Impact of Pictorial Cues on Speaking Fluency and Accuracy among Iranian Pre-Intermediate EFL Learners

Abstract

This study examined the effect of pictorial cues on Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners’ speaking accuracy and fluency. To do this study, 54 Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners were selected out of 80 students in a private English Language Institute. The selected participants were divided into two equal groups; experimental group and control group. After that, both groups were pretested by a speaking pre-test. The experimental group was taught through using the pre-speaking strategies as the researcher provided students with pictorial inputs. On the other hand, the students of the control group were taught through traditional speaking activities including repetition and over-learning. The treatment took 15 sessions of 50 minutes each under the guidance of the supervisor. In the first session, the participants were homogenized. In the second session, they were pretested. During 11 sessions, students were taught by using pictorial input, and in the last session after the treatment the two groups took the speaking post-test. The results of paired t-test and MANOVA revealed that the experimental group had better performance on their accuracy and fluency post-test compared to their pre-test. The results also showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group on the accuracy and fluency post-test. Finally, implications arising from the findings and suggestions for further research were explained.