The effect of Dynamic Assessment on Grammar Learning among Iranian EFL learners

One of the Vygotsky’s contributions to education was the emergence and development of Dynamic Assessment (DA). Dynamic Assessment as an approach to understanding and developing learners’ learning abilities stresses the need for unifying assessment and instruction. This study investigates the effect of dynamic assessment on improving grammar (simple past and past perfect) learning. The participants of this study were 60 female pre-intermediate Iranian EFL learners who were randomly assigned into two groups: control and experimental. Three instruments were used in this study: Preliminary English Test (PET), a pre-test, and a post-test. Each session during the treatment, both groups took a grammar test in which the experimental group received mediation on test items. The results of the students’ performance before and after the implementation of DA were computed through t-test. The results indicated significant improvement in student performance after the implementation of DA procedures to the experimental group. Findings of the study made us conclude that mediation by teachers within DA framework may be more helpful for the learners to develop their grammar learning ability than traditional non-dynamic approaches.