scholarly journals Instructional Efficacy of Portfolio for Assessing Iranian EFL Learners’ Speaking Ability

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 102
Author(s):  
Mahshad Safari ◽  
Mansour Koosha

<p>Regarding the fundamental role of speaking in language skills, this study intended to investigate the effects of speaking portfolio as an alternative form of assessment for assessing Iranian EFL learners’ speaking ability at the intermediate and advanced proficiency levels and also its impact on their attitudes. Accordingly, from the population of 72 students studying at Kowsar Language Institute in Esfahan, a sample of 64 male and female intermediate and advanced students were randomly selected based on their scores on an OPT test and they were assigned to 4 groups: intermediate and advanced experimental groups and intermediate and advanced control groups. In order to collect the data, a pretest and a posttest as well as a questionnaire were employed. To analyze the data, an ANOVA and a series of Chi-square were run in the study and the findings indicated that the experimental groups using speaking portfolios performed better than the control groups in terms of speaking ability. Moreover, the result shed light on the advantages of speaking portfolios such as self-assessment, peer-feedback, and improvement of speaking skill. This study provides instructors, administrators, and test developers with alternative ways to improve and assess speaking skill through speaking portfolios.</p>

Author(s):  
Maryam Bagheri ◽  
Zohre Mohamadi Zenouzagh

AbstractThis study investigated the potentials of face –to- face and computer mediated conversation (CMC) as two speaking modalities on students’ engagement. To this end, 30 Iranian male intermediate EFL learners were selected on the basis of their performance on OPT (Oxford Placement Test) and assigned into the research groups. The progression of face- to- face and CMC groups from limited to elaborate engagement at verbal, paralinguistic and functional levels was assessed using transcription analysis in face-to-face group and chat log analysis in CMC group. The limited and elaborate student engagement indicators in two modalities were identified via Maxqda software. The results of Maxqda analysis indicated that limited engagement was associated with appeal for help, silence, pauses and hesitations, focus on syntax, involvement with procedural talk and L1 use. Respectively, elaborate engagement was associated with avoiding L1 use, focus on discourse, involvement with actual talk and strategic discourse management rather than pause and silence. Chi-square analysis on frequency of indicators of limited and elaborate engagements on verbal, paralinguistic and functional levels indicated that limited and elaborate engagements occurred with different proportions in face-to-face and CMC conversations. Teaching practitioners would benefit the findings of the study since the findings illustrate how students’ engagement in learning evolves and how speaking modalities may impact the pattern of students’ engagement over time. The finding also suggest one way for improving student engagement without over-intervening of teachers is using modalities such as forums where the teacher presence is limited and students have to manage the discourse themselves which in turn increases student engagement.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 153
Author(s):  
Mohammad Yousefi Osguee ◽  
Nader Assadi Aidinlou ◽  
Masoud Zoghi

The purpose of the present study was twofold. First, it examined the effect of a register-based approach to writing instruction based on the insights gained from Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). Second, it attempted to examine the perceptions of the participants toward the register-based approach to writing. To this end, 100 intermediate and advanced students were selected and assigned to two experimental groups (advanced and intermediate ones) and two control groups. Prior to any instruction, the participants of all groups were assigned a writing task as a pre-test. The experimental groups were treated with SFL-oriented register knowledge for 20 sessions while control groups were exposed to the traditional method of teaching writing. Following the treatment, a post test was administered to the groups. The results revealed that the participants in the experimental groups surpassed their counterparts in the control groups. The results of qualitative analysis also disclosed that learners held positive attitudes towards this approach as it heightened their interest in writing.


Author(s):  
Meryanti Napitupulu And Anni Holila Pulungan

This study was conducted as an attempt to discover the effect of applying Demonstration Method on students’ achievement in speaking skill. It was an experimental research. The subject was students of Grade XII, Vocational High School (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan: SMK), which consisted of 79 students. The research was divided into two groups: experimental and control groups. The instrument used to collect the data was speaking test. To obtain the reliability of the test, the writer applied Kuder Richardson 21 formula. The result of the reliability was 0.7, and it was found that the test was reliable. The data were analyzed by using t-test formula. The analysis showed that the scores of the students in the experimental group were significantly higher than the scores of the students in the control group at the level of significant m = 0.05 with the degree of freedom (df) 77, t-observed value 8.9 > t-table value 1.99. The findings indicate that using Demonstration Method significantly affected the students’ achievement in speaking skill. So, English teachers are suggested to use Demonstration Method in order to improve students’ achievement in speaking skill.


