Portfolio Assessment to Enhance LMD Students’ Writing Skills. Case Study

Abstract

The introduction of the LMD system in Algerian Universities required a departure from conventional practices and embracing alternative procedures in teaching and assessment. In the EFL context, while alternatives such as journal portfolios prove to be effective and lead to better performance, writing skill teachers still follow summative procedures when it comes to assessing learners’ writing. Therefore, the aim behind such research is to elevate the veil on the impact of portfolio assessment on First-Year English students' paragraph writing, collaboration, and social skills. Besides that, it aims to signpost students' perceptions and attitudes toward implementing portfolio assessment. To accomplish this aim, the researcher used an experimental research design of a two-group pretest-posttest. Such a research design aims to understand the effect of the independent variable (portfolio assessment) on the dependent variables (students' writing, collaboration, attitudes, and perceptions One hundred and twelve students (112) were chosen as the participants of this research. They were divided into two groups: the experimental and the control group. , the current research used a two-group pre-test/post-test experimental design, three different questionnaires addressed to the experimental group, two interview procedures, and observations. The findings reveal that the use of a portfolio assessment had a positive impact on students’ writing, encouraged students to write, make repairs through revision procedures and feedback, and elevated their writing to a considerable level. Additionally, the findings imparted that the use of the treatment promoted collaboration among the students since students’ overall cooperative strategies and collaborative skills improved after experiencing writing with the portfolio assessment procedure. The finding also demonstrated that students perceived portfolio assessment as an important tool for writing improvement and had positive attitudes toward its procedures. In light of these results, this dissertation put forward a set of suggestions and recommendations to facilitate the implementation of portfolio assessment through technology, encourage learners’ collaboration, and improve their social skills.