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This study investigates the effects of computer-assisted Interventionist Dynamic Assessment (IDA) and Hybrid Dynamic Assessment (HDA) on the organizational skills of L2 writing among Chinese university students, addressing gaps in traditional product-focused writing instruction. Eighty-four participants were randomized into IDA or HDA groups, completing three argumentative writing tasks (pretest, DA test, posttest) over 5 weeks. The IDA group received standardized computer-mediated prompts (Mediational Moves), while the HDA group combined computer-mediated prompts with instructor-led, personalized mediation. Results revealed both groups improved significantly, but HDA demonstrated superior gains in organizational skills, attributed to its interactive scaffolding aligned with sociocultural theory's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Repeated-measures ANOVA highlighted significant progression over time, though posttest scores slightly declined, suggesting developmental process of progression in cognitive development. Mediational move analysis indicated HDA's adaptive support fostered deeper cognitive engagement, evidenced by higher Learning Potential Scores (LPS). The study highlights the effectiveness of HDA in improving organizational skills through computer-assisted mediation combined with teacher-led dialogic interaction. It offers pedagogical insights into integrating dynamic, technology-enhanced assessment methods in EFL settings to better connect assessment with instruction. Findings advocate for blended models that prioritize individualized feedback, leveraging technology and human mediation to address L2 writers' evolving needs within their ZPD. This study explores how dynamic assessment (DA), supported by computer-assisted tools, can improve English organizational writing skills among L2 learners. Unlike traditional assessments that solely measure performance, DA actively helps students develop their writing abilities through real-time feedback and guided support. Using an online platform, this research examines how students engage with immediate diagnostic feedback to refine their writing. The findings suggest that integrating technology with teacher interaction enhances both basic and advanced writing skills, thereby making learning more effective and personalized. This study has practical implications for educators, policymakers and learners seeking to advance language education through innovative, technology-driven assessment methods.

The current study set out to investigate the effects of concurrent group dynamic assessment (GDA) and cumulative GDA on Iranian EFL learners’ development of reading comprehension micro-skills. To this end, a convenience sample of 60 intermediate undergraduate EFL university students that were selected based on the results of a placement test and randomly assigned to two experimental groups participated in the study. The participants met once a week for 90-min lessons in a Reading II class over an academic semester. Each group received a concurrent or cumulative GDA mediation on reading tasks with a focus on activities involving five fundamental reading comprehension micro-skills, namely identifying the main idea, finding inferences, finding supporting details, understanding vocabulary, and finding references. A pretest/posttest procedure was used to compare the two group’s achievements. The results of t test analyses demonstrated that both GDA approaches were effective but the students in the concurrent GDA group significantly outperformed those in the cumulative GDA group in terms of micro-skills of identifying the main idea and finding inferences whereas no significant differences were observed for other micro-skills. It could be argued that in concurrent GDA since the secondary interactants expect to be called on at any moment, they are more alert and attentive to mediational exchanges, and this contributes to enriching the micro-skills of identifying the main idea and finding inferences. The findings suggest that concurrent and cumulative GDA approaches when applied to teaching reading comprehension should be viewed as complementary. The concurrent approach works better with activities that require higher-cognitive functions and top-down processes such as identifying main ideas or finding inferences. On the other hand, both approaches could be equally beneficial and interchangeably used in activities that involve lower-level bottom-up cognitive processes such as finding supporting details, understanding vocabulary, or finding references. The findings offer significant implications for classroom practice and subsequent research that are discussed.

In today’s environment of growing class sizes due to the prevalence of online and e-learning systems, providing one-to-one instruction and feedback has become a challenging task for teachers. Anyhow, the dialectical integration of instruction and assessment into a seamless and dynamic activity can provide a continuous flow of assessment information for teachers to boost and individualize learning. In this regard, adaptive learning technology is one way to facilitate teacher-supported learning and personalize curriculum and learning experiences. This study aimed to investigate the potential of an adaptive Computerized Dynamic Assessment (C-DA) tool applicable as a language diagnostician and assistant. The study tried to get insight into 75 Iranian EFL learners’ listening development by focusing on the learning potential exhibited through learners’ assessment and the degree of internalization of mediation. To achieve these, a C-DA tutor including two dynamic listening comprehension tests, each comprising 20 items, arranged in the order of difficulty was developed. The test takers unable to answer an item correctly were provided with graduated hints for different comprehension- and production-type items and the overall difficulty level of the test was adapted to the test takers’ proficiency level. In order to have a full diagnosis of each individual’s listening development, the adaptive C-DA automatically generated five test scores on each learner’s performance: actual (unmediated) score, mediated score, gain score, Learning Potential Score (LPS), and transfer score. The results of paired-sample t-tests revealed a significant development from the actual to the mediated scores. Furthermore, the LPSs indicated that the tutor was capable of revealing learners’ potential for learning. Moreover, learners with high LPS gained a higher mean for transfer scores followed by transfer scores of medium and low levels. The results of Mann-Whitney tests revealed a significant difference in the degree of internalization of mediation of learners with mid and low range of LPSs on the easy test and high and low range of LPSs on the difficult test. The findings of this research can have important theoretical and practical implications for researchers and educationalists. The instructional value of this adaptive C-DA tool lies in its unique opportunities for individualizing learning and developing individual learning plans in accordance with learners’ needs.

