The Effect of Self-Assessment on EFL Learners’ Self-Efficacy

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sasan Baleghizadeh ◽  
Atieh Masoun

This study investigated the continuous influence of self-assessment on EFL (English as a foreign language) learners’ self-efficacy. The participants, divided into an experimental and a control group, were 57 Iranian EFL learners in an English-language institute. The participants’ self-efficacy was measured through a questionnaire that was the same for both groups. Additionally, the participants in the experimental group completed a biweekly self-assessment questionnaire throughout the semester. The obtained data were analyzed through an Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The findings showed that the students’ self-efficacy improved significantly in the experimental group. This suggests that applying self-assessment on a formative basis in an EFL setting leads to increased self-effi- cacy. This study thus highlights the pedagogical implications of self-assessment in EFL classrooms.Cette étude a porté sur l’influence continue de l’auto-évaluation sur l’auto-effi- cacité des apprenants en ALE. Les participants, 57 Iraniens étudiant l’ALE dans un institut de langue anglaise, ont été répartis parmi un groupe expérimental et un groupe témoin. Le même questionnaire a été administré aux deux groupes et a servi d’outil pour mesurer l’auto-efficacité des apprenants. Les membres du groupe expérimental ont en plus complété un questionnaire d’autoévaluation chaque deux semaines au cours du semestre. Les données ont été traitées par une analyse de covariance (ANCOVA). Les résultats indiquent que l’auto-efficacité des élèves s’est améliorée de façon significative dans le groupe expérimental, ce qui porte à croire que la mise en pratique d’une auto-évaluation formative dans les cours d’ALE entraine une amélioration de l’auto-efficacité. Cette étude fait donc ressortir les incidences pédagogiques de l’auto-évaluation dans les cours d’ALE.

Author(s):  
Shiva Grami ◽  
Mahmood Hashemian

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of paper and e-dictionaries on Iranian intermediate learners' reading comprehension. To this end, 90 female English Foreign language learners were randomly selected and assigned into 2 experimental groups (e-dictionaries and paper dictionaries groups) and 1 control group. All the groups took a pretest using no dictionaries. After 2 weeks of treatment design for the experimental groups, all the 3 groups took part in the posttest. The experimental groups did their task with their relevant dictionaries, whereas the control group did their task without using any kind of dictionary. Data were analyzed through analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and paired samples t test. Results showed that the participants’ reading comprehension improved from the pretest to the posttest in both experimental groups. Results also indicated that the learners in the e-dictionaries group outperformed those in the paper dictionaries group. The outcome of study reveals that e-dictionaries could improve students’ reading comprehension by motivating them, shortening the time of searching words and reading a text, and increasing the number of look ups. 


2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhou Wen ◽  
Deng Jun

AbstractThe present study investigated the effects of explicit metapragmatic instruction on foreign language learners’ performance of compliment responses (CRs). Eighty-two non-English major students participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to two groups, an experimental group that received explicit metapragmatic instruction on compliment responses and a control group that did not. A pretest-posttest research design was adopted. The data were collected through a written discourse completion task (WDCT) with six scenarios concerning the topics of appearance, performance, and personality. The results revealed that learners who received explicit instruction dramatically decreased their use of Accept strategy and increased Combination (CB) strategy at the macro level; more specifically, a decrease in Appreciation and an increase in Accept + Accept at the micro level. The learners of the control group made little progress in their performance. The study sheds light on pragmatics learning in an EFL setting and provides implications for pragmatics pedagogy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 956
Author(s):  
Mohammad Hossein Keshmirshekan

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of authentic materials on enhancing Iranian English as a foreign language learners' communicative competence. To this end, 106 upper-intermediate participants out of 136 were selected based on their performance an Oxford Placement Test (OPT) and randomly assigned to two equal groups- one experimental group and one control group. Then a pre-test was administered to assess the participants' communicative competence at the beginning of the course. Then, the experimental group received the treatment. The control group was taught the course content using the regular communicative method through which students received teacher-course from the textbook. After the treatment, the two groups took the post-test. The data analysis through paired and independent sample t-tests revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group on the posttest. In other words, teaching authentic materials showed to have a significant effect on improving learners' communicative competence. The implications, limitations, and suggestions of this study are explained at the end of the study.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Ehsan Namaziandost ◽  
Sajad Shafiee ◽  
Ray Suryadi

Smartphones are becoming an increasingly common part of our daily lives. Applications used in these systems are extremely varied due to their extraordinary efficiency. With respect to language teaching, the use of these technologies has opened up new doors, changing innovatively the way teachers teach and students learn. Accordingly, this study aimed to find out the impacts of using WhatsApp as a mobile instant messaging application on teaching vocabulary among pre-intermediate EFL learners. To this end, 60 Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners were selected from a private English Language Institute. Then, they were randomly assigned to two equal groups- an experimental group and a control group. They were pre-tested by a researcher-made vocabulary test.  Then, the treatment was applied to both groups. As the treatment, the control group was taught with traditional activities whereas the experimental group was taught with the use of mobile application (WhatsApp). At the end of the instruction, a researcher-made vocabulary post-test was administered. The results of independent samples t-test and one-way ANCOVA indicated that the experimental group had better performance on the post-test compared to control group revealing the usefulness of the mobile application utilized in this study on learning vocabulary.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 450
Author(s):  
Farzad Taghavi ◽  
Farzaneh Aladini

