Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM)

ISSN: 2251-6204

Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods

(MJLTM)
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ISSN: 2251 – 6204

www.mjltm.org
hamedghaemi@ymail.com

Editor – in – Chief
Hamed Ghaemi, Assistant Professor in TEFL, Islamic Azad University (IAU)

Editorial Board:
1. Abednia Arman, PhD in TEFL, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran,
Iran
2. Afraz Shahram, PhD in TEFL, Islamic Azad University, Qeshm Branch,
Iran
3. Amiri Mehrdad, PhD in TEFL, Islamic Azad University, Science and
research Branch, Iran
4. Azizi Masoud, PhD in Applied Linguistics, University of Tehran, Iran
5. Basiroo Reza, PhD in TEFL, Islamic Azad University, Bushehr Branch,
Iran
6. Dlayedwa Ntombizodwa, Lecturer, University of the Western Cape, South
Africa
7. Doro Katalin, PhD in Applied Linguistics, Department of English
Language Teacher Education and Applied Linguistics, University of
Szeged, Hungary
8. Dutta Hemanga, Assistant Professor of Linguistics, The English and
Foreign Languages University (EFLU), India
9. Elahi Shirvan Majid, PhD in TEFL, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran
10. Fernández Miguel, PhD, Chicago State University, USA
11. Ghaemi Hamide, PhD in Speech and Language Pathology, Mashhad
University of Medical Sciences, Iran
12. Ghafournia Narjes, PhD in TEFL, Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur
Branch, Iran
13. Grim Frédérique M. A., Associate Professor of French, Colorado State
University, USA

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 Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM)
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14. Izadi Dariush, PhD in Applied Linguistics, Macquarie University, Sydney,
Australia
15. Kargozari Hamid Reza, PhD in TEFL, Payame Noor University of Tehran,
Iran
16. Kaviani Amir, Assistant Professor at Zayed University, UAE
17. Kirkpatrick Robert, Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics, Shinawatra
International University, Thailand
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18. Mehrani Mehdi, PhD in TEFL, University of Neyshabur, Neyshabur, Iran

19. Morady Moghaddam Mostafa, PhD in TEFL, University of Tabriz, Iran
20. Mouton Nelda, PhD in Education Management, North-West University
(NWU), South Africa
21. Najafi Sarem Saeid, PhD Candidate in TEFL, Islamic Azad University,
Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran
22. Naicker Suren, Department of Linguistics and Translation, University of
South Africa
23. Ndhlovu Finex, PhD, Linguistics Programme, University of New England,
Australia
24. Raddaoui Ali Hechemi, PhD, Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics,
University of Wyoming in Laramie, USA
25. Rezaei Saeed, PhD in TEFL, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
26. Rolstad Kellie, PhD, Associate Professor of Education, University of
Maryland, USA
27. Roohbakhshfar Hamid, PhD in TESOL, Islamic Azad University,
Neyshabur Branch, Iran
28. Sanatifar Mohammad Saleh, PhD in Translation Studies, Tabaran Institute
of Higher Education, Mashhad, Iran.
29. Shafiee Sajad, Department of English, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad
University, Shahrekord, Iran
30. Stobart Simon, PhD, Dean of Computing, Teesside University, UK
31. Suszczynska Malgorzata, Senior Assistant Professor, University of Szeged,
Hungary
32. Tabeifard Sayed Javad, PhD in ELT, University of Tehran, Kish
International Campus, Iran
33. Weir George R. S., PhD in Philosophy of Psychology, University of
Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
34. Zabihi Reza, PhD in TEFL, University of Neyshabur, Neyshabur, Iran
35. Zegarac Vladimir, PhD, University of Bedfordshire, UK

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Abstracting/Indexing
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Index Copernicus 2011

Linguistics Abstract

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 Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM)
ISSN: 2251-6204

EBSCO Publication
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Lulu Publication

Directory of Open Access Journals

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 Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM)
ISSN: 2251-6204

ProQuest
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Modern Language Association

Cabell's Directories

COPE

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Directory of Research Journal Indexing (DRJI)

Indian Citation Index

International Society of Universal Research in Sciences

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Ulrich's

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Table of contents
The Relationship Between Self-Efficacy And Anxiety And Speaking Ability Of
Iranian Intermediate Efl Learners
Shima Kord
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Seyed Jalal Abdolmanafi-Rokni

The Effect Of Higher-Order Questions On The Speaking Ability Of Iranian EFL
Learners Through Using Concept Mapping Strategy: A Gender Study Case
Shahrzadchahardahcherik
Amin Marzban
Educational Challenges Of Iranian Students With Visual Limitations For Learning
English As A Foreign Language
Tayebehghojavand
Royabaharlooie
A Review Of EFL Learners’ Speaking Skill And The Strategies For Improvement
Arefehnasiri
Abbas Pourhoseingilakjani
The Effect Of Clil Method On Teaching Reading Comprehension to Junior High
School Students
Nadia Hamidavi
Mansoore Shekaramiz
Bahman Gorjian
Using Grammar Techniques in teaching Wh-Questions To High School Students
Reza Prorkar
Bahman Gorjian
Acomparative Study Of The Effect Of Field Dependence/Independence on Narrative
Writings Of Iranian Efl Students In Jahad University Of Ahvaz
Shahrzad Momtaz
Sasansharafi
Bahman Gorjian
An Investigation On The Comparative Effectiveness Of Implicit Vs. Explicit Call-
Based Instruction On Development Of Syntactic Knowledge Of Iranian EFL Learners
Yaghoobjavadi
Mohammad Khatib
Parviz Birjandi
The Effect Of Interactive Speaking Activities on Developing EFL Learners' Speaking
Accuracy And Fluency Among Pre-Intermediate Learners
Sahar Mehrabi
Mansourehshekar Amiz
Bahman Gorjian
The Role Of Interpersonal Communication Skills In EFL Learners' Oral Performance
Bahman Gorjian

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 Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM)
ISSN: 2251-6204
Morteza Sodaienezhad
A Revision Strategic mediation questionnaire: Assessment And Validation Within
Sociocultural Framework
Maryam Niami
Parviz Maftoon
Language pedagogy and discourse Analysis: The Move towards a Da-Oriented TEFL
Abbas Bayat
Negar Nowroozzadeh
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The Role Of Needs Analysis In English Language Teaching

Ali Akbar Khansir
A Study On The Relationship Between Adaptive-Maladaptive Perfectionist EFL
Learners And Their Willingness To Communicate In Classroom
Maryam Moheimany
Aram R. Sadeghi
Effects Of Task-Based Vs. Explicit Teaching Of Grammar On Learning Conditional
Sentences Among Iranian EFL Learners
Anisnazari
Omid Tabatabaei
The Effect Of E-Assessment On Writing Skill Of Iranian Upper Intermediate EFL
Learners
Abouzar shojaei
Mohammad Ali Fatemi
The Effect Of Using Colligational Corpus-Based Instruction On Enhancing The
Pragmalinguistic Knowledge Of Speech Act Of Apology Among Iranian Intermediate
EFL Learners
Batoulsabzalipour
Mansour Koosha
Effect Of Homonyms Instruction On Vocabulary Development And Retention Of
Iranian Young Female Elementary EFL Learners Through Call-Mediated Tasks
Maryam Safataj
Mohammad Amiryousefi
The Role Of Think-Aloud Protocols On Improving Iranian EFL Learners’ Reading
Comprehension And Written Performance: The Reading-Writing Connection
Farnaz Sahebkheir
Hanieh Davatgari Asl
Mohammad Ali Torabi
The Role Of Self-Regulated Learning Through Think-Aloud Strategies On Improving
Iranian EFL Learners’ Written Performance
Farnazsahebkheir
Haniehdavatgarias
Mohammad Ali Torabi
On The Effects Of A Specialized Vocabulary- Training Application On The
Development Of English Vocabulary Among Iranian High School Students
Maryam Sayyarmiyandehi
Hamedbabaie
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 Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM)
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Arashsaharkhiz
Cognitive Task Complexity: Skehan’s Limited Attentional Capacity Model And
Robinson’s Cognition Hypothesis
Nasrin Sanajoo
Bridging The Capacity Gap Through Adversity Quotient (AQ):
Yazdani Moghaddam, Masood
Teimourtash,Morteza
The Nexus Between Reflective Teaching And Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence
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Somayeh Daghayesh
Reza Zabihi
The Impact Of Logical Intelligence On Iranian Advanced EFL Learners' Paragraph
Writing Ability Across Gender
Homa Zomorrodpour
Ramin Rahimy
Iranian efl learners' attitude towards different Englishes in terms of language
proficiency
Sondos mansouri
The effect of readers theater on intermediate iranian EFL learners in terms of oral
performance and L2 vocabulary knowledge
Sondos mansouri
Laya heidari darani
The impact of choosing title activities as a post-reading task on learning reading
comprehension among pre-intermediate language learners
Fereshteh Jahan Bozorgi Motlagh
Bahman Gorjian
Comparatıve lınguıstıc and cultural corpus of Englısh and turkısh proverbs ınterrelated ın
chıldren
Halis Gözpınar
A review of using technology in EFL learning and teaching: call in EFL context
Habib Rouzitalab
Amin Marzban
Relationship Between Iron Deficiency Anemia And Long-Term Vocabulary Retention
Amon0.G Efl Learners
Hossein Ali Manzouri
Roya Movahed
Amir Shahraki

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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-EFFICACY

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AND ANXIETY AND SPEAKING ABILITY OF

IRANIAN INTERMEDIATE EFL LEARNERS

Shima Kord1, Seyed Jalal Abdolmanafi-Rokni2*

1(Departmentof English Language Teaching, Gorgan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran
& Department of English Language Teaching, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University,
Gorgan, Iran)
2(Department of English Language and Literature, Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran)

*corresponding author email: j.abdolmanafi@gmail.com

Abstract
Affective factors such as anxiety play important roles in language learning. In order to optimize
learners’ performance and minimize the negative effect of anxiety, it seems indispensable for
teachers to take cognizance of language learning anxiety. Self-efficacy is another affective factor
which plays a significant role in learners’ performance. It refers to learners’ judgments of their
own potentials to perform and carry out different courses of actions. In other words, self-efficacy
is people's perception of their potentiality and self-concept. This study was intended to
investigatewhether there would be a relationship between language anxiety and EFL learners’
speaking ability, and whether there would be a relationship between self-efficacy of learners and
their speaking skill. To this end, 60 Iranian intermediate EFL learners took part in this
correlational study. Instruments such as Interchange Objective Placement test (IOPT), Foreign
Language Anxiety Scale, and Language Self-Efficacy Scale, and speaking test were utilized. The
results of IOPT showed that the participants were homogeneous. The results of the two scales
showed that there was a negative correlation between language anxiety and speaking
performance while there was a positive correlation between language self-efficacy and speaking
performance. The study can help the language learners and teachers to take a new look toward
affective factors such as anxiety and self-efficacy in order to maximize the learning experience.

Keywords: affective factor, anxiety, self-efficacy, speaking

Introduction
The English language has succeeded to establish its status as a medium of communication as well
as in educational system around the globe and in Iran as well. As crystal (2000) asserts, English

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language has turned into an international language for business and trade, science and
technology, the Internet, tourism and even sports events. In Iran, English has been gaining
greater and greater importance in our educational system in a way that it is presented in all
educational levels except primary schools. Its importance becomes more evident when Iranian
students want to pursue their education at post graduate levels.
Despite prominent presence of English language teaching programs in our national curriculum,
there seems to be a great gap between learner and family expectations and the current English
education policy. Most Iranian learners are not able to communicate in English due to many
reasons one of which is the inefficiency of language teaching programs in Iran. In order to
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alleviate the problems, it seems necessary to restructure the language teaching system in Iran and
shift the attention from focusing on reading and grammar approaches to more communicative
and oral based approaches so that the learners will be able to speak the language fluently.
According to Krashen (1985), the acquisition of a language becomes easier if learners have more
self-confidence and self-efficacy, high motivation and low anxiety in affective filter hypothesis. In
accordance with Yukina’s (2003) framework, the external factors lead to a change which
instructors are able to change in the object of foreign language acquisition research, the internal
factors of second/foreign language learners like age, sex, attribute, learning style, motivation,
learning strategy, and language anxiety.
According to Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1986), as speaking in the target language appears to be
the most threatening aspect on foreign language learning, the current focus on the development
of communicative competence imposes particularly great problems for anxious learners.
Consequently, foreign language anxiety is one of the deciding factors that would influence the
learning effects, especially speaking a foreign language in the language learning classes.
By studying previous experiences and the current situation, it is significant for us to study and
investigate if language anxiety plays a significant role for intermediate EFL learners' learning
speaking skill. Rogers (1983) believe learning truly takes place when the cognitive and affective
domains of the learner are actively involved in the process. It is argued that foreign language
anxiety has three components: communication apprehension, test anxiety, and fear of negative
evaluation. Communication apprehension is a kind of shyness associated with fear of or anxiety
about communicating with other people.
People who generally face difficulty in speaking in groups are most likely to have even greater
problem in speaking in the foreign language class where they have no control over the situation
and where their performance is constantly monitored. Test anxiety refers to a kind of
performance anxiety resulting from a fear of failure. Learners who have high test anxiety often
demand more of themselves than they can achieve and worry about their performance. Fear of
negative evaluation refers to apprehension about other people's evaluations, avoiding evaluative
situations, and expectation that other people would evaluate oneself negatively (Watson &
Friend, 1969 as cited in Horwitz et al., 1986). These learners tend to sit passively in the classroom,
to avoid active participation in classroom activities that increase their language abilities.
Affective factors play a significant role in the process of language acquisition in a way that they
overshadow cognitive factors. Learners of all levels of language achievement and intellectual
capabilities are, inevitably, affected by anxiety in language learning. Anxiety exists in different
individuals in varying degrees and it is described as emotional feelings of worry, fear, and
apprehension. Different individuals show it anxiety in different levels (McDonald, 2001). As
learners progress they may experience overwhelming pressure and anxiety level that influence
their performance negatively. In order to optimize learners’ performance and minimize the
negative effect of anxiety it seems to be indispensable for teachers to take cognizance of language
learning anxiety.

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Self-efficacy is another affective factor which plays a significant role in learners’ performance. It
refers to learners’ judgments of their own potentials to perform and carry out different courses of
actions (Badura, 1997). Fundamentally, it concerns the answer to the question of if a person could
do a specific task in a specific situation. In other words, self-efficacy is people's perception of
their potentiality and self-concept (Pintrich&Schunk, 1996).
Of course, there is a distinction between self-efficacy and self-concept. According to Bang (2003),
self-efficacy is primarily a matter of cognitive judgments of one’s own capabilities on the basis of
mastery criteria, while the self-concept deals with both cognitive and affective responses toward
the self. These two terms can be compared from three different perspectives. First perspective is
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construct composition and the second is nature of comparison and the last is generality of
structure.
As far as language anxiety is concerned, Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1986) came to the
conclusion that adult language learners by and large feel anxious during their learning
experience and it also hinders their learning. Most recent research studies indicate that anxiety
acts as a counterproductive and hindrance that decreases motivation, and interferes with learning
experience, and leads to poor performance (Sparks &Ganschow, 2007).Despite the decisive role of
affective factors such as anxiety and self-efficacy, little research has been carried out to better
understand their impact on Iranian EFL learners' performance. Investigating these factors can
help our teachers and learners to better cope with psychological factors so that they get more
desirable results from their studies.
The main significance of the study is to come up with some new methods of dealing with
learners’ affective features that enable and students to better cope with their affective problems
and overcome these obstacles to increase their language development especially speaking ability.
The findings of the current research can also be of great significant to educational policy makers
to take the issues of affective factors more seriously and incorporate them into educations
programs. It can be of great importance for both researchers to investigate the issue from
different perspectives.
This study will also highlight the importance of recognizing learner’s anxiety and self-efficacy
and their significant role in educational and career success of our students. The results of the
current study can help teachers to move in the direction of lowering anxiety of our learners and
strengthening their self-efficacy so that they can handle the issue of language learning more
successfully.
The purpose of the current research is to find out whether there is a relationship between
language anxiety and speaking ability of EFL learners. The study will focus on the relationship
between language anxiety and English language speaking ability.Another aim of the study is to
find out if there is relationship between self-efficacy and speaking ability of EFL learners and to
show if learners with higher self-efficacy beliefs outperform the learners with lower self-efficacy
beliefs.
Research Hypotheses
1. There is no significant relationship between Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ language
anxiety and their speaking ability.
2. There is no significantrelationship between Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ self-efficacy
beliefs and their speaking ability.
3. There is no significantrelationship between gender and anxiety.
4. There is no significantrelationship between gender and self-efficacy
Methodology
Participants

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From among EFL learners (N=70) studying English at Azar language institute in GonbadKavoos,
60intermediate EFL learners were chosen based on their performance in an Interchange Objective
Placement test (IOPT). They were selected based on their availability. The participants aged
within the range of 18-22. Their general English proficiency level was intended to be intermediate
learners since according to the scoring guide of the IOPT those who scored between 37 and 49
were considered as intermediate learners. All of the participants spoke English as their foreign
language in their classroom. After the placement test had been conducted, ten students were
excluded from the study. Sixty of the subjects were considered homogenous since they
performed the same on both written and oral placement test.
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Instrumentation
In order to come up with satisfactory answers to the research questions, the Interchange
Objective Placement Test (IOPT), the Foreign Language Anxiety Scale which was developed form
Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope’s (1986) Foreign Language Anxiety Scale, a speaking test and the
Foreign Language Self-Efficacy Scale were used. These instruments are explained in detail in the
following section.
Interchange Objective Placement Test (IOPT)
The purpose of using the IOPT was twofold: First, it was used to measure the participants’
language proficiency and to determine if they were all intermediate level EFL learners and
second, to establish the homogeneity of the participants. The score range for intermediate EFL
learners according to the scoring guideline is between 37 and 49.The IOPT was used to measure
the general language proficiency of the participants. This test consists of fifty items with different
question formats comprising grammar, vocabulary, and 5 paragraphs of reading texts. There are
multiple choice, item matching, and cloze test type items in the test. In each item there is a
missing word for which there are four options. Students should find the correct item among these
options. All of the 60 chosen participants for the present study were able to pass the test with a
score ranging from 37 to 49. Based on the test scoring level chart, those whose scores in the test
were between 37 and 49 were considered as the intermediate-level and categorized to be at the
same level according to the IOPT results. The reason why the researchers of the study decided to
utilize IOPT as the students’ measure of proficiency was due to the fact that the test is a standard
test of proficiency, and its validity and reliability were assumed to be satisfactory.
Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope's (1986) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS)
The foreign language anxiety scale was developed from Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope's (1986). It
consists of 33 statements, each to be rated by the respondents on 1 (no anxiety) to 5 (high anxiety)
Likert scale. The statements describe language learning situations, which are rated as to the
degree of anxiety that respondents perceived they would experience in certain situations. In
order to prevent any misunderstanding on the part of learners, a Persian equivalent of this
questionnaire was provided for the participants. It was back translated into English.
Foreign Language Self-Efficacy Scale
The foreign language self-efficacy scale consisted of 14 items in a Likert format with 1 indicating
no confidence in the student's ability to complete a task, to 5 indicating that the learner was very
confident in completing a task. This questionnaire which was used in order to assess the
participants' self-efficacy in speaking was a new scale for assessing EFL learners speaking self-
efficacy based on these three related questionnaires: 1) The Persian Adaptation of General Self-
Efficacy Scale developed by Nezami, Schwarzer, and Jerusalem (1996); 2) Morgan-Links Student
Efficacy Scale (MLSES) constructed by Jinks and Morgan (1999); 3) Beliefs about Language
Learning (BALL) designed by Horwitz (1988). This scale includes fourteen 5-point Likert type
items ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree" based on the items of the previous
questionnaires. A value of 1 is assigned to strongly disagree, and 5 to strongly agree. Cronbach's

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alpha was used to determine the reliability of the scale, and a principle component analysis was
used to analyze its construct validity. The Cronbach alpha coefficient for the scale was 0.78. In
order to prevent any misunderstanding on the part of learners, this scale was also translated into
Persian and back translated into English, and the Cronbach Alpha Coefficient for it was 0.81.
Speaking Test
In order to make sure of the homogeneity of the groups they were given a speaking test. The
speaking test was adopted form an interview developed for the intermediate speaking test from
the website www.examsreform.hu. The test was in the form of an interview which was rated by
two raters based on a specific TOEFL iBT scoring rubric. As it is commonly accepted, TOEFL iBT
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test is a reliable and valid test to measure the general proficiency level of foreign language
learners.
Procedure
The participants of the study were 60 intermediate Iranian EFL learners. At the outset of the
study, in order to choose and make sure of the homogeneity of these participants in terms of their
general language proficiency, the IOPT was run among all the students studying at Azar
language institute in GonbadKavoos. It should be said that before administering each
questionnaire or running each test, the participants were given enough information about the
topic of the questionnaires or tests and also enough procedures on how to complete them. In
addition, before administering the questionnaires, the participants were asked whether they were
willing to complete the questionnaires or not and they were assured that their information would
remain confidential. The students were also told that there was no right or wrong answer for the
items in questionnaire, and the items just asked about their personal views. Both questionnaires
were distributed among those who agreed to answer. They were instructed to answer the items
in the questionnaires at their own pace. This study was carried out during three successive
language classes. As the topic of this study suggests, this research was going to study any
possible relationship between the learning anxieties, self-efficacy and speaking ability of
language learners; therefore, in order to make sure of the homogeneity of the participants, a
speaking test was run among them. In the second session of the study, the foreign language
classroom anxiety scale was distributed among the participants. Then, the questionnaires were
collected for the quantitative analysis of the data. In the third session, the second questionnaire
which was a foreign language self-efficacy scale was administered among the participants. The
researchers were present while the participants were completing the questionnaires and provided
help in case of any questions or ambiguity.
Data Analysis
For the statistical analysis of the gathered data, the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS)
version 19 was used. Statistical analysis of this study included the descriptive statistics of the
result of the anxiety and self-efficacy scales. In this study, the reliability of the instruments was
measured by using Cronbach Alpha. The researchers also used Pearson-Product-Moment
Correlation for inferential statistics in order to test research hypotheses and describe the strength
and direction of the relationship between the variables. Pearson-Product-Moment Correlation
was used since it gives a good measure of correlation between the variables.
Results
Results of the Placement Test
The Interchange Objective Placement Test was given to the participants.Those who scored
between 37 and 49were considered as intermediate learners. The test consisted of 50 items. The
following table 1 shows the results of mean score of the participants.
Table 1 Mean score of male and female participants on placement test
N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

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Males 30 41.6000 2.62087 .47850
Females 30 41.5000 2.44597 .44657

As displayed in Table 1, there is almost no difference between mean scores of the participants on
placement test. Males had a mean score of 41.60 while females had a mean score of 41.50. In order
to base our judgment on more reliable statistical test, an independent samples t-test was run to
make sure of the homogeneity of the participants. Table 2 illustrates the point.
Table 2 Independent Samples t-test on placement test
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Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means

F Sig .t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference Std. Error
95% Confidence Interval of the
Difference
Lower Upper
Equal variances
assumed .057 .811 .153 58 .879 .10000 .65452 -1.21016 1.41016
Equal variances
not assumed .153 57.726 .879 .10000 .65452 -1.21029 1.41029

According to Table 2, the sig (2-tailed) is 0.879 which is much higher than the significance level
0.05. Therefore, all the participants were the same proficiency level and homogenous. The next
step was administering anxiety questionnaire that was adapted from Horwitz, Horwitz and
Cope's (1986) foreign language anxiety scale. The scale consisted of 33 statements, each to be
graded by the participants as to the degree of anxiety that respondents perceived they would
experience in specific situations.
Analysis of Research Question One
To detect the relationship between language anxiety and English speaking proficiency through
statistical analysis, correlation coefficient was processed based on the language anxiety scores
from the FLCAS and English speaking proficiency scores. The results (Table 3) showed a
significant negative correlation (r = -0.333, p<0.01).

Table 3 Correlation coefficient between language anxiety and English speaking proficiency
Language anxiety speaking skills

Language anxiety 1 -.333

Speaking proficiency -.333 1

According to Table 3, the correlation coefficient is -.333, significance level at 0.05. As Cohen and
Holiday (1982) believe, this is a weak correlation. Cohen and Holiday's definition of correlation
coefficient if it is below or equal to 0.19 indicates a very low correlation, in case it is between 0.20
and 0.39 signifies a low correlation and between 0.40 and 0.69 proves a moderate correlation and
finally if it is between 0.70 and 0.89 indicates a high correlation. On the other hand, a correlation
coefficient between -1 to -0.8 shows a negative strong correlation; while between -0.6 to -0.79
signifies a high negative correlation and between -0.4 to -0.59 is an indicator of a modest negative
correlation; and between -0.2 to -0.39 shows a very weak negative correlation.

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The negative correlation indicates that learners who have high language anxiety are more likely
to achieve low English speaking proficiency and those with low language anxiety are more likely
to develop a higher level of speaking proficiency.
In order to scrutinize the different aspect of anxiety and its relationship with language
proficiency, the results of descriptive statistics were analyzed. As it was mentioned earlier in the
anxiety scale, there were five factors which were included in the scale questionnaire.

Table 4 Descriptive statistics among six factors

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Factor1 factor 2 factor 3 factor 4 factor 5 factor 6

Average 2.84 2.78 3.00 2.95 3.06 2.98
SD 1.04 1.07 1.01 1.23 0.90 1.10

According to the results of descriptive statistics, the current research showed that the participants
had six factors about language learning anxieties. The results were illustrated in Table 4.
From the six factors, the factor number 5, feeling unable to deal with the task of English learning
turned out to be the strongest form of anxiety with the mean score of 3.06 and SD=0.91. The next
highest form of anxiety was fear of negative evaluation with the mean of 3.00 and SD of 1.02,
followed by test anxiety with the mean score of 2.98 and SD of 1.10. Being afraid of making
mistakes had the next highest form of anxiety with the mean of 2.95 and SD of 1.23, and speech
anxiety with the mean of 2.84 and SD of 1.04 was the next highest form of anxiety and finally the
last one was communication apprehension with the mean of 2.78 and SD of 1.07. In other words,
the findings showed that the participants in the current study generally believed that feeling
unable to cope with the task of English learning was the strongest factor influencing their English
speaking proficiency.
According to Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1986), the highly anxious learners responded to the 33
items in the questionnaire revealing the point that they suffered from different forms of anxiety
such as communication apprehension, test anxiety, fear of negative evaluation during their
foreign language learning. The 33 items of the questionnaire were categorized into six groups.
According to the results, highly anxious learners responded to the 33 items in the FLCAS saying
their anxiety in communication apprehension, text anxiety, fear of negative evaluation during
their foreign language learning experiences.
Analyzing the Second Research Question
The second research question was formulated to check if there was a relationship between
learners' self-efficacy and speaking ability. In analyzing the data, some statistical procedures were
carried out in this study: (1) Descriptive statistics including Cronbach alphas, means and
standard deviations computed to summarize the students' responses to the self-efficacy
questionnaire and speaking ability. (2) Pearson correlation was conducted to examine the
relationship between the students’ self-efficacy and speaking proficiency.
Descriptive Statistics of Second Research Question
Table 5 shows the Cronbach Alphas, means and standard deviations of the questionnaire and the
test.
Table 5 Descriptive statistics of the self-efficacy questionnaire and speaking test
Number of items Cronbach's Alpha mean SD
Self-efficacy questionnaire 14 0.73 31.45 5.812
Speaking test performance 50 0.69 27.63 5.18

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As illustrated in Table 5, the reliability of the questionnaire was 0.73 and that of speaking test was
0.69 that is satisfactory. Means of the self-efficacy questionnaire and the speaking test were 31.45
and 27.63, respectively.
Analysis of Correlation between Self-Efficacy and Speaking
Table 6 shows the correlation between total scores of the questionnaire and the speaking test.
Table 6 Pearson correlation between the questionnaire and the speaking
Self-efficacy speaking test scores
Pearson correlation 0.78
Significance 0.03
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As illustrated in table 6, findings of data analysis using Pearson correlation proved that there was
a direct and significant correlation between the participants' self-efficacy beliefs about language
learning and their speaking performance. This finding is in agreement with other studies. It
specially supports Bandura's (1997) claim that an individual's level of self-efficacy is thought to
relate to the individual's choice of activities, effort in those activities, and perseverance in the
activities. A paired sample t-test was run to determine if the degree of self-efficacy had any effect
on speaking performance. For doing this the participants were divided into two groups. One
group consisted of participants with high self-efficacy beliefs and the other group included low-
efficacy participants. The total score of self-efficacy was 100. Those whose self-efficacy was above
40 were considered as high group and those with lower than 40 were regarded as low efficacy
group. Out of 60 participants, 35 belonged to high efficacy group and 25 belonged to low efficacy
group.
Table 7 Paired samples t-test for high and low self-efficacy
Mean SD t df sig (2tailed)
Pair 1 high group -2.47 6.89 1.45 60 0.041
Pair 2 low group 4.19 8.87 -3.78 60 0.015

As reported in table 7, it became evident that high self-efficacy affected speaking performance
significantly and positively, but low self-efficacy had a significant negative effect on their
speaking performance. This is in conformity with other studies carried out on the issue.

Analysis of Results of Research Question Three

In order to understand other factors which may influence the relationships between foreign
language anxiety and speaking proficiency, the researchers measured the gender difference and
the reliability of the FLCAS first in order to ensure the accuracy of the data and avoiding other
possible factors affecting the result of this research. The following section would present the
relationships between foreign language anxiety and the gender difference. Compared to studies
by Awan, Azher, Anwar, and Naz (2010) and Jingjing (2011), the present study indicates that
there was no significant gender difference between anxiety score and their gender: t(84)=.70, r=-
.048. The mean scores for males (n=30) and females (n=30) were 98.39 and 95.49, respectively. The
standard deviation for males was 27.40, and females was 31.10. The reason of the significant
gender difference may be because of Awan et al.'s study, the researchers used the abbreviated
version of FLCAS to conduct the study that leads to the gender difference result. And inJingjing’s
study, the researcher did not provide the Cronbach’s alpha value; therefore, we are not sure
whether the instruments were reliable or not. With regards to this point, the present study
provides a very reliable Cronbach’s value (.916). The results are shown in Table 8.
Table 8:Gender difference
Male female

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Sample size 30 30
Student age 18 -22 18-22
Cronbach's Alpha 0.916
Correlation r = -0.084 P<0.01

According to Cohenand Holiday's definition, the correlation coefficient between English learning
anxiety and gender difference are moderate negative correlation and there is no significance
between gender and English oral proficiency. Therefore, the gender difference would not be
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considered as an influential factor in anxiety study.

Analysis of Results of Research Question Four
With regard to research question four, the correlation was utilized. The table showed that girls
had higher degree of self-efficacy (t=–2.7; X=35.5; SD=4.5; p=0.006) in English language compared
to boys. This finding on the gender differences is similar to many previous studies done on the
relationship between gender and self-efficacy. Results have shown that girls are found to show
higher self-efficacy in areas related to language (Pajares, 1996). In the study by Pajares, it was
stated that students were asked to provide confidence judgments on their academic skills and the
girls reported they judged themselves to be better speakers than the boys. This boosted their self-
efficacy. Generally, language is associated with feminine orientation and most learners believe
that speaking is the domain in which girls outperform boys (Eccles, 1987). In this study, it was
found that girls had higher self-regulated learning, which is one of the self-efficacy dimensions
(t=–3.7; X=2.38; p=0.000) as compared to boys. According to Noran (1993) the psychological
factors in English language learning that girls have higher positive attitude towards the language
and a liking for it. However, Bandura's theory does not endow gender or gender beliefs with any
genetic properties (Bussey& Bandura, 1999).

Discussion
Discussion on Research Question One
The findings of this question are consistent and in line with the literature of foreign language
anxiety. A number of studies such as Gardner (1997), Horwitz (2001), Park and Lee (2005), Liu
(2006), and Atasheneh and Izadi (2012) have concluded that FLCA associates negatively to
English achievement. Gardner (1997) examined the relationship between foreign language
anxiety and different affective variables and achievement in French. He found that there was a
negative relationship in language anxiety and two measures of achievement as objective
measures (r=-.66, p=.001, n=102) and French grades (r=-.33, p=.01, n=102). In the Korean
situation, Park and Lee (2005) investigated relationship between language anxiety and oral
performance. Results indicated an important negative correlation between them(r=-.321, p=.001,
n=132).
In a recent study, Al-Shboul, Sheikh Ahmad, SahariNordin and Abdul Rahman (2013)
investigated the relationship between foreign language anxiety and achievement. It is prominent
that foreign language anxiety affects the students’ learning process and results. They concluded
that the important negative relationship between foreign language anxiety and achievement
mainly array from moderate to strong.
Discussion on Research Question Two
Many studies have been done on this issue of self-efficacy in the academic settings. Research
findings have indicated that mathematics self-efficacy is a good predictor of mathematics interest
and choice of mathematics-related courses (Lent, Lopez, &Bieschke, 1993; Pajares& Miller, 1994).
In other studies conducted on science and engineering college students (Lent, Brown, & Larkin,
1984), it was reported that high self-efficacy seemed to influence academic persistence necessary

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to maintain high academic achievement. Pintrich and Groot (1990) reported that academic self-
efficacy is correlated with academic performances in examinations and quizzes, and Schunk
(1984) found that mathematics self-efficacy influenced mathematics performance directly
(beta=0.46).
In a related research study, Schunk (1995) stated that when students are engaged in activities,
they are affected by personal (e.g., goal setting, information processing) and situational influences
(e.g., rewards, feedbacks). These provide students with idea of how well they have learned. Self-
efficacy was enhanced when students perceived they performed well. On the other hand,
Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, and Pastorelli (1996) reported that parents' academic aspirations
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for their children influenced the children's academic achievement directly or indirectly by
influencing their self-efficacy.
Discussion on Research Question Three
In general, most studies show that, on average, girls do better in school than boys do. This shows
that girls have less anxiety than boys. Girls get higher grades and complete high school at a
higher rate compared to boys (Jacobs, 2002). Standardized achievement tests also show that
females are better at spelling and perform better on tests of literacy, writing, and general
knowledge.
In addition, Aida (1994) reported that females received significantly higher grades than males in
Japanese in the final exam, females scoring an average of 89.7%, as against an average mark of
86.1% for males. There was a trend in highly anxious students of both sexes to obtain lower exam
scores than more relaxed students. Onwuegbuzie, Bailey and Daley (1999) encountered a
statistically significant correlation between gender and foreign language anxiety in Anglophone
students of four foreign languages (French, Spanish, German, and Japanese), as measured by
course grades: .16* (*p<.05), indicating that in their investigation “low foreign-language anxious
students tended to be men” (p. 9).

Discussion on Research Question Four

The results of the current study on the gender differences revealed that there is a similar trend
among many previous studies carried out on the relationship between gender and self-efficacy.
Results have produced evidence that girls are more likely to show higher self-efficacy in language
learning settings (Pajares, 1996). In an investigation by Pajares, it was revealed that learners who
were asked to make judgments on their academic skills, the female learners judged themselves to
be better speakers than the boys. This has led to their higher self-efficacy. Commonly, language is
believed to be associated with feminine orientation and most learners are of the opinion that
speaking is the domain in which girls perform better than boys (Eccles, 1987). In this study, the
same results as previous ones produced. It was found that girls had higher self-regulated
learning, which is one of the dimensions of self-efficacy (t=-3.7; X=2.38; p=0.000) as compared to
boys. According to Noran (1993), the psychological factors in English language learning that girls
have higher positive attitude towards the language and a liking for it. However, Bandura's theory
does not endow gender or gender beliefs with any genetic properties (Bussey& Bandura, 1999).

Conclusion
Much research in second/foreign language acquisition has been devoted to exploring the
relationship between motivation and language learning success. Certainly, most teachers, if asked
to identify dominant influences on language learning, would cite motivational factors somewhere
on their lists, and Naiman, Frohlich, Stern, and Todesco (1978), suggest that the most successful
language learners display a host of characteristics, most of them clearly linked to motivation. The
majority of this research, however, has been centered on integrative/instrumental motivations

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while neglecting to explore other motivational theories, such as Bandura’s (1986) theory of self-
efficacy. Despite the fact that innumerable studies across a host of fields have established a
positive correlation between high self-efficacy beliefs and performance, the self-efficacy construct
has received comparably little attention in the field of second language learning (Multon, Brown
& Lent, 1991; Nicholls, 1979; Pajares, 1997).
Accordingly, this study was conducted to ascertain the correlation between English speaking self-
efficacy beliefs and the English speaking performance of Iranian EFL learners. Itwas sought to
establish whether or not there was a correlation between high English speaking self-efficacy
beliefs and high English speaking performance on end-of-term language assessments.
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Furthermore, language anxiety has been an important factor which acts as an impediment to
language performance. There has been little research that attempted to investigate the correlation
between self-efficacy and anxiety and speaking performance of EFL learners. The study was an
attempt to fill this gap in the field of language learning.

Conclusion for the First Research Question

To conclude, the present study is preliminary research on the effects between English learning
anxiety and the English speaking proficiency, but its relevance to the parents’ involvement can
also be seen. In the quantitative research results sections of the students’ FLCAS questionnaire
and English speaking proficiency scores, the researchers used SPSS 12.0 Program and Excel 2003
version to analysis the data using descriptive statistics, Chi-Square, and Pearson Correlation as
presented in the previous chapter. A major finding is that among the six factors of FLACS, the
Feeling unable to deal with the task of English learning is the highest factor. In the qualitative
research results sections, the researchers collected the data from the questionnaire which were
sorted and analyzed as presented in the previous chapter. The conclusions from above research
results will be summarized in this section in response to the research questions proposed in
Chapter One. Correlations between foreign language and the English speaking proficiency
According to the result of Pearson Product-moment correlation, the result indicates that the
significant negative correlation between foreign language speaking proficiency and the foreign
language anxiety (r=-.333, p<.01).
According to the chi-square results of FLCAS, the student participants were feeling very anxious
and nervous when they were speaking English and fear of been called by the teacher in the
English class. Student participants expressed that they feel anxious when they didn’t understand
what the teacher said. But according to the FLCAS, students also showed their ambitions to be
better than others and they really care about the evaluation from other students. Moreover, the
student participants do not feel that their English is worse than other students; it may be because
the student’s self-esteem is higher than before and they have been given the high expectation
from their parents to contribute their fear of negative evaluation from their peers.
The result greatly resembles Jinging’s study. Jinging (2011) described this phenomenon in his
research: "It is the cultural tradition that Chinese people care much about saving their faces, so
they don’t like to receive low evaluations or criticism about themselves." The same notion is true
about Iranian people because both Chinese and Iranian belong to oriental societies. This is the
reason why they experienced more fear of negative evaluation than any other kind of anxiety.
The result of factor 4-being afraid of making mistakes in the English class,the result indicating the
student participants would worry about being corrected by the English teacher when they have
any grammatical or pronunciation error and it would affect their willingness to speak up in the
English class. This result may correlate with the factor 3- fear of negative evaluation. Because of
the fear of negative evaluation, when students are corrected by the English teacher when they
commit to any grammatical or pronunciation error, it would make the subject student feel that he

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or she has lost their face to contribute their unwillingness to speak up in the English class. The
factor 5- feeling uniquely unable to deal with the task of English learning, as the result of all
items having significant difference, according to the descriptive statistics, this is also the main
anxiety factor of elementary school students (M=3.06, SD=0.91). Although this factor is the main
anxiety source, the participants still tend to have positive feedback. It may be because the
participants still enjoy learning English and the instructors have enhanced the student’s learning
motivation.
English is an international language and it has played an increasingly important role in people’s
work and life. While the importance of the English language is greatly emphasized in Iranian
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education policy, it is also important to understand what kind of problem students will encounter
during the process of language learning. This research study focuses on language anxiety,
particularly investigating the relationship between the foreign language anxiety and the interest
of Iranian intermediate students in their foreign language speaking proficiency. The result of
FLCAS shows that the main factor of students’ anxiety is speech anxiety, which explains that no
matter whether students’ English speaking proficiency is good or not, they still feel anxious when
they are speaking in English. However, the result of the FLCAS also shows that there are other
anxiety factors that can affect the student’s English speaking proficiency besides the six factors of
FLCAS when a low correlation coefficient between language anxiety and English speaking
proficiency occurs. Therefore, the 15 open-ended questions were generated to detect other
anxiety factors which may affect students’ English speaking proficiency. In order to increase
students’ language learning motivation and ability, there is a need to decrease students’ language
anxiety. It is hoped that this results of this research study can shed some light on language
education and bring some insights to English teachers, educators and education policy makers.
With all the collaborative efforts contributed to this matter, students will be able to increase the
level of their proficiency and really enjoy learning a language.
Neither Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy nor this study purports that people can perform given
tasks simply because they believe they can, without prerequisite skills. This study suggests,
rather, that an individual’s perceived confidence positively corresponds to his subsequent
behavior. For EFL learners, these behaviors could include the confidence to seek out additional
language instruction, apply for a job in an English speaking environment, or participate in a
social group – all behaviors that would aid in a more successful language proficiency. Successful
integration into target language depends on an individual’s ability to realize his goals. On a
smaller scale, within our English language classrooms, language instructors have the ability to
promote positive self-efficacy beliefs. These, in turn, can ameliorate some of the barriers
encountered by EFL learners as they attempt to improve their target language proficiency.

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THE EFFECT OF HIGHER-ORDER QUESTIONS ON

THE SPEAKING ABILITY OF IRANIAN EFL
LEARNERS THROUGH USING CONCEPT
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MAPPING STRATEGY: A GENDER STUDY CASE

Shahrzad Chahardahcherik
Department of Foreign Languages, Sepidan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sepidan, Iran.

Amin Marzban*
Department of Foreign Languages, Sepidan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sepidan, Iran.
(Corresponding Author)
marzban@iausepidan.ac.ir

Abstract
This study aimed at investigating the effect of concept mapping strategy on Iranian foreign
language learners’ speaking proficiency. This work deals with the study of change in learners’
speaking ability using concept mapping in the context of foreign language learning and teaching.
The main research questions were: 1) Does concept mapping strategy in asking and answering
higher-order questions affect the speaking proficiency of Iranian learners? 2) Is there any
difference between male and female learners achieving English speaking proficiency using
concept mapping strategies in answering higher-order questions? The study utilized a true-
experimental method with pre and post-test control and experimental group design. In order to
answer the research questions eighty foreign language learners at high-intermediate level at
ShamimArghavan Language Academy (SALA) in Shiraz were selected via administering on OPT
to 300 language learners. Then they were divided into experimental and control groups through
simple random sampling. The experimental group was taught with concept mapping
instructional strategy, while the control group was taught with the ordinary method of teaching.
The high cognitive questions were used to evaluate meaningful learning. Descriptive and t-test
statistics were used for answering the research hypotheses. The results indicate that speaking
performance among experimental group learners after the treatment improved as compared to
the control group learners. Students’ speaking proficiency was also found to be not limited by
gender. Therefore, there is a need for teachers, curriculum developers, and teacher training
institutions to develop the process of concept map strategy integration in the EFL teaching and
learning contexts.

Keywords: Concept Mapping, Higher-Order Questions, Speaking Proficiency, Bloom’s

taxonomy.

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1. Introduction
Concept mapping can be used to transform theoretical knowledge and understanding into
concrete visual signs and descriptions that are suitable for comparison and measurement. The
concept-map strategy can show who is in most need of support and when this support should be
given by making the learning process visible. Through communication people discuss and share
ideas either orally or in writing. In this study, communication is considered as fluency and
accuracy. According to Alam (2013), Oral communication is a bidirectional process between the
speaker and the listener which involves the productive skills of speaking and the receptive skills
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of comprehension (Byrne, 1986).

Stabb (1992) considers listening and speaking as oral communication skills. As he says, “spoken
communication abilities mean both speaking and listening to oral language, either process of
talking and listening are lifelong activities and probably our crucial communication device”.
Stabb emphasizes that, while good instructions and lots of practice can help improve listening
skills, this won't happen without meaningful talk in the classroom” (p.7). Fundamentally, oral
language is concerning communicating with other people. It involves a process of using thinking,
knowledge and skills in order to listen and speak effectively. Oral language presents in every part
of the school curriculum. The advancement of oral language has gained an importance as great as
that of reading and writing skills, at every level, in the lesson planning. Chaney argues that
“speaking is the process of making and exchanging meaning through the use of verbal and non-
verbal symbols, in different contexts” ( 1998, p. 13).
Today's world says that the goal of teaching speaking should be improvement of students'
communicative skills because, only in that way, students will be able to express themselves and
learn how to follow the social and cultural rules in each communicative situation, appropriately.
English speaking proficiency is considered one of these important skills; so the learners should be
provided with an overall understanding of speaking skills. In the Applied Linguistics literature,
although the word ‘proficient’ is often used interchangeably with words such as ‘good’, ‘fluent’,
‘knowledgeable’, ‘bilingual’, ‘competent’, and so on, it is not always easy to understand what
speaking proficiency involves; the term may be applied quite differently from researcher to
researcher (Galloway, 1987; McNamara, 1996).
One of the most important educational strategies introduced since the 1970s was concept-
mapping. They allow the existing experience and understanding to be taken into consideration
when building new concepts into the more noticeable framework. By using concept maps,
learners make use of their previous knowledge to understand the new concepts. It establishes a
link between unknown and known information that leads to a great knowledge and
understanding (Novak, 2010). Gunter and Mintz (2010) state that the teacher -according to
Socrates- should help the learners organize their thoughts in order to build new understanding
from prior knowledge. Socrates method is learning by process of asking questions and answering
perplexing questions.
Concept-mapping is a kind of learning strategy in which writing and drawing have a vital role.
Folse (2010) noticed that when you ask people to write about his thoughts relating to a particular
topic before speaking about it, either the quantity and/or the quality of discussion will be
improved. According to Mayer (2003), concept mapping is used to prepare knowledge to the
learners in order to form a mental framework and retain new information for recalling and
producing. Questioning techniques used as teaching strategies and their possible impact on
learners’ learning has led many researchers in this field to examine the relationship between their
integration into teaching speaking strategies. As Novak and Canas (2006) state concept maps
represent hierarchical tree structure in which the main concept is located at the top followed by

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subordinate words or concepts in less important positions. In other words, to draw a map there
needs to be a word or concept as the starting point which represents an answer to a focus
question.
According to Smith and Higgins (2006), questioning procedure is one of the most common
techniques used by teachers and it is helpful as the main method in which teachers control the
classroom interaction. It has been discovered that classroom questions can also be used to
motivate students, to review, control, assess, explore, explain, encourage students to give special
attention on a particular subject, elicit information, and assess understanding and to monitor
behavior (Richards and Lockhart, 1994). Therefore, teachers’ most important role is to develop
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and plan different types of questioning activities that make learning materials meaningful and
appealing to students.
Cazden (1988) states that the most common applied method for analyzing classroom interactions
was categorizing the teacher’s questions based on some cognitive scale. One of the most widely
used resources for cognitive questions is Bloom’s taxonomy which describes the goals relating to
knowledge and intellectual abilities. Bloom’s taxonomy was first suggested by Bloom and his
colleagues at the University of Chicago in 1956 (Forehand, 2005). Bloom created a taxonomy that
could be applied in classifying pedagogical objectives of thinking skills. Researchers have
designed experiments which investigate the effectiveness of questions framed at differing levels
of Bloom's Taxonomy of School Learning. These levels, arranged in ascending order of
complexity, are: (1) knowledge, (2) comprehension, (3) application, (4) analysis, (5) synthesis, and
(6) evaluation.
Higher level thinking skills involve application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation; which are
important activities in the concept map strategy, because the main goal is to teach the correct
ways of thinking (Notar, Wilson, & Montgomery, 2005). This organized hierarchy involved lower
level thinking skills such as, memorization, knowledge, and comprehension which require the
least amount of skill and thought. According to Bernadowski (2006), questions which are part of
lower cognition level make learners just recall the information from memory, focusing on facts;
whereas, the skills belonging to higher level category deal with critical thinking skills such as
problem-solving, analyzing, creating, or assessing information. Novak and Canas (2006) give a
complete definition of concept maps, in which they explain that concept maps are graphical
instruments for arranging and representing knowledge. Derbentseva, Safayeni, and Canas (2004)
argue that concept maps help the learners to make connections between the previously learnt
knowledge to new information. In fact, it is a good way to reveal the students’ abilities in
remembering, organizing, interpreting, and understanding information about a subject area.
Teacher’s In-class Questions and Constructivism Theory
Teachers’ in-class questions are mainly used to evaluate the learners’ ability to remember facts,
but this strategy aims to change the view towards the traditional use of questions and develops
using higher-order questions as devices by which active processing and thinking about concepts
and using knowledge will be possible. Ellis (2008) proposes that teachers should ask questions
which require the learners to participate actively in interactions. According to Novak and Canas
(2008), the type of questions has a great influence on the type of responses and consequently on
the concept map structures. The instruction of language skills through implementing concept
map strategy, involves introducing the topic and asking higher-order questions as a prompt, and
then providing a list of general words and phrases related to the topic (Canas, Hill, Carff& Suri,
2003).
Asking higher cognitive questions before actual learning happens, is a helpful strategy that is
much better than simple remembering of information. Kauchak and Eggen (1998) believe that
teachers should start the lesson with asking lower-order questions and then gradually shift to

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higher-order questions. According to Tajrishi, Alipour, Chapari-Ilkhchi (2013), the role of
instructors has shifted from knowledge transfer to the guide and facilitator of learning in the
students. The recent changes of teaching and training methods have resulted in making
knowledge learning meaningful in exchange for transferring of knowledge and information by
teachers and books.
As Novak (2000) states, the concept map strategy is one of the modern approaches used in
educational settings, which is directly related to constructivism theory. In constructivism,
learning is considered as an internal and active process in which the learning is dependent on the
learner in making knowledge visible by linking new information to the previous one. Hay,
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Kinchin, and LygaBaker (2010) claim that concept mapping is a way of understanding what has
been learnt and what is not. Through this strategy, the learners are asked to make a map of their
previous knowledge and all of the concepts that are related to the topic. Concept maps used in
education can be drawn personally or by a computer software program (Kinchin, 2010).
According to Novak (2000), concept mapping strategy has been applied as a supporting tool in
meaningful learning and teaching of science, in order to help the learners visualize their inner
knowledge and mix it with new information to create new arrangements, and make both
previous and new knowledge as an integrated part of their cognitive structure. Noonan (2011)
claims that concept mapping is considered as learning and teaching strategy full of energy and
ideas that can be performed in combination with, or instead of traditional reading courses to
develop higher level of cognition.
Khatib, Sarem, and Hamidi (2013) observed that an educational setting should be planned in a
way that help the learners grow and develop their different aspects of intellectual, emotional, and
social communication potentials. As Morse and Jutras (2008) state, concept map strategy can be
done both at the beginning of the topic discussion courses to evaluate the amount of prior
knowledge, or at the end of the course, as an assessment tool in summarizing the learnt
information. Concept mapping was first proposed by Novak’s (2006) research in Cornell
University against rote learning. Novak based his work on Ausubel’s cognitive theory who
strongly emphasized on the role of prior knowledge in making the learners capable of learning
new concepts. In this strategy, the most important factor which has the most effective influence
on learning is what learners already know.
According to Ausubel (1978), the thinking structure includes a set of well-planned concepts and
information that a person has previously acquired, which creates a pyramid-shape structure with
the most general ideas at the top, and more particular and detailed ideas under them. According
to Ausubel (2000), two processes are involved in the meaningful learning, including ‘reception
and discovery’ which deal with meaningful verbal learning and concept formation, respectively.
Based on his perspective, the new knowledge is constructed and stored in the cognitive structure
and will be reconstructed and developed every time the new related information is added

2. Speaking Proficiency and its Components

Teaching speaking is the most crucial part of language learning. The ability to exchange
information and converse with other people has a lot to do with the success of the learners in
using the language in later date in real situations. Instead of influencing the learners to just do the
pure memorization, trying to create an environment to implement meaningful learning strategies,
and to activate the cognitive structure of the brain is the most desirable pedagogical goal.
According to Jeremy Harmer (2008), to become a fluent speaker requires the learners to
pronounce phonemes correctly, speak in connected speech as well as using a range of
conversational strategies. As Bashir, Azeem, and Dogar (2015) state, students believe that the
competence in speaking a language is the end product of the language learning process, but

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speaking is considered the main part of the learning process, as well. So, the successful language
teachers develop learning strategies which help the learners use the language in talking about the
language.
Kayi (2006) has provided a list of main characteristics and features of successful speaking
strategies in pedagogical contexts, based on Nunan’s (2003) framework. These features are
producing the English speech sounds, stress patterns, and rhythm; selecting the appropriate
words and phrases according to the social context, organizing their thought in logical manner,
using language as a means of expressing values and beliefs; using the language confidently with
few unusual pauses. Kumaravadivelu argues that the best strategy to help the learners in
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learning a language is to direct their attention to comprehending, working with language, and
divert their attention from focusing explicitly on linguistic forms (2003; p.27).
Ellis (2003, 2008) confirms that the idea of second or foreign language performance and
competence has been composed of different constituents, and that three features of complexity,
accuracy, and fluency belong to the principal dimension of this field of study. Accordingly,
complexity, accuracy, and fluency have been the main variables of the research studies in the
field of applied linguistics. As Jong (2010) states the common measures of speaking performances
are related to the specific features of fluency, lexical repertoire and accuracy. It is believed that
accurate speech production includes no errors, or, it is error-free. Range or lexical diversity, refers
to the measurement of the percentage of content words used by learners in their speech
production. Accordingly, a significantly greater variety of vocabularies is produced by higher
proficiency level students.

3. Method
Participants
The subjects of the current study were 47 male and 33 female EFL learners attending a regular
course over a two month and a half period during summer in 2015. The participants were
selected from non-English majors considered to be prepared enough to handle more complex
learning tasks, with arguably lower motivation and higher anxiety towards English speaking.
Both groups were mixed in gender; they were classified in terms of their gender since this was
one of the aims of the present study. They ranged from 18 to 22 years (Mage=19.97), attending
ShamimArghavan Language Academy (SALA) in Shiraz. In order to check their proficiency level,
an Oxford Placement test (OPT) was run. According to the result of the test, 80 learners were
chosen from among 300 non-English speaking learners, and then assigned to two groups of
control and experimental. The students in each group were (n=40).
The participants were all studying English as a foreign language at the high intermediate level in
the mentioned English Institute in Shiraz Iran. The logic behind the decision to choose students
with upper intermediate level of speaking proficiency was that at levels below that level, students
are not still proficient enough to deal with aspects like using speaking proficiency factors,
organization and so on. These students can make clear understanding in language learning, and
are able to converse with ease and confidence when dealing with usual tasks and social situations
of their level.

4. Materials
Several instruments were used to collect the required raw data. The instruments used in this
study were of five sorts. English book Top Notch was used as teaching material in this study; the
placement test, the material for the pretest of the study, material for the treatment of the study,
and the material for the posttest of the study. The Oxford Placement Test (OPT) was
administered to the participants for the sake of homogeneity and eighty homogeneous and high

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intermediate students were selected. The material for the placement test comprised 100 questions
of the OPT including grammar, and vocabulary. Each section consisted of 50 items about 50
minutes were allocated to complete the test. The participants’ responses were scored on a scale of
50 points. Participants’ scores ranged between 25 and 45 and based on their performance on OPT,
eighty participants who had the score upper 31 were chosen randomly.
To find out if the participants were at the same level of proficiency in terms of oral performance,
the second instrument, the speaking section of the IELTS practice test was used for both the pre-
test and post-test phases of the study in which the subjects were asked to answer 10 questions
and their responses were tape recorded; 10 minutes was allocated for this purpose. To collect the
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samples’ responses, each participant came out of the class individually and went to a separate
room with the researcher. Necessary instruction to do the tasks was given to the participants in
Persian. They were told that they would be recorded while speaking in English. The researcher of
the present study and an experienced rater, who was also an EFL teacher, scored all the test
results according to analytic models of scoring. The participants’ performance were scored on the
basis of three criteria: accuracy, fluency, and lexical diversity. Then they were assigned to control
and experimental groups through simple random sampling. The evaluation rubrics for the
speaking test were adopted from the IELTS exam.
Finally, the last instrument of the study was the material for the study’s treatment consisted of
teaching speaking with the participants’ ordinary teaching materials in speaking with the higher-
level questions adopted from Bloom’s taxonomy of questions and concept map strategy for the
experimental group and without the mentioned tasks (using the existing methods of teaching
speaking) for the control group. The course book Top Notch, and the instructional materials were
identical for both groups. In this study, the researcher adopted Bloom’s taxonomy to scaffold
and enhance speaking and higher-order thinking. The teacher used these questions to help
students start a classroom discussion and take the conversation to a higher level of thinking. The
following model of concept mapping was used: making vocabulary schema by concept mapping
strategy in pre-speaking stage, and working collectively to answer higher order questions during
discussion stage.

5. Design and Procedure

This study was conducted twice a week over 18 sessions for both groups, between June and
August 2015. The present study utilized a pre-test post-test control and experimental group
design which involves comparative study that makes it possible for the researcher to evaluate the
difference between the control and experimental groups after the strategy instruction treatment
and its effectiveness. In order to test the research hypothesis of this study the following steps
were taken. To ensure the homogeneity of the participants in terms of language proficiency the
Oxford Placement test was run at the outset of the study to 300 Iranian EFL learners. From the
300 students, 80 high intermediate were assigned to two groups of control and experimental who
underwent control and experimental conditions. The number of subjects in each group was
(n=40) in which the number of male and female learners were not equal; and were different from
each other on their gender as well. However, the two groups did not differ with respect to their
level and knowledge of language learning.
Both control group and experimental group participated in pretest and posttest IELTS speaking
proficiency test. The pre-test and post-test were administered in the first week and during the last
week of the research, respectively; both experimental and control groups took the tests before
and after the treatment. It was speaking section of English language proficiency test of IELTS, to
measure the learners’ initial knowledge in two groups; each student in both groups was assessed
through this test, to do a thorough comparison of the relative effectiveness of concept map

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strategy training. There was one semester interval between students’ pre-test and post-test. The
results of the post intervention test helped the researcher to test hypotheses on how experimental
students’ performance after the treatment could be compared with the control group students
after all have been introduced to the concept maps. .
The learners in experimental group received the special treatment and the learners of control
group were not exposed to concept mapping but followed the traditional method of practice in
learning how to discuss about a topic in the foreign language. Treatment started the following
week after the administration of pre-test. The researcher employed concept mapping in the
experimental group for eighteen sessions. As the instruction to the first session, the learners were
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informed that they were going to learn about the concept mapping strategy. During the
instructional period, the learners in both groups practiced four skills; however, control group
learners did not experience the treatment; in fact, the course was taught traditionally using
instructional techniques such as memorization, recall, and drills.
The concept map strategy was applied to the experimental group as integration of concept maps
and higher-order questions of Bloom’s taxonomy. The students were then taught using teacher-
constructed concept map. The students were expected to answer the questions and discuss the
topic(s) chosen. Therefore, the researcher decided to use a prompt that supports and encourages
the learners’ responses. During the instruction course, whenever there was a topic discussion,
answering higher-order questions was considered a necessary exercise before the main task
which made the learners answer the higher-level questions and write their own ideas and
knowledge on a piece of paper. In fact, they were given time to write what comes to their mind
before they had to answer the questions and discuss the topic.
The first step, is to define the topic or the focus question; next, is to identify and make a list of the
most general concepts related to the main topic; then, to arrange the list of words and order them
from top to bottom going from inclusive concepts to the most specific representation of
conceptual relationships; once the key words or phrases have been identified, the linking phrases
are added with crosslinks that make a connection between subordinate and secondary words or
concepts. In addition, discussion and answering to higher-cognitive questions or tasks simplifies
the process of comprehending concepts (Mccagg&Dansereau, 1991). Using the open-ended
questions like higher-order questions was done to leave room for interpretation and for the
learners to respond in different ways. Thus the students noticed and learned about the free form
character of concept mapping and different models of connections between ideas.
The rating scale to rate speaking test was the same as the one used to IELTS. The interviews were
recorded to be listened to and rated at a later time. The recordings were rated based on the IELTS
assessment criteria. They were included Accuracy (error-free units), Fluency (grammatically
correct units), and Range (number of related vocabulary to the topic). So, the researcher
conducted a careful analysis of test-takers’ performances on the post-test in order to see in what
ways their performances differ by the intended features that seemed to have an impact on the
overall assigned scores. The following measures were used in this study to examine each of the
three factors. Fluency: following Mehnert (1998), the total numbers of pauses was calculated by
counting the number of pauses during one second or more. Accuracy: the number of error-free
clauses was calculated to detect the differences in students’ speech and to find out how much the
rules of the target language are met. Range: the number of all the words related to the topic.

6. Results and Analyses

To understand whether answering higher order questions by concept maps had any significant
differences on the speaking proficiency of male and female learners or not, the data on pre-test
and post-test scores of 40 students in each group were gathered and analyzed with statistical

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package of SPSS (version 20). In order to gain precise measures the participants’ overall speaking
proficiency was rated by an experienced language instructor who had done the work for more
than 10 years and was familiar with the IELTS speaking band descriptors. Those experts are
professors who teach in different universities in Iran, and each one of them has been teaching
English for more than 10 years. The learners’ scores ranged from 0-9. In order to ensure
comparability of the results of the present research study with previous research studies,
measures that were already used in similar studies were utilized. The evaluation rubrics for the
speaking test were adopted from The IELTS exam.
Findings from the comparison of data were compared to determine the efficiency of the results.
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First of all, the normality of the data as the prerequisite for the application of parametric statistics
was examined through Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. It was shown that the sample meets the
normality requirement in both groups of experimental and control. The variance of the data was
also the same throughout the data set. Assuming the data normality (calculated by Histogram
chart and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test), as well as the homogeneity of variance in the sample (by
Levene’s test for t-test), the parametric test were used to investigate and describe the research
questions.
Table 4.1 Case Processing Summary
Cases

Valid Missing Total

N Percent N Percent N Percent

group * gender 80 100.0% 0 .0% 80 100.0%

The table 4.2 summarizes the group/gender relationship of the participants. The bar chart shows
the relationship between group and gender. As it can be seen, there is not much difference in
bars. frequency of each groups of experimental and control are as 48.82% and 51.18%,
respectively.

Table 4.2 The Distribution of the Sample According to the Group- Gender

gender
female male Total
group case Count 15 25 40
% within group 37.5% 62.5% 100.0%
% within gender 45.5% 53.2% 50.0%
% of Total 18.8% 31.2% 50.0%
control Count 18 22 40
% within group 45.0% 55.0% 100.0%
% within gender 54.5% 46.8% 50.0%
% of Total 22.5% 27.5% 50.0%
Total Count 33 47 80

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% within group 41.2% 58.8% 100.0%
% within gender 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
% of Total 41.2% 58.8% 100.0%
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Figure 1. The relationship between gender and group

The above cross-tabulation table records the number (frequency) of respondents and the
relationship between the variables. To assure the results and avoid any marginal inference, the
researcher tried to control the statistical significance of the variables of the cross tabulation table.
The relationship between two independent variable of gender and group was calculated and
investigated by Chi-Square test. According to the results (t= 0.464; sig(2-tailed)=0.496>0.05) P-
value was greater than the conventionally accepted significance level of 0.05, so it was concluded
that there was no signification difference in the proportion of the two variables of gender and
group and the distribution of both variables matched each other. The homogeneity of variance
across samples was also calculated and it was proved to be homogeneous. Therefore, it was safe
to apply the parametric statistical procedures for further data analyses.
able 4.3 Chi-Square Tests

Asymp. Sig. Exact Sig. (2-

Value df (2-ided) sided) Exact Sig. (1-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square
.464a 1 .496

Continuity Correctionb
.206 1 .650

Likelihood Ratio
.465 1 .495

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Fisher's Exact Test
.650 .325

Linear-by-Linear
Association .458 1 .498

N of Valid Casesb 80
a. 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 16.50.
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b. Computed only for a 2x2 table

The researcher recorded the students' age from their school files at the beginning of the course. T-
test was used to measure any statistical differences.
Table 4.4 Mean Results of Controlling Age Variable

group N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error

Mean

age case 40 19.8250 2.78169 .43982

control 40 20.1250 1.43558 .22699

The table 4.4 describes the means and standard deviation of the average of the age for each
group. The means represented the average age scores for the groups. The average age for
experimental group was 19.82; whereas, for control group is 20.12. However, we cannot arrive at
any conclusions that one category is more significantly more different than another category
without examining the statistical significant of the age means.

Table 4.5 T- Test Result of Controlling Age Variable

Levene's t-test for Equality of Means
Test for
Equality of
Variances
F Sig. t df Sig. Mean Std. Error 95% Confidence
(2-tailed) Difference Difference Interval of the
Difference
Lower Uppe
r
Equal .997 .321 -.606 78 .546 -.30000 .49494 -1.28535 .6853
variances 5
assumed

Equal -.606 58 .547 -.30000 .49494 -1.29059 .6905

variances .3 9
not 99
assumed

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Table 4.5 describes Independent t-test information to ascertain whether is significant differences
between the age groups. P-value (sig.) for the Levene’s test (0.321, p>0.05), hence we can assume
equal variances and report the first row entitled ‘Equal variances assumed’. Below the section of
T-test for Equality of means, we focused on the sig (2-tailed) column; the P-value (0.546, P>0.05).
This shows that there is not a significant difference at (0.05) level between the experimental and
control groups according to the age variable. Given the significant result found, we can now
argue that experimental group’s age is not statistically different from the control group’s age
(with t-value: 0.6, df: 78; P value (0.546). In our example, the significance of 0.469 accordingly,
means that our distribution is not significantly different from a normal distribution.
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With response to Q (1) (i.e. Does concept mapping strategy in asking and answering higher-order
questions affect the speaking proficiency of Iranian learners?)
The following hypothesis emerged from this question:
Concept mapping strategy does not affect the speaking proficiency of Iranian learners. To answer
this question the researcher firstly calculated the means, and the standard deviation for the pre-
test and the post-test, then t-test was performed to determine the differences of these means.
Table 4.6 shows the descriptive statistics for participants‘ scores on pre-test and post-test of
speaking proficiency in order to establish whether the means of performances for two
independent groups are significantly different from each other.

Table 4.6 Descriptive Statistics of Speaking Pre and Post-Test by Groups

group N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
pre.test case 40 5.5250 .55412 .08761
control 40 5.4250 .50064 .07916
post.test case 40 7.8250 1.73778 .27477
control 40 5.4250 .50064 .07916

Figure 2. The experimental and control groups’ mean scores on the pretest

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Figure 3. The experimental and control groups’ mean scores on the posttest
As the Table 6 shows, the participants‘ mean scores and standard deviation of each group in pre-
test and post-test are (Experimental: 5.52; Control: 5.42) (Experimental:7.82; Control: 5.42),
respectively. In the pre-test, it is found that there is no significant difference between the groups.
In other words, it is assumed that the two groups started out with equivalent means prior the run
of treatment. In contrast, the mean scores of each group in post-test indicate that there is a
statistically significant difference between the two means in favor of the post-test mean.
Table 4.7 shows the results of the Independent sample t-test to find out if the participants' scores
on pre and post-intervention are significantly different or not.

Table 4.7 Independent Samples t-test for the Pre and Post-Test of Control and Experimental
Groups

Levene's
Test for
Equality of
Variances t-test for Equality of Means
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Sig. (2- Mean Std. Error Difference
F Sig. T df tailed) Difference Difference Lower Upper

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pre.test Equal
variances 1.752 .189 .847 78 .400 .10000 .11808 -.13507 .33507
assumed
Equal
variances .847 77.210 .400 .10000 .11808 -.13511 .33511
not assumed
post.test Equal
variances .781 .380 8.393 78 .000 2.40000 .28594 1.83073 2.96927
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assumed
Equal
variances 8.393 45.429 .000 2.40000 .28594 1.82423 2.97577
not assumed

The table shows that, P-value for the Levene’s test in pre and post-test, are both greater that 0.05;
so, the equal variances are assumed and the first row of the table is reported. It is also evident
that the difference between the participants‘ performance on the pre-test is not significant at 95%
confidence interval with (t=0.847; sig(2-tailed): 0.40), indicating that there is no statistically
significant difference in the pre-test scores of both groups. In addition, the results of the t-test for
independent samples of the post-test scores shows that the scores of the experimental and control
groups differed significantly with (t=8.39; P-value< 0.001) indicating that there is significant
difference between the post-test scores of both groups, on which the experimental group scored
higher than the control group. According to the results in table 4.7, it can be concluded that the
computed P-value for the post-test scores was less than the set alpha value (0.05). Therefore, the
differences in post-test mean scores among two groups are statistically significant. Thus, it shows
that the two groups are not at roughly the same level of speaking ability after the treatment.

7. Speaking Proficiency of Two Groups through Paired t-test

This section addresses how the means of the two samples of related data are different before and
after the intervention through utilizing Paired Samples t-test. The results windows for the paired
samples t-test display the summary statistics of the two samples. In order to compare the
differences between two related variables like the speaking proficiency of each group in their pre
and-post test scores independently, paired sample t-test was used. The results of the mean
difference between the paired observations, the standard deviation of these differences, and the
standard error of the mean differences has been given in table 4.8.

Table 4.8 Descriptive Statistics of the Two Groups Considering Pre-Test and Post-Test
group Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
case Pair 1 pre.test 5.5250 40 .55412 .08761
post.test 7.8250 40 1.73778 .27477
control Pair 1 pre.test 5.4250 40 .50064 .07916
post.test 5.6150 40 .52013 .08224

As it is evident from the table 4.8, there is a significant difference in the scores for experimental
group (M=5.52, 7.82; SD=0.554, 1.73); while this difference between the pre and post-test of the

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control group is not significant (M=5.42, 5.61; SD=0.50, 0.52). The table 4.8 reflects a higher result
in post-test, compares with the pre-test score of the experimental group. The standard deviation
of the experimental group on the pre-and-post tests are 0.554 and 1.737, respectively; this shows
that the difference among students’ pre-test score was smaller than that of the post-test score.
Thus, the experimental group’ pre-and-post-test mean scores are somewhat different. So, null
hypothesis in rejected in this section. In other words, drawing concept mapping by the students
had positive effects on speaking proficiency of them.
Table 4.9, shows the results of the comparison of paired scores for pre-test and post-test of control
and experimental groups at the level of 0.05, to find out if the participants’ scores of each group
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before and after the run of the treatment are significantly different or not.
Table 4.9 Results of the Paired Samples t-Test for Both Groups
Paired Differences
95%
Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Std. Std. Error Sig. (2-
Group Mean Deviation Mean Lower Upper t df tailed)
Case Pair pre.test
- -
1 - -2.30000 1.50555 .23805 -9.662 39 .000
2.78150 1.81850
post.test
Control Pair pre.test
1 - -.19000 .07779 .01230 -.21488 -.16512 -1.448 39 0.487
post.test

As evident in the above table, the difference between the experimental group participants‘ scores
is significant with (t=-9.66; P < 0.001) at 95% confidence interval, indicating that the participants
in this group had a statistically significant difference between the mean proficiency of pre-test
and post-test. On the other hand, the difference between the control group participants’ scores is
not significant with (t=-1.448; P value=0.487) at 95% confidence interval, indicating that there is
no statistically significant difference between the two conditions. Therefore, it can be concluded
that both experimental and control groups had an increase in their speaking proficiency, but the
mean scores for the experimental group was higher.
With response to Q(2) (i.e. Is there any difference between male and female learners achieving
English speaking proficiency using concept mapping strategies in answering higher-order
questions?)
The following hypothesis emerged from this question:
There is no difference in male and female Iranian language learners answering higher-order
questions.
In order to either confirm or reject the null hypothesis, the pre-test and post-test mean scores of
the male and female participants of the experimental and control groups are compared. The
descriptive statistic information of the comparisons is summarized in table 4.10. The mean score
of male participants on the pre-test is 5.46 and that of female participants is 5.48. This value for
the male and female participants on the post-test is 6.65 and 6.81 respectively. Accordingly,
female participants had a slightly higher score than the male participants.
Table 4.11 presents the results of independent-sample t-test for male and female participants‘
mean score on two separate intervals of pre and post-test

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Table 4.11 Independent Samples t-Test for Male and Female Learners’ Mean Scores
Levene's
Test for
Equality
of
Variances t-test for Equality of Means
95% Confidence
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Sig. Interval of the

(2- Mean Std. Error Difference
F Sig. t df tailed) Difference Difference Lower Upper
pre.test Equal
variances 1.370 .245 .139 78 .890 .01676 .12046 -.22306 .25659
assumed
Equal
variances
.136 63.848 .892 .01676 .12293 -.22883 .26236
not
assumed
Equal
post.test variances 1.166 .283 .406 78 .686 .15680 .38618 -.61203 .92564
assumed

Equal
variances
.365 43.230 .717 .15680 .42989 -.71003 1.02363
not
assumed

Figure 4 Male and female learners’ mean scores on the post-test

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,
Figure 5 Male and female learners’ mean scores on the pre-test
The P-value on the Levene’s test is printed as 0.24 and 0.28 for pre and post-test, respectively;
which is greater than 0.05 for each interval run of tests. Therefore, we rely on the first row of
output, Equal Variances Assumed, when we look at the results for the actual Independent
samples t-test. The primary t-test reveals no significant difference between the mean pre-test
scores on achievement of experimental and control group. Overall result indicates that concept
mapping is significantly better than no treatment. According to the table 4.11, P- value for the
pre-test of male and female learners is higher than the level of significance 0.05 (t= 0.139; sig.2-
tailed= 0.89), which indicates that there is no significant difference between male and female's
scores of pre-test. On the other hand, P-value for the post-test of male and female participants is
(0.68) which is higher than the conventional value of 0.05, with (t= 0.40; sig.2tailed= 0.68)
indicating that the means of two variables are equal after the intervention, as well. Accordingly,
the corresponding null hypothesis to the second research question regarding no gender
differences between the male and female learners is verified. In this study, both boys and girls
seemed to equally benefit while learning English concepts cooperatively.

8.Discussion of Findings
In this study, the answers given to two important questions and attributed to the influence of
concept mapping strategy use on Iranian EFL learners’ speaking abilities and attitudes towards
using that strategy were examined. Regarding the first research question, this study began with
this assumption that concept mapping strategy does not affect the speaking proficiency of Iranian
learners. During this time the researcher employed the strategy and instructed the learners in the
experimental group how to apply them in their speaking and answering higher-order questions
related to the topic being discussed. The students on the control group, on the other hand, did not
receive any instruction in using this strategy in their speaking of foreign languages. After the
post-test, the results indicated that the teaching of this strategy did have an effect on the high-
intermediate level male and female Iranian language learners’ speaking proficiency. The results

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of the post-test confirmed that the concept mapping could be improved through systematic
instruction in language teaching contexts. The mean scores on the pre-test were almost the same
which suggested the homogeneity of the subjects in the study. But, the mean scores of two groups
were different on post-test; in other words, the mean score of the experimental group was higher
than that of the control group which indicates the better performance. Namely, the speaking
ability of the experimental group learners who had made use of concept map strategy surpassed
that of the control group. Therefore, the first hypothesis which states that concept map strategy
does not affect the learners’ speaking proficiency was rejected; it was revealed that the strategy
was pedagogically effective in enhancing speaking abilities. Yezki and Nasrabadi (2004) also
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maintained that concept mapping strategy promotes meaningful learning and information
retention. The findings are also in agreement with findings of Akeju, Simpson, Rotimi, and Kenni
(2011) that found significant differences between two groups in favor of concept map group. The
findings of this study are in line with the study, worked by Ghonsooly (2009), who concluded
that concept maps can be effective for cognitive and instructional objectives. Overall, the results
obtained in this study are supported by the studies conducted by Gowin (1981), Ausubel (1968),
and Novak and Canas (2008) who stated that reason behind the power of concept map strategy is
that it causes better knowledge and vocabulary retention. Regarding the influence of concept
mapping strategy on speaking features, like accuracy, fluency, and range, the results obtained in
this study are in line with the works of Tavakoly, Dastjerdi, Esteki (2011). Rahmani (2011) came to
the result that those students who used note taking followed by graphical maps outperformed to
those who used note taking per se.
Finally, the present study seeks to find out whether concept mapping strategy affects male and
female learners’ speaking proficiency differently. In order to find the answer to this question, the
results for the performances of male mad female learners in both groups were compared with
each other using an independent t-test and it was revealed that gender plays no significant role in
oral use of concept map strategy which is consistent with a study by Sakiyo and Waziri (2015),
who found that gender did not affect students’ achievement in Biology through concept map
strategy. Maleki, and Dabbaghi (2013) in their study showed that there were not any important
differences between male and female high school students in using concept mapping

Conclusion
The main purpose of this research study had two important parts; firstly, it was an attempt to do
the comparison of the performance of the experimental group and control group; and between
male and female learners of the experimental group. Based on the students’ performance on an
IELTS practice as pre-test, the differences between the two groups were not significant and they
seemed to belong to a homogeneous group of English language proficiency level. However, the
control and experimental group scores at the post-test were compared to indicate the differences
between them. The experimental group behaved differently on the post-test. Therefore, it is
acceptable to hold the idea that the treatment has served the intended purpose. In order to ensure
that the results of the present study were similar in quality to previous research studies, measures
which were already applied in similar studies were utilized; fluency was calculated by counting
the total number of pauses; accuracy was measured with the amount of error-free clauses; range
or lexical diversity was examined with the number of related words to the topic. Overall,
grammatically correct responses, fluency, and lexical diversity measures provided evidence that
features of the participants’ speech production showed significant difference in favor of
experimental group participants. In other words, the control group learners were less filled with
many pauses, and less related words about the topic. The experimental group learners produced
more accurate and diverse vocabulary with faster speech rate.

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The findings of the study proved that the application concept mapping strategy by the learners
through the explicit instruction of the study can help them improve their speaking performance.
The students demonstrated gains in answering higher-order questions as a result of project. The
quality of student responses on in-class interview tasks about higher cognitive questions is higher
for the treatment group than for the non-treatment group. The researcher concluded that, the
increase in cognitive load with the integration of higher-order questions increased higher-order
thinking which led to improve the scores in the experimental group. The results showed that
students in the experimental group had a higher achievement score in speaking abilities
compared with their control group counterparts. This means that, the students who were taught
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using the concept mapping strategy performed better than those who were taught using the
traditional method. The reason for this enhanced performance by the experimental group was
that the students were able to link the new concepts to the relevant concepts they were
previously acquired. Therefore, the results of the study revealed that the adoption of relevant
instructional strategies will enhance meaningful learning of speaking strategies.
The study found no gender difference in students’ achievement in speaking test. The increase in
students’ scores does not depend on gender, and this means concept mapping is an effective tool
for both male and female students. The results of mean scores of pretest and posttest for
evaluating dependent variable of gender showed that the differences between the two groups of
male and female learners were not statistically significant. In other words, it was found that both
male and female participants clearly felt that they could talk more fluently, which meant that
they were getting better at using and processing lexical items, sentence structures and delivering
their thoughts in a more confident way.
The findings of this study will be highly beneficial to educators, teachers, learners, syllabus
designers, and material developers with a better understanding of how higher cognitive
questions and concept map strategy can support foreign language learning and cognitive
development. Further, the findings of the study will open new grounds for conducting more
research on the use of concept mapping in other subject areas, which will be aimed at improving
academic performance. Generally speaking, concept map strategy can be considered as both a
cognitive and constructivist learning and teaching strategy. Concept mapping needs to be well
understood and used by teachers before we can expect students to widely adopt its use. This
research is to take into consideration introducing concept map as one of the comprehension and
thinking strategies in teaching of speaking skill. For thinking tasks to be effective, teachers
must view teaching as a process of developing and enhancing students' ability to learn.
From the social constructivist view of learning, teachers are expected to provide scaffolds to
support learning, encourage learners to discuss ideas and share understanding (McGregor,
2007). The utilization of concept map will assist to change the complexity of organizing thoughts
and ideas and expressing them through words. When students become skillful in thinking and
organizing, they will then find it relatively easier to reply the high level questions and discuss
their ideas. Research has demonstrated that concept mapping is a skill that requires time for
mastery before one appreciates its usefulness (Beyerebach& Smith, 1990; Brandt et al., 2001).
Although the present study suggests that the concept mapping strategy has a good effect on high
intermediate language learners, there are other areas that need to be studied further. One area for
future research is including learning strategies in classroom teaching. Another area for doing
research studies is to conduct such studies with a variety of language students, such as school-
aged students, and students with different pedagogical backgrounds. There are many other
methodologies which need to be explored in order to improve the Iranian learners’ speaking
abilities; however, the main considerations in eliminating or reducing the speaking difficulties is
helping the EFL learners learn well the cognitive aspects of speaking. Since this study is restricted

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to speaking proficiency for the students, it examines other studies to other kinds of tests and
other grades or even other levels of study.

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APPENDIX 1
Speaking Section as Pre and Post-test

Think of at least three related situations; friend/ colleague/ parents

-What is your criterion when choosing a good friend?
-What kind of colleague do you think is easy to work with?
-Think about what criteria are the most important for you when choosing an ideal mate?

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-Why hobbies matters you when you choose your boyfriend?
-How does character affect you when you decide your ideal mate?
-Talk about the reasons why the other criteria are less important or not important?
-Talk about your daily routine
-What type of films do you like best (why)?
-What types of films don’t you like (why not)?
-Describe an important event in your life; you should say a)when it happened b)what happened
c)whether this event affected other people d) why you feel it was important
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EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES OF IRANIAN

STUDENTS WITH VISUAL LIMITATIONS FOR
LEARNING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
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TayebehGhojavand
English Department, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
(Ghojavand.ta@gmail.com)

RoyaBaharlooie
English Department, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
(roya_baharlooie@yahoo.com)

Abstract
The present study aims at investigating the educational challenges that Iranian students with
visual impairment face in learning English as a foreign language. In this study, the participants
were 4 males and 6 females, at different levels of proficiency in English language. The
participants were 6 low vision and 4 totally blind, between the ages of 17 to 26 years old. The
study was conducted in Iran and the data were collected by questionnaire. For data analysis, at
first the answers of the participants were translated into English and were presented on the basis
of research questions. In reporting the information collected, some direct quotations were used.
Then, the participants' answers were computed using statistical package for social science (spss).
The findings revealed that visually impaired and blind people encounter two serious difficulties
for learning English. The findings have implications for teachers, visually impaired students, and
schools or language institutes which practice inclusive program.

Keywords: inclusive education, visual impairment, special needs

1. Introduction
Language is the most important means of human interaction for all individuals suffering from
visual disability. Learning a foreign language such as English enhances social integration, with a
positive impact on self-esteem and opens new job opportunities which requires equality of access
and inclusion for all in the learning process. Many international policy statements support
inclusive education of Visually Impaired People (VIP), such as the International Convention on
the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities, which
includes a section on " Flapship on the Right to Education for Persons with Disabilities: Towards
Inclusion" (UNESCO, 2005).
Since 1970, emphasis on language as a means of communication has given a new
dimension to the importance of receptive skills in communication. The speech perception system
combines visual and auditory information when perceiving speech, rather than relying on

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auditory information alone. The most famous demonstration of multi-modal speech perception is
the McGurk effect (Krezel&Bekkering, 2000; McGurk & MacDonald, 1976).The McGurk effect
happens when people watch a video of a person talking, but the audio portion of the tape is
altered.
Having to use only the auditory channel for communicating, blind and VIP, have
problems which are greater than and in some respects different from the problems of fully
sighted English learners. For example, infants with visual impairments cannot perceive items that
are beyond their grasp or are too large or small (ERIC EC, 1992). Thus, they require contexts in
which they can most easily and comfortably learn English in combination with adaptive skills
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which relate to their needs as people with specific strengths and handicaps. They also need some
form of individualized instruction and problem solving specifically adapted to their particular
needs.

2. Review of The Literature

Inclusion is grounded in the principles of human rights. The Salamanca statement is said to be
the first international statement that considered human rights in the education arena. Although
inclusion has its roots in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1945 and the
1990, and World Conference on Education for All, the Salamanca Statement (1994) puts inclusion
on top of the agenda (Eklindh& Van den Brule-Balescut, 2006). Inclusion is geared in the
provision of education that is anchored in improving the education system that will benefit all
children regardless of their differences or difficulties. Inclusion is concerned with provision of
appropriate responses to the broad spectrum of learners in the education settings (Ibid, 2006).
Inclusion seems to be important, because studies show improvement in academic performance
for students with disability in inclusive settings as compared to special education settings. Also,
all children need to build friendships and relationships, respect and understanding of each other,
so that they are prepared to be responsible members of the community, inclusion provides this
opportunity (Salisbury, 2008).
Most cognitive studies of language acquisition in both natural systems and artificial systems
have focused on the role of purely linguistic information as the central constraint. However, we
argue that non-linguistic information, such as vision and talker's attention, also plays a major role
in language acquisition.
A common conjecture about human lexical learning is that children map sounds to
meanings by seeing an object while hearing an auditory word-form. The most popular
mechanism of this word learning process is association. Most learning in this framework
concentrates on statistical learning of co-occurring data from the linguistic modality and non-
linguistic context (see a review by Plunkett, 1997). Smith (2000) argued that word learning traits
children's attention so that they attend to the just right properties for the linguistic and world
context. Nonetheless, a major advance in recent developmental research has been the
documentation of the powerful role of social-interactional cues in guiding the learning and in
linking the linguistic stream to objects and events in the world (Baldwin, 1993; Tomasello&
Akhtar, 1995). Many studies (e.g., Baldwin, 1993; Woodward & Guajardo, 2002) have shown that
there is much useful information in social interaction and that young learners are highly sensitive
to that information. Often in this literature, children's sensitivities to social cues are interpreted in
terms of (seen as diagnostic markers of) children's ability to infer the intentions of the speaker.
This kind of social cognition is called "mind reading" by Baron-Cohen (1995). Bloom (2000)
suggested that children's world learning in the second year of life actually draws extensively on
their understanding of the thoughts of speakers. However, there is an alternative explanation of
these findings to the proposals of "mind-reading." Smith (2000) has suggested that these results

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may be understood in terms of the child's learning of correlations among actions, gestures and
words of the mature speaker, and intended referents. Smith (2000) argued that construing the
problem in this way does not "explain away" notions of "mind-reading" but rather grounds those
notions in the perceptual cues available in the real-time task that young learners must solve.
Meanwhile, Bertenthal, Campos, and Kermoian (1994) have shown how movement-
crawling and walking over, under and around obstacles-creates dynamic visual information
crucial to children's developing knowledge about space. Researchers are studying the role of
social partners in development and problem solving also point to the body and active movement-
points, head turn, and eye gaze-in social dynamics and particularly in establishing joint attention.
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Computational theorists and roboticists (e.g. Ballard, Hayhoe, Pook, & Rao, 1997; Steels & Vogt,
1997) have also demonstrated the computational advantages of what they call "active vision,"
how an observer-human or robot- is able to understand a visual environment more effectively
and efficiently by interacting with it. This is because perception and action from a closed loop;
attentional acts are preparatory to and made manifest in action while also constraining
perception in the next moment. Ballard and colleagues proposed a model of "embodied
cognition" that operates at time scales of approximately one-third of a second and uses subtle
orienting movements of the body during a variety of cognitive tasks as input to a computational
model. At this "embodiment" level, the constraints of the body determine the nature of cognitive
operations, and the body's pointing movements are used as deictic (pointing) references to bind
objects in the physical environment to variables in cognitive programs of the brain.
Before imposing any teaching to students with visual impairments, it is very important that a
teacher knows how the loss in vision influence the learning process (Sacks & Silberman, 1998).
Visual information is crucial in helping children observe and interpret what happens in the
environment. It is also an important prerequisite for conceptual development in a student’s
learning. Malformation and destruction of this part of the body, brings about a reduced amount
of sensory data to the learner, leading to deficit or delay in various skills learned through
watching and imitation from others. This impacts language development, reasoning skills,
problem solving abilities and abstract thinking. This finally causes great impact on the
individual’s learning and performance, because a student cannot observe and use visual
information to interpret various learning situations happening in the environment (Bishop, 1996;
Fraser &Maguvhe, 2008; Webster &Roe, 1998). If visual impairment occurs during early
childhood, cognitive and language development will be impaired (Bishop, 1996). But if the loss of
vision is after five years, below which visual memories cannot be retained, then there will be
some visual memories. This visual memory will be very helpful in the learning process through
construction and formation of images, and concepts later by relating the new concept and
experience acquired earlier in life (Webster &Roe, 1998).
There are basically three ways through which students with visual impairments can get
information from the environments. Verbal description is the most important source of
information to VISs. However, verbal description provided by others is always incomplete and
cannot satisfy the person’s needs. Another way is the use tactile stimuli. However, a tactile
method is also not effective, because a student needs to feel an object repeatedly in order to grasp
the image of the object. Finally, students with visual impairments rely on self-exploration about
the world. This way is limited in amount of information that can be accessible to students with
visual impairments. All in all, these modalities together cannot effectively compensate visual
stimuli; they are there just to reduce the impacts to learning caused by lack of vision (Spungin,
2002). Therefore, a teacher teaching students with visual impairments in inclusive classrooms
needs to plan teaching based on these assumptions.

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3. Methodology
3.1. Participants
This study was conducted in Iran. Purposeful sampling was used in this study.
Purposeful sampling attempts to select the participants based on the certain characteristics or
criteria (Johnson & Christensen, 2012). Participants were selected based on two criteria. One of
these criteria was participants with visual impairment learning English as a foreign language.
And the second one was participants who learn English in an inclusive classroom with the other
sighted students.
The participants who were selected to provide information for the current study were 4
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malesand 6 females, and learned English at different levels of proficiency in English language.
The participants were between the ages of 17 to 26 years old. From 10 participants, 6 of them
were low vision and the rest of them were totally blind. All the participants were monolingual
and native speakers of Persian language.

3.2. Material and Instruments

The instrument that was used to collect the research data included two questionnaires.
3.2.1. Questionnaire
In this study, two questionnaires were used. The first questionnaire had been used by
Galetova (2012). It was to measure the sufficiency of the learning materials for the blind people,
and the second questionnaire had been used by Makarian (2014)to measure the problems of the
blind Iranian students for learning foreign languages. The researcher used these two
questionnaires without any change. Thus, the reliability and validity of the questionnaires were
ensured. The questionnaires contained 4 parts and 20 questions about the problems that visual
impaired or blind people have for learning English. Most of the questions were close ended, some
of them were open ended. The number of participants was small, because visually impaired and
blind students who learn English in inclusive setting are regarded as a minority.
After the introduction, there was part 1, which was introductory. It consisted of three
questions and its goal was to gather statistical data such as sex of the participants, their grade,
and type of the participants (low vision / totally blind).Part twowhichconsisted of 10 questions
and focused on the availability of teaching/learning materials and frequency of using certain
types of materials in teaching and learning English for blind or VISs. The third part consisted of
one question about blind people's motivation for learning English in terms of occupational goals,
and the last part consisted of five questions and was devoted to the schools, libraries and the
other public places thatare related to the blind students' education in order to investigate the
services that they offer to the blind people.

3.3. Procedure
The questionnaires were distributed among VISs via email, because nowadays it is a
common means of communication and it is quicker and more flexible than the distribution of a
printed version.The participants were visually handicapped and they could use voice synthesizer
to read the questionnaire.
The questionnaires were sent to Gooshkon.ir site. In this site all the blind and visually
impaired people in Iran had membership. Ten participants answered the questions from the
different cities in Iran.
Immediately followingthe questions, each participant was asked to write any comment
or suggestion related to his/her problems for learning English. Then, the
participants' answers were checked and were translated into English.
The researcher chose to carry out a qualitative research, because the number of
participants was small.

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4. Data Analysis
The data analysis which was carried out in the present small-scale research, involved the
analytical procedures that were described below.
The answers of each participant were checked and were presented in relation to the
research questions. After the information was collected, some direct quotations were used.
reporting the direct statement from the research participants is important, because it maintains
the flavor of the original data (Cohen, Manion& Morrison, 2007).
The answers of the participants were computed, by using of SPSS.
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5. Results
5.1. The Results of Research Question One
The first research question concerned the sufficiency of learning materials for the blind
people in learning English. Questions 4-14 in the questionnaire were related to the availability of
learning materials for VISs in learning English. The descriptive statistics for these questions
including frequency and percentage was calculated and presented in Table 4.1.

Table 4.1
Sufficiency of Learning Materials for Blind People

Noyes
Percentage Frequency percentage Frequency

Low vision Item 4 50.0 3 50.0 3

Item 5 83.3 5 16.7 1
Item 6 66.7 4 33.3 2
Item 8 66.7 4 33.3 2
Item 9 66.7 4 33.3 2
Item 10 0.0 0 100.0 6
Item 11 100.0 6 0.0 0
Item 12 83.34 5 16.67 1
Item 13 100.0 6 0.0 0
Totally blind Item 4 75.0 3 25.0 1
Item 5 100.0 4 0.0 0
Item 6 25.0 1 75.0 3
Item 8 50.0 2 50.0 2
Item 9 25.0 1 75.5 3
Item 10 0.0 0 100.0 4
Item 11 100.0 4 0.0 0
Item 12 50.0 2 50.0 2
Item 13 100.0 4 0.0 0

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Total Item 4 60.0 6 40.0 4
Item 5 90.0 9 10.0 1
Item 6 50.0 5 50.0 5
Item 8 60.0 6 40.0 4
Item 9 50.0 5 50.0 5
Item 10 0.0 0 100.0 10
Item 11 100.0 10 0.0 0
Item 12 70.0 7 30.0 3
Item 13 100.0 10 0.0 0.0
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By considering the Table 4.1, the following results can be deducted:

Six participants (60%) were satisfied, and four (40%) were dissatisfied with the amount of
materials (in shops, libraries, etc. for their English learning, see item 4 in Table 4.1).
Nine participants (90%) had problem to learn a certain topic because of the materials (i.e., they
had problem to find suitable material).
Five participants (50%) had a good choice of study materials and 50%of the participants did not
have a good choice of study materials (see item 6 in Table 4.1).
Six participants (6o%) said that their teacher used other materials in teaching too; one of them
mentioned newspaper, and one listed original language films, CD, listening materials like song,
and training files.And four participants said that their teacher did not use any other type of
material in the class (see item 8 in Table 4.1).
Modern English language textbooks were often supplemented with a CD-ROM, which some
teachers like to use in the class.50% of participants said that their teacher used CD-ROM in their
lessons (see item 9 in Table 4.1).
Interactive board was not used by teachers in the class (see item 10 in Table 4.1).
Audio materials were available for blind people. In low vision group, 50% of participants and in
totally blind group, again 50% of participants said that listening facilities were suitable for them
(see item 11 in Table 4.1).
In low vision group, 83.33% of participants said that they could use every book that they need
and they usually use audio books. However, loss of vision affects each person in unique ways
and presents many challenges. For example, the use of written texts was very difficult for low
vision people.
In totally blind group, 50% of the participants said that they could not use every book
that they needed (see item 12 in Table 4.1).
The VISs are usually slower in reading, and the orientation in a text is more or less
difficult. Thus, VISs need to tape the voice of their teacher in the class. All participants said that
their teacher allowed them to tape his/her voice in the class (See item 13 in Table 4.1).

5.2. Results of the Second Research Question

In the second research question, the researcher intended to investigate the blind people's
motivation for learning English in terms of occupational goal. In order to find the answer of
second research question, question number 14 was used. The result of the participants' answers
to this question was presented in Table 4.2.

Table 4.2
Motivation toward Learning English for Occupational Goal
Low vision Totally blind Total

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Frequency Percent Frequency Percent Frequency Percent
Yes 5 83.3 2 50.0 7 70.0
NO 1 16.7 2 50.0 3 30.0
Total 6 100.0 4 100.0 10 100.0

In low vision group, 83.3% of participants said that they had enough motivation for learning
English in terms of occupational goal and one said that she/he had not any motivation for
learning English for occupational goal.
Because of the presence of a negative attitude among employers, blind people haveonly a
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little chance for employment. In totally blind group, 50% of participants had enough motivation
and 50% of them did not have any motivation for learning English for occupational goal

5.3. Results of Third Research Question

The third research question was "Does the libraries or other public places related to the education
of blind people offer services to them?" Table 4.3 shows the result of the participants' answers to
this question.