This quasi-experimental study compared the effects of Computer-assisted Hybrid Dynamic Assessment (HDA) and Interventionist Dynamic Assessment (IDA) on the development of organizational writing skills in L2, aiming to improve both assessment and instruction within Chinese EFL context. A total of 85 first-year university students in China participated in the study, divided into two groups: HDA (n = 42) and IDA (n = 43). The Mediational Moves, representing DA scaffolded support (prompts), were implemented through both computer-assisted and instructor-mediated interventions, facilitating DA implementation in large classes. The HDA group received a combination of computer-assisted and instructor-mediated prompts, while the IDA group was solely exposed to computer-assisted prompts. They completed three tests (pre-test, DA test, and delayed posttest) under different experimental conditions to assess macro-level organizational writing skills. Differences in Mediational Moves, Mediational Efficiency, and Learning Potential Scores (LPS) were examined, along with how Mediational Efficiency influenced the relationship between Mediational Moves and LPS. The results demonstrated that both groups improved their organizational skills, with the HDA group showing greater advancements. The HDA group exhibited more effective Mediational Moves, leading to higher LPS, and better Mediational Efficiency, emphasizing the benefits of integrating computer-assisted and instructor-mediated prompts. Mediation analysis revealed that Mediational Efficiency significantly reversed the negative direct effect of Mediational Moves on LPS, turning it into a positive effect and emphasizing its crucial role in improving learning outcomes. The results suggested that HDA offers considerable potential for improving EFL writing skills, particularly in large classroom settings.

Simultaneous evaluation of the impact of different types of dynamic assessment on EFL learners' listening comprehension has never been conducted as far as the related literature discloses. Most of the studies connected with the dynamic assessment and various language skills have focused on speaking and writing performance. The present qualitative study aimed to examine Iranian EFL learners' attitudes toward the application of three models of dynamic assessment; namely, Interactionist Dynamic Assessment (I-DA), Group Dynamic Assessment (G-DA), and Computerized Dynamic Assessment (C-DA to Listening Comprehension Instruction. For this purpose, the Preliminary English Test (PET) was administered to 140 Iranian EFL female learners in four English Language Institutes in Ahvaz, Iran, who were chosen through availability sampling, and 80 of them were selected as homogeneous participants of the study. Then, they were given a perception questionnaire intended to elicit their insights about applying the different types of dynamic assessment. Three parallel questionnaires were constructed, each consisting of 15 items, and asking the learners about the efficacy of interactionist dynamic assessment in the I-DA group, group dynamic assessment in the G-DA group, and computerized dynamic assessment in the C-DA group. The descriptive analysis of the respondents' answers revealed that the degree of the IDA, GDA, and CDA learners' positive attitudes towards the application of DA reached statistical significance. This finding implies that EFL teachers may need to deliberate on the positive influence of different dynamic assessment models on EFL learners' listening comprehension improvement and, therefore, provide them with more opportunities to interact.

Although a mass of studies has demonstrated the effectiveness of scaffolding through group-dynamic assessment (G-DA) in fostering English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' language skills and components, its contributions to developing psychological constructs, such as motivation, learning anxiety (LA), and willingness to communicate (WTC) have remained largely unexplored in the context of Iranian high schools. Thus, this study purported to disclose the contributions of G-DA to Iranian high school students’ motivation, LA, and WTC. For these purposes, 124 grade 11 students were chosen through a random sampling method at Shahed High School in Borujerd City, Iran, homogenized through the Oxford Quick Placement test (OQPT), and randomly allocated as a control group (CG) (n = 23) and an experimental group (EG) (n = 23). Afterward, a pre-test, interventions (for 16 one-hour sessions held two times a week as an extra-curricular program), and a post-test were implemented. The results of the independent samples t-tests evidenced that EG’s motivation significantly improved compared to CG after the interventions. Additionally, the findings revealed that the G-DA-based instruction significantly contributed to relieving EG’s LA. Further, the results uncovered that a statistically significant difference existed between EG and CG concerning the gains in WTC. The findings gained in this study are anticipated to contribute significantly to the various EFL settings, as well as they offer a variety of recommendations and implications for relevant stakeholders.

