Writing-With assessment: dialogic reflection as a bridge between teacher feedback and student learning

Abstract

In English as a foreign language (EFL) education, assessment is often treated as a one-way transmission: teachers reflect privately, and students receive feedback they may not understand or value. This article introduces Writing-With as a relational, recursive stance toward reflective practice that bridges the gap between teacher insight and student assessment experience. Using duoethnography, two Vietnamese EFL teachers engaged in three rounds of written reflection and dialogic exchange, focusing on feedback moments that revealed disconnection, miscommunication, and pedagogical tension. Through recursive writing, we traced how subtle shifts in perception and practice emerged, not through isolated reflection but through shared inquiry. Our findings illuminate how Writing-With moves reflection beyond compliance and toward relational presence, reorienting formative assessment as an affective, dialogic process. We conclude by considering how Writing-With can inform more humanizing approaches to feedback and professional learning in EFL contexts.