doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.2n.1p.1

1

Teaching

English

Language

Skills for

School

Teachers: CTE

Programme

of

IGNOU Asha

Khare

(Indira

Gandhi

National

Open University, India)

Abstract

India is a multilingual country. English is the second most important language in the country

after the national language Hindi since it is taught as a compulsory subject in all the Indian

schools. In the educational system of a multilingual country, it becomes imperative to

improve the English Language teaching skills of the school teachers who come from various

linguistic backgrounds. The school teacher plays a vital role in the development of linguistic

skills of the students. What children learn can affect their later success or failure in school,

work, and their personal lives. As such, the school teachers need to improve their own

English language skills if they are teaching without any previous English language training.

This paper throws light on the communicative approach of English language teaching. It

introduces the Certificate in Teaching of English (CTE) programme of the Indira Gandhi

National Open University (IGNOU) and outlines the syllabus and the methods used by the

university to impart English Language Teaching skills to the elementary/secondary school

teachers through this programme with the obj

the learners and their learning process.

English teaching and school teachers

The English teachers in schools need professional training in language skills because they

come from various linguistic backgrounds due to the fact that the medium of instruction in

Indian schools is either English or the regional language. As such, it is imperative to focus on

the needs of learners in a particular community. It needs to be a collaborative activity as well

as an individual activity. The particular needs of individuals can be met in this manner. The

more highly skilled, motivated and effective are English teachers, the more effective learning

outcomes will be for students in English classrooms.

2

As per Schon (1987), quality teaching is directly related to the development of a strong and

skilled teacher to respond to community and educational concerns, learning outcomes for

learners and take a more active role in curriculum planning, including building on and

refining existing practices and constantly develop excellent teaching practices.

To maintain and improve the quality of classroom English teaching, the institution should

provide initial teacher education and courses appropriate to the needs and requirements of

English teachers in close consultation with schools; provide teacher education and courses in

language appropriate to the needs and requirements of school teachers; liaise with employing

authorities in supporting new curriculum initiatives, designing new courses and supporting

professional development initiatives and maintaining an informed, relevant awareness of

current practices in schools since teachers' knowledge leads to more effective teaching and

learning in classrooms.

Teaching English language skills to English school teachers empowers teachers and meets the

identified needs of teachers and schools. It needs to be challenging, informative, innovative

and well planned. It is supposed to build skills, involve active participation and team work

and be professionally fulfilling and enjoyable.

Programme delivery in IGNOU

The University has an extensive network of Regional Centres, Learner Support Centres,

including Work Centres, Programme Study Centres and Partner Institutions in India (under

the convergence scheme), and other countries, through which it reaches out to its learners. At

these centres, learners are provided with support services in respect of subject-specific

academic counseling, listening/viewing of Audio/Video programmes, library facilities,

teleconferencing, video conferencing, computer access, laboratory work and other practical

work. For online programmes, the University has established Tele-learning centres at its

Regional Centres. Depending on the requirement, the University collaborates with private

entrepreneurs to provide work experience and tele-learning facilities to its learners.

Interactive Radio Counseling is broadcast from the studio in the University as well as from 26

FM radio stations across the country. EduSAT channel provides interactive lectures and

counseling to learners through SITs, as well as a few DTH platforms.

3

English language teaching and teacher training

English language teaching needs to assure an acquisition of linguistic features, interlanguage

patterns (the emerging linguistic system of the language learner), the impact of social and

cultural identity on language learning, and the need for intensity of exposure and

opportunities to use the language. With the knowledge of these concepts, teachers can

structure language learning appropriately for their learners, help them set realistic goals for

achievement of levels of proficiency over time, and understand why some students progress

faster than others and why some materials and methods work better with particular groups of

students than with others (Adger, Snow, & Christian, 2002).

(Borg, 2006; Freeman & Freeman, 1994). Opportunities should be provided for English

teachers to reflect on their own language learning experiences as they implement the same

strategies with their learners in their classes (Richards & Farrell, 2005; Smith, Harris, &

Reder, 2005).

Acquisition of components of language

Non-native language speakers (Hindi/Regional language) learn components of English

language (vocabulary, grammar, accent) differently (Burt, Peyton, & Adams, 2003; Doughty

& Williams, 1998; Eskey, 2005; Flahive & Bailey, 1993; Folse, 2004; Nation, 2000, 2005).

The non-native language speakers may not know enough words in English to be able to use it

correctly. Teachers of adult English language learners need to know what strategies for

teaching reading, writing, listening, and speaking are most effective with adults learning

English.

Certificate in Teaching of English (CTE) programme

The CTE programme, offered by the Indira Gandhi National Open University, is based on the

understanding of the learners. It ensures that the English language teaching/learning process

is near native and the teacher is able to explain the nature and structure of the English

language correctly to the learners. It helps the non-native English teachers to innovate

strategies for teaching the language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. It

teaches the English teachers new and more effective methodologies of classroom

management, material selection and evaluation. It provides an update on the current theories

4

in the area of English teaching. It deals with the practical problems of the teachers in the

classrooms. It attempts to understand the learner factors, i.e., aptitude, attitude, motivation,

age, sex and previous experience of learning. The aim of the programme is to make the

teacher aware that language is a dynamic entity and subject to variation and change. English

is spoken differently in different parts of the world as well as in different regions of India.

Hence, the over-

teacher.

There are four courses in this programme. Three courses are compulsory and one is optional

as per the following details:

Compulsory Courses

CTE-1 The Language Learner

CTE-2 The Structure of English

CTE-3 Teaching Strategies

Optional Courses

CTE-4 Teaching English-Elementary School

CTE-5 Teaching English-Secondary School

Methods of Teaching

The course CTE-1 focuses on the learners and gives their general description in terms of their

capabilities and learning resources (personal and social). It enables the teacher to:

Provide more efficient learning strategies

Assist learners in identifying their own preferred ways of learning

Encourage learners to set their own objectives

-evaluation

The course CTE-2 provides a good knowledge of the structure of English and its usage in

order to improve classroom strategies of teachers for teaching the Indian variety of English.

The course CTE-3 deals with the teaching strategies for creating special contexts to provide

learning opportunities and learning experiences and to support and promote learning of

English language by learners in India.

5

The course CTE-4 gives insight into the development of personality, cognition and language

development of the young learners of Elementary level. The teachers at this level have serious

responsibility because these learners are at a formative stage in their life and all the

dimensions of their personhood (emotional, social, physical and intellectual) are in the

making.

The course CTE-5 is meant for the middle and secondary school teachers. It is of practical

nature since it gives examples of classroom experiences to the teachers. New strategies as

well as new materials in teaching the four skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening are

suggested in it. Moreover, it deals with the new techniques in evaluating these skills too.

Conclusion

In the educational system of a multilingual country, it becomes imperative to improve the

English Language teaching skills of the school teachers who come from various linguistic

backgrounds. The school teacher plays a vital role in the development of linguistic skills of

the students. What children learn can affect their later success or failure in school, work, and

their personal lives.

The CTE programme of IGNOU is especially designed for those English teachers of

elementary/secondary school who teach in large classes with few resources, follow a set

syllabus and text book, have little time for lesson planning and lack teaching aids/equipment.

The programme helps them to gain insights about the language learners, not only as a

cognitive entity, but as a social being functioning in a multilingual environment. It enables

them to understand the nature of language as a dynamic entity, subject to variation and

change. It enhances their proficiency in English, not only in terms of structure of English

(sounds, words, grammar) but also at the level of discourse. It helps them to critically reflect

over their classroom experiences and innovate in teaching strategies so that they can teach the

four skills more effectively. It upgrades them in the prevalent new theories in terms of the

learners, learning process, classroom management, material selection and creation, evaluation

and methodology of teaching.

6

References Adger, C., Snow, C., & Christian, D. (Eds.). (2002). What teachers need to know about language. Washington,

DC: Center for Applied Linguistics. Borg, S. (2006). Teacher cognition and language education. New York: Continuum. Burt, M., Peyton, J. K., & Adams, R. (2003). Reading and adult English language learners: A review of the

research. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics. Doughty, C., & Williams, J. (1998). Pedagogical choices in focus on form. In Doughty & J. Williams (Eds.),

Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition (pp.114-138). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Eskey, D. (2005). Reading in a second language. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning (pp.563-580). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Farrell, T. S. C. (2004). Reflective practice in action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Flahive, D. E., & Bailey, N. H. (1993). Exploring reading/writing relationships in adult second language

learners. In J. Carson and I. Leki (Eds.), Reading in the composition classroom (pp. 128-140). Boston: Heinle & Heinle.

Folse, K. S. (2004). Vocabulary myths: Applying second language research to classroom teaching. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.

Freeman, D. E., & Freeman, Y. S. (1994). Between worlds: Access to second language acquisition. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Nation, I. M. P. (2000). Learning vocabulary in lexical sets: Dangers and guidelines. TESOL Journal, 9(2), 6-10. Nation, I. M. P. (2005). Teaching and learning vocabulary. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in second

language teaching and learning (pp. 581 595). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Richards, J., & Farrell, T. S. C. (2005). Professional development for language teachers. New York: Cambridge

University Press. Schon, D. A. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner . San Francicsco: Jossey Smith, C., Harris, K., & Reder, S. (2005). Applying research findings to instruction for adult English language

learners.Washington, DC: Center for Adult English Language Acquisition.

7

Oral Communicative

Activities

in the

Saudi

Third

Year

Secondary

EFL Textbooks

Zaky

H. Abu Ellif

and Nooreiny

Maarof

(Universiti

Kebangsaan

Malaysia, Malaysia)

Abstract

This study aims to examine the oral communicative activities found in the Saudi EFL third

year secondary textbooks and to determine the role they play in influencing the learners' oral

communication in English. A questionnaire of 52 items based on four domains is utilized to

explore the perception of Saudi EFL teachers regarding the oral communicative activities

found in the textbooks. The preliminary survey, conducted on a group of Saudi teachers who

are using the target textbooks, showed that the textbooks do not have highly communicative

activities for fluency development. The participants' rating of the activities, found in the

textbooks, was very low. The activities seem to be highly structured and lack free

communicative activities. The study shows that the textbooks require much modification.

Other types of oral communicative activities should be included to fulfill the goals of

developing the Saudi learners' oral fluency in English.

Introduction

Many researchers emphasize the role that textbooks play in the EFL classroom. Ansary et al.

(2002) argue that EFL textbooks are always used as the only source of teaching materials in

the classroom. According to De Matos (2000), the textbook is still considered as central to

teaching-learning process by the majority of teachers in most, if not all, national educational

systems. Ansary et al. (2002) also point out that teachers feel more secure when they have

ready-made textbooks. In some countries textbooks are not considered the most demanding

factor in EFL teaching and learning since other types of material take great participation in

shaping the curriculum. The situation in Saudi Arabia is a bit different. Teachers without in-

hand textbooks are unable to tackle the teaching process and learners as well consider the

early days in the school year, while they have a few periods before textbooks are distributed,

as waste of time. However, although these textbooks might offer guidance for many teachers,

they ignore the individual differences and inhibit teachers' creativity (ibid). The situation

doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.1n.1p.7

8

mentioned above brings out the outstanding role that textbooks play in teaching EFL in Saudi

schools. It also drives to ask whether these sets of textbooks fulfill the oral communicative

competence among Saudi learners. This question highlights the need to examine the points of

strength/weakness within the oral communication activities found in the target textbooks.

Arab learners and Oral communication in English

Rababah (2003) states that the eventual goal of English language teaching is to develop the

the real world. Successful communication refers to passing on a comprehensible message to

the listener. Kharma et al. (1989) state that ESL learners have serious difficulties in learning

English pronunciation, even when they are quite perfect in the other language skills

(vocabulary, grammar, reading, etc). Alseghayer (2007) states that the Saudi student, by the

end of the secondary school, has the minimum level of skills in English language. The student

is unable to hold a short dialogue, understand a reading text or write a short essay (ibid).

Rababaa (2003) concludes that Arab learners face problems in all the language skills.

However, most of their errors in English emerge in oral performance and their choice of

communication strategies. Even outstanding Arab learners of English have problems in

listening and speaking skills. Kharma et al. (1989) assert that Arab learners, who spend

hundreds of hours every school year in learning English, should be able to communicate

fluently and

attitude towards English language is a mere school subject to pass its test not a means of

communication. Rababaa (ibid) echoes Sulaiman's (1983) argument that the major problem

faced by Arab students attending universities is that they find it difficult to communicate in

English.

Oral communicative activities

National Center for Family Literacy et al. (2008, p.41) state that communicative activities

include any activities that encourage and require a learner to speak with and listen to other

learners, as well as with people in the program and community. Brown (2001) adapted

-item taxonomy of language-

teaching techniques under three main categories: a) controlled techniques, b) semi-controlled

techniques and c) free techniques. Under each technique he mentioned a group of tasks and

activities. Littlewood (1983) referred to two major activity types: a) functional

communication activities: ones aimed at developing certain language skills and functional

9

aspects of the language, but which involve communication, and (b) social interaction

activities, ones which emphasize social and functional aspects of communication, such as

conversation and discussion sessions, dialogues and role plays.

Nunan (2000) classifies the types of listening texts into monologue (planned and unplanned)

and dialogues (interpersonal and transactional). The interpersonal dialogues are also divided

Bygate (1987), identifies two main categories of speaking types, routines and negotiations.

Routines can focus either on information or interaction. Information routines contain types of

information structures which are either expository (e.g. narration, description, instruction,

comparison) or evaluative (e.g. explanation, justification, prediction, decision). Interaction

routines can be either service such as a job interview or social such as a party. Bygate

mentioned another feature of oral interaction for negotiation of meaning or management of

the interaction in terms of who is to say what to whom when about what (Nunan, 2000) (See

Figure 1). Brown (2001), Savignon et al. (2003) and Littlewood (1983) classified

communicative skills, techniques, tasks and activities in general with consideration of the

four linguistic skills. However, Murphy (1991) states that the oral communication skills are

speaking, listening, and pronunciation. Beale (2002) also refers to speaking, listening and

fluency.

10

Figure 1: Classification of listening and speaking tasks (Adapted from Nunan, 2000 &

Bygate, 1987)

Instrumentation

In this study, a 52-item questionnaire is utilized for the collection of data regarding Saudi

EFL teachers' perception of oral communicative activities in the EFL textbooks taught to the

11

third-grade of public secondary schools in Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire is a relatively

popular means of collecting data among students (Nunan, 2002).

Questionnaire

The domains and items are based on the goals of this study. The questionnaire starts with

section (a) which requires the participants to provide some basic information. The next

sections (b e) consist of 52 items based on four domains, which are: (b) communicativeness

of the activities found in the Saudi third year secondary EFL textbooks (12 items), (c)

effectiveness of the activities found in the Saudi third year secondary EFL textbooks (12

items), (d) types of oral communicative activities in the Saudi third year secondary EFL

textbooks (26 items) and finally (e) recommendation to improve the current Saudi third year

secondary EFL textbooks. The 5-point Likert type scale was used to allocate numerical

values to the responses of domains B, C and D. The last domain of the questionnaire is an

open-end question where teachers are asked to state their suggestions and recommendations.

Instrument Validity

A panel of 10 experts from UM, UIAM, UPM, UUM, LIM KOK WING University

questionnaire has been achieved.

Data collection

A preliminary study was conducted by administering the questionnaire to a group of teachers

thought Saudi English website (www.saudienglish.net). The response rate was about 49

percent with 34 teachers out of70 responding to the questionnaire via email. Four responses

were excluded; three were not complete while the fourth had been answered carelessly. The

cronbach's alpha coefficient and Guttman Split-Half Coefficient reliability tests were used to

obtain the reliability estimate for the instrument. The results, in Table 1, refer to excellent

reliability:

Table 1: Reliability of the questionnaire The coefficient The value Cronbach's alpha .921 Guttman Split-Half .902

12

Data analysis

The participants' responses to the questionnaire were transferred to SPSS programme in order

to calculate the mean and standard deviation of all items and domains. The means of the three

domains are shown in Table 2.

Table 2: The mean of three domains in the questionnaire

No Domain Title Mean

B Communicativeness of the activities found in the Saudi 3rd year secondary EFL textbooks 1.673

C Effectiveness of the activities found in the Saudi 3rd year secondary EFL textbooks in developing oral communicative skills 1.675

D Types of Oral Communicative activities in the Saudi 3rd year secondary EFL textbooks 1.626

Table (2) shows how the means of all items are less than 2 on a scale of 5 grades. This shows

how all participants' responses fall between strongly disagree or disagree on the three

domains. This also reflects how the activities found in the Saudi third year secondary EFL

textbooks have low level of oral communicativeness and lack effectiveness in developing oral

communicative skills. The mean of domain (D) shows that the effective types of oral

communicative activities are hardly found in the target textbooks. For more details, the items

of each domain will be discussed separately.

Table 3: The mean and standard deviation of domain (B): Communicativeness of the activities found in the textbooks

No Item Mean Std. Deviation B1 The third year secondary textbooks give equal emphasis on the four skills (listening,

speaking, reading and writing). 1.73 0.785

B2 The textbooks incorporate listening activities which help students to communicate effectively in English. 1.93 0.868

B3 The activities in the textbooks enable students to communicate orally with each other in English. 1.87 0.973

B4 Oral communication activities (listening & speaking) in the textbooks are sufficient to develop oral fluency. 1.33 0.661

B5 The activities in the textbooks help students to speak English fluently. 1.3 0.596

B6 The activities in the textbooks help students to speak English accurately (grammatically correct). 1.87 1.167

B7 The activities in the textbooks help students to speak English properly (suitable language for each situation). 1.67 0.959

B8 The textbooks include activities that help improve the students' pronunciation. 1.67 0.922

B9 The dialogues in the textbooks help students practice free speaking. 2 1.339 B10 The pictures in the textbooks support the speaking skill. 1.33 0.802

B11 The two Writing textbooks (Term 1 & 2) contain enough listening and speaking activities. 1.67 1.028

B12 The themes in the textbooks enable students to communicate orally in English. 1.7 1.055

Mean B 1.6725

13

Table (3) shows how the means of all items are between 1 and 2 on a scale of 5 grades. This

shows how all participants' responses are either strongly disagree or disagree on all the

domain items. On the other hand, the standard deviation values are less than one or around

one which reflects some consensus among the respondents that the activities in the target

textbooks have low communicativeness as it is clear in figure 2 where on Y axis 1 refers to

(strongly disagree) and 5 refers to ( strongly agree).

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 B10 B11 B12

Figure 2: Means of responses for each item in domain B

For domain (C) in the questionnaire, (Effectiveness of the activities found in the 3rd year

secondary EFL textbooks in developing oral communicative skills), table (4) represents the

means of responses for all items.

Table (4) shows how the means of all items are between 1 and 2 on a scale of 5 grades except

for items C2 and C3 which slightly exceed 2. This also shows how all participants' responses

either strongly disagree or disagree on all the domain items.

14

Table 4: The mean and standard deviation of domain (C): Effectiveness of the activities found in the 3rd year secondary EFL textbooks in developing oral

communicative skills No Using the activities in the textbooks, students are able to: Mean Std. Deviation C1 speak fluently in English. (express themselves easily) 1.4 0.675 C2 hold a telephone conversation in English. 2.07 1.048 C3 exchange information in English. 2.1 0.845 C4 express themselves in English without using Arabic. 1.83 0.648 C5 speak as well as they can write. 1.8 0.761 C6 answer questions based on a listening task. 1.47 0.681 C7 present a summary or a comment on a topic orally. 1.63 0.809 C8 make announcements in English. (e.g. school broadcasting). 1.53 0.819 C9 comment on a picture, movie or a game in English. 1.8 1.064 C10 debate or negotiate prices in English. 1.8 0.805 C11 conduct a simple interview. 1.47 0.86 C12 role-play using English. 1.2 0.407 Mean C 1.675

The standard deviation values are less than one or around one to reflect agreement among the

respondents that the activities in the target textbooks are not developing oral communicative

skills. Figure 3 shows how low the activities are ranked in promoting communicative skills.

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

44.5

5

C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12

Figure 3: Means of responses for each item in domain C

The means for responses to the 27 items of domain (D) in the questionnaire, (Types of oral

communicative activities in the 3rd year secondary EFL Saudi textbooks), are shown in table

5 and figure 4.

15

Table 5: The mean and standard deviation of domain (D): Types of Oral Communicative activities in the 3rd year Secondary EFL Saudi Textbooks

No The following types of oral Communicative activities are included in the textbooks: Mean Std.

Deviation D1 Organizational elements 2.6 1.221 D2 Content explanations 1.4 0.814 D3 Setting 2.17 1.053 D4 Dialogues/ Narrative presentations 2.13 1.106 D5 Dictation 1.4 0.814 D6 Warm up 1.13 0.346 D7 Role-play demonstration: 1.5 0.63 D8 Dialogues/ Narrative recitation: 1.83 1.085 D9 Reading aloud 2.33 1.093 D10 Question-answer-display 1.47 0.629 D11 Drill: repetition, substitution with little meaning attached 1.7 0.952 D12 Meaningful drill 2.2 1.186 D13 Story telling 1.47 0.571 D14 Information transfer: e.g. Students fill out a diagram while listening. 1.77 1.104 D15 Wrap-up: Students listen to a summary. 2.1 1.125 D16 Question-answer, referential 1.7 0.915 D17 Cued narratives/Dialogues 1.43 0.626 D18 Narration/Exposition 1.53 0.571 D19 Brainstorming 1.4 0.563 D20 Role-play 1.67 0.661 D21 Games 1.3 0.466 D22 Problem solving 1.17 0.379 D23 Drama 1.33 0.479 D24 Simulation 1.27 0.521 D25 Interview 1.2 0.407 D26 Discussion 1.43 0.504 D27 Debate 1.27 0.45 Mean D 1.626

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

Figure 4: Means of responses for each item in domain D

16

Table (5) shows how the means of all the 27 items are between 1 and 2 on a scale of 5 grades

except for 6 items (D1, D3, D4, D9, D12 and D15) which were higher than 2. However, none

of the item exceeded 3 degrees on the scale. This represents the participants' views on the

existence of these types of oral communicative activities in the target set of textbooks.

According to the means of responses, there is a severe lack of such activities in the textbooks.

The standard deviation values are also less than one or around one to reflect agreement

among the participants that these types of oral activities are not found in the target textbooks.