Table 4.3
Result of Participants' Answers to the Third Research Question
Fairly Very
Inappropriate Appropriate Total
appropriate appropriate
Frequency

Frequency

Frequency

Frequency

Frequency
Percent

Percent

Percent

Percent

Percent
Item15 3 50.00 3 50.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 6 100.00
Item16 0 0.00 3 50.00 3 50.00 0 0.00 6 100.00
Low vision

Item17 4 66.67 2 33.33 0 0.00 0 0.00 6 100.00

Item18 5 83.33 1 16.67 0 0.00 0 0.00 6 100.00
Item19
2 33.33 2 33.33 2 33.33 0 0.00 6 100.00
Item15

4 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 100.00

Item16 2 50 1 25 1 25 0 0 4 100.00
Totally blind

Item17 3 75 1 25 0 0 0 0 4 100.00
Item18 3 75 0 0 1 25 0 0 4 100.00
Item19 2 50 2 50 0 0 0 0 4 100.00
Item15 7 70 3 30 0 0 0 0 10 100.00
Total

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Item16 2 20 4 40 4 40 0 0 10 100.00

Item17 7 70 3 30 0 0 0 0 10 100.00
Item18 8 80 1 10 1 10 0 0 10 100.00
Item19 4 40 4 40 2 20 0 0 10 100.00

Totally, 70% of participants said that libraries were not suitable for the blind people use, because
libraries did not offer them necessary services (see item 15 in Table 4.4).
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For a blind person these services include environmental modification and technological
products.
As it is seen in item 16 in Table 4.4, it seems that low vision people did not have much problem
with the physical environment of their classes. But to a totally blind individual, the physical
world presented many challenges.
Visually impaired people need tactile boards or sensitive symbols to find their way through
complex environment in the schools or other educational places. As item 17 in Table 4.4 shows, in
low vision group, 66.67% of participants, and in totally blind group, 75% of participants said that
educational places did not have tactile boards or sensitive symbols for blind people.
About banking system, 83.33% of participants in low vision group and 75% of
participants in totally blind group said that city banks were not equipped with listening devices
for paying tuition (see item 18 in Table 4.4).
It seems that walking in public area is difficult because of some obstacles. Sometimes these
barriers cause the fear to travel independently and decrease the confidence in blind people (see
item 19 in Table 4.4).

6. Discussion
Concerning the descriptive statistics of research questions, the findings indicated thatalthough it
is a fact that there are a limited number of materials for visually impaired students, most of the
participants were happy or quite satisfied with the amount of materials available for them. Also,
they had enough motivation for learning English for occupational goal. But the libraries in
Isfahan don't offer enough services to blind students.
The results of this study were in line with a research project done by Galetova (2012), who
measured the sufficiency of learning materials for the blind or visually impaired students.
Besides, the study ofKhodadady and Gholamian (2014) in Ferdowsi university of Mashhad aimed
to explore whether the motivation of blind students for learning English differ from those of
normal students. Their results showed that compared to normal students whose domain of
motivation consisted of three genera, (i.e., intrinsic, extrinsic and communicative), blind students'
motivation comprises eight, (i.e., intrinsic, Self-Satisfying, Other-satisfying, communicative, Self-
Enhancing, extrinsic, socializing, and Self-Encouraging). And the results of investigation on
libraries in Isfahan were in line with the results of the research administered by the Center for
Investigation on Building and Residence (2014).In the mentioned study, some of the libraries in
Isfahan were selected randomly for analysis, considering their structures and services offered to
blind people. The findings of this center revealed that only one library in Isfahan offer services to
blind students.

7. Conclusion and Implications

To sum up, blind learners encountered two serious difficulties for learning English: The
first one concerned the adaptation of the instructional materials, which nowadays tend to be
highly visual and the other one derived from insufficient knowledge of Braille which would

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affect the learners reading and writing skills in the target language. As statistical results showed,
totally blind people had more difficulties concerning the choice of learning materials than low
vision group.
The findings of this study has two implications. At first, it helps to those who
teach VISs or who are interested in this issue. The work is supposed to provide guidance to the
teachers who are beginners in teaching the VISs and offers a list of some basic ideas which may
be useful.
Second, based on the challenges identified in the process of learning English in
addressing the needs of VIP, the following recommendations could be made:
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1) Providing appropriate materials by transforming the text books and the other supplementary
materials into Braille, designing a project to get recording materials such as tapes, cassettes, CDs
and Braille.
2) Searching for budget allocations or funding to run inclusive program in a better way since
schools are deficient on this, this require joint effort from government bodies which support VIP
and schools which run inclusive program.
3) Creating better opportunities for VI students: VI students had a lot of problems which require
special concern and actions.
In the light of these, the following implications were reflected by participants as a priority:
 To make teachers and the other students aware of the needs of VISs.
 To present some lessons using alternative ways instead of pictures, diagrams and
symbols.
 To give attention to the group work in the class. VISs prefer to sit at least with one
student who could support them by reading the notes written by the teacher on the
board, the reading passage and exercises from the textbook.
 To assign responsibility to the person during tests and exams to read questions and write
answers effectively and give extra time while they are taking exams.
 To set exam questions in a form that will be unbiased to VISs.
 To say out every word the teacher puts on the board.
 To make textbooks, handouts, and other materials available in an appropriate form (e.g.,
regular print, large print, Braille, or cassette).
 To consider alternative activities/exercises that can be utilized with less difficulty by the
student, but has the same or similar learning objectives.

References
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what they are.Developmental psychology, 29, 832-843.
Ballard, D. H., Hayhoe, M. M., pook, P. K., & Rao, R. P. N. (1997). Deictic codesfor the
embodiment of cognition. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 20, 1311-1328.
Ballard, D. H., &Aslin, R. N. (2005). The role of embodied intentionin early lexical
acquisition.Cognitive Science, 29 (6), 961-1005.
Baron-Cohen, S, (1995). Mind 5454blindness: an essay on autism and theory of mind. Cambridge:
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Bertenthal, B., Campos, J., &Kermoian, R. (1994). An epigenetic perspectiveon the development of
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Bishop, V (1996). Teaching Visually Impaired Children (2nd Ed). U. S. A: Cgarles C Thomas Publisher.
Bloom, P. (2000).How children learn the meanings of words. Cambridge, MA: The MIT press.

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Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, K. (2007).Research Methods in Education. London:
Routledge: Taylor & Francis group.
Eklindh, K. & Van den Brule-Balescut, J. (2006).The Right to Education forPersons with Disabilities:
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ERIC, (1992).Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education, the Council for Exceptional
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Fraser, W. &Maguvhe, M. (2008).Teaching Life Science to Blind andVisually Impaired Learners.South
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Africa: University of Pretoria.

Johnson, B. & Christian, L. (2012).Educational Research: Quantitative,Qualitative & Mixed
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Khodadadi, E., Gholamian, M. (2014).Motivations Underlying Blind Students' EnglishLanguage
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McGurk, H., & MacDonald, J. (1976).Hearing lips and seeing voices. Nature,264, 746-747.
Galetova, M. (2012).Lesson Planning for Visually Impaired Students of English.
Macarian, N. (2014). The Problems of Blind People in Learning Foreign Languages.
Plunkett, K. (1997). Theories of early language acquisition.Trends inCognitive Sciences, 1, 146-153.
Sacks, S. Z. & Silberman, R. K. (1998).Educating Students Who Have Visual Impairment with Other
Disabilities. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co Inc Salisbury, R. (2008). Teaching Pupils
with Visual Impairment: A guide to making the School Curriculum Accessible. London: Routledge:
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Smith, L. (2000). How to learn words: An associative crane. In R. Golinkoff & K. Hirsh-
Pasek (Eds.), breaking the word learning barrier (p.51-80). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Spungin, S. J. (2002). When You Have a Visual Impaired Student in Your Classroom: A Guide
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Webster, A & Roe, J. (1998).Children with Visual Impairment: SocialIntegration, Language and
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A REVIEW OF EFL LEARNERS’ SPEAKING SKILL

AND THE STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
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ArefehNasiri
Lahijan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Lahijan, Iran
Nasiriarefeh@gmail.com

Abbas PourhoseinGilakjani (Corresponding author)

Department of English Language Translation, Lahijan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Lahijan,
Iran
abbas.pourhossein@yahoo.com

Abstract
Speaking is one of the most significant skills to be developed as means of effective
communication. The teaching and learning of speaking skill are a necessary component of any
language education classroom. Spoken language presents affordances for learning as the main
communicative means of the classroom and it is a significant part of syllabus content and
learning outcomes. In this review paper, the researchers define the term speaking, explain the
features of speaking, clarify the stages of teaching speaking skill, discuss the strategies for
improving speaking skill, and finally offered some useful suggestions for teaching and learning
speaking skill. The findings of this review paper indicated that through using appropriate
strategies,EFL teachers can provide a friendly environment for EFL learners to improve their
English speaking ability effectively and efficiently.

KEYWORDS:Speaking, Features, Stages, Strategies, Suggestions

1. Introduction
Bueno, Madrid, and Mclaren (2006) said that speaking is one of the most difficultskills that EFL
learners encounter. Despite this, it has been forced into the background while EFL teachers have
spent mostof their classroom time attempting to teach their learners how to write, read, and listen
in the second language. According to Efrizal (2012), speaking skill is more important for people
interaction where they speak everywhere and every day by English. A lot of people use English
as a means of communication and it makes persons who come from several countries to be easier
in making interaction and communication. Speaking is one way of communicatingopinions and
messages orally. If we are going to persuadelearners to communicate, we shoulduse the language
in real communication. Efrizal (2012) expressed thatspeaking involves speech or sentences with
the aim of having intention to be identified by speaker and the receiver processes them to
understand their purposes.

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According to Bailey and Savage (1994), the ability to speak English language is equivalent
with knowing that language. In spite of that, speaking in English language has been regarded as
the most challenging of the four language skills. Brown (1994) stated that speaking is one of the
most demandingskill for EFL learners because of contractions, vowel reductions and elision, the
utilization of slang and idioms, stress, rhythm, and intonation, and the necessityfor interacting
with another speaker. Bailey and Savage (1994) emphasized that the most difficult aspect of
spoken English is that it is always performed through interaction with another speaker and
because of this many learnersare disappointed when theyusetheir language for the first time in
real interaction. Learners are prepared for spontaneous communication and cannot cope with all
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of its concurrentrequests.
According to Brown and Yule (1999), speaking hinges on the intricacy of the information to be
communicated; nevertheless, the speaker occasionally finds it hard to make clear what they are
going to say.Efrizal (2012) stated that speaking is the first way in which children acquire
language and it is part of the daily participation of many persons with language activities and it
is the maintool of language change. Efrizal (2012) continued that speaking prepares our major
data for comprehending language contact. Harmer (2007) expressed that human communication
is a very complicated process. People require communicationwhen they are going to tell
something, transmit information, or need to speak. Speakers usecommunication when they want
to inform someone about something. Speakers use language based on their aims; therefore, it is
necessary for them to be listeners and speakers simultaneously for effective communication.
L1 speakers use some tools to simplify their speech. These toolsare composed of simplifying the
language to make simple structures. Speakersdelete parts of a sentence and use idiomatic
expressions to simplify the oral fluency. In order to make up their problems, L1 speakers
shouldemend themselves andregulate or rephrase sentences. Spoken English cannot be organized
and it is full of repetitions, pauses, incomplete sentences, and hesitations. Speakingrequires the
answer of the otherspeaker or listener and it comes into the form of turns and when they are
talking they should pay attention to gestures, intonation, stress, or pauses that the other speakers
are doing because there are signs to understanding the meaning of what they are attempting to
say (Bueno, Madrid, & McLaren, 2006).
Chaney (1998) stated thatspeaking is the process of making meaning by using verbal and non-
verbal symbols in different contexts. Speaking skill is a key part of language learning and
teaching. Despite its importance in English language teaching and learning, teaching speaking
has been underemphasized and EFL teachers have taught speaking just as a repetition of drills or
memorization of dialogues. Nevertheless, the objective of teaching speaking is to improve
learners' communicative skills because they can express themselves and learn how to follow the
social and cultural rules that are suitable for communicative situations.

2. Definition of Speaking
Burns and Joyce (1997) defined speaking as an interactive process of making meaning that
includes producing, receiving, and processing information. Its form and meaning depend on the
context in which it happens, the contributors, and the goals of speaking.In this way, learners
express themselves orally, logically, fluently, and suitably in a meaningful context to perform
both transactional and interactional aims using correct pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary
and adopting the pragmatic and discourse rules of the spoken language.

3. Features of Speaking
Features of speaking skill should be carefully examined and present some challenges and
determine some principles for comprehending this skill and design instructional activities to

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prepare learners to communicate effectively in real life situations. These features are speaking is
face to face, speaking is interactive, and speaking happens in real time (Abd El Fattah Torky,
2006). In the following section, the mentioned features are explained in detail.

3.1. Speaking Is Face to Face

Many conversations happen face to face which permits speakers to get immediate feedback, i.e.
“Do listeners understand? Are they in agreement? (Abd El Fattah Torky, 2006; Cornbleet&
Carter, 2001). Therefore, communication through speaking has a lot of advantages like facial
expressions, gestures, and body movements. In addition, speaking takes place in situations where
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participants are present. Thesecomponents make easier communication (Abd El Fattah Torky,
2006; Widdowson, 1998; Burns, 1998).

3.2. Speaking Is Interactive

Whether we talk face-to –face, or over the telephone to one person or a small group, the wheels of
conversation turn smoothly with participants presenting contributions at suitable moments with
no undue gaps or everyone talking over each other (Abd El Fattah Torky, 2006; Bygate, 1998;
Cornbleet& Carter, 2001). Turn taking as a majoraspect ofinteraction is a subconscious part of
normal conversation. Turn takings are used and signaled variously in different cultures
andcreatefeasible communication problems in conversation between people of different cultures
and languages (Abd El Fattah Torky, 2006; Mc Donough& Mackey, 2000).

3.3. Speaking Occurs in Real Time

During conversations, answers are un-predetermined and automatic (Abd El Fattah Torky, 2006;
Foster et al., 2000). The time limitationsimpact the speaker's ability to plan, to form the message,
and to control the language that is used. Speakers tell something and change their mind which is
called a false start. The speaker's statements cannot be as long or as intricate as in
writing.Likewise, speakers sometimes forget things they are going to utter or they forget what
they have already said and then they repeat themselves (Abd El Fattah Torky, 2006; Miller,
2001).This means that the production of speech in real time inflicts pressures and permits
freedoms in terms of making up for these problems. The usage of formulaic expressions,
hesitancetools, self-correction, paraphrasing, and repetition assist speakers become more fluent
and cope with actual time requests ((Abd El Fattah Torky, 2006; Bygate, 1987; Foster et al., 2000;
Hughes,2002).Abd El Fattah Torky (2006) continued that exposing learners to these spoken
features makes easier their oral production and aids them to make up for the difficulties they face
with. This can assists learnersin using language normally and accurately.

4. Stages of Teaching Speaking Skill

According toGoh and Burns (2012), there are seven stages for teaching speaking skill. They are 1)
focus learners’ attention on speaking; 2) provide input and/or guide planning; 3) perform
speaking activities; 4) focus on language/skills/strategies; 5) repeat speaking activities; and 6)
direct learners’ reflection on learning;

4.1. Focus Learners’ Attention on Speaking

This stage has two primary objectives. They are a) to motivate learners to plan for the
development of speaking skill.Learners are given prompts to think about the requests of
speaking and how they can make ready themselves for it and b) to get ready learners to carry out
a particular speaking activity. Learners try to familiarize themselves with the results of the
activity and consider strategies for doing it (Goh & Burns, 2012).

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4.2. Provide Input and Guide Planning

Through speaking skill, learners can have a lot ofapprehension and it is significant that EFL
teachers provide support for the speaking activity and give learners enough time for arranging
what to say and how to say it. The aims of this stage are to teach new language, enable learners to
rearrange their developing linguistic knowledge, activatetheir present linguistic knowledge,and
reuseparticular language items (Goh & Burns, 2012).

4.3. Perform Speaking Activities

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The goal of this stage is to help learners practice speaking through communicative activities.
These activities should persuade learners to express meaning through using linguistic
knowledge, skills, and strategies. That is, this stage motivates learners to develop fluency of
expression without paying attention to accuracy of form (Goh & Burns, 2012).

4.4. Focus on Language, Skills, and Strategies

The goal of this stage is to create opportunities for learners to improve their language
accuracy and increasetheir effective usage of skills and strategies. Teachers draw learners’
attention to the chosen parts of fluency activity they have finished. These parts involve
pronunciation, grammar, text structures, and vocabulary (Goh & Burns, 2012).

4. 5. Repeat Speaking Activities

Learners do the speaking activitiesavailable in Stage 3. The difference between Stage 3 and Stage
5 is that learners have anopportunity to examine and practice the chosen language skills in Stage
4. Thus, they can use this knowledge to improve their performance. Repetitions can be done
through repeating parts of the original activity, repeating the whole activity, changing groups,
and introducing a new activity similar to the one learners have just done (Goh & Burns, 2012).

4.6.Direct Learners’ Thought on Learning

Stage 6 promotes learners to self-regulate their learning by monitoring and evaluating what they
have learned from the previous stages. Thought can be performedseparately, in pairs, or in small
groups. Individual and group thought has a relief effect on learners who are anxious and think
that they are the only ones feeling that way. Learners’ thoughtcan be directed by various kinds of
metacognitive knowledge and can focus on the demands of the speaking activities which they
have, become aware of the strategies that are beneficial to meet the demands of the activity, their
informal evaluation of their abilities, scopes of their performance that indicate improvement, and
plans for making better particularscopes (Goh & Burns, 2012).

5. Strategies for Improving Speaking Skill

According to Bashir, Azeem, and Dogar (2015), in communicative output, learners' primary
objective is to carry out an activity like obtaining information. To do an activity, learners use the
language that teachers haveofferedand they canalso draw on vocabulary, grammar, and
communication strategies that they know. In communicative tasks, the success depends on
learners’ability to achieve the message and accuracy is not very important unless its lack
intervenes with the message.Bashir, Azeem, and Dogar (2015) continued thatdue to the
information gap between the participants, spoken exchanges happenin day-to-day
communication. Communicative output tasks include real information gap. In order to perform
the activity, learners shoulddecrease the information gap. In these tasks, teachers usedifferent
activities from different groups of input and output. Learners can benefit from these activities
because they are stimulating and they can lead tothe effective language

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learning.Competentteachers teach learners the strategies of speaking that are beneficial to
learners toincrease their knowledge of the language and their confidence in employing them.
According to Bashir, Azeem, and Dogar (2015), EFL learners who do not have confidence to
take part in oral interaction listen in silence while others try to participate in oral activities. One of
the good ways tomotivatethese learners is to help them make minimal responses that they can
use in various kinds of exchanges. Such responses arebeneficial to beginners.Minimal responses
can be predictedand conversation participants can use them to show comprehension, agreement,
and hesitation to what the other speakerssay without planning a responseat the same time.
Teachers can help learners develop speaking skill by being aware of the scripts for various
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situations so that they predict what they will hear and what they will need to say in response. By
interactivetasks, teachers can give learners practice in managing the language that different
scripts involve.Bashir, Azeem, and Dogar (2015) emphasized that EFL learners are too timid to
tell anything when they do not comprehendthe other speakers. Teachers can help learners
remove this silence by convincing them that misunderstanding happens in every interaction.
Teachers can give learners strategies to use for checking clarity and understanding.Through this
process, teachers can create a real environment within the classroom and learners can gain
confidence in their skill to do the different communication situations that they face out of their
classes.
Khan (2005)expressed that every teacher has some strategiesfor improvinglearners' speaking
skill. Traditional and modern technologies can be separately used in English language teaching.
Learners learn faster and easier through the use of computer technologies in their classes.
Computer technologies provide new possibilities trends for teachers and learners. Web-based
learning is one of the fastest tools in teaching and learning. Advances in communication
technologies provide opportunities to create well-designed, learner-centered, interactive, effective
learning environments. Therefore, it is possible to develop speaking skillthrough the help of the
mentioned tools. To make effective communication skill,learners should learn to communicate
using computer technologies and environments to support personal and group learning, share
information effectively using suitablecomputer technologies and environments, and
communicate opinions clearly and effectively to various audiences using these technologies.
Due to the significant role of speaking skill, Bailey (2005) and Goh (2007) offered strategies to
improve the development of speaking skill through syllabus design, principles of teaching, kinds
of activities and materials, and speaking assessment. According to Bailey (2005), Nunan (2006),
Patil (2008), Trent (2009), and Zhang (2009), improving speaking confidence with suitable task
designis very useful for the development of EFL/ESL learners’ speaking skill. Noon-ura (2008)
said that repeated listening to English materialslike listening to music, watching movies, listening
to the radio, watching television programs, and using computer technologies are the other
elements that can actually help EFL learners develop their speaking skill.
Songsiri (2007) stated that speaking and listening skills areclosely related to the development of
language learning. Practice and exposure to both listening and speaking tasks arevery useful
means ofimproving speaking confidence.Classroom interaction is a significant strategy to
improve speaking skill. The role of interaction in improving speaking skill comes from teacher-
learner interaction and learner-learner interaction where negotiation of meaning and the
provision of feedback are emphasizing. Classroom interaction includes verbal exchanges between
learners and teachers. Teachers should know that EFL learners should do most of the talk to
activate their speaking since speaking skillneeds practice and exposure. Some individual
activities like speaking on a certain topic for a minute should be assigned to learners in the
beginning speaking stages. Students should be given motivation, encouragement, training,
reassurance, and counseling for removing their timidity and fear of being laughed at by their

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classmates and their teachers. Teachers should be trained not to demotivate theirlearners and to
control the other learners in order to provide a friendly environment in the classroom. EFL
learners should be familiar with grammatical structures, vocabulary, and phonetics that are
stressed by their teachers in the classes. Students should develop the habits of listening to BBC,
CNN and the other programs for improving their speaking skill.

6. Suggestions for Teaching and Learning Speaking Skill

There are some useful suggestions for EFL teachers to teach speaking skill effectively. EFL
teachers should:
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1. provide enough opportunity to EFL learners to speak the language through providing a
rich environment that involves group work andreal materials,
2. help learners take part in speaking tasks,
3. increasetheir learners’ speaking time and observe them,
4. show positive reactions when explain their learners’answer,
5. ask eliciting questions to motivatelearners to speak more,
6. not correct their learners' pronunciation mistakes directly while they are speaking
because direct correction will distract learners from their speech,
7. include speaking tasks in and out of their class activities,
8. move around classes to convince that their learners are on the right track and see whether
they need their help while they are workingindividually or whole group,
9. give vocabulary in advance that their learners need in speaking tasks,
10. identifydifficulties encountered by learners who are not able to express in the target
language and provide more timesto practice the spoken language,
11. place more emphasis on the quality of learners’ books at the very beginning levels,
12. give sufficient time to speaking and phonetic drill of learners,
13. provide a friendly environment for EFL learners to easily participate in speaking
activities,
14. develop bravery and confidence in learners to ask more questions in their classes,
15. give motivation for learners to be able to talk, and
16. encourageEFL learners to listen to CNN and BBC.

7. Conclusion
In this paper, the researchers discussed the issues of speaking, features, stages, strategies of
speaking skill, and finally offered some useful suggestions for improving this important skill of
English language teaching. Learning English language through using new strategies makes EFL
learners willing to learn the language and improve their capability to speak fluently.Teaching
speaking skill is a significant part of English language learning. The ability to communicate in a
language effectivelyleads to the learners’ success in their learning and their life. Thus, EFL
teachers should pay enough attention to the instruction of speaking skill. EFL teachers should
provide a friendly and rich environment for EFL learners to be able to communicate efficiently
and meaningfully. Different speaking tasks should be provided for EFL learnersthat help
themdeveloptheir interactive skills. These tasks helplearners be more active in their learning and
make it more meaningful and enjoyable for them.

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Developing the English Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students. The National

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Center for Educational Research and Development, Ain Shams University, Women’s college,
Curricula and Methods of teaching Department.
Bailey, K. M. (2005). Practical English Language Teaching: Speaking. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Bailey, K., & Savage, L. (Eds.).(1994). New ways in teaching speaking. Alexandria, VA: TESOL.
Bashir, M., Azeem, M., &Dogar, A. H. (2015).Factor Effecting Students’ English Speaking
Skills.British Journal of Arts and Social Sciences, 2(1), 34-50.
Brown, H.D. (1994) Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language.
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Bueno, A., Madrid, D., &McLaren, N. (eds). (2006).TEFL in Secondary Education.Granada: Editorial
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Universidad de Granada.
Burns, A. (1998). Teaching Speaking.Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 18(3), 102-123.
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Bygate, M. (1987).Speaking. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bygate, M. (1998).Theoretical Perspectives on Speaking.Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 18(1),
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Chaney, A.L. (1998). Teaching Oral Communication. In: Grandes K-8. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Cornbleet, S. and Carter, R. (2001).The Language of Speech and Writing. London:Routledge.
Efrizal, D. (2012). Improving Students’ Speaking through Communicative Language Teaching
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International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2(20), 127-134.
Foster, P., Tonkeyn, A., & Wigglesworth, G. (2000). Measuring Spoken Language: A Unit for all
Reasons.Applied Linguistics, 21(3), 354-375.
Goh, C. (2007). Teaching speaking in the language classroom. Singapore: SEAMEO Regional
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Goh, C. C. M., & Burns, A. (2012). Teaching speaking: A holistic approach. New York: Cambridge
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Harmer,J. (2007).The Practice of English Language Teaching. 4th ed. London: Longman.
Hughes, R. (2002). Teaching and Researching Speaking. Warlow: Longman.
Khan, B. H., (2005).Managing e-learning: Design, delivery, implementation, and evaluation. Hershey,
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McDonough, K., & Mackey, A. (2000). Communicative Tasks, Conversational Interaction and
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Miller, L. (2001). A Speaking Lesson.How to Make the Course Book More Interesting.MET, 10(2),
25-29.
Noon-ura, S. (2008).Teaching listening speaking skills to Thai students with low English
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227-240. Retrieved from http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/December_08_zn.php
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English.(Dissertation of Doctor of Education Degree), School of Arts, Education and Human
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Trent, J. (2009). Enhancing oral participation across the curriculum: Some lessons from the EAP
classroom.Asian EFL Journal,11(1), 256-270. Retrieved from http://www.asian-efl-
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THE EFFECT OF CLIL METHOD ON TEACHING
READING COMPREHENSIONTO JUNIOR HIGH
SCHOOL STUDENTS

Nadia Hamidavi1&2, Mansoore Shekaramiz2*, Bahman Gorjian3

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1Department of ELT, Khouzestan Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz,
Iran.
2Department of ELT, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran.
3Department of ELT, Abadan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Abadan, Iran.

*Corresponding author (mansoore.shekaramiz@gmail.com)

Abstract
This study investigated the effect of CLIL (i.e., content and language integrated learning) on
Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension. 60 students of junior high school in the age of 12 to
14 years who attended language institutions were selected non-randomly. They took part in
Oxford Quick Placement Test(OQPT)test to determine their level of proficiency. Based on their
scores in the placement test, the students were divided into two groups: High and low achievers.
Then they took a pre-test of reading comprehension. Depending on their scores in the pretest, the
high level and the low level groups were divided into two subgroups of experimental and
control. The experimental groups of high and low achievers were taught through CLIL and the
control groups of high and low achievers were taught through intensive reading. After ten
sessions of treatment, they took a post-test of reading comprehension. Data were analyzed to
compare the high and low achievers with each other to examine the effectiveness of CLIL
methodthrough Independent Samples t-test. The findings showed a significant difference
between the pre and post-test of high and low achievers. Implications of CLIL method could be
influential for both high and low achievers in reading comprehension courses.

Key words: CLIL, foreign language, EFL, reading skills, high school learners

1. Introduction
Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has been initiated in Europe since 1994.
According to Mehisto (2012),this term was launched during 1994 in conjunction with the
European Commission. Ortiz (2014) stated that it was defined and launched by UNICOM,
University of Jyväskylä and the European Platform for Dutch Education in 1994 .Dissatisfied with
the outcomes of grammar-focused language teaching and inspired by theories about natural
language learning, an alternative method for language teaching was created in the 1960s (Brinton,
Snow &Wesche, 1989). This new method of language teaching tries to further language
development by eliminating the artificial separation between language instruction and subject
matter classes. In other words, a dual-focused educational approach in which an additional
language is used for the learning and teaching of both content and language could be developed
(Mehisto, Marsh &Frigols, 2008).

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According to Solé (1998), reading is a process of interaction between the writer and the reader on
a text to get the meaning. The interaction involves two types of knowledge: a previous one
established by the knowledge of the linguistic nature; and the schematic one, referring to partial
knowledge, structured, that we have in the memory about issues, situations, typical events of our
culture. Thus, the meaning is not in the text, which is barely the vehicle of communication
between author and reader, but it is suggested by the author and built by the reader. Reading is
searching for a meaning, and the reader should have a purpose to find the meaning in the text.
You read with a purpose when it has a meaning. The interpretation that the readers made of the
text depends mainly on the object that the reading has.
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It is possible that two or more readers, motivated by different goals or by a different layout or
different information extract from the same text. It can be stated that reading is an experience in
which the whole personality of the reader gets into interaction with the text because only the
reader develops and extracts the significant potential of it. According to Zurek (2012), to teach
language skills especially reading more effectively, CLIL are one of the best methods that has
been taught in Europe for many years. CLIL stands for "Content Language Integrated Learning"
and its other names are "content- based learning" and "cross- curricular content" (Aldaz, 2013). It
is a method that integrates both Content Learning and Language Learning and is the
advancement of CLT (communicative language teaching). According to Coyle, Hood and Marsh
(2010), CLIL is a dual- focused educational approach in which additional language is used for the
learning and teaching of both content and language. In CLIL a foreign language is used as a
channel in the learning of a subject in which both language and subject have an interaction
(Marsh, 2002).
The main objective of this study is to analyze the impact on learners’ reading skills involved in a
CLIL project and find out if there is a significant advantage over those students at the same grade
who are not involved in a CLIL program. Therefore, I formulated the following question: RQ. Do
the students who are taught reading comprehension through CLIL, learn and perform better than
those who are taught through intensive reading?

2. Literature Review
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is a new pedagogical model for second
language education, developed in Europe in the mid-1990s. To refer to this kind of teaching, the
acronym CLIL (content and language integrated learning) has been coined to function as an
umbrella term for the numerous expressions used in different countries and educational settings
(Dalton-Puffer & Smit, 2007). The acronym itself was defined by David Marsh in 1994 and
explained as follows: “CLIL refers to situations where subjects, or parts of subjects, are taught
through a foreign language with dual-focused aims, namely the learning of content and the
simultaneous learning of a foreign language” (Marsh, 2002). This means that, in the teaching and
learning process, there are two objectives, one linked to learning the particular subject matter
(such as science, history or geography), and the other related to the foreign language, which
becomes the means for learning content. ‘‘achieving this two fold aim calls for the development
of a special approach to teaching in that the non-language subject is not taught in a foreign
language but with and through a foreign language.
Even though the term "CLIL" was coined in 1994, the practice of it has been around for a long
time with its roots in immersion education from the 1970s and 1980s. Coyle (2007, 2010) points
out CLIL are not a form of language education or subject education; it is an innovative fusion of
both. CLIL is an educational approach which responds to the contextual needs. CLIL in many
contexts is considered to be a solution to the limited amount of hours of the foreign language
instruction in the curriculum. Integrating content and language increases the number of contact

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hours with the language and provides more exposure to the foreign language which is one of the
necessary catalysts for Language acquisition to occur (Merikivi&Päivi, 2014).
Coyle (1999) developed the 4Cs model to support CLIL pedagogy and in 2006 he mentioned that
an effective CLIL lesson combines elements of content (subject matter), communication
(language) , cognition (thinking) and culture (awareness of self and ‘otherness’). Content refers to
the progression in knowledge, skills and understanding that students do related to specific
elements of a defined curriculum. Communication is about using language to learn while
learning to use the language. Cognition refers to thinking skills which link concept formation
(abstract and concrete), understanding and language. Finally, culture refers to the exposure to
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alternative perspectives and shared understandings, which deepen awareness of others and self.
Coyle (2006) considered that ‘for CLIL to be effective all 4Cs must be carefully considered in the
planning and conceptualization stages of the teaching as well as the monitoring and evaluation of
the learning.
Appropriate teaching and learning strategies had not been agreed upon, but were developed by
trial and error. Instructors began by focusing on helping learners to understand the L2 (French)
and to develop oral communication skills. A more balanced approach that included all four
language skills (i.e. listening, speaking, reading and writing) was introduced once the students’
aural and oral skills had developed sufficiently to allow for basic communication. In general, the
program was highly successful, which is why the use of immersion teaching began to spread
thorough Canada during the 1970s and the 1980s, and involved other languages (e.g. English for
French-speaking children). Furthermore, studies on students in Canadian French immersion
programs suggested that they are highly motivated and also have a very positive attitude
towards French. Pupils who only have regular instruction in French often complain about having
too many French lessons. Most of the immersion pupils, on the other hand, say that they like
being taught through French and that they want to continue to learn French after school
(Cummins & Swain, 1996).
Swain and Lapkin (1995) encouraged immersion pupils who were working in pairs to verbalize
their thoughts while completing writing and editing tasks. An analysis of the pupils’ talk showed
that they were engaged in several reasoning processes such as judging the grammaticality of their
production, trying to apply rules, searching for alternatives and assessing these. Based on this
and similar studies Swain (1995) concluded that comprehensible output has three important
cognitive functions to fulfill, which apparently could not be realized in the input- focused
immersion classrooms. These functions are:
- Noticing
- Hypothesis testing
- Conscious reflection on language structure
Following Krashen's (1985) ideas, CLIL students seem to be less inhibited when it comes to using
the foreign language. Dalton-Puffer (2008), in her study on discourse in Austrian CLIL
classrooms, could observe that pupils do not seem embarrassed if they lack vocabulary
knowledge. Rather, they acknowledge their lexical gaps and initiate repair. This is very different
from behavior which can be observed in regular language lessons. Dalton – Puffer found out that
under CLIL conditions certain aspects of language competence were developed more than others.
Areas affected by CLIL were: receptive skills, vocabulary, morphology, creativity, risk-taking,
fluency, quantity and Emotive/affective outcomes. Areas that were not affected by CLIL were:
Syntax, Writing, Informal/non-technical language, Pronunciation, and Pragmatics (Munoz, 2014).
Gefall’s (2009) studies on CLIL showed that the students’ lack of grammatical knowledge was
related to restrictions in input and limited opportunities for interaction and producing output in
CLIL classrooms. In other words, certain grammatical structures such as conditional sentences

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and past tense were absent in classroom instruction and therefore could not be acquired.
Moreover, Swain (1995) in her output hypothesis argued about the problems of CLIL students in
developing a high grammatical competence in the target language. Since processes which seem to
be encouraged most in comprehensible reflection, are underused in input-focused CLIL
classrooms. Interpreting these results by applying constructivist’s concepts revealed that
opportunities for constructing grammatical knowledge in the target language are limited in the
CLIL classroom. In addition, meaning-focused CLIL classrooms do not seem to cause enough
disequilibrium in the pupils when it comes to developing grammar competence in the foreign
language.
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To teach subjects like history, physics, and chemistry, Divljan (2012) observed that female
students showed more progress in learning languages while male students were more successful
at learning natural sciences. After teaching through CLIL male students became more fluent in
the target language and female students showed more progress in physics and chemistry.
Therefore based on his studies and researches, Divljan concluded that using various instructional
approaches that can integrate content- and language-learning objectives and applying whole
language strategies in a foreign language classroom can definitely facilitate the learning and
teaching processes.

3. Method
3.1. Participants
To carry out the study, the researcher selected a sample of80 junior high school pupils within an
age range between 12 and 14. This age level was selected since in this age learners are very
enthusiastic to learn experience and discover to satisfy their curiosity. All of them were female.
Their information about English was what they had learned at school or language institutions.
The learners took OQPT to determine their level of proficiency. Thus, 60 learners who took 0 to 36
out of 60 wereselected asthe participants of the study. The learners who got the band score of 0 to
18 were assigned as elementary (i.e., henceforth, low achievers) and the learners who got 19 to 36
were assigned as the pre-intermediate level (i.e., henceforth, high achievers). Then each group
was divided non-randomly in two sub-group of experimental and control groups, each included
15 participants. The experimental groups were taught through CLIL method and the control
groups received traditional reading comprehension courses.

3.2. Instrumentation
To accomplish the objective of the present study, the following instruments were employed:
A placement test: The placement test was OQPT which was used based on which students were
homogenized. The students who took scores from 0 to 36 out of 60 were classified into two band
scores of elementary and pre-intermediate level of language proficiency. Since OQPT is a
standard test, its reliability and validity were reported in some articles.
A pretest was designed based on the participants' text book “Foresman’s Science Book Series”
(Foresman, 2006) for the high achievers and “Select Readings: Elementary (Lee, 2011) for low
achievers in the experimental and control groups. The pre-tests were reading based and they
included 50 multiple-choice items designed based on 12 reading passages in the text-books. The
test was taken to evaluate student’s ability in revealing their knowledge and enabling the teacher
to know the students' reading comprehension scores in the beginning of the course. The
reliability of the test was calculated based on KR-21 method as (r=.864).
A post-tests for high and low achievers included 50 multiple-choice items and they were as the
same as the pre-test with some modification in format in order to avoid the participants'
reminding. They were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the CLIL method on learners’ reading

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improvement in both control and experimental groups at the end of the treatment.Its reliability
was met through a pilot test regarding the KR-21 formula as (r=.749).

3.3. Materials
The materials included reading passages selected from “Foresman’s Science Book Series”
(Foresman, 2006)for high achievers and “Select Readings: Elementary (Lee, 2011) for low achievers.
For the low achievers in the control and experimental groups, reading passages were selected
from “Select Readings: Elementary". For the high achievers in the control and experimental groups,
the text book "Foresman’s Science Book Series" were used based on the students' level.
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3.4 Procedure
To accomplish the purpose of the study and to put CLIL method into practice four groups each
consists of 15 students were selected. The placement test was Oxford Quick Placement Test
(OQPT) which was used based on which students were homogenized. The students who took 36
out of 55 are classified into high achievers and those who took less than 35 are placed into the low
achievers.
The pre-test was extracted from “ESL Photocopiable Activities” (pre-intermediate for high levels
and beginner & elementary for low levels) Cambridge University Press were used to enable the
teacher to determine the appropriate texts for each group. Students who took above 70 out of 100
were placed in the control groups and those who got less than 30 were placed in the experimental
groups. Then both groups were divided into four subgroups (i.e., high and low achievers in the
control group and high and low achievers in the experimental group. Both control groups were
taught through intensive reading courses. The text book was “Select Readings: Elementary”. The
experimental groups are taught through CLIL and the selected texts were chosen from
"Foresman'sBook Series". In each class reading was taught three times a week and each session
lasted one hour. The classes were held 12 sessions: the first session was devoted to pre-test, 10
sessions were devoted to treatment, and the last session was devoted to post- test. Reading texts
should be topic-based to make students expose to abundant comprehensible input of authentic
language to facilitate language acquisition and language learning. After the treatment, the
modified pre-test was used as a post-test which focused on the same content but different form to
avoid the participants' reminding was designed as a reading comprehension exam.

3.5 Data Analysis

In order to determine whether CLIL program has any effect on learners’ reading improvement,
the pre-test and post-test scores were analyzed using Independent Samples t-test through SPSS
version 17.

4. Results
Focusing on the effect of CLIL (content and Language integrated Learning) on the improvement
of learners’ reading comprehension, the statistical calculations and results are presented and then
the result of analysis of the null hypothesis will be discussed. Therefore, the results to reject or
confirm the research hypotheses will be offered in the following section.
At the beginning of the study two groups were given a pre-test. After the pre-test, each level was
divided into two groups as strong group and weak group. After a ten- session treatment in which
strong groups were taught through intensive reading, a post test was taken and the obtained
results of groups in high levels were compared through Independent Samplest-test. The
descriptive statistics of pre-test and post-test in high levels are presented in Table1.

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Table 1.Descriptive Statistics (High achievers)

Groups N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

Control 15 40.4667 3.39888 .87759

Pre-test
Experimental 15 43.8000 15.31666 3.95474
Control 15 65.6000 5.47462 1.41354
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Post-test
Experimental 15 87.0667 15.13967 3.90905

Table 1shows that the average means for every two groups was near and the difference between
two groups was not significant. To find out whether the difference among the performances of
the two groups was statistically significant, an independent sample t-test was applied. Table2
displays the results of the statistical operations.
Table 2. Independent Samples t-Test(High achievers)

Levene's
Test for
t-test for Equality of Means
Equality of
Variances
95%
Confidence
Interval of the
Difference

Experimental Sig.(2- Mean Std. Error

F Sig. t df Lower Upper
vs. Control tailed) Difference Difference

Equal
variances 50.187 .000 -.823 28 .418 -3.333 4.0505 -11.631 4.964
assumed
Pre-test
Equal
variances not -.823 15.37 .423 -3.333 4.050 -11.949 5.282
assumed
Equal
variances .699 .410 -5.164 28 .000 -21.466 4.156 -29.981 -12.951
assumed
Post-test
Equal
variances not -5.164 17.60 .000 -21.466 4.156 -30.213 -12.719
assumed

Table 2 shows that the observed t (0.823) is less than the critical t (1.701) with df=28. Thus, the
difference between the groups is not significant in the pre-test (p< 0.05). Since the observed t
(5.164) is greater than the critical t (1.701) with df=28, the difference between the groups is
significant in the post-test (p< 0.05). After a ten- session treatment in which weak groups were
taught through CLIL, a post test was taken and the obtained results of groups in low levels were

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compared through Independent Samples t-test. The descriptive statistics of pre-test and post-test
in low levels are presented in Table 3.

Table 3. Descriptive Statistics (Low achievers)

Groups N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

Pre-test Control 15 39.4667 10.76945 2.78066
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Experimental 15 44.8000 11.29602 2.91662

Post-test Control 15 51.3333 3.39467 .87650

Experimental 15 73.4667 13.03767 3.36631

Table 3indicates that the average means for every two groups is near and the difference between
two groups is not significant. To find out whether the difference among the performances of the
two groups was statistically significant, an Independent Samplest-test was applied. Table 4
displays the results of the statistical operations.
Table 4. Independent Samples t-test (Pre-test and Post-test)
Levene's
Test for
t-test for Equality of Means
Equality of
Variances
95%
Confidence
Interval of the
Difference

Sig. (2- Mean Std. Error

F Sig. t df Lower Upper
tailed) Difference Difference

Equal variances
.196 .661 -1.323 28 .196 -5.333 4.029 -13.58 2.92
assumed

Equal variances not

-1.323 27.93 .196 -5.333 4.029 -13.58 2.92
assumed

Equal variances
1.773 .194 -6.363 28 .000 -22.133 3.478 -29.25 -15.00
assumed

Equal variances not

-6.363 15.89 .000 -22.133 3.478 -29.51 -14.75
assumed
Table 4 shows the observed t (1.323) is less than the critical t (1.701) with df=28. Thus the
difference between the groups is not significant in the pre-test. Since the observed t (6.363) is
greater than the critical t (2.00) with df=28, the difference between the groups is significant in the
post-test.

5. Discussion
This section elaborates on the results and findings to answer the research question raised earlier
in the study will be referred to as follows:Do the students who are taught reading comprehension

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through CLIL, learn and perform better than those who are taught through intensive reading
courses?
Results of the study showed that the two experimental groups of high and low achievers could
outperform their counterparts. However, high achievers performed better than the low achievers
in the post-test of the experimental group. Thus CLIL method could enhance the learners' reading
comprehension among both high and low achievers. The results of the present study are in line
with some scholars (e.g.,Lightbown&Spada, 2006; Naves, 2010;Saville, 2006) who state that CLIL
offers the required conditions for language acquisition to occur, it enables learners to use another
language naturally, in such a way that they soon forget about the language and only focus on the
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learning topic. However, some researchers like stated that CLIL does not guarantee the success in
language acquisition unless several important aspects are fulfilled. They identified and described
three key aspects of second language that are needed for effective language learning in CLIL
contexts: exposure to the input, processing the input, and output.
After analyzing the data, as it is demonstrated in Tables 1 and 3, the results showed that there
was not a significant difference among students’ performance in the pre-test. However, there was
a significant difference among the performance of the control and experimental groups in the
post-test. Therefore, it could be observed that students who are taught reading through CLIL got
better scores than the control group.
The main reason that the learners who were involved in a CLIL program achieved better results
in terms of reading comprehension is that students who dealt with CLIL are much more exposed
to reading texts because CLIL lessons are mostly based on reading resources. This agrees with
Wolff (2007) who notes that this method gives much input to the learners in a comprehensive
way. The underlying rationale is that input and particularly, comprehensible input has a lot of
importance in CLIL sessions, specially oral and written input (Dalton-Puffer, 2008). Another
reason is that CLIL lessons promote cognition and thinking processes, which means that CLIL
pupils can link better concept formation, understanding and language which are in line with
Coyle(2006).
The results of the study are also in line withPeeck (1993) who states the reasons that pictures and
images facilitate learning, include increasing motivation, focusing attention, depth of processing,
clarification of text content, dual-coding theory, distinctive encoding, decreasing
interference/decay, processing support for the type of information typically extracted from a
specific type of text. Therefore, based on his theory, CLIL which teaches reading through
enriched texts including pictures, make reading texts more concrete and tangible for students,
facilitates acquiring reading skill and accelerates learning a new subject.Therefore, teaching
reading through images and pictures can: (1) facilitate, accelerate and strengthen the perception,
comprehension and long retention of vocabularies and concepts of the texts, (2) facilitate reciting,
paraphrasing and answering the questions, (3) activate learners’ background knowledge, and (4)
enhance students’ motivation and interest.Moreover, following the findings of this study, CLIL is
an innovative approach that deeply and positively influences the learning process regarding
pedagogical aspect, i.e. the didactics of language teaching,cognitive aspects, i.e. the way the
learner digests the learned material, and met-cognitive aspects, i.e. the way the learners learn
how to thinkcritically on the content.
On the other hand, the findings of this study are against Swain (1995) since his research on
immersion pupils found out about the problems of grammatical development and analyzed
students’ learning environment, i.e. their CLIL lessons. He identified several reasons for the
limited success of them: (1) The restricted input and output (Due to these restrictions certain
cognitive processes are not possible which seem to be necessary in order to develop native-like
grammar levels in the target language), (2) The limitation of acquisition opportunity, (3) The lack

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of certain grammatical structures in classroom discourse such as conditional and Past tenses, etc.,
and (4)limited output which leads to little output and lack of interaction could be observed in the
classroom, (5) since a few of grammatical errors which occurred in the students’ output were
corrected, the learners were not pushed to more accurate language use. Therefore, Swain
concluded that comprehension-based classrooms do not pose ideal environments for language
learning, despite providing much comprehensible input and conditions which allow for a low
affective filter, since the teachers focused solely on meaning. Furthermore, the findings of this
study are against.
6. Conclusion
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The study began with the assumption that students who are taught reading comprehension
through CLIL, learn and perform better than those who are taught through intensive reading.
The researcher had two classes each includes 30 students (i.e., high and low achievers). After
taking the pre-test each groupwas divided into two groups. Therefore, there were four sub
groups: two groups of high and two low achievers. Two groups of low achievers were considered
as experimental groups and two groups of high achievers were considered as the control groups.
After treatment and the post- test, the improvement of two high achievers in the experimental
group was significant. The control groups in the high and low achievers showed less
improvement in the post-test.It is suggested to implement the method other age levels.The last
reason is that the researcher implemented the CLIL method among pre- intermediate learners. It
is suggested to implement the method among the learners with upper and lower levels(Mearns,
2012). Lack of appropriate text booksmatched with CLIL method was another problem.

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Coyle, D. (2006). Developing CLIL: From theory to practice. Barcelona:APAC Monograph 6.
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Coyle, D. (2007). Content and language integrated learning: Towards a Connected Research
Agenda for CLIL Pedagogies.International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism,10(5), 543-
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Coyle, D (2010). Content and language integrated learning. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.
Coyle, D., Hood, P., &Marsh, D. (2010).CLIL Content and language integrated learning. United
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Cummins, J,&Swain, M. (1996).Bilingualism in education: Aspects of theory research and practice.
London: Longman
Dalton–Puffer, C. (2008). Outcomes and processes in content and language integrated learning
(CLIL): current research from Europe. Retrieved 12, June, 2016 from
http://www.univie.ac.at/Anglistik/Dalton /SEW07/CLIL
Dalton-Puffer, C. & Smit, U. (eds.), (2007). Empirical perspectives on CLIL Classroom discourse.
Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
Divljan, S. (2012).Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) in teaching language to young
learners.Faculty of Education in Jagodina.University of Kragujevac.
Foresman, S. (2006).Scot Foresman science book series. Pearson Education, Inc. Printed in the United
States of America.
Gefall, C. (2009). Empirical and theoretical perspectives on language learning in CLIL: Delineating
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Geschichte, Sozialkunde und PolitischeBildungBetreuerin: Ao. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Christiane Dalton-
Puffer
Krashen, S. (1985).The Input hypothesis: Issues and implications. New York: Longman.
Lightbown, P., &Spada, N. M. (2006).How languages are learned (3rd ed.). Oxford, England: Oxford
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Marsh, D. (2002).The relevance and potential of content and language integrated learning
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Mearns, T. L. (2012). Using CLIL to enhance pupils’ experience of learning and raise attainment in
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Mehisto, P., Marsh, D., &Frigols, M. (2008). Uncovering CLIL: Content and language integrated
learning in bilingual and multilingual education. Oxford: Macmillan.
Merikivi, R., &Päivi, P. (2014).Vocabulary in CLIL and in mainstream education.Journal of
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Munoz, C. (2014). The Association between aptitude components and language skills in young
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Munoz, C. & Naves, T. (2007).Windows on CLIL in Spain. The Hague, European Centre for Modern
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Naves, T. (2010). Does content and language integrated learning and teaching have a future in
our schools? Barcelona: APAC. Retrieved July 15, 2016 from
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USING GRAMMAR TECHNIQUESINTEACHING

WH-QUESTIONS TO HIGH SCOOL STUDENTS

Reza Prorkar1, Bahman Gorjian2*

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1Department of English, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

2Associate Professor, Department of ELT, Abadan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Abadan, Iran
*Corresponding author (bahgorji@yahoo.com)

Abstract
The current study investigated the impact of focus on form and focus on meaning on the learning
of Wh-questions among Iranian senior high schools in a high school in Ahvaz. The participants
were 60 out of 100 students who were studying English as a foreign language (EFL). They were at
thefirst grade of senior high school in Ahvaz, Iran. Their age was ranging from 15 to 17. In order
to have homogeneous groups, the learners were given a pre-test of Wh-questions to determine
their proficiency level. The teacher-made pre-test was designed based on the book one of senior
high school. Then the participants were assigned into two equalgroups. The experimental group
received instruction on meaning but the control group focused on forms including the uses of
structural exercises. Both groups received 12 sessions of treatment, each 60 minutes with the
same materials; and then they took a post-test at the end of the course. Data were analyzed
through Independent and Paired Samples t-test. Results indicated that the experimental group
scored better than the control one (p<0.05). Implications of the study for English teachers suggest
that the learners, especially in EFL contexts should focus on form and meaning simultaneously to
provide their learners with effective instruction.

Key Words:Focus on structure, focus on meaning, teaching grammar

1. Introduction
Grammar is important because the good English language knowledge is due to know about
language. It is the grammar that gives us names of word types and word groups and enables us
to form sentences not only in English but also in any language (Ur, 1988). The language users can
put sentences together even as children so it looks like learning grammar naturally. According to
Milcic (2014), if the learners want to talk about semantic rules, word groups, rules that they must
follow in order to form a sentence, theyalso need excellent grammar knowledge.According to
Milcic, grammatical mistakes in a text can easily draw readers’ attention away from the content of
the writing forcing them to think about grammar in a sentence. Proper grammar allows the
reader to relax and focus only on the subject presented in text. He adds that when there is error, it
makes the reader focus on your grammar instead of what you are trying to communicate.
Inevitably, this will make people think about how well educated the writers can be if they are
making mistakes like that. According to Long and Robinson (1998), focus on form can refer to the

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learners' linguistic knowledge for second language acquisition. The other approach, focus on
forms in second language learning is to deal with parts of speech and words in the context. Thus
the learners focus on meaning rather than on the rules of language. According to (Long, 1991),
focus on forms is meant to be a middle path that allows language learners to read and learn at
their own pace, stopping to shift focus onto rules as appropriate.
Focus on form (FonF) means that the language learners are aware of the grammatical
structures rather than the contextual meaning of the text. The readers know the form of language
features that they are already able to use communicatively. Focus on form is an instructional
way which draws learners’ attention to linguistic forms within communicative contexts. It
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requires a prerequisite engagement in meaning before achieving successful learning of linguistic

forms. In addition, it often consists of an occasional shift of attention to linguistic code features by
the teacher and/or one or more students triggered by perceived problems with comprehension or
production (Long & Robinson, 1998).
Several authors (e.g., Cowan, 2008 ) claims that grammar is defined as a set of rules
according to which words are changed and combined together in a sentence so that a sentence
is formed both correctly and meaningfully. It is the grammar which gives us names of word types
and word groups and enables us to form sentences not only in English but also in any other
languages. According to Milcic (2014), grammatical mistakes in a text can easily draw readers’
attention away from the content of the writing forcing them to think about grammar in a
sentence. He also adds that proper grammar allows the reader to relax and focus only on the
subject presented in text. When there is error, it makes the reader focus on your grammar instead
of what you are trying to communicate (Rahimpour&Salimi, 2010).
Focus on structure refers to a method of teaching language typically used for second language
acquisition that is meant to be a balance between more extreme approaches. One of the most
common methods for teaching language can be referred to as focus on structure, in which an
educator teaches parts of speech and words devoid of context. The other extreme from this is an
environment in which there is only context and learners focus on meaning rather than on the
rules of language. Focus on form is meant to be a middle path that allows language learners to
read and learn at their own pace, stopping to shift focus on rules as appropriate (Long &
Robinson, 1998).
Focus on form has been noticed as an argument second language (L2) learning over the past two
decades. Mastering grammatical structures in L2 can be a demanding issue. The language
learners face difficulties when the try to learn grammatical structures as a challenging task in the
classroom.Thus the language learners need further instruction on how to write accurate sentences
in a meaningful context (Farahani&Sarkhosh, 2012).Furthermore, the linguistic structures need to
be used in meaningful context. The learners also need to know the complex nature of L2
pragmatic knowledge whichmay make them new challenges.Several studies (e.g, Ellis, 2009)
suggest that explicit instruction promotes L2 grammatical development. For instance, this
instruction can be implementedthrough Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) as focus on form.
Focus-on-form should be integrated into communicative curricula and that as each student
has a point of readiness for focus-on-form and every form may be ideally suited to different
degrees and kinds of focus-on-form, teachers should be always aware of learners' interferencesto
develop useful grammar instructional tasks. That is, teachers should be careful about students’
linguistic development and timing of giving them task. Farrokhi, Rahimpour and Papi (2011)
suggest the importance of the combinations of explicit and implicit focus on form and also
possibility of crossover from focus-on-form to focus-on-forms. Consequently, selection of forms
and timing to focus on them will be important in accordance with learners’ linguistic
development of L2.

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Focus on form is a broad concept that was a drastic change and it is better to say it was a
revolution from focus on forms. However, several Iranian teachers and learners may have been
deprived of this change and its contributions. Grammar is a crucial part of language teaching and
it plays an important role in language. In order to speak accurately, a person needs to know
grammar (Pour Hosseini & Ahmadi, 2011). Teaching grammar by formal instruction can be so
easy for teachers, if they feel secure and even the students have feeling of security but it was
proved that it is not so much effective (Long, 1991).

The purpose behind the current document was examining the impact of focus on form and
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focus on meaning on grammar improvement of Iranian EFL learners in general and Wh-
questions in particular. Because the students have difficulty how to make question with Wh-
questions this study investigates if the learners know the meaning of Wh-questions and their
form they can cope with this problem. As some classes have been observed, not only is the focus
of teachers on vocabulary but also they teach grammar traditionally (Khatib&Bagherkazemi,
2011). This study aims to investigate the answer to the following research question:
Does focus on meaning or form affect teaching Wh-questions to Iranian senior high school EFL
learners?

2. Literature Review
Over the past few decades, the focus of classroom tasks has changed through the use of class
interactions in a communicative manner rather than focusing on the structural patters (Brown,
2000). According to Long (1991) Focus on Forms (FonFs) is “overtly draws students’ attentionto
linguistic elements as they arise incidentally in lessons whose overriding focus is on meaning
or communication” (Long, 1991, pp. 45-46). The key element is that the instructionfocuses on
meaning but if the learners need structural awareness, the teachers may give necessary structural
instruction to clarify the meaning. In other words, the linguistic device is needed for
comprehension of meaning. FonF is used whenthe L2 learners' problems can make a breakdown
in communication. Theseproblematic areas in linguistics may come into instructional focus to
help learners monitor their own utterances. In this case, focus on form is run when
thelearners'communicative competence must be enriched by clarified structural input (Ellis,
2009).
The role of grammar instruction in language instruction has been dealt with by many
scholars. For instance, Richards and Renandya (2002) mentioned, "Grammar teaching has
regained its rightful place in the language curriculum. People now agree that grammar is too
important to be ignored and that without a good knowledge of grammar, learners’ language
development will be severely constrained” (p. 145). Scholars who belong to different schools
noticegrammar as the backbone of language knowledge and believe that teaching grammar as a
controversial issue which still remains unresolved and it makes the language teaching
practitioners to consider teaching grammar as the main issue in second language (L2) instruction
(Ellis, 2005).
Long (1991) conceptualized FonF as a type of instruction which mainly focuses on meaning or
communication with the learners’ attention being briefly drawn to linguistic elements only as
they arise incidentally. Ellis (2001) defines it as "any planned or incidental instructional activity
that is intended to induce language learners to pay attention to linguistic form". Although the
majority of focus on form (FFI) studies deal with the domain of grammar, the term form in FFI
actually refers to the formal issues of language such as syntax, morphology, semantic and
morphology. Ellis (2001) extends the meaning of FonFto include not only phonological, lexical,
and grammatical rules but also to pragmatics and discourse. FonFinstruction intends to argue

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that when students work on their language input, they enhance their language learning
(Loewen,2003, 2005).
Ellis (2001) classified FonFinto planned and incidental focus on form. In the former, pre-
selected linguistic items are the goal during a meaning-focused activity. They focus on the
formsthat can be realized either through input or output (Ellis, 2001). The latter occurs
spontaneously, without prior intention throughout meaning-focused drills or linguistic items.
Several distinctions have been proposedconcerned with focus on form instruction. Ellis realized
the difference between “planned” versus “incidental” focus on form. In the first, the teacher
decides on linguistic features that will be targeted within the meaning-focused settings in the
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lessons. In contrast, in the second, there is not any preparation during the meaning-focused
activities.
The syllabus designers have done the same strategy and deign their text books in a
communicative manner. To this end, the teachers may need to deal with interactive classroom
tasks while they have a look on the accuracy as well. Thus approaches towards a focus on
meaning and language use have become important.The primary concern of language teaching is
to develop learners’ ability to use the second language meaningfully in real life in a
communicative and interactive conversation. For language educators (e.g., Ellis, 2003), the
language teachers need to design tasks for enabling the learners to learn a language by using and
experiencing how they can use in communication.
Panova and Lyster (2002) examined the connection between teachers’ incidental feedback on
form which is called corrective feedback and learners’ repair of errors in communicative
situations. English as foreign language classrooms for adults may need more attention since they
are not able to participate in informal social setting to receive incidental feedback. Corrective
feedback is needed to set the class in an interactive manner. Corrective feedback is an immediate
learners or teachers' response to the grammatical mistakes (Lyster&Ranta, 1997). Therefore,
grammatical issues could be explicitly or implicitly taught in the classrooms.

3. Methodology
3.1. Participants
The research sample included 60 students, with the age ranging from 15 to 17, out of 100 students
from among four classes of the first grade of senior high school students in Ahvaz, Iran. Their
mother tongue was Persian. The participants were selected through non-random convenience
sampling method. Then they took part in a Wh-question pre-test which was used as a
homogeneity test. The learners whose scores were one standard deviation (SD) above and one SD
below the mean were chosen as the participants of the study. They were randomly (i.e.,
systematic random sampling method) divided into two equal groups, one experimental (i.e.,
focus on meaning) and one control (i.e., focus on form). The experimental group received focus
on meaning while the control group received the focus on form in learning Wh-questions.

3.2. Instrumentation
In order to accomplish the objective of the present study, the following instruments were
employed:
1. Pre-test: A pre-test which contained the actual test items was administered i.e., based on the
classroom materials to the participants before treatment in order to determine how well the
participants knew the structures of Wh-questions before the treatment. This test was also used as
the homogeneity test to determine the participants' level of Wh-question proficiency. The
participants were asked to answer 25 multiple-choice Wh-questions selected from the course
passages in 30 minutes. The reliability value of the test was met through a pilot study on eight

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students at the same level before to meet the reliability index. Its reliability was calculated
through KR-21 formula as (r= 0.728).
2. Post-test: Following the treatment, 12 weeks later after the end of the course, the instructor
gave the post-test which included the items of the pre-test with modified format to avoid
learners' reminding the items. All characteristics of the post-test were the same as those of the
pre-test in terms of time and the number of items. The only difference of this test to the pre-test
was that the order of questions and alternatives were changed. The post-test wasgiven to
evaluate the learners' activities under the supervision of the instructor. The reliability value of the
test was calculated through a pilot study and its reliability was calculated through KR-21 formula
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as (r=0.903).

3.3. Materials
After dividing the participants into two equal groups of 30 in the control and experimental
groups, the treatment began. Grammar points based on senior high school books (book 1) were
taught to the learners throughout the term including grammatical points. They were taught to the
learners by resorting to focus on form and focus on meaning strategies. They consisted of many
exercises which were taught during 12 sessions in one semester. The main content of these
exercises was learning grammar points specially Wh-questions. Similar to the pre-test, the final
post- test included 25 questions and it was conducted at the end of the treatment.The time of
exam was 30 minutes.

3.4. Procedure
At first, a teacher-made pre-test was given to focus on Wh-questions knowledge of the learners at
the beginning of the study. In the next step, learners were divided into two different equal groups
as the experimental and control groups receiving different instructions: the experimental group
experienced focus on meaning instruction and the control group on the formal structures. Both
groups received the same materials, time allocation and teachers.
In focus on form group being involved in grammatical tasks, the teacher introduced the topic
by asking Wh-questions about the text in order to awaken their background knowledge. During
reading the texts, the teacher explained the comments of the passages.The control group received
form-focused tasks and the experimental group received tasks on the meaning of grammatical
structures. They were asked to compare and analyze the different versions they produced. In the
second group, there was no focus on meaning trend the teacher taught Wh questions just by
explanation, say, in the Grammar Translation Method. Upon the completion of the exercises,
learners received communicative, pair/group discussion tasks.
The focus on form and focus on meaning treatment were taught to experimental group whereas
the control group was taught in the normal traditional way without resorting to the intended
treatment. Put another way, experimental group was treated by focus on form strategy. During
the 12 sessions of the treatment, they experienced learning Wh-questions in particular and
grammar in general. In simple terms, the fundamental purpose behind the current document was
to examine the impact of focus on form and meaning on grammar improvement of Iranian EFL
learners in general and Wh-questions in particular. Finally, a teacher-made grammar post-test
was given to the learners. It was a modified pre-test which redesigned to avoid the learners;
reminding. In order to state the reliability of this test, the pilot study was utilized on a group of
eight high school students who were not the members of the sample.

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3.5. Data Analysis
In order to determine whether the focus on form or focus on meaning did have any effect on Wh-
question learning,the collected data were analyzed through using different statistical procedures.
Descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviations were estimated to describe and
summarize the data.The statistical analysis of Paired and Independent Samples t-test on the two
groups’ pre-test and post-test scores indicated that the difference among the means of two
groups.

4. Results
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The results of descriptive statistics are the pre and post-tests are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Descriptive Statistics (Pre and Post-tests)

Groups N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation

Experimental-Pre-test 30 3.00 19.00 11.9667 4.61992

Control-Pre-test 30 2.00 19.00 12.1667 5.33100

Experimental-Post-test 30 1.00 20.00 15.8000 5.47974

Control-Post-test 30 4.00 17.00 12.7667 2.58221

Table 1 shows the collection of pre and post-test scores in the experimental and control
groups. These means may provide a whole picture of the data. Thus the descriptive statistics of
each comparison is presented in Table 2.
Table 2. Descriptive Statistics (Pre-test)
Groups N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Experimental 30 11.9667 4.61992 .84348
Control 30 12.1667 5.33100 .97330

Table 2 shows the obtained means and standard deviations of the experimental and control
groups' pre-test. The descriptive statistics are calculated inIndependent Samples t-test to discover
any significant difference which is presented in Table 3.

Table 3.Independent Samples t-test (Pre-test)

Levene's t-test for Equality of Means

Test for
Equality of
Variances
95%
Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
F Sig. t df Sig. Mean Std. Error Lower Upper
(2- Difference Difference
tailed)

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Equal variances .960 .331 - 58 .877 -.200 1.28 -2.77 2.37
assumed .155
Equal variances - 56.8 .877 -.200 1.28 -2.77 2.37
not assumed .155

Table 3 shows that the observed t (.155) is less than the critical t (1.671) with df=58. Thus the
difference between the groups' pre-tests is not significant at (p<0.05). In other words both groups
are homogenous. Table 4 compares the groups' post-tests.
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Table 4.Descriptive Statistics(Post-test)

Groups N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

Experimental 30 15.8000 5.47974 1.00046

Control 30 12.7667 2.58221 .47145

Table 2 shows the means and standard deviations of the experimental and control groups'
post-test. The descriptive statistics are calculated inIndependent Samples t-test to discover any
significant difference which is presented in Table5.

Table 5. Independent Samples t-test (Post-test)

Levene's t-test for Equality of Means
Test for
Equality
of
Variances
95%
Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
F Sig. t df Sig. Mean Std. Error Lower Upper
(2- Difference Difference
tailed)
Equal variances 23.5 .000 2.743 58 .008 3.03 1.10 .819 5.241
assumed
Equal variances 2.743 41.2 .009 3.03 1.10 .800 5.266
not assumed

Table 5 shows the observed t (2.743) is greater than the critical t (1.671) with df=58. Thus the
difference between the groups is significant at (p<0.05). To compare the pre and post-test of each
group, the descriptive statistics is shown in Table 6.
Table 6. Descriptive Statistics (Experimental vs. Control)

Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

Pair 1 Experimental Pre-test 11.9667 30 4.61992 .84348
Experimental Post-test 15.8000 30 5.47974 1.00046

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Pair 2 Control Pre-test 12.1667 30 5.33100 .97330
Control Post-test 12.7667 30 2.58221 .47145

Table 6 indicated that the mean score of control group which had been12.1667 in pre-test
exam and it reached to12.7667 in post-test exam. The table also indicated that the mean score of
the experimental group which had been 11.9667 in pre-test exam which is increased to 15.8000 in
the post-test exam. The Paired Samples t-test is used to compare the differences within each
group in Table 7.
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Table 7. Paired Samples t-test (Experimental vs. Control)

Paired Differences t df Sig. (2-

95% Confidence tailed)
Interval of the
Difference
Groups Mean Std. Std. Lower Upper
Deviation Error
Mean
Pair 1 Experimental - 5.675 1.036 -5.954 -1.714 -3.699 29 .001
Pre & Post- 3.83
test
Pair 2 Control Pre - 6.111 1.115 -2.881 1.682 -.538 29 .595
and Post -test .600

Table 7 shows that the observed t (3.699) is greater than the critical t (1.699) with df=29.
Thus, the difference between the experimental group's pre and post-tests is significant at (p<0.05).
Moreover, since the observed t (.538) is less than the critical t (1.699) with df=29, the difference
between the control group's pre and post-tests is not significant at (p<0.05).

5. Discussion
This study aimed to investigate the answer to the following research questions. Results showed
that the pre and post-tests are different in the results.
Does focus on meaning or form affect teaching Wh-questions to Iranian senior high school EFL
learners?
With regard to the above questions, it should be pointed out that based on the data obtained it
is logically claimed that the first research question is positively verified. It comes true that there is
difference between interactive focus on meaning and traditional focus on meaning in teaching
Wh-questions in Iranian senior high school EFL learners. It means that focus on meaning has
positively affected learning Wh-questions by Iranian EFL learners at the first grade at the senior
high school. Put another way, focus on meaning can be regarded as a good technique in teaching
Wh-questions. We can say that just knowing the rules and memorizing them is insufficient. Here
findings revealed that the experimental group (focus on form and meaning) registered a
significant improvement. We concluded that both form-based and meaning-based instruction is
required. Accuracy, fluency and overall communicative skills are probably best developed
through instruction that is primarily meaning-based but in which guidance is provided through
timely form-focused activities and correction in context.

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Ellis (2005) agrees with the results of the study that discovery activities can assist learners
to use explicit knowledge to facilitate the acquisition of implicit knowledge. This means there are
some theoretical positions that support the view of discovery learning in focus on form. One of
them is deep processing, in which learners are involved, the other one is self-investment since
learners need to be motivated both instrumentally and integrative and this can be achieved
through approaches which excite the curiosity of learners in relation to a language feature. The
results of his study are supported by Nassaji and Fotos (2004) who believe that the positive effect
of focus on form and meaning trait instruction on students’ post-test was significant compared to
the control group. The post-test scores indicated that the focus on form and meaning strategy has
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been positively gained by the experimental group. The post-test scores of the experimental group
indicated that the group had better improvement compared to the control one.
The results of this study are in line with Ellis (2009) who notes that focus on form refers to a
method of teaching language is basically on linguistic structures while focus on meaning in
teaching grammar of Wh-questions is based on the learners' understanding of grammar. Thus the
language teachers should provide the learners with meaningful exposure to rich input and
meaningful use of the L2 in context. This can be done implicitly or explicitly. This idea may be
supported by Norris and Ortega (2001) who emphasized the teach grammar through focusing on
forms in contemporary English language classrooms. Krashen and Terrell's (1983) the Natural
Approach agrees on using some content-based ESL instruction and immersion programs which
supports the results of this study because they found out that focus on form and forms activities
led to better learning of Wh-questions.

6. Conclusion
The results of the present study highlighted the role of focus on forms (i.e., meaning) technique in
improving learners’ grammatical learning (i.e., Wh-questions) and enhancing their grammar
learning achievement. Based on the results of the statistical calculations pursued during this
study, the study has yielded the conclusion that focus on forms technique programs are effective
in teaching grammar rather than the traditional methods which focus on formal structures among
Iranian EFL learners. The results also showed that the participants in the experimental group (i.e.,
focus on meaning in teaching grammar) has provided with meaningful drills and exercises rather
than memorizing formulas. This shows that learning Wh-questions can be enhanced through
focusing on meaning since the learners can see the grammatical patterns in a meaningful context
rather than in isolated formulas. It seems most likely that the teachers need to meet their goals in
teaching grammar in which the following elements are present: principles of grammar, i.e., for
instance Wh-questions, can be taught explicitly or implicitly. Then meaningful activities rather
than mechanical ones should be followed; and finally assessments either in pairs, peers or class
can be taken place for the sake of checking the learners' output.
This study provided a reason to claim that focus on meaning in teaching grammatical structures
of Wh- questions is necessary, especially in EFL context in which grammar without any explicit
instruction is problematic. The problem is that grammar-based instructions just give some rules
which should be followed in the conversations. This was what the teachers had in traditional
approaches to language teaching. Thus it is highly recommended that the EFL teachers focus on
form in a supplementary manner for meaningful sentences in order to promote grammatical
points efficiently. Therefore, there is a need to do research on the rule of meaning-based
instruction in other language skills and sub-kills.

REFERENCES
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Brown, H. D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching.Essex, UK: Pearson Education Ltd.
Cowan, R. (2008). The teacher's grammar of English.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ellis, R. (2001). Investigating form-focused instruction.In R. Ellis (Ed.), Form-focused instruction and
second language learning (pp. 1-46). Malden, MA: Black well publishers.
Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford, England: Oxford University
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Ellis, R (Ed.) (2005). Planning and task performance in a second language. Amsterdam: John
Benjamin’s.
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Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(3), pp. 229-246.

Farahani, A. K. &Sarkhosh, M. (2012). Do different textual enhancement formats have different
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Farrokhi, F. &Rahimpour, M. &Papi, Z. (2011). Incidental focus on form techniques in Iranian EFL
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Khatib, M. &Bagherkazemi, M. (2011). The potential of learner output for enhancing EFL learners'
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Language Acquisition, 27(3), 361-386.
Long, M. (1991). Focus on form: A design feature in language teaching methodology. In K. de Bot,
R. Ginsberg, & C. Kramsch (Eds.), Foreign language research in cross-cultural perspective (pp. 39-52).
Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Long, M., & Robinson, P. (1998). Focus on form: Theory, research, and practice. In C. Doughty &
J. Williams (Eds.), Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition (pp. 15-63). Cambridge:
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Lyster, R., &Ranta, L. (1997). Corrective feedback and learner uptake: Negotiation of form in
communicative classrooms. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 37-66.
Milcic, A. (2014).Grammatical mistakes in a text.Foreign language research in cross-cultural
perspective (pp. 39-52). Amsterdam: John Benjamin.
Nassaji, H. &Fotos, S. (2004). Issues in form-focused instruction and teacher education. In S.
Fotos& H. Nassaji (Eds.), Form focused instruction and teacher education: Studies in honor of Rod Ellis
(pp. 7-15). Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press.
Norris, J. M., & Ortega, L. (2000). Effectiveness of L2 instruction: A research synthesis and
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Pour Hosseini, A. & Ahmadi, S. (2011).Patterns of corrective feedback and uptake in an adult
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Richards, J. C. &Renandya, W. A. (2002).Methodology in language teaching: Ananthology of current
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Rahimpour, M. &Salimi, A. (2010).The impact of explicit instruction on foreign language
learners'performance.Procedia- Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2, 1740-1746.
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ACOMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF FIELD

DEPENDENCE/INDEPENDENCEON NARRATIVE
WRITINGS OF IRANIAN EFL STUDENTS IN JAHAD
UNIVERSITY OF AHVAZ
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Shahrzad Momtaz1, SasanSharafi2, Bahman Gorjian3*

1Department of ELT, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran
2Assistant Professor, Department of ELT, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran
3Associate Professor, Department of ELT, Abadan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Abadan, Iran

*Corresponding author (bahgorji@yahoo.com)

Abstract
The present study explores the effect of field dependence/independence (FD/FI) on English as
foreign language (EFL) learners at Jahad University, Ahvaz. The present study focused on the
learners' ability in writing narrative essay in two experimental groups. Iran. The participants
were 100 learners who enrolled in writing course I. The research population consisted of eighty
female English translation students whose band scores were between 30 and 47 were at the
intermediate level through Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT). Then sixty learners were
selected through the standard Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT)which determined the
FD/FIparticipants among the eighty students' field dependency. Thenthe students were also
asked to write essays on the type of narration including 150 words. The obtained data were
subjected to the statistical procedures of Independent Samples t-test and
PearsonCorrelationAnalysis. The results showed there was a significant difference between the FI
and FD groups in writing narrative essays. Field dependent learners outperformed the field
independent ones. Implications of the study suggest that teachers should pay attention to field
independent learners to provide them with enough exposure outside the classroom.

Key Words: Field dependent, field independent, narrative writing, GEFT

1. Introduction
The impact of cognitive styles in learning a foreign language has received much attention in
recent years. FD/FIis a cognitive style which was introduced by Witkin, Oltman,Raskin, and
Karp (1971). According to Hadley (2003), it is the degree to which one thinks analytically or
globally.The power of individuals to comprehend the message from the irrelevant
informationand restructure the message associated with their field independent characteristics.
Field independents have the power to break a complex stimulus into separate elements and to

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give it different structures based on available experiences. If it is impossible to do such it
independently, the persons will do it dependently (Mancy & Reid,2004).
One of the main contributions of the study is related to the learning process. If instructors know
how field-dependent/independent style affects learning, learners can be informed about their
individual styles and the strategies that suit those styles (Zhenhui, 2001). If learners are self-
aware of the learning strategies that accommodate their individual styles, they can be able to
navigate more efficiently in writing courses and attain comprehension of instructional material at
quicker paces. Using the learning strategies with the best fit to their individual styles also result
in enhanced efficacy in the sense that learners would learn instructional material with less mental
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effort and reduced cognitive load. Thus, the learning process can be more effective, leading to
enhanced learning outcomes (Tabanlioglu, 2003).
The results of this study can help researchers understand whether awareness of cognitive
style is important for writing a narrative. In this regard, this insight can assist the development
of effective instruction, which meets the needs of both field-dependent and field-independent
learners(Wyss, 2002). If instructional designers have knowledge of cognitive style and how these
affect the way people learn, they can enhance their instruction using this knowledge. This study
also could be effective to furthering research in the development of writing courses, which can
enable different writing modes to be adapted to different individual cognitive styles(Khodadady,
2012).
The present study is, therefore, designed to fill the gap and find out whether field FD/FIhas
any effect on narrative writing skill of EFL learners. The significance of this study is that, to the
best knowledge of the researchers, few if any studies have investigated the relationship between
narrative writing and field-independency/dependency of EFL learners. In the following lines, the
research question is mentioned as:Does students' personality of FD/FI have any effect on their
narrative writings?

2. Background
2.1.FD/FIPersonal Styles
FD/FIis a measure of cognitive style developed by Witkin, Oltman, Raskin and Karp (1971)
around for over forty years. FD/FIis a study of the process of cognitive styles relating to how an
individual functions. FD/FIas cognitive styles is bipolar. The difference between field dependent
and field independent learners lies in the strategies they use for learning (Moore & Dwyer, 2001;
Witkin, Moore, Goodenough& Cox, 1977). A person’s FD/FIa dimension of their cognitive style,
or a place on a continuum. A person’s FD/FIcan change over time. According to Jonassen and
Grabowski (1993), it will change over a life span. They argue that children are typically field
dependents, and adults are more often field independent. This would imply that a person’s level
of FD/FIincreases over time. Jonassenand Grabowski (1993) definedFD/FI learnersas the degree
to which they perceive or comprehend the information which is affected by the surrounding or
contextual field and describe the factors that FD/FIconsiders as:
1. How much the surrounding framework dominates the perceptions of item within it,
2.How the surrounding organized field influences a person’s perception of its components,
3. How a person perceives part of the field as a discrete form,
4.What the organization of the prevailing field determines considering the perception of its
components, and
5. The extent to which a person perceives the events analytically.
The results of the way these factors influence learning determine whether a person is field
dependent or field independent.

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2.2.FD/FI in Iran
In his study Salmani-Nodoushan (2007) investigated the Field Dependency or Independency on
systematic variance into Iranian EFL students’ task-based reading comprehension tests. He
selected a large number of students including university and high school students, majoring in
English. He also administered the Group Embedded Figures Test to assess the learners'
personality. His study demonstrated that individuals’cognitive styles made a significant
difference in their test performance in the proficient, semi proficient, and fairly proficient groups,
but this was not the case in the low- proficient group. In addition, this study showed that
personality can make a significant difference in the participants’ performance on specific tasks
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such as true-false, sentence completion, outlining, scanning, and elicitation in all proficiency
groups.
Nilforooshan and Afghari (2007) did a study on the impact of FD/FI in EFL learners’ writing
performance.They found that there is a significant difference between FD/FI groups in writing
skill in general and narrative writing in particular with Field Independent learners
outperforming the Field Dependents.

2.3. Narrative Writing

Writing requires thinking and cognitive process requires thinking styles which allows the EFL
learners use language for communication. It is a complex activity that requires a linguistic,
sociolinguistic and cultural background. It is a process which is heavily influenced by constraints
of the text types; these elements have to be shown in learning activities. It is a complex process of
thinking, rethinking, organization and reorganization (Harmer, 2004; Raimes, 2002).
A narrative is a time sequence text type which is narrating the events which attracts the readers'
attention. The sociolinguistic purposes of narrative essaysare giving information, persuasion and
socialization. The structural components of narrative essay are the orientation, the complication
and the resolution (Boucher, 2011). Teo (2006) noted that during writing narrative essays, the
learners may have difficulties in grammar, main ideas and the content of the passage. Narrative
writing is a process essay in which there are time and sequences of events. The events are
classified in a hierarchical fashion. The teachers' directions can help the students to follow the
narrative essay process. Therefore, in order to help EFL students understand the importance of
time and events, the learners can be provided with complete Wh-questions that mostly begin
with "Wh" words to generate ideas such as: Who acted as a doer? What did he do? Where was
that place?When did they go? Who are the people in the story? Why did they go there? What is
the main idea? How did the people in the story solve the problem? These Wh-questions can
guide the learners to think coherently about a topic and write their narrative essays coherently.
However, that form and style of writing the narrative essay influence the learners' thinking style.
When students write narratives, they have a chance to organize their thinking processes in
language and go beyond what they have just learned in the classrooms (Raimes, 1983).
Involving the learners in narrative writing needs not only their interests but also their experiences
and motivation to follow to the processes in the story. Teachers respond to the learners' writings
as the raters who care about formal structures rather than the content. Most EFL learners may
avoid writingthe essay they have no background knowledge, experiences, enough vocabularies
and mechanics of writing. They are always hesitant to write because they cannot generate ideas
and they want not to make any mistakes. Therefore, the learners' process of writing can be
improved if they know the components of critical thinking such as ideas, opinions and their
relationships with narrative process of writing (Claxton & Murrell, 2003).
There is a need to an approach for teaching narrative essays that make the learners write freely
without any anxiety in the classroom. One way to help students to improve their narrative essays

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is to help them with their assignments on writing essays that require the learners to work on
main ideas and the develop them in a sequence of time. This can be done through learners'
linguistic knowledge which could be related to their personality. These two factors can affect the
learners' process of thinking in sequencing of the events in a narration (Lieu, 2000). Thus, the
students who use their linguistic knowledge and their FD/FI modes appropriately, they are able
to make important critical choices while writing narrative essays effectively. Thus they could be
better narrators of their own true or imaginative stories (Abbott, 2002; Boucher, 2011).

3. Method
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3.1. Participants
The population was100 female students who were majoring inTranslation at Jahad University of
Ahvaz.They enrolled in Writing Course I. They took OQPT and 80 learners who met the band
score (i.e., 30 -47) were chosen as the intermediate level students. Then they took Group
Embedded Figure Test (GEFT) to determine their FI/FD. Finally, out of the whole participants
who completed the learning style questionnaire (Witkin, Oltman, Raskin& Karp, 1971), two
groups including 60 Iranian EFL learners were divided in equal groups of FI/FD were selected to
investigate the relationship between their learning styles of FD/FI.

3.2. Instrumentation
To carry out the present study, different instruments were used. In order to be assured of the
homogeneity of the participants, the learners took Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT)before
the treatment. The test consisted of 60 multiple-choice items consisting of grammar, vocabulary,
pronunciation and reading. The listening section of the test was not administered since it was not
related to the topic. The time allotted to the proficiency test was 60 minutes.
The GEFT (Witkin, Oltman, Raskin& Karp, 1971) was used for introvert/extrovert participants in
the article “On the Validity of the Group Embedded Figure Test (GEFT)”.It was used to
determine the participants’ cognitive style of field in/dependency with the reliability and validity
indices of 0.89 and 0.82, respectively as reported by Witkin and his associates (Foel& Fritz, 1994).
The allocated time for completing the test was about 15 minutes. The score of each person was
ranged from 0 to 15.
The writing ability of the students was evaluated by writing the pre and post-test of a narrative
composition. The participant wrote an essay of 150 words on three narrative topics to evaluate
their narrative writing abilities at the beginning of the course. Then they started participating in
the five sessions to review five units of paragraph writing text book (Zemach& Islam, 2011). After
that, the post-test was given similarly to the pre-test and the students were given three narrative
topics to write narrative essays about150 words in which they wrote a well-elaborated event or
short sequence of events, included details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use
temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.

3.3. Procedure
The data was collected during the fall semester, 2015 in Jahad University in Ahvaz. First, all the
participants took part in OQPT test at the beginning of the experiment to homogenize
participants' potential proficiency for instruction. Based on the results of this test, those students
whose scores were between one standard deviation minus and plus the mean were selected to
participate in the study. Second, the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) administered to
determine their field dependent/independent cognitive styles. Then the students divided into
two groups. For scoring and data analysis, the grading scale ranges from 0 to 15. It is assumed
that the higher the scores, the more field independent would be. In order to divide the sample
into two groups known as Field Dependent (FD), and Field Independent (FI), SPSS software is

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needed. Following the suggestion made by Abraham (1983, 1985), the students who score 7 or
below will be identified as field dependent (FD) and those who score above 7 will be classified as
field independent (FI) (Abraham, 1985).
Finally, from the 80 students, 47 students of FI and 33 student of FD were selectedand 30
participants of each were non-randomly chosen based on the results of the GEFT test. There were
3 topics of narrative in the pre-test,which students should write about 150 words or 10 lines, we
had checklist of writing and then five sessions of teaching narrative writing from the
book,Paragraph Writing, developed byZamachand Islam (2011) ,and then there was the post-
test. Two writing samples were collected from each student in two different sessions. The
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students were given some pictures and narrative subjects to write narratives. The pre and post-
test were scored by two raters to get the inter-rater reliability of scoring in the pre-test as (r=.758)
and in the post-test as (r=.699). The raters used the checklist (Hughes, 2003) to score the essays.
The total mark was 20 based on the components in the writing checklist which was used for
correction of pre-test and post-test.

3.4. Data Analysis

Data were analyzed through SPSS software version 17.In this study, Independent Sample t-test
was used to determine the difference between the performance of FD and FI groups in narrative
writings. The inter-rater reliability was checked in this study. In this study, and Pearson
Correlation Analysis was used to determine the relationships between the performance of FD and
FI groups in narrative essays scores.
4. Results
The descriptive statistics of the results (Pre-test, FI vs. FD) and Independent Samples t-test (Pre-
test, FI vs. FD) isgiven. Then, based on these data Descriptive Statistics (Post-test, FI vs. FD) and
also Independent Samples t-Test (Post-test, FI vs. FD) and correlation analysis are reviewed and
presented.

Table 1. DescriptiveStatistics (Pre-test, FIvs. FD)

VAR N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

Pre-test FI 30 8.6000 3.11393 .56852

FD 30 8.8667 3.13746 .57282

Table 1 shows the mean of FI group was 8.6000 and FD group was 8.8667. The Independent
Sample t-test was used to show any significant difference between the groups. Results are shown
in Table 2.
Table 2.IndependentSamplest-Test (Pre-test, FIvs. FD)
Levene's
Test for
Equality
of
Variances t-test for Equality of Means

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95%
Confidence
Interval of the
Difference

Sig. (2- Mean Std. Error

F Sig. t df tailed) Difference Difference Lower Upper
Equal variances assumed .000 .984 -.330 58 .742 -.266 .807 -1.88 1.348
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Equal variances not -.330 57.9 .742 -.266 .807 -1.88 1.348
assumed

Table 2 indicates that the observed t (.330) is less than critical t(1.671) with df=58, the
difference between the groups is not significant in the pre- test(p<0.05). Results of the post-test
are presented in Table 3.

Table 3. DescriptiveStatistics (Post-test, FIvs. FD)

Groups N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

Post-test FI 30 8.95000 3.21366 .58673

FD 30 10.7667 3.44096 .62823

Table 3 shows that the mean of FI group is 8.95000 and the mean of FD group is 10.7667.The
results of Independent Sample t-test are shown in Table4.

Table 4.IndependentSamplest-Test(Post-test,FIvs.FD)

Levene's Test
for Equality
of Variances t-test for Equality of Means
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Std.
Mean Error
Sig. (2- Differe Differe
F Sig. t df tailed) nce nce Lower Upper
Equal variances .107 .745 -2.637 58 .011 -2.266 .859 -3.9876 -.545
assumed
Equal variances -2.637 57.7 .011 -2.266 .859 -3.987 -.545
not assumed

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Table 4 shows that the observed t (2.637) is greater than the critical t (1.671). Thus the difference
between the groups is significant.In other words, the FD group outperformed the IF group. The
difference between FI and FD group is significant. Pearson Correlation analysis was used to find
any correlation between FI and FD groups’ scores. Results are shown in Table 5.The researchers
ran the Pearson Correlation analysis to check the relationship between field-dependent (FD)
students' means on the pre-test and post-test questionnaire and their writing performance in
Table 5.

Table 5.Correlation between FI and Narrative Essay Test Score

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FI Scores
FI Pearson Correlation 1 .580**

Sig. (2-tailed) .001

N 30 30
Scores Pearson Correlation .580** 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .001

N 30 30
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

The results indicated that there is a moderate significant difference between the FI students' mean
scores on the pre-test of narrative writing. Table 5 shows the correlation between the learners' FI
personality and the scores which is significant at (p<0.5).The results of FD correlation with the
participants scores in the post-test are presented in Table 6.

Table 6. Correlations between FD and Narrative Essay Test Scores

FD Scores
FD Pearson Correlation 1 .275

Sig. (2-tailed) .141

N 30 30
Scores Pearson Correlation .275 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .141

N 30 30

The correlation between the learners' FD personality and the scores is not significant at
(p<0.5).Correlation of field dependent group and their post-test is not significant. It means that,
field dependent group did better in writing narrative essays.

5. Discussion
This section discusses the results of the study through providing answers to the following
research questions.
Does students' personality of FD/FI have any effect on their narrative writings?

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The results of this study revealed that field dependency/independency had an effect on narrative
writing of Iranian EFL students. Since they have different characteristics and behaviorism, the
teachers try to be active in the classroom and the students passive. Field independents are better
in the ESL environments, but, field dependents are better in the EFL environments. Correlation of
field dependent group and their post-test is significant and correlation of field independent and
their post-test is not significant in writing narrative essay. It means that, field dependent students
did their work on the writing narratives better.The other reason is that students do not have
enough time tabling and programming for study, out of the classroom, and they have low out of
class activity.They rely more on class activities. Students are accustomed just when they are in the
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classroom to study and out of the classroom they feel free,they have other hobbies and
entertainmentout of class environment.
There was a significant difference between the performance of those who were field dependent
and those who were field independent.The results of this study revealed that FD students
outperformed FI students in writing ability in general.FD/FIstudents were better than field
independent students in narrative writing.One of the reasons is that, students are more
depending to the teachers and not to themselves, and more like the classrooms of teacher-
centered not learner-centered. Students are not familiar with new and modern ways of learner-
centered.Learner-centered learning puts students' interests first, acknowledging student voice as
central to the learning experience. In a learner-centered classroom, students choose what they
will learn, how they will learn, and how they will assess their own learning. This is in contrast to
traditional education, "teacher-centered learning", which situates the teacher as the primarily
"active" role while students take a more "passive", receptive role. In a teacher-centered classroom,
teachers choose what the students will learn, how the students will learn, and how the students
will be assessed on their learning. In contrast, learner-centered learning requires students to be
active, responsible participants in their own learning and with their own pace of learning.
Teachers teach traditionally, and students learntraditionally too. Traditional point of views is all
dependent. it means that they like to check all the things in the classroom in the manner of
teacher-centered not in the manner of learner-centered.
Nilforooshan and Afghari (2007), support the results of the present research since they did a
study on the impact of FD/FIin EFL learners’ writing performance.They found that there is a
significant difference between Field Dependent/ Independent groups in writing skill in general
and narrative writing in particular with Field Independent learners outperforming the Field
Dependents.
Abraham (1985) disagrees with the present study since he notes thatFI learners are more
successful in deductive processes while FD learners are better in inductive processes. Therefore, it
is concluded that FI learnerscan reason inductively and FD learners reason deductively. These
two modes of reasoning may have an impact on the strategies the students write in a foreign
language as in deductive approach to the process of writing with the emphasis on the
development of ideas and inductive approach focusing on the product and form of writing
(Allami&Salmani-Nodoushan, 2007). Willing (1988) noted that the FI learners may have better
recall from their memory since they activate their mental processing through low-intensity
stimuli. However, the FD learners can access to the stored information that is highly associated
with high-intensity stimulus to be activated (Town, 2003).

6. Conclusion
FD/FI influences EFL learners’ writing essays differently in terms of focusing on the whole or on
the local points in writing the narrative texts in the present study. FD students outperformed FI
students in narrative writing.FD/FIstudents were better than field independent students in

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narrative writing.Students are more accused to the teachers and more like the classrooms of
teacher-centered. Students are not acquaintance with modern methods of learner-centered.
Learner-centered learning situates students' interests first, acknowledging student voice as
central to the learning experience. In a learner-centered classroom, students select what they will
learn, how they will learn, and how they will recognize their own learning. This is different
fromtraditional education in which teaching process is "teacher-centered learning". This type of
teaching putsthe emphasis on the teacher as the primarily role. Thus the learners are more
passive and get the receptive role. In a teacher-centered classroom, teachers select what the
students will learn, how the students will learn, and how the students will be recognized on their
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learning. In contrast, learner-centered learning needs students to be not passive, responsible

participants in their own learning and with their own way of learning. Teachers teach
traditionally, and students learn traditionally too. Traditional perspective is all dependent. They
like to check all the things in the classroom in the manner of teacher-centered not in the manner
of learner-centered(Bing, 2011).
Cognitive styles influence the strategies applied by learners (Winke, 2005). The learning strategies
are the activities learners docognitively and meta-cognitively which are all involved in the
process of writing narrative essays as well as other types of texts (Myles, 2002). The teachers need
to help the learners to be more self-directed and deal with self-study materials in the process of
learning(Kang, 1999) so that they can compensate for their weaknesses using appropriate
strategies.
This study was an attempt to compare field dependent students and field independent students
other different kind of cognitive styles can be compared in future research.

6.3. Limitation of the Study

The researchers faced several limitations in this study including, first, the small size of the
research population. The present study only focused on student respondents located in selected
Jahad University in Ahvaz, who are academically good. Thus, the findings cannot be generalized
to all Universities and students in Ahvaz. It is suggested that future research may check students
from various university types with varies academic background so that findings can be
generalized across a much larger population. Second, the time allocated to the instructions was so
limited. Third, there was a lackof treatment teaching narrative writing classes and enough spaces
to FD and FI students in Jahad University.

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AN INVESTIGATION ON THE COMPARATIVE

EFFECTIVENESS OF IMPLICIT VS. EXPLICIT CALL-BASED
INSTRUCTION ON DEVELOPMENT OF SYNTACTIC
KNOWLEDGE OF IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS
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YaghoobJavadi1, Mohammad Khatib2*, Parviz Birjandi3

1. PhD Student, Department of Languages and Literature, Science and Research branch, Islamic
Azad University, Tehran, Iran, Email: javadi_zp@yahoo.com
2. Assistant Professor of TEFL, Department of English Language and Literature,
AllamehTabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran, E-mail: mkhatib27@yahoo.com (*Corresponding
Author)
3. Professor, Department of Languages and Literature, Science and Research branch, Islamic
Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract
The present study investigated the effects of implicit vs. explicit CALL-based instruction on
development of syntactic knowledge of Iranian EFL learners. The participants of the study were
120 EFL learners selected based on their performance on a validated version of Nelson
proficiency test. The participants went through the process of pretesting on grammatical
accuracy, intervention, and post-testing. An independent t-test, one-way ANOVA as well as a
two-way ANOVA were applied to analyze the collected data. The results of the study
demonstrated that explicit group outperformed the implicit group. However, the blended group
had the highest mean on the posttest of grammatical accuracy. This was followed by face-to-face
and CALL only methods. Finally, it was reported that there was no significant difference between
the CALL-based, face-to-face, and blended classes regarding the impact of implicit instruction on
grammatical accuracy of the Iranian intermediate EFL learners. The implications of the study are
also reported.

Keywords: Grammatical Accuracy, Implicit Instruction, Explicit Instruction, CALL

1. Introduction
Nowadays, computers and computerized systems have undoubtedly established themselves
firmly in the contemporary lives of human beings from the world of business and communication
to other high-tech friendly fields. The world of education is no exception to this general trend.
With the emergence of computerized systems which are cheaper, smaller in size, more adaptable
and easier to handle, their appeal for educational purposes increase exponentially (Levy, 2008).
Living in a world teemed with plethora of high-tech devices is a strong temptation for learners as
well as educators to tap the great potentialities of this enormous ocean for educational purposes.
Unlike the majority of traditional classroom-based instruction, CALL provides a flexible,
enjoyable, low-anxiety and interactive language learning environment for language students

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(Blake, 2016; Chapelle, 2016, Chun, 2016; Kreyer&Schaub, 2015). Because of its multimedia
features and its connectivity to computerized devices and technologies including the Internet,
CALL environment increases learners' exposure to the target language enormously (. In addition,
learners can take advantage of the flexibility of CALL and travel through this educational path at
any time from any location and at their own pace (White, 2003). Therefore, it is the learner who
decides how long to stay in a certain phase of his educational journey based on his interests and
difficulty of the stage and other related factors.

