Integration of Students Self-Assessment in the Teaching of Listening to the First Year BA students at the College of Education, Aden: Benefits and Challenges

Abstract

This basic qualitative study aims at investigating the integration of students self-assessment in teaching listening to the first year BA students at the college of Education Aden, department of English. To answer research questions data were collected from the students' assessment and teacher's assessment that 38 students were asked to assess themselves through two quizzes and final exam given by the researcher. The quizzes and exam were evaluated by the mean of an analytical rubric that enables students to evaluate their work. Moreover, data were collected through structured interview with 17 students and a questionnaire was distributed to 38 students for more triangulation. The findings of students' assessment and teacher's assessment revealed that students are able to assess themselves accurately if they were provided with adequate guidance and continuous training on how to use self-assessment. Interview and questionnaire results showed that resisting to self-assessment was one of the challenges that some students at beginning due to lack-confidence and the most popular reason was cultural acceptance where it was new in students' educational culture. However, results showed that using student's self-assessment as a complementary tool to enhance student's learning has many benefits: helps to recognize their strengths and their problems and then work on them , it increases students' autonomy and makes them responsible of their learning.This study recommends that self-assessment should be applied with four skills for its advantages in improving students' learning. Students should learn how to assess their works in the early stages of their educational programs.