Influence of Assessment Styles in English Classes on Japanese English Learners’ Beliefs and Attitudes

Abstract

This paper examines the ways in which English language assessments at the secondary school level influence Japanese English-language learners’ beliefs about and attitudes toward learning English. This paper presents a qualitative analysis of experiences in learning process focusing on assessments of cognitive skills (academic achievement assessed mainly by conventional paper-pencil or language skill tests) and non-cognitive skills (including self-regulation, self-esteem, motivation, and diligence) through “learning” history interviews on English learning. The participants were seventeen Japanese university students who had primarily learned English in Japan. All of the participants stated that although their cognitive skills were assessed through standardized or language skill tests, their non-cognitive abilities were never assessed in their English classes. This suggests that their beliefs regarding English were formed according to when and how they started to learn English; their attitudes toward learning English may be a result of these beliefs. This may explain the gap between students’ self from belief about English learning and the reality of English education in formal schools.