Formative Assessment in Oral English Classroom and Alleviation of Speaking Apprehension

Researches on Language Anxiety have aroused public concern around/ the world, most of which suggest that language anxiety exerts a detrimental influence to language learners in their process of language learning. Chinese English learners usually do a good job in passing all kinds of English test while are poor at oral English referred as “dumb English”. It is safe to conclude that “dumb English” is the best manifestation of foreign language anxiety. Formative assessment characterized by being interactive among students themselves, peers, and teacher, highlights the immediate and effective feedback to learners, which is in accordance with the nature of student-centered approach. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of applying formative assessment in oral English class to alleviate students’ speaking apprehension. Two innate classes are chosen to be the controlled class and experimental class. Data in students’ English classroom speaking anxiety scale is collected and analyzed after pre-test and post-test together with an interview. It is revealed in this study that the implementation of formative assessment in oral English classroom is proved to be effective to alleviate students’ speaking anxiety in experimental class. In response to this finding, implications for practical practice of formative assessment in oral English classroom are discussed.