Fichas ocupacionales de los cargos propuestos para el área de Recursos

The construct of ZPD also provides a guide for evaluating EFL students’ learning performance and outcomes, and promoting their learning activities (Hessamy & Ghaderi, 2014; Saeidi & Hosseinpour, 2011). Modern technologies enhance the evaluation and assessment of learning to better serve the needs of EFL learners and teachers (Alsied & Pathan, 2013; Pishghadam & Barabadi, 2012; Zhang, 2013). It suggests an investigation of evaluation and assessment under a framework of ZPD for EFL students’ autonomous learning in a technology-supported environment, which is to be conducted in the current study.

Empirical studies have noticed the effectiveness of assessment on EFL students’ learning performance and language ability development both in the traditional learning approach and in a CALL context: Mardani and Tavakoli (2011) discovered the positive impacts of teacher-assessment on Iranian EFL students’ reading

comprehension; Kozulin and Garb (2002) asserted that assessment procedure can assist EFL learners to achieve their learning goals and realize their learning potentials in their ZPDs; Teo (2012) employed ICTs to provide computerized dynamic

assessment, which also received positive feedback from EFL students; Birjandi and Ebadi (2012) made use of Web 2.0-supported assessment to achieve positive outcomes in developing learners’ socio-cognitive awareness as well. Similar

encouraging influence of assessment and evaluation on EFL learning can be also seen in a wide range of existing studies, focusing on the development of language abilities, cultural awareness, and communicative competencies (e.g., Birjandi, Estaji, &

Deyhim, 2013; Hessamy & Ghaderi, 2014; Pishghadam & Barabadi, 2012; Sadeghi & Khanahmadi, 2011; Saeidi & Hosseinpour, 2013).

Saeidi and Hosseinpour (2013) focused on the employment of assessment

procedure as an instructional tool for EFL students’ language learning. They explored the mediated-oriented teaching and assessment and its influence on EFL vocabulary learning. A total of 60 undergraduate EFL students participated in the study. Pre- and post-tests were performed to gather data from the two groups of participants. Results indicated that the teacher-controlled assessment procedure can enhance EFL students’ vocabulary learning. They were also expected to have better performance in their future language learning practice with the support of a set of assessment procedures.

Whether Chinese university EFL students could incorporate evaluation into their online language learning remains a question. It is to be examined in the present study. It also focuses on how this group of students conduct evaluation, and plan the learning for the next stage on the basis of its outcomes. It consists of an important part of learning in their ZPDs, as well as a reflection of their exercise of learner autonomy.

Some other recent empirical studies on the construct of ZPD, as well as the employment of ZPD and its influence on EFL learning and teaching are summarized and listed in Table 2.4 below. These studies have put the focus largely on the guiding effects of ZPDs to language development (Shokouhi & Pishkar, 2015; Yang, 2016), the uses and challenges of multimedia resources regarding EFL learning and teaching (Hoang, 2015; Lee, 2017), teachers’ and peers’ assistance within ZPDs (Nicolas, 2016; Qin & Li, 2016), and students’ self-evaluation in their language learning process (Yang & Qian, 2017).

Table 2. 4

Summary of other recent studies on ZPD in EFL learning and teaching

Source Context Findings Comments

Yang & Qian, 2017

102 first-year undergraduate EFL students in a university in China

DA can be a strong tool for assessing EFL students’ learning, helping them locate their weakness in language development, as well as enhancing their confidence.

Compared with traditional statistical assessment, DA focuses more on the development of EFL students’ language abilities, providing

information for their subsequent learning plans. Yang, 2016 8 Chinese university EFL

students

Story rewriting that was incorporated within students’ ZPD can facilitate the

generalization of personal ideas and expressions.

Making personal views and expressing them in public in a target language are usually

challenging for Chinese EFL students.

Qin & Li, 2016

20 EFL students and 2 English teachers from 2 classes in a secondary school in China

Teacher’s feedback contributed to EFL students’ language knowledge construction in their ZPD.

For adolescent EFL students, teacher’s

involvement in language learning is important. It should be also investigated in an adult EFL learning context.

2016 EFL students in Japan provide assistance to their peers when

learning in their ZPD, which also contributed to their own performance improvement.

students in China would be involved in peer scaffolding in language learning practice.

Hoang, 2015 15 EFL teachers in Vietnam Teachers had limited knowledge and uses of multimedia resources for EFL teaching in the university.

Teachers and educators should be trained to keep pace with the development of modern ICTs and CALL.

Lee, 2017 14 young EFL learners in Korea

Creative drama, which was suitable for learners’ current language levels, can

promote their autonomous EFL learning, and lead to positive learning outcomes.

The use of multimedia resources is confirmed to be effective for language learning, particularly in an autonomous context.

Shokouhi & Pishkar, 2015

85 EFL students in Iran Collaboration in vocabulary learning that lies in EFL students’ ZPD enhanced their learning performance.

Collaboration should be incorporated into EFL learning.

Informed by literature, the current study is to conduct a case study to investigate students’ language practice and development within their ZPDs. It focuses on EFL students in a Chinese university, as well as their learning in an online interactive context. Their employment of multimedia learning resources in this

technology-supported context, and the challenges they are facing in the learning, are key focuses of this study. The study covers students’ self-evaluation, their interaction and collaboration with peers and teachers in language learning, and the scaffolding they provide and receive in the interaction process, are also examined.