Methods Of Evaluating Learners Studying English For Special Purposes

The present paper intends to present the perceptions of 90 students, studying at the University of Oradea, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology and Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, about two evaluation methods used at the English course, namely the classical, end-of-semester testing method and the so-called "progressive evaluation", which is carried out during the course and results from weekly in-class grading. At the end of the two years of studying English as part of their curricula, students were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire of 11 items, in which they reported either their contentment or discontentment with the two evaluation methods used, and expressed opinions about the efficiency and usefulness of the English course they have attended. A copy of the questionnaire is included as an appendix to this paper. This paper begins with a brief discussion and definition of English for Specific Purposes (ESP), after which it focuses on the description of the evaluation methods applied, on students' response to these methods and some personal consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of the two evaluation methods. ESP is a very broad domain, referring mainly to teaching English to students or people who need it for specific purposes, i.e. at work, or in their future career. In these faculties ESP is the main instrument for teaching a foreign language. In contrast to general English, ESP starts from the assessment of those functions and purposes for which English is required, as well as of the skills the learner might need most. In order to give students the possibility to compare two evaluation methods, they were evaluated at the end of their first semester, by using a method that is often used at the University of Oradea, namely that of testing learners' achievement at the end of the semester. Starting with the second semester, we have presented students with the other evaluation method, which we called "permanent evaluation", based on weekly in-class grading.