Effects of Concurrent Group Dynamic Assessment on Iranian EFL Learners’ Pragmatic Competence: A Case of Requests and Refusals

Pragmatic competence is one of the most important components of successful communication; also, it is the most difficult aspect of SLA. This study aimed to explore the effects of concurrent group dynamic assessment (GDA) on Iranian EFL learners’ learning of requests and refusals, following a mixed method design. In the experimental part of the study, 2 intact classes were homogenized by a pretest, with 24 written discourse completion tasks (WDCTs), carried out by the participants as the treatment. Concurrent GDA group received calibrated feedback, whereas the nondynamic assessment (NDA) group was explicitly provided with pertinent assistance without considering their zone of proximal development (ZPD). Additionally, for the sake of a qualitative study, all the dialogues between the teacher and pairs of students under investigation were audiorecorded while they were receiving the treatment. Finally, a WDCT posttest was administered to both groups. Results of the analysis of the data, using t test, showed that the GDA group performed significantly better than the NDA group. Also, the qualitative microgenetic analysis of the dialogues between the learners and their teacher indicated the effectiveness of concurrent GDA in learning requests and refusals, thus corroborating the efficiency of dynamic assessment (DA) in pragmatic instruction. Implications and applications are discussed in this study.