scholarly journals The Influence of Topic Management on the Speaking Ability of Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners

Author(s):  
Sepideh Shiri ◽  
Hassan Abdilah

In English as a Foreign Language (EFL) settings where English is not the spoken language, Topic Management has been recognised as one of the factors that influence the speaking ability of learners (Du-Babcock, 1999). In Iran, many intermediate EFL learners find it very difficult to manage the speech aspect of the English language. The present study examines the influence of Topic Management on the speaking ability of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. It provides useful insights on teaching speaking skills through Topic Management to improve the speaking ability of learners. In this study, quasi-experimental design was used. 40 intermediate learners were selected and divided into two groups, the Control Group and the Experimental Group. Three tests were administered to obtain data from the participants. These were a proficiency test to check the English proficiency level of the participants, a speaking pre-test to check their speaking ability before the treatment, and a speaking post-test to check their speaking ability after the treatment. The results indicate that Topic Management has an influence on the speaking ability of Iranian EFL learners. That is, the more the student is confident in managing the topic the more he/she is able to sustain the conversation. The study concludes that Topic Management can be a facilitative approach to improving Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ speaking ability.

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1.2) ◽  
pp. 358-371
Author(s):  
Noemi Mercedes Remache Carrillo ◽  
Sandra Paulina Porras Pumalema ◽  
Diana Carolina Campaña Días ◽  
Mónica Alexandra Garcés Villacrés

Introduction: higher education has experienced a number of changes in the teaching field due to the current situation. In this context, e-learning through educational platforms has taken on great value in the teaching-learning process. Objective: to apply an educational intervention through the Moodle platform to consolidate the skills of the English language in the students of the industrial maintenance career of the Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo during the special period April-September 2020. Methodology: this investigation was carried out in the context of mandatory teleworking due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This mixed research had a descriptive approach with a quasi-experimental focus. To achieve the main goal, 70 students from the third semester took an active part in it who were divided into two study groups: the control group and the experimental group, with 35 students respectively. Before the intervention phase, information was collected through a survey which yielded important general data related to their socio-demographic information and self-perception of their level of English. At the same time, a pre-test of knowledge of the language was taken from the students which was based on the Cambridge PET exam. With this exam, data were obtained for the development of the intervention plan that was implemented throughout the semester. Results: after the intervention phase, the students took a post-test and the corresponding means could be compared. They obtained 9.20 for the control group and 11.99 for the experimental group as final scores. Conclusion: it is concluded that the Moodle Platform is a valuable didactic support to improve English language skills.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 10-25
Author(s):  
Ghuzayyil Mohammed Al-Otaibi

English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners find some phrasal verbs problematic because of their idiomatic and polysemous nature. They are frequently used in spoken English and textbooks suggest an arbitrary way in teaching them. Cognitive linguists proposed that the particle plays a major role in determining the meaning of such phrasal verbs. This study investigated the effectiveness of a cognitive approach (i.e., Rudzka-Ostyn’s Model) in teaching taught and new phrasal verbs including metaphorical ones. Using a list of frequent phrasal verbs, a quasi-experimental design was used in which an experimental group was required to create mind maps of the common meanings of each particle with example phrasal verbs. The control group, on the other hand, was asked to memorize the frequent senses of the most frequent phrasal verbs along with their translations. The experimental group did not outperform the control group on the post-test. This was attributed to a number of problems such as the fact that some senses given by some particles are not outlined in Rudzka-Ostyn’s Model. Further, the analytical procedure followed by students to cognitively understand phrasal verbs should be made explicit and address the interaction between the verb and the particle. Additionally, following a cognitive approach, instructors should focus more on the particles up and out since they have many senses and contribute a lot to phrasal-verb formation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 6-19
Author(s):  
Jazmín Marisol Medina ◽  
Jazmina Ivonne Mena Mayorga

