Abstract
This study investigated the effect of dynamic assessment on learners’ syntactic knowledge. The main concern of this study was significant difference between dynamic and static assessment and the possible role of these two forms of assessment on the syntactic development of Iranian EFL college preparatory learners. To fulfill the purpose of the study, NELSON was administered to 70 pre university male learners. Those learners with scores one standard deviation above and below the mean were selected for the purpose of the study. There were 60 students who were then divided into experimental and control groups. Next, the pre-test (a teacher-made, multiple-choice test) was administered to 20 subjects of parallel group. Then, twelve multiple-choice grammar tests were administered to the subjects of the experimental group. The students received mediation in dynamic assessment model which involved some strategies like looking for clues, eliminating the answers that do not fit and comparison strategies. The mediation process was designed to enable teachers to mediate each of the items in an interactive way. The mediation was divided into two stages: a) manipulation of grammatical and structural point through the strategies mentioned above and b) information paper which was given to the students at the end of each session to work on them at home. The control group received deductive grammatical rules during twelve sessions. Finally, the pre-test was re-administered as the post-test and t-test was applied. The results showed that at 0.05 level of significance the mean of experimental group was more than the mean of control group for different scores and consequently the null-hypothesis was rejected. The study proved that dynamic assessment outperformed in improving syntactic knowledge of the learners.
Highlights
A test is a method of measuring a person’s ability or knowledge in a given area
According to Vygotsky these functions belong to the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) in counter-distinction to fully developed functions that belong to the zone of actual development
While the results of the static assessment show us the already existent abilities of the student, the analysis of ZPD allows us to evaluate the ability of the student to learn from the interaction with a teacher or a more competent peer
Summary
A test is a method of measuring a person’s ability or knowledge in a given area. A test is first a method and that method generally requires some performances or activities on the part of either the testee or the tester or both. It is a means to reinforce learning and to motivate students and on the other hand, it is a device to assess learners’ performance in the language. In the former, the testing is geared to the teaching; while in the latter case, teaching is geared to the testing. The goal is usually to evaluate the students’ learning ability and to gain information useful for more effective instruction. While the results of the static assessment show us the already existent abilities of the student, the analysis of ZPD allows us to evaluate the ability of the student to learn from the interaction with a teacher or a more competent peer. Grammar may be considered in several different and sometimes overlapping ways: 1) as a synonym for syntax, 2) to refer to the entire body of elements and units that constitutes a language (including syntax and phonology and word formation), 3) to label the description of a language prepared by linguist, 4) to describe the body of linguistic knowledge that resides in the minds of the speaker of language (Falk, 1978)
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