Iranian Journal of Research in English Language Teaching

Transcription

Iranian Journal of Research in
English Language Teaching
Volume 1, Issue 1, winter 2012
Iranian Journal of Research in English Language Teaching (IJRELT)
© Since 2012 Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan Branch, Isfahan
Director-in-chief
Dr. Hamid Reza Haghverdi, Assistant Professor at Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan Branch
Editor-in-chief
Dr. Mansour Koosha, Associate Professor at Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan Branch
Executive Manager
Dr. Hossein Heidari Tabrizi, Assistant Professor at Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan Branch
Graphic Designer
Elnaz Atashzaban
Editorial Board
Dr. Mohammad Hassan Tahririan
Professor at Sheikhbahaei University
Dr. Mohammad Reza Talebinezhad
Associate Professor at Islamic Azad University, Shahreza Branch
Dr. Akbar Afghari
Associate Professor at Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan Branch
Dr. Mohammad Raouf Moini
Associate Professor at Kashan University
Dr. Seyed Ayatollah Razmjoo
Associate Professor at Shiraz University
Dr. Ahmadreza Lotfi
Assistant Professor at Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan Branch
Dr. Reza Biria
Dr. Saeed Taki
Assistant Professor at Islamic Azad University, Shahreza Branch
Dr. Saeed Ketabi
Assistant Professor at University of Isfahan
Dr. Gholam Reza Zarei
Assistant Professor at Isfahan University of Technology
Dr. Hamid Allami
Assistant Professor at Yazd University
Dr. Azizeh Chalak
Contents
An Analysis of Pronunciation Errors of Iranian EFL Learners
Syntactic priming effects on EFL learners’ production and retention of indirect questions
5
19
The Effectiveness of Psychotypology-reduced L2 Teaching on Three Linguistically different
Groups of Iranian Undergraduate EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension Skill
39
Effects of Input and Output-oriented Tasks with Different Involvement Loads on the Receptive Vocabulary Knowledge of Iranian EFL Learners
65
The Effect of CA-based vs. EA-based Error Correction on Iranian EFL Intermediate Learners’
Lexical Errors of Writing
89
Impact of L2 Film Instruction and English Idiom Etymology on Iranian EFL learners› Idiom
Learning
101
The Effect of Differences in the General Proficiency of Iranian EFL Students on their Metaphorical Competence
129
English Comparative Forms in Iranian Textbooks Compared to Textbooks Developed by Native Material Developers
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IJRELT
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Mahmood Hashemian
[email protected]
Shahrekord University
Kamal Heidari Soureshjani
[email protected]
Islamic Azad University,
Shahrekord Branch, Shahrekord, Iran
Abstract
As oral skills are increasingly seen as a high priority, phonology and pronunciation teaching are occupying a central position in the teaching and learning of other
languages. The present study is an attempt to shed some light on identifying and
exploring the difficulties of Iranian EFL learners in phonology and pronunciation.
To achieve this goal, 3 male language learners (elementary, intermediate, and advanced) were randomly selected and were required to articulate 3 different types
of material. Having analyzed the data, the study revealed that, first, pronouncing
/ ɪə/ as /eə/, /æ/ as /e/, /ɑ:/ as /ɔ:/, /ʊ/ as /u:/, /aɪ/ as /ɔɪ/, /ɪ/ as /i:/, /əʊ/ as /ɔ:/, /w/
as /v/, /ð/ as /d/ or /z/, /θ/ as /t/ or /s/ and /ŋ/ as /ng/ and mispronouncing /ɒ/, /ʌ/,
/ɜ:/, /ə/, /ɔɪ/, /eə/, /r/ and /aʊ/ are the most frequent errors among Persian-speaking
learners. Second, the study indicated that the speed of reading was inappropriate
for all the beginning, intermediate, and advanced learners.
Keywords: phonology, pronunciation errors, speed of reading
Received 2 August 2011
Approved 14 September 2011
5
Iranian Journal Of ResearchInEnglishLanguageTeaching
Abstract
As oral skills are increasingly seen as a high priority, phonology and pronunciation teaching are occupying a central position in the teaching and learning of other
languages. The present study is an attempt to shed some light on identifying and
exploring the difficulties of Iranian EFL learners in phonology and pronunciation.
To achieve this goal, 3 male language learners (elementary, intermediate, and advanced) were randomly selected and were required to articulate 3 different types
of material. Having analyzed the data, the study revealed that, first, pronouncing
/ɪə/ as /eə/, /æ/ as /e/, /ɑ:/ as /ɔ:/, /ʊ/ as /u:/, /aɪ/ as /ɔɪ/, /ɪ/ as /i:/, /əʊ/ as /ɔ:/, /w/
as /v/, /ð/ as /d/ or /z/, /θ/ as /t/ or /s/ and /ŋ/ as /ng/ and mispronouncing /ɒ/, /ʌ/,
/ɜ:/, /ə/, /ɔɪ/, /eə/, /r/ and /aʊ/ are the most frequent errors among Persian-speaking
learners. Second, the study indicated that the speed of reading was inappropriate
for all the beginning, intermediate, and advanced learners.
Keywords: phonology, pronunciation errors, speed of reading
1. Introduction
It is reasonable to accept the fact that L1 English speakers can recognize the
foreign accents of non-L1 English speakers like Chinese, Italian, and Farsi accents, which may affect the intelligibility of certain sounds, but more often it
conveys the fact that such speakers are not L1 English speakers. In other words,
a foreign accent is the constant occurrence of the phonetic differences from the
norms of a language which L1 speakers of that language recognize as unfamiliar
to the sound system of their own language. In fact, L2 learners with a foreign accent may be unintelligible in the sense that they are often misunderstood, or they
may be intelligible but understanding them requires more effort.
Moreover, being able to speak English includes a number of skills involving
vocabulary, grammar, pragmatics, and so on. Besides, it can be argued that the
most important of such skills is pronunciation. Despite having a good grasp of
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vocabulary and the grammatical rules of the English language, speakers would
be unintelligible if they have a poor pronunciation. Though pronunciation is an
aspect of language difficult to acquire, the reality is that in many English language
classrooms, teaching pronunciation is granted the least attention.
A major difficulty, however, facing almost L2 learners is the achievement
of acceptable pronunciation that enables them to be understood by L1 English
speakers. In fact, many of these learners master the elements of language such as
syntax, morphology, or even semantics to the level of almost native-like competence but often fail to master phonology. According to Avery and Ehrlich (1992),
the nature of a foreign accent is determined, to a large extent, by the learners’ L1.
In other words, the sound system and the syllable structure of an L1 have some
influence on the speech or production of an L2. To support this view further, Swan
and Smith (1987) suggest that pronunciation errors made by L2 learners are considered not to be just random attempts to produce unfamiliar sounds, but rather
reflections of their L1 sound system.
Considering the abovementioned statements, therefore, good pronunciation
should be one of the first things considered in L2 teaching. One can live without
advanced vocabulary by using simple words to say what they want to say. One can
live without advanced grammar by using simple grammar structures instead. But
there is no such thing as simple pronunciation. Good pronunciation should be one
of the first things considered in L2 teaching. Pronunciation is an integrated and
integral part of L2 learning because it directly affects L2 learners’ communicative
competence as well as performance.
Nonetheless, teaching L2 pronunciation is still a peripheral and/or neglected
dimension in L2 syllabuses, materials, and classrooms. This study aimed at analyzing and identifying Persian-speaking learners’ segmental and suprasegmental
errors as far as their fluency and accuracy is concerned.
2. Background to the Study
Farsi, also known as Persian, is a widely spoken member of the Iranian branch
of the Indo-European languages and a subfamily of the Indo-Iranian languages.
It is the national language of Iran and is also widely spoken in countries like Afghanistan and, in an archaic form, in Tajikistan and the Pamir Mountain region. In
7
addition, there are other minority groups of native speakers of Farsi in many other
places of the world including Europe and North America. It is estimated that there
are over 40 million Farsi speakers in the world (www.farsinet.com).
Besides, many languages of the world like English and Farsi are alphabetic in
the sense that they represent their vowels and consonants in the form of letters in
their orthography. In these languages, words are composed of one or more syllables. According to Windfuhr (1979, p. 529), Farsi is characterized as a syllabletimed language. In other words, the syllables are said to occur at approximately
regular intervals of time, and the amount of time it takes to say a sentence depends
on the number of syllables in the sentence, not on the number of stressed syllables
as in stress-timed languages like English and German. Furthermore, Farsi syllables always take one of these patterns (i.e., CV, CVC, or CVCC).
All in all, Farsi and English, though belonging to the same language family
(i.e., Indo-European), are very different in alphabet, sound system, and syllable
structure. The Farsi alphabet is based on Arabic, which is a consonantal system
and contains 32 letters (23 consonants, 6 vowels, 2 diphthongs, and a total of 29
phonemes; Samareh, 2000, p. 85; Windfuhr, 1979, p. 526), whereas the English
alphabet is based on Latin which contains 26 letters (24 consonants, 12 vowels, 8
diphthongs, and a total of 44 phonemes; Sousa, 2005, p. 37).
Fraser (2000a) observes that many learners of English as a foreign language
have major difficulties with the English pronunciation even after years of learning the language. Hinofotis and Baily (1981) note that “up to a certain proficiency
standard, the fault which most severely impairs the communication process in
EFL/ESL learners is pronunciation,” not vocabulary or grammar. Davis (1999),
for example, reveals that an area of concern and, indeed, one of the top priorities
of L2 students after completing elementary English courses is pronunciation.
Further, it is important to make a distinction between speaking and pronunciation as it is sometimes wrongly applied interchangeably. Simply put, pronunciation is viewed as a subskill of speaking. Fraser (2000b) explains that being able
to speak English includes a number of subskills, of which pronunciation is “by
far the most important” (other subskills of speaking include vocabulary, grammar,
and pragmatics). She argues that “with good pronunciation, a speaker is intelligible despite other errors; with poor pronunciation, a speaker can be very difficult
to understand, despite accuracy in other areas.” Despite this, the teaching of pro8
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nunciation remains largely neglected in the field of English language teaching. In
discussing the importance of pronunciation, Murphy (1991) describes them as vital in providing the much needed learning experiences to develop accurate control
over the sound system within a language.
Though pronunciation activities were stressed in some decades, they took a
back seat in others depending on the teaching method that was popular during that
particular time. In the grammar-translation method of the past, pronunciation was
almost irrelevant and, therefore, seldom taught. Then, in the 1950s and 1960s,
pronunciation took the center stage with the introduction of the audio-lingual
method―a method that emphasized the behavioristic drilling of sound contrasts
and word pairs and the articulation of individual sounds. However, the drawback
to this method was the failure to recognize the need to focus on “rhythm and intonation, the construction of useful sentences, or the practice of realistic conversations.” Instead, L2 learners spent hours repeating sounds and sound combinations
in the language laboratory. With the development of the communicative method
in the 1970s, pronunciation was downplayed to disassociate itself with any link
to the drilling practices of the audio-lingual method. As a result, there appeared to
be no chance for the teaching of pronunciation within the communicative method.
As the communicative method grew popular, little focus was given to training
teachers in the finer points of teaching pronunciation. Fraser (2000a) notes that
many teachers today struggle with teaching pronunciation and then concludes that
their training gave them an insufficient basis to work from. With the emergence of
more holistic, communicative methods and approaches to L2 teaching today, calls
are being made for pronunciation to be addressed within the context of real communication. In this respect, Morley (1991) argues that L2 learners can expect to
master the pronunciation of English if pronunciation lessons are made an integral
part of the oral communication class.
Pronunciation teaching is no longer simply a question of teaching the sound
system of an L2 in its segmental aspects. Isolated sounds and their functions as
distinctive features in an L2 are an inescapable phenomenon in L2 learning naturally, but we can no longer be satisfied that the study of segmental features leads
to an adequate degree of phonological control in the new language. In terms of
classroom practice, work on single sounds and their allophonic variants has a purpose in remedial teaching and in an understanding of phono-morphological pro9
cesses at word and utterance boundaries. With regard to segmental and suprasegmental features, Florez (1998) defines segmental features as “the basic inventory
of distinctive sounds and the way that they combine to form a spoken language.”
She notes that pronunciation instruction has often concentrated on the mastery of
segmental features through discrimination and production of L2 sounds via drills.
Suprasegmental features, on the other hand, “transcend the level of individual
sound production, extend across segmentals and are often produced unconsciously by native speakers” (Florez, 1998). Hall (1997) contends that one cannot deny
the importance of phonemic discrimination but goes on to cite several researchers
who contend that suprasegmental features like stress, rhythm, and intonation are,
if anything, more important than segmental features. Wong (1987) reminds us that
the most relevant features of pronunciation―stress, rhythm, and intonation―play
a greater role in English communication than the individual sounds themselves.
Suprasegmental features include the following: stress: a combination of length,
loudness, and pitch applied to syllables in a word; rhythm: the regular patterned
beat of stressed and unstressed syllables and pauses; adjustments in connected
speech: modifications of sounds within and between words in streams of speech;
prominence: speaker’s act of highlighting words to emphasize meaning or intent;
and intonation: the rising and falling of voice pitch across phrases and sentences.
McCarthy (1991) observes that pronunciation teaching in the past has drawn on
the works of linguists who have been able “to segment the sounds of language
into discrete items called phonemes” which, when used in constructing words,
“produce meaningful contrasts with other words.” Fraser (2000b) describes it
as “unfortunate” when segmental and suprasegmental features of pronunciation
are separated and cautions that it is not the way to go when taking a communicative approach to teaching pronunciation. Hall (1997) cites a study by Evans
et al. (1993) in which Japanese learners benefited from suprasegmental practice
through “marking texts for thought groups, shifting emphasis in sentences, and
changing the moods of scripts by exploring different intonational patterns.” Lambacher (1999) adds to this point and submits that with communicative ability (and
not native-like pronunciation) as the main goal of learning, “the prevailing view is
that improvement in the prosodic features has a closer correlation with improved
intelligibility of L2 learners.”
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3. Methodology
3.1.Participants
Three male participants from different levels of language proficiency (beginner,
intermediate, and advanced) were randomly selected from Sadi Language Institute through a survey using convenient sampling. They were all adults and informed of the purpose of the study. They were required to articulate some selected
materials elaborated on in the following sections.
3.2.Materials
The materials consisted of three lists (some de-contextualized words, some phrases, and a couple of sentences), and three reading passages taken from authentic
sources both from different levels of proficiency and appropriate to those of the
participants. These lists were chosen in a way that they revealed the participants’
segmental, stress pattern, and intonation errors.
3.3.Procedure
The study included four phases, all of which recorded for further analysis. In
Phase 1, the participants were interviewed and asked to introduce themselves. It
was almost a free task for the participants, and they were allowed to talk about
anything regarding their personal information. In Phase 2, a passage with appropriate level of difficulty was given to the participants to be read aloud. In Phase
3, they were given a few minutes to look at the passage and then asked to give a
summary. And in Phase 4, a list of de-contextualized words as long as phrases and
sentences was given to the participants to be read aloud.
4. Results and Discussion
Before showing the results, it will be useful to know what the most likely encountered segmental errors of Persian-speaking learners are. Table 1 shows the
common errors among Persian-speaking learners, although it cannot be considered as a guideline for all situations. This table was taken from www.btinternet.
com:
Table 1. Common English Pronunciation Errors
11
Fix Problem
Tongue high and front. Move to center.
Move tongue to a lower front position.
Tongue more central and mouth open.
Keep mouth round and tongue back.
Back of tongue high. Lips rounded but relaxed. Short.
Tongue low central. Lips relaxed.
Fix tongue in central position. Long.
Weak endings: e.g., London, England
Start with tongue low front.
Start with tongue low and back.
Relax the mouth and keep sound short.
Tongue central. Then tightly round lips.
Start with lips tightly rounded. Unround and glide.
Tongue from center front. Draw back to center.
Start with lips tightly rounded. Unround.
Tongue low front to high front to center.
Tongue low front. Then round & unround lips.
Voiceless. Friction. Tongue between teeth.
Voiced. Friction. Tongue between teeth.
Voiced. Friction. Tongue between teeth.
Voiceless: tip of tongue behind top teeth. Friction.
Back of tongue to back roof. Nasal.
British /r/ is weaker and sometimes silent.
From low front vowel to lips tightly rounded.
English
Sound
/ɪə/
Example Common
Error
beer
/eə/
Example
bear
/æ/
man
/e/
men
/ɑ:/
far
/ɔ:/
four
/ɒ/
not
/u:/
fool
/ʊ/
full
/ɔɪ/
boy
/ʌ/
cup
/ɜ:/
bird
/ə/
the
/aɪ/
buy
/ɔɪ/
boy
/ɪ/
sit
/i:/
seat
/əʊ/
bone
/ɔ:/
born
/w/
west
/v/
vest
/eə/
bear
/ʊə/
tour
/aɪə/
fire
/aʊə/
flour
/θ/
thin
/ð/
they
/d/
day
/ð/
clothe
/z/
close(v)
/s/
rice
/z/
rise
/ŋ/ + /k/
think
/ŋ/ + /g/
“thin” + k
/r/
sir
/aʊ/
cow
sirrrr
As Table 1 shows, pronouncing /ɪə/ as /eə/, /æ/ as /e/, /ɑ:/ as /ɔ:/, /ʊ/ as /u:/, /aɪ/
as /ɔɪ/, /ɪ/ as /i:/, /əʊ/ as /ɔ:/, /w/ as /v/, /ð/ as /d/ or /z/, /θ/ as /t/ or /s/ and /ŋ/ as /
ng/ and mispronouncing /ɒ/, /ʌ/, /ɜ:/, /ə/, /ɔɪ/, /eə/, /r/ and /aʊ/ are the most encountered errors among Persian-speaking learners. So, L2 teachers should be prepared
in advance for dealing with these learners’ areas of difficulty. Although this table
is based on British accent, it can be a useful guide for identifying the difficulty
areas among Persian-speaking learners.
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Regarding the results of this study, the beginner participant introduced himself
very briefly by telling his name and age. He did not use advanced vocabulary and
structure. The rate of speech was acceptable, but the criteria of connected speech
were not met. Then, he was asked to read the passage aloud, of course after giving him a few minutes to look at it. He read the passage very slowly. It did not
have the property of connected speech. The intonation was flat for almost every
sentence, even for the questions. Then, he was asked to give a summary. He failed
to tell the gist of the text. He just memorized some sentences from the text and
gave the exact words with long pauses between each sentence. After that, he was
given the list of the selected de-contextualized words, phrases, and sentences. The
beginner participant’s segmental errors are shown in Table 2:
Table 2. The Beginner Participant’s Segmental Errors
Words
bird
our
stop
rubbed
chemistry
school
very
duster
looked
Correct Pronunciations
/bɜːrd/
/aʊər/
/stɑːp/
/rʌbəd/
/tʃemɪstri/
/eskuːl/
/verɪ/
/dʌstər/
/lʊkt/
Participant’s Errors
/briːd/
/oʊver/
/stɔːp/
/ rʌbd/
/kemɪstri/
/eskuːl/
/werɪ/
/dʊstər/
/lʊkəd/
And, the incorrect stress patterns of the beginner participant are shown in Table 3:
Table 3. The Beginner Participant’s Incorrect Stress Patterns
Correct Stress Patterns
for`get
de`gree
co`rrect
`forget
`degree
`correct
When it came to the intermediate participant, he introduced himself by giving
more details about himself, his job, and his major but with short pauses between
13
them. The vocabulary and structures he used were more advanced than the beginner participant. The rate of speech was promising, and the words were connected.
Then, he read the passage aloud. The speed of reading was acceptable. The words
were connected to some extent, and with regard to the compound sentences, his
performance was acceptable. The intonation was better than that of the beginner
participant, but in regard to the tag questions, it was a little inappropriate. When it
came to giving the summary, the intermediate participant did a great job in summarizing the text. He gave a summary in his own words, and it was completely
understandable―there were some pauses between the sentences, though. After
that, he was given the list of the selected de-contextualized words, phrases, and
sentences. The intermediate participant’s segmental errors are shown in Table 4:
Table 4. The Intermediate Participant’s Segmental Errors
Words
done
calm
believable
month
were
ashamed
heaven
missed
/dʌn/
/kɑːm/
/bɪliːvəbl/
/mʌnθ/
/wɜːr/
/əʃeɪmd/
/hevən/
/mɪst/
/dɑːn/
/kɑːlm/
/bɪliːveɪbl/
/mʌns/
/vɜːr/
/əʃæmd/
/hiːvən/
/mɪsd/
The incorrect stress patterns of the intermediate participant are shown in Table 5:
Table 5. The Intermediate Participant’s Incorrect Stress Patterns
co`rrect
ìnteresting
be`lievabe
`correct
in`teresting
belie`vable
Regarding the advanced participant, he introduced himself by giving almost
every detail of his personal information but with short pauses between them, although the pauses were shorter than those of the intermediate participant. The vo14
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cabulary and structures were advanced. The rate of speech was normal, and it had
the properties of connected speech. Then, he was given the passage. The speed of
reading was not acceptable at all, but the overall speech was connected. Regarding the intonation, especially in long sentences, it was not appropriate. Then, he
was asked to give a summary. In this phase, he did not do quite a good job considering his high level of proficiency. Although his summary was understandable, a
lot of sentences were exactly the same as the sentences in the passage. The speech
was connected, and the number of pauses was few. After that, he was given the
list of the selected de-contextualized words, phrases, and sentences. The advanced
participant’s segmental errors are shown in Table 6:
Table 6. The Advanced Participant’s Segmental Errors
Words
watched
passed
advantages
automobile
purposes
supply
mechanism
/wɑːtʃt/
/pæst/
/ədvæntədʒəz/
/ɔːtəməbiːl/
/pɜːrp əsɪz/
/səplaɪ/
/mekənɪzəm/
/wɑːtʃd/
/pæsd/
/ədvænteɪdʒəz/
/ɔːtəməbaɪl/
/pɜːrp ɔːsɪz/
/sʊplaɪ/
/məkænɪzm/
The incorrect stress patterns of the advanced participant are shown in table 7:
Table 7. The Advanced Participant’s Incorrect Stress Patterns
me`chanism
ìndirect
`Japanese
`mechanism
indi`rect
Japa`nese
5. Conclusion
Pronunciation teaching has become more interested in and interesting to the
learner. Contemporary pedagogy in this area is dealing with questions of greater complexity as a result of the increase in knowledge about phonology that is
15
currently available. It is becoming apparent that intonation phenomena may not
inhabit the same cognitive domains as other linguistic features of language. Advances in knowledge and the pressure for pedagogical development imply fundamentally different and continuing training and development for L2 teachers
and learners. There is a subsequent demand for better teaching materials that are
improved both in their awareness of the discipline and in their adaptability to
specific teaching settings and the variable individual learner requirements. This,
in turn, presupposes new modes of evaluation, involving new technology and tailored to the needs of particular L2 learners in particular contexts with particular
necessities. The ideology of attainment criteria is being questioned and the native/
nonnative speaker distinction is becoming outmoded. Research possibilities are
numerous, for example, in the area of Interlanguage phonology, where issues of
developmental hierarchies transfer versus interference and fossilization can be
addressed. Phonology and pronunciation teaching are coming to occupy a central
position in the teaching and learning of other languages as oral skills are increasingly seen as a high priority.
The findings of this study have implications for theoretical development and
practical applications. In considering the theoretical development, more research
needs to be done with a larger sample of Farsi speakers of English, outside or
within Iran, to build on the understanding of the extent to which phonological
characteristics of Farsi speakers of English overlap. In terms of practical applications, the findings of this study can act as an acceptable model to assist both L2
learners and teachers in English language learning and teaching. Firstly, it can
assist L2 learners who may not realize the extent to which L1 English speakers
misunderstand them as they have not been familiarized with the phonetic differences between the model of English pronunciation that they were taught. Secondly, it may allow L2 teachers to obtain an awareness of the likely problems to be
incurred by L2 learners’ lack of familiarity with the phonetic differences between
the learners’ own pronunciation and more other models, which would enable the
learners to detect their own pronunciation errors and, subsequently, work towards
correcting them. In addition, L2 teachers need to be trained to obtain a thorough
knowledge of the L2 sound system and the appropriate intelligible models to encourage them to devote time, specifically to focus on phonemes that are identified
to have caused problems for L2 learners.
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other languages. TESOL Quarterly, 25(3), 481-520.
17
Murphy, J. (1991). Oral communication in TESOL: Integrating speaking, listening and pronunciation. TESOL Quarterly, 25, 1, 51-75.
Samareh, Y. (2000). The arrangement of segmental phonemes in Farsi. Tehran
University Press.
Sousa, A. D. (2005). How the brain learns to read. California: Crowin Press.
Swan, M., & Smith, B. (1987). Learner English: A teacher’s guide to interference
and other problems. Cambridge University Press.
Windfuhr, G. L. (1979). Persian. In B. Comrie (Ed.), The world’s major languages. Oxford University Press.
Wong, R. (1987). Teaching pronunciation. Prentice Hall.
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Syntactic priming effects on EFL learners’ production and
retention of indirect questions
Reza Biria, PhD
Department of English, Khorasgan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran
*Ahmad Ameri-Golestan, PhD
Department of English, Majlesi Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran
*Corresponding author:
e-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
This study examines the impact of syntactic priming on the production and retention of indirect questions by Iranian learners of English as a foreign language
(EFL). Eighty learners participated in two experiments investigating the impact of
syntactic priming on oral production and retention of indirect questions. Experiment 1 showed that priming resulted in increased production of the target structure
by the Experimental groups as compared with production by the Control groups.
Experiment 2 showed that the rate of production of the target structure remained
significantly higher for participants in the Experimental groups one day later.
Key words: syntactic priming, language production, retention, language learning
Received 5 July 2011
Approved 10 August 2011
19
1. Introduction
Syntactic priming refers to a tendency to produce or repeat a recently produced
or heard structure (Bock, 1986) – that is, the phenomenon by which processing
of an utterance is facilitated by processing of another one which shares the same
underlying syntactic structure. This facilitation can help understand the nature of
syntactic representation (Branigan, 2007). After the discovery of syntactic priming (also called structural persistence and structural priming) over 20 years ago,
there have been numerous studies across a wide variety of populations. Syntactic
priming has been the focus of studies with children (e.g., Garrod & Clark, 1993;
Fisher, 2002; Tomasello, 2000), aphasiacs (e.g., Saffran & Martin, 1997), bilinguals (e.g., Bernolet, Hartsuiker, & Pickering, 2007; Schoonbaert, Hartsuiker,
& Pickering, 2007), and second/foreign language learners (e.g., Gries & Wulff,
2005; Kim & McDonough, 2008; McDonough, 2006).
Bock (1986) report the first study which specifically used structural priming
to investigate the processing and representation of language structures. In her
study, speakers repeated prime sentences (transitive and dative structures) and afterwards described target pictures which were semantically unrelated to the prime
sentences. The results showed that speakers tended to use an active description
of the target picture after an active prime structure and a passive description after
a passive prime structure. The same effect was observed with dative sentences.
Pickering and Ferreira (2008) point out that the results of Bock›s study reveal that
priming happens automatically and is not related to specific communication purposes or prime-target relationships (Levelt & Kelter, 1982), or discourse factors
such as register (Weiner & Labov, 1983).
Bock›s (1986) initial finding has encouraged several researchers to investigate the nature of the phenomenon and its linguistic implications in more depth.
Branigan, Pickering, Liversedge, Stewart, and Urbach (1995) conclude that syntactic priming can occur within production, within comprehension, and between
comprehension and production. Within production, uttering particular syntactic
forms might affect the production of subsequent utterances. For example, if a
prime is produced that contains a double-object structure (The shopkeeper sold
a little girl some chocolate), it increases the probability of participants producing a target with the same structure (The girl handed the man a paintbrush); and
the same will happen with alternative structures such as prepositional objects.
Within comprehension, Branigan et al. (1995) find priming with locally ambigu20
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ous sentences. For example, readers process an «early closure» sentence (While
the woman was eating the creamy soup went cold) faster if it is encountered after
another «early closure» sentence, and a «late closure» sentence (While the woman
was eating the creamy soup the pudding went cold) is read faster immediately
after reading another «late closure» sentence (Branigan et al., 1995). With regard
to the «comprehension-to-production» priming, Branigan et al. also find that produced sentences are often structurally similar to recently heard utterances. For
example, when shopkeepers were asked At what time does your shop close?, they
answered At five o›clock more frequently than Five o›clock, while the question
What time does your shop close? was followed by Five o›clock more often than
At five o›clock. They point out that a process which is common to both comprehension and production might be the source of priming, although the nature of
that source is unclear.
Other studies have addressed the question of durability of syntactic priming.
These studies have dealt with the question of whether priming is long lasting and
results in implicit learning, or decays over time (Bock & Griffin, 2000; Branigan
et al., 1999). Seger (1994) defines implicit learning as involving knowledge which
is not accessible to consciousness; it is characterized by being, to some extent,
complex and abstract; it happens incidentally as some tasks are being performed,
and finally, it is preserved in cases of amnesia (Bock & Griffin, 2000). Bock and
Griffin (2000) believe that these four characteristics can be attributed to syntactic
priming as well.
Research on syntactic priming (both in a first and second language, L1 and L2
respectively) during the last two decades has focused mainly on the participants›
performance when there is a choice between alternative constructions; such as
the choice between prepositional-object and double-object (Chang, Dell, Bock,
& Griffin, 2000), or the choice between active and passive sentences (Bock &
Griffin 2000). However, this study focused on a single type of structure: indirect
questions in the production of Iranian EFL learners, which seems to be greatly affected by their first language with a quite different structure from English. What
follows is a simple exemplification of indirect questions in Persian. Consider the
following situation. Someone asks a friend to do something for him and now that
person is reporting the request. The original request is:
21
Example 1:
1. Mitooni
mashineto
biyari?
Can you
your car
bring?
Can you bring your car?
This request is reported indirectly as either (a) or (b) in English:
1. a. He asked me to bring my car.
1. b. He asked me if I could bring my car.
And directly as:
1. c. He asked me «Can you bring your car?»
Persian speakers, however, employ two different types of structures when reporting this request in Persian:
1.d. Be
man
goft
mashineto
biyar.
To me
told your car
bring.
He told me you bring your car.
1.e. Be man goft
mitooni
mashineto
To me told
can you
your car
He told me can you bring your car.
biyari.
bring.
In addition to considering the possible effect of syntactic priming on the subsequent production of a particular structure, it is of interest to consider whether
syntactic priming effects result in learning the target structure. Consequently, the
research questions of the present study can be formulated as follows:
1. Does exposure to indirect questions in L2 increase the likelihood of subsequently producing these structures in L2?
2. Does short term syntactic priming lead to long-term production of indirect
questions/?
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2. The Pilot Study
A pilot study was utilized to evaluate the possible outcomes of the research. The
results of the pilot study indicated that L2 learners› level of proficiency plays a
key role in the learners› language production involving syntactic priming. The
results also showed that Limited English Proficiency (LEP) participants should
be excluded from the picture description experiment. This was done because
their priming capacity was not formed yet to interpret the underlying message
of the pictures. In addition, control groups were needed to provide a baseline
against which the results of the experimental treatment can be compared to find
out whether the outcome is due to priming, the level of proficiency, memory effect, or other intervening factors
A researcher developed questionnaire in the form of a preference test, was
given to thirty Persian native speakers to see what kind of structures they use
when reporting a question or a request. These participants were different from
those participating in the main experiments of the study. The questionnaire contained forty sentence triads in Persian which participants were asked to mark the
sentence they preferred from among the set of three existing alternatives. The following examples represent two test items of the preference test.
1. a. Milad
az
doostesh
porsid
mitooni
Milad from his friend
asked
can you
Milad asked his friend ‹can you bring your car?›
1. b. Milad az doostesh
porsid
ke
mashinet-o
your car
mitooneh
Milad rom his friend asked
that
can he
Milad asked his friend if he can bring his car.
1. c. Milad
az
doostesh
porsid
ke
Milad
from his friend
asked
that
Milad asked his friend that you bring your car.
bring.
mashinesh-o
his car
to
you
biari?
bring
mashinet-o
your car
biareh
biar.
bring.
23
2. a. Mina
dirooz
ketab-ra
kharid.
Mina
yesterday book-OM bought.
Mina bought the book yesterday.
2. b.!Mina
dirooz
kharid
Mina
yesterday
book-OM
2. c. *Dirooz
ketab-ra
ketab-ra.
bought.
kharid
Mina.
Yesterday book-OM bought Mina.
There were twenty sentence triads containing a request (such as diads a thru
c in Example 1), and twenty fillers (such as diads a thru c in Example 2) where
participants had to choose between different word orders (see Lotfi, 2003).
Overall, the pilot study was conducted to adjust the preference test for the main
experiments to see whether Persian speakers favor direct or indirect speech when
they are reporting a request or question. In addition, the results showed that, when
asked to report a request, participants preferred direct reporting 78 percent and
indirect reporting 22 percent of the time.
3. Experiment 1
Experiment 1 was conducted in order to answer the first research question,
that is, whether hearing indirect questions in L2 increases the likelihood of subsequently producing these structures in the second language.
3.1. Method
3.1.1. Participants
The participants of the study were 80 Iranian EFL learners who were studying
English at Khorasgan Azad University and Gooyesh Language Institute in Isfahan. These participants were selected from among a larger 135-participant sample
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after taking Allen›s (1992) proficiency test.
To assign the participants into different groups, the following procedures
were followed. Forty participants with the highest proficiency scores, that is
those participants who scored 144-161 (out of 200 the maximum possible score
in the placement test) were placed in the High-proficiency groups. To eliminate
the Low-proficiency participants, since they were not able to participate in the
experiments which needed higher proficiency levels, the forty participants with
scores less than 101 were excluded from the experimentation. Of the remaining
fifty five participants, forty were placed in the Mid-proficiency groups because
they scored 101-119. This was done to make sure that the High-proficiency and
Mid-proficiency groups were significantly different from each other. The same
participants took part in both experiments described below.
The participants of the study were then placed in four groups with respect to
proficiency and treatment, namely Experimental High-proficiency, Experimental
Mid-proficiency, Control High-proficiency, and Control Mid-proficiency groups.
