Mobile-Mediated Dynamic Assessment as the Linchpin of Grammar Learning, Reflective Thinking, and Emotional Well-Being: A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

Dissatisfied with traditional approaches to language pedagogy and assessment, language practitioners have turned their attention toward dynamic assessment. This study investigates the impact of Mobile-Mediated Dynamic Assessment (MMDA) on grammar learning, reflective thinking, and emotional well-being in second language education. Using the principles of mediation and Vygotsky's (1978) Zone of Proximal Development, MMDA combines technology-mediated assessment with instructional support to enhance learners' cognitive and emotional growth. Involving sixty grade 11 students from a senior high school for men in South Iran, the study used a sequential explanatory mixed-method approach. Participants were split into a control group receiving mobile-mediated lessons without mediation and an experimental group receiving MMDA. While qualitative data was collected using narrative and document analysis to investigate reflective thinking and emotional well-being, quantitative data was gathered by pretest-posttest assessments of grammar proficiency. Learners in the experimental group outperformed their classmates in the control group in mastering the present perfect tense, showing improved reflecting thought processes, and promoting emotional well-being. Key themes like higher self-awareness, self-regulation, and emotional expression among participants in the experimental group were found using thematic analysis. The study emphasizes how MMDA may improve language learning results and support total development among L2 learners. This study guides the design of interventions that promote learners' cognitive, emotional, and social development and help enhance efficient pedagogical approaches in language teaching. The implications of the study for various stakeholders in language pedagogy are discussed.