Regarding the last domain (E), (Recommendation to improve the current textbooks for the

third year secondary students), the respondents suggested the following:

- Totally replacing these textbooks, which are not capable to improve the students'

oral communication skills, with communicative textbooks that shed more light on

listening, pronunciation and speaking activities. (Suggested by four respondents)

- modifying the current textbooks by adding communicative sections. (Five

respondents)

- including listening and speaking in the monthly and final exams. (Eight

respondents)

- adding supplementary communicative textbook to the current textbooks. (Six

respondents)

Conclusion

The results of the preliminary study and the analysis of the survey match the results of

previous studies of Rababaa (2003), Kharma et al. (1989) and Alseghayer (2007). There is a

lack of oral communicative tasks and activities in the EFL textbooks that the Saudi third year

secondary student faces. The rating of all activities is generally less than 40-50 %.

Furthermore, the teachers, inquired about advanced oral communicative activities (free

techniques), declared the absence of such activities. The results of this study assert that the

textbooks require much modification or supplementary communicative materials to achieve

the goals of improving the Saudi learners' oral communicative skills.

17

References Al-Seghayer, K. (2007). Impediments to teach English in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. MOE forum

http://www.moeforum.net/vb1/showthread.php?t=87924. [3 February 2008] Ansary, H & Babaii, E. (2002). Universal characteristics of EFL/ESL textbooks: A step towards systematic

textbook evaluation. The Internet TESL Journal, VIII(2), February 2002. http://iteslj.org/Articles/Ansary-Textbooks/. [14 May 2009].

Beale, J. (2002). Is communicative language teaching a thing of the past? Babel, 37(1), 12-16. http://www.jasonbeale.com/essaypages/clt_essay.html. [16 September 2006].

Brown, H. D. (2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy. New York. Longman Press.

Bygate, M. (1987). Speaking. Oxford University Press. Google Books. http://books.google.com.my/books?id=XozCwaqSJFIC&printsec=frontcover. [30 August 2007].

De Matos, F. (2000). Learning Teachers as textbook evaluators: an Interdisciplinary Checklist. IATEFL Associate BrazTESOL. Issue 157, Oct/Nov 2000, http://www.iatefl.org/content/newsletter/157.php. [22 January 2006].

Kharma, N. & Hajjaj, A. (1989). Errors in English among Arabic speakers: analysis and remedy. England. Longman House.

Littlewood, W. (1983). Communicative language teaching: An introduction. New York. Cambridge University Press.

Murphy, J. (1991). Oral communication in TESOL: integrating speaking, listening, and pronunciation. TESOL Quarterly, 25(1).

National Center for Family Literacy and Center for Applied Linguistics. (2008). Practitioner toolkit: Working with adult English language learners. Louisville, KY, and Washington, DC: Authors.

Nunan, D. (2000). Language teaching methodology. Malaysia. Longman. Nunan, D. (2002). Research methods in language learning. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. Rababah, G. (2003). Learning Communication problems facing Arab learners of English: A personal perspective

TEFL Web Journal, 2 (1), 15. http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/mdajani/Pages/ArabLearners.aspx. [12 March 2007].

Savignon, S. J. & Wang, C. C. (2003). Communicative language teaching in EFL contexts: Learner attitudes and perceptions. IRAL, International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 41(3), 223 ProQuest Education Journals.

18

Intertextuality

in

Text-based

Discussions Hamidah Mohd

Ismail

and Faizah Abd Majid

(Universiti Teknologi

MARA, Shah Alam, Malaysia)

Abstract

One of the main issues often discussed among academics is how to encourage active

participation by students during classroom discussions. This applies particularly to students at

the tertiary level who are expected to possess creative and critical thinking skills. Hence, this

paper reports on a study that examined how these skills were demonstrated by a group of

university students who employed intertextual links during a follow-up reading activity

involving small-group text discussions. Thirty undergraduates who were in their fifth

semester of a TESL degree programme were prescribed reading texts consisting of two

chapters taken from a book. Findings reveal that intertextual links made during text

beliefs and values were

shared judicially among participants. Pedagogical implications for ESL classroom practice

include heightening the awareness amongst academics and students of the role of

tical and creative thinking skills in

a supportive classroom environment.

Introduction

Intertextuality is inherent in reading where a reader creates intertextual links with the text he

or she is reading and those that have been read, viewed, or heard. A t

1980, p.66). When a reader makes intertextual links, they not only enable the reader to

facilitate comprehension of the text, but the links also promote greater use of creative and

critical thinking skills (CCTS). Thus it is important that the role of the lecturer includes

facilitating students to construct intertextual links during and after reading.

Meaningful reading requires the reader to make connections with the world. In addition, it

also involves constructing intertextual readings and interpretations of a text while referring to

other texts as well. Hence, for a critical reader, the process of meaning making involves

doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.2n.1p.18

19

reconstructing and revisiting the meanings of a text due to the dialogic nature of the text

itself. In a reading classroom, intertextuality can be used as a comprehension strategy where

students make text-to-text, text-to-self and text-to-world connections during and after reading.

Intertextuality in text discussions

The purpose of this study is to examine intertextual connections in an oral discourse where

students engage in explicit text discussions in a reading classroom. In a traditional reading

class, post-reading activities entail students answering a set of questions pertaining to the

prescribed text and followed by a writing exercise based on a related topic. Hence, reading

become less meaningful to students and does not encourage the use of CCTS amongst the

students in the classroom.

as a collection of words or grammatical and syntactical constructions; students in turn

positions themselves to learn only those constructio

use their CCTS skills to relate the text totheir experiences, values and viewpoints in their text

discussions.

It is important that the lecturer facilitates text discussions while encouraging active

participation among students in the classroom. Hence, to promote active and engaging

discussions amongst students, Wade and Moje (2000) suggest using the participatory

approach where it allows students to interact with the text and other readers. The participatory

approach has been regarded as the predominant approach to teaching reading and subject area

knowledge (Alvermann & Moore, 1991; Goodlad, 1994). It is described as

in collaborative groups, searching through trade books or on the Internet for answers to their

research questions, or discussing a self-selected book in a peer-

Participatory approach is both teacher and student centered. It is teacher centered when the

teacher is active and in control while engaged in activities such as lecturing, explaining,

asking questions, demonstrating, giving assignments or instructions, monitoring behavior,

providing feedback, and assessing -centered requires

participation from the students such as listening, responding, reading aloud or silently,

working alone on independent seatwork, and taking tests.

20

Intertextuality can easily be applied in participatory approach when the reading text is

considered as a tool for both learning as well as constructing new knowledge. In this study,

participatory approach was used in an oral discourse constructed in discussions and

conversations. Two research objectives were identified in the study.

The first objective was to identify the prominent sources for intertextuality that students

re-contextualisation, re-storying and reflection, were used as a framework for this study. Re-

contextualisation occurs when the reader uses schematic knowledge to facilitate

understanding of the text. Re-storying transpires when the reader interprets the text by

narrating, using his or her personal life and social contexts, as sources. Meanwhile, reflection

is a form of reflective thinking where the reader is able to generate his or her own views,

values and conclusion. The second objective then was to characterize the three themes by

looking at how they emerge during text discussions.

Methodology

Participants and texts for discussion

The study employed purposeful selection of participants who were proficient in the English

language since the study examined the construction of intertextual links made during text

discussions. This key decision is strongly advocated by Creswell (1988) who suggests

purposeful selection of participants in a qualitative study. Hence, participants in this study

comprised of third year TESL undergraduate students from Universiti Teknologi MARA who

were competent in English, judging from the level of their study as well as their engaging

manner and active participation in discussions held in the classroom. Two texts that shared a

similar theme were selected for discussion purposes. The texts comprised of two chapters

The Last Lecture (2008). The first chapter described how a college professor

dealt with grief and his plans for the short future, while the second text represented his

strength and positive outlook on living life to the fullest. The two chapters were selected

based on their content and relevance to the topic that was discussed in previous lessons.

Data collection and analysis procedures

Data presented in this study were derived from a classroom of semester five TESL

undergraduates with a total of 30 students, comprising of 25 female and 5 male students. The

21

students worked in small groups (3 to 4 in a group) and the duration of the study was 3

weeks. In the first week, the first chapter was given to the students and after reading the text,

a small-group text discussion ensued, using English as the medium of discussion. Similarly,

the second week focused on reading the second text and followed by another round of text

discussion. In the third week, discussions were held based on the general concept to create a

common knowledge and share similar experiences. Discussions were led by the instructor

during the discussions so that more input could be extracted from the participants. Clips of

cartoon characters, Tigger and Eeyore, were shown on the projector to ensure that students

could identify the characters and link the information to the second text. In each text

discussion, students were required to express their opinions to three open ended questions

pertaining to the text.

Data were collected during the three lessons where discussions were audio-recorded and

transcribed verbatim. The study uses an ethnographic approach to discourse analysis where

the true nature of interaction and action were reflec

performed using an inductive approach in which the focus was more on patterns and key

themes found in the data. Subsequently, the key themes were then interpreted and connected

Results

namely, re-contextualisation, re-storying and reflection. Findings demonstrate how

intertextual connections emerged in the discourse between the students and how those links

promoted the use of CCTS throughout the discussions.

Re-contextualisation

Re-contextualisation occurred in the discussions when students related their personal

experiences and knowledge of the world with the reading text. However, diverse linguistic

they became more critical and re

that linguistic background plays a major role in a text discussion where it allows students to

re-contextualise the text by re-defining and affirming their stance of what could be thought as

appropriate to the immediate context. The findings revealed that text discussions allowed the

22

exchange of differing viewpoints and helped the students become more critical and reflective

readers. The following example illustrates this situation.

Example A: Discussion data extracted from Group #4 S3: I think Randy loved his work too much. All he could be thinking was work; he should be

thinking about spending time with his family. S1: Agreed. He was going to die. So spend time with his wife and kids. If I were

and spend my remaining days with my loved ones. How could he be so selfish and think only about his work and his ambitions?

S4: this is his way of telling everyone how much he loved his family. The way he talked about his

life ... more concerned about how his wife and kids would cope without him. S2: S4: L: S1: Initially I thought he was selfish because he wanted to do the lecture and spend precious little

time preparing work. Now I understand that it was for his wife and kids ... telling the world how much he loved them.

L: How did his family feel about this? S3: The way I interpret it, I think they must have felt left out because he was spending too much time

could celebrate with her, I would have felt hurt if I were the wife. S2: Most of the people I know who were dying spent much of their time on the hospital bed

surrounded by tearful relatives and friends. I want to be like Randy instead. All the tears in the world will not change the fact that death is already knocking on your door.

change of

viewpoints. Student 1 (S1) initially perceived the author as being a workaholic and selfish

thoughts as they helped each other share what was read and understood. Hence, re-

contextualisation provided students with the opportunities to re-look at the textual meaning

and collaboratively re-examine their comprehension and textual interpretation of the multiple

texts.

Re-storying

During the process of re-storying, students reconstructed themselves by forming narrative

interpretations using intertextual links between language, knowledge and experience. In the

study, students spontaneously shared their personal experiences during text discussions as

they shared their own life experiences in their conversations, thus making the discussions

longer and more engaging to all.

Example B: Discussion data extracted from Group #2 S3:

23

S1: Not cool for a man to cry. In movies, the women would cry for days till their eyes get swollen as

walking even when shot many times.

S2: I would be in tears for days, if I were him. L: Do we know anybody who has cancer and still fighting? S4: My close friend had cancer. She was very calm, like Randy. She never gave up hope, tried all

types of treatments hoping that the cancer will go away. But like Randy, she got her loved ones

her faith. I can understand how Randy felt. My friend died recently. But I am still awed by her courage and determination.

S3: Just look at her today. She looks healthier than any of us and the positive vibes that radiates from

ong a lot of other people with cancer and they survived. I strongly feel that -power and fate too, of course.

S2: as God determines our fate. Besides prayers, we must not stop trying to look for a cure.

S1: My aunt was strong. She fought hard and never stopped, never gave up hope. But in the end she lost the battle. It was a long battle for her and her family too. She had breast cancer but discovered it at late stage. Her kids were so affected after her death that they stayed away from

loss.

onal life and social contexts become two major

contributors in the re-

interpretation of the text. In the example, student 1 (S1) shared her personal experience and

concerns about a close relative who had to cope with a similar situation. By sharing

individual voices in the discussion, they shifted their attention away from the text and focused

students used re-storying as an intertextual link to interconnect the past, current and future

literary experience by using the text as well as themselves as resources for learning. This

proved to be a very meaningful learning experience for the students as they both explored and

me us

(Chi, 2001, p. 252).

Reflection

there is the basic assumption that learning is attributed to the process of reflection. Hence,

reflection in text discussion requires questioning strategy to promote it. In the study, students

were made aware of the context of situation and the role of the instructor was to initiate the

discussion with a real situation why people avoid talking about death.

Example C: Discussion data extracted from Group #1 L: Why do people stay away from talking about death?

24

S4: going to die one day, what more

S1: S2: Sorry to hear about your dad, but as a good Muslim you must include y

how a good son should do. Perhaps, God will answer your prayers and place him in heaven. S3:

p. But, am amazed at how Randy managed to put aside all

I wish I could be as strong as he was. L: Why do you think Randy did that? S1: So that his wife and ki

S4: Though we are only human, but we can still manage our life to the fullest. Like Randy, I think

the best way is to look back once in a while to see what else you need to accomplish in life so that you can manage the present and plan for the future. Randy did that, he knew what he wanted in life and he worked hard to accomplish them. And he managed to complete writing the lecture

admire his strength and willpower. S2:

know how much he loved his family and life.

Intertextual connection was evident when students reflected on their prior knowledge and life

experiences in a meaningful context. Reflection, as an intertextual link, allowed students to

use their CCTS during thinking, talking and reflecting processes. When students became

engaged in the text discussion, their reflective thoughts guided their talk and the issues were

then connected to the text being read. As such, the story read from the text became secondary

to the process. In example C, student 4 (S4) re-examined his earlier thoughts about dealing

with death and began to see the context from a broader perspective. As his viewpoint changed

positively, he was able to comprehend the textual meanings reflectively.

Conclusion

The idea behind this study is to offer fresh insights on how to promote intertextual

connections in reading classrooms using the participatory approach in a text-based discussion.

Both teacher and student-centered approaches were utilized during the text discussions and

the findings revealed that students were able to construct intertextual links using their critical

and creative thinking skills in a very meaningful context. Intertextual links constructed during

discussions allowed the students to share their personal experiences about social issues,

relationships, and life in general; hence giving the students a broader perspective beyond the

texts themselves.

Intertextuality is a potentially rich classroom resource in promoting reading comprehension

and textual interpretation. By highlighting the intertextual links students make during text

discussions, they become more engaged learners and heighten their awareness of their own

25

learning process. However, the role of the lecturer is also important in ensuring that all

students participate actively in the discussions as well as provide a supportive and

collaborative classroom environment for the students.

Some implications of this study involve both areas of research and teaching. Due to the

qualitative nature of this study, a more comprehensive research involving a larger number of

participants and different levels of language proficiency is needed for an in-depth

investigation of how intertextual links can promote greater comprehension and textual

interpretation in text-based classroom discussions. More effort should also be forwarded to

explicitly raise both teachers and students awareness of the importance of constructing

intertextual links to permeate their text discussions. This is particularly important in ESL

classroom settings where students require more classroom opportunities to share and

exchange ideas based on their personal and literary experiences. With intertextual links, there

exists multiple interpretive possibilities and both students as well as the teacher will have a

broader perspective that goes far beyond the text itself.

References Alvermann, D.E., & Moore, D.W. (1991). Secondary school reading. In R. Barr, M.L. Kamil, P.B. Mosenthal, &

P.D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of reading research: Volume II (pp. 951-983). White Plains, NY: Longman.

Chi, F.M. (2001). Intertextual talk as collaborative shared inquiry in learning English as a foreign language. Proceedings of the National Science Council, ROC Part C: Humanities and Social Sciences, 11(3), 247-255.

Creswell, J. W. (1988). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Gee, J. P. & Green, J. L. (1998). Discourse analysis, learning, and social practice: A methodological study. Review of Research in Education, 23, 119-169.

Goodlad, J.I. (1994). What schools are for. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation Collie, J., & Slater, S. (1987). Literature in the language classroom: A resource book of ideas and activities. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP.

Kristeva, J. (1980). Word, dialogue, and novel. In L. S. Roudiez (Trans.), T. Gora et al. (Eds.), Desire and Language (pp. 64-91), New York: Columbia University Press

Pausch, R. (2008). The last lecture. New York, NY: Hyperion. Wade, S.E., & Moje, E. B. (2000). The role of text in classroom learning. In M.L. Kamil, P.B. Mosenthal, P.D.

Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research: Volume III (pp. 609-627). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Wallace, C. (1992). Reading. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

26

Developing

Teacher

Oral

Competency

Framework

for

Secondary

School

Teachers:

Moving

Towards

Meaningful

Teaching

of

English

Language Fahainis Mohd. Yusof

and Hamida

Bee

Bi

Abdul

Karim

(Universiti

Utara

Malaysia, Malaysia)

Abstract

The secondary school English curriculum in Malaysia advocates that English could provide

greater opportunities for students to improve their knowledge and skills in cross cultural

settings. Additionally, they will be able to interact with students from other countries and

improve their proficiency in English. Given the increasing importance of international

interactions among English users from different backgrounds and the current approaches in

ELT pedagogy in literature, this paper examines the oral competency skills of a group of

English teachers. Data was collected in a seminar specially carried out for a group of selected

English teachers. Through micro-teachings sessions, the English teachers demonstrated their

use of oral communication skills in delivering the content of the subjects. This seminar was

an attempt to establish the collaboration among recognised Excellent English Teachers and

their colleagues to enhance their oral communication skills in classrooms. The results

indicated the potential of developing an oral competency framework that could be constructed

and referred to by secondary English teachers so as to enhance their effectiveness of teaching

the content knowledge to their students. This oral competency framework would provide an

excellent opportunity to help realise the purpose of using English as the medium of

instruction as proposed within the curriculum.

Introduction

In Malaysia, there is no set of agreed upon oral competency framework for secondary school

teachers. Research outside Malaysia shows that one set of competency framework does not

always fit teaching specialisations (Barblett & Maloney, 2002). This study is designed to

evaluate the oral competencies of secondary schools teachers in Malaysia.

The research will identify and evaluate the oral competencies in two areas, i.e. personal

competencies and professional competencies for secondary school teachers. The development

doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.2n.1p.26

27

of the nation depends on the quality of its education. The teacher is the most important factor

in the process of education. The quality and level of excellence in education depend upon the

quality and competence of the teacher.

Definition of key terms

Oral communication skills

Communication skills which contribute to effective teaching practice have been regarded as

important factors in teacher education courses (Lee, 1997). Bleach (2000, p. 10) states that

communication skills can be explored under two broad headings - verbal communication and

nonverbal communication and the ways in which these practices are used effectively in

and

the context of this study, teacher talk and language is one of the verbal communication skills

presented by Bleach (2000).

Therefore, communication skills in this study are regarded as the following: teacher talk and

language; skills of interacting; skills of transmitting an appropriate message by presenting;

explaining and discussing; checking the message has been received by questioning,

prompting and clarifying; and non-verbal communication skills used by the teachers in their

learning and teaching contexts and how their communication skills depend on each other.

Competence

According to Kalra (1997) competence is usually understood as quality performance. It

that does not change applicably when teacher moves from one situation to another.

Literature review

Secondary education in Malaysia

The role of English in the Malaysian education system underlies some issues with regard to

the teaching of English and Mathematics in English at secondary schools. The central focus

of the Secondary School English Language Program and Mathematics in Kurikulum Baru

28

Sekolah Menengah (New Secondary School Integrated Curriculum (NSSIC) is the

development of the four language skills - reading, writing, listening and speaking. In fact, it is

stipulated in the curriculum specifications that teaching is to emphasize oracy (listening and

speaking), literacy (reading and writing) skills and numeracy.

The current curriculum, NSSIC is based on the National Education Philosophy. The objective

is to create a wholesome individual with high moral values. The introduction of the NSSIC

curriculum into Malaysian secondary schools has brought changes to the roles of teachers and

students in the traditional classroom. For the teacher, the NSSIC requires a shift away from

the traditional strategies of teacher-dominated and teacher-directed classes. Teachers are

encouraged to develop a strategy of encouraging learners to take a more active role in their

own learning. In addition, the curriculum provides opportunity to students to develop their

talent in certain vocations. The main focus of the curriculum is on an integrated educational

approach. The approach incorporates knowledge with skills and moral values. It also

combines theory with practical training, curriculum with co-curriculum. Although

government officials have asked teachers to begin focusing on oral communication skills in

English instruction based on the communicative methodology, it is not clear whether the

majority of secondary school teachers have sufficient English competency to teach English

effectively or whether they even have confidence in their ability to instruct their students to

speak English.

Malaysian classrooms teaching, focus upon procedural competence, thus the quality of oral

communication that is actually taking place within Malaysian classrooms should be of great

concern especially if the teachers who are teaching English are themselves not competent in

English. The assumption is that students could learn both the language and the content with

appropriate instructional supports. Clearly, we need to identify some of those instructional

supports and the development of an appropriate oral competency framework will help serve

the purpose, that is, through the creation of meaningful oral communication skills standards

for meaningful; teaching and learning of English language. Moreover, research shows that

culturally and linguistically sensitive learning environments are essential for success in

create such environments, we must integrate principles of effective instructions for foreign-

language learners (Khisty, 2002).

29

Research in teacher education

Internationally, it is evident that large numbers of ESL teachers in secondary schools require

further professional development to improve their oral communication skills (Johnson, 1995).

Current views of professional development generally position teachers as active participants

who work democratically in learning communities to address issues surrounding their work.

A major goal is to

practice, drawing on what they have learned from various sources (Ball & Cohen, 1999;

Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000; Lieberman & Miller, 2001).

A recent Malaysian government document entitled Education Development Master Plan

2006-2010, which was launched in 2006, identified the importance of developing

professionalism among teachers in primary and secondary schools as one of the six strategies

stated. In this regard, Vision 2020 also emphasizes teacher training where the teachers have to

become researchers as well as reflective practitioners. By 2020, both educators and student

teachers should develop higher order intellectual capacities which allow them to critique their

experiences and think reflectively about the teaching knowledge base. One of the key

components of both documents is the urgent need for teacher education.

