An investigation on formative assessment practices of EAP writing in pre-sessional courses in a New Zealand university

Formative assessment (FA) is an ongoing process of gathering information to understand and evaluate learners’ current states, recognized as an interactive and co-constructed process within L2 classrooms. In English for Academic Purposes (EAP) writing classes, FA includes both formal aspects such as teacher written feedback, and informal aspects like spontaneous teacher-student dialogues. As FA plays a crucial role in supporting students’ learning, its implementation, perception and experiences by both teachers and students in the specific context of EAP writing needs more attention. Based on a pre-sessional EAP program at a New Zealand university, this study investigates both formal and informal FA practices implemented in target EAP writing classes and how the students and teachers experience and perceive of these FA practices. The study adopts a mixed-method design by collecting qualitative and quantitative data guided by an observation protocol and questionnaire grounded in Wiliam and Thompson’s (2008) FA framework. The observation protocol was developed and refined to document real-time FA practices during classroom observations based on this framework. Data was collected from seven hours of classroom observations across two EAP writing classes, two one-to-one interviews with two EAP writing teachers and questionnaire responses from 31 students. Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis, the study revealed that both formal and informal FA practices were frequently implemented in the EAP writing classes, aligning with Wiliam and Thompson’s (2008) FA framework. While teachers and students perceived these FA practices as supportive of student learning, they also experienced various challenges. The study emphasizes to integrate formal and informal FA to create an engaging and interactive learning environment in EAP writing courses. It also provides recommendations for teachers, students and relevant programs as well as implications for further research in FA particularly in the EAP writing context.