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Showing 6 results for Speaking
Alireza Ahmadi,
Volume 12, Issue 1 (3-2009)
Abstract
This article investigated and compared the consistency of self and peer assessments as alternatives for teacher assessment. Thirty sophomores majoring in TEFL were asked to assess their classmates’ as well as their own speaking ability in a conversation class. They were taught how to do this using a rating scale of speaking. They did the rating twice during the term the first rating was carried out during the 8th and 9th weeks and the second rating at the end of the term (weeks 15 and 16). The results of the study indicated that self and peer assessments were not significantly related at the end of the term and only loosely, though significantly, related in the middle of the term. Both self and peer assessments indicated consistency over time, however peer assessment enjoyed a higher consistency.
Behzad Ghonsooly, Arezoo Hosienpour,
Volume 12, Issue 1 (3-2009)
Abstract
Recent growth of English as an international language of communication highlights the importance of speaking which everyone needs to use in a multiplicity of contexts. Scholars have shown that concept mapping increases vocabulary learning, and organization of knowledge. However, its impact on enhancing speaking fluency is overlooked. This research project investigates the effect of concept mapping on speaking fluency of Iranian intermediate EFL students. To achieve its purpose, the following research question was proposed: Does concept mapping have any statistically significant effect on speaking fluency of the aforementioned students? 80 second term EFL university students were randomly selected and were randomly assigned to a control and experimental group. We employed concept mapping in the experimental group for twenty two sessions. When the treatment was over a proficiency test was administered to the students as a post-test. The distributions of scores for each variable by all subjects were examined and the results showed that concept mapping had statistically significant effect on speaking fluency of intermediate EFL students.
Mohammad Nabi Karimi, Afsaneh Abaszadeh,
Volume 20, Issue 2 (9-2017)
Abstract
| This study examines the potential connections among learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC) in English, their perceptions of autonomy-supportive teaching and two individual difference variables, i.e. motivation and English speaking self-efficacy. Two hundred and five Iranian EFL learners responded to four questionnaires. The data obtained from the collected instruments were subjected to structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings revealed significant positive paths from autonomy-supportive teaching to motivation, WTC in English, and English speaking self-efficacy. Further significant paths were found leading from motivation to WTC and from English speaking self-efficacy to motivation. The findings also indicated that autonomy-supportive teaching style and English speaking self-efficacy could indirectly affect learners’ WTC through the mediation of motivation. Furthermore, autonomy-supportive teaching was found to indirectly predict learners’ motivation through the mediating role of self-efficacy. The implications of the study for teachers and teacher educators are discussed. |
Marzieh Souzandehfar,
Volume 21, Issue 1 (4-2018)
Abstract
| For the first time, this study combined models and principles of authentic assessment from two parallel fields of applied linguistics as well as general education to investigate the authenticity of the TOEFL iBT speaking module. The study consisted of two major parts, namely task analysis and task survey. Utilizing Bachman and Palmer’s (1996) definition of authenticity, the task analysis examined the degree of the correspondence between the characteristics of the speaking module tasks in the TOEFL iBT test and those of target language use (TLU) tasks. In the task survey, a Likert Scale questionnaire of authenticity was developed by the researcher based on Herrington and Herrington’s (1998; 2006) four criteria of authentic assessment. The questionnaire was sent through email to 120 subjects who had already taken the test in order to elicit their attitudes towards the degree of the authenticity of the speaking section tasks. The results of the task analysis revealed a limited correspondence between the characteristics of the test tasks and those of the TLU tasks. However, the results of the task survey indicated that except for one factor (indicators), most of the test takers had a positive view toward the authenticity of the speaking module tasks in terms of the three other factors (context, student factor, task factor). |
Ali A. Ariamanesh, Hossein Barati, Manijeh Youhanaee,
Volume 23, Issue 2 (9-2020)
Abstract
This study compares three integrated tasks of the TOEFL iBT speaking subtest in terms of complexity, accuracy, and fluency. To this end, a group of TOEFL iBT Iranian candidates took a simulated TOEFL iBT some days prior to their real exam. The collected oral responses were first transcribed and then quantified using software such as ‘Syllable Counter’ and ‘Coh-Metrix3’ for fluency and complexity, respectively. For accuracy, however, the responses were tallied manually. The results revealed the responses to the three speaking tasks were significantly different in terms of fluency. The difference in the accuracy index also turned significant, though the pairwise comparisons showed some inconsistencies. As for the selected complexity measures, lexical diversity, the mean number of modifiers per NP, and latent semantic analysis all showed significant differences between tasks 2 and 3 on the one hand and task 4 on the other. Left-embeddedness, however, revealed no significant difference among the three tasks. The results may support the influential role of prompting texts in such integrated speaking tasks
Mona Akhtari, Mahnaz Azad,
Volume 26, Issue 2 (9-2023)
Abstract
The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of immediate corrective feedback and delayed corrective feedback on EFL learners’ speaking fluency and speaking anxiety. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design with two experimental and no control groups. The participants consisted of 42 intermediate Iranian EFL learners at an English Institute in Tehran who were randomly assigned to two experimental groups. The instruments of the study included: the PET, teacher-made pre- and post-tests, and a speaking anxiety questionnaire. After the pre-test, the participants went through a ten session treatment during which the first experimental group received immediate corrective feedback while the second group received delayed corrective feedback. After the treatment process, a posttest was administered to both experimental groups to examine the effect of the treatment. Moreover, the participants in both groups filled in the speaking anxiety questionnaire to identify their anxiety level during in-class activities as well as those instructor’s behaviors and characteristics which might reduce their anxiety in class. The recorded data were transcribed and analyzed. The results indicated that delayed corrective feedback has a positive effect on EFL learners’ fluency and it also decreased their anxiety level.
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