Exploring English language teachers\u27 classroom assessment practices of class VIII in Larkano, Sindh

Formative assessment is important in education improvement as it provides instant opportunities to reflect and improve teaching and learning process. There is a dearth of literature on formative classroom assessment practices in Pakistan, and particularly in Sindh. Therefore, this research study explored teachers\u27 classroom assessment practices in English language class VIII. The study was focused to explore the relationship of English language learning and formative assessment in class VIII. In this study qualitative cases study design was adopted in order to explore the phenomenon in the context of Larkano, Sindh. In order to respond the research question the semi-structured interviews, classroom observation and focused group discussion were used as data collection tools. The analysis of the data was carried out using qualitative data analysis approach (Yin, 2009). The participants of the study were the two English teachers (primary participants) and twelve students (secondary participants): six students from each participant teachers\u27 class. The findings revealed that there are many factors that contribute towards assessment practices in classroom such as personal and professional perceptions, experiences and beliefs of teachers, classroom assessment resources, physical structure of the school building, and the textbooks. The teachers adopt subject-based approach to teach English rather than skilled based approach due to contextual constraints and limitations. The study suggests that English teachers professional development courses in formative assessment may be arranged for English language teachers in order to enhance their personal and professional skills