2.Review of Literature
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One can easily notice that modern technologies can be applied to play various educational roles
in language learning context. According to Kern and Warschauer (2000), application of CALL
originated onthe mainframe as a tutor that delivers language drills or skill practice. With the
advent ofmultimedia technology on the personal computers, this technology can serve as a space
which explores andcreatively influencesmicro worldsand plays a significant role in the SLA
research (Blake, 2016; Chun, 2016).In addition, having developed well, computer networksserve
as a medium of local and global communication and a source of authentic materials”(Kern
&Warschauer, 2000, p.13).
According to Hubbard (2009), “CALL encompasses any use of computer technology in the
domain of language learning” (p. 2).Beatty (2003) asserts that CALL refers to language learning
process “in which a learner uses a computer and, as a result, improves his or her language”
(p.7).The ever-increasing application of CALL in educational environments has opened up new
horizons in teaching language skills by computerized technologies. One of the areas where CALL
has penetrated more in comparison to the early higher focus on the communicative CALL is
computer-based grammar instruction (Chapelle, 1990 and 2016). Researchers and language
practitioners have drawn their attention towards the advantages of CALL in teaching grammar
due to several reasons. Many proponents of CALL maintain that applying computerized
platforms for teaching grammar results in a more enjoyable activity (Doughty & Long, 2003).
Because of its multimedia flavors and higher potentiality of interactive learning, CALL removes
some tiresome features of learning grammar in monotonous drill-based traditional approaches
for instructing grammar (Egbert& Hanson-Smith, 1999). Multimedia instruction plays a
significant role in development of language proficiency among EFL learners (de la Cruz
Villegas&Izquierdo, 2014) and as computer-based programs guide users through a series of
interactive exercises, they will find such programs both informative and attractive (Kieliszek,
2015).
Although computer-based grammar instruction entails huge potential benefits, the use of
computers to teach grammar had not received the same amount of attention as communicative
CALL (Hulstijn, 2015).Erben and Castañeda (2009) assert that CALL can provide learners with
rich input and learners can go over the explicit grammar explanations at their own pace and
without being worried about time limitations. Some scholars maintain that CALL increases the
effectiveness of grammar instruction (Chapelle, 2016; Sauro&Smith, 2010; Sotillo, 2016).
Ragan et al., (1993 cited in Garrett, 2009) used multimedia to teach a variety of subjects. Their
research revealed that multimedia instruction reduced learning time for the intended
grammatical points by 30% compared to the traditional instruction. This study showed that the
grammatical achievements of learners increased by CALL since multimedia-based instruction of
grammar has characteristics including learner interactivity and learner control over programs
which contribute to better processing and deeper learning of grammatical points. Kern and
Warschauer (2000) suggest that learners who are learning in a CALL environment can have
access to chances for improving their grammatical knowledge which is beyond reach in a

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traditional L2 classroom. Flexibility of CALL application for learners is appealing since they can
work at their own pace.
Instructing grammar through CALL creates an interactive environment for learners which is
missing in traditional books, tapes, television, and so on. It is argued that interaction via
computer facilitates language acquisition (Warschauer&Lepeintre, 1997). Increasing learners'
motivation via CALL activities contributes to improvement in grammatical proficiency of
learners as well.
McCarthy (1994) examined the application of CALL for grammar drills in a second language.
Results of this study revealed that CALL has some specific advantages in areas including
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organization of materials, display of items, volume of materials and random presentation,

feedback, scoring and record-keeping, focused tutorial assistance, graphics and animation and
cognitive direction.Nutta (1998, cited in White, 2003) conducted a study to compare computer-
based instruction versus teacher-directed instruction in terms of their effectiveness of instructing
certain English structures. Analyzing the results, he discovered that the performance of students
in the computer-based grammar instruction was significantly higher than that of the teacher-
directed students.
Other studies in the ESL and EFL contexts also have come up with similar results (Al-Jarf,
2005;Chen, 2006; Hanson-Smith, 1999;Hubbard, Schulze, & Smith, 2013;Levy&Stockwell, 2006;
Sauro, 2001). In line with previous studies,Ngu and Rethinasamy’s(2006) study showed that
students whoreceived the conventional lesson outperformed those who went through the CALL
lesson. In contrast,Mohamad’s (2009) study which compared internet-based grammar instruction
and conventional pen and board instruction in the in Malaysian context indicated that the
students who went through the former performed better and had fewer errors in their essays
compared to the latter one. Meanwhile, Sotillo(2016) asserts that as discourse functions and
syntacticcomplexity in synchronous and asynchronous communication through virtual media
has increased, the novel research should focus on the CALL oriented instructions in the ELT
domain.
In sum, one can notice that CALL has been an effective tool to teach L2 grammar and various
scholars have looked at it from different perspectives. However, the perspective taken into
account in the present study has not been included in any of them. Based on the purpose of the
study, the following research questions were posed:
1. Is there any significant difference between explicit and implicit instruction among the Iranian
intermediate EFL learners?
2. Are there any significant differences between the CALL-based, face-to-face, and blended
classes regarding the impact of explicit instruction on grammatical accuracy of the Iranian
intermediate EFL learners?
3. Are there any significant differences between the CALL-based, face-to-face, and blended
classes regarding the impact of implicit instruction on grammatical accuracy of the Iranian
intermediate EFL learners?

3. Methodology
Design
A quasi-experimental approach was employed in this study. The explicit instruction of the
grammar was conducted in three groups, namely CALL-only explicit instruction, face-to-face
explicit instruction and blended explicit instruction. These three groups were formed for implicit
instruction as well. Based on the design, the syntactic knowledge manifested in the test
performance was considered as the dependent variable and explicit and implicit instruction as
the independent variable.

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Participants
Purposivesampling was employed and 120female and male Iranian EFL learners in English
language institutes in Tehran, Iran participated in this study. The Nelson proficiency test was
administered to 153 learners and120 individuals whose scores were ±1SD above and below the
mean were considered the main participants in the present study. The selected students were
randomly divided into the two explicit and implicit groups in six classes.
Instrumentations
The instruments which were utilized in the present study were as follows: 1) The Nelson test that
assessed the English language proficiency of L2 learners. Reliability of this test, as established
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against KR-21 measure of internal consistency for the NELSON test, turned out as .89.Nelson test
measures ability to recognize correct grammar in standard written English.2) the teacher-made test
of grammatical accuracy; which was developed and validated by the researcher and used as both
the pre and posttests in the study to measure grammatical accuracy of the learners on Auxiliaries
Modal verbs. The KR-21 reliability indices for this test in the pre and post tests were .76 and .83,
respectively.
Procedure
The procedure followed to carry out the present study is described in three phases of pre-
treatment, treatment, and post-treatment.
Pre-treatment
In this phase the participants received the Nelson test for the purpose of subject selection and
then the selected participants were randomly put into explicit instruction groups as well as the
implicit instruction groups. They received the validated pretest of grammatical accuracy, as well.
Treatment
In this phase, different activities and tasks were designed for instructing grammar explicitly and
implicitly. The treatment ran for ten weeks in which participants in theexplicit instruction group
were involved in tasks whose emphasis was explicit instruction of grammar. Clearly, the medium
of instructing grammar explicitly in CALL-only group, the face-to-face group and the blended
group differed. In the CALL-only group the explicit instruction of grammar was merely through
the Viber application as one of the modern CALL-related platforms. In the face-to-face group, the
explicit instruction of the grammar was done through traditional classroom-based instruction,
while in the third group, i.e. the blended group, the students made use of both CALL and face-to-
face techniques. The explicit grammar instruction included the following tasks (adapted from
Macaro and Masterman, 2006): a) direct explanation of the rule on the part of the teacher,
b)having students work individually or in pairs composing sentences, c)using the sentences in
order to extract and explain the use of rules, d)having the learners do the related exercises taken
from a grammar book titled English Grammar in Use, and e) translation. Having done related
exercises, learners were asked to write on a topic that required them to use the particular
grammar structure. Finally, the learners were provided with the direct form of feedback, that is
the teacher underlined the errors and corrected them referring to the rules.To clarify the issue one
example can be referred to. In the CALL-only group, after explicit explanting of the application of
could as a modal verb used for hypothetical situations, participants were asked to write answers
to the hypothetical scenario where they had to play the roles of firefighters. Their writings were
reviewed by peers and finally by the teacher for comments and corrections.
The other group, however, was exposed to implicit instruction of grammar, which included the
following tasks suggested by (Denny Sargent, 2009): a) schema building (showing the grammar
in use, not talking about it) by making examples, b) having students watch a related film
answering the questions in such a way that they would have to use the targeted structure (in the
case a student couldn't use the structure correctly, s/he wasencouraged to produce the correct

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form with the help of peers), and c) providing a text with highlighted forms of the intended
grammatical structure.Finally, students were asked to write on the same topic provided for the
explicit group, but the feedback was not given directly. The researcher wrote the number of
errors the learners had made using the target structures. The learners were then encouraged to
compare their own use of the grammar in the paragraph they wrote to its use in the bolded text in
order to correct their errors. Needless to state that the application of these implicit techniques
differed in CALL-only, face-to-face and blended groups as it was the case with the explicit
manner of the instruction. For the implicit CALL-only instruction of grammar, Viber application
was used as the medium. If extra information or additional files were required the links were
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provided via Viber.

Other additional activities were applied in the course of treatment as well: In the implicit
instruction of grammar, the emphasis was more on the message rather than the abstract rule
while for the explicit groups it was the other way round. In the implicit instruction of grammar,
little or no grammar meta-language is used. In the explicit mode, some metalinguistic questions
were asked about sentences and participants were supposed to identify rules in the given
sentences.
For implicit grammar instruction, before introducing the grammar point, teachers built schema
and showed this grammar in use rather than explaining it. In the implicit groups, teachers used
students’ lives, current events and the like which were interesting to learners. Exemplification
was a crucial point for implicit grammar instruction since learners were supposed to be provided
with rich context to deduct rules based on lots of examples. In the explicit grammar instruction,
grammatical points were explained in details and students were required to practice them in the
exercises, whereas in the implicit instruction, teachers asked lots of questions related to using the
intended grammatical points while they avoided giving answers unless it was necessary and no
students could answer or figure it out. In the implicit grammar instruction, students were
provided rich context to discover rules themselves rather than being provided with ready-made
solutions. In other words, implicit grammar instruction was considered a discovery learning and
suggested discovery results in long term acquisition. In this regard, students could grasp the
intended grammatical points in the form of self-correction or experiencing failure in the
communication of the message and consequent correction to overcome the problem. Since
schema building and comprehensibility of the grammatical input were important in the implicit
instruction, learners were involved in negotiating ideas about real information, hobbies, likes and
dislikes, experiences, food preferences, sports they played, the real needs they had (shopping,
going to the doctor, finding a job) and other real and relevant life experiences.
Activities such as word scramble, diagrams with words, cooperative writing, editing activities,
cloze exercises, error correction, surveys of all kinds about the natural world, out of class
interviews and observations, sensory description writing assignments, writing/speaking about
nature, role-plays, info gap games, class surveys, group games, group writing tasks (posters,
FAQs, op-ed letters), targeted creative writing, individual projects (family tree, auto-biography),
and journaling were among other activities practiced in the implicit grammar instruction.
Post-treatment
Having practiced ten sessions of treatment, the participants in all groups took the teacher-made
test of grammatical accuracy as the posttest. The researcher intended to measure learners' likely
improvement as a result of treatment by comparing their pretest and posttest scores.

4. Results
After the data collected through the administration of the instruments, the data were analyzed
using SPSS software version 24 and measures ofindependent t-test,one-way ANOVA, two-way

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ANOVA, and post-hoc Scheffe’s tests. As all these measures have a main assumption; i.e.
normality. The normality of the present data was probed through the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS)
and skewness and kurtosis ratios and in both cases the normality of the data was confirmed.
NELSON General Language Proficiency Test
The NELSON test was administered to 153 cases. Based on the mean (M = 57.65) plus and minus
one standard deviation (SD = 14.35), 120 cases were selected to participate in this study. The KR-
21 reliability index for the NELSON test was .89 (Table 1).

Table1: Descriptive Statistics; NELSON Test

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N Mean Std. Deviation Variance KR-21

NELSON 153 57.65 14.357 206.111 .89

Pretest of Grammatical Accuracy

A two-way ANOVA was run to compare the explicit and implicit CALL only, face-to-face and
blended groups’ means on the pretest of grammatical accuracy in order to prove that they were
homogenous in terms of their grammatical accuracy prior to the main study. Before discussing
the two-way ANOVA results it should be mentioned that the groups enjoyed homogenous
variances on the pretest of grammatical accuracy. As displayed in Table 2 the Levene’s F-value of
1.77 was not significant (P > .05).
Table 2: Levene's Test of Equality of Error Variances
F df1 df2 Sig.
1.777 5 114 .123

As displayed in Table 3 the CALL only (M = 27.50, SE = 1.10), face-o-face (M = 26, SE = 1.10) and
blended methods (M = 26.55, SE = 1.10) showed almost the same means on pretest of
grammatical accuracy.
Table 3: Descriptive Statistics; Pretest of Grammatical Accuracy by Groups
95% Confidence Interval
Mean Std. Error
Group Lower Bound Upper Bound
CALL Only 27.500 1.106 25.309 29.691
Face-to-Face 26.000 1.106 23.809 28.191
Blended 26.550 1.106 24.359 28.741
Based on the results displayed in Table 4 (F (2, 114) = .47, P > .05; η = .008 representing a weak
2

effect size) it can be concluded that there was not any significant difference between CALL only,
face-to-face and blended groups’ means on the pretest of grammatical accuracy. Thus, it was
claimed that they were homogenous in terms of their grammatical accuracy prior to the main
study.
Table 4: Tests of Between-Subjects Effects, Pretest of Grammatical Accuracy by Groups by Types of
Instruction
Type III Sum Partial Eta
Df Mean Square F Sig.
Source of Squares Squared
Group 46.067 2 23.033 .471 .626 .008
Instruction 73.633 1 73.633 1.505 .222 .013
Group * Instruction 26.867 2 13.433 .275 .760 .005
Error 5577.400 114 48.925
Total 91164.000 120

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As displayed in Table 5 the implicit group (M = 27.46, SE = .90) showed a higher mean than the
explicit group (M = 27.46, SE = .90) on pretest of grammatical accuracy.
Table 5: Descriptive Statistics, Pretest of Grammatical Accuracy by Types of Instruction
95% Confidence Interval
Mean Std. Error
Group Lower Bound Upper Bound
Explicit 25.900 .903 24.111 27.689
Implicit 27.467 .903 25.678 29.256
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Based on the results (F (1, 114) = 1.50, p > .05; η = .013 representing a weak effect size) it was
2

concluded that there was not any significant difference between explicit and implicit groups’
means on the pretest of grammatical accuracy. Thus, it was claimed that they were homogenous
in terms of their grammatical accuracy prior to the main study. Finally, there were not any
significant interaction between the groups and types of instruction on pretest of grammatical
accuracy (F (2, 114) = .27, p > .05; η2 = .005 representing a weak effect size) (Table 6).
Table 6: Descriptive Statistics; Interaction between Group * Instruction
95% Confidence Interval
Mean Std. Error
Group Instruction Lower Bound Upper Bound
Explicit 27.000 1.564 23.902 30.098
CALL Only
Implicit 28.000 1.564 24.902 31.098
Explicit 25.600 1.564 22.502 28.698
Face-to-Face
Implicit 26.400 1.564 23.302 29.498
Explicit 25.100 1.564 22.002 28.198
Blended
Implicit 28.000 1.564 24.902 31.098

Research Question 1
An independent t-test was run to compare the first and second experimental group’s means on
the posttest of writing fluency in order to probe the second research question. Based on these
results (Table 7) it can be concluded that the explicit group (M = 38.05, SD = 7.09) had a higher
mean than the implicit group (M = 35.67, SD = 7.01) on the posttest of grammatical accuracy.
Table 7: Descriptive Statistics, Posttest of Grammatical Accuracy by Groups
Group N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Explicit 60 38.05 7.094 .916
Implicit 60 35.67 7.017 .906

The results of the independent t-test (t (118) = 1.55, p > .05, r = .16 enjoying a weak effect size)
(Table 8) indicated that there was not any significant difference between the two groups’ mean
scores on the posttest of grammatical accuracy. Thus the first null-hypothesis was supported. The
negative lower bound 95 % confidence interval, i.e. -.168 indicated that the difference between the
two means can be zero. Thus the conclusion as supporting the null-hypothesis was correctly
made.
Table 8: Independent Samples t-test, Posttest of grammatical Accuracy by Groups
Levene's Test for
t-test for Equality of Means
Equality of Variances

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95% Confidence
Sig. (2-Mean Std. ErrorInterval of the
F Sig. T Df
tailed) Difference Difference Difference
Lower Upper
Equal Vs.
.024 .877 1.850 118 .067 2.383 1.288 -.168 4.934
assumed
Equal vs.
not 1.850 117.986 .067 2.383 1.288 -.168 4.934
assumed
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It should be noted that the assumption of homogeneity of variances was met (Levene’s F = .02, p
> .05). That is why the first row of Table 8, i.e. “Equal variances assumed” was reported.
Research Question 2
A one-way ANOVA was run to compare the CALL only, face-to-face and blended groups on the
posttest of grammatical accuracy after receiving explicit teaching method. Before discussing the
one-way ANOVA results it should be mentioned that the groups enjoyed homogenous variances
on the posttest of grammatical accuracy. As displayed in Table 9 the Levene’s F-value of .31 was
not significant (P > .05).
Table 9:Levene's Test of Equality of Error Variances
F df1 df2 Sig.
.311 2 57 .734

As displayed in Table 10, the blended group (M = 41.85, SD = 6.31) had the highest mean on the
posttest of grammatical accuracy. This was followed by face-to-face (M = 37.80, SD = 6.51) and
CALL only methods (M = 34.50, SE = 6.74).
Table 10:Descriptive Statistics; Posttest of Grammatical Accuracy by Groups
95% Confidence
Std. Interval for Mean
N Mean Std. Error Min Max
Deviation Lower Upper
Bound Bound
CALL Only 20 34.50 6.740 1.507 31.35 37.65 24 48
Face-to-Face 20 37.80 6.518 1.457 34.75 40.85 20 48
Blended 20 41.85 6.310 1.411 38.90 44.80 30 52
Total 60 38.05 7.094 .916 36.22 39.88 20 52

The results of one-way ANOVA (F (2, 57) = 6.36, p < .05, ω 2 = .15, representing a large effect size)
(Table 11) indicated that there were significant differences between the three groups’ means on
the posttest of grammatical accuracy after receiving explicit method.

Table 11:One-Way ANOVA; Posttest of Grammatical Accuracy by Groups (Explicit Teaching)

Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 542.100 2 271.050 6.366 .003
Within Groups 2426.750 57 42.575
Total 2968.850 59

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Although the F-value of 6.36 indicated significant differences between the means of the three
groups, the post-hoc Scheffe’s tests should be run to compare the groups two by two. Based on
the results displayed in Table 12 it was concluded that;
A: There was not any significant difference between CALL only (M = 34.50) and face-to-face (M =
37.80) groups’ means on the posttest of grammatical accuracy (MD = 3.30, p > .05).
B: The blended group (M = 41.85) significantly outperformed the CALL only group (M = 34.50)
on the posttest of grammatical accuracy (MD = 7.35, p < .05).
C: There was not any significant difference between blended (M = 41.85) and face-to-face (M =
37.80) groups’ means on the posttest of grammatical accuracy (MD = 4.05, p > .05).
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Table 12:Multiple Comparisons; Posttest of Grammatical Accuracy by Groups

Mean 95% Confidence Interval
Difference (I-Std. Error Sig.
Lower Bound Upper Bound
(I) Group (J) Group J)
CALL Only 7.350* 2.063 .003 2.16 12.54
Blended
Face-to-Face 4.050 2.063 .155 -1.14 9.24
Face-to-Face CALL Only 3.300 2.063 .286 -1.89 8.49
*. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.

Research Question 3
A one-way ANOVA was run to compare the CALL only, face-to-face and blended groups on the
posttest of grammatical accuracy after receiving implicit teaching method. Before discussing the
one-way ANOVA results it should be mentioned that the groups enjoyed homogenous variances
on the posttest of grammatical accuracy. As displayed in Table 13 the Levene’s F-value of 1.60
was not significant (P > .05).
Table 13:Levene's Test of Equality of Error Variances
F df1 df2 Sig.
1.603 2 57 .210

As displayed in Table 14, the blended group (M = 38.40, SD = 5.52) had the highest mean on the
posttest of grammatical accuracy. This was followed by face-o-face (M = 35.10, SD = 7.66) and
CALL only methods (M = 33.50, SE = 7.10).
Table 14:Descriptive Statistics; Posttest of Grammatical Accuracy by Groups
95% Confidence
Std. Interval for Mean
N Mean Std. Error Min Max
Deviation Lower Upper
Bound Bound
CALL Only 20 33.50 7.104 1.589 30.17 36.83 20 44
Face-to-Face 20 35.10 7.663 1.714 31.51 38.69 24 48
Blended 20 38.40 5.529 1.236 35.81 40.99 28 48
Total 60 35.67 7.017 .906 33.85 37.48 20 48

The results of one-way ANOVA (F (2, 57) = 2.68, p > .05, ω 2 = .053, representing an almost
moderate effect size) (Table 15) indicated that there were not any significant differences between
the three groups’ means on the posttest of grammatical accuracy after receiving implicit method.

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Table 15:One-Way ANOVA; Posttest of Grammatical Accuracy by Groups (Implicit Teaching)
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups 249.733 2 124.867 2.680 .077
Within Groups 2655.600 57 46.589
Total 2905.333 59
Based on the post-hoc Scheffe’s tests displayed in Table 16, itwas concluded that;
A: There was not any significant difference between CALL only (M = 33.50) and face-to-face (M =
35.10) groups’ means on the posttest of grammatical accuracy (MD = 1.60, p > .05).
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B: There was not any significant difference between CALL only (M = 33.50) and blended (M =
38.40) groups’ means on the posttest of grammatical accuracy (MD = 4.90, p > .05).

Table 16: Multiple Comparisons; Posttest of Grammatical Accuracy by Groups

Mean 95% Confidence Interval
Difference (I-Std. Error Sig.
Lower Bound Upper Bound
(I) Group (J) Group J)
CALL Only 4.900 2.158 .085 -.53 10.33
Blended
Face-to-Face 3.300 2.158 .318 -2.13 8.73
Face-to-Face CALL Only 1.600 2.158 .761 -3.83 7.03
*. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.
C: There was not any significant difference between blended (M = 38.40) and face-to-face (M =
35.10) groups’ means on the posttest of grammatical accuracy (MD = 3.30, p > .05).

5. Discussion and Conclusion

Although there wasno significant difference between the two groups’ mean scores on the posttest
of grammatical accuracy, the mean of the explicit groups was higher than that of the implicit
group which showed higher gain for this group as a result of the treatment. Regarding the lack of
significance difference between the effectiveness explicit and implicit instruction of grammar on
the improvement of the grammatical accuracy, some arguments can be made.
The present study findings show that implicit instruction of the grammar is as important as the
explicit way on instructing grammar. As Nassaji and Fotos (2004) implicit instruction of
grammar can be as effective as the explicit instruction of the grammar provided that a learning
environment created for learners is enriched with the target features. In the present study, in the
implicit groups lots of opportunities were provided for the learners whereby they were able to
get involved in the enriched environment to learn the intended target structures but without
drawing learners’ explicit attention to them.From this perspective, the results of this study
confirms those of a study by Chiu and Chien (2011) which showed that both implicit and explicit
instruction of grammar can be equally effective in the instruction of L2 grammar.The results of a
one-way ANOVA to compare the CALL only, face-to-face, and blended groups on the posttest of
grammatical accuracy after receiving explicit instruction of grammar showed difference of gains
in means of these three groups as a result of the treatment. Furthermore, the results indicated
different modes of explicit instruction bring about different effects in development of
grammatical knowledge of the participants in the study. In terms of explicit instruction of the
grammar, these results seem to be vindicated since in the explicit instruction, teachers try to
explain the grammatical rules to learners and various modes of presenting materials affect the
amount of explicit explanation. In other words, as Ellis (2008) asserts face-to-face, CALL-only and
blended environments result in various doses of explicit materials presented to learners.

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Analyzing questions related to explicit instruction, one can understand that there was not any
significant difference between CALL only and face-to-face groups’ means on the posttest of
grammatical accuracy. However, the blended group significantly outperformed the CALL only
group on the posttest of grammatical accuracy. It was also shown that there was not any
significant difference between blended and face-to-face groups’ means on the posttest of
grammatical accuracy. Main reason for better performance of the blended group in explicit
instruction in comparison to the CALL-only and face-to-face groups was that in the blended
group, participants made use of techniques of both face-to-face and CALL-only groups, so they
had higher degree of maneuverability. This difference was easily noticeable in better performance
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of the blended group in comparison to the CALL-only group. The results showed the relative
advantage of making use of CALL techniques together with traditional face-to-face classes.
It can be argued that since CALL provided various opportunities in terms of explaining the
grammatical points directly, it did not result in comparison to the face-to-face instruction of
grammar. The same was true for the comparison between blended and face-to-face groups.
Results of one-way ANOVA manifested no significant differences between the CALL-based, face-
to-face, and blended classes regarding the impact of implicit instruction on grammatical accuracy
of the Iranian intermediate EFL learners.
The participants appreciated that the content was well organized and that grammar rules were
presented in an informative and easy–to–understand manner in instruction of grammar through
CALL techniques applied in CALL-only classes and blended classes. Findings of this research
indicate that there is a strong positive effect of the computer-based grammar instruction on
learners’ knowledge of the target structures that were the focus of this study. For learners, CALL-
supported grammar instruction means that they have more tools to choose from to improve their
knowledge. Similar to Zhang et al. (2004) and Gilby (2004), in the present study,participants
reported they tend not to ask questions in class in fear of slowing down the rest of the students.
For these participants, the availability of CALL-based materials could mean additional help
without losing their dignity.
The CALL-based instruction also seem practical from another perspective. In line with
Tse’s(2000) finding, the present study proved that CALL-instruction includes elements that give
the chance for slower students to go over materials in a repetitive fashion in the implicit learning
so it can be as good as face-to-face classes where materials are presented with some time-factor
limitations. As a result, CALL-based instruction for grammar either in a pure format or a blended
format can be as effective as the face-to-face implicit instruction of grammar.
In a similar vein, having access to call-based materials in the implicit instruction is more
convenient than looking for the same information in the book or trying to contact teachers
outside of their office hours. Therefore, learners make the learning process more comfortable
which contributes to the effectiveness of the CALL-only and blended implicit instruction of
grammar as much as the face-to-face one. The next factor which contributed to effectiveness of
applying in instructing grammar implicitly and explicitly was the fact that computer-based
grammar instruction affords individualized learning. The ability to cater to individual differences
in learning has often been considered one of the main advantages of computer-based learning
(Dodigovic, 2005; Heift& Schulze, 2007). Learners like the idea that they can access the CALL-
based materials from anywhere, and they can pace the materials as they wish.
Although grammar always plays an important role in language learning, the rigid grammar
instruction approaches that characterizes language instruction in many face-to-face traditional
classes can be eradicated by making use of the multimedia features of CALL for instructing
grammar. Therefore, CALL-based grammar instruction can be as effective as face-to-face

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instruction. Due to this very fact, the difference of effectiveness of teaching grammar in CALL-
based groups in this study was as high as the face-to-face classes.
The findings of the present study demonstrate that CALL can be an effective tool for explicit and
implicit grammar instruction and most learners appreciate what such a tool can afford. In
theoretical terms, the computer-based grammar instruction can serve as an “explicit jumpstart”
(DeKeyser&Juffs, 2005, p. 442) by offering a systematic view on grammar topics by means of
deductive rule-based explanation. In line with R. Ellis’s (2002) idea of a parallel option of
grammar teaching, when form-focused activities are taken out of an overall meaning-oriented
instruction, these tutorials can take grammar instruction outside of class, offering learners an
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ability to study grammar according to their individual learning preferences.

The results of the study demonstrated that grammar instruction through CALL can be at least
comparable to traditional face–to–face instruction. Lightbown and Spada (2006) posed the
question “How can classroom instruction provide the right balance of meaning-based and form-
focused instruction?” (p. 180). The study presented here affords one possible answer to this
question: The use of computer-based grammar instruction could certainly be a viable method of
providing such a balance. Computer-based grammar instruction can provide learners with
opportunities for conscious learning and help them establish a solid systematic base for language
acquisition without compromising the overall meaning-focused orientation of the language
classroom(Hubbard, et al., 2013).Further, this study provides sufficient grounds to believe that
learners welcome CALL-based grammar instruction because such learning tools can be adjusted
to fit their individual learning styles. It is welcomed because it can offer more opportunities for
individualized learning. All things considered, at a time when educators are looking for new
ways to improve learners’ accuracy both in mainstream language learning and in computer-
assisted language learning, computer-based grammar instruction has a strong chance to make its
comeback as a valuable tool for language learners.
In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that grammar instruction by means of CALL is as
effective as the teacher-directed face-to-face grammar instruction.According to interactionist
approaches to SLA (Long, 1996 cited in Low &Sweller, 2005), interaction is the most important
way in which learners obtain data for language learning. Moreover, interactionists argued that in
addition to manipulation of input through interaction, learners need be opportunities to receive
corrective feedback to able to better regulate language production or output. The finding of the
study may indicate that both traditional classroom teacher-directed group and CALL group had
similar quality of input of the target structure as well as effective interaction that are both crucial
for the language acquisition process. Because of this, no significant difference was noticed
between CALL-only explicit grammar instruction and face-to-face instruction.

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THE EFFECT OF INTERACTIVE SPEAKING
ACTIVITIESON DEVELOPINGEFL LEARNERS'
SPEAKING ACCURACY AND FLUENCY AMONG
PRE-INTERMEDIATE LEARNERS
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Sahar Mehrabi 1&2, Mansoore Shekaramiz2*, Bahman Gorjian3

1Department of ELT, Khouzestan Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz,
Iran.
2Department of ELT, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran.
3Department of ELT, Abadan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Abadan, Iran.

*Corresponding author (m.sheramiz@gmail.com)

Abstract
The present study investigated the effect of interactive speaking activities on developing English
foreign language(EFL)learners' speaking accuracy and fluency among intermediate learners. 36
female language learners of Farikhtegan institute in Sarbandar, were selected. Then, they were
non-randomly divided into three equal groups of two experimental (i.e., fluency and accuracy)
and a control group. The participants took apre-test of speaking proficiency. The teacher focused
on interactive speaking activitiesbut in the fluency group,the teacher focused on the ability to
produce speech at normal rate and without hesitation. The control group received traditional
method of speaking activities.After the treatment,a post-test was administered to the three
groups. Data were analyzed through One-way ANOVA and Post-hoc Scheffe tests and the
findings showed significant differences between the groups. The learners in the fluency group
outperformed the other groups.However,the learners in the accuracy group outperformed the
learners in the control group. Implications of the study for teaching speaking fluency and
accuracy can be practiced through interactive speaking activities at theintermediate level.

Key Words: Interactive speaking activities,speaking skill, accuracy, fluency

1. Introduction
For students who are studying English in a non-English speaking setting, it is very vital to
experience real communicative situations in which they will learn how to show their own ideas
and thoughts, and to develop their speaking fluency and accuracy which are very necessary for
the success of foreign language communication. Pourhossein (2014) states classroom interaction is
essential and useful as an educational strategy to improve learning because it creates
opportunities for the classroom community to develop knowledge and skills. Khadidja (2010)
expresses the concept of classroom interaction performs a vital role in the process of second
language learning because many classroom activities which occur between teachers and learners
and among learners, will finally shape individual learners’ improvement. In fact, the considerable
interest in the role of interaction in the context of learning became a significant aspect for the
researchers of this field, because it makes opportunities for the classroom community to develop

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knowledge and skills. This is best accomplished when the students are correctly motivated by
accepting interactive speaking activities.
Interactive speaking activities supply opportunities for students to utilize the target language
in a communicative way for meaningful activities. Mackey (2012) states that interaction provides
second language learners with learning opportunities during exchanges of communication. She
expresses that the input and output processes, feedback and modification of utterances during
interaction, have vital role in processing form-meaning relationship during conversation, learners
also have chances to pay attention to and compare differences between their utterances of target
language and language utilized by native and non-native speaking conversational
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partners.Hughes (2003) says fluency talks about the production and it is normally assigned for
speech. In fluency linking components of speech easily and without hesitation is very significant.
Fluency has been viewed as a major feature in judging non-native speakers’ proficiency
(Riggenbach, 1991). Accuracy is using the correct grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. The
student's fluency can be developed by producing classroom activities in that learners must
negotiate meaning, utilize communication strategies, correct misapprehensions, and work to
avoid communication breakdowns (Richards, 2008).
One of the strategies which can be very effective in improving speaking fluency and accuracy and
seems to be neglected in the case of Iranian EFL learners is interactive speaking activities. Thus,
there is an urgent need to study this aspect in order to see if speaking fluency and accuracy will
be influenced by the use of interactive speaking activities in Iranian EFL intermediate
learners.This thesis specifically attempted to reflect on the following research questions: (1) Do
interactive speaking activities develop intermediate EFL learners' speaking fluency? (2) Do
interactive speaking activities develop intermediate EFL learners' speaking accuracy? And (3)Is
there any significant difference between intermediate EFL learners’ speaking fluency and
accuracy through applying interactive speaking activities?

2. Review of the Related Literature

2.1. Classroom Interaction
Interaction has long been regarded vital in language learning. Kramsch (1987) indicated that “it
may be quiet; it may be noisy; it may be alert and dynamic; it may accomplish in large groups,
small groups or pairs” (p. 18). It will make learners extremely involved in activities that draw on
their creativity. Teachers should express these features to learners to aid them succeed their
barriers and fear of embarrassment. Richards and Rodgers (2001) noted that second language
learning is simplified when students are motivated in interaction and meaningful
communication. Rivers (1987) expressed “Interaction is an elicitation of willing learner
participation and initiative which needs a high degree of interpersonal communication skills” (p.
10). It related to the interchange of information between the teacher and the learners or between
the learners. Brown (2001) considered that sending and receiving messages, interpreting them in
a context, negotiation meanings, and collaborative to perform certain aim is the ways that people
utilize to communicate together; all of them are the base of interaction. He has founded that the
best method to learn to interact is through interaction itself
Lee (2004) indicated that developing interactive activities looks to be an alternative means to
assist the second language learners to get the target language in a meaningful way. He said that
by means of interaction, second language learners can develop their linguistic competence and
utilize proper strategies to change and negotiate meaning in spite of their inaccurate and
incomplete speeches.Also, the concept of interaction has a vital importance in the classroom; it is
a significant part in learning and teaching processes. Allwright and Baily (1991) indicated that
interaction is something people can achieve together i.e. collectively. According to Richards, Platt,

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and Platt (1992), “classroom interaction refers to the patterns of oral and non-oral communication
and the kinds of social relationships which happen within classrooms that may be a part of
studies of classroom discourse, teacher talk and second language acquisition "(p. 150). Briefly,
classroom interaction can be a classroom process in which teachers and learners debate during
the class time for particular goals. It can be measured by dialogues and free debates in the
classroom.

2. 2. Fluency and Accuracy

As far as accuracy and fluency are focused, different researchers have given various definitions.
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To define fluency: some researchers focus only on some aspects of speech like words or syllables
per minute and the length or number of pauses (Lennon, 1990). Ellis and Barkhuizen
(2005) noted fluency as “the creation of language in real time without inappropriate pausing of
hesitation” (p.139). Hughes (2003) regarded fluency as the capacity to represent oneself in a
comprehensible, rational and correct way without too much hesitation otherwise the
communication will interrupt because listeners will lose their interest. To do this aim, the
teachers then should train students to utilize their personal language freely to represent their
own opinion and then avoid imitations of model of some kind. Brown (1991) noted “fluent means
flowing naturally and fluency may be an initial aim in language teaching” (p. 254). Thornbury
(2005) expressed that speed and pause are vital feature in fluency, because speakers require
taking breath. Skehan (1998) defined fluency as the capacity to speak or read rapidly, accurately,
and without undue hesitation. Thornbury (2005) defined speaking fluency includes connecting
words together without interrupting. Richards (2008) indicated “the learner's fluency can be
developed by creating classroom activities that learners must negotiate meaning, utilize
communication strategies, correct misapprehensions, and work to prevent communication
interrupts” (p. 14).
Stein and Schools (1999) expressed the term accuracy refers to correct use of linguistic
structures (i.e., grammatical accuracy), proper use of register (sociolinguistic accuracy),
exactitude of vocabulary (semantic accuracy), and appropriate use of cohesive devices (i.e.,
rhetorical accuracy). TavakoliandRezazadeh (2014) noted the interaction strategy training
expressed highlighted the significance of speaking in teaching and learning the foreign language.
They stated that EFL teachers may help the learners develop their oral performanceby means of
knowing how to go about planning a second/foreign language lessons during the course of
study. There is greater agreement among researchers with measures of accuracy (Shen, 2013).

2.3. Interactive Speaking Activities

Interactive speaking activities prepare opportunities for students to employ the second language
in a communicative way for meaningful activities.In order to see the effect of interaction strategy
training in developing speaking skills a research was conducted by Lourdunathan and Menon
(2005). The first aim of the study was to find how interaction strategy training might effects the
improvement of verbal competence.They also considered the frequency and the types of
interaction strategies utilized and the effectiveness of interaction strategy utilize after training.
The important findings of this study were that: (1) training or explicit instruction in interaction
strategies develop group interaction, (2) training resulted in more frequent and varied use of
interaction strategies. They also indicated that a small range of vocabulary or limited language
proficiency of the learners affected the successful use of interaction strategies
(Pourhossein,2014).Some researchers (e.g.,Kusnierek, 2015;M'mbone, Kemboi&Andiema, 2015)
draw attention to interactive teaching approaches todevelop verbal communication skills in
learners. They maintain that by providing enough opportunities for practicing the language and

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promoting students’ willingness to communicate in the classroom their confidence to take part in
class discussion will be raised up(Askari&Langroudi, 2014).

3. Methodology
3. 1. Participants
The present study was conducted with the help of 36 students who were selected out of 60 EFL
students from Farikhtegan English institute in Sarbandar. They were all females and ranged in
age from 16 to 19 years old.Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) was used to measure the
homogeny of the participants.Their level of English language proficiency was determined on the
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basis of their scores on the OQPT. Based on the students’ scores, the students who were in levels
40-47 (intermediate) were selected as the participants of this study. Then, they were randomly
divided into three groups of 12; two experimental groups (i.e., fluency and accuracy) and one
control group.

3.2. Instrumentation
Four different instruments were used in the process of the development of the present research.
Initially, theOQPT (2010) was used to determine the students’ homogeny level.It consisted of 60
questions. This test was utilizedto determine the students’ proficiency in English language. The
OQPTtest contained sixty multiple choice questions which needed 30 minutes to conduct.
According to OQPT, those who were at levels 40-47 (out of 60) were considered as intermediate
learners.
The second instrument of this study was a pre- test. It included 3 topics that each participant
talked about one of them. They were designed by teacher by using the Interchange book1
(Richards, 2008). It was scored through a speaking check list proposed by Hughes’ checklist
(2003). The students’ performances were scored by two raters at the same time. The inter-rater
reliability of this test was computed through Pearson Correlation formula as (r =0.871) to
calculate the reliability of the test scores.
The third instrument of this study wasa post-test. It was done to determine the effects of
treatment;interactive speaking activities (role-play,a topic and questionand answer) on
participants’ speaking fluency and accuracy. Moreover, the post-test includes the same topics in
the pre-test.It was scored through the speaking checklist (Hughes, 2003).The speaking post-tests
werescored by two raters at the same time. The inter-rater reliability of this test was computed
through Pearson Correlation formula as(r=0.696) to calculate the reliability of the test scores.
Finally, the checklist of speaking (Hughes, 2003) was used in both the pre-test and post-test to
measure speaking fluency and accuracy abilities of participants. This checklist had six
componentsincluding fluency, comprehension, communication, vocabulary, structure and accent.

3. 3. Materials
Considering eight sessions for the three classes at the English institute, the researcher was able to
select three lessons of "Interchange, book 1"(Richards, 2005)that were related to participants’
proficiency English language level. The lessons were selected based on the participants' pre-test
scores and the consultant received by two other instructors. They assigned that the level of
Interchange’ book 1 was appropriate for teaching students based on the results of the pre-test.

3.4. Procedure
This study was conducted at Farikhtegan English institution in Sarbandar. The first step was to
make sure of the students’ homogeneity. A week before the instruction, the researcher
administered OQPT (2010) to 60 female participants in order to select 36 participants. Those
participants that were at levels 40-47 were selected and divided into three groups randomly; two
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experimental groups (i.e., fluency and accuracy) and one control group. The three groups
included 12 participants. Before starting the instruction,thepre-test was administered to discover
the students’ levels of speaking proficiency at the beginning of the research period. It related to
speaking purpose. It was a face-to-face interview. Each student had an interview in 2 minutes.
After introducing themselves, the students weregiven 3 general topics, students spoke about one
of them base of their favorite topic. Each production was recorded by a MP3 player and then was
scored according to the checklist Hughes (2003) by two ratersat the same time.Experimental
groups received interactive speaking activities (i.e., role-play, a topic and question and answer)
on developing speaking fluency and accuracy. The control group received traditional
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(conversational) method at speaking activities;the activities are based on the "Interchange, book
1".
The treatment lasted eightsessions, 45 minutes a session, twice aweek. During the treatment, in
each session, the researcher applied interactive speaking activities in the experimental groups. As
it was mentioned before, during each session, three types of techniques including suggesting a
topic for each lesson, question and answers and role-play were used for speaking purpose. The
only difference between the two experimental groups wasthat in the fluency group,the teacher
focused on the ability to produce speech at a normal rate and without hesitation and the teacher
did not attend ungrammatical sentences but in the accuracy group,the teacher focused on
grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation and the teacher was as an assessor of accuracy as
learners attempt to pronounce the words; as a corrector of pronunciation; as an organizer in
giving instructions of their activities. The same lessons were taught tothe control and
experimental groups.The control group received traditional (conversational) method for speaking
and the teacher had an authority role. In the experimental groups, norms werenot defined only
by the teacher, but the teacher was as a facilitator. After the treatment period, the post-test of
speaking achievement was administered to the three groups.The Post-test was the same for all
control and experimental groups.The topics for the pre and post-test were the same. Each
production was recorded by the MP3 player and then was scored according to the checklist
developed by Hughes (2003) by two raters at the same time. Finally, the results of the tests were
compared to each other to know the importance of interactive speaking activities in speaking
fluency and accuracy.

3. 5. Data Analysis
In order to determine the effect of interactive speaking activities on developing speaking fluency
andaccuracyof Iranian intermediate EFL learners, once the scores of the pre-test and post-test
were obtained, then the data werecompared to each other through One-way ANOVA and Post-
hoc Scheffe test to reach the effectiveness of the treatment on teaching interactive speaking
activities and tofind out whether the differences between the three groups were statistically
significant.

4. Results
This section deals with the results obtained throughout the research and analytically scrutinizes
the three groups’ performance in the study. Since the number of the participants was 12 in each
group, the KS test was used to check the normality of scores. Arriving at the normality of scores
distribution, the researchers did the parametric statistics on the data. Descriptive statistics of the
pre-test by all the three groups is presented in the Table 1.

Table1.Descriptive Statistics (Pre-test)

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N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Interval Min. Max.
Deviation Error for Mean
Groups Lower Upper
Bound Bound
Fluency 12 10.3333 2.30940 .66667 8.8660 11.8007 4.00 12.00
Accuracy 12 11.8333 3.73761 1.07895 9.4586 14.2081 3.00 17.00
Control 12 11.1667 3.15748 .91149 9.1605 13.1728 5.00 18.00
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Total 36 11.1111 3.09634 .51606 10.0635 12.1588 3.00 18.00

Table 1 shows that in the present study, there were 12female students in each of the three
groups. The result of the pre-test showed that the mean score of the fluency group was 10.33. The
mean score of the accuracy group was 11.83. The mean score of the controlgroup was 11.16. The
total mean of the three groups was 11.11.In order to understand the degree of proximity among
the pre-tests, One-way ANOVA was administered.The results of the statistical operations are
presented in Table 2.

Table 2. One-way ANOVA (Pre-test)

Sum of df Mean Square F Sig.
Squares
Between Groups 13.556 2 6.778 .695 .506

Within Groups 322.000 33 9.758

Total 335.556 35

Table 2 shows that since the observed F (.695) is less than the critical F (2.87) with df= 2/33, the
difference between the pre-test in the three groups is not significant (p<0.05). Descriptive
statistics on the post-test is presented in Table 3.

Table 3. Descriptive Statistics(post-test)

N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Interval Min. Max.

Deviation Error for Mean
Groups Lower Upper
Bound Bound
Fluency 12 16.7500 1.35680 .39167 15.8879 17.6121 15.00 19.00
Accuracy 12 16.9167 1.31137 .37856 16.0835 17.7499 15.00 19.00
Control 12 14.4167 1.56428 .45157 13.4228 15.4106 12.00 17.00
Total 36 16.0278 1.79660 .29943 15.4199 16.6357 12.00 19.00
Table 3 shows that the mean score of the fluency group was 16.75. The mean score of theaccuracy
group was 16.91 and the mean score of the control group was 14.41. The total mean of the three
groups was 16.02.Since the present study investigates the effect of interactive speaking activities
on the EFL learner's speaking fluency and accuracy achievement, the performance of the
participants of each group was taken into consideration. Therefore, One-way ANOVA was used

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to determine whether the observed F was significant at the 0.05 level. The results of the One-way
ANOVA are presented in Table 4.

Table 4.One-way ANOVA (post-test)

Sum of df Mean Square F Sig.
Squares
Between Groups 46.889 2 23.444 11.707 .000
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Within Groups 66.083 33 2.003

Total 112.972 35
Since the observed F (11.707) is greater than the critical F (2.87) with df 2/33, the difference
between the groups is significant (p<0.05). It means that the three groups are different due to the
treatment of the present research. Results of the Post-hoc Scheffe test determine the exact
difference between the groups. Theresults of the Post-hoc Scheffe test are presented in the Table
5.

Table 5. Post-hoc Scheffe test, Multiple Comparisons

Mean Difference 95% Confidence Interval

(I) Tests (J) Tests (I-J) Std. Error Sig. Lower Bound Upper Bound
Fluency Accuracy -.16667 .57771 .959 -1.6474 1.3141

Control 2.33333* .57771 .001 .8526 3.8141

Accuracy Fluency .16667 .57771 .959 -1.3141 1.6474
Control 2.50000* .57771 .001 1.0192 3.9808
Control Fluency -2.33333* .57771 .001 -3.8141 -.8526
Accuracy -2.50000* .57771 .001 -3.9808 -1.0192
*. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.
Table 5 shows the Scheffe test analysis.It made clear that there is a significant difference among
the three groups in the post-test. Post-hoc Scheffe test was performed to show the multiple-
comparison of the three groups. It shows that, the difference between the fluencygroup and
thecontrol group was significant. Also, there is a significant different between the accuracy group
and the control group. The difference between the fluency group and the accuracy group was not
significant.

5. Discussion
This section elaborates on the results andfindings presented in the previous section through
providing answers to the followingresearch questions.
RQ1. Do interactive speaking activities develop intermediate EFL learners' speaking fluency?
The results of the pre-test and post-test showed thatthe mean scores of both groups (fluency and
control) improved and the mean scores betweenthe fluency group and the control group were

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significantly different.The mean of thefluency group in the post- test was more than the mean of
the control group.As a whole, the study showed that interactive speaking activities had
moreeffective role in enhancing EFL learners’speaking fluency achievement in the fluency group
at the intermediate level of English language compared to the control group. The results can be
more approved by this evidence that there were significant differences between the means of the
pre-tests andpost-tests of both fluency and control groups.That is to say, the learners in the
fluency group outperformed the learners in the control group with the focus on interactive
speaking activities in the classroom.Therefore, the first research null hypothesis was rejected.
This is in agreement with the findings of Choudhury (2005) and Nugroho (2011) who reported
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similar results with regard to the positive effect of interactive activities in improving speaking
skill.
It was also noticed that role-play, a topic and question and answer, with the teacher and with the
whole class made the students active and maximized their interest and involvement in interactive
speaking activities, resulting in the enhancement of speaking fluency. So, it decreased the number
of students’ hesitations and pauses to monitor their performances. This is very much compatible
with the results of the research conducted by M'mbone, Kemboi and Andiema (2015). Their
experiment discovered that interactive teaching approaches were important in the development
of verbal communication skills in learners. Also, the results of this study are in line with the
study thatPourhosseini (2014) did. It was designed to indicate whether exposure toclassroom
interaction wasbeneficial to develop speaking skills
RQ2. Do interactive speaking activities develop intermediate EFL learners' speaking accuracy?
There were significant differences between the means of the pre-tests and post-tests of both
accuracy and control groups. That is to say, the learners in the accuracy group outperformed the
learners in the control group with the focus on interactive speaking activities in the classroom. So,
participants in the accuracy group showed a significant improvement in the speaking accuracy
achievement (p<.05).Therefore, the second research null hypothesis was rejected.The finding of
this study is supported by Khadidja (2010).It was designed to indicate that, during regular
interactions in the classroom; students can decrease their speaking errors, create new
grammatical forms and vocabulary and thus strengthen their language abilities. The study found
that using interactive speaking activities is a valuable approach to whole language teaching.
Moreover, this study found that the using of interactive speaking activities improvedlearners’
speaking accuracy. So, the finding was compatible with the result of Mohammadi, Gorjian, and
Pazhakh (2014)which showed positive correlation between interactional speaking strategies and
speaking accuracy.
Using interactive speaking activities such as role-play, a topic and question and answer had
made the students feel more interactive and confident; they became self-aware, self-motivated,
enthusiastic and developed initiative in the learning. This explanation is supported by Assia and
Said (2014) who indicated that interaction is important to help learners particularly to ascertain
how well they are learning the type of the task-based grammatical structure in the class and it
had an influential impact on developing EFL learners’ speaking accuracy performance.
RQ3: Is there any significant difference between intermediate EFL learners’ speaking fluency and
accuracy through applying interactive speaking activities?
The finding of this study showed the use of interactive speaking activities had the same role in
improving speaking accuracy and speaking fluency in both groups (accuracy and fluency).It was
designed to indicate that, classroom interaction can be improved through interactive activities for
developing accuracy or fluency and controlled alternately by a teacher and students. The study
found that using interactive speaking activities is a valuable approach to teaching speaking
fluency and accuracy. Moreover, this study found that the using of interactive speaking activities

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improved learners’ speaking fluency and accuracy. So, the finding was compatible with the
results of Choudhury (2005) who indicated during interactions in the classroom, learners can
reduce their speaking mistakes, produce new phrases and utterances, thus strengthening their
language ability.

6. Conclusion
The present study investigated the effect of interactive speaking activities on developing
intermediate EFL learners' speakingfluency andaccuracy. This study began with
threeassumptions: (1) the first was that interactive speaking activities could enhance
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intermediateEFL learners' speaking fluency, (2)the second assumption was that interactive
speaking activities could enhanceintermediate EFL learners' speaking accuracy, and (3)the third
assumption was that there is not any significant difference between intermediate EFL learners’
speaking fluency and accuracy through applying interactive speaking activities.The result of
research indicated that interactive speaking activities affected intermediate language learners’
speaking fluency and accuracy. Both fluency andaccuracy groups outperformed in the post-
testbut thecontrol group did notdevelop much in the post-test. In short, interactive speaking
activities could be used for EFL students in teaching speaking fluency and accuracy.
To sum up, the results of this research showed the use of interactive speakingactivities such as
role-play, a topic and question and answer helped learners to improve their speaking fluency and
accuracy.Learners who studied English as a foreign language took part in this study. Also, the
same study can be replicated in other situations such as English second language situations and
even in native speakers’ contexts.Furthermore, this research was conducted on intermediate EFL
learners at Farikhtegan institute in Sarbandar. Other levels of language proficiency can also be
the participants of further studies if researchers wish to make generalizations about language
learners at different proficiency levels by consideringtwo personality traits. Eventually, the study
lasted for one month. Succeeding studies can allocate more time to study the effects of interactive
speaking activities on EFL learners’ speaking fluency and accuracy.

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Assia, B., & Said, K. (2014). The impact of small group interaction on learners’ grammatical
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Pourhossein, A. (2014). Classroom interaction and developing speaking skill.Retrieved
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Skill.
Richards, J. C. (2008). Teaching listening and speaking.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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Ur, P. (2009). Grammar practice activities (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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THE ROLE OF INTERPERSONAL

COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN EFL LEARNERS'
ORAL PERFORMANCE
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Bahman Gorjian1,Morteza Sodaienezhad2

1Associate Professor, Department of ELT, Abadan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Abadan, Iran
*Corresponding author (bahgorji@yahoo.com)
2Department of ELT, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran

Abstract
This study explored the effect of interpersonal communication skills on Iranian English as foreign
language (EFL) university students’ oral communication apprehension. 90 second -year students
who were studying at Islamic Azad University of Abadan were selected out of 120. The students
were chosen based on two tests of a self-report communication apprehension questionnaire and a
pre-test of speaking proficiency. The participants were non-randomly divided into three equal
groups. They included two experimental groups (i.e., student-student interpersonal
communication and teacher-student interpersonal communication) and a control group. They
met for 10 sessions (i.e., each an hour, twice a week). Then, the three groups were given a
speaking pre-test of speaking and aself-reportquestionnaire. During the treatment, three groups
covered three units of “Four Corner” (Richards, 2007). The experimental group of student-
student received instructions on why, when, and how to use the interpersonal communication.
The second experimental group of student-teacher had the same instruction.The control group
received traditional instructions including question and answer and discussion. After the
treatment sessions, the participants took the post-tests including the self-report questionnaire and
the speaking post-test.Data were analyzed through One-way ANOVA and findings showed
thestudent-student group outperformed the other groups in both level of communication
apprehension and oral performance.

Key Words: Interpersonal communication, oral communication, apprehension

1. Introduction
Emphasis in linguistics has turned linguists and language teachers to deep structures of language
and a holistic approach to language learning on the basis that true human interpersonal
communication learning is both cognitive and affective (Adler, Proctor & Rosenfeld, 2011). While
cognitive domain works with concepts such as knowledge, comprehension, and critical thinking
on a particular topic, affective domain describes the way human being s emotional reactions and
their ability to feel other living things' pain or joy. Since then, the affective domain of learning
gained more prominence because human was considered as a whole rather than merely the focus
of observable behavior (Argaman, & Abu-Rabia, 2002). The term ‘communication apprehension’
was used by McCroskey (1977) and is defined as a level of fear or anxiety of an individual

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connected with either real or anticipated interaction with another person or persons.
Communication apprehension has been frequently found in speech classrooms, school meeting,
and drama productions. It is a kind of anxiety, established often in the elementary grades, which
can deeply influence much or all of a student's oral communication, social skills, and self-esteem.
A number of research studies (Segrin& Taylor, 2007) have discovered that students rarely use
social and affective factors such interpersonal skill, pair work; therefore, they face a feeling of
apprehension to communicate .although this apprehension seems to be a universal factor among
language learners, EFL learners seem to suffer more than English as second language (ESL)
learners. The importance of communication skills is however increasing in the world, as English
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language is becoming a world language. The Lack of these natural communication skills in the
society as well as teacher- fronted classes has distilled the opportunity from EFL learners to
overcome their anxiety in foreign language classrooms. Consequently, EFL learners attend classes
with the desire to communicate orally but feel anxious due to shortage of interpersonal skills;
therefore, the present study is to investigate the possible effects of interpersonal communication
on learner’s oral communication apprehension.The present study proposes the following
research questions: Do interpersonal communication skills (i.e., teacher-learner or learner-learner)
affect EFL university students’ oral performance?

2. Background
Foreign language scholars have always been concerned with investigation of answers to find the
reasons for the great difficulty encountered by a number of students when learning a foreign
language where others find it less difficulty (Ganschow, Sparks, Anderson, Javorshy, Skinner &
Jon, 1994). Students who face difficulty learning a foreign language are often described as
underachievers, or lacking in motivation, or as having language learning disabilities (Huba&
Freed, 2000).
Brown (2000) defined the affective domain as “the emotional side of human behavior" (p.143).
The term affect is taken from psychology and is related to emotions or feelings. The affective
domain is related to the emotional side of human behavior. Understanding human beings feeling,
reactions and believing to achieve self- esteem is an important facet of a theory of second
language acquisition. It's hard to significantly describe the affective domain because large
numbers of variables are derived in light of the emotional side of human behavior in the second
language learning process including self-esteem, inhibition, empathy, attitude, motivation and
anxiety (Brown, 2000). The affective side of the learner can probably play a very important role
in language success or failure (Oxford, 1999). Chastain (1988) claimed that the affective factors
play a larger role in developing second/foreign language skills than do the cognitive ones
because the emotions control the will to activate or to shut down the cognitive function. She also
suggested that fluency depends less on the practice than it does on the emotional side.
A very important aspect of Krashen's (1982) theory is the AffectiveFilter Hypothesis. One of these
affective factors is anxiety among attitude and motivation that has received much attention as a
variable which has a devastating effect on performance in oral communication. Anxiety is seen in
psychology as either a trait (relatively stable personality trait), or as a state (a temporary
situation). Thethird type of anxiety is the anxiety which is specific to a situation. It refers to a
specific place in which someone is anxious (Horwitz, 2001; MacIntyre& Gardner, 1993) and
research in the field of languages have shown that learning a foreign language can be classified as
a specific situation. Furthermore, many researchers have insisted that speaking in the target
language may make anxiety for EFL learners (e.g., Aida, 1994; Bailey & Savage, 1984; Horwitz,
Horwitz & Cope,1986). Language learning anxiety may have negative effect on language
learning.

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2.1. Different Aspects of Personality Factors

Even though we all know what anxiety is and we all have experienced feeling of anxiousness,
anxiety is still not easy to define in a simple sentence (Brown, 2000). Anxiety, as defined by Scovel
(1978), is related to feelings like restlessness, uneasiness, frustration, self-doubt, apprehension or
worry. Anxiety is generally seen as a psychological concept. Brown (2000, p. 151) made a
distinction between" debilitative" and "facilitative" anxiety, and what Oxford (1999) called
"harmful" and "helpful" anxiety. Brown (2000) states that "facilitating anxiety helps learners to
overcome the obstacle, to get the job done; it can even simply push students to complete their
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homework while debilitating anxiety causes the learner to avoid the learning task in order to
avoid the source of anxiety" (pp. 151-152).
The relationship between anxiety and education has been established throughout the research
world for years (e.g., Gardner &MacIntyre, 1993; Horwitz, 2001; Horwitz &Young, 1990, 1991).
Topics like test anxiety are commonplace in today’s classrooms. While for many years society has
recognized anxiety in certain fields of study like science and mathematics, the relationship
between foreign language studies and situational anxiety only started gaining significant
attention twenty years ago. Brown (2000) expressed that the acquisition of a new language is
quite interesting though gigantic enterprise, encompassing a wide range of variables that may
stem from neurological to psychological, cognitive and affective domains. Human learning is so
complicated an issue that is extremely difficult to determine exactly the process taking place
during learning. As such, it may seem rather difficult to decide upon a theory of learning. In fact,
cognitive, emotional, biological, and other variables influence one's success or failure in learning.
Therefore, a theory of learning should consider all the factors and variables affecting the process
of learning
2.2. Interpersonal Communication
Interpersonal communication skills are part of everyone's daily life personally and professionally.
Interpersonal communication skills have impact on individual experience and improve
individual and group outcomes in life and work. Interpersonal communication can play an
important role in fulfilling several human needs, like the need to belong, the need for competence
and the need for autonomy (Baumeister& Leary, 1995; Ryan & Deci, 2000, 2008). There is large
body of research that shows that lack of adequate interpersonal communication skills is related to
psychological suffering (e.g., DiTommaso, Brannen-McNulty, Ross &Burgess, 2003; Wenzel,
Graff-Dolezal, Macho, &Brendle, 2005).Interpersonal communication skills have a broad range of
applications. As with childhood and adolescence, children who develop good interpersonal
communication skills perform better academically (Graziano, Reavis, Keane & Calkins, 2007).

3. Method
3.1. Participants
The study 120 second-year students, who were studying at Islamic Azad University of Abadan,
were selected of 150 learners through non-random convenience sampling method. Then 90
students were chosen based on two pre-tests of an anxiety test and a speaking proficiency. All
EFL learners were majoring in English Translation including males and females. The Participants
were sophomore that means all have passed Conversation and Listening I Course. Then they
were divided into three equal groups non-randomly. They were one control (i. e., traditional
listening and speaking class) and two experimental groups (i.e., teacher-student and student-
student).

3.2. Instrumentation

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The instruments included personal report of communication apprehension (PRCA-24), speaking
pre and post-test.The PRCA-24 was developed by McCroskey (1977).Including 24 items whose
reliability was reported as (alpha regularly >.90) and it has predictive validity as well. The same
questionnaire was used as a post-test.An interview to examine their prior interpersonal
communication based on IELTS (Ramezanee&Hakimi, 2004) was recorded to meet its inter-
reliability. Thus a checklist developed by Hughes (2003) was used and rate by two scorers in both
speaking pre and post-tests. The inter-rater reliability of the pre and post-tests were calculated
through Pearson Correlation Analysis as (r=.697) and (r=.841) respectively. The post-test aimed to
make sure that there was any change in the oral communication apprehension comparing with
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the pre-test.

3.3. Materials
The following research materials were implemented in the study:
a) A personal report of communication apprehension (PRCA-24) was administered to measure
the extent of participants' communication apprehension and the prior interpersonal
communication, it is highly reliable (alpha regularly >.90) and it has very high predictive validity.
The items positively worded; the higher the score the higher the degree of communication
apprehension.to measure to what extent participants feel communicatively apprehended , a 24-
item Likert-type foreign language class anxiety scale developed by McCroskey (1977) was
implemented. The questionnaire was given to the students after the oral interview.
b) The next was an oral interview based on IELTS test of speaking which was recorded. The test
began with asking general questions including: introduce themselves, talk about their jobs,
family, and hobbies, etc. The interview continued by giving them a topic and then they talked
about it. In other words we discussed about the given topic. The interviews were recorded on an
MP3player and then scored by two scorers according to scale Hughes (2003) for the sake of inter-
rater reliability. The MP3 player was used to record the participants' voice for the raters.

3.4. Procedure
In this study, the data were collected by means of anxiety questionnaire (McCroskey, 1977), an
oral interview which was based on the speaking test of IELTS (Ramezanee&Hakimi, 2004). First,
a pre-test of speaking was administered through a planned interview which was 2 or 3 minutes
for each participant. At the same time, the anxiety questionnaire was given to the participants.
Then there were 10 one -hour sessions of teaching speaking skills. The participants were exposed
to activities such as pair work and group work. The control group took ordinary treatment such
as class discussion, question and answer and answering the exercises but the other two
experimental groups were taught based on the students- students' interpersonal communication
skills and the other one was taught based on teacher-studentsinterpersonal communication. In
fact, in the teacher- student class, the students had no control over their own learning, this was
the teacher that initiate the talk, assigns student homework, solve their problems, traditionally
this kind of classes were called teacher centered while, in the student-student class teacher
attended the class teaching the student the interpersonal kills the first session and the kind of
skills they had to master. From the following sessions, the teacher monitored the students'
activities which were previously explained to them. Therefore, learners attended their class
without the fear of the teacher asking them their homework. In the student-student class student
were divided into groups of five and every activity was done in groups.
The interview topics were according to the topics they study in their books. It began with asking
general questions about their personal life, for example, introduce themselves and talk about

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their jobs, family, and hobbies and so on. The learners were asked to talk about the topics in pair
or as group of three members. At the end of the interview, they were asked some questions about
the given topic. The interviews were recorded on an MP3 player and then scored by two scorers.
The total score was 20 based on the Hughes' (2003) speaking checklist. The reliability of the
interview scoring was calculated through inter-rater reliability coefficient.
Exactly, after the speaking post-test, they were asked to answer the PRCA-24 questionnaire again.
The questionnaire copies were coded to observe the students’ privacy. It should be noted that
oral performance post-test focused on the proficiency level of the students' oral interviews
conducted face to face interaction in an isolated situation to minimize the degree of interference
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coming from unknown sources (i.e., interruption, making noise by other students, etc.). The data
were collected for further analysis.

3.5. Data Analysis

In order to determine if interpersonal communication skills have any impact on EFL learners’ oral
communication apprehension at the sophomore level, the collected data was analyzed by using
One-way ANOVA to show the mean differences between the groups. Then a Post-hoc Scheffe test
was used to show the significant effect of the variables in developing vocabulary learning of
Iranian English foreign language learners at the sophomore level.

4. Results
This section describes the process of analyzing the collected data, statistical computations.The
anxiety questionnaire of the three groups was analyzed throughone sample Kolmogrov-Smirnov
(KS) Test on the pre and post-tests to meet the normality of test distribution.
Table1.One sample Kolmogrov-Smirnov Test (Pre and Post-tests)

Student- Student- Teacher- Teacher- Control Control

student student student student anxiety anxiety
anxiety anxiety anxiety anxiety pre-Q post-Q
pre-Q post-Q pre-Q post-Q

N 30 30 30 30 30 30
Normal Mean 82.6667 41.0667 84.7667 77.8333 86.8333 85.0000
Parametersa,,b Std. Deviation 16.85503 14.84618 17.80679 14.60298 19.73459 16.40017
Most Absolute .237 .260 .151 .292 .108 .147
Extreme Positive .132 .172 .151 .178 .086 .100
Differences Negative -.237 -.260 -.139 -.292 -.108 -.147
Kolmogorov-Smirnov Z 1.299 1.422 .828 1.601 .590 .805
Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .068 .035 .500 .012 .877 .537
a. Test distribution is Normal.
b. Calculated from data.
Table 1 shows the data was calculated to make sure the distribution is normal. Normal
distribution is used when the data could be calculated through parametric statistics such as One-
way ANOVA. Table 2 shows the descriptive statistics in the pre-test of the three groups.

Table 2.Descriptive Analysis of Self-report QuestionnairePre-test

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N Mean SD Std. 95% Confidence Min. Max.

Erro Intervalfor Mean
Groups r Lower Upper
Bound Bound
Student-student 30 82.66 16.85 3.07 76.37 88.96 30.00 110.00

Teacher-student 30 84.76 17.80 3.25 78.11 91.41 50.00 120.00

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Control 30 86.83 19.73 3.60 79.46 94.20 38.00 125.00

Total 90 84.75 18.04 1.90 80.97 88.53 30.00 125.00

Table 2 shows the number of the students in each of the three groups is 30. Initially, each
student‘s pre-test score on the anxiety test was obtained. Then descriptive statistics of mean and
standard deviation of each group were calculated. Results indicated that the average means for
every three groups was near and the difference among the three groups’ was not significant.
Table 3.One-way ANOVA of Self-report QuestionnairePre- test

Sum of df Mean Square F Sig.

Squares
Between 260.422 2 130.211 .394 .675
Groups
Within Groups 28728.200 87 330.209
Total 28988.622 89
Table 3 shows that the observed F (F=.394) is less than critical F (F=3.11) with df=2/87. Thus the
difference between the groups is not significant at (p<0.05)on the pre-test.It shows that the
participants were closely at the same level of anxiety at the beginning of the course.The
descriptive statistics for the three groups on the post-test are presented in Table 4.
Table 4.Descriptive Statistics for the Self-report Questionnaireon the Post-test
N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Min. Max.
Deviat Error Interval for Mean
Groups ion Lower Upper
Bound Bound
Student- 30 41.06 14.84 2.71 35.52 46.61 24.00 80.00
student
Teacher- 30 77.83 14.60 2.66 72.38 83.28 50.00 100.00
student
Control 30 85.00 16.40 2.99 78.87 91.12 50.00 120.00
Total 90 67.96 24.56 2.58 62.82 73.11 24.00 120.00

Table4 shows that the mean in the student-student group differs significantly from two other
groups, and also the mean for teacher-student group shows a difference to some degree from the
control group. The mean for student-student, teacher-student, and control groups were 41.06,
77.83and 85.00 respectively. To describe the statistical significance of the three groups’ means,
One-way ANOVA was applied, and the results of the test were interpreted from two points:
Level of significance and F-ratio. The results of the statistical operations are analyzed in Table 5.

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Table 5.One- way ANOVA of the Self-report QuestionnairePost-test
Sum of df Mean F Sig. Table
5 Squares Square
Between 33332.867 2 16666.433 71.161 .000
Groups
Within Groups 20376.033 87 234.207
Total 53708.900 89
indicates that the observed F (F=71.161) is greater than critical F (F=3.11) with df=2/87, the
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difference between the groups is significant at (p<0.05).Thus the results of the post-test showed
that the participants' scores rejected the null hypothesis at the 0.05 level of significance which
shows that the differences among the means were significant. To clarify which group
outperformed other groups in the post-test, the Post-hoc Scheffe test was conducted to compare
the specific mean effectiveness among the three groups. Data are illustrated in Table 6.
Table 6.Multiple Comparison of Self-report QuestionnairePost-test (Post-hoc Scheffe test)

(I) VAR00020 (J) VAR00020 Mean Std. Sig. 95% Confidence

Difference Error Interval
(I-J) Lower Upper
Bound Bound
Student-student Teacher-student -36.766* 3.953 .000 -46.60 -26.92

Control -43.933* 3.95 .000 -53.77 -34.09

Teacher-student Student-student 36.766* 3.95 .000 26.92 46.60

Control -7.166 3.95 .199 -17.00 2.67

Control Student-student 43.933* 3.95 .000 34.09 53.77

Teacher-student 7.16667 3.95 .199 -2.67 17.00

*. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.
Table 6 shows that student-student group is significantly different from control group at the 0.05
level. The teacher-student group is not significantly different from the control group. The results
shows that the student-student group shows the greatest difference in comparison with the
control group and it shows that the interpersonal instruction had the most influence on the
results of communication apprehension on post-test and learners’ scores.
Table 7.Descriptive Analysis of the Participants' Oral Performance Pre-test
N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Min. Max.
Devia Error Interval for Mean
Groups tion Lower Upper
Bound Bound
Student- 30 14.20 1.84 .33 13.51 14.88 12.00 18.00
student
Teacher- 30 13.53 1.67 .30 12.90 14.15 12.00 17.00
student
Control 30 13.53 2.28 .41 12.68 14.387 10.00 17.00

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Total 90 13.75 1.95 .20 13.34 14.163 10.00 18.00
Table 7 provides the descriptive statistics of the three groups speaking test in terms of number
of participants (n), means, standard deviations (SD). Three groups of 30 students participated in
this research. Their speaking scores (both males and females) ranged from 12 to 18 out of 20.
There were not considerable and significant differences in demonstrated speaking level in the
pre-test.

Table8.One-way ANOVA of the Participants' Oral Performance Pre-test

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Sum of df Mean Square F Sig.

Squares
Between 8.889 2 4.444 1.166 .317
Groups
Within Groups 331.733 87 3.813
Total 340.622 89
Table 8 shows the observed F (F=1.166) is less than critical F (F=.3.11) with df=2/87, the
difference between the groups is not significant at (p<0.05).It indicates that the groups were
homogenies in the oral performance pre-test.Descriptive analysis of oral performance post-test is
presented in Table 9.

Table 9.Descriptive Analysis of Oral Performance Post-test

N Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence Min. Max.
Deviat Error Interval for Mean
Groups ion Lower Upper
Bound Bound
Student-student 30 17.60 1.10 .20 17.18 18.01 15.00 19.00

Teacher-student 30 14.26 1.59 .29 13.6 14.86 12.00 18.00

Control 30 13.40 2.17 .39 12.58 14.21 10.00 18.00

Total 90 15.08 2.46 .25 14.57 15.60 10.00 19.00

Table 9 shows that there is a great difference in mean scores of the groups' means of the post
tests. However, to know how much these scores differ fromthe means, Post-hoc Scheffe test is run
in Table 10.
Table 10. One- way ANOVA of Oral Performance Post-test

Sum of df Mean Square F Sig.

Squares

Between 295.022 2 147.511 52.112 .000

Groups
Within Groups 246.267 87 2.831
Total 541.289 89

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Since the observed F (F=52.112) is greater than critical F (F=3.11) with df=2/87, the difference
between the groups is significant at (p<0.05). The significant difference in speaking test is shown
in this table because the observed F is greater than the critical. However,to clarify which group
outperformed other groups in the post-test, the Post-hoc Scheffe test again was conducted to
compare the specific mean effectiveness among the three groups. Data are illustrated in Table 11.
Table 11.Post-hoc Scheffe Test of Oral Performance Post-test
(I) VAR00020 (J) VAR00020 Mean Std. Sig. 95% Confidence Interval
Differen Erro
Lower Bound Upper
ce (I-J) r
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Bound
Student-student Teacher-student 3.333* .434 .000 2.251 4.415

Control 4.200* .434 .000 3.118 5.281

Teacher-student Student-student -3.333* .434 .000 -4.415 -2.251
Control .866 .434 .143 -.215 1.948
Control Student-student -4.200* .434 .000 -5.281 -3.118
Teacher-student -.866 .434 .143 -1.948 .215
*. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.
Table 11 shows that the student-student group outperformed better compared to control and
teacher-student group; however, teacher-student did not show a great difference regarding the
mean difference with the control group.

5. Discussion
The results showed that there was not a significant difference among students‘ performance in
pre-test, but in contrast there was a significant difference among the performances of the three
groups in the post-test. It could be also observed that students who were helped to run the class
in student-student instructiongot better scores and their performance was better than the both
groups of teacher-teacher instruction and the control group. The reasons behind this result could
be discussed in terms of the effectiveness of interpersonal communication skills on oral
communication apprehension. The participants attended classes keeping in mind that the
purpose of learning was to communicate and this communication was resulted only if the
exchange of information among other classmates could take place. In addition, discussing,
creating, and thinking in a group reduced the participants' anxiety level and motivated the
learners to cooperate in class activities.
The teacher-student interactive classroom different have several weaknesses including lack
of rapport, social distance between the teachers and students which affect language learning in
general and learning speaking skill in particular. One way to modify this traditional pattern of
speaking skills is to give students more participation for interactive learning. Some teachers may
establish an atmosphere for friendly learning and this makes the students motivated to learn
better (Webb & Baird, 1968). The concept of a student-student approach has been fruitful based
on the results of this study. Teachers need to encourage students to rely more on themselves and
less on the teacher. Students should be self-motivated with an inquiring nature. The teacher was
the ultimate power to provide the students with the authentic language any error was corrected
immediately , therefore , learners were afraid to participate in class freely; therefore, the second
null hypotheses is not rejected and teacher-teacher interpersonal communication does not affect
student oral communication apprehension.

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Many language teachers in EFL contexts treat learners in a traditional way that is they
dominate the whole time of the class and lees attention is given to the students' interaction.
Moreover, in teacher-centered classes where the students have a passive role in learning, teachers
are considerably remiss in teaching paramount component of language, overlooking the insight
that they can give language learners by using language learning strategies in general and
cognitive strategies in particular. Teachers need to encourage students to rely more on
themselves and less on the teacher. Students should be self-motivated with an inquiring nature.
As teachers, they should endeavor to abandon taking the full responsibility of teaching and
engage the learners in the process of learning and bring up independent and autonomous
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language learners.

6. Conclusion
The results indicated that the instruction of using interpersonal communication skills did affect
the learners’ oral communication apprehension in the student-student class the most. EFL
learners should participate in class interactions and take more responsibility for their learning
and rely less on teachers and adopt cooperative learning. Learners’ autonomy is the ultimate goal
of language teaching. Learners’ autonomy implies that in the absence of language teachers and
classes, language learners continue their learning. If learners rely on their teachers, as soon as
they are left by themselves, they easily quit learning. Interpersonal commination among students
all kinds of interactions are useful ways to eliminate this problem. Interpersonal communication
is the path through which learner autonomy can appropriately be achieved. As a result, the
language learners are also suggested that to be more active in innovative conversations,
especially ones that help them interact in everyday life which can reduce their apprehension. A
future study is essential in which the immediate and delayed post-tests are conducted at different
time intervals to show the effectiveness of semantic relation in shorter and longer periods.

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A REVISION
STRATEGICMEDIATIONQUESTIONNAIRE:
ASSESSMENT AND VALIDATION WITHIN
SOCIOCULTURAL FRAMEWORK
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Maryam Niami
PhD student, Department of English Language, Science and Research Branch,Islamic Azad
University, Tehran, Iran
maryamniami@gmail.com

Parviz Maftoon1
Department of English, Science and Research Branch,Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
pmaftoon@gmail.com

Abstract
This paper deals with the process of developing and validating a writing revision strategies and
strategic mediation questionnaire including four categories: artifact-mediated, rule-mediated,
community-mediated, and role-mediated strategies. Three types of evidence regarding the
validity of the questionnaire were accumulated: content, reliability, and construct. Content
validity was obtained from expert judges, and cronbach’s alpha was used to measure the internal
consistency reliability of the questionnaireand each subscale. A principal component anlysis (pca)
was used to assess the construct validity of eachsubscale. Regarding pca results, a new
subcategorization of strategic mediation is suggested and potential problems and limitations are
pointed out. The authors conclude the triagulation of the different data sources in the validation
process provides not only information on the validity of the instrument but also valuable insights
into developing a more valid questionnaire.

Key words: validation, revision strategies, strategic mediation, sociocultural theory

Introduction
Revision has a long history in the field of composition and has been understood and measured in
various ways (Fitzgerald, 1987). The importance of revision in writing is universally recognized.
Experts see the need for student writers to learn how to revise more effectively (Grabe and
Kaplan, 1996, cited in Sengupta, 2000; Leki, 1992). Murray (1991, cited in Cameron Horn, 2009)
describes the relationship between writing and revision by declaring, “Writing is revising, and
the writer’s craft is largely a matter of knowing how to discover what you have to say, develop,
and clarify it, each requiring the craft of revision” (p. 2).
Application of mediation analysis and Activity Theory has recently mushroomed in writing
research (e.g., Prior, 2001; Prior and Shipka, 2003; Villamil and deGuerrero, 1996), in tandem with

1
Corresponding Author
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the increasing popularity of sociocultural research in SLA and language learning strategies (e.g.,
Donato and McCormick, 1994; Lantolf, 2000, 2006; Parks andRaymond, 2004).
To further extend sociocultural research in L2 writing, Lei's (2008) study explores EFL learners’
writing strategy use in a general academic setting by drawing on Activity Theory. According to
Activity Theory, writing strategies, as a kind of higher mental function, are mediated. To
distinguish them from other higher mental functions and capture their peculiar features, writing
strategies are defined as mediated actions which are consciously taken to facilitate writers’
practices in communities.
2. Literature review and research rationale
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2.1. A classic model of writing and revision processes

Within the traditional cognitive framework, writing is regarded as a ‘‘non-linear, exploratory and
generative process whereby writers discover and reformulate their ideas as they attempt to
approximate meaning’’ (Zamel, 1983, p. 165), and during writing, writers use strategies such as
planning, translating, reviewing, monitoring, generating ideas, organizing, goal-setting,
evaluating, and revising (Bereiter and Scardamalia, 1987; Flower and Hayes, 1980, 1981;
Grabeand Kaplan, 1996, cited in Lei, 2008). However, as Prior (2006 cited in Lei, 2008) points out,
the cognitive paradigm is ‘‘too narrow in its understanding of context and was eclipsed by
studies that attended to social, historical, and political contexts of writing’’ (p. 54).
The cognitive process model of writing and revision proposed by Flower et al. (1986) has become
a classic proposal in analyzing students’ writing and revision process in both the native language
(Beach, 1976; Faigley and Witte, 1981) and the second language (Zamel, 1985). In this model,
writing and revision were portrayed as cognitive processes influenced by the writer’s knowledge
and intentions for the text, accounting for how feedback influences revision by way of a writer’s
goals for the piece and interpretation of the feedback. Processes of revision include reading the
text, detecting problems, selecting a strategy, and revising the text (Herrington, 1992, cited in Lee
and Schallert, 2008). As Faigley (1986, cited in Lee and Schallert, 2008) stated, as much as the
cognitive model’s contribution to the current views of what a writer experiences needed to be
acknowledged, such a view reflected an individualistic perspective on writing that did not
address the greater social and cultural meaning of writing and revision acts. It lacked the
sociocultural turn that educational researchers were beginning to take, influenced by Lev
Vygotsky (1978). In the field of writing, this sociocultural framework has become influential since
1980s.
2.2. Writing and revision processes from a sociocultural perspective
Vygotsky (1978) viewed learning as a sociocultural process in which the learner acquires new
knowledge and skills by interacting with a more expert person and comes to be ableto perform a
task under guidance that could not be achieved alone (Lantolf, 2000). In Vygotsky’s view,
knowledge is not transmitted from an expert to a novice or constructed by individuals on their
own. Rather, it is socially constructed amongindividuals facilitated by the learner’s reciprocal
contributions to the process.
According to Lave and Wenger (1991, cited in Lei, 2008), learning is a way of being in the social
world; learners acquire knowledge and skills through actual practice and, in this way, gain access
to their communities. Prior and Shipka (2003) argue that writing is deeply laminated by the
dispersed, fluid chains of writing places, time, people, and artifacts. From these studies, we can
see that cognition, as applied in writing, and context are intertwined and interact so closely that
their boundaries are blurred, and we need a dialectical approach to studying them in a holistic
way. The centrality of activity in sociocultural research is reflected in Leont’ev (1981, cited in Lim
and Chai, 2004) assertion:

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‘‘Human psychology is concerned with the activity of concrete individuals, which takes place
whether in a collective – that is, jointly with other people – or in a situation in which the subject
deals directly with the surrounding world of objects – e.g., at the potter’s wheel or the writer’s
desk – if we removed human activity from the system of social relationships and social life, it
would not exist …. The human individual’s activity is a system in the system of social relations. It
does not exist without these relations’’ (pp. 46–47).
The unit of analysis allows one to observe the actual learning processes in context, where the
context is the activity system. It integrates the subject (individual participant), the object, the
tools, and the dynamic nature of human activities (Lim and Chai, 2004). Drawing upon
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Vygotsky’s (1978) higher and elementary mental functioning, ‘‘unmediated’’ (elementary)

functioning occurs along the base of the triangle, while ‘‘mediated’’ (higher) functioning are
interactions between the subject (individual) and object (task) mediated by tools. However, this
basic mediational triangle (figure 1) fails to account for the collective and dynamic nature of
activities.

Figure 1. The basic mediational triangle

(Engestro¨m, 1987, cited inLecusay et al., 2008)

The expanded version adds the crucial components of community, rules, and division of labor to
the classical mediational triangle (see figure 2). Individuals exist in communities where there is
division of labor with the “continuously negotiated distribution of tasks, powers, and
responsibilities among the participants of the activity system” (Cole and Engestrom, 1993, p. 7,
cited in Lim and Chai, 2004). The relations between the individual (subject) and community are
mediated by the community’s collection of mediating tools, and rules. Rules, according to Cole
and Engestrom (1993, cited in Lim and Chai, 2004) are “the norms and sanctions that specify and
regulate the expected correct procedures and acceptable interactions among the participants” (p.
7).

Figure 2. The expanded version of activity triangle (Engestro¨m, 1987, cited inLecusay et al., 2008)

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With the recent shift from the cognitive to the sociocultural paradigm in both SLA and writing
studies shedding new light on second language (L2) writing and its relationship with context, the
necessity of reconceptualizing writing strategies within the sociocultural framework is brought
into prominence (Lantolf and Thorne, 2006). Viewing writing from a sociocultural perspective,
Murphy (2000) views it as inherently a social and cultural construction, as “discourse reflecting
writers' mediations in the social and cultural world” (Sperling, 1998, cited in Murphy, 2000).
Lei (2008) explored a sociocultural approach to studying writing strategies, an approach whose
fundamental tenet is “ to understand the inner mental processes of human beings, we must look
at human beings in their sociocultural context’’ (van der Veer, 2007, p. 21). In Lei’s (2008) study,
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in a writing activity, subjects’ actions towards objects are mediated by four interrelated factors:
mediating artifacts (e.g., computers and languages), rules (e.g., norms and sanctions), community
(e.g., disciplinary community and discourse community), and division of labor (e.g., writers and
readers).
2.3. Questionnaire validation
Before making any claims based on questionnaire data, one needs to present theoretical and
empirical evidence supporting the adequacy and appropriateness of the inferences one draws
from such data (Dornyei, 2003; Hatch and Lazaraton, 1991; Messick, 1989). This is referred to as
the process of questionnaire validation, “the process of building a case-articulating an argument
and collecting evidence” in support of the particular interpretations and inferences one makes
based on questionnaire data (or any other measure) (Bachman, 2004, p. 262; Messick, 1989). Few
L2 studies, however, have collected and reported validation data for the questionnaires they use
(e.g., Block, 1998; Petric and Czarl, 2003; Sakui and Gaies, 1999; Wintergest et al., 2001). It is
important to know how and why items are constructed, how they are trialed and revised, and
how they performed (Dornyei, 2003; Hatch and lazaraton, 1991). In addition, it is important to
demonstrate that the questionnaire measures the intended construct and that it does so
consistently (i.e., reliability evidence).
Below we describe the process of developing our questionnaire. The participants in the study and
present three types of evidence concerning its validity are explained and discussed: content-
related, construct-related, and reliability evidence.

3. Methodology
3.1. Developing the item pool
Lei (2008) investigated how two learners strategically mediated their writing processes with
diverse resources and identified four types of writing strategies, namely, artifact-mediated, rule-
mediated, community-mediated, and role-mediated strategies. Subcategories were specified
within each category to further explicate the learners’ strategy use. She reconceptualized writing
strategies from a sociocultural perspective by using qualitative method of data collection. The
present researchers decided to develop a questionnaire on writing revision strategies based on
Lei’s study and validate it, so that it can be administered quantitatively on a large number of
students in future sociocultural and writing strategy research. Moreover, such an instrument
would enable researchers to compare findings in different contexts.
A 31-item questionnaire was drafted, scrutinized, and re-worded several times (see Appendix A).
Care was taken to ensure that the language used in the questionnaire was suitable for the
students at an intermediate level of language proficiency and above. In our efforts to accomplish
this, the items went through many reiterations that typically involved parting them down,
clarifying the intent, and removing any unnecessary and/or complex phrases, e.g., in the first
draft, “my essay” was used while after reading the questionnaire critically, we decided to
substitute “essay” with “writing” in all the relevant items (Table 1).

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Table 1
An example of rewording an item in the phase of developing the item pool.
First draft Final draft
1. I used the internet to revise my essay. 1. I used the internet to revise my writing.

In spite of our efforts to carefully craft each item, one is never totally confident that the choices
made are the right ones. This is where piloting and reliability testing of the items can increase
confidence levels. We asked 10 participants to read the items and provide us with a feedback on
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the face validity. We made a number of modifications accordingly. We optimized the qualitative
characteristics of the instrument from the participants’ points of view (e.g., using bigger font sizes
and preparing a separate answer sheet). Having seen the questionnaire before its administration,
the participants were excluded from the study.
3.2. Participants
We collected data from two groups of participants: 4 expert judges who provided judgments of
the content validity of the questionnaire and students who provided responses to the final
version of the questionnaire (see Appendix B for the final version of the questionnaire). Students
were asked to respond to each item using a 5-point Likert scale, with 5 indicating ‘not at all, not
really, …’ (see Appendix C for the answer sheet).
3.2.1. Expert judges
The judges considered as ‘content experts’ (Henk and McKenna, 2004, p. 211, cited in Spada et al.,
2009) included four English instructors virtually experienced in teaching writing.
3.2.2. Questionnaire respondents
The questionnaire respondents were 40 students who studies English Literature or English
Translation at BA level. Essay writing is an obligatory course for them to complete their BA
studies. The questionnaires were administered during classroom time, taking no more than 25
minutes to fill out. The students’ individual responses to each item on the questionnaire were
entered into a database. To conduct the various analyses described below, the respondents with
missing data on any of the 23 questionnaire items were excluded, resulting in a sample of 36
students out of the original sample of 40.
3.2.3. Data analyses
A number of statistical analyses were carried out on the dataset. First, to examine the content
validity of the questionnaire, we conducted the formal expert review of all the items. The content
aspect of construct validity includes evidence of content relevance and representativeness. Both
of these were appraised by the experts using the critical feedback survey and their professional
judgments captured in the written comments.
Second, to assess the reliability of the subscales, Cronbach Alpha index was used to determine
the degree to which a scale is internally consistent, or reliable (Spada et al., 2009). Alpha if item
deleted was also computed for each subscale. We decided to keep items if an item’s deletion failed
to increase alpha for its respective subscale by at least .01. Cronbach Alpha if item deleted indicates
that deleting these items increases the internal consistency reliability of their respective scales.
Third, our main strategy to empirically demonstrate our questionnaire is measuring what we
claim it is measuring, i.e., construct-related validity, was to perform a principal component
analysis (PCA) on the questionnaire items. PCA is a statistical technique often used in
questionnaire development to determine if groups of items go together to form a component or a
construct (Wintergerst et al., 2001).
4. Results
4.1. Content validity

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Establishing content validity was an essential step in the construction of the questionnaire. The
first 31-item draft was given to three experts, including teachers of academic writing in English,
to obtain expert opinions on the relevance of items to the objectives of the questionnaire, possible
wording and interpretation problems, and the instructions. Simultaneously, the instrument was
also read by ten members of the target population, who were asked to give a feedback on the face
validity of the questionnaire. The qualitative characteristics of the instrument was optimized
from the participants’ points of view. As a result of the content validity check, some major
changes were implemented, of which the most important ones were eliminating ambiguous,
irrelevant, and repeated items, and correcting a number of wording problems. Moreover, we
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added an example to the instructions on the answer sheet because the experts found it helpful for
the participants (see Appendix C). At this phase of the study, 8 items were eliminated from the
questionnaire. Table 2 reports expert opinions.

Table 2
Expert opinions and their agreement on the items.

Deleted items Deletion justification(s) based on expert Percentage of expert

opinion agreement

5 It can be merged with item 2 and form one item 100%

because books include grammar books.
Table 2(continued from last page)

Deleted items Deletion justification(s) based on expert Percentage of expert

opinion agreement

9 It is synonymous with item 11 and repeated. 100%

Both ask about grammar and grammatical
structure of writing.
15 It is irrelevant to strategy studies. One of the 75%
experts believed that it might be relevant.
16 The answer to the question can be inferred 75%
from item 17, so it is repeated.
18 It is synonymous with item 20 and repeated. 100%
19 It is synonymous with item 20 and repeated. 100%
27 The answer to the question can be inferred 75%
from item 29, so it is repeated. Besides, the
answer does not guarantee strategy use.
30 It is ambiguous. It can be related to either self- 100%
assessment or strategy application, or may be
both.

4.2. Reliability
Cronbach’s alpha for the questionnaire is .77. Tables 3,4,5,6 (see Appendix D) report Cronbach’s
alpha for each subscale. Also included in these tables is Cronbach’s Alphas if item deleted for each
subscales. Alpha measures the internal consistency of the scale, meaning how well items in a
scale vary together in a sample. Alpha if item deleted indicates the effect of eliminating an item on

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the overall alpha coefficient for that scale. In other words, it indicates whether deleting these
items increases the internal consistency reliability of their respective scales.
Table 3 illustrates that by removing item 7, alpha does not change. Since this item checks an
important issue in writing, i.e., thinking in the target language during the writing process, the
researchers decided to keep it. In Tables 4, 5, and 6, we can see that the omission of items 13, 22,
28, and 31 does not decrease alpha. As the inclusion of these items is in line with the theory of
mediation, and they load considerably on the relevant components, they were modified but not
deleted.
4.3. Construct validity
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As noted above, a principal components analysis (PCA) was performed on the questionnaire
items to assess whether the questionnaire is measuring what we claim. PCA was performed to
estimate the number of components. Kaiser’s rule of keeping components with eigenvalues
greater than 1 was utilized.
We used the Principle Component extraction technique and Varimax rotation procedure.
According to Tabachnick and Fidell (1996, cited in Spada et al., 2009), an item is considered to
load on a component if the absolute value of the loading will be equal to or greater than 0.30.
In Table 3, item 1 loads on both components 1 and 2. Before piloting, the researchers labeled this
item as the internet-mediated strategies. Based on the data analysis, it was observed that it is
related both to informative tools- mediated strategies and the internet-mediated strategies. Item
14 asks about the logical development of the writing (Table 4). The data analysis shows that this
item loads both on rhetoric mediated strategies and fluency mediated strategies. Before piloting,
we categorized the items into two groups regarding community-mediated strategies: campus
community-mediated strategies and society-mediated strategies. Factor analysis does not prove
this classification. According to PCA, items 21 and 23 load on component 2 labeled class
environment-mediated strategies. The rest of the items can be classified as society or outside
class-mediated strategies (Table 5). After data analysis, the classification is changed into inside-
class environment-mediated strategies and outside-class (or society) mediated strategies.
5. Discussion and conclusion
The main finding of this research is that the final 23-item version of the questionnaire is a reliable
measure and can be used in other contexts for both research and pedagogical purposes. The
analyses to determine the reliability and validity of the questionnaire revealed its success in
measuring the intended constructs: artifact, rule, community, and role mediated strategies.
Considering the results obtained from PCA, the subcategorization of the items was somehow
changed (see Appendix E).
The present research suggested a new reconceptualization and subcategorization of the revision
mediated strategies from a sociocultural perspective and has contributed to the growing corpus
of sociocultural research.
Anderson (2005) used ‘‘orchestration,’’ and Oxford (2001) coined the term ‘‘strategy chain’’ to
describe the connectedness in L2 learning strategy use. As shown in the findings, the students
employed cultural artifacts (e.g., the internet, L1, L2, dictionaries, and books), applied rules
related to accuracy and fluency of writing, socialized with people from different communities,
and fulfilled their social roles as a writer and learner. All these mediated actions were
components of their writing processes that helped them write and revise their essays.
In addition, mediated actions are oriented toward conscious goals. Setting revision of their
writings as their goal, the participants employed different mediated strategies. The interaction
between these strategies within and across the four categories can be investigated in the future
studies. Therefore, it is suggested that this sociocultural approach to writing strategy research
should capture both writers’ mediated actions and the context in which these mediated processes

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are applied. In sum, as Lei (2008) stated writing strategy use involves not only the strategic
mediation of diverse resources in the world, but also the fulfillment of writers’ goals in the
society.
Potential users of this questionnaire will need to collect and report evidence about the quality of
the data they obtain because validity and reliability are relative and context dependent
(Bachman,2004). Such studies will contribute to further evaluation and improvement of the
questionnaire.
One of the objectives of developing such questionnaires was to describe the process of
development and validation of a questionnaire for use in L2 research. Although the results
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indicate some success in measuring the intended constructs, there are many challenges involved
in defining and quantifying the revision strategies within the sociocultural framework.
The next phase of our research includes a quasi-experimental study to investigate the relationship
between revision mediated strategies and teacher feedback. Our development of a questionnaire
that has been shown to be a valid measure of revision mediated strategies gives us the confidence
to move forward in our research.

References
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language teaching and learning (pp. 757–771). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Bachman, L.F. (2004). Statistical Analyses for Language Assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Beach, R. (1976). Self-evaluation strategies of extensive revisers and non-revisers. College
Composition and Communication, 27, 160–164.
Block, B. (1998). Exploring interpretations of questionnaire items. System, 26, 403–425.
Cameron Horn, G. ( 2009). Rubrics and revision: What are the effects of 3 rd graders using rubrics
to self-assess or peer-assess drafts of writing? An MA thesis: Boise State University. Retrieved
October 10, 2010 from www.google.com/scholarworks.boisestate.edu/cgi.
Donato, R., & McCormick, D. (1994). A sociocultural perspective on language learning strategies:
The role of mediation. The Modern Language Journal, 78(4), 453 464.
Dornyei, Z. (2003). Questionnaires in Second Language Research: Construction, Administration and
Processing. NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah.
Faigley, L., Witte, S. (1981). Analyzing revision. College Composition and Communication, 32, 400–
414.
Fitzgerald, J. (1987). Research on revision in writing. Review of Educational Research, 57, 481-506.
Flower, L., Hayes, J., Carey, L., Schriver, K., &Stratman, J. (1986). Detection,Diagnosis, and the
strategies of revision. College Composition and Communication,37, 16–55.
Hatch, E., &Lazaraton, A. (1991). The Research Manual: Design and Statistics for Applied Linguistics.
Boston, MA: Heinle.
Lantolf, J. P. (2000). Sociocultural theory and second language learning. Oxford: OUP.
Lantolf, J. P. (2006). Sociocultural theory and L2. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 28, 67–109.
Lantolf, J. P., & Thorne, S. L. (2006). Sociocultural theory and the genesis of second language
development. Oxford: OUP.
Lecusay, R., Rossen, L., & Cole, M. (2008). Cultural-historical activity theory and the zone of
proximal development in the study of idioculture design and implementation. Cognitive Systems
Research, 9, 92–103.
Lee, G., &Schallert, D. L. (2008). Meeting in the margins: Effects of the teacher-student
relationship on revision processes of EFL college students taking a composition course. Journal of
Second Language Writing, 17, 165-182.

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Lei, X. (2008). Exploring a sociocultural approach to writing strategy research: Mediated actions
in writing activities. Journal of Second Language Writing, 17, 217-236.
Leki, I. (1992). Understanding ESL writers: A guide for teachers. London: Heinemann.
Lim, Ch. P., & Chai, Ch. S. (2004). An activity-theoretical approach to research of ICT integration
in Singapore schools: Orienting activities and learner autonomy. Computersand Education, 43, 215-
236.
Messick, S. (1989). Validity. In: Linn, R.L. (Ed.), Educational Measurement (pp. 13–103). (3rd ed.).
New York: American Council on Education, Macmillan PublishingCompany.
Murphy, S. (2000). A sociocultural perspective on teacher response: Is there a student in the
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room? Assessing Writing, 7, 79-90.

