ABSTRACT
Adapting instructions to foster student engagement in collaborative learning in an online environment during difficult, unexpected circumstances can be challenging. While the pedagogy of English for Academic Purpose (EAP) supports formative assessment as an effective strategy for promoting collaborative learning, emerging unexpected disruptions of routinized practices may require novel strategies. In an effort to identify successful strategies for the implementation of formative assessment in difficult circumstances, this chapter draws on the authors’ experiences of implementing formative assessment in two courses taught to advanced-level EAP students in an intensive English program during the Covid-19 pandemic. On the basis of the lessons learned from the strategies used to adapt instructions to meet students’ needs, the chapter suggests that including students’ input in the design of formative assessment activities could be conducive to enhancing students’ enthusiasm to participate in the learning tasks during times of major disruptions that impact their engagement.
