Dynamic Assessment in Higher Education English Language Classes: A Lecturer Perspective

Abstract

Building English language testing and assessment are one of the key functions of the UK Higher Education institutions from the early process of non-native English speaking student recruitment to the time of in-sessional and pre-sessional English language provision. There have recently been critiques of assessment practice in Higher Education (see, for example, Knight, 2002; Ball et al., 2012; Hamilton, 2014). This begs the question as to the possibility of potential alternatives for the current assessment regime. Accordingly, an interpretive qualitative study was carried out in the UK context to look into the English language lecturers’ perceptions of challenges and potentials of dynamic assessment as a potential alternative. The results of the study show that despite ambivalent feelings and concerns about the challenges of implementing dynamic assessment, there are clearly lecturers who are philosophically inclined and open to the potential of dynamic assessment for enabling more personalized learning.