scholarly journals The Effect of Collaborative Writing on Iranian EFL Learners' Task Achievement in Writing and Their Perception

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hossein Khodabakhshzadeh ◽  
Farideh Samadi
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Collaborative Writing ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Teacher Authority ◽  
Test Of Homogeneity ◽  
The City ◽  
Experimental Group

Collaborative writing has gained interest in the last decade; however, as stated by Shin, Lidster and Sabraw (2016) more research is required to delve into various aspects of this multifarious class activity. This true experimental research examined the effect of writing collaboratively on task achievement of Iranian EFL learners in writing. Oxford Placement Test was given to 60 language learners in the city of Kashmar, Iran,  as the test of homogeneity. Considering +/-1 standard deviation of the mean score, 40 learners were chosen to pursue the purpose of the study. These learners formed an experimental group and a control group with 20 participants in each. Collaborative writing was implemented in the experimental group and individual writing was used in the comparison group. The participants in the experimental group were later interviewed and their perception toward collaborative writing was investigated. The findings of the study through t-test revealed that the experimental group participants outperformed the ones in the control group in terms of task achievement. In addition, the results of the semi-structured interview through thematic analysis revealed that most participants found collaborative writing effective in terms of motivation, peer feedback, comprehensive view over the topic, changing ineffective writing habits, and vocabulary learning; though peer authority and teacher authority were considered as inhibiting factors. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

scholarly journals Improving Upper-intermediate EFL Learners’ Communicative Competence through Authentic Materials

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 956
Author(s):  
Mohammad Hossein Keshmirshekan
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Authentic Materials ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Experimental Group

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.

The Effect of Employing Electronic Peer Assessment on Iranian EFL Learners’ Writing Ability and Autonomy

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 2272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samareh Abbassi Ghadi ◽  
Hossein Khodabakhshzadeh
Keyword(s):  
Peer Assessment ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Writing Ability ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Electronic Interventions ◽  
Experimental Group

Peer assessment known as an effective technique in improving English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' achievement as well as their autonomy has taken a new form thanks to the employment of electronic applications and web-based tools. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of employing electronic peer assessment on Iranian EFL learners’ writing ability and autonomy. To achieve the goals of the study a sample including 48 Iranian upper-intermediate EFL learners were selected from among 90 female learners studying English in a language institute in Kashmar, Khorasan Razavi, according to their scores in Quick Placement Test (QPT), Version1. These participants were randomly assigned to control (N=24) and experimental (N=24) groups. Both groups took writing pretest and Learner Autonomy Questionnaire developed by Zhang and Li (2004). Throughout the experiment which lasted for 12 sessions, the experimental group benefited from the treatment, electronic peer assessment. However, the control group received the same treatment but peer assessment technique was carried out without any electronic interventions. Finally, both groups sat for the posttest being the same as the pretest. In addition, a semi-structured interview was conducted to the participants in the experimental group. Results of data analysis indicated the experimental group's outperformance in both writing and autonomy scale administered at the end of the study. Results of qualitative data (interview), also, showed that these participants had positive beliefs about employing electronic peer assessment. Pedagogically, the present findings support the employment of the treatment in EFL settings.

scholarly journals Using Podcasts to Improve Second Language Comprehension in Iranian Language Classrooms

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Mohammad Davoudi ◽  
Mojtaba Rezaei
Keyword(s):  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Good Method ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Language Classrooms ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
Transcript File

<p>The present study aims at investigating the influence of podcasts (POD) on language comprehension of Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners. An Oxford Placement Test (OPT) was administered to 60 male and female university students. The participants were considered as pre-intermediate learners and were divided into two groups (one experimental group and one control group). During the fifteen sessions of the treatment, thirty podcasts were presented to the two groups. The experimental group received just the audio file of the POD, and the control group received a different treatment which was the transcript file of the same audio podcast file of the experimental group. The results of the t-tests revealed that there was no significant difference in language comprehension scores across the posttest between two groups. Based on the interview results after the post-test, all of the participants (100%) agreed that both audio and the transcripts (written texts) were useful for them and claimed that it is a good method of improving language comprehension.</p>

scholarly journals Effect of Elaborative Text Modification on Pre-intermediate Male and Female EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 337
Author(s):  
Shahram Esfandiari Asl ◽  
Asgar Mahmoudi
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Comprehension Ability ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
Reading Comprehension Ability

The current study was carried out to investigate whether elaborative text modification improves reading comprehension ability of pre-intermediate male and female EFL learners. To do this, 60 pre-intermediate learners were chosen based on their performance on a standard version of Longman's New Opportunities Placement Test. The participants also received a piloted version of a researcher-made reading comprehension test as the pretest to ascertain their homogeneity. The participants were then divided into two equal groups to represent the experimental and the control groups. Each group was further subdivided into male and female groups. Five reading passages in two formats (unmodified and elaborated) were administered to the participants in five weeks which was followed by a posttest. The experimental group received the elaborated texts, while the control group received the unmodified baseline texts. The results of a Two-way ANOVA indicated no significant effect for gender but there was a significant difference between the experimental and the control groups' reading comprehension. Findings of the study suggest that elaborative text modification can be a worthy option in EFL reading classes.

scholarly journals The Impact of Writing Self-Assessment and Peer Assessment on Iranian EFL Learners’ Autonomy and Metacognitive Awareness