The development of their communication skills would certainly very much depend on how

their teachers orally communicated with them when teaching the content of the lessons. In

other words, to enhance academic success, teachers need to provide meaningful, content-area

instruction presented in a framework of appropriate language development skills. As teachers

foreign (English) language skills and content-area knowledge (Ovando & Collier, 1998), an

oral competency framework could provide an important guide for the teachers to identify and

implement the important linguistic concepts, especially within the domain of oral

competencies, in order to provide students with comprehensible input that is (slightly) above

ssroom, the most important model of

academic language and its meanings is the teacher (Khisty, 2002).

Vision 2020, which

calls for a technologically literate, critically thinking work force prepared to participate fully

National Philosophy

of Education. Teachers must be able to keep up with the rapid expansion of knowledge. This

30

is where language plays its role, because all knowledge including new knowledge is gathered,

developed and disseminated through language. This is because language cuts across all fields

of knowledge (Lee, 1997). Therefore, a positive and pro-active action is being taken by the

Teacher Education Division to train teachers with the knowledge of the English language and

Mathematics, i.e. the Oral Competency Framework for the secondary school teachers.

Research in teacher competency

According to Kalra (1997) competence is usually understood as quality performance. It is not

in the form of single and direct acts such as particular attitudes, habits or specific knowledge.

It is in the form of summation of some behaviours as clustered activities. In addition,

competence is a dynamic pattern of performance. It remains an estimate unless actually

power, skills, means or talent to perform his functions satisfactorily as a teacher. Teacher

competence infact, is a stable characteristic of the teacher that does not change applicably

when teacher moves from one situation to another.

the goal of communicative language teaching in

the classroom is crucial in stimulating and regulating the learning activities of students

(Savignon, 2001). Oral communicative instruction needs to be maximized when teachers

actively engage students in learning, use effective questioning and discussion techniques that

teaching techniques, and communicate with clarity and accuracy (Mastropieri & Scruggs,

2004). However, there has been little emphasis in teaching preparation programs on preparing

teachers to use oral communication effectively for teaching and learning activities

communication skills as demonstrated in the context of their teaching situations.

The need for teacher competency arises because the competent teacher possesses the ability to

provide for and personally utilize more positive reinforcement and the elimination of tension

within the classroom and to facilitate the development of more positive feeling within the

children. The ability to provide increased opportunities for children is to present unsolicited

facts, information and opinions during classroom teachings. At the international level, the

debate concerning teaching standards has been intense and resulted in the emergence of a

31

plethora of teaching standards frameworks. In some states in Australia, such as Western

Australia and Queensland, documents have been produced which outline the generic teaching

competencies for all teachers (Barblett & Maloney, 2002). Barblett and Maloney (2002) also

argue that teaching standards across the world have shown to increase teacher effectiveness

and influence positive outcomes for students. Standards guide teachers how to become better

at what they do so that learning takes place not only for students but for teachers as well.

It seems timely that within Malaysia, there ought to be a framework which identifies key

elements of effective teaching practice for English competent teachers to teach English. As

pointed out by Ingvarson (1998), a professional body is defenceless without standards and a

demonstrated ability to articulate standards for high quality practice is an essential credential

if a professional body is to be taken seriously by the public and policy makers.

Primary aim of study

Malaysian secondary school teachers with the focus on the teaching of English.

Research objectives

A significant number of objectives in this study will be achieved from the following:

To explore oral communications skills in the teaching of English.

To determine oral competencies required by secondary school teachers involved in the

Malaysian education system.

To make explicit the oral communication skills of English secondary school teachers.

accompany Teacher

Competency Framework.

competency framework.

and teacher training.

To document the Teacher Oral Competency Framework in reflecting the best teaching

practices that would be required of the Malaysian education system.

32

Research questions (RQ)

The study addressed the main research question:

What are the oral competencies required of teachers involved in teaching and learning of

English language at Malaysian secondary schools?

The specific research questions are:

secondary school classrooms?

Q2. What oral communication competencies should the teachers acquire in the near future?

Q3. How do teachers perceive their own oral communication skills in their teaching

contexts?

Q4. What kind of oral communication difficulties, if any, do teachers experience in

teaching?

Q5. How can the teachers use this framework to develop their oral competencies in

teaching?

Methodology

Research design

This study is conceptualized within the interpretive paradigm. Denzin and Lincoln (1998)

subsume interpretivism under qualitative research. Interpretivists are concerned with

understanding the meanings which people give to objects, social settings, events and

behaviours of others, and how these understandings in turn define the settings. In order to

retain the integrity of the phenomena under study, an interpretivist approach in research and a

qualitative study are needed to further provide a rich description of the Teacher Oral

Competency Framework. It is a spiral process of action, collation, reflection and review,

where the input of teachers will be incorporated in the development of the framework. Since

the framework. Therefore, data collection techniques will reflect this need. Data collection

methods consist of interviews, videotaping of classroom interactions and communications,

written editorial comments from experts and surveys will be used to provide the rich

descriptions.

33

Participants

Random and purposive sampling is chosen for sampling method in this study. Purposive

sampling is often used in qualitative research. According to Lincoln and Guba (1985),

purposive sampling allows the full scope of issues to be explored. Purposive sampling can be

very useful for situations where there is a need to reach a targeted sample quickly and where

sampling for proportionality is not the primary concern. Participants are selected because of

specific characteristics. Based on a purposive sampling procedure (Creswell, 2008), the

teachers were identified using the following purposes: variations in teaching experience,

professional capabilities and qualifications.

A significant number of participants in this study were drawn from the following:

1. A reference group of experts from the field locally and abroad. The local reference group

consists of Adjunct Professors; Professors Emeritus; Professors of Education; Directors

of Education from CDC, Teacher Division, States Education Directors. The abroad group

consists of representatives from Western Australian and New Zealand Education

Department and /or Queensland University of Technology.

2. Three focus groups of five English language teachers (Form 1, Form 2 and Form 4) from

the northern states of Malaysia.

Data collection

The data was collected in the following phases.

Phase One: Familiarization with the professional development context and selection of

participants

A reference group of experts from Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand were convened and

invited to comment on the language policy and the national curriculum, and teaching and

learning of English language. Document analysis and a brief literature review were conducted

on topics such as Teaching Standards Framework, effective teachings of English, and initial

stages of the teaching profession.

This phase enables the researcher to clarify the context of the study and to select participants

for Phase Two. The main objective is to familiarise the researcher with the context of

developing the framework. This phase involved an interview with the writer of the framework

in Australia and non participant observation.

34

Phase Two: Conducting a seminar

This phase enabled the researcher to collect information from the focus groups of expert

teachers on their oral communications skills in classrooms and their views on what kind of

oral communication skills teachers should have and would be able to do. The teachers will be

selected based on the following purposes: qualification; teaching experience; experience of

teaching at secondary schools and professional development.

While the participants were watching videos on teaching, the participants were asked to

observe and identify oral communication skills that were centred on the taxonomy which was

developed from three existing sets of categories: oral communication skills, communication

strategies, and non verbal communication. Data collected from videotaping will be

transcribed and analysed under the identified aspects of the oral communication skills

dimensions. The outcome of the analysis will be given to the teachers to be reviewed,

commented on, and edited.

Data analysis

As is typical in qualitative research (Creswell, 2008), an inductive analysis of the data was

adopted so that themes emerged from the data. Being an interpretivist study, there was on-

going data analysis of the corpus of data which included transcripts of classroom observations

field notes. The transcriptions and the field notes were used as a basis for identifying the main

contributions; sociating/establishing and maintaining classroom rapport; organizing/giving

instructions; directing; presenting/explaining; evaluating/correcting; and eliciting/questioning

to the students. The process of analysis involved examining and re-examining the data to

discover the emergence of recurrent patterns of oral communication skills. As the data was

varied and dense, it was necessary first to identify the most noticeable pre-determined

categories to allow for in-depth, thorough analysis.

As this study is primarily the analysis of transcripts of classroom communication, it was felt

that elements of discourse analysis should be used which refers to the procedures used for

examining chunks of written and spoken language (Allwright & Bailey, 1991). Being a

35

means of close examination

mind, however, that discourse analysis is a very broad term and covers many analytic

processes, from coding to more qualitative interpretations. The latter is the procedure adopted

in this study. Certain behavioural features of oral communication skills were examined to

allow for a qualitative interpretation of patterns.

Taking these considerations into account and being aware of the anti-positivist, interpretive

paradigm, the researcher chose to develop pre-determined categories which arose from the

data. A taxonomy was self-developed, as outlined below. According to McDonough and

McDonough (1997), a researcher can develop his or her own categories for some particular

(p. 108). In this stance, existing sets of categories were utilised to suit the

purpose of investigating patterns of oral communication skills which can only emerge from

the data.

The data were openly coded to allow for the data to be categorised. The transcripts proved to

be voluminous, which resulted in the identification of three sets of categories for further

analysis. These are as follows:

f oral communication skills (2000)

The first two categories of oral communication skills were developed for second language

classroom research in particular and language education in general. The first set of categories,

proposed by Bowers (1980), covered a wide variety of oral communication skills in teaching

The categories were used to analyse every utterance in the language lessons, either by

sociating/establishing and maintaining classroom rapport; organising/giving instructions;

directing; presenting/explaining; evaluating/correcting; and eliciting/questioning. These

aspects were all a focus of the present study of communicative competence. Therefore,

categories formed the first part of the taxonomy.

36

The second set of categories, proposed by Bleach (2000), included a nonverbal component of

oral communication skills and other verbal components. These categories were developed by

Bleach from normal teaching practice. A particular feature in these categories is that they

make use of different levels of generalisations. This includes three categories of oral

communication skills: teacher talk and language, explaining, and listening.

The above two sets of categories focused on mainly the same oral communication skills, as

communication skills and clearer definitions and examples. Examples of these oral skills are

the use of different sentence structures of teacher talk, basic skills of explaining, making

explanations easier to remember and understand, listening, and the different types of

nonverbal components of oral communication skills. Oral communication skills and non

verbal communication are related to the content of the lesson (Bowers, 1980; Bleach, 2000).

These skills were all a focus of the present study of communicative competence. Therefore,

In this study, a third set of categories was developed for communication strategies. These

strategies were adapted from Williams et al. (1997) who classified CSs into confirmation

checks, clarification requests and comprehending/comprehension checks. These categories

proved to be very useful for this study because many types of strategies observed in the data

-based. As

question type that seeks

repetition or confirmation of something in the other. Although these two strategies are

referred to as having the same meaning, the study included them both and made a distinction

third part of the taxonomy used in the

present study.

The present study is therefore innovative in nature and uses an eclectic approach, covering a

wide variety of oral communication skills and CSs. The advantage of the three-part taxonomy

was that it has the potential to identify every oral communication skill and communication

strategies that occurred.

The developed taxonomy includes three general categories: oral communication skills,

nonverbal component of oral communication skills and communication strategies. It should

37

be noted, however, that because of the nature of communication, some oral communication

skills could be in either category depending on the communicative context. The following

Table 1 shows categories of examples of oral communication skills observed in classrooms

and also a sample from the analysis of one participant.

Initial findings and discussions of the Development of Teacher Oral Competency

Framework

Phase one

The interviews were conducted in person in order to prompt responses from the education

gather in-depth information about teachers' competency and knowledge perceptions on oral

communication skills when teaching and learning took place. The interview was conducted

on 5 June 2009. The writer of the competency framework from Western Australia Education

Department stated that:

Professional attributes outline the characteristics that are readily identifiable as essential to effective teaching. These attributes ensure teachers are prepared for the challenges, demands and obligations of teaching. In addition, professional attributes provide the underpinning values, beliefs and skills for the decisions and actions teachers make in their day-to-day work. They describe the attitudes and behaviours through which teachers demonstrate their ability to facilitate student learning. Effective teachers demonstrate the following professional attributes . . . and one of those is effective communicator. Teachers have a presence that creates a

modifying their language according to the context and audience.

Phase two

The developed taxonomy includes three general categories: oral communication skills,

nonverbal component of oral communication skills and communication strategies. It should

be noted, however, that because of the nature of communication, some oral communication

skills could be in either category depending on the communicative context. The following

table shows categories of examples of oral communication skills observed in classroom and

also a sample from the analysis of one participant.

38

Table 1: Taxonomy of Categories Classroom

establishing and maintaining classroom rapport Good evening everybody. OK. Sit down.

Organizing/giving instructions

Directing Studen Presenting/explaining

Evaluating/correcting Eliciting/questioning (e.g. comprehension checks, clarification requests, confirmation checks, referential, display, expressive rhetorical )

Where do you come from?

Discussion Listening Teacher talk and language -Be simple, be short and be human The teacher varies the length of statements by using:

1. the concrete noun rather than the abstract; 2. the active voice rather than the passive; 3. the short sentence rather than the long; 4. the simple sentence rather than the

compound; 5. the direct statement rather than the

circumlocution; 6. people as the subject whenever possible.

What is a tray? Something you put the food on. When you go to cafetedrink on the tray. I want the answer I call you first Look at page 96 Okay next one You can draw if you want to

Tone, volume and pace of voice Appearance Eagerness and interest Nodding and head shaking Confidence and caring Confirming/confirmation checks Did you mean? Clarifying/ clarification requests

understand) Comprehending/comprehension checks All right? OK? Understand? Or Do you

know what I mean? Reformulating/reformulations (These utterances offer some modification of the previous utterance).

How do you spell: wives ? Which one, singular or plural?

Repetition (These are exact duplications of what has been uttered) t Circumlocution (The strategy of describing the characteristics features of intended meanings or express his/her meaning in several words

Emotion? What? Again?

Code switching (The strategy of drawing upon L1 to solve the problem)

Wha rojak ?

The present study indicated that the teachers of English usually incorporate the subjects with

many activities and visits to make them more interesting and thus the students may like these

teachers more. In the observed lesson, the materials were presented in an interesting way by

giving appropriate examples and illustrations whenever necessary. The lesson was mainly

presented by means of discussion. The content of the lessons was closely related to the

textbook used. Audio-visual aids are used in order to help the students understand the text

39

more intelligently, or to help them get better insight into the subject. The questions used in

the lesson were thought provoking with some guidance and direction for the better

understanding of them. Generally, a good learning atmosphere is created because the teacher

is warm and friendly.

Conclusions and implications

The Framework is based on the premise that effective teachers draw on a body of professional

knowledge in order to maximise their ability to improve student educational outcomes.

Knowledge of students, curriculum, subject matter, pedagogy, education-related legislation

and the specific teaching context is the foundation of effective teaching which enables

teachers to be responsive to the changing needs of students.

40

References Aitken, J. (1998). The capable teacher, Number 2, Summer 1998. Allwright, D., & Bailey. K.M. (1991). Focus on the language classroom: An introduction classroom research for

language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ball, D., & Cohen, D. (1999). Developing practice, developing practitioners: Toward a practice-based theory of

professional education. In G. Sykes & L. Darling-Hammond (Eds.), Teaching as a learning profession: Handbook of policy and practice (pp. 3-32). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Barblett, L. & Maloney, C. (2002). Describing standards for early childhood teachers: Moving the debate forward to the National level. Paper presented at the Annual General Conference for the Australian Association for Educational Research, Brisbane, December 1-5.

Bleach, K. (2000). . London: David Fulton Publishers. Bowers, R. (1980). Verbal behaviour in the language teaching classroom. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Reading. Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R.R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and

school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Creswell, J.W. (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and qualitative

research. New York: Prentice Hall. Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1998). Handbook of qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE

Publications. Ingvarson, L. (1998). Professional development as the pursuit of professional standards: The standards based

professional development system. Teaching and Teacher Education, 14(1), 127-140. Johnson, K. E. (1995). Understanding communication in second language classrooms. New York: Cambridge

University Press. Khisty, L. L. (2002). Mathematics learning and the Latino student: Suggestions from research for classroom

practice. Teaching Children Mathematics, 9(1), 32-35. Lee, P. (1997). Collaborative practices for educators: Strategies for effective communication. Minnesota: Peytral

Public Lieberman, A., & Miller, L. (Eds.). (2001). Teachers caught in the action: Professional development that

matters. New York: Teachers College Press. Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Lee, P. (1997). Collaborative practices for educators: Strategies for effective communication. Minnesota: Peytral

Public Mahzan Bakar. (2006). Preface. In Ministry of Education Malaysia, Integrated Curriculum for Secondary

Schools: Curriculum Specifications Mathematics, Curriculum Development Centre, Ministry of Education Malaysia.

Mastropieri, M.A., & Scruggs, T.E., (2004). Effective classroom instruction. In C. Spilberger (Ed.), Encyclopedia of applied psychology. Oxford: Elsevier. (pp 687-691).

McDonough, J. & McDonough, S., (1997). Research Methods for English Language Teachers. London: Arnold. Ministry of Education Malaysia, Integrated Curriculum for Secondary Schools: Curriculum Specifications

English Curriculum Development Centre, Ministry of Education Malaysia. Ovando, C. & Collier, V. (1998). Bilingual and ESL Classrooms: Teaching in Multicultural Contexts. New

York: McGrawHill. - -Murcia (ed.),

Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. Boston: Heinle & Heinle. Van Lier, L. (1996). Interaction in the language curriculum. London: Longman. Williams, J., Inscoe, R., & Tasker, T. (1997). Communication strategies in an interactional context: the mutual

achievement of comprehension. In G. Kasper & E. Kellerman (Eds.), Communication strategies: Psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic perspectives (pp. 304-322). London: Longman.

41

Linking

Task-based

Language

Teaching

and

Sociocultural

Theory: Private

Speech

and

Scaffolding

in

Reading

Comprehension Soheila Tahmasebi

(Islamic

Azad University, Abadan

Branch,

Iran)

Morteza

Yamini

(Islamic

Azad University, Shiraz

Branch,

Iran)

Abstract

In Sociocultural Theory, mediations in second language learning include (1) mediation by

others (2) mediation by self (3) and mediation by artifacts, which incorporates brilliant

insights for EFL contexts (Lantolf, 2000). Putting these ideas in a task-based method, the

present study aimed at examining the contribution of scaffolding and private speech in

social or interpersonal activities they engage in. Screened through an Oxford Placement Test,

54 EFL freshmen taking a reading comprehension course participated in this study and

formed two randomly divided groups and pretested using a 30-item TOEFL test of reading

comprehension. The control group benefited from a teacher, who paraphrased, summarized

and provided the meaning of the new words and expressions. The experimental group was

asked to do the same tasks through collaboration, private speech and artifacts. Students'

performances were video-taped to be used for discourse analyses and provide measures of

fluency, accuracy and complexity (Iwashita, Elder, & McNamara, 2001). Two types of

measurements were used: 1) a final test of reading comprehension, 2) an oral presentation of a

text whose readability matched that of the texts used during the experiment. The students'

performances on presenting the text orally were rated based on the idea units recalled

(Johnson, 1970). The data analysis revealed no difference between the two groups in the final

test, but in oral presentation, the experimental group outperformed the control group.

Introduction

The emergence of different learning theories has affected language teaching and has

eventually stimulated teachers to welcome some changes in language classes. Searching about

doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.2n.1p.41

42

some theories through task-based teaching might be a tempting issue as long as the findings

might bring about some new perspectives in language learning.

Sociocultural theory of Mind (SCT) developed by Vygotsky (1987) and Leontiev (1981) as

one of the influential theories in learning has ultimately influenced language teaching. SCT

has opened a new paradigm in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and has so deeply

affected the SLA that Lantolf (2000) coined "Sociocultural SLA". Describing SCT, Lantolf

argues that in higher mental activities a kind of mediation exists and what mediates the mind

is the social activity. In other words, this theory asserts that social activities organize endowed

capabilities like language and enable individuals to consciously control mental activities like

planning and problem solving. To further elaborate on the tenets of SCT, talking about the

opposite fronts, which suggest different views for language learning, seems necessary.

The dominant theories underlying SLA called behaviorism and cognitivism, focus on the

formation of language habits and the genetic knowledge of a person, respectively.

Sociocultural theories attempt to focus on the contexts, acts, and motives of language events

between individuals due to the fact that they are simultaneously social and cognitive.

Cognitive theorists argue that language, as a genetically endowed and innately controlled

phenomenon, follows some internally directed paths, and finally appear as a result of triggers

provided in the linguistic environment. They also put forward the modularity of language and

hypothesized that language learning is different from other forms of learning (Chomsky,

1972). According to this view, language is acquired even after minimal exposure to linguistic

data.

Like Chomsky, SCT theorists believe that the origin of language is in the mind, but they argue

that language learning is not different from other forms of learning. For language learning,

sociocultural theories use terms like "participation" instead of "acquisition" arguing that

language learning is not a matter of taking in some knowledge but of taking part in social

activities. These issues revitalize the debate over knowledge and use of language ignored in

some theories. Accordingly, Ellis (2003), elaborating on Sfard (1998) points out that in L2

learning, knowledge equals use and use brings about knowledge. That is, the distinction

between these two concepts is no further recognized in SCT principles.

43

In this regard, Nunn (2001) mentions five components called regulation, activity theory,

mediation, private speech, and the zone of proximal development central in SCT. Not having

been utilized in this study, the two first items are just briefly introduced.

Wertsch (1985, p.112) asserts that activity theory raises questions like "what the individual or

group is doing in a partic . This theory provides a framework to analyze what

learners do in interaction.

Wertsch (1985) also puts forward four levels of regulation for understanding and analyzing

issues like interaction, mediation, and relationships between people. The levels include (1)

Object-regulation; (2) Other-regulation; (3) Self-other-regulation; (4) Self-regulation; the last

one, as the ultimate level of attainment, is accomplished when an individual gains complete

control and ability to function independently.

Mediation

In SCT mediation of human behavior happens through tools and sign systems, with language

being the most important of all. According to Vygotsky (1987), tools and language are not

fixed, and they get new forms in human history and its cultural development; therefore,

language is no longer distinguished from its use. He further argues that external social speech

is internalized through mediation; therefore, society is connected to mind in this way.

When all forms of learning take place due to interaction, language learning cannot be an

exception. Artigal (1992) suggests social interaction as a newly recognized place for language

acquisition device. Eventually language acquisition is not the result of interaction but comes

true in the interaction. That is, language organizes thought and plays a bidirectional role: as a

means and as a manager; it involves how to use language to mediate language learning. It is

worth mentioning that in this view interaction could be both dialogic and monologic although

the role of the former is underlined as being more crucial. Vygotsky (1987) metaphorically

explains that social planes are precursors for any functions to appear in psychological planes.

ural development appear twice:

first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level. For example, language takes place

first between people (interpsychological), and then inside the child (intrapsychological). In

other words, social interaction is a prerequisite to cognitive development to transfer an

interpersonal process into an intrapersonal one (Nunn, 2001).

