| Dynamic assessment(DA),rooted in Vygotskian sociocultural theory,is a newly developed alternative assessment.Building on the concept of group dynamic assessment(henceforth,G-DA)theorized by Poehner(2009),the current study attempts to construct concurrent online G-DA of speaking with interactionist mediation for EFL learners over the Web 2.0 tools of Tencent Meeting and We Chat to investigate its feasibility and efficiency and in teaching and assessing English speaking.The novelty of this study is to fill in the gaps in the research of DA of speaking,especially G-DA constructed for the whole class in online environment.This research aims to answer the following four questions: 1)What mediational moves and reciprocity patterns reveal learners’ microgenetic development of speaking ability in online G-DA? 2)To what extent can online G-DA help foster EFL learners’ oral English proficiency? If learners show progress in time,are they able to maintain the same performance in delayed SA? 3)To what extent can online G-DA help foster EFL learners speaking strategic competence? What are the differences in three sub-aspects of speaking strategic competence? 4)What changes have been made to the participant’s understanding of English speaking learning?Two homogeneous college non-English major classes were recruited by convenient sampling as the control class,CC(n=27)and the experimental class,EC(n=31).CC engaged into the traditional online speaking class,while EC was involved into the online G-DA of speaking learning.The research consisted of five stages,including pretest SA 1and online G-DA sessions,posttest SA 2,delayed test SA 3and semi-structured interview and online G-DA of speaking survey at last.The whole process lasted for ten weeks long.All quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed with mixed research methods,specifically,microgenetic analysis,statistics analysis,and thematic analysis via the tools of SPSS 23 and Nvico 11.The emergent 18 types of specific mediational types in five major categories and 9types of responses in four levels of reciprocity revealed the microgenetic development of speaking ability of learners in EC with the co-shaped collaboration in online G-DA of speaking class.Learners in EC scored significantly higher than CC in speaking test in both overall speaking and four sub-aspects of speaking(fluency and coherence,lexical resources,grammatical range and accuracy,pronunciation)in posttest SA 2.Besides,learners’ ability to employ speaking strategy in EC has been significantly improved in both overall strategy use and all three sub-aspects of speaking strategy(goal-setting,planning,and appraising).There was a regression of learners’ speaking proficiency in delayed test SA 3 in EC compared to posttest SA 2,whereas there was still a great improvement in speaking ability of learners in EC compared to pretest SA 1.Interviews and online G-DA of speaking survey demonstrated the satisfaction of learners in EC towards the online G-DA,showing the increase of self-awareness and autonomous learning ability,a positive change in the mental level with reduced anxiety and increased motivation.The results showed that online G-DA not only promoted learners’ speaking language competence but also supported strategic competence development.The findings of the research substantiated the feasibility of G-DA in promoting the speaking e-learning effectiveness,in revealing learners’ potential ability and promoting the movement within their ZPD.The study hoped to provide the implications for teachers,curriculum designers,and other stakeholders and contributed in promoting the development of online classroom teaching and testing. |
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