Diagnosing l2 English learners’ listening difficulties and learning needs through computerized dynamic assessment

This study implemented the principles of dynamic assessment (DA) with computer technology, iSpring Quiz Maker, to (1) identify the English listening difficulties of 172 L2 English learners; (2) diagnose their individual learning needs, and (3) promote their future potential abilities. Upon evaluating the participating junior high school students’ performance on three English listening question types－overview, detail, and inference questions, this computerized DA (C-DA) program provided automatically generated results showing each participant’s current abilities, mediated performance, learning needs, and future potential (i.e., learning potential score, LPS). Findings revealed that (1) all three types of questions were challenging to the participants, especially the overview questions; (2) the mediation provided via the C-DA program was most effective in supporting participants’ attempts to answer inference questions, and (3) participants with low LPSs had more difficulty with inference questions while participants with mid or high LPSs needed more assistance in answering the detail questions. Results demonstrated that participants had very different listening difficulties regarding the three question types even when they had identical scores. It had shown that the implementation of C-DA could offer a fuller picture of EFL learners’ English listening abilities, which could affect the English instructional design, and pedagogical approaches.