44

Conspicuous in SCT and related to interaction, is the concept of Zone of Proximal

Development (ZPD), which identifies the limit to which someone can learn new information

with the assistance of someone else who might be an expert, such as a teacher, or a fellow

learner at the same level or slightly higher level of competence than the learner. These

characters act as mediators between the student and the knowledge the student is trying to

understand and eventually assist the learner in reaching goals not likely to be accomplished by

the learner alone.

In ZPD each student owns two levels of learning potential: one potential is reachable by itself

knowledge from classmates can assist learners to obtain the ZPD while rote copying of

language knowledge is not so much determining. Besides scaffolding, private speech is

another way through which the person below ZPD could be assisted. Accordingly, our

internal mental ability to use and manipulate language is the result of mediation through

language. In other words, in SCT language development emerges out of talks in two distinct

ways: (1) through some forms of scaffolding when the learner is interacting with others; and

(2) through private talk when the learner tries to regulate his/her thoughts. Artifacts and signs

are also suggested as means of mediation, and language is considered as the most powerful

sign of mediation.

Scaffolding or collaborative learning

Proponents of SCT stress the roles played by other people i

mediators to help learners move to subsequent zones (Williams & Burden, 1997). The

concept of ZPD emphasizes that individuals are interdependent and social processes have

crucial roles in developing all forms of knowledge, including language (Xu, Gelfer, &

Perkins, 2005). As a major principle, the self-regulation (described in introduction) in SCT,

social process.

Oxford (1997)

cultural activities they experience. Therefore, SCT foregrounds the importance of learning

processes, rather than the educational outcomes. It is also suggested that the interpretation of

45

learning processes be considered in the immediate social situation and the sociocultural

context in which learning activities take place (Kumpulainen & Mutanem, 2000). It means

that sociocultural theorists deal with the development of language knowledge at a macro

level, rather than breaking language into its components.

Following these views, in L2 language learning, learners first produce linguistic forms and

functions while interacting with others, peers, native speakers or teachers, and subsequently

internalize them so that they can use forms and functions independently. In other words, in

SLA each individual learns language while mediated by others in the context of language

learning as a prerequisite for internalizing language.

Referred to as scaffolding by Vygotsky and cooperative learning by Brown (2001), this

concept emphasizes the role that interaction plays in SCT. As Jacobs et al. (2002) assert, the

link between second language learning and SCT is a perspective which highlights the way

through which L2 learners enhance learning according to the context and their relation with

other peers. Different researchers have empirically studied the issue of collaborative learning,

and almost all of them report positive evidence for collaborative learning as a useful method

in SLA settings. Scaffolding, collaborative dialogue, peer assistance, and self-assistance are

issues viewed from SCT perspectives by some researchers, including the present authors.

Similar to our study, Hall (1995) considered a teacher judged to be knowledgeable, highly

proficient, and providing a linguistically rich environment, however, the teacher's analysis

shows that instruction limited student opportunities to facilitating interactional development.

Hall (1995) also argues that the class format which was IRE-dominated (initiation, response,

follow-up evaluation) did not bring about interaction between students or teacher and

students.

Likewise, Anton (1999) focused on the degree to which classrooms are made either teacher-

centered or learner-centered through the discourse. Analysis of the discourse revealed how the

interactional style of the instructor directed student attention in the lessons, creating a sense of

cooperation for the classroom activities. Thus, a learning-centered environment was created.

Anton also found that learner engagement and negotiation of meaning are reduced when

instruction is not "proleptic" or when instruction lacks scaffolding in the ZPD. This includes

46

communicative moves by the instructor in the use of directives, assisting questions, open-

ended questions, pauses, gestures, opportunities to bid for the floor.

Ellis and He (1999) found that the dialogic construction in peer interaction provided far more

opportunities for learners to learn new words than did monologically constructed formats.

This leads to opportunities for use, and negotiation of meaning. This outcome characterizes

dialogically based interactions.

Mendoza (2004) studied the issue of second language vocabulary learning from a

sociocultural point of view and observed that participants shared their knowledge and used

both linguistic and non-linguistic forms of assistance in their conversations. He also

concluded that the participants concentrated mostly on meaning considering the three aspects

of word knowledge (i.e. form, meaning, and use Nation, 1990). Mendoza (2004) identified

evidence of learning in his analysis since learners demonstrated knowledge development

when asked in the quizzes, reviews, and games. Moreover, the analysis revealed features that

facilitated understanding of word form, meaning, and use. The participants took advantage of

nternalize knowledge about the words.

Chen (2008) studied the effectiveness of collaborative learning both theoretically and

practically and found CL successful from perspectives of (1) motivational theory (2) social

interdependence theory, (3) Piagetian sociocognitivism, and (4) Vygotskian socioculturalism.

To sum up these and similar results, we can say that scaffolding or collaboration, as well as

dialogic interactions are suggested since they put forward at least two priorities: the

interactions are meaningful and shared between all members of the group; learners practice

language while they are using it and investing on each other's abilities. Regarding the

outcome, learners are more socially knowledgeable since they have integrated knowledge of

language and social interaction.

Private speech

Vygotsky defines inner-speech as the internalization of external forms of dialogic

communication (Nunn, 2001). He means that when confronted with tasks beyond the ZPD,

47

children invoke private speech. Children manipulate their thought and language to find and

organize the solution to a task beyond their ZPD. Inner-speech or private-speech is somewhat

analogous to think-aloud tasks and close in meaning to metatalk (Ellis, 2003). It is believed

that inner-speech means to talk to oneself in order to express the actions required to

successfully complete a task; this form of self-mediation guides the person to carry out an

activity, which is beyond their current competence. This is seen as an insight to strategies and

processes learners use to complete a task.

Children talk to themselves even when they are in the company of adults. Such talks, regarded

as practice, prepare the child to control his/her mental operations while doing different tasks

like using language. In the same way, adults including L2 learners can benefit from private

speech and mediate themselves in language learning. Frawley and Lantolf (1985) refer to a

principle called continuous access and point out that adults continue to adopt the strategies

that they used to employ in the past. In other words, adults favor private talk strategies in

gaining control over language functions and forms as they used to when they were children.

Therefore, in SCT, interpersonal interaction is not the only realized way for mediating

language learning. Private Speech (PS) is another way through which language learners can

mediate themselves. Private speech is not talking to oneself in front of the mirror but as Ohta

(2001) suggests it includes imitation, mental rehearsal and responses that a learner provides in

his mind to questions the teacher has asked another student.

What went on theoretically explained some concepts to justify the place of private talk in SCT

in order to pave the ground for introducing the studies, which have experimentally, put this

component into practice. Winsler (2004) studied the effectiveness of private talk in regulating

one's thought and found that more than 95% of adults talk to themselves; moreover, he

categorized the findings of some studies on private speech some of which are presented

below:

1. Adult second language learners use PS in L1 in learning contexts to help them

acquire L2 (Broner & Tarone, 2001; Ohta, 2001).

2. Private speech in L2 for the service of learning among adult L2 learners is more

common in advanced learners than in beginning L2 students (Lantolf, 1997).

48

3. There are cross cultural/linguistic differences in how, and how much, adult L2

learners use PS for language learning (McCafferty, 1994).

4. Children use more PS in open-ended and creative activities than in closed-ended,

goal-

use in naturalistic settings can be due to the classroom context changing with age

rather than child age per se (Krafft & Berk, 1998).

Extended to L2 learning, these results can point to situations where learners use private

speech in developing their language skills. All in all, the results of these and similar studies

reveal that private talk accelerates learning and ends in socio-linguistic development.

The study: framework, questions, and the objectives

Following SCT ideas, it was assumed that Iranian EFL learners needed to be assisted by self,

by peers and by the teacher in a reading course, instead of being provided with large amount

of linguistic input by the teacher; therefore, this study aimed to study the effects of

scaffolding (collaboration) and private speech on students during a reading course. Thus, the

study put these two components of SCT in a task-based framework to measure the outcomes

qualitatively and quantitatively. In other words, through collaborative and private speech,

students were asked to accomplish some tasks. In this regard the following research question

was formed:

Does SCT have any effects on Iranian EFL students' reading comprehension?

This study tried to merge SCT theoretical tenets with TBLT methodologies. TBLT and SCT

are highly compatible (Nunn, 2001; Ellis, 2003). Sifting through studies and the results that

emerge from SCT, we concluded that using sociocultural frameworks may provide more

words, through linking SCT tenets to TBLT methods, we may not only get more information

about the nature of TBLT methodologies, but can benefit from natural classroom interactions

that lead to autonomous learners. Consequently, we can manage what and how learners

perform under different task conditions to develop and maximize learning-centered second

language acquisition (Nunn, 2001).

49

In this study, two of SCT components, private speech and collaborative learning, are

considered as effective conditions in performing reading comprehension tasks. In other words,

putting into a TBLT framework, collaboration and private talk, are used as factors which may

arizing and paraphrasing tasks.

Method

Participants

Based on their performance on a 50-item Oxford Placement test of reading comprehension, 54

EFL freshmen who scored higher among a population of 80, were invited to take part in this

study during a reading comprehension course. Students were randomly divided into two

groups, control and experimental. Since the study aimed at checking the effects of an

instruction, which incorporated SCT tenets, both groups were exposed to a 30-item TOEFL

test of reading comprehension. Except for the method used, the teacher, the source book, and

allotted time for both groups were the same.

Procedures

The source book for both groups was "Select Readings: Intermediate" by Linda Lee and Erik

Gunderson (2001). In both classes, after introductory questions and preliminary discussions,

the teacher or VCD read out the text. The parts distinguishing the two classes emerged

immediately after the passages were read once or twice.

For the experimental group, the teacher asked the students to do different tasks such as

paraphrasing, summarizing, and discussing the ideas presented in each paragraph. The teacher

suggested that students collaboratively and through private speech for every other paragraph

- carry out the suggested tasks. For example, if the students were asked to collaboratively

paraphrase the first paragraph, they were asked to paraphrase the second one by themselves,

i.e. practice private speech.

On the other hand, for the control group, as it is usual in most language classes, the teacher

paraphrased, summarized and discussed the ideas in each paragraph in the whole lesson.

Students asked their questions if they had any.

The participants of the two groups, called by the teacher or voluntarily, read some of the

paragraphs, summarized them or talked about them. During the class hours, students'

50

performances were videotaped to be used for discourse analysis and to be measured for

fluency, accuracy and complexity (Iwashita, Elder, & McNamara, 2001). This method

continued for eight ninety-minute sessions. At the end of the course, students were post-

tested using the same 30-item TOEFL test used in the pretest. Moreover, students were asked

to orally present some passages, and their performance was videotaped to be scored based on

the idea units presented. The selected texts, unseen by the students, had readability below or

close to that of the text in the textbook ranging from 10 to 11. The students' performance on

the oral presentation task was counted as twenty percent of their final scores.

Data collection

0-item TOEFL test were recorded. The performance of each student

on oral presentation was also scored based on the idea units provided. Also called a linguistic

unit (Bransford & Franks, 1971; Carrell, 1983) as well as an information unit (Roller 1990),

an idea unit comprises the minimal words necessary to express a thought or idea.

Accordingly, the number of idea units that students recalled after reading the text measured

provided useful

dealing with the data qualitatively. For example, the importance of ideas in each text affected

rating.

As a result, three types of scores were obtained: scores representing (1) pretest, (2) final test

and (3) oral presentations based on idea units recalled. These data were subjected to t-test.

Moreover, the video-taped performances were rated with regard to fluency, accuracy and

complexity of the discourse. In other words, in order to compare the performances of the two

groups during the instructions, descriptive analyses were used which discussed students'

performance during the process.

Results and discussion

Statistical analysis

All the data were subjected to descriptive statistics. The results are presented in Table 1. The

pretest results reveal that the two groups were not so different. This is, of course confirmed by

inferential statistics shown in Table 2. No statistically significant difference can be observed

51

between the means of the control and experimental groups. It can be concluded that the two

groups were equal to begin with.

Table 1: Descriptive statistics

Group N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean Pretest Control 27 19.5556 5.47957 1.05454 Exprimental 27 18.9630 5.33120 1.02599 Finalexam Control 27 15.7778 4.03192 .77594 Exprimental 27 17.4074 4.55951 .87748 Oraltest Control 27 3.4815 1.69548 .32629 Exprimental 27 4.3704 1.33440 .25681

To see if the mean differences were statistically significant or not, independent-samples t-test

was run. The results are presented in Table 2.

Table2: Results of independent-samples t-test

Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means

F Sig. t df Sig. (2-tailed)

Mean Difference

pretest Equal variances assumed .354 .555 .403 52 .689 .59259

Equal variances not assumed .403 51.96 .689 .59259

finalexam Equal variances assumed .807 .373 -1.391 52 .170 -1.62963

Equal variances not assumed -1.391 51.23 .170 -1.62963

oraltest Equal variances assumed 259 .613 -2.141 52 .037 -.88889

Equal variances not assumed -2.141 49.28 .037 -.88889

As can be seen from Table 2, the two groups did not perform significantly differently in the

final exam, as the mean difference was not statistically significant. However, in terms of oral

paraphrases, they differed significantly. The experimental group outperformed the control

group.

Descriptive analysis dealing with aspects of discourse

Dealing with the results of tests used to check the effects of instruction is a useful method, but

to get deep insights about the events that happen in class we should directly consider the on-

52

going process that happens while implementing the tasks. Skehan (1998) suggests that

production requires some attention to form and distinguishes three aspects of production: (1)

fluency, the capacity of the learner to communicate meaningfully in real time (2) accuracy,

the ability of learners to use their interlanguage knowledge of language in production (3)

complexity, the utilization of interlanguage structures that are interesting, new, elaborate and

structured. For example, the number of words or false starts affects fluency, while the number

of self corrections or target-like uses of negation account for accuracy; frequent use of

conjunctions or number of turns would be considered as factors influencing complexity.

Ellis (2003) classifies these three factors and some specific measures used in various studies

(Appendix A) and argues that regarding the context, the emphasis on each of these factors is

classification. This framework for data analysis was used because it considered three aspects

of fluency, accuracy and complexity in learners' production. Since dealing with the

performances of all students needed detailed factor analysis and evaluating all students in one

session was impossible, it was decided to use the performance of those students who

performed in the ninth session; they did not exceed eight students in the control and nine in

the experimental group.

Although the performances of the two groups were very close in some aspects, e.g.,

complexity, they diverged in accuracy and fluency. For example, regarding the fluency,

students in the experimental group ran their ideas more smoothly since they used more words

per minute ( mean of 62 versus 50), ran more words in each turn (mean of 4 versus 3.5), and

used shorter pauses (12 versus 20). Regarding the accuracy, although both groups had

problems in managing tenses, using articles, and using plurals, again the experimental group

outperformed group one in other specific measures; percentage of error-free clauses for group

two against group one was (70% vs. 66%), moreover group two self-corrected their sentences

or their peers' sporadically while group one did not.

Both groups performed similarly in not using complex sentences, except for using three

conjunctions such as when, therefore, and because. Besides these numbers, the friendly and

active climate prevailing in the experimental group, where collaboration and private speech

prevailed, encouraged the students to participate more voluntarily in class discussions. They

were no longer afraid of making mistakes; their peers had already observed their mistakes and

53

helped them to overcome the problems. Moreover, their peers were within their reach to help

them when they ran out of some words.

Limitations and suggestions for further research

1. Merging SCT and TBLT, which is rarely dealt with, will end in more prosperous and

assuring results if studied in a longitudinal framework. As it might be recognized by

some readers, 8 sessions do not qualitatively provide the predicted results.

2. This study suffers limited number of raters, to put forward objective judgments and

enhance reliability of obtained scores for idea units it is suggested that more than four

raters be invited for scoring. Zhang (2008) used the judgments of eight English

professors in describing each unit qualitatively and quantitatively.

3. The effects of different SCT components were not considered in the present study.

Could we separate the results of private speech from collaborative learning, the

findings would favor a more precise perspective; furthermore, such distinct results

may shed some lights on the methods rendered by EFL teachers.

4. If some forms of factor analyses are rendered more assuring and precise results will be

provided. Other factors may also have a hand in enhancing or deteriorating EFL

learners language performances.

5. For the last point, we suggest that the effects of SCT through a TBLT method be used

for other language courses like conversation and writing.

54

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Appendix A: A classification of production variables used in task-based research, taken from Ellis (2005, p.117) Dimension Measures 1. Fluency Number of words per minute

Number of syllables per minute Number of pauses of one/two seconds or longer Mean length of pauses Number of repetitions Number of false starts Number of reformulations Length of run, i.e. number of words per pausally defined unit Number of words per minute

2. Accuracy Number of self-corrections Percentage of error-free Target-like use of clauses Target-like use of verb tenses Target-like use of articles Target-like use of vocabulary Target-like use of plurals Target-like use of negations Ratio of indefinite to definite articles

3. Complexity Number of turns per minute Anaphoric reference (as opposed to exophoric references) Lexical richness, e.g. number of word families used, Percentage of lexical to structural words, type-token ratio Proportion of lexical verbs to copula Percentage of words functioning as lexical verbs Percentage of occurrence of multi-propositional utterances Amount of subordination, e.g. total number of clauses divided by total number of c-units Frequency of use of conjunctions Frequency of use of prepositions Frequency of hypothesizing statements

56

The

Effect of Task-based

Activities

on

EFL

Learners'

Reading

Comprehension Naemeh Nahavandi

(Islamic

Azad University, Tabriz

Branch,

Iran)

Abstract

Nowadays, preparing learners to communicate successfully in language classes is of utmost

importance. But teachers face a lot of difficulties in teaching English in EFL contexts. One of

the major problems is students' unwillingness to take part in reading classes. Reading classes

seem boring for students who find no occasion to show their ability and no need to challenge

their brain to answer teachers' display questions.

Introduction

The truth might be teachers' unawareness of making language classes meaningful, and

therefore enjoyable and memorable for students. Task-based language teaching has been

proved to be an effective way for improving learners' linguistic and communicative

competence.

This study has investigated the effect of task-based activities on EFL learners' reading

comprehension. In order to accomplish the research, 60 learners were chosen in one of the

private institutions (Jahad-e-Daneshgahi) in Tabriz. An experimental method of research was

employed. The experimental group was taught according to the elements of task-based

learning. The control group didn't receive such treatment. After 18 sessions, a post-test was

given. Through the analysis of the obtained data, t-test, it was found that there were

significant differences between the control and experimental groups on the dependent

variable, reading comprehension. Therefore, there is an empirical piece of evidence to support

the language teachers who use this method.

Statement of the problem and purpose of the study

The kind of English language teaching that can be observed in most Iranian high schools and

private language institutes is that the teacher teaches and the students listen, then the student

doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.2n.1p.56

57

produce (or regurgitate information on a written test) and the teacher evaluates. The

knowledge is declarative, decontextualized and inert. Knowledge is not personally built or

applied. More progressive teaching is seen when teachers model strategies of learning in the

context of task completion, and then students try to do the task the same way the teacher did it

but teachers are often seen to spend a lot of time in class asking questions for which they and

students already know the answers; thus, there is no information gap to fill. In fact, these

display questions demonstrate usage rather than use of the target language. Display questions

only demonstrate knowledge of forms and structures while neglecting communicative

functions. They do not encourage improvisation or creativity. According to Widdowson

(1978), we must progress from learning about the language, (Language usage) to considering

how language works in a communicative sense, (Language use). Richards, Platt and Platt

(1992, as cited in Liao, 2001) claim that classroom activities will be mechanical and artificial

without information gaps.

Another kind of teaching, especially in private institutions is that teachers enter the class with

a task-based book in hand, saying" this is task one, now you are group A and you are group

B, do it". But are they really aware of what a task is, and how they should manage the class in

a task-based form. Most of the time, the straight- forward answer is no. There might be some

exceptions, too. But these are the things that happen in most of our classes in Iran.

My main purpose in conducting this research is focusing on meaning together with the form

of language. As far as I know, there have been little empirical studies on task-based language

teaching and learning within the Iranian context. There have been a lot of arguments among

researchers on what a task is, what its components are and so on. But there is little

information on how to use a task-based book in the class, what procedures to use, and how to

manage the class in task-based form. So, the main purpose of this study is to determine how

task-based activities affect learners' reading comprehension.

List of abbreviations

CLT: Communicative Language Teaching

TBLT: Task-based Language Teaching

TBLL: Task-based Language Learning

TBA: Task-based Activities

PPP: Present Practice Produce

58

Introduction

Given that individual learning agendas determine what is "learnt" in the language

classroom, it is generally recognized that students need to be fully involved in what

happens there. Task-based learning satisfies this need, involving the learners at every

level of the educational process as they pass through comprehension, decision-making,

implementation, preparation, rehearsal, performance and reflection. If carried out in the

target language, these stages have obvious advantages in terms of authenticity and

meaning, but task-based work can also be beneficial in encouraging learners to address

their learning needs, to assess themselves, and to become self-directed (Finch, 1999, p.

179).

Since the mid 1980s (Nunan 1989a; Prabhu 1987; Skehan 1996), task-based syllabus design

and task-based teaching, which have their origins in research on second language acquisition

(SLA), has attracted some researchers and curriculum developers in second/foreign language

instruction as a result of wide-spread interest in the functional views of language and

communicative language teaching. As a result of such views, some practitioners and

researchers proposed that task should be the key unit within the syllabus. Task-based

Learning (TBL) grows out of the more general notion of communicative language teaching

(CLT). Task-based Learning (TBL) is an effort to incorporate what is known about the

processes involved in second language learning and in the findings of the second language

classroom which take task as the unit of analysis. In TBL students engage in interaction in

order to fulfill the task.

Zone of Proximal Development

In 1970s, there was agreement that language has to be acquired as a result of deeper

experience, that is, by means of some learning tasks. Since that time there has been an interest

among researchers and curriculum developers to pay attention to tasks as a main unit of

analysis in language teaching.

According to Wilhem, Baker, and Dube (2001), Vygotsky was the first person who

introduced the "Zone of Proximal Development". He believed that the notion of instruction

would have teachers doing complex tasks in meaningful contexts with students helping as

much as they can. He went on to claim that through repetitions of the tasks, students take on

59

more and more of the responsibility. Teacher helps them when they need him and he names

the new strategies which are employed by the student. Finally, students do the task on their

own (Bodrova & Leong, 1999; Moor, 2001; Curzon, 1997; Daniels, 2001).