Introduction. The English language is a mandatory subject in elementary, secondary, and higher education in Ecuador. To become proficient, a broad knowledge of grammar is needed because it is considered the backbone of a language. Objective. This research aims to implement graphic organizers in the teaching-learning process of grammar tenses. Methodology. This inquiry took place at a university of Riobamba with a target population of 62 A2 level students. A quasi-experimental research, was carried out with 31 students that were the experimental group and the same number of students as the control group. A pre-test was applied to both groups to evaluate their grammar skills. After that, both groups were given a post-test to determine if the graphic organizers implemented made any improvement on the students’ performance regarding grammar tenses. Results. The post-test results demonstrated that the competence of the experimental group students has been enhanced after implementing graphic organizers. Conclusion. The students were able to clear up their ideas and to establish better relationships between graphical and cognitive demands.


EDULANGUE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-82
Author(s):  
Kamarudin Kamarudin ◽  
Tawali Tawali ◽  
Muhammad Muhlisin

This research aims at finding out whether Course Review Horray strategy has effect to promote students’ self-confidence in learning vocabulary at the seventh grade students of MA NW Senyiur Keruak Lotim or not. This research rises since the use of English vocabulary plays crucial roles of mastering English language. Students will gain a huge number of benefits in which they can cope with various vocabulary items. For instance; students will automatically convince their self to speak up fluently where they know much of variety of vocabulary. This phenomenon comes up along with students of MA NW Senyiur Keruak Lotim. This research was a quasi-experimental with two group pre-test and post-test design. The population was all the students of the seventh grade at MA NW Senyiur Keruak Lotim consisted of 74 students from 3 classes. The samples of this research were 2 classes consisted of 25 students each group.  The experimental group was treated by using Course Review Horray strategy and control group was using Engage Study and Activate Strategy. The instruments of collecting the data were vocabulary test and questionnaire. After the data analysis completed, it was found that the questionnaire of students’ percentage was 56% the students got qualification A as criteria Student master 90%-100% of all indicators, 24% students get qualification as B master 80%-89% of all indicators, 16% students get qualification as C master 65%-79% of all indicators, 4% students get qualification as D master 55%-64% and 0% students got qualification as E master 0%-54% of all indicators. The number of T-test score was (2.865) > T-table (2.011). So, Course Review Horray (CRH) has effect towards students’ self-condident in learning English vocabulary


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arab World English Journal ◽  
Basma Issa Ahmad AlSaleem

This paper aims at highlighting the effectiveness of Encounter, Clarify ,Remember, Internalize, Fluent Use (ECRIF) strategy in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Seventh Graders’ vocabulary learning and retention. It tries to answer the following question : Are there statistically important differences at (α ≤ 0.05) in the whole mean scores in vocabulary accomplishment among the students who learn English vocabulary through using ECRIF strategy (experimental group) and those who learn English vocabulary over the traditional technique (control group) in the post test? To accomplish the purpose of the study, the researcher shown the experimental group with a sample involved (125) students for ECRIF strategy. While the traditional technique was used with the control group which involved (100) students in the first term of the school year 2017-2018.The researcher used (pre -post & delayed) vocabulary test and an analysis card to collect data. The study's results suggested that there were statistically important differences at (α ≤ 0.05) in the whole mean grade in vocabulary accomplishment between experimental and the control groups in the post & delayed test in favor of ECRIF strategy. In addition, the researcher recognized these differences to using ECRIF strategy in teaching English language vocabulary. In light of these outcomes, the study suggested the necessity of applying ECRIF in teaching English language to get better results in students’ vocabulary learning and retention in English as a foreign language. Similarly, the ECRIF Strategy would be used with other English skills and sub-skills.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 408
Author(s):  
Seiflou Kobra ◽  
Hashemnezhad Hossein

