THE EFFECT OF DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT ON EFL LEARNERS’ LISTENING COMPREHENSION AT THE INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

The present study aims at testing the effect of dynamic assessment on Iranian English as a foreign language students listening ability with low and high level of language proficiency in four groups at Jahad Daneshgahi Institute in Amol, north of Iran. To homogenize the research population (N=160), the Nelson proficiency test was administered. Those who scored between half a standard deviation above and half standard deviation below the mean are considered as high and low levels respectively. As many as 96 participants with the lowest and highest level of listening ability were selected and assigned to dynamic assessment (DA) groups and static assessment (SA) groups through systematic random sampling. In order to determine their current level of listening ability, a pretest was administered to the groups. Afterwards, dynamic assessment training was applied to the dynamic assessment groups (DAGs) in 12 successive 70-minute sessions on listening skill. Unlike DAGs, static assessment groups (SAGs) did not receive any mediation. In the end, a post-test was administered to the DA and SA groups to tap their listening ability after the study. The findings revealed that DA was statistically more significant and effective for the learners than the static assessment, and showed that DA affects learners listening ability. The study indicated that, through interactions among mediator and learners, DA allows establishing not only the actual level of learners’ listening ability but also to find and assess the potential level of their listening development, and helps its improvement.