Oxford, R. L. (2001). Language learning strategies. In R. Carter, & D. Nunan(Eds.), The Cambridge
guide to teaching English to speakers of other languages (pp. 166–172). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Parks, S., & Raymond, P. M. (2004). Strategy use by nonnative-English- speaking students in an
MBA program: Not business as usual! The Modern Language Journal, 88(3), 374–389.
Petric´, B., &Cza´ rl, B. (2003). Validating a writing strategy questionnaire. System, 31, 187-215.
Prior, P. (2001). Voices in text, mind, and society: Sociohistoric accounts of discourse acquisition
and use. Journal of Second Language Writing, 10, 55–81.
Prior, P., Shipka, J. (2003). Chronotopic lamination: Tracing the contours of literate activity. In C.
Bazerman, & D. R. Russel (Eds.), Writing selves/writingsocieties:Research from activity perspectives
(pp. 180–238). Fort Collins, CO: WAC Clearing House and Mind, Culture, and Activity. Retrieved
February 20, 2010 from http://wac.colostate.edu/books/selves_ societies/.
Sakui, K., &Gaies, S. J. (1999). Investigating Japanese learners beliefs about language learning.
System, 27, 473–492.
Sengupta, S. (2000). An investigation into the effects of revision strategy instruction onL2
secondary school learners. System, 28, 97-113.
Spada, N., Barkaoui, Kh., Peters, C., So, M., &Valeo, A. (2009). Developing a questionnaire to
investigate second language learners’ preferences for two types of form-focused instruction.
System, 37, 70-81.
Van der Veer, R. (2007). Vygotsky in context: 1900–1935. In H. Daniels, M. Cole, &J. V.Wersch
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Villamil, O. S., & de Guerrero, M. C. M. (1996). Peer revision in the L2 classroom: Social-cognitive
activities, mediating strategies, and aspects of social behavior. Journal of Second Language Writing,
5(1), 51–75.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press.
Wintergerst, A. C., DeCapua, A., &Itzen, R. C. (2001). The construct validity of one learning styles
instrument. System, 29, 385–403.
Zamel, V. (1983). The composing processes of advanced ESL students: Six case studies. TESOL
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Zamel, V. (1985). Responding to student writing. TESOL Quarterly, 19(1), 79–102.

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LANGUAGEPEDAGOGYANDDISCOURSE
ANALYSIS: THE MOVETOWARDSA DA-ORIENTED
TEFL
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Abbas Bayat, Department of English Language, Malayer Branch, Islamic Azad University,
Malayer, Iran.
abbasbayat305@yahoo.com

Negar Nowroozzadeh, PhD Candidate in TESL, Department of English Language, Malayer

Branch, Islamic Azad University, Malayer, Iran.
nowroozzadeh@yahoo.com

Abstract
Nowadays,what hasbrought amore functionallysignificant bearingforlanguage useas asocio-
linguistic meansisthenow-thriving‘cda’.the centrallocus-pointproposed bysucha view is
thatlanguage can beused manipulatively to pursuecertainhidden endsand further personally
sustainedinterests.the field of language teachingcan alsoavail itselfof thetheoreticalas well asthe
practicalbearingsof such anextra-linguisticfield andits oncomingimports.therefore,
bringingthelanguagestudentsinto contactwith the pedagogicalgroundsandpracticalimplicationsof
the‘cda’is a needin today’sclassroomenvironments both withregard to its theoreticalbenefitsas
wellas the functionalramificationsit might havefor ‘tefl’byteachinghow to uselanguageandits
lingua-culturalsubtletiesin order fora certainextra-lingualobjectiveto be met. The present
articlegoes througha review ofthe main tenetsunderlyiing‘da’ towards a ‘da-orientedapproach’to
‘TEFL’.

Key words:extra-linguisticfunctions, ‘da’,‘cda’,discourse-oriented approach,‘tefl’

1. Introduction
The main relational bond between Discourse Analysis and Teaching English as a Foreign
Language is their common concern with the field of speech acts or language as acting. The
application of DA in TEFL concerns the pedagogical trend which aims to inform the language
practitioners on how to know and use the functional capabilities of language as a socio-linguistic
means. As such, DA-oriented TEFL concerns itself not only with analyzing the socio-functional
features of language as a discursive product but also with trying to bring under study the process
by which a language practitioner does so and with how such a process can be taught to language
learners. To do this, the DA-oriented TEFL endeavors to carry out such process-targeted
discourse-analytical studies by placing the language as a socio-linguistic product within the
context of use in an attempt to infer the socio-functional regularities and discursive patterns from
the contextual material. Of major importance in this regard is the weight the spoken language
gains in such discourse-analytical studies. Language as such is a more authentic version of
natural discourse.

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In trying to demarcate the field of Discourse Analysis studies, M. McCarthy (1991: 5) sees DA's
territory to be concern with 'the study of the relationship between language and the contexts in
which it is used.' Therefore, Discourse Analysis is the study of linguistic distribution of some
elements in the context of use and the influences of contextual and cultural factors in that
particular use. In their Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics,
Richards and Schmidt (2010: 174) define the term 'discourse' as 'a general term for examples of
language use, i.e. language which has been produced as the result of an act of communication. In
their definition, while grammar refers to the rules a language uses to form such grammatical
units as clause, phrase, and sentence, it is discourse which normally refers to such larger units of
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language as paragraphs, conversations, and interviews. As theon van Dijk (1997), a major figure
in discourse analysis, maintains, discourse is as well agreed by discourse analysts to be 'a form of
language use.' In fact, according to Paul Chilton (2005) 'many of Foucauldianauthors would,
however, accept that discourse, understood as language-use, is but one (if perhaps the most
salient) manifestation of social action.' In this regard, the purpose of discourse analysis is to
analyze natural discourses to end up with a regularity or some norms in language use.
What Discourse Analysis in its various fronts is trying to convey is the persistence on the fact that
language as a communicational product of human mind is but a form of social-action and this is
probably the most important tenet amongst the proponents of this newly-established sub-
discipline of applied linguistics. However, as far as it concerns the field of Discourse Analysis,
what is meant by social action carried out through discourse is the implementation of socio-
linguistic functions intended by the language users, what lies between the lines and is only
retrievable through a reading-between-the-lines approach provided by the DA methodological
formulations. Therefore, those working and formulating such DA methodology manuals, if it can
be called so, have fostered and proceeded, though to a greater or lesser extent, on the assumption
that the nature of language as a manifestation of social action intended by a speaker/writer can
be illuminated, even unveiled, by various kinds of linguistic analysis. However, we may go on to
speak also of a latter trend of discourse analysis that is CDA or critical discourse analysis which
aims and endeavors to push the realm of DA a step forward toward the goal of language being
exploited as a means of manipulation of political goals which are mainly associated with relations
of power.

2.A Glance At Related Literature

One can distinguish and differentiate between several sub-tendencies of discourse analysis,
however, the major trend of DA draws on what is historically called the field of Critical
Linguistics in the literature. The proponents of Critical Linguistics are those whose early works
drew on such works as George Orwell's writings for inspiration as well as those of Michael
Bakhtin, and of course to a lesser extent, on the ideas of such philosophical figures as Habermas
and to an even lesser extent, on Foucault for its social theory. For its linguistic theory, this trend
drew at first on Chomsky’s early versions of transformational grammar (Hodge & Kress 1993
[1979]). This choice was later replaced by Halliday’s so-called systemic-functional grammar
(Fairclough 1989: 13–14; Fowler 1996: 11).
There is also a second, language-oriented trend, chronologically speaking, which is called Critical
Discourse Analysis, and that is most commonly associated with Fairclough, Wodak and van Dijk
(cf. van Dijk 1993; Fairclough 1995; Fairclough &Wodak 1997; CaldasCoulthard&Coulthard 1996).
Fairclough, in particular, is influenced by Foucault, especially in his use of the notions of ‘order of
discourse’ and ‘discourse formation’. Wodak’s approach to the analysis of language in use
(‘discourse’ is understood by all of these authors to be language) comes from various strands of
sociolinguistics and ethnography (cf. Reisigl&Wodak 2001: Chapter 2). However, this latter trend

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pushes the realm of DA a step forward toward the idea of language being used as a means of
manipulating the political goals and in association with power relations.
With an eye to pedagogical application of discourse analysis, M. McCarthy (1991: 12) highlights a
communicative language teaching which emphasizes the functions or speech acts and underlines
that in such an approach certain 'pieces of language perform overlaps in an important sense with
the preoccupations of discourse analysts.' Further on he speaks of the significance of natural
language, whether in the form of spoken or written output, upon which we may 'base our
teaching, the teaching materials, what goes on in the classroom, and the end products of our
teaching. In this regard, Josep M. Cots (1996: 78) writes of not exclusively reducing the act of
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bringing discourse analysis into the language classroom 'to the adoption of a series of new
categories and analytical techniques,' and points to the necessity for both teachers and language
learners to adopt a different point of view, which mostly narrows the main focus of study on
communication not language. He further states that 'The communicative approach to language
teaching has succeeded in making us aware of some factors, which were not taken into account
previously, but it has failed to integrate those factors into a new way of looking at language in
use.' Placing discourse-based language teaching at the center, McCarthy and Carter (1994), as
cited in Cots (1996), propose five main principles for this as follows: (i) The contrastive principle:
comparing and contrasting different situations/texts in the foreign language and in the learner's
first language; (ii) The continuum principle: The series of texts produced by a speech community
constitute a continuum in which the freedom of the user has a very important role with regard to
linguistic manipulation; (iii) The inferencing principle: it is necessary to devote some effort not
only to teaching culture but also to teaching actual procedures to infer meaning; (iv) Familiar to
unfamiliar principle: This principle states that effective learning takes place when the starting
point is discourse practices with which the learners are familiar, discourse practices which are
more complex, elaborated and decontextualized in later stages; (v) The critical principle:
Language is also given status as a means of manipulation and creation of ideology for those who
traditionally have more access to the media for verbal communication such as governments,
bureaucracies, teachers etc. hence, empowering the students and helping them to become freer
educated citizens through developing their critical capacity to look for traces of ideology beyond
language itself.

3. Conclusion
DA-based TEFL came into appearance with the emergence of discourse analysis to provide the
language learners with how to know and use the functional aspects of language as a socio-
linguistic means. Furthermore, the TEFL scholars and language pedagogy experts are on a far
legitimate ground in terms of authenticity if they base their linguistic descriptions and discursive
evaluations upon what goes on in the classroom in the form of natural language. This way, the
findings of discourse, discourse analysis, critical discourse analysis can help us avail ourselves
and our students with the ‘philosophy’ behind and ‘why’ of interweaving linguistic and extra-
linguistic elements just to create lingua-cultural intricacies within a text as a piece of discourse.

References
Caldas-Coulthard, C.-R.andCoulthard, M. (1996). Texts and Practices: Readings in Critical
Discourse Analysis. London: Routledge.
Chilton, Paul (2005). Missing links in mainstream CDA: Modules, blends and the critical instinct.
In: A New Agenda in (Critical) Discourse Analysis, Edited by Ruth Wodak and Paul Chilton.
Cots, Josep M. (1996).Bringing discourse analysis into the language classroom. Links & Letters 3,
77-101.

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Hodge, R. and G. Kress (1993 [1979]).Language as Ideology. Routledge: London.
Fairclough, N. (1989). Language and Power. London: Longman.
Fairclough, N. and Wodak, R. (1997).“Critical discourse analysis”. In T. van Dijk (Ed.), Discourse
as Social Interaction (pp. 258–284). London: Sage.
Fowler, R. (1996).“On critical linguistics”.In C. R. Caldas-Coulthard& M. Coulthard (Eds.), Texts
and Practices. Readings in Critical Discourse Analysis (pp. 3–14). London: Routledge.
McCarthy, M. (1991). Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers. Cambridge University Press.
McCarthy, M. and Carter, R. (eds.) (1994). Language as discourse: Perspectivesfor language
teaching. London and New York: Longman.
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Reisigl, M. and Wodak, R. (2001).Discourse and Discrimination. London: Routledge.

Richards, Jack C. and Schmidt, Richard (2010). Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and
Applied Linguistics, fourth edition, Pearson Education Limited: UK.
vanDijk, T. (1977). Text and Context: Explorations in the Semantics and Pragmatics of Discourse.
New York: Longman.

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THE ROLE OF NEEDS ANALYSIS IN ENGLISH

LANGUAGE TEACHING

Ali Akbar Khansir

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Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran

ahmad_2004_bu@yahoo.com

Abstract
This research is intended to deal with the Role of Needs Analysis in English Language Teaching.
However, all language teaching in general and English language teaching in particular should be
based on learner needs. Today, needs analysis is rarely carried out in the general English
language and it is associated more with English for SpecificPurposes. The data for this study
were 226 students in the age range of 18 to 30 at under graduate level at four universitiesin
Bushehr city, Iran as EFL learners participated in this paper. The Students' Questionnaire(Needs
Analysis Test) for this research was designed to find out about general English language needs of
the students from the four universities. The outcome of this study showed that there is a
significant difference based on the general English students in the four English language skills;
Iranian EFL learners have different ideas in promoting their English knowledge through the four
English language skills; andthere is a significant difference between the Iranian learners’ needs to
acquire the knowledge of English language.

Key words:needs analysis, Iranian EFL learners, English language teaching and learning, English
as foreign language

1. Introduction
This project was based on a study of Englishfor general purposeof EFL learners at four Iranian
universities: Bushehr University of Medical Sciences; Persian Gulf University; Islamic Azad
University; Payamnoor University in Bushehr city in south of Iran. Today, English language has
emerged not only as the international language communication but it is now used as
international language of science and business and medicine over the world. In other words, the
role of English language is intimately linked with particular uses of English in different subjects
of specialized knowledge. Khansir and Pakdel (2014, p. 1) mentioned that "analysis of language
learners' needs is seen as the first step towards preparation of language course ".Richards
(2001)argued that needs analysis is a procedure to collect information about learners’ needs. In
the history of needs analysis, we come back toMichael West (1926)as father of needs
analysisknown in the field of second language acquisition; however, needs analysis re- emerged
during the 1970s as a result of intensive studies conducted by the Council of Europe team. Needs
analysis as educational programs was introduced into language teaching through the English
Specific Purpose movement. Richterich and Chancerel(1978)mentioned that the identification of
learners' needs is undertaken by three separate bodies: the learner himself, the teaching
establishment, and the user institution.Kaur (2007)believed that in the field of second language
acquisition, if teachers and instructors of language do not know about their students and their

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needs, developing a curriculum becomes a challenge causing many problems in learning and
teaching the second language. The role of needs analysis of the English learners in acquiring and
improving their target language has always played a crucial role in EFL settings. According to
this definition, Brown (1995) argued that needs analysis can be used as the systematic collection
and analysis of all relevant information necessary to satisfy the language learning requirements
of the students within the context of the particular institutions involved in the learning
situation.Richards ( 2001) identified the purposes for needs analysis in language teaching : a) "to
find out what language skills a learner needs in order to perform a particular role, such as sales
manager, tour guide, or university student; b) to help determine if an existing course adequately
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addresses the needs of potential students; c) to determine which students from a group are most
in need of training in particular language skills; d) to identify a change of direction that people in
a reference group feel is important; e) to identify a gap between what students are able to do and
what they need to be able to do; f ) to collect information about a particular problem learners are
experiencing"(p.52).
In this discussion of English for Specific Purpose and General English, we need to know what
distinction between English for Specific Purpose and General English is, and Hutchinson and
Waters (1987)answered this question : "What distinguishes ESP from General English is not the
existence of a need as such but rather an awareness of the need"( P.53).They added that" if the
learners, sponsors and teachers know why thelearners need English, that awareness will have an
influence on what will be acceptable as reasonable content in the language course and, on the
positive side, what potential can be exploited. Thus, although it might appear on the surface that
the ESP course is characterized by its content (Science, Medicine, Commerce, Tourism etc.),this is,
in fact, only a secondary consequence of the primary matter of being able to ready specify why
the learners need English. Put briefly, it is not so much the nature of the need which distinguishes
the ESP from the General course but rather the awareness of a need "(p.53).Strevens (1980)
indicatedthatthere is distinction between English for Specific Purpose and General English; he
believed that English for Specific Purpose is based on a close analysis of the learners'
communicative needs for a specific occupation or academic activity, as well as a detailed analysis
of the language of that occupation or activity. The researcher believed that there are many
differences between English for Specific Purpose and General English. He argued that the
syllabuses of the both groups of ESP and GE are different, and thus; ESP students need
appropriate materials and methodology based on their needs in learning their language, but the
syllabuses and methodology of General English differ little from each other, the syllabuses of GE
is not designed vary based on the learners' needs in learning their language. The syllabuses of
General English is designed in order to get general aims whereas syllabuses of ESP are designed
based on particular needs of the English learners relating to their designated areas of study,
occupation or vocation with an appropriate selection of language content and skills needed .
In discussion of statement of problem, with the emergence of English language as an
international language over the world, the emergence of English language is directly linked with
changes in social and educational needs of foreign and second language learners in the world.
Iranian educational system is not exception of the changes. Iranian felt that they needed English
language as communication language with other nations in the field of knowledge and
technology, their attitude towards English language became positive, thus; they accepted English
as foreign language.One of the most important reasons that the research has been done is
thatresearcher felt that general English language has not been considered as an important
research in foreign languagesetting, especially in Iran. In Iranian educational system, general
English language (English for general purpose) is taught in all subjects: science, business,
medicine and etc., in Iranianuniversities. Khansir and Dashti (2014) mentioned that Iranian

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English students learn English as a foreign language from middle (Guidance) school.The Iranian
undergraduate and graduate students should pass English for general purpose in order to
promotion.However, the students have been facing problems in using of the skills of English
language in their real life situations and they have not ability to use English to communicate with
each other, however; a few of them seldom use written and spoken English language in daily
work. According to this research, the researcher has taught general and specific English
languageat the Iranian universities. However, the researcher visited the universities, and
discussed with English teachers in order to get more information on his research project.
Therefore, the investigator consideredthe purpose of the research in order to find out the Iranian
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learners’ needs to acquire the knowledge of English Language; identify difficulties or problems of
the general English of Iranian students regarding to the skills of English Language and finally,
get information about their attitude towards English language. In addition, the researcher
followedmany questions and hypotheses as follows:
1. Are there problems of the general English of Iranian students in the four English language
skills?
2. Are there differences of the Iranian learners’ needs to acquire the knowledge of English
language?
1. There is a significant difference of problems of the general English students in the four English
language skills;
2. There is a significant difference between the Iranian learners’ needs to acquire the knowledge
of English language.

2. Literature review
Watanabe (2006) selected 1384 high school students from a private school in Tokyo,Japan. The
outcome of this research showed that high school graduates need the ability in order to carry out
simple daily conversations plus the ability to express or exchange thoughts, feelings, and
opinions about daily issues. Kaewpet (2009) investigated the English for Specific Purposes needs
of Thaien engineering students who were studying the English for Specific Purpose in a foreign
language setting. The result of this paper examined existing knowledge, making it a potentially
suitable framework for use in other ESP, EFL and ELT contexts. In addition, the role of context
can be used to investigate the Thaien engineering students' communication needs and learning
needs. Hun (2006) examined a needs analysis for an ESL business English course in Korea. The
aim of this research paper was to improve learners' general English communication skills. The
results of this research provided a sound basis and valuable implications for curriculum
developers and teachers in developing business English courses.

3. Methodology
The main aim of this paper was to investigate students' needsfor learningEnglish. The
methodology adopted in this research paper consists of the processes such as a) Data collection
and b) Data analysis.
3.1 Participants
The subjects for this study were 226 students in the age range of 18 to 30 at undergraduate level
in universities of Bushehr city, Iran as EFL learners.The participants of this paper were comprised
of 122 females and 104 males who were selected for computer analysis from four universities
after they took Students' Questionnaire Test (Needs Analysis Test).These universities were used
to collect data: 1.Bushehr University of Medical Sciences; 2.Persian Gulf University; 3. Islamic
Azad University; 4. Payamnoor University.
3.2 Materials

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The instruments utilized in this study were: Background Questionnaire, and Students'
Questionnaire (Needs Analysis Test) .The background questionnaire for this study was designed
to elicit information on the students' subjects. The questionnaire developed by the researcher
consisted of 8 questions which were related to their universities; faculty, age, language use,
information about the parents, details about siblings, language attitude, etc.The Students'
Questionnaire for this research was designed to find out about general English language needs of
the students of Bushehr Universities, Iran. This test comprised of 2 items:Language Attitude, and
English language needs. The questionnaire developed by the present researcherin order to collect
data in this study.
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3.3 Procedure
In order to achieve the aim of this work, the procedures were adopted: Development of the
background questionnaire;and its administration; Development of the students'needs analysis
questionnaire; and then its administration, and finally, analysis of collected data. Before focusing
on the needs analysis test (Students' Questionnaire) which plays the crucial role in this project,
the researcher developed and administered the background questionnaire and then developed
and administered needs analysis test as the main test of this study. Thebackground test was
administered to the Iranian students at the four universities in this research. The time limit was,
therefore, set. Thus, before the collection of data, we have completed the ethics procedure in
order to do this research and collect data from the participants of the universities. I made
proposal of my research and submitted to the Bushehr University of Medical Sciences committee.
The members of the committee have reviewed and then they approved their consent for
completing this project. To probe the consent of other universities, this study required of the
present researcher to visit the universities, discuss with principals and chairpersons of English
departments to help the researcher to complete his project.Thesubjects were informed that the
aim of the project was to examine a research work (needs analysis) and the result of this research
would not affect their examination results. The Students' Questionnaire (Needs Analysis Test) for
this research was designed to find out about general English language needs of the students of
Bushehr Universities in Iran. The test was administered to the students at the four universities.
The researchercleared the students’ doubts during the test. In addition, 226 Iranian learners were
selected in order to answer to the students' questionnaire. 122 of them were females and the rest
of them were males who were selected for computer analysis from the four universities after they
took Students' Questionnaire Test (Needs Analysis Test).

4. Results and Discussion

An attempt is made here to classify and find out about general English language needs of the
Iranian EFL learners who studying general English language at Bushehr universities in Bushehr
city, Iran.The first category of the Students' test was 'Language Attitude;' the question of this
item: what is your attitude towards English Language?
According to answer to question on language attitude, 123 of the Iranian students selected
strongly agree which came to 55.2and 79 of the studentsselected agree English language which
came to 35.4;3 of them chose disagree which came to 1.3 and only 2 of them chose strongly
disagree the English language which came to .9; therefore, 16 of the studentschose tolerate which
came to 7.2. In general, their attitude towards English is that they like the language. The
following table shows after analyzing language attitude among the Iranian EFL learners:

Table 1: Language Attitude by Iranian EFL Learners

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Language Attitude Frequency Valid Percent
Strongly agree 123 55.2
Agree 79 35.4
Tolerate 16 7.2
Disagree 3 1.3
Strongly disagree 2 .9

Total 223 100.0

English Language Needs

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1. Which of the four major skills are the most important for you?
In this category, the Iranian students responded the above question, according to their
response to this question, they chose speaking item as the most important skill among the four
skills. The number of the Iranian learners chose speaking item was 160 which came to 71.1.
Writing as one of the language skills was less important for them. The number of the learners
chose this item was 13 which came to 5.8. Another item was considered by the Iranian learners
was listening. The number of the Iranian students chose listening item was 22 which came to 9.7.
The last number item in this question was reading. The number of the Iranian EFL students chose
reading item was 30 which came to 13.3. This category is presented in the following table.

Table 2: Which of the four major skills are the most important for you?
Item Frequency Valid Percent

Reading 30 13.3

Writing 13 5.8

Speaking 160 71.1

Listening 22 9.7

Total 225 100.00

2. Which of ways of learning English language is helping you in improving your English
language?
According to responses to question number 2, the first item was conversation; The number of
Iranian learners chose agree and strongly agree respectively to conversation item was 56 which
came to 25.1 and 144 which came to 64.6. They chose strongly agree to conversation item as the
most important item among the other items in this question. The result of this question indicated
that the Iranian EFL learners was strongly agree to conversation item, this item helps the
researcher focusesmore on the conversation item for the Iranian EFL learners. Mohan and
Banerji(2002) argued that the best practice for conversation in conversation itself. The number of
the Iranian EFL students chose tolerate was 15 which came 6.7. The number of the Iranian EFL
students chose dis agree and strongly dis agree respectively to conversation item was 7 which
came to 3.1 and 1 which came to .4. The second item was video. The number of Iranian EFL
students chose agree and strongly agree respectively to video item was 88 which came to 39.5
and 91 which came to 40.8. The number of the students chose tolerate was 31 which came to 13.9.

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The number of the students chose dis agree and strongly dis agree respectively to video item was
10 which came to 4.5 and 3which came to 1.3. Video as one of the powerful tool for formal
instruction can be used in order to record sound and film for presentation, and it can help English
foreign language learners to record lectures by English teachers, specialist, eminent linguists, etc.,
to increase and improve their English language in and out of classroom settings. The third item
was considered by the Iranian learners in this question was grammar. Grammar has always
played a crucial role in EFL classroom. The number of Iranian learners chose agree and strongly
agree respectively to grammar item was 91 which came to 41.0 and 40 which came to 18.0. The
number of the Iranian students chose tolerate was 59 which came to 26.6. The number of the
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students chose dis agree and strongly dis agree respectively to grammar item was 25 which came
to 11.3 and 7 which came to 3.2. Another item in this test was homework. Home work as one of
the important item of group discussion used to teach language. Mohan and Banerji(2002, p. 67)
indicated "the term group discussion is used to refer to a situation in which a small number of
persons meet face-to face and, through free oral interaction among themselves exchange
information or attempt to reach a decision on shared problems". The number of Iranian EFL
students chose agree and strongly agree respectively to homework item was 95 which came to
42.8 and 62 which came to 27.9. The number of the students chose tolerate was 38which came to
17.1. The number of the students chose dis agree and strongly dis agree respectively to
homework item was 21 which came to 9.5 and 6 which came to 2.7. Pair works was another item
was considered in this question. Pair works as one of the key leaning activity factors which
involves learners working together in pairs. One of the advantage of pair works is that it can
motivate and give more confidence to learners in learning language; because, motivation and
confidence are often used as psychological variables in learning and teaching language in EFL
classroom. The number of Iranian learners chose agree and strongly agree respectively to pair
work item was 86 which came to 38.4 and 93 which came to 41.5. The number of the Iranian
students chose tolerate was 27 which came to 12.1. The number of the students chose dis agree
and strongly dis agree respectively to pair work item was 12 which came to 5.4 and 6 which came
to 2.7. Learning vocabulary was another item was used by the Iranian EFL learners in this
research. Every language has words and according to Linse (2005) vocabulary is the collection of
words that an individual knows. He added that "vocabulary should be integrated into teaching
the four skills-listening, speaking, reading and writing "(p. 122). In addition, every word in every
language may be used in a formal situation, but, its equivalent in the other language may be used
in an informal situation. The number of Iranian students chose agree and strongly agree
respectively to vocabulary learning item was 97which came to 43.3 and 98 which came to 43.8.
The number of the Iranian students chose tolerate was 22 which came to 9.8. The number of the
students chose dis agree and strongly dis agree respectively to vocabulary learning item was 4
which came to 1.8 and 3 which came to 1.3. Another item was used by the Iranian EFL students
in this test were reading. Iranian students have always focused on reading English texts in their
classroom. Reading language has played a vital role in learning and teaching English language in
EFL classroom in Iran. In general English language, reading as one of the most important
material has been uesd in Iranian educational system. Lines (2005) argued that" reading is a set of
skills that involves making sense and deriving meaning from the printed word"(p.69). The
number of Iranian EFL students chose agree and strongly agree respectively to reading item was
103 which came to 46.0 and 93which came to 41.5. The number of the students chose tolerate
was 21 which came to 9.4. The number of the students chose dis agree and strongly dis agree
respectively to reading item was 6 which came to 2.7 and 1 which came to .4. Writing was
another item was considered in this question. The number of Iranian learners chose agree and
strongly agree respectively to writing item was 97 which came to 43.3 and 57 which came to 25.4.

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The number of the Iranian students chose tolerate was 45 which came to 20.1. The number of the
students chose dis agree and strongly dis agree respectively to writing item was 19 which came to
8.5 and 6 which came to 2.7. Sokolik(2003) argued that" writing is a combination of process and
product” (Khansir, 2012, p. 280).Myles (2002) argued that “academic writing requires conscious
effort and much practice in composing, developing, and analyzing ideas"( Khansir, 2012, p. 280).
Another item was used in this test was listening to cassettes. Listening is one of the four language
skills is called as receptive skill along with reading because the focus is on receiving information
from outside source. It is oral skill. Listening comprehension skills can help EFL and ESL learners
develop reading comprehension skills in classroom. Listening to cassettes as one of the language
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techniques can help learners increase and improve their target language. The number of Iranian
students chose agree and strongly agree respectively to listening to cassettes item was 83 which
came to 36.7 and 77 which came to 34.1. The number of the Iranian students chose tolerate was 47
which came to 20.8. The number of the students chose dis agree and strongly dis agree
respectively to listening to cassettes item was 17 which came to 7.5 and 2 which came to .9.
Computer is another itemwas used by Iranian EFL students in this test. The number of Iranian
learners chose agree and strongly agree respectively to computer item was 87 which came to 38.8
and 80 which came to 35.7. The number of the Iranian students chose tolerate was 46 which came
to 20.5. The number of the students chose dis agree and strongly dis agree respectively to
computer item was 8 which came to 3.6 and 3 which came to 1.3. This category is presented in
the following table.
Table 3: which of ways of learning English language is helping you in improving your English
language?
Strongly
Subjects Strongly
agree Agree Tolerate Disagree
Disagree
F VP F VP F VP F VP F VP
Conversation 114 64.6 56 25.1 15 6.7 7 3.1 1 .4
Video 91 40.8 88 39.5 31 13.9 10 4.5 3 1.3
Grammar 40 18.0 91 41.0 59 26.6 25 11.3 7 3.2
Homework 62 27.9 95 42.8 38 17.1 21 9.5 6 2.7
Pair works 93 41.5 86 38.4 27 12.1 12 5.4 6 2.7
Learning 3 1.3
98 43.8 97 43.3 22 9.8 4 1.8
Vocabulary
Reading 93 41.5 103 46.0 21 9.4 6 2.7 1 .4
Writing 57 25.4 97 43.3 45 20.1 19 8.5 6 2.7
Listening to 2 .9
77 34.1 83 36.7 47 20.8 17 7.5
cassettes
Computer 80 35.7 87 38.8 46 20.5 8 3.6 3 1.3

3. Please evaluate your ability and knowledge of English in the following areas:
Question number 3 revealed that the Iranian students have ability and knowledge in the four
language skills. Writing was the first skill of this test, the number of Iranian students selected
very good and good respectively to writing skill was 24 which came to 10.7 and 78 which came to
34.7. The number of the learners selected satisfactory to writing skill was 74 which came to 32.9.
The number of Iranian students selected very poor and poor respectively to writing skill was 26
which came to 11.6 and 23 which came to 10.2. Another language skill was used by the
participants in this test was speaking. The number of Iranian learners selected very good and
good respectively to speaking skill was 19 which came to 8.5 and 63 which came to 28.1. The

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number of the learners selected satisfactory to speaking skill was 76 which came to 33.9. The
number of Iranian learners selected very poor and poor respectively to speaking skill was 35
which came to 15.6 and 31 which came to 13.8.The third language skill was considered in this
question was listening. The number of the learners selected very good and good respectively to
listening skill was 20 whichcame to 9.0 and 73 which came to 32.7. The number of the learners
selected satisfactory to listening skill was 70 which came to 31.4. The number of the learners
selected very poor and poor respectively to listening skill was 24 which came to 10.8 and 36
which came to 16.1. The last language skill in this test was reading. The number of the students
selected very good and good respectively to reading skill was 31 which came to 13.9 and 105
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which came to 47.1. The number of the students selected satisfactory to reading skill was 65
which came to 29.1. The number of the students selected very poor and poor respectively to
reading skill was 10 which came to 4.5 and 12 which came to 5.4. In this question, the students
gave more priority to reading language skill and they showed their ability andknowledge in the
reading skill was more than the other skills. One of the reasons that the learners selected have
knowledge in reading skill is that the Iranian students read more reading text books in their
classroom. According to Khansir and Tabande (2014, p. 71-72), "Building up the student's
vocabulary and reading comprehension ability is the main purpose of the present Iranian English
text books. Grammar is taught deductively and there is less and almost no, emphasis on listening
and speaking skills. There is little attention paid to pronunciation and oral drills". The results of
this test indicated that the students have not good ability in speaking and listening.

Table 4: Please evaluate your ability and knowledge of English in the following areas:
Subjects Very Good Good Satisfactory Very poor Poor
F VP F VP F VP F VP F VP
Writing 24 10.7 78 34.7 74 32.9 26 11.6 23 10.2
Speaking 19 8.5 63 28.1 76 33.9 35 15.6 31 13.8
Listening 20 9.0 73 32.7 70 31.4 24 10.8 36 16.1
Reading 31 13.9 105 47.1 65 29.1 10 4.5 12 5.4

5. Conclusion
The outcome of this study showed that there is a significant difference based on the general
English students in the four English language skills. The first hypothesis was accepted. The
findings of this study indicated the Iranian learners as English foreign language learners in
acquiring general English language have different ideas in promoting their English knowledge
through the four English language skills. In this paper, the second hypothesis also was accepted.
The result of this paper showed that there is a significant difference between the Iranian learners’
needs to acquire the knowledge of English language.However,This research showed that the
teachers, syllabus designers or every educational Ministry such as Ministry of Education,
Ministry of Health and Ministry of Higher Education should have more responsible for
promoting knowledge of English language learners in their EFL settings classrooms.
Based on the results of this study, the researcher believe that the all Ministries such as Ministry of
Education, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Higher Education can use of the best English
language experts and linguists, have good experiences in language learning strategies in order to
help their English language students learn English language scientifically in ELT classroom.
6. Limitations of the study
In discussion of limitation of the study; thispaper was limited to the examination of Needs
Analysis and General English Language and it was not concerned with Needs Analysis and
English for specific purpose in EFL setting. This study wasonly focused on English EFL learners

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as participations and neglected to consider the role ofEnglish teachers as the participants in this
study. This research has been done in EFL setting in Iran and ithas not been done in ESL setting.

References
Brown, J.D.(1995). The elements of language curriculum: A systematic approach to program
development. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
Hun, S.(2006). A TASK-BASED NEEDS ANALYSIS FOR A BUSINESS ENGLISHCOURSE.Second
Language Studies, 24(2), 1-64.
Hutchinson, T. & Waters, A. (1987). English for specific purposes: A learning-centered approach.
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Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Kaewpet, C. (2009). A Framework for Investigating Learner Needs: Needs Analysis Extended to
Curriculum Development. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 6(2), 209-220.
Kaur, S.(2007). ESP Course Design: Matching Learner Needs to Aims. English for Specific
Purposes, 6(1), 25-37.
Khansir, A.A. ( 2012). The role of process and product approaches to the teaching of writing.
Language in India, 12(7), 280-295.
Khansir ,A.A. &Pakdel, F. (2014). Needs Analysis and Language Teaching. Language in India, 14
(3), 1-20.
Khansir, A.A., & Gholami Dashti, J.( 2014). The Effect of Question-Generation Strategy on Iranian
EFL Learners' Reading Comprehension Development. English Language Teaching, 7(4), 38-45.
Khansir, A.A., & Tabande, Y. (2014).THE EFFECTS OF PERSIAN LANGUAGE ON
VOCABULARY LEARNING OF IRANIAN EFL STUDENTS. International Journal of Language
Learning and Applied Linguistics World, 6 (3), 62-75.
Linse, T.C .(2005). Practical English Language Teaching Young Learners. New York: McGraw-
Hill.
Mohan , K & Banerji, M. (2002). Developing Communication Skills. India: Macmilan.
Myles, J. (2002). Second Language Writing and Research: The Writing Process and Error Analysis
in Student Texts. TESL-EJ, 6(2) 1-19.
Richards, J.C.(2001). Curriculum development in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Richterich, R.&Chancerel, J.L. (1978) .Identifying the needs of adults learning a foreign language.
Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Sokolik, M. (2003).Writing.In D. Nunan (ed.), Practical English Language Teaching. New York,
NY: McGraw-Hill, 87-107.
Strevens, P. (1980).Teaching English as an International Language: From practice to Principle.
Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Watanabe, Y. (2006).A NEEDS ANALYSIS FOR A JAPANESE HIGH SCHOOL EFL GENERAL
EDUCATION CURRICULUM. Second Language Studies, 25(1), 83-163.
West, M.(1926).Bilingualism (with reference to Bengal).India: Calcutta, Bureau of Education.

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A STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

ADAPTIVE-MALADAPTIVE PERFECTIONIST EFL
LEARNERS AND THEIR WILLINGNESS TO
COMMUNICATE IN CLASSROOM
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Maryam Moheimany
MA Student, Semnan University
m.moheimany@semnan.ac.ir

Aram R. Sadeghi
Assistant Professor at Semnan University
aramsadeghy@semnan.ac.ir

Abstract
As a multidimntional construct, perfectionism has always been a controversial issue among
psychologists. The current study aimed at investigating the correlation between the two aspects
of perfectionism, namely, adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, and EFL learners’ willingness
to communicate (WTC). To this end, a sample of 20 EFL learners from Safir Language Academy
of Gorgan, Iran was examined.Upon homogenizing through Nelson English Proficiency Test, the
researcher divided the participants into two groups of adaptiveperfectionist students (APS, n=10)
and maladaptive perfectionist students (MPS, n=10) based on their scores in The Clinical
Perfectionism Questionnaire (CPQ) and Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale (PNP). The
two groups of APS and MPS were placed in two different classes to be observed. The data was
gathered in a period of two months through observation and recording the discussions. Analysis
of the data indicated that APS had higher students’ talking time (STT) than MPS did, that is, they
were more willing to take part in classroom discussions than MPS.

Keywords:Adaptive Perfectionist Students (APS), EFL Learners, Maladaptive Perfectionist

Students (MPS), Perfectionism, Student’s Talking Time (STT), Willingness to communicate(WTC)

1. Introduction
“Too many people spend too much time trying to perfect something before they actually do it.
Instead of waiting for perfection, run with what you go, and fix it along the way…”
Paul Arden
Various observations have proved the fact that students are different in their tastes and speed of
learning as well as in their learning characteristics. Therefore, as teachers, we may face different
output or expect different learning performance from them. These traits may be environmental or
personal. Among the personal characteristics, perfectionism has a close relationship with
students’ learning performance.

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Despite extensive research, significant differences remain regarding how the construct of
perfectionism is defined (Shafran&Mansell, 2001). According to Frost (1990) perfectionism is
considered as setting and striving for excessively high and often unrealistic standards
accompanied by frequent thoughts focused on attainment of these standards and overly critical
self-evaluation.
Considering the multidimensional characteristics of perfectionism, there are two types of
perfectionist learners. According to Rice et al (2015), healthy (adaptive) perfectionists strive for
goals that are attainable. Conversely maladaptive perfectionists set goals that are unrealistic and
strive for superior performance. They also describe maladaptive perfectionists as having
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immense fear of criticism, concern about making mistakes, overemphasis on order, and desiring
complete admiration.
Just like everything else, perfectionism has its own pros and cons. In its adaptive form,
perfectionism can drive people to accomplishments and provide the motivation to persevere in
the face of discouragement and obstacles. Roedell (1984) argues that in a positive form,
perfectionism can provide the driving energy which leads to great achievement. The meticulous
attention to detail, necessary for scientific investigation, and the persistence which keeps great
artists at their easels until their creation matches their conception all result from perfectionism
(Roedell, W.C.1984).
Beside its profound effect on clinical disorders like anxiety, depression, eating disorders, etc.
perfectionism plays its own fair share in non-clinical situations as well. It can be an educational
situation, which is the focus of the current study. With the emergence of more student centered
classes in the educational system, the students’ role has become bolder than it used to be. The
relationship between perfectionism and the learning process is revealed when students are
producing the language. This whether it is in written form, that is, routine exams, or orally in
form of interviews, presentations, role playing, pair/ group works, classroom discussions, all
embedded in their classroom participation in form of speaking. Classrooms provide a setting in
which students’ intelligence and abilities are put on display (Urdan&Midgley, 2001) and their
performance is constantly evaluated whether formally or informally. This is where perfectionism
represents itself. The concern about reaching some standards, an excessive concern about what
others will think if the standard is not met, and a self-image that is built by external achievements
and recognition are all features of perfectionism that can be observed in classroom settings.
This study investigated perfectionism construct, both in its positive and negative function, in an
academic situation to see whether it is related to students’ performances or not.
Research question
Is there any difference between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionist EFL learners in terms of
their willingness to communicate?

Research Hypothesis
There is no difference between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionist EFL learners in terms of
their willingness to communicate.
2.Review of the Related Literature

2.1 Perfectionism
Perfectionism is defined as a multidimensional construct that makes one undergo a practice of
“demanding of oneself or others a higher quality of performance than is required by the
situation” (Hollender, 1965, p.94) and trying hard for total success in a specific task. It consists of
two dimensions, adaptive and maladaptive, as well as two famous models of measurement, Frost et
al.’s model (FMPS) and Hewitt and Flett’s model (MPS), as suggested by Jean M. Kim (2010). The

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construct of perfectionism has undergone various changes through years (figure 2.1). The
traditional view on this construct thought of it as a negative aspect resulting only in negative
outcomes. The perfectionists were considered as “all or none” while leading to perfectionism or
failure (Beck, 1976; Hamachek, 1978). In this aspect, they were taken as individuals without self-
confidence experiencing a negative feeling that they should always surpass their present
achievement (Missildine, 1963). From this perspective, perfectionism took a unidimensional form.
However, Hamacheck (1978) changed this unidimensional view of perfectionism by presenting a
two-faced description of it: Normal and Neurotic. From this point of view, it was believed that
normal perfectionists seek to make proper use of the construct that leads to the successful
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consequences, whereas the neurotic ones confine themselves in a domino effect resulting in a
constant fear of failure in their performance. By the end of 1980, the construct of perfectionism
faced a great change. It wasn’t a two-faced issue anymore, but a multidimensional construct
involving many factors in it. The present studies on perfectionism can be outlined in relation with
major dimensions of self and social contexts.

Perfectionism

Unidimensional Multidimensional
Two-dimensional
 Normal
Perfectionism  Neurotic Perfectionism

Figure2.1. Pictorial Representation of Perfectionism Evolution

2.2.Willingness to communicate
Speaking in an L2 has occupied a peculiar position throughout much of the history of language
teaching (Bygate, 2001). In recent decades there has been a great emphasis on the importance of
growing communicative competence in L2 learners (Canale& Swain, 1980). Then it was the
emergence of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in which the classroom organization has
been “increasingly characterized by authenticity, real-world simulation, and meaningful tasks”
(Brown, 2001). The old traditional way of teaching which had the teacher at the center has now
been replaced by more teacher-student and student-student interaction. Therefore, learners’
willingness to speak is crucial to their second language learning and acquisition. The concept of
“willingness to communicate” (WTC) was originally developed by McCrosky and his colleagues
(McCroskey& Baer, 1985;McCroskey& Richmond, 1990) to capture the trait-like personality that
individuals display in L1 communication.

2.3. Perfectionism and Willingness to communicate

Regardless of the fact that whether the students are adaptive or maladaptive, the relationship
between this personality trait and their learning process is revealed when they produce the
language. This production can best be observed and evaluated in their classroom participation in

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form of speaking. Jack C. Richards and Thomas S. C. Farrell (2011)highlight the role of students in
the class when, in their book Practice Teaching, they point to the fact that “… teaching is much
more than a performance by a teacher, a successful lesson makes the learners-rather than the
teacher- the focus of the lesson”. Similarly, McKeachie (2002) believes that students retain and
understand the material better if they participate in class. However, teachers sometimes face
some students who only sit passively showing no willingness to participate in class discussions.
Several researchers have investigated and had a lot in common about the factors influencing this
willingness or tendency towards using L2 for communicating inside the class. A study by Burka
and Yuen (1983) discovered a linkage between the participants’ perfectionism and their
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procrastination, that is, the delay in presenting what they are suppose to. They found that
procrastinators were likely to display perfectionistic tendencies. Similarly, Solomon and
Rothblum (1984) showed that the majority of reasons for procrastinating amongststudents were
related to fear of failure resulting from perfectionism.There’s also a study by Reihanishargh
(2013) who explored the construct of perfectionism in relation with two other factors of
willingness to communicate (WTC) and gender. The result showed that the participants’
perfectionism had a reverse relationship with their WTC inside the class. However, no significant
difference between male and female students regarding their scores of perfectionism and WTC
was observed.

3. Methodology
3.1. Participant
A sample of 20 female English studentswas recruited from Safir English Language Academy of
Gorgan, Iran. They were all native Farsi speakers whose age ranged from 18 to 30, and level of
English language proficiency wasfound to be intermediate as suggested by their scores in the
placement test.All participants came from the same social class and were homogeneous regarding
their religion and education.
3.2. Instrumentation
3.2.1 The Proficiency Test (Nelson English Proficiency Test)

In order to achieve the maximum possible homogeneity among the subjects regarding their
general English proficiency, the validated and reliable Nelson English Proficiency test (section
100 A); (Coe & Fowler, 1976, p.22) was used. The test consisted of 50 multiple choice items and
was given to the subjects in the first step of the research before administration of the other two
questionnaires. The validity and reliability of the Nelson test had been estimated several times
before by other researchers and it was considered as highly valid and reliable test of English
proficiency (Shahivand and Pazhakh, 2012, p. 18).

3.2.2 The Clinical Perfectionism Questionnaire (CPQ)

The Clinical Perfectionism Questionnaire (CPQ), a 12-item questionnaire designed by Fairburn,
Cooper, and Shafran (2003) was distributed among the participants in order to divide
perfectionist students from those who were not. The questionnaire contained some instruction to
the participants which (a) informed participants that the questionnaire was concerned with
perfectionism, (b) defined perfectionism as “trying to meet really high standards whether or not
they actually succeeded in reaching them” (disregarding standards for eating, weight, or
appearance), and (c) asked participants to what degree the 12 items described them over the past
months with participants’ responding on a scale from 1 (not at all) to 4 (all of the time). Cronbach’s
alpha for this questionnaire was estimated to be0.90.
3.2.3 Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale (PNP)

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The Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale (PNP)(Terry-Short et al., 1995), assessed
perfectionism from a functional or behaviorist perspective. Two subscales that represented the
different types of reinforcers a person could experience, with positive perfectionism (PP) treated
as resulting from linking positive reinforcements with antecedent perfectionistic behaviors, while
Negative Perfectionism (NP) was linked to negative reinforcements.It consisted of 40 Likert scale
questions, with responses ranging from ‘‘strongly disagree’’—1, to ‘‘strongly agree’’—5.
Cronbach’s alphas for the PNPhad been reported as 0.85 and 0.86 respectively (Burns &Fedewa,
2005).Using this scale helped the researcher distinguish adaptive perfectionists from maladaptive
ones.
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3.2.4 Observation
Since the factor to be analyzed were students’ talking time in classroom discussions to see how
willing they were to communicate in the class, there would be a need to observe each session. The
topics of the discussions were chosen according to the topic of the part which was going to be
taught from the course book on that session.
Assessing and testing speaking is time-consuming due to the fact that speech is temporary and a
teachernormally needs to conduct the assessment immediately at the time the student is talking
and very often rely on his/her memory to provide an accurate evaluation and feedback
(Jankowska, 2014). Accordingly, a voice recorder was used as a tool to record the discussions for
more accurate analysis of the students’ performance.
3.3. Materials
3.3.1Course Book
The participants of the study were taught the intermediate level of Touchstone (Michael
McCarthy, 2014) as their main source. The book contains 12 units of four parts, among which
only the last three were worked on. Each unit discussed one specific topic with its various aspects
which made the starting point and prepared the context for the discussions.

3.3.2 Supplementary Books and Movie

Ten units of Oxford Word Skills (Gairns and Redman, 2008) were taught to extend the vocabulary
knowledge of the learners. Each session the students were supposed to read one chapter of the
short story called Oliver Twist (Charles Dickens, 1999) and tell the summary of it in pairs or
groups. Some movie sessions were also used to encourage students to talk and to provide them
with more speaking opportunities.
3.3.3 Worksheets and handouts, and pictures
Depending on the topic of the lesson, each session the teacher took some worksheets, handouts,
or pictures to the class. These worksheets and pictures brought personalization and
contextualization to the class, motivated the students, and engaged them in the subject of the
study.
3.4. Procedure
The study was carried out around the period of two months. Before starting the research, a
placement test was administered to ninety participants, in order to identify their level of general
English from basic to advanced levels. Forty fiveof the participants were found to be in the
intermediate level who later underwent the Nelson Proficiency Test for the purpose of
homogeneity. After making sure about their homogeneity, the researcher distributed The Clinical
Perfectionism Questionnaire (CPQ) to them in order to separate perfectionist students from non-
perfectionist ones. To this, based on the scores received from each student, the total mean was
calculated for the questionnaire. Consequently, 25 students with scores lower than the mean were
considered as non-perfectionists, hence, excluded from the study, and the other 20 students with

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scores higher than the mean were put in perfectionist group as the main subjects of the study. In
the next step, the 20 remaining perfectionists answered Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale
(PNP), which later divided them into two groups of adaptive perfectionist students (APS) and
maladaptive perfectionist students (MPS). The questionnaire contained two series of positive and
negative questions (see table 4.1), so that each participant would have two scores, one for positive
questions and the other for negative ones. For each participant the two scores was compared, the
student with the higher score for positive questions than that of negative questions, was
considered as an APS, while another student withthe higher score in negative questions than
positive ones, was put in MPS group. Finally, they were put in two different classes with each
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class accommodating 10 students. In order to answer the question of the study, both classes were
observed and recorded during a term of 20 sessions, so that the WTC of the APS and MPS based
on their classroom participation were compared with each other.

4 Data Analysis
As it was explained in the procedure, the study made use of two questionnaires and 20 sessions
of observation to seek the answer for the question of the study, and to accept or reject the null
hypothesis accordingly. The results of the questionnaires and the observations are statistically
shown and discussed below.

4.1 Results for CPQ

As it turned out after calculating the data received from the answered questionnaires, the total
mean for CPQ was 2.40. The students whose mean was higher than 2.40 were considered as
perfectionists and those with the mean lower than 2.40 were non-perfectionists.Moreover, based
on the students’ scores on each item, the mean for every 12 items of the CPQ was calculated
separately. It ranged from 2.05 to 2.60. Figure 4.1 below shows that perfectionist students had
higher mean in all the items than non-perfectionist students.
40
30
average scores

20
10 perfectionists
0 non-perfectionists

Fig.4.1 Comparison between Perfectionists and Non-perfectionists’ Means in CPQ

4.2 Results for PNP

Based on table 4.1, whoever scored more in the questions related to positive perfectionism (the
first row) than in questions related to negative perfectionism (the second row) was considered as
an adaptive perfectionist, and whoever scored more in negative perfectionism questions than in
positive perfectionism questions, was considered as a maladaptive perfectionist.

Table 4.1. Questions related to positive or negative perfectionism

Number of questions
Positive perfectionism questions 2, 3, 6, 9, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 35, 37, 40
Negative perfectionism questions 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, 26, 27, 31, 33, 36, 38, 39

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As table 4.2 suggests, APS had a higher mean for positive perfectionism questions (P 81.8 > N
63.9) while MPS had their higher mean for negative perfectionism questions (P 50.9 <N 84.5). You
can also see the figurative comparison in figure 4.2.
Table 4.2. Scores of perfectionists from PNP
Mean SD
Positive perfectionist Negative perfectionist Positive perfectionist Negative perfectionist
questions questions questions questions
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APS 81.8 63.9 3.45 3.95

MPS 50.9 84.5 1.91 2.01

4.3 Results for students’ perfectionism and WTC

100
80
mean scores

60 positive perfectionist questions

40 negative perfectionist questions

20
0
APS MPS

Fig 4.2. Comparison between Adaptive and maladaptives mean scores in PNP

Table 4.3 below shows the descriptive statistics for the students’ STT which finally represents
students’ WTC. As it can be seen, the mean and the standard deviation are 3730.80, 654.266 for
adaptive students, and 2894.45, 544.284 for maladaptive ones respectively.
Table4.3. STT Descriptive Statistics
Mean Std. Deviation N
AdaptiveSTT 3730.80 654.266 20
MaladaptiveSTT 2894.45 544.284 20

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In order to see the relationship between adaptive-maladaptive perfectionism and students’ WTC,
Pearson-Product Moment Correlation was used which is represented in the table 4.4.below. The
table shows the correlation between perfectionism and students’ WTC. As it can be seen, r=.788
and sig= .01<05.which shows a significant difference between the STT of the adaptive students
with that of the maladaptive one. Therefore, it can be concluded that since in APS class we
observed higher STT than in MPS class, APS were found to be more willing to communicate than
MPS.
Table 4.4 Pearson correlation between perfectionism and students’ WTC
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AdaptiveSTT MaladaptiveSTT
AdaptiveSTT Pearson Correlation 1 .788**

Sig. (2-tailed) .000

N 20 20

MaladaptiveSTT Pearson Correlation .788** 1

Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 20 20

5 Discussion and Conclusion

Speaking a foreign language has always been a controversial issue and been regarded as an
important and challenging stage for EFL learners. Therefore, a common concern among the EFL
learners is about the amount of time and effort needed for them to be able to talk. Unfortunately
the suffering fact in EFL context is their poor performance or unwillingness of the learners in
their speaking, regardless of their level of English proficiency. To respond to their concern, they
should be aware of the involved factors influencing the time and effort they need to take into
consideration. Among numerous factors influencing learners speaking and how willing they are
to communicate, the construct of perfectionism has its own faire share. As a result, the purpose of
the present research was to explore the fact that how this construct is related to students’
willingness to speak and communicate with others.
The findings of the study resulted in a positive answer to the question of this study. The results
showed that the amount of STT was found higher in adaptive perfectionist class than that of in
maladaptive perfectionist students’. It results from the fact that adaptive students were less afraid
of making mistakes, being humiliated, and therefore more willing to participate in classroom
discussions than maladaptive ones, consequently, the teacher gave the opportunity to the
learners to make the most of their time in the class and did not stop them unless she wanted to
correct them, comment on their speech, give them some hints, etc. However, the exact opposite
situation was observed in the maladaptive group. As a result, it can be concluded that negative
perfectionism acts as a deterrent in the process of speaking, since the adaptive students were
eager to talk because their perfectionism pushed them towards quick progress, while the
maladaptive students were hampered by their fear of failure.
The result of the current study is in line with the findings of the two following studies mentioned
before in the review of the related literature. The lower STT of maladaptive perfectionist students
than adaptive ones agrees with the study by Burka and Yuen (1983). The procrastination
examined in their study was observed in the current study as well, which resulted in less STT of
maladaptive perfectionists than that of adaptive ones. Furthermore, there is the correspondence

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between the results of this study and that of Reihanishargh (2013). Her study aimed to investigate
the relationship between perfectionism and foreign language learners’ willingness to
communicate inside the class. The results of the study, which corresponded with the results
obtained in the current study, showed that the participants’ perfectionism had a reverse
relationship with their willingness to communicate inside the class.

The entire community of curriculum developers, syllabus designers, materials developers, and
EFL educators/instructors can benefit from the illuminating and promising pedagogical
implications of the findings. In the first place, curriculum planners are advised to make a huge
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effort to prone their deep-rooted scholastic perspectives and consider the emotions, personality
traits, and individual differences of the learners as one of the prime determiners of their academic
progress. Much in the same trend, Educators are strongly recommended to encourage students to
set a challenging but reasonably achievable goal, rather than persevering to achieve
unrealistically high personal standards (Shim et al, 2013).

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EFFECTS OF TASK-BASED VS. EXPLICIT

TEACHING OF GRAMMAR ON LEARNING
CONDITIONAL SENTENCES AMONG IRANIAN
EFL LEARNERS
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Anis Nazari
Department of English, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
Anisnazari69@gmail.com

Omid Tabatabaei
Department of English, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
tabatabaeiomid@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT
This study aimed at investigatingthe effectiveness of explicit instructionand task-based teaching
ofconditional sentence type 2among iranian intermediate efl learners. Aquasi-experimental
design was employedamong the intermediate learners studying englishat a language institute
located in Isfahan, iran. After the implementation of a placement test 90 learners were chosen as
the participants of the study. The learners were then categorized into three groups:task-based
language teaching group (tbltg), explicit instruction group (eig), and control group (cg). The
participants in the three groups were askedto take a grammar pretest. While the tbltg and eig
learners were exposed to their treatments, the cg learners received traditional grammar
instruction. The learners in the three groups were asked againto take a grammar posttest. Spss
softwarewas used to run paired-sample t testand one-way between groups anova on the data
obtained from the pretests and posttests of the three groups. The results indicated that (a)the
learners in the two experimental groupsobtained significantly better results thanthe control
groups learners, (b) both tbltg and eig learners’ conditional sentences type 2improved
significantly frompretest to posttest, and (c)task-based instruction was significantly more
effective thanexplicit instruction for teachingstructure under investigation. Implications of the
study suggest that the application of both tblt and ei, especially the former, in l2 teaching classes
could provide fruitful outcome.

Key words: task-based language teaching, explicit instruction, grammar, conditional sentences

1. Introduction
Recent studies in SLA have led to a reconsideration of the importance of grammar in the L2
classroom (Beames, 2012; Praise & Meenakshi, 2014; Wei, 2010). There are at least four reasons for
the reconsideration of grammar as an essential constituent of language instruction. First, the
1980s hypothesis that language can be learned without some degree of explicit instruction has
been theoretically doubted. Schmidt (1990, 1993) suggested that drawing attention to form, or
what he calls “noticing,” is an essential condition for language learning (Leow, 2001; Rutherford,
1987; Tomlin & Villa, 1994). The second reason for the renewed appeal in L2 grammar instruction

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is evidence that L2 learners go through developmental processes. Established upon practical
evidence from German learners of English, Pienemann (1984, 1987, 1998) developed what has
been known as the teachability hypothesis, which suggests that while certain developmental
sequences are static and cannot be changed by grammar teaching, instruction can be beneficial
for other structures whenever they are taught. A third reason for renewed interest in grammar
instruction is the result of numerous studies that emphasize the shortcomings of teaching
methods where the concentration is largely on meaning-focused communication, and grammar is
not addressed (Oosthuizen, 2005; Pishghadam, Khodadady, & Rad, 2011). A fourth reason for the
reconsideration of grammar teaching in the L2 classroom is evidence for the positive effects of
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grammar instruction. This evidence is the result of a great number of laboratory and classroom-
based studies along with widespread reviews of studies on the effects of instruction over the
course of 20 years (Ellis, 1985, 1994, 2001; Long & Larsen-Freeman, 1991).
Task-based language teaching is a teaching approach established upon the use of
communicative and interactive tasks as the most important units for the planning and delivery of
instruction. Such tasks provide an effective basis for language learning since they: a) involve
meaningful communication and interaction, b) involve negotiation, and c) enable the learners to
acquire grammar because of engaging in authentic language use (Richards & Schmidt, 2010).
Task-based language teaching has reinforced the following principles and practices. The practices
and principles are: a) a needs-based approach to content selection, b) an emphasis on learning to
communicate through interaction in the target language, c) the introduction of authentic texts
into the learning situation, d) the provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on
language, but also on the learning process itself, e) an enhancement of the learner’s own personal
experiences as important contributing elements to classroom learning, and f) The linking of
classroom language learning with language use outside the classroom (Nunan, 2006).
Explicit teaching is an approach in which information about a language is given to the
learners directly by the teacher or textbook (Richards & Schmidt, 2010). Explicit instruction is
described as a series of supports whereby learners are directed toward the learning process with
apparent statements about the purpose and rationale for learning the new skill, clear
explanations, and demonstrations of the instructional target, and supported practice with
feedback until independent mastery has been achieved (Archer & Hughes, 2011).
Task-based language instruction involves learners in doing tasks related to their future
career, it fosters learners’ motivation and does not underline linguistic issues in the primary
levels. Language analysis is integrated only after learners have accomplished a task that depends
on their needs, which becomes obvious only after performance. Task-based language learning
seems to grant meaningful use of language and can encourage self-directed learning.
Furthermore, it suggests meaningful use of language and provides safe atmosphere for learning.
However, this approach has not been unanimously accepted by English language practitioners
and linguists because of ambiguities in evaluating learning results (Ellis, 2003). Therefore, an
attempt has been made in this study to investigate the effects of applying task-based and explicit
methods in the class for teaching conditionals and compare these two methods with each other.

2. Literature Review
2.1. Task-based Approach
By the emergence of the communicative language teaching approach in the early 1980s
and much stress on learners’ communicative abilities over the last two decades, the term Task-
based Language Teaching (TBLT) came into widespread use in the field of Second Language
Acquisition in relation to developing process-oriented syllabi and designing communicative tasks
to improve learners’ real language use. Within the different elucidations of TBLT related to

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classroom practice, current studies present three recurrent features. The features are as follows:
(a) TBLT is in agreement with a learner-centered educational philosophy (Ellis, 2003; Rodgers &
Richards, 2001), (b) it contains specific factors, such as goal, procedure, specific outcome
(Murphy, 2003; Nunan, 2004), and it supports content-oriented meaningful activities instead of
linguistic forms (Beglar & Hunt, 2002).As Leaver and Willis (2004) pointed out, several very
important research results changed the course of EFL language teaching instruction in the 20th
century. These can be summarized as follows:
1. Language learning develops separately from instruction even in a classroom situation; 2.
Learners obtain language in accordance with their own inherent internal syllabus, in spite of the
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sequence in which they are exposed to specific structures and irrespective of their first language
influences; 3. Teaching does not and cannot verify the way that the learner’s language will
develop (cited in Skehan, 1998); 4. Learners do not essentially learn what teachers teach (cited in
Allwright, 1984); 5. Learners do not first acquire language as a structural system and then learn
how to use this system in communication, but rather actually discover the system itself in the
process of learning how to communicate. (cited in Ellis, 2003, p. 14) 6. Motivation is one of the key
issues in language learning and that skills to motivate learners are crucial for language teachers
(Dörnyei, 2001, p. 1); and 7. Learners learn more in groups than individually, since cooperative
social interaction produces new, elaborate, advanced psychological processes that are unavailable
to the organism working in isolation (Vygotsky, 1989, p. 61).
Brown (2001) believes that in task-based instruction, the focus is not on the small separate
parts of language, but somewhat the pragmatic purposes for which language must be used.
While content-based instruction concentrates on subject matter content, task-based instruction
focuses on tasks that are used in real world. In addition, there are different sources of input for
tasks, such as speeches, conversations, narratives, public announcements, cartoon strips,
interviews, oral descriptions, etc. He also maintains that task-based curricula are different from
content-based, theme-based, and experiential instruction since in task-based courses whereas
objectives are more language based. While in task-based instruction the focus is on
communication, purpose, and meaning, the goals are linguistics in nature. In contrast with the
traditional viewpoint that just focuses on grammar or phonology, task-based courses include
maintaining the centrality of functions like greeting, expressing opinions as well.
2.2. Definition of Task
As Morley (1991) noted, The notion of “task” has developed out of communicative
teaching and materials production. Task-oriented instruction is defined as teaching which
provides real meaning. The general objective in task-based classes is to make the students use the
language. At first, the learners have to understand then produce some verbal or non-verbal
responses by their comprehension. In task-based classes, syllabus content and instructional
processes are chosen dependent upon communicative tasks, which would be necessary for
learners outside the classroom.Different scholars give various definitions regarding the term task.
Long (1985, p. 89) argues, “a target task is a piece of work undertaken for oneself or for others,
freely or for some reward. Thus examples of tasks include painting a fence, dressing a child,
filling out a form, buying a pair of shoes, making an airline reservation, borrowing a library book,
taking a driving, test, typing a letter, weighing a patient, sorting letters, making a hotel
reservation, writing a cheque, finding a street destination and helping someone across a road. In
other words, by ‘task’ is meant the hundred and one things people do in everyday life, at work, at
play and in between.”
Nunan (2006) defines task as a piece of classroom work involving learners in a
understanding, directing, producing or interacting way in the target language while the students’
attention is focused on activating their grammatical knowledge in order to express meaning, and

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in which the aim is to express meaning rather than to manipulate form. The task should also have
a sense of wholeness, being able to stand alone as a communicative act in its own right with a
beginning, middle and an end.Ellis (2003, p. 16) provides a composite definition:A task is a work-
plan that requires learners to process language pragmatically in order to achieve an outcome that
can be evaluated in terms of whether the correct or appropriate propositional content has been
conveyed. To this end, it requires them to give primary attention to meaning and to make use of
their own linguistic resources, although the design of the task may predispose them to choose
particular forms. A task is intended to result in language use that bears a resemblance, direct or
indirect, to the way language is used in the real world. Like other language activities, a task can
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engage productive or receptive, and oral or written skills, and also various cognitive
processes.Ellis (2003) also discusses from a psycholinguistic perspective. He believes a task is a
mechanism that directs learners to participate in specific types of information processing that are
supposed to be prominent in efficient language use and/or for language acquisition from some
theoretical perspective. Ellis (2006) asserts that tasks decrease the cognitive or linguistic demands
placed on the learner.Samuda and Bygate (2008) asserted that “a task is a holistic activity, which
engages language use in order to achieve some non-linguistic outcome while meeting a linguistic
challenge, with the overall aim of promoting language learning, through process or product or
both” (p. 69).
2.6. Characteristics of Task-Based Instruction
While advocates of Task-Based Instruction naturally diverge in their emphases and
beliefs, according to Swan (2005), and other scholars named underneath, there is a general
agreement on the following principles:
a) Instructed language learning should mainly include natural or naturalistic language use,
and the activities are concerned with meaning rather than language.
b) Instruction should be learner-centeredness instead of teacher-centered.
c) Learners learn language by interacting communicatively and decisively while involved
in the activities and tasks.
d) Since purely naturalistic learning does not normally lead to target-like accuracy,
engagement is essential in order to promote the acquisition of formal linguistic elements
while keeping the perceived advantages of a natural approach.
e) This can be done best by providing opportunities for focus on the form, which will draw
students’ attention to linguistic elements as they arise incidentally in lessons whose
prime focus is on meaning or communication.
f) Communicative tasks are a particularly appropriate tool for such an approach.
g) More formal pre- or post-task language study may be useful. This may contribute to
acquisition by leading or increasing noticing of formal features during communication.
h) Traditional approaches are ineffective and undesirable, especially where they involve
passive formal instruction and practice separated from communicative work.
i) During the task, the learners are allowed to use whatever language they want, freeing
them to focus entirely on the meaning of their message. This makes it closer to real-life
communicative situation, which is a way of bringing the real world into classroom.
j) The emphasis is on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language
(Nunan, 1991).
k) The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation (Nunan, 1991).
l) An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation outside the
classroom (Nunan, 1991).
m) Errors are not necessarily the result of bad learning, but are part of the natural process of
interlanguage forms gradually moving towards target forms (Ellis, 1994).

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n) In task-based learning, “meaning is primary…the assessment of the task is in terms of
outcome” and that task-based learning is not “concerned with language display”
(Skehan, 1998).
o) The difficulty of a task depends on a range of factors including the previous experience of
the learner, the complexity of the task, the language required to undertake the task, and
the degree of support available (Richards and Rodgers, 2001).
p) Speaking and trying to communicate with others is considered the basis for second
language acquisition in task-based learning; hence, the majority of tasks that are
proposed within TBL involve consideration (Richards and Rodgers, 2001).
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2.3. Advantages of Task-based Learning

Task-Based Language Teaching is an application of second language teaching informed by the
most recent research findings on second language acquisition. As such, it plays a key role in
recent language instruction (Solares, 2006). A task-based lesson usually provides an active role
for the learner to participate and create the activities, and as a result increases their incentive for
learning. A task-based lesson provides more opportunities for the students to show their ideas
through their actions. The teacher can also be more open to the needs of the students. TBL
enables learners to use the knowledge they have learned and operate it effectively in the task con-
text (procedural knowledge). This pragmatic experience helps learners to realize why particular
academic questions are significant and provide an empirical substrate for the development of a
further academic discourse.
Taylor (1983) suggests task-based activities provide the opportunity for the learners to
interact with target language directly and use it authentically. Learners obtain authentic
experiences, learn the language, and experience the communicative process.Brumfit (1984) states
that task-based activities help learners solve problems in real situations by concentrating on
target language. Learners foster their competence in real situations. In addition, Ellis (1984)
believes that task-based activities emphasize communicative strategies, such as paraphrasing,
circumlocution, and miming. Learners utilize these strategies when they do not understand the
target language or when they need to use language beyond their proficiency. With experience
and language skill, they are able to select and use language naturally.Pica, Kanagy, and Falodun
(1993) attach importance to task-based learning since it manages language teaching by providing
opportunities for learners to cooperate with each other and their teacher. This sharing of
information and opinions encourages them to achieve their goals. Performing task-based
activities actually helps learners grasp the target language.Willis (1996) asserts that the task-based
learning framework, joined with tasks and texts, provides learners copious exposure to language
along with opportunities to use it by themselves. During the task cycle, emphasis is on learners’
comprehension and articulating meaning to achieve tasks.
The task usually needs the selection of some goals as a result. This can provide an
opportunity for which learners can collaborate. In the process, different participants, including
peer learners in the team and the tutor, can propose different opinions about the same situation
and create meaningful discussion on the subject. The task will normally produce objects that are
also open to cross group evaluation. The students can present their own products and evaluate
others. Everyone can participate in assessing the strong and weak points of the work produced
within the classroom community. This will cause reflection plus the development of critical
awareness in the students (Ki, 2000).Task-based learning provides several benefits in teaching
English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) because it offers language experience in the classroom.
Task-based learning concentrates on using language naturally by learners in pairs or groups
work and allowing them to share thoughts (Nunan, 2004).

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Ellis (2003) proposes supplementary advantages of a task-based course. First, it is based
on the theoretical viewpoint that instruction must be harmonious with the cognitive processes
contained in second language acquisition. Second, the value of learner’ engagement is
emphasized. Third, a task acts as a proper unit to specify learners’ needs and can be used to
design the specific purpose of courses. Moreover, Ruso (1999) emphasizes interaction on an
individual level and within group work.Pica et al. (1993) value task-based learning because it
controls language teaching by providing opportunities for learners to work with each other and
with their teacher. This sharing of information and opinions supports them to achieve their goals.
Performing task-based activities actually helps learners grasp target language. As Taylor (1983)
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implies, task-based activities give learners the opportunity to interact with target language
directly and use it authentically. Learners obtain authentic experiences, learn the language, and
experience the communicative process.

2.4. Studies Done In the Field of Task-Based Teaching/Learning

Jaccobs and Navas (2000) investigated the clarity of three task categories for a group of
Philippines teachers of English as a second language working in the Philippines. The goal was to
shed lights on the usefulness of these classifications as intervention points to be included in
language teacher education. Thirty three in-service teachers of English in the Philippines
participated in this study; they were attending a course on language instruction at the Philippines
Normal University in Manila. The findings of the study showed that the term "task-based
language teaching" was new to most participants; most participants seemed to feel that the
categories were at least moderately useful in their teaching.
Carless (2002) explored the implementation of task-based teaching in three primary
classrooms in Hong- Kong. He reviewed six issues (teachers' understanding of tasks, their
attitudes, and the classroom time available for task-based teaching, teacher preparation of
resources, the influence of textbook, and topics, and the language proficiency of students) which
were found to impact on how teachers approached the implementation of the communicative
tasks in their classroom. The subjects of this case study were three female English teachers
implementing task-based innovation over a seven-month period in their own primary one or
primary two classrooms with students aged six to seven. The findings in terms of the six issues,
which emerged from the data, indicated that there was a certain amount of interplay between
different issues.
Rattanawong (2004) studied the effects of teaching the English language communicative
ability with the task-based learning approach on PrathomSuksa 6 learners. The participants of the
study consisted of 98 PrathomSuksa 6 learners at AnubarnPraNakorn Sri Ayutthaya School. The
learners were divided into an experimental group and a control group with 49 learners in each
group. The experimental group was treated by the task-based learning approach, while the
control group was treated by regular methods. Both groups were treated three times a week for
10 weeks. Three types of instruments were used for evaluation. The first item was an English
language communicative ability test. The second item was the students’ self-report. The third
instrument was a questionnaire for obtaining the learners’ opinions towards the task-based
learning method. The results revealed that the learners in the experimental group gained
significant higher mean scores in the four language skills in comparison with the control group.
Lopez (2004) cited in Ismaili (2013) performed a study based on task-based instructions
instead of presentation-practice-production (PPP) approach for teaching English in two classes in
a private school in the south of Brazil. He realized that learners who used task-based instructions
(TBI) were more successful English learners because they were using the language to do things-
to access information, solve problems, and to talk about personal experiences. The students who

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were treated by real language materials were able to handle real-life situations when they faced
them outside the classroom. He also expressed that teachers who come from a different
background, based on the amount of relativity to teaching approaches, should be trained before
operating TBLT in the classroom.
Wichitpisan (2005) cited in Sae-Ong (2010) examined learners’ English speaking ability
via task-based learning. The participants of the study were 11 MattayomSuksa 3 learners. Lesson
plans, a pre-post speaking test, observation form, students’ self-report, and foreign traveler’s
inquiring about their opinions were the instruments used in the study. The results implied the
learners’ speaking ability was significantly improved by the task-based learning. Furthermore,
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learners had significant positive opinions about studying English speaking ability through the
task-based learning course.
3. Research Questions
1. Does task-based teaching have any significant effect on learning conditional sentences type 2
by Iranian intermediate EFL learners?
2. Does explicit teaching have any significant effect on learning conditional sentences type 2 by
Iranian intermediate EFL learners?
3. Which method of teaching (task-based vs. explicit teaching) is more effective on learning
conditional sentences by Iranian intermediate EFL learners?

4. Method
4.1. Participants
The participants were 90 female intermediate EFL learners studying English at one language
institute in Isfahan. The participants were chosen non-randomly by applying a general English
placement test (Oxford Placement Test hereafter called OPT) among over 120 EFL learners in
order to make sure that the participants were homogeneous with regard to their language
proficiency. The learners whose scores according to OPT rating chart in the test were from 35 to
40 (i.e. rating 4-5), were considered as the intermediate-level participants of this study. They have
been studying Interchange series (3rd edition) for 2 years. All participants were native speakers
of Persian, who study English as a foreign language for general purposes. Their ages were
between 20 and 30.
4.2. Instrument and Materials
4.2.1. Placement Test
The first instrument that was used in this study was the Oxford Placement Test (OPT).The test
contained 50 questions where the participants had to choose the correct answers among the
alternatives that were provided. After conducting the test, the results were collected and the
participants whose scores in the placement test were recognized as the intermediate level were
selected to partake in the study. The participants whose scores were between 35 and 40 were
recognized as intermediate learners.

4.2.2. Pretest
The pretest, which was a multiple-choice test, was designed to evaluate the grammatical
knowledge (conditional sentences knowledge) of the participants. The final version of the pretest
was made after it was judged by three professors to express their opinions about its validity. In
addition, the test was administered to a pilot group of learners for estimating its reliability using
the Kr-21 formula (r = 0.82). The pre-test consisted of 20 multiple-choice questions in which the
participants were asked to select the correct answer among the conditional structures based on
the information that was given in the test.
4.2.3. Posttest

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The post-test of the study consisted of the multiple-choice items used in the pretest of the
study. Since the study here was aimed at indicating the degree of progress from the pretest to the
posttest in the experimental groups of the study, a post-test was administered to both the
experimental and the control groups. The post-test was similar to the pre-test with the same
questions. In order to eliminate the test practice effect, the order of questions was changed to be
different from the pretest.
4.2.4. Selecting and Designing an Interactive Tasks
There are a number of key considerations regarding the selection and design of the interactive
tasks for this study. The first is to develop tasks so that they complement the content and the
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existing materials used in the course. In this case, the course is a general English program with a
focus on speaking, vocabulary, and listening. It is the researcher’s intention therefore to select
and design tasks that facilitated oral communication and use of specific grammar and in this case
conditional sentences.The researchers assumed that an ordering and sorting task that involved
sequencing and categorizing pictures related to the use of conditional sentences were most
suitable. The researcher then developed a story-telling narrative that consisted of six pictures
relating to the content of the course. The story involved a man who bought a lottery ticket and
won the lottery, then later lost his lottery ticket and wallet when he was out celebrating with his
friends. The author considered this task-type desirable because learners were required to
communicate in the L2 to sequence the pictures in the correct order. Furthermore, stories
involved the use of conditional sentences, therefore enabling the task to elicit the targeted form.
4.3. Procedure
To carry out this study, the following procedures were followed: first, a general proficiency exam
(OPT test) was administered to all learners who were supposed to be at intermediate level at one
language institute in Isfahan. The participants were chosen non-randomly from among those
who scored the ratings of 4-5 based on OPT. Then the participants were divided into three
homogeneous groups, containing two experimental and one control group where each group had
30 participants, and a pretest was given to them. After assigning the participants in the three
mentioned groups, in order to make sure that the three groups were homogeneous, an ANOVA
test was run on their OPT scores. In addition, in order to make sure of the groups’ homogeneity
regarding grammatical proficiency, the means of the scores of the three groups on the pretest
were compared to identify if there was no significant difference among three groups.
After the administration of the pretest, the researcher carried out the treatment. A different form
of treatment was used for each group of the study. In the control group, the participants received
the regular teaching method for learning the conditional sentences. By the regular method, it
means the method, which was proposed by the course book, was used for conducting the
treatment. First, some examples containing the conditional structures were provided to the
learners by the researcher and the participants repeated each example. Then, the participants
practiced with one another in the form of asking and answering questions based on the
conditional structure taught in that section. Finally, they answered the exercises of the book and
their answers were checked and corrected by the researcher. In the experimental groups, one
group was taught by the explicit method and the other group was taught by the task-based
method. In the explicit group, grammatical patterns were directly introduced to the learners and
they were asked to memorize the patterns and then practice them through answering related
questions to the point.The treatment, which was used for the task-based group, consisted of three
phases:
4.3.1. Pre-Task Cycle
The pre-task stage involved the teacher giving the instructions of the task to the class. Within
each group, each learner was allocated one picture and was told to describe the picture, but not

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show it to the other members of the group. The teacher provided some vocabulary on the
whiteboard for each group to use in the task. The teacher also encouraged the learners to try to
use conditional sentences when describing and sequencing the pictures. For instance, in one
picture, there was a young man who wanted to buy a sports car but he did not have any money.
The participants were asked to make conditional sentences based on the picture. One of the
answers was as follows: if he had a million dollars, he would buy the car.Finally, to prevent the
groups from using their L1 to complete the task, the teacher informed the class that each group
has a different story, and that each group had to present their unique story in which the
conditional sentences were used to the rest of the class in English after they completed the task. It
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was therefore important for all of the learners to speak only English during the task.
4.3.2. Task Cycle
The first part of the task cycle involved the learners describing their pictures and then sequencing
them in the correct order. The purpose of this initial stage of the cycle was to allow learners to
engage in free L2 communication to agree on the sequence of the photos. During this stage of the
lesson, the teacher served as facilitator, monitoring each group’s performance and providing
assistance when necessary. In the second part of the task cycle, one learner from each group
narrated the story to the rest of the class. First, the groups were allowed few minutes of planning
time to practice telling their story in the L2. This gave the learners the opportunity to use the
vocabulary provided in the pre-task and to practice using the conditional sentences correctly.
Then one learner from each group was nominated to perform their narration.
4.3.3. Language Focus
During this stage of the lesson, learners’ attention was drawn to the correct use of conditional
sentences. After writing a summary of their story, the learners worked in pairs, examining their
texts and editing any errors that they notice. The teacher also provided feedback about the correct
use of conditional sentences. The learners then orally practiced their narration in pairs before
rewriting an improved version of their text. This process led to improved use of the targeted
form.
5. Results
5.1. Effectiveness of TBLT and EI in the Acquisition of Conditional Sentences Type 2
In order to answer the first research question, the pretest and posttest scores of the TBLTG
learners were compared using a paired-samples t test. The same statistical test was conducted to
help the researchers arrive at the second research question of the study. Table 4.1.presents the
descriptive statistics for the pretest and posttest scores of the TBLTG and EIG.

Table 1
Paired Samples t Test Results Comparing Pretest and Posttest Scores of the TBLTG, and EIG
Paired Differences
Sig.
95% Confidence Interval of
Std. Std. Error t df (2-
Mean the Difference
Deviation Mean tailed)
Lower Upper
TBLTG Pretest – -
-6.10 1.78 .32 -6.76 -5.43 29.000
TBLTG Posttest 18.68
EIG Pretest – EIG -
-4.53 2.33 .42 -5.40 -3.66 29.000
Posttest 10.56

For the TBLTG pretest-posttest comparison, the Sig. (2-tailed) value represents a p value lower
than the significance level (.000 < .05), which means that the difference between the pretest and
posttest scores of the TBLTG learners had been statistically significant. Likewise, for the pretest-

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posttest comparison of the EIG learners, the same result was obtained. That is, the p value was
found to be less than .05. This means that the grammar posttest scores of the learners in both
TBLTG and EIG improved significantly due to the treatment they received.

5.2. Results for the Third Research Question

To find out the possible differences among the three groups of learners in this study, one-way
between groups ANOVA was conducted twice: once for the comparison of the grammar scores of
the three groups at the beginning of the study and a once again for comparing these groups’
grammar scores after the experiment was conducted.
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Table 2
Results of One-Way ANOVA for Comparing TBLTG, EIG, and CG Mean Scores on the Pretest
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 1.26 2 .63 .18 .83

Within Groups 295.23 87 3.93
Total 296.50 89

Table 2 reveals that there was not a statistically significant difference in the pretest scores for
TBLTG (M = 10.76, SD = 1.92), EIG (M = 10.73, SD = 1.99), and CG (M = 11.00, SD = 1.57) because
the p value under the Sig. column was greater than the specified level of significance (i.e. .83 >
.05). This indicates that the three groups did not significantly differ in terms of their knowledge of
grammar at the outset of the study.

Table 3
Results of One-Way ANOVA for Comparing TBLTG, EIG, and CG Mean Scores on the Posttest
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 256.200 2 128.100 83.98 .000

Within Groups 132.700 87 1.52
Total 388.900 89
As it is shown in Table 3, the difference in the posttest scores among TBLTG (M = 16.86, SD =
1.25), EIG (M = 15.26, SD =.98), and CG (M = 12.76, SD = 1.43) reached statistical significance
because the p value under the Sig. column was smaller than the specified level of significance (i.e.
.000 < .05). This shows that the three groups significantly differed in terms of their knowledge of
grammar at the end of the experiment, which might be attributable to the treatments they were
exposed to. There is still one thing unanswered: whether the significant difference was between
TBLTG and EIG, TBLTG and CG, EIG and CG, or even among all the three groups of learners.
Pairwise comparisons of these groups are presented in the LSD post hoc test in Table 4.

Table 4
Results of the LSD Post Hoc Test for Comparing TBLTG, EIG, and CG Mean Scores on the Posttest
95% Confidence Interval
Groups Mean Difference Std. Error Sig.
Lower Bound Upper Bound
EIG 1.60000* .31888 .000 .9662 2.2338
TBLTG
CG 4.10000 * .31888 .000 3.4662 4.7338
EIG TBLTG -1.60000* .31888 .000 -2.2338 -.9662

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CG 2.50000* .31888 .000 1.8662 3.1338
TBLTG -4.10000* .31888 .000 -4.7338 -3.4662
CG
EIG -2.50000* .31888 .000 -3.1338 -1.8662

In the top row, it could be seen that the TBLTG (M = 16.86) was significantly different
from the EIG (M = 15.26) since the p value in front of this comparison was .000, which is less than
.05. Similarly, TBLTG differed significantly from CG (M = 12.76) as p = .000. In addition, the
difference between EIG and CG was of statistical significance (p = .000). This would mean that
TBLG learners significantly outperformed EIG learners, who, in turn, significantly outperformed
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CG learners. In other words, the two experimental groups had better performances than the CG,
and among the experimental groups, task-based teaching group benefited more than the explicit
instruction group from its treatment.

6. Discussion
To test the first research hypothesis: Task-based teaching does not have any significant effect on
learning conditional sentences type 2 by Iranian intermediate EFL learners,the pretest and posttest
scores of the task-based language teaching group learners were compared using a paired-samples
t test. The analysis of the results pointed to the significant improvement of posttest scores
compared to pretest ones meaning that the treatment through this method was effective.
Therefore, the first research hypothesis could be safely rejected.
The positive impact of task-based instruction could be due to the influential characteristics of this
recent approach to teaching. As Swan (2005) stated task-based instruction mainly include natural
or naturalistic language use, and the activities are concerned with meaning rather than language.
Instruction is basically learner-centered instead of teacher-centered. Learners learn language by
interacting communicatively and decisively while involved in the activities and tasks. Since
purely naturalistic learning does not normally lead to target-like accuracy, engagement is
essential in order to promote the acquisition of formal linguistic elements while keeping the
perceived advantages of a natural approach. This is done by providing opportunities for focus on
the form, which will draw students’ attention to linguistic elements as they arise incidentally in
lessons whose prime focus is on meaning or communication. Traditional approaches compared to
this more recent one are ineffective and undesirable, especially where they involve passive
formal instruction and practice separated from communicative work. The emphasis is on learning
to communicate through interaction in the target language, and materials are authentic (Nunan,
1991). Errors are not necessarily the result of bad learning, but are part of the natural process of
interlanguage forms gradually moving towards target forms (Ellis, 1994).
To test the second hypothesis: Explicit teaching does not have any significant effect on learning
conditional sentences type 2 by Iranian intermediate EFL learners, the pretest and posttest scores of the
explicit instruction group learners were compared using a paired-samples t test. The analysis of
the results indicated that explicit teaching of the target structure can also lead to significant
improvement of the learners’ performance. Therefore, the second research hypothesis could be
safely rejected as well. The logic behind such finding can lie in the merits of explicit instruction.
Explicit grammar instruction supplies the declarative knowledge of grammar, it creates
awareness and leads to conscious learning and noticing (Schimidt’s noticing hypothesis, 1990). It
ends up with automatization. Explicit grammar instruction is conducive for “knowing the rules”
of a language. In addition, it provides a solid knowledge of grammar and syntax In other words,
this all amounts to mastering how the language works. It is useful for pointing out the
particularities of a language, the exceptions. For example, overtly discussing word order and
irregular verbs in the English language results in a greater awareness of the intricacies of the

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language. It seems to be the case that some people are just better explicit learners. Logical,
mathematical, and verbal types of intelligence seem to be more readily inclined to learn and
adopt grammar explicitly. Our capacity to acquire new languages declines as we age. As a result,
this also means that explicit grammar instruction becomes more relevant as we get older as well.
“Formal” language learning seems to be a better approach for adult learners (Longhurst, 2013).
To test the third hypothesis: There is no significant difference between the two mentioned
instructional methods as far as their effect on learning conditional sentences by Iranian intermediate EFL
learners is concerned, one-way between groups ANOVA was conducted twice: once for the
comparison of the grammar scores of the three groups at the beginning of the study and
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comparing these groups’ grammar scores after the experiment was conducted. The analysis of the
results uncovered that the three groups significantly differed in terms of their knowledge of
grammar at the end of the experiment, which might be attributable to the treatments they were
exposed to. To precisely understand about the differences Pairwise comparisons of these groups
in the LSD post hoc test was made. Finally, the results demonstrated that the two experimental
groups had better performances than the CG, and among the experimental groups, task-based
teaching group benefited more than the explicit instruction group from its treatment.
As it was mentioned, task-based language teaching is an approach which offers students
materials which they have to actively engage in order to achieve a goal or complete a task
(Skehan, 1998). Much like regular tasks that people perform everyday such as making the tea,
writing an essay, talking to someone on the phone, TBLT seeks to develop students’
interlanguage through providing a task and then using language to solve it. TBLT provides
favorite situations for developing the second language (Rahimpour, 1995, 1999; Robinson, 1995).
While carrying out communicative tasks, learners are said to receive comprehensible input and
modified output, processes believed central to second language acquisition and which ultimately
lead to the development of both linguistic and communicative competence (Doughty & Williams,
1998).

7. Conclusion
Undoubtedly, teaching grammatical structures is one significant goal of all language teaching
programs. It is believed that L2 learners’ communicative competence involves grammatical
competence as one essential component. By the emergence of the communicative language
teaching approach in the early 1980s and much stress on learners’ communicative abilities over
the last two decades, the term Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) came into widespread use
in the field of Second Language. Therefore, an attempt was made in this study to compare task-
based teaching of conditionals as the target structure with explicit instruction of them to
determine the degree of effectiveness of these two approaches to teaching grammar.
After performing the experiments and doing the necessary statistical an analysis it was found
that: there was a statistically significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores of the
learners in the task-based group, and that the learners in this group had improved significantly
owing to the treatment they experienced. In addition, explicit group learners improved
significantly from pretest to posttest, and also the learners in the two experimental groups
obtained significantly better results than the control group learners. Additionally, it was shown
that task-based instruction was significantly more effective than explicit instruction when it came
to teaching/learning conditional sentences type 2.

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THE EFFECT OF E-ASSESSMENT ON WRITING

SKILL OF IRANIAN UPPER INTERMEDIATE EFL
LEARNERS
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1AbouzarShojaei(Correspondingauthor)*
PhD Candidate, English Department, Islamic Azad University (IAU), Torbat-e-Heydarieh Branch,
Iran.
aboozar_shojaei1361@yahoo.com

Mohammad Ali Fatemi

English Department, Islamic Azad University(IAU), Torbat-e-Heydareih Branch, Iran
fatemi35@gmail.com

Abstract
This study investigated the effect of e-assessment on writing skill of Iranian upper-intermediate
efl learners'. To achieve this goal, a group of 60 females and males efl students (aged between 14
to 30 years old) participated in the free paragraph writing course based on their scores on a
writing placement test. Participants were divided into two control (n=30) and experimental
(n=30) groups. In both control and experimental groups, two tests including a writing placement
test and quick placement test were administered before and after the treatment to check the
participants’ progress or regress. A quick placement test questionnaire was developed and
completed 60students in language teaching institutes in Fars province, iran. A quasi-
experimental, intact group, pretest and posttest design was employed in the current study. The
results of the study revealed that the knowledge of e-assessment has got a significant impact on
learners’ writing skill.

Keywords: e-assessment, writing skills, efl learners

1. Introduction:
Besidethrough the promptingdynamics of task, and test-taker features in performance
assessment, the collaborative component of rater and ranking scale has received a considerable
devotion in diverse models of presentation assessment (Kenyon, 1992; Fulcher, 2003; McNamara,
1996; Skehan, 1998; Weir, 2005). Within the communicative background of language instruction,
the proficiency of writing enjoys special status. There is no reservation that writing is the most
problematicproficiency for EFL learners to principal.Writing is a distinctive method of
communication because of the information that it is an activity which is obviouslyfurtherserious
than the other three means of communication, i.e. listening speaking, and reading (Hobson
&Schafermeyer, 1994). According toBean (1998), in direction to identify and demonstrate the
connection between good and good writing,rational, we must not see information as something
other than separate bits of information to be studied and stored in memory. Students must think

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about knowledge and the world in a critical way in order to judge and estimate information and
influence an accomplished opinion about it, not only accept it at face value. Critical thinking
means to reflectproperly about importantinformation and the world. It is to reflect in upper order
enabling the person to evaluator, estimate and assess correctly. It is to think sensibly, skillfully,
reflectively, and correctly (Schafersman, 1991).
Beside through the prompting dynamics of task, and test-taker features in performance
assessment, the collaborative component of rater and ranking scale has received a considerable
devotion in diverse models of presentation assessment (Kenyon, 1992; Fulcher, 2003; McNamara,
1996; Skehan, 1998; Weir, 2005). Within the communicative background of language instruction,
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the proficiency of writing enjoys special status. There is no reservation that writing is the most
problematic proficiency for EFL learners to principal.
1.1 Purpose of the Study
This study seeks to investigate the effect of E-assessment on writing skill of Iranian EFL
Learnersamong EFL learners.
1.2 Research Question
This study attempts to answer the following question:
1- Does E-assessment have any significant impact on EFL learners’ writing skill?

1.3 Limitations of the Study

The students in this research were all in the upper intermediate level of expertise which limits the
generalizability of the result merely to this expertise level. Also the time period for the
investigation is limited to merely one term of institutes, about three months which may affect the
generalizability or external validity of the result. Because of the rare number of learners in each
group the generalizability or external validityof the study may be affected. Also because of the
incapacity of the researcher to randomly select the participants of the research the results are
limited in the degree of their generalizability as is also obvious in the choice of the design of the
study anexperimental design. This research is incomplete to paragraph writing specifically
aggressive writing.

2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1Writing Assessment
In this study writing assessment has involved a considerable amount of attention in school,
universities and colleges because they link learning, teaching, and assessment within the control
and through controls in the universityprogram. Hamp-Lyons &Condon (2000) claim that the
“highest theoretical and practical strength of an assessment used as an assessment tool, is the way
it reveals and updatesinstruction and education” (p.4).Within an effort to provide a more valid
image of the concept of writing ability, there has been a mainchange in language testing towards
the improvement and use of show tests within the past periods. In this innovativeapproach of
assessment student writing is evaluated by raters spending some kind of assessmentscale which
creates it different from the traditional fixed response assessment. This kind of assessment offers
the benefit of directly measuring candidates’ creative language skills. In this concern, different
models have identified the features that affectpresentation (e.g. Fulcher, 2003; Kenyon, 1992;
McNamara, 1996; Skehan, 1998, Weir, 2005).
As Knoblauch and Brannon (1984) point out, good writing is independent of rhetorical
conventions. There is no formula for writing. In other words, writing skill is not a skill to be
trained, but it is the result of explicit and conscious thinking. Individuals do not write to cover
techniques or models of writing; they write since they want to communicate important thought
and to make meaning. Teachers should not only create motivation and contexts for thinking, but
also they should encourage students to systematize their experience by means of language.

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According to Zimmerman and Reisemberg (1997), writing has been described as linear and
simplistic, task based on early models of it. Today, however, researchers know that the write
must cope with the rules and techniques of writing such as framework, organization, form and
characteristics, purposes, audience perspectives, needs of audience, etc. (Bereiter&Scardamalia,
1987; Haris& Graham, 1992, 1996).Allami and Salmani-Nodoushan (2007, p. 67) mention that
writers should try to change their discourse to communicate their desired meaning in order to
solve the problem of interaction with their audience. This is the time when teachers should create
“productive thinking” in their students through promoting suitable strategies based on which the
writers can get closer to their intended meaning. They involve their pupils in various tasks and
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encourage them to practice different techniques or procedures.

As McNamara (2000) points out: “This methodproblems the need for assessment to be combined
with the aims of the curriculum and to have aninnovative relationship with learning and
teaching”. It means considering, learning,teaching and E-assessment as an assimilated and
interdependent series of result (Lee, 2007).The techniques used within this modelcontain,
journals, checklists, logs, audiotapes, and, videotapes, self-evaluation, teacher observations,
conferences, portfolios, books, self-assessments, E-assessment, writing skills and peer-
assessments (Brown and Hudson 1998). These methods have been named alternatives in
Assessment (Brown, 2004) as faced to traditional assessment methods such as dictation multiple
choice, cloze test, etc.

Table (1)According to(Brown, 2004, p.13)introduces the key differences between the two
approaches.
Table1. Alternative and traditional assessment:

TRADITIONAL ASSESSMENT ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT

Standardized exams, one shot, Continues long-term assessment

Multiple choice design, programmed Untimed, free-response format
Marks suffice for comment Individualized feedback and washback
Standard- referenced scores Criterion referenced scores
Effort on the ''right'' answer Open-ended , creative answers
Summative Formative
Learning to product Oriented process
Non- collaborative performance Interactive performance
Promotes extrinsic inspiration Fosters intrinsic motivation

There have been variousmethods in the history of teaching writing; process approach, product
approach, English for theoretical purposes (Silva, 1990). They have come and gone and in
spitefulness of these changes writing is still a problematic task for students and teachers and
investigators are still frustrated with these methods. Today alternative assessments such as E-
assessment, portfolio, conferencing, peer assessment and self-assessment are used as an
alternative to put an end to one report traditional assessment. The key problem of traditional
methods was that they just motivated on writing as a product, while alternative assessments
emphasize both product and process. That’s why when E-assessment familiarized it
increasedimportance among teachers (Burch, 2000; Hirvela and Sweetland, 2005).

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Benefits of E-assessment exist in a large number in literature (e.g. Brown, 2004; Burch, 2000;
Genesee and Upsure, 1996; Nezakatgoo, 2005, Song and August, 2002). Brown (2004)
classifiedpossible advantages of E-assessment as:
Responsibility, foster intrinsic motivation, and ownership,Teacher interaction with teacher as
facilitator, promote student,
Celebrate the uniqueness of each student, and individualize learning,
Provide noticeablesuggestion of a student’s work,
Revision process, and facilitate critical thinking self-assessment,
Suggestion opportunities for cooperative work with peers, and
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Certificate assessment of multiple measurements of language learning (p257).

