Using Socrative for testing in the Saudi English language classroom

What is it about?

Socrative is a widely used Online Student Response System (OSRS) that operates on a web-based platform accessible through any web browser with an Internet connection (Mork, 2014). This study aims to provide the expectations and attitudes of Saudi female learners about the use of mobile-based formative assessment in an effort to support EFL teachers as they transition from using traditional paper-based formative assessment to using electronic tools. The purpose of the study is to find out how EFL students feel about doing assessments on mobile devices in English classrooms, using Socrative as a model. 35 female students completed the experiment's three phases—the pre-experiment survey, the Socrative quiz, and the post-experiment survey—for this reason. The participants are engaged in a Preparatory Year Programme course at a Saudi governmental institution on English for Specific Purposes (ESP). According to the study's findings, in the pre-experiment survey, over half of the participants chose paper-based exams over mobile ones; but, following the experiment, the students' attitudes shifted in favour of mobile tests. The study also emphasised many benefits that the participants stated come with using Socrative as a formative evaluation tool in EFL classes. According to the study, teachers should employ OSRSs in the classroom since they provide several pedagogical advantages for language learners.

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Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash

Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Since the majority of students around the world have better experiences with e-learning tools nowadays, including Socrative, it is important to continue investigating its effectiveness as a replacement for paper-based formative assessment.

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