Digital platforms have widened opportunities for assessment for learning in English language education, yet the ability to administer online quizzes does not in itself constitute formative assessment competence. This conceptual article examines how pre-service English language teachers can be prepared to translate digital evidence into instructional decisions. Drawing on formative assessment theory, teacher assessment literacy, feedback literacy, the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators and recent syntheses of digital assessment research, the article develops a five-phase Digital Formative Assessment Pedagogy (DFAP) framework. Its phases—alignment, elicitation, interpretation, responsive action and reflective recalibration—are mapped onto teacher-learning activities, illustrative English as a foreign language (EFL) tasks and observable assessment criteria. A worked example demonstrates how teacher candidates can move from a digital writing task to diagnostic interpretation, actionable feedback and revision. The paper further proposes a performance-based rubric and a feasible future validation design. The contribution is a context-sensitive instructional synthesis, not a claim of experimentally established effectiveness. It argues that assessment competence should be evidenced by the quality of decisions made with digital information, rather than by the frequency of platform use. Implications concern initial teacher education, mentor-supported microteaching, accessibility, data protection and the evaluation of assessment practice.
Developing Digital Formative Assessment Competence in Pre-Service English Language Teachers: A Conceptual and Methodological Framework
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