E-assessment can contain a range of materials like, reports, essays, audio or video, homework,
peer and self-assessment (Brown, 2004). In this study, the students’ portfolios include self-
assessment. Learners must think about knowledge and the world in a critical way in order to
judge and evaluate information and reach an educated opinion about it, not merely accept it at
face value. Serious thinking means to think appropriately about relevant knowledge and the
world. It is to think in advanced order allowing the person to judge, evaluate and assess
responsibly. It is to reflect practically, seriously, sensibly, and expertly (Schafersman, 1991).To
study the value of E-assessment as a tool for students’ provision of micro-level skills for their
final examinations, Nezakatgoo (2005) made a contrast between E-assessment based and non-
portfolios based writing classroom. The result of the study exposed a significant between the two
groups. The procedures of E-assessment in his class assisted improve students’ their learning of
the procedures and final examination score.

3. METHODOLOGY
3.1 Participants and Setting
The participants in the present study to answer the research question, included 60 male and
female upper intermediate EFL learners (32males and28 females) whose age in both the control
and the experimental groups ranged from 27 to 45, Learning English at Kazeroun English
Language Institutes, Fars Province, Iran took part in the study. In order to homogenize the
participants and to make sure about their level of general proficiency, a quick placement test
version 2 was administered to the participants. The criterion for passing the test was scoring
between 40 and 47 (equal to upper-intermediate level) based on the quick placement test version
2. Then it was administered a Passage required to take the third edition of Interchange/Passages
Writing Placement Test Form C developed by Lesley, Hanson, and Zukowski (2005). The
criterion for passing the test was scoring between 6 and 7 (equal to upper-intermediate level)
based on the public version of IELTS Writing Band Descriptors, Task 2. Then, it was administered
among the participants who scored between 6 and 7 to see whether were also homogenous
writing skill or not. The number of the participants who took the quick placement test in Navid
institute was 30 male and female learners who were mostly taking or had taken different levels of
Interchanges 2,3, or passages. Also, 30 male and female learners in Ava institute took the quick
placement test, and almost all test-takers were participating or had participated in Interchange
2,3, or passage classes. Finally, two group of 30 female students were selected as the participants
of the study, one group in Navid Institute (the experimental group), and the other one in Ava
Institute (the control group). All the participants of the study were Persian native speakers who
were studying English as a foreign language and who never lived in a foreign country.

3.2 Instrumentation

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The instruments used in this study were employed characteristics ofquick placement test in Fars
Province EFL learners. The quick placement test consisted of 60 questions with. The time allotted
to answering the creativity test was 30 minutes. The quick placement test questionnaire involved
in two parts: Part One (Questions 1-40) All students and Part Two (Questions 41-60).The
participants were same levels in groups, control group and experimental group. The learners
were asked to mark their opinions about writing questionnaire on the questionnaire within 30
minutes.
For the purposes of the present study, two instruments were used:
Lesley et al.’s (2005) Writing Placement Test form C of the third edition of the
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Interchange/Passages Evaluation Package wasapplied to place all the students at the upper-
intermediate level of writing ability in order to choose two nearly homogenous groups and to
make sure about the comparability of the experimental and the control groups.The Interchange
Writing Placement Test required the students to write a paragraph about one of the three topics
offered to them within 30 minutes. The students’ writings in both experimental and control
groups were related by three raters that were to be involved in the scoring of Writing Placement
Test in order to add valuable input to the process. The raters rated the students’ writing based on
the public (general) version of the IELTS Writing Band Descriptors, Task 2. After the three raters
rated each written paragraph, in order to determine the consistency of the ratings, the inter-rater
reliability of the scores was estimated via calculating the average score of the raters’. The average
score of the three raters’ scores was compared to the IELTS Writing Band Descriptors, Task 2, in
which the suitable band for upper-intermediate level was between 6 and 7.
Since this study aimed to assess the writing ability of the students, the same Writing Placement
Test Form C of the third edition of Interchange/Passages was used not only as a test of
homogeneity, but also as a pretest and as a posttest in the experimental and control groups. In
fact, having taken the pretest, the students received the posttest after a three-months-period
study during which the learners in both control group and experimental group were taught via
E-assessment received treatment through E-assessment. Comparing the results of the pretest and
the posttest in each of the experimental and control groups, the researcher was able to
understand if there was any change regarding the writing skill of the students in each group. One
important point was that based on the IELTS Writing Band Descriptors, Task 2, the students’
writing scores in the pretest (that was administered both as a pretest and as a test of
homogeneity) ranged from 6 to 7, Writing Placement Test form C of the third edition of the
Interchange/Passages Evaluation Package, the students’ writing scores in the pretest (that was
administered both as a pretest and as a test of homogeneity) ranged from 6 to 7, and the learners
who got below 6 or above 7 were crossed out of the study; Another important point was the
paragraph written by the students (in both the control and experimental groups) in the posttest
were scored in the same way they were rated in the pretest.
3.3 Procedures
This study aimed to examine the effect of E-assessment on writing skill of Iranian upper
intermediate EFL Learners. In order to investigate the purpose of the study, the following
procedures took under consideration:

3.3.1Participant selection: The researcher decided to do the research in two Language institutes
of Navid and Ava in Fars Province, Kazeroun, Iran. He spoke with the institutes administrators
and made them aware of the purpose of the study. After the administrators of both institutes
agreed on holding free twenty- session paragraph writing course, they advertised for the course
in their institutes, and as the researcher had asked them, they mentioned in their advertisement
that, preferably, the students who were taking or had taken Interchange 2, 3, or Passages could

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register for the course. Since the researcher was going to do the research on EFL upper-
intermediate learners, he wanted to make certain that all the students were at the upper-
intermediate level of writing skill, and because the syllabuses of both institutes were based on the
third edition of Interchange System that was adopted from Short et al. (1997). The students who
registered in the course were required to take Lesley et al.’s (2005) Writing Placement Test Form
C of the third edition of the Interchange/Passages Evaluation Package. Then, among the learners
who took the Interchange Writing Test in two institutes. The researcher chose randomly one
group of the students as the control group (Talash Language Institute) and the other group of the
learners (Navid Language Center) as the experimental group. The students in both the control
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and the experimental groups participated in the writing course for course for 3 months, one
session each week. The day and the time of the class different in each group.

3.3.2 Pretest:The researcher considered the same Interchange Writing Placement Test both as test
homogeneity and as one of the pretest of the study in both control and experimental groups. The
students (in both control and experimental groups) were also administrated the same Quick
Placement Test for test Proficiency was scored 40 to 47. The Writing Placement Test was scored
based on the public version of IELTS Writing Band Descriptors, Task 2 (in the “instrumentation”
section, it was completely explained that how the Writing Placement Test was scored). The
suitable scale for passing the Writing Placement Test was between 6 and 7.

3.3.3Post Posttest:After three-month study, twenty sessions, the researcher (in both the control
and the experimental groups) administered two posttestes (the same pretests) including Lesley et
al.’s (2005) Writing Placement Test Form C of the third edition of Interchange / Passages
Evaluation Package. Three raters scored the WritingPlacement Test based on the public version of
IELTS Writing Band Descriptors, Task 2 (the way through which the writing test was scored, was
explained in the “instrumentation section”).The students’ scores were below 6, between 6 and 7,
and above 7.

3.3.4 Study Design

The participants of the study were selected from two populations in two Language institutes
using the same educational system in the same town (Kazeroun). The researcher placed the
students of both the control group and the experimental groups in the writing classes based on
the researcher criterion scores ( 1 to 20) and they obtained in the third edition of Writing
Placement Test developed by Lesly et al. (2005). The data collection started in September 2015
and lasted for a fall semester at the institutes in Fars Province, Iran. The instrument was
administered to EFL learners from some English Language Institutes in Kazeroun, Iran which
were particular based on availability of the researchers.
In addition, as Mackey and Gass (2005) have pointed out, quantitative researches cope with
gathering and analyzing quantitative data based on statistics. Thus, according to what Mackey
and Gass (2005) mentioned, this research was going to be a quantitative one that was done
through an experimental design.
3.3.5 Data analysis procedures
The data analyzed were completed the 19th version of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS). Accordingly, Mann-Whitney Test, Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test, Independent-Samples T-
Test, and Paired-Samples T-Test were estimated based on the results of One-Sample
Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test that made clear the normality and non-normality of the data.
Moreover, the researcher applied descriptive statistic of the data. In command to analyze the
data, SPSS software was used to assess descriptive and inferential statistics. A set of T-test was

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carried on to identify different relationships. Also an independent sample t-test was used to
investigate the Gender seams.

4. DATA ANALYSIS
Having collected the data, the researchers decided to conduct an analysis by using SPSS (19.0).
Data analysis is vital to test the null-hypotheses formulated by researchers. First of all, it is a key
to test the normality of the data distribution.
4.1 Results of normality
To test the normality, Smirnov-Kolmogrov test was conducted. The null-hypothesis of this test
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indicates that the data distribution is normal. If the observed p-value is more than .05 then the
null-hypothesis is accepted which indicates the normality and the researcher is allowed to
conduct parametric tests.
Table 1
One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test

Pretest posttest QPT

N 60 60 60
Normal Parametersa Mean 14.2833 15.8667 43.3167
Std. Deviation 1.74756 2.38971 2.21315

Most Extreme Differences Absolute .136 .149 .143

Positive .098 .149 .124
Negative -.136 -.149 -.143
Kolmogorov-Smirnov Z 1.050 1.156 1.109
Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .220 .138 .171
a. Test distribution is Normal.

1. As Table 1 shows p-value for all data including pretest (p=.22>.05), posttest (p=.13>.05),
and QPT (p=.17>.05) is more than .05, therefore the null-hypothesis of One-Sample
Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test indicating that the data distribution is normal is accepted.

4.2 Results of QPT

Quick Placement Test (QPT) was administered at the outset of the study as a homogenizing
instrument. Table 2 shows results of independent samples t-test which was conducted to
compare the means of the two groups.
Table 2
Results of independent samples t-test for QPT
Group N M SD Df t Sig
Cont. 30 43.10 2.20 58 .75 .45
Exp. 30 43.53 2.23

As Table 2 shows there is not statistically significant difference (df=58, t=.57, sig=.45) between
control (N=30, M=43.10, SD=2.20) and experimental (N=30, M=43.53, SD=2.23) groups in QPT.
The result is the participants' homogeneity, i.e. only upper-intermediate were selected based on
QPT.

4.3 Results of pretest

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Performance of control and experimental groups in the pretest was compared by conducting
independent samples t-test. Results are shown in Table 3.

Table 3
Results of independent samples t-test for pretest
Group N M SD Df T Sig
Cont. 30 14.43 1.61 58 .66 .51
Exp. 30 14.13 1.88
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Table 3 confirms that there is not any significant difference (df=58, t=.66, sig=.51) between control
(N=30, M=14.43, SD=1.61) and experimental (N=30, M= 14.13, SD=1.88) groups in the pretest.
Accordingly, participants had the same level of proficiency in writing prior to implementing the
treatment.

4.4 Results of posttest

To test the null-hypothesis formulated by the researchers "E-assessment does not have any
significant effects on EFL learners' writing ability" independent samples t-test was conducted
(Table 4

Table 4
Results of independent samples t-test for posttest
Group N M SD Df T Sig
Cont. 30 13.80 1.34 58 13.57 .000
Exp. 30 17.93 .98

As Table 4 shows, participants in the experimental group (N=30, M=17.93, SD=.98) significantly
(df=58, t=13.57, sig=.000) outperformed those in the control group (N=30, M=13.80, SD=1.34) in
the posttest. Therefore the null-hypothesis formulated by the researcher was rejected and positive
significant effects of e-assessment on writing ability among upper-intermediate EFL learners
were confirmed.
In line with the present finding are those obtained by YastibasandYastibas (2015) who conducted
a review to find out the effectiveness of e-portfolio-based assessment in improvement of students’
self-regulated learning it was found that e-portfolio-based assessment can be employed to
develop students’ self-regulated learning in English language teaching since it emphasizes upon
students. According to Broady (2015), worldwide, in order to be able to technologically navigate
careers to employ technology, all students—ESL and EFL alike—need to employ technology in
English classes. Technology skills expand when utilizing e-assessments occurring under time
pressure and grades are at stake and learners are provided with the opportunity to apply
knowledge and skills in situations in which real life pace is imitated.

5. DISCUSSION
This study aimed at investigating the effect of E-assessment on the writing skill of Iranian EFL
learners. Writing skill shows an essential role to develop learners’ contact and proficiency for the
purpose of statement and communication. Considering the information that not enough study
has been done to compare the effect of E-assessment on writing skill in Iran as an EFL learners’,
the researcher felt the necessity for further study. When we participate learning, teaching and
assessment, our assessment instrument develops a kind of knowledge instrument that benefits
our students to study and develop their writing skill. The participants of the study were in the

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upper immediate level of proficiency so further researches should investigate other level of
ability in respect to the application of self-assessment in writing classrooms. This study sheds
light on the way that self-assessment in the writing supports learners English Essay Writing,
mainly in the EFL upper intermediate context. If self-assessment implemented in upper
intermediate, and advanced level, students can gain knowledge in English Essay Writing.In order
to investigate the impact of E-assessment on writing skill of the participants through the
performance of the control group and experimental groups, the participants were required to
take the same test twice as the pre -test and post- test of the study.
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6. CONCLUSION
The present study focused on the effects of using e-assessment on Iranian upper-intermediate
EFL learners' writing ability. Results of t-test confirmed significant effects of e-assessments
implemented throughout the course. Electronic assessment, thanks to recent developments in
electronic area, can be implemented in EFL settings where teachers and students alike can send
and receive written products in a short period of time. These contexts, in which there is no face-
to-face interaction, can facilitate the process of teaching and learning. Recently, according to Ho
(2012), with the employment of networked computers and word processing/editing software,
many writing teachers have employed synchronous or asynchronous peer review to teach their
students. Electronic or computer-mediated peer review (CMPR) has several advantages over
traditional face-to-face peer review (FFPR). For instance, CMPR decreases learners’ anxiety in oral
communication and provides teachers and students alike with flexibility because it can be
conducted anywhere at any time with a networked computer (Chang, 2012;
DiGiovanni&Nagaswami, 2001; Liang, 2010; Tuzi, 2004, as cited in Ho, 2012).
Recently, with the advances in digital area and introduction of social networks such as Telegram,
Line,Viber, and so on into EFL setting, EFL teachers are recommended to implement this kind of
assessment to enhance their students' achievement and engage them in an effective web-based
communication. EFL students can also take benefits from e-assessment through sharing their
knowledge with their teacher on one hand and with their peers on the other hand. Curriculum
designers should incorporate electronic materials into EFL instructional settings in order to
gradually shift from the tradition to the modernity. Further research is suggested to examine the
effects of different modes of e-assessment such as electronic peer assessment, electronic teacher
assessment, and electronic self-assessment on different language skills.
The results of this studyrevealed that the knowledge of E-assessment has got a significant impact
on students’ writing skill. Being able to think writing skill and applying it in their E-assessment
can offer learners with better techniques for a more successful life.The participants of the first
experimental group were asked to afford E-assessment of their questionnaire during the course
and after each question they were invented to assess themselves and answer a quick placement
test questionnaire. The pre- and post-tests were tests based on the materials covered in the class.
The students in this research were all in the upper intermediate level of expertise which limits the
generalizability of the result merely to this expertise level. Also the time period for the
investigation is limited to merely one term of institutes, about three months which may affect the
generalizability or external validity of the result. Because of the rare number of learners in each
group the generalizability or external validity of the study may be affected. Also because of the
incapacity of the researcher to randomly select the participants of the research the results are
limited in the degree of their generalizability as is also obvious in the choice of the design of the
study an experimental design. This research is incomplete to paragraph writing specifically
aggressive writing.
7. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

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Based on the findings of this research, some suggestions for further studies are made:
In the present study all the participants were male, and sex and age were not reflected. Another
study seeing these two variables gives further insight in this area. All the participants were at
upper intermediate level of language proficiency. Other levels of study or the impact of learners
in this process can be considered. Other researches can be done to compare the effect of other
alternative assessment techniques on writing skill. Studying the effect of alternative assessment
techniques on other skills speaking, listening and reading is suggested. Investigating theimpact of
alternative assessment methods on learners’ motivation and autonomy is commended.
It would be motivating to study the effect of alternative assessment method on writing
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proficiency of TOFEL and IELTS examiners. Further researches can be done to investigate the
impact of alternative assessment techniques in schools and institutes.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank all the participants of this study for their time, and cooperation.

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THE EFFECT OF USING COLLIGATIONAL CORPUS-

BASED INSTRUCTION ON ENHANCING THE
PRAGMALINGUISTIC KNOWLEDGE OF SPEECH
ACT OF APOLOGY AMONG IRANIAN
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INTERMIDIATE EFL LEARNERS

BatoulSabzalipour and Mansour Koosha

Department of English, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch

*Corresponding author: B.sabzalipor@yahoo.com

Abstract
This study investigated the effectiveness of colligational corpus-_bassed instruction on enhancing
the pragmalinguistic knowledge of speech act of apology among intermidiate efl learners. The
research question is whether providing students with on-line corpora through using colligational
instruction have any effect on enhancing their pragmalinguistic knowledge of speech act of
request. A total sum of sixty subjects, two groups, from institutions in mazandaran province
participated in the study. The subjects were all intermidiated-level students, consisted of thirty in
each group. The purpose was to observe any probable progress in learner's speech act using
abilityfrom the beginning to the end of the program. The subjects took a standard opt test to
demonstrate their English profecieny. Then they were randomly divided into two groups,
experimental and copntrol group. An mdct pre-test was administered in each group to test their
ability and knowledge in using speech act of apology. After fifteen session of treatment< a post-
test of mdct was administered. The experimental group received corpus-based instruction
through colligational practices while the control group practiced learning the same speech act
through traditional and old methods of learning acts like textbooks, audios, videos and, etc.the
data were analysed using paired and independent sample t-test.in order to increase the validity
of the results, the researcher used observation and interveiw,too. The results have shown how the
quality of speech act learning can improve by using corpus-based instruction.

Keywords: colligation, corpus-based instructio,speech acts,mdc.

1. Introduction
In recent years, English as a lingua franca has emerged as a means of communication between
speakers with different languages, which drives English teaching to become increasingly
important in non-English speaking countries. At the same time, EFL (English as a Foreign
Language) teachers are trying to improve English learners’ language competence
comprehensively so that English learners can communicate with English speakers effectively
based on polite and proper verbal exchanges. However, despite being able to speak English

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fluently there is often a pragmatic dissidence in various speech acts that may reduce the
communicative intent (Cortazzi&Jin, 2008; Goh &Kwah, 1997; Rao, 1996, 2002). In other words, a
good-willed speech act in one culture may be considered ill-mannered in another, with a
potential consequential result of misunderstanding or breakdown of an intercultural
conversation, or may even cause offence to the other side. Hence, it is believed that an effective
and successful communication between interlocutors rests upon proper and polite speech acts.
Cohen (2008) considers speech acts to be aninteresting part of pragmatics due to the possible
misfit between what is said orwritten and what is meant. Thus, successful speech act realization
involves bothsociocultural and sociolinguistic ability (Cohen, 1996) and/or pragmalinguistic
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andsociopragmatics aspects (Thomas, 1983). Although having siociopragmatic knowledge of

speech acts are necessary both in theory and practice, but it is not enough. Studies show that
increasing the pragmalinguistic knowledge of speech acts can be very influential in EFL settings,
too. Learning grammar in context will allow learners to see how rules can be used in sentences.
Language is context-sensitive. This means that, in the absence of context, it is very difficult to
recover the intended meaning of a single word or phrase (Thornbury, 1999. p.69). But
pragmalinguistic is part of pragmatics knowledge that focuses on the role of grammar in the
context of use. Callies (2009a) draws attention to the pragmalinguistic component of pragmatics
and its interplay with grammar. He examined advanced L2 learners’ comprehension and use of
focus constructions, i.e. pragmatically-motivated variations of the basic word order. Outlining
that knowledge of the principles of information organization in discourse, and the use of
linguistic devices for information highlighting clearly relates to L2 pragmatic knowledge, Callies
(2009) suggests that further research into L2 learners’ abilities at the syntax-pragmatics interface
may also be a rewarding enterprise with respect to the interplay of grammatical and
pragmalinguistic knowledge, an important yet unresolved issue in ILP.
Among different types of speech acts, Apologies are universal in the general human need to
express regret over offensive acts and they have accompanied human communication from the
oldest times up to the present, with the potential number of addressees ranging from one to
innumerable. As remedial interchanges contributing to linguistic etiquette, apologies have long
been the focus of attention for philosophers of language (Austin, 1962; Searle, 1969),
sociolinguists (Goffman, 1967, 1971; Gumperz, 1982), ethnographers of communication (Hymes,
1974) and conversational analysts (Coulmas, 1981; Tannen and Öztek, 1981; Blum -Kulka et al.,
1989), not to mention the series of manuals on “How to shine in society” dating back to the 18th
century. In the later studies, Butler (2001) found that context is a very important factor in
evaluating the appropriateness of an apology, in that contextual clues are the ones that determine
what type of apology to use in a give situation. His conclusion was that understanding how
native speakers perceive apologies in English is a good tool in teaching such speech acts to
learners of English as a second language.
What is important here is that learners still have problem in understanding and learning of these
acts. Researches show neither the use of speech acts in context nor can familiarity with linguistic
forms by itself improve learners' pragmatic knowledge and the traditional approaches to speech
act teaching are not helpful anymore there with potential limits (Aston, 1995, p. 261). Another
important issue concerning this topic is the role of instructional materials. Traditional approaches
and materials are not responsive of the huge and vast diversities of the pragmatic knowledge in
different situation. For this reason, corpora and concordancing programs have been used by
second language learners and teachers in classroom exercises. Stefanowitsch and Gries (2011)
and Hoey (2005) suggested to teach the standard grammar structures and the learner gradually
acquires the rest of what native speakers know over time through continued exposure. Textbooks
and other traditional pedagogical materials cannot provide such a vast source of exposure. But

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corpora can provide this situation through colligation. Colligation as a corpus-based approach to
grammar is based on the notion, introduced by Firth (1968, p. 182) as a term for relations between
grammatical categories. In corpus linguistics, the term is typically taken to refer to the co-
occurrence of words with particular grammatical categories (Hoey, 2000, p. 234). Where it is used,
it is typically operationalized in terms of word classes occurring in a particular position relative
to a node word, i. e. as collocation at the level of part-of-speech. Hoey’s notion of colligation is
broad enough to include many studies of lexico-grammatical phenomena. Mair (2003) worked on
gerundial and infinitival complements after begin and start and on infinitival complementation
in general (Mair, 1990). Noel (2003) worked on infinitives, accusatives and that- clauses and the
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results of these studies support the usefulness of using colligation for enhancing the quality of
learning lexico-gramatical aspects of language.
The present study is intended to investigate whether using on-line corpora and practicing
pragmalinguistic aspects of speech act of apology through corpus-based colligations, as an
alternative to the traditional teaching approaches, can solve the problems concerning learning of
speech acts or not.
2. Reviewof related Literature
Pragmatics is a relatively young linguistic discipline – compared to, for example, phonetics and
syntax – which began to establish itself as an independent area of linguistic research only about
40 years ago. Linguistic pragmatics has its foundation in language philosophy and developed as
a result of ideas concerning the functions and use of language by philosophers such as
Wittgenstein (1953, 2004), Austin (1962), Searle (1969, 1975, 1976) and Grice (1968, 1975). The term
pragmatics itself goes back to another philosopher, Peirce (1905), and his work on pragmatism.
The first definition of pragmatics that is generally quoted was developed by Morris (1938, p. 6),
who defined pragmatics as ‘the study of the relation of signs to interpreters’.But Pragmatics is
generally defined asthe study of language from the point of view of users, especially of the
choices they make, the constraints they encounter in using language in social interaction and the
effects their use of language has on other participants in the act of communication. (Crystal, 1985,
p. 240). The study of pragmatics as a field of inquiry within Second Language Acquisition (SLA)
research is usually referred to as Interlanguage Pragmatics (ILP). ILP is commonly defined as
“the study of nonnative speakers’ comprehension, production, and acquisition of linguistic action
in L2” (Kasper, 2010, p. 141). Interlanguage Pragmatics theory thus has predominantly been
concerned with speech act theory (speech act types such as requests, apologies, refusals,
complaints, compliments and compliment responses, and the use of internal and external
modification to these speech acts), conversational implicature theory, and politeness theory in
general and deixis and presupposition in a more specific way (Levinson, 1983). The focus is on
the ways NNS' pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic knowledge differs from that of native
speakers (NS) and among learners with different linguistic and cultural background.
Over the recent years there has been a large diversity of studies on the speech act of apology. The
greatest number of these studies looked at the way one apologizes in English, both with native
and non-native speakers. Nonetheless, there are other studies that investigated the perception
and production of apologies in different languages. But the role of corpus-based studies and
colligational approaches by focus on linguistic aspects in the context of real communication was
very influential in learning this act. An extensive analysis on apologizing in British English was
conducted by Deutschmann (2003). The author examined the forms and functions of apologies, as
well as their social and conversational variation as they appeared in the British National Corpus,
which consists of recordings of a great variety of over 1700 speakers in different contexts and
situations, from formal to informal. The results of this study show that the frequency of strategies
that imply speakers trying to minimize their responsibility was four times greater than those that

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 Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM)
ISSN: 2251-6204
imply assuming responsibility.Válková (2004, 2012) studied various manifestations of politeness
theory, namely at the processes of apologizing and complimenting and their results, i.e. overt
language entities of different sizes and various structural configurations that can be perceived (or
negotiated) as apologies and compliments through corpora. These are treated within the
framework of a modified model of speech act set theory, with corpus ‑ based samples discussed
to verify the validity of the theoretical findings. The results show that rather than single speech
acts, apologies and compliments should be treated as speech act sets opening up space for
identifying more delicate, partly universal and partly language specific scenarios, by means of
which cross ‑ cultural similarities and differences can be considered. The consequences for SLA
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are also obvious: the lack of pragmatic competence in producing appropriate speech reactions
diminishes the possibility of accomplishing the intended communicative goals.
Investigating Internet chat room communication, Szymańsk(2009) focuses on expressions used in
selected speech acts including apology. In fact Szymański studied speech acts through colligation,
nominalization tendency, realized in the performance of certain speech acts. It is a
pragmalinguistically oriented research using Polish chat room conversations. The study was
conducted with the use of corpus linguistics methodology. For the purpose of this study, a corpus
of Internet text-based chats was used. Having studied the chat room lexis, especially lexical items
used in selected speech acts (greetings, farewells, thanks and apologies), a number of word-
formation process were detected, namely nominalization that was useful in learning the speech
acts. The researched corpus provides a number of derivatives from this English borrowing. In
the source language, the word sorry is an adjective. Poles, however, maintain a trend to treat this
word as a noun. Concordance analysis of sorry proved that none of its instances in the analyzed
samples does denote features of nouns.
Sabaté and CurelliGotor’s (2007) also studies socio pragmatic and pragmalinguistic type of
transfer in speech act of apology among Catalan learners. Findings suggested that the low-
proficient Catalan learners exhibited more sociopragmatic transfer, while the advanced and the
intermediate ones exhibited more pragmalinguistic transfer, in English-L2 apologies.
In summary, the use of corpora can be a natural and fundamental part of the teaching and
learning process. Despite the vital role that textbooks and other instructional materials play in
teaching and learning English as a foreign language in Iran, there is limited research conducted to
corpus-based materials and approaches. The present study tried to investigate the effect of this
type of corpus-based instruction on learning speech act of apology.

3. Research Question
1. Does colligational online corpus-based instruction have any effect on enhancing the
pragmalinguist knowledge of speech act of apology among Iranian intermediate EFL learners?
4. Hypothesis
H0: Colligational online corpus-based instruction has any effect on enhancing the
pragmalinguistic knowledge of speech act of apology among Iranian intermediate EFL learners.

5. Method
5.1. Design
The design of this study is the experimental design. In this study on-line corpus is the dependent
variable that is practiced through colligation, and pragmalinguistic knowledge of speech acts of
apology is the independent variable. Samples were selected from a target population and after
administrating OPT and selecting scores between 120 -149, they were assigned into experimental
and control groups. There are two groups, experimental and control groups. A DCT was
administered to groups as the pretest. Then the experimental groups were exposed to treatment
which was corpus–based instruction of speech acts of apology. The control groups did not
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received corpus-based instruction, but they were taught in traditional teaching methods for
speech acts. After a semester, 15 sessions, a post test was administered. The results of the post
tests were analyzed to see whether treatment had any impact or not.
5.2. Participants
The subjects of this study were students of English-Language institutes in Mazandaran province.
They were selected from the target population of intermediate EFL learners. There was no age
and sex limitation. The criterion for selection was an Oxford Placement Test (OPT) in which
scores between 120-149 in four language skills were selected for the purpose of the this study
based on OPT table. 60 participants, based on Krejcie and Morgan's table for random sample size
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(1970) with 95% confidence interval, were randomly selected and randomly divided into two
experimental and two control groups, thirty in each group. The intermediate level was selected
because they are familiar with grammatical concepts and they are cognitively ready to receive
metacognitive instruction, do grammatical analysis and process speech act tasks.
5.3. Materials
The materials in the present study were of two types- those used in traditional classes and the
ones used in corpus-based classes
5.3.1. In traditional classes, the students had several sources of authentic materials to observe and
analyze speech act samples. They listened to audios, watched filmed scenes and reviewed their
transcripts for the speech act of apology studied during the semester. The class also studied EFL
textbooks taught in these institutes about American culture and communication in order to
understand the cultural context that shapes how speech acts are performed. The approximate
level of these textbooks, as defined by the publisher, was consistent among all eight books:
intermediate to upper-intermediate.
5.3.2. In corpus based classes:
a. Corpus like Communicator that is called dialogue corpora, with Date and Dipper as its
concondarcers, were used. These corpora are speech act- special and contain topics concerning
speech act practice. It is a keyword-based parser and seems to be adequate for this first stage of
parsing task. So for cool construction analysis keywords are used for providing information
concerning speech acts. The validity and reliability of this corpora had been substantiated
through a pilot study done on 4 students to make sure it is suitable for intermediate level
students.
b. CARLA site was also be used as a source for exercises and practicing speech acts. This database
contains bibliographic information for all publications and presentations that have come out of
the projects at the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition. This work has been
created by an interdisciplinary and intercollegiate working group of faculty from the University
of Minnesota in the fields of second language acquisition, second language pedagogy, and other
disciplines dealing with linguistic issues. This website offers information about speech acts and
how they can be learned and taught. (www.iles.umn.edu/introspeechacts).
5.4.Instruments
Several instruments were employed in the present study:
5.4.1. As for the proficiency test, OPT test was employed. The test has been developed by the
“Languages and Linguistic Faculty” members and therefore, enjoys the construct validity crucial
to any developed test.
5.4.2. Krejcie and Morgan's table for random sample size (1970).
5.4.3. Two 20- item MDCT (multiple choice discourse completion test) for speech act apology and
colligation as the pre-test and the other as the post test was used in this study. So the reliability
and validity of these tests is confirmed beforehand; all of these situations are adapted from the
previous studies.

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5.4.4. Blum &kulkas' coding scheme (1997) for scoring apology DTC. Two criteria were used here
for coding speech acts of apology through colligation: Conveying the illocutionary force and
grammatical go-togetherness of speech act elements. It is called Mood derivable where the
grammatical mood of locution and its colligation determine its illocutionary force.
5.4.5. Taggers like such as CLAWS (linguistics) and VOLSUNGA were also introduced. Also
CLL-Tagger allows the user getting a text annotated with POS tags. It works on a well-known bi-
directional inference algorithm according to which a POS tag is assigned to a token depending on
POS tags of tokens to the right and to the left of current token. As a result CLL-Tagger works
much faster than its immediate analogue, a tagger developed by the Japanese scientists (T&T
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tagger) that employs the same algorithm and also American National Corpus (ANC).
5.4.6. As alternatives to DATE and DIPPER Scheme for COMUNICATOR corpus, there are two
commercially available corpus software, such as Wordsmith Tools (Scott, 1999) and Monoconc
Pro (2000), which any average home computer user can manipulate with relative ease. They were
also suggested and used for additional practice.
5.4.7. In addition devices like videos, audio containing situations containing interviews and
meetings with celebrities, computers and internets were employed for the instruction.
5.5.Procedures
The subjects were selected from the target population of intermediate EFL learners. An Oxford
Placement Test (OPT) was administered with 200 questions, fifty for each skill and 60 subjects
with scores between 120 to 149 were selected for the purpose of this study and randomly
assigned into two groups (i.e. experimental and control groups). A pre- test of MDTC was
administered to determine their primary speech act knowledge. Then the treatment started and
lasted for one semester, 15 sessions twice a week. Each treatment session lasted an hour and a
half. The researcher started with Pre-presentation warming up, presentation explicit–
metapragmatic instruction, Teacher-Fronted discussion of various meanings conveyed by an
utterance, presenting socio-cultural contexts, linguistic knowledge, semantic and syntactic,
formula and strategies that were needed to realize the intended speech act. Colligation was
introduced and practiced in experimental group. The type of material was also different in which
corpora were used in these classes. They were exposed to dialogues and different examples
containing different forms of speech acts in different real life situations from dialogue corpora.
The researcher explained what colligation is and some examples were shown through corpora.
Taggers and concodancers were introduced. The subjects became familiar with their application
and use. These applications were installed by the researcher beforehand. As an alternative, the
way online corpora can be downloaded and practiced was also trained. The subjects were asked
to find some examples of these speech acts and the co-occurrence of words with particular
grammatical categories (Hoey, 2000, p. 234). Dialogue corpora is key word- based .The key
words were given, and the speech acts used in different situation appeared on the screen. Then
taggers analyzed then into grammatical categories. The subjects observed how, in frequent
example, a special word can co-occur with a certain grammatical category. For each speech act,
this was practiced separately. Dialogue corpora also exist online. The subjects can download and
use it in this way. In the present study, this type of corpora was used when the subjects become
proficient enough in determining part-of-speech later. After enough practicing through corpora,
the students started working on the speech acts through role play because it is an integrated skill
and all skill is practiced through it. Then some exercises taken from CARLA website were given
to the subjects to see whether they were able to use and write the speech acts lexically and
grammatically correct or not.

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But the control groups practiced the speech acts through traditional methods of teaching through
speech act related materials extracted by researcher from EFL textbooks, audios and videos CDs.
All the Subjects were given:
1. Awareness activities.
2. Authentic language samples as examples or models.
3. Production activities.
At the end of each class session the researcher gave some exercises taken from CARLA website.
The subjects were required to do the exercises for more practice. By the end of the semester a
post-test of MDTC was administered with questions specified speech act of apology to see
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whether there would be any difference between traditional and corpus group or not. Then, data
was analyzed and codified based on the cross-cultural speech act realization pattern,(CCSARP;
Blum-Kulka&Olshtain, 1984), the move derivable one, in which they identified some patterns
utilized in apologizing. In order to increase the validity of result, field notes that were based on
Observations and interview was also used.
5.6.Data Analysis
The participants' scores both on the pretest and posttest were analyzed by SPSS software. Then
two types of data analysis statistical procedures are used: descriptive statistics and inferential
statistics. As an inferential statistical procedure, paired sample T-test was used to see the subjects'
improvement from pre-tests to post tests. Independent sample t-test using subjects' scores in
posttest was used in order to ensure any significant difference between participants' responses to
the situations in posttests.

6. Results
In this study separate tests were administered to examine whether there were any significant
differences between the control and experimental groups or not. Students' responses were
observed and analyzed concerning the changes and differences displayed in their speech act
improvement after they used the on-line dialogue corpora. After analyzing on the basis of
students’ scores on the pre-tests and the post tests, two statistical computations of the data were
carried out, descriptive and inferential .What follows shows the results of the analyses to examine
whether using colligation as a corpus based approach had any effect on enhancing the
pragmalinguistic knowledge of speech acts of apology and hence pragmatic knowledge of the
subjects of study or not.
Table 6.1. Descriptive analysis of the pre-test and post test scores of the control group
Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
pre 12.00 30 3.50 .63
Con1
post 12.11 30 3.64 .66
Table 6.1) shows the descriptive analysis of pre-test and post test scores of the control groupof the
study. In the output presented above, there are 60 participants with the mean of 12, standard
deviation of 3.50 for the pre-test and mean of 12.11 and standard deviation of 3,84 for the post-
test. The standard error of measurement for the control group is .63 and for the experimental
group is .66. As the table shows, the mean difference is not too large from pre-test to post- test.
Table 6.2. Descriptive analysis of the pre-test and post test scores of the experimental group
Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
pre 11.83 30 3.29 .60
EXP
post 13.40 30 3.63 .66

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Table 6.2) shows the descriptive analysis of pre-test and post test scores of the experimental
group. In the output presented above, there are 60 participants with the mean of 11.83 standard
deviation of 3.29 for the pre-test and mean of 13.40 and standard deviation of 3,63 for the post-
test. The standard error of measurement for the control group is .60 and for the experimental
group is .66. As the data shows, the mean has increased a lot from pre-test to post-test. This
means the treatment was effective.
Table6.3. Paired sample t-test between pre-test and post test scores of control group
Paired Differences
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Std. 95% Confidence Interval of Sig. (2-

Std. t df
Mean Error the Difference tailed)
Deviation
Mean Lower Upper
Pair 1
.11 .50 .09 .30 .07 1.27 29 .02
pre- post

Table6.3) shows the results of Paired sample t-test SPSS analysis between pre-test and post test
scores of control group with the mean difference of .11, standard deviation difference of .50,
standard error mean difference of .09 and observed –t of 1.27.The significance level here is 0.00
and the observed-t is less than the critical-t. It shows there was no improvement in post test
scores after using traditional teaching methods for teaching speech acts.

Table 6.4.Paired sample t-test between pre-test and post test scores of experimental group
Paired Differences
95% Confidence Interval Sig. (2-
Std. Std. Error of the Difference t df
Mean tailed)
Deviation Mean
Lower Upper
Pair 1
1.56 1.27 .23 2.04 1.08 6.71 29 .000
pre - post
Table6.4) shows the results of Paired sample t-test between pre-test and post test scores of
experimental group with the mean difference of 1.50, standard deviation difference of 1.27,
standard error mean difference of .23 and observed –t of 6.71 which is larger than the critical-
t(2.04) The significance level is 0.00. So the treatment was influential.
Table 5.5. Independent Samples T-Test between post test scores experimental and control
group
Levene's Test
for Equality t-test for Equality of Means
of Variances
95% Confidence
Sig. (2- Mean Std. Error Interval of the
F Sig. t df
tailed) Difference Difference Difference
Lower Upper
Equal
post2 variances .041 .840 3.12 58 .02 3.06 .94 2.96 .82
assumed

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Table 6.5) also summarizes the independent sample T-test to compare the post-test scores of
experimental and control group with a mean difference of 3.06 and Standard Error difference of
.94. As the output shows, the observed-t is 3.12 which is more than the critical –t which is 2.00
(3.12 > 2.00). The p-value (two- tailed) is also .02. It is less than .05.It con be concluded that the
treatment was influential in experimental group.
So the first null hypothesis that colligational on-line corpora have no effect on enhancing the
pragmalinguistic knowledge of speech act of request among Iranian intermediate EFL learners is
rejected.
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7. Discussion
This research was an effort to probe the impact of colligational corpus-based instruction on
enhancing the pragmalinguistic knowledge of speech acts of apology intermediate EFL learners.
Considering the research question, the findings of the paired-samples t-test that was between
pre-test and post-test scores of each group and independent sample t-test which was between the
post test scores of experimental and control group showed that the participants’ could improve
their ability in speech act of request through using corpus-based instruction. The observed-t in
independent sample t-test was more than the critical-t (3.12 > 2.00). the level of significance was
also less than .05.So the results were not by chance and the null hypothesis that
colloconstructional corpus-based instruction has no effect on enhancing the pragmalinguistic
knowledge of speech act of request of the subjects of this study is rejected. The findings of this
study is consistent with study done by Deutschmann (2003) who examined the forms and
functions of apologies, as well as their social and conversational variation as they appeared in the
British National Corpus. The results of this study show that the frequency of strategies that imply
speakers trying to minimize their responsibility was four times greater than those that imply
assuming responsibility.
It also support the findings of Válková (2004, 2012) who studied various manifestations of
politeness theory, namely at the processes of apologizing and complimenting through corpora.
These are treated within the framework of a modified model of speech act set theory, with corpus
‑ based samples discussed to verify the validity of the theoretical findings. The results show that
rather than single speech acts, apologies and compliments should be treated as speech act sets
opening up space for identifying more delicate, partly universal and partly language specific
scenarios, by means of which cross‑ cultural similarities and differences can be considered. The
consequences for SLA are also obvious: the lack of pragmatic competence in producing
appropriate speech reactions diminishes the possibility of accomplishing the intended
communicative goals.
Szymańsk (2009) study is also in line with the results of the present research by focus on
expressions used in selected speech acts including apology. In fact Szymański studied speech acts
through colligation, nominalization tendency, realized in the performance of certain speech acts.
It is a pragmalinguistically oriented research using Polish chat room conversations. The study
was conducted with the use of corpus linguistics methodology. For the purpose of this study, a
corpus of Internet text-based chats was used. Having studied the chat room lexis, especially
lexical items used in selected speech acts (greetings, farewells, thanks and apologies), a number
of word-formation process were detected, namely nominalization that was useful in learning the
speech acts. The researched corpus provides a number of derivatives from this English
borrowing. In the source language, the word sorry is an adjective. Poles, however, maintain a
trend to treat this word as a noun. Concordance analysis of sorry proved that none of its instances
in the analyzed samples does denote features of nouns.

Vol. 6, Issue 9, December 2016 Page 199

 Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM)
ISSN: 2251-6204
Sabaté and CurelliGotor’s (2007) also studies socio pragmatic and pragmalinguistic type of
transfer in speech act of apology among Catalan learners. Findings suggested that the low-
proficient Catalan learners exhibited more sociopragmatic transfer, while the advanced and the
intermediate ones exhibited more pragmalinguistic transfer, in English-L2 apologies.
Although some researchers believe in the role of other factors, like Ghanami (2014) who focused
on the role of gender differences, or Birjandi and Karimi (2014) who emphasized on the
importance of language proficiency, but the present study confirm the effectiveness of using
colligational corpus-based instruction on enhancing the pragmalinguistic knowledge speech act
of apology. The results of observation and interview were also rewarding for the use of corpora
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and the experimental group was satisfied with this teaching method.

8. Conclusion
This study presented findings concerning the impact of on-line corpora on enhancing
pragmalinguistics knowledge of speech acts of apology among Iranian Intermediate EFL learners.
The findings indicated that there was difference between the corpus-based instruction of
(experimental) and traditional teaching methods of speech acts (control) in terms of teaching
methodology and instructional material as measured by post-tests. It is clear that students
understand speech acts better when they have the context in which the word is used in while in
traditional method, they did not have the chance. It also prove the fact that colligation as a
corpus-based teaching approach, can enhance the pragmalinguistic knowledge of speech act of
apology and hence their pragmatic knowledge.It can have a lot of implications in educational
settings asa corpus-based approach gives authentic examples by providing students
opportunities to be explorers (Dodd, 1997). With authentic examples, learners will see the true
use of language. Flowerdew (1993) cautions against using fabricated examples due to the
possibility that students may see a "distorted picture of actual use." Concordances can
demonstrate the organization of lexical items, the relationships they have with other word, and
the collocations of different types. Colligation and parsing the structure of speech acts lead to
their reinforcement: the representations of the lexical items as well as the general syntactic
constructions become stronger. Although the current study has made findings in employing
corpus-based language learning in an EFL setting, there are limitations to the research as it did
not have a large enough sample size for an experimental research designed for statistical
significance tests. Also the control of the subjects was not managed as scheduled. This issue is
related to the first limitation: the sample size issue. In addition, controlling of confounding
variables like age, sex, intelligence, and psychological factors that may affect the results of the
study can be mentioned. The main limitations of this study is the implementation of limited
computer technology resources and lack of computer-assisted language learning method in the
classes in which only traditional ways are worked on. Based on the results and the limitations of
the current research, recommendations can be made for future research to better understand the
employing of a corpus-based research in speech act learning. First, since this study focused on
speech act of apology, the question, then, might be whether the use of corpora in other speech
acts can also be helpful. The second point is the emphasis of this study on the pragmalinguistic
knowledge of speech acts. It was found that corpus-based instruction and using colligation a
corpus-based and grammatical approach can improve the quality of learning by providing
example from authentic contexts and leads to having a more meaningful and comprehensible
product. The same study can be done by a sociopragmatic concentration. The third point is
concerned with the subjects' level of study in which intermediate levels were chosen for the
purpose of this study. A research can be done on advanced levels to see whether this approach is
effective in this level or not. The same study can be replicated in other settings by other subjects

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of different ages, levels, sexes and the future researchers con extend this study in the field of
psychology or other fields of studies.The final point is pragmatics itself in which is not confined
to speech acts. Researchers can use corpus-based instructions in other areas of pragmatics like
conversational implicature, deixes and conversational structural studies with the same or
different methodology to test its effectiveness or ineffectiveness.

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EFFECT OF HOMONYMS INSTRUCTION ON

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT AND RETENTION
OF IRANIAN YOUNG FEMALE ELEMENTARY EFL
LEARNERS THROUGH CALL-MEDIATED TASKS
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Maryam Safataj
Department of English, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
Email: Maryam.Safataj@gmail.com
Mohammad Amiryousefi
Department of English, Faculty of Foreign Languages, University of Isfahan, Iran
Email: M.Amiryousefi@fgn.ui.ac.ir

Abstract
English language has been riddled with many problematic words like homonyms, which are
worth investigating. Also, due to the immense and tremendous revolution in technology, the
medium of computer is applied in every aspect of human life, and language learning field is not
exempted from this axiom. Therefore, the present quasi-experimental research was developed in
Iran language institute (ILI) with 64 young female elementary learners to determine the impact of
homonyms instruction on their vocabulary development and retention. After signing the assent
form, four intact classes of 9-10 year-old learners were given a proficiency test to be
homogenized. They were assigned into two groups of Call-Mediated, and Traditional ones. Both
groups enjoyed the concurrent and simultaneous homonyms instruction, while the former one
favored the medium of computers in their process of second language (L2) learning. The results
obtained from the vocabulary achievement test (VAT) demonstrated that although both groups
yielded a significant improvement in their vocabulary development phase, the participants in the
Traditional group outperformed their counterparts in the Call-Mediated one. Moreover, after
implementing the delayed post-test, findings manifested that in both groups learners’ vocabulary
retention was hindered significantly; besides, analysis portrayed the superiority of the Call-
Mediated method regarding learners’ long-term vocabulary retention and recall. Thus, the
current study shed light on the area of vocabulary learning and suggested some remarkable
pedagogical implications for teachers to integrate strategies exploited via computer programs,
which captured the interest of learners and provided them with a context and scaffold to learn
more efficiently.

Key words: CALL, Homograph, Homonym, Homophone, Vocabulary

1. Introduction
Learning vocabulary is an important part of mastering in a second or foreign language for both
teachers and students (Schmitt, 2000). It is essential to contemplate Wilkins’ (1972) famous saying

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that “without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be
conveyed” (p.111). Learning vocabulary is therefore perceived to be “of critical importance to the
typical language learner” (Zimmerman, 1997, p. 5). With regard to the fact that most learners
usually experience salient and significant difficulties in this respect, similarity between words as
in homonyms is very problematic in this area too.
Homonyms are defined as two or more words which have the same spelling, or the same
pronunciation, or both, but share different meanings. In this definition homonyms represent a big
category from which two sub categories of homophones and homographs emerged. Diversity of
lexical representations with one pronunciation in homophones, and also merging two distinctive
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words with different meanings under the domain of one form as in homographs are eristic and
controversial issues, which are too disruptive not only to the students, but also to the teachers
and native speakers. In this line, Mazzocco (1997) stated that learners may encounter some
difficulties to derive the correct meaning of homonyms in context. He also argued that learning
homonyms is more demanding especially for children; they may learn this kind of words more
slowly than other new words.
Considering these facts, Takač (2008) posed that formal L2 vocabulary instruction should be
according to various teaching techniques and activities in order to improve individual learning
styles and break down the classroom routines. So, teachers can make use of technology in their
instructional methods. Integration of technology enables them to broaden their horizons and
widen their scope. Rahimpour (2000) pointed out that recent years have witnessed an explosion
of interest in using computers for teaching and learning purposes. Therefore, researchers and
teachers make unraveling efforts to link Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) into the
curriculum (Lasagabaster & Sierra, 2003).
CALL is defined as “the search for and study of applications of the computer in language
teaching and learning” (Levy, 1997, p.1). CALL programs provide a stimulus so that the learner
must respond; the stimulus may be illustrated in any combination of texts, still images, sound, as
well as motion videos (Ghabanchi & Anbarestani, 2008). The class in a CALL environment is
more student-centered than teacher-centered; chances for cooperation are increased, and students
spend a lot of time working together (Hawisher and Selfe, 1991; Brandl, 2002). More interactions
between learners occur in computer-based learning, because students are dependent on
themselves; besides, CALL environment is a stress-free and more relaxed atmosphere than the
Traditional classrooms (Murphy, 1997; Roed, 2003). In this flow, this kind of instruction is the
reminiscence of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach, which is a good supportive
theoretical background for the present research. The CLT approach focuses on carrying out and
implementing methodologies that are capable of enhancing learners’ functional language ability
through active involvement of them in authentic communication (Savignon, 2007). In this respect,
the philosophy of CALL also put a strong emphasis on student-centered lessons that allows the
students to be autonomous learners.
It should be noted that Multimedia CALL is a more recent approach to CALL. It favors a learner-
centered approach to CALL, rather than a teacher- centered drill-based one; it is also presented
by the use of some concordance programs in language classroom settings (Davies, Hewer,
Rendall, & Walker, 2004). These kinds of programs make it possible to combine texts, graphics,
sounds, pictures, and still (or motion) images, as well as animations, and video recordings in an
imaginative style. Therefore, Multimedia CALL-Mediated homonyms instruction was
implemented throughout the current study.
Ultimately, it is the matter of the utmost importance that second language learners usually learn
vocabulary in a Traditional way, passively through their teachers' explanations or by drilling
tasks, which seems to be very boring and inefficient. In the case of homonyms, the problem is

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more difficult to deal with, because they are very complicated and common sources of confusion.
Therefore, discovering effective ways of learning vocabulary through lexical set of words
instruction such as homonyms or via implementing appropriate tasks may reinforce L2 learners’
vocabulary repertoire, and also affect the retention and recall of these words too.
Hence, the present study particularly focused on homonyms instruction and tried to address
several key questions about the effectiveness of various methods in this respect. It also
investigated the role of integrating technology and exploiting the medium of computers in the
process of second language vocabulary teaching and learning. Moreover, the outcome of this
piece of study proposed several remarkable insights regarding learners’ vocabulary development
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and vocabulary retention and recall.

2. Review of the Related Literature

In this section, bulk of previous and related debate on the subject matter came up for review. So,
various lines of research on homonyms in English as a foreign language (EFL) context, as well as
the role of CALL in L2 vocabulary learning were discussed in detail.
2.1. Homonyms
Since the similarity between words is subjective and it differs in any accent, the great number of
homonyms is still a mystery throughout the history of English language. These kinds of
similarities in pronunciation, as in homophones, or in spelling, as in homographs, may cause a lot
of problems in the process of language learning. Readence, Baldwin, and Head (1986) asserted
that not only may multiple-meaning words cause some confusion for native language speakers,
but this phenomenon is also very difficult for English language learners. The nature of
homonyms is so complicated and odd that they cannot be anticipated by any rules of grammar or
diction. We cannot search dictionaries systematically for them, and the only way to get better at
recognizing and understanding them is to practice using them frequently.
2.1.1. Various Lines of Research on Homonyms
Some studies were carried out which addressed the conflict of homonyms in order to indicate
whether explicit homonyms instruction was effective or not.
In an experimental study, Zipke, Ehri, and Cairns (2009) investigated the reading comprehension
of 46 third grader students through metalinguistic awareness involving semantic ambiguity
detection instruction. The participants were amongst 8-9 year-old students chosen from a variety
of cultural backgrounds who were randomly assigned into two groups of treatment and control.
The treatment group were asked to analyze the multiple meanings of homonyms and ambiguous
sentences in isolation, text, or riddles taken from Amelia Bedelia series of books, while the control
group had a book-reading and discussion without any metalinguistic awareness. The results
manifested that the treatment group learners significantly outperformed the control ones. So,
metalinguistic ambiguity instruction was effective and exerted a bigger impact on the
standardized reading comprehension test which was individually administered and involved
reading and fill-in-the-blank questions to complete the meaning of the short passages.
In another study, Storkel and Maekawa (2005) tried to identify whether preliterate children aged
between 3 to 4 years old learn homonyms more rapidly than novel-words or not. In this study,
the participants were exposed to homonyms or novel words in a story accompanied by visual
support. The study was administered in two phases. First, the semantic representation phase that
the children were asked to choose the referent of each homonym or novel word. Second, the
lexical representation phase that the learners were asked to name the pictures. The results revealed
that both groups of participants did the task in the first phase with the same degree of accuracy.
In other words, homonym learning was similar to novel word learning so that learners could
identify homonyms as accurate as novel words. On the second phase, learners were more

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accurate in naming homonyms than the novel words. Therefore, pictures of homonyms were
easier to name for children, because they were composed of common sound sequences.
Some scholars have argued that children in the age of 3-9 range have difficulty in interpretation
of the homonyms, because they tend to choose a meaning which is consistent with the ‘primary
meaning’ of the homonym rather than its secondary meaning which is the new meaning.
(Mazzocco, 1997; Mazzocco, Myers, Thompson & Desai, 2003; Doherty, 2004).
Evidences also have revealed that the ability of children to independently distinguish and
identify the contextually appropriate meaning of a homonym appears to improve through age
(Beveridge & Marsh, 1991; Doherty, 2000). In support of this idea, some previous studies have
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implied that 3-4 year-old children have difficulty to discriminate the primary and secondary
meaning of homonyms, They also can not choose the appropriate contextual meaning frequently;
however, children this young can identify both meanings of a homonym in tasks with minimum
cognitive demands or tasks which provide more support for the appropriate contextual
interpretation (Beveridge & Marsh, 1991; Backscheider & Gelman, 1995; Doherty, 2000). Here, the
child needs additional cue or evidence to override his or her preference, and in order to choose
the appropriate meaning of the homonym mate or homonym family.
Taken together, according to Doherty (2000), he concluded that most children who are between
the ages of 3 and 4 seem to develop their ability in recognizing two distinct meanings of one
word in isolation. But, it is observed that preschoolers tend to select the most common meaning
of multiple-meaning words, even in the cases where the meaning does not match to the context
(Campbell & Bowe, 1983; Beveridge & Marsh, 1991). Also, Cairns, Waltzman, and Schlisselberg
(2004) claimed that first-grade students may have metalinguistic awareness in order to detect
homonyms in isolation, but a kind of explicit homonyms instruction can be beneficial in this regard
to foster learners’ comprehension, and to verbalize their burgeoning awareness.
2.2. The Role of Technology and CALL in L2 Vocabulary Learning
In an environment where information is spread in a great speed, the necessity of knowing a
foreign language turns out to be significant. As Freire and Macedo (1987) implied, literacy is not
only about ‘reading the word’, it is also about ‘reading the world’. As, technology incorporates
rapidly in every aspect of human life, the field of language learning is not an exception. So,
Computer-Assisted Language Learning or CALL has long been studied by many of the
researchers. In this flow, according to Ahmad, Corbett, Rogers and Sussex (1985), implementing
computers offers certain advantages to language teachers so that they can present and process
authentic materials to the learners with a kind of flexibility.
Kern (2006) introduced the role of technology and CALL as being a tutor, tool or medium. It
seems that the roles of the computer as a tutor and as a tool are complementary. Since as a tutor,
the computer evaluates the users’ input and responds to it, while as a tool it is employed by the
users to enhance their own learning or communication. Therefore, it works as a ‘medium’.
2.2.1. Various Lines of Research on CALL
There are several lines of research on the effects of CALL-based programs on learners’ vocabulary
learning, which are described as follows:
In a study, Ghabanchi and Anbarestani (2008) put CALL programs under spotlight to determine
whether they had any significant effects on contextualized vocabulary learning, and long-term
vocabulary retention of the learners or not. In this regard, 56 EFL learners participated in their
research. The teacher taught 30 new words along with the definition of the words,
pronunciations, as well as some synonyms and antonyms each session to the students. 28 learners
who had access to the computerized facilities and technological apparatus at home were
voluntarily assigned to the experimental group who had to find the meaning and definition of
the newly taught words through the medium of the computers, while the control group followed

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the traditional approach which was based on bilingual lists and desktop dictionaries. The results
manifested that in spite of the fact that the scores of the CALL group learners in the immediate
post-test were significantly more than the Control ones, the scores in the delayed post-test were
considerably less than the Control one.
Licenjacka and Filologia (2007) examined two methods of learning a series of adjectives within a
period of seven days. However, the experimental group had the opportunity to access the word
processing software or technological equipment in order to learn the new lexicon, the Control
group was requested to study new words without any access to the computerized programs.
They were left free to memorize the lexis in the way they prefer themselves. The findings
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suggested that the experimental group, the CALL-based one, could yield better results in terms of
learning the mentioned set of adjectives.
Getkham (2004) compared two groups of learners in their vocabulary performance. The first
group implemented a Multimedia CALL program; whereas, the Traditional one utilized some
printed texts. Results obtained from the pre-test and post-test demonstrated that after practicing
vocabulary exercises, both groups improved in their vocabulary knowledge. But, unfortunately
after one month, the findings gained from the immediate and delayed post-tests revealed that
both groups forgot some of the instructed words. Therefore, the Multimedia CALL program
could help learners store and retain the vocabulary in their long-term memory, and the degree of
forgetting in this group was less than that of with the printed texts.
Gan, Low and Yaakub (1996) undertook a comparative study to examine the effect of using
computers on teaching vocabulary. In this respect, forty-eight participants were randomly
divided into two groups of Control and experimental. The treatment was carried out in the
experimental group who were working on Computer-Assisted exercises in two stages, each
lasted for five two-hour sessions, while the participants of the Control group were instructed the
vocabulary in a conventional manner. The post-test scores indicated that vocabularies were
taught more efficiently via the CALL approach than the conventional one. Besides, students'
preferences regarding these two instructional methods and based on their responses to the
questionnaire manifested that they preferred Computer-Assisted approach as a complement to
the conventional method in their vocabulary learning.
All in all, it is of extreme importance that most learners usually experience salient and significant
difficulties in vocabulary learning. So, it is substantial for language teachers to be cognizant about
discovering and applying efficient techniques and strategies that will best help learners in order
to learn, retain and retrieve the vocabulary items. Learners should try to guess the correct
meaning of words; otherwise, their comprehension, writing or understanding will not make
sense. At the heart of this issue is identifying the correct meaning of homonym pairs, which is
more problematic in this area, and very difficult to cope with. The nature of homonyms is so odd
that cannot be predicted by any rules of grammar or diction, and it is quite possible for young
learners not to discriminate or distinguish the difference in meaning of even some of the most
obvious ones.
Having reviewed many academic articles and published papers, scholars came to this conclusion
that Traditional ways of teaching and learning vocabulary were inefficient and had not been very
effective. They were based on plain paper and printed texts, which relied on drilling and
explanation by the teacher. There was not enough interaction in Traditional EFL classes, the
lessons were boring and learners became too exhausted. In this regard, the gap between what
was taught and what was learned was very great. Meanwhile, after surfing the Internet, books,
and journals, we concluded that not much experimental research had been done in the area of
vocabulary learning through CALL, and also most previous research studies on homonyms
instruction had been conducted in the L1 context. Thus, discovering a solution to this issue would

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be worth considering. Moreover, further studies were necessary to fill an important gap on
beneficial methods of instructing homonyms within the context of L2, and more specifically in
the case of children and young learners, which yet had remained unexplored.

3. Objectives of the Study and Research Questions

Regarding the preliminary information mentioned above, several objectives were to be followed.
So, the current study made an attempt to bridge the niche and gap of mentioned homonymous
conflict and clash of vagueness in identifying the correct meaning of homonyms. It was a kind of
quasi-experimental and pedagogical research, which was mainly concerned whether explicit
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homonyms instruction had any impacts upon vocabulary development of the learners or not.
Also, it was quantitative since the data included scores gathered through pre and post tests in
order to estimate young elementary EFL learners’ retention in terms of their lexical knowledge of
homonyms. The role of the computer as a supplier of input was verified too.
In this vein, the following research questions were raised, which inspired the researcher to
conduct this piece of study.
1. What is the effect of homonyms instruction on vocabulary development of Iranian young
female elementary EFL learners?
2. What is the effect of homonyms instruction on vocabulary retention of Iranian young female
elementary EFL learners?
3. Does CALL-Mediated homonyms instruction lead to differential effects compared with the
Traditional group?

4. Methodology
4.1. Participants
Sixty-four Iranian young female elementary EFL learners enrolled in the current research study
through CALL-Mediated, and Traditional methods of homonyms instruction. They were
composed of four intact classes who were selected from one of the branches of the Iran Language
Institute (ILI) in Isfahan, Iran. Learners in two classes of each group had the same availability of
teaching aids and the same amount of exposure. Considering the fact that participating in this
research was completely voluntarily, two of the students who were not interested in taking part
did not sign the assent form and eliminated from the study. Students’ mother tongue was Persian
and English was learned as their foreign language.
4.2. Instructional Materials
Various instructional computerized materials and software programs were applied in CALL-
Mediated group of this study, such as Researcher-made PowerPoint slides and also English
movie clips.
The PowerPoint slides relied on several phases. In the first slide, children were exposed to various
meanings of a homonym with a visual support sequentially. The true spelling of each homonym
pair was exhibited below its picture. Meanwhile, the exact and accurate pronunciation of each
homonym family was extracted from online Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary as they could
be played automatically two times through the second slide. Besides, a variety of authentic
examples were used in the third slide of the PowerPoint program. Moreover, the content of the
slides was validated by two Ph.D. specialists in curricula design and TEFL instruction, as well as
a native speaker. (It should be noted that the base for choosing these homonyms was their
application in students’ everyday use of language and their encounter with these words in the
elementary-level books such as Fly High series of books for children).
In this respect, four carefully selected and interesting English movie clips related to the subject
matter were also taken into account. The first movie clip was provided from Waterford institute.

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The second one was created by Cindy Waler; and the third one taken from Mexus education pvt.
Ltd. Besides, the review clip was extracted from English-Tonight.com site.
4.3. Measuring Instruments
In the flow of this piece of study, a set of measuring instruments was used. Initially, the written
part of the English Unlimited Placement Test (UPT) was performed as a proficiency test. It was
taken from Cambridge university press made by Luisvoid (2010) to homogenize the participants
of the current study based on their L2 general language proficiency to ensure that all the subjects
enjoyed the same level of language ability.
Also, a kind of researcher-made Vocabulary Achievement Test (VAT) was carried out as the pre-test
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and post-tests in order to find out the effects of homonyms instruction on vocabulary
development and retention of the learners. The content had a good coverage of materials taught
through these sessions so that the questions reflected the overall understanding of the learners
from the subject matter. The achievement test was comprised of three phases. In other words, the
VAT included thirty items: a) Ten matching items (ten points), b) Ten fill-in-the-blank items (ten
points), and c) Ten two-alternative items (twenty points). Hence, the total score ranged from 0 to
40.
At the preliminary stage, through the ‘pilot study’, the VAT was held prior to the study to 30
students similar to the sample group. So, the validity of the VAT was confirmed by asking three
experts, professors, and English teachers to give their comments on the content of the test. In this
regard, some of the items were revised or removed. On the other hand, the reliability of the test
items was calculated. So, Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.861 assured the internal consistency and
adequate reliability of the test. Hence, the amount of Cronbach’s Alpha manifested the reliability
of the results so that we would trust the results and generalize them to the same population.
Also, according to the pilot study, the sufficient allotted time to the VAT was an estimate of
twenty minutes.
4.4. Procedure
In the current study, the ethical issues were observed as all of the participants, as well as their
parents filled out the Assent Form. So, due to the agreement of the head of the institute, the
teachers of the classes, and consensus of all of the subjects and their parents, their three treatment
sessions were attended after the usual time of their classes.
At the next stage, the UPT was administered as the proficiency test in order to estimate the
general English knowledge of the participants and homogenize them. Following the index and
score guidance of the UPT, students whose scores were not equivalent to quorum of the
elementary level (below 20 or above 40) were excluded from the study. They could attend the
sessions but their scores were not be accounted in the study. In the next step, the participants
were assigned into two groups of CALL-Mediated (N=16+16), and Traditional (N=15+17) ones.
According to the curriculum and through the PowerPoint slides, sixty-seven homonym
counterparts consisting of sixty new words (twenty ones in each session) were introduced to the
learners in terms of CDs or removable flashes in three sessions of instruction, each session taking
about forty minutes. 25 homonym families in the first session, 18 sets of homonyms in the second
session, and 24 homonym mates in the third session were proponed to the learners in the CALL-
Mediated and Traditional groups. In these two groups, the students favored the concurrent
homonyms instruction as the meanings corresponding to both members of the homonym pair or
homonym family were introduced simultaneously to the learners.
Learners in the Multimedia CALL-Mediated group encountered with a variety of instructional
software programs. They utilized the computerized visualization of each word to differentiate the
meaning of each homonym counterpart using still or motion pictures, its pronunciation, and
good instances in meaningful sentences, as well as well-prepared group tasks through enjoyable

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and innovative successive PowerPoint slides accompanied by carefully selected movie clips. On
the other hand, the Traditional group benefited from conventional way of homonyms
instruction, and received the same instruction as CALL-Mediated group without any access to
the computerized programs or movie clips. Their instruction relied on plain and printed texts,
and the learners exposed to the lexicon through teacher’s explanation, guided drills, practice
exercises, repetition, as well as the equivalent translation of them in learners’ mother tongue,
Persian, without aiding technology. To summarize, in spite of the fact that both groups favored
the simultaneous homonyms instruction, the instruction in the Traditional group was based on
plain paper and printed texts, and there was no technology in this respect.
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The VAT was held before implementing the study as the pre-test, and also after treatment
sessions as the immediate post-test. The delayed post-test one was run three weeks later too. The
content of the post-tests was just the same as the pre-test, while the order of the alternatives and
options were changed to eliminate the possibility of the practice effect.
The aim of the pre-test was to ensure that the subjects did not have any prior knowledge of the
discussed material, and acquaintance with the new homonyms. Meanwhile, the aim of the post-
tests was to measure the difference between learners’ knowledge and their competency in the
case of homonyms after the last session of the instruction, and also three weeks later (about 20
days later). The content of the test had a good coverage of the materials taught through these
sessions, and the questions reflected the overall understanding of the learners from the subject
matter.

5. Data Analyses and Results

SPSS 22 software was applied throughout the whole analyses to get the descriptive and
inferential statistics of the data. The minimum Alpha for confirmation of the results was set at 5 %
(   0.05 ), and the amount of certainty of the results was 95%. Kolmogorov–Smirnov Test was
also run to check the normality of the scores and select the appropriate formula in each section.
5.1. Descriptive Statistics
Descriptive statistics were used in order to gain primary information such as mean, maximum
and minimum amount number of the data, and also the standard deviation of the scores.
Table 1.
Descriptive Statistics of the Proficiency Test
Std.
N Minimum Maximum Mean
Deviation
Traditional 32 20 34 28.59 3.241
CALL-Mediated 32 22 39 28.50 4.008
Total 64 20 39 28.55 3.616

Following the score guidance of the proficiency test, and based on the obtained results in the
above table, all of the students’ scores were between 20 and 39. Therefore, they were considered
as the elementary level learners of the current study. Table 2 also described the primary data of
pre-test, post-test, as well as delayed post-test scores of the students in Traditional and CALL-
Mediated groups.

Table 2.
Descriptive Statistics of the VAT Scores
N Minim Maximu Mean Std.

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um m Deviation
Pre-test 32 13 29 22.50 4.143
Post-test 32 18 38 30.81 5.855
Delayed Post-
32 14 38 24.41 5.079
Traditional test
Pre-test 32 13 29 21.47 3.776
Post-test 32 23 40 28.56 3.885
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CALL- Delayed Post-

32 19 35 25.00 3.902
Mediated test

5.2. Level of the students in the Pre-test

In addition to the UPT results, the homogeneity of the learners was also calculated by Mann-
Whitney U test at the preliminary stage of implementing the treatment.
Table 3.
Mann-Whitney U Test, Ranks & Test Statistics
N Mean Rank Sum of Ranks
Traditional 32 35.14 1124.50
CALL-Mediated 32 29.86 955.50
Total 64
Mann-Whitney U 427.500
Z -1.141
Sig. (2-tailed) .254

The non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test indicated that the pre-test mean scores of the
Traditional group (Mdn= 22.50) and the CALL-Mediated one (Mdn= 21) did not have any
significant differences with each other, U= 427.5, P= .254. Hence, all of the participants enjoyed
the same level of language proficiency before performing the study.
5.3. Analysis of the Research Questions
RQ1: To respond to the first research question, and based on the normality, a set of parametric
Paired Samples t-test for the Traditional group, and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test for the CALL-
Mediated one were run on the pre and post-test scores of each group.
Table 4.
Traditional Group, Paired Samples t-test
Sig.
Mean t df
(2-tailed)
Post-test – Pre-test 8.313 9.298 31 .000

The Paired Samples t-test was conducted to compare the pre-test mean scores (M=22.50, SD=4.14)
and post-test ones (M=30.81, SD=5.85) of the learners in the Traditional group; t(31)= 9.29, p =
0.00. The gained results achieved from Table 4 demonstrated a significant difference or a kind of
meaningful increase between pre and post-test scores of the learners in the mentioned group.

Table 5.

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CALL-Mediated Group, Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test
post-test – Pre-test of CALL-
N Mean Rank Sum of Ranks
Mediated
Negative Ranks 1a 3.00 3.00
Positive Ranks 30b 16.43 493.00
Ties 1 c

Total 32
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Z -4.813
Asymp. Sig. .000
a. Post-test < Pre-test
b. Post-test > Pre-test
c. Post-test = Pre-test

Also, according to the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test in Table 5, the median post-test scores of the
learners in the CALL-Mediated group, Mdn=28, were statistically significantly higher than the
median pre-test ones, Mdn=21, Z=-4.813, p< 0.00.
In sum, significant level of .000 in the Traditional and CALL-Mediated groups was less than 0.05
and manifested a meaningful difference in terms of the pre and post-test mean scores of both
groups.
Consequently, with regard to the effects of homonyms instruction on learners’ L2 vocabulary
development, the analysis indicated that although homonyms instruction led to better vocabulary
development and progression of the learners in both groups, obtained results portrayed the
superiority of the Traditional method to the CALL-Mediated one in the vocabulary development
phase.
The below figure illustrated the significant impact of homonyms instruction on learners’
vocabulary development in both groups.

40
30
Mean

PreTest
20
Posttest
10
0
Traditional CALL

Figure 1. Vocabulary development.

RQ2: To answer the second research question, and according to the distribution of the scores, a
series of parametric Paired Samples t-test for the Traditional group, and non-parametric
Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test for the CALL-Mediated one were carried out again to compare the
immediate and delayed post-test scores of these two groups separately.
Table 6.
Traditional group, Paired Samples t-test
Sig.
Mean t df
(2-tailed)

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Delayed Post-test –
-6.406 -6.795 31 .000
Post-test

The gained results achieved from the paired Samples t-test in Table 6 implied a meaningful
decrease or a significant difference between the immediate post-test mean scores of the learners
(M=30.81, SD=5.85) and delayed post-test ones (M=24.41, SD=5.07) in the Traditional group; t(31)
= -6.79, p = 0.00.
Table 7.
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CALL-Mediated Group, Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test

Delayed Post-test – Post-test of CALL-
N Mean Rank Sum of Ranks
Mediated
Negative Ranks 27a 14.91 402.50
Positive Ranks 2b 16.25 32.50
Ties 3c
Total 32
Z -4.008
Asymp. Sig. .000
a. Delayed Post-test < Post-test
b. Delayed Post-test > Post-test
c. Delayed Post-test = Post-test

Besides, based on Table 7, the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test indicated that the delayed post-test
scores of the learners in the CALL-Mediated group, Mdn= 24.5, was significantly less than the
post-test ones, Mdn= 28, Z= -4.008, p < 0.00.
In sum, the significance level of 0.00 in the Traditional and CALL-Mediated groups demonstrated
a significant difference between mean scores of the learners achieved from immediate and
delayed post-tests in the mentioned groups.
Consequently, to consider the effects of homonyms instruction methods on L2 learners’ long-term
vocabulary retention, the obtained results indicated that both groups revealed a significant
decrease in learners’ long time recall. As expected, the analysis manifested that some forgetting
took place. Hence, the recovery of the vocabulary was hindered through simultaneous and
concurrent homonyms instruction in both groups three weeks later. (It should be noted that
although subjects’ performance in two groups decreased from immediate to delayed post-tests,
they could still retain their improvement significantly from pre-test to the delayed post-test
phase).
The below figure portrayed the significant decrease in vocabulary retention of CALL-Mediated
and Traditional groups.

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40
30 Posttest

Mean
20
Delayed
10 Posttest
0
Traditional CALL
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Figure 2. Vocabulary retention.

RQ3: To investigate the third research question corresponding to the differential effects of CALL,
the difference in the post-test scores of both groups was carried out via the analysis of
nonparametric Mann-Whitney U Test.
Table 8.
Mann-Whitney U Test, Ranks & Test Statistics
N Mean Rank Mean Rank
Traditional 32 36.78 1177.00
CALL-Mediated 32 28.22 903.00
Total 64
Mann-Whitney U 375.000
Z -1.846
Asymp. Sig. .065

Findings with regard to the Mann-Whitney U Test revealed that there was not a significant
difference in post-test mean scores of the CALL-Mediated (Mdn= 28) and Traditional (Mdn= 31)
groups who favored the concurrent and simultaneous homonyms instruction. U= 375, P= .065.
After comparing the mean scores of both groups, the following information was derived:
 In the Traditional group, the percentage of vocabulary development (from pre to post-test)
was equal to 27% and the amount of decrease in vocabulary retention (from post-test to the
delayed one) was 26%.
 In the CALL-Mediated group, the percentage of vocabulary development (from the pre to
post-test) was equal to 25% and the amount of decrease in vocabulary retention (from post test
to the delayed one) was 14%.
In sum, based on the elicited results, the adjusted vocabulary pre-test, post-test, and delayed
post-test scores of both groups were illustrated as follows:

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Figure 3. Adjusted VAT test scores.

6. Discussion
Considering the obtained results and after comparing the mean scores of the learners, we came to
this conclusion that although the vocabulary development of the learners in the Traditional group
was a little bit more than the CALL-Mediated group, the difference was not significant. On the
other hand, in the case of vocabulary retention, learners who benefited from CALL-Mediated
environment revealed a little better performance in terms of long-term recall and vocabulary
retention compared with the Traditional method, which was not significant too. Here, the degree
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of forgetting in the former group was slightly less than that of the latter one and demonstrated
the superiority of the CALL-Mediated method in learners’ long-lasting vocabulary retention and
long-term recall, which is the aim of education. To summarize, we found out that the difference
in mean scores of the learners’ in two groups was so subtle that they can be used interchangeably.
Therefore, with regard to the objectives of the current study, the discussion of the mentioned
results was fully elaborated in this section.
6.1. First Research Question
Concerning the integration of CALL-Mediated programs in L2 vocabulary learning, and after
investigating the pre and post-test analyses, we discovered that the findings of this study were in
line with the obtained results by Getkham (2004). Because in both studies results demonstrated
that after administering the immediate post-test, both groups of Multimedia CALL and
Traditional one significantly improved in their vocabulary knowledge.
On the other hand, regarding the integration of the computers in L2 vocabulary learning, we
found that the results of this study contradicted the results obtained by Zipke et al. (2009),
Ghabanchi and Anbarestani (2008), Licenjacka and Filologia (2007), and Gan et al. (1996). In the
Zipke et al.’s study, metalinguistic ambiguity instruction in the treatment group was effective,
and it remarkably enhanced learners’ reading comprehension in the paragraph completion task.
Similarly, in the Ghabanchi and Anbarestani’s research, the obtained results manifested that the
CALL group’s immediate post-test scores were significantly better than the scores of the ordinary
group whose instruction relied on learning vocabulary in isolation and through bilingual lists.
Besides, in Licenjacka and Filologia’s study, the students in the CALL group gave a better
performance in learning various sets of adjectives than the learners in the Traditional one who
did not have any access to the word processing programs and technological equipment.
Moreover, Gan et al. (1996) also implemented a study to explore the impact of using computers
on vocabulary teaching. The post-test results indicated that vocabularies were taught more
effectively in the CALL approach than the ordinary one. Therefore, the analysis affirmed the
superiority of the CALL method; whereas, in the present study both groups indicated a
significant improvement. Thus, choosing various types of words, as well as the type of CALL
might be the reason for inconsistency of the results with the current study.
6.2. Second Research Question
Comparing the immediate and delayed post-test scores of both groups, we concluded that this
study was in agreement with the results gained by Getkham (2004). In Getkham’s research the
obtained results revealed that after one month, the students in both groups of Multimedia CALL
and the Traditional one forgot some of the instructed words. But, as in our study, the degree of
forgetting in the Multimedia CALL group was less than that of the printed texts.
However, the findings of the present research study were in contrast with the results of
Ghabanchi and Anbarestani (2008). In their research, the results obtained from the vocabulary
test implied that the delayed post-test scores of just CALL group were considerably less than the
ordinary method; whereas, the current study despite the significant decrease in the vocabulary
retention of both groups, the degree of forgetting in the CALL group was less than the

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Traditional one. Hence, the contradictory results might be due to the types of words or even the
type of the CALL-Mediated programs implemented through these studies.
6.3. Third Research Question
Following the obtained analysis, we understood that the findings of the present study were in
line with Getkham (2004), because based on Getkham’s study results, he compared the
performance of the learners in Multimedia CALL and Traditional groups. After administering the
pre and post-tests, the results suggested that in the case of vocabulary development and
vocabulary retention, there was not any significant difference between these two groups.
Taken together, in the current research study, both methods of CALL-Mediated and Traditional
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indicated some improvement in the short run. Also, in both groups, learners could still retain
their improvement significantly from pre-test to the delayed post-test. Therefore mentioned
results gave some tips and pointers on the effectiveness of concurrent and simultaneous
homonyms instruction. To confirm this view, some scholars suggested that incorporating
homonyms instruction into the curriculum can be fruitful, and lead to some advantages for
learners to compare and contrast words within various texts (Foster, 2003; Rog &Kropp, 2004).
In this line, Cairns et al. (2004) also declared that although first-grader students have
metalinguistic awareness to detect homonyms in isolation, the explicit homonyms instruction
was fruitful; it could verbalize learners’ burgeoning awareness and reinforce learners’ reading
comprehension. Besides, after the investigation of toddlers, preschoolers, second and fifth
graders, as well as the college students, Mazzocco (1997) exerted the beneficial and positive
impacts of explicit homonyms instruction on learners’ interpretation skill: in reprocessing the
information and substituting the alternative meaning of the homonyms. Moreover, through the
second phase of Storkel and Maekawa’s study (2005), they affirmed that 3-4 year-old learners
revealed a better performance in picture-naming of homonyms than novel words. So, phonotactic
probability and form characteristics of the homonyms played an important role in this regard
since they were composed of common sound sequences which were easier to name for children.
In the light of above mentioned facts and discussed results, it is confirmed that simultaneous
homonyms instruction is effective and has positive effects on vocabulary development and
retention of young learners, but it is suggested that there is a ‘need’ to establish more research on
these areas before proponing any strong claims in this regards.

7. Conclusion
In a nutshell, the gained results of the present study suggested the chance of replacing CALL-
Mediated and Traditional methods with each other interchangeably. Since almost all the learners
in the traditional group implied that the class based on this method was boring; therefore,
applying the medium of computer in a limited dimension and just as the complementary tool (for
example the existence of just one computer in each class), along with other traditional techniques
in the L2 classes can decrease the problem of rote learning and would be effective in this respect.
In this perspective, the outcome of the current study provided various important implications for
vocabulary learning and led to give some insights into the effectiveness of homonyms instruction
in EFL contexts. Therefore, the results of this study would be fruitful and beneficial for the
managers of the institutes to integrate CALL as the supplementary tool in their institute to reduce
their expenses; for Instructors and teachers to equip themselves with efficient innovative new
strategies and the recent latest up-to-date techniques of teaching to present the materials in a
creative way in order to have fun with word sets and to reinforce learners’ receptive and
productive skills; for learners to provide an opportunity to enjoy their process of second language
learning, and share their ideas in a stress-free environment with the least amount of anxiety, and
also in order to become motivated through a meaningful learning to collaborate with their other
peers, and also become autonomous learners in this respect; for the syllabus designers and material

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developers to devote more attention to the vocabulary learning through active involvement of
young L2 learners in the interactive class activities, and also dedicate special focus on providing
the L2 curricula via promoting meaningful practice and relevant tasks around the learners’ lives,
needs, interests and capabilities. It would also be interesting and beneficial to those who are
concerned with philology, linguistics and lexicography to shed more light on the area of homonyms
and the nature of these kinds of words to investigate different methods of their instruction. The
nature of homonyms is quite unique that would be fun even for poets and writers too.
The mentioned features enlightened the current research, and considered to be good predicators
of using CALL-Mediated method upon which it facilitated the process of learning homonyms
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especially in the CLT environment that children could communicate actively with their
classmates. It helped the peers fully deal with the instructed materials while working with each
other. Employing technology such as computers attracted the attention of young learners and
promoted students’ strategic use of CALL-based tools, which increased students’ incidental
vocabulary learning. Also, explicit homonyms instruction encouraged students to foster their L2
lexical knowledge. In a CALL environment, Chunks of information conveyed to long-term
memory embracing a variety of visual images. So, they would be incredibly the most powerful
device aiding learners’ recall and long lasting retention.

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Ghabanchi, Z., & Anbarestani, M. (2008). The effects of call program on expanding lexical
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University Press.
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Storkel, H. L., & Maekawa, J. (2005). A comparison of homonym and novel word learning: The
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Zipke, M., Ehri, L. C., & Cairns, H. S. (2009). Using semantic ambiguity instruction to improve
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Reading Research Quarterly, 44(3), 300-321.

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Maryam Safataj was born in Isfahan, Iran. She received her M.A. degree in teaching
English as a second language (TESL) from Islamic Azad University of Najafabad,
Isfahan, Iran in 2015. She is currently the manager of the Iran Language Institute
(ILI), Young-adult and children’s department, Farabi Branch, Isfahan, Iran, and also
the English language instructor at Sadr Institute of Higher Education, Isfahan, Iran.
She has published academic articles in Iranian and international journals. Her
preliminary research interests lie generally in the issues related to vocabulary
instruction through alliterative sentences and also shifted to magic of words like
homonyms with a special focus on exploiting and integrating technology in this
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regard via various technological apparatus innovations, CALL-Mediated programs

or even collaborative interactive games.

Mohammad Amiryousefi is an Assistant Professor at the English department,

University of Isfahan. His areas of interests include TBLT, and CALL.

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THE ROLE OF THINK-ALOUD PROTOCOLS ON

IMPROVING IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS’ READING
COMPREHENSION AND WRITTEN
PERFORMANCE: THE READING-WRITING
CONNECTION
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*Farnaz Sahebkheir ; Hanieh Davatgari Asl; Mohammad Ali Torabi

Department of English Language Teaching, Ahar Branch, Islamic Azad University,
Ahar, Iran
*Author for Correspondence
Farnaz.sahebkheir@yahoo.com

Abstract
The purposeof this study was twofold: its first aim was to investigate different aspects of the
think-aloud strategies that are used by efl lerrners on reading comprehension tasks, secondly,it
attempted to determine the effect of think-aloud strategies on developing efl learners’ reading
comprehension and written performance. Furthermore,researchers tried to find out which aspects
of writtin performance were improved. Students were randoly assigned to an experirmental and
a control group by using a preliminary english test(pet) and a reading comprehension task and a
writing task as apre-test. In the experimental group ,the teacher explained about think- aloud
strategies .these students completed the reading tasks and used different think-aloud strategies
and worked collaboratively with their teachers and peers while using think-aloud flashcards to
practice these strategies.this group also had to complete questionnaire about which think-aloud
strategies they used while reading or they found useful in completing reading comprehension
tasks.the process and materials for the control group were the same as the experiental
group.however,the taecher did not explain about think-aloud strategies. Furthermore, they did
not have access to think-aloud flashcards.the results of the study indicated that in the post-test,
the experimental group outperformed the cotrol group on completing reading comperhension
tasks and improving their written performance .the findings suggested that using think-aloud
strategies could be a good strategy for improving reading and writing .

Keywords: efl, reading comprehension, think-aloud flashcards, think-aloud strategies, writing

skill

1. Introduction
Reading comprehension is defined as the level of understanding of a text/message. This
understanding comes from the interaction between the words that are written and how they
trigger knowledge outside the text/message (Baker& Brown, 1984). Proficient reading depends
on the ability to recognize words quickly and effortlessly. It is also determined by an individual's

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cognitive development, which is the construction of thought processes. Some people learn
through education or instruction and others through direct experiences (Baker& Brown, 1984).
Reading comprehension is a strategic and interpretive process of making connections between
ideas in a text and ideas in a reader’s mind. Classroom instruction must be designed to address
the learner’s needs for assistance in making these connections (Gil , Martinez, & Vidal-Abarca ,
2015).
There is a growing interest to investigate ways for improving students’ reading skills. These skills
are generally called reading strategies. Reading strategies are defined as mental operations
relating to how readers perceive a task, what textual cues they attend to, how they make sense of
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what they are reading, and what to do when they do not understand. Strategies, therefore, are
readers’ resources for understanding and learning (Chan , Inoue & Taylor , 2015).
In spite of teaching reading strategies, there are still some students not progressing in the area of
reading comprehension. New strategies should be used to boost students reading
comprehension. Teachers know that highly skilled readers use similar thought processes before,
during, and after reading. They (a) adjust a reading goal according to their level of prior
knowledge, (b) think strategically, (c) follow their intentions to the end of a passage, (d) monitor
their comprehension, and (e) reflect on an author's purpose within the constraints of a particular
genre and their own reading objective (Bonifacci & Tobia, 2016). Recent research reports and
panel syntheses agree that all readers should use these expert thinking processes. Many less able
readers, however, will not do so unless their teachers become proficient in demonstrating these
thinking processes (Klein, Biedinger, & Becker, 2014). To accomplish this goal, educators have
asked for more information about how to perform effective think-alouds (e.g., Aghaie & Zhang,
2012; Gu, 2014; Wang, 2012).
A think-aloud is a "metacognitive technique or strategy in which a teacher verbalizes thoughts
aloud while reading a selection orally, thus modeling the process of comprehension" (Harris &
Hodges, 1995, p. 256). Think-aloud strategies involve the verbalization of thinking during
reading, problem solving, or other cognitive tasks (Capellini, dos Santos, & Conti Uvo, 2015).
Participants might verbalize commentary, questions, generating hypotheses, or drawing
conclusions. Thus, think-alouds may serve as both an instructional tool and method of
assessment. Significant research has focused on explicit efforts to understand the thinking process
and the comprehension of text (Ali & Saiden, 2015). Utilizing think-alouds in such a manner
involves teacher modeling, teacher-student interaction, and finally, the independent use by the
student.
Think-alouds enable readers to stop periodically, reflect on the thinking they do to understand a
text, and relate these literacy processes orally. Teachers use this technique as an instructional
practice to help students verbalize the thoughts they use during reading, and thus bring that
thinking into the open so that they can replicate it more effectively in the future (Oster, 2001).
This metacognitive awareness significantly increases students' scores on comprehension tests,
adds to students' self-assessment of their comprehension, and enhances students' abilities to
select thinking processes to overcome comprehension challenges while they read (e.g., Block,
2004; Chostelidou, 2012; Puttonen, Siekkinen, & Nurmi, 2016). As an instructional practice, think-
alouds differ from prompting, modeling, or giving directions. Think-alouds enable teachers to
demonstrate for their students how to select an appropriate comprehension process at a specific
point in a particular text. Thus, performing effective think-alouds has proven to be a successful
practice by which teachers can explain how expert readers elicit comprehension processes
separately and collectively (e.g., Borglin, 2012). Teachers want to boost their abilities to perform
effective think-alouds, and students have also expressed a need to understand their teachers'
thinking during reading. In Another study documented by Garcia (2002), the results showed that

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these needs were greater for English-language learners and struggling readers. These students
wanted their teachers to deliver very specific think-alouds about the following strategies: how to
confirm or disconfirm what they understood, decode, infer, use prior knowledge, notice novelty,
paraphrase, predict, question, read ahead, reread, restate, summarize, understand the structure of
a text, use context clues, make visual images, and learn new vocabulary words.
In addition, Writing is a difficult process and for learning writing, input is essential but not
sufficient. McKay (1984) believes that “Writing is such a complex process that one cannot be able
to give his/her students simple formula for good writing. The present study focuses on the role
of reading skill on developing writing skill. Several researchers found that reading and writing
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skill are connected to each other (e.g.,Brooks, 2010; Chan, Inoue, & Taylor, 2015; Topping& Bryce,
2010). “You have to read, read, and read” says Walter Ong (1979, as cited in Eschholz, 1980, p. 5).
“There is no way to write unless you read, and read a lot” (p. 12).
In this research, the researchers tried to find the relationship between reading comprehension
and written performance. They tried to show that if think aloud reading strategies can improve
EFL learners’ both reading and writing skill.
Regarding the purpose of the study, the following research questions are presented:
1. What aspects of think-aloud strategies/protocols are used by learners during reading
comprehension?
2. What is the effect of using think-aloud strategies/protocols on learners’ reading
comprehension?
3. What is the effect of using think-aloud strategies /protocols on learners’ written
performance?
4. What aspects of learners’ written performance are improved?

2.Methodology
2.1Participants
The participants in the present study were 300 EFL students from Payame Noor
University, Nabiyeh Akram and Rabe Rashidi Universities in Tabriz, Iran. Students were aged
between 18 and 25 and all were at intermediate level. These EFL students were passing reading
comprehension course and writing essays course with the researcher as their instructor. They
were chosen after assigning a preliminary English Test (PET) and a reading comprehension task
and a writing task for having homogeneous groups. Those who got 60 out of 100 in the PET test
were chosen. The researcher randomly assigned them as the experimental and the control group.

2.2Instrumentation
The proficiency Test employed in the present study was Preliminary English Test “PET”. It
included four parts: listening, writing, speaking and reading. The subjects' scores were out of 100.
Those who were chosen for the study had obtained 60 or more in this test. Writing tasks for
pretest and posttest were chosen for this research project from book ‘how to prepare for the
TOEFL Essays’ edited by Abbas Zahedi (2002) Other Different instruments were used in the
present study which involved a reading comprehension task in the pre-test and the post-test
and different reading tasks from” Reading and Comprehension 1, 2, 3” published by Payame
Noor University’s publication, for the treatment sessions. twelve Thinking-aloud flashcards, a
questionnaire about thinking-aloud strategies were also used.
2.3Procedure
The goal of this study was to examine the effects of thinking-aloud strategies on improving
reading comprehension and written performance. The researcher used a quasi-experimental
research design with a sample of 300 Iranian EFL learners in Tabriz-Iran. After assessing the
groups' homogeneity by using a PET test (those who got 60 or more out of 100 were chosen) and
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a reading comprehension task and a writing task as a pre-test, the researcher randomly assigned
them as the experimental and control groups. Students’ writings were rated by two raters to
obtain inter-rater reliability (one of the raters was the researcher herself). In order to increase the
validity of writing tasks, the researcher also conducted a pilot study. The teacher in the
experimental group explained about thinking-aloud strategies which were useful for reading
comprehension and they were widely used by highly skilled readers. Then teacher used a think-
aloud flashcard game to practice these strategies while students were dealing with a reading task
in their English book. Students chose strategies in flashcards one by one and tried to understand
the text by using them. They also got feedback from their teacher and their peers about correct
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use of these strategies. After five months of having treatment sessions,the teacher asked students
to complete a questionnaire about which think-aloud strategies they used more or found useful.
In the experimental group, procedure in the treatment sessions was adapted from Block and
Israel (2004) and Roger and Jusko (2014).
Think aloud strategies included three stages and twelve techniques as follows:
Stage1: Explanation of BEFORE Reading Strategies
 1-Overview the Text
 2-Look for Important Information
 3-Connect to an Author’s Big Idea
 4-Activate Relevant Knowledge
 5-Put Yourself in the Book/text
Stage2: Explanation of DURING Reading Strategies
 6-Revise Prior Knowledge and Predict
 7-Recognize an Author’s Writing Style
 9-Ask Questions
Stage3: Explanation of AFTER Reading Strategies
 10-Notice Novelty in Text
 11-Relate the Book/text to Your Life
 12-Anticipate Use of Knowledge
In the control group, during treatment sessions, students worked on the same reading tasks in
the same books. However, teacher did not explain about think-aloud strategies. They did not
have think-aloud flashcards, either.
At the end of the twenty one week program, the participants in both groups were post-tested.
Post-test procedure was exactly similar to the pre-test procedure. In the post-test, a reading task
and a writing task were given to the students in both control and experimental groups.
Students’ writing was classified into five categories (the researcher followed Hughes’ 2003
classification):
1. Vocabulary
2. Grammar
3. Mechanics
4. Discourse (form or organization)
5. Fluency (style and ease of communication)
The researcher used the proportion of these five categories in students’ writing to see which
aspects of writing in the experimental group would develop. In addition, students’ writing tasks
in the pre-test and post-test were assessed according to the Hughes’ (2003) analytic assessment.
2.4Design
Due to the proposed research question, this study required a quasi-experimental method of
research. It contained a pre-test, a post-test, a control group and an experimental group. T-test
was used for assessing questions number 2 and 3. Descriptive statistics was used for answering
to questions 1 and 4.

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Think aloud Protocol was the independent variable, which was the major variable hoped to be
investigated. The improvement of Iranian EFL Learners’ reading comprehension and written
performance were the dependent variables which were observed and measured to determine the
effect of the independent variable.
In this study, students' language proficiency was controlled by taking a PET test and choosing
two homogenous language learner groups.

3.Results
Language Proficiency Test
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To make sure of the participants’ homogeneity, the researcher measured their language
proficiency level using a PET test. The results of the language test are shown in Table 1.

Table 1
Descriptive data and Independent sample t-test for proficiency scores
Group N Mean Std. Std. Error F t Sig(2-
Deviation Mean tailed)

PET 150 64.9667 2.75490 .22494 2.126 -.258 .797

control
experimental 150 65.0533 3.05385 .24935 .797

As a result of theIndependent sample t-test, there has not been a significant difference in scores
for control group (M = 64.96, SD = 2.75) and experimental group (M=65.05, SD = 3.05), t (298) = -
.258, P>.05.
Frequencies of Think aloud strategies used by students’ in Experimental Group
Table 2 shows the frequencies and proportions of Think aloud strategies noticed by the
experimental group.
Table 2
The frequencies and proportions of Think aloud strategies noticed by the experimental group.
Frequency Percent % Mean Std. deviation
Overview the Text 145 96.7% 0.96 .6822

Look for Important 138 92% 0.92 .2434

Information
Connect to an Author's 129 86% 0.86 .2566
Big Idea
Activate Relevant 140 93.3% 0.93 .4344
Knowledge
Put Myself in the 34 22.7% 0.22 .7856
Book/text
Revise Prior Knowledge 125 83.3% 0.83 .2434
and Predict
Recognize an Author's 76 50.7% 0.50 .6875
Writing Style
Determine Word 146 97.3% 0.97 .6234

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Meanings
Ask Questions 23 15.4% 0.15 .0721
Notice Novelty in Text 77 47.2% 0.51 .0654
Related the Book /text to 68 45.8% 0.45 .4705
My Life

Anticipate Use of 109 72.6% 0.72 .5687

Knowledge
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As Table 2 indicates, the largest proportion and mean frequency of thinking -aloud strategies that
are found helpful by the students are Determine Word Meanings (97.0%, M = .97), Overview the
Text (96.7%, M = .96), and Activate Relevant Knowledge (93.3%, M = .93).
To provide a better understanding of the frequency of features noticed by the experimental
group, the results are shown in Figure 1.