The aim of the present quasi-experimental study is to investigate the effect of dialogue journal assessment and portfolio assessment on Iranian EFL learners’ writing performance. To do this, 90 intermediate EFL students from 150 students in Omid –Mofid English Language institute in Khoy were non-randomly chosen. They were male and female (58 females and 32 males) and their age range is between 20-32. Then they were randomly divided into three groups of 30: a control group receiving only the routine instruction, and two experimental groups receiving portfolio and dialogue journal, respectively. Topic based paragraph writing as pretest and posttest were given to the participants of three groups to detect their writing ability at the beginning and at end of study. The result of the study showed that portfolio assessment group, the dialogue journal group and the control group performed significantly different on the post test. Students in portfolio assessment group outperformed than the student in dialogue journal group and performance of dialogue journal group was better than control group in their writing performance. Finally, some implications are provided for EFL teachers, learners, and syllabus designers.


Author(s):  
Azureen Abd Aziz ◽  
Suhaila Ngadiron

Proficiency has become a crucial aspect of learning the English language. The aim of this study is to find out the effectiveness of using English videos from TED talks towards students’ proficiency level. This study employed a quantitative research design. To fulfill this purpose, 50 diploma students were selected from a private university in Negeri Sembilan. These participants were then divided into two equal groups of experimental and control. A graded presentation was administered as a pre-test for both groups prior to the treatment. There were three sessions of presentations conducted with both groups in which the experimental group watched the TED talks and the control group underwent the traditional teaching method. After the sessions, post-test was given to both groups. The scores of both tests were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results revealed that the experimental group experienced improvement in their speaking compared to the control group. Few recommendations are presented based on the research findings.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 349
Author(s):  
Reza Tavakoli ◽  
Seyed Hesamuddin Aliasin ◽  
Fariba Mobini

This study aimed at investigating the effect of Structured Academic Controversy (SAC) on English proficiency level of Iranian intermediate EFL learners within the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) context. To this end, the Cambridge English Placement Test (CEPT) as the pre-test was administered to 90 EFL learners at Khayyam University of Mashhad, Iran. Based on the results and according to the test guidelines, only the intermediate EFL learners were selected as the final participants (N=60). Then, they were randomly divided into two groups of control and experimental, each group consisting of 30 subjects. Then, a t-test analysis was conducted to ensure that the two groups were not different in their English proficiency level before treatment. The experimental group was taught English based on a CLT syllabus supplemented by SAC techniques, whereas the control group received the same instruction but without being aided with the SAC techniques. After treatment, the participants received the same CEPT as the post-test. The t-test results for this test revealed a significant effect of SAC on the experimental group's performance on the post test, which means that SAC can play a role in EFL learners' English language proficiency improvement.


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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 240-256
Author(s):  
Bahram Mowlaie ◽  
Milad Abdolmajid ◽  
Ali Rahimi

The unique characteristics of the listening skill and the vital role they play in language learning and communication do not receive the attention they deserve and the situation is worsened in EFL contexts due to lack of communication in everyday context.  Given this, the present study was an attempt to empirically investigate if partial dictation versus dictogloss had any significant effect on listening comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. To this end, 60 male EFL learners were selected via double sampling and, after taking homogeneity test and listening pre-test, they were randomly assigned to two experimental groups (partial dictation versus dictogloss) and a control group. The first experimental group was exposed to dictogloss, while the second experimental group was exposed to partial diction. The control group underwent the mainstream usual classroom activities. After the treatment which took one hour each session for seven sessions, a listening post-test was given to all groups. The thorough analysis of data using paired sample t-test indicated that partial dictation group slightly outperformed the dictogloss group in the listening post-test and both experimental groups significantly outperformed the control group in the listening test. The result can have implications for learners, teachers, and material developers in all second and, especially, foreign language contexts where listening comprehension does not receive the attention it deserves and this, in turns, deprives EFL learners of viable sources of input. It is recommended that dictation in either partial format or dictogloss become an instructional activity in English classes because of its usefulness in improving listening comprehension and, more importantly, because of its practicality which is an important concern in many language learning contexts.  Key words: Dictogloss; English as a Foreign Language, Listening Comprehension; Partial Dictation 


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document