The Differing Role of L2 WTC in Iranian EFL Learners’ Performance on a Computerized Dynamic Test of Writing

Computerized dynamic assessment has been proposed as a solution to the practicality issues involved in ordinary dynamic assessment procedures. However, most of computerized dynamic assessment studies have addressed receptive skills (i.e., reading and listening). Responding to the scarcity of CDA studies of productive skills, the present study was an attempt to design and implement a computerized dynamic test of writing (CDTW) for 93 Iranian EFL university students. Moreover, this study investigated if learners’ willingness to communicate might have a facilitating role in their level of responsiveness to mediation. CDTW was designed following a sandwich-format interventionist approach. 93 Iranian EFL learners took part in a six-week procedure that consisted of a pretest; a mediation procedure; a posttest; and a delayed posttest. Running paired sample t-test revealed that there was a significant difference between learners’ non-dynamic (pretest) and dynamic (posttest) scores indicating the fact that providing learners with Zone of Proximal Development based mediations brings about significant changes in their performance. Moreover, learners’ learning potential score (LPS) proved useful in differentiating among learners with the same non-dynamic (independent) performance. In addition, comparing the posttest and delayed posttest scores revealed that learners could transfer their learning to situations outside CDTW. Finally, comparing learners’ performance through ANOVA at three levels of L2 WTC (i.e., low, mid, high) showed that L2 WTC could have significant role in learners’ level of responsiveness to mediation in CDTW. This could be indicative of the fact that learners with high L2 WTC lend themselves better to the mediation provided in dynamic assessment procedures.