Mediation and Reciprocity in Online L2 Dynamic Assessment

Abstract

Dynamic Assessment (DA) originated from Vygotsky’s (1978) theory of the mediated mind. It offers learners assistance as necessary during the performance of the assessment task through collaborative dialogue This study intended to address the possibility of applying DA to the Web 2.0 technologies in Synchronous Computer Mediated Communication (SCMC) with two L2 learners studying in different universities across the world to observe their microgenetic development of grammatical ability in written narratives of picture stories and video clips over Web 2.0 tools of Skype and Google Wave. Applying microgenetic and thematic analysis as the general framework for data analysis, this research aimed at generating new mediation and reciprocity taxonomies for the interactionist SCMC-based DA based on emergent patterns of learners’ behavior in collaborative interaction with the The results of the study highlighted the point that DA mediation and reciprocity patterns provided a more accurate picture of the learners' potential for future functioning in online DA.

pdf

Copyright of articles is retained by authors and CALL-EJ. As CALL-EJ is an open-access journal, articles are free to use, with proper attribution, in educational and other non-commercial settings. Sources must be acknowledged appropriately.