How do you evaluate language teaching effectiveness in a multilingual classroom?

1 Define your objectives

Before you can evaluate your students' performance, you need to define what you want them to learn and achieve. What are the learning outcomes and standards for your course or program? What are the specific objectives and criteria for each skill and task? How do you align your objectives with the curriculum and the expectations of your students and stakeholders? You can use frameworks such as the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) or the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) to guide your planning and assessment.

2 Choose appropriate methods

There are many methods and instruments that you can use to evaluate your students' language skills, such as tests, portfolios, projects, presentations, self-assessments, peer-assessments, and observations. The choice of methods depends on your objectives, context, and resources. You should consider the validity, reliability, practicality, and fairness of each method. You should also balance formative and summative assessments, that is, assessments that monitor and support learning during the course and assessments that measure and certify learning at the end of the course.

3 Diversify your tasks

In a multilingual classroom, you need to provide tasks that cater to the diverse needs and interests of your students. You should design tasks that are authentic, meaningful, and engaging, that reflect the real-life situations and purposes of language use. You should also vary the task types, formats, and levels of difficulty, to challenge and support your students' development. For example, you can use multiple-choice, short-answer, or essay questions for reading and writing, or role-plays, interviews, or podcasts for speaking and listening.

4 Use rubrics and feedback

To ensure consistency and transparency in your evaluation, you need to use rubrics and feedback. Rubrics are scoring guides that describe the criteria and levels of performance for each skill and task. They help you and your students to understand the expectations and standards, and to communicate the results and areas for improvement. Feedback is the information and advice that you give to your students based on their performance. It helps your students to recognize their strengths and weaknesses, and to set goals and strategies for future learning.

5 Incorporate multilingualism

One of the advantages of teaching in a multilingual classroom is that you can leverage the linguistic and cultural diversity of your students. You can incorporate multilingualism into your evaluation by recognizing and valuing the different languages and varieties that your students use and encounter. You can also encourage and facilitate the use of translanguaging, that is, the flexible and strategic use of multiple languages for learning and communication. For example, you can allow your students to use their first or other languages as resources for comprehension, expression, or comparison.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?