Beliefs about the tests used to evaluate english learning

Abstract

This article is derived from my doctoral thesis entitled “Beliefs about the evaluation of learning English as a foreign language: towards a proactive evaluation.” The study was conducted in the Department of Linguistics and Languages of the Universidad de Nariño, under the direction of Dr. Jesús Alirio Bastidas, using the phenomenological-hermeneutical method. In-depth interviews were conducted, and the search was complemented by the application of surveys and the analysis of ten English tests performed by students. The results constitute an important approximation to the hidden ideas behind the considered exams, giving rise to an almost inexhaustible interpretative material. The research suggests the existence of eclectic meanings and beliefs between teachers and students about the tests used to evaluate the learning of English as a foreign language.