USING PORTFOLIO TO ASSESS YOUNG LEARNERS PERFORMANCE
Written by: M.N. Hidayad, M.Pd Introduction Traditional forms of testing and assessment have been criticized for their failure to truly assess young learners. Traditional forms of assessment do not represent the activities that children usually perform in the classroom. Children have an amazing ability to absorb the language through play and other activities which they find enjoyable (Scott and Ytreberg, 1990). Therefore, if the children are assessed using the traditional form of assessment, the result will not reflect the students performance. In addition, traditional forms of assessment only focus more on product rather than the process. For example, objective paper and pencil tests usually focus on whether children get the right answers, instead of the process of how they arrive at their responses (Fischer and King, 1995). Scott and Ytreberg (1990: 7) stated that formal assessment may not be a compulsory part of a young learners’ teacher. It is always useful for the teach...