Implementing dynamic assessment in writing in Chinese as a second language: Towards an adjusted cumulative group dynamic assessment

Abstract

Drawing on Vygotskian sociocultural theory and adopting a microgenetic analysis method, this study examined the effectiveness of group dynamic assessment (G-DA) on Chinese as a second language (CSL) learners' writing, intending to propose an adjusted cumulative G-DA. A five-week study was conducted in two parallel writing classrooms, where G-DA was used in the experimental class to assess and mediate the learners' writing. The study found that the G-DA and non-G-DA students' writing performance did not show a significant difference in the static assessments; however, the effectiveness of the G-DA was examined through the reduction in the amount of mediation and the changes in the mediation types in the G-DA group, which demonstrated that the G-DA of CSL writing had a positive effect on the learners' internalization of linguistic knowledge. This paper reports the microgenetic analysis focusing on two G-DA students to provide an in-depth account of the G-DA. Learners' internalization was more salient regarding their grammatical knowledge than vocabulary and Chinese character knowledge. Meanwhile, mediated feedback was more conducive to developing writing in the lower-proficiency CSL learner. To illustrate the potential affordances that G-DA can offer to CSL writing classrooms, this study also proposes and discusses an adjusted cumulative G-DA in the context of CSL writing.