Perception and practice of self-assessment in EFL writing classrooms

This study investigates the perception and practice of EFL learners and students towards self-assessment. The study was conducted taking 50 second year English major students, who were selected by simple random method, as a representative sample. The study also included 10 EFL writing teachers who were selected by comprehensive sampling method. From the study, it was found that both teachers and students had positive attitude towards self-assessment in writing classrooms. Using the checklists given to them, students were made to assess their own essays for four consecutive writing sessions. It was apparent to see from this study that the majority of students overrated their written performances. In the four sessions of writing and self-assessment, the number of students who rated their written performances genuinely was always less than those who overrated themselves. It was found that students who rated themselves genuinely increased from 30% in the first phase to 40% in the fourth phase while the students who overrated their written performances decreased from 56% in the first phase to 44 % during the last session. It was found out from the study that most teachers did not have any experience of self-assessment in writing classrooms. Teachers felt that students did not have the potential to make genuine assessment of written tasks. Finally, it was recommended that teachers should be aware of self-assessment and use it in their EFL classrooms as it is vital to bring autonomous learning.   Key words: Self-assessment, autonomous learning, writing, EFL classroom.