When the child masters a new task, the things he could do with help yesterday is what he can

do independently today. Vygotskians believe that the things that lie outside of the child's ZPD

cannot be learned by the child, no matter what help is given. Assistance must be provided in

such a way that the child must actively construct and make meaning not just to respond but

assistance should be planned so that it can gradually be withdrawn over time, as the child is

able to perform independently (Bodrova & Leong, 1999).

Procedural syllabus

The procedural syllabus is associated with the work of Prabhu in India from 1979-1984.

Prabhu's procedural syllabus which is regarded as one version of TBL was built around a

syllabus which contained no linguistic specifications but instead involved a series of tasks in

the form of problem solving activities. Prabhu believes that the Bangalore project is teaching

through communication rather than pre-selection, which is a matching of notion and form.

Prabhu denies the sufficiency of a comprehensible input, but supports the idea that students

need plenty of opportunities to develop their comprehension abilities before any production.

He believes that acquisition of a linguistic structure is not an instant, one-step procedure and

agrees with Krashen that language form is acquired subconsciously by the operation of some

internal system of abstract rules and principles, when the learners' attention is not focused on

language; rather it is focused on meaning, i.e., task completion.

The main hypothesis of the Bangalore project was that structure could be learned when

attention was focused on meaning. For Prabhu, two consequences follow. The first includes

the prohibition of any linguistic syllabus, because he argues for natural classroom

communication. The content of lessons is planned according to tasks and activities, but there

is no pre-selection of linguistic content. The second consequence is to band formal teaching

procedures, like drilling and error correction, where the result is form-focus rather than

message-focus. In the general avoidance of these procedures the teacher is expected to

60

Task-based learning and teaching

Prabhu's procedural syllabus is one of the well-documented published researches on task-

based language learning. According to Richards and Rodgers (2001), in TBLT language

learning depends on immersing students not only in comprehensible input but also in tasks

which require them to negotiate meaning and engage in naturalistic and meaningful

communication.

According to Ellis (2002), the underlying principle in TBLT is that having learners perform

tasks will help them to develop knowledge and skills in the second language in accordance

with the way their own language learning mechanisms work. Tasks function as "devices for

creating the conditions required for language acquisition" (Ellis, 2002, p. 226). TBL implies a

shift from some traditional teacher roles. For Nunan (1989, as cited in Harmer, 2001),

teachers cannot always act as a controller if they want students to manipulate, comprehend

and interact with a task. For Allwright (1984, as cited in Foley, 1991), in order for lessons to

take place at all, classroom interaction has to be managed, and by all present, not just by the

teacher. Thus, for Allwright, it is not the content of the lesson that is the focal point or basis

for learning but the process of classroom interaction that generates opportunities for learning.

"Class behavior is owned by the whole group, of which the teacher is but one member"

(Kohonen, 1992, as cited in Bailey & Nunan, 1996, p. 53).

The implication for TBL is that if learners are provided with a series of tasks which involve

both the comprehension and the production of language with a focus on meaning, language

development will be prompted. The focus in TBL is on process rather than product, and on

how to learn rather than what to Learn. According to Nunan (1989b), task-based curriculum

involves 'an integrated set of processes involving, among other things, the specification of

both "what" and "how" (p. 1). According to Ellis (2003), various approaches to task-based

teaching reflect the issues such as "the role of meaning-based activity, the need for more

learner-centered curricula, the importance of affective factors, the contribution of learner-

training, and the need for some focus-on-form."Task-based pedagogy provides a way of

addressing these various concerns and for this reason alone is attracting increasing attention"

(p. 33). Nunan (1991a) mentions five features of task-based approach as follows:

1) An emphasis on learning to communicative through interaction in the target language

2) Introducing authentic texts into the learning situation

61

3) Providing opportunities for learners to focus not only on language but also on the

process itself

4) Enhancing learners own personal experiences as important contributing elements to

classroom learning

5) Linking classroom language learning with language activation outside the classroom

Different kinds of tasks

Pica, Kanagy and Falodun (1993, as cited in Richards and Rogers, 2001) classify tasks in

accordance with the type of interaction that occurs in task accomplishment such as: jigsaw

tasks, information-gap tasks, problem-tasks, decision-making tasks and opinion exchange

tasks.

Prabhu (1987) identifies three broad task types: information gap, opinion gap, reasoning gap.

Nunan (1991b) distinguishes between interpersonal and transactional tasks. He defines the

former as one in which communication happens mainly for social purposes. And the latter as

one in which communication happens mainly to bring about the exchange of goods and

services. Richards and Nunan (1990) group tasks into different kinds of comparing,

preparing, evaluation, improving, listing, selecting, ranking, adding/completing and

rearranging.

Nunan (2001) distinguishes between real world and pedagogical tasks as follows: "Real world

tasks are communicative acts which are achieved through language in the world outside the

classroom. Pedagogical tasks are tasks that are carried out in the classroom" (p. 4).

Tasks, exercises and activities

For Skehan (1998, as cited in Brown, 2001) task is an activity in which meaning is primary;

there is some communication problem to be solved; there is some sort of relationship to

comparable real-world activities; task completion has some priority; and the assessment of a

task is in terms of outcome.

According to Nunan (1999), a task is communicative act which usually does not have a

restrictive focus on a single grammatical structure. An exercise usually has a restrictive focus

on a single language element and has a linguistic outcome. An activity has a restrictive focus

on one or more language items, but also has a communicative outcome.

62

Focus on form

Unless we encourage a focus on form, learners will develop more effective strategies for

achieving communicative goals without an accompanying development of their language

system. They

spite of the shortcomings of their language. As a result, they may fossilize at a relatively low

level of language development (Skehan, 1996, as cited in Willis & Willis, 2001, p. 174).

Skehan (1992, as cited in Willis & Willis, 2001) argues that learning becomes more efficient

if:

1) Within a task-based methodology, there is a need to focus on accuracy.

2) Within the task- based cycle, there is a critical focus on language form.

A focus-on-form can be achieved in a number of ways: When teachers respond to learner

errors, or when they draw learners' attention to the usefulness of specific forms in the task

they are performing, or when learners collaboratively try to solve some linguistic problems in

order to complete a task (Ellis 2003, p. 26).

Problem-solving activity

"Problem-solving is thinking in relation to some task whose situation is not immediately

obvious to the task performer" (Soden, 1994, pp.15-28). Brown (2001) defines problem-

solving as "an activity involving specified problem and limitations of means to resolve it; it

requires cooperation on part of participants in small or large group" (p. 135).

Information-gap activity

In a typical information/opinion gap activity each learner in a pair or group has information

which is partial or different from other partners. The task includes conveying

information/opinions not previously known to the other participant. One example of

information-gap activity is pair work in which each member has a part of information and

tries to convey it verbally to the other (Prabhu, 1987).

Opinion-gap activity

An opinion-gap activity involves "identifying and articulating a personal preference, feeling,

or attitude in response to a given situation" (Prabhu, 1987, p. 47).

63

Reasoning-gap activity

A reasoning-gap activity involves deriving some new information from given information

through processes of inference, deduction, practical reasoning, or a perception of

relationships or patterns (Prabhu, 1987).

Reading

According to Rivers (1981), until recently there has been great emphasis on listening and

speaking skills. As a result, foreign language teachers are sometimes accused of wishing to

produce "fluent chatterboxes who can speak the new language but have nothing worthwhile

to say because they have never been given the opportunity to share the thinking of the great

minds of another culture and so to widen the horizons of their knowledge and understanding"

(Rivers, 1981, p. 259). According to Clarke and Selberstein (1979, as cited in Lono, 1987)

reading is 1) an interactive process in which the reader forms a preliminary expectation about

the material then chooses the fewest, most productive cues necessary to accept or refuse that

expectation. 2) Reading is a twofold phenomenon including a process: comprehending, and a

product: comprehension. 3) Reading involves an interaction between thought and language

(p. 69).

From a psychological point of view reading is a problem-solving behavior that actively

involves the reader in the process of driving and assigning meaning. While doing so, the

reader is drawing on contextual information that contains syntactic, and discourse constraints

that affect interpretation. (Papulia, as cited in Rivers, 1981, p. 70)

For Widdowson (1979), the comprehension questions that are asked after reading require the

learner to rummage around in the text for information in a totally indiscriminate way, without

concerning what purpose might be served in so doing. "Reading is thus represented as an end

in itself, an activity that has no relevance to real knowledge and experience and therefore no

real meaning" (p. 180).

According to Paulston & Bruder (1976), as little time as possible should be spent on going

through the written comprehension questions. Class time is much better spent on inference

and opinion questions. "Teachers tend to waste a lot of time on comprehension exercises, and

it is unproductive"(p. 167).

64

For lots of reasons reading is the most important activity in any language class. Because it is

not only a source of information and a pleasurable activity, but also a means of consolidating

and extending one's knowledge of the world. Because of its great importance as a cognitive

process reading needs careful attention in language classes. Because it is a communicative act

between the reader and writer it requires an interactive and process-oriented methodology.

TBLT has strongly influenced thinking in the field of language teaching methodology. The

most well-know advice from learning specialists is that "the most effective and efficient

learning is meaningful learning" (Chastain 1988, p. 45). So the principal task for teachers is

neither repetition nor recycling, but that of helping the students discover strategies for

organizing their knowledge into meaningful hierarchies.

Using task-based activities in which every student takes part in understanding, evaluating,

discussing, problem-solving, negotiating meaning processes can be effective in meeting the

requirements of learner-centered classes. The learners and their world view that is shared

with each other in reading classes during performing task-based activities are of great

importance in TBLT. When the responsibility of learning and teaching shifts from teacher to

the learner, learners themselves take the responsibility for their own learning. They interact

with each other in pairs discussing, evaluating, agreeing, disagreeing, exchanging personal

information, solving problems all of which are process-oriented and which are of great

importance for challenging students' brains.

Procedure

This part consisted of five phases. First 60 female students were given a pre-test. The testees,

then, were divided into two 30-member groups on the basis of their obtained scores. As a

result, one group was chosen as the experimental group and another as the control group. The

division was done randomly.

The second phase was creating pairs in the experimental group. So I tried to put one strong

student and one weak student in each group. So fifteen nearly equal groups each consisting of

two students were formed.

The third phase which lasted for one 30 minute session concerned with familiarizing the pairs

with teaching methodology I wanted to apply in the class. They were told that each student in

one group, e.g. student A will read a part of the text and another student, e.g. student B will

65

read another part. They had to do their parts alone, and then in pairs they should exchange

their ideas and try to answer the questions that existed in their books in pairs. Then they

should report back to the class how they did the task and what conclusions they reached.

The fourth phase which lasted 16 forty-five minute-sessions was devoted to the treatment

itself. This phase included three stages:

A) Pre-task cycle.

B) Task cycle.

C) Post-task cycle.

The first stage was the pre-task stage (preparation). First, students were given a picture

related to the topic of the reading. Then they were asked to express their opinions, agreements

and disagreements. The students took part in activities that either helped them to recall words

or phrases which would be useful during the performance of the main task. I, as the teacher,

tried to ask as many referential questions as I could and reduced the number of display

questions as possible. The picture was considered as problem-solving task and opinion gap

activity because each student expressed different idea and information.

The second stage was the task cycle or follow up activities. Here, the learners performed the

task in pairs. Student A had a part of reading that student B didn't have, and vice versa. They

covered their parts alone, then after 10 minutes they worked in pairs and expressed their ideas

to each other. Then they reported to the whole class how they did the task and what

conclusions they reached. During this stage students worked in pairs to do the activities they

were asked to. These activities included information-gap, opinion-gap and reasoning-gap

activities.

The final stage was post-task cycle or follow up activities, which is also known as analysis

stage, during which students noticed interesting features or patterns in the text.

Meanwhile, the control group received no such treatment. They read their readings alone, and

then they listened to the teacher or to the more capable students to read it for the whole class.

They asked the meaning of the words that they did not know and finally answered the

teacher's questions.

66

Both the experimental and control groups' lesson plans were based on the same reading

selections and exercises. However, the experimental group's plans provided opportunities for

pair work and a lot of interaction between pairs. Conversely, students in control group

worked individually and shared their answers with the class. It should be mentioned that the

teacher was the same for both experimental and control groups and did her best not to favor

task-based learning against institution's method which is claimed to be task-based, to have

unbiased results.

The fifth and final stage was post-test which was done after the treatment. Students in both

control and experimental groups were given the same TOEFL questions as post-test.

The time between pre-test and post-test was long enough (two months) to reduce the test-re-

test effect. It should be mentioned that this test was given to discover the differences in the

results of the learners' achievement in both groups due to the given treatment.

Data analysis

Table 1: Pre-test, post-test results cx ex cSD eSD Pre-test

28/23

27/5

9/22

9/68

Post-test

29/5

33/4

9/02

8/48

Analysis of Pre-test Scores through t- test

(3/0 criticalobs tt )67/105/058 pd f

No significant differences at the pre-test stage

Analysis of Post-test Scores through t-est

(73/1 criticalobs tt )67/105/058 pd f Statistically significant difference at the post-test stage

Discussion and conclusion

Since the emergence of communicative approaches there have been a lot of views on the

nature of language teaching and learning. Nowadays, teaching is not seen as a product but as

67

a process. So activities in which students are involved in real communication and which

promote learning are considered very important. TBLT has proved itself useful in meeting

learners' needs and in providing lots of interaction opportunities in EFL classes.

With regard to Vygotsky's ZPD, it can be inferred that human learning occurs first through

interaction and then it becomes a part of individual's cognition. Therefore, learning occurs

when the learners interact with more capable peers. The implication for TBL is that if

learners are provided with a series of tasks which involve both the comprehension and the

production of language with a focus on meaning language development will be prompted. So

the trend has changed from what to learn to how to learn. But unfortunately, the concept of

TBLT has been misused by most English Language Institutions. And some teachers are not

even familiar with the basic principles of it.

In this research, I tried to investigate the effect of TBA in reading classes. The main purpose

was to observe whether there were any noticeable changes in EFL learners' performance

when the reading classes were taught by using TBLT and also to focus learners' attention on

the form of language together with the meaning. As such, the underlying hypothesis is that

(Task-Based Activities) TBA have positive effects on EFL learners' reading comprehension.

To confirm this hypothesis and to answer the proposed research question two homogeneous

groups were chosen and one group received the treatment, sharing readings in pairs. The

results indicated a difference between the mean scores of the two groups.

A t-test model was used to be confident about the significance of the differences. Using the

means and standard deviations obtained from the post-test the value of observed t was

calculated. Then the observed t was compared with critical t in 0/05 level of significance with

the df of 58. Since the observed t was greater than critical t, the proposed null hypothesis was

rejected. Consequently, we can be sure of the existence of a significant difference between

the two groups' performance after the treatment, and to confirm the main hypothesis and

research question positively.

We suggest that reading comprehension can be improved by using TBA, especially

information-gap, opinion-gap, reasoning-gap and problem-solving tasks, when each student

has part of the information that another student does not have, they try to fill the gaps of their

understanding by sharing their ideas and to solve the problems they face in answering

68

comprehension questions. In addition, when teachers ask some questions for which there is no

single correct answer (opinion-gap), students are encouraged to express their ideas which in

turn promotes language development.

69

References Bailey, K. M., & Nunan, D. (1996). Voices from the Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press. Bodrova, E., & Leong, J. D. (1999). Scaffolding in the Zone of Proximal Development, 3(4). Retrieved from

http://naecs.crc.uiuc.edu/opi-nl/volume3/number4.html Brown, H. D. (2001). Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy, (2nd ed.).

New York: Longman. Chastain, K. (1988). Developing Second-Language Skills: Theory and Practice (3rd ed.). USA: Harcourt

Brace. Curzon, L. B. (1997). Teaching in Further Education: An Outline of Principles & Practice (5th ed.). New

York: Continuum. Daniels, H., (2001). Vygotsky and Pedagogy. London and New York: Routledge Flamer. Ellis, R. (2002). The Evaluation of Communicative Tasks. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Materials Development in

Language Teaching (pp.217-238). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based Language Learning and Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Finch, A. (1999). The Task-based Classroom in Practice, KOTESOL Proceedings of PAC2 (The Second Pan

Asia Conference) Seoul, 179-190. Foley, J. (1991). A Psycholinguistic Framework for Task-based Approaches to Language Teaching. Applied

Linguistics, 12, 62-75. Harmer, J. (2001). The Practice of English Language Teaching (3rd ed.). England: Pearson Education Ltd. Johnson, K., & Johnson, H. (1999). Encyclopedic Dictionary of Applied Linguistics. Oxford: Black well

Publishers Ltd. Liao, X. Q., (2001). Retrieved from:

http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol3,/no4/p38.htm. Lono, L. P. (1987). Teaching Reading Skills: A Guide for the ESL Teacher. In C. Cargill (Ed.), TESOL

Professional Anthology: Listening, Speaking, & Reading (pp. 67-80). USA: Volunted Publishers Inc. Moor, A. (2001). Teaching and Learning: Pedagogy, Curriculum and Culture. New York: Routledge Flamer. Nunan, D. (1989a). Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press. Nunan, D. (1989b). Understanding Language Classrooms: A Guide for Teacher-initiated Action. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press. Nunan, D. (1991a). Communicative Tasks and the Language Curriculum, TESOL QUARTERLY, Vol. 15(2),

279-295. Nunan, D. (1991b). Language Teaching Methodology: A Text Book for Teachers. New York: Prentice Hall

International (UK) Ltd. Nunan, D. (1999). Second Language Teaching and Learning. U.S.A: Heinle and Heinle Publishers. Nunan, D. (2001). Aspects of Task-Based Syllabus Design, Hong Kong. Retrieved from http://

www.telus.net/linguistic issues/syllabus design.html-20-k. Paulston, C.B., & Bruder, M. N. (1976). Teaching English as a Second Language: Techniques and Procedures.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Prabhu, N.S., (1987). Second Language Pedagogy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Richards, J.C., & Nunan, D. (1990). Second Language Teacher Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press. Richards, J.C., & Rodgers, S. (2001). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press. Rivers, W. M. (1981). Teaching Foreign Language Skills (2nd ed.). Chicago: The University of Chicago

Press. Skehan, P. (1996). A Framework for Implementation of Task-based Instruction, Applied Linguistics, Vol. 17(1),

38-59. Soden, R. (1994). Teaching Problem Solving in Vocational Education. New York: Routledge. Widdowson, H.

G. (1978). Teaching Language as Communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Widdowson, H.G. (1979). Explorations in Applied Linguistics 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Wilhem, J., Baker, T., & Dube, J., (2001). Scaffolding Learning. Retrieved from

http://www.myread.org/scaffolding.htm. Willis, D., & Willis, J. (2001). Task-based Language Learning. In R. Carter & D. Nunan (Eds.). The Cambridge

Guide to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, pp. 173-185). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

70

-efficacy

and

Imposter

Phenomenon

and

Their

Effects

on

Morteza

Yamini

and Forough

Behbahani Mandanizadeh

(Islamic

Azad University, Shiraz

Branch,

Iran)

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between self-efficacy and imposter phenomenon and

their effects on EFL learners' writing ability. Participants were 94 male and female university

students. The aim was to find out how self-efficacy and imposter phenomenon would be

related, how these personal factors would relate to writing ability, and whether gender and

proficiency level would moderate between the personal factors and writing.

The instruments were Writing Self-Efficacy Scale, Harvey Imposter Phenomenon

Questionnaire, Oxford Quick Placement Test, and a written essay on a specified topic. The

findings revealed self-efficacy and impostorism were positively related, but only writing self-

ability, gender differences had no effects.

Introduction

Language is one of the most important tools of the technical man. Through listening and

ability to write effectively is increasingly gaining significance in our global community and

instruction in writing is thus assuming growing importance in both second and foreign

language education. The ability to write in a second language is widely recognized as an

important skill for educational, business and personal reasons. Hayes and Flower (1980, cited

in Weigle,

long term memory, and cognitive processes. In the area of writing, researchers have

confirmed that students' confidence in their writing skills is related both to writing

competence and to academic motivation variables such as writing self-concept, writing

apprehension, achievement goals, and the perceived value of writing (Pajares, Hartley, &

doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.2n.1p.70

71

Valiante, 2000). Since the present study aims at studying writing ability in relation to self-

efficacy and imposter phenomenon, a brief introduction of the traits are in order.

Self-efficacy

According to Bandura (1986), human achievement depends

behaviors, personal factors (e.g., thought, belief), and environmental conditions. Each

variable interacts with the other two to produce learning results that are idiosyncratic to the

individual. Bandura (1978, cited in Pajares, 1996) called this interaction reciprocal

determinism. Learners obtain information to appraise their self-efficacy from their actual

performances, their vicarious experiences, the persuasions they receive from others, and their

physiological reactions. Self-efficacy beliefs influence task choice, effort, persistence,

resilience, and achievement. Pajares and Schunk (2002) mention that self-efficacy beliefs

influence students' behavior in a number of ways. First, they influence the choices that

students make; students engage in tasks about which they feel confident and avoid those in

which they do not. At lower levels of schooling, this can be an exercise, for students often

have very little choice over the activities in which they must engage. As they get older,

however, they have greater control over course and activity selection, and their confidence

influences these decisions.

Self-efficacy beliefs also help determine how much effort students will expend on an activity

and how long they will persevere the higher the sense of efficacy, the greater the effort

expenditure and persistence. Self-efficacy beliefs also affect behavior by influencing students'

emotional reactions. The influence of self-efficacy beliefs, as mentioned above, can also be

attributed

as one of the skills to be learned by foreign learners is not an exception.

Imposter phenomenon

ychology

professor, and Suzanne Imes, a psychotherapist, in 1978 to describe a sample of more than

150 high-achieving women (Wick, 1997). Impostor Phenomenon (also known as the Impostor

Syndrome) has been defined in different ways of which the following are but examples: the

persistent belief in one's lack of competence, skill or intelligence in the face of consistent

objective data to the contrary; an internal experience of intellectual fraudulence, particularly

among high-achievers; the belief that one do

72

others have been deceived into thinking otherwise; an intense subjective fear of the inability

to repeat past success; a self-concept that one's record of accomplishments is not due to

ability but rather only due to luck, fate, charm, attractiveness, or having manipulated other

people's impressions; the secret conviction that one is truly less intelligent and competent than

one appears; and an unrealistic sense of one's competence in which one downplays strengths

and exaggerates or does not tolerate any deficiencies or weaknesses.

