The move towards assessment procedures in which students evaluate their own language knowledge, skills and performance is part of a more general move in teaching and learning towards increased learner responsibility and student-centred learning. Its greatest benefit in either sphere of endeavour is its consciousness-raising value. In seeking to evaluate their own work as honestly as they can, students need to step back and take an objective look at their performance. This can help to increase their awareness of both strengths and weaknesses in their language skills and of gaps in their knowledge of language forms. (See also Module 9, section 9.4.1 on 'Self-evaluation' in writing tasks.)

There are clear benefits for the tutor as well in student self-assessment. If a self-assessment sheet is filled out at the time the task is submitted for marking, this can provide useful information on key issues of concern to the student which written feedback on the exercise might profitably concentrate on. It can also save tutors some time and effort: if students clearly know something already about their performance on the piece of work they have done (eg 'I had to rush the conclusion, so this is not great'), then there is little point raising this in feedback. Similarly, time can be saved by asking students what they would do differently if they had the opportunity to do it again; often students already know some of the things we are likely to tell them.

The question on self-assessment forms that most raises passions is the one that asks students to award themselves a mark. Sceptics question whether students can ever judge their own linguistic ability with any real degree of objectivity. As with other disciplines (cf Race, 2001a: 101-02), attempts to investigate this have usually produced reasonable correlations of students' self-assessment with more objective judgements (eg standardized tests) and with tutor evaluations (eg Dam and Legenhausen, 1999; Bailey, 1998: 227-42). There would therefore seem to be grounds for including self-assessment at least as an accompaniment to more traditional forms of teacher assessment, although your departmental culture and policy will dictate whether it should ever become part of a formal mark for a module.

In setting up any scheme, tutors need to ensure that students have confidence in the process and are not threatened by it. Boud offers sound advice here. He says students need:

• a rationale: a clear indication of the purpose of the activity;
• clear procedures: what exactly is required of them?
• reassurance that anything they reveal will not be used against them in any way;
• confidence that all students will contribute equally and honestly to the process (Boud, 1995).

Furthermore, one should add that if it is going to work, self-assessment needs to be carefully prepared and students need feedback on how they are doing in assessing their own work (see Brew, 1999).

Activity 2

Below is a sample self-assessment questionnaire about writing. It has been used on a post-'A' level German language course.

This questionnaire aims to provide you and your tutor with feedback on your written performance on the German course this year. Tick the box that best describes your feelings about this, using the following scale:
1 = strongly agree through to 5 = strongly disagree.

Are there any aspects of FL writing not covered in it?

Click on 'Commentary' for feedback.

Activity 3