The present study investigated the effect of authentic input as a classroom activity on Iranian EFL learners' reading comprehension. This study intended to determine whether authentic reading materials could enhance Iranian EFL learners' reading comprehension at the upper-intermediate level. To achieve this goal, 46 language learners were randomly selected from 60 ones who attended Shokoh English Language Institute in Rasht, Iran. Quick Placement Test was conducted to homogenize the participants. They were divided into two groups: the experimental and control groups. The groups experienced identical conditions during the study except for their exposure to the independent variable. After administrating the pretest, the participants in the experimental group received the treatment. After eight sessions of the treatment, the posttest was administered to both groups of the study to find out the possible effect of authentic reading materials (independent variable) on the participants' reading comprehension skill (dependent variable). The results indicated that in the experimental group EFL learners' improvement in reading comprehension was significantly greater than those in the control group. This research is meant to improve EFL classes with respect to reading skill and to help English language publishers and teachers to see the unquestioning value of authentic texts.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Zahra Sanati

The present study was conducted to investigate the impact of visualization on reading comprehension ability of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. To fulfill the purpose of the study, 40 out of 100 intermediate learners of an English language institute were chosen by means of administering a PET Test. Based on the results of the homogenizing test, two groups were formed, and learners were not randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control one. Then, both groups were provided with seven teaching sessions. A pretest was given to all examinees to capture the initial differences. Learners in the experimental group were taught to visualize the words using a variety of visualization strategies before, during, and after reading the text in class. However, students in the control group were provided with a conventional instruction in traditional classes like reading the text aloud, translating the text, and providing synonyms and antonyms, if it was needed. After teaching sessions, a posttest was given to students of both groups. The statistical analysis of obtained results using paired t-test and ANCOVA revealed that the participants in the experimental group outperformed the participants in the control group. The findings of this study showed that the effect of visualization as an instructional technology on Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension was extremely noticeable. The findings of the present study may have some theoretical and practical implications for both Iranian EFL teachers and students, as well as for curriculum designers and developers.


2021 ◽  
pp. 104973152110014
Author(s):  
Siu-ming To ◽  
Xiaoyu Liu

Purpose: Using a nonrandomized control group pretest–posttest assessment, this study aimed to examine the outcomes of community-based youth empowerment initiatives that were informed by design thinking. Method: A total of 553 youth living in Hong Kong were recruited to participate in this study. Among them, 213 youth self-selected to join the experimental group, and 340 youth joined the two control groups. Multivariate analysis of covariance and post hoc group comparisons were used to examine the differences among the three groups at the posttest assessment. Results: The results indicate a positive improvement in creative self-efficacy among participants of the experimental group compared to the two control groups. Significant differences were also found between the experimental group and the second control group in terms of youth–adult partnerships and youth empowerment in the community. Conclusion: Youth empowerment programs informed by design thinking may reinforce self-efficacy beliefs by encouraging youth to bring about innovations in their community.


Author(s):  
Akharraz Mohamad ◽  

The existing research studies have revealed that project-based learning (PjBL) has significantly helped foreign language learners enhance their cultural understanding as a result of completing their projects (e.g., Bouchouk, 2017; Hsu, 2014; Kim, 2019; Liu et al., 2006; Ngo, 2014). While these studies have congruently proved the utility of PjBL in enhancing students’ cultural awareness, none of them has measured the effect of PjBL together with a comparative and contrastive approach on students’ understanding of their home cultures. Hence, the purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of comparing students’ home cultures with the English cultures through PjBL on students’ understanding of their own cultures in terms of cultural products, cultural practices, and cultural perspectives. Two similar intact groups were randomly assigned to control and treatment groups. The two groups were pretested, administered two different treatments for 24 weeks, and post-tested to assess their differences. The independent sample t-tests results exhibited that the experimental group substantially deepened their understanding of their home cultures as a result of comparing them with the English cultures through PjBL. The study also revealed that while the control group significantly improved their cultural products, those in the experimental group greatly enhanced their knowledge of cultural practices and perspectives.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 197
Author(s):  
Mandana Yousefi

<p><em>The present study was an attempt to examine the EFL intermediate learners’ interpretation performance in translating texts from English to Persian on mediated mode vs. non-mediated one focusing on two different kinds of mediation (clip-mediated vs. peer-mediated mode). It has also investigated the participants’ attitudes toward the mediation sessions. It was conducted in an English Language Institute in Bojnourd, Iran. To this aim, a standardized 50-item Nelson English Language Test was administered to 31 participants. Following the homogenizing procedure, the number of the participants decreased to 24. Then, they were randomly divided into two equal groups (control and experimental), each consisting of 12 students. Both groups took part in interpretation classes twice a week, during which the experimental group received mediation as the treatment. The collecte</em><em>d data were analyzed by conducting ANCOVA and paired-sample t-test. </em><em>The results indicated that the EFL learners’ interpretation performance was better in mediated mode vs. non-mediated one, and peer-mediation was more effective than clip-mediation in improving their listening performance. In addition, all the participants stated </em><em>mediation had an effective role in improving their interpretation performance by reducing their anxiety and increasing their self-confidence.</em></p>


Author(s):  
Saman Masoumi-Moghaddam

The present study aimed to examine the ways in which drama and drama techniques and practices, as implemented in the English language classes and combined with pedagogical practices to teach and learn English conversation, can create the appropriate conditions that promote learning environments conducive for learning English conversations. The participants of this study were thirty undergraduate male and female students who had studied English at the secondary and high school levels at the public schools in Ardebil. They were classified into two groups including Control and Experimental groups. The two groups were administered a Test-Retest evaluation to measure the targeted language skills that was to be taught to them. In order to collect the necessary data, two modern plays were taught and rehearsed in classroom context and then a retest were administered after the practice of these two modern dramatic discourse in the classroom. The different data-collecting techniques were used for the current research were participant observation (direct and indirect), and interviews. After analysing the data the results showed that there was no significant improvement in English competence of the Control group but the Experimental group revealed a tremendous achievement in their abilities in English conversations through the use of dramatic discourse.


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