scholarly journals The Effect of Reading Short Stories on Learning English Collocation among Pre-Intermediate EFL Learners

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lida Mohammadnejad

One of the most problematic areas for foreign language learning is collocation. Iranian EFL learners mostly complain about being unable to talk voluntarily in class since they are not able to produce collocations and new vocabularies because they have of feeling anxious. This study aimed at investigating the effect of reading short stories on learning English collocations among pre-intermediate EFL Learners. The study had an experimental design and the sample of the study consisted of 54 students chosen from the results of a placement test to determine the pre-intermediate level students in Simin Language Institute in Sari. They were placed into 2 groups of experimental and control. Data of the study were collected through a collocation test used as pretest and posttest. The teacher assessed the effect of reading short stories on learning English collocations among pre intermediate EFL learners. The collected data were analyzed through statistical methods by SPSS software version 21. Results showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group on the measure. This indicated that reading short stories had a statistical significant effect on EFL learners’ collocation learning. Results had implications for teachers, learners and material developers. 

Author(s):  
Hayat Eid Alroudhan

NLP is an interpersonal communications model based on the belief that language is strongly inter-connected with neurological processes and behavioral patterns adopted through experience and the power of this connection can be harnessed to acquire the skills in exceptional people. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the efficiency of NLP for language learning and investigate its potential role in learning the English language. By using primary and secondary sources and implementing the Oxford Placement Test, as the pretest and the post-test on the experimental and control groups, the effect of the NLP coaching treatment sessions on the experimental group of female Saudi EFL learners was investigated for two months. The findings of this study reveal that NLP not only provides the techniques and solutions to the problems, but it also enables teachers to form their own flexible responses to the specific problems. In this study, NLP coaching proved to have a significant effect on EFL learning, however, further research is needed to confirm the findings of this innovative study.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arash Hashemifardnia ◽  
Hosna Rasooyar ◽  
Mehrdad Sepehri

This study examined the effects of task-based activities on Iranian EFL learners’ speaking fluency. For this study, 50 Iranian participants were selected from students based on Oxford Quick Placement Test. The selected intermediate participants were then randomly divided into two equal groups: experimental and control. After a pre-test, a treatment was started; in the first session of the treatment, the task of ‘buying’ was given to the participants to be performed in a near authentic context. In the second, the third and the fourth sessions of the treatment, the task of ‘ordering food’, ‘ordering a bus ticket’ and ‘visiting a doctor’ were given to the participants, respectively. The control group did not receive task-based instruction. At the end of the experiment, a post-test for finding their speaking fluency was done. The findings revealed that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group (p < 0.05). Keywords: Iranian EFL learners, speaking fluency, task-based speaking activities


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nona Masaeli ◽  
Azizeh Chalak

A superior method of language teaching is what all researchers and language teachers look for. In order to facilitate the process of language learning, technological tools can be helpful. The present study aimed to investigate the effect to employing electronic portfolio on Iranian EFL learners’ writing skill in a language institute in Isfahan, Iran in summer 2014. To find the homogeneity of subjects, the Oxford Quick Placement Test was administered and the subjects were divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received the treatment which was employing the electronic portfolio, while the control group had the conventional context of language classes. At the end of the study, the obtained scores on the pretests and post-tests were analyzed. Independent t-tests were run to compare the collected scores in the two groups. The results of the study showed significant difference between the experimental group and the control group. The findings of the study can bear implications for EFL student, teachers, policy makers, university and institute organizations, and syllabus designers.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. 2191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyedeh Zahra Arfaei Zarandi ◽  
Behzad Rahbar

The present study set out to investigate the effect of intervening scaffolding strategies on Iranian EFL learners’ speaking ability. To do so, a sample of 60 Iranian EFL learners were selected based on their performance on Oxford Placement Test (OPT). The participants were then randomly assigned to two equal groups of experimental and control. The experimental group was taught speaking through intervening scaffolding by providing flexible opportunities for learners to use their knowledge, skills, and strategies in different contexts and for different purposes. Control group received routine techniques of speaking instruction. Based on the statistical results of the independent sample t-test, intervening scaffolding strategies had been proved to be successful in enhancing speaking ability of EFL learners


2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parisa Farrokh

Abstract The ability to employ the language as a communicational tool often serves as a measure of one’s speaking success in the language learning class. This research sought to investigate the effect of learners’ autonomous textbook selection on the speaking ability of Iranian English as foreign language (EFL) learners. Moreover, finding and analyzing factors considered by the learners in selecting the textbooks were another aim of this research. Sixty Iranian intermediate EFL learners from the Simin Language Institute in Ramsar, Mazandaran, Iran, were selected as the participants of the study based on their scores on Oxford Placement Test. This test determines the level of the students’ English proficiency. These participants were randomly assigned into the control and experimental groups. An interview procedure was run as their pretest. The experimental group studied from their selected books, besides the researcher’s teaching in the class. After 16 sessions, a posttest, the same as the pretest, was run as well. The quantitative results indicated the superior performance of the experimental group over the control group. Furthermore, an analysis of the Litz’s (2000) questionnaire shows that learners considered criteria such as practical considerations, layout and design, activities, skills, language type, subject and content of the selected books.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 1476
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Parvareshbar ◽  
Behrooz Ghoorchaei