200
150
100
50
0 frequency

Figure 1 Frequencies of think -aloud features noticed by the experimental group

Results of T-test for Reading Scores

A T-Test was used to compare the means of scores between two groups in the pre-test, to further
show the homogeneity of two groups. The results of students’ scores in the pre-test and post-test
are shown in Table 3. Furthermore, for showing the amount of improvement in groups from the
pre-test to the post-test, a paired sample t-test was used. The results of the paired sample t-test
are shown in table 4.
Table 3
Descriptive data and Independent sample t-test for the Reading scores in the pre-test and post-test

Group N Mean Std. Std. Error F t Sig(2-tailed)

Deviation Mean

Pretest control 150 4.7600 .68228 .05571 .406 .435 .664

experimental 150 4.3933 .56636 .04624 .664

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Posttest 150 5.3267 .47057 .03842 18.128 -67.695 .000
control
experimental 150 9.4067 .56872 .04644 .000

As a result of the t-test, there has not been a significant difference in scores of reading task in the
pretest for control group (M = 4.76, SD = .68) and experimental group (M=4.39, SD = .56), t (298)
=.435, P>.05. The mean score shows that the reading comprehension scores between two groups
in the pre-test were the same. As a result of the t-test, there has been a significant difference in
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scores of the reading task in the post-test for the control group is (M = 5.32, SD = .47) and the
experimental group is (M=9.40, SD = .56), t (298) = -67.69, P=.000. The results show that there is a
significant difference between two groups in the post-test. In the post-test, the experimental
group outperformed the control group in completing the reading comprehension task.
Table 4
Paired Samples Statistics for the Reading scores of the Control and Experimental Groups

Group N Mean Std. Std. Error t Sig(2-tailed)

Deviation Mean

Pretest control 150 4.7600 .68228 .05571 -7.582 .000

Posttest control 150 5.3267 .47057 .03842 .000

Pre test 150 4.3933 .56636 .04624 -67.695 .000

experimental
Posttest 150 9.4067 .56872 .04644 .000
experimental

According to the result, the pre-test scores of reading task in the control group is ( M= 4.76, SD=
.68) and in the post-test is(M= 5.32, SD= .47), P= .000. Post-test scores show improvement.
However, the difference between the pre-test and post-test scores is so marginal. According to the
results, pre-test scores of the reading task in the Experimental group is ( M= 4.39, SD= . 56) and in
the post-test is (M= 9.40, SD= .56), P= .000. The results show that there is a significant difference
between the pre-test and post-test in the reading task scores of the experimental group. In the
post-test, the scores have improved significantly.
Inter-rater Reliability for Writing Scores
As mentioned before, the scores of the students were rated by two raters. The Pearson product-
moment correlation coefficient was used to establish the inter-rater reliability through computing
the correlation between the first Rater and second Rater on the mean score of the pre-test and
post-test of the control and experimental groups for the writing task scores. For answering the
research question three, the researcher used the mean of scores gained by two raters in the pre-
test and post-test of writing scores.
Results of T-test for Writing Scores
An Independent sampleT-Test was used to compare the means of scores between two groups in
the pre-test, to further show the homogeneity of two groups. The results of students’ scores in the
pre-test and post-test are shown in Table 5. Furthermore, for showing the amount of

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improvement in groups from the pre-test to the post-test, a paired sample t-test was used. The
results of the paired sample t-test are shown in table 5.

Table 5
Descriptive data and Independent sample t-test for the Writing scores in the pre-test and post-test

Group N Mean Std. Std. Error F t Sig(2-tailed)

Deviation Mean
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Pretest control 150 17.7233 2.24676 .18345 .131 -.052 .959

experimental 150 17.7367 2.19723 .17940 .959

Posttest 150 17.7400 2.09643 .17117 59.556 -34.132 .000

control
experimental 150 26.1733 1.77509 .14494 .000

The mean score and standard deviation in the control group for writing task is (M = 17.72, SD =
2.24) and the mean score and standard deviation in the experimental group is (M = 17.73, SD
=2.19), t (298) =- .052, p>.05, which shows that there are not any significant differences between
two groups in the pre-test. As a result of the t-test, there has been a significant difference in scores
of writing task in the post-test for the control group (M = 17.74, SD = 2.09) and the experimental
group (M=26.17, SD = 1.77), t (298) = -34.13, P=.000. The results show that there is a significant
difference between two groups in the post-test. In the post-test, the experimental group
outperformed the control group in the writing task.

Table 6
Paired Samples Statistics for the Writing scores of the Control and Experimental Groups
Group N Mean Std. Std. Error t Sig(2-tailed)
Deviation Mean

Pretest control 150 17.7233 2.24676 .18345 -.064 .949

Posttest control 150 17.7400 2.09643 .17117 .949

Pre test 150 17.7367 2.19723 .17940 -34.187 .000

experimental
Posttest 150 26.1733 1.77509 .14494 .000
experimental

According to the result, pre-test scores of Writing task in the control group is ( M= 17.72, SD=
2.24) and in the post-test (M= 17.74, SD= 2.09), p>.05. Post-test scores do not show any
improvement. There is not any significant difference between writing scores from the pre-test to

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the post-test in the control group. According to the results, pre-test scores of the writing task in
the Experimental group is ( M= 17.73, SD= 2.19) and in the post-test is (M= 26.17, SD= 1.77), P=
.000. The results show that there is a significant difference between pre-test and post-test in the
writing task scores of the experimental group. In the post-test, the scores have improved
significantly.
Frequencies of Features Improved in the Writing Task of the Experimental Group
Table 7 shows the frequencies and proportions of features improved in the writing task of the
experimental group.
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N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation

Pre- 150 2 4 3.0561 .30398
vocabulary
Pre-grammar 150 2 4 3.0400 .35396
Pre-mechanic 150 2 4 3.0232 .35396
Pre-form 150 2 4 3.0735 .32967
Pre-fluency 150 2 4 3.0433 .34726
Post- 150 3 6 4.2061 .47128
vocabulary
Post-grammar 150 4 6 4.5233 .52564
Post-mechanic 150 4 5 4.2500 .42863
Post-form 150 4 6 5.0967 .54863
Post-fluency 150 4 6 5.1660 .54239

As Table 7 indicates, the largest proportion and mean frequency of the features was fluency (86%,
M = 5.16, SD= .54), followed by form (84.83%, M = 5.09, SD- .54), grammar (75.33%, M = 4.52, SD=
.52), mechanics (70.83%, M = 4.25, SD= .42), and vocabulary (70%, M = 4.20, SD= .47).
To provide a better understanding of the frequency of features improved in the writing task of
the experimental group, the results are shown in Figure 2
6
5
4
3 pre
2 experimental

1 post
experimental
0

Figure 2 Frequencies of features in the writing task of the experimental group in the pre-test and
post-test.

4. Discussion and Conclusion

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At first, the descriptive statistics of considering think aloud questionnaire shows that students
found Determine Word Meanings, Overview the Text, and Activate Relevant Knowledge more
helpful than other strategies. The finding was in line with Schmidt (2001, as cited in Abe, 2008).
Based on the assumption that noticing and understanding are different in the level of awareness
and on the psychological view that attention is of limited capacity, Schmidt (2001, as cited in Abe,
2008) states that “limited attentional resources are directed first at those elements that carry
message meaning, primarily lexicon, and only later, when the cost comes down, towards
communicatively redundant formal features of language” (p. 13). For analyzing the second
question, first, a T-Test (Independent sample t-test) analysis was run to determine if there were
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any statistically significant differences between the two groups’ mean scores on the pre-test
measuring EFL learners’ reading comprehension. The statistical analysis of reading pre-test data
showed that there were not any differences between the two groups. The homogeneity of the two
groups has been shown in Table 3. Second, after the instruction, the post-test was administered
to the participants and the results showed a significant difference between two groups’ mean
scores, using another t-test (Independent sample t-test) (see Tables 3). To check the amount of
improvement from the pre-test to the post-test in two groups, a paired sample t-test was used for
both control and experimental group. According to the results (see table 4) both groups have
improved in the post-test. However in the control group the improvement was so marginal that
could be neglected. The Experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in the
post-test which shows the positive effect of using think-aloud strategies on developing reading
comprehension. Furthermore, the findings of this study with regard to the first and second
research question is consistent with some of the previous L2 reading studies (e.g. Aghaie &
Zhang, 2012; Gu, 2014; Klein, Biedinger & Becker ,2014) which stated the positive effect of
Think-aloud strategies on learning and teaching of reading comprehension. Teachers can
demonstrate think-aloud strategies and ask students to identify it by holding up the flashcard
that depicts that thinking process. Teachers can also pair students and ask them to perform think-
alouds together
For analyzing the third and fourth questions, first, a T-Test (Independent sample t-test) analysis
was run to determine if there were any statistically significant differences between the two
groups’ mean scores on the pre-test measuring EFL learners’ writing skill. The statistical analysis
of written pre-test data showed that there were not any differences between the two groups. The
homogeneity of the two groups has been shown in Table 5. Second, after the instruction, the
post-test was administered to the participants and the results showed a significant difference
between the two groups’ mean scores (see Table 5). For checking the amount of improvement
from the pre-test to the post-test in two groups, a paired sample t-test was used for both control
and experimental group. According to the results (see table 6) just the experimental group has
improved in the post-test. However in the control group there is not any significant difference
between the pre-test and post-test scores. The Experimental group significantly outperformed the
control group in the post-test which shows the positive effect of using think-aloud strategies on
developing written skill.
This finding supports the use of think-aloud in reading instruction as advocated by reading
researchers (e.g., Oster, 2001; Wang, 2012). Thus, the empirical results of this present study
suggest that the instructional procedure of think-aloud in a collaborative environment of a small
group through playing games which provide scaffolding, should be considered as a technique in
reading instruction for EFL students. Vygotskian perspective is suitable for this study since the
vital role that Vygotsky accorded to speech is in the learning process. To Vygotsky, speech is an
important mediating tool for human mental development. In a social interaction, speech that is
used when experts and novices or peer groups collaborate to solve a problem mediates the

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movement from one level to a higher level in the learner's ZPD. The reason behind the positive
effect of think -aloud strategies on developing written performance is the learners’ cognitive
processing system and the factor ‘noticing’.
Referring to the results of this study, it can be concluded that think-aloud strategies are helpful
for improving Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension and written performance.

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Harris, T. L., & Hodges, R. E. (1995). The literacy dictionary: The vocabulary of Readingand
writing.Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
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Puttonen, R., Siekkinen, M., & Nurmi, J. (2016).Child-centered versus teacher- directed
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THE ROLE OF SELF-REGULATED LEARNING

THROUGH THINK-ALOUD STRATEGIES ON
IMPROVING IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS’ WRITTEN
PERFORMANCE
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*Farnaz Sahebkheir ;Hanieh Davatgari Asl; Mohammad Ali Torabi

Department of English Language Teaching, Ahar Branch, Islamic Azad University,
Ahar, Iran
*Author for Correspondence
Farnaz.sahebkheir@yahoo.com

Abstract
Writing is one of the most complicated skills for learning. The purpose of this study was two fold:
its first aim was to investigate different aspects of the think-aloud strategies as a self-regulated
learning, that are used by efl lerrners on reading comprehension tasks, secondly, it attempted to
determine the effect of think-aloud strategies on developing efl learners’ written performance.
Furthermore, researchers tried to find out which aspects of writtin performance were improved.
Students were randoly assigned to an experirmental and a control group by using a preliminary
english test (pet) and a reading comprehension task and a writing task as a pre-test. In the
experimental group ,the teacher explained about think- aloud strategies .these students
completed the reading tasks and used different think-aloud strategies and worked collaboratively
with their teachers and peers while using think-aloud flashcards to practice these strategies. This
group also had to complete questionnaire about which think-aloud strategies they used while
reading or they found useful in completing reading comprehension tasks. The process and
materials for the control group were the same as the experiental group. However, the taecher did
not explain about think-aloud strategies. Furthermore, they did not have access to think-aloud
flashcards. The results of the study indicated that in the post-test ,the experimental group
outperformed the cotrol group on improving their written performance .the findings suggested
that self-regulated learning through using think-aloud strategies could be a good strategy for
improving writing .

Keywords: self-regulated learning, think-aloud strategies, writing skill

1. Introduction
Self-regulated learning (SRL) is a process that assists students in managing their thoughts,
behaviors, and emotions in order to successfully navigate their learning experiences. This process
occurs when a student’s purposeful actions and processes are directed towards the acquisition of
information or skills. Generally, models of (SRL) are separated into phases. One popular cyclical
model discusses three distinct phases: Forethought and planning, performance monitoring, and
reflections on performance (Zimmerman, 2000). During the planning phase, students analyze the
learning task and set specific goals toward completing that task. When students learn unfamiliar
topics, however, they may not know the best ways to approach the task or what goals might be

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the most appropriate. Teachers and/or more experienced peers often can instruct students on
effective approaches in cases like these.
Next, in the performance monitoring phase, students employ strategies to make progress on the
learning task and monitor the effectiveness of those strategies as well as their motivation for
continuing progress toward the goals of the task.
In the final reflection on performance phase, students evaluate their performance on the learning
task with respect to the effectiveness of the strategies that they chose. During this stage, students
also must manage their emotions about the outcomes of the learning experience. These self-
reflections then influence students future planning and goals, initiating the cycle to begin again
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(Zimmerman, 2000).
Self-regulated learners’ proactive qualities and self-motivating abilities help to distinguish them
from their peers. Research shows that self-regulated students are more engaged in their learning.
These learners commonly seat themselves toward the front of the classroom, voluntarily offer
answers to questions and seek out additional resources when needed to master content
(Clarebout, Horz, &Schnotz, 2010). Most importantly, self-regulated learners also manipulate
their learning environments to meet their needs (Kolovelonis, Goudas, &Dermitzaki, 2011). Due
to their resourcefulness and engagement, it is not then surprising that findings from recent
studies suggest that self-regulated learners also perform better on academic tests and measures of
student performance and achievement (Schunk& Zimmerman, 2007). They found that learners
who were taught SRL skills through monitoring and imitation were more likely to elicit higher
levels of academic self-efficacy (i.e., confidence) and perform higher on measures of academic
achievement compared to students who did not receive SRL instruction. It seems as though SRL
can make the difference between academic success and failure for many students (Kolovelonis,
Goudas, &Dermitzaki, 2011).
Think-alouds enable readers to stop periodically, reflect on the thinking they do to understand a
text, and relate these literacy processes orally. Teachers use this technique as an instructional
practice to help students verbalize the thoughts they use during reading, and thus bring that
thinking into the open so that they can replicate it more effectively in the future (Oster, 2001).
This self-regulated learning significantly increases students' scores on comprehension tests, adds
to students' self-assessment of their comprehension, and enhances students' abilities to select
thinking processes to overcome comprehension challenges while they read (e.g., Puttonen,
Siekkinen, &Nurmi, 2016). As an instructional practice, think-alouds differ from prompting,
modeling, or giving directions. Think-alouds enable teachers to demonstrate for their students
how to select an appropriate comprehension process at a specific point in a particular text. Highly
effective think-alouds also describe why a specific thought process would be effective in
overcoming that confusion or reading difficulty. Thus, performing effective think-alouds has
proven to be a successful practice by which teachers can explain how expert readers elicit
comprehension processes separately and collectively (e.g., Borglin, 2012; Gu, 2014;
Vaezi&Alizadeh, 2011). Teachers want to boost their abilities to perform effective think-alouds,
and students have also expressed a need to understand their teachers' thinking during reading.
Writing is among the most important skills that learners of English as a second or foreign
language (ESL/EFL) need to develop. For many years, teaching writing was merely for
reinforcing the mastery of grammar rules, and vocabulary items. However, recent theories of
language teaching and learning have come to realize the importance of such skill to achieve
language proficiency. Writing is a creative process by which the writer creates a text for the
reader. It is a process through which the writer involves in "a two-way interaction between
continuously developing knowledge and continuously developing text" (Brooks, 2010, p. 12).

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Writing cannot be developed in vacuum. It is a skill that needs a special care from both teachers
and learners whether in a native or a foreign language context. Writing is a difficult process and
for learning writing, input is essential but not sufficient. The present study focuses on the role of
reading skill on developing writing skill. Since reading and writing skill are connected to each
other (e.g.,Brooks, 2010; Chan, Inoue, & Taylor, 2015; Topping& Bryce, 2010). “You have to read,
read, and read” says Walter Ong (1979, as cited in Eschholz, 1980, p. 5). “There is no way to write
unless you read, and read a lot” (p. 12).
So, in this research, the researchers try to find the relationship between reading comprehension
and written performance. Furthermore, they try to show that if think aloud strategies as a self-
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regulated reading strategy can improve EFL learners’ writing skill.

Regarding the purpose of the study, the following research questions are presented:
5. What aspects of think-aloud strategies as self-regulated learning are used by learners
during reading comprehension?
6. What is the effect of self-regulated learning through using think-aloud strategies on
learners’ written performance?
7. What aspects of learners’ written performance (vocabulary, grammar, mechanics,
discourse & fluency) are improved?
8. What aspects of learners’ written performance are improved?
2.Methodology
2.1Participants
The participants in the present study were 300 EFL students from Payame Noor
University, NabiyehAkram and RabeRashidi Universities in Tabriz, Iran. Students were aged
between 18 and 25 and all were at intermediate level. These EFL students were passing reading
comprehension course and writing essays course with the researcher as their instructor. They
were chosen after assigning a preliminary English Test (PET) and a writing task for having
homogeneous groups. The researcher randomly assigned them as the experimental and the
control group.
2.2Instrumentation
The proficiency Test employed in the present study was Preliminary English Test “PET”. It
included four parts: listening, writing, speaking and reading. The subjects' scores were out of 100.
Those who were chosen for the study had obtained 60 or more in this test. Writing tasks for pre-
test and post-test were chosen for this research from book ‘how to prepare for the TOEFL Essays’
edited by Abbas Zahedi (2002). Other Different instruments were used in the present study
which involved different reading tasks from” Reading and Comprehension 1, 2, 3” published by
Payame Noor University’s publication, for the treatment sessions. Twelve think-aloud flashcards
(see Appendix A) were also used.
2.3Procedure
The goal of this study was to examine the effects of think-aloud strategies on improving written
performance. The researcher used a quasi-experimental research design with a sample of 300
Iranian EFL learners in Tabriz-Iran. After assessing the groups' homogeneity by using a PET test
and a writing task as a pre-test, the researcher randomly assigned them as the experimental and
control groups. The teacher in the experimental group explained about think-aloud strategies
which are useful for reading comprehension and they are widely used by highly skilled readers.
Then the teacher used a think-aloud flashcard game to practice these strategies while students
were dealing with a reading task in their English book (see Appendix B). Students chose
strategies in flashcards one by one and tried to understand the text by using them. They also got
feedback from teachers and their peers about correct use of these strategies. After four months of
having treatment sessions, teacher asked students to take notes about which think-aloud

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strategies they used more or found useful. In the experimental group, procedure in the treatment
sessions was adapted from Block and Israel (2004) and Roger and Jusko (2014). Think aloud
strategies included three stages and twelve techniques as follows:
Stage1: Explanation of BEFORE Reading Strategies
 1-Overview the Text
 2-Look for Important Information
 3-Connect to an Author’s Big Idea
 4-Activate Relevant Knowledge
 5-Put Yourself in the Book/text
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Stage2: Explanation of DURING Reading Strategies

 6-Revise Prior Knowledge and Predict
 7-Recognize an Author’s Writing Style
 9-Ask Questions
Stage3: Explanation of AFTER Reading Strategies
 10-Notice Novelty in Text
 11-Relate the Book/text to Your Life
12-Anticipate Use of Knowledge
In the control group, during treatment sessions, students worked on the same reading tasks in the
same books. However, the teacher did not explain about think-aloud strategies. They did not
have think-aloud flashcards, either.
At the end of the twenty one week program, the participants in both groups were post-tested.
Post-test procedure was exactly similar to the pre-test procedure. In the post-test, a writing task
was given to the students in both control and experimental groups.
Students’ writing was classified into five categories (the researcher followed Hughes’ 2003
classification):
1. Vocabulary
2. Grammar
3. Mechanics
4. Discourse (form or organization)
5. Fluency (style and ease of communication)
The researcher used the proportion of these five categories in students’ writing to see which
aspects of writing in the experimental group would develop. In addition, students’ writing tasks
in the pre-test and post-test were assessed according to the Hughes’ (2003) analytic assessment.
2.4Design
Due to the proposed research question, this study required a quasi-experimental method of
research. It contained a pre-test, a post-test, a control group and an experimental group. T-test
was used for assessing question number 2. Descriptive statistics was used for answering to
questions 1 and 3.
Think aloud Protocols as self-regulated learning was the independent variable, which is the
major variable hoped to be investigated. The improvement of Iranian EFL Learners’ written
performance was the dependent variables which was observed and measured to determine the
effect of the independent variable.
In this study, students' language proficiency was controlled by taking a PET test and choosing
two homogenous language learner groups.
3.Results
Language Proficiency Test
To make sure of the participants’ homogeneity, the researcher measured their language
proficiency level using a PET test. The results of the language test are shown in Table 1.
Table 1

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Descriptive data and Independent sample t-test for proficiency scores
Group N Mean Std. Std. Error F t Sig(2-
Deviation Mean tailed)

PET 150 64.9667 2.75490 .22494 2.126 -.258 .797

control
experimental 150 65.0533 3.05385 .24935 .797
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As a result of the t-test, there has not been a significant difference in scores for control group (M =
64.96, SD = 2.75) and experimental group (M=65.05, SD = 3.05), t (298) = -.258, P>.05.
Frequencies of Think aloud strategies used by students’ in Experimental Group
Table 2 shows the frequencies and proportions of Think aloud strategies noticed by the
experimental group.
Table 2
The frequencies and proportions of Think aloud strategies noticed by the experimental group.
Frequency Percent % Mean Std. deviation
Overview the Text 145 96.7% 0.96 .6822
Look for Important 138 92% 0.92 .2434
Information
Connect to an Author's 129 86% 0.86 .2566
Big Idea
Activate Relevant 140 93.3% 0.93 .4344
Knowledge
Put Myself in the 34 22.7% 0.22 .7856
Book/text
Revise Prior Knowledge 125 83.3% 0.83 .2434
and Predict
Recognize an Author's 76 50.7% 0.50 .6875
Writing Style
Determine Word 146 97.3% 0.97 .6234
Meanings
Ask Questions 23 15.4% 0.15 .0721
Notice Novelty in Text 77 47.2% 0.51 .0654
Related the Book /text to 68 45.8% 0.45 .4705
My Life

Anticipate Use of 109 72.6% 0.72 .5687

Knowledge

As Table 2 indicates, the largest proportion and mean frequency of thinking -aloud strategies that
are found helpful by the students are Determine Word Meanings (97.0%, M = .97), Overview the
Text (96.7%, M = .96), and Activate Relevant Knowledge (93.3%, M = .93).
Results of T-test for Writing Scores
A T-Test was used to compare the means of scores between two groups in pre-test, to further
show the homogeneity of two groups. The results of students’ scores in pre-test and post-test are

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shown in Table 3. Furthermore, for showing the amount of improvement in groups from pre-test
to posttest, paired sample t-test was used. The results of paired sample t-test are shown in table 3.
Table 3
Descriptive data and Independent sample t-test for Writing scores in pre-test and post-test

Group N Mean Std. Std. Error F t Sig(2-tailed)

Deviation Mean
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Pretest control 150 17.7233 2.24676 .18345 .131 -.052 .959

experimental 150 17.7367 2.19723 .17940 .959

Posttest 150 17.7400 2.09643 .17117 59.556 -34.132 .000

control
experimental 150 26.1733 1.77509 .14494 .000

The mean score and standard deviation in control group for writing task is (M = 17.72, SD =
2.24) and the mean score and standard deviation in experimental group is (M = 17.73, SD =2.19), t
(298) =- .052, p>.05, which shows that there are not any significant differences between two
groups in pre-test. As a result of the t-test, there has been a significant difference in scores of
writing task in the posttest for control group (M = 17.74, SD = 2.09) and experimental group
(M=26.17, SD = 1.77), t (298) = -34.13, P=.000. The results show that there is a significant
difference between two groups in the post-test. In the post-test, the experimental group
outperforms the control group in the writing task.
Table 4
Paired Samples Statistics for the Writing scores of Control and Experimental Groups
Group N Mean Std. Std. Error t Sig(2-tailed)
Deviation Mean

Pretest control 150 17.7233 2.24676 .18345 -.064 .949

Posttest control 150 17.7400 2.09643 .17117 .949

Pre test 150 17.7367 2.19723 .17940 -34.187 .000

experimental
Posttest 150 26.1733 1.77509 .14494 .000
experimental

According to the result, pre-test scores of Writing task in the control group is ( M= 17.72, SD=
2.24) and in the post-test (M= 17.74, SD= 2.09), p>.05. Post-test scores do not show any
improvement. There is not any significant difference between writing scores from pre-test up to
post-test in the control group. According to the results, pretest scores of writing task in the

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Experimental group is ( M= 17.73, SD= 2.19) and in the posttest (M= 26.17, SD= 1.77), P= .000. The
results show that there is a significant difference between pretest and posttest in the writing task
scores of experimental group. In the posttest, the scores have improved significantly.
Frequencies of Features Improved in the Writing Task of Experimental Group
Table 5 shows the frequencies and proportions of features improved in the writing task of the
experimental group.
Table 5 shows the frequencies and proportions of features improved in the writing task of the
experimental group.
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N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation

Pre- 150 2 4 3.0561 .30398
vocabulary
Pre-grammar 150 2 4 3.0400 .35396
Pre-mechanic 150 2 4 3.0232 .35396
Pre-form 150 2 4 3.0735 .32967
Pre-fluency 150 2 4 3.0433 .34726
Post- 150 3 6 4.2061 .47128
vocabulary
Post-grammar 150 4 6 4.5233 .52564
Post-mechanic 150 4 5 4.2500 .42863
Post-form 150 4 6 5.0967 .54863
Post-fluency 150 4 6 5.1660 .54239

As Table 5 indicates, the largest proportion and mean frequency of the features was fluency (86%,
M = 5.16, SD= .54), followed by form (84.83%, M = 5.09, SD- .54), grammar (75.33%, M = 4.52, SD=
.52), mechanics (70.83%, M = 4.25, SD= .42), and vocabulary (70%, M = 4.20, SD= .47).
4. Discussion and Conclusion
At first, the descriptive statistics of considering think-aloud questionnaire shows that students
found Determine Word Meanings, Overview the Text, and Activate Relevant Knowledge more
helpful than other strategies. The finding was in line with Schmidt (2001, as cited in Abe, 2008).
Based on the assumption that noticing and understanding are different in the level of awareness
and on the psychological view that attention is of limited capacity, Schmidt (2001, as cited in Abe,
2008) states that “limited attentional resources are directed first at those elements that carry
message meaning, primarily lexicon, and only later, when the cost comes down, towards
communicatively redundant formal features of language” (p. 13).
For analyzing the second question, first, an Independent sample t-test was run to determine if
there were any statistically significant differences between the two groups’ mean scores on the
pre-test measuring EFL learners’ writing skill. The statistical analysis of written pre-test data
showed that there were not any differences between the two groups. The homogeneity of the two
groups has been shown in Table 3. Second, after the instruction, the post-test was administered
to the participants and the results showed a significant difference between the two groups’ mean
scores (see Table 3). For checking the amount of improvement from the pre-test to the post-test
in two groups, a paired sample t-test was used for both control and experimental group.
According to the results (see table 4) just the experimental group has improved in the post-test.
However, in the control group there was not any significant difference between the pre-test and
post-test scores. The Experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in the
post-test which shows the positive effect of using think-aloud strategies as self-regulated learning
on developing written skill.

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Furthermore, the findings of this study with regard to the first and second research question is
consistent with some of the previous L2 reading studies (e.g. Aghaie& Zhang, 2012; Gu, 2014;
Klein, Biedinger, & Becker ,2014; Vaezi&Alizadeh, 2011),which stated the positive effect of
Think-aloud strategies on learning and teaching of reading comprehension. Teachers can
demonstrate think-aloud strategies and ask students to identify it by holding up the flashcard
that depicts that thinking process. Teachers can also pair students and ask them to perform think-
alouds with each other.
The findings of the study indicated that the students’ self-regulation of their reading behaviors
through using think aloud strategies resulted in improving written performance. In this regard,
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the results of the study concur with the findings of previous research asserting that self-regulated
learning is strongly correlated with higher academic achievement (Kolovelonis, Goudas,
&Dermitzaki, 2011) This effectiveness of self-regulated reading instruction is based on core
features of self-regulated reading that are typically absent in traditional reading classrooms. First,
self-regulated reading combines together components empirically proven effective in enhancing
reading competence; namely- cognitive reading strategy. It has effect on enhancing reading
achievement, and it maximizes the effect of reading comprehension . Similarly, Ruohotie (2002,
as cited in Clarebout, Horz, &Schnotz, 2010) argues that as students become more engaged in
self-regulated reading, they become more involved in deeper problem –solving practices related
to analyzing situations, setting priorities, considering choices and alternatives, taking decisions,
and evaluating consequences.
Moreover, self-regulation of reading touches upon necessary conditions for the development of
reader autonomy such as needs, motivation, reading strategies, and language awareness. When
readers are autonomous, they become aware of and able to identify their needs and strategies and
have the opportunity to reconsider and refashionapproaches and procedures for optimal reading
(Rivers, 2001). The autonomous reader is a self-activated maker of meaning. Based on such
perspective, reading is not a matter of rehearsal or rote memorization of reading content adhered
to in the traditional reading classes, but rather a constructive process that involves actively
seekingmeaning or even imposing meaning on reading events. In this study, students work
under the guidance and intervention of the teacher. The instruction about how to use think aloud
reading strategies is carried out in order to build up appropriate reading skills. Performing think-
aloud reading strategies and knowing where, when, and how to use a given strategy, freed
students’ cognitive capacities and fostered self-regulation.
Moreover, the reason behind the positive effect of think -aloud strategies on developing written
performance is the learners’ cognitive processing system and the factor ‘noticing’. Eschholz (1980)
points out that what L2 learners write depends on what they read and they can improve their L2
writing skills by reading. He also argues that given the opportunities to learn rhetorical modes,
L2 learners can eventually apply their knowledge about those modes to their writing. Referring
to the results of this study, it can be concluded that self-regulated learning through think-aloud
strategies are helpful for improving Iranian EFL learners’ written performance.

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Ali, M. M., &Saiden, M. N. (2015). Application of Graded Reading Materials in the Teaching of
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Appendix A
Think aloud Flashcards
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Appendix B
Samples of think- aloud strategies
Teacher Modeling
Sample reading text in the treatment
Signs of Drug Abuse
Most drugs that are continually misused can
influence a person’s behavior. In some cases,
this influence is obvious. For example,
excessive use of alcohol or sleeping pills causes
poor muscle coordination, slurred speech, and
sleepiness. People who use amphetamines and
cocaine become restless and talkative.
However, the effect of some drugs, such as
tobacco and marijuana, may not be noticed.
Even parents and close friends may not be
aware that a person is abusing drugs. Many
drug abusers try to keep these activities secrets.
Long absence from home, school, or work, or a
sharp drop in school or job performance, may
indicate drug abuse. A sudden change in

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personality may also be a clue, but such a
transformation often occurs without drugs.
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Teacher is modeling think- aloud strategies she is using while reading this text. Modeling and
retelling of teacher’s think -aloud strategies are mentioned here:
Stage1: Explanation of BEFORE Reading Strategies
1. Overview the text
Review the text: start with the title → as you see this passage must be about drug abuse.
You see some vocabulary related to the Drug abuse (e.g., alcohol, sleeping pills, amphetamines and cocaine,
tobacco and marijuana).
2. Look for Important Information
Look for important information: as you see we can understand that drug abuse can cause these effects:
1. Influence a person’s behavior.
2. Poor muscle coordination.
3. slurred speech, sleepiness
4. Restless and talkative
5. Sharp drop in school or job.
6. Absence from home/school /work
3-Connect to an Author’s Big Idea
All of these phrases (e.g. restless, being absence, slurred speech, etc.) suggest that the author wants to speak
about Drug abuse.
4-Activate Relevant Knowledge
If you remember the movies, documentaries, etc. about drug abuse, you will remember about the effects of
drug abuse. Such as being restless, talkative, sleepiness, etc.
5-Put Yourself in the Book/text
If you want to be the author of this passage, you will write about which aspects of drug abuse?
Stage2: Explanation of DURING Reading Strategies
6-Revise Prior Knowledge and Predict
Of cource a person who abuse drugs, is weak, sleepy, can’t concentrate on his/her work… So, we can
predict that the author will write about the aspects of drug abuse.
7-Recognize an Author’s Writing Style
The author uses formal language but tries to use vocabulary that can be used daily .The author uses short
and simple sentence. So, understanding this text is so easy.
It can be mentioned that the author refers to the main idea in every paragraph. You can find the main idea
→ pay attention that every paragraph has its own main idea and supportive ideas. The main idea in the
first paragraph is called thesis statement. Main idea and main purpose of the text will be restated in the last
paragraph, too. As you see the main idea (thesis statement) of this text is“most drugs that one continually
misused can influence a person’s behavior”.
Every paragraph is connected to the other one by the transition words (e.g., in some cases, for example,
however).
Words related to the topic which are repeated or synonyms and antonyms can show connections between
paragraphs. (e.g., Misuse=abuse; change=transformation; influence=affect; aware≠ secret; personality
=behavior). The related words (e.g., alcohol, pills, amphetamines and cocaine all are related to drugs).

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Some other related words in the text are (poor muscle coordination, slurred speech, sleepiness, restless,
change personality). All of them refer to the side effects of drug abuse.
We can make new vocabulary by adding prefixes and suffixes (e.g. sleepy (adj) +ness→ sleepiness (n); rest
(n) +less→ restless (adj)). So, paying attention to these affixes can help us in guessing the meaning,
because “less/” means “without”, which can help in guessing meaning.
9-Ask Questions
When one person abuse drugs what will happen?
Stage3: Explanation of AFTER Reading Strategies
10-Notice Novelty in Text
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Pay attention to the word usage –synonyms, antonyms, transitive words etc. The author uses them to show
the coherence and the cohesion in the text.
11-Relate the Book/text to Your Life
In our real life, in own city or country we see people who abuse drugs.
12-Anticipate Use of Knowledge
We can learn these new synonyms, words, etc. So, we can understand the other texts by using them and
we can use these elements in our writing.

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ON THE EFFECTS OF A SPECIALIZED

VOCABULARY- TRAINING APPLICATION ON THE
DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH VOCABULARY
AMONG IRANIAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
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Maryam Sayyar Miyandehi (Corresponding author)

MA in TEFL, Department of English Language, College of Humanities
Rasht Branch, Islamic Ad University, Rasht, Iran
E-mail: sh.sayyar@yahoo.com

Hamed Babaie, PhD in TEFL, Department of English Language, College of Humanities

Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran
E-mail: babaie@iaurasht.ac.ir

Arash Saharkhiz, PhD in TEFL, College of Humanities

Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran
E-mail: saharkhiz.arash@iaurasht.ac.ir

Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the effects of a specialized vocabulary-training application
on the development of l2 vocabulary among Iranian high school students. The participants were
divided into two groups of experimental and control according to their level of language
proficiency. Each group had 30 participants. There was a pre-test was administered at the
beginning of the experiment to ascertain the participants ̓ prior familiarity, if any, with the target
vocabulary to be introduced as well as their homogeneity. The control group was taught by
traditional methods like using a bilingual dictionary, word grouping, and memorization of
vocabulary, reading aloud, repetition, and translation. The students in the experimental group
were taught by using a vocabulary-training application in the powerpoint program. After the
treatment, which took three months to finish, a post-test was given to check out the student’s
knowledge of vocabulary at the end of the experiment in both groups. The findings proved that
using the specialized vocabulary-training application had been effective in learning and retention
of english vocabulary by the participants retaining unknown words.

Key words: call, high school students, vocabulary training application, vocabulary learning

1. Introduction
Vocabulary learning is an essential aspect of mastering a second or foreign language (L2).
Knowledge of words is fundamental to both comprehension and production in reading, listening,
speaking and writing activities. In instructional settings, providing learners with a variety of
information about a word enhances vocabulary learning. Research also suggests that vocabulary
annotations are not equally effective for all learners. For example, research indicates that pictorial
annotations illustrating the meaning of a word in a reading passage have lasting effects on word

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retention. Research also suggests that vocabulary annotations are not equally effective for all
learners. Individual learner differences determined by, for instance, distinct cognitive styles
and/or learning preferences influence learners' abilities to benefit from particular vocabulary
annotations for learning. Pictures are potentially more valuable for visual learners than for verbal
learners. (Rimrott, 2010)
Yet, vocabulary annotations are still underexplored. For instance, audio annotations require
further investigation. In addition, it is unclear how word concreteness impacts the effectiveness
of vocabulary annotations. This paper fills some of the research gaps surrounding vocabulary
learning in computer-assisted language learning (CALL). With their multimedia capabilities,
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CALL programs can provide word annotations such as pictures, audio pronunciations and / or
written definitions to assist in the language learning process. Due to convenient tracking
capabilities, they can also answer questions concerning the effectiveness of multimedia
annotations for different learners. This knowledge will contribute to constructing effective CALL
programs that are tailored to individual learners' needs. Finally, questions surrounding the effect
of features of the computer environment itself on learning outcomes can be explored with CALL
programs (Rimrott.A, 2010).

2. Review of the Literature

2.1. Vocabulary acquisition
There are different pairs of modes on vocabulary learning. In this paper the term ‘incidental
vocabulary acquisition’, discussed in Eysenck (1982) as one of our theoretical foundation, will be
used. Incidental vocabulary learning in this paper means that learners are required to finish a
task involving the processing of some unfamiliar words without being told in advance that they
will be tested afterwards on their recall of the meanings of those novel words. It is different from
implicit vocabulary learning which holds that the meaning of a new word is acquired totally Sub-
consciously as a result of abstraction from repeated exposure in a range of activated contexts.
Implicit learning can be incidental only, but incidental vocabulary learning can include both
implicit and explicit learning since “linking word form to word meaning is an explicit learning
which holds that there is some benefit to vocabulary acquisition from the learner noticing novel
vocabulary, selectively attending to it, and using a variety of strategies to try to infer its meaning
from the context” (Ellis, 1994: p219). At the same time, it cannot be claimed that vocabulary
learning here is an indirect learning since we have vocabulary exercises in our reading tasks
including guessing words from context and using target words to make sentences which belong
to vocabulary learning. The controlled experiments in the present study aim at investigating the
effects of varying reading tasks on learners’ vocabulary retention. Therefore, the term incidental
learning is used as an opposing concept of intentional learning. The participants are required to
read the passages with an intention to understand them and answer some comprehension
questions but not with an intention to learn the target words. It is in this sense that learning of the
target words is incidental.
Although the learners acquire vocabulary incidentally through reading, they also need to process
the unfamiliar words in order to understand the contents of the passages. What do we know
about the processes that facilitates vocabulary learning? Then another theoretical foundation of
the current study is the depth of processing model which is launched by Craik and Lockhart
(1972). However, some researchers (Baddeley, 1978; Eysenck, 1978, 1977) have challenged their
levels of processing theory. The main points focus on the following two questions: (1) What
exactly constitutes a level of processing, and (2) How do we know that one level is deeper than
another. In 2001, Laufer and Hulstijn showed the Involvement load hypothesis which firstly
adopts the measurable and operational factors (need, search, evaluation) to define the

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involvement loads which are used to judge the different degree of processing the unfamiliar
vocabulary items through reading.
2.2. The promise of CALL
Undoubtedly, digital media is impacting how second languages are taught/learned today. “It
can now be argued that computer-assisted language learning has come of age, and that we are
now entering a fully integrated and naturalized phase of CALL.”(Reinders& Thomas,
2012).CALL has made its way into the mainstream teaching of L2 nationally and internationally,
and the future of CALL is directly related to language teaching (Hubbard, 2008). A number of
research studies have found that students using CALL performed better than students not using
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CALL (Grgurovic, Chapelle& Shelley, 2013). The use of technology offers the possibility to enrich
the L2 teaching/learning by keeping the quality of instruction with a minimum amount of
teacher-student contact and not affecting negatively the learning objectives (Hoopingarner, 2009).
Bush’s (2008) research concluded that computers facilitate L2 learning for the students, because
computers can be used by the students when they need them and when the time is right. New
Pieces of in education are prompting deep changes in teaching, which are surpassing the
traditional lecture and group work and changing them into learning environments with games
and activities; these new learning environments prompt the students to use L2 in situations that
re-create life circumstances as close as possible to the real ones and such environments allow L2
learners to assume control of their own learning without depending on the teacher (West, 2013).
According to Warschauerto (2010), one important benefit of using technology in L2 is the
fostering of self-technology-based learning due to its daily accessibility which gives participants
the opportunity to use L2 more often. Lin’s (2010) research concluded that students favored a
computer-supported learning environment when they were learning L2.Incorporating
technology to learn a target language is very important in today’s multicultural and multilingual
global society (Godwin-Jones, 2013).
2.3. Using Applications in Language Teaching
In general, teaching practice has changed by the integration of technology in the classroom.
Technology will keep changing second language teaching as new technologies are being
introduced faster than ever (Hoopingarner, 2009). CALL technology and its uses are broad in the
second language teaching; some technologies can be used with more than one language skill
(Stockwell,2007). In a research study conducted by Lin, he concluded that a video-based CALL
had positive impact on learning L2 verbs, nouns, and adjectives among students with diverse
levels of proficiency (Lin, 2010). Sites such as Facebook and Wikipedia provide teachers with
material to expose the language learners with realistic use of a second language; social media
provides important interaction with L2 (Istifci, Lomidazde, &Demiray, 2011). CALL- based
language teaching/learning offers quite a few benefits to the learner, such as interactive activities
and multimedia applications, which are engaging (Genc, 2012).

3. Methods of Research
3.1. Participants
Participants of the present study were a sample of 120 female intermediate high school students.
In order to determine the language proficiency of the students and make up a homogeneous
group, students were were given a sample copy of the Oxford Solution Placement Test (OSPT).
They were selected randomly by a digital randomizer called Super Cool Random Number
Generator application from among 150 students. The random selection procedure was initiated
by assigning 60 Iranian high school students randomly into two groups of 30participants, namely
experimental and control. Sixty students were selected as a pilot group. The random selection
procedure began after administering an English language proficiency test. Students from the high

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school were administered an OSPT including 50 multiple choice test and 10 reading
comprehension test. Next, one version of the English vocabulary test was administered to the
pilot groups.
Regarding the results of the Oxford Solutions Placement Test,the participants were 120 students.
60 students were randomly assigned into pilot groups, 30 students the experimental and 30
students were randomly assigned into the control group. Gender was a controlled variable in this
study. All of the participants were non-native speakers and at the intermediate proficiency
level.
3.2. Instruments
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The data collection instruments utilized in this study included the following:
An OSPT including 50 items in multiple-choice format was used to determine the proficiency
level of the students. This test was administered to 150.A sample of 60 students which were
homogenous were selected to receive treatment on English vocabulary.The participants who
scored 40 were included in the study.
A vocabulary pre-test consisting of 80 vocabulary items was administered to both groups
prior to the treatment. The participants should have selected the target vocabulary items of the
pretest. The aim of this test was to omit the familiar words from the pre-test and post-tests. All
words were selected from Vocabulary for the High School Student book and 1100 words
(Bromberg). The duration of this 80-item test was 80 minutes.
A vocabulary recognition post-test in the form of a multiple choice test was administered to
the pilot group in a session. The test included 80 items whichtheir stems in the test items were
developed based on example sentences that appeared in Webster dictionary (2015) and Longman
dictionary (2009). Each test included items with blanks and four choices. The duration of this
test was 80 minutes.
The Power Point application was introduced to the students as an option for learning
electronically.A training session was set up for the participants to gain familiarity with the
available features.The selected words were computerized, and 80 words in each slide were
glossed by a computer program called Power Point. The words were glossed pictorial form.
There were 80 slides to show computerized vocabulary and their definition in English,
underlined words, the pictures related to the meaning of underlined words.
The selected words were computerized, and 80 words in each slide were glossed by a computer
program called vocabulary-training application. The words were glossed pictorial form. There
were 80 slides to show computerized vocabulary and their definitions in English, the underlined
words, as well as static pictures related to the their meanings.
Tablets were given to students. The Kingsoft Office program was installed on each Tablet.
Students used the Office program to learn vocabulary by PowerPoint program.

3.3. Procedures
3.3.1. The pilot study
A pilot study for the purpose of standardizing the instruments (i.e., Pre-and posttests) was
conducted in this research. This study was conducted in a high school. To fulfill the aim of this
study, a placement test had to be given to the students to determine the intermediate students.All
participants of the study (n = 120) were given a language proficiency test in order to ensure their
homogeneity in terms of language proficiency level. The students whose scores were 40 selected
to participate in the main study. TAP software was utilized to estimate the IF (item facility)
indices of test. The analysis revealed that 20 items should be removed from the test, as their IF
indices were above 0.05 (IF > 0.05). Afterward a number of 20questions were omitted from the
pretest owing to its low difficulty. Then the pilot group was given the posttest at the end of the

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procedure of teaching the vocabulary through the method under investigation. It needed to
satisfy the criteria of a standard test, such as validity and reliability; that is, the test needed to be
validated and then was administered to the experimental and control groups as the pretest.
3.3.2. The Main study
At the beginning, when the students received the pretest, they were not familiar with the
vocabulary of this book. The pretest including 80 questions was administered a day before
starting the instruction mentioned in this research. The test contained multiple-choice questions
and both groups received the above- mentioned test. However, the test was provided to the
students that selected by the researcher. It was administered to control and experimental groups
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to ensure that they were homogeneous with respect to the variable of this investigation, that was,
the vocabulary knowledge. Since, the test items had been designed by the researcher.
Subsequently, the obtained results were collected and analyzed as a source of data both to
confirm that the experimental and control groups had the qualification of a homogenous sample
with regard to their vocabulary knowledge, and, also to measure the possible initial differences
existing between the groups.
All the participants in experimental group were instructed how to work with PowerPoint
application. The words were taught to the students in experimental group every session for about
a month through the procedure by using tablet. In each session 10 vocabularies taught to
students via vocabulary-training application on Power Point program. The students looked at the
picture of the word on their tablet and understood the meaning of the word via picture and text.
Both groups were taught in two different conditions. The experimental group received
instructions through a structured special presentation. The control group, on the other hand,
received instructions under traditional vocabulary techniques which mainly consist of the use of
bilingual dictionary, of word grouping, memorization of vocabulary, etc. The students were
taught the same unit and the same material, including the vocabulary, at the same time.
During the PowerPoint presentations where students were exposed to new vocabulary through
the structured and planned material, they were informed that the vocabulary was going to be
part of the following units to be taught later. All the words were presented with the
corresponding images or pictures in color, the spelling of the words was showed in a highlighted
and animated text, the pronunciation of the words was modeled by the researchers and students
repeated chorally three times.

Figure 3.1.A Sample of Specialized Vocabulary Training Application

At the end, when the vocabulary was taught by the teacher in charge of both groups, the
researchers administered a posttest to both groups, the experimental and control.
All of this was accomplished in order to gather information and to see the relative effectiveness of
the treatment of the experimental and control groups. This research presents the scores of the
pretest for the control and the experimental groups and makes a comparison between them.Then,
there was a presentation of the scores for the post-tests administered to both groups in order to

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prove the effectiveness of the use of vocabulary-training application presentations which were
compared to the traditional techniques, used by most teachers, to teach vocabulary to develop it.

4. Results
In the analysis stage of this research, the results achieved from the pre- and posttests were
summarized, and the procedures of descriptive statistics (including means, standard deviations,
etc.) along with inferential statistics namely independent samples T-tests were run. To
investigate the possible differences between the control and experimental groups with respect to
their vocabulary achievement and provide answer for the research question, an Independent
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samples t-test was run. Furthermore, the normality assumption of the parametric test (namely
independent samples T- test) was established through running Skewness analyses, Levene’s test
for equality of variances, computing Trimmed Mean, and presenting normal probability plots.
In fact, learners’ performance in the experimental group (Mean =30.10) far outweighed that of the
control group (Mean =23.23) in final vocabulary test.

Table4.1:
Statistics for the Control and Experimental Groups' Performance on Final Vocabulary Test
Group Statistics
groups

Mean

Deviation
Std.

Mean
Std. Error
posttest scores

control

30

23.23

5.348

.976
experimental

30

30.10

4.930

.900

Table 4.1 depicted the values of means and standard deviation along with standard error of
mean for the two groups on final vocabulary tests. The mean score of the experimental group
(mean experimental group= 30.10) is (6.86) points higher than that of the control group (mean control group=
23.23). However, the standard deviation for the experimental group was slightly lower than that
of the control group (SD experimental group =.4.93, SD control group =5.34).

Table 4.2:
Independent Samples Test for the Control and Experimental Groups’ Performance on Posttest
of Vocabulary

Independent Samples Test

Levene's t-test for Equality of Means
Test for
Equality

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of
Variance
s
F Sig t df Sig. Mean Std. Error 95%
. (2- Differenc Differenc Confidence
tailed e e Interval of the
) Difference
Lowe Uppe
r r
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Equal .5 .47 - 58 .00 -6.86 1.328 -9.52 -4.20

variance 1 5.1
s 7
posttest scores

assumed
Equal - 57. .00 -6.86 1.328 -9.52 -4.20
variance 5.1 6
s not 7
assumed

The independent sample T-test procedure offered two tests of the contrast between the control
and experimental groups. The assumption for the first row was that the variances of the two
groups were similar. The Levene statistic evaluated the fairness of the variances.The significance
index of the statistic was (.47).
Since this value was higher than (.05), it could be assumed that the groups had equal variances
and thus the second test was ignored and the findings of the first test (first row) were
documented.
The results of independent samples t-test for the final vocabulary test in Tables 4.1, and 4.2
showed that there was a significant difference between the two groups in their performance on
final vocabulary test (sig= .00, p<0.05). The Mean Difference between the two groups was also
shown in this table; along with the 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference showing the Lower
value and the Upper value (see Table 4.2).
According to the findings, although the two groups were homogenous in terms of their
vocabulary size at the beginning of the study (as depicted by the results of the independent
samples t- test for the pretest scores), the experimental group who took specific treatment
markedly performed better than the control group who received traditional methods of
vocabulary practice. The results showed that the vocabulary-training applicationhad been
beneficial in enhancing students' performance on vocabulary test for the experimental group and
thus the null hypothesis was rejected (t=5.17, 0.00 <.05). In other words, specialized training
applicationcould help improve the students’ command of the L2 vocabulary. The following
figure depicts the two groups in posttest of vocabulary at the end of the study.

Table 4.3:
Descriptive Statistics for Vocabulary Test Scores (Posttest)

groups Statistic Std. Error

Posttest scores control Mean 23.23 .976
95% Confidence Interval for Mean Lower Bound 21.24
Upper Bound 25.23
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5% Trimmed Mean 23.19 Page 250
Median 22.00
Variance 28.599
Std. Deviation 5.348
Minimum 15
Maximum 32
Range 17
Interquartile Range 10
Skewness .389 .427
Kurtosis -1.288 .833
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To obtain the 5% Trimmed Mean, the top and bottom 5 percent of the cases were removed and a
new mean value was calculated. The original means and the new trimmed means were
compared for all the tests and it was found that extreme scores were not having a strong
influence on the means. In other words, since the trimmed mean and mean values were not very
different and the two mean values were very similar for the vocabulary tests, the values were not
too different from the remaining distribution and thus these cases were retained in the data file.
In addition, Skewness and kurtosis values were also provided as part of this output that gave
information about the normal distribution of scores for the two groups across the pre- and
posttests.
The results showed that the vocabulary-training applicationhad been beneficial in enhancing
students' performance on vocabulary test for the experimental group and thus the null
hypothesis was rejected (t=5.17, 0.00 <.05). In other words, specialized training applicationcould
help improve the students’ command of the L2 vocabulary. The following figure depicts the two
groups in posttest of vocabulary at the end of the study.
Figure 4.4: the Comparison between the Two Groups on posttest of Vocabulary at the End of the
Study

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In order to investigate students’ progress within groups, two paired t-tests were also run, which
showed the subjects’ progress in pre-test and post-test that are shown in Tables 4.5, and 4.6.

Table 4.5:
Paired Samples Statistics for the Vocabulary Test

Paired Samples Statistics

groups Mean N Std. Std.
Deviation Error
Mean
control Pair
Pretest 22.93 30 5.607 1.024
1
scores
Posttest 23.23 30 5.348 .976
scores
experimental Pair Pretest 23.63 30 5.021 .917
1 scores
Posttest 30.10 30 4.930 .900
scores
The mean score of the experimental group for the vocabulary test improved from (M= 23.63) in
pre- test to (30.10) in post- test; that of the control group increased from (M= 22.93) in pre- test to
(23.23) in post- test.

Table 4.6:
Paired Samples T- Test for the Vocabulary Test

Paired Samples Test

groups Paired Differences t df Sig.
Mean Std. Std. 95% Confidence (2-
Deviation Error Interval of the tailed)
Mean Difference
Lower Upper
Pretest -.300 1.022 .187 -.682 .082 -1.6 29 .11
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scores
–
imenta control

Pair 1

posttest
scores
Pretest -6.46 1.306 .238 -6.954 -5.979 - 29 .00
scores 27.1
–
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As depicted in the tables 4.5, and 4.6 both control and experimental groups had proceeded in the
post-test of vocabulary. Based on the results of paired t-tests, this improvement was statistically
significant simply for the experimental group but not for the control group (P experimental group<.05, P
control group ≥ .05). In other words, the experimental group made a noticeably higher advance as
compared to the control group in the posttest of vocabulary.

5. Discussions
Significant impact of a specialized vocabulary-training application on vocabulary development
has also been confirmed in the study undertaken by Tabatabaei.O and HeidariGoojani.A‫ؙ‬ s (2012)
who tried to explore the impact of text-messaging on vocabulary learning of EFL learners. In this
regard, a t-test was conducted to probe the first question in this study. The results revealed that
there was a significant difference between the means of experimental and control groups.
Therefore, it can be concluded that using short message service has a significant impact on
vocabulary learning of Iranian EFL high school students. In order to answer the second and the
third questions two attitudinal questionnaires were administered. The results showed that both
students and English teachers had positive attitudes toward the application of SMS on
vocabulary learning of the students.
The finding is also supported by Pahlavanpoorfard.S and Soori.A‫ؙ‬s (2014) study that came to
investigate the positive impact of using computer software on vocabulary learning of Iranian EFL
University Students. The students in the experimental group were taught by computer software
for vocabulary learning while the students in the control group were taught through traditional
method for vocabulary learning. After the treatment, all the students sat for a post-test. The
statistical analysis through running Independent-Sample T-tests revealed that the students in the
experimental group who used the computer software for vocabulary learning performed better
than the students in the control group were taught through traditional method for vocabulary
learning.

REFERENCES
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Craik, F. I. M., and R. S. Lockhart. “Levels of Processing: A Framework for Memory Research.”
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Ellis, R. (1994). The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Eysenck, M. W. (1978). Levels of processing: A critique. British Journal of Psychology, 69, 157-169.

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Genc, H. (2012). An evaluation study of a CALL application: With BELT or without BELT.
Turkish Online Journal Of Educational Technology - TOJET, 11(2), 44-54.
Godwin-Jones, R. (2013). Emerging technologies: The technological imperative in teaching and
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Language Learning &Technology, 17(1), 7-19. Grgurovic, M., Chapelle, C. A., & Shelley, M. C.
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learning. Recall, 25(2), 165-198.
Hoopingarner, D. (2009). Best practices in technology and language teaching. Language
and Linguistics Compass, 3(1), 222-235.
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Istifci, I., Lomidazde, T., &Demiray, U. (2011). An effective role of e-learning technology for
English language teaching by using meta communication actors. Turkish Online Journal
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Laufer, B., &Hulstijn, J. H. (2001). Incidental vocabulary acquisition in a second language:
The construct of task-induced involvement Applied Linguistics, 22(1), 1-26.
Lin, L. (2010). A video-based CALL program for proficient and less-proficient L2 learners'
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Stockwell, G. (2007). A review of technology choice for teaching language skills and areas in the
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Tabatabaei,o&HeidariGoojani,A.(2012).The Impact of text-messaging on vocabulary Learning
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COGNITIVE TASK COMPLEXITY: SKEHAN’S

LIMITED ATTENTIONAL CAPACITY MODEL AND
ROBINSON’S COGNITION HYPOTHESIS
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Nasrin Sanajoo
MA graduate of Alzahra University
n.sanajoo@yahoo.com

Abstract
After using tasks as the basic units of the syllabus, there has been a great deal of discussion about
the best criterion for ordering and sequencing tasks. Information processing approch to tasks is
one of the proposed models which introduce the use of task complexity (i.e. from simple to
complex tasks) as the criterion for sequencing tasks. The main concern of this approach is the
effects of task features on the performance of learners in the three dimensions of accuracy,
fluency, and complexity. There are two well-known models of task complexity: skehan’s limited
attentional capacity model and Robinson’s cognition hypothesis model. After presentation of
thses two controversial points of view, a plathora of research has been conducted to see which of
these models are supported. With these two models in mind, the present study provides a review
of the studies which have supported each of these two models.

Keywords: task complexity, skehan’s lac model, Robinson’s ch model

1. Introduction
A psycholinguistic approach, which is the first major research area in task-based instruction, is
concerned with "the psychological processes underlying language learning and use" (Skehan,
1998, p. 1). In this perspective a task is considered as a "device that guides learners to engage in
certain types of information-processing" (Ellis, 2000, p. 197), that are believed to improve
language use and/or language acquisition (Ellis, 2000). There are two different models which are
derived from the psycholinguistic approach: Theinteractional approach and information
processing or cognitive approach.The former deals with modifying features of target tasks, i.e., "a
task found in real life" (Ellis, 2003, p. 351) which can lead to the production of specific
conversational episodes called negotiation of meaning, communicative strategies, and
communicative effectiveness (Ellis, 2003). The latter, information processing approach, on the
other hand, has to do with the characteristics of tasks and the influences of manipulation of those
characteristics on language performance in terms of fluency "i.e., the capacity to use language in
real time, to emphasize meanings, possibly drawing on more lexicalized systems" (Skehan &
Foster, 1999, p. 96); accuracy "i.e., the ability of the learner to perform in accordance with target
language norms" (p. 96); and complexity "i.e., the capacity to use more advanced language, ….
greater willingness to take risks, and use fewer controlled language subsystems"(pp. 96-97)
(Skehan, 1996). In addition, this approach is also concerned with the way a balanced performance
in terms of these aspects of production can be obtained (Ellis, 2000).
2. Cognitive Models in Task-Based Production

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As mentioned earlier, in the cognitive approach the focus is on the psychological processes
typically engaged in when learners do tasks (Skehan, 2003). As Skehan and Foster (2001) put it,
this approach considers cognitive complexity of the task as criteria in designing tasks because it
helps to the understanding of how attention is deployed during performing tasks. There are two
competing models of how attention is used while doing tasks. There are two well-known models
of cognitive approach: Skehan’s (1998) LAC and Robinson’s (2001) CH model. While Skehan
(1998) claimed limited information processing capacity for human beings,Robinson (2001b)
proposed a multiple-resource view of attention.
2.1. Skehan’s LAC model
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Skehan’s(1998) LAC modelisbasedontheinformationprocessingperspectives.Skehan (1996),

advocatingasingleresourcemodelof attention, claims that attentional resources are limited, as a
resulttherewillbe trade-offbetweendimensionsofperformance (i.e., accuracy, fluency, and
complexity).AsSkehan(1998)putsit,incognitivelydemanding tasks great deal of attentional
resources are paid to meaning at the expense of language forms,consequently fluency will be
increased.But due tothe limited attentional capacity
theremainedattentionalcannotbedevotedtobothaccuracyandcomplexity; as a result,only
oneoftheseaspectswouldbeincreased.Insum,Skehan(2003)mentions that in
applyingmorecognitivelycomplextasks,"greaterfluencymaybeaccompaniedbygreater
accuracyorgreater complexity, but not both"(p. 5).
Skehan(1996,1998)makes a distinction between twodifferentsystemsofthe rule-basedand
exemplar-based systems. He claims that the rule-basedsystem,
whichconsistsofabstractrepresentationsofthe
underlyingpatternsofthelanguage,requiresmoreprocessing, therefore it is bestsuitedformore
controlled and lessfluentlanguageperformance.On the other hand,theexemplar-
basedsystem,which includes ready-madeformulaic chunks oflanguage,canbeeasilyand
quicklyaccessedwhich makes it much more appropriate forfluentlanguageperformance.
Skehan (1998) proposed a model for task classification. Skehan’s model consists of three factors of
code complexity, cognitive complexity, and communicative stress for task classification.The code
complexity is concerned with the two areas of syntactic and lexical difficulty of the tasks (Skehan,
1996). The cognitive complexity is concerned with content features of the input. This factor is in
turn consisted of the two aspects of cognition named: Cognitive familiarity (i.e., the use of ready-
made or pre-packaged solutions and schematic knowledge) and cognitive processing (i.e. finding
out online computations and active thinking). Cognitive familiarity is broken down into the three
aspects of 1) topic familiarity and predictability; 2) familiarity of discourse genre; and 3)
familiarity of task. Cognitive processing is also consisted of the four aspects of: 1) information
organization (i.e., naturalness of organization of task relevant information); 2) amount of
computation (i.e., the amount of needed simultaneous transformation or manipulation of
information); 3) clarity and sufficiency of information (directness of available information and
need to make inference); 4) information type (i.e., nature of available information
concrete/abstract, static/dynamic, contextualized/decontextualized).
The last factor, communicative stress, is concerned with the conditions under which the task
needs to be done. Aspects that are involved in communicative stress are: (1) time limits and time
pressure; (2) speed of presentation; (3) number of the participants; (4) length of texts used; (5)
type of response (modality: reading, writing, speaking, and listening); (6) opportunity to control
interaction (the influence that participants can have on task on the way that it is done). Skehan
(1996) argued that using such a system helps to establish effective balance between dimensions of
performance.
2.2. Robinson’s CH Model

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Robinson (2001b) argues that task complexity should be used in making decisions for sequencing
tasks because learner factors about task difficulty cannot be anticipated in advance of
implementation of a syllabus; therefore, it can be of no use to the syllabus designers. Robinson, in
contrast to Skehan, holdsa multi-resourceviewofattention.He
claimsthatdimensionsofcognitivetaskcomplexity
belongtodifferentattentionalresources,asaresultmeaningandformarenotincompetitionforattention.
Robinson (2005, 2007a) proposed the triadic componential framework (TCF) for sequencing tasks.
In this framework he distinguished the three components of task complexity, task conditions and
task difficulty.
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Task complexityrefers to “the intrinsic cognitive demands of the task” (Robinson, 2003, p. 55).
Task complexity consists of two aspects of resource-directing and resource-dispersing variables.
The former is concerned with variables which“make greater resource demand, but lead learners
to use specific features of the language code” (Robinson, 2005, p. 4) and the latter deals with
variables which “make greater resource demand without leading them to use specific features of
language code” (Robinson, 2001a, p. 31). Robinson mentioned three resource-directing variables,
(1) [+/- few elements], which refers to "few, easily distinguished, versus many similar elements"
(Robinson, 2005, p. 5); (2) [+/- here-and-now], which refers to "whether the task requires
reference to events happening now, in a mutually shared context" (here-and-now) (2005, p. 5)
versus to events that occurred in the past, elsewhere (there-and-then); and 3) [+/- spatial
reasoning] refers to “spatial location, where easily identifiable and mutually known landmarks
can be used, versus reference to location without this support” (2007, p. 165); 4) [+/- causal
reasoning] refers to “simple information transmission, versus reasoning about causal events and
relationships between them” (p. 165); 5) [+/- intentional reasoning] which refers to “simple
information transmission, versus reasoning about other peoples’ intentions, beliefs and desires
and relationships between them” (p. 165); and 6) [+/- perspective taking] which refers to
“whether the task requires the speaker/listener to take just one first-person perspective on an
event, or multiple second, and third person perspectives” (p. 165).
Resource-dispersing variables, on the other hand, increase task complexity without directing
them to any aspect of the linguistic system (Robinson, 2001a). Resource-dispersing variables
include: 1) [+/- planning time], which is “giving time for planning how to do the task”
(Robinson, 2005, p. 22) vs. not giving it; 2) [+/- single task] which refers to tasks that “require
only one thing to be done” (2005, p. 22), vs. those which “require two (dual) or many (multiple)
things to be done simultaneously” (p. 22); and 3) [+/- prior knowledge] which refers to
“providing background knowledge needed for task performance” (p. 22), vs. not giving it; 4) [+/-
task structure] refers to the “tasks where there is a clear structure available to help in deciding
which steps are needed to complete it” (2007b, p. 166), vs. those without one; 5) [+/- few steps]
refers to the “tasks where one or few steps are needed to complete it” (p. 166), versus those
requiring many steps; and 6) [+/- independency of steps] which refers to “the tasks where there
is no necessary sequence or ‘chain’ in which steps are followed” (p. 166), vs. those which require
participants to follow a strictly chained sequence, in which one step must be performed before
another.
Robinson (2001b) states that increasing task complexity along resource-directing dimensions call
learners’ attention to the linguistic features which are needed to meet task demands as a result of
which learners will be ledto higher complexity and greater accuracy of output. By contrast,
increasing task complexity along resource-dispersing dimensions deplete learners’ attention
without directing it to any specific linguistic aspect of L2 production, therefore their performance
will be poorer (Robinson, 2001a).

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Task condition refers to the features which are determined by the situational setting, and
conditions in which they take place. This category includes two components of participation
variables and participant variables. Participation variables embrace: 1) closed task vs. open tasks,
2) one way tasks vs. two-way tasks, 3) convergent vs. divergent tasks. Participant variable
consists of: 1) same/ different gender; 2) extent of familiarity; and 3) power and status.
Task difficulty, the last component, refers to the "between learners variables" (Robinson, 2001a, p.
32) and is concerned with the learners’ perceptions of the demands made by the task and the
resources that learners bring to the task. Task difficulty consists of two variables: 1) affective
variables, such as motivation, anxiety, and confidence which are temporary and may change and
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affect the size of available resources; and 2) ability variables such as intelligence, working
memory, and aptitude which are more permanent and stable over a course of instruction.
In sum, Skehan (1998) and Robinson (2005, 2007a) have different predictions about the effect of
cognitive complexity of the task on learners' language production (Table 2).
3. Research into Cognitive Task Complexity
After the presentation of Skehan’s (1998) LAC model and Robinson’s (2005) CH model, a great
deal of research hasmanipulated task features by increasing or reducing the cognitive demand of
tasks in order to see which of these two controversial models were supported (such as Crookes,
1989; Foster &Skehan, 1996; Iwashita, Elder &McNamara, 2001; Mehnert, 1998; Ortega, 1999;
Rahimpour, 2007; Skehan& Foster, 1997; Wigglesworth, 2001 Yuan & Ellis, 2003). Some of the
studied supported Skehan’s LAC model while some others supported Robinson’s CH model. The
following sections provide a summary of some of those studies.
3.1. Studies in Line with Skehan’s LAC Model
As mentioned earlier, Skehan (1998) stated that attentional resources are limited so aspects of
language (i.e., accuracy, fluency, and complexity) cannot be attained simultaneously, if learners
pay attention to one aspect, other aspects will be decreased. Furthermore, he claimed that since
fluency is based on exemplar-based system (i.e., ready-made chunks and formulaic items), it will
always be increased and one of the dimensions of accuracy or complexity will be increased. Here
are some of the studies that support Skehan’s LAC model.
Exploring the effects of [+/- here-and-now] dimensions on the oral production of participants,
Brown et al., (1984) found that the less cognitively demanding task resulted in greater accuracy
and fluency. Ellis (1987) investigated the effects of three planning conditions (both online
planning and strategic planning, just strategic planning, and neither strategic nor online
planning) on learners’ performance. He went on to conclude that his findings were in line with
Skehan’s LAC model because when they had time they had the opportunity to employ their rule-
based system and produced more accurate language. Crookes (1989) examined the effect of
planning on learners’ oral production. Performing two monologictasks with and without time for
planning, the participants produced more complex language which was in line with Skehan’s
LAC model.
Skehan and Foster, as advocators of LAC model, conducted several studies to see the effects of
task complexity on different dimensions of learners performance. In their early study, Foster and
Skehan (1996)probed the influences of planning learners’ oral performance using the three tasks
of personal information exchange, narrative, and decision-making. The results strong effects of
planning on fluency and complexity. In a subsequent study, Skehan and Foster (1997) replicated
their previous study in which the same results were gained. In yet another study, Skehan and
Foster (1999) examined the effects of inherent task structure on the learners’ oral production. The
findings unveiled that tasks with clear inherent sequential structure resulted in greater fluency
and accuracy, especially in the planning conditions, though complexity was not affected by task
structure. Foster and Skehan (1999) kept exploring task complexity effects on the performance of

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participants this time along source of planning (teacher-led, solitary, and group-based planning)
and focus of planning (language or content). The results illustrated that accuracy was increased in
the teacher-led condition, while complexity and fluency were increased in the solitary planning
condition. Finally, the language vs. content planning condition did not result in different
performance. What the results of their findings clearly demonstrates is that accuracy and
complexity are in competition for attentional resources, since when task demands are increased
only one of the aspects of accuracy or complexity is affected, not both of them.
Mehnert (1998) investigating the effects of different amounts of planning time on the speech
performance of L2 speakers, found that fluency and lexical density of speech increased in the
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planning time group, whereas accuracy of speech improved with only one minute planning but
did not increase with more planning time. Ortega (1999) examining the effects of planning on
learners’ oral production indicated that while accuracy was not affected, fluency and complexity
were increased in the planning condition.
Yuan and Ellis (2003) examined the effects of planning time (no planning time, 10-minute
planning time, online planning time) demonstrated that in terms of accuracy and structural
complexity the participants of the online planning time outperformed the other groups and the
participants of the pretaskplanning time group produced grater structural and lexical complexity
along with unaffected accuracy. Ellis and Yuan (2004) in another study investigating the effects of
planning showed that the pretask planning resulted in greater fluency and greater syntactic
variety, and online planning resulted in greater accuracy.
Rouhi (2004) and Rouhi and Marefat (2006) studied the effects of planning (no planning, 10-
minute planning, and online planning) on learners both written and oral production. Planning
condition resulted in greater fluency and accuracy, but complexity was not affected. One more
time, Rouhi and Saeed-Akhtar (2008) scrutinized the effects of planning time (no planning,
detailed planning, and undetailed planning) on learners' oral production and they found that the
detailed pre planning group generated greater accuracy and fluency in comparison to the other
two groups.
Exploring the influences of narrative structure (loose and tight) and storyline complexity (with or
without background events) on the learners’ performance, Tavakoli and Foster (2008) and Foster
and Tavakoli (2009) concluded that tightly structured storyline task resulted in greater fluency
and accuracy, on the other hand in the tasks with a background element complexity was
increased.
Gilabert (2007) investigated the effects of planning and [+/-here-and-now] on learners’ oral
performance. The results indicated that greater fluency, and lexical complexity were gained in
planning time group. Regarding [+/-here-and-now], only accuracy was increased, while lexical
complexity and fluency was decreased. Finardi (2008) explored the effects of task familiarity (task
repetition) on the oral production of the learners and he found that task repetition increased the
complexity of learners’ performance while their accuracy was decreased.
Rahimpourand Hoseini (2010) investigated the impacts of [+/-here-and-now] on L2 learners’
written narratives. They noted that their findings were in line with Skehan’s LAC model as the
participants prioritized aspects of their performance. Rahimpour and Nariman-Jahan (2011)
probing the effects of planning and proficiency on learners’ written task performance
concludedthat the low-proficiency group learners produced high concept load, fluency, and
complexity. On the other hand, high-proficiency group learners generated greater concept load
and accuracy than their counterparts.
Farahani and Meraji (2011),explored the influences of planning time and [+/-here-and-now] on
learners’ performance and claimed that in the most complex task [-here-and-now and -planning
time] only syntactic complexity was significantly increased. In their study, Ahangari and Abdi

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(2011) maintained that their findings were in line with Skehan’s LAC model since planningtime
has a positive effect only on complexity not on fluency. Skehan’s LAC model was also supported
bya study in whichKormos (2011) task structure effects on learners’ production were
investigated. It was found thatas a result of task complexity, lexical complexity was increased,
but accuracy and cohesive characteristics of learners' written performance were not
affected.Haghjou and Oroujlou (2012) scrutinizing storyline effects on production found that
fluency and complexity were increased as the result of increasing task complexity. Khorasani,
Pandian, and Mohammad-Ismail (2012) examined the influences of planning time on learners’
production and concluded that their results confirmed Skehan’s LAC model.Ghavamnia,
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Tavakoli and Esteki (2013) explored the effects of planning conditions on learners’ written
production. The findings of the study illustrated that the pretask planning group produced more
complex and fluent performance, whereas the online planning group produced more accurate
writing performance.Seyyedi et al. (2013) investigating the effects of planning found that
planning time resulted in more accurate and fluent language but less accurate production.
3.2. Studies in Line with Robinson’s Cognition Hypothesis
Robinson and Lim (1993) investigated the effects of increasing task complexity along single vs.
dual tasks on learners’ oral production. The results of the study revealed that in the dual task,
fluency was decreased, while complexity was increased, and accuracy was not affected by
cognitive complexity of the task. Decreased fluency results along with increased complexity
partially confirmed Robinson’s CH model.
Robinson (1995a) probed the effects of [+/-here-and-now]on learners’ oral production. The
results displayed that the participants of the complex task generated more accuracy and
complexity, but less fluency. Iwashita et al., (2001) probed the effects of planning time and [+/-
here-and-now] on learners’ oral performance under testing conditions. The participants of the [-
here-and-now] group produced more accurate language, while complexity and fluency were
unaffected. Their findings partially supported Robinson’s point of view. Robinson (2001a)
investigated the effects of increasing task complexity on learner's oral production. The results of
the study revealed increasing task complexity resulted in lower fluency, higher lexical
complexity. Wigglesworth (2001) investigated the effects of task familiarity and task structure on
learners’ production. The results revealed that planned groups outperformed the other groups in
all of the measures.
Tavakoli and Skehan (2005) exploring the effects of planning time task structure and proficiency
level on learners’ performance found that the planning condition generated more fluent, accurate,
and complex language. Regarding proficiency level, greater accuracy and complexity were
generated.Ishikawa (2007) examining the effects of [+/- here-and-now] on leaners’ written
performance indicated that in there-and-then condition greater accuracy, structural and lexical
complexity were gained, while fluency was increased in here-and-now condition. Rahimpour
(2007) explored the effect of [+/-here-and-now] on Iranian students’ oral performance. In the
complex task of there-and-then, he found that more accuracy, less fluency, and less complexity
obtained in learners’ performance. Decreased fluency results are in line with Robinson’s CH
model, however, increased accuracy and decreased complexity supported Skehan’ LAC
model.Kuiken and Vedder (2007) investigated the effects of (+/-few elements) on L2 written
performance of learners at different levels of language proficiency. The results showed that in the
complex task fluency was decreased, but accuracy was increased. They claimed that their
findings were in line with Robinson’s CH model.Shin (2008) investigating the effects of planning
[individual vs. collaborative] on writing performance of learners found that in the collaborative
planning condition, learners achieved high scores in all of the measures.

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Meradji (2009) examining the effects of [+/- here-and-now] and planning time on the written
performance of learners indicated that more accuracy, structural complexity, and fluency were
found in the planning group. On the other hand, the [+/- here-and-now] revealed no significant
effect on accuracy and complexity. Examining the effects of [+/- here-and-now] and language
proficiency on L2 written narrative discourse, Abdollahzadeh andFard-Kashani (2011) found
that complexity and accuracy increased in the complex task with high-proficiency learners,
though fluency was not affected by task complexity and language proficiency.
As already discussed in the previous sections, Skehan (1998) noted that due to the limited
attentional capacity, there will be prioritization in the aspects of performance. Moreover, he
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claimed that the competition for attention will be mainly between accuracy and complexity.
Based on Skehan’s remarks only one of the two dimensions of accuracy or complexity will be
increased not both of them. From among the studies mentioned earlier in this paper, a good deal
of research established that prioritization in accuracy and complexity occurs while individuals
are performing tasks.There is no consensus among the researches that which of the two
dimensions of accuracy or complexity increases. While some studies reported more complex
tasks generated more complex language (Ishikswa, 2007; Robinson, 1995a; Rouhi, 2004; and Yuan
& Ellis, 2003), some other studies reported the increase of accuracy in more complex tasks
(Ishikswa, 2007; Rahimpour, 2007; Robinson, 1995b; Yuan & Ellis, 2003). On the face of it, what
these studies suggest is that as Skehan’s LAC model puts it, prioritization in performance
dimensions is an unavoidable phenomenon.
With respect to fluency measures, Skehan proposed dual-model processing system in which he
mentioned thatregardless of task complexity level, fluency will always increase in tasks. He
explains that because of the two points of a) primacy of meaning in tasks and b) exemplar-based
nature of fluency, this dimension never decreases. However, Robinson, quite contrary to Skehan,
declares that fluency will be reduced in the complex tasks. In this respect the bulk of the research
reported that fluency was decreased as a result of complex tasks (Brown et al., 1984; Ellis & Yuan,
2004; Ishikawa, 2007; Gibabert, 2007; Mehnert, 1998; Ortega, 1999; Rahimpour, 2002, 2007;
Robinson, 1995a; Rouhi, 2004; Rouhi&Marefat, 2006; Skehan& Foster, 1999; Yuan & Ellis, 2003).
Taken together, with the results of these studies in mind, it is perhaps fair to say that, to date,
Skehan’s claims of the dual-model processing system was not confirmed.
4. Conclusion
For years, a great deal of research has been conducted to see which of the two controversial
models of Skehan’s LAC or Robinson’s CH was supported. After reviewing of some of the
researches in this regard, the present paper concluded that most of the studies were in line with
the claims of Skehan’s LAC model.

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BRIDGING THE CAPACITY GAP THROUGH

ADVERSITY QUOTIENT (AQ):
“THE ELEVATED WISDOM”
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Yazdani Moghaddam, Masood. Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, College of
Foreign Languages and Literature, Department of TEFL
Teimourtash,Morteza, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, College of
Foreign Languages and Literature, Department of TEFL
Email: Teimourtash2000@gmail.com

Abstract
The world we live today is over flooded by the myraid of information, especially no-good ones
namely as the adversities acting upon individuals in such a way that the notion of thinking
deems a far-fetched domain to be notied and touched. The reflections and responses of
individuals confronting the adversities may differ from negligence to resilience. The descisive
factor for the individuals in moving through the dilemma spectrum from negligence to resilience
is the notion of thecapacity gap existing in between. Such capacity gap could not only be filled
but also be best bridged via implementation of the notion of adversity quotient (aq). The present
paper aims at elaborationg on the idea that through the elevated wisdom, it could be possible to
bridge the capacity gap btween the accessed capacity and the required one needed to overcome
the adversity ahead. The notion of elevated wisdom is much the same in nature to that of
scaffolding in education field, either on the part of the senders or the receivers.

Key words: adversity quotient, capacity gap, elevated wisdom, resilience

1. Introduction
In the 21st century, life has become so complicated, so as the trends of thoughts which have been
changed due to flood of technology towards the lifestyle of people. There has always been the
notion of adversity prevalent in the life of human beings since Adam and Eve era. What counts
here in the 21st century is the smart nature of the phenomenon governing over the lives of
amateur and novice fellow dwellers who are experiencing hard times facing these smart devices.
The notion of adversity is something never could be dodged, because as Hewitt (2002) put it
“without adversity there is no story to tell.” That is exactly where Stoltz (2000) proposes the
notion of Adversity Quotient and shed light at the crucial role of adversity quotient in dealing
with the ups and downs of the 21st century.
To Stoltz (1997), the notion of Adversity Quotient is “an indicator of how one withstands
adversity, the ability to overcome it”. In this sense, adversity is the mirror point of human
resilience, i.e. the science of human resilience is manifested and touched through the notion of
Adversity Quotient. There are a plethora of researches on establishing a vivid picture of what
resilience is, most of which are giving dimensions to their audience. Among them, there are those

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who believe Adversity is the external factors acting over the individuals, whereas Resilience is
the internal factors reacting towards that specific action through the axis of time and place. The
main reason is that seeing about the construct of resilience, having a lot in common with that of
the adversity, is much like depicting a dynamic phenomenon, something far-fetched and
phantom which differs from one individual to another, from one place to another, hence exerting
the notion of the time of occurrence.

There are controversial and sometimes challenging justifications for the illumination of the notion
of resilience. Once more, it is noteworthy to pinpoint that the nature of resilience is a dynamic
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construct in nature, and that’s why the definitions may sometimes meet contradictions. Scholars
such as Reed (2002) believe that resilience is "patterns of positive adaptation in the context of
significant adversity or risk"(p.75).
Scholars such as Glantz & Johnson (1999); Masten (2001) have done a lot of studies over the
pivotal factors that account for individual’s successful outcomes. There exist seven common
factors prevalent in their works that influence resiliency: Creativity, Humor, Morality,
Relationships, Initiative, Insight, and Independence. Such categorization of factors is so broad,
whereas scientifically speaking, most scholars and specialists having great command over the
construct of resilience have classified two facets of factors in their works as the risk factors and
protective ones. Hence, the advocates of the protective factors are twice as much because scholars
such as Knight (2007) believe that protective factors are of great importance and value just
because they would support positive progress and achievement. Along the same line, Esquivel et
al. (2011) pinpointed the high degree of influence the protective factors have in educational and
academic settings, for they can cut down on the students’ stress and make them prepared for
better lives.
Significant Others,
So far, the significance of protective factors is brought to view, but it is worth mentioning that the
protective factors are not confined to the ones mentioned above, i.e. some factors may come to
existence only when they are touched upon with special weight of importance or notice. We will
come to this notion later on in the present paper. Scholars such as Rutter (1987) believed that
among the protective factors, those of the social supports especially the external ones are of great
importance and influence. Others such as Dawson and Pooley (2013) also believed that perceived
social support (social support of family, significant others, and friends) is beneficial for the
individuals in empowering them to cope with anxiety and challenge their improvement in
academic achievement cases. Among the perceived social support, one can see the presence of the
significant others. There may pop up the challenging questions such as how would such
significant others influence the individuals performance in such a way that they would
outperform their usual selves. What would make those others significant? Or to what extend to
be significant? In providing the best answers to these challenging questions, it should be
highlighted here that the significant others are those who have certain amount of expectation
from the individual, and such expectations would result in providing a room for thinking or
performing beyond ones usual self. In a nutshell, others expectations who are significant for the
individuals in any case of emotional, social or environmental, would act as the external road
mapper who in turn canalizes the cognitive trend of the individual to act beyond its normal
capacity in a higher level. There are bunch of examples in medical recovery cases where
placeboes are prescribed by a physician and they really work. Just the expectations of the patients
that physicians could cure or recover them pave the ground for their rehabilitations. Or in case
parents expectations from their child to get good grades at school could be another proper
instance here where once the student has got stuck in an arithmetic calculation in a test or facing

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a difficult and far-fetched situation, by just remembering that his/her parents would expect
him/her to certain degree of performance, the golden time would be triggered and just like
scaffolding cognitively, the student would outperform his/her usual cognitive performance. Such
golden time has got certain characteristics, more significant of which is the uniqueness of the
occurrence. Or to put it scientifically, the time of occurrence of such golden time is a function of
time. Never ever do two identical situations would result in an identical outperformance. It is
unique in its time and place. It could never be repeated or simulated in realistic circumstances.
Such golden time is second to none, especially when the events are of great importance or
unexpected (Weiner, 1992).
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FromAttribution to Contribution
Anyone involved in the field of Adversity Quotient and is familiar with the construct of
resilience, s/he would have touched the fundamental underlying theories which have formed the
infrastructure of the Adversity Quotient construct: Learned helplessness, and Attribution theory.
Taking the first one for granted, the second theory named as the Attribution theory deemed
influential for academic achievement and motivation (Weiner, 1980, 1992). Attribution theory
encompasses the modification of behavior in such a way that learners get strongly motivated
when witnessing the pleasant outcome of their deeds which would in turn make them able to feel
good and about themselves. There may exist discrepancies among individuals as what and how
feeling good is defined. Scientifically speaking, such good feeling is the reflection received via
others’ approvals. In better words, there is an amalgamation of cognitive theory and self-efficacy
theory in such a way that the onward self-perception of the individuals/learners, or what Ruan
(2014) name it as the Self-Concept, would be influenced highly and decisively, and would in turn
mold the future performance and trend of behaviors.
The point to be raised here is that such self-perception or self-concept is initiated and reinforced
by others’ approval. Once more, others’ approval is to be justified in line with scholars’ beliefs
that states perceived social support is the key in dominating specific trend of cognition and
behaviors. According to scholars, perceived social support namely as the social support received
from family, significant others, and friends is of great importance and influence in
institutionalizing a specific trend of thoughts. In better words, significant others and their
expectations would influence one’s level of cognition. This is exactly in line with the work of
Heider (1958) who studied the interpretations individuals provide for their success and failure.
He proposed that the reasons individuals provide are in compliance with others expectations. He
believed that some reasons and causes attributions are aimed at the internal expectations, some
are attributed to external expectations from significant others. The internal expectations are
attributed to their present performance, whereas the external expectations are contributed to
future outperformance which is unique in the axis of time and place.

Resilience and adversity meet at the capacity gap intersection

The two notions of adversity and resilience are so neatly interwoven to the extent that some
scholars believe that they are the two sides of a single coin. But that is not really the case.
According to Stoltz (1997), adversity in nature refers to the capacity of the individuals to cope
with adversities of any kind, hence the notion of resilience refers to the individuals’ capabilities to
adapt and get in-tune well in adverse situations. Adversity and resilience are interwoven in a
sense, but to be on the right track, adversities are the external circumstances acting upon the
individuals, whereas the resilience is the unique internal responses to those external influences.
In better words, resilience is beyond the capacity of the individuals to manage the adversities

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when facing them. Resilience is acting as a smart mechanism which reinforces the promotion of
success and dwindle the propagation of failure.
As mentioned earlier, Stoltz (1997) defines adversity quotient as the capacity of an individual
when facing adversities in life. Stoltz (2000) proposes the Human Capacity Structure Model
(Figure below), explaining the pivotal role of the adversity quotient (AQ) in bridging the gap
between different capacities when facing adversities:
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Stoltz(2000) believes that the world economy is constantly changing and the adaptation of
different capacities is a risky task which is merely possible under the umbrella term of the
Human Capacity. The ever-changing world order would exert unrealistic tension over
individuals, which in turn would result in many failures or suffrage of hard situations. This
happens when there is mismatch among the three capacities provided in his Human Capacity
Structure Model. In better words, when the existing capacity (i.e. what capacity the individual
possesses at a time) and the accessible capacity (i.e. the capacity which could be accessed on a
daily routine basis) are not in congruent with the required capacity (i.e. the demanded capacity
needed to perform the present task, especially the unwanted and unexpected one). Then there
would happen to emerge the capacity gap. According to Stoltz (2000), the measurement of the
capability to fill the gap is through enhancing the adversity quotient.
Bridging the gap through the elevated wisdom
In the present paper, the author believes that the capacity gap could in no way be filled, but be
bridged. This could be done by enhancing the resilience level of the individuals. Enhancing the
resilience level is an umbrella term which encompasses various aspects of adversities as well.
Scholars and researchers such as Dweck (2012) believe that responses to adversity are learnable,
but not sufficient to bridge the capacity gap. Individuals should be equipped with the power of
judgment and prediction skills in order to maneuver in the challenging situations and exceed
their natural intellectual abilities. They should move beyond what Bandura (2006 and 2008) put
as the efficacy beliefs. What an individual perform is beyond the expectations s/he has from self,
just because the outcome of such bridged gap is a cumulative one which in turn would be over
and above one’s expectation. In doing so, the individuals could utilize the great noticeable
element of expectations from self and also from significant others in order to scaffold the existing
capacity gap needed to be bridged and create noble and unique capacity by bridging that gap.
This could be at first a mimic performance but in the long run it could be internalized and
fostered.
The Elevated Wisdom and its component

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The proposed term “elevated wisdom” is the state of mind which best suits the capacity gap
between the accessed capacity and the required one. The elevated wisdom acts as the floating
bridge to be judged and adjusted by the individuals when facing sudden unexpected adversities.
It is comprised of two main components namely as the framework and the processed chunks of
info. These two components of the elevated wisdom would act and counteract over the
adversities in order to come up with a proper solution to get out of the hard situation in an
unexpected fashion. This could be possible by the great power of mind in adverse conditions in
turning the obstacles into opportunities. The input to such system is clear; hence the output is
something over and above the expectations, and that is just because there exists little control over
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the performance of the individuals in adverse situations.

Framework
The framework is the state of mind to process the information popped up in it when facing a
sudden unexpected adversity. The framework could be either physical or psychosocial. Let me
elaborate on the issue by providing examples. Imagine an individual attending driving course to
get ready to apply for his/her driving license. S/he has got the enough information and the skill
to drive a car, but it is a guided, realistic, and controlled training setting. As soon as s/he gets
behind the wheel and his/her feet touch the pedals in a real setting, something in his/her mind
rings a bell and a sense of ownership comes to him/her that just then s/he is the captain of the
ship. Such “getting behind the wheel” is an instance of the framework for the elevated wisdom.
Another example could be a trainee attempting to learn how to guide an airplane, to get his PPL
(Private Pilot License). By the time he is occupying the observer seat in the cockpit, either the real
or a simulation one, he would not be able to feel the sense of thinking and deciding like a pilot in
risky conditions. As soon as he sit behind the yoke and touch the throttle in a real setting, a sense
of control and ownership would sweep over him. Such “sitting behind the yoke and touching the
throttle” is another instance of the framework in the elevated wisdom. In better words, the sense
of real setting would exert an impression on the individuals that could never ever be repeated.
Any form of repetition would be regarded as another new and genuine setting which demands
its own framework.

An important notion to be raised here is that, mimicking others’ trends of behavior could be
regarded as providing frameworks for specific settings, i.e. one great responsibility of the
policymakers in societies is to provide icons in societies through the propagation of various
culture and behavior. This could be done by producing movies or introducing prominent
individuals and authorizes into the target society and in the long run institutionalizing a specific
trend of behavior, that for sure such specific trend of behavior is rooted in a specific trend of
thought. The individuals witnessing the scene or establishing certain connections to such
characters would in turn act in the same way when facing similar situations in real life. The “act
in the same way” is exactly the notion of “framework” discussed above. The individuals
mimicking in the same way as authorities and icons when facing adverse situations, which in
turn would provide the necessary framework appropriate for that situation. For instance, imagine
a university student witnessing his loved professor’s behavior when facing an adverse situation.
The student observes that the professor never jump into hasty conclusions and always ponder
over the situation before any action. The student would mimic his professor’s deed in adverse
situation without having the rationale or the necessary background for that. This is exactly the act
of providing the framework, which is an element of the elevated wisdom in order to act higher-
orderly in adverse situations.

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Processed chunks of info
Once an individual faces an adversity, certain amounts of processed information, from highly-
related in form or content to less-related ones are crystallized in his mind. The sources of such
processed information are the individuals’ schemata, background knowledge, experience, or core
competency. Another nickname for the processed chunk of information is the learnt responses to
adversities, the rationale for which come from what Dweck (2012) puts that response to adversity
is learnable. Such crystallization is a function of the first component of the elevated wisdom
namely as the framework. This means that unless the framework is sensed in real authentic and
unique condition that the processed chunks of info are triggered. Otherwise this does not work,
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i.e. fake, realistic, or laboratory conditions do not trigger anything. Let me elaborate on this
notion by providing example. Imagine a captain of a ship facing an adversity as the mines from
the enemy are floating in the sea and are approaching the ship. The framework is real and in a
fraction of a second, all the schemata of the captain is engaged and searched for the processed
information resembling any part or portion of such adversity. Suddenly the captain remembers a
game he was playing with his son, that there were a basin of water and a plastic ball floating in
that. He and his son were both hand-tightened in their backs and the games went on as they
should blow on the plastic ball to win. Such chunk of processed info, along with the knowledge
that the ship has got flexible air ducts would trigger a remedy on the captain’s mind to get out of
the adversity. The captain orders to let the air ducts sent to the surface of the sea near the body of
the ship and then blow the mines away. It is noteworthy to mention that all chunks of processed
information or learnt responses to similar adversities are available in the repertoire of the
individuals, but what counts them here to be selected as the elected ones is the weight they gain
due to the judgment taking place in the mind of the individual facing the specific adversity, the
specific adversity which is unique in time and place and it is individual-specific. That is to say
that if an identical twin living together from their early childhood, now facing a specific
adversity, their responses to the same adversity would tolerate diversifications.

Types of the elevated wisdom

The elevated wisdom could be of two types, as the inboard and outboard. The inboard elevated
wisdom is when the individual holds the belief that s/he is able and must be able to get out of the
faced adversity. In better words, a student who attends scholarship program just because his/her
parents are poor and cannot afford his/her education expenses, s/he is equipped with the
inboard elevated wisdom. Or once an inventor is moving in the dark and experiencing the
undiscovered part of the reality, or when an individual is making a wild guess which is the last
chance of his life and s/he does make it right, and bunch of other examples are instance of the
inboard elevated wisdom.

Meanwhile, the outboard elevated wisdom is when an entity exists outside the will and
command-realm of the individual and in turn induces an invisible beacon lights which guide the
trend of thoughts of the individual in certain way. In other words, others expectations, or in
better words, significant others’ expectations would exert the bulky chunks of information which
are half full of semi-processed information needed to get out of the risky, unexpected adverse
situation. There exists a plethora of examples in this regard. In educational setting, such notion of
outboard elevated wisdom is called “scaffolding”, where the students are helped implicitly by
the instructors to get out of the challenging situations. As another instance, imagine a surgeon
who is doing an operation over an organ of a patient who is by chance one of his best relatives or
is his mother or father or even his primary school teacher. Suddenly he is caught in bombast
when facing a rare sample during the operation. Others’ beliefs about the surgeon, or in better

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words, significant others’ beliefs about him is the very outboard elevated wisdom which in turn
exert special weights to the processed chunks of info stored in the schemata of the surgeon, and
in the long run, would affect the quality of the products or manifestations of his mind.

It is worth mentioning here that the source of the elements of the elevated wisdom namely as the
framework and the processed chunk of info should not be one, i.e. unilateral. That is to say that in
a discourse of action – a discourse resulting in a proceeding action – it would not be important
that the sender provides the framework and the receiver provides the processed chunks of info,
or vice versa. It is a give-n-take process. It does make sense when there is the amalgamation of
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these two components ready. For instance, when an instructor is helping the students to apply
what they have learned to the problem at hand, s/he is providing the framework for the learners
in order for them to manipulate, adjust, tune, and give weight to the chunks of info stored in their
minds, so that their minds move logically and get out of the adverse situations, and get the job
done. So scaffolding on the part of the teacher is an instance of providing the framework. Even in
psychology discipline, establishing rapport and even the inner feeling and desire of the teachers
and instructors in order for their students to understand the lessons is of great importance in
their academic achievements and progress. Compared to a teacher who is doing his job as the
duty put on him, the class whose teacher is establishing rapport with his students and has the
inner feelings that he would do his bests so that his students make the most of the lessons taught
in class, the second instance will outperform the first one.

Final Remarks
In the present paper, the author aimed at shedding lights on the idea that in order to save face in
adversities and come up with the proper solution out, the required capacity is to be touched by
the elevated wisdom, cause in most cases the individuals got problems in digesting the situation.
The pile of processed information stored in mind is triggered and applied just when they gain
weights. In confronting the adversities, where time and place are two important issues, when
each and every second counts in deciding on the right solution as the required remedy, there is a
gap between the accessible capacity and the required one. In this sense, the individuals may feel
to quit or surrender, just because they feel they would not be able to overcome the adversity by
himself, i.e., the gap in between the accessible capacity and the required one to conquer the
adverse situation is so wide that s/he could not overcome it without the help of others. Such
capacity gap could be best bridged by applying the adversity quotient through the elevated
wisdom. By considering the framework and the processed chunks of info which has gained
weights due to the elements hidden in the adverse situation, the ground is paved to come up
with the best solution out of the adversities. It is worth mentioning that the outcome of the
elevated wisdom to be met by the required capacity is unique in its time and place. And of’
course it is individual-specific. What works or makes sense for an individual would not work or
make sense for another individual experiencing the same adverse situation. And the last but not
least, it should be highlighted here that the level of control over the outcomes of such systems is
of its least possible value, i.e. the outcomes of such systems are not predictable and controllable
just because the nature of the outcomes are unique, differing from time to time, from one place to
another, and from person to person.