The groups labeled Experimental were those subjected to syntactic priming, while
the Control groups provided the baseline.
To ensure the comparability of the Experimental and Control groups, two
independent samples t-tests were conducted comparing proficiency scores. The
results of the t-test comparing the Experimental High-proficiency (M = 150.96,
SD = 5.91) and Control High-proficiency (M = 153.40, SD = 4.90) showed no
significant difference in proficiency, t (38) = 1.43, p = .16. Similarly, the results of
the t-test comparing the Experimental Mid-proficiency (M = 110.45, SD = 5.58)
and Control Mid-proficiency (M = 109.25, SD = 6.09) showed no significant difference in proficiency scores, t (38) = 0.65, p = .52.
3.1.2. Materials
There were two sets of forty five pictures, one set for the experimenter and one
for the participants. The critical or experimental pictures (N = 20) depicted a scene
where somebody was seen to be requesting or asking something from someone
else. This question or request was portrayed on a balloon so that the participants
knew they were supposed to report this question/request. For example, someone
is asking to talk with the manager, or someone is asking a friend to explain how a
cell-phone works, etc. The following is an example of the experimental pictures.
25
Figure 1. An example of an experimental picture used in the experiments. In this picture
a young man is showing a cell-phone to his friend and is asking about how the cell-phone
works.
In this picture a young man is showing a cell-phone to his friend and is asking
how the cell-phone works.
All the participants saw the same set of pictures, but the experimenter›s set
was different from those of Control and Experimental groups. The experimenter›s
pictures for the Experimental groups provided the experimenter with the opportunity to produce a prime, that is, the experimenter also had pictures where there
was a question or request that had to be reported. For the Control group, the experimenter described a picture that did not require direct reporting and therefore
lacked a priming sentence.
In addition to the experimental pictures, another set of pictures (N = 25) was
used as fillers. The rationale for choosing the fillers was to hide the purpose of
the study. In fact the experimenter wanted to make the participants believe that he
was interested in investigating the types of structures people used in different situations. Like the experimental pictures, the fillers depicted a scene where people
were seen to be involved in some sort of conversation. For example, a police of26
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ficer is giving directions to people, or while someone is watering the flowers another person is talking about the weather and the flowers. Similarly, the sentences
were portrayed by means of balloons. For example, in the following picture a
police officer is giving directions to someone.
Figure 2. An example of a filler picture used in the experiments. In this picture a police officer is giving directions to someone.
When describing this filler, the experimenter would say: Here, there are some
people on the street. It seems that someone is looking for an institute and the police officer is giving them the directions.
Of course, like the experimental pictures, the experimenter would not report the
sentence on the balloon; however, if participants were supposed to describe the
picture, they would have to report the sentence as well.
3.1.3. Procedure
Every participant met the experimenter in different sessions. The experiment took
place in a quiet room and the participants were given enough time to describe the
27
pictures. Each session lasted between 45 and 60 minutes. First, the experimenter
explained the procedure to participants and after he had made sure that the participants were familiar with the procedure, the experiment started. To make sure that
the participants were completely familiar with picture description, some trial pictures were described before starting the main part of the experiment. Furthermore,
to hide the purpose of the research, the experimenter mentioned that he was interested in the type of sentences that people would use to describe such situations.
In this part of the experiment, for providing the participants with the prime,
the experimenter initiated a description. He told them that he would describe a
picture and after that the participant had to look at the pictures and choose the one
which best matched the situation described by the experimenter. Afterwards, the
participants were asked to describe the pictures they had selected For example,
the experimenter may describe a picture in which a student is asking a teacher to
explain a point: Here we have a class, all the students have left the class but one of
the students is talking with the teacher. She is asking the teacher if he can explain
a grammatical point to her.
After the experimenter described the picture, participants were supposed to go
through their pictures and describe the one they thought would be most appropriate. For example, the participant may report: Here, we have a store. There are
two young men and they are talking about a cell-phone. The man who is standing
wonders if his friend can tell him how the cell-phone works.
The experimenter and participants would continue until they described all experimental and filler pictures. To cover the main purpose of the experiment, the
experimental and filler pictures were intermixed to eliminate any possible adjacency effect.
The experimenter either described the critical pictures containing an indirect
request for the Experimental groups, but the pictures he described to the Control
groups did not evoke any instance of direct or indirect reporting. For example, for
the Experimental groups, the experimenter would say: Here we have a class. All
the students have left, but one of the students is talking with the teacher. The girl
in the picture is asking if the teacher can explain a grammatical point to her. For
the Control groups, on the other hand, the experimenter would say: Here we have
a class and all the students are gone, but it seems that one of the students wants to
talk with the teacher and needs some help with a grammatical problem.
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However, it should be noted that the participants› pictures had a balloon which
contained the sentence the interlocutors were saying and the participants were
told to report the sentence on a balloon as well. For example, for the above picture
the sentence on the balloon was: Can you explain how this cell-phone works? For
the participants of the control group, no prime of any sort was provided; however,
the participants had to report the sentence on a balloon. The balloon was used
to achieve maximum consistency among the participants serving as the control
group.
3.1.4. Scoring
A checklist was used as the scoring procedure. Any sentence that the participants produced and contained the target structure was checked. The sentences
were coded as «Indirect questions» or «Other.» Sentences which were indirect
wh-questions, yes/no questions, or infinitive clauses that contained verbs like ask,
request, require, invite, want to know, wonder, etc. were considered acceptable
and were scored. For example, the following prime was presented to participants:
The student is asking the teacher if he can explain a grammatical point.
Evidently, the following target sentences were considered acceptable:
The man is asking his friend if he can explain how the cell-phone works.
The little boy wants to know when his mother would pick him up.
The man is requesting to talk to his son.
For each participant, a mean score was obtained for the whole session. The
maximum possible score was twenty.
3.2. Results
The means for the groups were 14.70 (SD = 2.36), 13.20 (SD = 2.70), 4.80
(SD = 2.07), and 3.95 (SD = 2.28) for the Experimental High-proficiency, Experimental Mid-proficiency, Control High-proficiency, and Control-mid proficiency groups, respectively.
To address the first research question, which asked about the occurrence of
syntactic priming in L2, the data were analyzed using a 2 x 2 analysis of variance
with score as the dependent variable and group (Experimental and Control) and
proficiency (High and Mid) as independent variables. There was a statistically
significant main effect of group, F (1, 76) = 327.47, p < .01 with Experimental
29
groups being associated with significantly higher scores (M = 13.95, SD = 2.62)
than Control groups (M = 4.37, SD = 2.19). Furthermore, a significant main effect
was found for proficiency, F (1, 76) = 4.93, p < .05, indicating that more proficient
participants had significantly higher scores (M = 9.75, SD = 5.47) than did less
proficient ones (M = 8.57, SD = 5.29). The interaction between group and proficiency, however, was not statistically significant, F (1, 76) = 0.377, p = .54.
In sum, the Persian-speaking EFL learners who participated in this study produced more indirect questions when primed for this structure. The results provide
the answer to the first research question regarding whether priming results in increased production of indirect questions.
4. Experiment 2
Having established in Experiment 1 that participants› production of the target
structure is susceptible to syntactic priming, it was also of great interest to determine whether the effects of priming would persist over a certain period of time
(namely 24 hours). This question has been the focus of research in psycholinguistic studies of SLA concerned with whether syntactic priming facilitates retention
or implicit learning (see Bock & Griffin, 2000; Seger, 1994). Experiment 2 was
designed to answer this particular question: Does syntactic priming lead to the
retention of indirect questions in L2?
4.1. Method
4.1.1. Participants
The same participants in Experiment 1 participated in Experiment 2.
4.1.2. Materials
As in Experiment 1, there were two sets of 45 pictures, 20 of which were the experimental pictures. In order to avoid possible memory effects, these were different pictures from those used in Experiment 1. For the rest, these pictures followed
similar lines as those in Experiment 1: they depicted a scene where somebody
was seen to be asking or requesting something from somebody and the requests
were portrayed inside a balloon in the participants’ pictures. Unlike in Experiment
1, however, the experimenter›s pictures in Experiment 2 were the same for both
groups and they did not contain balloons.
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4.1.3. Procedure
The participants of Experiment 1 were asked to participate in Experiment 2
the following day. In fact, they took part in this experiment between 18 and 24
hours after having done the first experiment. Like in Experiment 1, participants
met the experimenter in a quiet room and they were given enough time to describe
the pictures. Sessions lasted between 35 and 50 minutes. The second session was
usually shorter than the first one since participants were already familiar with
the procedure. Nevertheless, the experimenter explained the procedure before he
started testing.
This experiment replicated the procedure followed with the participants of the
Control groups in Experiment 1, that is, the experimenter described the picture,
but he did not provide any of the participants with a prime for the target structure.
After the experimenter finished with his description, participants described their
pictures, including reporting the sentences on the balloon.
4.1.4. Scoring
Sentences were coded as «Indirect questions» or «Other» according to the
criteria outlined for Experiment 1.
4.2. Results
The means for the groups were 14.95 (SD = 2.80), 14.15 (SD = 2.83), 4.05
(SD = 2.61), and 3.45 (SD = 2.35) for the Experimental High-proficiency, Experimental Mid-proficiency, Control High-proficiency, and Control-mid proficiency
respectively, respectively.
Like in Experiment 1, the data were analyzed using a 2 x 2 analysis of variance
with score as the dependent variable and group (Experimental and Control) and
proficiency (High and Mid) as fixed factors. There was a statistically significant
main effect of group F (1, 76) = 331.14, p < .01. Experimental groups had significantly higher scores (M = 14.55, SD = 2.81) than did Control groups (M = 3.75,
SD = 2.47). No significant main effect was obtained for proficiency, F (1, 76) =
1.39, p = .24, indicating that the more proficient participants (M = 9.50, SD =
6.13) produced as many target structures as the less proficient ones (M = 8.80, SD
= 6.00). The interaction between group and proficiency was also not significant,
F (1, 76) = 0.03, p = .87, indicating that scores were not differentially affected by
proficiency level.
31
It seems, thus, that the effect of the priming session in Experiment 1 was still present at the time participants took part in Experiment 2 since the difference between
groups was still significant. However, to specifically look at the development of
the priming effects across time and given that proficiency seemed not to play a
major role in the priming effects, a 2 x 2 analysis of variance was conducted with
score as the dependent variable and experiment (Experiment 1 and Experiment 2)
and group (Experimental and Control) as fixed factors. There was no significant
main effect of experiment, F (1, 156) = 0.001, p = .98, that is, there was no significant difference between the performance of participants in Experiment 1 (M
= 9.16, SD = 5.38) and Experiment 2 (M = 9.15, SD = 6.04). There was a highly
significant main effect of group, F (1, 156) = 647.18, p < .01, that is, participants
of Experimental groups had a higher production rate of the target structure (M =
14.25, SD = 2.72) than participants of the Control groups (M = 4.06, SD = 2.34).
Furthermore, the interaction between groups and experiments was not significant, reflecting the fact that the difference between the Experimental and Control
groups was the same for both experiments.
In sum, the Iranian EFL learners who had been primed for the target structure
in Experiment 1 produced more target structure in Experiment 2 as well which
indicates that syntactic priming effects persisted over this period of time. Furthermore, priming effects did not seem to have diminished with time. In addition, as
the results show, the L2 learner level of proficiency did not influence the rate of
retention.
5. Discussion
Syntactic priming phenomena have been investigated from very different perspectives in the psycholinguistic literature on both first and second language acquisition. In addition to language production, syntactic priming has been researched
with respect to issues such as first and second language comprehension, language
processing, the mental representation of language among native speakers, bilinguals, and second language learners, and last but not least the impact of syntactic
priming on retention or learning (Bock, 1986; Bock & Griffin, 2000; Branigan et
al., 1999; Garrod & Clark, 1993; Bernolet, et al., 2007; Gries & Wulff, 1995; Kim
& McDonough, 2008). In this study, the question of whether syntactic priming
would be found in a second language and whether it would result in the retention
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or learning was scrutinized, taking into account a particular target structure.
The first research question investigated the impact of syntactic priming on
the production of the target structure, namely indirect questions, among Persian
speaking L2 learners of English. The results obtained from Experiment 1 showed
that those participants who had been primed for the target structure did produce
more of the target structure than those who had not. This indicates that priming
was effective even though it was conducted in a second language and even though
it concerned a structure apparently difficult for the learners, judging by the low
production of the Control group.
These results support previous research on syntactic priming among second/
foreign language learners, especially Kim and McDonough (2008), who showed
the impact of syntactic priming on Korean speaking L2 learners of English production of passive structure. Similarly, they found that, regardless of proficiency
level, their participants could be primed to use passive sentences in picture description.
The very reliable boost to the production of indirect questions, which tend to
be underrepresented in Persian speakers› production of English, fits the «inversepreference effects» argument (Pickering & Ferreira, 2008) according to which in
any production contexts, structures that are less favored by speakers seem to exhibit higher syntactic or structural priming. These effects might be because of the
way speakers process prime structures, or the way they process target structures
(see also Hartsuiker & Kolk, 1998; Hartsuiker, Kolk, & Huiskamp, 1999; Scheepers, 2003). The present results show that the same applies to priming studies in
second language acquisition research.
The second research question investigated persistence of priming effects. If
syntactic priming is to be of benefit to L2 learners, its effects would have to last
beyond the priming session. In fact, syntactic priming researchers have paid much
attention to the issue of retention or implicit learning - that is, whether the effects
of syntactic priming are long-lasting and result in learning the particular structure
(Bock & Griffin, 2000) or they are short-lived and decay over time (Branigan et
al., 1999).
The results of Experiment 2 support the first of the two possibilities, that is,
syntactic priming effects appear to have resulted in learning of the target structure.
Here, the study follows Bock and Griffin›s (2000) definition of learning which
33
indicates that learning is «learning to talk» rather than «learning the language;»
in other words, the participants of this study learned to use the target structure as
shown by their continued high rate of target structure production in Experiment
2 which followed a period of 18 to 24 hours from the priming session in Experiment 1.
Although it is an empirical question whether production of the target structure
will remain high well past the 24 hour time period tested here, such a long retention interval is unlikely to be due to short term memory effects or other transitory
processes. In fact, 24 hours is a relatively long interval in the context of previous
research in this area. For example, Bock and Griffin (2000) show that syntactic
priming effects persisted over one or two intervening sentences; this was 10 to
20 sentences in Kaschak, Loney, and Borreggine (2006); and only Saffran and
Martin (1997) go beyond the same-day testing showing the persistence of priming
effects one week later. On the other hand, studies such as Branigan, et al. (1999),
Levelt and Kelter (1982), and Wheeldon and Smith (2003) conclude that syntactic
priming decays over time and is, furthermore, short-lived. Branigan, et al. (1999),
for example, conclude that priming effects decay rapidly in written production
when other structures intervened. Branigan et al. (1999) attribute the differences
to the modality they employed: they use writing while Bock and Griffin (2000)
use speaking. They believe that the slower speed of writing may contribute to the
short duration of priming in their experiment. However, the most important difference between these two experiments concerns the nature of the tasks. In contrast
to Bock and Griffin (2000), who use picture description, Branigan et al. (1999)
employ a sentence completion task where participants themselves partly generated the prime sentences. In the picture description task, however, participants
must instead repeat the provided prime sentences.
The results of Experiment 2 fit well with the findings of long duration of the
priming effects in oral picture description. The fact that participants of Experiment 1 could produce the target structure in Experiment 2 (in the absence of priming) shows that syntactic priming effects persisted well over time. The results confirm and strengthen Bock and Griffin’s (2000) interpretation of the priming effects
being the result of implicit-learning. Evidently, as Pickering and Ferreira (2008)
point out, the learning component of the implicit-learning argument requires that
priming effects be long-lived – a condition that is met in this case. Furthermore,
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intuitively, one expects learning to affect future behavior in some way, which is
precisely what this study finds in both experiments.
6. General conclusions
The data clearly show that priming can take place in a second/foreign language.
Based on these findings several lines of enquiry suggest themselves. For example,
one recurring theme in L2 research is the issue of cross-linguistic syntactic integration (De Bot, 1992; Ullman, 2001), that is, to what extent the two languages
of a bilingual are separate. It should be possible to address this question using a
syntactic priming paradigm by looking at whether bilinguals or second/foreign
language learners can be primed by structures in one of their languages, and expect the target structure to be produced in the other language. If so, it would mean
learners are making use of the same mechanisms to process the two languages
(see Hartsuiker, Pickering, & Veltkamp, 2004 for an investigation of the same is
sue among Spanish-English bilinguals).
The role of proficiency in priming effects is yet another potentially interesting area of research in that it could help determine to what extent new structures
can be «acquired» through priming. Still another promising and fruitful line of
research using syntactic priming methodology can be the investigation of the role
syntactic priming plays in the implicit learning of particular structures. This line
of research will shed more light on mental processes involved in learning a second/foreign language.
Furthermore, syntactic priming can have a very practical use in the classroom.
For example, in order to introduce grammar points, the teacher can prime the
structure and then expect students to use that particular structure in their language
production. This could be particularly helpful with structures that are less favored
by the learners› first language. In Persian, for example, in addition to indirect
speech, passives, tag questions, and causatives are among the less favored structures. These are, therefore, suitable areas for further investigation on syntactic
priming and, possibly, for improvement of learning outcomes.
Acknowledgements:
We would like to thank Prof. Kathryn Bock, Prof. Holly Branigan, Prof. Martin
Pickering, and Prof. Robert Hartsuiker for their helpful comments on different
parts of this manuscript.
35
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Bernolet, S., Hartsuiker, R.J., & Pickering, M.J. (2007). Shared syntactic representations in bilinguals: Evidence for the role of word-order repetition. Journal of
Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 33, 931-949.
Bock, K. (1986). Syntactic persistence in language production. Cognitive Psychology, 18, 355–87.
Bock, K. & Griffin, Z. M. (2000). The persistence of structural priming: Transient
activation or implicit learning? Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,
1292, 177–92.
Branigan, H. (2007) Syntactic priming. Language and Linguistics Compass, 1,
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Branigan, H., Pickering, M. J., Liversedge, S. P., Stewart, A. J., & Urbach, T. P.
(1995). Syntactic priming: Investigating the mental representation of language.
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Chang, F., Dell, G. S., Bock, K. & Griffin, Z. M. (2000). Structural priming as
implicit learning: A comparison of models of sentence production. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 292, 217–29.
De Bot, K. (1992). A bilingual production model: Levelt›s ‹Speaking› model
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Fisher, C. (2002). The role of abstract syntactic knowledge in language acquisition: A reply to Tomasello (2000). Cognition, 82, 259-278.
Garrod, S. & Clark, A. (1993). The development of dialogue co-ordination skills
in schoolchildren. Language and Cognitive Processes, 8, 101-126.
Gries, S. T. & Wulff, S. (2005). Do foreign language learners also have constructions? Annual Review of Cognitive Linguistics, 3, 182-200.
Hartsuiker, R. J. & Kolk, H. H. J. (1998). Syntactic persistence in Dutch. Language and Speech, 41, 143-184.
Hartsuiker, R. J., Kolk, H. H. J., & Huiskamp, P. (1999). Priming word order in
sentence production. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 52A, 129147.
Hartsuiker, R. J., Pickering, M. J., & Veltkamp, E. (2004). Is syntax separate or
shared between languages? Cross-linguistic syntactic priming in Spanish-English
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bilinguals. Psychological Science, 15, 409-414.
Kaschak, M. P., Loney, R. A., & Borreggine, K. L. (2006). Recent experience affects the strength of structural priming. Cognition, 99, B73–B82.
Kim, Y. & McDonough, K. (2008). Learners’ production of passives during syntactic priming activities. Applied Linguistics, 29/1, 149–154.
Levelt, W. J. M. & Kelter,, S. (1982). Surface form and memory in question answering. Cognitive Psychology, 14, 78-106.
Lotfi, A. R. (2003). Persian wh-riddles. In Boeckx, C. & Grohmann, K. K., (Eds.),
Multiple wh-fronting. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
McDonough, K. (2006). Interaction and syntactic priming: English L2 speakers’
production of dative constructions. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 28,
179-207.
Pickering, M. J. & Ferreira, V. S. (2008). Structural priming: A critical review.
Psychological Review, 134 (3), 427-459.
Saffran, E. M. & Martin, N. (1997). Effects of structural priming on sentence production in aphasics. Language and Cognitive Processes, 12, 877-882.
Scheepers, C. (2003). Syntactic priming of relative clause attachments: Persistence of structural configuration in sentence production. Cognition, 89, 179-205.
Schoonbaert, S., Hartsuiker, R.J., & Pickering, M.J. (2007). The representation of
lexical and syntactic information in bilinguals: Evidence from syntactic priming.
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Tomasello, M. (2000). Do young children have adult syntactic competence? Cognition, 74, 209-253.
Ullman, T. (2001). The neural basis of lexicon and grammar in first and second
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Weiner, E. J. & Labov, W. (1983). Constraints on the agentless passive. Journal of
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The Effectiveness of Psychotypology-reduced L2 Teaching on Three
Linguistically different Groups of Iranian Undergraduate EFL
Learners’ Reading Comprehension Skill
Hamid Reza Haghverdi
Assistant Professor at Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan(Isfahan) branch
Hossein Heidari Tabrizi
Assistant Professor at Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan(Isfahan) branch
Manouchehr Eghbalitabar
PhD student at Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan(Isfahan) branch
(Corresponding author: [email protected])
Abstract:
Three decades have passed since Kellerman (1978) introduced the concept of
“psychotypology” within the realm of psycholinguistic studies. He defines it as
“the proximity between the L1 and the L2 sensed by the L2 learners” exerting a
limiting role on the extent to which the L2 learners would be able to make the
best advantage of their language transfer potentials. However, psychotypological studies have not been paid the due attention they merit. The present article
attempted to shed more light on the concept of psychotypology and the effect of
psychotypoloy-reduced English teaching on reading comprehension of linguistically distinct adult L2 learners. Furthermore, a further attempt was made to delve
into surveying the interactional effect of subjects’ motivational and attitudinal
profiles on their psychotypology-reduced reading comprehension. The final reReceived 20 June 2011
39
sults supported the main effect of psychotypology-reduced L2 teaching; however,
the interactional effects did not meet the significance level.
Key Words
Psychotypology, Language Transfer, Reading Comprehension, Motivation, Attitude
1. Introduction
One of the most appropriate ways by the mediation of which L2 learners would
be able to achieve the feat of SLA has long been believed to be applying language
transfer processes. There is an enormous corpus of evidence underneath the issue that L1 plays an enormous role in assisting the L2 learners in their mastery
over the L2 (Ellis, 1994; Gass, 1996; Kecskes & Papp, 2000a, 2000b; Kellerman,
1979; Odlin, 1989; Pavlenko, 1999; Singleton, 1995; Sharwood Smith & Kellerman, 1981). In principle it appears that everything can be transferred in the realm
of L2 development (e.g., lexicon, discourse, semantics, syntax, phonetics, phonology and writing system; see Odlin, 1989). Jarvis and Pavlenko (2008) categorized
such variables into learner-based (personality, aptitude and age) and languagebased variables. Recently research into transfer studies has dwelt upon a wide
array of areas, ranging from phonological influence (e.g., Bannert, 2005; Beach,
Burnham & Kitamura, 2001) to the transfer of discourse patterns (e.g., Kellerman,
2001), metalinguistic awareness (e.g., Jessner, 1999; O’Laoire & Burke, 2000),
pragmatic competence (e.g., Jorda, 2005), syntax (e.g., König et al. 2005), and
lexis (e.g., Ringbom, 2001), just to mention a few.
According to Kellerman (1979) transfer processes are constrained by a range of
variables including psychotypology. He defines it as “awareness of the typological
relations between distinct languages” and claims that it is of no unvarying nature
and it would go under revision as the learners obtain more information about the
L2. The footprints of psychotypology can be discerned in a variety of L2 learning
related fields. For instance they have been recognized in the transfer of lexical
items in a number of studies (e.g. Cenoz, Hammarberg, de Angelis and Selinker,
Ringbom, Herwig), in the realm of cognate transference studies (e.g., Kecskes &
Papp, 2000), interlanguage studies (e.g., de Angelis & Selinker, 2001), and in the
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organization of the foreign mental lexicon (e.g., Ecke, 2001; Herwig, 2001).
It has also been found that the underlying processes in lexical transfer are common to learners of varying linguistic backgrounds. Supporting evidence as regards
such claim has been advanced by Agustín Llach (2007b) for Spanish and German
primary school EFL learners, Celaya and Torras (2001) for Catalan and Spanish
primary school EFL learners, and Bouvy (2000) for French primary school EFL
learners.
As the transfer studies mostly concern a large area of nearly all aspects of L1
transferred into the L2; i.e. positive transfer: cognates, lexical selection (Jarvis,
2000), negative transfer: lexical errors (Celaya & Torras, 2001; Celaya & Naves,
2009), the rate of acquisition of learners of different L1 backgrounds (Altenberg
& Granger, 2002; Kempe & Mac Whinney, 1996), or the linguistic aspect affected
by transfer (syntax, morphology, lexis) (Arabski, 2006), we decided to delve into
the issue of language transfer from an entirely different perspective and hypothesized that, on the whole, it is possible to shift the focus of attention from the
transferable items to the extent that it could be facilitated through minimizing at
least one of its characteristic constraints; i.e. psychotypology.
2. Research Questions
The variables determined to be further investigated throughout the present
study included; psychotypology, attitude, motivation, age and gender of linguistically distinct adult EFL learners. The underlying reason for the selection of
such variables was that they would both incorporate the “affective” as well as the
“cognitive” factors contributing to the process of second language learning. All
through the study it was basically assumed that attitude is a subcomponent of sociocultural factors (strongly endorsed by Brown, 2000), motivation as an affective
factor (ibid.), and psychotypology as a psycholinguistic/cognitive one (Kellerman, 1978). Broadly speaking, the following queries were sought to be addressed
through the present study.
1- To what degree does psychotypology appear to be significant in the adult L2
learners’ reading comprehension development?
2- To what degree does the interaction effect of psychotypology reduced English
41
teaching and gender affect adult L2 learners’ reading comprehension development?
teaching and attitude affect adult L2 learners’ reading comprehension development?
teaching and motivation affect adult L2 learners’ reading comprehension development?
3. Significance of the study
The present study intended to unravel a set of psychotypologically affected
aspects of L2 learners’ perceptual traits assumed to arise from their L2 typological perception. Throughout the study, based on the experiential information of the
researcher, it was assumed that by advancing educational comments on the part of
the L2 teachers the L2 learners would be better able to attenuate the psychological/psychotypological hurdles impeding them from proper L2 learning. The ultimate objective of this study aimed at affording the teachers, curriculum planners,
and materials developers with a terra firma to delve more into the uncharted field
of the perception of typological distance (psychotypology) which in turn would
benefit them to tap into further intricacies of language transfer processes.
4. Literature review
Broadly speaking, the study of psychotypology is closely tied to the concept
of “language transfer” the root of which traces back to as early as Wilhelm von
Humboldt (1767–1835) endorsing the dependability of the L2 on the L1 and asserting that the relation between ‘language’ and ‘thought’ is so highly specific
to the native language to the extent that full attainment of another language is
impossible. Condon (1973) attributed the concept of transfer to L2 learners’ perception. He focused on “perception” as one of the integral variables contributing
to the process of language transfer and defined it as the “filtering of information
even before it is stored in memory, resulting in a selective form of consciousness”.
Tracing their footsteps Schwartz and Sprouse (e.g., 1994, 1996) argued in favor
of a full transfer model, i.e., the Full Transfer/Full Access Hypothesis (FT/FA)
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according to which all “syntactic properties” of the L1 initially constitute a base
for the new developing grammar, which is constructed with the involvement of
Universal Grammar.
Currently the scope of language transfer has permeated the boundaries of semantics or syntax and it has incorporated the pragmatic knowledge between the
L1 and the L2. For instance, Olshtain (1983) attempted studying the ‘pragmatic
knowledge’ between L1 and L2 in “apology situations” and concluded that while
individual situations play a role in a learner’s choice of strategies in making an
apology, language transfer also guides the choices to a large extent.
In a nutshell three broad transfer theories have been posited so far; a) The
CEM (The Cumulative Enhancement Model) hypothesis suggesting that all previously learned languages can act as a transfer source in L3 acquisition; b) The
LSFH (Last System First hypothesis, Falk & Bardel, 2010) suggesting that an L2
is favored as transfer source relatively independently of the relative typological
similarity or genetic relatedness of the languages involved; and c) The TPM (Typological Primacy Model) hypothesis according to which psychotypology determines whether the L1 or the L2 will be transferred in L3 acquisition.
As already noted earlier, in addition to the major contributing consideration as
regards transfer process a number of constraining factors have also been posited
to impose intrinsic limitations on it. Such variables, according to Jarvis (2000,
pp. 260-261), are claimed to be age, personality, motivation and language attitude, social, educational and cultural background, language background, type and
amount of target language exposure, target language proficiency, language distance between the L1 and the target language, task type and area of language use
and prototypicality and markedness of the language feature. Odlin (1989) also
adopted a similar position by asserting that “transfer can involve more than native
language influence alone” and concluded a “fully adequate definition of transfer
seems unattainable without adequate definitions of many other terms, such as
strategy, process and simplification….in a sense that one might plausibly argue
that a fully adequate definition of transfer presupposes a fully adequate definition
of language” (p. 28). Parallel to him recently, advocating a compatible position,
Ellis (2008) has also endorsed that “Evidence for transfer in all aspects of language- phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics is truly abundant”.
43
4.1. The necessity of simultaneously plummeting L2 learners’ negative attitudes
and enhancing their motivational prospects through psychotypologically treating
the L2 learners
The psychotypological profiles of L2 learners appear to be highly intertwined
with their attitudinal status. The common ground between the attitudes and psychotypolgical profiles could be traced in Bakers’ (1998) introduction of attitudinal
characteristics; a) Attitudes are cognitive and affective, b) Attitudes are dimensional rather than bipolar – they vary in degree of favorability / unfavorability, c)
Attitudes predispose a person to act in a certain way, but the relationship between
attitudes and actions is not a strong one, d) Attitudes are learned, not inherited
or genetically endowed. e) Attitudes tend to persist but they can be modified by
experience. The common ground in between them turns up to be being both cognitive as well as affective, learned not inherited, and potentially modifiable. The
complexity of attitude studies has of course been confirmed through different sorts
of studies (Csizér & Dörnyei, 2005; Gardner, 1979, 2001a, 2001b; Gardner et al.,
2004; Masgoret & Gardner, 2003) most of which converge on the issue that ‘positive attitudes’ towards the L2, its speakers and its ‘culture’ can be expected to enhance learning whereas ‘negative’ attitudes would most likely impede (or at least
slowdown) its. However, it should be remembered that a straightforward relation
between one’s attitudes and L2 achievement still begs the question as the relation
between the two is a highly complicated one. As a straightforward relation between one’s attitude and L2 achievement still begs the question the present study
was intended for seeking any possible relevance between the psychotypological trends of the adult L2 learners and their attitudinal perspectives. As a further
goal the relevance of L2 learners’ motivational profiles to their psychotypological
trends was tended to be further investigated. Most studies coincide in pointing
out the positive relationship between language achievement and motivation (Bernaus & Gardner, 2008; Yu & Watkins, 2008) and more specifically some studies
report a positive effect of motivation on different aspects of FL vocabulary learning (Gardner & MacIntyre, 1991). However, such a correspondence has not been
unanimously borne out. For instance, in 2009 a study conducted by Fernandez
Fontecha and Agustin Llach revealed that lexical transfer (incorporating learners’
psychotypology) is independent of motivation.
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4.2. Language Transfer Studies in Iran
To the best of our knowledge specific studies to pin down the effectiveness
of psychotypology have extremely rarely been conducted in Iran. The reason for
such a shortcoming could be claimed to be the extreme subjectivity of such a
notion. Instead, it emerges that transfer studies have almost been abundantly utilized. For instance, Faghih (1997) overviewed language transfer and a renewal
of interest in contrastive analysis (CA) as a suitable testing ground for language
transfer or Ghazanfari (2003) examined interference from the perspective of language proficiency in a study of Iranian English-as-a-Foreign-Language learners
or Yarmohammadi (1995) focused upon formulating contrasts between American
English and modern Persian within the system of ‘reported speech’.
5. Method and Design of the Study
The present study comprised three distinct pretest-posttest control group experimental designs with utilization of randomization for each group of participants.
The dependent variable in the study was decided to be the level of ‘English reading comprehension’ in the EFL adult learners and the independent variable was
determined to be ‘comment oriented L2 teaching’ (reducing the psychotypology
profiles of the L2 learners) to the subjects.
5.1. Study Participants
One hundred and fifty randomly selected subjects in comprising three distinct
sample groups each containing fifty individuals took part in the study. They were
randomly derived from three branches of Islamic Azad University; Kaboudar Ahang IAU, Kermanshah IAU, and finally Shoushtar IAU, representing three distinct language varieties; Turkish, Kurdish, and Arabic respectively. The age range
of the subjects ran from nineteen to forty four years of age with a mean of 26.88
and a standard deviation of 4.842. The first group; Turkish speakers was derived
from a population of 121 undergraduate students studying “Islamic Laws”. The
second group; Kurdish speakers, was derived from a population of 109 undergraduate students studying accounting and the last group; Arabic speakers was
derived from a population of 93 undergraduate students studying business management. They were encouraged to attend the study by being assigned a free of
charge ELT class in order to have their general reading comprehension improved.
45
Three professional instructors; i.e. including the researcher and two substitutes,
treated the subjects for seven sessions. They were also fully knowledgeable as to
the textbooks’ contents taught to the subjects and were required to keep using the
L2 all through the training sessions.
