Formative Assessment as Part of the Learning Process

Formative assessment takes place during

the learning process and is used to identify what

learners already understand, where difficulties remain,

and what should happen next. Unlike summative

assessment, whose primary purpose is usually to

record or certify achievement at the end of a period,

formative assessment provides information that can

be used to improve ongoing teaching and learning.

In the English classroom, teachers may gather

evidence of learning through observation, questioning,

short written tasks, classroom discussions, drafts,

self-assessment, and peer assessment. However, an

activity becomes formative only when the information

it produces influences subsequent decisions. A quiz

that merely generates a score does not necessarily

support learning; the teacher and the learners need to

use its results to identify strengths, revise strategies,

and plan further action.

Effective formative feedback should be connected

to clear learning intentions and understandable

criteria. Rather than simply marking an answer as

right or wrong, feedback can indicate what has been

achieved, explain what still needs improvement, and

suggest a realistic next step. If learners understand

the criteria and participate in evaluating their own

work, they may become more capable of monitoring

and regulating their learning.

Formative assessment also requires teachers to

respond flexibly to evidence collected in the classroom.

If several learners misunderstand a grammatical

structure or cannot use it effectively in communication,

the teacher may need to modify the lesson, provide

another model, or design a new task. Assessment is

therefore not an interruption of teaching but part of

a continuing cycle in which evidence, feedback, and

pedagogical decisions shape one another.

Adaptado de: BRITISH COUNCIL. Formative assessment. TeachingEnglish, [s.d.]; OECD. Using formative assessment and feedback. In: Unlocking high-quality teaching. Paris: OECD Publishing, 2025. Acesso em: 3 ago. 2026.

Generative AI and the Changing Role of English Teachers

Generative artificial intelligence can produce

texts, explanations, exercises, translations, and

feedback within seconds. In English language

education, these tools may expand opportunities

for learners to practise reading and writing, explore

different ways of expressing ideas, and receive

support beyond classroom hours. Their educational

value, however, does not result automatically from

their technical capacity.

AI-generated content may contain inaccurate

information, reproduce social or cultural biases, and

present invented references as if they were reliable.

It may also reflect linguistic patterns that are more

strongly represented in its training data, while giving

less visibility to other varieties, identities, and cultural

perspectives. For this reason, outputs produced by AI

need to be examined critically rather than accepted

as neutral or authoritative.

The use of AI also raises questions about privacy,

authorship, assessment, and learner autonomy. When

students submit automatically generated texts without

understanding or revising them, the final product

may conceal what they can actually communicate

in English. Assessment practices therefore need

to consider not only the submitted text but also the

decisions, revisions, explanations, and language-

learning processes that led to it.

In this context, the teacher’s role is not reduced

to selecting technological resources. Teachers need to

determine whether a tool is pedagogically appropriate,

protect students’ data, design meaningful activities,

and help learners question the information they

receive. A human-centred approach treats AI as a

resource under critical and pedagogical supervision,

not as a substitute for professional judgement or

human agency.

Adaptado de: MIAO, Fengchun; HOLMES, Wayne. Guidance for generative AI in education and research. Paris: UNESCO, 2023; MIAO, Fengchun; CUKUROVA, Mutlu. AI competency framework for teachers. Paris: UNESCO, 2024. Acesso em: 3 ago. 2026.

Generative AI and the Changing Role of English Teachers

Generative artificial intelligence can produce

texts, explanations, exercises, translations, and

feedback within seconds. In English language

education, these tools may expand opportunities

for learners to practise reading and writing, explore

different ways of expressing ideas, and receive

support beyond classroom hours. Their educational

value, however, does not result automatically from

their technical capacity.

AI-generated content may contain inaccurate

information, reproduce social or cultural biases, and

present invented references as if they were reliable.

It may also reflect linguistic patterns that are more

strongly represented in its training data, while giving

less visibility to other varieties, identities, and cultural

perspectives. For this reason, outputs produced by AI

need to be examined critically rather than accepted

as neutral or authoritative.

The use of AI also raises questions about privacy,

authorship, assessment, and learner autonomy. When

students submit automatically generated texts without

understanding or revising them, the final product

may conceal what they can actually communicate

in English. Assessment practices therefore need

to consider not only the submitted text but also the

decisions, revisions, explanations, and language-

learning processes that led to it.

In this context, the teacher’s role is not reduced

to selecting technological resources. Teachers need to

determine whether a tool is pedagogically appropriate,

protect students’ data, design meaningful activities,

and help learners question the information they

receive. A human-centred approach treats AI as a

resource under critical and pedagogical supervision,

not as a substitute for professional judgement or

human agency.

Adaptado de: MIAO, Fengchun; HOLMES, Wayne. Guidance for generative AI in education and research. Paris: UNESCO, 2023; MIAO, Fengchun; CUKUROVA, Mutlu. AI competency framework for teachers. Paris: UNESCO, 2024. Acesso em: 3 ago. 2026.

English as a Global Language: Implications for Teaching

English is currently the most widely spoken

language in the world and is expected to retain a

central role in international communication. However,

its global position does not necessarily imply the

disappearance or reduced importance of other

languages. English increasingly operates alongside

them, allowing multilingual speakers to draw on

different linguistic and cultural resources when

communicating across borders.

This changing context has important implications

for language education. For many learners, English

will be used more frequently with speakers from

different first-language backgrounds than with

people from traditionally English-speaking countries.

Consequently, successful communication cannot be

measured solely by how closely learners reproduce

the pronunciation, vocabulary, or cultural conventions

of an idealised native speaker.

A more contextualised understanding of

proficiency gives greater importance to intelligibility,

adaptability, intercultural awareness, and the ability

to negotiate meaning. This does not mean that

grammatical accuracy or established conventions

should be disregarded. Rather, teachers need to

help learners understand when particular forms are

expected while also preparing them to communicate

effectively across diverse contexts.

Technology may expand access to English

learning, but it may also widen the divide between

learners who have reliable digital resources and

those who do not. Teachers therefore remain central

to the learning process. Their role includes mediating

resources, responding to local needs, and helping

students develop the communicative flexibility

required in multilingual and multicultural settings.

Adaptado de: PATEL, Mina; SOLLY, Mike; COPELAND, Steve. The future of English: global perspectives. London: British Council, 2023. Acesso em: 3 ago. 2026.