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Mobile-mediated dynamic assessment: A new perspective for second language development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2020

Alberto Andujar Open the ORCID record for Alberto Andujar [Opens in a new window]
Alberto Andujar*
Affiliation:
University of Almería, Spain ([email protected])
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Abstract

The present investigation analyses the potential of a pedagogical dynamic assessment (DA) approach to foster second language (L2) development through the use of a mobile instant messaging application. Students’ zone of actual and proximal development is observed through the use of a grammar and vocabulary level test and the use of the WhatsApp application respectively. Sixty students taking a B1 English course at the language centre of a Spanish university were studied. A mixed methods methodology was used to analyse the differences between two pre-existing groups (control and experimental), each consisting of 30 participants. Both groups received the same tuition and content, and students in the experimental group participated in a daily conversation in the application during a five-month period where negative feedback was provided by the teacher through the use of an inventory of prompts, from most implicit to most explicit. Throughout the research, pedagogical mobile-mediated DA became a central part of the students’ learning process, extending learning beyond the in-class time and becoming a constant source of L2 input and feedback. Moreover, results indicated that DA and dialogic mediation helped students reflect on their language performance, gradually requiring less explicit feedback and metalinguistic explanations.

Keywords

dynamic assessmentmobile-assisted language learningCALLlanguage learningvirtual learningvirtual learning environments
Type
Regular papers
Information
ReCALL , Volume 32 , Issue 2 , May 2020 , pp. 178 - 194
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Copyright
© European Association for Computer Assisted Language Learning 2020

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