Self-assessment and Negotiated Evaluation Among Teacher and Students in the Pronunciation Class: A Study with Argentinean Learners

Abstract

To determine the impact of teaching on learning calls for a number of precise evaluative procedures. Evaluation implies collecting data about the quality and quantity of change experimented by students. Assessment, on the other hand, is associated with judgment and measurement of students’ performance. Teaching, learning, evaluation and assessment are closely related and function jointly in practice. The aim of this study is to determine the effects and implications of self-evaluation and nego­tiated evaluation among teacher and students in the L2 (second/foreign language) pronunciation class. Based on previous studies (Luchini, 2003; 2006), tasks that integrate self-evaluation and negotiation stimulate consciousness raising and enhance students’ motivation to improve their L2 pronunciation. Seventeen trainees from Argentina (Spanish-L1 speakers) participated in this experiment. At the time of data collection, they were enrolled in an English pronunciation course with a strong focus on prosody in a state-owned university in Mar del Plata, Argentina. The students recorded a speech sample a later transcribed it. They analyzed their production, and based on a speaking rubric graded their work. Their grades were later compared with those coming from their teacher who also listened to and evaluated their recordings. Results revealed that these evaluative tasks contributed to develop the students’ pho­nological consciousness and their autonomy and motivation to keep on learning.