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Maryam Ebrahimi ◽  
Siros Izadpanah ◽  
Ehsan Namaziandost
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Peer Assessment ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Metacognitive Awareness ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Metacognitive Awareness Inventory

One of the most significant current discussions in writing is self-assessment and peer assessment. This study aimed to investigate the impact of writing self-assessment and peer assessment on autonomy and metacognitive awareness of Iranian EFL learners. One hundred and twenty participants were selected using convenience sampling. Four instruments were used in this test: (1) Nelson placement test; (2) Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI); (3) Zhang and Li’s autonomy questionnaire; and (4) rubric. A quasiexperimental design was used in this study. They were divided into two experimental groups, self-assessment (N = 40) and peer assessment (N = 40), and one control group (N = 40). Collected data were tested and compared using covariance analysis (ANCOVA). Results from the tests indicated that both self-assessment and peer assessment are effective ways to improve autonomy and metacognition awareness of EFL learners in the completion of writing tasks. Findings also showed that self-assessment was more effective than peer assessment and the results showed that the types of assessments increased the learners’ knowledge in the writing, teaching, lexicography, spelling, grammar, and similar models and were significantly effective in developing their writing skills. The findings of the present research study might have some implications for researchers, instructors, language teachers, and language learners.

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
Keyword(s):  
Short Stories ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Spss Software ◽  
And Control ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
Learning English

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. 

scholarly journals The Effect of Metacognitive Instruction on L2 Learners’ Listening Abilities and Beliefs about Listening

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 221
Author(s):  
Karim Shabani ◽  
Mahsa Heidarian
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Metacognitive Instruction ◽  
Quantitative Data Analysis ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Listening Instruction ◽  
Experimental Group

<p class="2M-body">Framed in metacognition and sociocultural theory, the present study aims at probing the effect of metacognitive instruction on the learners’ perceptions about listening in one hand, and examining whether this pedagogical sequence of teaching listening may lead to the learners’ listening development in the course of one semester on the other. To gather desirable data, 90 (50 males and 40 females) young Iranian EFL (English as a foreign language) learners, who were studying English in a private language institute, were the potential participants of the study. Data was gathered through semi-structured interview, open-ended questionnaire, as well as KET (Key English Test) listening test. Findings highlighted the occurrence of changes in the learners’ beliefs about listening at the end of the term after they received metacognitive listening instruction. Similarly, quantitative data analysis of the pre-and post-test indicated that the participants in the experimental group outperformed those of the control group. Results revealed that metacognitive listening instruction seems to be more beneficial for less-skilled (novice) listeners to take advantage of a process-based listening instruction to improve their listening abilities.</p>

scholarly journals The Effect of WeChat-Based Online Instruction on EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Knowledge

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Ehsan Namaziandost ◽  
Arash Hashemifardnia ◽  
Albina Anvarovna Bilyalova ◽  
Doris Fuster-Guillén ◽  
Jessica Paola Palacios Garay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Online Instruction ◽  
Vocabulary Instruction ◽  
T Test ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Paired Samples ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Experimental Group

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of online instruction through different mobile applications has become more common in education all over the world. Therefore, this research investigated the potential effects of using WeChat-based online instruction on Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary knowledge. To achieve this objective, 44 Iranian intermediate subjects were picked out among 67 students based on the findings of the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT). The subjects were then randomly divided into two equal groups: experimental and control. After assigning the subjects to two groups, they were pretested by a vocabulary test. Then, the experimental group received vocabulary instruction using WeChat application, while the control group received a conventional vocabulary instruction. After the instruction, a vocabulary posttest was given to both groups to assess the effectiveness of the treatment. The gathered data were analyzed through independent samples t-test, one-way ANCOVA, and paired samples t-test. The outcomes attained in this research demonstrated that there was a significant difference between the posttests of both groups in favor of the experimental group. Eventually, the conclusions and the pedagogical implications of this study were explicated.

scholarly journals THE EFFECTS OF TYPES OF ORAL TEXTS’ GENRES ON THE IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS’ LISTENING COMPREHENSION

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-106
Author(s):  
Khalil Motalebzadeh ◽  
Abdolghafour Bejarzehi ◽  
Hossein Sheikhzadeh
Keyword(s):  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Sampling Procedure ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Ordinary People ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Homogeneous Groups ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Experimental Group

This study aims at investigating the effects of types of oral texts’ genres on listening comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. The participants of the study were 65 male and female EFL students which all of them from Issar institute in Nikshahr and Chabahar. In order to have homogeneous groups and real-intermediate level students, the first part of the Oxford Placement Test (OPT) containing 40 questions was performed. After the sampling procedure, the pretest was performed and then students were randomly assigned to two groups of control and experimental. The experimental group received a course encompassing the instruction of generic features including news with two genres, political and economic, for twenty sessions of instruction. The subjects in the control group listened to some pieces of news (without any specific generic features, mostly reports with ordinary people about routines). The results showed the experimental group had a better performance on the listening comprehension posttest.

scholarly journals Enhancing Iranian EFL learners’ speaking fluency through using task-based activities

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arash Hashemifardnia ◽  
Hosna Rasooyar ◽  
Mehrdad Sepehri
Keyword(s):  
Placement Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
The Third ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Based Instruction ◽  
Task Based Instruction ◽  
And Control ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
Fluency Task

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

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document