Dynamic Assessment Approach in Language Teaching: A Review

Abstract

Several forms of assessment have been implemented in order to satisfy the need of evaluating students’ development in the teaching and learning process; the most commonly used is Static Assessment (SA), better known as traditional assessment. However, there is an alternative form to assess students’ learning, called Dynamic Assessment (DA), which is based on Vygotsky’s so-ciocultural theory. This study presents an overview of Dynamic Assessment and its application in language teaching, especially in the improvement of reading and writing skills. As a main result, the literature reveals that the implementation of DA in writing and reading skills is effective and it works as a functional complement to traditional assessment, but some factors such as context, number of hours, teachers’ competences and training have to be considered to ensure the effecti-veness of this approach to assessment.