i) Give 3 ways in which learners progress can be informally assessed.

Informal assessment:

Informal assessment is a way of collecting information about our learners performance in

normal classroom conditions. This is done without establishing test conditions such as in the case
of formal assessment. Informal assessment is sometimes referred to as continuous assessment as
it is done over a period of time.

ways in which learners progress can be informally assessed:

Informal assessments are what teachers use every day to evaluate the progress and
comprehension skills of their individual learners. These assessments come in many types, such
as written work, portfolios, grading, tests, quizzes, and project-based assignments

Portfolio Assessment

Many educators have promoted portfolios as a way to enhance learners' reading and writing, and
today portfolios are used for a variety of purposes. However, confusion sometimes exists
between the general concept of portfolios and portfolio assessment. Portfolios are primarily a
storage system that represents samples of learners' reading and writing over a period of time.
Portfolio assessment deals with some form of evaluation. Portfolio assessment takes place when
what has been stored in the portfolio is deemed ready for evaluation in some way. This
evaluation is often initiated by the student and usually includes not only self-evaluation but also
teacher and peer evaluation. For the evaluation to be effective, the learners and teachers must be
aware of the criteria used for the assessment. Portfolios can be a powerful tool for reading
diagnosis because they provide teachers with an ongoing record of their learners' reading and
writing behavior. However there are several questions that need to be asked and answered in
order to get the most from using portfolios. Portfolios do not give learners the reading and
writing skills they need to become good readers and writers. They help teachers gain an idea of
the kinds of skills learners have and need. A close examination can help teachers to design
appropriate instruction that will increase student learning.

Quizzes:

In my present teaching context I am supposed to conduct two quizzes each term for every course.
It is sometimes felt as a burden but it is a very effective way of informal assessment. I have
observed my learners remain often vigilant during their studies. The reason indeed is quiz. These
surprising quizzes help me to monitor the progress of the student and prepare my lessons
accordingly. They also deal with all the areas of language being taught or practiced in the class.
Check Lists

Checklists usually consist of lists of important and typical behaviors that the observer marks as
being present or absent. Checklists are a means of systematically and quickly recording a
student's behavior. Group checklists can be used to follow up on hunches or to find general
trends among a whole class of learners. At a glance, a teacher can see who might need help in a
specific area and who obviously does not. A group checklist can be helpful in planning
instruction for the group as well as for the individual, whereas an individual checklist is useful in
assessing the strengths and weaknesses of an individual student only. Any way the check list
helps the teacher to plan and prepare their lessons accordingly.

ii) Comment on the advantages of an informal approach from the learners perspective.

Advantages:

Scott mentioned, assessment is a necessary evil. It is necessary as it has many advantages.

Informal assessments can provide teachers with a wealth of useful information that will help and
guide their instructions on a daily basis. Informal assessment enables learners and the teachers to
take immediate decisions. It can help learn to remain on the right track. It provides teacher with a
chance to monitor student performance randomly and provide help as necessary. Learners can
take immediate decisions or see their weak areas. They dont take much prep, planning, or
classroom time. The informal approach of assessment helps learners to decide if they want to
work individually or in collaboration with other learners. Learners learn about their progress.
They might not be graded for their performance but they would understand thats they are being
watched. Informal assessment helps the learners to stay focused and do the required error
correction at a quite early stage before it turns into a big weakness. Learners also have the chance
to assess themselves on each days goal before and after class.

iii) For a class level and type of your choice, outline a procedure for informally assessing
your learner's progress in lexis connected with jobs and professions. Include details of tasks
and assessment criteria.

In a pre-intermediate class of 14 learners with mixed ability. This is a class with a good ethnic
and gender mix. All the Learners work well together and there is a good learning atmosphere in
general. However, some Learners are a bit irregular and have been told to improve their
attendance. I have planned a lesson to teach lexis connected with jobs and professions. The
lesson is based on several tasks to teach, practice, and monitor the progress.

Procedure1: Teacher will show learners some pictures of people working on different jobs and in
different professions. He will elicit the lexical items. The task will enable the teacher to know
that how much the learners already know. He will teach the other items. He will distribute
worksheets. Learners will tick or cross the option while discussing in pairs. They will discuss
their answers with each other. Teacher will show some phrases on the board. He will nominate
and ask questions to lead in to context. Hell ask questions from all of them. He will informally
ask the question to assess the progress of learners. For example do you want to be and engineer?
Student might not answer. Like this he will ask randomly questions. This assessment will help
the teacher to decide to move forward or stay and focus more on the same activity.

Emma disused a beautiful idea in this weeks webinar that assessment must be spread over the
lesson and not kept for the end.

Procedure 2:

Hell show a picture on interactive board and clarify that learners will act out a real life
conversation. Teacher will introduce the situation. He'll pass clear instructions. He will distribute
the worksheets of lay out with chits of situations. He will give two minutes to learners to discuss
the situation before they act out. Learners will follow the worksheet layout and act out
conversation in pairs. The task helps the learners to speak and know their mistake. It gives
learners a chance to use target lexical item in a real life conversation which is the main aim of
the lesson. Actually learners are peer teaching and informally assessing each other.

Procedure: 3

Teacher will give the learners a surprise quiz to know their performance. Quiz will be based on a
worksheet having gap fill about the target lexical item and explanation. Students will fill in the
gap with the lexical items. The task will help the teacher to know the performance of the students
and decide the future action plan immediately. Informal assessment is very important throughout
the lesson to judge the progress of the students and create a positive learning atmosphere.