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Description
Submission type: Abstract for Short Paper (2000-3500 words)
The transition from English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to English as a Second Language (ESL) in Vietnam necessitates a critical reconsideration of assessment practices in English Language Teaching. One emerging trend is the rise of “no-exam” or assessment-light classrooms, which challenge the dominance of traditional summative testing.
Conventional exams, while valued for standardization, often demonstrate limited construct validity in capturing communicative competence. They tend to privilege discrete linguistic knowledge and performance under pressure, rather than the ability to use language meaningfully in real contexts. In contrast, no-exam approaches conceptualize assessment as an ongoing, evidence-based process embedded in interaction, feedback, and reflection, aligning more closely with sociocultural and constructivist views of learning.
However, this shift raises important concerns regarding reliability, comparability, teacher workload, and institutional accountability. In exam-oriented contexts, the removal of formal testing structures may also challenge entrenched educational expectations.
This review argues not for the elimination of assessment, but for its reconceptualization. In an ESL-oriented environment, valid assessment should reflect language as a dynamic, socially situated practice, supported by multiple forms of evidence rather than a single high-stakes test.
Keywords: esl transition, language assessment, no-exam classroom, tesol