5.2. Instruments
The most appropriate modus operandi to investigate into the research topic
emerged to be conducting a couple of opinionnaires. The choice of such a decision was theoretically motivated; i.e., to ensure that all subjects would have the
same frame of reference in their responses and to code the responses directly as
data and feed it/them into SPSS software for analysis. The items in the opinionnaires revolved around the feelings and impressions of the subjects toward the
English language, its interlocutors, structure, pronunciation system, and the motivating reasons of the subjects for trying to learn it. To substantiate the validity
and reliability of the opinionnaire items two of the researcher’s colleagues; one an
MA holder lecturer, and the other a PhD candidate, were consulted to contribute
their own ideas on the points targeted. The opinionnaires were chiefly of three
distinct types. The first contained twenty items on psychotypology presumably
encountered by the language learners involving items on the proximity (in terms
of the syntax, pronunciation, or vocabulary items) sensed by the language learners
between the languages involved. The second centered on the extent of the motivation (both integrative and instrumental) experienced by the subjects. As with the
psychotypology opinionnaire the items on this opinionnaire also centered on investigating into the subjects’ initial motivational status prior to the treatment and
to truly decipher the motivational nuances frequently encountered by them. The
ultimate objective underlying asking the participants such questions was to make
a comparison and contrast between the scores obtained on the participants’ motivational status and their status on the psychotypological-reduced language learning. The third opinionnaire centered on the extent of attitude already developed by
the study subjects. The attitudinal question items mostly involved social, political
or economical barriers inherent in the L2 learning which in turn would hinder the
proper acquisition of it. To empirically investigate the impact of psychotypology
reduction on L2 achievement of the study subjects it was decided to treat them
using language liaison comments. To get a general grasp of reading comprehension status of the study subjects two parallel sets of reading comprehension tests
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were designed and administered to them (prior and subsequent to the treatment)
to work out if there was any meaningful correlation between them. They were
devised in the form of multiple choice complete random sampling cloze tests and
were almost of a roughly equal level of readability; i.e. (r1 = 21.6; r2 = 25.5) as
well as reliability; i.e. 0.23 & 0.46 respectively. Pre and post treatment reading
comprehension tests; i.e. RC1 & RC2, were derived from a reading passage in the
textbook «Reading through Interaction» by B. Wegmann and M. Knezevic (2001).
Throughout the treatment two English teaching textbooks served as the teaching
materials to teach loan words and cognates to the subjects; i.e. (a) “Interchange
(1)” by Jack C. Richards, Jonathon Hull, and Susan Proctor, (b) “Inside Meaning
(1)” by Arline Burgmeier and Cheryl Boyd Zimmerman (2009). Seven deliberately chosen reading passages were selected from each textbook; i.e. fourteen
passages all in all. Three separate lists of cognates and loan words corresponding
to the local languages used by the L2 learners were also prepared and handed to
the substitutes by the researcher. A major number of these items were collected
through the dictionary of “Webster New World Dictionary (third edition)” and
“internet”. The control subjects received no special pedagogical comment rather
they received traditional grammatical instructions; basically based on different
prepositions, tenses, and passive/active sentences for fifteen minutes every session.
5.3. Procedure
Three randomly selected sample groups attended the study each comprising
fifty subjects; 150 altogether. The instructors, already familiar with the respective
language spoken by subjects, were individually contacted nearly ten days prior
to the treatment and given the teaching materials. The subjects underwent L2
reading comprehension instruction for nine sessions whose first and last teaching
sessions were devoted to the pretest and the posttest of the study. In the first step
of the study three sets of opinionnaires, structured according to Likert scale, were
administered to the subjects in all three sample groups. The opinionnaires were on
psychotypological, motivational, attitudinal profiles of the study subjects. A time
limit of 60 minutes; i.e. one minute for each item was given to the subjects. No
subject took longer time than the allocated to respond the items. Subsequent to the
administration of the opinionnaires a reading comprehension cloze test, contain47
ing 70 items was also administered to them. The subjects were given 50 minutes to
do the test. Afterwards the subjects in each sample group were randomly assigned
into two groups; i.e. experimental, control. Each group comprised 25 subjects.
The instructors were advised to adopt a unanimous teaching methodology (moderate form of Audiolingual Approach) throughout the treatment sessions. They
were also required to teach the materials by the mediation of frequently resorting
to points of commonality and liaison between the two languages involved as well
as the cognates and loan words common in them. The comments were mostly afforded in English but using the subjects’ local language or even Persian to clarify
the troublesome points was not entirely forbidden. In the final session three equal
sets of opinionnaires were administered to the subjects in all three sample groups
to see if there was any difference between their initial and final psychotypological, motivational, attitudinal profiles. Following doing the opinionnaires the subjects were administered a parallel reading comprehension test (RC2) of nearly the
same level of reliability and readability of the previously administered reading
comprehension test (RC1) to see if there was any meaningful difference in the
mean scores in between the control and experimental groups involved.
5.4. Data Collection
As already noted above in the first stage of the study two parallel reading comprehension tests of a total score of 70 were administered to the subjects both at
the outset and final stage of the treatment. In the second stage of the study three
distinct opinionnaires on psychotypological, motivational and attitudinal profiles
of the L2 learners were constructed and distributed among the subjects. Each
questionnaire contained twenty items. The items were constructed based on the
Likert test of probability of four distinct choices. There was no specific time limit
for answering the items; however, as the number of items was not a great one; i.e.
60 in total, they were done in almost one hour. The items on questionnaires were
mostly designed to elicit a negative response from the subjects. The scores assigned to each choice in the items were assumed of being of equal value.
5.5. Data Analysis
To assess the first study question three distinct independent-samples t-test(s) were
employed. To assess the rest of the study questions a range of two way ANOVA
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statistical measures were utilized.
5.5.1. General Data Presentation
General data on the number, gender, linguistic backgrounds, RC1 scores prior
and subsequent to the treatment of subjects attending the study are presented by
Tables 1 & 2 below.
As already mentioned, three sets of scores; i.e. attitude, motivation and psychotypology along with a reading comprehension test for each sample were derived
prior and subsequent to the administration of questionnaires. The mean scores
obtained in each group have been represented in table 5 depicting the overall data
in one look.
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Table 5: Overall Data in one Look
Table 6: Summary of the overall means of attitude, motivation, psychotypology
scores of both the experimental and control sample group subjects before and after the treatment.
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6. Conclusions and Discussions
To address the first study question the mean psychotypogical scores of the experimental Turkish, Kurdish and Arabic speaking subjects before and following
the treatment were calculated to be 3.21, 3.34 and 3.38 as opposed to 2.87, 2.64
and 3.34. In the control groups the mean psychotypological scores of Turkish,
Kurdish and Arabic speaking subjects before and following the treatment were
calculated to be 3.51, 3.40 and 3.45 as opposed to 3.462, 3.464 and 3.456.
The mean reading comprehension scores of the experimental Turkish, Kurdish, and Arabic speaking subjects before the treatment were estimated to be 34.08,
32.88 and 32.16 respectively but their mean reading comprehension scores increased to 40.88, 36.56 and 37.40 after the treatment. The mean reading comprehension scores of the control Turkish, Kurdish and Arabic speaking subjects
before the treatment was 34.92, 32.92, and 30.92 respectively whereas after the
treatment (applying the placebo) there was no great change in them; i.e. 35.12,
32.24, and 30.80.
Using independent sample t-test statistics in all three linguistically different
groups the range of difference between the two mean scores of the groups (control
and experimental) were estimated to be 5.15, 4.77, and 6.16 respectively. The eta
51
squared (applying the Eta squared =
formula) for each of the linguistically distinct experimental groups was estimated to be 0.35, 0.37 and 0.44
respectively. As P < 0.05 then the first three null hypotheses stressing the equality of the means were rejected. This result could be interpreted as the major role
of reducing the psychotypological constraints of the adult L2 learners in order to
help them make the best use of their transference potentials.
The second through the last study questions addressed the issue of the extent to
which the interaction effect of psychotypology reduced English teaching and subjects’ gender, attitude, and motivation would impact their L2 reading comprehension development. In the first stage to answer these questions the extent of issuing
educational comments to the experimental subjects in all three sample groups was
calculated. The effect size of it in Turkish speaking group was estimated to be
(6.8 - 0.92 = 5.88) scores, whereas in Kurdish speaking group it was estimated to
be (3.680 - -.6800 = 4.36) scores and in Arabic speakers it was calculated to be
(5.2400 - -.1200 = 5.36). Differently put, the experimental subjects who received
educational comments throughout the study outperformed the subjects receiving
no such comments.
In the second stage to answer the second study question the effect size of the
subjects’ gender on their reading comprehension was calculated. The mean reading comprehension scores obtained by the experimental male subjects in Turkish, Kurdish, and Arabic speaking groups after the treatment were estimated to
be 4.51, 3.66, and 2.84 respectively; whereas, the mean reading comprehension
scores obtained by the experimental female subjects in the same groups were estimated to be 1.54, 0.81, and 2.38 respectively. In the third stage of addressing the
second query a couple of two-way between groups ANOVA statistics were used.
The results demonstrated that the main effect of gender did not reach statistical
significance; i.e., (F (1, 46) = .271, p = .605) in Turkish speaking group, (F (1, 46)
= .883, p = .352) in Kurdish speaking group, or in Arabic speaking group (F (1,
46) = .062, p = .806). However, the main effect of ‘treatment’ on their ‘reading
comprehension’ reached statistical significance; i.e., (F (1, 46) = 9.445, p = .004)
in Turkish speaking group, (F (1, 46) = 15.77, p < 0.0005) in Kurdish speaking
group, and (F (1, 46) = 34.332, p < 0.0005) in Arabic speaking group. Besides
it was found that the interaction effect of ‘gender’ and ‘treatment type’ on the
subjects’ ‘reading comprehension’ was not meaningful; i.e., (F (1, 46) = .086, p =
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.771) in Turkish speaking group, (F (1, 46) = .086, p = .359) in Kurdish speaking
group, and (F (1, 46) = .002, p = .966) in Arabic speaking group. Accordingly no
meaningful interaction effect of psychotypology reduced English teaching and
gender was found to affect L2 learners’ reading comprehension development.
The third study query addressed the extent to which the interaction effect
of psychotypology reduced English teaching and attitude would impact adult L2
learners’ English reading comprehension development. In the first step to answer
this question the extent of issuing educational comments to the experimental subjects on their reading comprehension scores was calculated. The effect sizes were
estimated to be 40.88 - 35.12 = 5.76 scores for Turkish speaking group, 36.56 32.24 = 4.32 scores for Kurdish speaking group and 37.4 - 30.8 = 6.6 scores for
Arabic speaking group. Differently put, the experimental subjects who received
educational comments throughout the study outperformed the subjects receiving
no such comments. In the second step to answer these questions the effect sizes
of the subjects’ attitude were calculated. The mean attitude score obtained by the
experimental subjects in Turkish, Kurdish, and Arabic speaking groups before
the treatment were estimated to be 3.93, 3.37, and 3.39 respectively. Whereas
the mean attitude score obtained by them after the treatment were 3.34, 2.83, and
3.45 respectively. In the third stage to answer this question a series of two-way
between groups ANOVA statistics was used. It was found that the main effect of
attitude of the participants was meaningful (F (2, 44) = 4.654, p = .015) for Turkish speaking group, (F (2, 44) = 4.654, p = .015) for Kurdish speaking group,
and (F (2, 44) = .682, p-value = .511) for Arabic speaking group. The main effect of treatment given to the participants was also found to be meaningful (F (1,
46) = 8.968, p = .004) for Turkish speaking group, (F (1, 46) = 8.968, p = .004)
for Kurdish speaking group, and (F (1, 44) = 6.533, p-value = .014) for Arabic
speaking group respectively. However, it was found that the interaction effect of
attitude and treatment-type was not meaningful in any of the groups; i.e., (F (2,
44) = .179, p = .836) for Turkish speaking group, (F (2, 44) = 2.92, p = .094) for
Kurdish speaking group and (F (2, 44) = .254, p-value = .777) for Arabic speaking
group. Accordingly no meaningful interaction effect of psychotypology reduced
English teaching and attitude was found to affect L2 learners’ reading comprehension development.
The fourth study query addressed the extent to which the interaction effect of
53
psychotypology reduced English teaching and motivation would impact adult L2
learners’ English reading comprehension development. In the first step to answer
this question the effect of issuing educational comments to the experimental subjects on their reading comprehension scores was calculated. The effect size in
Turkish speaking group was estimated to be 40.88 - 34.08 = 6.8 scores. Whereas
in the Kurdish speaking group it was estimated to be 36.54 - 32.88 = 3.68 scores
and in Arabic speaking group it was estimated to be 37.4 - 32.16 = 5.24 scores.
Differently put, the experimental subjects who received educational comments
throughout the study outperformed the subjects receiving no such comments. In
the second step to address this question the effect size of the subjects’ motivation was calculated. The mean motivation scores obtained by the experimental
subjects in Turkish speaking group before the treatment was estimated to be 3.42,
3.32 in Kurdish speaking group, and 3.21 in Arabic speaking group. Whereas the
mean motivation score obtained by Turkish speaking group after the treatment
was 2.95, in Kurdish speaking group 2.77, and in Arabic speaking group it was
3.63. In the third step to answer this question a range of two-way between groups
ANOVA statistics was used and it was found that the main effect of motivation
was statistically significant in Turkish speaking group; i.e., (F (2, 45) = 4.466,
p-value = .017), meaningful in Kurdish speaking group (F (2, 44) = 2.739, p-value
= .076), but not meaningful in Arabic speaking group (F (2, 44) = .845, p-value =
.437). The main effect of pedagogical treatment was also found to be statistically
significant in Turkish peaking group, F (1, 45) = 5.002, p-value = .030), not significant in Kurdish speaking group (F (1, 44) = .293, p-value = .591). However, it
was meaningful in Arabic speaking group; i.e. (F (1, 44) = .5.725, p-value = .021).
The interaction effect of motivation and the type of pedagogical treatment was
not statistically significant in any of the groups; i.e., (F (1, 45) = 0.467, p-value
= 0.498) in Turkish speaking group, (F (2, 44) = .293, p-value = .071) in Kurdish
speaking group, and (F (2, 44) = .569, p-value = .570) in Arabic speaking group.
Accordingly no meaningful interaction effect of psychotypology reduced English
teaching and motivation was found to affect L2 learners’ reading comprehension
development.
In conclusion, the results described above confirmed the findings of the earlier
studies on psychotypology that have actually underscored the impact of psychotypology and the tendency of the L2 learners to stay in a foreign language mode in
the processing of additional languages. Accordingly, based on the results procured,
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it appears logical to conclude that psychotypology is primarily of psychological
reality (as empirically confirmed by the results of the study). Secondarily, it is of
negative impact on the learning rate of the language learners. Thirdly, by the mediation of constructively structured pedagogical comments, as to the liaison of the
language(s) being learned and the local language already possessed by the learners, it could be claimed that the detrimental impacts of psychotypological profiles
of the language learners could be strikingly reduced to a great extent. However,
no unequivocal findings were found as to the interaction effect of gender and psychotypology reduced, attitude and psychotypology reduced, and motivation and
psychotypology reduced impacts on the subjects’ L2 reading comprehension. The
reason for such a shortcoming, most likely, does not imply that there is no relation; rather, owing to the extremely limited scope of the study one could deduce
that such relations await further probe.
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APPENDICES
Appendix-I
AN EXCERPT OF MOTIVATION QUESTIONNAIRE
1- Learning English will not be highly effective in your job prospect.
A: Strongly disagree
B: Disagree
C: Undecided
D: Agree
E: Strongly agree
B: Disagree
B: Disagree
C: Undecided
D: Agree
E: Strongly agree
B: Disagree
C: Undecided
D: Agree
E: Strongly agree
B: Disagree
C: Undecided
D: Agree
E: Strongly agree
2- You generally have a rather low interest in learning English.
C: Undecided
D: Agree
E: Strongly agree
3- Learning English will not be highly crucial in helping you with finding your
favorite career.
4- You are not required to continue learning English to accomplish a job promotion.
5- If learning English does not bring about any change in your employment status
then you will not continue learning it any further.
AN EXCERPT OF ATTITUDE QUESTIONNAIRE
1- You have always been interested in learning English since you generally consider the English people as some prestigious ones.
B: Disagree
C: Undecided
D: Agree
E: Strongly agree
2- You have always been interested in learning English since you generally con60
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sider the English people as rich ones.
B: Disagree
C: Undecided
D: Agree
E: Strongly agree
B: Disagree
C: Undecided
D: Agree
E: Strongly agree
B: Disagree
C: Undecided
D: Agree
E: Strongly agree
B: Disagree
D: Agree
E: Strongly agree
3- You generally believe that political relationships will negatively affect your
interest in learning English.
4- You generally believe that social relationships will negatively affect your interest in learning English.
5- You consistently feel that the existing cultural differences between you and the
English speakers will harm your English language acquisition.
C: Undecided
AN EXCERPT OF PSYCHOTYPOLOGY QUESTIONNAIRE
1- You generally believe that there is not a close relationship between the Persian
language and English.
B: Disagree
C: Undecided
D: Agree
E: Strongly agree
B: Disagree
C: Undecided
D: Agree
B: Disagree
C: Undecided
D: Agree
E: Strongly agree
B: Disagree
C: Undecided
D: Agree
E: Strongly agree
B: Disagree
C: Undecided
D: Agree
E: Strongly agree
2- You generally believe that there is not much resemblance between the pronunciation system of your ethnic language and that of English.
E: Strongly agree
3- You believe there is not much resemblance between grammatical structures of
your ethnic language and that of English.
4- You see not much similarity between the Persian vocabulary and the English
vocabulary.
5- You generally do not see any similarity between the English language and your
ethnic language.
Appendix-III
A partial sample of pedagogical comments afforded by the language teachers in
the study
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Effects of Input and Output-oriented Tasks with Different Involvement Loads on the Receptive Vocabulary Knowledge of Iranian
EFL Learners
Parviz Maftoon
Marzieh Sharifi Haratmeh
Abstract
Framed in a cognitive approach to task-supported L2 vocabulary learning, the
present study used a pedagogical approach to investigate the relative effectiveness
of tasks with different involvement loads on the vocabulary knowledge of Iranian
EFL learners. The goal was to investigate the way that the construct of involvement
load is related to the Input Hypothesis (Krashen, 1985) and the Output Hypothesis
(Swain, 1996) to see whether the involvement load or input/output-orientation of
tasks is the determining factor in task effectiveness. A quasi-experimental design
with a pretest-treatment-posttest sequence was used in this study. The participants
were 127 university students from four General English classes at Islamic Azad
University, Mobarakeh Branch, who were assigned to four instructional groups.
Contrary to the predictions of the Involvement Load Hypothesis (Laufer & Hulstijn, 2001), the results of the study indicated that involvement load is not the only
determining factor in task effectiveness, but input/output-orientation of tasks is
also a decisive parameter in task effectiveness. While Laufer and Hulstijn’s proposal is a valuable first step towards building a theory of vocabulary learning, the
results of the study indicated that involvement index may well not function independently of the task type, i.e., input or output orientation of a word-focused task.
Keywords: EFL, Involvement load, Input-oriented tasks, Output-oriented tasks,
Vocabulary learning, and Word-focused tasks.
Received 24 May 2011
Approved 22 June 2011
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1. Introduction
Language learning is probably the most complex type of learning which human
beings need to accomplish. Within this complex task, vocabulary, as one of the
important components of language knowledge seems to be of critical importance
to both native and non-native speakers of a language. Whereas the number of syntactic patterns that language learners have to learn is finite, vocabulary is an unending task which continues to be learned throughout one’s lifetime. Vocabulary
knowledge is considered a prerequisite factor in reading comprehension, a fact
that has been recognized in the literature available so far (e.g., Decarrico, 2001;
Garcia, 1991; Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996; Laufer, 1992; Nation, 1993; Paribakht
& Wesche, 1997; Wesche & Paribakht, 1998). Research has shown that lexical
errors impede communication more seriously than grammatical ones (Ellis, 1994;
Laufer, 1998).
Most research in instructed Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is conducted
under the assumption that some interventions are better than others. While many
researchers have tended to agree that the vast majority of vocabulary is learned
indirectly through reading and listening (e.g., Nagy, Herman, & Anderson, 1985),
others (e.g., Laufer, 2005; Nation, 2001) indicate that direct learning tasks, such
as word pairs, are effective methods of quickly acquiring the vocabularies of a
language. Laufer (2002), who has surveyed a large body of evidence, reports that
vocabulary gains are greater when learners engage in word-focused tasks. One
essential question is then whether instructional tasks can be classified in terms of
their vocabulary learning effectiveness. Language teachers and learners would
like to know the ways that instructional programs might foster the acquisition of
new words. Of primary concern to researchers and language teachers in the field
of L2 vocabulary learning is to identify those tasks that provide the best opportunity for learners to notice and elaborate on new words.
Much of the current research on vocabulary acquisition is implicitly or explicitly based on a cognitive processing view of learning. Of all that have been
done in this field, the Involvement Load Hypothesis (ILH) (Laufer & Hulstijn,
2001) with the basic contention that retention of unfamiliar words is generally
conditional upon the degree of involvement in processing theses words draws
the researchers’ attention. Involvement is operationalized by tasks designed to
vary in the degree of need, search, and evaluation. The need component is the
motivational, non-cognitive dimension of involvement which can be in moderate
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and strong degrees. Laufer and Hulstijn interpret this notion based on a drive to
comply with the task requirements, whereby the task requirements can be either
externally imposed or self-imposed. According to Laufer and Hulstijn, need is
moderate when it is imposed by an external agent. An example is the need to use a
word in a sentence that the teacher has asked for. Need is strong when it is intrinsically motivated, that is, self-imposed by the learner. An example is the decision to
look up a word in an L1-L2 dictionary when writing a composition.
Search and evaluation are the two cognitive components of involvement, contingent upon allocating attention to form-meaning relationship (Schmidt, 1990).
Search is the attempt to find the meaning of an unknown L2 word by consulting a dictionary or another authority. Evaluation entails a comparison of a given
word with other words, a specific meaning of a word with its other meanings, or
comparing the word with other words in order to assess whether a word does or
does not fit its context. The kind of evaluation that entails recognizing differences
between words (as in a fill-in task with words provided), or differences between
several senses of a word in a given context, is referred to as moderate. Evaluation that requires a decision such as how additional words will combine with the
new word in a sentence or context is referred to as strong evaluation (Laufer &
Hulstijn, 2001).
Each of the above three factors can be absent or present when processing a
word in a natural or artificially designed task. The combination of factors with
their degrees of prominence constitutes involvement load. The basic proposition
of the ILH is that retention of unfamiliar words is conditional, in general, upon
the degree of involvement in processing the unknown words. In other words, it is
conditional upon who has set the task and whether it has to be compared or combined with other words. The greater the involvement load, the better the retention.
One of the major areas of interest is the way that the construct of involvement
load is related to the Input Hypothesis (Krashen, 1985), and the Output Hypothesis (Swain, 1996). According to Laufer and Hulstijn (2001), the hypothesis does
not predict that any output task will lead to better results than any input task. It
predicts that higher involvement in a word induced by the task will result in better retention regardless of whether it is an input or an output task. This motivated
the researcher to test this contention. Accordingly, a particularly interesting comparison would involve conditions where the input and output tasks have identical
involvement loads. In other words, if involvement load is the determining factor
67
in task effectiveness, irrespective of whether the task is input oriented or output
oriented, the two conditions should yield similar retention results.
Following the ILH proposal, many investigations have tried to examine the
accuracy of the claim made by Laufer and Hulstijn (2001). Some studies (Fuente,
2006; Hulstijn & Laufer, 2001; Joe, 1995; Keating, 2008) support the claim that
tasks with higher involvement loads generally lead to greater gains in short-term
and, in some cases, long-term word retention. However, contra the predictions of
the ILH, Folse (2006) and Kim (2008) found that word-focused tasks with higher
involvement loads was as effective as those with lower involvement loads.
As mentioned earlier, studies measuring the relative effectiveness of word-focused tasks with different involvement loads on learners’ vocabulary knowledge
have produced conflicting findings. Given the mixed results, it seems necessary
to conduct more studies before rushing to support the ILH claims. This motivated
the researcher to set out the present study with the intent to determine if the ILH
could be generalized to other EFL contexts, in this case Iran. The main goal of the
study was to investigate the effect of tasks with different involvement loads on
the vocabulary knowledge of EFL university students. Furthermore, in this study
an attempt has been made to relate the construct of involvement load to the Input
and Output Hypotheses. The goal was to make a comparison between input and
output-oriented tasks with identical involvement loads to see which one plays a
more determining role in task effectiveness.
2. Method
2.1. Participants
Primarily, a group of 159 EFL students, who were all Persian native speakers,
from four intact university-level classes at Islamic Azad University, Mobarakeh
Branch, participated in this study. They were B.A. and B.S. students who had enrolled in General English course as a required part of the university curriculum.
As the participants were assigned to classes by the university registration office,
it was practically impossible to disrupt the regular schedules. Thus, in order to reduce the effects of extraneous variables and selection bias, the four intact classes
were randomly assigned to four treatment groups.
Out of the original pool, only the data from 127 students entered into final data
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analyses. This was due to the elimination of 32 subjects who did not meet the
established criteria of the study. Three main considerations were taken into account to select the data for the final analyses. The first criterion was the language
proficiency level of the participants measured by PET. The second criterion was
the participants’ attendance in all sessions. The third criterion was the lack of exposure to the target words outside the class during the treatment period. This left
a group of 127 participants, both male and female, in four study groups. The age
of the participants ranged from 18 to 27. In this study neither gender nor age was
a variable.
2.2. Materials
The materials used in this study were four word-focused tasks (two input-based
and two output-based) with different involvement loads based on the ones used
in the related literature (Hulstijn & Laufer, 2001; Laufer, 2005; Laufer& Hulstijn,
2001; Webb, 2002), and a translation test for measuring the receptive knowledge
of meaning.
2.2.1. Word-focused Tasks
2.2.1.1. Input Tasks with an Involvement Load of 2
The participants assigned to Task 1 were provided with sentences containing
the target words. The target words were highlighted in bold print to help the participants notice the words, and were glossed in the L1 (Persian) in the margin of
the sentences. Each word had more than a single meaning. The task induced moderate need (1) because the participants required the meaning of the target word
for understanding the sentence, no search (0) as the participants did not consult a
dictionary or other sources to find the meaning of the target word, and moderate
evaluation (1) since it required the participants to recognize differences between
several senses of a word and choose the one that best fitted the context. So the
Involvement Load Index (ILI) for this task was 2 (1+0+1).
2.2.1.2. Input Task with an Involvement Load of 3
The participants assigned to Task 2 were provided with the same sentences
and the same target words as participants who received Task 1. The target words
were highlighted in bold print to be noticed, and the participants’ task was to look
up the targets word in a dictionary. To control the variable, and use the same dictionaries, the participants took part in computer-laboratory classes and used the
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same software dictionary, Babylon. The tasks induced moderate need (1), moderate search (1), since the meaning of the word was looked up, and moderate evaluation, so the ILI for this task was 3 (1+1+1).
2.2.1.3. Output Task with an Involvement Load of 2
The participants assigned to Task 3 were given the same sentences and the
same target words. For this group, however, the bold-faced target words were deleted from the sentences and replaced with blank spaces. The target words, along
with some additional words not present in the original sentences, were printed
in alphabetical order as a list on a separate page with their L1 translations. The
task required the participants to read the sentences and fill in the gaps with target
words from the list. In terms of involvement load, the task induced moderate need
(1), no search (0), and moderate evaluation (1). Its ILI was 2 (1+0+1).
2.2.1.4. Output task with an Involvement Load of 3
The participants assigned to Task 4 were given strings of words including the
target word and were asked to rearrange them into meaningful and grammatically
correct sentences. In terms of involvement load, this task induced moderate need
(1), no search (0), and evaluation was strong (2) because it required the participants to decide on how the additional words were combined with the target word
in a sentence. So, the ILI was 3(1+0+2).
2.2.2. Test of Receptive Knowledge of Meaning
In this study, the receptive knowledge of meaning was measured using a receptive translation test. On this test, a list of 33 target words was given to the
participants with a blank beside each word. The participants’ task was to write the
Persian equivalent of the target words to score a correct response. Nation (2001)
suggests that having learners write the translation of words may be a more effective method of measuring meaning than multiple-choice tests. Furthermore, translation tests reduced the time needed for students to complete the test.
2.3. Procedure
The general procedures employed in this study can be divided into two main
phases: developing and piloting the materials, and conducting the main phase of
the study.
2.3.1. Phase one: Developing and Piloting the Materials
2.3.1.1. Target words
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Primarily, a group of 63 low frequency words from 3,000 Word Frequency
List (Nation, 2001) was selected for the study. The target words were unfamiliar
to the participants as they were checked in the pretest. Factors considered when
establishing the number of the target words were subject fatigue, time needed to
complete the tasks and tests, and the results of item characteristics in the pilot
study. Many of the words were deleted from the list because of unacceptable
item characteristics Indices. It left a group of 33 words as the target words in the
study. The words included Nouns (11 words), Verbs (11 words) and Adjectives
(11 words). The justification was that nouns, verbs, and adjectives were the most
common parts of speech as grammatical functions of the words. Only one sense
of the target words appeared in the sentences. The same target words were used in
the treatment tasks and the assessment.
2.3.1.2. Sentence Contexts
The target words were presented in short sentences. The sentences were selected from Oxford Learner’s Dictionary and British National Corpus. Three factors
were considered when selecting the sentences: the number of words, the frequency of the words, and the ease in comprehending the sentences. The average length
of the sentences for the target words was 10.8 words. Sentences that contained
words unknown to the subjects in the pilot study were eliminated.
2.3.1.3. Developing and Piloting Word-focused Tasks
The tasks were developed by the researcher after reviewing the relevant literature and were based on the tasks used in the published research. Before the commencement of the main study, the tasks were piloted on a sample of 110 students
who had enrolled in General English courses in the first semester. All teaching
procedures were trialed at this stage. The piloting was done to determine the time
required for doing the tasks in the main study, to check the practicality of using
the tasks in the class, and to determine the possible practical problems in implementing the tasks. Time on task was different for all four tasks. Tasks 1, 2, 3, 4
took about 35-40, 60-70, 40-45, and 70-80 minutes, respectively. Task 4 was the
most demanding and time consuming. It is often argued that time on task should
be kept identical in research on task effectiveness. Yet, in this study time on task
was regarded as an inherent property of the task, not as a separate variable.
2.3.1.4. Developing and Piloting the Vocabulary Test
The vocabulary test used in this study was also developed by the researcher
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based on the measurements available in the relevant literature (e.g., Fuente, 2006;
Hulstijn & Laufer, 2001; Keating, 2008; Webb, 2002). The items were aimed at
assessing the participants’ receptive vocabulary knowledge of meaning. The number of items was far more than what was really needed in the main study. The goal
of piloting the test was to examine item characteristics and test characteristics.
The results of item characteristics analyses (Item Facility and Item Discrimination) left 36 items for the main study. To ensure the content validity of the test, the
content of the test and the content of the tasks were examined carefully and critically by expert judges. As a result of the panel views, several items were either
discarded or modified. Furthermore, an internal-consistency method (Cranach’s
Alpha) was used to calculate the reliability of the test. The reliability was estimated from the test scores in the two posttests. The underlying reason was that there
was very little variability in the pretest scores which would decrease the reliability
indices. The reliability measures for the immediate posttest (.79) and the delayed
posttest (.76) were high enough to confirm the reliability of the test. As Jafarpoor
(1992) states, for teacher-made tests, a reliability of .60 and above is adequate.
2.3.2. Phase Two: Main Study
The main study was conducted in the semester following the pilot semester. The primary objective of General English courses is to develop the learners’
reading comprehension abilities. The students should be taught a reading book
recommended by the English Department of the University. Each chapter in the
book includes a list of new words, a passage for comprehension, some text-related
comprehension questions, and grammar.
In this study, training the groups and administration of the measurements were
performed by the researcher, who was also the instructor, to control for teacher
variable and ensure the elimination of possible differences in the implementation
of the instructional tasks by different teachers. This could help avoid the possible
threats to the internal validity of the study. The subsequent steps taken in the main
phase of the study were as follows:
1. Administering PET: The PET test was administered in the second week of the
semester in order to ensure the homogeneity of the four groups in terms of their
language proficiency before the commencement of the study. To make sure that
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the participants were homogenous in terms of their language proficiency level,
reading and writing sections of the Preliminary English Test (PET) were administered to the original pool before the commencement of the study (the listening and
speaking sections of the test were not administered due to practical limitations).
The mean (M= 21.35) and standard deviation (SD = 7.14) of the participants
scores on the PET test were used as the criteria for choosing the participants. The
participants who scored higher or lower than one standard deviation plus/minus
the mean of the sample (M+/-SD) were considered as high and low proficient,
respectively, and were excluded from the final data analyses. The data belonging
to those participants who scored one standard deviation above or below the mean
were included in the final data analyses. The total scores of the remaining subjects
were then entered into one-way ANOVA with the alpha set at p<.05. The results
revealed no significant difference across the groups as far as language proficiency
level was concerned: F (3,136) = 0.961, p = .394> .05.
2. Administering the Pretest: The pretest was administered in the third week of the
semester. The first purpose of administering the pretests was to examine the likelihood of the target-word familiarity among the participants before the treatment
commencement. The goal was to ascertain the knowledge of the target words and
to select a group of target words unknown to all participants. Three participants
were excluded after the test, all other participants showed no previous knowledge
of the target words. The second purpose was to address the research questions
concerning the possible effectiveness or superiority of one word-focused task
over the other in developing the participant’s receptive vocabulary knowledge of
meaning.
3. Training the treatment groups: Since the unfamiliarity of the participants with
the word-focused tasks could affect the tasks, the groups were first given the opportunity to get familiar with the tasks and practice the kind of activities they were
supposed to receive. For three weeks they practiced the list of the new words of
their regular course book in the way they were supposed to practice the target
words of the study. It was effective especially for the second (looking up the
words in a software dictionary) and the fourth (sentence making) groups.
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4. Implementing the treatment: The instructional treatments in the groups started
in the seventh week and within a three-week interval of the pretest administration.
All instruction and assessment took place in the participants’ regular class time
by the instructor. All participants were informed that they were participating in a
study. They were told that the research involved the relationship between vocabulary learning tasks and their effects on vocabulary learning. According to Hulstijn
(2003), methodologically speaking, test announcement is part of intentional vocabulary learning.