Although a range of studies has explored the effectiveness of group-dynamic assessment (G-DA) and process-based instruction (PBI) in second language (L2) learning, no study has compared the effects of G-DA and PBI on EFL learners’ metacognitive awareness (MA) and listening comprehension (LC). Thus, this study aimed to explore the effects of G-DA and PBI on fostering EFL learners’ metacognitive awareness (MA) and listening comprehension (LC) in Iran. For this purpose, a total of one hundred and sixty intermediate EFL learners were selected through a convenience sampling method at Iran Language Institute (ILI) and were homogenized using the Key English Test (KET). The EFL learners whose scores fell around the mean score were chosen and randomly allocated as G-DA group (n = 30), PBI group (n = 30), and control group (n = 30). Afterward, they went through a pre-test, interventions (lasting 16 one-hour sessions held twice a week) and a post-test. The interactions in the classes were also meticulously recorded. The collected data were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA and a microgenetic development approach. Findings evidenced that the G-DA group and PBI group outperformed the control group concerning the gains in MA and LC. However, the findings evidenced that G-DA was more effective than PBI to foster the EFL learners’ MA and LC. Additionally, the complementary qualitative results documented that the proper feedback offered in line with the principles and procedures of G-DA and PBI contributed to developing the participants’ MA and LC. The study ends by offering some implications for the relevant stakeholders.

This study explored the effects of concurrent group dynamic assessment (G-DA) and cumulative G-DA on Iranian pre-intermediate English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ interlanguage pragmatic comprehension (ILPC). To this end, a total of 97 pre-intermediate learners took the key English test (KET) test and 45 learners whose scores fell between − 1 and + 1 SD were selected and randomly assigned to experimental groups, namely concurrent G-DA (n = 15), cumulative G-DA (n = 15), and a control group, namely immediate feedback (IF) group (n = 15). Then, they went through pre-test, interventions (lasting fifteen 1-h sessions held three times a week), and post-test procedures, as well as the interactions among the teachers and learners were recorded. The data were analyzed through a one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and a microgenetic development approach. Results revealed that the concurrent G-DA and cumulative G-DA outperformed the IP group concerning the gains in the ILPC on the post-test. Additionally, the complementary microgenetic findings demonstrated the ways through which the concurrent G-DA and cumulative G-DA could lead to improving the learners’ ILPC.

This study aimed to examine the impacts of computerized dynamic assessment (C-DA) and rater-mediated assessment on the test anxiety, writing performance, and oral proficiency of Iranian EFL learners. Based on Preliminary English Test (PET) results, a sample of 64 intermediate participants was chosen from 93 students. Running a convenience sampling technique, target test-takers were randomly divided into the experimental groups (C-DA) and control (rater mediated assessment). Following that, both groups had pretests for oral and written skills. The Science Anxiety Scale (SAS) was also used to gauge their level of anxiety prior to treatment. The experimental group’s participants then received C-DA. Rater-mediated assessment, on the other hand, was given to the control group. Both groups took the post-test for writing performance, oral proficiency, and test anxiety at the conclusion of the treatment. According to the one-way ANCOVA analysis, the post-test results for the two groups were different. Based on the results, the experimental group outdid the control group on the oral proficiency, writing performance, and test anxiety post-tests. Iranian EFL learners were able to improve both their written and oral skills while experiencing less test anxiety thanks to C-DA. Finally, the conclusions, the implications, the limitations, and the suggestions for further studies were provided.

Traditional approaches to language assessment have been criticized for their inadequacy in taking account of language learners’ potential for development. To obviate this pitfall in traditional assessment, language teachers and researchers have been paying increasing attention to dynamic assessment (DA), which is rooted in Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory (SCT). This study investigated the potential of the interventionist approach to DA in facilitating vocabulary learning and retention among Iranian English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) learners. To this end, adopting a quantitative quasi-experimental pretest–posttest-delayed posttest control group design, 80 pre-intermediate learners from two intact classes from a university in South Iran were randomly divided into two conditions: an experimental group (EG), which received DA-based treatment with appropriate scaffolding and zone of proximal development (ZPD)-sensitive instruction; and a control group (CG), which, in contrast to the EG, received traditional vocabulary instruction with the teacher merely providing direct translation of the target vocabulary. Pretests, posttests, and delayed posttests were administered to measure the knowledge of the target vocabulary across the three time occasions. The conduct of an inferential multivariate test of significance demonstrated that the learners in both conditions had very limited baseline knowledge of the target words. However, the test of significance revealed that the ZPD-sensitive instruction significantly boosted the learners’ vocabulary learning and retention. This suggests that the interventionist approach to DA not only has short-term effects on vocabulary learning, but also facilitates vocabulary retention among Iranian university-level EFL learners. The implications of the study for various stakeholders in language pedagogy are discussed.