The Effect of Dynamic Assessment on Essay Writing Ability of Iranian EFL Learners: A Gender Related Study Maryam Mahdavi Submitted to the Institute of Graduate Studies and Research in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in English Language Teaching Eastern Mediterranean University September, 2014 Gazimağusa, North Cyprus Approval of the Institute of Graduate Studies and Research Prof. Dr. Elvan Yılmaz Director I certify that this thesis satisfies the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in English Language Teaching. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gülşen Musayeva Vefalı Chair, Department of English Language Teaching We certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in English Language Teaching. Prof. Dr. Necdet Osam Supervisor Examining Committee 1. Prof. Dr. Necdet Osam 2. Asst. Prof. Dr. Fatoş Erozan 3. Asst. Prof. Dr. Javanshir Shibliyev ABSTRACT The current study investigates the effect of a type of dynamic assessment, Mediated Learning Experience, on the essay writing ability of different genders of Iranian EFL learners. In order to accomplish the goal of this study, 60 pre-intermediate male and female Iranian language learners were selected out of 100 students based on their performance on the standard test of OPT (Oxford Placement Test). They were randomly assigned into two control groups, one male and one female, and two experimental groups, one male and one female in a way that each one consisted of 15 learners. The groups were pre-tested at the beginning and then each passed different treatment periods in 10 sessions. The experimental groups were trained with mediation through mediated learning experience and the control groups were taught in the traditional way of teaching and testing. Finally, all the groups participated in a post-test and a One-Way ANCOVA was used for analyzing the scores obtained from the pre-tests and post-tests in all control and experimental groups. A t-test was also used for comparing the results in the post-tests of the groups and it was revealed that the two experimental groups that experienced the mediation approach, were more successful compared with the other two control groups who were taught traditionally. The findings of this study suggest that dynamic assessment through mediated learning experience, not only promotes the writing ability of the learners, but it is also gender related. Pedagogical implications for teachers and students who are in relation with essay writing teaching and learning are proposed. Keywords: Dynamic assessment, mediated learning experience, zone of proximal development, graduated prompt. iii ÖZ Bu çalışma dinamik bir değerlendirme türü olan Aracılı Öğrenme Deneyimi’nin EFL öğrencilerinin kompozisyon yazma yeteneğine olan etkisini, ayni zamanda bu etkinin farklı cinsiyetlerdeki yansımalarını araştırmayı amaçlamaktadır. Çalışmanın hedefine ulaşması için OPT (Oxford Placement Test)’e katılan İran’lı 100 öğrenci arasından İngilizce dil seviyesi orta-alt olan 60 kız ve erkek öğrenci seçilmiştir. Bu öğrenciler rastgele yapılan bir gruplama ile herbiri onbeş öğrenciden oluşan iki kontrol gurubu ve iki deney gurubuna bölünmüştür. Grupların hepsi de ilk başta ön-test ve ardından da on bölümlük (özel) derslere tabi tutuldular. Deney gruplarına azami öğrenme gelişimlerini artırmak için Aracılı Öğrenme Deneyim merkezli dersler, kontrol gruplarına ise geleneksel tarzda dersler verildi. Son aşamada ise tüm öğrenciler ön- test benzeri bir final-teste tabi tutuldular. Tüm grupların almış oldukları ön ve final test sonuçlarının analizi için tek yönlü ANKOVA tekniği kullanılmıştır. Ardından, final-testlerini alan tüm grupların sonuçlarını karşılaştırmak için bir de t-test tekniği kullanılmış ve Aracılı Öğrenme Deneyimi oturumlarını alan deney gruplarının (kontrol gruplarına kıyasla) daha başarılı oldukları saptanmıştır. Dolayısıyle, bu çalışmanın bulguları dinamik bir değerlendirme türü olan Aracılı Öğrenme Deneyimi’nin öğrencilerin yalnızca yazma kabiliyetlerinin geliştiğini göstermekle kalmayıp, ayni zamanda cinsiyetler arasında farklılıklar olduğunu da göstermiştir. Anahtar kelimeler: Dinamik değerlendirme, aracılı öğrenme deneyimi, geleneksel öğretme yöntemi, azami öğrenme gelişimi, ilerlemeci teşvikler. iv DEDICATION To My Beloved Mother v ACKNOWLEDGMENT First and foremost, I would like to gratefully acknowledge the unwavering support and feedback of my thesis supervisor, Prof. Dr. Necdet Osam who insightfully acted as a really compassionate person at the time I was no longer in the mood to do the study. Without his patience, guidance, and encouragement, this study would have never taken shape. Special thanks must also go to all my academic lecturers in ELT department particularly to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gülşen Musayeva Vefalı for her constant and kindly support. I would like to express my gratitude to the jury members: Asst. Prof. Dr. Javanshir Shibliyev and Asst. Prof. Dr. Fatoş Erozan. Their constructive ideas, critiques, advice and suggestions were invaluable for the development of this study. I am also deeply thankful to Mr. Kamran Khodareza for his excessive encouragement and enduring support throughout my academic life and especially during the time of completing this thesis. And last but not least, I wish to show my appreciation to my family, who are supporting me generously throughout my life and stood patiently by my side during the time of writing this thesis and I also wish to thank all of my friends for their continuous compassion and encouragement. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ iii ÖZ ............................................................................................................................... iv DEDICATION ............................................................................................................. v ACKNOWLEDGMENT ............................................................................................. vi LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... xi LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... xii 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Theoretical Basis of Dynamic Assessment ........................................................ 3 1.3 The Purpose of the Study ................................................................................... 5 1.4 Significance of the Study ................................................................................... 6 1.5 Definition of Key Terms .................................................................................... 