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"Investigating the Connection between Learning and Assessment: Formative Assessment in Intermediate L2 Spanish Classes"

Gabriela C. Zapata
Associate Professor and Director of the Spanish and Portuguese Language Programs
University of Southern California



This paper investigates the connection between learning and assessment by examining the implementation of ACTFL's Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) in intermediate, L2 Spanish classes. There were 880 students who participated in this classroom-based study. This presentation will discuss the following: 1) the theoretical and pedagogical bases of IPA; 2) the materials and tasks that were created; 3) the steps followed for its successful implementation; and 4) the results of a study on students' and instructors' perceptions of IPA and the relationship between classroom content and assessment. In addition, we will compare the results of IPA-based assessment tools with those from previous, more traditional evaluation tools.

Gabriela C. Zapata is Associate Professor (Teaching) and Director of the Spanish and Portuguese Language Programs at the University of Southern California. She received her Ph.D. in Spanish Applied Linguistics from the Pennsylvania State University in 2002. Dr. Zapata's main research foci are bilingualism, teacher education, and second language acquisition and pedagogy. She has published articles on these research foci in journals such as Computer Assisted Language Learning, Hispania, Language Learning, and Language Awareness. She is also the main author of the Canadian edition of the textbook Puntos de Partida.