The implementation of portfolio assessment to enhance writing skills in EFL adult classrooms : an exploration of the benefits and challenges

الملخص EN

The aim of my research is to explore the benefits of using portfolios (PA) for formative assessment to enhance EFL adult students’ writing skills at the university level.

Precisely, I will explore the use of this strategy to assess adult’s English writing in a foreign language setting.

I will investigate some of the challenges that EFL teachers face when assessing students’ writing.

They spend much time revising, commenting, and grading compositions.

Nevertheless, students tend to make the same mistakes even though the mistakes have already been corrected by teachers.

It seems that students do not learn much from teachers’ feedback and assessment.

Reviewing the literature related to the use of PA in EFL writing, I will explore how PA provides a portrait of what students know and what they can do, and offer a multidimensional perspective of students’ progress over time.

EFL teachers try their best with their students in order to increase their confidence in their ability to learn, and evaluate their own learning.

However, students start to gain knowledge of the English language very slowly and on a limited basis.

Indeed, the formative assessment is not used effectively in a real classroom setting because of several challenges such as teachers’ lacking relevant knowledge and skills, and the test-oriented education system.

PA provides students with personalized feedback on the effectiveness of their learning strategies, specific learning methods and learning materials.

Hopefully, PA can generate creativity in both students’ and teachers’ minds and thus, they will start to hold the keys for constant progress and a way to improve their academic achievement in writing.

Finally, I will shed the light on some challenges that both teachers and students might face when using PA.

The investigation of the benefits and obstacles of this form of assessment can hopefully improve the level of EFL learning in the future.