Dynamic Assessment in Second Language Acquisition: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis

Abstract

In search of a more in-depth grasp of the process and practice of dynamic assessment (DA) in second language acquisition (SLA), the present study adopted a qualitative meta-synthesis methodology and identified a number of synoptic accounts and themes pertinent to the practical implementation of DA and the philosophical worldview adopted towards it. The overarching inferences made based on the systematic review of 40 peer-reviewed, primary studies, which met certain predetermined criteria for selection and inclusion in the data set, emanated a shared set of two primary and two secondary themes. Expounding upon the dual function of DA in terms of both diagnosing and developing learners’ abilities and elucidating how DA, formative assessment, and scaffolding are different, the two primary themes reflect on commonalities dissected across the 40 selected primary studies on DA, respectively. The two secondary themes give fresh insights into the nature of DA by hailing DA as an assessment tool that can ameliorate fairness in education and explaining how DA is in line with experientialism and pragmatic worldviews. Therefore, the established primary themes can shed light on further dimensions of DA implementation in language pedagogy as well as its practical application guidelines, and the secondary themes can reflect on the way fairness, validity, reliability, and generalizability in DA can be revisited.

Keywords

• qualitative meta-synthesis
• classroom assessment
• sociocultural patterns
• alternative assessment
• dynamic assessment