CSE3 Informed Dynamic Assessment of Northwest Rural Secondary School EFL Learners’ Reading Development

Abstract

The gaps both in east-west China and urban-rural development affect English education in northwest rural areas. Reading comprehension, as the foundation for secondary school students’ English overall development, is in need of tailored mediation. Level 3 of China’s Standards of English (CSE3) can be used to inform the Dynamic Assessment (DA) test items and mediation model. With CSE3-based reading materials and the DA mediation model, the current study applied five sessions of one-on-one DA mediation to an experimental group. Results show that the experimental group outperformed the control group in both inferencing and main idea, though not at test level. Microgenetic analysis of their mediation and reciprocity types and frequencies reveal the expansion of their Zones of Proximal Development (ZPD) in reading. The study is among the first attempts to bring CSE3 into the mediation model for rural EFL learners to solve their reading difficulties. It also offers a plausible way to develop tailored mediation.