The participants took all tasks and posttests within regular classrooms during
regular class time. On the treatment day, the participants in each of the four classes
were given one of the experimental tasks. The tasks were completed by individual
learners. As word-focused tasks will be of little use without providing the students
with the feedback on the accuracy of their choices or activities, the instructor provided any additional information. Whenever they needed, the participant could
enjoy peer feedback while completing the tasks. Cognizant of the fact that time on
task would vary among the treatment groups, the researcher asked participants to
turn their worksheets face down when completed and waited for others to finish.
In all the groups, the worksheets were collected after the completion of the tasks.
5. Administering the Immediate Posttest (IP): To assess initial recall of the target
words, the IP was administered to the groups after the completion of the tasks.
The same test in pretest was used as posttest.
6. Administering the Delayed Posttest (DP): The DP was administered to the
groups to examine whether benefits of each of word-focused tasks would last
over time or not. The DP was administered after a one-month interval. During the
interval, the participants continued working on the reading comprehension book
with no contact with the target words.
An attempt was made to equalize the administration procedures in all groups to
increase the reliability and the internal validity of the measures (Arey, Jacobs, &
Razavieh, 1996). In all test administrations, the instructor was present for clarifying the ambiguities for the examinees. After the required data were collected, they
were subjected to different quantitative analyses.
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3. Results
In order to investigate whether each individual study group (Groups 1, 2, 3, and
4) improved in the receptive knowledge of meaning from the pretest to the IP and
the DP, the within group changes over time were analyzed both descriptively and
inferentially. It is depicted from the means and standard deviations of the groups’
raw scores on the receptive test of meaning over the three test administration (Table 1) that all the study groups improved from the pretest to the IP. Although there
was a decline on the DP for all the study groups, none of the groups returned to the
same level of performance it was before the task-oriented instruction, showing the
effectiveness of the word-focused tasks on the participants’ receptive vocabulary
knowledge of meaning over time.
Table 1: Descriptive Statistics for the Study Groups (Receptive Knowledge of
Meaning)
Figure 1 graphically shows the difference between the participants’ receptive
knowledge of meaning in different study groups. As it shows, there is an improvement in the receptive vocabulary knowledge of meaning from the pretest to the
IP in all the study groups. However, there is a decline on the DP for all the study
groups.
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Figure 1: Groups’ Performance on the Receptive Test of Meaning over Time
Although the results of within-group comparisons indicated that the word-focused tasks were all effective in improving the receptive vocabulary knowledge of
meaning in each single group, they could not show if the results were statistically
equal for all the groups or not. Thus, a one-way ANOVA was conducted to examine simple main effects of word-focused tasks on the IP. The results of ANOVA
conducted on the receptive meaning scores of the groups on the IP revealed a
significant difference in how the study groups performed on the test of receptive
meaning (F (3,123) = 2.695, p = 004<.05).
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The results of ANOVA (Table 2) indicated that word-focused tasks did not
produce equal results in the groups’ receptive vocabulary knowledge of meaning.
In order to specifically locate the differences among the study groups, LSD, as an
adjustment for pair-wise comparisons was used to detect the precise location of
the differences. The results indicated that there were significant differences between Groups 1 and 4, and Groups 2 and 4. In other words, Group 4 outperformed
Groups 1 and 2 in the receptive measure of meaning. The results indicated no
significant differences between Groups 1 and 2, Groups 1 and 3, Groups 2 and 3,
and Groups 3 and 4. The results of post hoc analyses are summarized as follows:
Group 4 > Group 1=Group 2=Group 3; Group 3=Group 4 (with > meaning better
than, and = indicating no significant differences).
To see whether there were any significant differences among the study groups
on the DP another one-way ANOVA was conducted to examine the main effects
of word-focused tasks on the DP. The results of ANOVA conducted on the receptive meaning scores of the study groups on the DP revealed a significant difference in how the study groups performed on the test of receptive meaning (F(3,
123)= 2.592, p= .005<.05).
The results of ANOVA (Table 3) indicated that the word-focused tasks did not
have the same effect on the study groups’ receptive vocabulary knowledge on the
DP. In order to specifically locate the differences among the study groups, LSD
tests were run on the data. The results of pair-wise comparison indicated that
there were not significant differences between Groups 1 and 2, Groups 1 and 3,
as well as Groups 2 and 3, and Groups 3 and 4. However, a significant difference
was found between Groups 1 and 4, as well as Groups 2 and 4.The results can be
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summarized as follows: Group 4>Group 1=Group 2; Group 4=Group 3; Group
3=Group 1=Group 2.
The main goal of the study was to investigate the differences between Group
1 with an Involvement Load of 2 and Group 2 with an involvement load of 3
(both input-oriented tasks) on one hand, and Group 3 with an Involvement Load
of 2, and Group 4 with an Involvement Load of 3 (both output-oriented tasks),
on the other hand. The results of pair-wise comparisons indicated that the differences between Group 1 and Group 2 were not significant on the IP and on the DP
measuring the receptive knowledge of meaning. On the other hand, the results of
pair-wise comparisons between Group 3 with an involvement load of 2 and Group
4 with an Involvement Load of 3 (both output-oriented tasks) indicated no significant differences on the IP and DP.
Furthermore, the study aimed at investigating the significance of differences
among the study groups as far as the input/output-orientation of the tasks was concerned. The goal was to investigate the differences between Group 1 and Group 3,
with the involvement load of 2, and Group 2 and Group 4, with the involvement
load of 3. The results of pair-wise comparisons indicated that there were no significant differences between Group 1 and Group 3 neither on the IP nor on the DP
measuring the receptive vocabulary knowledge of meaning. On the other hand,
the results of pair-wise comparisons between Group 2 and Group 4 (both with
the involvement load of 3) indicated significant differences between these two
groups’ receptive vocabulary knowledge of meaning not only on the IP but also
on the DP. In other words, although the involvement load in both groups were 3,
Group 4 (output-oriented) significantly outperformed Group 2 (input-oriented).
4. Discussion
The first finding of the study was related to the relative effectiveness of input/
output-oriented word-focused tasks with different involvement loads on learners’
vocabulary knowledge of meaning. The findings of between-group comparisons
revealed that the study groups performed differently both on the IP and DP, reflecting that the gains were not equal for all the study groups. The results of the
study indicated that the participants who completed Task 4 (sentence-making)
performed remarkably better that the participants who completed Tasks 1, 2, and
3, on both the IP and DP. In other words, a significant advantage was found for
Task 4 over the other word-focused tasks. This finding is in accordance with the
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results obtained by Ellis and He (1999), Fuente (2006), and Webb (2005) on the
acquisition of L2 vocabulary and the role of pushed output.
The results of this study indicated that sentence production, as an outputoriented task with an involvement load of 3, contributed to very large gains in
learners’ vocabulary knowledge. The first plausible explanation for the stronger
effect of output-oriented tasks is learners› attention to form. This explanation is
very much in line with Toth›s (2006) argument that the learners› internal language
processes engaged during the output-oriented tasks might have yielded greater
benefits for learning than those of input-oriented tasks. As Izumi (2002) states,
output-oriented tasks facilitate L2 development by forcing learners to reflect on
the L2 forms. The second explanation which might account for the superiority
of output-oriented tasks to input-oriented tasks is task demand. Output-oriented
tasks involve both processing input and production, while input-oriented tasks
involves only input processing. Toth (2006) argues that in output-oriented tasks
learners receiving instruction have to respond by encoding their own meaning, but
in input-oriented tasks learners have to respond to input by signaling its meaning.
The last possible explanation for the superiority of sentence-making task is that
this task, as an effective word-focused task, has been used in the process of learning L1 (Persian) words in elementary schools. Most Iranian EFL learners have
had the experience of using sentence-making task in their instructional programs
in the process of learning their first language. According to Ellis (2003), familiarity with the task is one of the factors that may promote learning more effectively.
Sentence-making provide opportunities for more elaborate processing of the target words in the process of language learning.
The most important finding was related to the significance of differences
among the study groups as far as the involvement load and input/output orientation of tasks was concerned. The findings of between-group comparisons revealed
that the study groups performed differently both on the IP and DP, reflecting that
the gains were not equal for all the study groups. The study led to interesting findings, some of which concurred while others contradicted the ILH.
The results of the IP revealed that in the receptive test of meaning the participants who completed Task 4 (output-oriented task with an involvement load of 3)
outperformed the participants who completed Task 1 (input-oriented task with an
involvement load of 2) and Task 2 (input-oriented task with an involvement load
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of 3). The significance of difference between Tasks 1 and 4 partially support the
ILH in that both the involvement load and input/output orientation of tasks might
have significant roles in task effectiveness. However, the significant difference
between Tasks 2 and 4, and lack of significant difference between Tasks 1 and
2, and Tasks 3 and 4 indicated the significant role of input/output orientation of
tasks.
The results of the DP indicated that in the receptive test of meaning, the
participants who completed Task 4 performed remarkably better than those who
completed Tasks 1 and 2. The superiority of Task 4 in comparison with Task 1
revealed a significant role not only for the involvement load but also for the input/
output orientation of the tasks. However, the significance of difference between
Tasks 4 and 2, and lack of significant differences between Tasks 1 and 2, and
Tasks 3 and 4 revealed a significant role for the input/output orientation of tasks
as a determining factor in task effectiveness.
The findings indicated that, in addition to the involvement load of tasks, input or output orientation of a task is a determining factor in task effectiveness.
If involvement load were the only determining factor in task effectiveness, irrespective of whether the task was input or output-based, the two conditions would
yield similar retention results. However, the lack of significant difference between
Group 1 and 2 and the outperformance of Group 4 in comparison with Group 2
(both with an involvement load of 3) revealed that involvement load was not the
only determining factor in task effectiveness. Similar to Folse’s (2006) findings,
the results of the study were in contrast with the predictions of the ILH. This revealed that in addition to the involvement load, other factors should be considered
in determining task effectiveness.
Unlike previous studies (Fuente, 2006; Hulstijn & Laufer, 2001; Keating,
2008) which fully support the hypothesis, the results of this study partially support the ILH. Based on the hypothesis it was anticipated that Task 2 (looking up
new words in a dictionary) with an involvement load of 3 to be as effective as
Task 4 (sentence-making) with an involvement load of 3, However, the results
indicated that it was the other way round, in that Task 4 resulted in higher gains
compared to Task 2. One possible explanation for this is that numerical values to
the motivational and cognitive elements of the ILH, which in turn yield the involvement index, may not carry the same weight or may have been roughly quantified. In this hypothesis, the amount of the involvement load has been conceived
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as the sum of the pluses (of need, search, and evaluation). For example, a task
consisting of + need, + search, and - evaluation has the same involvement load as
a tasks consisting of + need, - search, and + evaluation. Yet all three factors may
not be equally important for vocabulary learning. This explanation is very much
in line with Kim›s (2008) argument. As Kim states, «it is possible that all three
components might not be equal in contributing to vocabulary learning» (p. 313).
Along the same line, it might be claimed from the results of this study that each
individual component may have a higher or lower variable involvement load. Furthermore, the findings are in accordance with what has already been achieved by
Folse (2006). Contra the predictions of the hypothesis, he found that using tasks
with strong evaluation was equally as effective as tasks with moderate evaluation.
The findings of this study also provided insights for the way that the construct of
ILH is related to the Input and Output Hypotheses. The superiority of Task 4 (sentence making) as an output-oriented task may seem to support Swain›s Output
Hypothesis (1996), given that the sentence-making task required the learners to
stretch their linguistic resources and notice language forms and elaborate on them.
The findings of the study supports Swain’s (1993) claim that understanding new
forms is not enough and that learners must also be given the chances to use them.
Output production induces learners to reflect upon language form and this makes
acquisition more likely to occur. Swain’s (1996) theoretical standpoint is that,
without pushed output, learners engage in input comprehension, which does not
guarantee future processing of linguistic form that leads to acquisition. One explanation is that output production allows for deeper processing of the L2 words by
helping learners to establish more productive meaning-form connections through
multiple opportunities for output production of target words. According to Swain
(1998), one of the major functions of output is promoting learners’ noticing and
enabling them to notice a gap in their existing knowledge brought to their attention by external or internal feedback. The findings of the study are in line with
Gass and Selinker’s (2008) argument that input alone is not sufficient for acquisition and output production has an effective role in language learning. The results
of the current study indicate that the involvement load may well not function
independently of the task type, that is, the input or output orientation of the tasks.
In other words, the processing load brought to bear by task type may well affect
word retention, a point needing further empirical studies.
Regarding the durability of the word-focused tasks, similar to the findings of
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Fuente (2006), Keating (2008), and Webb (2005), the results indicated that the
improvement for the groups remained significant between the pretest and the DP;
however, the groups’ mean scores showed some decrease on the DP as compared
with their mean scores on the IP. One possible explanation that is very much in
line with Hulstijn and Laufer›s (2001, p. 274, footnote 20) argument is that “one
expects a decline in knowledge over time in the absence of rehearsal or additional
exposure to the target words.” The participants in this study were not exposed
to the target words between testing intervals. Thus it is not surprising that there
would be a decline in knowledge for the task that initially showed the greatest
gains.
5. Conclusion
Learning a second or a foreign language involves mastering a great number
of words. Learning vocabulary through incidental, intentional, and independent
approaches requires teachers to plan a wide variety of activities and exercises.
The amount of emphasis that teachers and programs decide to place on any given
activity will depend on the learner›s level and the educational goals of the teacher
and the program.
In investigating the superiority of some word-focused tasks over others and
following the ILH, the main goal of the study was to make a comparison between
input and output-oriented tasks with identical involvement loads to see which one
plays a more determining role in task effectiveness. It was found that the outputoriented task with high involvement loads produced more effective and more durable effects. It can be concluded that output-oriented tasks are more effective in
improving the vocabulary knowledge of learners. As Fuente (2006) states, the
output production tasks promote attention to form and meaning and help learners
make form-meaning connections. He concludes that word-focused tasks can be
manipulated so that output production is warranted seem to be sound pedagogical
tools for the acquisition of L2 vocabulary items from a task-supported language
teaching approach. The most significant conclusion drawn from the present study
was that, unlike previous studies which rather unambiguously endorsed the ILH,
involvement load is not the only determining factor in tasks effectiveness. Rather,
in addition to the involvement load of word-focused tasks, the input/output-orientation of tasks is also important in determining the effectiveness of a word-focused
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task. It can be concluded that although Laufer and Hulstijn’s (2001) proposal is
conceived of as an attempt to stimulate researchers as well as practitioners to
operationalize traditional general labels such as noticing, attention, and motivation into task-specific components, it has long way to go before it achieves its full
potential. The findings indicated that there may be more than three determining
factors in vocabulary learning. It can be concluded that tasks type, i.e., input or
output orientation of a word-focused task, may be also a determining factor. In
other words, the involvement index may well not function independently of the
task type for vocabulary instruction.
The conclusion that output-oriented tasks were more effective in improving the
vocabulary knowledge of learners in this study adds further support to the widelyacknowledged roles of output and the functions that Swain (1993, 2000) has listed
for the output. It seems that involvement load is not a determining factor across all
languages and for all learners and, consequently, its beneficial effects should not
be over generalized. It is worth mentioning that the greater role of output-oriented
tasks in this study does not obviate the role of involvement load in task effectiveness.
The findings of this study might provide a useful tool for language instructors
and educators in their selection of effective word-focused tasks. Since vocabulary
is considered one of the important components of reading comprehension ability of learners, it might be necessary for teachers to include some word-focused
tasks in General English courses where the primary emphasis is placed on the
knowledge of the reading comprehension. Furthermore, the finding that outputoriented tasks with high involvement loads were more effective for vocabulary
learning than input-oriented ones with the same involvement load is an encouraging finding for instructors and researchers who are eager to know in which ways
instructional programs might foster the acquisition of target words. Althoughinput-based tasks seems easier and less time-consuming than output-based tasks,
given the superiority of sentence-making as an output-based task with high involvement load in this study, it seems plausible to use output-oriented tasks with
high involvement loads in General English classes. It does not seem reasonable
to completely put aside output-based tasks only because they might be time consuming or might put too much work on learners’ shoulders. The inclusion of such
tasks might be crucial to effective vocabulary knowledge.
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Similarly, the conclusion that output-oriented tasks with high involvement loads
were more effective for vocabulary learning than input-oriented ones with the
same involvement load is an encouraging finding for autonomous learners. In
other words, autonomous learners can be informed about the effectiveness of different word-focused tasks so they can make strategic decisions concerning the
selection of the most appropriate tasks for improving their vocabulary knowledge.
Furthermore, the results of the current study might provide useful insights for the
developers of instructional materials and syllabus designers in their selection of
effective word-focused tasks in EFL General English materials. It can hardly be
denied that an adequate and sufficient vocabulary knowledge lead to good comprehension. Thus, given the importance of vocabulary in EFL General English
classes, any word-focused task that helps learners to develop their vocabulary
knowledge would certainly be welcomed.
And finally, this study could possibly lay the groundwork for a great deal of
research to touch on the effect of different word-focused tasks on various aspects
of vocabulary knowledge. Many other questions may be raised in relation with the
findings of this study. It seems necessary to provide more precise definitions of the
involvement components or add new components to the three proposed by Laufer
and Hulstijn (2001), and provide a theoretical underpinning for each of them.
NOTE: The article is based on a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Ph.D. in TEFL.
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Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
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Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford
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Ellis, R., & He, X. (1999). The roles of modified input and output in the
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The Effect of CA-based vs. EA-based Error Correction on Iranian EFL
Intermediate Learners’ Lexical Errors of Writing
Parvin Moazamie
Young Researchers Club, Khorasgan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan,
Iran
[email protected]
Dr. Mansur Koosha
Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the effect of CA- based vs. EA- based
error correction on the improvement of the EFL intermediate learners’ Lexical
Errors of writing. Forty intermediate students, all males, studying in an English
Language Institute in Golpayegan participated in this study. After detecting the
participants’ errors, the lexical errors were classified into two categories, EAbased and CA-based errors. The errors which were because of the influence of L1
on L2 were classified as CA-based errors and the errors which were because of the
lack of target language proficiency were classified as EA-based errors. Then, the
Wilcoxon Test was used to investigate the effect and the improvement of learners’ lexical errors by EA-based and CA-based error correction. The results of the
study showed that there is no significant difference between EA-based and CAbased error correction in the improvement of the participants’ lexical errors.
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Introduction
In order to master the English language, learners have to be adequately
exposed to all of the four basic skills, including writing. The ability to write
is not naturally acquired. It is usually learned or culturally transmitted through
formal instruction (Brown 2001). Since L2 writers are in the process of acquiring
the convention of target language discourse and they have a limited knowledge of
vocabulary, language structure, and content, they need more instruction and guidance (Myles 2002).
Salebi (2004) states that second or foreign language learners should be aware
of the differences between their native and foreign languages. However, teachers
should not use the drills and exercises which are based on these differences excessively in the classroom; otherwise, the students will be oversensitive and confused
concerning the differences between the native and target languages, and while trying to produce the correct structure, they produce the wrong one.
According to Ferris and Roberts (2001), while teacher responses to student writing can and should cover a variety of concerns, including students’ ideas and rhetorical strategies, error correction and improvement of student accuracy continue
to be serious issues for both teachers and students in L2 writing classes. It is
therefore important for researchers and writing experts to identify issues, feedback strategies, and techniques for helping students to help themselves through
various types of research designs.
According to Gass and Selinker (2008) error analysis is a type of linguistic
analysis that focuses on the errors learners make. Unlike contrastive analysis (in
either its weak or strong form), the comparison made is between the errors a learner makes in producing the TL and the TL itself. It is similar to the weak version
of contrastive analysis in that both start from learner production data; however, in
contrastive analysis the comparison is made with the native language, whereas in
error analysis it is made with the TL.
“Error feedback” refers to the feedback teachers give on students’ errors, which
could be either direct or indirect. Direct feedback refers to overt correction of student errors, that is, teachers locating and correcting errors for students. Indirect
feedback refers to teachers indicating errors without correcting them for students
(Lee 2004).
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Error correction research is fraught with controversy regarding the benefits
of different error correction strategies. Is direct feedback more beneficial than
indirect feedback, for instance, there is research evidence showing that direct and
indirect feedback has no different effects on student accuracy in writing (e.g.,
Robb et al. 1986; Semke 1984). However, there are studies which suggest that indirect feedback brings more benefits to students’ long-term writing development
than direct feedback (see Ferris 2003; Frantzen 1995; Lalande 1982) through “increased student engagement and attention to forms and problems” (Ferris 2003).
The danger of direct feedback, according to Ferris (2002), is that teachers may
misinterpret students’ meaning and put words into their mouths. Direct feedback,
however, may be appropriate for beginner students and when the errors are “untreatable,” that is, when students are not able to self-correct, such as syntax and
vocabulary errors (see Ferris 2002, 2003).
Research has shown that both direct correction and simple underlining of errors
are significantly superior to describing the type of error, even with underlining,
for reducing long-term error. Direct correction is best for producing accurate revisions, and students prefer it because it is the fastest and easiest way for them as
well as the fastest way for teachers over several drafts (Chandler 2003). A great
deal of error correction research has focused on the effects of strategies—i.e., how
various error correction techniques impinge on student writing (e.g., Ferris and
Helt 2000).
Krkgöz (2010) examined errors in a corpus of 120 essays produced by 86 adult
Turkish learners, who were beginners in their language proficiency in Çukurova
University. Errors were classified in accordance with two major categories: interlingual errors and intralingual errors, and some sub-categories were identified.
It has been found that most written errors students produce result from the interlingual errors indicating interference of the first language. Weijen, et al. (2009)
worked on the influence of L1 on L2 writing. The findings of their research showed
that all writers use L1 while writing in L2 to some extent. Crossley and McNamara (2009) found the differences between first language (L1) writers of English
and second language (L2) writers of English in using words. Results showed that
L1 and L2 written texts vary in several dimensions related to the writer›s use of
lexical choices. These dimensions correlate to lexical depth of knowledge, variation, and sophistication. It can be concluded that the influence of L1 is not very
91
serious in L2 writing. Fang and Xue-mei (2007) worked on a research based on
error analysis and its implementation in the EFL (English as Foreign Language)
classroom teaching. The study starts by providing a systematic and comprehensive review of the concepts and theories concerning EA (Error Analysis). The
author proposes that teachers should employ different and flexible error treatment
strategies in accordance with the teaching objectives, students’ linguistic competence, their affective factors and the effectiveness of the error correction. Hasyim
(2002) mentions that error analysis is required in developing or increasing the
techniques in teaching English. By doing error analysis, a teacher can concentrate
on materials which can result in the correction of most errors. The teacher can
also evaluate himself as to whether she succeeds in teaching or not. Finally she
can improve her techniques in teaching by preparing systematic materials.
Despite the importance of writing today, there are still many problems EFL students have to cope with. As it was mentioned earlier, this study seeks to find an
answer to the following question:
To what extent does EA-based versus CA-based error correction help improve
EFL lexical errors?
The Study
The participants of this study were 40 male learners studying English at Parsian Institute in Golpayegan. Their experience in writing was limited to writing
paragraphs and summaries. The participants did not have contact with English
language in their living environment, that is outside the classroom. The students
were all divided into four groups: elementary, low- intermediate, high- intermediate, and advanced level. Based on their levels of proficiency, forty participants
out of one hundred twenty high-intermediate learners determined by the Institute.
The first essay written by the learners was used as the pre-test and the last essay
was used as the post-test. In order to find the significant difference between the
lexical errors in the pre-test and the post-test, the Wilcoxon Test was used.
The procedure used in this study aimed to encourage the learners to write on six
distinct topics within six weeks. In the first session, narrative writing was taught
to the participants. In each week, participants wrote a narrative essay about the
topic the teacher chose. The participants received feedback on their writings reg92
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ularly. The essays were corrected by two raters. The researcher was one of the
raters. After correction, errors were divided into two main groups: “CA-based errors and EA-based errors”. The errors which were because of the influence of L1
in L2 were classified as CA-based errors and the errors which were because of the
lack of target language proficiency were classified as EA-based errors. In some
cases classifying errors as CA-based or EA-based was difficult, the researcher had
an interview with the participants. It should be mentioned that participants were
asked to write on each topic in about 300 words.
Findings
As it was mentioned before, the question was:
To what extent does EA-based versus CA-based error correction help improve
EFL lexical errors?
An attempt was made to show the significant difference between the lexical errors
in the pre-test and the post-test by using the Wilcoxon Test. The results of this
test showed that there was a significant difference between the lexical errors in the
pre-test and the post-test according to EA-based error correction (P< 0.01; Ties=
26 and Z= -2.619), as seen in Table 1.
Table 1. The pre-test and the post-test using the lexical errors according to EAbased error correction
93
As the results of Table 2. show, there is a significant difference between the lexical errors in the pre-test and the post-test according to CA-based error correction
(P< 0.01; Ties= 24 and Z= - 2.862).
Table 2. The pre-test and the post-test using the lexical errors according to CAbased error correction
As it is shown in Table 1., the number of EA-based lexical errors was reduced.
The results of Table 2. also show that the number of CA-based lexical errors was
also reduced. According to the results of Tables 1. and 2., it can be concluded
that there is not a significant difference between EA-based and CA-based error
correction in the improvement of participants’ lexical errors. Both EA-based and
CA-based error correction show to be equally effective in the removal of the participants’ lexical errors (P< 0.01).
Lexical interference of the first language can become more obvious when the
learner does word-ford-word translation of idioms, proverbs and phrasal verbs.
Therefore, lexical errors which are because of the influence of first language are
not very many; if they are it is because of the idioms, proverbs and phrasal verbs
(Krkgöz 2010). Semke (1980, 1984), Kepner (1997) and Truscott (2007) claimed,
‘‘corrected students tend to shorten and simplify their writing, apparently to avoid
situations in which they might make errors’’ (p. 14).
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There are, however, a few studies which show that students can improve their
writing complexity, whether they receive feedback or not (Robb et al. 1986; Sheppard 1992; Chandler 2003). The results of these studies contradict the above
claim made by Truscott (2007) that feedback would make students write short and
simple sentences. Schachter (1974) sees the strategy of avoidance employed by
the learner as a possible source of the low occurrence of certain errors. According to the above results, may be the learners avoided using the words they were
not certain about. Thus, the number of participants’ lexical errors decreased according to both EA-based and CA-based error correction point of view. Crossley
and McNamara (2009) found the differences between first language (L1) writers
of English and second language (L2) writers of English in using words. Results
of their study showed that L1 and L2 written texts vary in several dimensions related to the writer›s use of lexical choices. These dimensions correlate to lexical
depth of knowledge, variation, and sophistication. Therefore, it can be concluded
that the influence of L1 is not very serious in L2 writing, in terms of lexical errors
(Crossley & McNamara 2009).
The other reason explains the role of feedback learners received after writing
each essay. Each week, the researchers corrected the participants’ essays and returned them. As Doughty (2001) states, attention plays an important role in learning. In fact, the aim of the study was to find out the improvement of learners’
lexical errors from EA-based and CA-based error correction point of view. Because six weeks were not enough for the learners in order to let them correct their
writing errors themselves and one of the reasons that learners were not eager in
writing was because of not receiving the feedback of their writings, therefore, the
researcher corrected the participants’ Essays and returned them. Most studies on
error correction in L2 writing classes have provided evidences that students who
receive error feedback from teachers improve in accuracy over time (Ferris 1999;
Truscott 1996; Truscott 1999). The efficacy of various kinds of error feedback
for improvement in the accuracy and fluency of L2 students’ writing showed that
both direct correction and simple underlining of errors are significantly superior
to describing the type of error, even with underlining, for reducing long-term error. Direct correction is best for producing accurate revisions, and students prefer
it because it is the fastest and easiest way for them as well as the fastest way for
teachers over several drafts (Chandler 2003).
95
In the present study the positive influence of error correction was shown. According to the results of the study, most of the learners’ errors improved. The
findings showed that the learners had checked their writings and became aware of
their errors, in order to decrease their errors.
Another reason may be related to the learners’ level of proficiency. Since
participants were in high intermediate level of proficiency and had prior lexical
knowledge of English, it can be speculated that all learners that received their corrected essays, tried to check their writings and do not repeat most of their errors
in their next essay.
To reduce lexical and personal reference errors, it would be necessary to encourage students’ writers, particularly the low proficient ones, to learn new words
in their contexts of use rather than from isolated lists. It is equally important for
the teacher to provide remedial instruction and intensive exercises tailored to the
low proficient writers. Also, to improve the lexical errors of learners, it is necessary to teach the words in the sentences and force the learners to make sentences
and paragraphs with the new words they learned. Teacher should try to find the
more frequent lexical errors of the learners ask the students about the reason of
their errors and try to correct the errors with the whole class. Some of the errors
which are because of the influence of L1 in L2 writing can be taught by explaining
the similarities and differences between Persian and English. Also, the teacher
should try to teach the words in a way in order to be useful in a real world.
Conclusions
The present study attempted to shed light upon the errors which were made by a
sample of Iranian EFL learners. The findings showed that there was no significant
difference between EA-based and CA-based error correction in terms of lexical
errors. Both EA-based error correction and CA-based error correction were effective in the improvement of the learners’ lexical errors. In fact, the number of
the learners’ lexical errors decreased. The role of feedback was important in the
reduction of EA-based and CA-based lexical errors. The learners checked their
corrected essays and tried to decrease their lexical errors. However, in some cases
the participants avoided using the words about which they were not certain.
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References
Brown, H.D. (2001). Teaching by principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy, Addison Longman.
Chandler, J. (2003). The efficacy of various kinds of error feedback for improvement in the accuracy and fluency of L2 student writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12, 267-296.
Crossley S.A. & McNamara D.S. (2009). Computational assessment of lexical
differences in L1 and L2 writing. TESOL Quarterly, 10, 110-124.
Doughty, C. (2001). Second language acquisition does make a difference: evidence from an empirical study of SL relativization. Studies in Second Language
Fang, X. & Xue-mei, J. (2007). Error analysis and the EFL classroom teaching.
Liaoning Normal University, 4(19), 11-20.
Ferris, D.R. (1999). The case for grammar correction in L2 writing classes. Journal of Second Language Writing, 8, 1-11.
Ferris, D.R. (2002). Treatment of error in second language student writing. University of Michigan Press. Journal of Second Language Writing, 54 (2), 230-257.
Ferris, D.R. (2003). Response to student writing: Implication for second language
students. TESOL Quarterly, 12, 127-203.
Ferris, D.R., & Helt, M. (2000). New evidence on the effects of error correction
in L2 writing class. USA: Canada. pp. 27-52.
Ferris, D. & Roberts, B. (2001). Error feedback in L2 writing classes: How explicit does it need to be? Journal of Second Language Writing, 10(3), 161-184.
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Frantzen, D. (1995). The effects of grammar supplementation on written accuracy
in an Spanish content course. Modern Language Journal, 79, 329-344.
Gass, S.M. & Selinker, L. (2008). Second language acquisition. New York and
London: Poutledge.
Hasyim, S. (2002). Error analysis in the teaching of English. Journal of Language
Studies, 4(1), 42-50.
Kepner, C.G. (1997). An experiment in the relationship of types of written feedback to the development of second language writing skills. Modern Language
Journal, 75, 305-315.
Krkgöz, Y. (2010). An analysis of written errors of Turkish adult learners of English. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2, 4352-4358.
Lalande, J.F. (1982). Reducing composition errors: An experiment. Modern Language Journal, 66, 140-149.
Lee, I. (2004). Error correction in L2 secondary writing classrooms: The case of
Hong Kong. Journal of Second Language Writing, 13(4), pp. 285-312.
Myles, J. (2002). Second language writing and research: The writing process and
error analysis in student texts. TESL. EJ, 6(2), 102-135.
Robb, T., Ross, S., & Shortreed, I. (1986). Salience of feedback on error and its
effect on EFL writing quality. TESOL Quarterly, 20(1), 83-93.
Salebi, Y.M. (2004). Saudi college students› perception of their errors in written
English. Journal of King Faisal, 5(2), 201-238.
Schachter, J. (1974). An error in error analysis. Language Learning, 24(2), 205214.
Semke, H. (1984). The effect of the red pen. Foreign Language Annals, 17(3),
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195-202.
Sheppard, K. (1992). Two feedback types: Do they make a difference? RELC
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Truscott, J. (1996). The case against grammar correction in L2 writing classes.
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language writing, 235-250.
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Impact of L2 Film Instruction and English Idiom Etymology on Iranian EFL
learners› Idiom Learning
Authors
Firooz Reisi Gahroei
Islamic Azad University, Najafabad Branch
[email protected]
Omid Tabatabaei
Islamic Azad University, Najafabad Branch
[email protected]
Abstract
By the emergence of new approaches to teach a second language, finding a
good method to teach idioms has been the main concern of some researchers (e.g.,
Elena & Moreno, 2001; Cook, Fazly, & Stevenson, 2007). To the researcher›s best
knowledge; few studies have been conducted to examine the effect of different
methods of teaching idioms to EFL learners. As a result, this study was designed
to investigate the effect of teaching the etymology of idioms and using movie
clips containing idioms, as two methods of teaching, on the quality of L2 learners›
idiom learning. Serving this purpose, teaching idioms through their etymologies
and movie clips and also learners› attitudes towards using such methods (through
using questionnaires) were taken into consideration. After administering a standard language proficiency test (OPT), 90 intermediate, out of a pile of 154 L2
learners, were selected and assigned to three groups randomly, two experimental
(one etymology and one movie clip group) and one control group. All the groups
were given two idiom multiple-choice tests, one as the pre-test and the other one
Received 10 August 2011
Approved 14 September 2011
101
as the post-test. In one experimental group (A), idioms were taught together with
their etymologies and in the other experimental group (B), the same idioms were
taught by displaying movie clips containing the idioms, while the control group
(C) followed the traditional class activities using synonyms and antonyms. The
results of one-way ANOVA and post hoc tests revealed that the participants in
etymology and movie clip groups had better performance in post-test than in pretest. Moreover, the results of Chi-square revealed that, on the whole, L2 learners
had positive attitudes towards using etymology and movie clips in idiom learning.
