Electronic Intervention Strategies in Dynamic Assessment in an Omani EFL Classroom

Abstract

This paper explores the suitability of Dynamic Assessment (DA) as a method of formal testing when the intervention is both electronic and supported by face-to-face encounters. The principles of DA appear in Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory (SCT) which postulates that cognitive development occurs when there is productive interaction. In DA, as opposed to psychometric tests, the learner is offered mediation during or after assessment. Performance with the assistance of the mediator helps the assessor to determine the learner’s progress in the “zone of proximal development” or ZPD. Vygotsky describes the ZPD as the distance between a learner’s actual level of development without mediation and their level of potential development when interacting with an able mediator. Participants in this study were a group of 12 EFL learners enrolled in the foundation programme of an Omani university that was designed to equip them with the language skills required for English-medium tertiary education. Students emailed pre-specified academic essays during the course of a semester to the first author who then offered them feedback using a word processor’s review function. Students were then assessed on their ability to incorporate the researcher’s feedback which ranged from implicit to explicit. A focus group interview with participants was held in addition to a series of observations to explore emergent trends associated with DA. Overall results suggest that electronic forms of DA involving mediation attuned to participants’ ZPD are more effective than pre-scripted prompts based on assessors’ guesses about the kinds of intervention learners may require during assessment. The paper concludes by suggesting that electronic forms of DA ensure students get the best possible mediation when they are undertaking important assessment processes and therefore may be of benefit in Omani EFL tertiary contexts.