This study aimed at investigating the effect of using short stories on enhancing vocabulary learning of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. The purpose of the study was to come up with new methods of enhancing learners’ vocabulary which enable both teachers and students to better cope with language learning and teaching. The design of the study is of quasi-experimental pretest-posttest. The participants were in two classes each of which had 25 students. One of the classes was considered as the control group and the other one was considered as the experimental group. The analysis of data using independent samples t-test showed that there was no significant difference between two groups at the outset of the study. After the treatment period, a posttest was given to both groups to see if there was a significant difference between the two groups. The magnitude of sig (2-tailed) on posttest was 0.01 that is lower than 0.05. Therefore, the difference is significant and the experimental group outperformed the control group. This can be attributed to the effect of using short stories on improving vocabulary performance of learners. The results have some implications for language teachers and materials developers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 96
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Enayati ◽  
Abbas Pourhosein Gilakjani

Regarding the large amount of vocabulary that learners should learn and the limited amount of time available in the EFL classes, Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is considered as an attractive option for learning. One specific benefit of using CALL vocabulary instruction is to provide systematic repetition of words, ensuring that learned words are not forgotten. The objective of current investigation is to examine the effect of CALL on Iranian intermediate learners’ vocabulary learning. The researchers used Tell Me More (TEM) software for this objective. This investigation used Preliminary English Test (PET) as a standardized measurement to seek the level of the subjects in terms of language proficiency. Then, the researchers assigned the participants into two groups: experimental group and control group. Experimental group included 31 EFL students and control group involved 30 EFL students. 80 items were administered as pre-test to evaluate the participants’ previous knowledge of English in respect to the vocabularies. The researchers taught the students of both groups for 12 sessions. The TEM software was used as treatment in experimental group and the control group received no treatment. The taught words were the same in both groups. After 12 sessions, the 65 items were administered as post-test in order to compare the results of the scores of two groups and decide about the effectiveness of the treatment. The data were analyzed through running the Independent sample t-test. The results of post-test showed that the participants of experimental group outperformed the control group and had positive attitudes towards CALL. The results of this study may be useful for EFL teachers, EFL learners, and syllabus designers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 833
Author(s):  
Masoumeh Arjmandi ◽  
Farzaneh Aladini

Vocabulary is the main building block of language learning which acts as the kernel for all language skills. The present study attempts to investigate the effect of applying SSOS on Iranian upper-intermediate EFL learners’ vocabulary learning. Lack of English vocabulary knowledge of Iranian learners as EFL learners encounters them with a lot of English using difficulties which influence their language abilities (reading, writing, listening and speaking). To this end, based on convenience non-random sampling selection, 40 upper-intermediate female learners were selected via Quick Placement Test. The participants were assigned to experimental (n = 20) and control (n = 20) groups. A vocabulary test as a pretest and a posttest were administered to all participants. The data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS software. The result of findings indicated that it is helpful to utilize SSOS as a tool to enhance not only learners’ conceptual and comprehensible processes in order to discover, guess and grasp the meaning of vocabulary but also to store and internalize them in their minds more successfully.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 11-25
Author(s):  
Zahra Ahmadi ◽  
Omid Tabatabaei

This study was an attempt to investigate whether using Instagram had any significant effects on Iranian intermediate autonomous/dependent EFL learners’ pictorial metaphors or not. In doing so, Oxford Placement Test was administered among100 EFL learners studying at Rooyesh language institute in Kelishad, Isfahan, Iran; and based on the results, 80 EFL learners were selected. Then, the autonomy test was conducted to divide them into autonomous and dependent groups. In the next step, they were divided into two equal experimental and control groups (N=40) that each group was subdivided to an autonomous and a dependent group (i.e., 20 autonomous and 20 dependent participants in each CG and EG). Their age ranged between 14 and 18 years old. Gender of participants was not considered as a variable in the study. Next, a metaphorical expression pretest was administered to all groups of the study and then the experimental group was given the metaphorical expressions via Instagram application, whereas the control group only followed conventional treatment. At the end, the posttest of L2 metaphorical expression was administered to both groups of the study and finally the data were analyzed. Analyzing the data through the one-way repeated measures ANOVA and ANCOVA revealed that utilizing Instagram application had a positively significant effect on autonomous/dependent Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ pictorial metaphors learning. Furthermore, both autonomous and dependent students had a positive attitude toward using Instagram Application.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (40) ◽  
pp. 631-654
Author(s):  
Khaldoon Waleed Husam Al-Mofti

For Iraqi EFL learners who are studying English pronunciation in a traditional instruction method often requires more effort and hard work. Thus, using new methods of teaching such as the flipped classroom model (FCM) is necessary to facilitate learning and improve performance. Hence, this study reports on explanatory research that investigates the effect of using the FCM in the teaching of English pronunciation for Iraqi EFL learners at the university level. The study implemented mixed research methods for data collection in a quasi-experimental analysis. Therefore, two tests were conducted on the assigned groups to measure the effect of the FCM before and after the intervention. Besides, a questionnaire and interviews were used on the experiment group students to collect data about their perceptions of the FCM. The study length (lasted)  was 15 weeks and is comprised of 60 students from the department of English, College of Arts at the University of Anbar. The students were divided into two groups, experimental, and control with 30 students in each group. The findings revealed that there was a significant statistical difference between the two groups in favour of the experimental group with better performance, indicating that the FCM has considerably assisted the Iraqi EFL learners to improve their English pronunciation. Moreover, the students expressed their positive feedback and satisfaction on the use of the FCM in their responses to the questionnaire and the interviews. As such, the current study recommends further research to study the effect of applying the FCM in areas and disciplines other than language learning.


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