Formative Assessment is a Scaffold for ELs to Reach ZPD’s Second Layer: A Literature Review Study

Abstract

Learning and teaching can’t function well without assessing students’ performance. More so, formative assessment is the most essential sort of evaluation in academic contexts. Teachers and students alike benefit from the dynamic nature of this evaluation as it brings students and English teachers closer together, instructors are better able to encourage and assist student learning. Both teachers and students benefit from this assessment process, which helps them better understand each other’s strengths and flaws. Instructors can provide input to students based on their needs, similar to how a building is built. As a result, formative assessment appears to be a scaffold for ELs, assisting them when they encounter difficulties and preparing them to move to an optimum level of efficiency. The purpose of this critical review is to (i) explain formative assessment from major theoretical perspectives. (ii) Conceptualize formative assessment and Scaffolding. (iii) Reiterate my belief that formative assessment propels learners to the second layer of ZPD.