1970 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ermiati E ◽  
Imas Rafiyah ◽  
Devi Kusnanti

Anemia merupakan salah satu penyebab terjadinya perdarahan dan bisa mengakibatkan kematian pada ibu hamil. Suplementasi besi merupakan program pemerintah dalam mengatasi anemia pada wanita hamil dan beberapa wanita hamil masih ada yang belum patuh dalam mengkonsumsi tablet besi. Oleh karena itu, diperlukan sebuah metode yang bisa meningkatkan kepatuhan wanita hamil dalam mengonsumsi tablet besi yaitu dengan short message service (SMS) reminder. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi efektivitas SMS reminderterhadap kepatuhan konsumsi tablet besi pada ibu hamil di (unit pelayanan terpadu) UPT Puskesmas Cibuntu Kota Bandung. Rancangan penelitian quasi experimentaldengan desain posttest-only with control group designdengan teknik pengambilan sampel yang digunakan adalah purposive sampling. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan dari bulan April–Mei tahun 2014 di Puskesmas X Kota Bandung. Sampel berjumlah 40 orang wanita hamil yang tidak patuh dalam mengonsumsi tablet besi yang dibagi menjadi 20 kelompok intervensi dan 20 kelompok kontrol. Data diperoleh melalui kuesioner dalam bentuk self report.Analisis data yang digunakan adalah analisis deskriptif dan uji chi square. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan sebagian besar kelompok intervensi 17 orang (85%) patuh dan sebagian besar kelompok kontrol 16 orang (80%) tidak patuh. Hasil analisis dengan menggunakan chi squaredidapatkan p(0.000) dengan taraf signifikan <0.05 sehingga dapat disimpulkan bahwa SMS reminder efektif terhadap kepatuhan konsumsi tablet besi pada wanita hamil dan bisa dijadikan bahan pertimbangan bagi pihak Puskesmas untuk menjalin kerjasama dengan pihak provideratau mengajukan dana ke Dinas Kesehatan untuk mengaktifkan SMS reminderdi Puskesmas.Kata kunci: Kepatuhan, SMS reminder,tablet besi, wanita hamil AbstractAnemia is one of the leading causes of hemorrhage during pregnancy, and it can cause death to expectant mothers. Iron supplementation is a government program to overcome anemia among expectant mothers, and some of the expectant mothers still do not obediently consume iron tablets. Therefore, to increase the obedience of the expectant mothers on consuming the iron tablets, SMS reminder is the appropriate method needed. This research aims to identify the effectiveness of SMS reminder to the obedience of iron tablets consumption among expectant mothers at UPT Puskesmas Cibuntu , Bandung. The research employed quasi-experimental design with posttest-only control group design using purposive sampling technique. The research was held on April–May 2014 at UPT Puskesmas Cibuntu, Bandung. Forty expectant mothers consuming iron tablets disobediently divided into 20 intervention groups and 20 control groups were taken as the samples. Questionnaire in form of self report was used to obtain data. In addition, descriptive analysis and chi square test were applied to analyze the data. The result of the research showed that 17 persons (85%) of intervention groups were mostly obedient, and 16 persons (80%) of control groups were mostly disobedient. From the analysis using chi square, it was found the difference of the obedience of iron tablets consumption after SMS reminder (p=0.00) had been delivered with significant level <0.05. Based on the result of this research, SMS reminder had an effective impact toward the obedience of iron tablets consumption among the expectant mothers. The result will be a good consideration for Puskesmas to cooperate with provider or proposed some funds to Dinas Kesehatan to activate SMS reminder.Key words:Expectant mothers, obedience, SMS reminder, iron tablets


2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasin Ozarslan ◽  
Ozlem Ozan

AbstractSelf-assessment is vital for online learning since it is one of the most essential skills of distance learners. In this respect, the purpose of this study was to understand learners’ self-assessment quiz taking behaviours in an undergraduate level online course. We tried to figure out whether there is a relation between self-assessment quiz taking behaviours and final exam scores or not. In addition, we investigated how self-assessment quiz taking behaviour differs with respect to learner profile. In line with this purpose, 677 students’ 6092 test events across Project Culture course on Sakai CLE LMS were analyzed. For the analysis of the quantitative data, one-way ANOVA, Chi-Square test of independence, independent-samples t-test and descriptive statistics were utilized. The results revealed that learners who attended self-assessment quizzes regularly had higher final exam scores than others who did not attend those quizzes. Also, they were more satisfied with the course than others study field. In addition, learners who attended selfassessment quizzes regularly had a higher degree of perceived learning. However, number of attempts to those quizzes does not have an effect on final exam scores. On the other hand, a statistically significant relationship was found between attempt number and gender in favour of female learners.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahra Shafieyan ◽  
Mostafa Qorbani ◽  
Babak Rastegari Mehr ◽  
Mohammad Mahboubi ◽  
Aziz Rezapour ◽  
...  

