language Testing in Asia, 9(1), 1–14.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-019-0078-7

Gan, L., & Lam, R. (2020). Understanding university English instructors’ assessment training needs in the Chinese context. Language Testing in Asia, 10(11). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-020-00109-y

Goldsmith, D. J. (2007). Enhancing learning and assessment through e-portfolios: A collaborative effort in Connecticut. New Directions for Student Services, 2007(119), 31-42. https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.247

Gonzalez, J. A. (2009). Promoting students autonomy through the use of the European Language Portfolio. ELT Journal, 63(4), 373-382. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccn059

Gray, L. (2008). Effective practice with e-portfolios (pp. 5-40). JISC.

Halim, I. A., & Lestari, Z. W. (2019). The use of portfolio assessment of writing skill in descriptive text. Journal and Applied Linguistics and Literacy, 3(2), 75–85. https://doi.org/10.25157/jall.v3i2.2420

Hindman, A. H., Connor, C. M., Jewkes, A. M., & Morrison, F. J. (2008). Untangling the effects of shared book reading: Multiple factors and their associations with preschool literacy outcomes. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 23(3), 330–350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2008.01.005

Hinojosa-Pareja, E. F., Gutiérrez-Santiuste, E., & Gámiz-Sánchez, V. (2020). Construction and validation of a questionnaire on E-portfolios in higher education (QEPHE). International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 43(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727X.2020.1735335

Hyland, K., & Hyland, F. (Eds.). (2019). Feedback in second language writing: Contexts and issues (pp. 1-22). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108635547.003

Ismailov, M., & Laurier, J. (2021). We are in the breakout room. Now what? An e-portfolio study of virtual team processes involving undergraduate online learners. E-Learning and Digital Media, 19(2), 120-143. https://doi.org/10.1177/20427530211039710

Kusuma, I., Mahayanti, N. W. S., Adnyani, L. D. S., & Budiarta, L. G. R. (2021). Incorporating E-Portfolio with flipped classrooms: An in-depth analysis of students' speaking performance and learning engagement. JALT CALL Journal, 17(2), 93–111. https://doi.org/10.29140/jaltcall.v17n2.378

Lam, R. (2018). Promoting self-reflection in writing: a showcase portfolio approach. In A. Burns, & J. Siegel (Eds.), International perspectives on teaching skills in ELT, (pp. 219–231). Palgrave MacMillan.

Lam, R. (2019). Writing portfolio assessment in practice: Individual, institutional, and systemic issues. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 15(3), 169–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/1554480X.2019.1696197

Laufer, B., & Nation, I.S.P. (1999). A vocabulary-size test of controlled productive ability. Language Testing, 16(1), 36-55. https://doi.org/10.1177/026553229901600

Lorenzo, G., & Ittelson, J. (2005). An overview of e-portfolios. Educause Learning Initiative.

Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2005). Second language research: Methodology and design. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

Maximo, R., & Sadowki, M. (2008). Effects of rote, context, keyword, and context/ keyword method on retention of vocabulary in EFL classroom. Language Learning, 50(2), 385-412. https://doi.org/10.1111/0023-8333.00121

Mayer, R. E. (2005). Cognitive theory of multimedia learning. In R. E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning (pp. 31–48). Cambridge University Press.

Moya, S., & O’ Malley, J. M. (1994). A portfolio assessment model for ESL. The Journal of Educational Issues of Language Minority Students, 13, 13-36.

Mphahlele, R. S. (2022). Digital assessment literacy in online courses (formative/summative): Rethinking assessment strategies in the open distance and e-learning institutions. In G. Durak & S. Çankaya (Eds.), Handbook of research on managing and designing online courses in synchronous and asynchronous environments, (pp. 404–417). IGI Global.

