Investigating the Effect of Reduced Forms Instruction on EFL Learners’ Listening and Speaking Abilities

Abstract

Listening comprehension is usually considered as one of the most difficult language skills to EFL learners due to the unavoidable presence of "reduced forms" in authentic speech. This study was an attempt to investigate the effect of explicit "reduced forms" instruction on Iranian EFL learners' overall listening comprehension and their ability to recognize and produce them in their daily conversations. The participants of this study were 50 intermediate English learners who were randomly assigned as the experimental and the control groups of the study. Three pre-tests were administered at the commencement of the study to see if the participants of both groups were at the same level of listening comprehension and "reduced forms" awareness. After the pre-tests, the participants in the experimental group received instruction on "reduced forms" while the control participants continued their regular classes. At the end of the 10-week instruction, the participants were given three post-tests to see if they have improved their listening comprehension ability and their ability to recognize and produce the "reduced forms" recurrently in their daily speech. Although the control participants have significantly improved their listening comprehension, the fact that the experimental participants had outperformed implied the efficacy of "reduced forms" training on the overall listening comprehension's betterment. The results also revealed that the experimental participants significantly improved their "reduced forms" awareness as well as their ability to produce "reduced forms" at the end of training course while the control participants didn't.

The Explicit Instructions on Connected Speech to the First Year English Major Student’s Perception and Production at School of Foreign Languages – Thai Nguyen University

“…The results are also in line with Mhammad Saber Khaghaninezhad & Ghasem Jafarzadeh [17] who determined that teaching "reduced forms" helped students to master their listening and speaking skills. There was a significant difference between two groups after treatment.…”

Improving Students’ Listening Comprehension by Teaching Connected Speech

“…In addition, other research (e.g. Baghrahi et al, 2014;Khaghaninezhad and Jafarzadeh, 2014) also confirmed that teaching connected speech aspects significantly raised the students' awareness of those aspects in listening.…”

فاعلية المنهج التعليمي متعدد الأبعاد لمشارکة الاشتباک بناءً على أجهزة تکنولوجيا الاتصال في تطوير مهارات الاتصال الشفوي للغة الإنجليزية کلغة أجنبية (Efl) والفعالية الذاتية

“…The results revealed that integrating authentic assessment into EFL classrooms can enhance oral communication and reduce anxiety among FL learners. Khaghaninezhad & Jafarzadeh (2014) investigated the effect of explicit reduced forms instruction on Iranian EFL learners' overall listening comprehension and their ability to recognize and produce them in their daily conversations. The participants were (50) intermediate English learners and were divided into an experimental group and a control group.…”

“…In addition, it is a vital skill in all areas of academic life. Effective listening is required for higher education students to understand formal lectures and tutorials, as well as to interact with other students in small groups, in project work, and in social situations (Khaghaninezhad & Jafarzadeh, 2014, Picard &Velautham, 2016.…”