Want & Kleitman (2006) refer to the sound links between impostor tendencies and

personality. According to them, impostor feelings have been shown to correlate with

neuroticism, conscientiousness and extraversion personality dimensions. Thus, imposter

phenomenon provides a useful framework for learners' writing ability. As such, the purpose

of this study was to shed some light on the relationship between two internal constructs of

self-efficacy and imposter phenomenon and learners' writing ability and to investigate if the

said constructs could predict learners' performance on a writing task.

Overview

Although no previous studies dealing with the relationship between imposter phenomenon

and self-efficacy, and their predictive power in relation to foreign language learners' writing

ability were found, a wealth of research findings indicate that self-efficacy correlates with

achievement outcomes. Findings of two studies (Pintrich & Garcia, 1991 cited in Ghoreishi,

2003; Multon, Brown, & Lent, 1991) have shown that students who believe themselves to be

capable of successfully completing an academic task persist much longer than those who do

not believe so. Students needed to have both the will and the skill to be successful in

classrooms.

Thompson, Davis and Davidson (1998), in a study involving 164 undergraduate psychology

students (126 females, 38 males), investigated (1) the affective and attributional reactions of

imposters following success and failure feedback and (2) associations between imposter fears

and cognitive dispositions which are known to have links with either perfectionism or

depression. The results supported the elements of perfectionism in the extent to which

imposters externalized success, set high standards for self-evaluation and were self-critical.

dissatisfaction, guilt, humiliation), together with their tendency to attribute failure internally

and overgeneralize a single failure to their overall self-concepts corroborated the links

73

between imposter fears, anxiety, and depression. Therefore, an imposter fear is an anxiety-

related experience and is consistent with low self-esteem. Individuals with low self-esteem

tend to make overgeneralizations and this is reported to be a powerful predictor of depression

in both male and female college students.

Pajares, Johnson and Miller (1999) investigated the nature of gender differences in writing

self-beliefs held by elementary school students in Grades 3, 4 and 5 (N=363). Girls were

judged superior writers, but there were no gender differences in writing self-efficacy after

controlling for writing aptitude. However, most girls believed that they were better writers

than other girls or boys in their class or in their school. Only writing self-efficacy beliefs and

aptitude did predict writing performance in a path analysis that included writing

apprehension, self-efficacy for self-regulation, and perceived usefulness of writing. The

that boys and girls use a different metric when responding to the traditional self-efficacy

scale.

A study by Pajares and Valiante (2001) is grounded on the contention that some gender

differences in social, personality, and academic variables may be a function of gender

orientation the stereotypic beliefs about gender that students hold rather than of gender

itself. Participants were 497 students in a public middle school (250 girls and 247 boys).

Writing self-efficacy, writing apprehension, and writing self-concept were among the

instruments used in this study. The findings revealed that many gender differences in writing

motivation and achievement of middle school students might be a function of gender

orientation. Regardless of the strength of their feminine orientation beliefs, boys reported a

stronger preference than did girls for wanting to succeed in writing so as to display their

competence. All gender differences favoring girls in writing motivation and achievement

were rendered nonsignificant when feminine orientation beliefs were controlled.

Finally, Caselman, Self, and Self (2006) conducted a research to study the predictors of

imposter phenomenon among a sample of 11th and 12th graders. Multiple regression analyses

indicated that significant predictors of IP scores for females were Friend Support, Classmate

Support and Dependability. Only Friend Support significantly predicted IP scores for males.

The unique variance explained (UVE) by each of the variables was fairly modest, suggesting

74

that the variables were explaining a considerable amount of the same portion of the variance,

particularly for females.

Study

Participants

Ninety-four undergraduate students (68 female, 26 male) majoring in English at Shiraz Azad

University participated in this study. The participants were given a placement test (Allan,

2004) and on the basis of the results, they were classified into high, intermediate and low

levels. In this way, there were 27 low, 42 intermediate, and 25 high level students.

Instruments

The instruments used in this study consisted of two tests, namely, Oxford Quick Placement

Test, an essay-writing test, and two questionnaires, namely, Imposter Phenomenon Scale

(Harvey, 1982, as cited in Fried-Buchalter, 1992) and Writing Self-Efficacy Scale (Pajares, &

Valiante, 1999) . In order to make the imposter questionnaires clear for all participants, the

items were translated into their native language (Persian). This was then back translated into

English and was compared to the original version. The comparison showed that the two

versions included the same concepts and tapped the same issues.

Procedures

This study was conducted in two sessions. During the first session, the participants were

informed of the objectives and significance of the research, they were Oxford Quick

Placement Test. During the second session, participants were initially asked to provide some

demographic information about themselves. All respondents were ensured that the basic

principles of confidentiality would be observed and they would remain anonymous.

Following this, in order to avoid the order effect, the participants were randomly divided into

two groups. The first group was asked to complete 9 items on Writing Self-efficacy

Questionnaire and 12 items on Imposter Phenomenon Questionnaire. They had 30 minutes to

of a Pe

write the essay and the students in the second group responded to the questionnaires.

75

Analysis

First, to determine the relationship between learners' self-efficacy and imposter phenomenon,

a correlation analysis was used. Moreover, a regression analysis was conducted to make a

prediction about learners' performance on the writing task from their self-efficacy or imposter

phenomenon. Finally, two-way ANOVAs were run to determine whether sex and proficiency

level as moderator variables affect the learners' self-efficacy/ imposter phenomenon/ writing

ability.

Results and discussion

Correlational analysis

Correlational analyses for Self-efficacy, Imposter Phenomenon and Writing Performance

were run. The results are summed up in Table 1.

Table 1: Correlations among self-efficacy, imposter phenomenon and writing IP Writing SE Pearson Correlation .316** .312**

Sig. (2-tailed) .002 .002 N 94 94

IP Pearson Correlation .134 Sig. (2-tailed) -------- .197 N 94

As the above table illustrates, the correlational analyses reveal a positive relationship between

self-

cited in Thompson, Davis & Davidson, 1998). So, this study did not support the negative

correlation between self-efficacy and imposter feelings since there was a small but positive

correlation between SE and IP (r = .316). This implies that higher imposter feelings are

slightly associated with higher self-efficacy in writing. A possible reason can be due to the

weak predictive value of general rather than specific measures of imposter phenomenon.

There is also a positive relationship between self-efficacy and writing (r = .312) at the .01

level of significance. It indicates that an increase in SE is associated with an increase in

findings that revealed the writing efficacy beliefs of early adolescents with and without

learning disabilities. However, the relationship between writing and imposter phenomenon is

76

not statistically significant. It seems

writing ability.

Analysis of variance

To determine the effect of proficiency level and sex as two independent variables on self-

efficacy, imposter phenomenon, and writing as dependent variables, three sets of two-way

ANOVA were run. The obtained F-value for sex revealed a significant effect on writing self-

efficacy (Table 2). The mean for male students was found to be 76.19 while for female

students it was 65.09. This shows that male students reported higher writing self-efficacy than

females did.

Table 2: Results of two-way ANOVA (writing self-efficacy) Source Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Sex 1676.618 1 1676.618 6.86 .010* Level 1245.532 2 622.766 2.54 .084 Sex * Level 268.161 2 134.080 .549 .580 Total 26225.376 93

Table 3: Post hoc analysis on the effect of level on writing self-efficacy

(I) level (J) level Mean Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig. 1(high) 2(mid) 7.3140 3.94912 .186

3(low) 12.0333* 4.33918 .025 2 (mid) 3(low) 4.7193 3.85634 .476

The findings are in line with those reported by Pajares, Johnson and Miller (1999), Pajares

and Graham, (1999); Pajares and Miller, (1995); and Pintrich and Schunk, (1996) that

revealed a significant difference between the performances of girls and boys on the self-

efficacy scale. Also the mean for low level learners significantly differs from that of high

level learners at the .05 level. So there is a difference between low and high level learners in

terms of their writing self-efficacy. From low to intermediate or from intermediate to low, no

difference is seen, but high level learners are more self-efficacious than low level ones. This

finding can be compared to that of Collins (1982 cited in Pajares & Miller, 1995) who

mentioned that ability was related to performance and children with high self-efficacy did

better in completing more problems correctly.

77

Regarding imposter phenomenon, there was no significant effect of sex or proficiency level

was there an interaction between the said

variables (Table 4).

Table 4: Results of two-way ANOVA (imposter phenomenon) Source Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Sex 3.082 1 3.082 .117 .734 Level 19.480 2 9.740 .369 .693 Sex * Level 1.119 2 .560 .021 .979 Total 2355.713 93

The finding that sex had no significant effect on imposter phenomenon is consistent with the

findings of Caselman, Self and Self (2006), and Thompson, Davis and Davidson (1998) who

found that both males and females experienced the secret feelings of IP almost with the same

degree. No significant effect of proficiency level on imposter phenomenon reveals that being

imposter does not depend on the proficiency level of the students. It can be the characteristics

of any person at different levels of proficiency.

Finally, the two-way ANOVA dealing with the effect of proficiency level and sex on writing

ability (Table 5) yielded a non-significant main effect for sex (F = 2.64, df = 1, sig. = .108).

This can be compared to the study by Pajares and Valiante, (2001) who reported that all

gender differences favoring girls in writing motivation and achievement were rendered non-

significant and they attributed gender differences in writing motivation and achievement of

middle school students to a function of gender orientation rather than of gender.

Table 5: Results of two-way ANOVA (writing ability) Source Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Sex 107.427 1 107.427 2.641 .108 Level 1550.033 2 775.017 19.055 .000* Sex * Level 72.801 2 36.401 .895 .412 Total 6484.915 93

Table 6: Post hoc analysis on the effect of level on writing ability

(I) level (J) level Mean Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig.

1(high) 2(mid) 10.8305* 1.61099 .000 3(low) 13.7511* 1.77011 .000

2(mid) 3(low) 2.9206 1.57314 .184

78

The result pertaining to the main effect of proficiency level on writing ability was significant

(F = 19.05, df = 2, sig = .000). The mean score for high level learners significantly differed

from that of the intermediate students (MD= 10.83, sig= .000) and low level learners

(MD=13.75, sig= .000) at the .05 level. So there was a difference between low, mid and high

level learners in terms of their writing performance, but there was not any difference between

the intermediate and low level learners in this regard. It shows that the writing ability of the

learners increases as their proficiency level goes up, but this increase is gradual. The results

are in line with the study conducted by Goh and Foong (1997) which showed that the

proficiency level of the students had a significant influence on the use of two categories of

learning strategies: cognitive and compensation.

Regression analysis

The correlational analyses already revealed that imposter phenomenon and writing ability

were not related. However, the prediction power of self-efficacy had to be calculated.

Therefore, a linear regression analysis was run. Table 7 displays the model summary.

Moreover, to explore the significance of the analysis, the ANOVA table was consulted (Table

8), which reveals a significant relationship.

Table 7: Model Summary for self-efficacy and IP

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate

1 .314a .099 .079 8.01481

a. Predictors: (Constant), IP, SE

As is clear in Table 7, the R Square or multiple correlation index is .099, indicating that about

variable.

Table 8: ANOVA Table in regression analysis for self-efficacy and imposter

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. 1 Regression 639.332 2 319.666 4.976 .009a

Residual 5845.582 91 64.237

Total 6484.915 93 a. Predictors: (Constant), IP, SE b. Dependent Variable: Writing

79

Table 9: Coefficient in regression analyses for self-efficacy and imposter phenomenon

Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

T Sig. B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) 20.551 6.812 3.017 .003

SE .149 .052 .299 2.851 .005* IP .066 .174 .040 .381 .704

a. Dependent Variable: Writing

Table 9 shows that regression is significant at the 0.01 level for the independent variable of

self-efficacy, but not for the imposter phenomenon. That is, only self-efficacy significantly

predicts writing ability. The Beta value of the predicting variable of self-efficacy reveals that

one standard deviation unit change in the self-efficacy score would result in 0.29 units of

change in writing ability.

Conclusion

For this group of learners, self-efficacy was positively and significantly related to learners'

writing ability. Students who believed they could write and were confident in their skills

performed better. Also, self-efficacy correlated positively with imposter phenomenon. It

seems self-efficacious learners attributed their feeling of success to some external factors in

9% of the cases; in 91% of the cases they did not show imposter feelings. Learners'

psychological traits such as their self-efficacy beliefs and imposter feelings should be taken

into account by the FL educators in developing their writing ability. That is, to facilitate their

performance in L2 writing, the instructors should enhance the learners' self-efficacy. A

convenient atmosphere for students' learning is something that is suggested to be provided by

teachers. In such an atmosphere, learners have the chance to promote their self-efficacy in the

classroom and gain motivation and self-confidence while reducing anxiety and imposter

feelings. In view of the prominence of writing, a vital issue for educational psychology is

investigating the characteristics of effective instruction for writing. Since SE and IP are

important factors in learning, students should become aware of their existence and their

effects on their feeling and academic achievement.

80

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NJ: Prentice Hall. Caselman, T.D., Self, P.A., & Self, A.L. (2006). Adolescent Attributes Contributing to the Imposter

Phenomenon. Journal of Adolescence, 29(3), 395-405. Fried-Buchalter, Sh. (1992). Fear of success, fear of failure, and the imposter phenomenon: A factor analytic

approach to convergent and discriminant validity. Journal of Personality Assessment, 58(2), 368-379. Ghoreishi, S.M. (2003).

Perceived Self-Efficacy. Unpublished MA thesis, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran. Goh, C. M., & Foong, K.P. (1997). Chine

Proficiency, and Gender. Hong Kong Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2(1). Retrieved June 23, 2009 from www.sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/5/500018.pdf.

Klassen, R.M. (2007). Using Predictions to Learn about the Self-Efficacy of Early Adolescents with and without Learning Disabilities. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 32(2), 173-187.

Multon, K.D., Brown, S.D., and Lent, R.W. (1991). Relation of Self-Efficacy Beliefs to Academic Outcomes: A Meta-Analytic Investigation. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 38(1), 30-38.

Pajares, F. (1996). Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Academic Settings. Review of Educational Research, 66(4), 543-578. Pajares, F. & Graham, L. (1999). Self-Efficacy, Motivation Constructs, and Mathematics Performance of

Entering Middle School Students. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 24, 124 139. Pajares, F., Hartley, J. & Valiante, G. (2000). Response Format in Writing Self-Efficacy Assessment: Greater

Discrimination Increases Prediction. Paper presented at the meetings of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, April 2000. Retrieved November 25, 2008 from http://www.cc.emory.edu/EDUCATION/mfp/PHV2001MECD.PDF.

Pajares, F. & Johnson, M. (1993). Confidence and Competence in Writing: The Role of Self Efficacy, Outcome Expectancy, and Apprehension. Paper presented at the annual meeting of The American Educational Research Association (Atlanta, GA, April 12-16).

Pajares, F., Johnson, M.J., & Miller, M.D. (1999). Gender Differences in Writing Self-Beliefs of Elementary School Students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91(1), 50-61.

Pajares, F. & Miller, M.D. (1995). Mathematics Self-Efficacy and Mathematical Problem Solving: The Need for Specificity of Assessment. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 42 (2), 190-198.

Pajares, F. & Schunk D.H. (2002). Self and Self Belief in Psychology and Education: An Historical Perspective. In Aronson, J. (Ed.) (2002). Improving Academic Achievement: Impact of psychological factors on education (pp. 3-21). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Pajares, F., & Valiante, G. (1999). Grade level and gender differences in the writing selfbeliefs of middle school students. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 24, 390-405.

Pajares, F. & Valiante, G. (2001). Gender Differences in Writing Motivation and Achievement of Middle School Students: A Function of Gender Orientation? ContemporaryEducational Psychology, 26, 366 381.

Pintrich, P., & Schunk, D. (1996). The role of expectancy and self-efficacy beliefs. In P. Pintrich & D. Schunk (Eds.), Motivation in education: theory, research, & applications (Ch.3). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Retrieved 22 March, 2007 from: http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/PS.html.

Thompson, T., Davis, H. & Davidson, J. (1998). Attributional and Affective Responses of Impostors to Academic Success and Failure Outcomes. Personality and Individual Differences 25, 381-396.

Want, J. & Kleitman, S. (2006). Imposter Phenomenon and Self-Handicapping: Links with Parenting Styles and Self-Confidence. Personality and Individual Difference, 40 (5), 961-971.

Weigle, C. S. (2002). Assessing Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wick, S. (1997). The Impostor Phenomenon. Retrieved January 12, 2009 from

http://www.ascb.org/index.cfm?navid=112&id=1545&tcode=nws3

81

The

Effect of T Assistance

on

Malaysian

Rural L

Writing

Self-efficacy:

A

Case

Study Ilyana

Jalaluddin, Melor Md. Yunus, and Hamidah Yamat

(Universiti

Kebangsaan

Malaysia, Malaysia)

Abstract

-efficacy in writing

after assistance given by a teacher. The social cognitive theory and socio-cultural theory are

used as the theoretical

-efficacy. A case study approach is adopted where three

learners and a teacher were chosen from a form four class through purposive sampling.

ng self-efficacy is evaluated using a writing self-efficacy scale adapted from

Bottomley, Henk and Melnick (1998) and also classroom observation. Wang and Pape (2007)

categories were used as guidelines to analyze observation data in order to understand the

-efficacy phenomena in their learning to write. Overall, this study places a

heavy emphasis on the perceptions and actions of the selected form four learners and teacher

through non-participant classroom observations, interviews with each learner and teacher.

Introduction

Writing is a highly complex and demanding task that requires a number of skills to be

performed at the same time. It is a complex cognitive activity involving attention at multiple

levels: thematic, paragraph, sentence

texts rather than simply consume them and, writers often have minimal

solitary nature of the activity, with no immediate feedback and the effort needed to persist in

p.145). Although writing is teachable, the transformation of thought into written

communication is a difficult activity that requires many other levels of complementary skills.

doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.2n.1p.81

82

Some of the necessary skills contributing to the complexity of writing were described by

Montague and Leavell (1994, as cited in Scott and Vitale, 2003, p.220) Writing requires

coordination and integration of multiple processes, including planning, production, editing,

and revision. Composing requires prior knowledge of topic, genre, conventions, and rules as

well as the ability to access, use and organize that knowledge when writing.

Given the complexity of writing tasks, it is not surprising that learners experience a wide

variety of writing skill deficits and are often overwhelmed by writing activities (Scott &

Vitale, 2003). Scott and Vitale (2003) also identified tha

In Malaysia, there has always been concern about the achievement in English of learners in

Malaysian rural schools. The Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister at the time, Datuk Seri Najib

Razak (Utusan Malaysia, April 16, 2008) expressed his worries towards the declining English

achievement especially among rural learners since the results from two major examinations

(PMR and SPM) showed a big gap between the rural and urban learners. Detailed analysis by

the Malaysian Ministry of Education (2008) identified the writing section, which carried the

great

results (Utusan Malaysia, April 16, 2008). Chitravelu, Sithamparam and Teh Soo Choon

(2005) also pointed out that writing is the skill most Malaysian learners are less proficient in

and they do not know how to accomplish the written task in a satisfactory way. Year after

year, examiners have expressed great dismay at the fact that after having learnt English for

eleven years, Malaysian rural learners, in most cases, still fail to produce even a short

paragraph of intelligible writing (Samuel & Zaitun Bakar, 2008). This is because writing is a

complex task which involves many thinking skills, such as generating, organizing and

expressing ideas. Due to the challenges in writing, Malaysian learners are reluctant to use the

language, never try to communicate in English (Utusan Malaysia, April 16, 2008), and have

lower self-efficacy in the English language as compared to their counterparts in the city

(Rahil Mahyuddin, Habibah Elias, Loh Sau Cheong, Muhd Fauzi Muhamad, Nooreen

Noordin & Maria Chong Abdullah, 2006). In addition, writing becomes even more difficult in

Malaysian schools as in most places especially the rural areas, social interaction in English

such as with teachers or peers are almost non-existent (Chitravelu, Sithamparam & Teh Soo

Choon, 2005).

83

Given the problems faced by Malaysian rural learners in English writing, there is a need to

-efficacy and skills. Rec

roles have been given prominence in the Malaysian education field as this is the factor that

poses a great influence on the development of learners, both intellectually and emotionally

(Mok Soon Sang, 2008). Thus, in the area of writing, t

-efficacy and skills. This relationship is illustrated in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1: Inter-relationship of social and emotional factors with affective classroom management in the learning environment (Mok Soon Sang, 2008)

Figure 1 shows that a teacher needs to help learners to develop writing skills by giving

by the learners -

efficacy). Effective assistance allows learners to believe that they can carry out the writing

tasks, whereas negative comments or less assistance from the teacher reduces t

self-efficacy (Rahil Mahyuddin, Habibah Elias, Loh Sau Cheong, Muhd Fauzi Muhamad,

Nooreen Noordin & Maria Chong Abdullah, 2006). When the learners have high self-

efficacy, they feel competent and confident, and they are more willing to persevere when

confronting obstacles (Pajares & Valiante, 2008). As the learner works on his/her

composition, it also gives him/her the impression of how capable he/she is in writing, and

in writing also tells

the teacher of the type and level of assistance the learners need when completing the task

(Mok Soon Sang, 2008).

Based on the argument above, learners obviously need support from teachers in developing

positive self-beliefs in writing and finally help in improving their writing skills. Self-belief, or

-

1997,

pp.3). Self-

Social Factor: Teacher

Physical Factor Affective Factor: Self-efficacy

84

perform at a certain level and affects choice of activities, effort, an

Boscolo, 2008, p.148). From the social cognitive perspective, self-efficacy can affect how

individuals behave, their thoughts and emotional reactions in achievement settings. By having

-efficacy and as a result,

-efficacious individuals are more willing to participate,

to work harder, and persists longer in tasks and have less adverse reactions when

encountering difficulties tha

p.148). Researchers (Pajares & Johnson, 1995; Pajares, 2002a, 2002b; Linnenbrink &

Pintrich, 2003; Schunk, 2003; Rahil Mahyuddin, Habibah Elias, Loh Sau Cheong, Muhd

Fauzi Muhamad, Nooreen Noordin & Maria Chong Abdullah, 2006; Schunk & Zimmerman,

2007) who have investigated self-efficacy beliefs and essay writing agree that the two are

related. Thus, the teacher needs to act proactively by assisting the learners emotionally and

physically. It means that the teacher needs to be aware of how the learners feel or think; to

motivate and encourage them. At the same time, the teacher needs to support the learning

process by providing assistance in terms of materials, ideas, suitable approach and guidance

in writing.