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THE NEXUS BETWEEN REFLECTIVE TEACHING

AND TEACHERS’ EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
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Somayeh Daghayesh
Department of English, Khorasan e Razavi Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad
University, Neyshabur, Iran
s.daghayesh@gmail.com

Reza Zabihi
English Department, University of Neyshabur, Neyshabur, Iran
zabihi@hotmail.com

Abstract
This paper examined the relationship between emotional intelligence (ei) and reflective teaching
in a foreign language teaching context, making use of an explanatory mixed-methods research
design (emmrd). The participants of this study consisted of 165 female (n = 99) and male (n = 66)
English language teachers at private language institutes and high schools of neyshabur, khorasan
razavi province located on the northeast of iran. The researcher employed two self-report
standardized instruments alongside an interview. Results from correlation and regression
analyses revealed there is a slightly positive significant relationship between emotional
intelligence and reflective teaching. Further analysis indicates that there are significant
relationships between some components of emotional intelligence and reflective teaching. The
study concluded with a set of implications and discussions about the undeniable (within the
scope of the present study) effect of emotional intelligence on reflective teaching. These final
suggestions were made based on a general interpretation of the theoretical and empirical
evidence about the variables of this study.
Keywords: reflective teaching; emotional intelligence; mixed-methods research design

1. Introduction‎

The relationship between reflective teaching and EI ‎ has primarily been overlooked in
educational and organizational research. Studies have been carried out about the possible
relationship between emotional intelligence and effective ‎teaching but they are inadequate to
show the prominent role of emotional intelligence in ‎teaching. ‎The relationship between
reflection and emotions is one that is recognized ‎but it is not described (Moon, 1999). Even
though, until now, we know of no empirical evidence which show whether having higher levels

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of measured emotional intelligence is related with level of teachers’ reflectivity among English
language teachers.

Up till now, many scholars believed reflection is rigorously a cognitive process. Emotions are
regarded as a part of the reflective process which influence on how one reflects and its
ramification (Moon, 1999). Bar-On‎‎ (2004) hints to a relationship between both constructs.
Similarly, Goleman (1995) ‎affirms that experiential learning and habitual self-reflection improve
emotional ‎competencies. He maintains that reflective thought affects individual
emotional ‎intelligence. But they had not presented empirical evidence for their affirmation
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(Mitchell-White, 2010). ‎

Learning requires reflection. Reflection influenced by emotion leads to a greater opportunity for
expanding ‎one’s strength of knowledge and awareness as it goes beyond the cognitive domain.
Likewise, reflection and thinking do not happen without ‎emotions (Dewey, 1933, 1944). Dewey
indicated that attitudes and feelings are ‎complicatedly connected to reflection and learning and
cannot be splited.Therefore, for a ‎perfect depiction of individual learning, scholars should attend
to emotions and ‎reflection simultaneously when evaluating the nature of learning and the value
eachparadigm ‎brings to the adult learning context (Mitchell-White, 2010). Reflection reinforce ‎the
improvement of emotional intelligence and cognitive growth (2010).‎

Learning cannot take place without engaging the affective realm (Dewey, 1933). An individual’s
ability to learn go beyond the cognitive level, according to Dewey: “There is no integration of
character and mind unless there is fusion of the intellectual and the emotional, of meaning and
value, of fact and imaginative running beyond fact into the realm of desired possibilities”
(Dewey, 1933, p. 278).

Advocates of the social emotional instruction movement would dispute that training teachers in
the concepts of EI, and employing its framework as an application for instruction will influence
not only students’ emotional growth, relationship skills, and responsible decision making, but
also their academic achievement and adult success.

Schools are not just dispensaries of prior knowledge, social emotional scholar would dispute;
they also should teach students how to learn, to use skills for problem solving and critical
thinking to new setting that will come to light in the course of their work and personal lives.
Schools, because of the social nature of their organization, are a natural setting for social
instruction (McCuin, 2012).

Regarding to second language learning, ‘intelligence in its traditional definition, intelligence may
have little to do with one's success as a second language learner: people within a wide range of
IQs have proven to be successful in acquiring a second language. But Gardner attaches other
important attributes to the notion of intelligence, attributes that could be crucial to second
language success’ (Brown, 1997, p.109). Finally, the EQ (emotional quotient) make known to
public by Goleman may be far more influential than any other element in accounting for second
language success both in classrooms and in untutored contexts (p.110). ‘Educational institutions
have recently been ‎applying Emotional Intelligences’ to a variety of school-oriented context’ ‎
(1997).

Considering the role of emotional intelligence in education, affective factors that ‎relate to learning
and especially second language learning such as having high self-‎esteem, motivation, empathy
with others, and being risk taker are sub components of ‎emotional intelligence. Moreover, we

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know having components of emotional intelligence like ‎being creative, responsible and etc. help
us to being successful learner. However the role ‎of emotional intelligence is clear in SLA but there
is need to do more studies ‎about it. ‎

Emotional intelligence as common currency has become as a major theoretical framework

in ‎education, management, and psychological research within the last decade ( Goleman, 1998).
IQ was assumed to be genetic. This notion of intelligence was unchallenged as a predictor of
school and job success for many years. However, in recent years, there has been a debate
concerning whether or not intelligence is fixed at birth (Sternberg, 2011; Lunenburg, 2011).
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The multiple intelligences construct, and emotional intelligence especially, have gained an
incredible deal of interest currently, specifically regarding leadership capacity. There is some
evidence that the characteristics of EI (e.g., self-awareness, self-management, self-motivation,
social awareness, and relationship management) may be a better predictor of leadership
performance and success than the traditional “intelligence quotient,” or IQ. (Lunenburg, 2011).

There is a growing body of studies that prove the ability to work with emotion is integral element
of the teachers’ ability set. Researches revealed teachers’ emotional abilities effect on students'
behavior, their engagement, and attachment to school, and their academic performance. Teachers
with high scores on emotion regulation skill test (one domain of emotional intelligence) also
report less burnout and higher job satisfaction (Corcoran &Tormey, 2013). “Carl ‎Rogers (1902–87)
wrote about what would now be called emotional intelligence in ‎teachers, most notably in
Freedom to Learn (1983). He said that the teacher who ‎exhibited the personal qualities of
genuineness, empathy and acceptance with learners ‎would, by that fact alone; bring about
change in their learners” (Mortiboys, 2005).

In spite of the fact that the positive effect of reflection on teachers’ knowledge and ‎attitudes has
been clarified (e.g. Kabilan 2007), there is only some empirical research evidence about reflective
teaching in particular and about teachers in general in mainstream education and in ELT. The
role of the teacher has been a principal issue of debate in the field of general education along with
language education. Yet a variety of investigations done have confirmed that the quality of
teacher functioning was associated to ‎the students' progresses made (Mccuin, 2012). Recently, in
ELT and teacher education focus from method shift to post method era. These ‎changes
summarize a shift from a positivist-oriented viewpoint to a constructivist-oriented
perspective ‎and “a shift from transmission, product-oriented theories to constructivist, and
process-oriented ‎theories of learning, teaching, and teacher learning” has been especially
considerable (Crandall, ‎2000, pp. 34-35). The rise of reflective teaching in ELT can be considered
as one of the results of the post ‎method debate (see Prabhu, 1990; Kumaravadivelu, 1994;
2001; ‎2003; 2006).

According to Cunningham (2001) “constructivism views learning ‎as an active process where
learners reflect upon their current and past knowledge and experiences ‎to generate new ideas
and concepts” (p. 2). Therefore, “a shift to a constructivist ‎perspective of teaching and teacher
learning makes teachers a primary source of knowledge about ‎teaching” (Crandall, 2000, p. 35).
(As a result of constantly articulated frustration of the restrictions of the concept of method and
the transmission paradigm of teacher education, ‎the L2 profession is confront with an imperative
need to establish a post method pedagogy) ‎ (Kumaravadivelu, 2001, 537). “This give rise to
demise of method and the appearance of post method ‎era. “A post method teacher education
program must take into account the importance of ‎recognizing teachers’ voices and visions, the

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imperatives of developing their critical capabilities, ‎and the prudence of achieving both of these
through a dialogic construction of meaning” ‎(Kumaravadivelu, 2001, p. 552). Seeking to
something as an alternative of method, reflective teaching ‎has been regarded as a solution to the
challenges teachers deal with in the ‘beyond method’ period.‎ Despite the fact, that there is
different ‎point of view about reflection, ‘most teacher educators would argue that reflection is
an‎integral part in professional development’ (Burton, 2009, p. 300; Borg, 2011, p. 220; Jay &
Johnson, 2002).

Richards (1998) proposes that “reflection is a key component of teacher development. Recently,
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the term reflection, the current grand id'ee in teacher education and reflective teaching has been
become generally accepted and has received significant attention in teacher ‎education and
teachers’ professional development for teaching pre service teachers to reflect is in many ways
teaching them to “think like a teacher” (Griffiths, 2000; Jay & Johnson, Schon, 1983; Schon, 1987).
AsTabachnick and Zeichner‎‎ (2002) put it, “there is not a single teacher educator who would say
that he or she is not ‎concerned about preparing teachers who are reflective” (p. 13).

With improvement of theories becomes clear that learning is lifelong process and teacher ‎should
pay attention to other factors in this process. Giving more attention to emotional ‎intelligence
beside cognitive knowledge can make desirable teachers. “Effective teacher ‎create learning
atmosphere which are cognitively and affectively expanding; learning ‎atmosphere which enable
the learner to become a more adequate and knowledgeable ‎person.

This finding suggests that teachers really can have a positive and influential effect‎on both the
linguistic and performance and the emotional well-being of the students” ‎ (Brown, 2007, p. 155).
To partially fill this gap, the present study was conducted to tap into the relationship between
emotional intelligence and reflective teaching.

Although Thorndike (1921), Guilford (1956), and later, Gardner’s (1983) research into social
intelligence hints at the importance of emotions to intellectual functioning, the term EI was not
brought into mainstream psychology until the 1990s. Currently, Mayer, Salovey, and colleagues
argue that EI incorporates a set of conceptually related psychological processes involving the
processing of affective information (Zeidner et al., 2004).

2. Methodology

Participants

The participants of this study consisted of 165 female (N = 99) and male (N = 66) English
language teachers at private language institutes and high schools of Neyshabur, Khorasan Razavi
province located on the northeast of Iran. Teachers’ ages ranged from 21 to 60. They had degrees
in TEFL, English literature or linguistics, and their experience in teaching ranged from 1 to 36
years.

Instrumentation

In this study the hypothesized framework were draw about two variables encompass reflective
teaching and emotional intelligence. The researcher employed two self-report standardized
instruments to assess the variables. The English Language Teaching Reflection Inventory (ELTRI)
developed by Akbari et al. (2010) was used to assess the reflectivity of teachers and Schutte et al.’s
Emotional Intelligence Scale (1998) was utilized to measure teachers' level of EI. In view of

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cultural differences and to avoid any misunderstanding regarding the content of the
questionnaires, both questionnaires translated in Persian. The both instruments are available on
Internet.

Teacher Reflectivity Questionnaire

The reflective teacher questionnaire employed in this study was devised by Akbari, Behzadpour
and Dadvand. Akbari et al. (2010) developed an instrument called the English Language Teacher
Reflective Inventory (ELTRI) based on reflection factors. The questionnaire consists of 29 items
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self-report inventory. This self-report test comprise of 29 elements on a 5-point Likert format
ranging from 1 = never to 5 = always. Respondents applied a 5-point Likert scale, on which "1"
presented "never," "2''. Presented "Rarely," "3." Presented "Sometimes," "4." "Often, "to'' 5."
Presented ''Always." The robust qualitative and quantitative analyses done on the survey has
generated six overarching components of the teacher reflectivity, involving Affective, Cognitive,
Metacognitive, Practical, and Critical aspects.

Akbari et al. (2010) describe reflective teaching elements as practical factor that is related to fact of
reflection by using different tools like journal writings, talking to colleagues, teaching portfolios,
lesson reports, observation. Cognitive factor deals with conscious efforts for professional
development such as reading books and journals, action research, attending related conferences
and workshops. Knowing about learner’s affective and cognitive state is the theme of Learner
(affective) component. Meta-cognitive factor is about teachers’ awareness of their strength,
weaknesses, personality, and teaching profession. Lastly, socio-political aspects of teaching are
the theme of critical element (Akbari, et al., 2010).

Modified version of reflective teaching inventory (ELTRI) consists of five factors. As it is shown
in Appendix, items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6-measure practical reflectivity of teachers. Items 7, 8, 9, 10,
11, and 12 test cognitive reflectivity of teachers. Items 13, 14, and 15 measure teachers' affective
reflectivity. Items 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22 assess metacognitive factors of teachers’ reflectivity.
Items 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 refer to critical aspects of the teachers' reflectivity. The questionnaire
reports high reliability and validity as an evaluating survey for teacher reflectivity. The reliability
of the reflective teaching instrument conducted by Akbari et al. is reported to be .84.

3.6.1. Schutte et al. Emotional Intelligence Scale

The Assessing Emotions Scale or the Emotional Intelligence Scale is the Self-Report Emotional
Intelligence Test, that also called the Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale, is

based on Salovey and Mayer’s (1990) original model of emotional intelligence. Based on this
model emotional intelligence comprise of appraisal of emotion in the self and others, expression
of emotion, regulation of emotion in the self and others, and employment emotion in solving
problems (Schutte et al., 2009 p. 119)..

The Assessing Emotions Scale tries to evaluate characteristic, or trait, emotional intelligence. The
Assessing Emotions Scale is a self-report inventory consist of 33-item centering on typical
emotional intelligence. Subjects assess themselves on the items employing a five-point likert. The
standard time to complete the test is five minutes (Schutte et al., 2009 p. 119).

Items 5, 28 and 33 should computed by reverse coding. To acquire the total score all items should
sum up. Higher scores are 165 that showing more characteristic emotional intelligence and lower

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scores are 33 (Schutte et al., 2009). Subjects respond on a 5-point likert types scale, on which a “1”
presented “strongly disagree” and a “5” presented “strongly agree,” to show to what extent each
item defined them. All parts of the framework were demonstrated by multiple choices (Schutte et
al. 1998).

The most generally employed subscales emanated from the 33-item Assessing Emotions Scale are
those based on factors recognized by Petrides and Furnham (2000), Ciarrochi et al. (2001), and
Saklofske et al. (2003). These factor analytic studies proposed a four-factor solution for the 33
items. The four factors recognized by Ciarrochi et al. are perception of emotions, managing
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emotions in the self, social skills or managing others’ emotions, and using emotions. The items
consisting the subscales regarding these factors (Ciarrochi et al., 2001) are as follows: Perception
of Emotion (items 5, 9, 15, 18, 19, 22, 25, 29, 32, 33), Managing Own Emotions (items 2, 3, 10, 12,
14, 21, 23, 28, 31), Managing Others’ Emotions (items 1, 4, 11, 13, 16, 24, 26, 30), and Utilization of
Emotion (items 6, 7, 8, 17, 20, 27). All 33 items are subsuming in one of these four subscales
(Schutte et al., 2009 p. 119).

Procedure

The aim of current study is to explore the possible relationship between reflective teaching and
emotional intelligence. The strategy for this study was purposive sampling. A sample size of 165
participants was collected within ten months. Participation was voluntary. For purposes of this
study, I used two instruments to determine a level of emotional intelligence and reflectivity of
English teachers. English language teaching reflection inventory (Akbari et. al, 2010) and Schutte
Emotional Intelligence Scale (1998). The emotional intelligence was independent variable and
reflective teaching dependent variable. As a first step, the researcher collected the questionnaires
by self from institutions and schools and then calculated the scores. Sheets from participants who
were not completed the questionnaires completely or not specify their gender did not involve in
the study. The participant responses for the emotional intelligence and reflective teaching
questionnaires were sorted by unique identification code. This procedure resumed until the
sufficient number of sheets were gathered.

Data collection

The EQ and reflective teaching test administered to the teachers to acquire their level of
emotional intelligence to know their EI level and their reflectivity to assess their degree of
reflectivity in teaching and contrast different components of EI and reflective teaching variables.
Tests question because of cultural differences and to avoid any misunderstanding based on the
content of the questionnaire was translated in Persian. The questionnaires according to their
guidelines was used and computed. The questionnaires completed by participants in any order.
Participant involved in the study by fulfilling the questionnaires thoroughly.

Each questionnaire was administered to the teacher in person by one of the researchers or
through the supervisor of the institutes or manager of high school. The explanations provided to
the supervisors and teachers were general and based on the instructions of each questionnaire.
Whereas participant was more interested in the whole research process, more details of the study
were provided to them. It should be mentioned that in spite of tendency on the part of the
teachers and the supervisors of the institutes, number of teachers disinclined to answer the
questionnaires. Number of teachers either unanswered the questionnaires totally or left the sheet
totally blank. After the data coded by unique identifier, the scores were interred to an excel file.
Then, the obtained data from the emotional intelligence and reflective teaching instrument were

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transferred into PASW Statistic Grade Pack 18.0 for Windows (a Statistical Package of Social
Sciences product) for analysis and hypothesis testing. The whole process to complete the test is
no more than 20 minutes. Number of teachers who are contacted refused to complete the survey.
Data collection gets time near 10 months. Descriptive statistics and cronbach's alpha of
measurements were calculated. Researcher analyzed the obtained score to evaluate the sum,
mean, standard deviation, variance and internal consistency of scores.

Descriptive and inferential statistics of the data were calculated by PASW® Statistics Grad Pack
18.0 for Windows (a Statistical Package of Social Sciences product). The scores of two
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questionnaires was moved from an Excel spreadsheet into statistical program and computed to
examine the possible relationships between emotional intelligence and reflective teaching
statistical description, Pearson product-moment Correlation, linear regression and t test was run.

The Cronbach's alpha of translated version (from English to Persian) of the emotional intelligence
questionnaire was found to be .844 and Cronbach's alpha of the reflective teaching questionnaire
was found to be .892. The reliability index (Cronbach alpha) of construct of emotional intelligence
is: perception of emotions=.73, managing own emotions=.53, managing others emotions=.625,
utilizing emotions=.636. The reliability index (cronbach's alpha) of components of reflective
teaching is as follow: practical reflectivity=.748, cognitive reflectivity=.764, affective
reflectivity=.764, affective reflectivity=.643, metacognitive reflectivity=.803, critical
reflectivity=.836.

The average and standard deviation of emotional intelligence is respectively 130.64 and 11.42)
and the average and standard deviation of reflective teaching is respectively 93.98 and 15.66). The
average and standard deviation of variables construct is as follow, allowing for comparison
between scales with differing numbers of items: Perception of Emotion (M=38.27, SD=4.95),
Managing Own Emotions (M=35.89, SD=3.84), Managing Others’ Emotions (M=32.20, SD=3.61),
and Utilization of Emotion (M=24.25, SD=2.96); and for reflective teaching variable: practical
reflectivity (M=17.15, SD=4.17), cognitive reflectivity (M=27.39, SD=4.53), affective reflectivity
(M=10.19, SD=2.59), metacognitive reflectivity (M=27.39, SD=6.09), and critical reflectivity
(M=2082, SD=6.08). Table 3 below shows the descriptive statistics and reliability indexes of each
of the questionnaires used in this study.

Data analysis

This study examined the correlation coefficients between the independent variables, emotional
intelligence, and the dependent variable, teacher's reflective teaching.

To answer the research questions, primarily, I analyzed the population characteristics to ensure
the external validity of the findings. Then, I analyzed reliability of the questionnaires to
prove measurement validity.

Distribution of each variable response was analyzed to obtain the means, variance, and standard
deviations and to determinate the validity of surveys. Spss 18 was used for analysis of data.
Because the data collected from devices was in an Excel spreadsheet format, the obtained score
moved easily into this statistical program improving the ability to evaluate all statistical
inferences, successfully. Multiple regression analysis was used as the principal statistical
procedure on the collected data intends to investigate the hypotheses proposed in this study to
examine the existence relationship between components of reflective teaching (dependent
variable) and emotional intelligence (independent variable).

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Follow-up analyses of the findings (results) were conducted to obtain correlation of any two
subscales of variables. Likewise, t test was applied to answer the third and fourth research
question to find out if there is different between female and male regarding their emotional
intelligence and reflectivity in teaching. Regression analysis was administered to examine the
null hypothesis. Findings did not prove the null hypothesis. Consequently, the null hypothesis
was rejected. However, result didn't demonstrate the expected values but it shows the significant
relationship between variables and some of their components.

3. Results and Discussion

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As stated earlier, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship among the variables
emotional intelligence and reflective teaching.

To investigate the research hypotheses of the study, a simple and multiple regression analysis
and t test analysis was run which provides the following results:

To answer the first research question linear regression analysis applied. As the results of the
Multiple Regression Analysis (R=127) indicate, emotional intelligence can predict teacher
reflectivity but it's not high level of prediction.The independent variable, emotional intelligence
significantly predicted dependent variable, emotional intelligence, F (1, 164) = 4.984, p< .05,
variables significantly contributing to the prediction. The beta weights, presented in Table,
suggest that emotional intelligence contribute most to predicting reflective teaching.

The standardized beta coefficient (B=.172, t=4.550, p= <0.05) which reveals that this model was
significant. This table also checks for multicollinearity in our multiple linear regression models.

Although, this study outcome did not show strong relationships between total emotional
intelligence and reflective teaching, however, some component of emotional intelligence showed
significant association with all the components and total of reflective teaching.

Table 1

Model summaries of Regression Analysis for EQ and RF‎

Variables ‎R²‎ Model B SE P

EQ .091 (Constant) 54.172 13.837 000

PE -.559 .282 .049

Others .315 .394 .425

Own .885 .370 .018

UE .796 .440 .072

RF .223 (Constant) 107.204 5.257 000

Cognitive -.378 .231 .104

Metacognitive 1.395 .211 000

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Affective -.187 .385 .627

Critical -.098 .150 .512

Practical -.225 .245 .359

Note. EQ = Emotional Intelligence; RF = Reflective Teaching; PE = Perception of Emotions; others

= Managing others Emotions; own = Managing own Emotions; U = Utilizations of Emotions
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Results from correlation and regression analyses revealed there is a slightly positive significant
relationship between emotional intelligence and reflective teaching. Further analysis indicates
that there are significant relationships between some components of emotional intelligence and
reflective teaching. T-test analysis showed there is no significant difference between female and
male based on their degree of emotional intelligence and their reflectivity.

To answer the second research question multiple regression analysis was run between emotional
intelligence and components of reflective teaching. The multiple correlation coefficients reported
to be. 472. Result of multiple regression analysis (R=.472) indicate, components of reflective
teaching can significantly predict emotional intelligence. The adjusted R squared value was .223.
This indicates that the model explained 22% of the variance of reflective teaching.

The model of reflective teaching components significantly predicts emotional intelligence. The
prediction model was statistically significant, F (5, 159) = 9.120, p < .001, and accounted for
approximately 19% of the variance can predicted from emotional intelligence (R2 = .223, Adjusted
R2 = .198).

Inspection of the structure coefficients suggests that, with the possible exception of metacognitive
(beta = .553), which strongly predict the dependent variable; the other predictors were not strong
indicators of the dependent variable described by the model.

Moreover, multiple regression analysis was run between reflective teaching and components of
emotional intelligence. Result of multiple regression analysis (R=.302) indicate, emotional
intelligence components can significantly predict teacher's reflectivity. The adjusted R squared
value was .091. This indicates that the model explained 09% of the variance in reflective teaching.

As it can be observed from the analysis of the Multiple Regression Analysis for the constituents
(R =302), perception of emotion (b=-.177, p<0.05) and (b=.217, p<0.05) the constituents of
emotional intelligence show an acceptable predicting power for reflective teaching.

Multiple regression was conducted to determine the best linear combination emotional
intelligence components score, for predicting reflective teaching. Here, F (4,160) = 4.002, p<.05
which is less than 0.05 and indicates that, overall, the regression model statistically significantly
predicts the outcome variable. (i, e., it is a good fit for the data). The combination of variables
significantly predicted reflective teaching.

The adjusted R² is. 068 with the R²= .091 that means that the linear regression explains 91% of the
variance in data. The R² value indicates how much of the total variation in the dependent
variable, reflective teaching can explain by the independent variables, emotional intelligence
components. In this case, 091% of dependent variable can explains by independent variables,
reflective teaching. The adjusted R squared indicates how much of variance in the dependent

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variable, reflective teaching can be explained by the independent variable, emotional intelligence
components.

Beta expresses the relative importance of each independent variable in standardized terms. Result
shows that only perception of emotions (beta = -.177) and managing own emotions (beta = .217)
are significant predictors, moreover result showed that managing own emotions has a higher
impact than other variables.

To answer the third and fourth research question whether teachers' emotional intelligence and
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reflective teaching differ among males and females participants, t-tests were run. As table
displays gender did not plays significant role between participants of this study. Because, the sig
(2 tailed) value is below .1 the coefficient is significant at 90% confidence. The mean difference of
EQ between female and male (3. 31818) implies that we can say, with 95% of confidence, that the
mean EQ for females is 3.31818 higher than that for males.

To answer the forth research question of this study, which stated, “is there any significant
difference between teachers’ reflective teaching with respect to their gender, t test were run.
Result shows there is no significant difference among English teachers regarding their gender.
Because the sig (2 tailed) value is not below .05 the coefficient is not significant. The mean
difference of 07071 implies that we can say, that there is significant difference among teachers'
reflectivity. It indicates that mean for female just .07071 higher male.

Follow-up Analysis

Therefore, subscale scores were calculated for each of the subscale of emotional intelligence and
reflective teaching. After computing the subscale scores, six subscales of emotional intelligence
and reflective teaching showed high significant correlation with each other.

Table 2 contains the correlational relationships of subsets of variables. Correlation in both

subscales of variables is relatively moderate. The results indicate that relationship exist between
the some components of RF and EQ.

Table 2

Correlation of EI and RF construct

Measure 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

1. EQ _ .172* .801** .752** .764** .615** .011 .422** .085 .069 .024

2. RF _ _ -.004 .139 .229** .202** .732**.729** .688**.727** .717**

3. PE _ _ _ .461** .434** .297**-.070 .239** -.091 -.020 -.116

4. Others _ _ _ _ .458** .325**-.010 .315** .107 .096 -.014

5. Own _ _ _ _ _ .371** .063 .431** .160* .067 .131

6. UE _ _ _ _ _ _ .083 .284** .144 .098 .132

7. Cognitive_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .421**.389**.322**.544**

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8. MC _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .440**.375**.395**

9. Affective _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .413**.478**

10. Critical _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .275**

11. Practical_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_
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Note: EQ = Emotional Intelligence and RF = Reflective Teaching; PE = Perception of Emotions;

others =

Managing others Emotions; own = Managing own Emotions; U = Utilizations of Emotions

* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Overview

The serious problem teachers’ deal is to develop efficient instruction condition to grow learners
who are ready to cope with real life challenges. Knowing the cognitive and affective effect of
learning to make condition for efficient instruction of any individual is critical (Dewey, 1938).
Teachers should show their expertise and knowledge to provide instant and substantial role in
promotion of educational system. Having knowledge about the predict value of reflective
thinking and emotional intelligence on performance, faculty can embody strategies to develop
more operative organizational learning programs (Cherniss, 2001; Mitchell-White, 2010).

Involving lessons about using emotional intelligence in syllabus of pre service teachers will help
them to improve their performance. Reflective thinking (that reflective teaching is sub issue of it)
and emotional intelligence theoretical foundations propose a direct relationship between the
cognitive and affective domains of learning (Mitchell-White, 2010; Bar-On, 2000; Salovey&
Mayer, 1990).

Instructor should look perfect and skillful in EI and employ it in their personal life before they
question or expected to model it in the classroom. According Kaufhold (2005), Justice & Espinoza
(2007), and Palomera, et to.al. (2008), EI training must be a mandatory section of teacher training
programs (McCuin, 2012).

The fundamental purpose of this study was to find answer to this question: If there is any
relationship between reflective teaching and emotional intelligence? Result of regression analysis
(R=172, p=.027) affirmed there is slightly significant relationship between emotional intelligence
and reflective teaching.

Further analysis indicated the existence of significant relationship between some subcomponents
of emotional intelligence and reflective teaching. These results indicate a relationship between
teachers’ level of emotional intelligence and their reflectivity. The result of correlation was
expected to be higher.

This study result is somewhat at odds with the theoretical deliberations about the variables
literature and demonstrates a discrepancy between theory and practice.

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I think this result back to this reason that self-report questionnaire just show the level of
emotional intelligence competence and according to Goleman there is different between
emotional intelligence competence and performance. According to Goleman model (1998) which
views this construct as a wide array of competencies and skills that drive managerial
performance, measured by multi-rater assessment (Boyatzis et al., 2001); If someone have high
emotional intelligence score it's a start of life long effort to show it in performance.

As Bar-On (2004) mentioned he propose ESI model to the potential for performance (original
emphasis), not to performance itself. Emotional competence is “a learned capability based on
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emotional intelligence that results in outstanding performance at work” (Goleman, 1998).

Consider the IQ inference that a student can have excellent spatial abilities but never learn
geometry. It can be happen in EI a person can be highly empathic but can't handling customers
good because EI ability is necessary but it’s not enough to manifest competence in any one of the
four EI domains. In addition, it can happen in teaching and particularly in teaching English.
These skills should be learned and sequently employ in real context. Level of emotional
intelligence shows the potential ability of individual but emotional competence shows capability
of individual. By learning and mastering the practical skills that underlie the four EI domains,
and translating it into life, can show person's capabilities (Goleman, 2001).

Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) distinguishes the feelings that

might facilitate or meddle with the successful performance of various cognitive and behavioral
tasks (Facilitation).

Moreover, it can be because teachers that involved in this study didn't have enough information
about both of variables. The notion emotional intelligence was unknown concepts for most of
them. In addition, they didn't have any information about reflective teaching. Therefore, they did
not know how they could apply it in their classes.

Accordingly, as I see the participants didn't show high emotional intelligence performance in
their teaching. I see it does can be the main cause of this result. In addition, participants did not
show high reflectivity in their teaching. Some of them that had information about emotional
intelligence and reflective teaching mentioned it is back to their constraint but I think there is no
good motivation for teachers to enhance their information that is one items of reflective teaching.
Many of the teachers believed we could engage students without necessarily having a good
relationship with them. They do not try to create good relation with their students. Some of them
try to develop good relation but fail. That is because of lack of information. They do not try to
assess update articles and don't read the new books. They just strike on schoolbooks. In addition,
there is in-service classes to improve teachers’ performance but this classes conduct by teachers
themselves. Therefore, it is not add something to them. I think another reason is that they do not
have enough information about applying emotional intelligence and reflective teaching. I think
should apply rules to teach courses in universities that teachers need it in real environment.

There is number of reasons that draw to these low correlations have been described in the
previous paragraph. In addition to reasons that noted, this result can be back to participants
neglect in answering the questions. The participants not paying enough attention to what they
are doing, so make mistakes in filling questionnaires. It can be one of main cause of this result
because they were reluctant to fill the questionnaires. Beside the reasons that pointed, another
cause for this result can be the participant tendency to show the certain character for them or
choose a perfect answer.
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Implications for Social Change

Schools are substantial organization established to improve the potential capability of society and
efflorescence of genius.

The major function of schools is to grow educate and responsible people. Social change cannot
happen if any individual reflect on him/her performance. This change to better life should start
from schools. The schools mission is to create effective training to learners who are ready to have
instantaneous valuable role in their society, become effective member of society, and be able to
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meet their responsibility challenges in life. This study measured emotional intelligence and
reflectivity of teachers that accurately evaluates the features of teachers that exactly concern
performance of teachers. Prominently, this study recognized insufficient knowledge of teachers
and incorrect way of evaluate their performance can have a perpetual effect on teachers
performance and their learners. If teachers’ performance is not evaluated appropriately, it can
have a prominent effect on learners particularly and on society in general.

Teachers’ performance can better evaluate by devise methods that assess their awareness and
their capacity in acquiring adequate degree of performance in different aspects of their teaching
for fulfilling outcome expectation.

Schools should constantly attempt to find ways to update the instructional context and
educational activities to certify the future of a society. For improvement the educational training,
instructor must know more about learning process then change their behaviors to effectively
perform in real situation. Such studies are necessary to reach this goal.

Emotional intelligence is not fixed, freeze concept but it can be improved (Boyatzis, 2000). This
fact proposes some suggestion for policy makers, parents, language teachers, and materials
developers. AsBar-On (2007) mentioned: it is necessary to design training programs based on the
theoretical investigation and empirical experience to enhance and modify intelligent manner of
learners, emotionally and socially. He emphasized on involving emotional intelligence in
instructional system for reach a more efficient, creative, and humane society (Bar-On, 2007). I
think there is urgent need for both parents and teachers and especially English language teachers
to know more about emotional intelligence value. Teachers should speak about emotions with
children, have a good behavior with them, give children promoting scaffolding, and promote
them learn more skills in this respect (Saarni, 2007).

Implication of this research does not pertain to the teachers of second language learning but are
regarded to education, in general.

Recommendations for Action and Further Study

Efficient instruction promote transmit of learning and application to job performance. The
procedure of educational performance assessment should sufficiently measure skills performance
to identify if skill levels are designed for correct application (Mitchell-White, 2010). The teacher’s
performance evaluation needs a revolution. Different aspects of instruction process that influence
the teachers’ performance should take into account. Therefore, in evaluation system of teachers
should concentrate on subjects that mirror actual performance of teachers. In addition, university
courses should be reconsidered to subjects that are more practical. Practical courses continuously
extent teachers’ performance. Therefore, consideration should be given to increase teachers-
learners performance.

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Further consideration should be taking into account to determine if the protocols differ from
those used in schools. The results of the additional analyses can be useful for future studies
examining the trends in the relationships between emotional intelligence and reflective teaching.

4. Conclusion

The magnitude of emotional intelligence and reflection on teachers and learners performance
cannot be overlooked. The primary duty of educational system is providing generative and
resourceful member for society. Efficient person that make better future for themselves and their
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world. This study examined the assumption that if there is possible relationship between
emotional intelligence and reflective teaching. Result showed there is slightly relationship
between emotional intelligence and reflective teaching. Notwithstanding that outcome of this
study showed negative relationship between some components of variables, some components
showed positive significant.

Moreover, findings of current study determined that women and men have their own strengths
and weaknesses in total and several aspects of emotional intelligence and reflective teaching.
Based on the results of this study, we can suggest that EQ level of female are greater than male
but t test analysis indicates that the difference is not significant.

There is need for conducting further research to scrutinize the relationship of these constructs to
the teaching and learning process. The challenge is not only teachers level of emotional
intelligence and reflective teaching but successfully involving in teaching-learning situations, and
prominently, employing their new knowledge and skills operatively meet the challenge of real
world.

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THE IMPACT OF LOGICAL INTELLIGENCE

ON IRANIAN ADVANCED EFL LEARNERS'
PARAGRAPH WRITING ABILITY ACROSS GENDER
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Homa Zomorrodpour
MA in TEFL
Department of English Language, College of Humanities, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University,
Rasht, Iran
Homazomorrodpour@gmail.com

Ramin Rahimy
Assistant Professor
Department of English Language, College of Humanities,Tonekabon Branch, Islamic Azad
University, Tonekabon, Iran
Rahimy49@yahoo.com

Abstract

The present study sought to investigate the possible link between iranian efl learners' paragraph
writing ability and their logical intelligence.to do this, the oxford placement test (opt) was
employed and 40 advanced learners were selected (20 males and 20 females). The multiple
intelligence developmental assessment scales (Midas) (shearer, 1994), was used as another
material in this study. Then participants were given a topic and were asked to write a paragraph
of at least 150 words.based on independent samples t-test analysis the results of the study
indicated that there was a statistically significant and positive link between male participants'
performance on paragraph writing task and their logical intelligence. Although the current study
failed to stablish a link between female learners' paragraph writing ability and their logical
intelligence, it is recommended that English teachers consider the role of l1 and provide more
effective activities in line with individual differences in the class.

Key words: multiple intelligence, logical intelligence, paragraph writing, efl learner

1. Introduction
Every society recognizes that people are different. In education, this thought is taken one step
further to acknowledge that everyone learns differently. This fact becomes important both inside
and outside the classroom because recognizing that students learn differently and modifying
curriculum and instruction to better enhance learning opportunities will inevitably assist in

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students' success (Naseri and Nejad Ansari, 2013). Before the 1970's and 1980's researchers did
not actively investigate how people, more specifically students, learn. In1983, Howard Gardner
developed a model of teaching that revolves around the differing potential each student has
instilled inside of them, called Multiple Intelligences Theory (MIT). His theory classifies human
intellectual competencies in an extraordinarily new way, with more specific criteria than the
traditional choice between ''verbal" or "mathematical" (Hyun, 2000). It appeals to many different
kinds of minds, and involves the idea of intelligence rather than aptitude or ability. MI theory
encourages educators to ask not how smart a child is, but rather in what ways are they smart
(Rettig, 2005).
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Despite the fact that all four language capabilities are significant in learning development,
writing performance is the single ability that has the chance for being measured systematically.
Furthermore, writing performance is an ability which is observable and its information is usually
simply collectable. Moreover, writing performance is a talent which students have better control
on it and also they have the chance of monitoring themselves and retaining their knowledge
during their performance (Krashen, 1981).

Considering writing as a mix of some distinct human capacities, Gardner suggests some valuable
descriptions of what some of those may be. It is obvious that we cannot guarantee a good writing
by increasing the amount of anything as well as the number of “intelligences”. According to
Grow (1990), linguistic, the logical-mathematical, and the two personal intelligences, are four of
Gardner's intelligences that are clearly related to writing. Also in their research, Ahmadian and
Hosseini (2012) emphasized that linguistic and interpersonal intelligences positively correlate
with writing ability. Therefore by proving multiple intelligences' positive link with students'
writing skill, there can be a new tendency in language teaching, especially teaching writing in
order to develop students' writing skill by paying attention to students' differences. (Sajjadi Rad,
Khojaste and Kafipour, 2014).

2. Review of the Related Literature

2.1 Multiple Intelligence and L2 learning

Increasing popularity of English as an international language calls for innovative approaches in

English language teaching classroom. It is no longer appropriate to teach all students with a
cookie-cutter formula. Diversity of learners and their unique needs call for implementation of
MIT to the language classroom (Dastgoshadeh&Jalilzadeh, 2011).

According to Maftoon and NajafiSarem (2012) quoted from Ellis (1985) second language (L2)
learners are different. They learn with different speed and different results. There are many
explanations for that issue. The general factors that influence second language learning are: age,
aptitude and intelligence, cognitive style, attitudes, motivation and personality. In recent years,
there has been a substantial amount of interest in individual differences among foreign language
learners. Although there are many ways in which learners can vary, intelligence is often thought
to be one of the most significant predictors of language learning success.

Gardner's (1983, 1999) broad model/theory of intelligence, labeled as Multiple Intelligence(s)

(MI), views intelligence as a combination of different components. In this view, intelligence is
"the ability to solve problems, or to create products, that are valued within one or more cultural
settings" (Gardner, 2011). As Armstrong (2009, p.120) contends, the application of MI can be

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influential since it can "affect students’ behavior in the classroom simply by creating an
environment where individual needs are recognized and attended to throughout the school day."

2.2. Logical intelligence

Looking at the history of learning, especially language learning, everyone acknowledges that
learners are different in second language learning. To account for this difference, many
philosophers were traditionally replete with the idea that since individuals are different in their
cognition ability, they vary in how successful they are in learning. In other words, they assumed
that those who are high at linguistic and logical-mathematical abilities can reliably better go
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through the process of learning (Mayer, Robert and Barsade, 2008). According to Gradner (1983)
The logical-mathematical intelligence seems particularly involved in problem-solving and in
grasping, drawing out, and showing the implications of an event.

It's claimed that logical/mathematical intelligence is the true manifestation of the Multiple
Intelligences theory. In other word, MI theory is represented mostly through the
logical/mathematical intelligence (Veemana and Spaansa, 2005).

Gardner(1993) described logical/mathematical intelligence as the ability to study problems, to

carry out mathematical operations logically and analytically, and to conduct scientific
investigations. Gardner identified mathematicians, logicians, and scientists as persons who
would possess high levels of this hypothesized intelligence. The kinds of processes used in the
service of logical-mathematicalintelligenceincludecategorization, classification,
inference,generalization, calculation, and hypothesis testing. People who prefer to use their
logical-mathematical intelligence usually do well on standardized comprehension/written
language tests. They like to solve abstract problems and often do so by trial and error.

2.3. Paragraph Writing and Logical Intelligence

Writing is one of the most challenging skills for L2 learners to master and the important roles that
one can play begin to evolve when we look at how the brain sets out to experience the nature of
writing (Qualter, Gardner, Pope, Hutchinson, &Whiteley, 2012).Writing as a productive skill is
more complicated than it seems at first and often seems to be the hardest of the skills, since it
involves not just a graphic representation of speech, but the development and presentation of
thoughts in a structured way (Gabrielatos, 2002). The ideas in the paragraph must be presented in
logical order by using transition words or connecting words which indicate the relationship
between the ideas. That’s what many teachers find difficult to teach and, as a result of this, many
learners do not enjoy.
As Kern (2000) points out, “writing is no longer seen simply as a way of recording thoughts,
feelings, and ideas, but also as a key means of generating and exploring new thoughts and ideas.”
So writing is viewed as a complex, recursive and creative process which is essentially learned, not
taught. As a result of such a view, learners are taught to become active writers, that is to say, to
generate thoughts or ideas and move actively and dynamically throughout their composing
processes, that is, from the generation of ideas through to the editing of the final text. Hence, the
main role of the teacher, is first to foster learners' creativity, and then to guide them in the process
of drafting, revising and editing their important problems. These are writing activities Gardner
might categorize as logical-mathematical operations.

Logical-mathematical Precision in language is different from the precision of thought demanded

by the logical-mathematical intelligence, but the two support one another. Mathematicians,

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Gardner points out, must not only be able to reason precisely, they must also be able to write
down their proofs with precision. The idea of the logical-mathematical intelligence directs one's
attention to the precision of language and precision of thought in a piece of writing, whether the
sustained structure of a long work, the organization of paragraphs, sentences, or transitions
(Grow, 1990).

The most successful application of the logical-mathematical intelligence, Gardner suggests, is

scientific method, "the practice of making careful measurements, devising statements about the
way in which the universe works, and then subjecting these statements to systematic
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confirmation" .These three steps offer an interesting perspective on the stages in certain kinds of
writing. You "make careful measurements" by collecting information. You "devise statements"
about how these facts go together in a thesis, outline, or method of approach. You "confirm your
hypothesis" through additional research and revision, and through writing the results in a
convincing way. If you can't "confirm your hypothesis," you shift to a different approach (Jordan,
2007). Lev Vygotsky in his "Thought and Language" points out that writing and thinking are
interwoven. Writing is a complex process that allows writers to explore thoughts and ideas, and
make them visible and concrete (Saeidi and karvandi, 2014).

3. Methods of research
3.1. Participants

The population of this study consisted of 80 male and female nonnative speakers of English with
the same Persian L1 background.The data for this study were collected from students who
studied English at the advanced level in Shokouh institute of Astara. To make sure that the
subjects were similar in terms of their language proficiency an Oxford Placement Test was
conducted and 20 male and 20 female learners were selected as sample groups.
3.2. Materials

The instrument employed for data collection purposes of the study includedan Oxford Placement
Test (OPT) which is a standard test that provides teachers with a reliable and efficient means of
placing students at the start of a course. The OPT test were administered to 80 EFL learners to put
participants into homogeneous groups at advanced level. Then, 20 male and 20 female subjects
whose scores were one standard deviation above the mean were chosen.

In order to measure students' logical intelligence the Persian version of MIDAS (multiple
intelligences development assessment scales) was utilized. This instrument consists of 119 Likert-
type questions (from a to f). The Persian version of MIDAS was obtained from its designer’s
representative in Iran. It consists of eight scales, i.e., Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Kinesthetic,
Linguistic, Logical-Mathamatical, Musical, Naturalist and Spatial, and contains 119 questions to
which six alternatives are offered. For practical purposes, only the Logical Mathematical Scale
(LMS) of the Persian MIDAS was used in the present study. The LMS comprises 17 questions.
The test takers were required to read a question such as “Are you good at multiplying three digit
numbers in your head?” and then choose one of the six alternatives, No, Fairly good, Good, Very
good, Excellent, and I don't know.

Then all the participants were asked to write a paragraph of at least 150 words about the given
topic within 20 minutes at one sitting and under the same test conditions. The topic was chosen
from a book called ‘‘Paragraph Development” edited Arnaudet& Barrett (1990). Learners were
allowed to use dictionaries and were given paper for note taking. In the present study, the

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assessment was based on Jacobs, Zinkgraf, Wormuth, Harfield, &Hughey’s (1981) criteria. The
guidelines provided by Jacobs et al. (1981) contains five criteria: Content has the highest score
(30), and the lowest score goes with mechanics (5), organization and vocabulary have the same
score (20), and language use (25), which totally make 100. At the end The result were analyzed
through using Independent Samples T_Test (or independent t-test, for short, which compares the
means between two unrelated groups on the same continuous, dependent variable) in both
groups to determine if logical intelligence has any impact on learners’ paragraph writing ability
or not.
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3.3. Procedure

The procedure applied in this study was, firstly, the selection of participants from advanced EFL
learners of Shokouh institute of Astara. To this end, a group of 80 students including males and
females were selected. The Oxford Placement Test was employed to homogenize learners
regarding their proficiency in English. Having administered a standard OPT test, the researcher
reduced the participants to 40 (20 males and 20 females) out of 80. Accordingly, participants
whose scores fell one Standard Deviation above the mean were selected as a more homogeneous
group.

Then the MIDAS questionnaire was administered. The test contained likert-type questions and
the subjects were assumed to choose the best answer based on their desire and interest. The
questions were all related to problem-solving activities that measure the subjects' logics,
planning, and mathematical ability and answer sheets were entered into SPSS for scoring. The
participants’ scores on MI were obtained in the form of numeric values ranging from 0 to 100 (as
defined by Dr. Shearer himself).

The subjects in both male and female group were assigned to write a paragraph of at least 150
words in 20 minutes about the given topic. Two raters read each composition independently,
then for the ease of assessing and following the same scale of scoring, they followed the same
proposed index. This index was Jacobs et al.’s (1981) scoring profile.

Table 1. Descriptive analysis for the male participants

Intelligence
Logical

Std. Error
N Mean Std. Deviation Mean
ce
Intelligen
Logical
High

17 2.36477
91.7647 9.75019
Writing

ce
Intelligen
Logical
Low

3 4.40959
78.3333 7.63763

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The above table describes the male participants’ writing scores regarding their logical
intelligence. As the table shows, out of 20 male participants 17 participants were classified as high
logical intelligence and 3 of them were classified as low. The mean writing scores of the male
sample who were categorized as high logical intelligent, equaled 91.07647. On the other hand, the
low logical intelligent learners in the male group had a mean score of 78.3333 which is
considerably lower than that of the first group.

Table 2. Descriptive analysis for the female participants

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Intelligence
Logical

Std. Error
N Mean Std. Deviation Mean
ce
Intelligen
Logical
High

12 2.51159
74.3333 8.70040
Writing

ce
Intelligen
Logical
Low

8 3.27838
69.6250 9.27266

The above table shows the same information in terms of logical intelligence degree and the learners’
performance on the writing test for female participants. As it is seen, 12 female learners were
classified as high logical intelligent learners while 8 of them were considered as low logical
intelligent learners according to the findings from the questionnaire. The mean scores of
paragraph writing ability among the high group members equaled 74.3333 while the mean score
of the writing ability for the low group equaled 69.6250. This could mean that the high logical
intelligent females scored relatively higher than then low logical intelligent group.

In order to analyze the data inferentially to compare the result of the questionnaire with the male
and female participants’ performance on the writing ability, two t-tests were run to find out how
the logical intelligence affected this skill. Since the descriptive statistics dose not investigate the
categories under question profoundly, the inferential data analysis was run. The following tables
depict the analysis findings:

Table 3. Independent sample T-test for the male participants intelligence and writing
ability

Levene's Test
for Equality of Variances
t-test for Equality of Means

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Difference
Std. Error

Difference Lower
the
Interval of
Confidence
95%
Df

Mean Difference
Sig. (2-tailed)
Sig
F

Upper
Writing

0.491

2.249

13.43137

5.97330

0.88194
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assumed
variances
Equal

0.037

25.98081
18
0.494

2.684

-1.74606
3.282

0.068

13.43137

5.00366
assumed
variances
Equal

28.60880
not

As the table shows, to investigate the performance of the male group of students in their writing
test an independent sample t-test was run. The Levene's test assumes the equality of the
variances. This is a test that determines if the two variables have about the same or different
amounts of variability between scores. Accordingly, the significance level came to .491 which
confirms the equality of the variances. The mean difference equaled 13.43137 which is relatively a
large difference. The t-test section of the table shows that the significance level equaled.037. This
meansthat there is a statistically significant relation between your two conditions. This rejects the
assumption of effect of logical intelligence having no effect on group’s writing performance on
the test. That is to say the logical intelligence has an impact on the writing ability of male leaners.
Sig=0.037<α = 0.05

Table 4. Independent sample T-test for the female participants intelligence and
writing ability

Levene's Test
for Equality of
Variances
t-test for Equality of Means
Difference
Std. Error

Difference Lower
the
Interval of
Confidence
95%
Df

Mean Difference
Sig. (2-tailed)
Sig
F

Upper

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Writing

assumed
variances
Equal

0.836

1.155

18

4.70833

4.07474

- 3.85237
0.044

0.263

13.26904
1.140

4.70833

- 4.12307
14.459

0.273

4.12978
assumed
variances
Equal

13.53974
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not

As mentioned before the Levene’s section of the t-test demonstrates the equality of the variances
under question. The level of significance for the Levene’s test equaled 0.836 which holds the
assumption that the variances are equal. This number confirms this assumption. The second
section of the above table refers to the t-test which shows the significance level was computed as
0.263 which in underlined in the table. Since this amount is larger than 0.05, the null hypothesis
of the study is proved. It can be observed that there is no statistically significant relation between
the two variables of writing ability and logical intelligence. It can be derived that the differences
between the means are likely due to chance and not likely due to the logical intelligence.This
could imply that high logical intelligence has no effect on the females’ writing ability.
Sig=0.263 >α =0.05

5. Discussion

Regarding the role of logical intelligence in paragraph writing this investigation has a number of
important findings. First, considering the role of gender in the impact of logical intelligences on
L2 writing, results indicated that, while controlling for gender, for male learners high levels of
logical intelligence were associated with high levels of L2 paragraph writing ability. Significant
relationships between MI and writing performance has also been confirmed in the study
undertaken by Saeidi and Carvandi (2014) who investigated the possible relationships between
EFL learners multiple intelligences and their performance on reasoning gap writing task and
concluded that such a relationship does exist, and MI and writing performance are related, but
from among the eight intelligences only logical-mathematical, interpersonal and intrapersonal
intelligences have more statistically significant relationships with the writing
performance.Results of the study are also in line with that of Khani and Davoodi (2012) who tried
to investigate the existing of any possible relationship between logical/mathematical intelligence
and metacognitive strategies Iranian EFL learners used in their reading comprehension process.
They also investigated the effect of gender on the relationship. Data analysis revealed that
logical/ mathematical intelligence had a significant relationship with metacognitive strategies in
EFL context. Moreover, males and females, except for logical/mathematical intelligence usage,
didn't have any significant difference in the application of metacognitive strategies.

Although this study failed to establish a link between Logical intelligence and the writing ability
of female participants, multiple intelligence entails an active involvement with educational
reform in which students with different intellectual abilities and intelligence types can benefit
more from different educational methods intertwined with MI approaches that cater for their
distinct needs and capabilities. This sensitivity subsequently can pave the way for jump starting

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students' achievement. Human minds are highly differentiated. It is particularly fallacious to
evaluate human mind from just one perspective, to raise the issue of a single intelligence or a
single problem-solving capacity. If education opts for the achievement of its highlighted aims,
what can be regarded as extraordinarily significant would be the recognition of the students'
unique capacities, which involves judgment about the potentials of the individuals and how each
can be nurtured in its most effective way. No two learners are alike, and teachers must realize
that a single teaching method will not work in a classroom. Having said that, Gardner's (1983) MI
theory has educational implications through which learners' particular intelligence types are to
illuminate educational paths right from the start to enable the teacher to adapt his/her teaching
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styles to the intelligences and learning preferences that inform individual learners. These results
also yield pedagogical implications for foreign language teachers among which the importance of
teachers’ knowledge of the relationship between intelligence types and acquiring basic language
skills is the leading one.

References
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IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS' ATTITUDE

TOWARDS DIFFERENT ENGLISHES
IN TERMS OF
LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY
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Sondos Mansouri
Department of Foreign Languages, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University,
Isfahan, Iran
University Boulevard, Arghavanieh, Iey Street, Isfahan 8155139998, Iran
s.mansouri@khuisf.ac.ir

Abstract
The current study aimed to investigate the attitude of iranian efl learners towards different
varieties of english and explore whether language proficiency had an effect on such an
attitude. For the purpose of this study, 100 intermediate and advanced Iranian efl
learners age-ranged from 18 to 25 formed the sample population. The two groups of
subjects responded to a questionnaire sought their attitudes towards English varieties.
Then, a one-way repeated measures anova as well as an independent-samples t-test were
run on the collected data. The main conclusion of this study was that iranian efl learners
do not believe in just one world english anymore; instead, they are approaching to have
the idea of world englishes and as such are accepting other english varities too for their
communication with people all over the world. Thus the idea of the Standard English is
losing its importance. The second conclusion drawn which was related to the effect of
language proficiency on the learners' attitudes reflected some dissimilarities in the
participants’ attitudes toward different varieties of english claiming that advanced
learners showed more positive attitudes to english varieteis than intermediate learners
did.

Keywords: attitude; Standard English; world Englishes; English varieties; language proficiency

1. Introduction

English as the language of international communication has been spreading all over the world,
and since any transmission of language brings about transformation (Widdowson, 2003),
this spread has resulted in the existence of different varieties of English, each as a
consequence of English contact with a certain language, culture and community. The
interesting point is that the speakers of these new Englishes who use English to
communicate with fellow non-native speakers far outnumber the native speakers
(Widdowson, 2003). The coinage and promotion of the term World Englishes is mainly
associated with Kachru (1982). The spread of English around the world has led to the
need to study the attitudes held by users of English in what Kachru (1985) called the

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Outer and the Expanding Circles. The context of Kachru’s (1985) three concentric circles
model for acknowledging English language norms within particular English using
communities, include the Inner Circle (e.g. Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia
and New Zealand), the Outer Circle (the former British and US colonies) and the
Expanding Circle (the rest of the world).

The underlying philosophy of Kachruvian approach argues for the “importance of inclusivity
and pluricentricity in approaches to linguistics of new varieties of English” (Bolton, 2004,
p. 367). In addition, in an attempt to empower new Englishes, this theory calls the labels
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'native speaker' and 'native and standard English' into serious questioning and denies
any special status for them.

As for the context of ELT, the learners all over the world are, today, faced with different varieties
of English and naturally develop attitudes toward them. Now, what is the significance of
such attitudes to the theory of World Englishes and why should they matter? Timmis
(2007) argues that the variety of a target language a learner acquires and prefers to speak
in is influenced by his or her attitude towards that variety. In other words, the more
positive your attitude is toward a certain variety, the more motivated you get in
conforming to it. The problem here, based on the ideology of World Englishes, pops up
when such

conformity is not in line with your needs and motivations for learning English, i.e., you do your
best to learn that variety with all its details simply because it is said to be the native and
standard one. Still, a more important problem is that of identity; it follows that when a
learner considers a certain variety to be the best or standard one and thus emphasizes on
sounding like its native speaker, his or her cultural identity gets at stake.

Many researchers such as Hiraga, 2005, Bradley and Bradley, 2001, Labov, 2001, Bayard, 1999,
and Garrett et al., 1999 worked on attitudes of Inner Circle speakers towards varieties of
English. But only recently a relatively few studies focused on the attitudes of non-Inner
Circle speakers. McKenzie (2008) for example, studied the Japanese respondents’ ratings
of speakers of varieties of English. In Europe, Hartikainen (2000), Ladegaard (1998) and
Dalton-Puffer et al. (1997) utilized verbal-guise tests to elicit the language attitudes of
students. Hartikainen (2000) also studied senior secondary school students’ attitudes
towards six standard varieties of spoken English in Finland. Oller, Baca, & Vigil (1977) in
their study on Mexican Americans in the southwest found a negative relationship
between attitudes towards the target language and language proficiency; they concluded
the more proficient their students were in ESL, the more negative they were toward
Americans. Contrary to this, Javdani et al. (2009) claimed that American English is very
popular among Iranian EFL learners; despite the negative reflection of Americans in the
press, this variety of English was more popular among proficient students indicating
their linguistic competence which enabled them to differentiate their favorite varieties.
Talebi Habib Abadi & Heidari Darani (2016) conducted a study to explore the attitude of
male and female Iranian EFL learners towards English varieties.

And this study aimed at investigating Iranian EFL learners' attitudes toward different Englishes
in terms of language proficiency and attempted to answer the following research
questions: 1) What is the attitude of Iranian EFL learners towards different Englishes?

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and 2) Do Iranian EFL learners' attitude towards different Englishes differ in terms of
language proficiency?

2. Review of the Literature

2.1 World Englishes

Kachru's (1992) model of the spread of English is one of the most influential proposals for the use
of English in the world. Kachru divides World Englishes into three concentric circles, the
Inner Circle, the Outer Circle, and the Expanding Circle. These three circles represent the
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types of spread, the patterns of acquisition, and the functional allocation of English in
diverse cultural contexts (Jenkins, 2003). The Inner Circle comprises countries where
English is historically the first language to be spoken such as the United Kingdom (UK),
America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The Outer Circle comprises ESL
countries where English has a long history of institutionalized functions standing as a
language of wide and important roles, such as India, South Africa, and Nigeria (Kachru
& Nelson, 2001). Finally, the English spoken in the Expanding Circle is called English as a
foreign language.

Davis (2004) defined World Englishes as a term used to "legitimate the Englishes spoken in the
British non-white colonies" and explained that the ideology behind it denies a special
status for the native speakers of metropolitan English varieties and complains about
these native speakers' discriminations against users of world Englishes (p. 442). The
concept of World Englishes has its philosophical roots in the two dominant schools of
thought of the present time, i.e., Post colonialism and Postmodernism.

World Englishes paradigm discusses the global spread of English and the large number of
functions it has taken on with increasing range and depth in diverse sociolinguistic
settings around the world. This paradigm particularly emphasizes on multilingualism,
multicultural identities, multiple norms of use, and bilinguals' creativity (Bhatt, 2001).
Moreover, having its theoretical and philosophical foundations in liberation linguistics, it
severely problematizes the traditional concepts in theoretical and applied linguistics
including interference; inter language, native speaker, speech community, ideal speaker-
hearer, Standard English and traditional English canon.

At present, English is used practically all over the world. According to Kachru (1992), users of
English around the world total roughly 750 million, among whom 350 million are native
speakers of English and 400 million are non-native speakers. English is the principal
means of intercommunication, not only among native speakers but also between native
speakers and non-native speakers. English is also used as a lingua franca by many non-
native speakers with different language backgrounds. This claim tried to strengthen the
World Englishes concept and lessen the special status for the native speakers of
metropolitan English varieties.

2.2 Language Learning Attitude

Why are some language learners more successful than others? To account for the differences in
learning a language, Dörnyei (2010) clings to individual differences. That is, the
“dimensions of enduring personal characteristics that are assumed to apply to everybody

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and on which people differ by a degree (p. 41)”. In some cases, learning second language
is a relatively important educational task that students face during their academic
formation, while for others it is a straight way to bilingualism. In both cases, researchers
seem to agree that affective variables such as attitudes influence language learning
(Gardner et al., 2004). Karahan (2007) claims that "positive language attitudes let learners
have positive orientation towards learning English” (p.84). As such, attitudes may play a
very crucial role in language learning as they would appear to influence students’ success
or failure in their learning. It is also believed that positive attitude facilitates foreign
language learning while negative attitude acts as a psychological barrier against it
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(Dörnyei, 1994; Dörnyei, 2002).

Empirical evidence is also available to support these postulations. Nikolov (2001) for instance,
finds that students’ negative attitude to Russia or Russians was responsible for their
failure to learn or retain the language. Also, Gardner and Lambert (1972) in their
extensive study give evidence that positive attitudes toward language enhance
proficiency as well. Many researchers believe that attitudes have cognitive, affective and
behavioral components (e.g. Wenden, 1991).The cognitive component involves beliefs or
perceptions about the objects or situations related to the attitude. The affective
component refers to the feelings and emotions that one has towards an object, 'likes' or
'dislikes', 'with' or 'against'. The behavioral component means that certain attitudes tend
to prompt learners to adopt particular learning behaviors. In the second language
acquisition field, researchers have mostly pay attention to two types of attitudes:
attitudes towards the learning of the language, and attitudes towards the community of
the target language.

While the first set of attitudes is educational in nature, the second one is more social. SLA
literature supports a relationship between attitudes towards language learning and
achievement in the language (Masgoret & Gardner, 2003) even more than that of other
subjects of the curriculum (Jordan, 1941). Attitudes towards language learning also seem
connected to the context where learning takes place (Gagnon, 1974; Krashen, 1997). In
learning a second language, it is important that students have high motivation and
positive attitude towards the target language. This is because many linguists have proven
that motivation and attitude are closely related in determining the success of second
language learning (Gardner & Lambert, 1972). Higher levels of motivation and positive
attitude will produce more successful language learners and vice versa. Brown (2007)
states that positive attitudes towards the self, the native language and the target language
group enhance second language proficiency. He further states that a language learner
benefits from positive attitude and that negative attitude may lead to decrease in
motivation, input and interaction; and consequently it leads to unsuccessful attainment
of proficiency.

2.3 Attitudes towards Varieties of English

One of the pioneering studies of attitudes towards varieties of English was undertaken by Tucker
and Lambert (1969; cited in McKenzie, 2006). This study used the matched-guise
technique with groups of northern white, southern white and southern black college
students in the USA. It discovered that each group of respondents had distinct attitudes
towards particular American varieties, rating some of them more positively than others.

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Since this ground-breaking study appeared, many researchers have conducted attitude
studies, most of which have mainly focused on Inner Circle speakers’ attitudes towards
varieties of English. These studies include research conducted in Inner Circle countries,
such as, Britain and the USA (Hiraga, 2005), Australia (Bradley and Bradley, 2001), the
USA (Labov, 2001), New Zealand (Bayard, 1999), and Wales (Garrett et al., 1999). The
data gathered from these studies have shown a considerable degree of consistency in
relation to attitudes of speakers in the Inner Circle. For example, research indicates that
standard speech varieties and rural non-standard speech varieties of English are judged
most positively by Inner Circle speakers in terms of social status (competence) (Hiraga,
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2005). Conversely, non-standard speech varieties are judged most positively in terms of
social attractiveness (solidarity) when compared to standard speech varieties of English.

While a considerable amount of research has been undertaken into attitudes of Inner Circle
speakers, until recently relatively few studies had focused on the attitudes of non-Inner
Circle speakers towards varieties of English. Research by McKenzie (2008) showed that
the Japanese respondents’ ratings of speakers of varieties of English speech are complex
and often contradictory. The study suggested that when the perceived status of a variety
of English is the dominant factor affecting attitudes, varieties of American English are
rated more positively than other varieties. However, the study also indicated that when
solidarity is the key factor, heavily-accented Japanese English or non-standard varieties
of American and British English are judged more positively than the more standard
varieties.

In Europe, Hartikainen (2000), Ladegaard (1998) and Dalton-Puffer et al. (1997) all used verbal-
guise tests to elicit the language attitudes of students. In Finland, Hartikainen (2000)
studied senior secondary school students’ attitudes towards six standard varieties of
spoken English speech: Received Pronunciation (RP), General American, General
Canadian, General Australian, Scottish Standard English, and Standard Northern Irish
English. RP and General Australian were rated higher than General American, and the
Scottish and Northern Irish varieties.

Although the respondents indicated that they were most familiar with General American English
via access to the media, its lower rating appears to suggest that familiarity with particular
variety of English might not determine attitude to it. Moreover, age, gender and school
grades were not found to be major factors affecting the students’ attitudes.
Talebi Habib Abadi & Heidari Darani (2016) conducted a study to explore the attitude of male
and female Iranian EFL learners towards English varieties. The findings of the study
revealed that the participants of the study could recognize different varieties of English.
Moreover, they seemed to have positive attitudes towards English language learning
since they could recognize the different varieties. They suggested that this positive
attitude may lead to their improvement in English language learning thus a good
command of English.

2.4 Role of Language Proficiency in Attitude towards Varieties of English

Wardhaugh (2004) states that our receptive linguistic ability is much greater than our productive
linguistic ability which, in practice, means that we are able to understand many more
varieties than we are able to produce. Although native speakers of English are perhaps

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naturally more perceptive of differences in accents within the English language,
McKenzie (2004) points out that evidence suggests even students with a lower level of
proficiency in English demonstrate significantly differentiated responses toward varieties
of English. Even if non-native speakers are not able to produce different accents very
well, this does not mean that they lack the ability to understand them, and more
importantly, carry attitudes toward them.

Oller, Baca, & Vigil (1977) in their study on Mexican Americans in the southwest found a
negative relationship between attitudes towards the target language and language
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proficiency; the more proficient their students were in ESL, the more negative they were
toward Americans. They also found that students who were proficient in English rated
Americans lower on traits such as cleverness and happiness than students who scored
lower on ESL proficiency.

Contrary to the above studies, Javdani et al. (2009) claimed that American English is very popular
among Iranian EFL learners. Despite the negative reflection of Americans in the press,
this variety of English is more popular among the students. 55% of Intermediate and 84%
of Advanced students prefer American English. Regarding Starter and Elementary
students, with only 38% and 42% this was predictable simply because they have no idea
about the difference between the two varieties, i.e. this was due to age and linguistic
competence: students at higher levels can appreciate the difference.

2.5 Current Status of English in Iran

There is no doubt that English is the international language in the world and it plays a crucial
role in worldwide relationships (Khajavi & Abbasian, 2011). Due to today’s growing
science and technology all over the world, learning English language has been given
much more importance compared to past years, and it is not an exception in Iranian
context. Nevertheless, teaching English in Iran has been a difficult task both for EFL
students as well as teachers because of the lack of resources and little contact with the
target language outside the classroom compared to other EFL learners in other contexts
(Sadeghi, 2005). There are very few English programs broadcasted on TV or radio. Of
course, due to advancements in technology and the more frequent use of the Internet,
satellite, and rapid growth of private language institutes in Iran, the opportunities for
English language learning have greatly improved (Talebinezhad & Aliakbari, 2002). In
addition, increasing the number of language institutes can confirm the increase in value
and importance that is given to the English language in Iran.

For many countries, the English language education policy has become a major attention of their
officials. However, educational policy of these authorities has influenced their
communities in ways that are often controversial (Khajavi & Abbasian, 2011). In the
Iranian curriculum, English is one of the compulsory subjects which is taught to students
as a foreign language from the first year of junior high school. Therefore, Iranian students
study English for nearly seven years before they go to university. However, having
finished high school during which they studied English for seven years, students are not
yet proficient enough in using the language. The education they receive neither enables
them to attain full competence in using English nor helps them interact with confidence
(Nahavandi & Mukundan, 2013).

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With regard to the three circles proposed by Kachru (1985), Iran is among the Expanding Circle
countries where English is considered EFL and mostly used for educational and
commercial purposes. Apart from junior and senior high schools, English is learned in
language institutes as an extracurricular activity. Those interested in English can even
continue to learn it as a major at universities. English is taught and evauated in Iran
based on the most dominant varieties: British and American Englishes (Pishghadam and
Sabouri, 2011). Imitation plays a significant role in learning the language and its
assessment. Proficiency is assessed based on the extent of proximity to the native-like
accent. Pishghadam and Sabouri (2011) maintain that Iranians assume British and
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American Englishes the best varieties as these two varieties exhibit the Standard English
native speakers use.

Imitating the dominant varieties of English and attempting to approach native-like proficiency
presumably demotivate those who fail to do so in the EFL context of Iran. Also, “it has
exploitative effects on the learners who manage acquiring it after great effort.”
(Pishghadam and Sabouri, 2011, p. 89) Recent research has revealed that, from a
sociological perspective, those learners who have a high tendency to learn a native-like
accent of English and thus put much effort to it show a kind of deculturation
(Pishghadam and Kamyabi, 2008). In this respect, Pishghadam and Navari (2009) believe
that contact between two languages does not necessarily lead to cultural enrichment; on
the contrary, it may put one of the two languages at risk of deculturation.

Pishghadam and Sabouri (2011) argue that imitating English is what is achieved via linguistic
imperialism and it limits people's creativity in using the language. Yet, English must be
considered as a valuable tool at the disposal of people with different nationalities so as to
express their thoughts and their culture. Viewing English as an international language is
in step with Crystal’s (2003) view calling for adopting a functional account of English.
This view concedes English as a valuable instrument for people to attain their aims as
well as a medium for being heard by the whole world.

3. Methodology

This study follows a quasi-experimental design. The quantitative data were obtained from
Iranian EFL learners. In this case only female participants were selected randomly from
the non-native undergraduate students of English Translation at Islamic Azad
University, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch. Therefore, gender was controlled.

3.1 Participants

A number of 100 undergraduate female students aged between 18 and 25 studying English
Translation at Islamic Azad University, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Isfahan, Iran,
participated in this study. Their mother tongue was Persian and they were all from
Isfahan and its suburbs. The subjects were selected randomly and divided into two 50-
people groups of intermediate and advanced levels based on Oxford Quick Placement
Test. The test was developed in collaboration with the University of Cambridge ESOL
Examination (UCLES, 2001). According to Perry (2005), students who scored over 80%
were placed in the advanced and those who scored between 50% and 80% were placed in
the intermediate group.

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3.2 Instruments

In this study, the following types of materials and instruments were utilized for the purpose of
data collection.

3.2.1 The Audio Material

As the purpose was to gather information on attitudes toward varieties of English, it was decided
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that the audio material should consist of authentic, spontaneous speech. Since finding
native speakers of English who were capable of producing several varieties credibly is
difficult in the English speaking world, and close to impossible in Iran, some audio
records were taken from VOA, BBC, Iranian Press TV and India Today websites.

It was decided that the number of speakers to be used on the recording should be four. Four was
considered to be enough for variation as it allowed for including familiar and unfamiliar
native varieties as well as non-native varieties; and, at the same time, it was not too many
to bore or distract the informants listening to the recording. In the final version of the
recording, all four speakers spoke uninterrupted for a period of approximately two
minutes. The audio files were played using Sony Vegas 7.0. as adjusting and leveling the
sound was important in improving the quality of study. The stimuli selected were also
broadly similar in length ranging from 1 minute and 23 seconds to 1 minute and 40
seconds.

3.2.2 Oxford Quick Placement Test

Oxford Quick Placement Test was developed in collaboration with the University of Cambridge
ESOL Examination (UCLES, 2001). It was administered to guarantee participants
homogeneity in terms of their proficiency level. This placement test contained
100multiple-choice questions and participants 'responses were scored on a scale of 100
points.

3.2.3 Attitude Questionnaire

A questionnaire on attitudes towards varieties of English including American English, Indian

English, British English, and Iranian English was presented. The first part of the
questionnaire aimed at exploring the views of the participants about different English
varieties. In this part 'Likret Scale' ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree was
used to examine and evaluate the students’ views through the following 14 traits in terms
of attitudes and solidarity dimension (friendly, attractive, well-educated, intelligent,
selfish, boring, arrogant, cold, poor, very strong, unpleasant, unsuccessful, insincere,
crude, easy to understand). These traits served to show the participants positive or
negative attitudes towards different English varieties. While the participants were
listening to the speakers, they had to decide on each of the 14 traits mentioned above
and tick one of the 5 options starting from strongly disagree to strongly agree for each. In
this way, they showed their feelings about the English variety they listened to. The
second part included questions and all questions were made as clear and unambiguous

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as possible, and an open option for additional comments or clarifications was added
towards the end of the questionnaire.

3.3 Data Collection Procedures

To collect the required data, the students first took the Oxford Quick Placement Test. After the
students were divided into intermediate and advanced students based on their scores on
the placement test, the attitude questionnaires were distributed among the students of
the two groups and they were briefed on the experiment. The participants were given
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instructions on listening to the speakers and completion of the evaluation sheets.

Varieties were played one by one and the participants were asked to put a tick mark
under the 5-point scale relevant to the respective traits and then respond to the questions
after each listening. In case the participants needed to listen to a speaker twice, the audio
file would be played for the second time. Similarly, while they were responding to the
question items, they were permitted to ask questions if they did not understand any parts
of the questionnaire. When they finished responding to the questionnaire, the researcher
collected the sheets so that she made them ready for data analysis.

3.4 Statistical Procedures

The researcher used the 5-point Likert-scale items to measure respondents’ attitudes towards
different English varieties. In the 5-point Likert scale, scales 1-2 (from strongly disagree to
disagree) served to show a low attitude, and scales 4-5 (from agree to strongly agree)
indicated a high attitude toward English accents. Scale 3 represented "no idea". Negative
traits were located at one end of the scale and positive traits were put at the other end.
The collected data were analyzed through SPSS (v.21.0). Based on the data obtained from
the questionnaires, a one-way repeated measures ANOVA was employed to explore the
attitudes of the participants towards different varieties of English and an independent-
samples t-test was run on the data to probe the probable differences between two groups
of intermediate and advanced participants in terms of their attitudes towards native and
non-native varieties of English.

4. Results

The results of the analyses are indicated in the following tables. Table 1 shows the Iranian EFL
learners' attitudes towards all speakers who belonged to the Inner Circle, Outer Circle,
and the Expanding Circle.

Table 1.
One-way repeated measures ANOVA to compare the attitudes of the Iranian EFL learners towards all
speakers
Source Type III Sum Mean Square F Sig.
of D
Squa f
res

Speaker 412235.404 1 359722.500 4234.579 0.064

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Error 1999.200 98 75.342

As indicated in Table 1, there was not a significant difference (P-value>0.05) among all speakers.
Indeed, the participants' attitudes towards all varieties of English were similar.

To explore the probable differences between Iranian intermediate and advanced EFL learners'
attitudes towards the native and non-native varieties, an independent-samples t-test was
run on the data. The results are shown in table 2.
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Table 2.
Independent-samples t-test to show the difference between Iranian intermediate and advanced EFL
learners' attitudes towards English varieties
N Mean Std. Deviation T Df Sig.

Interm 50 3.53 1.50 0.318 98 0.045

Adv 50 5.33 1.78

Total 100 4.43 1.62

Table 2 indicated that a statistically significant difference (P-value<0.05) was observed between
intermediate and advanced participants' attitudes towards different English varieties.

5. Discussion and Conclusion

The results of the one-way repeated measures ANOVA indicated that the participants' attitudes
towards different English varieties including the so-called standard and non-standard
varieties were not different. Based on what Sadeghi (2005) discusses, compared to other
EFL contexts, teaching English in Iran has been a difficult task both for EFL students and
teachers because of the lack of resources and little contact with the target language
outside the classroom. Therefore, it is interesting to notice that although Iranian EFL
learners have less exposure to different English varieties and they are just exposed to two
dominant varieties of American and British, they did not show any particular attitude
towards different varieties of English exposed to them in this study. Indeed, the native
and non-native varieties were noticed similarly and no variety was preferred to another.
This is in line with Matsuura et al. (1994) indicating that the participants who thought
that in any country the native language should be most respected tended to accept the
non-native varieties as well as the native varieties. It goes the same with the ideas put
forward by Kachru (1982) and Davis (2004) concerning World Englishes in an attempt to
empower the concept of World Englishes. Davis (2004) holds that the ideology behind
World English denies a special status for the native speakers of metropolitan English
varieties and complains about these native speakers' discriminations against users of
world Englishes (p. 442). Likewise, the underlying philosophy of Kachruvian approach
argues for the “importance of inclusivity and pluricentricity in approaches to linguistics
of new varieties of English” (Bolton, 2004, p. 367). In addition, in an attempt to empower

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new Englishes, this theory calls the labels ‘native speaker’ and ‘native and standard
English’ into serious question and denies any special status for them.

Furthermore, contrary to Pishghadam and Kamyabi (2008) and Pishghadam and Navari (2009)
who discuss the risk of deculturation for those learners with high tendency to learn a
native-like accent of English, in this study, in the case of Iranian EFL learners
deculturation will not probably occur since they did not show tendency towards any
particular variety and respected the cultures all the same.
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Moreover, they seemed to have positive attitudes towards English language learning, since they
respected the English language altogether and this positive attitude may lead to their
improvement in language learning. Likewise, Gardner et al. (2004) seem to agree that
affective variables such as attitudes influence language learning. Karahan (2007) also
claims that positive language attitudes help learners develop positive orientation
towards learning the language. As such, attitude may play a very crucial role in language
learning since it seems to influence students' success or failure in their learning. Dörnyei
(1994) and Dörnyei (2002), likewise believes that positive attitude facilitates foreign
language learning while negative attitude acts as a psychological barrier against it.
Dörnyei (2010) clings to individual differences including attitude as factors which
influence successful learning. This also may help understand that as the participants of
this study were intermediate and advanced EFL learners, they both showed positive
attitudes to language learning and have been successful language learners.

With regard to the difference between intermediate and advanced participants' attitudes towards
English varieties, the results of the independent-samples t-test demonstrated that
language proficiency had an effect on the attitudes towards the varieties. Concerning
positive attitudes towards varieties of English, the results showed that advanced students
were more positive than intermediate students. However, Oller, Baca, & Vigil (1977) in
their study on Mexican Americans in the southwest found a negative relationship
between attitudes towards the target language and language proficiency; the more
proficient their students were in ESL, the more negative they were toward Americans.
Javdani et al. (2009) also claimed that participants with lower levels of language
proficiency differ from those with higher levels of language proficiency in terms of
attitudes towards different English varieties.

The main conclusion of this study is that when learners' attitude is positive toward a language, it
can help them learn the language with more interest and more profoundly. Being
exposed to different varieties of English can help learners develop the ability to learn and
recognize them as a useful skill in the process of language learning. The next conclusion
drawn is that Iranian EFL learners do not believe in one world English anymore; instead,
they are approaching to believe in World Englishes; in other words, the ideas of the
perfect or the standard English variety is losing its importance and Iranian EFL learners
are receding from that perfect English accent and accepting other Englishes for their
communication with people around the world. As a matter of fact, they will probably try
not to imitate the American and British accents anymore; they rather try to communicate
with their Iranian English. The final conclusion of this study may be regarded as a new
addition to the results of the previous studies concerning the effect of language
proficiency on learners' attitudes. A few studies reveled that language proficiency is a

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crucial factor when attitudes are concerned in learning. The respective results of this
study show that the higher language proficiency is, the more positive the attitudes of the
EFL learners will be regarding learning a second/foreign language and this can be
considered as a promising issue in English learning and teaching context.

Iranian EFL learners need and would benefit from a broader ability to understand different
varieties of English. The implications that this study can have relate to the fact that
instructors must find ways to overcome their students' general reluctance towards
various varieties of English in order to develop this broader ability. With this new
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understanding, it's time to overcome this challenge by helping students to be familiar

with different English varieties through listening to such varieties. Furthermore, teachers'
attitudes toward varieties of English can play a critical role in shaping learners'
perspectives, attitudes, and expectations of various English varieties. Therefore, the role
and significance of the teacher's preferable variety need to be further explored.

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THE EFFECT OF READERS THEATER

ON INTERMEDIATE IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS
IN TERMS OF ORAL PERFORMANCE
AND L2 VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE
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Sondos Mansouri2
Department of Foreign Languages, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University,
Isfahan, Iran
University Boulevard, Arghavanieh, Iey Street, Isfahan 8155139998, Iran
s.mansouri@khuisf.ac.ir

And

Laya Heidari Darani

Department of English, Falavarjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran
heidari@iaufala.ac.ir

Abstract
This study was an attempt to investigate the effect of readers theater on oral proficiency and
lexical knowledge of iranian learners of english as a foreign language. From among the learners
studying English at a language school in isfahan, iran, a sample of 90 female intermediate efl
learners were asked to participate in this study. Having administered oxford placement test to
ensure the homogeneity of the participants in terms of proficiency, 75 learners were chosen.
Afterwards, an interview which served as one of the pretests of the study was run on the 75
subjects as the homogenizing test of oral ability, and ultimately 60 homogenous pre-
intermediate learners were selected as the participants of the study. They were then assigned to
the two groups of control and experiment. Another pretest used in this study was a vocabulary
knowledge test developed by the researcher. During the treatment, the learners in the
experimental group were exposed to reader’s theatre, but the control group attended their
regular classes. To gauge the lexical and oral development of the subjects, vocabulary posttests as
well as an interview were administered. The findings of data analysis indicated improvements of
fluency and complexity as a result of learners’ exposure to the treatment; besides, the
experimental group outperformed the control group regarding the improvement on lexical
knowledge. The results may provide further impetus for teachers to make attempts at extending
the students’ active knowledge for real time communication as well as providing language which
is both more complex and fluent.

2
Corresponding Author
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Keywords: readers theater, oral proficiency, l2 lexical knowledge, fluency
1. Introduction
The success in second and foreign language teaching depends on the methodological approach
the teacher employs in the classrooms (Athiemoolam, 2004). In the past many Iranian schools
(the context of this research), mainly focused on grammar approaches in teaching English. Those
methods left students with no opportunity to use the language in the classroom. Until the end of
the twentieth century, classrooms were teacher-dominated and teacher-centered in which
students were less motivated to learn as the teacher followed the same monotonous style in
teaching the lessons and doing the exercises. The need for a kind of variation was felt in the
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twenty-first century. Students were more interested in interacting with others rather than just
listening to the teacher. Actually a shift was occurring from a teacher-centered approach to a
more student-centered approach. Accordingly new methods that motivated learners and helped
them develop communicating abilities came into fashion. These student-centered, teacher-
facilitated teaching models challenged the Iranian Confucian-heritage tradition, which
emphasized hierarchical relations between teachers and students. In systems like this teachers are
the authority in the classroom and the expert in the subject, and students behave modestly, listen
attentively, and do exactly what they are asked to do (Nisbett, 2003; Watkins &Biggs, 1996, 2001).

One method which involved students' participation in the learning process was the use of
Readers Theater (RT). Many studies point to the fact that RT is an effective way of improving
students’ reading fluency (Corcoran & Davis, 2005; Flynn, 2005, 2007; Kabilan & Kamaruddin,
2010; Keehn, Harmon, & Shoho, 2008; Martinez, Roser, & Strecker, 1998). One of the greatest aids
to such fluency development is the rehearsal of the RT text; each session students are given time
in class to rehearse their scripts and prepare for their performance. By reading and rereading the
texts they increase their chances of becoming fluent readers (Martinez, Roser, & Strecker, 1998).
Keehn, Harmon, and Shoho, (2008) also state that RT can aid fluency development, because the
teacher provides the modeling of proper expressiveness needed for such development.

More recent studies by Griffith and Rasinski (2004) and Young and Rasinski (2009) likewise
indicate that RT promotes fluency and interest in reading. Through repeated readings of the text,
students increase sight word vocabulary and the ability to decode words quickly and accurately
(Carrick, 2006 & 2009). The repeated readings allow the students to phrase sentences
appropriately, read punctuation markers, and read with greater ease. This fluent reading enables
students to spend less time on decoding and increase comprehension (Pikulsi & Chard, 2005).

Most studies on l2 speech production agree that mastering a foreign language involves speaking
the language with complexity< fluency, and accuracy (Shekan, 1996; Bygate, 2001; D'ely, 2006, to
mention but a few). Complexity is a willingness to use more challenging language, reflecting
hypothesis testing and possibly restructuring of the language system. Fluency is conceptualized
as the ability to sustain real-time communication through a focus on meaning. And accuracy is
the learners' orientation toward conservatism and control over more stable elements in the inter-
language system (Shekan & Foster 2001). Because people have a limited-capacity cognitive
system (Ashcraft, 1994), attention to one aspect of oral performance may mean that there is not
enough attentional resources to be devoted to other aspcts (Shekan, 1998).

This study aims at investigating the effect of Readers Theater on the speaking ability and lexical
knowledge of intermediate Iranian EFL learners and thus is going to answer the following
research question : Does Readers Theater have any influence on the improvement of the oral

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ability (fluency, accuracy and complexity) and L2 lexical knowledge of pre-intermediate Iranian
EFL learners?
2. Review of the Literature
2.1. Readers Theater

According to Walker (1996) Readers Theater (RT) is a literature-based oral reading which
communicates story through oral interpretation. Black & Stave (2007) introduced RT as " a
strategy that showcases the power of language"( p.3). Walker (1996) further illustrated that RT is
an interpretive reading activity in which readers bring characters, story, and even content area or
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textbook material to life through their voices, actions, and words. RT is often described as “a
stylized form of dramatization”, Allowing for interpretation through multiple modes (Trousdale
& Harris, 1993, p.201). Shepard (2006) stated that, regardless of formatting and purpose, RT is
based on script reading and the suggestive power of language. RT taps the multiple intelligences
of a reader and allows for multiple ways of understanding (Gardner, 1985).

2.2. Role of RT in Reading Skill Improvement and fluency

RT is particularly important in developing reading and oral skills. “The backbone of RT is

repeated reading, a tested and proven method for increasing reading fluency in short-term
studies” (Worthy & Prater, 2002, p. 295). Walker (1996) also suggested that the type of texts may
have much to do with repeated reading; nevertheless, this activity in the RT setting would not be
tedious, but fun. Support for the comprehensive nature of Readers Theater is found in several
reading theories and educational paradigms including those of Samuels (1979), Rosenblatt (1978),
Schreiber (1980), and Slavin (1987).

The Readers Theater script acts as an incentive to elicit thoughts, ideas, and past experiences from
the reader. This allows the reader to read the script through an interpretive process and use both
cognitive and affective domains (Carrick 2006). Scripted dialogues provide EFL students with the
opportunity to express their thoughts and ideas (Adams, 2003). In addition, scripted dialogues
have often been used in the classroom to enable students to acquire the vocabulary, idioms,
grammar and syntax of English speech (Berlinger, 2000). As they involve all aspects of language
use, scripts rehearsed in class can offer students an authentic communicative context to practice
spoken English. Barbu (2007)believes that being able and confident to perform in front of the class
gives a higher status with the rest of the group. Although RT is not the one and the only proper
way to learn, it is, nevertheless, one of those methods that keep the lessons interesting.

In order to be effective, reading strategies must ensure that students are extracting meaning while
decoding. As students practice their fluency, it is important for teachers to check students’ use of
expression and phrasing. These skills show the reader is making meaning out of what s/he is
reading.

Having been studied and practiced in real reading classroom for years, RT has been
recommended by many educators and scholars (Tyler & Chard, 2000; Bafile, 2005; Garrett &
O'Connor, 2010) to be a working instructional strategy in building reading fluency due to the
following features of the instructional process: First, In 2002 Samuels identified that the repeated
reading required in RT provided students with practice to move decoding to an automatic level
(Caluris, 2006). The significant goals of RT are to enhance students' reading skills and
comprehension (Tyler & Chard, 2000; Caluris, 2006) as well as build their confidence through

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repeated reading with a purpose. That is, students must reread scripts created from grade-level
books or stories in the instruction of RT.

Young & Rasinski (2009) found that most students were more willing to participate in the
practice if knowing that they would perform in front of audiences. Thus, RT offers all learners,
particularly those reluctant students, a real reason to read aloud and reread the same text several
times during the rehearsal (Tyler & Chard, 2000; Bafile, 2005). Second, unlike playing a drama,
RT does not require students to memorize the lines of scripts. The emphasis of the presentation of
RT is on how students read their lines, and it is meant to motivate students to improve their
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fluency, enhance their comprehension through multiple rereading of texts, and reduce anxiety
and pressure of learning. Third, the teamwork involved in the presentation has also served to
motivate students to engage in more attentive readings (Caluris, 2006). Additionally, having the
group members’ assistance and the repeated reading activity made those struggling students
much more willing to read because reading has already become an easier and less stressful task
(Tyler & Chard, 2000). RT is an interesting way to practice reading (Tyler & Chard, 2000). The
success of RT activity lies in exposing students to the text fit to their cognitive and affective levels
(Kuhn & Stahl, 2003).

Due to their influence on fluency development, Readers Theater and other forms of drama can be
employed as effective methods by teachers. Teachers can incorporate RT into the classroom
relatively easily and cheaply. It does not require props, costumes, or sets like other forms of
theater production. The actors also remain in the same place throughout the performance so there
is not a need to plan the movement of the actors on the stage. All rehearsal time is dedicated to
making sure that the script is read with the proper expression, intonation, and at the proper rate
so the story is told effectively.
3. Methodology
The paradigm of this study was a quantitative one and it was based on a quasi- experimental
research using group pre-test and post-test design. This research was conducted in 2014, summer
semester of Rooyesh language institute in Isfahan, Iran.

3.1. Subjects
The participants were all female students studying English as a foreign language at pre-
intermediate level. They age-ranged from 10 to 15. In general, this study used non-probabilistic
type of sampling. Originally, 90 female intermediate EFL learners were selected to take part in
this study. So sampling in this stage was based on availability or convenient sampling procedure.
In order to ensure the sample was homogenous and all the participants were in the same level,
Oxford Placement Test (QPT was un on the group and 75 learners were chosen as homogenous
learners. Then, to investigate speaking ability, an oral interview was devised to confirm the
homogeneity of the participants in terms of oral proficiency level. In these two stages, sampling
was based on purposive sampling procedure. By so doing, 60 homogeneous pre-intermediate
learners were ultimately selected as the participants of the study. All the subjects had at least two
school years of experience in learning English.
3.2. Materials and Instruments
Family and Friends book 2 of the seven- level primary course series written by Naomi Simmons
was used in this study. The book consisted of 14 units from which the second 7 units of were
taught to the participants. Each unit worked on the following parts : Words and Story, Grammar,
Words and Song, Phonics, Skills Time! Reading, Skills Time, Listening and Speaking. In
collaboration with the classroom teacher, the researcher selected seven short stories from the

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book to serve as Readers Theater scripts. These short dialogues were designed based upon
student interest and suitability for Readers Theater format. In addition to the book, three more
instruments were used: pretests, posttests, and Oxford Placement Test, to ensure the
homogeneity of the groups.
3.2.1. Pretests
3.2.1.1. Oral Interview
Before either class commenced the procedure, to make sure that the two groups were not
significantly different in speaking ability, the teacher administered a pretest interview. The
interview was a researcher-made one and consisted of ten questions of high frequency in
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everyday conversations, such as family, free time, hobbies, field of study, etc. The validity of the
questions was approved by a number of university professors.

3.2.1.2. Vocabulary Knowledge Test

In order to measure the students’ prior knowledge of vocabulary, a selection of Oxford
University exams was developed. The questions were chosen from test builder CD-ROM
provided by Oxford University such as editable unit tests, skill tests, and summative tests; this
test had a score of 20. The test had already been piloted and its split-half reliability coefficient was
found to be .86. Further, the researcher asked some university professors to appraise the validity
of the test, and it was approved by all.

3.2.2. Posttests
3.2.2.1. Oral Interview
After conducting the treatment, participants in both experimental and control groups took a
posttest interview which consisted of a different set of questions. The interviews were transcribed
and then rated based on the measures chosen for complexity, accuracy, and fluency. The inter-
rater reliability of the test was calculated via Pearson product-moment correlation formula. It
turned out to be .83, .76, and .81 for complexity, accuracy, and fluency respectively.

3.2.2.2. Vocabulary Knowledge Test

After conducting the study, the knowledge of vocabulary of the two groups was evaluated. The
vocabulary pretests and posttests were similar in order to avoid the testing effect to some extent.

4. Results and Discussion

4.1. Results of Interview/ Pretest
Table 1. The Oral Ability Pretest results for the Learners in the Experimental and Control Groups
Std. Std. Error
Groups N Mean
Deviation Mean
EG 30 1.5130 .33575 .06130
Fluency
CG 30 1.4883 .32485 .05931
EG 30 3.0273 .75529 .13790
Accuracy
CG 30 2.9613 .70309 .12837
EG 30 1.4077 .31148 .05687
Complexity
CG 30 1.4263 .32462 .05927

The mean fluency scores of the EG (M = 1.51) and CG (M = 1.48) were not drastically different.
This was also true for their mean accuracy scores (MEG = 3.02, MCG = 2.96) and their mean
complexity scores (MEG = 1.40, MCG = 1.42).

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Table 2. Results of the Independent-Samples T-Test for the EG and CG Oral Ability Pretest Scores

Levene’s Test
for Equality of T-test for Equality of Means
Variances
95%
Confidence
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Sig. Mean
Std. Error Interval of the
F. Sig. t df (2- Differenc
Difference Difference
tailed) e
Uppe
Lower
r
-
.28 .195
Fluency .005 .944 58 .77 .02467 .08529 .1460
9 40
7
-
.35 .443
Accuracy .074 .787 58 .72 .06600 .18840 .3111
0 12
2
- -
.145
Complexity .001 .981 .22 58 .82 -.01867 .08214 .1830
76
7 9

According to Table 2. there was not a statistically significant difference in pretest oral ability
scores for EG and CG since the p values for fluency, accuracy, and complexity measures were .77,
.72, and .82, which were all greater than the specified level of significance (i.e., 0.05).
4.2. Results of the Vocabulary Test/Pretest
Table 3. The Vocabulary Pretest Results for the Learners in the Experimental and Control Groups
Std. Std. Error
Groups N Men
Deviation Mean
EG 30 16.8343 1.89180 .34539
Vocabulary
CG 30 16.7483 1.55915 .28466

Here again, the mean scores of the EG (M = 16.83) and the CG (M = 16.74) were not immensely
different. Yet, t-test table should be referred to in order to see whether the difference was
meaningful or not.

Table 4. Independent-Samples T-Test for Comparing the EG and CG Vocabulary Pretest Scores

Levene’s Test
for Equality of T-test for Equality of Means
Variances
Sig. Mean 95%
Std. Error
F. Sig. t df (2- Differenc Confidence
Difference
tailed) e Interval of the

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Difference

Uppe
Lower
r
- .9319
Vocabulary 1.748 .191 .192 58 .84 .08600 .44458
.80993 3

Since the p value under the Sig. (2-tailed) column was larger than the alpha level (i.e., .84 > .05), it
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could be concluded that the difference between the pretest vocabulary scores of the EG and CG
was insignificant. As a result, the learners in the two groups were shown to be homogeneous in
terms of their oral ability and lexical knowledge.
4.3. Results of the Research Question
The research question of the study intended to find out the extent to which Readers Theater (RT)
affected pre-intermediate Iranian EFL learners’ oral proficiency and L2 lexical knowledge.
Table 5. The Posttest Oral Ability for the Learners in the Experimental and Control Groups
Std. Std. Error
Groups N Mean
Deviation Mean
EG 30 2.2593 .45863 .08373
Fluency
CG 30 1.7150 .44570 .08137
EG 30 3.2723 .87597 .15993
Accuracy
CG 30 2.9837 .76347 .13939
EG 30 1.7707 .28914 .05279
Complexity
CG 30 1.5573 .32621 .05956

As for mean fluency scores on the posttest, the EG mean (M = 2.25) and CG (M = 1.71) were
different.
Table 6. Independent-Samples T-Test for Comparing the EG and CG Oral Ability Posttest Scores

Levene’s Test
for Equality of T-test for Equality of Means
Variances
95%
Confidence
Sig. Mean
Std. Error Interval of the
F. Sig. t df (2- Differenc
Difference Difference
tailed) e
Uppe
Lower
r
4.66 .7780
Fluency .001 .971 58 .000 .54433 .11676 .31061
2 6

1.36 - .7133
Accuracy .760 .387 58 .179 .28867 .21215
1 .13599 3

2.68 .3726
Complexity .366 .547 58 .010 .21333 .07958 .05403
1 4

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According to Table 6. there was not a statistically significant difference in posttest accuracy
scores for EG and CG since the p values for accuracy was greater than the specified level of
significance (i.e., .17 > .05). However, the p values for fluency (p = .000) and complexity (p = .010)
were less than the alpha level.
Table 7. Posttest Vocabulary Results for the Learners in the Experimental and Control Groups
Std. Std. Error
Groups N Mean
Deviation Mean
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EG 30 17.8477 1.45529 .26570

Vocabulary
CG 30 15.8757 1.22816 .22423

The mean scores of the EG (M = 17.84) and the CG (M = 15.87) on the vocabulary posttest were
different. T-Test was run in order to determine whether the difference was statistically
meaningful or not. It was 5.753, indicating that the difference between the posttest vocabulary
scores of the EG and CG was statistically significant. Hence, the learners’ vocabulary knowledge
was positively affected as a result of exposure to RT.

5. Conclusion
This research sought to investigate whether Readers Theater enhanced EFL learners’ oral
production. Furthermore, the effectiveness of this technique on using vocabulary was also
evaluated. From a psycholinguistic perspective, the findings of this study not only confirmed the
limited nature of attentional capacity but they also supported the viability of Levelt’s (1989) L1
speech production model for L2 speech production research as well. From a pedagogical
perspective, results of this study offered further empirical evidence in support of the flexibility of
task-based approaches to language teaching and learning. In the context of a limited capacity
cognitive system, it makes sense to think of a diet of tasks and task conditions as a way to help
students focus on different aspects of L2 speech performance, thus developing L2 speech in its
totality.
In particular, the findings empirically confirmed what Ellis (2009b) noted as one of the
advantages of task-based language teaching (TBLT) approaches, that while TBLT prioritizes
meaning over form, it can nevertheless cater for learning form, and it has the potential to cater for
the enhancement of communicative fluency while not neglecting accuracy of language.

