THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES IN ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES AT AL ASMARYA UNIVERSITY

Abstract

This paper investigates the effectiveness of assessments used in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses at Al Asmarya University. The study emphasizes the importance of assessments with the students’ needs, ensuring that the language skills taught are relevant to their future professional careers. A questionnaire was administered to fifteen English language teachers involved in ESP courses, gathering insights on the assessment methods employed and their perceived effectiveness in enhancing students' language proficiency. The findings reveal that a variety of assessment techniques are commonly utilized. These methods are designed to evaluate students' abilities to apply their language skills in context-relevant tasks, such as writing professional emails and delivering technical presentations. The results further indicate that teachers regard these evaluations as beneficial for improving students' competence in the English language, particularly with respect to grammatical constructs and lexical understanding. The study also identifies some challenges that need to be deal with such as the design and the implementation of assessments. Challenges such as the need for special assessment tools and the evaluation of communicative competence are highlighted. The paper concludes with recommendations aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of assessments in ESP courses, ultimately contributing to better educational outcomes for students at Al Asmarya University.