Socio-

important components in the writing process and contribute to the improvement of the writing

self-efficacy and skills. Socio-cultural theory argues for viewing writing as a mode of social

action, and not simply as a means of communication. This means that a writing activity is

succeeded by an interactive and collaborative discourse in which mental activity is distributed

and shared between the teacher and l

processes are acquired on an intermental or social plane as the expert and novice jointly

p.209). Overall, writing involves particular kinds of people institutions and cultures. Thus, by

seeing writing as mediated means and a mode of social action, writing activities should be

recognized as collaborative, involving divisions of labor and forms of co-authorship. These

divis -to-face co-production of texts to the provision

ce is important to ensure

an effective cooperation.

85

The assistance provided by the teacher is represented by the concept of scaffolding proposed

by Vygotsky (1978). In other words, it refers to the assistance and interactional support given

by an adult in

sensitively tuned to what the learner presently understands, getting him to concentrate on

what he can/she can manage while the teacher fills in the parts that the learner canno

(Smith, 1997, p.24). Accordingly, scaffolding provides a facilitating context which allows a

writing task to be completed. As Donovan and Smolkin (2008) explained, judicious

questioning and commenting about a piece of writing provides the scaffolding

ideas to be further developed and clarified. In the end, the writer is better able to develop and

clarify ideas without the same level of support.

lends a picture to teaching of writing that assistance in the form of interaction or conversation

between the teacher (as a more capable individual) and the writers is important in molding

their writing skills and confidence in pursuing the task.

-cognitive

theory where a learner is seen as an active agent and needs to interact with his/her

environment in order to develop his/her skills and confidence in writing. Both theories

similarly propose the importance of reciprocal relationship between social environment and

learners as the main factor in learning and development, and thus bringing a different

perspective of teaching approach from traditional writing classroom. Based on both

theoretical explanations on self-effic

study -efficacy

development. In Malaysia, writing in English is part of the most important assessment in

education, in which rural learners are facing a major problem. Based on this scenario, it is

therefore pertinent to find out how teachers actually assist these rural learners and whether it

-efficacy. Specifically, two research questions discussed

in detail in this paper are:

1. How does the teacher assist rural area learners in teaching and learning of writing?

2. -efficacy?

Methodology

This study employs a case

-efficacy. In this study, a teacher and three learners were chosen

based on the writing self-efficacy scale adapted from Bottomley, Henk and Melnick (1998).

86

Data f -participant classroom observations

and interviews with the teacher and learners which were conducted once a week for five

months. Meanwhile, l -efficacy in writing was also

observed once a week -efficacy phenomena in their

learning to write.

prepared to show an interpretive description of their writing learning process which is

associated with self-efficacy.

-efficacy beliefs can be

classified into three categories: persistence in accomplishing language tasks, self-awareness

of English proficiency, and willingness to engage in language activities. These three

categories are used as the guidelines for this study. In addition, interviews were conducted

writing self-efficacy. In order to ensure that the measure and categories used to analyze data

from each observation and interview are reliable, the data were given to two raters for the

purpose of inter-rater reliability. These two raters analyzed the categories and data reported

between the two sets of rating over the coding of the items. According to Creswell (2008),

inter- ing any bias that any one individual might

reliability index was calculated using the Cohen Kappa measurement instead of just using

percentage agreement. This is bec

were analyzed and calculated using SPSS 14.0 to get the value of Kappa.

Findings and discussion

1. How does the teacher assist rural area learners in teaching and learning of writing?

Method 1: The teacher used MsWord to show and teach writing process to the learners.

During the lesson, the teacher prompted questions and did not give direct answers to the

learners. She would not directly teach the format of the essay, but developed the idea for the

writing first by discussing it with the learners. She would ask learners one by one and

esponses.

87

For example, on 1st July 2009, the teacher asked each learner to contribute ideas for the topic

asked Haslina to continue and suggest one idea. Haslina s This can improve and

achieve our lesson during study

After plan it...

the sentence did not fit into the paragraph. Other learners then suggested replacing it with

We must plan on how to achieve our goal

screen.

Method

and then

they were correcting their writing. She walked around the class and looked at how the

learners corrected their essay. She would sit with certain learners and asked why they made

the changes that they did. She also answered questions posed by the learners regarding the

comments she gave for their writing.

For example, on 8th July 2009, the learners were asked to correct their essays after the teacher

explained the mistakes in general. While the learners were correcting mistakes, the teacher

read her correction. Teacher pointed out that the sentence was incomplete as she used the

word but not referring to any noun. Teacher explained that is an adjective, so

there should be a noun after that. Farah said that she actually meant in English but

y or the short

one. Farah said , a short one. The teacher asked the class to guess the word for

g give the answer. The teacher finally

goatee

Method 3: The teacher liked to ask the learners to work in small groups when composing an

essay. She would limit 4 learners in a group and set a writing task. She would walk around

the class

many errors in their writing, she would sit down with the group and gave suggestions on how

to improve their essay. Once the learners completed their essay, they would have to present

88

their essay and from here, the teacher would explain to the class the mistakes that they did

when writing the essay.

For example, on 29th July 2009, the teacher asked the learners to form a group of four and try

to complete the story she gave in about 100 words. The teacher monitored each group, and

sebagai as

checked their gra

a

s

apo

to show belonging. The teacher advised

them to check again and said that the answer was wrong. After they finished, the learners

wrote their story on a mahjong paper and presented it to the class.

-efficacy?

oning and

discussion during the writing process. Learner A showed a positive development in terms of

confidence in writing where she became more confident to write when asked questions by the

teacher. On the other hand, Learner B felt a bit uncomfortable to write and was not confident

to pursue the task when the teacher kept checking and asking about her writing progress.

Similarly, Learner C also felt less confdent to write but only because she was embarrassed

and afraid when the teacher asked questions or sat with her to discuss her writing in class.

The summary is illustrated below according to the specific categories by Wang and Pape

(2007).

89

Table 1: Summary of learner A, self-efficacy development (High self-efficacy writer)

Aspects of self-efficacy Effects (Explanation) Persistence in accomplishing writing task (s)

- encouraged her to write more, - In class, she became active when provoked with questions by teacher and she frequently raised her hand even though her answers were wrong or the teacher did not ask her to answer.

Willingness to engage in language activities

- finishing tasks, - In class, when the answer and compared it with hers. She jotted down notes when other learner gave

Self-awareness of English proficiency

- - From the interview, she admitted that she understood her mistakes more after discussing it with the teacher in class rather than working on her own or with friends.

Table 2: Summary of learner B self-efficacy development (Average self-efficacy writer)

Aspects of self-efficacy Effects (Explanation)

Persistence in accomplishing writing task (s)

-She showed no interest in class, constantly day dreaming and she did not respond question. Instead she asked her friend to answer questions for her,

-In the interview, she admitted that she did not feel comfortable and could not speak in English. Thus, it made her unconfident to write as she was quite lost when the teacher asked questions and did not know how to start writing. To her, writing and speaking are two different things.

Willingness to engage in language activities

- She asked friends for help to correct her mistakes and admitted never sought

- In class, shin group discussions. In the interview, she admitted she felt more confident to

made her feel bashful to engage in the activity. Self-awareness of English proficiency

- sentence structure errors. Learner B however felt hers is average and could write well if in a group.

Table 3: Summary of learner c self-efficacy development (low self-efficacy writer) Aspects of self-efficacy Effects (Explanation) Persistence in accomplishing writing task (s)

- She became afraid and embarrassed when the teacher asked questions. She trembled and produced an unclear voice each time the teacher asked her questions, - She admitted in interview that she was very afraid if the teacher asked her anything and as a consequence she forgot all of her ideas, - She needed friends to help her give answers and only respond to the teacher if her friend checked her answers first. She admitted she felt confident if a friend looked at her answer first before responding to teacher.

Willingness to engage in language activities

- rred to dictionary. In group discussions, she worked on her own when her group was quiet by translating her writing from

working that way as she could write more. Self-awareness of English proficiency

- not translate her writing into English and that she was not good in English. She was quiet and lowered her head each time teacher commented on her work. - In the interview, she admitted that she could write more and feel more confident

close to.

90

Conclusion

The findings show that the three learners were able to seek options and foster their own

creativity to produce an effective piece of composition through discussion and questioning

technique was found to be helpful in improving the quality of written drafts. Therefore,

teachers should view themselves as facilitators in the writing tasks. They should provide help

and assistance to the learners-writers to clarify their ideas in the process of writing. As

indicated by the finding, the teacher not only helped the writers to clarify ideas but also to

develop their ideas as well. The teacher helped to improve the composition by giving new

ideas and different views on the topic. Besides that, the teacher also helped the writers to omit

unnecessary statements. Thus, this implies that evaluators of the compositions should not be

based only on grammatical and structural accuracy but the emphasis should also be given to

the clarity of expressions and ideas as well. In addition, coherence, cohesion and good choice

of words should also be parts of an effective composition.

However, questioning techniques may have different effects on writers with low or average

self- could boost the

high self-efficacy writers to write more and expand their ideas, low and average self-efficacy

writers might not experience the same changes. These writers may prefer to approach writing

differently. Therefore, determining the level of assistance in teaching is very important. In

other words, some writers may need more assistance than others. Working in groups is also

probably suitable as it allows the learners of various language proficiency levels or skills to

interact and exchange ideas with one another. Overall, the research shows that teachers need

to be aware of the kind of scaffolding that they need to provide for each writer who has a

different level of writing self-

the task.

91

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92

Peer-editing

Practice

in the

Writing

Classroom: Benefits

and

Drawbacks Ann Rosnida Md. Deni

(Sunway

University, Malaysia)

Zainor

Izat

Zainal

(Universiti

Putra Malaysia)

Abstract

Small scale studies have shown that peer-editing is beneficial to students as it increases their

awareness of the complex process of writing, it improves their knowledge of and skills in

writing and helps them become more autonomous in learning. Teachers too may benefit from

peer-

and strengths; and t

fifteen first-year degree students majoring in Tourism to view the usefulness of peer-editing

practice in enhancing their writing skills. Retrospective notes were taken to record stu

-

-

ions of peer-editing practice

in the writing classroom. Analysis of data gathered revealed that peer-editing practice

benefitted both the teacher and most of her students as it exposed important information that

could improve her teaching of writing and he

however, discloses that peer-

motivation and improvement in writing if they are not deployed properly.

Peer feedback in the writing classroom

According to Susser (1994, p. 35), one main element of the process approach to writing is to

activities are

carried out in the writing classrooms, one of which is peer feedback. Peer feedback or also

cover and explore ideas... and

doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.2n.1p.92

93

implemented peer feedback session can also help students develop a sense of audience (Leki,

1990; Tsui & Ng, 2000, Mangelsdorf, 1992). Furthermore, peer feedback sessions can lead to

the creation of students who can assess and improve their own writing (Lundstrom & Baker,

reader and reviewer of their own w

feedback practice may enhance cultural communication (Hansen & Liu, 2005, p. 31), reduce

Cohen, 2003). A study conducted by Yang, Badger & Yu, (2006, p. 179), reveals that even in

Problems with peer feedback

Peer feedback

revision types and quality of texts (Berg, 1999; Min, 2006). Despite such positive findings, a

number of research and experts have disclosed issues and problems that need to be addressed

prior to implementation of peer feedback practice in class. One main problem with peer

concerns over quality of feedback; the critical and sarcastic tones used and sincerity of peer

, as cited in Stanley, 1992, p. 219) study revealed peer

problems (Myles, 2004). Furthermore, students may tend to address surface errors and often

fail to respond to problems in meaning (Stanley, 1992). Leki (1990) further posits that

students who lack communication and pragmatic skills may not be able to convey quality

peer responses. In situations where students are from different cultures, cultural

misunderstanding may occur. Some cultures may refuse to accept student-centred activities

particularly if the culture prohibits verbal criticism due to the need to save face (White, 1994,

p. 115). I

reader--

at all.

94

According to Berg (1999), responding to writing is not a skill that students are familiar with

and requires the needs for opportunities to learn to respond to writing. In order for peer

feedback sessions to be effective, many researchers thus advocate the need to pre-train or

coach the students (Stanley, 1992; Berg, 1999, Rollinson, 2005; Min, 2006). Gere (1987 cited

critique writing in order to produce successful writing groups. Hansen and Liu (2005) suggest

the need for teachers to first model the process of peer response and to provide ample time to

familiarise students with peer response procedures. Due to the demand that peer feedback

practice relies on the importance of coaching or pre-training, it is thus unsurprising to find

many writing teachers excluding peer feedback sessions from their classes as they can be both

Rationale and significance of study

The study on peer feedback carried out by the teacher took place in a learning environment

where time was an issue. Extra time to conduct training on peer feedback required the teacher

to carry out the session outside class time which would not be welcomed by the students who

had a very packed schedule. The teacher, however, was a strong proponent of peer feedback

and believed that despite the unfavourable environment, peer feedback sessions could still be

carried out successfully. To reduce probability of students giving tactless, inappropriate

-editing checklists were utilised in the writing lessons.

According to Lamberg (1990, p. 68), the use of writing checklists can guide students in peer-

-

1995). Paulson (1992), another supporter of the use of checklists in the writing classroom,

may channel students attention to global items, not only focusing on grammar. Myles (2004,

-

feedback sessions. A study conducted by Curtis (1997, as cited in Jacobs, Curtis, Braine, &

Huang, 1998, p. 313) reveals that students valued both teacher and peer feedback. A

questionnaire survey of 121 L2 undergraduate students revealed that 93% of the students

95

surveyed wanted peer feedback when it was accompanied by teacher feedback (Jacobs,

Curtis, Braine, & Huang, 1998). A study by Tsui &Ng (2000, p. 167-168) reveals that

conferences would provide opportunities for oral feedback that has potential for negotiation

of meaning (Hyland & Hyland, 2006) and it would help students in rectifying writing

weaknesses identified by peer reviewer (Mangelsdorf, 1992). During writing conferences, the

for clarification... help writers sort through problems and assist students in decision-

(Keh, 1990, p. 298).

The objective of this study is to view the usefulness of peer feedback practice in enhancing

on pedagogical aspects

involving peer feedback practice in a time-constraint environment. It would also supply other

teachers with information on the benefits and drawbacks of peer feedback practice

experienced by the teacher in her teaching environment.

The participants/ setting

The study took place in a private university college involving 15 first and second semester

degree students majoring in Tourism and Hospitality Service Industry. All degree students are

required to take up an English for Specific Purpose course and the participants were required

to undertake UCS1002- English for Tourism Service Industry. UCS 1002 focuses on three

main areas: the first area focuses on developing relevant reading skills for effective reading of

academic text (10 hours); the second area focuses on developing academic writing skills

particularly on using appropriate style, tone and format in writing academic essays and

project papers (24 hours); and the third area focuses on developing specific writing skills

needed for tourism service industry (English for Workplace) (20 hours). All students who

Compulsory Subjects.

During the study, students were required to produce two academic essays-the first essay was

written in groups where students were required to select a topic to write collaboratively based

on several specific tourism/ hospitality topics given. The first peer feedback session was also

96

conducted in groups and in this instance students were not given the opportunity to select the

groups that would respond to their writing. The second part of the study required the students

to write a cause-and- effect essay; on the effects of cultural tourism on society. The second

essay was produced individually and during the second peer feedback session, students were

allowed to choose their own peer editors. Most students chose their friends or someone that

they were always seated with in class to be their peer editors.

The class consisted of students of different nationalities; 4 Malaysians, 1 from Thailand, 1

from Myanmar, 2 from Iran, 1 from Botswana, 1 from Maldives, 5 from Indonesia (one of the

Indonesian students is a resident of Dubai), Participants were a combination of students from

the elementary level (3 students), to the intermediate (9 students) and upper-intermediate

level (3 students) in English. Five out of fifteen students have done peer editing before and

Nature of study and data collection

The study conducted has qualitative features as it took place in its natural setting and it was

during the study were determined by studen

peer editing practice and time permitted to carry out these activities. Three methods were

utilised to collect data to identify the usefulness of peer-editing practice in enhancing

ills and to identify the benefits and drawbacks of peer feedback practice.

writing samples and peer-

and comments; and an open-

perceptions of peer-editing practice in the writing classroom.

The checklist

The peer-editing checklist comprised of four main sections 1) Content and Organisation-

Introduction, 2) Content and Organisation- Body, 3) Content and Organisation- Conclusion

and 4) Others. As the teacher needed to cover the syllabus at the same time, the checklists

distributed to the students covered contents that were taught in class. It contained statements

and questions that examined the ability of the students to:

97

Introduction

1) identify the type of introduction that was used

2) evaluate whether the introduction was interesting

3) evaluate whether the thesis statement was clear

4) identify whether the thesis statement contained a preview of main ideas

Body

1) identify whether the topic sentences in all the body paragraphs were clear ( if not

clear, students were required to underline the parts that were unclear)

2) identify the type of supporting details used in the body paragraphs

3) identify whether there were any sentences that were off the topic (students were

required to underline all unnecessary sentences)

4) evaluate whether the body was coherent flow smoothly from beginning to end (if

yes, they were required to tick the type of cohesive devices that were used repeating

key nouns, using consistent pronouns or using transition links to link ideas within

paragraphs)

5) indicate the expressions that were used to link ideas between paragraphs (if there were

any)

Conclusion

1) indicate the expression used to introduce the conclusion

2) identify whether the writer summarized the main points or paraphrased the thesis

statements in the conclusion

3) evaluate whether the conclusion has an effective ending

4) identify whether the writer introduced a new idea

Others

1) indicate the best features of the essay

2) indicate the areas that need further improvement

Procedure

The study was divided into two separate stages. The first stage involved a writing test to

style and tone, the process of writing (prewriting, drafting, revising) and essay writing (thesis

98

statement, components of an essay, topic sentences, coherence, cohesion) and they were then

marking samples indicated that most of the students in the class have serious problems in

writing involving both local and global concerns. Due to this, the teacher decided that the first

writing task and the first peer editing session were done in groups. This, she believed, could

assist students in their writing and in edi

collaborative effort. Students who selected topics were required to be seated together and

produce an essay based on the topic selected. These essays were then collected and given to

two other groups to edit. A peer-editing checklist was given to each group to assist them in

the essay. The pieces of writing and the completed peer-editing checklists were stapled

together and handed in to the teacher. Edited pieces of writing and content of checklist were

then checked by teachers. Before giving them back to the rightful owner, the teacher would

carry out a writing conference with the peer response groups to clarify comments made by

them that she found unclear. She would then carry out a writing conference with the writers

of the essay to discuss the content of the essay and the corrections made by peer response

writers that were not identified by their peer reviewers. In Stage 1, the peer response group

The second stage was carried out after lessons on cause-and-effect essay. Findings from

analysis of data collected during Stage 1, affect Stage 2 of the study in the following ways:

Students with low-proficiency level would not be involved in the second stage and their

future writing would be evaluated by the teacher; students were allowed to choose a peer-

editor that they were comfortable with; and students were not allowed to write comments on

allowed

In the second stage, students were asked to write an essay on the effects of cultural tourism on

society. After the essay was written, student will exchange his/ her paper with one another

also allowed to write comments in the essay. The essay together and the completed checklist

were then handed in to the teacher. The teacher would first check each edited writing and

checklist. She would then carry out a writing conference with the peer editor to clarify

99

comments made on the essay and the checklist. The teacher would then return the edited

piece of writing to the writer and discuss the content of the essay and the checklist together

mistakes made by the writers that were not identified by their peer reviewers.

Findings derived from retrospective notes

Before findings from retrospective notes are discussed, it is vital to explain the grouping of

students in Stage 1. In Stage 1, students were divided into 4 groups. Group A consisted of

five students, a combination of two upper-intermediate level students and three lower

intermediate students; Group B consisted of five students of intermediate level; Group C

comprised of three students of intermediate level and the last group, Group D, comprised of

one upper-intermediate level and one intermediate level student. Groupings were determined

by the topic that students selected. Students who selected the same topic would be placed in

the same group.

Reaction of peer editors

During Stage 1, it was observed that only two students (upper-intermediate) in Group A were

and two totally lost interest in the task. Students from Group B were found to be engrossed in

the editing process. Students in Group B appeared

writing and they were found to be carrying out lengthy discussion on both local and global

matters. While discussing the content, the teacher overheard one of the students commenting,

Group C consisted of average writers and they too were found to be thoroughly involved in

work, there was hardly any discussion carried out between the two students. Once one student

finished editing a piece of writing, she would then pass it to the other student in the group

who would then re-edit the paper.

writing. At this stage, four students (one intermediate level and three elementary level) were

not involved in the second stage of the study; two had dropped out of the course and the other

100

two (elementary level) had to be given other writing tasks as peer-editing was too difficult for

them.

Reaction of receivers of feedback

During Stage 1, all groups, except for Group C, were receptive of the comments made by

with the checklists). They started blaming one another for some of the spelling mistakes

identified by other groups. They mentioned several times to the teacher during the writing

conference that they have tried their best in writing the essay. One of the group members

mentioned this again before she left the class. (Group C took the longest time to produce the

essay).

During Stage 2, there was no significant observation that could be reported as students were

Findings derived from analysis of peer editing checklists.

Analysis of peer editing checklists gathered from Stage 1 and 2 revealed that students were

able to identify weaknesse

which were unclear thesis, and lack of coherence in writing. In addition, both peer response

groups who edited the piece of writing generated by Group D, succeeded in pinpointing

problems which included both local (grammar, sentence structure, vocabulary problems) and

writing also managed to identify the problem in writing which was lack of coherence. In the

second stage of the study, one peer editor, was successful in identifying all the problems that

her friend had in her writing which ranged from unclear thesis and topic sentences,

inadequate support, lack of unity and coherence to ineffective ending. Analysis of peer

writing. One peer editor for example was able to identif

which was the quality of points used to support the topic.