9 1.6 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 10 2 LITERATURE REVIEW........................................................................................ 11 2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 11 2.2 Definition of Writing ........................................................................................ 11 2.3 Writing as a Process ......................................................................................... 12 2.4 Text Quality in Writing .................................................................................... 15 2.5 Problematic Components of Writing ................................................................ 16 2.5.1 Mechanics of Writing ................................................................................ 16 2.5.2 Coherence and Cohesion ........................................................................... 18 2.5.3 Knowledge of Revision ............................................................................. 19 2.6 Types of Approaches in Teaching Writing ...................................................... 21 vii 2.6.1 Process Approach ...................................................................................... 21 2.6.2 Product Approach ...................................................................................... 22 2.6.3 Genre Approach ......................................................................................... 22 2.7 Characteristics of the Writers ........................................................................... 23 2.8 Writing as a Social and Cultural Phenomenon ................................................. 25 2.9 Models of the Writing Process ......................................................................... 28 2.9.1 Hayes and Flower Model ........................................................................... 28 2.9.2 Bereiter and Scardamalia Model................................................................ 28 2.9.3 Hayes Model .............................................................................................. 30 2.10 Objectives of Assessment ............................................................................... 31 2.11 Instruction and Assessment ............................................................................ 33 2.12 Critique of the Traditional Assessment .......................................................... 34 2.13 Dynamic Assessment ..................................................................................... 36 2.14 Models of Dynamic Assessment .................................................................... 39 2.14.1 Interventionist Dynamic Assessment....................................................... 39 2.14.2 Interactionist Dynamic Assessment: Feuerstein’s Learning Experience . 40 2.14.3 Budoff’s Learning Potential Measurement Approach ............................. 40 2.14.4 Mediated Learning Experience ................................................................ 42 2.14.5 Guthke’s Lerntest Approach .................................................................... 43 2.15 Related Studies on Dynamic Assessment ...................................................... 44 2.16 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 46 3 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................. 47 3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 47 3.2 The Design of the Study ................................................................................... 47 3.3 Participants ....................................................................................................... 50 viii 3.4 Data Collection and Analysis Procedures ........................................................ 50 3.4.1 Active Application of MLE and Traditional Teaching in the Conduct of the Study ................................................................................................................... 55 3.5 Limitations and Delimitations .......................................................................... 58 3.6 Statistical Analysis ........................................................................................... 59 3.7 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 60 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS ..................................................................... 61 4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 61 4.2 Descriptive Statistics ........................................................................................ 62 4.2.1 Pre-tests ...................................................................................................... 62 4.2.2 Post-tests .................................................................................................... 63 4.3 Statistical Analyses: Pre-tests vs. Post-tests ..................................................... 64 4.4 Comparison of Statistical Analyses: Post-tests ................................................ 70 4.5 Answering the Research Questions .................................................................. 71 4.5.1 Research Question 1 .................................................................................. 71 4.5.2 Research Question 2 .................................................................................. 71 4.6 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 72 5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ..................................................................... 73 5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 73 5.2 Discussion ........................................................................................................ 73 5.3 Pedagogical Implications ................................................................................. 80 5.4 Suggestions for Further Research ..................................................................... 82 5.5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 83 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 85 APPENDICES ......................................................................................................... 101 ix Appendix A: General English Test (OPT) ........................................................... 102 Appendix B: Pre-Test ........................................................................................... 112 Appendix C: IELTS Task 2 Writing Checklist and Descriptors .......................... 113 Appendix D: Participant’s Essay Writing Sample ............................................... 115 Appendix E: Post-Test .......................................................................................... 116 x