Construction and Validation of Self-Assessment Inventory for English for Academic Purposes: A Case of Iranian Tertiary Students

Self-assessment helps learners to acquire self-confidence and gives them insightful feedbacks. There is no valid self-assessment inventory for learners of English for academic purposes (EAP). This study aimed at developing an academically appropriate instrument to measure tertiary students’ English in academic situations. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods in developing the selfassessment inventory (SAI). Sixty students were interviewed for the qualitative part of the study. For the quantitative phase, 600 students were selected through multistage random sampling. Qualitative data were analyzed by a constant comparative method. In addition, a questionnaire survey was used to assess the validity and reliability of SAI. A 41-item SAI was developed, the content validity, construct validity, and reliability of which were ensured by expert review, factor analysis, and internal consistency. This scale constitutes a validated self-assessment inventory of EAP.