Despite these positive findings, analysis of checklists revealed that in some instances, some

students, regardless of whether they were working in groups or individually, were not able to

101

clearly stated and even contained preview of main ideas. Another example is of a peer editor

conclusion was the main aspect of the essay that needed to be improved when in fact, nothing

was wrong with it as it contained the recapitulation of the thesis statement, it was

writing

(the most prominent problem) in its writing but indicated that the best feature of the essay

Further scrutiny of peer editing checklists revealed that even though some students were able

writing, many gave vague comments. Some written comments on the best features of the

; and

Through writing conferences, these problems were highlighted and teacher indicated other

cher believed

that the peer editing practice would only result in serious confusion on what constitutes good

or bad writing.

lower order concerns (spelling, grammar, vocabulary, sentence structure etc.). In most

instances, peer response groups were able to identify errors and made accurate correction on

, for instance,

managed to locate and correct most surface errors, for example: (these (this) process; [We]

(not academic writing) can witness different nations updating (upgrading) the transport

systems....; In addition, nations [really up] (vocabulary) their tourism and hospitality

102

business...

skill is also plays an important role in order to succeed (achieve) the establishment sales

Despite (Other than) job-related skills, employees also need to have

communication skills in this (the) tourism industry.

esponse group had

such as for example

writing when it indicated that a paragraph in the essay was not cohesive and this was spot on.

for this paragraph No clear explation (supposed to be

explanation) between the second point and the conclusion

One group, Group B, in particular, was writing down rubber stamps comments that made

be more specific topic

sentence- not clear id not mention ;

not be used

Problems on meaning and other global concerns and major language problems (for example

sentence fragments), were mostly detected by the teacher and these were highlighted during

the writing conference. Without the writing conferences, the teacher believed that students

would not know which comments to take seriously and which should be ignored.

Findings derived from open-ended questionnaire

Twelve students answered the questionnaire and analysis of findings from the open-ended

questionnaire revealed that eleven students (91.6%) were generally positive of the peer

,

and they also stated that the peer editing practice:

helps (me) to understand what is expected

103

provides students with the chance to view and understand different ways of answering

the same (essay) question

is importan

Only one student voiced her concern over the benefits of peer editing practice. She indicated

that peer editing did not really work for her due to the following stated reasons:

Me and my friend still in the learning process, so he/ she might not give correct or

effective editing

the comments come from the lecture him/herself to guide me to a better quality of

work.

Analysis of questionnaire also revealed that 58% of the students generally felt either positive

or neutral towards their peer editors. The rest were quite sceptical as they were worried of the

quality and sincerity of the comments given. Students indicated the following to voice their

concerns:

If the peer editor is good and knows what he/ she is doing, I will feel that he/ she is

helping me. If it is the other way round, I may think twice about her ability (in editing

my work).

Because the editors are students, they may not know how to analyse and critic a

I appreciate those who honestly want to help correct, learn and give sincere comments

or suggestions

104

comments. These students stated the following to reveal their reluctance or scepticism over

work

Not exactly seriously

Yes, if he/ she is knowledgeable than me

comments or maybe correct my mistakes... more effectively

When asked what students thought of the peer editing checklist, 58% responded positively to

improve on

too descriptive bit confusing

unclear

Conclusion and pedagogical implications

The study was not able to neither prove nor disprove the usefulness of peer editing practice in

ambitious). One of the main reasons was due to too much teacher intervention during writing

and not peers. Despite this, the study has proven the usefulness of peer editing practice in

other aspects, for example, in making the classroom environment more interesting and

challenging; in providing venues for students to share, explore and identify different ideas

and approach to responding to a writing task; and to learn from one another particularly on

different styles of writing.

Analysis of data revealed, through the three data collection methods, shows that drawbacks of

peer editing practice outweigh its benefits. One of the main drawbacks is the low quality of

105

comments could make peer feedback a detrimental pr

most importantly to their writing. Another drawback of peer feedback practice is the low

receptivity of the comments received from peers by nearly 40% of the students who took part

in the study. This, she believes, was due to improper grouping, limited guidelines given and

inadequate checklists.

If future peer editing projects are to be implemented in her writing classrooms particularly if

they comprised of students with lower proficiency level, the teacher should take the following

considerations to improve the usefulness of the practice.

One area that needs to be improved is on the quality of guidelines and the way they are

provided. In this study, students were verbally guided throughout the process. In the

beginning they were verbally introduced to the practice where teachers informed them of the

benefits of such practice but she did not provide guidelines in black and white. She believed

that the checklists and the writing conferences would be adequate to guide the students

through the process. However, this was proven wrong. If future peer editing projects are to

take place in her writing classrooms, since time will still be limited to pre-train the students,

she should provide students with handouts on the following: the benefits of peer feedback,

what entails good peer feedback and bad peer feedback and samples of essays that were

properly edited by students. She will then carry out (at least one time), a class editing session

where an essay will be projected on a screen and the whole class will be editing the essay

together. Teacher will model to the students, the appropriate comments to write on the essay

believes the number of useless and inappropriate comments given will be limited, which

would improve the level of receptivity of peer comments and thus improve the usefulness of

peer feedback practice.

Another area that needs to be improved is on the way grouping is handled. Group editing

seems to be ineffective particularly when there is a combination of two levels of proficiency

in a group. To avoid this from happening, if group editing is to be reintroduced in her writing

classroom, she should either allow students to choose their own editors or put the students

with the same level of proficiency in one group. This will also apply to situations when

-to-one basis. This, she believes, can

106

help her in managing peer editing sessions better and most importantly, reduce inhibitions

and improve receptivity of comments.

As for the content of the checklists, she believes that this should be upgraded to provide better

guidelines. She noticed that the peer editing checklist utilised was not comprehensive enough

as certain problems like improper in-text citations, were not addressed. Wordings in the

made to the checklist to enable students to give better and proper peer feedback.

Future practice would include writing conferences as she believes that without this, the peer

editing practice, particularly if it is carried in a teaching environment where time is an issue

and students are of lower proficiency level, will just be a waste of time and may even have

true. Future

receptivity level of the task. There is no point of carrying out writing activities that would

have more downsides than benefits to the students. At the end of the day, it is all about

choosing activities that work for them.

107

References Journal of

Second Language Writing. 8(3), 215-241. Berger, V. (1990). The effects of peer and self-feedback. CATESOL Journal, 21- 33. Cotterall, S. & Cohen, R. (2003). Scaffolding for second language writers: producing an academic essay. ELT

Journal. 57(2), 158- 166. Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design. Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. (2nd Ed.).

London: SAGE publications. Dheram, P. K. (1995). Feedback as a two-bullock cart: a case study of teaching writing. ELT Journal. 49(2),

160-168. Hansen, J. G. & Liu, J. (2005). Guiding principles for effective peer response. ELT Journal. 59(1), p. 31- 38.

Language Teaching. 39, 83-101.

Jacobs, G. M., Curtis, A., Braine, G. & Huang, S. (1998). Feedback on student writing: Taking the middle path. Journal of Second Language Writing. 7(3), 307-317.

Keh, C. (1990). Feedback in the writing process a model and methods for implementation. ELT Journal. 44(4), 294-304.

Lamberg, W.(1990). Self-provided and peer-provided feedback. College Composition and Communication. (31-1), 63-69.

Leki, I. (1990). Potential problems with peer responding in ESL writing classes. CATESOL Journal, 5-19. Lundstrom, K., & Baker, W., (2009). To give is better than to receive: The benefits of peer review to the

re Journal of Second Language Writing. 18 (1), 30-43. Mangelsdorf, K. (1989). Parallels between speaking and writing in second language acquisition. In D.M.

Johnson & D.H. Roen (Eds.), Richness in writing: Empowering ESL students. pp. 134- 145. New York: Longman.

Mangelsdorf, K. (1992). Peer-reviews in the ESL composition classroom: what do students think? ELT Journal. 46(3), 274- 284.

Min, H. (2005). Training students to become successful peer reviewers. System. 33, 293- 308. Min, H. (20 Journal

of Second Language Writing. 15, 118-141. Myles, J. (2004). Feedback processes in second language writing: Conflict in student and teacher Preferences. In

K. Kaur & M.E Vethamani. (Eds). Second Language Writing (pp. 254-274). Kuala Lumpur: Sasbadi.

Document Reproduction Service No. ED 342 249. Rollinson, P. (2005). Using peer feedback in the ESL writing classroom. ELT journal. 59(1), 23-30. Tsui, A.B.M & Ng, M. (2000). Do second L2 writers benefit from peer comments. Journal of Second Language

Writing. 9 (2), 147-170. Sengupta, S. (1996). Peer-evaluation: ELT Journal. 52(1), 19- 28. Stanley, J. (1992). Coaching student writers to be effective peer evaluators. Journal of Second Language

Writing. 1(3), 217-233. Susser, B. (1994). Process Approaches in ESL/EFL Writing Instruction. Journal of Second Language Writing. 3

(1), 31- 47. White, E. (1994). Teaching and Assessing Writing. San Francisco:Jossey Bass Publishers. Yang, M., Badger, R., & Yu, Z. (2006). A comparative study of peer and teacher feedback in a Chinese EFL

writing class. Journal of Second Language Writing, 15, 179-200.

108

The

Effect of Two

Types

of Feedback

on

Iranian

EFL

Learners'

Tense-marker Production Somayeh Kazemi

Tari

(Islamic

Azad University, Qaemshahr

Branch,

Iran)

Abstract

Although many researchers have worked on the role of feedback in immersion programs on

second language learners' production, still little is known about the role of different types of

immediate feedback on the grammatical accuracy of learners' production. When, where and

with who different types of immediate feedback such as prompts and recasts and their

different subcategories might be appropriate? The purpose of the present research was to

know which types of immediate oral feedback could better help Iranian EFL learners to

produce the correct form of the tense markers of their target language English. One of the

primary objectives of the present study was to examine the effects of two types of oral

feedback namely explicit correction and implicit or-choice feedback on Iranian EFL

learners' production of different tense markers in English. The results were in favor of explicit

correction over implicit or-choice feedback in helping learners to produce correct

grammatical tense markers.

Introduction

The use of feedback in language teaching is nothing new. Traditional language teachers

immediately corrected their students' errors when they appeared in their utterances. There are

different views regarding the use of different types of feedback. Interlanguage researchers

argue that errors should be tolerated as much as they are the result of the learner's

communicative strategies. Another view is that errors should be ignored on the whole. Still

another view is that some types of errors should be corrected. Ellis (1990) provides taxonomy

of the type of errors that should be corrected by the teacher. According to Ellis (1990, pp. 54-

55), global errors, errors that affect the overall comprehensibility of an utterance, stigmatized

errors, and errors relating to the learner's next stage of development should be corrected.

doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.2n.1p.108

109

There are a number of studies that have elicited teachers' rationales for correcting errors.

Chaudron's (1986, in Chaudron, 1998, p. 136) research is among those. He compared the

corrections made by teachers in French immersion classes in Canada and found that teachers

corrected more "grammatical" (morphological and syntactic) errors in French classes (average

77%) than in other classes (average 37%). Also, Chaudron (1986, in Ellis, 1990, p. 73) found

that fewer discourse errors were corrected compared to morphological errors.

Although the terms "feedback" and "correction" are usually used interchangeably, but Long

(1977, cited in Ellis, 1990, p. 71) suggests the term "feedback" be used for the teacher's

information about the correctness of the learner's utterances, while the term "correction" be

used for the effect of feedback on learning. Ellis (1990, p. 71) uses error treatment and

corrective feedback synonymously and states that the broadest definition of treatment is "any

reaction by the teacher that clearly transforms, disapprovingly refers to or demands

improvement."

Correction may not always be effective; in order for the correction to be effective some

prerequisite must be met. Johnston (1988) states that correction is effective when:

1. The learner desires or needs to eradicate the mistake.

2. She is able to form an internal representation of what the correct behavior looks like.

3. She realizes that her performance is flawed.

4. She has the opportunity to perform in real condition. (cited in Ellis, 1990, p. 181)

Feedback to learners can be either explicit through overt correction or implicit through

negotiation work. Negotiation and interaction are important in L2 learning because as

Mackey and Philp (1998, in Kaplan, 2002, pp. 172-76) have shown interaction can provide

modified speech, confirmation check, comprehension check, clarification request, or-choice,

topic-focused, elaboration, on the spot learning, delayed learning, and testing a hypothesis.

And according to Mitchell and Myles (20

on face to face interaction and shared processes, such as joint problem solving and

There are different types of feedback compiled by Lightbown and Spada (2006), Ellis (1994),

Ellis (2003), and Doughty and Long (2003). Nassaji provides three types of focus of form

feedback: non-negotiated feedback, limited negotiation feedback, and extended negotiation

110

feedback (cited in Fotos & Nassaji, 2007, pp. 123-24). Brown (2007, pp. 277-78) has

provided taxonomy of six types of feedback that includes recast, clarification request,

metalinguistic feedback, elicitation, explicit correction, and repetition. Among these six types

of feedback, four types (i.e. clarification request, repetition, metalinguistic clues, and

elicitation) are related to prompts. These four types of prompts have one crucial feature in

common: "They withhold correct forms (and other signs of approval) and instead offer

learners an opportunity to self-repair by generating their own modified response" (Lyster,

2004, p. 405).

Among different types of feedback one type that has had too many contradictory results on

the learners' learning behavior is "recast". Recast is "an implicit type of corrective feedback

that reformulates or responds an ill-formed or incomplete utterance in an unobtrusive way"

(Brown, 2007, p. 277). Lyster (1998, in Kaplan, 2002, p. 177) found that learners could not

decipher whether recasts were signs of correction or approval. Lyster and Ranata (1997, in

Kaplan, 2002, p. 177) also found that recasts did not have immediate effect on subsequent

production. But Mackey and Philp (1998, cited in Kaplan, 2002, p. 177) considering delayed

effects of feedback showed that recasts had positive effect on learners' production.

Comparing the effects of recasts and prompts, Ammar (2008) found superior effects for

prompts over recasts in the acquisition of possessive determiners by Francophone learners of

English as a second language. She also found that prompts were particularly effective for

lower proficiency learners, whereas higher proficiency learners appeared to benefit similarly

from both recasts and prompts. Lyster (2004) explains the four types of prompt used in

French immersion classes mentioned before as follows:

1. Clarification requests

Student: Et le coccinelle . . .

Teacher: Pardon?

Student: La coccinelle . . .

2. Repetitions

to highlight the error. For example:

111

Student: La chocolat . . .

Teacher: La chocolat?

Student: Le chocolat

3. Metalinguistic clues provide comments, information, or questions related to the well-

Student: .

Teacher: Pas son carte

Student: Euh, sa carte?

4. Elicitation

allow students to complete

Teacher: Il vit où un animal domestique? Où est-ce que ça vit?

Student: Dans un maison

Teacher: Dans . . . ? Attention

Student: Dans une maison

Finally, Brown (2007, p. 278) classifies responses to feedback into three types: (1) uptake, (2)

repair, and (3) repetition.

Research questions

This study aims to test the effect of two types of feedback (i.e. explicit correction and

elicitation), which are hypothesized to trigger different degrees of cognitive processing and

awareness. The research questions are thus formulated as follows:

1. Will the use of explicit and implicit feedback in class improve Irania

to accurately apply English tense markers?

2. Which type of feedback is more effective explicit correction or implicit or-choice

feedback?

112

Research hypotheses

To find answers to the above mentioned questions the following null hypotheses were

formulated:

1. The use of explicit and implicit feedback in class will not improve Iranian EFL

2. Explicit correction feedback is not more effective than or-choice feedback on Iranian

EFL learners' production of tense markers.

Method

Participants

The participants in this study were females EFL students (n = 30) divided into two classes of

15. The students were all beginners. They received feedback on tense markers for 10 sessions.

Each of the two groups received a particular type of feedback. One group, designated as the

explicit correction group (Group A), received explicit correction following their errors in

tense markers, whereas the other group designated as the implicit or-choice group (Group B),

received or-choice feedback following errors in tense markers.

Procedures

Before instructional period, students received a fill-in-the-blank pretest and after the

instruction they received the same test as posttest (see Appendix A). During the ten-session

instructional period, students in the two groups received different types of feedback for 10

sessions. Each session some sentences that included one of the simple present, simple past

and present continuous tenses were extracted from one unit of the Intro book (Richards,

1997) and their structures were practiced by the students. For examples of these structures see

Table 1 below.

Table 1: Structures with simple present, simple past and present continuous tenses Tense markers Structures Simple present Wh-questions and statements with be

Simple present Wh-questions and statements Yes/No and Wh-questions with do Questions with how

Simple past Wh-questions and statements with be Simple past Wh-question and statements Past tense of be

Present continuous Yes/No and Wh-questions and statements

113

Then, the researcher asked the students some oral questions to elicit the tense markers that

were practiced on the same session or the sessions before. At the end of each session, the

students were asked to make dialogues about their own experiences using the structures

worked out on the same day and role play it in the class. During the whole class time students'

tense marker errors were immediately corrected in both groups. The explicit correction group

(Group A) received Type A feedback (i.e. explicit error correction) and the implicit or-choice

group (Group B) received Type B feedback (i.e. or-choice feedback). Examples of Type A and

Type B feedbacks for some errors extracted from teacher-student interaction in class are

presented in Table 2.

Table 2: Type A and Type B feedback with some examples extracted from teacher-student interaction

Feedback Type Example Type A (explicit correction

1 T: What did you eat for breakfast? S: I eated tea, bread and butter for breakfast T: 'I eated tea', no. I drank tea & I ate bread.

2 T: Where does your father work? S: My father work in bank. T: Uh uh! 'My father works' not 'my father work'.

3 T: What are you doing? S: I speak. T: 'I speak', no. 'I'm speaking'.

Type B (or-choice feedback)

1 T: What is Sara doing now? S: She listening you now. T: 'She listening to me' or 'she is listening to me'? S: She is listening.

2 T: What did you do yesterday? S: I /ri:d/ my book. T: Yesterday, 'you /ri:d/ your book' or 'you /red/ your book'? S: I /red/.

3 T: Did you go to bed late last night? S: No, I go to bed early. T: 'You go to be early' or 'you went to bed early'? S: I went to bed early.

Target features

To select the 3 target tense markers used in this stud

course book and selected the most frequent tense markers appearing in these materials. These

tense markers are presented in Table 3 with a few examples for each.

114

Table 3: Tense markers along with a few examples Tense Markers Examples Simple present They play football everyday.

She plays the piano. Simple past I walked home yesterday.

She went to the office. I read (pronounced /red/) an English book this morning.

Present continuous I am writing a story. She is smiling. They are listening to the teacher.

Treatment materials

Ten topics were selected from among the students' course book material. The material, which

included different topics such as greeting, daily schedule, clothes, families, and past

experiences, provided the communicative context for the present study. For the purposes of

this study, the topics for discussing and practicing different grammatical forms in the class

were selected from Intro, an international communication book written by Richards (1997).

The conversations and grammar exercises included in the book provided the context for

study.

Measures

assessed by using a written 20-item

fill-in-the-blank test for which they were given 25 minutes to complete. The same test was

used both as pretest and posttest. By comparing the pretest-posttest results with two t-tests the

effectiveness of each type of feedback was measured. Then another t-test was used to

compare the results of the two posttests to see which feedback was more effective.

Before the introduction of the study, in a pilot study conducted by the researcher, the 20-item

teacher-made test was administered to a group of 15 students at the same level with the

students in the researcher's classes to measure the reliability of the teacher-made test. By

using the Kuder-Richardson formula, the researcher measured the reliability of the test to be

about 0.70. The measured reliability was within an acceptable range.

115

Results and discussion

The means and standard deviations of the pretests and posttests of the two groups are shown

in Tables 4 and 5. Also, Figure 1 shows the means of the pretests and posttests for Group A

and Group B.

Table 4: Pretest means (M) and standard deviations (SD) for the two groups Group A¹ (n=15) Group B² (n=15)

M SD M SD 6.8 2.8 6.4 2.9

¹ Group A: explicit correction group ² Group B: or-choice group

Table 4 shows that the means for the two groups on the pretest have no significant difference:

t= 0.39, p<0.05. This confirms that the two groups were essentially equivalent before the

instruction started. From Figure 1, it is quite evident that the posttest means are significantly

higher than the pretest means: t=6.92, p<0.05 for Group A, and t= 4.30, p<0.05 for Group B.

This shows that both types of feedback (i.e. Group A feedback and Group B feedback)

improved the students' accurate use of tense markers in English.

The means of the two groups on posttest, shown in Table 5 and also evident in Figure 1 show

that the explicit correction group outperformed the or-choice group on the posttest: t=2.12,

p<0.05.

Table 5: Posttest means (M) and standard deviations (SD) for the two groups Group A¹ (n=15) Group B² (n=15)

M SD M SD 12.3 1.4 10.1 1.8

¹ Group A: explicit correction group ² Group B: or-choice group

116

Figure 1: The pretest and posttest means for groups A and B

The results of the t-tests rejected the first and second null hypotheses, thus confirming the

effectiveness of the two types of feedback, and approving the superiority of the Type A

feedback over Type B feedback on Iranian EFL learners' production.

The present study thus contributes to the arguments about the benefit of different types of

corrective feedback by confirming that explicit correction is more beneficial compared to or-

choice feedback to the beginner Iranian EFL learners in communicatively oriented

classrooms. In terms of pedagogical implications, these findings may not be generalizable to

other instructional contexts.

117

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Teaching Research, 12(2), 183-210. Brown, H. D. (2007). Principles of language learning and teaching (5th ed.). New York: Pearson Education. Chaudron, C. (1998). Second language classrooms: Research on teaching and learning. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press. Doughty, C. J., & Long, M. H. (Eds.). (2003). The handbook of second language acquisition. New York:

Blackwell. Ellis, R. (1990). Instructed second language acquisition. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Fotos, S., & Nassaji, H. (Eds.). (2007). Form-focused instruction and teacher education: Studies in honor of Rod

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Appendix A: Pretests and Posttests

Complete these conversations using the correct form of the verb forms in parentheses. 1. A: What _______ (do) you do? B: I'm a student. I study English. A: What _______ (do) your mother do? B: She is a teacher. She _______ (teach) English at a school in Chicago. A: Is your father a teacher, too? B: No, he is a doctor. He _______ (work) in a hospital. 2. A: Is your sister looking for a job? B: Yes, she is. She _______ (work) in a restaurant now, but she _______ (look) for a job in a theater. She _______ (love) acting. 3. A: _______ (do) you _______ (do) anything special over the weekend? B: Yes, I _______. I _______ (go) shopping. I _______ (spend) all my money. Now I don't have any money. 4. A: What _______ (do) you _______ (do) last night? B: I _______ (see) the new Tom Cruise film. I _______ (love) it! 5. A: _______ (be) you in France last summer? B: Yes, I _______ (be). A: How long _______ (be) you there? B: I _______ (stay) there for a month.