<p><strong>INTRODUCTION: </strong>Lifestyle is referred to an individual’s healthy and unhealthy behaviors that can affect their health statues. The present study aim was association between lifestyle and hypertension in patients referred to healthcare centers of Ilam city in 2014.</p><p><strong>MATERIALS &amp; METHODS:</strong> This research study was a case-control study. The data were collected through a standard questionnaire of health-promoting lifestyle profile (HPLPII) as well as the researcher’s direct visit to the health care centers in the city of Ilam. After the questionnaires were collected and classified, the data were entered into SPSS software and analyzed by descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, T-Tests and logistic regression.</p><p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>The mean and the standard deviation of the age of the main and the control groups were 57.1 (2.22) and 56.5 (2.99) years old, respectively. 10.9%of the control group and 25.5. % of the cases was smoking cigarettes or hookah. The results of the data analysis showed that the mean scores obtained by the main and the control groups on measures of physical activity, psychological growth, stress and total lifestyleare significantly different, so that the obtained score in the dimensions in patients with hypertension was significantly lower than the score obtained among the healthy individuals.</p><p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>According to the results it seems that educational interventions in the field of healthy lifestyle for individuals with hypertension risk can have an effect on controlling this disease and reducing its incidence.</p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nima Pouladian ◽  
Mohammad Sadegh Bagheri ◽  
Firooz Sadighi

This study sought to examine the sort, frequency, and sources of writing wrongs committed by adult Iranian EFL students. To score the participants’ written essays and speaking interviews, the four criteria specified for the IELTS Speaking and Writing Band Scores (British Council, 2014) were taken into consideration. The study also tried to comparatively analyze the error categories made by men and women learners regarding the type and frequency of their linguistic errors. To gather the information, from the population of faculty members at Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences (HUMS) in Bandarabbas, Iran, 100 adults, both male and female, with their age ranging from 31 to 52, were selected using convenient sampling. Based on their previous IELTS band scores ranging from 4 to 6, the members are separated into three groups.The results of data analysis revealed that verb tense was the very common grammatical mistake done by members in all three groups. For the cohesion and coherence and lexical sub-categories, relative clauses and incorrect use of target lexical item were regarded as the most common categories of errors. Outcomes of Chi-Square analyses also showed substantial differences among errors committed by participants in different groups. Finally, the comparison between male and female participants’ errors revealed that male participants made both written and spoken errors more than females. According to the results, recommendations, and any suggestions that are of importance to teachers and policymakers as well as to EFL learners are presented in detail.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-100
Author(s):  
Islam Namazian Doost ◽  
Soheila Tahmasbi

This study aims to investigate the possible effects of peripheral learning on elementary EFL learners’ grammar improvement: the case of prepositions of time and place. Two elementary classes were selected as experimental and control groups. Before beginning the treatment, a grammar test was administered to both the groups as a pre-test. Then, as treatment, the experimental group was exposed to realia, pictures, posters and texts, while the control group was not. After term-long treatment of 10 weeks, the two groups received the same grammar test as post-test. The results of t-test showed that the experimental group improved their grammar ability, i.e., knowledge of prepositions of time and place more than their friends in the control group. The finding of the study may open an optional path for teachers to include some peripheral materials in their teaching environment to further invest on unconscious learning abilities of the students.   Keywords: Peripheral learning, reposition of time, prepositions of place, grammar.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Mohammadreza Yousefi Halvaei ◽  
Ali Akbar Ansarin

The present study investigated the differences in attitudes and motivation between more effective and less effective learners studying at the first year of graduate university program. Based on this aim, first, the researcher developed the three-part 35-item attitude-motivation questionnaire of the present study based on the AMTB developed by Gardner (1985). Second, he selected 441 students (224 male & 217 female) studying at the first year of their graduate program at universities in East Azarbayjan province (Iran) as the participants of the study. Third, he administered the questionnaire of the study to the selected participants and asked them to complete it. Finally, he analyzed the data of the study in order to answer the mentioned research questions. The chi-square test was utilized to analyze the collected data of the study. The results of the study showed that there were significant differences between more effective and less effective learners’ attitudes and motivation. Based on the results of the study, it was argued that, the EFL syllabus designers and teachers should help the learners to become aware of their attitudes, and motivational orientations. Furthermore, they should make an effort to tailor classroom materials and classroom teaching to the EFL learners’ individual differences.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Alla Belousova ◽  
Yuliya Mochalova ◽  
Yulya Tushnova

Currently, during the pandemic, the forced transition to distance learning carries a number of problems. These problems affect various aspects of education, including the study of students’ attitudes to distance learning. The purpose of this research is to study the features of the subjective attitude of schoolchildren and students to distance learning. This research involved 140 secondary school students (average age M = 10.7, SD = 7.2 (66.3% men)) and 30 university students (average age M = 22.5, SD = 2.4 (20% men)). The methods used were a questionnaire, Chi-square test and Criterion φ*. Fisher angular transformation. The study showed that schoolchildren do not intend to continue studying in the distance form if they choose, with a generally positive attitude towards distance learning. The self-assessment of motivation to study in a distance format has not changed, both among schoolchildren and students. Students are more likely to have a positive attitude to distance learning than schoolchildren. The variety of choices of advantages and disadvantages of distance learning is greater among students than among schoolchildren. The perspective of this study is thus to study the factors that determine the positive and negative attitudes to distance learning.


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