The Theoretical Underpinnings and Pedagogical Implications of Dynamic Assessment in EFL/ESL Classroom

Dynamic assessment (DA) has been explored in the educational literature for three decades or more, as a different style of assessment. DA has been emboldened by the paucity of conventional static tests to provide precise information about the individual’s learning abilities, specific inadequate functions, change processes, and meditational strategies that are in charge for cognitive modifiability. DA, originated from Socio -cultural Theory (SCT) and Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), is necessarily defined as an approach taking into account personal differences and their uses for teaching which accepts intervention in the assessment method. The vital point is that dynamic assessment, as opposed to non-dynamic assessment (NDA), does not take apart teaching from testing but instead takes them into account as two aspects of the same thing. Many authors have offered that DA could be used in all language skills, while others postulated that it cannot be useful in the ordinary classes. According to the significant contributions of DA in EFL/ESL contexts, the present paper, therefore, aims to review some important studies that have implemented DA on different language skills and theprocess of their research. It brings to the fore different theories underlying DA, including SCT and ZPD. It then clarifies two approaches to DA, namely integrationist and interventionist. Finally, it proposes some strands of research and emphasizes the implications of other studies conducted on the interplay between language skills and DA.

کلیدواژه ها:

Dynamic assessment ، Integrationist DA ، Interventionist DA ، Meditational strategies socio-cultural theory ، Zone of proximal development