A Korean Elementary School EFL Teacher's Implementation of Teacher-Based Assessment

This study examines a Korean elementary school EFL teacher's practice of teacher-based assessment (TBA), a subject which has been little researched despite the authorities' strong call for its implementation. The classroom interactions for TBA were observed and audio-recorded in eight fifth-grade classes between March and June 2010. Additionally, the teacher and students were interviewed in a semi-structured way. The results showed that the teacher used three types of TBA: assessment of individual students on different topics, assessment of the entire class on the same topic, and assessment of individual students on the same topic. Due mainly to time constraints during class time and classroom management issues, the teacher preferred implementing the first two types of TBA. During the practice of the types, the teacher provided prompts or posed questions in ways that elicited responses which were short in length and easy. Although the third type of TBA was perceived by both the teacher and students as helping students enhance their EFL proficiency and was the most favored by the students, it was viewed by the teacher as having the potential of causing classroom management difficulties. Based on the findings, a number of implications are suggested.