Interventionist Dynamic Assessment’s Effects on Speaking Skills Testing: Case of Elt Teacher Candidates

Abstract

EFL learners’ oral proficiency plays an important role in the representation of their productive skills. Especially, English language learners’ speaking skills are considered as main reflection of their proficiency in foreign languages. Speaking in L2 is accepted as a vital competence for language teachers as well, who are going to teach the target language in the future. The related literature puts an emphasis on the assessment of speaking skills utilizing various techniques. However, the number of research studies, examining how dynamic assessment (DA), especially the interventionist model of dynamic assessment, can be utilized as a technique in the assessment of L2 speaking performance, is relatively limited. Thus, the main aims of the current research study are both to investigate the efficacy of the interventionist model of DA in the assessment of student teachers’ speaking skills performance and to figure out their attitudes towards dynamic assessment. The participants of the current research were 29 student teachers, enrolled in the English Language Teaching Department of a state university in Turkey. To collect the quantitative data questionnaire survey was adopted and utilized as a checklist due to the number of the participants. On the other hand, to collect the qualitative data, a written structured interview was administered to the participants. The data were analyzed with the SPSS package and through the content analysis method. The findings of the current research revealed that participants were satisfied with the interventionist model and developed positive attitudes towards this assessment type. The participants stated that the interventionist dynamic assessment provided an authentic, creative and relaxing atmosphere, which decreased the level of their speaking anxiety. It can be asserted that DA can be administered to test foreign language speaking performance in language classrooms. Additionally, it was concluded that the interventionist model sustained and boosted the student teachers’ oral skills achievement.

On the impact of online interactionist vs. interventionist dynamic assessment on Iranian EFL learners’ writing performance

“…The findings of the current study regarding the effectiveness of interventionist dynamic assessment are in line with the findings of the study carried out by Köroğlu (2019) who aimed at investigating the effectiveness of the interventionist model of dynamic assessment in the assessment of student teachers' speaking skill performance. Similarly, the interventionist strategy was found to maintain and improve the oral skills performance of student teachers.…”

“…interventionist and interactionist techniques, aiming to find out which mode of DA can prove to be more efficacious. Though a number of researchers (e.g., Köroğlu, 2019;Kushki, et al 2022;Rahmani, et al 2020;Rassaei, 2023;Safa & Beheshti, 2018) have already delved into this area and probed the efficacy of different types of DA, as well as scaffolding, for learning enhancement, it seems that scant research has been done on the influence of interventionist and interactionist DA on Iranian EFL learners' writing enhancement, particularly when the context of language schools is concerned. Furthermore, the implementation of DA in the virtual learning environment and the integration of technology into the process of DA are the other principal concerns attended to in the current study, which can be regarded as the other major novelty aspect of the research at hand.…”

Interventionist vs. interactionist models of dynamic assessment (DA) in the EFL classroom: impacts on speaking accuracy and fluency (SAF), foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA), and foreign language learning motivation (FLLM)

“…Numerous studies have been carried out on the impacts of DA on reading skills (Ebadi & Saeedian, 2019;Farokhipour et al, 2019;, writing (Babamoradi et al, 2018;Heidari, 2020;Rahmani et al, 2020;Shabani, 2018), speaking (Ahmadi Safa et al, 2015;Bahador & Hatami Mofrad, 2020;Estaji & Farahanynia, 2019;Ghahderijani et al, 2021;Kazemi & Tavassoli, 2020;Safdari & Fathi, 2020;Çetin Köroğlu, 2019), grammar (e.g., Estaji & Forough Ameri, 2020;Lantolf & Poehner, 2011;Alemi et al, 2019), and vocabularies (e.g., Gharekhani & Seyyed Rezaei, 2015;Sarani & Izadi, 2016). The majority of these researches have applied the general framework of DA; nonetheless, rare studies, especially in the Iranian context, have checked the influences of interactionist vs. interventionist models of DA on three variables (i.e., SAF, FLCA, and FLLM).…”

Efl Adolescent Learners’ Attitudes Towards Applying Dynamic Assessment to Enhance Their Speaking Performance

“…To investigate the efficacy of DA in the assessment of student teachers' speaking performance and to figure out their attitudes towards DA, Köroglu (2019) carried out a study with a survey and an interview including 29 student teachers. The results revealed that the DA made participants satisfied and gained positive attitudes towards this assessment type.…”