CHALLENGES FOR COLLEGE ENGLISH TEACHERS AS ASSESSORS

Abstract

The present case study aims to explore the challenges that the teachers in a Vietnamese university have faced with in the role of language assessors in their outcome-based English courses. In order to fulfil this aim, the study employs Activity Theory (Engeström, 1987, 2015) as the theoretical framework and narratives as a data collection tool. It is revealed from the three selected teachers’ narratives about their personal and professional background, the experienced reality in their assessment work that their challenges are related to inadequate assessment literacy, lack of shared knowledge and unclear assessment identity, inadequate professional training and discussions. In light of the theoretical framework (i.e., Activity Theory), these challenges result from the tensions between the subject and the rules, between the mediating artifacts and the rules, and within the division of labor. With such findings, the study is expected to raise the teachers’ and the educational managers’ awareness of the contextual conditions for better teacher assessment competence and the assessment quality in the current education reform context. Accordingly, the study proposes a framework of college English teacher professional development.