A COMPARATIVE EXPLORATION ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT OF LISTENING COMPREHENSION IN THE CONTEXT OF IRAN

Listening ability is one of the important skills in foreign language learning. In spite of its importance, listening has long been the neglected skill in foreign language acquisition, research, teaching, and assessment. There has been little research on the listening problems that English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or English as a Second language (ESL) learners experience in learning to listen to spoken English in the classrooms. The present study aimed to conduct a comparative investigation on the diagnostic capacities of three different approaches to Dynamic Assessment (DA), namely, interventionist and interactionist, as well as the potential effects of multi-media DA- based instruction on the development of listening comprehension ability of Iranian university students studying Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL). The study was based on a longitudinal research design enabling the observation of listening development over time. Based on these premise, the study implemented a mixed methods research methodology, i.e., microgenetic analysis, a key sociocultural method, and proposition analysis, as a supplementary analytical method. The results of the study showed that lack of effective listening strategies, lack of functional knowledge, insufficient phonological knowledge, deficient vocabulary and grammatical knowledge, together with many other factors were the major listening comprehension problems encountered by EFL Iranian learners. Understanding studentsʹ learning difficulties may enable EFL teachers to help students develop effective learning strategies and ultimately improve their English listening skill. Suggestions are made for addressing problems regarding how teachers can help their students overcome listening comprehension problems. The results of this study may also be useful for those who are interested in this field.