Abstract-This study investigated the impact of task-based writing on EFL learners' writing performance and creativity. For this purpose, 56 female intermediate Iranian EFL learners were chosen from a total number of 89 through their performance on a sample piloted PET. Based on the result, the students were randomly assigned to one control and one experimental group with 28 participants in each. Prior to the treatment, students took part in a writing test (part of PET) and the Abedi-Schumacher Creativity Test (ACT) as pretests. Both groups underwent the same amount of teaching and the same writing topics during 18 sessions of treatment. The only difference was that the experimental group was engaged in doing task-based writing activities while the control group was not asked to do any kind of tasks. At the end of the treatment, a writing test (another PET) and the ACT were administered to both groups. The results of the statistical analysis demonstrated that learners benefited significantly from task-based writing in terms of both their writing and creativity.
The present study was conducted to explore the effects of teaching reading strategies on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' reading anxiety. To fulfill the purpose of this study, 55 intermediate EFL learners were selected among a total number of 90 through their performance on a sample piloted Preliminary English Test (PET), and then randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups (27 in the control and 28 in the experimental groups). Subsequently, the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) was administered between the two groups to make sure that both groups were homogeneous in terms of their reading anxiety at the outset. Then both groups underwent the same amount of teaching time (14 sessions) by the same teacher using the same textbook. The students in the experimental group also received the instruction of the Super Six Comprehension Strategies (i.e. making connections, predicting, questioning, monitoring, visualizing, and summarizing). Finally, the FLRAS was administered again as the posttest to both groups and their mean scores on the test were compared through an independent samples t-test. The results (t = 2,718, p = 0.009 < 0.05) led to the rejection of the null hypothesis, thereby indicating that there was a significant difference between the experimental group and control group. In other words, the instruction of reading strategies significantly lowered EFL learners' reading anxiety.
The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of content-based and task-based instruction in a critical thinking setting on EFL learners’ writing. Accordingly, 60 female learners out of a total number of 90 intermediate learners studying at a language school in Tehran were selected after taking a piloted sample of the Preliminary English Test (PET) for homogenization prior to the study. Subsequently, they were put into two experimental groups: 30 learners in the content-based teaching group and 30 learners undergoing the task-based teaching treatment. Both experimental groups experienced the two teaching approaches in a critical thinking setting. A sample PET writing was administered as the post-test of the study after 16 sessions of treatment spanning nine weeks. A comparison of the mean scores of the two groups on this post-test through an independent samples t-test revealed that there was no significant difference between the two groups at the post-test. The probable reason for this result together with the pedagogical implications of this study and the suggestions for further research are elaborated extensively in the paper.
Abstract-This study investigated the effect of cooperative and competitive learning on the oral proficiency of introvert and extrovert Iranian EFL learners. For this purpose, 120 learners were selected from a total number of 172 studying at a pri vate language school in Tehran through a TS E. They also answered the Eysenck Personality Inventory which in turn categorized them into two subgroups within each learning modality setting consisting of introverts and extroverts. All in all , there were four subgroups: 30 introverts and 30 extroverts undergoing the cooperative learning treatment, and 30 introverts and 30 extroverts experiencing the competitive learning treatment. Another TS E was administered as the posttest and a two-way ANOVA was run on the mean scores of the four groups in the posttest to test the four hypotheses of this study. The results showed that while learners generally benefitted more from the competitive setting compared to the cooperative one, the extrovert group was better off receiving cooperative instruction. Furthermore, introverts outperformed extroverts in the competitive group; yet there was no difference between the two personality subgroups in the cooperative setting. Overall, introverts in both the cooperative and competitive settings benefitted more than extroverts.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.