Key Words: Etymology, Figurative language, Fixed Expressions, Idiomaticity,
Idioms, Movie clips.
I.Interdouction
Learning is a cognitive process that involves conscious and active behavior.
Students look for similarities and differences between new information and prior
knowledge, and in this way are able to effectively assimilate new learning into
existing cognitive structures (Piaget, 1980).
Language, according to Hudson (1980), is at the center of human life and the
ability to learn language is among the greatest mental achievements of mankind.
Studies of language in television news programs have found that speakers use one
unique metaphor for every 25 words (Grasser, Mio, & Millis, 1989). Linguists
and educators in various language-related fields have been able to understand, to
some extent, what language is and how it is learned as a second or foreign language and how it can be taught. Language is composed of many different parts
each of which is important in learning. Learning and understanding idioms, metaphoric and idiomatic expressions have long played an important role in the English language. In fact, the use of idioms is so widespread that understanding these
expressions is essential to successful communication, whether in listening, speaking, reading, or writing.
Gibbs (1992) believes that by developing a clear understanding of figurative language, students can further comprehend texts that contain metaphorical and lexi102
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cal meanings beyond the basic word level.
Honeck (1997) notes that figurative language is language that means one thing
literally but is taken to mean something different and it is a special aspect of language.
Gibbs (1980) holds that a strong knowledge of idioms will help the students to
be better speakers and negotiators. They will also be in a better position to use
their knowledge in appropriate contexts. So, it would be true if we conclude that
the amount of the frequency of idioms is an important aspect of vocabulary acquisition and language teaching (Fernando, 1996). Native speakers of a language
use idioms all the time. Idiomatic usage is so common in every language, and of
course in English, that it seems very difficult to speak or write without using idioms.
Films are motivating for EFL/ESL teaching because they embody the notion that
«a film with a story that wants to be told rather than a lesson that needs to be taught
«(Ward & Lepeintre, 1996). Films are such valuable and rich resources for teaching because they present colloquial English in real life contexts rather than artificial situation; an opportunity of being exposed to different native speaker voices,
slangs , reduced speeches , stress , accents , and dialects,(Stempleski,2000).
It is also interesting to know whether being only aware of the literal meaning
of the idioms, would enable the students to extend the literal meaning to figurative one. In other words, whether or not the awareness of the idioms› etymology
as well as using the movie clips containing the idioms have any effect on the L2
learners› ability to come up with their figurative meanings.
In Iran there are special schools designed merely for brilliant and talented students
such as, National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents (NODET). The students enter these schools through entrance exams. Because of the
high level of students’ intelligence, the level of teaching and the materials taught
in these schools are somehow more advanced than ordinary schools. In English
classes for example, extra hours are devoted to extracurricular activities. Due to
the student’s interests and desires, different related activities such as reading different texts, watching films, listening to stories, discussions, giving lectures, hot
seat, translating proverbs, idioms, and poems are performed.
The purpose of the present study, which has focused on three ways of teaching idiomatic expressions, namely, etymology, using movie clips, and applying
103
synonyms-antonyms, was to explore whether the knowledge of etymology of idioms or watching movie clips containing idioms can help high school EFL learners
learn their figurative meaning more effectively.
II. Review of the Related Literature
In a study Irujo (1986 ) states that in a second language learning classroom all the
learners must be prepared to meet the challenge of idioms occurring frequently in
spoken and written English
In another study Fine (1988) compared a foreign-language learner with a child
L1 learning. The learners had to deal with new vocabulary grammar, pronunciation, etc. One area that caused problem was idioms learning. He taught the idioms
accompanied with their stories behind, so the learners got the meaning of idioms
in a better way. Cassiari and Glucksberg (1991) conducted a research in terms of
etymology use. They believed that by knowing the origins of idioms, students can
more easily figure out the metaphorical meanings. They mentioned that the etymology of words and phrases help students understand how language transforms
over times and, thereby, enable them to hypothesize in a more meaningful way the
meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases.
Boers (1992) in his article, ‘Raising metaphoric awareness’ states that by developing a clear understanding of figurative language, students can further comprehend texts that contain metaphorical and lexical meanings beyond the basic
word level.
According to Cooper (1998) teachers think one of the reasons their students made
up dialogues that always seemed so unnatural to them is that the students used the
idioms without regarding their pragmatic function in the discourse. Due to Cooper
(1999), idiom study presents a special language problem for all language learners
because the figurative meaning is unpredictable.
In another study Boers (2001) argued that students have also been shown to be
more likely to remember figurative idioms derived from specific source domains
when they are associated with the original usage.
Nippold, Maron, & Schwarts (2001) findings show that factors such as culture,
context, academic literacy (reading, writing, and language ability) and familiarity influence significantly students’ comprehension of idioms. In an investigation
In another study Simpson & Mendis (2003) mention that information on the frequency of idioms in academic spoken American English has helped language
teachers which idioms might be useful to teach to ESL/EFL students. Sprenger et
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al. (2006) in their study report the lexical representation of idioms contains information specifying the syntactic properties of these expressions.
Liontas (2001) has done his best to deal with the process of idiom learning by
addressing non-linear modules of perception, cognition, and performance believed
to be involved in the learning of idioms. So by developing a clear understanding
of idioms students can further comprehend texts that contain metaphorical and
lexical meanings beyond the basic word level. According to Liontas (1999, 2001,
2006) language learners can use idioms successfully if the idiomatic knowledge
is properly taught during language instruction and L2 learners have difficulties
making sense of idioms even after they have learned the semantic meaning of the
individual words. It is very important to have a plan of instruction that incorporates the various intelligences in order to give a chance to all students to succeed
in learning idioms. The students should be aware that some idioms contain meanings beyond their literal meanings, in other words, the students should raise their
metaphoric awareness so we the teachers and the instructors should try to make
sense of idioms.
Brandi-Muller, (2005) in her study mentioned that retelling activities are good
techniques to facilitate students› reading retrieval. First, she introduced the meaning of English idioms to her students, and asked them to recall the context in their
own words instead of the English idioms and to rewrite sentences provided in
class by using English idioms. Boers, et al, (2007) in their study stated that associating an idiom with its etymology has been shown to enhance retention.
Shang-fang-Gue (2008) studied the differential effects of etymological elaboration and rote memorization on idiom acquisition in EFL learners. In this investigation one group received instruction in the form of etymological familiarity while
subjects in the comparison group were asked to memorize idioms on the basis of
their given meaning. In this study for the purpose of encouraging long-term retention, elaborating on the original usage of idioms is preferable to asking students
to learn idioms by rote.
Liontas (2006) in his study showed that Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies used to encourage knowledge of idiomaticity to develop. He also mentioned
the development of AI knowledge systems for idiom learning was in relation to
critical examination and it led to understanding and using idioms in a well-suited
way in contexts as native speakers did. In Artificial Intelligence knowledge systems for learning the idioms the learners should enjoy some special designs like
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multimedia programs in their system of education so that they are able to better
understand the idioms.
Fazly & Stevenson (2006) in their study investigated the lexical and syntactic
flexibility of a class idiomatic expression. They developed measure that draw on
such linguistic properties, and demonstrated that these statistical, corpus-based
measures, could be successfully used for distinguishing idiomatic combinations
from non-idiomatic ones. The researchers carefully examined several linguistic
properties of verb + noun idiomatic combinations that distinguish them from literal (compositional) combinations. Moreover, they suggested novel techniques for
translating such characteristics into measures that predict the idiomaticity level of
verb + noun combinations.
Cook & Fazly & Stevenson (2007) in a study developed techniques for a semantic classification of tokens of potential multiword expressions (MWEs) in
context. They focused on a broadly documented class of English MWEs that are
formed from the combination of a verb and a noun in its direct object position.
They annotated a total of 1180 instances according to whether they are a literal or
idiomatic usage, and they found that appropriately 40% of the tokens (instances)
were literal usages.
Secules , Herron & Tomasello (1992) explain”, viewing the video and movie
clips would en hance students’ learning of vocabulary and idiomatic structures
because of the contextualized presentation of the video”, and viewing English
Speaking Foreign Films of course gives necessary exposure and experience.
Film communication offers links between classrooms and society. Films can
help explore cultural context, maybe integrated easily into the curriculum, are
entertaining. And allow flexibility of materials and teaching techniques, (Wood,
1995).
In the Clifford et al.›s (1995) study, children›s knowledge gain about a topic
after watching a science film was also examined. The participating primary school
and middle school children had different knowledge levels before watching the
science program, and both age groups benefited from watching it. This benefit
was found in terms of open-ended questions. Interestingly, there were no differences in the amount of knowledge growth between the age groups, indicating that
prior knowledge does not determine the amount of learning.
According to Massi & Merrio (1996) good films can serve as valuable peda106
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gogical aids, both for classroom use and self-study.Regarding the power of films
as a medium, Massi, & Merrio (1996) believe that it can be exploited in a number
of ways. One possible use of films in the language program is to promote new
ideas and expand the learner›s horizons. In a content-based syllabus, for instance,
a particular film can be used to vividly illustrate situations which are unfamiliar or
inaccessible and provide the learner with a stimulus which serves as a springboard
for further discussion of an issue.
Fisch et al.›s study (Fisch et al., 2001) relies on one of the few theoretical
models about learn ing with educational television (Fisch, 2000), although this
model is primarily concerned with comprehension. It is postulated that the comprehension of an educational film depends not only on the comprehensibility of
the educational content, but also on the narrative content in which the educational
messages are embedded (Fisch et al., 2001).
A study (Beuscher, Robers, & Schnider, 2005) revealed a significant increase
in specific knowledge as well as strong age effects of test format. Children aged 6,
8 and 10 years were shown a short film about sugar production and 1 week later
individually questioned about it using different test formats: free recall, open-ended questions and recognition questions. Expectedly, older children outperformed
younger children and open-ended and recognitions yielded more correct information than free recall. Although people are probably aware that popular history
films are partially fictionalized, previous research indicates that information from
fiction is often integrated with real-world knowledge, which leads to learning and
subsequent production of misinformation (Marsh & Fazio, 2006). Quiang,H &
Wolff (2007) tried to explain the notion of using films , exposing students to the
language has been explored and has been recognized as being more beneficial for
students’ communicative skills , rather than grammar and such. The entertainment
value of a film increase interest in the topic, which can boost people›s motivation
to learn (Silvia, 2008).
Fazly & Cook & Stevenson (2009) looked into the usefulness of some of the
identified linguistic properties of idioms for their automatic recognition. Specifically, they developed statistical measures that each model a specific property of
idiomatic expressions by looking at their actual usage patterns in text. The researchers used these statistical measures in a type-based classification task where
they automatically separate idiomatic expressions (expressions with a possible
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idiomatic interpretation) from similar-on-the-surface literal phrases (for which no
idiomatic interpretation is possible).
Cognitive semantic studies of figurative language (Gibbs, 1994; Kovecses,
1990; Lakoff, 1987) have shown that considerable numbers of idioms are not
completely arbitrary. Figurative idioms meaning are not fully predictable on the
basis of a literal reading. For example, the expression Time flies can be motivated
by the conceptual metaphor TIME IS A MOVING OBJECT (also evidenced by
statements such as I’m falling behind schedule again, The holidays are approaching and Those days are over).
A class of figurative idioms can be motivated by reference to their literal usage
in the original contexts. For example, the idiomatic meaning Be Waiting in the
Wings can be motivated with reference to its original, and literal counterpart in
the theatre (i.e. actors waiting in the wings of the theatre before making their appearance on the stage). Or A safe pair of hands illustrates the hand-for-the-action
metonymy, but adds sporting imagery (at least for those who are aware that this
expression is derived from ball games, especially cricket).
In the previous studies few of the researchers paid attention to idiom learning
through movie clips and the etymology of idioms. In this study it was attempted
to investigate whether knowing the etymology of idioms or showing movie clips
had any effects on the acquisition of idioms by EFL learners or not.
III. Statement of The Problem
Teaching and learning English have long been a difficult task for both EFL students and teachers in Iran due to some reasons such as lack of resources and little
contact with the target language (Sadeghi, 2005). Among different components of
a language (grammar, vocabulary, phrasal verbs, idioms, expressions…) learning
the idioms is probably the most difficult task to be accomplished. In one hand,
learning idioms has always been a big problem for students, especially foreign
language learners. On the other hand, any foreign language learner knows that
idioms are essential and their shortage leads to a feeling of insecurity.
According to Glucksberg (2001) the meaning of the idioms can be guessed from
the meaning of one of their subcomponents but usually the meaning is completely
different, this is the reason why they are so tricky for students. Boers (1992) stated
that it is inevitable for students to face problems dealing with idioms by knowing
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this fact that their meanings are not clear and are motivated by their original, literal usage and the idioms› meanings cannot be attained directly at the first look and
the tricky nature of idioms makes students face problems extracting their meanings. Since L2 learners have difficulties in learning and using the phrasal words
and idioms, and the traditional methods used by teachers do not make significant
changes in L2 learners› idiom learning, new techniques for teaching idioms to L2
learners are required.
Applying idioms› etymologies and using movie clips are two methods that
seem to be beneficial and might offer L2 learners opportunities to learn the idioms
in better ways. Although their positive effect on L1 students has been proved, few
studies have been done to show the effectiveness of using etymology and movie
clips on idiom learning processes in Iran. Therefore, an attempt has been made
in this study to investigate the effect of these methods on Iranian EFL learners›
idiom learning.
IV. Research Questions
The present study attempted to investigate appropriate answers to the following
questions:
1. Does teaching the etymology of idioms facilitate idiom learning of Iranian high
school EFL learners?
2. Does watching movie clips containing the idioms facilitate idiom learning of
Iranian high school EFL learners?
3. Which one has a more significant impact on the effectiveness of learning idioms, the etymology of idioms or showing movie clips containing the idioms?
4. Do L2 learners have positive attitude towards the application of etymology in
teaching new idioms?
5. Do L2 learners have positive attitude towards the application of movie clips
containing the idioms in teaching new idioms?
V. Research Hypothese
The above-mentioned questions have been reformulated in the form of the following hypotheses:
1. Teaching the etymology of idioms does not facilitate idiom learning of Iranian
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high school EFL learners.
2. Watching movie clips containing the idioms does not facilitate idiom learning
of Iranian high school EFL learners.
3. Neither teaching the etymology of idioms nor watching movie clips containing the idioms has any significant impact on idioms learning of EFL high school
learners.
4. L2 learners have no positive attitude towards the application of etymology in
teaching new idioms.
5. L2 learners have no positive attitude towards the application of movie clips
containing the idioms in teaching new idioms.
VI. Objectives of The Study
Perhaps a controversial issue in the field of second/foreign language teaching
in recent years has been the notion of teaching idioms and how different methods
should be treated in second/foreign language classes (Liontas, 2006). Research on
teaching language components have mainly concerned with different approaches
and determining the characteristics of each one (e.g., Schleppegrell, 2004; Belcher, 2010). Few research studies have been done on other important aspects such as
methods for teaching idioms in L2 classes.
Applying idiom› etymologies and movie clips containing the idioms are two
methods that have been proposed to help teachers teach idioms effectively. Thus,
it is of crucial value to examine their effects on L2 learners› idiom learning, an
issue that, to the researcher›s best knowledge, has not been investigated in an EFL
context like Iran. Therefore, the main concern of this study is to investigate the effect of these two methods on idiom learning of Iranian intermediate EFL learners.
Serving this purpose, the effect of applying etymology of idioms and movie clips
was examined on experimental groups. In this study, also, L2 learners› attitudes
toward using these methods in idiom learning were sought through using questionnaires. It is also interesting to know whether being only aware of the literal
meaning of the idioms, would enable the students to extend the literal meaning to
figurative one.
VII. Methodology
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A. Participants
An original population pool of 154 high school students in Shahrekord gifted
high school participated in this study. An Oxford Placement Test (OPT, Allan,
2004) was administered to homogenize the students› proficiency level. At the end,
90 students at intermediate proficiency level using OPT level chart were selected.
Following the matched-pair technique and rating scales of OPT chart they were
assigned to three groups, 2 experimental groups, one as etymology and the other
one as movie clip, and one control group, identical in number. All the participants
in the research were high school boys, within the age range of 16 and 18.
B. Instrumentation
To probe the corresponding null hypotheses and gather data in this study study,
three instruments were employed:
First, in order to make sure of the homogeneity of the participants in control and
experimental groups and screen the subjects in terms of their English language
proficiency, the OPT (OPT, Allan, 2004) was administered. The test booklet consists of 200 items including 100 listening items and 100 grammar items. The participants were asked to take the test in sixty minutes. The listening section lasted
for about ten minutes and the Grammar section took a maximum of fifty minutes.
Second, a diagnostic achievement test for the initial and final evaluation was
constructed by the researchers. It included 20 idiom multiple-choice items. It was
designed in advance through a pilot study. Based on the performance of the participants, the characteristics of the individual items were determined and some
items were revised. Having done a pilot study in which 20 similar students at the
same level in a gifted high school in Shahrekord participated, the researchers, using KR-21 formula, estimated the test reliability which was found to be 0.945. To
determine the validity of the test, the researcher asked ten experts and high school
teachers to pass their comments on the content of the test; consequently some
items were deleted and some were modified based on lexical selection, grammatical points, and appropriateness and inappropriateness of distracters. The test had a
total of twenty points, and the time allotted based on the pilot test was determined
to be thirty minutes. Eventually, the researchers came up with 20 items, which
were used as the pre- and post-tests.
Third, two questionnaires were administered to determine the students› atti111
tudes towards the application of etymology and movie clips for teaching idioms.
They were a modified version of a popular questionnaire developed by Gardner (2005), called Attitude / Motivation Test Battery (AMTB), whose reliability
and validity have already been supported (Gardner, 2005; Gardner & Macintyre,
1983). These questionnaires consisted of 15 items with responses ranked on a
Likert Scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree), 2(disagree), 3(neutral), 4(agree),
to 5 (strongly agree). The reliability of the questionnaires was determined through
an exact pilot study given to 20 similar students and five English teachers similar
to samples of the main study in the gifted high school in Shahrekord. The Cronbach Alfa was used to estimate their reliability indexes and they were acceptable
(0.9 value for etymology and 0.8 value for movie clip questionnaire). In order to
establish the validity of questionnaires, some competent and experienced experts
in the field of TEFL, such as my supervisor and advisor, have analyzed the content
and found out one to one correspondence between the content and the purpose of
the questionnaires. So, their validity was confirmed.
C. Procedures
To accomplish the purpose of the study, the following steps were followed:
First, it was a selection of the subjects and administration of the Oxford Placement Test (OPT). Second, an idiom multiple-choice test which was constructed
by the researchers was administered. This test was piloted to determine its validity
and reliability. After getting the results of the Oxford Placement Test, the homogeneity of subjects was determined. In order to extract the outliners, the researchers
included only those subjects whose scores were at intermediate proficiency level
and they were assigned on two groups of experimental and control.
Before teaching the new idiom, the previous idioms were reviewed. The whole
project of teaching took two and a half months. The students› tasks were to go
over the idioms and make themselves ready for the test at the end of the term. In
group A the idioms were taught by showing movie clips including the idioms. In
group B the same idioms were taught only by teaching synonyms and antonyms
of the new words in idioms. To exemplify, an example of two ways of teaching the
idiom «between the devil and the dark blue sea» will follow:
Group A: In this group at first the researcher talked about the etymology of
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the idiom: in the 17th century there was a large wooden plank attached to the side
of a boat. Sometimes a sailor would have to go out on it and fix something. The
plank was called the ‹ devil ‹. The sailor was in danger of falling off and throwing.
Therefore, he was between the devil and the dark blue sea. Nowadays, it means to
be in a difficult situation for example: Sandy was between the devil and the dark
blue sea last year when she lost her job and had to pay all the debts.
Group B: For this group at first the idioms were taught by using the movie
clips. The students were shown a movie clip that contained the idiom ‹ between
the devil and the dark blue sea›. The students watched the clip two or three times
in a language lab in order to get the meaning. Then, the researcher asked the students to write the text on a piece of paper. At the end, the students were asked
some questions about the conversations in the movie clip to know whether the
students got the idiom or not.
Group C: In this group the researcher taught only the figurative meaning by
providing a synonym for the idiom – to be in a difficult situation and then he wrote
an example on the board. e.g.,: David had an important final test last week and his
father was terribly sick, in fact he was between the devil and the dark blue sea.
The purpose of giving this example was to make students familiar with the way
this idiom can be used in different situations.
In most of the American films the actors, actresses, and directors use the idioms in the episodes of the films. The researchers extracted some parts of films
and showed them to students. The comprehensibility, culture, appropriateness of
content, and the comfort level of students needed to be taken into account in the
process of selecting a film.
The idioms were chosen based on students› level of proficiency, culture, religion, interest, motivation, and practical feasibility. The final test that was the
post-test of the study included twenty items. For every item there was a situation
which could be completed just by one idiom out of the four idioms given in each
items. Pre-test was conducted to ensure subjects› idiom knowledge prior to the
study, and the post-test used to screen out the effectiveness of idiom teaching on
participants› idiom learning. The participants had 20 minutes to answer the items.
The time given in this test was based upon the result of the pilot study.
Third, two attitudinal questionnaires were administered. Ninety students completed them in order to reflect their attitudes towards teaching and learning idioms
113
along with their etymologies and movie clips. Each questionnaire consisted of
15 items. The attitude/motivation scale of the original 5-point Likert format of
Gardner›s Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) Gardner, 1985 & Clement
et al.›s (1994) was adapted from ‹ strongly disagree ‹ to ‹ strongly agree ‹. The
scales were coded as (Strongly Disagree = 1, Disagree = 2, Neutral = 3, Agree =
4, Strongly Agree= 5). The data from questionnaire was fed into the computer and
then analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics (mean, frequency, & standard
deviation) were computed for all items involved in the questionnaires of the study.
VIII. Results and Discussion
Several statistical analyses were concluded to answer the research questions
in this study. This study required a comparison of three groups drawn from the
population (third grade) senior gifted high school students in Shahrekord.
In this part, the results obtained from the analysis phase are reported. The first
part is related to the testing of the research hypotheses which are about the effect
of using movie clips and the etymology of idioms on idiom learning of L2 learners. In Table 4.1 the results of One-way ANOVA between the scores of all groups
in the OPT test are presented.
As table 1 shows, the p value (i.e., 1.000) is greater than the alpha level (.05),
and hence, the difference between groups is not significant, F(2,87) = .000, p =
1.000 . Therefore, it can be concluded that all the groups were at the same level
of proficiency.
The first research question aimed to examine the effect of using etymology of idioms on idiom learning of Iranian high school EFL learners. To answer this ques114
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tion, in the first place, the descriptive statistics of the participants› performance on
pre-test and post-test were calculated and shown in table 2.
As it is represented in Table 2 there were 90 participants who took the pre-test
and post-test. The highest and the lowest scores were 17 and 11 in the pre-test
and 19 and 13 in the post- test respectively. This Table also gives us information
about each group (number in each group, means, standard deviation, minimum,
maximum, etc.). Table 4.2 also shows, the mean score for etymology experimental group in post-test is 16.70, and SD is 13.68. The mean score for control group
is 14.17 and SD is 1.783, respectively. Therefore, the descriptive statistics show
that etymology experimental group has outperformed the control group.
Table 3 displays the results of paired samples statistics for etymology group in
pre-test
and post-test.
115
As table 3 shows the mean score of etymology group has been increased from
pre-test (14.43) to post-test (16.70). It means there is a significant difference between the two scores, and applying etymology played an important role in learning idioms.
In order to analyze the data collected from the etymology group in pre-test/posttest a paired samples t-test was run.
Table 4. Results of Paired Samples Tests between Pre-test and Post-test for
Etymology Group
As table 4 shows, there is a significant difference between participants› performance from pre-test to post-test, t(29) = 9.66, p = .000. Therefore, from paired
samples statistics, it can be concluded that using etymology has had a positive
effect on L2 Iranian learners› idiom learning.
Eventually, in the explanations related to Tables 3. and 4., the first null hypothesis
is rejected.
To answer the second question and determine if watching movie clips facilitates
idiom learning of Iranian high school EFL learners, a Paired Samples t-test was
run. This t-test was between the pre-test and the post-test scores obtained from the
movie clip group.
Table 5.Results of Paired Samples Statistics for Movie Clip Group in Pre-test
and Post-test
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As this table shows the mean score of movie clip group has been increased
from pre-test (14.27) to post-test (16.33). It means there is a significant difference
between the two scores, and using movie clips containing the idioms also played
an important role in learning idioms.
Table 6.Results of Paired Samples Tests between Pre-test and Post-test for
Movie Clip Group
As Table 6 shows, there is significant difference between participants› performance from pre-test to post-test, t (29) = 10.80, p = .000. Therefore, from paired
samples statistics, it can be concluded that using movie clips has had positive effect on L2 Iranian high school Learners› idiom learning. Consequently, based on
tables 5 and 6., the second null hypothesis is rejected. It means watching movie
clips facilitate idiom learning of Iranian high school EFL learners.
Table 2 displays the results of descriptive statistics of pre-test and post –test of
all groups. It shows the means of the scores in pre-test and post-test and standard
deviation of the scores. Ninety students participated in the study.
According to table 4.2 the mean score of the participants in pre-test was 14.29,
and the mean score of all the three groups in post-test was 16.13. So, the mean
score of the three groups has been increased from pre-test to post-test. It means
117
there is a significant difference between the two scores.
Table 7. The Results of One-way ANOVA between pre-test and post-test
of Groups
As table 7 shows, the p value for the pre-test (i.e., .824) is greater than the alpha
level (.05), and hence the difference between groups is not significant, F (2,87)
= .195, p = 824. This table shows that the p value for the post-test (i.e., .001) is
smaller than the alpha level (.05), and hence, the difference between groups is
significant, F (2, 87) = 8.044, p = .001.
In the last step, all groups have been compared with each other by using a
post hoc
Scheffe test. Table 4.8 represents the results of this analysis.
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Table 8 shows exactly the differences among the etymology, movie, and control groups. The asterisks (*) next to the values in the mean difference column
indicates that the two groups being compared were significantly different from
one another when the p value is smaller than the alpha value (.05). The results
presented in Table 4.8 shows that etymology and control groups in one side and
movie clip and control groups in another side are significantly different from one
another. That is, the mentioned groups differ significantly in terms of their posttest scores.
Based on Tables 2 and 8 it can be concluded that:
1. Although the mean scores of etymology group was more than the mean score of
movie group, the difference is not significant because the p value was 0.568, and
it is greater than the alpha value (.05.)
2. Mean score of etymology group was more than that of the control group, and
based on statistics the difference was significant (Sig. = .001), therefore, using
etymology was better than conventional way to teach idioms.
3. Mean score of the movie clip group was more than that of the control one and
due to statistics, the difference was significant (Sig. = .02), so applying movie
clips in teaching idioms was also better than the conventional technique.
4. Even though the mean score of the etymology group was better than the movie
one, statistically it is not significant, because the p value was 0.568, and it is
greater than alpha value (.05).
Based on Tables 7 and 8 the comparisons made between etymology and control
groups in one side, and movie clip and control groups on the other side, it is obvious that etymology and movie clips have significant impact on the effectiveness
of learning idioms. Thus, the referential statistics also confirmed the descriptive
findings mentioned previously, and so the third null hypothesis is rejected.
The comparison between the mean scores of the three groups in pre-test and posttest are also represented graphically in figure 1.
119
pretest
post test
20
Mean
15
10
5
0
etymology
control
movie clip
group
Figure 1. Graphic Representation of Comparison between
the Means of the Three Groups in pre and post test
Figure 4.1 demonstrates the mean scores in pre-test and post-test between the etymology, movie clip ,and control groups. It suggests that the scores in the posttest
were higher than pretest and this difference is more pronounced among the etymology and movie groups. In control group the difference in pre-test and post-test
scores was very small.
To answer the fourth, and the fifth questions, the students› attitudes towards application of etymology and movies were analyzed separately.
To serve this purpose, the researcher administered two similar questionnaires to
obtain the students attitudes towards using etymology and movie clips in teaching
idioms.
Table 9 Descriptive Statistics of Students› Attitudes towards Etymology Compared with Movie Clips Application
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Table 9 displays the mean and Standard deviation for each of the groups. It
also shows the numbers of students in each group (N). According to Table 9 the
total mean score of the etymology questionnaire is 53.83, and the total mean score
of movie clip questionnaire is 55.20, so for teaching idioms students had better
attitudes towards movie clips than etymology. The total mean scores in Table 9
represent that the students had positive attitudes towards the application of etymology and movie clips in teaching new idioms, therefore, it can be concluded
that the fourth and the fifth null hypotheses are rejected.
In order to compare the mean scores of etymology and movie clip groups in the
questionnaires an Independent-Samples t-test was run.
Table 10. Results of an Independent Samples t-test of Students› Etymology
and Movie Clip Questionnaires
According to table 10 an independent samples t-test was run to compare mean
scores of students› in Etymology and Movie clip questionnaires. The level of significance is (p = 0.422) is more than alpha value (.05), therefore, equal variances
assumed are accepted. Here in equality of means the attention is paid on the first
line. The p value for equality of means is .068, and it is above .05, so, there is no
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significant difference between the etymology and movie clip groups. It should
be mentioned that the contents of the questionnaires were identical and just their
titles (etymology and movie clip) were different.
The comparison between the mean scores of the three groups in pre-test and posttest are also represented graphically in figure 2.
60.00
Mean questionnaire
50.00
40.00
30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
etymology
movie clip
group
Figure 2.Graphic Representation Means of Etymology
and Movie Clip in Students› Questionnaires
Figure 2 shows the mean scores in the students› questionnaires towards using
etymology and movie clips in teaching idioms. The students had better attitudes
towards using movie clips in the idiom classes.
IX. Discussion
Although nowadays most of the teachers try to use new teaching methods in
their L2 idiom teaching classrooms, it seems that the implication of such methods
has been overlooked in Iran. Therefore, an attempt has been made in this study
to investigate the effect of two of such methods (namely, etymology and movie
clips) on idiom learning of Iranian EFL learners and each question is discussed in
details with regard to the previous similar studies.
The results of data analyses revealed that etymology and movie clips application had a positive effect on L2 students› idiom learning.
The analysis of the questionnaires also revealed that L2 learners have positive
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attitudes towards using etymology and movies in their L2 idiom teaching classes.
This can also be considered as one of the reasons for the positive effects of these
methods on Iranian EFL learners› idiom learning.
Regarding the first question, the results of this study are in line with those of Boers, et al., (2007). In their study, which was conducted on English students, they
studied the presentation of figurative idioms with a touch of etymology. They concluded that, by using etymology of idioms the participants made progress in their
idiom learning and the results of their study showed that knowledge of the origin
of idioms can effectively help learners comprehend their figurative meaning.
In the same vein, Shang-fang-Gue (2008), have examined the effects of etymological elaboration and rote memorization on idiom acquisition in China on Chinese EFL learners, like this study he also concluded that elaborating on the usage
of idioms can help L2 learners memorize idioms in a better way. The results of
this study are also in line with those of other studies. For example, in a study Liontas (2002) significantly affected the comprehension of idioms. In another study
Cacciari and Glucksberg (1991) examined the effect of knowing the origins of
idioms on learning metaphorical meanings. They also concluded that this method
was very helpful in enhancing learners› phrase and idiom learning.
Considering the second and third research questions, there is almost lack of literature to be compared with the present findings. Among very few studies, the results of this study can be compared with those of other studies that have examined
the effect of other methods on L2 learners› vocabulary learning. For example,
regarding the second research question, the results of this study are in tune with
those of Secules et al., (1992). In their study, which was conducted on L1learners,
they used video films and movie clips in order to enhance the learners› vocabulary
and idiomatic structures. By analyzing the collected data, they concluded that, by
using video films and instructional movie clips, the participants made progress in
their vocabulary and idiomatic structures.
Regarding the third research question, the results of this study are in line with
those of Minskoff, 1982; Nippold et al,. (2001) and Quells et al., (2003). In those
studies, they have examined the effect of reading ability on understanding idioms
and other figures of speech. They concluded that good reading ability enhances
their ability to comprehend idioms. Also, the results of such studies revealed that
students in higher level of proficiency, made progress in reading comprehension
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and having good reading ability leads to better idiom learning.
The results obtained in the third question, are partly in line with those of Boers et al., (2007). In their study they compared the effectiveness of etymological
elaboration with mnemonics. They concluded that using etymology can help the
learners to learn idioms in comparison with using mere mnemonics. So, the results of their study are in line with the result of the present study.
Considering the fourth, and the fifth research questions, the findings of this
study are in line with those of the previous studies (Boers, et al., 2007; Shangfang-Gue, 2008; Brandi-Muller, 2005; Liontas, 2002; Boers, 2001; Cacciari &
Glucksberg, 1991) as well. Positive attitudes of L2 learners towards using etymology and movie clips in L2 classes can encourage teachers to use such methods in
their classrooms.
X. Conclusions
The first question addressed in this study was to ask whether knowing the etymology of idioms has any effect on the quality of their learning. In other words,
do the language learners who learn the story behind the idioms learn them more
efficiently in comparison to those who lack this knowledge? The obtained results
indicate that the first hypothesis is supported.
The data presented in previous sections shows that the mean score in pre-test
was 14.27, and the mean score in the post-test was 16.33. It means there is a significant difference between these two mean scores, and based on Tables 5. and 6.
the second null hypothesis is rejected. So, it can be concluded that movie clips
facilitates idiom learning of Iranian high school EFL learners.
Based on the comparisons made between etymology and control groups in one
side, and movie clip and control groups on the other side, it can be concluded that
etymology and movie clips have significant impact on idiom learning, therefore,
the third null hypothesis is rejected too.
As it was presented before the total mean score of etymology questionnaire was
53.83, and the total mean score of movie clip questionnaire was 55.20, so students
had better attitudes towards movie clips than etymology in teaching idioms. This
represents that the students had positive attitudes towards the application of etymology and movie clips in teaching idioms, therefore, the fourth and the fifth null
hypotheses are rejected.