This research was an attempt to report on a study into the potential transfer of benefits of
repeated reading of the same story to the oral production of EFL learners. Of particular relevance
to the present study was the finding that when language learners received either feedback or
input between the two performances, the positive benefits of task repetition are transferred to
performance of a new task. It should be pointed out that this issue is complex and thus needs to
be further explored through methodologically rigorous research studies as this one stands as a
preliminary study which aims to open up this avenue of research.

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THE IMPACT OF CHOOSING TITLE ACTIVITIES AS

A POST-READING TASK ON LEARNING
READING COMPREHENSION AMONG PRE-
INTERMEDIATE LANGUAGE LEARNERS
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Fereshteh Jahan Bozorgi Motlagh 1&2, Bahman Gorjian3*

1Department of ELT, Khouzestan Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz,
Iran.
2Department of ELT, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran.
3Department of ELT, Abadan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Abadan, Iran.
*Corresponding author (bahgorji@yahoo.com)

ABSTRACT
This study investigated the impact of choosing title activities as a post-reading task on learning
reading comprehension among Iranian pre-intermediate language learners. To
homogenize participants, the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) was administered,
and a homogeneous sample comprised of 42 male and female learners whose scores were
between 28 and 36 was selected from a population of 90 at the pre-intermediate level.
Then the homogenized sample was non-randomly assigned to two equal experimental
groups of guided and free title activities. A reading comprehension pre-test was
administered to the participants at the beginning of the course. In the experimental group
of guided title activities, the learners used guided title activities as a post-reading task for
the intended reading texts. In the experimental group of free title activities, the learners
used free title activities as a post-reading task during 30- minute sessions in eight weeks.
Then the learners' performances were evaluated based on their appropriate
comprehension of the reading texts. During ten sessions of treatment, the participants of
the guided experimental group followed choosing of guided title activities engaged in
the post-reading task and the learners received guidance for comprehending the texts
and answering the comprehension questions included selecting the title activities. The
free experimental group engaged in free choosing title activities since they did not
receive teacher's guidance for choosing the title, and then they proposed some topics for
the passage. The participants took a reading comprehension post-test to approve the
effectiveness of the post-reading task, of choosing the title activities. The results of Paired
and Independent Samples t-tests indicated that there was a significant difference between
the guided and free title activities groups on the post-tests. Consequently, Implications of

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the study suggest that reading comprehension could be developed through choosing
guided title activities rather than free title activities.

Key Words: Title activities, post-reading task, reading comprehension

1. Introduction
In order for language learners to function in a foreign language, they need to be able to speak,
listen, write and read that language. In academic settings, reading is assumed to be the
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central means for learning new information (Celce-Murcia, 2001).

Reading as a skill has received a lot of attention almost in every pedagogical situation
because the purposes of reading and the tasks it fulfills can be various and it can affect
the learning of other components as well. Richards and Renandya (2002) stated that there
are some reasons that reading receives a unique attention among second or foreign
language learners. At first, the learners want to be able to read for gaining important
information about their careers or their majors. Second, they are able to enhance the
process of language learning via written texts which follow various pedagogical goals.
"The reading goal is to read for meaning or to recreate the writers meaning. Reading to
improve pronunciation practice, practice grammatical forms, and study vocabulary does
not constitute reading at all because, by definition, reading involves comprehension.
When readers do not comprehend, they do not reading" (Chastain, 1988, p. 217).
Reading comprehension is thus an interactive process between the reader and the text. In
that the reader is required to fit the clues providing in the text to his or her own
background knowledge. Reading for comprehension is the primary purpose of reading
skill. Thus raising students' awareness of main ideas in a text and exploring the
organization of a text are essential for good comprehension. As a consequence, the use of
graphic representation to highlight text organization and to indicate the ordering of the
content information is an important resource for comprehension instruction (Nunan,
2006). Celce-Murcia's (2001) framework of reading instruction consists of: pre-reading
instruction, during-reading instruction, and post-reading instruction.
Post-reading instruction focuses on the development of opinions on the texts to discuss the
major ideas to be understood by the learners. Demand a critical stance on text
information, or oblige students to connect text information to personal experiences and
opinions. All three components of the frame work may be integrated into a single lesson
with a short reading passage on a familiar topic or they may run across numerous
lessons. Reading is a complex skill and we want to see whether choosing title activities as
a post-reading task is effective in reading comprehension or not (Celce-Murcia, 2001). To
achieve the purpose of reading comprehension, an appropriate approach or methodology
is required. Language teaching methodologies involve some of the more popular second
language teaching methods of the last half century (Richards & Rodgers, 2001).
Alongside content-based instruction (CBI), task-based language teaching (TBLT) has gained
a considerable degree of attention around the world. In TBLT, the learners are given an
opportunity to explore the language (Skehan, 1998). Successful teachers have always
helped their students to create a connection between the new information they obtain
with their real lives. Post-reading activities and tasks are used to help ESL students to
think about and respond to texts they have read (Morris & Stewart-Dore, 1990). They
support students to consider what they have read and learned that they might use for
other language and literacy related activities such as presentations or reading texts.

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According to Richards and Renandya (2002), it is important to note that not all but the
majority of the writers agree that post-reading tasks should be included in the extensive
reading programs. Although the post-reading tasks take time away from reading and
may prevent the students’ enjoyment from reading, but it should be seen as its own
reward in extensive reading. However, we feel that if pos-treading tasks are carefully
designed, they can serve useful purposes. The purposes of post-reading activities are: (1)
reinforcing what students have learned from their reading; (2) giving students a sense of
progress; and (3) helping students share information about materials to read or avoid.
Reading skill is the activity of comprehending a piece of written language which is designed
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to be read. However, reading is more than being a matter of recognizing the symbols of
written language (Koralek & Collins, 1997). Just as speech is more than producing
sounds, writing is much more than the production of graphic symbols and reading is
much more than recognizing the symbols; these symbols have to be arranged according
to some conventions to form words, to combine them to form sentences and at the end to
convey a message (Maarek & Moumene, 2009).
Reading is a language skill which is relatively difficult to learn and teach. In terms of four
skills, comprehending a coherent, fluent, extended piece of written text is probably the
most dominant to do in language (Nunan, 2004). For second and foreign language
learners the challenges are enormous, particularly for those who go on to a university
and study in a language that is not their own. A number of efforts have been made to
develop the students' reading skill, among others is by applying different approaches to
the learning and teaching of reading (Richards, 2015). Lots of studies were done on
learning and teaching different phases of tasks, particularly pre-task, during-task, and
post-task they also show that Iranian learners as foreign language learners to some extent
have had difficulties in reading.
Therefore, because of the importance of reading and benefits of tasks and their aspects, this
research investigated the role of choosing title activities as the post-reading tasks in
learning reading comprehension among Iranian learners. Post-reading tasks generally
and choosing title activities particularly provide a chance for students to practice and
check their comprehension at the time they are challenging to choose the best titles. By
using it students' reading comprehension will improve in a number of ways by focusing
their attention to the main points of the applied post-reading tasks. The research
questions to be investigated in the present study are as follows:
RQ1. Does a choosing free title activity as a post-reading task affect learning reading
comprehension among pre-intermediate language learners?
RQ2. Does a choosing guided title activity as a post-reading task affect learning reading
comprehension among pre-intermediate language learners?

2. Review of Literature
2.1. Task-based Language Teaching
A task is a pedagogical action “where the target language is used by the learner for a
communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve an outcome” (Willis, 1996, p. 23).
Skehan (1998) defines the task as "an activity in which meaning is primary; learners are
not given other people’s meaning to regurgitate; there is some communicative problem to
solve; there is some sort of relationship to comparable real-world activities; task
completion has some priority; the assessment of the task is in terms of outcome" (p.95).
Krahnke (1987) notes that task-based instruction may be different from other methods of
language teaching since the lessons are constructed based on the way in which the more

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focus is on the language required to perform the tasks rather than the aspects of language
such as structures and vocabulary. The students learn the language structures indirectly
and through the task completion. Students' interaction during the tasks facilitates transfer
of old information and incorporates it with new information through performing the task
which connects the tasks to the learners' real-life and provides them with large amounts
of input.
According to Ellis (2002), the design of a task-based lesson is based on several components of the
lesson including vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension, etc. Thus any task is
based on its principal component. The designs of tasks have been proposed through the
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main purpose of the treatment. Generally speaking, they all have three levels in common.
These levels are of the chronology of a task-based lesson. Thus, the first phase is ‘pre-
task’ which concerns the activities those teachers and students may undertake before
they start the lesson such as warm-up, pre-speaking or pre-reading questions. The second
one is the task phase which centers the lesson, including the main activities performed by
the students who are required to operate under time-pressure. The final phase is the post-
task that deals with the procedures for wrapping-up the task performance. (Willis,
1996,p.1).
According to Willis (1996), there are many advantages in using task-based learning to motivate
the leaners towards tasks and classroom activities in a TBLT environment. It offers a
situation for students to display their efforts and develops their ideas. It also help the
learners to co-operate with each other in small groups which builds bonds between them.
They work together in groups and they are able to produce meaningful interactions on
given topics. They also able to concentrate on the language features, knowledge and
experiences which enable the students to explore novel features of language.

2.2. Post-task Activities

According to Skehan and Foster (1997), post-task activities have also proved interesting.
Examples of such activities are informing learners before they do a task that some of
them will be required to re-do the task subsequently on front of the entire class. The
rationale here is that the threat of a future public performance will induce learners, while
doing the task, to concentrate on error avoidance, since they will more clearly see the
connection between the task and how well they will later do, when more pedagogic
norms will prevail. In addition, the future task will not compromise the naturalness and
communicativeness of the actual task, since the teacher will not be present at that stage.
An alternative post-task condition would be to record learner performance during a task
(which is done anyway during research studies), and then give the tape to learners so
that they have to transcribe some of their own performance. Once again, the intention is
to focus learners' attention on form, since they will be drawn in working in detail with
what they themselves have said. Skehan and Foster (1997) made the prediction that
accuracy, selectively, would be advantaged in a post-task condition.
Title activities, as a type of post-reading task, consist of the questions in which the readers
have been pulled into the challenge to choose the most fruitful title for the passage. By
the time, the learners come to these types of activities; they already have read or skim the
passage (Richards & Renandya, 2002). In the present study, title activities refer to two
types of guided and free choosing title activities in which the learners' reading
comprehension measured by choosing the best title for the read text.
Khoshsima and Pourjam (2014) investigated the effectiveness of cloze tests and open-ended
questions on reading comprehension ability of Iranian Intermediate English as foreign

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language (EFL) Learners. The traditional way of teaching reading comprehension was
used for the control and working with various items of testing reading comprehension
The findings of their study indicated that the open and closed ended items facilitate the
learners' ‘reading comprehension while the open-ended questions are significantly more
effective than the closed ended items in students’ reading comprehension (Derakhshan &
Nazari, 2015).

3. Methodology
3.1. Participants
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To use post-reading activities in this research, the study was conducted at Abadan Islamic Azad
University. A sample of 42 learners at the pre-intermediate level was selected non-
randomly from among 90 Iranian EFL learners based on convenience sampling method.
They were studying English language translation at Abadan Islamic Azad University.
Male and female BA students ranging in age from 20 to 25 acted as our participants.
Through their performance on OQPT which was designed into two parts with sixty
questions, 42 learners out of 90 were selected. After administering OQPT, 42 male and
female learners whose scores were between 28 and 36 (based on a standard ranking test)
were chosen as the research sample. Because of the limit number of learners, these
participants were non-randomly divided into two equal groups (21 participants in each
group). Sampling was made based on non-random convenience sampling method. One
group acted as experimental group of guided title activities in which the learners used
guided title activities as a post-reading task for the intended reading text as the treatment
step and the group who used free title activities as a post-reading task was considered as
the experimental group of free title activities.

3.2. Instrumentation
The present study made benefit from the following instruments:
OQPT: It was applied to determine the learners' level and to homogenize the sample. This test
was divided into two parts; Part One (Items 1 – 40) and Part Two (Items 41 – 60). Each
test had 60 items, with one point available for each correct answer. Levels were then
determined by the number of points the learners scores i.e., between 28 and 36. This test
took 60 minutes.
Pre-test: A teacher-made reading comprehension test was designed by the researcher. It was
piloted on a group of ten students other than the real participants in the study. The
reliability index was met through KR-21 formula as (r=.828). Then the participants took
it as a pre-test. Two groups participated in an independent pre-test with 20 multiple
choice items based on the first texts read by the participants.
Post-test: A teacher-made reading comprehension test was designed by the researcher. It was
piloted on a group of ten students other than the real participants and the reliability
index was met through KR-21 formula as (r=.701). Then the participants took it as a post-
test. Two groups participated in an independent post-test with 20 multiple-choice items
based on the last texts read by the participants.

3.3. Materials
The present study made benefit from the following material:
Select Readings (Lee & Gundersen, 2000): It was used to choose some text from it. The goal of
Select Readings was to generate good English language skills with the main focus on
reading skills. The authors used both the bottom-up and top-down approach where

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appropriate. This book was taught in the department of English at Abadan Azad
University.

3.4. Procedure
Ninety BA students at university from different major were selected non-randomly for
participating in an OQPT for selecting students with the same homogeneity. After
administering OQPT, 42 students were selected with the same homogeneity for this
study. Then these students divided into two groups non-randomly each group with 21
students. One group received guided title activities as a post-reading task and other
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group received free title activities as a post-reading task.

Before starting instruction groups participated in an independent pre-test with 20 multiple
choice items based on the first text read by the participants. It means that students
answered to 20 items. At the next stage students worked on 8 reading passages that
selected from Select Readings (Lee & Gundersen, 2000) for two months and each month
four sections. Reading each passage was taken 10 minutes. The minimum and maximum
text lengths were specified (150 words). During instruction a treatment task was
designed to elicit the master of reading and comprehending of the learners in written
texts.
It was going to apply pre-test, treatment and post-test design. The reasons behind selecting
this design would be as follows:
a. The participants were requested to complete the pre-test, which was going to be administered
in order to check out the learners' current level of reading.
b. Providing the participants with treatment in order to pave the way for complete
comprehension of the texts.
c. To know whether the treatment was shed some light on the blurred issue of using title
activities in Iranian EFL context, one post-test were used.
A treatment task was designed to elicit the master of reading and comprehending of the
learners in written texts. Two types of free and guided choosing title activities were used
as post-reading task.
a) During treatment, the experimental group of guided title activities engaged in reading
different texts with the different content. The participants of the experimental group of
guided title activities which followed the guided choosing title activities engaged in a
post-reading task through it the learners received teacher's guidance for comprehending
the texts and answering the comprehension questions included choosing title activities.
b) The experimental group of guided title activities engaged in guided choosing title activities
used as post-reading task. The experimental group of free title activities engaged in free
choosing title activities since they did not receive teacher's guidance for choosing the
title, and then they proposed some topics for the passage. In every session, the teacher
gave the free experimental group one passage without any title, and then he/she wrote
some topics on the board. The teacher requested the learners to choose the best topic after
reading the passage. At the end, the best topic was chosen based on the majority of the
students' election.
c) The experimental group of free title activities engaged in free choosing title activities used as
post-reading task.
After allocation of learners into experimental groups, a pre-test, included choosing title
questions, for reading comprehension proficiency was administered to the participants of
both groups during a 30- minute time allotment and the learners' performances were
evaluated based on their appropriate comprehension of the read text. One type of post-

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reading task, called choosing title activities, was designed to elicit the pre-intermediate
language learners' comprehension of read texts.
During the treatment, participants of the experimental group of guided title activities which
followed the guided choosing title activities engaged in a post-reading task through it the
learners received teacher's guidance for comprehending the texts and answering the
comprehension questions included choosing title activities. The experimental group of
free title activities engaged in free choosing title activities since they did not receive
teacher's guidance for choosing the title; then they proposed some topics for the passage.
They just comprehended the comprehension questions. The participants took a post-test
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alike the pre-test to approve the effectiveness of the post-reading task, especially
choosing the title activities.
The first and the last texts read by the participants were respectively be regarded as a pre-
test and post-test. That is, the learners of experimental group of guided title activities
were first required to read the texts during the first session and to complete a twenty-
item test which was designed in accordance with the text. The last text with its questions
was again assigned by the instructor was treated as post-test. Choosing titles from a list
of possibilities could show whether the students had understood the overall theme of the
text. The titles should have worded in such a way as to make the students think about the
overall meaning.
At the end of eight sessions both groups participated in a post-test with 20 multiple-choice
items based on the last read text. The results of pre-test and post test were analyzed
through Independent Samples t-test for testing the null hypothesis.

3.5 Data Analysis

Data was analyzed through paired and independent samples t-test to show the difference
between the groups' means. In order to analyze the data obtained from the rating
assessment tests, the data results were analyzed through using SPSS, version 17 to have
the two groups' means compared. The researcher aimed to show whether there will be
any significant difference between the mean of two experimental group of guided title
activities and experimental group of free title activities. Moreover, the researcher's aim
was to show whether tasks were helpful for the students to recognize the appropriate
title for the passages.

4. Results
Descriptive statistics of free experimental and guided experimental groups' pre-tests including
means, standard deviations and then standard error of means of the pre-tests were
computed, respectively. The results are presented in Table 1.

Table 1.Descriptive Statistics (Pre-test)

Groups N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error of Mean

Guided Experimental 21 11.9524 4.60951 1.00588

Free Experimental 21 11.8095 4.55652 0.99431

Table 1 shows the number of the students in the free experimental and guided experimental
groups is equal, 21 participants in each group. The participants of both groups were pre-

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tested on reading comprehension. It was done to measure how well participants
comprehend the reading texts before any treatment and filling the title choosing items
that they would learn during the treatment. The results of the independent t-test
comparing the free experimental and guided experimental groups are presented in Table
2.

Table 2.Independent Samples t-test (Pre-test)

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Levene's Test for t-test for Equality of Means

Equality of
Variances
95% Confidence Interval of the
Difference

F Sig. t df Sig. Mean Std. Error Lower Upper

( D Di
2 i ffe
- f re
t f nc
a e e
i r
l e
e n
d c
) e
Equal 0.190 0.665 0.101 40 0.920 0.142 1.414 -2.715 3.001
var
ian
ces
ass
um
ed
Equal 0.101 39.9 0.920 0.142 1.414 -2.715 3.001
var
ian
ces
not
ass
um
ed
Table 2 shows the observed t (0.101) is less than the critical t (1.684) with df=40. Thus the
difference between the post-test of guided experimental and free experimental groups is
not significant at (p<0.05). Therefore, it came to be known that the two groups were
homogeneous. In other words, Independent samples t-test analysis indicated that there
was no significant difference between the scores of the reading comprehension of the two
groups at the outset of the research. The following statistical procedure was carried out at
the end of the course in order to figure out and compare the means, the standard

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deviation and the standard error of means of the two groups under study. The results are
presented in Table 3.

Table 3. Descriptive Statistics (Post-test, Guided vs. Free Title Activities )

Groups N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Guided Experimental 21 14.4286 4.38830 0.95760

Free Experimental 21 11.9190 3.32380 0.72531

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Table 3 indicates that the number of the students in the free experimental and guided
experimental groups is equal, 21 participants in each group. The difference between the
two means is significant. Table 4 shows the results of the Independent Samples t-test
comparing the post-tests is presented in Table 4.

Table 3. Independent Samples t-test (Post-test, Guided vs. Free Title Activities )

Levene's Test for t-test for Equality of Means

Equality of
Variances
95% Confidence Interval of
the Difference

F Sig. t df Sig. Mean Std. Error Lower Upper

( D D
2 iff iff
- er er
t e e
a n n
i ce ce
l
e
d
)
Equal 4.520 0.040 2.339 40 0.024 2.80952 1.20128 0.38164 5.23741
v
a
r
i
a
n
c
e
s
a
s
s

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u
m
e
d
Equal 2.339 37.265 0.025 2.80952 1.20128 0.37608 5.24297
v
a
r
i
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a
n
c
e
s
n
o
t
a
s
s
u
m
e
d

Table 4 shows the observed t (2.339) is greater than the critical t (1.684) with df=40. Thus the
difference between the post-test of guided experimental and free experimental groups is
significant at (p<0.05). In order to analyze the data, two Paired-Samples t-tests were
conducted. The first one was run to show whether the instruction of reading
comprehension with guided-choosing title activities helped the learners to comprehend
reading texts after the treatment or not. The results of the tests are shown in Table 5.
Table 5.Descriptive Statistics (Pre and Post-test of the Groups)

Mean N Std. Std. Error

Devi Mean
ation
Pair 1 Pre-test Guided Experimental 11.9524 21 4.60951 1.00588
Post-test Guided Experimental 14.4286 21 4.38830 0.95760
Pair 2 Pre-test free Experimental 11.8095 21 4.55652 0.99431
Post-test free Experimental 11.9190 21 3.32380 0.72531

Table 5 shows the number of the students had taken part in the pre-tests and post-tests of
free experimental and guided experimental groups was equal, 21 participants in each
group. The participants of both groups were pre-tested and then post-tested on reading
comprehension. It was done to measure how well participants comprehended the
reading texts after treatment and filling the title choosing items that they would learn

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during the treatment. Paired Samples t-test was run to see the difference between the free
experimental groups’ pre-test and post-test and the guided experimental group's pre-test
and post-test means is significant. Results are shown in Table 6.
Table 6. Paired Samples t-test of the Guided Experimental and Free Experimental Groups
Paired Differences t df Sig.
95% Confidence (
Interval 2
of the -
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Differe t
nce a
i
l
e
d
)
Mean Std. Std. Lower Upper
D E
e r
v r
i o
a r
ti
o M
n e
a
n
Pair1 Pre-test vs. -2.476 5.287 1.153 -4.883 -0.069 -2.146 20 0.044
Post-test of
Guided
Expe
rime
ntal

Pair2 Pre-test vs. 0.180 3.763 .8212 -1.522 1.903 0.232 20 0.819
Post-
test
Free
Expe
rime
ntal

Table 6 shows the degree of freedom, the level of significance and the observed t-value of
free experimental and guided experimental groups' pre-tests and post-tests. The degree
of freedom, the level of significance and the observed t-value of guided experimental
groups' pre-test and post-test are 20 and 0.044 and 2.146, respectively. Since the observed
t (2.146) is greater than the critical t (1.725) with df =20, the difference between the pre
and the post-test of guided experimental groups is significant at (p<0.05). The second t-

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test shows that the observed t (0.232) is less than the critical t (1.725) with df =20, the
difference between the pre and the post-test of the free experimental group is not
significant (p<0.05).

5. Discussion
The results will be discussed in this section, was involved with the following research questions.

RQ1. Does a choosing free title activity as a post-reading task affect learning reading
comprehension among pre-intermediate language learners?
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Results of the free experimental group's pre-test and its post-test showed a slight
improvement in the learners’ overall reading comprehension through post-reading tasks
through choosing free title activities. By looking at the means of the pre-test and post-test
of the free experimental group who chose free title activities, the first null hypothesis was
rejected because the progress in the free experimental group's mean in the post-test of
comprehending EFL context was seen. Moreover, by comparing the results of the pre-test
and post-test of the free experimental group, one can simply notice the partly usefulness
of choosing free title activities. The learners who used post-reading task and the
appropriate choosing free title activities based on what had been learned in the interval
times could achieve a rather good result in the post-test examination. One reason for the
better performance of the free experimental group on post-test than its pre-test in using
post-reading task types might be due to the fact that it was motivating for teachers and
learners to work on a special kind of reading comprehension activities and focused more
on choosing the most fruitful titles among the proposed ones.
After analyzing the data, the difference between free experimental group's performances in
two pre- and post-tests was observed. This result can be more approved by this evidence
that there was a slight significant difference between the means of free experimental
group's pre-and post-tests. The mean of the post-test was a little higher than pre-test. The
results showed that using the post-reading tasks like free title activities had significant
effect on students' reading comprehension. Post-reading tasks and activities provide a
chance for students to think about the text and check their reading comprehension again.
The post-reading activities have also proved interesting. Thanabalan (2013) supported
the research results that language usage would be advantaged by using various post-
reading activities and language learning tools, such as Twitter in the school, college or
universities and rarely in the community college environment. To support the claim that
post-reading activities impacts positively on different aspects and phases of language
learning, Keihaniyan (2014) also designed a study to investigate the role of post- reading
questions on incidental vocabulary learning with the aim of providing useful techniques
for learning vocabulary in language classes. After analyzing the data, the results showed
that incidental vocabulary learning has a high correlation with reading comprehension.

RQ2. Does a choosing guided title activity as a post-reading task affect learning reading
comprehension among pre-intermediate language learners?
Results of the guided experimental group's pre-test and its post-test showed an improvement
in the learners’ overall reading comprehension through another type of post-reading
tasks, specially, choosing guided title activities. The reason of this salient progress in
learners' reading comprehension was the guidance they have received from the teachers
when the learners were challenging the reading texts to choose the best title. In general,
the ability to learn and promote the reading comprehension of EFL context among the

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participants of the guided experimental group improved saliently by using guided-
choosing title activities. After analyzing the data, it was observed a significant difference
between experimental group's performances in two pre- and post-tests. The better
performance of the guided experimental group on the post-test showed that the learners
could work on a special kind of guided title for a text.
The results of this study are supported by Feez (1998), Rooney (2000), and Skehan's (1998)
statements that CBI and TBLT have attracted considerable attention around the world
because a task-based approach provides learners with interesting challenges and
implementation is clearly related to their language needs. Morris and Stewart-Dore
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(1990) supported this approach in which learners are given a chance to explore the
language. Successful teachers have always helped their students to create a connection
between the new information they obtain with their real lives. Post-reading activities are
used to help the learners to think about the passages they have read. They guide the
learners to consider what they are reading to help the students make an organization of
the information which they might apply regarding later activities such as presentations
or reading texts.

6. Conclusion
Results of the study showed that post-reading tasks- particularly choosing title activities with the
aim of focusing on the main points of the text- enhanced students' interest and learner`s
motivation . It was pointed out that in spite of some limitations on using tasks such as
time barriers which are the main outstanding problems in Iranian classrooms in which
the time of the course is really short to apply tied procedures in appropriate reading text.
Also, post-reading tasks provide a chance for students to practice and check their
comprehension at the time they are challenging to choose the best titles. By using it
students' reading comprehension will improve in a number of ways by focusing their
attention to the main points of the applied post-reading tasks.
The usefulness of choosing free and guided title activities is supported by Maxine and
Keene's (2003) declaration in which the process of writing title is described. Writing an
effective title needs a brainstorming and revising and it does not appear in one magic
moment. To write a good and meaningful title and preventing the writers from writing a
meaningless one, some hints should be considered. They include the prediction of the
content, catching the readers' interest, the reflection of tone, and containing the keywords
which helps the readers for the internet search. That is, choosing a suitable title occurred
when chosen title is accordance with the content, the keywords and readers' interest. The
titles may be chosen by the teacher's guidance and hints or freely and without receiving
any guidance from the teacher. Application of post-reading tasks promotes students'
motivation and this may them more motivated in classroom participation while students
who merely and conventionally read and practice a text by using reading comprehension
items. Seemingly, it is not easy to motivate the students to participate in the classroom
activities. Since some of them do not have information about it and they are not
interesting.
Post-reading tasks generally and especially choosing free and guided title activities may
influence EFL learners' reading comprehension. Focus on language materials through
choosing free and guided title activities is an influential and motivational factor for EFL
learners. The instruction of reading comprehension through post-reading tasks, in this
study to some extent choosing free title activities and more significantly choosing guided
title activities do have more impact on the learners’ reading comprehension than the

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other reading activities. The effectiveness of choosing guided title activities than
choosing free title activities is because of the teachers' guidance and help along with the
instruction of reading texts.
The results of this study may be applicable in educational settings for language learners and
tutors and teachers who are interested in implicating tasks in EFL contexts. This study
could be a starting point in investigation of the effect of post-reading tasks of different
kinds of title activities in appropriateness of reading comprehension. Language studies in
the domain reading skill are well advised to consider the implications presented in this
study.
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REFERENCES
Celce-Murcia, M. (2001). Teaching English as a second or foreign language. The United States of
America: Thomson Learning, Inc.
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Derakhshan, A. & Nazari, H. (2015). The implications of reading strategies in EFL/ESL contexts.
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Ellis, R. (2002). The methodology of task-based teaching. Retrieved May 5, 2016 from www.kansai-
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Feez, S. (1998). Text-based syllabus design. Sydney: National Centre for English Teaching and
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Keihaniyan, M. (2014). The effect of post-reading questions on vocabulary learning. International
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Khoshsima, H. & Pourjam, F. (2014). A comparative study on the effects of cloze tests and open-
ended questions on reading comprehension of Iranian intermediate EFL learners.
International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature (IJSELL), 2(7), 17-27.
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Koralek, D. & Collins, R. (1997). How most children learn to read. On the road to reading: A guide for
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Krahnke, K. (1987). Approaches to syllabus design for foreign language teaching. Washington, D.C.,
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Lee, L & Gundersen, E. (2000). Select readings. Canada, Oxford University Press.
Maxine, H. & Keene, M. (2003). Successful writing. (5th ed.). New York: Norton.
Morris, A. & Stewart-Dore, N. (1990). Learning to learn from text: Effective reading in the content
areas. North Ryde, NSW: Addison-Wesley.
Maarek, S. & Moumene, A. (2009). The effectiveness of correction symbols as feedback in
enhancing self-correction in writing the case of first-year students, university of
Constantine. Constantine Institute of Letters and Languages Department of English (MA
Thesis). Algeria: Mentouri University.
Nunan, D. (2004). Task-based language teaching. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Nunan, D. (2006). Second language teaching & learning. Massachusetts 02116 U.S.A.: Heinle &
Heinle Publisher.
Richards, J. C., & Renandya, W. A. (eds.). (2002). Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of
current practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Richards, J. C. & Rodgers, T. L. (2001). Approaches and methods in language teaching (2nd ed.).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Rooney, K. (2000). Redesigning non-task-based materials to fit a task-based framework. The
Internet TESOL Journal, 6 (12), [online]. Retrieved April 12, 2015, from
www.iteslj.org.html
Skehan, P. (1998). A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Skehan, P., & Foster, P. (1997). Task type and task processing conditions as influences on foreign
language performance. Language Teaching Research, 1, 185-211.
Thanabalan, V. (2013). Potential of twitter in post-reading activities among community college students
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Malaysia.
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Willis, J. (1996). A framework for task-based learning. Harlow: Longman.

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COMPARATIVE LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL

CORPUS OF ENGLISH AND TURKISH
PROVERBS INTERRELATED IN CHILDREN
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Halis Gözpınar
PhD Teacher, The Ministry of National Education, Ordu, Turkey
Teaching English as a Foreign Language / Teaching Turkish as a foreign language
halisgozpinar@grmail.com

ABSTRACT
Proverbs, which have been evaluated as a very rich heritage of collective wisdom and experience
in society, are loved by people who prefer spicing up a conversation with the tips of
wisdom to ‘convince’ others to ‘prove’ their point of view and actions. The paper
explores semantic models of proverbs which denote the status of children in the family as
well as issues connected to the process of child-raising in Turkish and English languages
and cultures. Semantic models were interpreted, compared and the morals of the
proverbs were identified. We see that proverbs have a crucial role in the growth and
development of young people and not only the parents but also the whole community
should remember vivid images portrayed in those proverbs.
KEYWORDS: Proverbs; culture; children; equivalent; cross-language

1.) MATERIAL AND METHOD OF THE RESEARCH

The proverbs are common to all communities and though each culture has its own set of
proverbs, the same wisdom can usually be recognised in a different culture. In spite of
religious and cultural differences, nations still reveal similarities regarding everyday life
situations which, among many others, include family life and child-rearing as well as the
values to which a family should adhere while raising their children as valued members
of society(Gozpinar,2014).
There are number of proverbs in each culture explaining children and their upbringing according
to their own cultures. This means that the well-being of children and their education is
very important for the society. I wanted to show general conceptions in proverbs about
children, how and when the proverbs of the both cultures (English and Turkish) studied
in this research give messages or attitudes towards the disciplining of children.
(Gözpınar, 2011)
I believe that children are very vital for deciding how the world will be after some years. So as
educators, we should keep in mind that if we can do some good in the life of a child then
there can be at least a slightest change in the world. If educators think on same lines then
we can hope of a better future ahead. Children are so much important for the family and
society in the proverbs as well and cultures are similar from the point of child
development. Education has to be aimed at the overall development of a child.

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As the teachers, we should always remember that the things children learn during school years
play a very important role in the proper development of them because those years are the
time when children learn by exploring their environment and watching people in
everyday life.
In this research, in order to collect enough data for English proverbs about “children”, Rosalind
Fergusson’s dictionary of Proverbs (Fergusson,1983), and “A dictionary of Turkish
Proverbs” by Metin Yurtbaşı are used (Yurtbasi, 1993).
2.) ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH AND TURKISH PROVERBS ABOUT “CHILDREN”
In order to explore the paradigm of the proverbs related to children in English and Turkish
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languages and cultures we conducted the research in several stages:

1. We identified relevant proverbs in the corpus of these languages. In this process we relied on
several points:
a) The definition of proverb: “A proverb is a common metaphorical summary which initially
originates locally but subsequently achieves a level of universal usage. A proverb is a
reflection by people, based on events they have encountered, containing wisdom for the
future generations. In addition to accuracy and relevance poignancy makes them easily
remembered and repeated”(Gozpinar,2014).
b) The proverbs which include the relevant family lexemes such as son, daughter, mother, father,
child and their equivalents in all of the languages were identified.
2. We analysed the proverb data relying on the pragma-semantic model of the proverb suggested
by Rusieshvili (Rusieshvili, 2005). According to this theory, the semantic model of a
proverb consists of three interdependent layers - explicit, implicit and presuppositional -
each of them having its own status, function and playing a definite role in the creation of
a general meaning of a proverb.
3.) SEMANTIC MODELS
Altogether, twenty-five (25) relevant proverbs were identified in Turkish and fifty-seven (57)
proverbs in English which were grouped in nine semantic models. The most important
models are discussed in the paper. TP: Turkish Proverb; EP: English Proverb
3.1. Families Place a High Value on Children.
In Turkish and English cultures, a family is considered incomplete without a child. Children liven
up the home and they are the wealth of a family. The child is seen as the future of a
family and the birth of a child brings hope and dreams into the families. We can imagine
the importance of a child in the family by the amount of happiness it brings in. The
proverbs below stress the importance of children by emphasising the happiness there is
when they have children.
1. TP: A house with children is like a marketplace and a house without children is like a
graveyard. (Çocuklu ev pazar, çocuksuz ev mezar.)
2. TP: A father without children is like a fruitless tree. ( Çocuksuz baba meyvesiz ağaca
benzer.)
3. EP: Where children are not, heaven is not.
4. EP: Children are the keys of paradise.
5. EP: The best smell is bread, the best savour salt, the best love that of children.
6. EP: Children are poor mens richness.
3.2. There's Only One Perfect Child in the World
Parents constantly exaggerate the importance of their children. Every mother thinks that her child
is perfect, and better than every other child. The children who seem different to others
are perfect for their parents.
7. TP: To a crow her own young bird seems a falcon. (Kargaya yavrusu şahin görünür.)

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8. EP: The crow/owl thinks her own bird(s)/young fairest/whitest.
9. EP: The ape thinks her own babes beautiful.

3.3. The Behaviour of the Child Will be Similar to That of the Parents
English and Turkish proverbs agree that parents play the vital role in raising their children and
are important in their children’s developments. Both parents must be concerned with
raising their children because this period can determine the rest of their lives later. The
Turkish proverb stresses the function of both parents in watching closely what the child
is doing. The Turkish proverb means that children always imitate adults thus; the
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behaviour of the child in most cases will be similar to that of the parents. The English
proverb mentions that parents are models who make the child; thus, parents play a key
role in character development.
10. TP: Four eyes are for one child. (Dört göz bir evlat içindir.)
11. TP: Who stands by a grey horse will be affected either by his temper or by its water. (Kır
atın yanında duran ya huyundan ya suyundan kapar.)
12. EP: Parents are patterns.
Proverbs from English and Turkish cultures below generally mean that a child grows up to be
very similar to his parents, both in behaviour and in physical characteristics, so the
passing of those traits and hereditary talent and character is also meant in proverbs.
13. TP: The pear does not fall far from the tree. (Armut dalının dibine düşer.)
14. EP: The apple never falls far from tree.
15. EP: Blood will tell.
As seen in the proverbs, children and parents everywhere, regardless of differences in race,
culture, and gender tend to respond in exactly the same way when they perceived.
Parents take care of them, entertain them, take responsibility for them, want to enjoy the
children occasionally and handle most of the care, education and deal with any
problems.
The fact that “mother” is likely to have a greater influence than the “father” on the child in both
cultures (English and Turkish) has been revealed by the data. Because the way mothers
show their love is always the best for the children and understands her childs problems
best of all, mothers are accepted as the best friends for their children as seen in English
and Turkish proverbs. Because mothers have such an influence on the childs
development, the child must be judged by the qualities their mother displays in Turkish
proverbs.
16. TP: Only its mother understands the young bird’s song. (Yavru kuşun dilinden anası
anlar.)
17. TP: No friend like a mother. (Ana gibi yâr olmaz.)
18. TP: Anasına bak kızını al, kenarına bak bezini al. (Look at the mother before marrying
the daughter just as you examine the selvage before you buy the cloth.)
19. EP: A mother‟s love never ages.
20. EP: A mother‟s love is best of all.
21. EP: What the mother sings to the cradle goes all the way down to the grave.
22. EP: Men are what their mothers made them.
23. EP: Like hen, like chicken.
No matter how much the mother is involved in the care of their children and how close she is to
them, the children become dependent on their fathers as well. Fathers are also often more
implicated than mothers in the development of a child as is seen in the following
proverbs. In the English proverbs, father’s role is mentioned in shaping our personalities

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as children and into adulthood and father's love contributes as much to a child's
development as does a mother's love.
24. EP: One father is more than a hundred school masters.
25. EP: No love to a father's.
In both cultures (English and Turkish), the boys are expected to spend a lot of time with their
fathers while the girls are trained by their mothers. Consequently, a boy learns to deal
with the duties of men in a house from his father and a daughter- from her mother. The
English proverbs state that sons tend to resemble their fathers in character and
behaviour; and girls to fathers.
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26. EP: Like mother like daughter.

27. EP: Like father like son, like mother like daughter.
28. EP: Take a vine of a good soil, and the daughter of a good mother.
Turkish proverb stresses that daughters will be good friends with the mothers whereas sons with
the fathers but the English one stresses just the opposite. In the Turkish proverb, the
source from whom the boy and girl learn how to perform their duties is indicated.
29. EP: A boy's best friend is his mother.
30. TP: The son is a friend to the father, and the daughter to the mother. (Oğlan babaya kız
anaya yar olur.)
31. TP: A son learns from his father to earn a living, and a daughter learns from her mother
how to cut out clothes. (Oğlan atadan/babadan öğrenir sofra kurmayı, kız anadan
öğrenir bıçkı biçmeyi.)
In the following Turkish proverb, even grandfathers have responsibility for the grandchildren,
and their behaviour in the society may have some positive and negative results which
cause the children feel upset and happy in the future.
32. TP: Sour plum (Koruk) eaten by the father sets the children’s teeth on edge - effected the
children. (Babası eksi elma yer, oglunun disi kamasır.)
3.4. Express Gratitude for the Parents’ Devotion
Children are a huge responsibility and require a great deal of self-sacrifice on the part of their
parents because they often sacrifice their own happiness to give it to their children. They
not only try to fulfil every wish of their children but also they try to protect them from
any adversities in the future. Thus, having been brought up well, it is the children’s
obligation to express gratitude for the parents’ devotion and care and repay with the
same. We are greatly indebted to our parents.
Because of this, according to English and Turkish proverbs, parents’ (especially the mothers’)
efforts and commitment should be seen, appreciated and respected by children. The
model reveals the idea that parents bring children up well so they do not expect rebellion
and hatred from them but they deserve honourable treatment from the children.
33. TP: The father’s blessing takes effect, and a mother’s sigh. (Atanın duası tutar, ananın
ahı.)
34. EP: A father’s goodness is higher than the mountains; a mother’s goodness is deeper than
the sea.
35. EP: God, and parents, and our master, can never be requited.
We see in the following Turkish proverbs that the pain caused by the loss of the property is
nothing when compared to the grief a person carries after the death of his child. Parents
have additional burdens of despair and grief over the death of a child.
36. TP: If anyone would cry for me, it is only my mother, the others would do so only
feignedly. (Ağlarsa anam ağlar, kalanı yalan ağlar.)
37. TP: The grief for one’s child is deplorable. (Evlat acısı içler acısı.)

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3.5.Children Bring Happiness and Misery
In Turkish culture, family ties are strong which obliges children to respect and help parents in
their old age. Consequently, when children do not do so, they are considered ungrateful.
If you expect children to make you happy, you will be disappointed as seen in the
following proverbs:
38. TP: A good child makes his parents proud, a bad one makes them ashamed of him. (İyi
evlat (anayı) babayı vezir eder, kötü evlat rezil eder.)
39. EP: A wise son maketh a glad father, but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.
In Turkish and English proverbs, it is meant that a good child gives happiness to parents whereas
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a bad one is a big burden on their shoulders. The characteristic traits emphasized are
good children and parents are proud of them whereas badly-behaved children make
their parents suffer as well. Although parents do everything for them in their lives,
children may ignore parents when they are old.
40. TP: Babası oğluna bir bağ vermiş, oğlu babasına bir salkım üzüm vermemiş. (The father
gave his son a vineyard, but the son did not offer him a bunch of grapes)
41. EP: One father is enough to govern one hundred sons, but not a hundred sons one father.
42. EP: A son is a son till he gets him a wife, but a daughter's a daughter all the days of her
life.
The pleasure by a good child is the best of all according to the proverbs as in the following:
43. EP: Happy is he that is happy in his children
44. EP: A child’s service is little, yet he is no little fool that despises it.
45. EP: Wise child is a father's bliss.
The comparison of good and bad children revealed that English and Turkish proverbs share the
attitude towards the parents that having children is a blessing from the creator.
3.6. It is Hard Work for Parents to Raise up and Take Care of a Child
Proverbs used for the care and concern of the education of the children in the cultures show that
raising children is so hard. But the parents patiently and gladly put up with all the
difficulties for the sake of their child as seen in English and Turkish proverbs. It is hard to
raise children properly by comparing the process to hard work. Because it is hard to raise
children properly, proverbs state that parents should be ready for expected hardships.
46. TP: Raising children is like gnawing at Stones. Çocuk büyütmek taş kemirmek.
47. TP: If you have children you will have a thousand worries, if you have no children you
will have one worry. (Evladın varsa bin derdin var, evladın yoksa bir derdin var.)
48. EP: Children suck the mother when they are young, and the father when they are old.
49. EP: Wife and children are bills of charges.
50. EP: Small birds must have meat.
51. EP: The first service a child does his father is to make him foolish.
52. EP: Children when they are little make their parents fools, when they are great they make
them mad.
53. EP: Children are certain cares, but uncertain comforts.
54. EP: Children must be fed.
3.7.Education in Childhood Shape the Future Character
Everything has its own time and a child can be taught everything in their childhood. Because
children acquire new habits in early childhood, so changing the old ones is difficult in
adulthood. You can tell about a child in early ages whether he is going to be a well-
mannered in the future or not. The English and Turkish proverbs below stress that the
early period of a child’s life is the best time to acquire habits and the way of living.
55. TP: A tree should be bent when young. (Ağaç yaş iken eğilir.)

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56. EP: As the twig is bent, so is the tree inclined.
57. EP: Raw leather will stretch.
As seen in the proverbs above, people's personalities form when they are children so a person
will have the same qualities as an adult that he or she had as a child. At the youngest
ages, parents should promote the participation of children in the lives of their families.
During childhood, the family continues to play an important role which will have
lifelong consequences. Parents should give support and guidance in the right way in
order to make their children culturally more developed and a good member of the
community.
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3.8.Pampering Excessively Leads to Spoiled Children

One of the most unpleasant things a parent can encounter on earth may be a demanding and
spoiled child because they do not understand the difficulties of life so they believe that
they are entitled to whatever they want, whenever they want it.
58. TP: A child thinks bread grows in the cupboard. (Çocuk ekmeği dolapta bitiyor/yetişiyor
sanır.)
59. TP: A young bird’s mouth is big. (Yavru kuşun ağzı büyük olur.)
60. EP: A growing youth has a wolf in his belly.
As seen in the following equivalents, it is stressed that pampering a child leads to bad results.
Spoiling the children by pampering is not accepted and parents should not give all what
they want as long as they we could. While educating their children, the parents should be
careful not to spoil them because fulfilling all of their wishes may make them lazy.
61. TP: Do not spoil the child or he will sit on your head. (Çocuğu şımartma, başına çıkar )
62. EP: Woe to the kingdom whose king is a child.
63. EP: He that spoils (cockers) his child provides for his enemy.
64. EP: A child may have too much of his mother's blessing.
65. EP: Give a child while he craves, and a dog while his tail doth wave and you'll have a fair
dog, but a foul knave.
66. EP: Too much liberty spoils all.
67. EP: Dawted (spoilt) daughter makes daidling (lazy) wives.
It is worth noting that several proverbs emphasise the necessity of strictness while bringing up
children and suggest that being strict helps them grow up with discipline and good
ethics in life. English proverbs state this trait and call for strictness.
68. EP: Kindness is lost that’s bestowed on children and old folk.
69. EP: One should be strict with their children.
70. EP: Better children weep than old men.
71. EP: A pitiful mother makes a scabby (nasty) daughter.
72. EP: Rule youth well, and age will rule itself.
Turkish proverb and English proverbs specify the method of corporal punishment by also
indicating that it is necessary to beat children for the parents not to suffer in their old age.
73. TP: He who doesn't beat his daughter will beat his knees. (Evladını dövmeyen dizini
döver.)
74. EP: Spare the rod and spoil the child.
75. EP: The kick of the dam hurts not the colt. (Said to point out that children do not feel
angry or bitter when punished by their parents).
76. EP: Birchen twigs break no ribs.
77. EP: The rod doth not make less the mother's love.
3.9.Children Tell the Truth

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Parents feel it is extremely important to teach children about the issue of secrets because kids tell
it like they see without exaggeration and deception. They do not hesitate to repeat
everything they hear, so parents do not have to talk about secrets with them. The
following proverbs in English and Turkish let us see the same point of view in
accordance with the honesty of the children.
78. EP: What children hear at home, soon flies abroad.
79. EP: Children and fools speak the truth.
80. EP: Children have wide ears and long tongues.
81. TP: Don’t gossip while children are around. (Çocuğun bulunduğu yerde dedikodu
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olmaz.)
82. TP: Adults at home will say - children from the roof will be notified. (Büyükler evde
söyler, çocuklar damda beyan eder. )
4.) CONCLUSION:
 Proverbs have strong connection with people’s philosophy on children and contain
general observations of practical knowledge, situations and other various aspects of child
development.
 Using metaphors in the proverbs increases the value of a proverb and takes the listeners
to a situation directed by a true story. Proverbs of these nations serve as the rules of the
unwritten constitution in the framework of family formation and parent-child relations,
and particularly in raising and educating children.
 Parents should take these proverbs into consideration in order to set good examples for
their children.
 The proverbs above provide an interesting and informative source of folk knowledge
with their highly communicative and instructive value helping parents solve and
understand the situations of conflict and stating what should, or should not be done and
show conditions for certain actions and attitudes.
 The study of the proverbs related to children in both cultures (English and Turkish) has
revealed the importance that these cultures give to upbringing children.
 Both cultures (English and Turkish) emphasize that a parent should be a good example
and a wise teacher for their children.
 As is seen in English and Turkish proverbs above, both communities (English and
Turkish) give great value and importance to the education of children because children
are seen as the vital elements of the family’s happiness and are very important for the
future.
 Proverbs in English and Turkish cultures revealed that the people of these countries pay
great attention to the concept of the family and to the proper grooming of their children.
They assign an important role to the parents in the process of raising a good generation.
 Mother and father have duties and responsibilities while bringing up their children
because the children learn by observing and imitating their parents, therefore, the parents
must be a good example to them. Nothing is much more important than the love of child
for the mother. Environment and heredity is also effective in the development of the
child.
 If parents hesitate to show their children how to behave appropriately and children are
allowed to behave however they want, they will certainly get themselves into trouble and
embarrass themselves and their families.
 During the first years of life, education is very effective, so the behaviour, attributes and
personality of the child will be shaped in a more permanent form.

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 As seen from the data, from the cultural point of view, the proverbs from both (English
and Turkish) cultures highlighted similar issues although they differ from cultural and
religious points of view. The relation between proverb and culture is very strong and wit
and spirit of a nation are discovered in its proverbs.

REFERENCES
Fergusson, R. The penguin dictionary of proverbs. London: Bloomsbury Books. 1983.
Gözpınar, H. (2011). Proverb- Its Semantic and Didactic Parametres. MA. Thesis. Tbilisi: Tbilisi State
University
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Gözpınar, H. (2014). The Role of Proverbs in Forming Intercultural Awareness (On the basis of Teaching
English Georgian and Turkish Languages). PhD Thesis. Tbilisi: Tbilisi State University URL:
http://press.tsu.ge/data/image_db_innova/disertaciebi_fsiqologia/halis_gozpinar.pdf
Gozpinar, H& Rusieshvili, M. (2014). Similar and unique in the family: How to raise children
(Using
examples of Turkish and Georgian proverbs relating to children). Journal of Language and
Linguistic Studies, 10(1), 67-77; 2014 URL:
http://www.jlls.org/index.php/jlls/article/viewFile/181/159
Rusieshvili, M. (2005). The proverb (in Georgian). Tbilisi: Lomisi.
Yurtbasi, M.(1993). A dictionary of Turkish proverbs. Ankara: Turkish Daily News

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A REVIEW OF USING TECHNOLOGY IN EFL

LEARNING AND TEACHING: CALL IN ELT
CONTEXT
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Habib Rouzitalab
Department of Foreign Languages, Sepidan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sepidan, Iran
E-mail
habib.ruzitalab@gmail.com

Amin Marzban
Department of Foreign Languages, Sepidan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sepidan, Iran
*Corresponding author E-mail
marzban@iausepidan.ac.ir

Abstract
In the fast advancing world of information, the widespread use of technology in language
teaching has been a revolution in all aspects of the field of elt. As such, using technology and all
its relevant issues have recently been one of the fitting foci of efl studies which is an inevitable
part of the most important contributions of such an attempt to the second-language education. To
this end, the current inquiry made an attempt to review studies related to technology, mainly
computers, and its influence and interrelation that affect language teaching and learning in an
actual class environment. The researcher first provided an overview of literature on recent
advances in technology and call, and then elaborated on the major concerns of exploring the
interrelation between computer-assisted instructions and English language teaching and learning
in an efl context. Furthermore, the researcher shed some light on the integration of technology (in
its broad umbrella term) with the learning environment. Concluding remarks come up with the
notion that technology corresponds to the ongoing pedagogy for English as a second language
education. The findings are discussed with implications for classroom practices and future
research.

Keywords: computer assisted language learning, technology integration, ELT.

1. Introduction
With the on-going development in the technology domain, the interest in applying the
innovations to the field of ELT (English Language Teaching) is spreading rapidly. In the field of
linguistics, most of the scholars and researchers, likewise, believe in the significance of knowing
how these technologies in context would influence the future educational programs within the
classroom instructions. The existed literature about using technology in language teaching and
learning indicates that researchers like Underwood (1984) have investigated the use of computers
in language learning since the 1960s. As such, a momentous amount of literature explores the
significance of CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) in relation to language education
but few studies investigate how and why technology integration is more effective on the process
of teaching and learning. Levy (1997), described CALL as “the search for and study of
applications of the computer in language teaching and learning” (p. 1). Gamper and Knapp

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(2002) also referred to CALL as “a research field that explores the use of computational methods
and techniques as well as new media for language learning and teaching” (p. 329).

During the last 20 years, the widespread integration of technology into everyone’s personal life
results in providing immense range of opportunities within and beyond the boundaries of life
and increases the practice of technology use in classrooms. However, technology does not include
only computers in the field of educations; instead, computers are among the latest in the whole
set of technological assistance to enhance language learning.
Strictly speaking, CALL refers to a sort of technology that facilitates language learning. Using
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CALL for linguistic purposes emerged in 1970s, and since the 1980s. When computers found their
way into many schools and people's homes, CALL had gradually shifted its focus towards
learners and is regarded as a tool controlled by learners (Kern & Warschauer, 2000). Kenning, M.
M and Kenning, M. J. (1990), in their report about CALL pointed out two distinct factors from
which CALL originated. The first one is the educational needs and the second one is
technological means. CALL also can be viewed from either typical or modern perspectives. The
typical CALL refers to any forms of videos, sounds, images, texts, and their combinations while
the learners learn the language material by typing at the keyboard, pointing with the mouse, or
speaking by microphone. On the other hand, modern CALL points to the centralization of
adopting CD-ROM, DVD and a variety of renovated technologies, helping in handling receptive
and productive skills and other aspects of the language processing.
One of the main concerns of the current paper is to explore how and why technologies elaborate
on the field of ELT, and to touch primarily the recent developments in language learning and
technology. Furthermore, this survey tries to illustrate the main concerns of interrelation between
CALL and language teaching and learning by reviewing the related articles published in the field
of language and technology. Finally, the researcher analyzes how technologies can be
successfully integrated into the language learning and teaching environment.

Figure 1: The overview of research trend presented in the paper

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2. Brief historical overview of call

In the recent history of language teaching, researchers often characterize the changes in terms of a
shift from the structural perspectives to the integrative ones. It is wise to begin with a concise
record of computer technology usage in TEFL (Teaching of English as a Foreign Language)
context, while the range of theoretical perspectives besides their deal of overlapping have a direct
impact on how the computer-assisted instructions have been used in the realm of language
teaching and learning.
Technologies, or computers in a narrower sense, have been applied in the field of language
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teaching since the 1960s based on its historical background. The periods of developments in
language learning related to technology are boiled down to three main stages; behaviorist or
structural CALL, communicative or cognitive CALL, and integrative or socio-cognitive
computer-assisted instructions following Washauer and Healey’s (1998) points of view.

2.1 Behaviorist CALL

The first phase of CALL goes back to the 1960s, and the programs that were designed, as
incorporation for language teaching, were corresponding to behaviorist methodologies.
According to Kern and Warschauer (2000), this phase is “consistent with the structural approach
which emphasized that repeated drilling on the same material was beneficial or even essential to
learning” (p.8). During the 1960s, programs were designed with the assistance of computers in
such a way to enhance and give instant feedback to learners’ responses to the specific testing
exercises on grammatical or vocabulary tutorial and drill programs. Nowadays they are still used
in various forms as an educational tool.

2.2 Communicative CALL

The second phase was proposed during the 1970s, and there was a shift toward learner choice
and a meaning-focused communicative methodology in order to present language in context to
learners. Put it another way, approaches of communicative CALL concern the meaning of
language in use rather than on its form (Warschauer, 2004). As Warschauer, 2004 stressed,
Communicative CALL took the form of communicative exercises performed as a way of practicing
English. The content of the interaction was not seen as important, nor was the learners’ own speech
or output. Rather the provision of input was seen as essential for learners to develop their mental
linguistic systems. (p. 10)
This phase, in fact, was in keeping with the cognitive methodologies in the 1970s and 1980s
(McDonough, Shaw, and Masuhara, 2013). As the authenticity of presented materials to the
learners were highly valued in this period, the structural approach was rejected and new
programs were used as a facilitating tool for the communicative language approach.

2.3 Integrated CALL

The last stage, which is the current phase, is somehow a movement away from interactions with
computers and toward interactions with other humans through using computers. McDonough,
Shaw and Mauhara (2013) claimed that the Internet development and broader communication
opportunities are “drawing on socio-cognitive views of learning, where authentic task and text
are central, and teachers draw on tools such as word processors and the Internet to put learners
into positions in which they use technology for authentic activity”(p.80). Many thanks must be

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dedicated to the Internet highways, which pave the way for integrating communication
opportunities and lead to having access to the authentic sources of information. According to
Fouts (2003), research on computers and education, and the integration of computers with
traditional instruction generate higher academic achievement in a variety of different subject
areas in comparison with the traditional instruction alone.

It is also to bear in mind that the three stages declared above do not fall into limited timelines. As
each new stage has emerged, former stages remain. Current uses of computers in the language
classroom embody all three of the paradigms mentioned above (Warschauer and Healey, 1998, as
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cited in Bax, 2003). The following table illustrates the summary of the role of CALL in the three
aforementioned approaches adopted from Network-based Language Teaching by Kern and
Warschauer (2000).
Table 1.
The Role of CALL in Behaviorist, Communicative, and Integrated Frameworks
1970s–1980s: 1980s–1990s: 21st Century:
Stage Structural CALL Communicative CALL Integrative CALL

Technology Mainframe PCs Multimedia and

Internet
Grammar Communicative Content-based,
English-teaching paradigm Translation Language ESP/EAP
and Teaching
Audio-lingual
Structural Cognitive Socio-cognitive
(a formal (a mentally (developed in
View of language structural constructed social
system) system) interaction)

Principal use of Drill and Practice Communicative Authentic

computers exercises discourse
Principal objective Accuracy Fluency Agency

Bax (2003) argued the fact that teachers can benefit from using eclectic approaches. As he pointed
out, “technology use also needs to be understood in relation to a teacher’s intentions and role,
and where it is used in the curriculum” (as cited in McDonough, Shaw and Mauhara, 2013, p. 80).
Bax (2003) further noted that a fully integrated CALL is happened when:

The technology becomes invisible, embedded in everyday practice and hence ‘normalized’. To take
some commonplace examples, a wrist watch, a pen, shoes, writing these are all technologies that
have become normalized to the extent that we hardly even recognize them as technologies. (p. 24)

It is worth mentioning that studying historical overview of CALL prepared us with discovering
how the trends of technology as a whole reflect upon pedagogical purposes.

3. The impact of technology on language teaching and learning

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Regarding the prevalent concern in using technology and primarily computers in the field of
ELT, it deserves to shed more light on the role and impact of CALL on EFL teaching and learning
trend by reviewing some of the related published articles in the field of language and technology.
In recent years, researchers have become more interested in scrutinizing the effective usage of
technology in classrooms. Barani (2013), for example, explored the impacts of CALL on
vocabulary achievement in ELT context. As a result, he concluded the effectiveness impact of
using CALL in EFL educational studies through its significance and potentiality for teaching a
foreign language. CALL could motivate EFL learners while it’s being used with proper care and
taking the educational objectives into consideration clearly. Barani (2014) also argued about the
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existence of Internet acts like a supplementary tool to enhance the efficiency of language
teaching, and furthermore, moving away from concentration on grammar and toward
implementing communicative teaching. With the help of Internet a better communication can
take place, as it is the most common objective for almost every language learners.
A number of advantages regarding the use of CALL were identified by Barani (2014), based on
the research carried out by Warschauer and Healey (1998), and are summarized in the following
table.

Table 2.
Lists of CALL Advantages
CALL Advantages
1
Moving from grammar practice towards communicative teaching
2 The vocabulary software incorporating graphics, audio recording and playback, and
video
3
Multimodal practice error-checking and giving feedback
4
Word-processors coming with spelling checkers
5
Pronunciation having benefited from CALL
6
Using game as a fun factor
7
Pair or small groups working on projects
8
Variety in the available resources and learning styles used
9
Exploratory learning with large amounts of language data
10
Real-life skill building in computer use

Warschauer and Healy (1998) discussed about the Internets’ arrival and highlighted that,
“computer both in society and in the classroom-has been transformed from a tool for information
processing and display to a tool for information processing and communication” (as cited in
Crystal, 2006, p. 266). Consequently, the needs analysis should also be taken into account to see
what learners really want to do with the language and what course objectives are brought to the
table.

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Regarding CALL disadvantages, Maleki, et.al (2015) expressed some practical points. The
following table introduces some of the shortcomings that are worth considering, too.

Table 3.
Lists of CALL Disadvantages
CALL Disadvantages
“Computers would increase educational expense and decrease the impartiality of
1 education which eventually lead to be a great burden for parents and schools” (Gips,
Dimattia, and Gips, 2004).
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“The necessity of having basic knowledge about computer for language learning for
both students and teachers. As a result, those students who do not have adequate
2
technological training will not adore the positive points of computer technology
“(Roblyer, 2003).
3 Imperfection of computer assisted language-learning programs (Warschauer, 2004).
Computers cannot respond to student's questions as quickly as teachers do due to
4
limitations in artificial intelligence of computers (Dent, 2001).

It should be mentioned that as some CALL software included drills and integrated them with
games as a fun factor, the result was motivating students to learn the language easier. The
interactive capability of CALL as a unique factor drew special attention to its contrast to other
technological aids as Kenning & Kenning (1983) stated the following:

The unique property of the computer as a medium for education is its ability to interact with the student.
Books and tape recording can tell a student what the rules are and what the right solutions are, but they
cannot analyze the specific mistake the student has made and react in a manner which leads him not
only to correct his mistake, but also to understand the principles behind the correct solution. (p. 2)

Likewise, Patrikis (as cited in Warscauer, 2004, p.171) in the late 1970s expressed that the
advantage of technology-based instruction was that it was completely removed from “real life.”
Students could therefore learn English without having to participate in the real world—although,
of course, they had to come back to the real world to use what they had learned. Bearing in mind
a more current expression of the value of technology, mainly computers in instruction, is of
Shneiderman (1997), who claimed, “we must do more than teach students to ‘surf the net,’ we
must also teach them how to make waves” (as cited in Warscauer, 2004, p.7). As a consequence,
instructors advised to make the best use of computers in the classroom while students are
stimulated to perform the most real tasks likely. Besides, by taking the benefits and power of
modern information and communication technologies, EFL teachers may change the world in
ways that suit students’ own critical values and instructional requirements.
Regarding the noteworthy role of the Internet as an additional teaching material and its unique
invaluable contributions to the development of language education like studying EFL in the
specific context of culture, Barani (2014) made an attempt to summarize the Internet capabilities,
which may be used by students as follows:

Table 4.
List of Internet Capabilities Students May Use Summarized by Barani (2014)
Internet Capabilities

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1
Corresponding in English via e-mail with other classes in other parts of the world
2
Developing individual pen-pals to write to them
3
Communicating in real-time chat rooms

4
Sharing cross-cultural opinions and ideas on sports, music, food, hobbies, etc.
5
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Conducting international surveys for class work

6
Reading and listening to up-to-date news

Internet tools and its corresponding applications provided the language teachers and learners a
greater ample of opportunities in terms of interactions. It also encouraged the development of
global understanding and served implications for both language instructors and foreign language
learners.
Zhao (2003) argued that computer-assisted language learning is at least as effective as human
teachers. This is in line with the recent year’s studies having been conducted to investigate the
effectiveness of technology uses in language education. According to Grgurovic, Chapelle, and
Shelley’s (2013) meta-analysis of performing effectiveness investigations into language learning,
which was supported by computer technology, CALL groups excelled better than the non-CALL
groups within the synthetic results across their comparable thirty-seven studies. Based on the
research regarding the educational innovation, carried out by Orr and Mrazek (2009), lists of
more modern technologies that are used in the realm of language teaching are capsulated in the
following table.

Table 5.
List of Technologies Used in the Realm of Language Teaching by Orr and Mrazek (2009)
Technologies Used in ELT Context
1 Presentation Software
2 Classroom Video
3 Concept‐ Mapping Software
4 Interactive Whiteboard Technology
5 Interactive Classroom Response System
6 Visual Image Capturing Technologies
7 Visual Imaging Technologies
8 Video Production Software
9 Learning Content Management Systems
10 Podcasting - - Mobile Devices
11 Website Development
12 Wiki/Blogging - Social Networking
13 Virtual Worlds

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14 Gaming/Simulations
15 Large Group Video‐ Conferencing Technologies
16 Interactive Desktop Web‐ Conferencing/Bridging Technology

It should be highlighted that classroom video, in the investigation done by Orr and Mrazek
(2009), regarded as an incorporation of many types of videos presented in class activities
regardless of the mode of format and delivery like DVD or streaming. They also include social
networking, wikis and blogging as they were used to meet different educational requirements.
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Virtual world has also played a tremendous role in the educational setting. According to
definition given by Wikipedia, the virtual world is “an online community that takes the form of a
computer-based simulated environment through which users can interact with one another and
use and create objects”. Due of the fact that gaming and simulation overlap each other, they are
both presented in the same category.
There have been many studies exploring the relationship between CAT (Technology in General
Terms) and EFL teaching and learning. Amongst them, Aydin (2010) gave a critical review of
technology use in EFL education concerning 17 different studies and discoursed at great length
on their interrelations. According to Aydin (2010), the first criteria which he examined was the
topic and the overall conclusion drew special attention to the papers for which the most part
undertake “EFL learners’ attitudes, beliefs, and conceptions about technology and its
components, such as computers and the Internet”, likewise concentrating on “effects of
technology on reading skills, writing skills and vocabulary” (p. 21). Generally, there were four
main results obtained from Aydin’s study. The table below summarizes the results obtained from
his study.
Table 6.
Results Obtained From 17 Studies in TOJET by Aydin (2010)
Aydin’s Study Results
All 17 articles focused on EFL learners and teachers’ perceptions, beliefs, assumptions,
1 knowledge, and attitudes toward technological tools and environments such as
computers, the Internet, learner-centeredness, e-portfolios, presentations.
The sample groups of the studies consisted of EFL teachers, the students of ELT
2
departments, and ESP students
The papers mainly include reviews and quantitative studies while qualitative studies
3
seem limited
Studies indicate that EFL learners and teachers mainly have positive attitudes towards
4 technology, and that technology has positive effects on EFL learning and teaching
processes

In respect of Aydin’s (2010) piece of research on the review of 17 articles on the interrelation
between EFL education and technology, in a broad sense, firstly he concluded that the number of
investigation in terms of quantity required to be increased. Thus, explanation of analysis on the
insufficiency of research would be probed and practical and effective solutions to researcher’s
difficulties are needed to suggest by educational policy makers. Secondly, topics in terms of its
broad diversity in context of EFL demanded to be addressed by researches in the field touched
upon with respect to use a larger sample size. Furthermore, researches also should focus on
running research about the impact of current technology on speaking/listening skills. Besides,
taking into account the ”social, communicational and interactional” (Aydin, 2010, p.22) features

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of technology and its corresponding association with EFL learners sounds paramount in future
research.
Concerning the impacts of computer and all other technological equipment in educational
environment, the findings of the study done by Lai and Kritsonis (2006) correspondingly
indicated the positive effect of computer use on the achievement level of second language
learners. Additionally, they pointed to the limitations and weaknesses of using CALL program in
the educational context such as financial, isolated, and knowledge-required issues. They also
concluded that in order to enhance the effective use of technology-related equipment in second
language learning and teaching, we must outline both positive and negative impacts of
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computers in the foreign language-teaching arena.

3.1 Characteristics of a Good CALL in Language Learning Environment

Concerning the approaches that CALL is applied in language classrooms, Bangs and Cantos
(2004) put forward some characteristics of a good CALL in order to improve the results of
pedagogical performance. As they believed, CALL is not an issue separate from other language
teaching and learning realm. As well, he pointed out that CALL should put the learners at the
center of the process, and exist for the learners, not teacher. According to Bangs and Cantos’
perspective, a good CALL should be adaptive and introduce technology, rather than serve it. A
good CALL also should engage and motivate the learners, respond to research and students’
needs, should be focused and assist learners learn better.

4. Technology integration in ELT context

4.1 An Introduction to Technology Integration

Nowadays, the development of technology facilitates down-to-earth approach in solving ELT

problems. The notion of integrating technology in ELT context is consistent with Swain (1985)
“output hypothesis”. This hypothesis suggests that by social interaction, EFL learners can
develop their language competence through negotiation of meaning and interactional exchanges.
Technology integration is defined as the use of resources like computers, mobile phones,
software, and Internet highway in actual class environment. In order to achieve the ultimate goal
of successful integration of technology in ELT context, the use of technology should be
conventional, transparent, materialized and promptly accessible for the forthcoming tasks, and
can support the educational goals and help the learners to eventually accomplish their ultimate
goals. In an ideal case, if technology integration occurs at its highest level of effectiveness, both
teachers and learners would not notice whether or not they are using it, leading to its becoming a
second nature. This is again in agreement with the Bax’s (2003) “normalization” principle, that is
the eventual objective of technology integration. Though the full integration of CALL becomes
invisible and embedded in everyday language learning process.
Effective technology integration cloud be achieved by learner, according to EDU TECH District
Technology Planning, when:

Students are able to select technology tools to help them obtain information in a timely manner,
analyze and synthesize the information, and present it professionally. The technology should become
an integral part of how the classroom functions as accessible as all other classroom tools. (p. 4)

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The international society for technology in education (ISTE) has drawn attention to conditions
and concerns of incorporating technology effectively into the classrooms corresponding the
educational standards for learners (NETS-S; ISTE, 2002).

4.2 Types of Technology Integration

There are some requirements for rapid expansion of technology under certain circumstances in
order to reach a successful integration of technology. The most significant one includes the
eagerness to accept changes, as it requires continual learning. Technology integration, however, is
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such a broad area as it covers many tools and practices. As such, a list of different strategies in
which technology can be a part of learning process have been retrieved from the website of
eduTopia (2015) and included as follows:
 Online Learning
 Project-Based Activities incorporating Technology
 Game-Based Learning and Assessment
 Learning with Mobile and Handheld Devices
 Instructional Tools like Interactive Whiteboards and Student Response Systems
 Web-Based Projects, Explorations, and Research
 Student-Created Media like Podcasts, Videos, or Slideshows
 Collaborative Online Tools like Wikis or Google Docs

The question of whether these kind of technologies, mainly CALL, can develop the
learners’ language skills and their language acquisition or they do not have a significant effect on
the learning trend is on the table. In response to this question, Macaro, Handley, and Walter
(2012) concluded that:
Some language learning benefits of CALL have been shown. These include evidence that CALL helps
secondary learners with listening and writing, with some suggestion that speaking can also be
improved. However, the research on whether CALL improves reading and on the acquisition of
grammar and vocabulary were inconclusive. As far as non-linguistic benefits are concerned, there
exist an evidence of positive attitudes towards CALL and learners perceived an increase in
confidence in engaging in real learning experiences not found in books and speaking activities (p. 15–
20).
In a nutshell, it should also be noted that as we live in a fast changing world of information, new
tools and ideas in technology education emerge on day-to-day basis, forcing us to be updated
and ready to follow the incessant changing of this trend.

5. Discussion and Conclusion

The actual aspects and performance of using computers in the realm of language teaching have
changed reasonably throughout the last four decades. Technology in its broad sense
implemented into the current field of language education and with the help of technology
integration in language learning arena, authentic communicative and discursive educational tools
can immerse language learners in truly rich and communicative settings. Researchers put
forward that development in language learning and increasing learner’s interest and motivation
toward CALL are likely to occur when learning technologies are used properly. Consequently,
obtaining a clear set of educational objectives for encouraging deep learning approaches seem to
be essential. Based on the review of selected articles for the purpose of this research paradigm,
CALL can provide a meaningful setting for communicative language learning if it is used
effectively through its successful integration into the real class environments.

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As this paper aims at reviewing the selected articles based on their focus of study in field of
language technology research, firstly the researcher aims to emphasize the howness paramount
concerns of technologies are deployed in classroom practices and how they mediate such
practices, is more important than historical phases of CALL’s development which is inline with
what Motteram (2013) declared. As a result, we only need to take them up to mediate our
practices and explore the outcomes instead of waiting for phases of technological development to
succeed others or for technologies to become normalized. Technologies and in a narrower sense
CALL programs, assist language teachers and learners in language teaching and learning by their
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outstanding contributions to educational technology as a medium of learning.

By examining the types of research design that reviewed through out this study, most of
conducted investigations are quantitative research paradigm and it is highly suggested to run
qualitative research as well to fill the presented gap and consequently give us comprehensive
perspective on expectations and realistic results. Put forward for consideration, researchers need
to concentrate more on different varieties of topics like receptive and productive skills or
structural knowledge in terms of technology related educations as of very few qualitative studies
have been done in the field of language education and technology. Triangulation approach could
also be conducted in order to draw deeper perspective outcomes that result in a more reliable and
effective data analysis. Furthermore, it is beneficial to run more studies that could address the
pitfalls of technology use on EFL learners and teachers besides their potentials, advantages, and
opportunities that the enhancement of technology brings to the realm of ELT which has
implications for both EFL teachers and learners.

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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IRON DEFICIENCY

ANEMIA AND LONG-TERM VOCABULARY
RETENTION AMON0.G EFL LEARNERS
Hossein Ali Manzouri
Instructor, English Department, Zabol University, Zabol, Iran.
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Roya Movahed
Instructor, English Department, Zabol University, Zabol, Iran.
Amir Shahraki
Instructor, English Department, Zabol University, Zabol, Iran.

Abstract

One of the most-heard complaints of many language learners is their failure in retaining new
vocabulary they have just learned (Allen, 1983). Body of research on vocabulary retention, has
found numerous reasons responsible for this failure including methods of teaching, and types of
cognitive processes involved in learning. This study aims at exploring effects of iron-deficiency
anemia (IDA) on retention of vocabulary items. Out of a population of 104 Iranian female EFL
learners, 36 were randomly selected for the study (18 for control and 18 for experimental groups).
Two weeks after vocabulary learning sessions, a delayed post-test was administered. Results of
independent samples t-test showed a significant difference between the two groups indicating
that language learners who suffered from Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) (Ferritin<15µg/L,
hemoglobin <12) had lost more words than non-IDA learners. Findings of this study can serve as
a starting point to push forward borders of our understating of the nature of long-term
vocabulary retention.

Keywords: Vocabulary, Long-term retention, Iron deficiency anemi

Introduction

Vocabulary is defined as "a list or set of words for a particular language or a list or set of words
that individual speakers of a language might use" (Hatch & Brown, 1995). Magnifying the
significance of vocabulary, Wilkins (1972) contended that “without grammar very little can be
conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” (p. 111). Students, even after mastering
grammar, have to study masses of unknown words (Laufer, 1986). Contrary to the orthodoxy that
related vocabulary learning mainly to reading comprehension (Nagy, Herman & Anderson, 1985;

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Stoller & Grabe, 1993), Cohen and Weaver (2005) argued that vocabulary is a component of
language learning that is necessary for all four skills.

One of the most-heard complaints of many language learners is that what they have memorized
can be easily gone, and it happens so quickly (Allen, 1983). Since language learners forget the
new vocabulary after a short period of time, Long-term retention of new vocabulary has
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beenfocus of many studies in language learning (Leeke & Shaw, 2000). Then, as Sokmen (1997)
argues, the responsibility of helping learners to efficiently learn and remember words must be
claimed. Min & Min (2008) emphasizing the vital role of acquiring English vocabulary in
understanding its readings, call for searching for effective ways to enhance learners’ acquisition
and retention of new words.

Review of Literature
a. vocabulary
Vocabularies are considered to be the building blocks of any language through which language
speakers can communicate and, accordingly significance of vocabulary learning is an agreed-
upon issue (Allen, 1983). Because of the growing interest of researchers (e.g. Knight, 1994; Wesche
& Paribakht, 1996; Zimmerman, 1997) to explore the role of vocabulary in development of the
linguistic ability of learners, there is a call by some scholars (e.g. Hatch & Brown, 1995; Hulstijn,
1993) to systematically focus on the process of vocabulary learning. Therefore, language teachers
have attempted to find innovative ways and strategies to help students learn new words, and
more significantly, to help them retain those words over time. Any language learning
method/approach to language teaching (e.g., Grammar Translation Method, Direct Method,
Reading Approach, Audio-Lingual Method, Communicative Approach, Lexical Approach, and
Natural Approach) has been part of such attempts. Memorization of lists of new vocabulary,
learning new words through natural interaction, acquiring new words through intensive reading,
learning vocabulary through repeated dialogues, and learning new words for language functions,
have been among various techniques that presumed to help both language learners and teachers
to overcome difficulties of vocabulary learning (Decarrico, 2001; Larsen-Freeman, 2000; Richards
& Rodgers, 2003; Zimmerman, 1997).

Besides from the kind of approaches and methods proposed, researchers distinguished between
various types of vocabulary learning. Hulstijn (1992) differentiated between two types of
vocabulary learning: intentional and incidental. This distinction has a direct relationship with

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learners’ responsibility for learning. When learners intentionally focus on learning new
vocabulary (e.g., learning a list of new words), they involve in intentional vocabulary learning.
On the other hand, when language exercises are directed to something other than vocabulary
learning (e.g., reading a short story), learners acquire new vocabulary incidentally. Nation (2001)
argues that intentional vocabulary learning where learners’ attention is primarily focused on
vocabulary creates better opportunities for vocabulary learning. Such a claim is also supported by
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experimental studies (e.g., Konopak et al.., 1987). Krashen (1989) and Nation (2001) contend that
incidental learning, especially through reading, is responsible for the best part of vocabulary
learning both in first and second language
b. vocabulary retention

Vocabulary retention is defined as “the ability to recall or remember things after an interval of
time” and it is believed to “depend on the quality of teaching, the interest of the learners, or the
meaningfulness of the materials” (Richards & Schmidt, 2002, p. 457). Therefore, the problem here
is about remembering new vocabularies students have already learned, which is of course
directly correlated with the way people process them (Bahrick, 1984).

Various elements have been found to have an impact on the degree of retention of a newly
learned word. Numerous studies (e.g. Haastrup, 1989; Modria & Wit-de Boer, 1991; Xialong,
1988, as cited in Hedge, 2000) suggest that retention is related to how well meaning is inferred
and how much of mental analysis involved. That is, when more mental processing is involved in
learning a new word (e.g., when learners are involved in critical reading) chances are more that
learners remember it for a longer patch of time. Studies also suggest that when newly learned
words are related to previously learned words both in first and second language, more efficient
retention can be expected (Haycraft, 1978; Schouten-Van Parreren, 1989).

Levine and Reves’ (1990) study suggests that contextualized presentation helps students in
comprehension of new vocabulary, while it acts as an obstacle for vocabulary retention. On the
contrary, Nam (2010) studied vocabulary retention and found that the use of visual
representations (e.g., pictures and drawings) can boost vocabulary retention.

There are also other elements that can influence vocabulary retention. Krueger and Salthouse
(2010) found that language learners who have higher command of vocabulary are more likely to
remember newly learned vocabulary for a longer time. This is so because such learners can get

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involved more effectively in vocabulary production activities such as retelling a story or
composition task. Kasahara (2010) investigated the role of combination of words versus learning
a single word on retention of meaning of learned vocabulary. He concluded that word
combinations led to more efficient retention than single words. Plass, Chun, Mayer, and Leutner
(1998) found that retention of new words can be boosted when they are accompanied with both
pictorial and written annotations. Even when learners look up words in an electronic dictionary,
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those words that are animated with pictures are likely to be better remembered (Lew, 2009).
Others (Ellis, 2001; Pulido, 2007; Dubois & Vial, 2000) reported that topic familiarity, background
konwledge, and interaction between audio, text, picture, and animation can help students
memorize and remember new vocabulary more efficiently.

c. Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA)

IDA is the most widespread nutritional problem; and according to the reports by the World
Health Organization (WHO) in 2001 more than 2 billion people suffered from IDA worldwide.
Data from WHO also indicate that from 1993 to 2005 nearly 30% of the world population suffered
from iron deficiency (Benoist et al. 2008). Iron-deficiency anemia is slightly more common in
female (9.9%) than males (7.8%). (Vos et al. 2012). Half of the children at the school age suffer
from iron deficiency in the different parts of the world. (Looker, 1997; Tatala et al. 2008 ).

IDA is also one of the biggest problems in the Middle Eastern countries (Baghchi, 2004). In
Iranian setting, 33% of population both in villages and urban districts suffered from anemia,
while iron deficiency anemia stroke about half of the whole population from newborn babies to
school-going children and pregnant women (Sheykh Aleslam et al. 2003; Jari et al. 2014; Esmat et
al. 2010; Kadivar et al. 2003; Monajemzadeh et al.. 2009; Keikhaei et al. 2007).

For diagnosis of anemia, World Health Organization provides specific standards. According to
WHO, level of hemoglobin (an iron-containing protein in red blood cells that carry oxygen
throughout the body) in the blood can be an indicator of anemia. Table 1 summarizes the data
published by WHO:

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Table 1

Hemoglobin Levels to Diagnose Anemia at altitude of Sea Level to <1000 meters (g/l)

Population Anemia
Non-anemic mild moderate severe

5-59 months ≥110 100-109 70-99 <70

5-11 year ≥115 110-114 80-109 <80
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12-14 year ≥120 110-119 80-109 <80

Non-pregnant women ≥120 110-119 80-109 <80
Pregnant women (15 ≥110 100-109 70-99 <70
and above)
Men (15 and above) ≥130 110-129 80-109 <80

Another indicator of the IDA is measuring serum Ferritin level, the best indicators of the body's
total iron stores. If the level of serum Ferritin is lower than 15 µg/L (Ferritin<15µg/L) for an
adult male and female, then the person is diagnosed as suffering from IDA (Asha, 2004;
Brugnara, 2003; Cook, 1999; De Paz & Hernandez-Navaro, 2006). Significance of iron is because
of its vital role in production of hemoglobin maintaining healthy cells, skin, hair, and nails
(American society of hematology). Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) occurs when there is an
imbalance between iron intake and loss of iron in the body. It is a health problem that affects
major portions of the population especially in underdeveloped countries (Miller, 2013). Hurrell
et al. (2010) estimated that 50% of all anemia is caused directly by iron deficiency.

d. IDA and learning disorders

One of the significant impacts of IDA is on cognitive processes, learning, and concentration
(Gardan, 2004). Bonuck and Kahn (2002) reported that IDA is related with learning disorders. As
Youdim (2000) argues “iron deficiency can have a profound long term effect on brain
function…with an effect on learning and cognitive processes” (p. 504), because when there is
lack of iron, brain enzymes cannot function properly and consequently brain’s ability for
concentration and learning decreases substantially (Andrews, 2004; Beard, 2001). In studies on
schoolchildren, those students who suffered from iron deficiency scored significantly lower in
doing classroom assignment; they were also reported to have problems with the exercises that
required memorization (Weiskopf et al. 2000). Other studies (e.g., Nachvak et al. 2003) suggest
that students’ ability for problem solving decreases substantially when they suffer from IDA.

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Kanarek et al. (1991) observed that IDA can cause children and adolescents gain lower scores in
intelligence quotient test.
Otero et al. (1999) examined disorders related to iron deficiency in schoolchildren and found that
children with IDA had significantly lower scores in items of information, comprehension and
verbal performance, and full scale IQ than non-anemic children.
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Khani and kyumarsi (2014) explored the relationship between iron deficiency and students’
performance in mathematics. They selected 45 female students between 14-15 years and
administered three different mathematics tests to them. Results indicated that iron deficiency
could negatively affect students’ performance in math-related exercises. Moreover, they found
that there was a significant difference between participants regarding their numeric memory
(their ability to memorize numbers for calculation); those who did not suffer from IDA
outperformed those who did. Bruner et al. (1996), also, examined 73 girls who suffered from iron
deficiency while they did not suffer from anemia (non-anemic iron deficiency) and treated the
treatment group with specific doses of iron. Their findings suggested that those participants who
received iron performed better on a test of verbal learning and memory than girls in the control
group.

There is already a consensus that adequate iron levels are necessary for normal
neurodevelopment (Lozoff & Georgieff, 2006; Beard & Connor, 2003). Many human studies have
demonstrated the negative effects of ID on behavior include learning and memory, and affective
and social behavior (Lozoff & Georgieff, 2006).

In contrast to adults, Infants and children with early IDA demonstrate acute and wide-ranging
learning and memory deficits. For example, nine and 12 months old infants were tested to
investigated effects of IDA on their cognition and memory. They were exposed to both their
mothers’ faces and strangers. The iron-sufficient group (control group) showed a greater
attentional response to their mothers and a greater memory for stranger at age of nine. Infants
with IDA, however, did not show such pattern of responses until 12 months, suggesting a delay
in cognitive development (Burden et al. 2007). Also, other studies (e.g., Siddappa et al. 2004)

suggest that newborn infants with IDA show impaired auditory recognition for processing of
their mother’s voice.

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Riggins et al. (2009) managed to find a correlation between IDA at birth and learning and
memory impairment in next years of life. They studied 3.5 year old children who had suffered
from iron deficiency at birth and found that their recall memory performance for elicited
imitation tasks was significantly impaired. Children who were iron deficient at birth, showed
decreased language development, and fine motor skills at age of 5 compared to normal children
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(Tamura et al. 2002). Lozoff et al. (2000, 2006) and Shafir et al. (2006), also reported that, children
at age of 11 to 14 who were IDA at their infancy, exhibited worse performance on memory tasks,
impaired psychomotor development, impairment in attention and concentration, and even more
difficulties with anxiety compared to those students who had been born normal.
Santos et al. (2009) investigated effects of iron deficiency on language development of 44 children.
Language development of participants was classified according to communicative as-pects and
cognitive aspects. Results of their studies indicated significant differences in the language
development of the treatment and control group in both communicative and cognitive fields,
with worse performance of anemic children.

Research Question

Does iron deficiency anemia (IDA) have a significant role in retention of vocabulary items in EFL
learners?

Method

Participants
The participants of this study were 104 intermediate female students aged between 19 to 25 years
old, studying different fields at three universities in Zabol, Iran. Selection procedure for the
participants included two steps. One, to make sure of the homogeneity of their English
proficiency, they first took a Nelson test which is a Standardized English Proficiency Test. The
participants whose scores fell one SD above and below the mean were 86 female students, and
were selected to take part in the second round of sample selection. For the second step, 75
students underwent a blood test so that those who suffered from IDA would be recognized form

the non-IDA ones (11 did not continue the study). Based on the results obtained from the blood
test, 19 students were recognized as suffering from IDA, and 18 of them were assigned to the
treatment group (one student was not willing to take part in the study). From among 56 non-IDA
students, 18 were selected randomly and comprised the control group so that the number of

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participants would be the same for both groups. Therefore, total number of the EFL learners who
participated in the study was 36.

Instruments

a. Proficiency Test
To make sure of the homogeneity of the participants Nelson test was used. The test is reported to
be a reliable and valid test (e.g., Flower & Coe, 1976; Mahmoodi & Talang, 2013) and consists of
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50 multiple choice items.

b. Blood Test

To diagnose those participants who were suffering from IDA, samples of their blood were taken
so that their hemoglobin level and serum Ferritin level could be measured.

c. Vocabulary test

Two vocabulary tests were used in this study; a pre-test and a post-test. The vocabulary pre-test
was conducted to check the participants’ lexical pre-knowledge and to make sure that they were
not familiar with the vocabulary that they supposed to learn during the treatment. Therefore, a
list of 50 words was selected by the researchers and the participants were asked to write the
meaning of each word they knew either in Persian or English. 13 words were recognized as
already-known to students and were consequently substituted by new unknown vocabulary. The
same vocabulary list was used in the post-test but with a different order of words.

Procedure

104 female students volunteered to participate in this study. To screen those EFL learners whose
proficiency were homogeneous, they were asked to take part in a proficiency examination. The
examination was held for all participants in one of the universities in Zabol, Iran. Before taking
the exam, participants were informed that only those who could perform better on the exam
would be selected for the next step and therefore they were motivated to do their best. The
proficiency test was a multiple-choice type, so the results of the exam came three days after the

examination day. Based on the results of the proficiency test, 86 were found to score ± 1SD above
or below the mean.

In the second step, 75 participants underwent a blood test and 11 were not willing to participate.
Eight students explained that they were afraid from the blood-giving procedure, two were not

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present at the day of the blood test, and one preferred not to discuss the reason with the
researchers. 5 milliliter (mL) blood sample was taken from each of the students by four
experienced technician in Sina Laboratory. The blood samples were analyzed using a fully-
automatic machine called Autoanalyzer™. The laboratory sent the blood test results one week
after the sampling day. According to World Health Organization standards (see Table 1), girls
and women over 15 years of age with hemoglobin level of ≤ 11.9 are considered anemic.
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Moreover, people with serum Ferritin lower than 15 µg/L (Ferritin<15µg/L) are considered iron-
deficient anemic. For this study, both standards were applied to diagnose students suffering from
IDA (it is worthy to note that in this study, researchers do not differentiate among mild,
moderate, and sever anemia). Upon application of these standards, results indicated that 18
female students suffered from IDA (the researchers expected more IDA cases). 56 participants
were recognized to be non-IDA and from among them 18 students were selected randomly to
take part in the exam as control group.

In the third step, both control and treatment groups took a pretest. The test was a vocabulary list
including 50 words selected by three experienced teachers from among different textbooks. The
list included five themes (cinema, restaurant, dormitory, airport, and hotel); each containing 10
related words. The aim of administering the test was to make sure that none of the words was
known to the participants. List of the selected vocabulary was printed on paper and students
were asked to write the meaning of each word in front of it, either in English or Persian. Results
indicated that 13 words were known to some students and hence they were substituted with
other 13 new words.

In the forth step, students in both groups attended the vocabulary learning sessions. The sessions
were held in two consecutive weeks, five times a week for one hour approximately. The
researcher themselves taught the new vocabulary to the participants. Every session was allocated
to one theme, in a way that at the end of the first week all themes and their related vocabulary
were introduced. In the beginning of each session, students watched a video (about 5 minutes)
that was related to the theme of the day. Then, the teacher asked every student to explain about
the video s/he had just watched in English and all the class discussed about it. During discussion
the teachers wrote new vocabulary items on the whiteboard and required to use the new words
in their sentences. Next, images describing each item were presented to the students where the
word was written below the image. Students were required to explain the image to their peers
using the word to be learned. Finally, students were asked to look up the new word in the Oxford

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Advanced Learners Dictionary Software 8th Edition and check pronunciation and different parts
of speeches of the word.

In the second week of the study, themes and their related vocabulary items were practiced using
different activities including free discussion, role play, and writing a short composition. The same
procedure was carried out in both control and treatment groups. Finally, at the end of the second
week, the vocabulary-list test was administered as a post-test to compare students’ learning in
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two groups. Two weeks after the post-test, the vocabulary-list test (with a different order of
items) was administered as the delayed post-test to students in both groups to survey the effects
of IDA on the vocabulary retention of the EFL learners.

Data Analysis

The data obtained from the post-test and delayed post-test were analyzed using independent
samples T-test in SPSS software version 19. Post-test data was analyzed to make sure that
participants in control and treatment groups had mastered the new vocabulary items and gained
nearly the same scores. However, the delayed post-test data analysis was done to find any
difference between control and treatment group in their ability to retain newly-learned items
after two weeks and explore the role of IDA on retention.
Results

The vocabulary-list test was administered as pretest after two weeks of instruction. Obtained data
was analyzed using independent samples t-test. Table 2 shows descriptive analysis, and Table 3
indicates results of independent samples t-test. According to the results, there was no significant
difference between the control (Non-IDA) and treatment (IDA) groups (Sig = .416, p < .05).Table

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2. Group Statistics for Pre-test

N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error

Mean
Non-IDA 18 88.89 8.844 2.085
IDA 18 86.33 9.159 2.159
Total 36
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Table 3. Independent Samples Test for Pre-test

Levene's Test for
Equality of
Variances t-test for Equality of Means
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Mean Std. Error Difference

F Sig. t Df Sig. (2-tailed) Difference Difference Lower Upper

VAR00004 Equal .027 .870 .824 34 .416 2.444 2.967 -3.586 8.475
variances
assumed

Equal .824 33.994 .416 2.444 2.967 -3.586 8.475

variances
not assumed

Two weeks after administering the preset, vocabulary-list with different order of items was
administered as the delayed post-test. Table 4 shows group statistics for the delayed post-
test. As Table 5 indicates, according to the results of data analysis there was a significant
difference between control and treatment groups (Sig = .000, p < .05).

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Table 4. Group Statistics for delayed Post-test

N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error
Mean
Non-IDA 18 81.02 6.91. 2.14
IDA 18 70.11 15.377 3.624
Total 36
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Table 5. Independent Samples Test for delayed Post-test

Levene's Test
for Equality of
Variances t-test for Equality of Means

95% Confidence
Interval of the
Mean Std. Error Difference

F Sig. t Df Sig. (2-tailed) Difference Difference Lower Upper

VAR00004 Equal 8.405 .007 4.253 33 .000 17.948 4.220 9.361 26.534
variances
assumed

Equal 4.190 25.188 .000 17.948 4.284 9.129 26.767

variances
not assumed

Discussion

Results of this study indicated a significant difference between language learners who were
diagnosed as suffering from iron-deficient anemia and those who were non-anemic regarding
their capability for long-term retention of the newly-learned vocabulary items of a foreign
language. There is enough support in the related literature for this finding (Bonuck & Kahn, 2002;
Gardan, 2004; Kanarek et al. 1991; Nachvak et al. 2003; Otero et al. 1999; Youdim, 2000). Lozoff
and Georgieff (2006) reported negative effects of ID on behavior include learning and memory.
Lozoff et al. (2000, 2006) and Shafir et al. (2006) reported that, children at age of 11 to 14 who were
IDA at their infancy, exhibited worse performance on memory tasks compared to those students
who had been born normal.

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Based on the results, anemic learners could not remember meaning of the words they had learned
two weeks earlier as much as non-anemic learners could. Put another way, non-anemic learners’
memory capacity of for long-term retention of vocabulary items seemed to be higher. This goes in
line with studies which reported that schoolchildren suffering from IDA showed difficulties in
doing exercises that required memorization (e.g., Weiskopf et al. 2000). In addition some other
studies (e.g., Khani & kyumarsi, 2014) reported that IDA learners had difficulty in memorizing
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numbers for mathematical calculations.

Body of research on vocabulary retention has explored various factors affecting degree of
learners’ success in keeping in mind the new vocabulary items. “quality of teaching, the interest
of the learners, or the meaningfulness of the materials” (Richards & Schmidt, 2002, p. 457), the

way people process vocabulary items (Bahrick, 1984), how much of mental analysis involved for
learning new words (e.g. Haastrup, 1989; Modria & Wit-de Boer, 1991; Xialong, 1988, as cited in
Hedge, 2000), relation of new vocabulary with previously learned words both in first and second
language (Haycraft, 1978; Schouten-Van Parreren, 1989), use of visual and pictorial
representations such as pictures and drawings (Nam, 2010), learners’ command of vocabulary
(Krueger & Salthouse, 2010; Plass et. al. 1998; Lew, 2009), using of word combinations rather than
learning single words (Kasahara , 2010), and topic familiarity and background konwledge (Ellis,
2001; Pulido, 2007; Dubois & Vial, 2000) have been all found to be correlated with long-term
vocabulary retention. This study has much in common with studies carried out in the field
because it tries to uncover factors underlying learners’ failure in remembering words for a long
time; however, it differentiates itself with focusing on elements that have never been explored
before. Approaching the issue from another angle, results of this research can add to our
understanding of the nature of learners’ memory issues, and shed light over another aspect of the
phenomenon.

Results of the study can be significant for language teachers especially in the third world
countries where high rates of anemia (including iron-deficiency anemia) is prevalent among
female language learners. Studies (e.g., Bruner et al. 1996) suggest that treatment of the suffering
learners can boost their memory function and lead to longer and more efficient retention of
vocabulary items. Bruner et al. (1996), examined 73 girls who suffered from iron deficiency while

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 Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM)
ISSN: 2251-6204
they did not suffer from anemia (non-anemic iron deficiency) and treated the experimental group
with specific doses of iron. Their findings suggested that those participants who received iron
performed better on a test of verbal learning and memory than girls in the control group.

While body of research on the relationship between language learning and psychology,
sociology, and even neurology is getting richer every day, this study, as a starting point, is a call
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for more investigations on the relationship between medical dimensions of language learning.
Further studies in this field can focus on examining male students and investigate effects of
gender as an independent variable on long-term retention of vocabulary to investigate if male
students who are suffering from IDA show memory problems for learning vocabulary or not.
While this study does not differentiate between different degrees of anemia (mild, moderate,

severe), effects of these different degrees of anemia on retention of vocabulary can be

investigated. Second language learners, instead of foreign language learners could be also
subjects of this kind of study. Effects of treatment of learners with doses of iron on their
vocabulary retention can be a topic for further studies. In addition, relationship between taking
specific medicines, and suffering from psychological states, as well as effects of specific diseases
on learners’ cognitive functions and memory efficacy can be explored with the specific focus on
language learning.

Conclusion

To shed light over a less-surveyed dimension of vocabulary retention, this study investigated
impacts of iron-deficiency anemia as a widespread nutritional disorder especially in less-
developed countries, on long-term retention of newly-learned vocabulary items. Results
indicated that suffering from IDA can have significant effect on learners’ failure in retaining new
vocabulary items, meaning chances are high that language learners lose a substantial part of what
they’ve learned when they have insufficient amounts of iron stores in their blood and body.
Findings uncover another significant factor behind learners’ failures and can suggest necessity of
solving the problem with appropriate medical treatments (such as treating language learners
with sufficient doses of iron intake).

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