Formative Assessment in English for Specific Purposes

The publication of Guidance for College English Teaching is the symbol for a new round of college English teaching reformation in China. And one of the new directions it set for the reformation is to set up English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses, as a response to the new requirements for talents by the development of China's society and economy. No reformation of teaching can be successful without changing the model of assessment of students. So this paper discusses the application of formative assessment in ESP which is composed of two parts, namely, online learning activities and offline learning activities with different emphasis on the language abilities intended to cultivate. By doing so, students are advised to lay emphasis on the learning process.