Developing L2 writing abilities through an instructional enrichment program informed by dynamic assessment

Abstract

Adopting the framework of Dynamic Assessment (DA), this study investigates the effectiveness of a DA-informed writing enrichment program in promoting L2 English learners’ academic writing development. Thirteen ESL students recruited from a U.S. university were randomly assigned to a DA-informed enrichment program group (n = 6) or a standard writing instruction group (n = 7). Prior to and following the 5-week instructional programs (Time 1 and Time 2), each participant completed a source-based essay independently, engaged in interactionist DA with a mediator to jointly review the writing while referencing an analytic rubric, and then revised their essay. All drafts were blindly scored by independent raters. Results revealed that the enrichment group outperformed the standard instruction group in the independent writing performed at Time 2, indicating their differential level of development. Although both groups showed enhanced writing performance following the DA procedures at both Time 1 and Time 2, the enrichment learners responded more favorably to mediation during DA at Time 2, indicating their greater emerging abilities. Implications for tying DA results to an instructional program targeting learner emerging writing abilities are discussed.