EXPLORING CONFIDENCE AND INFLUENCING FACTORS IN VIETNAMESE PRE-SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS’ LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT LITERACY WITHIN THE CURRICULUM INNOVATION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18173/2354-1075.2026-0061Keywords:
Language assessment literacy; pre-service teachers; Curriculum 2018; English language teaching; teacher educationAbstract
Language assessment literacy (LAL) is a foundational competency for pre-service English teachers, particularly in the context of Vietnam’s Curriculum 2018, which emphasises learner-centred approaches and balanced formative and summative assessment. This study explores Vietnamese pre-service teachers’ self-perceived confidence in LAL and the factors that influence it. Data were collected through a mixed-methods design that included a validated questionnaire administered to 103 participants and semi-structured interviews with eight purposefully selected individuals representing different levels of teaching experience and assessment training. Quantitative findings indicate that participants generally expressed high confidence in their assessment knowledge and skills, while qualitative analysis reveals that their beliefs and reported practices were broadly aligned with the learner-centred assessment principles advocated by the new curriculum. Notably, the study also identifies teaching experience and formal training as the most significant influences on assessment confidence, revealing the interaction between personal and contextual factors that may both support and challenge practical implementation. This study’s novelty lies in its initial mapping of LAL within the specific context of Curriculum 2018, providing new insights into the readiness of future English teachers in Vietnam. These findings extend previous research and offer actionable insights for strengthening teacher education in Vietnam and similar contexts.
Downloads
References
Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. D. (2010). Language assessment in practice: Developing language assessments and justifying their use in the real world. Oxford University Press.
Basok, E. (2020). The gap between language teaching policies and classroom practices in the Turkish EFL context: The effects on teacher motivation. MEXTESOL Journal, 44(2), 1-14. https://www.mextesol.net/journal/index.php?page=journal&id_article=20048
Borg, S. (2003). Teacher cognition in language teaching: A review of research on what language teachers think, know, believe, and do. Language Teaching, 36(2), 81–109. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444803001903
Borg, S. (2006). Teacher cognition and language education: Research and practice. Bloomsbury.
Bui, T. H. (2022). Teachers’ language assessment literacy: A case study at a high school in Halong City, Vietnam. VietTESOL International Convention Proceedings, 2. https://proceedings.viettesol.org.vn/index.php/vic/article/view/3
Cao, T. H. P. (2019). Teaching English to young learners (TEYL) in Vietnam: From policies to actual implementation. The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 6(1), 96–104. https://caes.hku.hk/ajal/index.php/ajal/article/view/567
Cao, T. H. P., Ta, T. B., & Hoang, H. C. (2016). National policies for teaching English in Vietnamese educational contexts: A discussion of policies. Thailand TESOL Journal, 29(2), 1–14.
Coombe, C., Vafadar, H., & Mohebbi, H. (2020). Language assessment literacy: What do we need to learn, unlearn, and relearn? Language Testing in Asia, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-020-00101-6
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE.
Dailey, A. (2010). Difficulties implementing CLT in South Korea: Mismatch between the language policy and what is taking place in the classroom [Senior honours thesis, University of Birmingham].
Duong, T. M., & Pham, T. T. H. (2023). Measuring pre-service English teachers’ assessment competence in the competence-based English curriculum. Vietnam Journal of Educational Sciences, 19(4), 65–80. http://vjes.edu.vn/measuring-pre-service-english-teachers-assessment-competence-competence-based-english-curriculum
Firoozi, T., Razavipour, K., & Ahmadi, A. (2019). The language assessment literacy needs of Iranian EFL teachers with a focus on reformed assessment policies. Language Testing in Asia, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-019-0078-7
Fulcher, G. (2012). Assessment literacy for the language classroom. Language Assessment Quarterly, 9(2), 113–132. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2011.642041
Gan, L., & Lam, R. (2022). A review on language assessment literacy: Trends, foci and contributions. Language Assessment Quarterly, 19(5), 503–525. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2022.2128802
Gan, L., & Lam, R. (2024). Language assessment literacy development of a novice university English teacher in the Chinese context. RELC Journal. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882241231304
Gu, P. Y. (2012). Classroom assessment literacy for EFL teachers: Conceptualisation, elicitation and analysis [Conference presentation]. The Inaugural ALTAANZ Conference, University of Sydney, Australia.
Kremmel, B., & Harding, L. (2020). Towards a comprehensive, empirical model of language assessment literacy across stakeholder groups: Developing the Language Assessment Literacy Survey. Language Assessment Quarterly, 17(1), 100–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2019.1674855
McGee, J., & Colby, S. (2014). Impact of an assessment course on teacher candidates’ assessment literacy. Action in Teacher Education, 36(5-6), 522–532. https://doi.org/10.1080/01626620.2014.977753
Ministry of Education and Training. (2018). Chương trình giáo dục phổ thông – Chương trình tổng thể [General Education Curriculum – Overall Program] (Circular No. 32/2018/TT-BGDĐT, December 26, 2018).
Nguyen, T. H. L. (2016). Development of Vietnamese pre-service EFL teachers’ assessment literacy [Doctoral dissertation, Victoria University of Wellington]. https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.17143502
Razavipour, K., & Rezagah, K. (2018). Language assessment in the new English curriculum in Iran: Managerial, institutional, and professional barriers. Language Testing in Asia, 8(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-018-0061-8
Rea-Dickins, P. (2004). Understanding teachers as agents of assessment [Editorial]. Language Testing, 21(3), 251–258. https://doi.org/10.1191/0265532204lt283ed
Shohamy, E. (2001). The power of tests: A critical perspective on the use of language tests. Pearson Education.
Tabasum, A., & Sadiq, A. H. B. (2025). Mismatch between students’ expected learning outcomes and actual learning outcomes: An analysis of oral communication skills. Contemporary Journal of Social Science Review, 3(4). https://contemporaryjournal.com/index.php/14/article/view/1480
Tavakol, M., & Dennick, R. (2011). Making sense of Cronbach’s alpha. International Journal of Medical Education, 2, 53–55. https://doi.org/10.5116/ijme.4dfb.8dfd
Terry, G., Hayfield, N., Clarke, V., & Braun, V. (2017). Thematic analysis. In C. Willig & W. Stainton-Rogers (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research in psychology (2nd ed., pp. 17–37). SAGE.
Xu, Y., & Brown, G. T. L. (2016). Teacher assessment literacy in practice: A reconceptualization. Teaching and Teacher Education, 58, 149–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.05.010
Yan, X., Zhang, C., & Fan, J. (2018). “Assessment knowledge is important, but…”: How contextual and experiential factors mediate assessment literacy of language teachers. System, 74, 158–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.03.003
