ABSTRACT
In the present chapter, it turns to the growing Dynamic Assessment (DA) research literature concerned with L2 development. The DA practices that have evolved in those fields have tended to be designed by measurement specialists tasked with identifying special needs learners. The L2 field, in contrast, has been introduced to DA only relatively recently. Indeed, DA was not included in discussions of either L2 assessment or teaching prior to a string of publications by the present authors are Lantolf and Poehner. The majority of L2 DA studies to date have resulted from collaborations with teachers motivated to employ DA as a framework to help them more effectively understand and respond to learner needs. It is only now that efforts are underway to explore how the principles for supporting development through DA might be leveraged for the design of more formal assessment activities.
