Effective Listening Skill Assessment with ICT in Primary Education

Posted on Aug 5, 2025 in Other civil servant exams

Assessing Listening Skills with ICT Resources

Introduction to Listening Skill Evaluation

Assessing pupils’ listening skills using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) resources is a key aspect of modern education. This document examines the evaluation of oral receptive ability through technological materials. According to Donn Byrne, effective communication requires learners to possess a solid receptive base.

This document will first contextualize the issue within the relevant legal framework, then discuss the role of new technologies in the classroom. Following this, various processes and activities for evaluating listening skills will be analyzed. Finally, the document will conclude by summarizing the main ideas presented.

Legal Framework for Language Education

In the context of foreign language learning, the legal framework is primarily defined by the Organic Law 2/2006 of Education, dated May 3rd, as modified by the Organic Law for the Improvement in Educational Quality (LOMLOE), 8/2013, dated December 9th. Section XII of its preamble states that “the command of a second or third language has become a priority in the Education field, as a consequence of the globalization process we live.”

A significant aspect of the Organic Law for the Improvement in Educational Quality is its connection to Order ECD/65/2015, dated January 21st, which establishes the relationship among key competences, contents, and evaluation criteria in Primary Education.

Furthermore, Royal Decree 126/2014, dated February 28th, sets the Minimum Teaching Requirements for Primary Education. Article 7, Objective F, specifies the goal “to acquire basic communicative competence, in at least, one foreign language to enable expression and comprehension of simple messages and survive in everyday situations.”

Additionally, Order EDU/519/2014, dated June 17th, modified by Order EDU 278/2016, dated April 8th, establishes the minimum contents for Primary Education within the Autonomous Community of Castilla y Leon.

Integrating New Technologies in Education

Considering these legal frameworks, the integration of new technologies, or ICTs, is paramount. ICTs can significantly enhance the quality of education by:

  • Increasing learner motivation and engagement.
  • Facilitating the acquisition of basic skills.
  • Enhancing teacher training.

ICTs are also transformational tools that, when used appropriately, can promote a shift towards a learner-centered environment. Moreover, communication and information technologies provide a vital resource for both learning and evaluating foreign languages, serving as an effective means to adapt teaching to students’ diverse capacities, thereby fostering the development of autonomous learning strategies.

Beyond their role as teaching and learning tools, new technologies are also invaluable for student evaluation. The question then arises: how can we effectively assess listening skills using these resources?

Assessment Criteria and Learning Standards

To assess listening skills effectively, it is essential to align the Block 1 assessment criteria with the Block 1 learning standards. For instance, for the 3rd grade of Primary Education, these include:

Primary Education: Block 1 Assessment Criteria

  • Knowing and applying the most basic strategies for comprehending the meaning, information, or main ideas of a text.
  • Recognizing high-frequency oral lexicon related to everyday situations and common topics relevant to the student’s experiences, needs, and interests. This includes using contextual clues and textual information to infer the meanings of unknown words and expressions.

Primary Education: Block 1 Learning Standards

  • Understands the global meaning of oral explanations or instructions.
  • Extracts the general meaning and captures essential details from oral stories appropriate to their level.
  • Identifies the topic of a simple conversation on familiar subjects occurring in their presence, in a real public space, or in a simulation.

Practical Activities for Listening Assessment

Here are various activities designed for student self-assessment of listening skills. Using a single listening passage, students will complete four activities facilitated by the Kahoot! application on a computer, with responses submitted via their tablets:

  1. Main Topic Identification: Students will begin by identifying the main topic of the listening passage to extract its general meaning.
  2. Sequencing Pictures: In this activity, students will arrange pictures related to the listening passage’s story according to its plot.
  3. Multiple-Choice Questions: Students will answer multiple-choice questions on their tablets concurrently with listening to the audio.
  4. Fill-in-the-Gaps: The final activity involves filling in gaps to assess students’ ability to identify detailed information.

Evaluating the Teaching Process

On the other hand, the teaching process itself requires evaluation. This can be achieved by completing a rubric questionnaire on the teacher’s computer, designed to assess one’s own practice and cover key aspects of the teaching methodology.

Conclusion: The Role of Technology in Language Assessment

This document illustrates an innovative approach to evaluating listening skills. It underscores the importance for educators to integrate new technologies into English lessons, utilizing them not only as valuable teaching and learning resources but also as effective assessment tools.

References and Web Resources

The bibliography used to develop this practical case includes:

  • ANDERSON, L. W., & KRATHWOHL, D. R. (2001). Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing. New York: Longman.
  • BREWSTER, J., ELLIS, G., & GIRARD, D. (2002). The Primary English Teacher’s Guide, New Edition. Pearson Education Limited, Essex, U.K.
  • COUNCIL OF EUROPE. (2003). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
  • EMMER, E. T., & GERWELS, M. C. (2002). Cooperative Learning in elementary classrooms: Teaching practices and lesson characteristics. The Elementary School Journal.
  • GARDNER, H. (2001). Reformulated Intelligence: Multiple Intelligences in XXI Century. Buenos Aires: Paidós.
  • HARMER, J. (2008). The Practice of English Language Teaching (4th ed.). London: Longman.
  • NUNAN, D. (2010). Language Teaching Methodology. University Press.
  • RICHARDS, J. (2010). Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics. Great Britain, UK: Longman.

Referring to the following webpages: