Scaffolding Voices: Dynamic Assessment for Process-Oriented L2 Writing

Second language (L2) writing instruction faces global challenges: overreliance on static summative assessment (prioritizing products over processes), insufficient personalized feedback in large classrooms (e.g., 40–50 students in China), and students’ struggles with pre-writing planning and revision (Liu & Qi, 2024; Ning, 2021). Process-oriented approaches lack aligned assessment tools, while Dynamic Assessment (DA)—rooted in Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory (SCT) and Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)—integrates instruction and assessment via contingent mediation (Lantolf & Poehner, 2004).

Dynamic Assessment; L2 Writing; Sociocultural Theory

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