This article explores how a primary school teacher utilized the frameworks of dynamic assessment (DA) and the instructional conversation (IC) within a Spanish as a foreign language classroom. DA was used to construct zones of proximal development with individuals in the classroom context. A menu of pre-scripted assisting prompts, used to respond to predictable lexical and grammatical errors, permitted the teacher to assess students while also promoting development. ICs were used to co-construct a group zone of proximal development (ZPD) in response to less predictable student errors or inquiries. The flexible mediation provided by the teacher in these instances allowed for the active involvement of more students as well as more responsive dialogue. This language teacher drew upon these two frameworks to navigate dual goals of instruction and assessment while providing mediation attuned to the ZPD of the learners. As students studied interrogative formation to complete the pedagogical task of an interview, the teacher alternated between these two frameworks based on her goal for each 2 interaction. Class transcripts are analyzed to reveal how these two complementary frameworks can be used in conjunction to meet both the students' and teacher's needs. Keywordsdynamic assessment, instructional conversation, Vygotsky, zone of proximal development, foreign language teaching I IntroductionSecond language (L2) teachers must decide how to respond each time a student makes an error or asks a question in the classroom. The teacher has a variety of response options: providing the correct answer, ignoring the problem, and calling upon the same or a different student for the correct answer are common examples (DeKeyser, 1993;Lyster, 1998). The teacher often has only a split-second before responding to consider the variables at play, such as the student, the context of the error, and the lesson objective. Student errors and questions not only allow teachers to see areas of struggle and misconception, but also offer an opportunity to promote language development (Aljaafreh & Lantolf, 1994). If a teacher's responses are not guided by any particular decision-making process or framework, these opportunities for development may be missed (Rea-Dickins, 2006 (Feuerstein, Falik, Rand, & Feuerstein, 2003;Feuerstein, Rand, & Hoffman, 1979), DA is based on the belief that a static evaluation of a child's present knowledge is not as revealing as a dynamic assessment of that child's future potential. Instruction and assessment occur simultaneously in DA in that a mediator promotes development by offering assistance to a student while concurrently assessing the student's abilities (Lantolf & Poehner, 2004;Lidz & Gindis, 2003). By attending to a learner's responsiveness to mediating prompts, a teacher may gain a clearer understanding of that student's future (Valsiner, 2001;Vygotsky, 1978). classroom context, no study has examined how these two frameworks can be used in conjunction to guide interaction. The present study examines ho...

This article examines collaboration during small‐group tasks with young language learners studying Spanish. After five days of classroom dynamic assessment (DA) targeting WH‐question formation, students worked in small groups on a collaborative writing task. This research sought to determine whether learners were able to mediate their peers during this task and if so, whether this mediation might be traced back to participation in classroom DA. Findings revealed that students drew upon collective knowledge to complete the task. While the learners did not appropriate forms of mediation used during DA, characteristics such as repetition and first language usage appeared in peer scaffolding. We conclude that classroom DA can be supplemented by small‐group tasks and that assistance, albeit in different forms, emerged in these two contexts.

The Seal of Biliteracy is an award that recognizes students who have demonstrated proficiency in English and one or more other world languages. In participating school districts in states that have adopted the Seal of Biliteracy, students who demonstrate proficiency in both English and a world language are eligible to earn a seal that is affixed to their high school diploma or transcript. With scant research conducted to date on the Seal of Biliteracy, this study aimed to understand the variation in policies across participating states. Documentation and interview data were collected and analyzed from each state offering the Seal of Biliteracy. Findings revealed that substantial variation existed across states regarding minimum required levels of proficiency, world language proficiency requirements, and English language proficiency requirements. These variations in policy influenced the types of schools offering the award and the percentage of students earning it. This article offers implications for those in the process of policy adoption or revision and for those who are interested in researching efforts to increase equity and access to the Seal of Biliteracy.

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This article describes the implementation of a practice-based approach to foreign language (FL) teacher preparation. After briefly framing the discussion in relation to the literature on the practice-based approach in teacher education – including Phase I of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Research Priorities – we present the implementation and integration of this approach in the context of FL teacher preparation. The successes and challenges encountered throughout the implementation experience are discussed, and recommendations are made for practice-based course design in FL teacher preparation programs and for future research on the practice-based approach.