The effect of dynamic assessment on L2 learners’ listening comprehension

Abstract

Group dynamic assessment (G-DA), which is grounded in Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory (SCT), explores the role of social interaction and collaboration in the development of participants’ listening performance. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of G-DA approach on listening comprehension of English as a foreign language(EFL) learners in two time intervals. To this end, twenty learners were selected from among Iranian EFL learners at an English language institute. The quantitative data analysis revealed that mediational strategies which were offered to learners within the group’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) could enhance their listening comprehension. These findings have important implications for all classroom teachers who can benefit from different designs of integrating instruction and assessment through offering mediational strategies to assist L2 learners in the development of their listening skill.

Keywords

• dynamic assessment
• zone of proximal development
• listening comprehension