Can I really evaluate myself?

If you are not an expert in the language, how can you assess your own proficiency in it? Self-assessment does have its limitations, but it can also be very useful.

The disadvantage of doing self-evaluation is that it is hard to assess the accuracy of your own writing or speech.Some people judge themselves too gently, and some judge themselves too harshly.

Here are some benefits of self-evaluation:

• You see areas in which you made progress and those in which you need more work.
• If your progress in a certain area does not satisfy you, you can make changes in your program.
• You can encourage yourself by seeing how much progress you have made!
• If no teacher is available to evaluate you, self-assessment is the only way to know how you are really doing.

Here are the kinds of things you should evaluate:

• Try to decide how well you control the material in your lessons or self-structured program.
• Look at your overall proficiency level in each skill.
• Try to decide your rate of progress.

• Generic module: Can I really evaluate myself?
• In overview module: Information to help you check your progress
• In modular book: Managing Your Language Learning Program, by Carol J. Orwig
• In bookshelf: Language Learning

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 3.5, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 12 August 1998

© 1999 SIL International