Validity and interaction in the ZPD: Interpreting learner development through L2 Dynamic Assessment

Based on Vygotsky's articulation of the zone of proximal development, dynamic assessment (DA) involves offering mediation to help learners perform beyond their level of independent functioning while simultaneously supporting development of those abilities, and thus integrating teaching and assessment as a single activity. As with any assessment, it is imperative to determine how well L2 DA fulfills its intended purposes, namely providing insights into abilities that are still forming and promoting development. While concerns have been raised over adopting existing concepts and procedures in validation for use in the classroom, this paper relies on key validity notions of evidence, interpretations, and consequences to consider the process of mediator-learner dialoguing on a micro level as well as outcomes of DA interactions.