COMPARISON OF JAPANESE LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT CRITERIA OF A STEM AND A NON-STEM UNIVERSITY IN THE UK

Abstract

This study compares a STEM and a non-STEM British university’s Japanese marking criteria using two cultural concepts as a framework. There are movements in language teaching to focus on teaching specific purposes. The findings show that the two types of assessment criteria, simple and detailed assessment criteria exist, which were under the influence of these two cultural concepts. Language teachers who use simple assessment criteria grade students’ work more objectively using quantitative method, whereas those who use detailed assessment criteria grade more subjectively. Language teachers who use detailed assessment criteria may have less workload marking and grading than those who use simple assessment. However, the grading quality of those who use detailed assessment criteria may not be as consistent as that of those who use simple assessment. In addition, the emphasis on either creativity or accuracy is related to simple or detailed assessment criteria. It is recommended to incorporate some aspects of simple assessment criteria to improve the consistency of the grading if an institution uses detailed assessment. If an institution uses simple assessment criteria, it is recommended to incorporate the clarity aspect of detailed assessment criteria

Keywords

• Culture
• detailed assessment criteria
• higher education
• Japanese language teaching
• simple assessment criteria