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The Effect of Differences in the General Proficiency of Iranian EFL
Students on their Metaphorical Competence
Zahra Rezaei, M.A. in TEFL
[email protected]
Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan
Dr. Aliakbar Jafarpour, Ph.D. in TEFL
[email protected]
Shahrekord State University
Abstract
This study was an effort towards examining the relationship between Iranian
EFL learners’ language proficiency and their metaphorical competence. The subjects were 120 Iranian EFL learners studying at SADR English Language Teaching Center within the 19-25 age range. The EFL learners’ English proficiency varied from Elementary to Advanced which was determined by the OPT. Afterwards,
the students were administered a researcher-made test assessing their metaphorical competence. The test consisted of ten concepts with each concept containing
five metaphors together with their Persian equivalents written in English. Having
two scores in hand, the researcher was able to see whether there were any significant relationships between the students’ language proficiency and their metaphorical competence. The researcher used the SPSS software package to calculate the degree of correlation between participants’ language proficiency and their
metaphorical competence. Using the Pearson Correlation Coefficient formula the
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researcher used the statistical procedure of one-way ANOVA to determine the
relationship between learners’ metaphorical competence and their language proficiency. The findings revealed that the more proficient the EFL learners were in
English language, the more metaphorically competent they would be.
Key Words: Language Proficiency, Metaphor, Metaphorical Competence, EFL
Learners.
1. Introduction
One of the crucial aspects of language learning and language teaching is a
concept termed metaphor. As Lakoff and Johnson (1980) asserted, metaphor is
defined in terms of understanding or experiencing one thing in terms of another.
Moreover, according to what classical theories of language mention, metaphors
are just considered as a matter of language not thought. In addition, they considered figurative language and metaphor as something which can not be placed in
the domain of everyday language and they believed everyday language has no
metaphor. In classical theories, metaphor was just considered as a matter of poetic
linguistic expressions which could not be included in the ordinary language used
everyday. After a while, the classical theory was taken for granted.
In contrast with what classical theorists mentioned about metaphors, cognitive
linguists believed that what governs metaphorical expressions is in thought not
language. In short, metaphors are not just centralized to language but in the way
we conceptualize one mental domain in terms of another.
According to the above-mentioned assertions, metaphor is a concept which is
considered as a matter of language and not thought or action. Generally, in the past
ordinary people, language teachers as well as language learners used to consider
metaphor not needed in everyday language. The focus of language teachers and
language learners was just teaching and learning some of the grammatical points;
hence, metaphor was considered to be of no use which was totally neglected.
1.1. The Uses of Metaphor
Obviously, as Barker (1996) claimed, metaphor is one of the most crucial and
effective tools of communication. Moreover, as Rizzuto (2001) asserted, it is also
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one of the useful tools in addressing multi cultural issues in groups since metaphors work as a cognitive device to cover up the important feelings and values. In
addition, they are useful ways of addressing things indirectly in communication.
Furthermore, Penn (2001) and Austin (2010) added that the process and comprehension of metaphorical statements are much easier than direct statements. As
well, when communicators try to use metaphorical language the result of their discussions would be less unfavorable than when they use non-metaphoric language
or direct communication and this is exactly because when communicators use
metaphoric language or indirect way of speech it provides them with an opportunity to step a little far away the immediate situation and share dialogue which
may differ from the pain of past experiences. Abernethy (2002, p.6) declared that
“metaphors transform meanings; they create new perspectives, new situations,
and new opportunities for connection”. “Meaning is not a stable entity, but an
outcome of relational negotiations in a particular context” Penn (2001, p.44).
Other linguists such as Lakoff and Johnson (1980) also have some other asser
tions about the uses of metaphor. They maintained that metaphors cause changes;
it means changes are made as a result of the available metaphors. Lakoff and
Johnson (1980, p.145) asserted that “new metaphors have the power to create a
new reality. This can begin to happen when we start to comprehend our experience in terms of a metaphor, and it becomes a deeper reality when we begin to
act in terms of it…. Much of cultural change arises from the introduction of new
metaphorical concepts and the loss of old ones”.
As such, when metaphors are used, there is a better chance for communicators to understand each others’ intent. Barker (1996) also contended that the use
of metaphor or generally metaphoric language is valuable when the message and
the information which is supposed to be conveyed are complex and difficult to be
transferred. Another linguist called Czander (1993) cited another use for metaphor. He mentions that metaphor has a unifying role. Some of the organizations
often use it to unify their workers.
2. Empirical Studies on Metaphor
According to Valenzuela and Soriano (2005) and also according to Austin
(2010), who argued that there have been lots of empirical research on metaphor
and figurative language, so far the most comprehensive investigations in these
cases have been done by Gibbs in his poetics of mind (1994). In his basic and
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crucial works, he viewed metaphor from different angles and surveyed different
aspects of metaphor and figurative language. For instance, he investigated the nature of figurative language versus. literal language, child metaphorical language
acquisition, metaphorical language processing, metonymy and also other different areas where metaphor plays a role.
Some of the recent empirical studies belong to Soriano (2005). Some of the methodologies applied by them are as follows:
2.1. Behavioral and Reaction-Time Studies
One of the empirical studies regarding the concept of time has been done by
(Boroditsky, 2000, 2001; Boroditsky & ramscar, 2002). These scholars have some
assertions about the notion of time and they claim we not only talk about time in
terms of space, but in fact think of time in terms of space. In order to show that
their claim is true they tested the existence of two metaphors of time Ego-Moving
and Time-Moving Lakoff and Johnson(1980).
According to different mappings we can both conceptualize time as an entity
which moves and we stand still for example, Christmas is coming soon, or time
stands still while we are moving toward it such as, we’ll meet each other next
Monday. The first example is the case of Time-Moving and the second is the example of Ego-moving. In the first example we conceptualize time as a moving
object and in the second we understand it in terms of space.
2.2. Gesture Studies
Cienki (1998) asserted that one of the other evidence to prove the reality of
conceptual metaphors psychologically is through gesture studies and also other
ways of expression which are non-verbal. One of the pioneers of gesture studies is Mcneill (1992) who investigated the relationship of gesture and language.
According to McNeill (1992, p.295) the fact “that children’s speech and gestures
develop together suggests that they are components of a single system from the
earliest periods. From age two or so onwards, the two never seem to be separate.
This is one argument for considering speech and gesture to be two aspects of
a single process”. Moreover, he claims that gesture and language co-occur and
also complements each other in use. (Butterworth & beattiie, 1978; Dancygier
& Sweetser, 1996; Duncan, 2001; kendon, 1995, 2000; Sweetser, 1998; webb,
1996) also maintained that gesture can reduce the ambiguity and implicitness of
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the expression because it can provide context hence, the expression comprehension would be easier. It can also change the pragmatic purpose of the utterance
and highlight the main topic. As kendon (2000, p.61) asserted “speech and gesture
are co-expressive of a single inclusive ideational complex, and it is this that is the
meaning of the utterance”.
MacNeill (1992) believed that language and gesture realize the same metaphors. In most cases the language we use and our gesture go along with the same
mapping. Cienki (1998, P.203) also noted that “gesture can anticipate the same
conceptual metaphor that is going to follow in language, an observation that gives
support to the claim that metaphor is not a question of language but of thought”.
2.3. Eye-Tracking studies
One of the ways which has been proved to be extremely useful in the investigation of several areas of language processing is eye-Tracking. Several eye-tracking
experiments have been performed and all together showed the difficulty in processing the sentences in processing the sentences with metonymic meaning is
comparable with those with literal meaning, but the expressions without relevant
metonymic interpretation caused difficulty for readers.
Therefore, it can be concluded that both literal and metonymic expressions
are processed equality easily and also context plays a very important role in metonymy and metaphor processing.
However, the fact is that, metaphor is one of the crucial aspects of second
language acquisition as well as second language teaching. On the other hand,
exposure issue is among numerous ways which help learners acquire metaphors.
Therefore, in order to learn the metaphors of a language, a learner can interact
with native speakers of the target language via internet or e-mail or if it is possible
traveling and being in the real environment. When the learner is exposed to the
real language one part of which is metaphors, he/she can acquire metaphors of the
language easier.
One of the problems that language teachers are confronted with in language
classrooms is lack of enough confrontation with figurative language, Hall Haley
& Austin, (2007). Learners with low proficiency mostly cannot understand figurative language and metaphorical expressions easily. Since in the majority of classes
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language teachers try to draw the students attentions to grammatical points, pronunciations, conversations or namely anything but the metaphors which are applied in any of the exercises or parts of the books. Hence, we are not sure whether
that is the teachers’ lack of attention to the figurative dimensions of the language
or the students mastery over metaphors will rise as their proficiency level improves.
Much research has been done on the subject of metaphor, but the number
of investigations to see the relationship between language proficiency and metaphorical competence is very few. Therefore, the researcher in the present study
has attempted to see whether there is any relationship between different general
proficiency levels and the use of metaphors by Iranian EFL learners.
As Lakoff (1993) asserted in the classical theories metaphor was considered as
just the matter of language not thought or action. Generally, they believed metaphor was of no use in the ordinary everyday language and it was not needed at
all. Little by little, this theory was taken for granted and came to be false. Lakoff
(1992) in his article The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor showed his disagreement with what classical theories said in the past and he claimed that metaphor
is pervasive in everyday language and it is not just the matter of language but
thought and action.
Moreover, Johnson and Rosano (1993) conducted investigations on the influence of language proficiency on metaphorical competence and he came to the
conclusion that language proficiency has no influence on metaphorical competence. In the current study an attempt was made to investigate the relation between
language proficiency and its impact on metaphorical competence and to apply
its pedagogical implications within the framework of educational settings. In the
present study the researcher also aimed to help teachers not to worry about the
students lack of appropriate metaphorical competence by suggesting some ways
such as providing EFL learners with authentic materials such as humorous language , song lyrics, movie scripts, newspaper and stories.
3. Methodology
3.1. Participants
Participants of the present study consisted of 120 Iranian EFL learners, who were
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studying English language at SADR English Language Teaching Center. They
were randomly selected through cluster random sampling from among 175 participants.
3.2. Materials
First, an OPT was used to determine the general proficiency level of participants of the present study and to assign them into three homogenous groups of Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced. Then, a researcher-made test was designed
to tap the participants’ metaphorical competence, comprising 50 items with three
sections of comprehension, production and recognition.
3.3. Data Collection
In order to test the relationship between language proficiency and EFL learners’
metaphorical competence and generally to meet the objective of the present study
the participants were asked to engage in two tests; The first test was the OPT with
100 grammatical questions. Having gathered the OPT scores of participants, the
researcher divided participants into three groups of Elementary, Intermediate and
Advanced levels.
The second test was a researcher-made test including three sections: 1- multiplechoice section 2- production section 3- comprehension section. In the multiplechoice section, the students had to recognize the proper genuine English language
metaphor. In the comprehension section, the right understanding of metaphorical expressions was needed to produce the acceptable message. Finally, in the
production section, the participants had to produce the appropriate metaphorical
expressions and proverbs.
3.4. Data Analyses
The present study attempted to investigate the relationship between the proficiency in language and its relationship with metaphorical competence growth.
As it was mentioned in the previous paragraph, the participants took part in the
OPT. According to the results of the OPT, participants were categorized into three
groups of Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced levels of proficiency. Afterwards, the participants took part in the researcher-made test. In order for the researcher to analyze the results of the researcher-made test, the statistical analyses
of CORRELATION and ANOVA were applied to see whether or not the students’
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metaphorical competence has been developed along with their language proficiency.
4. Results and discussions
4.1. The Results of the Placement Test
As mentioned before, first 120 EFL learners were randomly selected and took
part in OPT which was just included 100 multiple-choice questions on grammar,
finally the participants were classified into three different groups of Elementary,
Intermediate and Advanced according to their level of language proficiency. After
this classification, the members of each group took part in the researcher-made
test including three sections; a) the comprehension of the metaphorical language,
b) the production of such a language, and c) the production of messages for the
mentioned metaphors of OPT and the comparison made between three groups are
presented in Table 4.1 and Figure 4.6.
Table 4.1 revealed that, according to the procedure mentioned before, the participants were assigned to 3 separate groups: Group 1 consisted of 40 Elementary
English learners, with a mean of 56.07; Group 2 included 40 Intermediate English
learners with a mean of 73.12; and Group 3 consisted of 40 Advanced English
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learners with a mean of 85.02.
Histogram
The followings are the results obtained from the ANOVA analysis of OPT test
scores.
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The obtained scores from the OPT were statistically analyzed, using ANOVA.
It should be mentioned that on the basis of the above tables and according to
the indexes of descriptive statistics and the results of the variance analysis (F
Test) at the level of P<0.05, there is a significant difference between the means of
three groups; Advanced, intermediate and elementary in their general proficiency
(OPT). And on the basis of the results of Post hoc, there is a significant difference
between three groups (advanced, intermediate, elementary) two by two.
4.2. The Results of the Researcher-Made Test Given to the Three Groups.
The obtained data and results from the researcher–made test were statistically
analyzed. The results are presented in Table 4.2 and shows if there is any significant difference between the means of the three groups, and it also displays if there
is any difference in learners’ metaphorical competence according to the means of
groups gained from the results of the OPT.
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Table 4.3 illustrates the descriptive statistics of three groups’ metaphorical
competence. As seen in Table 4.3 regarding the equal number of the groups which
is 40, maximum score of advanced learners in researcher-made test is 48, intermediate 32 and elementary 23. Besides, the minimum scores of Advanced, intermediate and elementary students are 10, 9, and 2 respectively which further result
in a mean of 31.32 for advanced, 20.95 for intermediate and 11 for elementary
learners. The standard deviations of the groups are 7.78, 4.66 and 5.33 in a respective manner.
What has been said is better illustrated in figure 4.2 which is a histogram demonstrating researcher-test score of the participants’ metaphorical competence.
Figure 4.2 researcher test scores of metaphorical competence
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Table 4.4 demonstrates the results of One-Way ANOVA analysis of the scores of
researcher-made test.
In order to examine the relationship between language proficiency and metaphorical competence, the scores obtained from the researcher-made test were statistically analyzed using the one-way ANOVA.
The numerical values beneath the column head of significance indicate that
there are significant differences between the three groups experimented in this
study because the significance values are less than 0.05 level of significance.
The result of One-way ANOVA indicated that the performance scores of the
Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced groups in the test of metaphorical competence show significant difference between participants’ language proficiency
and their metaphorical competence. F value of test score equals 4.82 < 111.985.
In addition, the significance value is .000<.05.
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4.3. The Results of the Relationship between General Proficiency and Metaphorical Competence.
In order to examine if there was any correlation between general proficiency and
metaphorical competence, the scores obtained from the OPT which tested the
general proficiency of 120 EFL learners were compared with the scores of the
researcher-made test which displayed the EFL learners’ metaphorical competence
and they were statically analyzed, using the Pearson- Product moment correlation.
According to the above-mentioned, as seen in Table 4.5 the mean of OPT scores
is 72.4 and that of the researcher-test scores is 21.09. Further, table 4.6 illustrates that the Pearson-product moment correlation coefficient of the two scores
is 0.844 which indicates a highly positive correlation between the two sets of
scores. Consequently, it can be inferred that OPT scores are significantly related
to researcher-made test scores that is there is a significant relationship between
general proficiency and metaphorical competence of EFL learners.
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As Tables 4.5 and 4.6 show and according to the indexes of descriptive statistics
and the results of the correlation at the level of P<0.05, there is a significant relation between the EFL learners general proficiency and metaphorical competence.
Helping learners to progress from the literal to the metaphoric meaning of metaphorical expressions and also helping them use metaphoric or figurative language
appropriately is a challenge. Findings of this study seem to reveal that the issue of
metaphorical competence and language proficiency in second languages appeared
as some important topics deserving serious attention in linguistic/psychological
discussions and instructional practices and that a detailed consideration of them in
future SLA/SLT metaphor research is both feasible and necessary.
This study tried to figure out the relationship between metaphorical competence and language proficiency of Iranian EFL learners. The researcher wanted to
suggest that it is a good idea to add the exposure of EFL learners to the TL and
improve their language proficiency to improve their metaphorical competence.
Every English teacher has paid attention to this point that the subject of metaphor has become fashionable in recent years. Philip (2005) and Konadia (2009)
asserted that there are very good reasons for the popularity of metaphors these
days. They mentioned that those learners who have access to their metaphorical
concepts knowledge and also make use of them would experience the positive effect of this knowledge on their learning and recalling vocabulary, on their ability
to recognize the vocabulary and also they have greater success on understanding
and remembering the previous mentioned expressions.
Trosborg (1985) found that the learners’ ability to analyze and understand the
meaning of unknown metaphorical expressions is correlated with their proficiency
in the target language. On the other hand, Johnson and Rosano (1993) concluded
that language proficiency doesn’t have any relationship with metaphor comprehension. The findings of this study is in sharp contrast with what Johnson and
Rosano (1993) claimed and is in full conformity with Trosberg (1985) because the
findings revealed a direct correlation between the level of language proficiency
and metaphor understanding and use.
5. Conclusions and Recomendations
The results of the present study revealed that the performance of L2 learners with
high language proficiency was much better than those with low and average L2
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proficiency. In other words, the advanced learners’ performance was the best, then
the Intermediate level and finally the elementary level students. Through the empirical data it can be inferred that L2 learners do not develop metaphorical competence unless their exposure to that language is high. The higher the language
proficiency is, the richer the metaphorical competence will be.
The further results of the study proved that the Elementary level learners with
low language proficiency were also low in metaphorical competence since their
performance in realizing and also producing the right message and proverb in the
researcher-made test was really weak. In comparison with Elementary students,
the Intermediate students’ performance was much better because they were higher
in language proficiency hence, their performance in the researcher-made test regarding the metaphoric language was better but still in comparable with advanced
learners’ performance it was average. Finally, trough this investigation it can be
claimed that L2 learners of high language proficiency, were also high in metaphorical competence; therefore, differences in general proficiency lead to differences in metaphorical competence.
In sum, the results of the present study imply that from the very beginning literacy instruction, including metaphorical language in the text books and teaching
methodologies of each second language class is really crucial. It is vital since it
can provide learners with a good background knowledge and information; therefore, their general proficiency and metaphorical competence will be strengthened
both together.
Finally, the conclusions drawn from this study are limited due to certain shortcomings inherent in a study of this nature. Therefore, the findings cannot be taken
as definitive answer to the question of this research. It is the present researcher›s
hope that the results of this mostly empirically-based study serve as a step in a
better understanding of language proficiency and metaphorical competence in L2.
Reference
Abernethy,D. A. (2002). The power of metaphors for explaining cultural differencesigroups. Eastern group Psychotherapy society,220.
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Hall Haley, M. & Austin,T. (2007).Content-based second language: An interactive
approach to teaching & learning. Chinese edition, Boston, MA; Allyn & Bacon.
Austin, T. (2010). Teaching and learning foreign languages at school level in the
U.S. to become multi-lingual. - Project for Activating Education and Research in
Aichi Prefectural University.
Barker, P. (1996). Psychotherapeutic metaphors: Guide to theory and practice.
Bristol, PA: Brunner/Mazel.
Boroditsky, L. & Ramscar, M. (2002). The roles of body and mind in abstract
thought. Psychological Science 13, 185–189.
Butterworth, B. & Beattie, G. (1978). Gesture and silence as indicators of planning in speech. In R.N. Campbell, & P.T. Smith (Eds.), Recent Advances in the
Psychology of Language: Formal and Experimental Approaches. New York: Plenum, 347-360.
Cienki,A.(1998). Metaphoric gestures and some of their relations to verbal metaphoric counterparts. In Jean-Pierre Koenig (ed.), Discourse and Cognition: Bridging the Gap. Stanford CA: CSLI Publications, 189-205.
Czander, W. (1993). The psychodynamics of work and organizations: Theory and
application. New York: Guilford Press.
Dancygier, B & Sweetser, E. (1996). Conditionals, discourse and alternative
spaces. In Goldberg, Adele (ed.), Conceptual Structure, Discourse and Language.
Stanford: CSLI Publications, 83-98.
Gibbs, R. W. Jr. (1994). The poetics of mind. In Katz (1998) Figurative Language
and Thought. Oxford: OUP
Johnson, J., & Rosano, T. (1993): Relation of cognitive style to metaphor interpretation and second language proficiency, in: Applied Psycholinguistics, 14,
159-175.
Kendon, A. (1995). Gestures as illocutionary and discourse structure markers in
outherni conversation. Journal of Pragmatics, 23-3: 247-279.
Kondaiah,K.(2009).Metaphorical systems and their implications to teaching English as a foreign language.
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Lakoff, G. (1993). The contemporary theory of metaphor in A. Ortony (ed.): Metaphor and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 202-251.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. Chicago and London:
The University of Chicago Press.
McNeill, D. (1992). Hand and Mind: What gestures reveal about thought. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Penn, P. (2001). Chronic Illness: Irvana, Lg and Writing: Breaking the silence.
Family process, 40 (1), 33-52.
Rizzuto, A. (2001). Metaphors of a bodily mind. Journal of the American psychoanalytic association, 49(2), 535-568.
Soriano, C. ( 2005). The Conceptualization of anger in English and Spanish: a
cognitive approach. Doctoral Thesis, University of Murcia.
Sweetser, Eve. (1998). Regular metaphoricity in gesture: Bodily-based models
of speech interaction. In Actes du VXIe Congrès International des Linguistes
(CIL16) (CD ROM). New York : Elsevier.
Webb, R. (1996). Linguistic features of metaphoric gestures. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Rochester.
Trosborg, A. (1985): Metaphoric productions and preferences in second language
learners, in: Parpotté, W.Dirven, R. (Eds.): The Ubiquity of Metaphor. Metaphor
in Language and Thought, Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 525-557.
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The effect of different types of instruction and feedback on the development of pragmatic proficiency: The case of pragmatic markers
Saeedeh Shafiee Nahrkhalaji
Department of English, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad Branch
PO Box 517, Najafabad, Esfahan, Iran
E-mail:[email protected]
Abstract
The necessity of conducting more studies addressing the development of pragmatic proficiency and strong pragmatic awareness for English language learners
has made the role of instruction and feedback in teaching pragmatic knowledge
of utmost importance. The present study evaluates the relative effectiveness of
four types of instruction for teaching some pragmatic markers including topic
change markers, mitigation markers, interjections and hybrid basic markers to 75
advanced Iranian learners of English: explicit instruction only, explicit instruction
with metalinguistic feedback, structured input instruction only, and structured input instruction with metalinguistic feedback. Treatment group performance was
compared with control group performance on pre-tests, post-tests and follow-up
tests that contained an open-ended discourse completion test and a multiple-choice
pragmatic listening comprehension test. The results of the data analysis revealed
that students› ability to comprehend and produce pragmatic markers improved
significantly in treatment groups and that pragmatic interlanguage is permeable
to instruction in EFL settings. However, there were statistically significant differences among the four treatment groups regarding awareness of different pragmatic markers and their appropriate use. These findings give us some useful insight
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on the teachability of pragmatic markers and the role of instruction and feedback
in the classroom to develop pragmatic competence of EFL learners.
Keywords: Pragmatic proficiency; Pragmatic markers; Explicit instruction; Structured input instruction; Metalinguistic feedback.
1. Introduction
1.1. Pragmatics and language teaching
The present article explores the role of instruction and feedback in teaching pragmatic knowledge in EFL classrooms. The aim is to see how effective a
type of instruction such as structured input instruction is for teaching some pragmatic markers including topic change markers, mitigation markers, interjections
and hybrid basic markers. The learners of a foreign language follow what Trillo
(2002) call a ‘‘binary track’’ in their linguistic development: the formal vs. the
pragmatic track. The formal track relates to the grammatical and semantic rules
that conform the competent use of a given language; the pragmatic track, on the
other hand, relates to the social use of language in different contexts and registers. As a consequence, native speakers follow ‘‘function-to-form developmental
process’’, where the need to communicate precedes the use of a form, as Painter
(1999) demonstrates; whereas non-native speakers follow a ‘‘form-to-function
process’’, based on the learning of certain items which are usually contextualized
at different subsequent stages.
Native speakers of a language would develop both tracks simultaneously by
means of natural language contact, and thus would establish a mutual relationship between both communication tracks. Non-native learners of a language in
a nontarget language environment, however, would develop the formal and the
pragmatic tracks through formal instruction. The difficulty, therefore, is that the
pragmatic track, linked to the cognitive, affective, and socio-cultural meanings
expressed by language forms, is difficult to implement in educational syllabuses.
In fact, the development of pragmatic competence demands a (pseudo)-natural
foreign language context that is often almost impossible to produce in formal
education.
It is an extremely difficult task for the L2 learner to comprehend and produce
a communicative act or speech act in a concrete speech situation in a second
language, i.e. the acquisition of pragmatic competence. Therefore, pragmatic is148
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sues such as the role of speech acts, conversational implicatures, facework and
identity, discourse strategies in speaking and writing as well as pragmatic markers
will be explored from a pedagogical perspective (Pütz and Aertselaer, 2008). The
necessity of conducting more studies addressing the development of pragmatic
proficiency and strong pragmatic awareness for English language learners has
made the role of instruction and feedback in teaching pragmatic knowledge of
utmost importance.
Most studies on the development of pragmatic proficiency have focused on
teaching and learning speech acts such as refusals, requests, and apologies. The
results of some of these studies show without some form of instruction, many
aspects of pragmatic competence may not develop (Bardovi-Harlig and Dörnyei,
1998). Some other researches scrutinized the pragmalinguistic failure due to reasons such as inappropriate transfer of speech acts strategies from L1 to the second
language (Beebe, Takahashi and Uliss-Weltz, 1990). Many of these studies indicate that applying appropriate instruction in teaching L2 pragmatic realization
patterns is very important. According to Schmidt (1993), ‘conscious awareness’
plays a crucial role in the acquisition of pragmatic competence and the necessary
conditions for pragmatic learning to happen is attention to pragmatic information
to be acquired. Limitation of opportunities for learning L2 pragmatics in foreign
language settings necessitates instruction in achieving pragmatic ability in foreign
language classrooms as well.
Most of interventionist studies that examine the effects of a particular instructional treatment on students’ acquisition of the targeted pragmatic features have
demonstrated that explicit instruction is more effective than implicit instruction
in teaching pragmatic knowledge (e.g. House and Kasper, 1981; Kubota, 1995;
Takahashi, 2001). These studies also support that explicit instruction is more effective when combined with input enhancement as any pedagogical technique
used to make specific features of input salient as an effort to achieve learners’ noticing to these features (Smith, 1993). In the present study, the effects of any type
of input enhancement approach advocated by Ellis (2003), i.e. structured input
instruction, are examined.
1.2. Pragmatic markers and second language acquisition
There is a general agreement that pragmatic markers play an important role
in the development of the pragmatic competence of the speaker. Crystal (1988)
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thinks of pragmatic expressions such as you know ‘as the oil which helps us perform the complex task of spontaneous speech production and interaction smoothly and efficiently’. The necessity of pragmatic competence as an aspect of communicative competence which refers to the ability to communicate appropriately
in particular contexts of use highlights the importance of pragmatic markers in
SLA. However, most of the studies in this field are restricted to the instruction of
speech acts. (Müller, 2005)
Native speakers correct grammatically ill-formed structures produced by foreign language learners. On the other hand, when a learner omits ‘well’ or ‘so’,
natives cannot pinpoint an error but conclude that he is dogmatic, impolite, boring
and awkward to talk to (Svartvik, 1980). The significance of pragmatic proficiency makes most learners of English aim in at avoiding such judgments of their linguistic behaviors. The main purpose of this paper then is to show how non-native
speakers of English can master the use of pragmatic markers. Indeed, the need to
investigate the development of pragmatic markers in speech, in order to monitor
pragmatic competence and pragmatic fossilization in non-native speakers necessitates conducting this research.
Trillo (2002) in a study concludes that there is a different rate of development
for the grammatical and the pragmatic aspects of language in L2. This can be
observed in the linguistic production of proficient non-native speakers of English
who do not show a competent use of the pragmatic functions needed in casual
conversation. This can be due to the method of teaching. The lack of the competent use of discourse markers leads to pragmatic fossilization and, possibly, to
communicative failure in many cases. His quantitative analyses of his study indicate that if pragmatic functions were introduced in the teaching process, foreign
children might pick up the pragmatic value of linguistic elements in the same way
as native children. He believes that non-native speakers are deprived of many
pragmatic resources in their L2 learning process. His study demonstrated the urgent need to bring the consistent teaching of pragmatic markers to language instruction (Trillo, 2002).
1.3. Explicit instruction, structured input instruction, and metalinguistic feedback
Explicit instruction within the framework of Focus on FormS is a «synthetic»
approach (Wilkins, 1976) in which teachers present linguistic items in a linear
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and additive fashion and the learners› task is to synthesize them. On the other
hand, Focus on Form involves “an occasional shift in attention to linguistic code
features ―by the teacher and/or one or more students ― triggered by perceived
problems with comprehension or production» (Long & Robinson, 1998). In other
words, it is characterized as learners› engagement in meaning with brief interventions and brief explicit instruction of linguistic codes as needed (Doughty &
Williams, 1998).One of the techniques associated with Focus on Form is input
processing instruction (VanPatten & Cadierno, 1993a, 1993b) that includes input
enhancement.
Sharwood Smith (1981, 1991) introduced the concept of input enhancement,
first known as consciousness-raising, a crucial element for the discussion of the
role of grammar in L2 instruction. Input enhancement, refers to “a deliberate attempt to make specific features of L2 input more salient in order to draw the
learner’s attention to these features” (Sharwood Smith, 1991). He redefined the
notion of formal grammar instruction by pointing out that formal instruction has
often been associated with giving a list of rules and vocabulary, which is one of
the reasons why drawing learners’ attention to the formal properties of an L2 has
been viewed in a negative light. Smith points out that there are many different
and more effective ways to draw learners’ attention to the formal properties of
language.
In the same vein, Rutherford & Sharwood Smith (1985) present different
techniques of input enhancement, which make certain features of the language
more salient. Sharwood Smith (1981, 1991) explained that different techniques
may vary in degrees of explicitness and elaboration, and explicitness refers to the
sophistication and detail of the attention-drawing device. Elaboration refers to the
depth and amount of time involved in implementing the enhancement techniques.
Input enhancement is based on the assertion that comprehensible input is crucial
to second language acquisition, and that only the input that learners notice in same
way can have an impact on acquisition. Among the samples that Sharwood Smith
(1991) offered as input enhancement techniques in his original discussion are input flood, typographically enhanced input, and rule explanation.
Within input enhancement there is another type of instruction that organizes
the input to meet a particular goal: this type of input is called structured input.
Lee & VanPatten (1995, 2003) call activities that use this type of input, structured
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input activities. The goal of structured input activities is not just to get learners to
notice the target forms, but also to alter any incorrect strategies they may be using
to process input so that they can make form-meaning connections correctly and
more efficiently.
Structured input activities are based on information about how learners make
form-meaning connections. In VanPatten’s (1996) model of input processing,
when learners focus on or notice input and comprehend the message, a formmeaning connection is made. Form, in this case, refers to surface features of language such as verbal and nominal morphology and functional items of language
like prepositions, articles and pronouns. Meaning refers to referential real-world
meaning. A form-meaning connection consists of the relationship between referential meaning and the way it is encoded linguistically. It is important to point out
here that in order to make form-meaning connections, learners must notice meaning more than just the form. Noticing a form is a start, but in order to make more
efficient form-meaning connections, they also need to comprehend the meaning
that the form encodes.
Form-meaning connections have the potential to be internalized. Input processing is the process that involves some input becoming intake, a filtered subset of
the input that is available for further processing. Acquisition always begins with
exposure to any kind of input: when learners attend to input and begin to make
form-meaning connections that input can become intake. Not all the input that
a learner is exposed to becomes intake; only a subset of input becomes intake.
This intake is held in working memory and has the potential to be internalized,
when this happens, the developing linguistic system must accommodate this new
linguistic data and reorganize the existing data. Once a new form-meaning connection has been accommodated, the developing system changes and is restructured. This restructuring may be partial or total. Finally, the linguistic data that has
been incorporated into the developing system may be eventually accessed by the
learner for output (production). This process is called output processing.
Structured input activities organize the input so that the learner notices form
and subsequently processes it. These activities take into account how learners
make form- meaning connections and certain tendencies they unconsciously employ to process a particular targeted form.
VanPatten’s (1996, 2004) model contains a set of principles and sub-principles
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to describe the strategies that learners use to make form-meaning connections
from input. This model and the corresponding principles provide instructions with
guidelines for creating authentic structured input activities.
There are two ways to draw learners’ attention to target features during tasks.
Ellis (2003) has explained that implicit techniques involve providing feedback on
learners’ use of a target feature in a way that keeps the primary focus on meaning.
In contrast, explicit techniques involve providing learners with explicit information relating to the target feature during the performance of the task. Carroll and
Swain (1993) investigated the effects of providing different kinds of feedback on
learners’ responses and found that all the experimental groups that received either
implicit feedback or explicit feedback outperformed a control group that did not.
The group receiving explicit feedback in the form of metalinguistic information
outperformed the other experimental groups. Furthermore, Samuda (2001) has
argued that a teacher may be able to guide learners’ attention towards form–meaning relationships using either implicit or explicit techniques. She found that explicit feedback involving metalinguistic comments and elicitation was required
to prompt learners into using the target features. The results of most studies show
that providing learners with explicit instruction during the performance of the task
can be very effective. Thus, explicit feedback is provided in the present study.
This can be defined as an explicit focus on the target structure given responsively
by means of immediate and explicit metalinguistic information on the correctness
of the learners’ responses.
2. The present study
The following research questions are investigated in this study:
1) To what extent does structured input instruction promote Iranian learners’ pragmatic proficiency? To what extent if accompanied with metalinguistic feedback?
2) To what extent does explicit instruction promote Iranian learners’ pragmatic
proficiency? To what extent if accompanied with metalinguistic feedback?
