A reflection on the use of self-assessments in Japanese universities

Many Japanese universities run courses designed with the primary goal of improving students’ oral proficiency. In line with the recent studies which highlight that language learning is not a linear process (Nunan, 2001), the importance of formative and sustainable assessment rather than a single summative type assessment has been emphasized in previous research (Brown & Hudson, 1998; Everhard, 2015; Kissling & OʼDonnell, 2015). This short paper discusses the issues that utilizing self-assessments in a Japanese university English class raised, with a focus on how this type of assessment influenced not only testing itself, but also pedagogy and the whole language learning process. The potential advantages and limitations of self-assessments are discussed. This is followed by a reflection on how self-assessments were implemented in a second year Reading and Discussion class for English major students at Gifu Shotoku Gakuen University.