What is it about?
Deeply rooted in the sociocultural theory of mind by Vygotsky, Dynamic assessment (DA) asserts that mediation is essential for online diagnosis in the classroom. One of the major challenges facing language teachers is the assessment of the learners’ Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) level or diagnosing the amount of mediation or scaffolding they require to achieve their potential level. Ongoing assessment of the learner’s ZPD and the tailoring of mediation to fit the learning environment seems to be a vital stage. Dynamic self-assessment (DSA) can be applied for diagnostic purposes in writing classes. In this research, it is assumed that the analysis and comparison of teacher’s assessment and DSA will not only indicate their ZPD level or the amount of mediation the learners require but also diagnose their weaknesses and strengths in writing. A quasi-experimental research on 60 sophomore English Translation students in essay writing classes in Islamshahr Azad University revealed that DSA not only significantly affects the EFL learners’ writing ability, but also it is incrementally correlated with teacher’s assessment through 8 weeks of treatment, and the analysis of DSAs reveals the leaner’s’ weaknesses and the areas which should be emphasized.
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Why is it important?
Despite the fact that the main goal of Diagnostic language testing is “to help test-takers better understand their own linguistic strengths and weaknesses so as to aid language learning” (Harding, Alderson, & Brufaut, 2015, p. 324), few truly diagnostic language tests have been developed so far, perhaps the best example being the DIALANG Project (Alderson, 2005). Moreover, most of these Diagnostic tests deal with reading, writing, and listening, especially through the use of computers and internet. Such summative approach these diagnostic language tests have applied does not provide teachers and learners with adequate constant assessment of the learners’ weaknesses and strengths and may not be of much help for pedagogical purposes. Rather, a dynamic means of assessment seems more advantageous in language learning and teaching environments for diagnostic purposes.
Perspectives
Based on the results of the present study, it can be concluded that the DSA significantly improves the writing ability of the Iranian EFL learners. However, the improvement is achieved if the learners receive appropriate feedback and training by the teachers. In that case, they will be able to develop their own criteria for the assessment of their own performance, being aware of the details often left implicit in the normal classes. Moreover, it was revealed that learners were more concerned with the grammatical errors and mechanics of writing than the organizational structure of a five-paragraph essay. Surprisingly, the organization of writing was most easily handled by the Iranian EFL learners, maybe due to the universal logical patterns that exist within such genres.
Siamak Mazloomi
Islamic Azad University Islamshahr
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This page is a summary of: Diagnostic Assessment of Writing through Dynamic Self-Assessment, International Journal of English Linguistics, November 2016, Canadian Center of Science and Education,
DOI: 10.5539/ijel.v6n6p19.
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