Participants
The participants of this study were learners of advanced English proficiency level
who studied English as a Foreign Language in a language institute. Seventy-five
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participants, all female, were randomly assigned to one of the five groups consisting of the four treatment groups and the control group (N=15). The four treatment
groups were the structured input instruction (SI) (N=15), the structured input instruction with feedback (SF) (N=15), the explicit instruction (EI) (N=15), and the
explicit instruction with feedback (EF) (N=15). The participants’ L1 was Persian
and their ages ranged from 18 to 30 years old. The participants had studied English from five to 15 years.
2.1. Target pragmatic markers
In the present study, the Fraser’s framework (1996) for classification of pragmatic
markers is used. He introduces four main types of pragmatic markers as basic
markers, discourse markers, commentary markers and parallel markers. Each type
includes its own sub-types. So because of the large number subtypes for each
main pragmatic marker some of the markers are selected. Those used in the instructional material of the study are as follow:
a) Topic change markers
Topic change markers as a type of discourse markers signal that the utterance following constitutes, in the speaker’s opinion, a departure from the current topic.
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Topic change markers include back to my original point, before I forget, by the
way, incidentally, just to update you, on a different note, parenthetically, put another way, returning to my point, speaking of X, that reminds me.
b) Mitigation Markers
Markers of mitigation as a type of commentary pragmatic markers signal the
speaker’s desire to reduce the face loss associated with the basic message (cf.
Brown & Levinson, 1988; Fraser, 1991). Here we consider two varieties of mitigation markers. The first are the pseudo-condi-tionals, i.e. despite their appearance, these are not conditional sentences. Rather, they constitute a basic message
with a mitigating comment on it as in the following sentences:
- If I may interrupt, where is the library?
- If it›s not too much trouble, could you help me?
- If you don›t mind, keep an eye on my purse.
- Unless I misunderstood you/Unless I›m hearing it incorrectly, he has gone.
The second variety of mitigating markers includes the following expressions, all
ending with but:
I don›t mean to pressure you but, I see your point but, I›m no expert but, I›m sorry
to have to ask you this but, That may be true but, You have a point but, You›re
entitled to your opinion but, which occur in sentences like:
- That may be true, but you still have to make your bed.
- You are entitled to your own opinion, but I don’t think that is a good idea.
c) Hybrid Basic Markers
Hybrid basic markers as a type of basic markers involve a specific structure in
com¬bination with certain lexical conditions and are of three general types: declarative-based, interrogative-based, and imperative-based.
Declarative-Based Hybrids consist of a de¬clarative sentence followed by a brief
tag. In this group there are two similar structures. The first is the so-called Tag
Question, a declarative followed by a sentence-final interrogative tag which consists of the declarative tense-carrying element with a change of polarity followed
by the sen¬tence subject in pro¬nominal form as:
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- You saw him, didn›t you?
- You didn›t see him, did you?
The second structure, the so-called Positive Tag Question, consists of a declara¬tive
sentence followed by a tag with the same polarity.
- John met Peter, did he?
- You wanted it, did you?
- He won›t leave, won›t he?
A well known group of interrogative-based hybrids as another type of hybrid basic markers are simply interrogative sentences in which the speaker is expressing
a desire for a yes/no response. However, these forms have become stan¬dardized
and such sentences are characteristically heard directly as a speaker request for
action and are illustrated by the following sentences:
- Can (could/can›t/couldn›t) you do that?
- Will (would/won›t/wouldn›t) you do that?
- Do that, can (could/can›t/couldn›t) you?
- Do that, will (would/won›t/wouldn›t) you?
This study also includes another kind of interrogative-based forms that involves reduced why-questions. They have the standardized force of a suggestion
to do the opposite of the action denoted.
- Why take an aspirin now? (Interpretation: I suggest that you do not
take an aspirin now.)
- Why not take an aspirin now? (Interpretation: I suggest you take an
aspirin now.)
Imperative-based hybrids include two forms. The first structure signals an initial
speaker directive sometimes heard as a suggestion ,mostly as a threat, followed by
a declarative stating the consequences for not complying with the directive as in
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- Talk, or I›ll shoot. (If you don’t talk, I’ll shoot.)
- Either talk or else I›ll shoot.
In contrast to the or case, in the second imperative-based basic pragmatic
marker the imperative here does not signal speaker de¬sire but signals that a conditional interpretation is required and takes on the force of a strong claim, which
may or may not be ad¬versely interpreted.
- Wash, and I›ll dry. (If you wash, I’ll dry.)
d) Interjections
Norrick (2009) considers interjections to be sensibly listed among the specific
classes of pragmatic markers due to their complexity and multifunctional nature.
Accordingly, interjections represent a large, potentially infinitely extendable class
of items, unlike the relatively circumscribed, closed classes of other pragmatic
markers, and their pragmatic marker functions follow from their general status as
expressions of shifts in cognitive states of various kinds. He concludes that the
open-ended nature of the classes of primary and secondary interjections makes it
impossible to list them in a specific type of pragmatic markers such as discourse
markers or parallel pragmatic markers. Therefore, in this study I consider them
as a separate type of pragmatic markers, initiating utterances and relating them to
the foregoing interaction and they include yeah, oh, and, well, okay, so, but, mhm,
y’know, mm, um, uh, (be)cause, I mean, like, huh, or, hey, hm, uh-huh, wow, ah,
ooh, anyway, boy, god, man, shit, damn, whoa, gosh , gee , jesus , hell ,jeez, yuck,
golly, dammit.
2.2. Procedures
2.2.1. Assessment
The present study examines the variability resulting from different instruction
through the pretests, the posttests, and the follow-up tests. Each test consists of an
input-based test, the listening test (LT) and an output-based test, the open-ended
discourse completion test (OPDCT). The OPDCT and LT consist of 20 situations
which centered on a student›s family, social, and academic life. The pre-test was
administered two to three days prior to the instructional treatment, which lasted for
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three weeks. The post-test was completed eight to nine days after the treatments.
The follow-up test was completed in the fourth week following instruction. The
pre-tests, the post-tests and the follow-up tests were administered in the following
order: the OPDCT, and LT. The input-based test was administered last because of
concern that it might provide participants with models that could be used in the
production. The participants were instructed to complete the OPDCT within two
hours, and the LT had a timing constraint. Three versions (A, B and C) of the two
tests (the OPDCT, and LT), were developed and they were counterbalanced for
order of presentation of the same situations across the pre-tests, the posttests and
the follow-up tests. Three versions were used so that any test learning effect or test
order effect would be minimized. The LT consisted of 20 situations. It required
participants to listen to a dialogue and then select the appropriate response or interpretation presented in the form of multiple-choice test. As there were 20 items
on the LT and OPCDT, the maximum score was 100.
2.2.2. Instruction
Each teaching session for the four treatment groups and the control group lasted
for 90 minutes. The teaching sessions were conducted twice weekly for three
weeks by the same instructor, who was also the researcher. The four instructional
treatments were matched for target items and all five groups were matched for the
amount of instructional time. In each session the target pragmatic markers were
instructed for 20 minutes in treatment groups. For all groups the book ‘Summit
1A’ was used and the main aim of the program is to make them ready for final
term exam which is based on this book. The control group was not exposed to the
target structures at all.
In the EI group lexical and syntactic information concerning target pragmatic
markers were taught. Two types of SI activities were used in SI group: referential and affective. Referential activities require learners to pay attention to form
in order to get meaning and have a right or wrong answer so the instructor can
check whether or not the learner has actually made the proper form-meaning connection. Affective activities, on the other hand, do not have right or wrong answers. Instead, they require learners to express an opinion, belief or some other
affective response as they are engaged in processing information about the real
world. Because referential activities allow instructors to make sure that learners
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are focusing on the relevant grammatical information to derive meaning, instruction should begin with these activities. The purpose of affective activities is to
reinforce those connections by providing them with more opportunities to see or
hear the form used in a meaningful context. Furthermore, by requiring learners to
express an opinion or some other kind of personal response, we can keep instruction in line with an important tenet of communicative language teaching: a focus
on the learner (Takimoto, 2006).
The present study examines to what extent reactive explicit feedback would be
effective during the performance of the structured input task and explicit instruction. Therefore, during the structured input tasks and explicit instruction, immediate and explicit feedback on the correctness of the participants’ responses was provided. Some participants were called upon to answer questions in class and when
they answered them incorrectly, immediate and explicit feedback was provided
on the spot. A number of studies have demonstrated that providing learners with
immediate feedback has a positive effect on acquisition. Spada and Lightbown
(1993) have identified three types of explicit feedback: metalinguistic feedback,
repetition of incorrect production and focus on error. Among the three types, the
present study chose metalinguistic feedback because Carroll and Swain’s (1993)
study has shown that this type of feedback is the most effective.
2.3. Data Analysis
Two-way ANOVAs with repeated-measures were performed on the raw scores
of the OPDCT, and LT on the pretests, the post-tests, and the follow-up tests to
examine whether the differences in test scores resulting from the two instructional
methods and presence of explicit feedback were statistically significant.
The results of a two-way ANOVA with repeated-measures performed on the
raw scores of the LT revealed a significant main effect for Instruction (the SI, SF,
EI, EF, and control groups). As shown in Table 2, the pre-treatment ANOVA results indicate that the groups are not significantly different in their responses (p =
0.807). In the posttest and follow-up test, however, the mean scores of the learners
show an overall effect of the pragmatic instruction, and the groups are significantly different (respectively, p = 0.002, p = 0.005). The Control group scores are
lower than those of the treatment groups. It is noted, however, that the mean score
of the SF learners is higher than that of the other four groups. The significant in159
teraction effect between Instruction and Time in the LT in Figure 1 clearly shows
the effects of Instruction on pragmatic proficiency. These results suggest that the
learners who receive both structured input instruction and explicit feedback retain
more of an effect of this pragmatic instruction.
Table 2: ANOVA results for LT
Pretest: F = 0.5602, df = 4, p = 0.807.
Posttest: F = 5.236, df = 4, p = 0.002.
Follow-up test: F = 4.875, df = 4, p = 0.005.
Note: SI = structured input instruction; SF = structured input instruction with
feedback; EI = explicit instruction; EF = explicit instruction with feedback
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The treatment groups performed significantly better than the control group. In
addition, the positive effects of the instruction two kinds of treatment were maintained from the post-tests to the follow-up tests. Therefore, the effects of instruction were greater on the post-test and follow-up test than on the pretest and the
interaction plot showed a relatively large superiority of the four treatment groups
over the control group. The IS group’s performance after applying the treatment
is significantly better than the other groups. It also can be concluded that the explicit feedback could affect the performance of EF and IF groups and made their
performance significantly different from other groups.
Figure 1 Interaction plot for listening test
Note: SI = structured input instruction; SF = structured input instruction
with feedback; EI = explicit instruction; EF = explicit instruction with
feedback
The scores for the open-ended discourse completion test (OPDCT) show similar
results. As seen in Table 3, in the pretest results, the mean scores among the five
groups are not significantly different once again (p = 0.42). The posttest results,
however, indicate a difference among the groups (p = 0.003). The mean score for
the SF learners is higher (97.9) than any of the others, but close to that of the SI
161
group (90.9). In the follow-up test, the mean scores are also significantly different among the groups (p = 0.004); here the SF learners performed significantly
better (98.0) than the other groups in mean scores, which may again support the
effectiveness of structured input instruction and metalinguistic feedback. In addition, the positive effects of the two kinds of treatment were maintained from the
post-tests to the follow-up tests. A post hoc analysis for the pre- and posttest for all
groups yielded significant results except for control group. The control group’s
scores held fairly steady across all three tests, providing evidence that the instruction, explicit or structured input, helped learners improve in their pragmatic
competence over a lack of pragmatic instruction, especially when combined with
explicit feedback.
Table 3 ANOVA results for OPDCT
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Pretest: F = 2.890, df = 4, p = 0.42.
Posttest: F = 4.532, df = 4, p = 0.003.
Follow-up test: F = 3.559, df = 4, p = 0.004.
Figure 2 indicated that the effect of Instruction was moderated by Time. Although all four groups had similar means on the pre-tests, F = 2.890, df = 4, p =
0.42., there was a sharp increase in scores from the pre-tests to the post-tests for
the two treatment groups and a significant main effect for Instruction on the posttests and the follow-up tests, F = 4.532, df = 4, p = 0.003. Post hoc Scheffé tests
performed on the post-test and follow-up test scores indicated the following contrasts: the SF group performed significantly better than all other groups.
Figure 2 Interaction plot for OPDCT
163
3. Conclusion
The results of the data analysis revealed that students› ability to comprehend
and produce pragmatic markers improved significantly in treatment groups and
that pragmatic interlanguage is permeable to instruction in EFL settings. However, there were statistically significant differences among the four treatment groups
regarding awareness of different pragmatic markers and their appropriate use.
These findings give us some useful insight on the teachability of pragmatic markers and the role of instruction and feedback in the classroom to develop pragmatic
competence of EFL learners. This study can be considered to be of practical use,
especially in a foreign language context where learning English pragmatics rather
than English grammar has become one of the most significant areas of focus, and
where exposure to English is limited and where only limited class time is available for teaching English.
The results of the study have indicated that learners learn pragmatic material, in this case, the pragmatic markers such as topic change markers, mitigation markers, interjections and hybrid basic markers, and develop their pragmatic
competence more effectively when they experience instruction and feedback on
the pragmatic markers. The structured input tasks and metalinguistic feedback led
to an effect in helping learners to understand the meaning of pragmatic markers
in listening comprehension tests and to select the appropriate pragmatic choices
in the multiple choice OPDCT tests. By contrast, the explicit instruction in teaching pragmatic markers does not have the effect that structured input instruction
has. On the other hand, metalinguistic feedback can enhance the effect of the
instruction, especially structured input instruction. It appears that explicit instruction and feedback are effective in helping learners understand pragmatic elements
and contexts by calling their attention to pragmatic form. But structured input
activities, especially together with the metalinguistic feedback, can help learners
produce appropriate pragmatic utterances. The present study highlights the significance and effectiveness of structured input tasks within the framework of Focus
on Form instruction. In this respect, teachers may need to examine the kinds of
task they use in their English lessons to see to what extent they provide learners
with the opportunity for processing both the form and meaning of target features.
To interpret the findings, the limitations of the methodology employed should be
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taken into account. For example, the period of treatment and testing was relatively
short, which precluded observation of the further development of the learners’
pragmatic competence with more measurable results. It is also suggested to design different types of input-based tasks and examine their effects on pragmatic
proficiency. It would be also more insightful to investigate the effects of different
types of feedback (e.g. implicit feedback) as well.
4. References
Bardovi-Harlig, K. & Dörnyei, Z., 1998. Do language learners recognize pragmatic violations? Pragmatic vs. grammatical awareness in instructed L2 learning.
TESOL Quarterly 32: 233–59.
Beebe, L., Takahashi, T. & Uliss-Weltz, R., 1990. Pragmatic transfer in ESL refusals. In Scarcella, R., Anderson, E. and Krashen S., (Eds), Developing communicative competence in a second language. Newbury House, pp. 55–73.
Carroll, S. & Swain, M., 1993. Explicit and implicit negative feedback: an empirical study of the learning of linguistic generalizations. Studies in Second Language
Acquisition 15: 357–66.
Crystal, D., 1988. Another look at, well, you know....English Today, 13: 47–49.
Doughty, C., Williams, J., 1998. Focus on Form in Classroom Second Language
Acquisition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Ellis, R., 2003. Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford University
Press.
Fraser, B., 1996. Pragmatic markers. Journal of Pragmatics 6: 167–190.
House, J. & Kasper, G., 1981. Zur Rolle der Kognition in Kommunikationskursen. DieNeueren Sprachen, 80: 42-55.
Kubota, M., 1995. Teachability of conversational implicature to Japanese EFL
learners. IRLT Bulletin, 9: 35–67.
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Lee, J. F., & VanPatten, B., 2003. Making communicative language teaching happen (2nd Ed.), New York: McGraw-Hill.
Long, M.H., & Robinson, P., 1998. Focus on form: theory, research, and practice.
In Doughty C., & Williams, J., (Eds), Focus on Form in Classroom Second Language Acquisition, Cambridge University Press, pp. 15–41.
Müller, S., 2005. Discourse Markers in Native and Non-native English Discourse.
Giessen John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Painter, C., 1999. Learning through Language in Early Childhood. Cassell, London.
Pütz, M. & Aertselaer, N., 2008. Developing Contrastive Pragmatics Interlanguage and Cross-Cultural Perspectives. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG,
D-10785 Berlin.
Rutherford, W., & Sharwood Smith, M., 1985. Consciousness raising and universal grammar. Applied linguistics, 6: 274-282.
Samuda, V., 2001. Guiding relationships between form and meaning during task
performance: the role of the teacher. In Bygate, M., Skehan, P. and Swain, M.,
(Eds), Researching pedagogic tasks, second language learning, teaching and testing. Longman,pp. 119–40.
Schmidt, R., 1993. Consciousness, learning and interlanguage pragmatics. In
Kasper, G. and Blum-Kulka, S. (Eds.), Interlanguage Pragmatics. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 21–42.
Sharwood Smith, M., 1981. Consciousness-raising and the second language learner. Applied linguistics, 2: 159-168.
Sharwood Smith, M., 1991. Speaking to many minds: On the relevance of differ166
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ent types of language information for the L2 learner. Second Language researcher,
7: 118-132.
Spada, N. & Lightbown, P., 1993. Instruction and the development of questions in
L2 classroom. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 15: 205–24.
Svartvik, Jan, 1980. ‘Well’ in conversation. In: Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., Svartvik, J. (Eds.), Studies in English Linguistics. Longman, London, pp. 167–177.
Takahashi, S., 2001. The role of input enhancement in developing interlanguage
pragmatic competence. In Rose, K. and Kasper, G., (Eds.), Pragmatics in language teaching. Cambridge University Press, 171–99.
Takimoto, M. , 2006. The effects of explicit feedback on the development of pragmatic proficiency. Language Teaching Research 10,4 (2006), pp. 393–417
VanPatten, B., & Cadierno, T.,1993. Input processing and second language acquisition: A role for instruction. Modern Language Journal, 77: 45-57.
VanPatten, B., 1996. Input processing and grammar instruction. Norwood, NJ:
Ablex.
VanPatten, B., 2004. Processing Instruction: Theory, Research, and Commentary.
Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Trillo, R., 2002. Pragmatic fossilization of discourse markers in non-native speakers of English. Journal of Pragmatics 34: 769–784.
Wilkins, D., 1976. Notional syllabuses. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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English Comparative Forms in Iranian Textbooks Compared to
Textbooks Developed by
Native Material Developers
Ghazaleh Shafieniya & Dr. AhmadReza Lotfi
Azad University of Khorasgan
[email protected]
09131286879
Abstract
In the introductory stages of language learning, students are exposed to comparative forms explicitly taught in their textbooks. As Knoch (2004) mentioned,
this is accomplished by teaching the comparative form of the adjective generally directly followed by a than clause. This study aimed to compare differences
between native and nonnative material developers with regard to the coverage
of comparative forms. In doing so, two corpora of high school books and Interchanges were developed and juxtaposed. The data were gathered by scanning the
books and converting them into computerized forms. The data were then analyzed
by the frequency percentages of the forms and further examined and compared as
well. The results revealed that there was a significant difference between the two
corpora with regard to the coverage of comparative forms.
Key Words: Comparative Forms, Concordancing, Corpus Linguistics.
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Introduction
Since the 1980’s, linguists have seen increasing attention to the notion of inter
language studies. This notion has particularly been assisted by the use of corpus
linguistics since it provides the grounds for analyzing various pieces of language
produced by native speakers and juxtaposing them with those of learners of different levels in order to gain insights into their language competence. Among the
very many aspects that interlanguage has scope on, one may allude to grammar
studies. Studying the grammatical structures and scrutinizing the students’ competence over those structures aid language teachers in prioritizing what they want
to teach and adjust those structures with the learners’ language level. Here the
teachers can decide what to teach first to consider the actual acquisition level, and
what to teach next to be compatible with the previously taught material. The students’ progress over the instructed materials can hence be detected by building up
the students’ corpora of spoken or written language and checking the suitability
of the grammatical structures for the students. Exposure issue is among numerous
problems lying on the way toward acquiring grammatical rules. Exposure basically relates to how often learners view, practice and use a grammatical pattern. The
more often a learner encounters a grammatical pattern, the higher the chances for
him/her to acquire the structure; therefore, the purpose was to expose the learners
to the grammatical patterns as often as possible. This purpose could particularly
be achieved by using frequency of the very structure either by the native speakers
of the language or by the learners; having a model in hand, one can compare these
two and gain an insight into what learners need to learn first and in what order the
grammatical rules have to be presented.
Studying the frequency of comparative forms have been an asset to linguists;
in one project, Aijmer (2002) studied the different use of the auxiliary verbs in
an English native speaker corpus and in a learner corpus of English language
students of Swedish, French and German origin. In another study Bedmar and Pedrosa (2006) investigated the differences on the use of prepositions in an English
native speakers’ corpus and in a learner corpus of students of English literature.
Szymanska (2006) conducted a study on the different uses of the first person in an
American native speakers’ corpus and a learner corpus of Polish students of the
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English language. Further, the use of the Italian verbs in informal letters by Greek
students of Italian language was investigated by Florou (2008). It was concluded
that Greek learners overuse or underuse the most frequent verbs in informal letters. Dogan Bulut (2009) explored the place and importance of pragmatics in EFL
context and presented a model which can be used to build corpora of speech acts
in the target language and how they can be used in language classes.
Within the disciplinary area of language studies, corpora and corpus-based
methods are increasingly used outside language learning per se, in areas such as
the teaching of literature (see, e.g., Kettemann, 1995; Louw, 1997) and of translation (see, e.g., Bowker, 1998; Zanettin, 1998). Thus, corpus linguistics or ‘armchair linguistics’ (in the sense of Fillmore 1992) can aid language teachers in
prioritizing the vocabulary as well as the grammar they are to teach based on the
needs of the students. Moreover, they can use the corpora in order to gain further
insights into other aspects of the language. Granger (2010) notes the growing
lexicalization of teaching materials and the motivational boost it gives to learners
based on a corpus approach.
As Knoch (2004) mentioned, students of a foreign language usually go through
learning comparative functions via studying lengthy rules about the formation of
comparatives by the use of adjectives and adverbs, equative and negative equatives in their textbooks. Comparisons are usually taught by the use of extensive
rules about the formation of comparatives using adjectives and adverbs, about
when the inflectional ending -er/-est and the periphrastic forms more/most can be
applied. Several authors (Celce-Murcia and Larsen Freeman, 1999; Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech and Starvik, 1985; Kennedy, 1996 and Mitchell, 1990) show that
native speakers use an array of different forms to compare and contrast in English.
Among these are lexical items (e.g. compared with/to, the same as) and sentence
connectors (e.g. despite, however). Knoch (2004) showed that native speakers
were more inclined toward using connectives and lexical items in order to make
comparisons and this can be in sharp contrast with what is almost focused on in
textbooks.
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Status of English in Iranian Educational System
Foreign language teaching in the Iranian educational system begins in Guidance Schools with three books and then four books in high schools. The materials
presented are generally taught in GTM method. Hence, the grammatical patterns
are juxtaposed with those of Persian by the students in the majority of cases. As
Iranian students manage to go to university they have to take English courses both
in General Service and in specific fields as well. What is taught in General courses
is mostly a review over what the students have studied before.
Naturally, students are exposed to foreign language in its different forms, one
of which is grammatical patterns presented in various ways. But after these long
years of exposure to the foreign language, very few students achieve a decent level
of language proficiency typically because the information was mostly memorized
and put into practice in very few cases. The grammatical structures presented in
the books were seldom internalized by the students and forgotten soon as they
started studying a new book.
Among the students, some attend private language schools and try learning a
foreign language in a place different from their schools either as extra curriculum
classes or those the students attend voluntarily. One of the textbook series that is
mostly used in such private schools is New Interchange (Richards, 2005) containing five books ranging from elementary to advanced. These series can be regarded
as the most frequent textbooks taught in private language schools. There is no
doubt that students who also practice English outside school will have a better
mastery of the language.
Material developers are inclined to instruct the grammatical structures in a
conventional order that the previously written texts have already used; moreover,
the materials are rarely compared with what is actually used by the native speakers. On the other hand, textbooks are not regularly revised to match the needs of
the students and when this happens the grammatical structures that are included in
each lesson are seldom changed. What is almost always revised and edited in the
new versions is mostly conversations, readings or namely anything but the order
of presentation of the grammatical structures. Whether only the non-native writers ignore the compatibility of the grammatical structures with the frequency of
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the very structures in the everyday use of the form or it is the case with the native
writers as well, is what will be further focused on in this study. Hence the question was whether there is a significant difference between textbooks developed by
native speakers and those developed by non-native Iranian material developers
with regard to the coverage of each comparative form.
Comparatives
Adjectives and adverbs are the common structures taught in most EFL/ESL classrooms. Quirk et al. (1985) mention three types of comparisons for gradable adjectives and adverbs.
1. Lexicon
A) Adjective
the same as
e.g.He gets the same pay as me, but he gets his own office.
B) Preposition
unlike, contrary to
e.g.Unlike most people in the office I don’t come to work by car.
C) Verbal structures
contrasts with, to be different from
e.g. These results contrast sharply with other medical tests carried out in
Australia.
D)Adverbial clauses
although
e.g. Some useful points emerged, although the study was too limited to
reach a definitive conclusion.
2. Juxtaposition
_er , more
e.g. Winter is coming and the days are getting shorter.
3.Sentence connectors
despite, however
e.g. Despite all our efforts to save the school, the authorities decided to close it.
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A short review of the literature (Kennedy, 1996; Mitchell, 1990) revealed two
other ways of comparison (numbers 4 and 5) in addition to the ones mentioned
above.
4. Progressive forms of comparison
more and more
e.g. As the disease worsened, he found walking more and more difficult.
5. Other forms of comparison
both … and , neither … nor , either … or
e.g. She can both speak and write Japanese.
As pointed out in Knoch (2004), the structures above can be found in current
common ESL textbooks but 2 and 3 appear less often. Furthermore, whilst all
students are confronted with comparative forms involving adjectives (e.g. Paul
is richer than Anna), not many textbooks show that other parts of speech can also
be compared. Celce-Murcia et al. (1999) argued that this should be made clear to
students, as not many languages have such a large range of comparative constructions.
Method
This study used two corpora of high school English course books (The Right
Path to English); as well as, Interchange books which are the English books most
frequently applied in private language schools. While high school English books
contain four books, one for each year of education at high school, Interchange
books include five books for the levels of elementary to advanced. To investigate
the corpora compiled for the purpose of this study, the AntConc 3.2.1w software
was applied.
Data Collection
To run this study, which is a corporal analysis of comparison forms in Iranian
high schools and English course books as well, the most necessary material was
the corpus firstly composed of four versions, 1 to 4, of the series The Right Path to
English (Birjandi, 1376). The series is Iranian Educational system›s textbook for
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students of high school in four successive years. Each one of the three first ones
consists of six units including all the major skills but listening. The last version,
called Pre-University version, consisted of eight units. Like the other three, this
one includes all main skills but listening.
Interchange series (Richards, 2005), including 6 books of different levels covering all four skills of learning, which is offered to students who have an interest
in learning English as a foreign language, are the second major part of the above
mentioned corpus. These series of the books provide the students with 6 books of
different levels. Each book consists of 16 units in a variety of topics discussing
everyday English subjects covering various language exercises and skills as well
as grammatical points presented as Grammar Focus in every unit. Each grammatical point is further followed by some communicative conversations, questions,
exercises and readings as well.
Instrumentation
As mentioned earlier, this study was done in three phases. The first phase (hereafter called the corpus phase) was to develop the necessary body of text –corpus.
In order to develop such a body, one first needed to use a scanner to scan the books
on a PC. Then by one of the software known as OCR, the format of the scanned
books was converted to text which is the necessary format for Word Smith family
of software. Therefore, the data were converted into txt format of text files compatible with the applied software which will be elucidated in the next phase.
In the second phase the software the AntConc 3.2.1w—a highly versatile
concordancer that provides support for many advanced concordancing features,
including support for non-Latin character sets, as well as additional functionality was used to analyze the body developed in the corpus phase. AntConc 3.2.1w
provides a table to show the occurrence of the coveted grammatical item in all the
possible cases. It also has some other functions. It can give a wordlist as well as
a list of tokens, collocates and clusters. The software searched the corpora for the
frequency of the occurred cases of comparison. It also provided a list of all the
cases in which the desired grammatical points have occurred. The cases were to
be counted and analysed one by one in order to be classified into the right category. Since the comparison forms which are searched by the software might have
different meanings and functions, such as various meanings of as, the elicited
175
forms were to be scrutinized very delicately in order to cross out the unwanted
structures.
Since the software is not able to elicit the forms that are not complete words
such as the comparison form –er or –est. It has just the ability to search the exact given words, the writer was obliged to search the corpus using SCP 4.0.7 i.e.
Simple Concordance Program which has the capability of searching suffixes and
prefixes. Using this software, one has the ability to choose different options of
searching according to ascending or descending alphabetical order. The problem
with this software was that it is not as convenient as AntConc to search the words
in all corpora selected and also highlight to be searched words. The researcher has
just used this software to search the cases which were not exact words including
suffixes and prefixes.
Data Analysis
The data collected as specified above was analyzed in two major phases. The
first phase included computing the frequency of occurrence for each and every
comparative structure via the software both in high school books and Interchanges; followed by phase two which involved calculating the percentage of occurrence for the elicited forms in phase one.
The obtained figures in phase one were converted into percentages. The percentages were once tabulated according to the total number of comparatives in all
four years of high school books as well as four levels of Interchanges. Thereafter,
the percentages were counted according to the comparatives used in each and
every level and year of education.
After this stage, using the SPSS software the data were used to stimulate the
chi-square result of every form in the groups and their subgroups. The data were
illustrated through numerous charts and figures.
Results and Discussion
Are there any significant differences between textbooks developed by native
speakers of the language and those by Iranian material developers with regard to
the coverage of comparative forms?
As mentioned previously, English books taught in high school were scanned
and further changed into computerized format in order to be investigated and
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compared to those not written by Iranian non-native material developers. The results of this are to be juxtaposed with those developed by native textbook writers.
What follows are the results obtained from high school books in comparison to
the results of Interchange series in order to see the similarities and differences if
any?
Table 1.1 shows the frequency percentage of comparative forms in books of high
school.
As can be seen, juxtaposition forms have been used the most specially in the
book of the third year (72.73%) which is interestingly more than that of the last
year (64.44%). The frequency of the lexical forms has had a fall from the first to
the last year. The following table shows the frequency percentage of comparative
forms in Interchange series. It is noteworthy to mention that the percentages here
have been counted according to the total number of comparative in each year i.e.
each comparative form in each year has been counted according to the total number of comparatives in the very year.
This would apply to the coming table about the frequency percentage of comparatives in Interchange books.
Table (1.2)
Frequency Percentage of Comparatives in Interchange books
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Similar to the high school books, progressive forms, sentence connectors and other forms of comparison have not been covered in the beginning levels. The other
similarity is that juxtaposition forms have been used most frequently and they are
followed by lexical forms. The distribution of juxtaposition forms is roughly the
same among the four groups but what makes the biggest difference is in the distribution of progressive forms and other forms of comparison which have not been
distributed fairly among the groups. They have been applied most frequently in
the intermediate level and less in advanced level; it is also the case with the high
school books. As illustrated in both tables, lexical forms have been utilized the
most by the starters.
Both tables illustrate that the distribution of comparatives is not the same in both
series of books. As can be seen in the first year of high school lexical forms were
the most frequent (65.96%). Thereafter, juxtaposition forms were the second most
frequent form (34.04%). The other forms of comparison have not been applied at
all. Table 4.2 shows that in the first level i.e. beginner juxtapositions have been
used the most (80.95%) and they are followed by lexical forms (19.05%). Similar
to high school books the other three forms of comparison have not been applied
at all. Likewise, it can be seen in the tables that in the second level that is the second year in high school and the elementary level in Interchange books juxtapositions have been utilized the most, while the difference between the two groups
lied in the distribution of the forms. Half of the comparisons made in the second
year of high school have been made by the use of juxtapositions while it was
noticeably more in Interchange books (92.23%). Lexical forms were the second
form that has been applied in the second year of high school (47.73) then it was
followed by other forms of comparison (2.27). In contrast, in Interchange series
lexical forms have been used conspicuously less (4.21%) followed by sentence
connectors (3.16) and finally (1.4%). Consequently the coverage of lexical forms
in Interchange books has been more than that of high schools in the second level.
Similar to the first two levels, in the third level juxtapositions have been used the
most in both groups i.e. 72.73% in high school and 81.86% in Interchanges. The
frequency of progressive forms is 0.64% in Interchanges while it has not been
used in high school books at all. Lexical forms have been used roughly the same
in both groups 9.09% in high school books and 11.88% in Interchanges. As illus178
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trated, 14.29% of comparative forms in the third level of high school books have
been made by sentence connectors while it was only 5.14% in Interchanges. Likewise other forms of comparison have been used less in Interchange books (0.48%)
than in high school books (3.90%). The last level was the only level which has
covered all the comparative forms in both groups and the distributions were quite
the same.
What has been said so far could be better illustrated in the following pie charts
which resembled the coverage of each form in each group.
Figure 1.1 Coverage of Comparative Forms
Forms in Interchanges
Figure 1.2 Coverage of Comparative
in High School Books
Figures 1.3 and 1.4 demonstrate the coverage of comparatives in the very first
levels of both corpora. As can be seen, while juxtaposition forms were the most
frequent form in Interchanges, lexical forms turned out to be the most frequent
forms in high school books. Lexical forms have been used as the second most frequent forms in the first level of Interchanges, whereas in Interchanges they came
first; which indicated sharp contrast between the coverage of Interchanges and
high school in the first levels.
Figure 1.3 Comparatives in First Year
Figure 1.4 Comparatives in Beginners
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As illustrated in the following figures, high school books have covered juxtaposition and lexical forms roughly the same, and other forms of comparison has
also been used to a very little extent (figure 1.3). Figure 1.4 illustrates that the
majority of comparisons made in Interchange books have been made by the use
of juxtaposition forms and lexical forms; Sentence connectors and other forms of
comparison respectively follow them. This can show that in the second year of
high school, there are not more than two comparative forms which are covered
except for the case of other forms of comparison which are covered to a very few
percent. Nevertheless, in Interchanges, one may be encountered by a variety of
comparative forms while the focus is on juxtapositions.
