THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT IN IMPROVING SPEAKING SKILLS OF UNDERGRADUATE EFL STUDENTS

Abstract

The dynamic assessment (DA) method whether based on an interventionist or interactionist perspectives has long been considered an active and effective sociocultural teaching procedure (Malmir (2020; Bahador and Mofrad, 2020; Safa et al., 2015; Khoshsima and Farokhipours, 2016; Poehner and Lantolf’s, 2005; Aljaafreh and Lantolf’s, 1994; Ghahderijan, Namaziandost, Tavakoli, Kumar and Magizov, 2021). However, the nature of the intervention plan, the specifics, levels, role and dose of instructor’s engagement in such process is still a big gab in this field. This study aimed at investigating the role of implementing a DA-based intervention in improving the speaking skills of EFL learners. The study also attempted to deepen understanding of how this intervention was implemented more effectively. Therefore, a mixed-method based on both quantitative and qualitative data was employed to analyze the data gathered through two instruments: a speaking proficiency test and an observation checklist. The sample consisted of (30) participants distributed to two groups: experimental and control. The findings revealed that the speaking performance of the experimental group has significantly outperformed the control group with p<05 due to the DA-based intervention.  It was recommended to incorporate the DA intervention in the daily EFL teaching practices. The implications of how the intervention was implemented and related recommendation are implied.