Interventionist vs. interactionist models of dynamic assessment (DA) in the EFL classroom: impacts on speaking accuracy and fluency (SAF), foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA), and foreign language learning motivation (FLLM)

In spite of their pivotal role in language learning, psychological variables involved in language learning have received less attention in empirical research. Therefore, this paper tried to inspect the effects of interventionist DA, interactionist DA, and non-DA on EFL students’ SAF, FLCA, and FLLM. To achieve this goal, 78 respondents were chosen and randomly separated into three groups: EG1 (interactionist DA), EG2 (interventionist DA), and CG (non-DA). Before starting the treatment, the participants’ SAF, FLCA, and FLCM were checked through three related pretests. As the treatment, the non-DA students were given specific topics, and they were asked to discuss them without any DA-oriented interventions. The EG1 was evaluated and provided with the needed help by interaction-oriented DA techniques, whereas the EG2 was trained by DA-oriented instruction following Lantolf and Poehner’s (Language Teaching Research 15: 11–33, 2011) scales to measure and aid the students’ speaking ability in their discussions. At the end of the study, the post-tests of SAF, FLCA, and FLLM were administered to check the impacts of the treatment. Analyzing the data through one-way ANOVA tests, it was revealed the two models of DA (i.e., interactionist and interventionist) had a significant positive effect on EFL learners’ SAF. Moreover, it was revealed that both DA models not only increased the EFL learners’ motivation but also lowered their FLCA. This research has multiple implications for both EFL learners and teachers.