THAO VU (THE UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY)

FACEBOOK FANPAGE AS AN ASSESSMENT TOOL IN THE COURSE CULTURES OF ASEAN COUNTRIES : LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

Education in technological era has witnessed the integration of modern learning tools, including social networking sites (SNSs) with its increasingly recognized potential. Language testing and assessment is now not restricted in paper-and-pencil form; instead, ICT in education allows computer and many of its state-of-the-art applications to get involved. One example is that Facebook has recently been utilized in a faculty of Vietnam National University as a learning and assessment tool in a content-based course designed for English majored students. The present research paper aims at evaluating this SNSs as an assessment, which focused on 3 areas: (1) advantages and disadvantages students enjoyed or encountered when doing assignments on this SNS, (2) merits and challenges facing teachers assessing Facebook-based assignments, (3) correlation between quality of Facebook work and that in other assessment tools of the course. In this study, the students worked in groups, managing a fan page researching one specific ASEAN country in a ten-week period. Data collected by open-ended and close-ended questionnaires, and the analysis of students’ online and traditional papers will be quantitatively analyzed. The findings will be useful for course designers to better assessment plan with the application of technology for a more engaging learning and teaching experience.

Vu Doan Thi Phuong Thao is a lecturer at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University. Besides her expertise associated with Language Testing and Assessment, Thao is interested is ESL/ EFL. She has also been managing ESL/ EFL K-12 curriculum offered by a Vietnamese education group.