Figure 1.5 Comparatives in Second Year
Figure 1.6 Comparatives in Elementary
Figures 1.5 and 1.6 illustrate the coverage of comparatives in the third year of
high school and intermediate level in Interchange books. As can be seen in figure
1.5 lexical forms were applied less and sentence connectors have been added to the
previously used forms. In this level the use of juxtaposition forms has increased.
In figure 1.6 lexical forms were utilized less and progressive forms were added to
the forms that had been applied in the previous level. As illustrated, all comparative forms have been covered in this stage. As indicated by the figures in this level,
the coverage of comparative forms was almost the same which could mean, in the
third year of high school more comparative forms have been introduced while in
Interchanges the forms have been recovered and maybe elaborated.
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Figure 1.7 Comparatives in Third Year
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Figure 1.8 Comparatives in Intermediate
Almost all comparative forms have been covered in the last year of both corpora. The following figures reveal that comparatives of all forms have been applied.
This is in compatibility with what was shown about the coverage of comparative
forms in the third year and the intermediate level of Interchanges. Both corpora
have continued recovering the forms. While in high school most of the forms had
been introduced in the third year, in Interchanges one may encounter all forms
from the second level.
Figure 1.9 Comparatives in Fourth Year
Figure 1.10 Comparatives in Advanced
By the same token, there were differences in the coverage of comparative forms
between the books developed by Iranian nonnative material developers and native
textbook writers. Thus, research hypothesis was rejected and the answer to the
related question was a big YES.
181
Conclusion
This study tried to find if there was any similarity between the books developed
by Iranian material developers and those written by native textbook writers. A
brief look at some current ESL/EFL textbooks (Knoch, 2004) evidently showed
that textbooks mostly concentrate on presenting comparisons directly followed
by the explicit basis of comparison than. Few are the ones to teach sentence connectors or lexical items for making comparisons. To one’s surprise, many are the
textbooks overlooking the comparisons of any form.
Refering to the third question of this study about the difference between books
developed by native versus nonnative writers in the case of coverage, Figures
1.1-1.10 presented previously are to be compared. As could be seen in the figures,
there was a gradual coverage of all the comparative forms in Interchange books,
the case of native material developers, from the very beginning level to the end.
And from the first level to the last the coverage of juxtaposition form decreases
and gives its place to the other four forms of comparison so that in the advanced
group all comparative forms have been covered satisfactorily. On the other hand,
in high school books the coverage of forms is not gradual and students are exposed to certain forms in the first year and to certain others in sequent years.
As could be seen in Figure 1.3, and 1.4, the coverage of lexical forms was more
than juxtapositions in the first stage of high school books, while in Interchange
books juxtapositions were covered more than lexical forms. Seen in Figure 1.5
and 1.6 in high school books other forms of comparison were added whereas in
Interchanges sentence connectors and other forms of comparison follow lexical
forms and juxtapositions. Figures 1.7 and 1.8 demonstrated that in the third year
of high school juxtapositions, lexical forms, sentence connectors, and other forms
of comparison were covered in a respective manner. In contrast, in Interchanges
there is no change except for progressive form which was covered (0.64%). As in
Figures 1.9 and 1.10 in the last level of both corpora all comparative forms were
covered.
It can be concluded that high school books might follow a structural syllabus
in which the materials were to be presented in specific order one after another.
Nonetheless, in Interchange books the syllabus was spiral; that is, the materials
were presented and reviewed several times during different stages of learning.
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Implications for ESL/EFL Teachers
This study helps second language teachers and material developers find out
about the most frequent comparative forms covered in the textbooks and further
develop their teaching syllabus as well. The study can also aid textbook writers to
compare their books with those of others with regard to the coverage of comparative forms.
It is recommended to both material developers and teachers to consider firstly
their awareness of full range of comparatives. They are further suggested to provide their learners with the chance to be exposed to the thorough range of comparative forms rather than mere focus on the rules of forming adjective comparisons.
This could be done by applying awareness-raising techniques including collecting
small learner corpora of learners’ output (see Seidlhofer, 2002). Teachers are also
recommended to apply the corpora available online as a classroom technique to
supply students with opportunities of exposure to the full range of comparisons
utilized by native speakers.
Suggestions for Further Research
Corpus linguistics is a very broad field by means of which one can gain interesting results in all fields of language related studies. But doing corpus studies,
one should not forget the proverb: “Give a child a hammer, he‘ll find everything
in need of pounding.” Corpus linguistic studies should be done very meticulously
and delicately in order to show the desired results. Corpus linguistics researcher
should be cautious not to go to extravagance for finding answer to any kind of
research question. This study has focused on one of the frequently used grammatical structures using limited sized corpora; further studies can be done on other
grammatical structures using the same corpora or even the same or other grammatical, lexical, syntactic, etc studies. The same can be done using other larger
corpora of textbooks in order to gain more reliable results.
References
Aijmer, K. (2002). Modality in advanced Swedish learners› written interlanguage.
In S. Granger, Hung J. & Petch-Tyson S. (eds) Computer Learner Corpora, Second Language Acquisition and Foreign Language Teaching. Language Learning
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and Language Teaching. Amsterdam & Philadelphia.
Birjandi, P. (1376). The right Path to English. Developing and Printing Iranian
Textbooks.
Bowker, R. R. (1998). Learner corpus design. American Book Publishing Record:
Cumulative
Bulut, D. (2009). Pragmatic awareness of a foreign language in a gender-segregated society. Journal of Institute of Social Sciences, Erciyes University, 26(1),
(pp. 123-139).
Celce-Murcia, M., & Larsen-Freeman, D. (1999). The Grammar Book: An ESL/
EFL.Teacher’s Course. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
Diez-Bedmar, M., & Casas-Pedrosa, A. (2006). The use of prepositions by 297
Spanish learners of English at University level: Main problems. (pp. 42-44).
TALC Proceedings, Paris.
Fillmore, W. L. (1992). Learning a language from learners. In C. Kramsch &
S. McConnell-Ginet (Eds.). Text and context: Cross-disciplinary perspectives on
language studies. Lexington, MA: Heath.
Florou, K. (2008). The verbs of the Italian language in informal letters: Comparing two
Corpora. University of Epirus.
Granger, S. (2010) Learner corpora: A window onto the L2 phrasicon. In A. Barfield & H. Gyllstad (eds.) Collocating in another language: Multiple interpretations. Palgrave Macmillan.
Kennedy, G. (1996). ‘The Corpus as a Research Domain’ in Greenbaum, S. (ed.)
Comparing
English Worldwide. Oxford: Clarendon
Press.
Kettemann, B. (1995). On the use of concordancing in ELT. TELL & CALL, 4,
4-15.
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Knoch, U. (2004). A New Look at Teaching Comparisons- A Corpus-Based Study.
University of
Auckland, Newzeland. Journal of Language and Learning; Vol.2 No.2.
Louw, M. (1997) Psychology: an introduction for students in Southern Africa.
Heinemann.
Mitchell, K. (1990). On Comparisons in a National Grammar. Applied Linguistics
11,52-72.
Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, & Svartvik (1985). A Grammar of Contemporary English (1972) and A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language.
Richards, J. (2005). Interchanges. Cambridge University Press.
Seidlhofer, B. (2002). “Pedagogy and local learner corpora: working with learning-driven data.” In: S. Granger/J. Hung/S. Petch-Tyson (Eds.). (pp. 213-234).
Computer Learner Corpora, Second Language Acquisition and Foreign Language
Teaching. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Szymanska, L. (2006). Self-mention in argumentative writing. TaLC 2006 Proceedings, Paris, (pp. 87-88).
Zanettin, F. (1998). Bilingual comparable corpora and the training of translators.
In Laviosa, Sara. (Eds.), META, 43,4, Special Issue, (pp. 616-630). The corpusbased approach: a new paradigm in translation studies.
185
‫‪winter 2012‬‬
‫‪Issue 1‬‬
‫‪Volume 1‬‬
‫‪IJRELT‬‬
‫‪English Comparative Forms in Iranian Textbooks Compared to‬‬
‫‪Textbooks Developed by Native Material Developers‬‬
‫غزاله شفیعی نیا‬
‫دکتر احمدرضا لطفی‬
‫چکیده‬
‫در مراحل اولیه یادگیری زبان‪ ،‬زبان آموزان از طریق کتابهای درسی با اشکال مقایسه ای آشنا میشوند‪ .‬همانطور‬
‫که ناک (‪ )2009‬اشاره میکند‪،‬این اشکال به وسیله ی صفاتی که عمومآ به طور مستقیم با جمله واره تر دنبال‬
‫میشود‪ ،‬آموزش داده میشود‪.‬این مطالعه بر آنست که تفاوت میان مولفان کتب درسی فارسی زبان و غیر فارسی‬
‫زبان را از نظر پوشش اشکال مقایسه ای بررسی کند‪ .‬به همین منظور دو پیکره از کتابهای درسی دبیرستان و‬
‫اینترچنج تهیه و سپس تطبیق داده شدند‪ .‬اطالعات از طریق اسکن کتابها و تبدیل آنها به فایل های کامپیوتری‬
‫جمع آوری شدند‪ .‬این اطالعات همچنین بر اساس تواتر اشکال مقایسه ای تجزیه و تحلیل و سپس مطالعه و‬
‫بررسی شدند؛ پس از آن اطالعات بدست آمده از هر دو پیکره با هم مقایسه شدند‪ .‬نتایج حاکی از آنست که‬
‫تفاوت قابل توجهی میان دو پیکره از نظر پوشش اشکال مقایسه ای وجود دارد‪.‬‬
‫‪17‬‬
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‫تأثیر انواع روشهای تدریس و بازخورد در گسترش توانش منظورشناسی‪:‬‬
‫صنایع منظورشناسی‬
‫سعیده شفیعی نهرخلجی‬
‫دانشکاه آزاد اسالمی ‪ ،‬واحد نجف آباد‪ ،‬گروه زبان انگلیسی‬
‫چکیده‪:‬‬
‫لزوم اجرای تحقیقات بیشتر در خصوص گسترش توانش منظورشناسی یا کاربرد شناسی (به کارگیری زبان در‬
‫ارتباط) وافزایش سطح آگاهی از آن برای زبان ‪ ،‬آموزان اهمیت تدریس این توانایی و نحوۀ نشان دادن فیدبک‬
‫یا بازخورد در زمان بروز خطا در این حیطه را دو چندان نموده است‪ .‬در این تحقیق تأثیر چهار روش تدریس‬
‫و بازخورد در آموزش ادوات منظورشناسی به ‪ 75‬زبان آموز ایرانی زبان انگلیسی سطح پیشرفته بررسی شدند‪:‬‬
‫آموزش صریح ‪ ،‬آموزش صریح همراه با بازخورد فرازبانی ‪ ،‬آموزش ساختار یافته ورودی ‪ ،‬آموزش ساختار یافته‬
‫ورودی همراه با بازخورد فرازبانی‪ .‬عملکرد گروه های آزمایش با گروه کنترل در پس آزمون‪ ،‬پیش آزمون و آزمون‬
‫پیگیری مورد مطالعه قرار گرفت که این آزمون ها شامل آزمون باز تکمیل گفتمان و درک شنیداری چهار‬
‫جوابی بودند‪ .‬تحلیل داده های بدست آمده نشان داد زبان آموزان گروه های آزمایش در تولید و فهم ادوات‬
‫منظورشناسی پیشرفت قابل توجهی داشته اند‪ .‬در واقع زبان بينابينی در برابر آموزش صنایع منظورشناسی‬
‫نفوذپذیر است‪ .‬با این حال بین گروه های آزمایش نیز تفاوت مهمی از لحاظ آگاهی از این بعد زبان و کاربرد‬
‫مناسب و بجای آن یافته شد‪ .‬نتایج این تحقیق نگرش متفاوتی در مورد قابل تدریس بودن و آموزش این صنایع‬
‫در جهت باال بردن سطح توانش منظورشناسی بدست میدهد‪.‬‬
‫کلمات کلیدی‪ :‬توانش منظورشناسی ‪ ،‬صنایع منظورشناسی‪ ،‬آموزش صریح ‪ ،‬آموزش ساختار یافته ورودی ‪،‬‬
‫بازخورد فرازبانی‬
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‫تاثیر تفاوت در توانش زبانی فراگیران ایرانی زبان خارجی بر توانش استعاریشان‬
‫زهرا رضایی‬
‫دکتر علی اکبر جعفرپور‬
‫چکیده‬
‫این مطالعه تالشی است در جهت بررسی رابطه توانش زبانی وتوانش استعاری فراگیران ایرانی زبان انگلیسی‪.‬‬
‫شرکت کنندگان این تحقیق ‪ 120‬فراگیر زبان انگلیسی از مرکز آموزش زبان انگلیسی صدر از گروه سنی‪-25‬‬
‫‪ 19‬سال بودند‪ .‬توانش زبانی شرکت کنندگان که از سطح ابتدایی تا پیشرفته متغیر است با تست تعیین‬
‫سطح آکسفورد تخمین زده شدو برای سنجش توانش استعاری شرکت کنندگان از آنها خواسته شد که در‬
‫تست تهیه شده توسط محقق شرکت کنند‪ .‬این تست شامل ده مفهوم و هر مفهوم در بر گیرنده پنج استعاره‬
‫با معادل فارسی آنهانوشته شده به زبان انگلیسی می باشد‪ .‬با در دست داشتن دو نمره محقق قادر به درک‬
‫این نکته بود که آیا روابط معناداری میان سطخ توانش زبانی دانش آموزان و توانش استعاری آنها وجود دارد‪.‬‬
‫محقق از بسته نرم افزاری برای محاسبه رابطه بین توانش زبانی و توانش استعاری شرکت کنندگان استفاده‬
‫‪SPSS‬‬
‫کرد‪.‬‬
‫فرمول ضریب همبستگی پیرسون و انوای یک طرفه برای تعیین رابطه بین توانش استعاری و مهارت زبانی‬
‫زبان اموزان استفاده شد‪ .‬یافته های این مطالعه حاکی از آنست که توانش استعاری فراگیران بر استفاده شان از‬
‫استعاره ها تاثیر گذارند‪ .‬این بدین معناست که هر چه فراگیران زبان انگلیسی تسلط بیشتری بر این زبان داشته‬
‫باشند‪ ،‬اتوانش استعاری باالتری نیز برخوردار می باشند‪.‬‬
‫واژگان کلیدی‪ :‬توانش زبانی‪ ،‬استعاره‪ ،‬توانش استعاری‪ ،‬دانشجویان ایرانی زبان خارجی‬
‫‪13‬‬
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‫‪IJRELT‬‬
‫بررسی اثر تدریس اصطالحات و استفاده از کلیپ های آموزشی زبان دوم بر کیفیت‬
‫یادگیری اصطالحات توسط زبان آموزان‬
‫فیروزه رئیسی قهروئی‬
‫دکتر امید طباطبایی‬
‫چکیده‬
‫هدف این تحقیق بررسی اثر تدریس ریشه اصطالحات و استفاده از کلیپ های آموزشی که شامل اصطالحات‬
‫می باشد‪ ،‬به عنوان دو روش تدریس‪ ،‬بر کیفیت یادگیری اصطالحات توسط زبان آموزان می باشند‪ .‬جهت نیل‬
‫به این هدف ‪ ،‬تدریس اصطالحات همراه با ریشه آنها و کلیپ های آموزشی و همچنین نظر زبان آموزان و‬
‫معلمان نسبت به استفاده از روش های فوق الذکر ( با استفاده از دو پرسش نامه) در نظر گرفته شده است‪ .‬بعد‬
‫از اجرای یک آزمون استاندارد سنجش دانش عمومی زبان (‪ 90 )OPT‬زبان آموز در سطح متوسط از بین ‪154‬‬
‫زبان آموز انتخاب و به طور تصادفی در سه گروه که‪ ،‬دو گروه به عنوان گرههای آزمایشی (در یک گروه ریشه‬
‫اصطالحات استفاده می شود و در گروه دیگر کلیپ های آموزشی به کار می روند) و یک گروه کنترل‪ ،‬قرار‬
‫داده شدند‪ .‬همه گروهها در دو آزمون چهار گزینه ای از اصطالحات که یکی به عنوان پیش آزمون و دیگری به‬
‫عنوان پس آزمون بودند شرکت کردند‪ .‬در گروه آزمایشی ‪ A‬اصطالحات همراه با ریشه آنها تدریس شد و در‬
‫گروه آزمایشی ‪ B‬همان اصطالحات با استفاده از کلیپ های آموزشی که شامل اصطالحات بودند ارائه شدند ‪.‬‬
‫در حالی که گروه کنترل (‪ ) C‬روش های معمول و سنتی تدریس اصطالحات که همان استفاده از مترادف و‬
‫متضاد است را دنبال کردند‪ .‬نتایج تحلیل واریانس یک سویه و ‪ post hoc‬نشان داد که شرکت کنندگان در‬
‫گروههای آزمایشی عملکرد بهتری در پس آزمون نسبت به پیش آزمون داشتند‪ .‬عالوه بر این ‪ ،‬نتایج مجذور‬
‫خی نشان داد که به طور کلی زبان آموزان و معلمان دیدگاه مثبتی نسبت به استفاده از ریشه اصطالحات و‬
‫کلیپ های آموزشی جهت یادگیری اصطالحات داشته اند‪ .‬نتایج این تحقیق هم دارای کاربردهای نظری وهم‬
‫عملی در زمینه ئ تدریس و یادگیری زبان دوم است‪.‬‬
‫واژه های کلیدی‪ :‬ریشه شناسی‪ -‬زبان مجازی–عبارات ثابت ‪ -‬اصطالحی – اصطالحات –کلیپ های فیلم‪.‬‬
‫‪11‬‬
‫‪Issue 1‬‬
‫‪IJRELT‬‬
‫تاثير تجزيه و تحليل مقابله اي در برابر تجزيه و تحليل خطا در تصحيح اشتباهات لغوی‬
‫نوشتاري زبان آموزان ايراني پايه ي متوسطه‬
‫پروین معظمی‬
‫دکتر منصور کوشا‬
‫چكيده‬
‫اين پژوهش با هدف تاثير تجزيه و تحليل مقابله اي در برابر تجزيه و تحليل خطا در تصحيح اشتباهات لغوی‬
‫نوشتاري زبان آموزان پايه ي متوسطه انجام شده است‪ .‬جامعه آماري اين پژوهش ‪120‬نفر از زبان آموزان‬
‫پسرسطح متوسطه آموزشگاه پارسيان گلپايگان در تابستان ‪ 1389‬بوده اند‪ .‬كه بر اساس آزمون و مصاحبه‬
‫سطح دانش زبان آموزان سنجيده شده بود و ‪ 40‬نفر از آنها به طور تصادفي به عنوان نمونه اين پژوهش انتخاب‬
‫شدند‪ .‬براي سنجش خطا هاي زبان آموزان شش موضوع انشا به آنها داده شد كه براي هر موضوع يك هفته‬
‫زمان در نظر گرفته شد‪ .‬پس از بازگشت انشاها از طرف زبان آموزان‪ ،‬انشاها توسط محقق تصحيح گرديد و به‬
‫افراد بازگردانده شد‪ .‬اين روند تا هفته ششم براي سنجش بهبود خطاهاي زبان آموزان ادامه يافت‪ .‬براي سنجش‬
‫تغيير ميزان خطاهاي زبان آموزان از پيش آزمون و پس آزمون استفاده شده است‪ .‬براي تجزيه و تحليل داده‬
‫ها از آزمون ويلكاكسون استفاده شد و نتايج نشان دادند كه درهر دو مورد تجزيه و تحليل مقابله اي و تجزيه‬
‫و تحليل خطا‪ ،‬خطاهاي لغوي زبان آموزان بهبود يافتند‪.‬‬
‫‪9‬‬
‫‪Issue 1‬‬
‫‪IJRELT‬‬
‫تأثیر فعالیتهای ارتباط محور بر مبنای درون داد و برون داد با بار درگیری متفاوت‬
‫بر دانش واژگانی زبان آموزان ایرانی‬
‫پرویز مفتون‬
‫مرضیه شریفی‬
‫چکیده‬
‫تحقیق حاضر در چارچوب شیوه های ادراکی فعالیت های ارتباط محور ‪ ،‬با استفاده از یک شیوه آموزشی‪،‬‬
‫به بررسی تاثیر نسبی فعالیت های ارتباط محور با بار درگیری متفاوت بر دانش واژگانی زبان آموزان ایرانی‬
‫پرداخته است‪ .‬هدف اصلی تحقیق‪ ،‬بررسی رابطه بین بار درگیری با فرضیه درون داد (کراشن‪ )1985،‬و فرضیه‬
‫برون داد (سواین‪ )1996 ،‬بوده است تا مشخص شود آیا بار درگیری یا نوع فعالیت ارتباط محور (درون داد و‬
‫برون داد) عامل تعیین کننده در تاثیر این نوع فعالیتها در یادگیری واژگان می باشد‪ .‬در این تحقیق از یک‬
‫شیوه شبه آزمایشی به صورت تست مقدماتی‪ -‬شیوه آموزشی‪ -‬تست ثانویه استفاده گردید‪ .‬نمونه آماری ‪127‬‬
‫نفر از دانشجویان زبان عمومی در دانشگاه آزاد اسالمی‪ ،‬واحد مبارکه بود که در قالب چهار گروه آزمایشی‬
‫در این تحقیق شرکت نمودند‪ .‬بر خالف پیش بینی های فرضیه بار درگیری‪ ،‬نتایج تحقیق نشان داد که بار‬
‫درگیری تنها عامل تعیین کننده در تاثیر فعالیتهای ارتباط محور نمی باشد بلکه نوع فعالیت های ارتباط محور‬
‫هم نقش بسزایی در تاثیر این نوع فعالیتها در زمینه آموزش واژگان انگلیسی دارد‪ .‬یافته های تحقیق نشان داد‬
‫که علیرغم اینکه طرح پیشنهادی الفر و هالستین (‪ ،)2001‬بعنوان اولین گام ارزشمند در ایجاد یک تئوری‬
‫در زمینه یادگیری واژگان زبان دوم است‪ ،‬شاخص بار درگیری نمیتواند بطور مستقل و جدا از نوع فعالیتهای‬
‫ارتباط محور تاثیر گذار باشد و این فرضیه نیاز به اصالح و باز بینی دارد‪.‬‬
‫کلمات کلیدی‪ :‬بار درگیری‪ ،‬فعالیت های ارتباط محور بر مبنای درون داد‪ ،‬فعالیت های ارتباط محور بر مبنای‬
‫برون داد‬
‫‪7‬‬
‫‪Issue 1‬‬
‫‪IJRELT‬‬
‫اثر کاهش تیپ شناسی زبان بر حسب عوامل روانشناختی زبان آموزان‬
‫بر خواندن درک مطلب‬
‫دکتر حمیدرضا حق وردی‬
‫منوچهر اقبالی تبار‬
‫چکیده‪:‬‬
‫با گذشت بیش ازسه دهه از عنوان نمودن فرایند سایکو تا یپولوژی (تیپ شناسی زبان بر حسب عوامل‬
‫روانشناختی زبان آموزان) توسط کلرمن (‪ )1978‬مطالعات چندانی در رابطه با نحوه عملکرد آن صورت نپذیرفته‬
‫است‪ .‬کلرمن اصطالح سایکو تا یپولوژی را در خصوص احساس قرابت بین زبان اول و دوم توسط زبان آموزان‬
‫به کار گرفت‪ .‬به عقیده وی این فرایند نقش محدود کننده ای در رابطه با میزان استفاده زبان آموزان از بکار‬
‫بستن نیروی انتقال زبانی خویش ایفا مینماید‪ .‬تحقیق حاضربر اساس شناخت بیشتر این فرایند صورت پذیرفته‬
‫و در پی یافتن پاسخی برای این پرسش بوده است که آیا این فرایند اصوال دارای اصا لت روانشناختی میباشد‬
‫یا خیر‪ .‬جهت بررسی این موضوع با استفاده از تدریس درک مطلب زبان همراه با عنوان نمودن قرابت واژگان‬
‫زبانهای مربوطه سعی بر کاستن میزان اولیه سایکوتا یپولوژی آزمودنیها گردید تا بدین وسیله اثر کاهش این‬
‫فرایند مشخص گشته و اصالت روانشناختی آن تایید گردد‪ .‬همچنین مطالعه حاضر سعی بر یافتن پاسخی جهت‬
‫این پرسش نمود که اثر توام برخی دیگر از فرایندهای تاثیر گذار زبانی ( از قبیل انگیزه و نگرش زبان آموزان)‬
‫و میزان سایکو تایپولوژی موجود در ایشان بر خواندن درک مطلب این افراد در چه حد میباشد‪ .‬مطالعه حاضر‬
‫در سه گروه مختلف از زبان آموزان با زبانهای مادری متفاوت صورت پذیرفت‪ .‬با استفاده ازیک سری آزمونهای‬
‫‪ T-test‬و ‪ ANOVA‬مشخص گردید که اثر اصلی تدریس زبان با استفاده از توصیه های آموزشی ( که به‬
‫نوبه خود سبب کاهش میزان سایکو تایپولوژی میگردد) بر خواندن درک مطلب آزمودنیها معنا دار میباشد مع‬
‫الوصف تاثیر توام سایکو تا یپولوژی زبان آموزان و انگیزه ایشان ویا تاثیر توام آن همراه با نگرش زبان آموزان بر‬
‫خواندن درک مطلب ایشان از سطح معنا داری برخوردار نگردید‪.‬‬
‫‪5‬‬
‫‪Issue 1‬‬
‫‪IJRELT‬‬
‫تاثیر تقدم نحوی بر تولید و یادگیری سواالت غیر مستقیم زبان آموزان انگلیسی‬
‫دکتر احمد عامری گلستان‬
‫دانشگاه آزاد اسالمی‪ ،‬واحد شهر مجلسی‪ ،‬گروه زبان انگلیسی‪ ،‬اصفهان‪ ،‬ایران‬
‫‪email: [email protected]‬‬
‫دکتر رضا بیریا‬
‫دانشگاه آزاد اسالمی‪ ،‬واحد خوراسگان‪ ،‬گروه زبان انگلیسی‪ ،‬اصفهان‪ ،‬ایران‬
‫چکیده‬
‫تحقیق حاضر تاثیر تقدم نحوی بر تولید و یادگیری سواالت غیر مستقیم را در بین زبان آموزان ایرانی بررسی‬
‫می کند‪.‬هشتاد زبان آموز در دو آزمایش شرکت نمودند که این آزمایشها تاثیر تقدم نحوی بر تولید شفاهی و‬
‫یادگیری سواالت غیر مستقیم را مورد ازیابی قرار داد‪ .‬آزمایش ‪ 1‬نشان داد که تقدم به افزایش تولید ساختار‬
‫مورد نظر در بین آزمودنی های گروه آزمایش در مقایسه با گروه کنترل منجر شد‪ .‬همچنین آزمایش ‪ 2‬نشان داد‬
‫که میزان تولید سواالت غیر مستقیم در روز بعد به طور معنادار در بین آزمودنی های گروه آزمایش بیشتر بود‪.‬‬
‫کلید واژه‪ :‬تقدم نحوی‪ ،‬تولید زبان‪ ،‬فراگیری‪ ،‬یادگیری زبان‬
‫‪3‬‬
‫‪Issue 1‬‬
‫‪IJRELT‬‬
‫تجزیه و تحلیل خطاهای تلفظی زبان آموزان ایرانی‬
‫محمود هاشمیان‬
‫دانشگاه شهرکرد‬
‫‪[email protected]‬‬
‫کمال حیدری سورشجانی‬
‫دانشگاه آزاد اسالمی واحد شهرکرد‬
‫‪[email protected]‬‬
‫چکیده‬
‫نظر به اينکه مهـــارت های شـــفاهى به طـــور فزآینــده ¬ای به عـنوان یـــک اولویت مهــم در نظــر‬
‫گرفته شده اند‪ ،‬آموزش آواشناسی و تلفظ جايگاه مهمی را در تدریس و یادگیری زبان های دیگر به خود‬
‫ح مشکالت زبان آموزان ایرانی در‬
‫اختصاص داده است‪ .‬تحقیق حاضر تالشی برای شناسایی و کاوش صری ‌‬
‫آواشناسی و تلفظ می باشد‪ .‬به منظور رسیدن به این هدف‪ 3 ،‬زبان آموز مرد (در سطوح ابتدایی‪ ،‬متوسطه و‬
‫پیشرفته) به صورت تصادفی انتخاب شدند و از آنها خواسته شد که بصورت شمرده ‪ 3‬نوع مختلف چند جمله‬
‫را بیان کنند‪ .‬پس از تجزیه و تحلیل داده ها‪ ،‬تحقیق حاضر نخست نشان داد که تلفظ‪ /ɪə/‬مانند ‪/eə/،/æ/‬‬
‫مانند ‪ /:e/، /ɑ/‬مانند ‪ /ɔ:/، /ʊ/‬مانند ‪ /u:/،/aɪ/‬مانند ‪ /ɔɪ/، /ɪ/‬مانند ‪ /i:/،/əʊ/‬مانند ‪ /ɔ:/، /w/‬مانند‪/v/ ،/ð/‬‬
‫مانند ‪ /d/‬یا ‪ /z/،/θ/‬مانند‪ /t/‬یا ‪ ، /s/‬و‪ /ŋ/‬مانند ‪ /ng/‬و تلفظ نادرست ‪ /ɒ/، /ʌ/، /ɜ:/، /ə/، /ɔɪ/، /eə/، /r/‬و‬
‫‪ /aʊ/‬از جمله اشتباهات بسیار رایج در میان این زبان آمـــوزان فارسی زبـــان می باشند‪ .‬عالوه بر این‪ ،‬تحقیق‬
‫حاضر نشان داد که سرعت خواندن برای زبان آموزان در سطوح ابتدایی‪ ،‬متوسطه و پیشرفته نامناسب بود‪.‬‬
‫کلید واژه ها‪ :‬آواشناسی‪ ،‬اشتباهات تلفظی‪ ،‬سرعت خواندن‬
‫‪1‬‬
‫فهرست‬
‫تجزیه و تحلیل خطاهای تلفظی زبان آموزان ایرانی ‪1‬‬
‫تاثیر تقدم نحوی بر تولید و یادگیری سواالت غیر مستقیم زبان آموزان انگلیسی ‪3‬‬
‫اثر کاهش تیپ شناسی زبان بر حسب عوامل روانشناختی زبان آموزان بر خواندن درک مطلب ‪5‬‬
‫تأثیر فعالیتهای ارتباط محور بر مبنای درون داد و برون داد با بار درگیری متفاوت بر دانش واژگانی زبان آموزان‬
‫ایرانی ‪7‬‬
‫تاثير تجزيه و تحليل مقابله اي در برابر تجزيه و تحليل خطا در تصحيح اشتباهات لغوی نوشتاري زبان آموزان‬
‫ايراني پايه ي متوسطه ‪9‬‬
‫بررسی اثر تدریس اصطالحات و استفاده از کلیپ های آموزشی زبان دوم بر کیفیت یادگیری اصطالحات‬
‫توسط زبان آموزان ‪11‬‬
‫تاثیر تفاوت در توانش زبانی فراگیران ایرانی زبان خارجی بر توانش استعاریشان ‪13‬‬
‫تأثیر انواع روشهای تدریس و بازخورد در گسترش توانش منظورشناسی‪ :‬صنایع منظورشناسی ‪15‬‬
‫‪English Comparative Forms in Iranian Textbooks Compared to‬‬
‫‪Textbooks Developed by Native Material Developers 17‬‬
‫مجله دانش و پژوهش در آموزش زبان انگلیسی‬
‫‪ © 2012‬دانشگاه آزاد اسالمی واحد خوراسگان (اصفهان(‬
‫مدیر مسئول‬
‫دکتر حمیدرضا حقوردی‪ ،‬استادیار دانشگاه آزاد اسالمی واحد خوراسگان‬
‫سردبیر‬
‫دکتر منصور کوشا‪ ،‬دانشیار دانشگاه آزاد اسالمی واحد خوراسگان‬
‫مدیر داخلی‬
‫دکتر حسین حیدری تبریزی‪ ،‬استادیار دانشگاه آزاد اسالمی واحد خوراسگان‬
‫طراح‬
‫الناز آتش زبان‬
‫هیات تحریریه‬
‫دکتر محمد حسن تحریریان‪ ،‬استاد دانشگاه غیرانتفاعی شیخ بهایی‬
‫دکتر محمدرضا طالبی نژاد‪ ،‬استادیار دانشگاه آزاد اسالمی واحد شهرضا‬
‫دکتر اکبر افقری‪ ،‬استادیار دانشگاه آزاد اسالمی واحد خوراسگان‬
‫دکتر محمدرئوف معینی‪ ،‬دانشیار دانشگاه کاشان‬
‫دکتر سید آیت اهلل رزمجو‪ ،‬دانشیار دانشگاه شیراز‬
‫دکتر احمدرضا لطفی‪ ،‬استادیار دانشگاه آزاد اسالمی واحد خوراسگان‬
‫دکتر رضا بیریا‪ ،‬استادیار دانشگاه آزاد اسالمی واحد خوراسگان‬
‫دکتر سعید تاکی‪ ،‬استادیار دانشگاه آزاد اسالمی واحد شهرضا‬
‫دکتر سعید کتابی‪ ،‬استادیار دانشگاه اصفهان‬
‫دکتر غالمرضا زارعی‪ ،‬استادیار دانشگاه صنعتی اصفهان‬
‫دکتر حمید عالمی‪ ،‬استادیار دانشگاه یزد‬
‫دکتر عزیزه چاالک‪ ،‬استادیار دانشگاه آزاد اسالمی واحد خوراسگان‬
‫دانش و پژوهش در آموزش زبان انگلیسی‬
‫شماره ‪ 1‬زمستان ‪1390‬‬

Iranian Journal of Research in English Language Teaching

Transcription

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