Abstract:
Although self-assessment of foreign language skills is not a new topic, it has not
yet been widely explored in the Turkish English as a Foreign Language (EFL)
context. The current study investigates the potential of self-assessment of foreign
language skills in determining proficiency levels of Turkish learners of EFL: 239
learners participated in the study. Their receptive language skills were tested
with an objective placement test, and the results were compared with the
grades assigned by their instructors and the results of criterion-referenced selfassessment
scores. Multiple regression analysis revealed that teacher and
self-assessment scores were significantly correlated with each other; however,
teacher assessment, compared to self-assessment, appeared to be a much stronger
predictor of the actual proficiency levels of the participants. In addition to this,
participants at lower level of proficiency revealed a common tendency of overestimating
their language skills, while with the higher level learners there were
clear signs of underestimation.