Namaziandost, E., & Çakmak, F. (2020). An account of EFL learners’ self-efficacy and gender in the flipped classroom model. Education and Information Technologies, 25(2), 4041–4055. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10167-7

Namaziandost, E., Hosseini, E., & Utomo, D. W. (2020). A comparative effect of high involvement load versus lack of involvement load on vocabulary learning among Iranian sophomore EFL learners. Cogent Arts and Humanities, 7(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2020.1715525

Namaziandost, E., Razmi, M. H., Heidari, S., & Tilwani, S. A. (2020). A contrastive analysis of emotional terms in bed-night stories across two languages: does it affect learners’ pragmatic knowledge of controlling emotions? Seeking implications to teach English to EFL learners. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 50(2021), 645–662. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-020-09739-y

Namaziandost, E., Rezvani, E., & Polemikou, A. (2020). The impacts of visual input enhancement, semantic input enhancement, and input flooding on L2 vocabulary among Iranian intermediate EFL learners. Cogent Education, 7(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2020.1726606

Namaziandost, E., Sawalmeh, M. H. M., & Izadpanah Soltanabadi, M. (2020). The effects of spaced versus massed distribution instruction on EFL learners’ vocabulary recall and retention. Cogent Education, 7(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2020.1792261

Nassirdoost, P. & Mall-Amiri, B. (2015). The Impact of portfolio assessment on EFL learners’ vocabulary achievement and motivation. Journal for the Study of English Linguistics, 3(1), 38-50.

Nation, I. S. P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge University Press.

Nation, I.S.P. (2008). Teaching vocabulary. Heinle.

Ngui, W., Pang, V., Hiew, W., & Lee, K. W. (2020). Exploring the impact of e-portfolio on ESL students’ writing skills through the lenses of Malaysian undergraduates. Computer-Assisted Language Learning Electronic Journal, 21(3), 105–121.

Oh, J.-E., Chan, Y. K., & Kim, K. V. (2020). Social media and E-portfolios: impacting design students’ motivation through project-based learning. IAFOR Journal of Education, 8(3), 41–58. https://doi.org/10.22492/ije.8.3.03.

Pardo, M. A. R. (2021). Fostering language and vocabulary in international business students thorough an e portfolio. South Florida Journal of Development, 2(2), 3068-3085. https://doi.org/10.46932/sfjdv2n2-147

Poole, P., Brown, M., McNamara, G., O’Hara, J., O’Brien, S., & Burns, D. (2018). Challenges and supports towards the integration of ePortfolios in education. Lessons to be learned from Ireland. Heliyon, 4(11), e00899. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00899

Read, J. (2000). Assessing vocabulary. Cambridge University Press.

Reese, M., & Levy, R. (2009). Assessing the future: E-portfolio trends, uses, and options in higher education. ECAR Research Bulletin, 2009(4), 1-12.

Rhodes, T. L. (2011). Making learning visible and meaningful through electronic portfolios. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 43(1), 6-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2011.538636

Schmitt, N. (2000). Vocabulary in language teaching. Cambridge University Press.

Schmitz, C. C., Whitson, B. A., Van Heest, A., & Maddaus, M. A. (2010). Establishing a usable electronic portfolio for surgical residents: Trying to keep it simple. Journal of Surgical Education, 67(1), 14–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsurg.2010.01.001

Sharifi, M., Soleimani, H., & Jafarigohar, M. (2016). E-portfolio evaluation and vocabulary learning: Moving from pedagogy to andragogy: E-portfolio evaluation and vocabulary learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 48(6), 1441-1450. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12479

Torabi, S., & Safdari, M. (2020). The effects of electronic portfolio assessment and dynamic assessment on writing performance. Computer-Assisted Language Learning Electronic Journal, 21(2), 51–69.

Welsh, M. (2012). Student perceptions of using the Pebble Pad e-portfolio system to support self-and peer-based formative assessment. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 21(1), 57–83. https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939X.2012.659884

Yastibas, A., & Yastibas, C. G. (2015). The use of e-portfolio-based assessment to develop students’ self-regulated learning in English language teaching. Social and Behavioral Sciences. 176, 3-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.437

Zarei, A. A., & Nasiri Baftani, F. (2014). The effects of techniques of vocabulary portfolio on L2 vocabulary learning. I-manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 4(3), 38-47.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v12i2.44232

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


View My Stats

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.