Evaluation

Introduction Evaluation in TESOL settings is a process of collecting, analysing and interpreting information about teaching and learning in order to make informed decisions that enhance student achievement and the success of educational programmes (Rea-Dickins and Germaine 1993; Genesee and Upshur 1996; O'Malley and Valdez-Pierce 1996). Three simple examples help explicate the varied forms evaluation can take in TESOL settings: Example 1: The English Language Institute at Central University, South Africa offers courses in oral and written English for business purposes to adult non-native speakers of English whose employers want to transfer them to international operations. They have designed an evaluation to determine the effectiveness and usefulness of new textbooks and audiolingual materials to decide whether to continue using them in the coming year. Questionnaires will be used to collect feedback from the students, their teachers and their employers. Example 2: Henry Jones is an elementary ESL teacher. He prepares students with little or no proficiency in English for participation in mainstream classrooms where academic instruction is presented only in English. At the end of each year he identifies which of his ESL students can be ‘mainstreamed’ without special ESL instruction. His decisions are based on specially designed ESL tests administered at the end of each year and on his observation of students' performance in maths and science classes taught in English. […]