The Effect of Explicit Strategy Instruction on L2 Oral Production of Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners: Focusing on Accuracy, Fluency and Complexity

Abstract

Communicative strategies have attracted attention during the last few decades. Research on communicative strategies has mainly focused on the effect of teaching these strategies in second language classrooms. There is still a question under investigation as to whether communicative strategies have fulfilled the promise their proponents have claimed. With an aim to determine the effects of strategy instruction on second-language oral production, this paper examined the effects of explicit strategy instruction on Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ oral production with regard to complexity, accuracy, and fluency. 40 homogenous learners were randomly assigned to two groups. The experimental group received 8 lessons on strategies whereas the control group did not. The findings of a pretest and a posttest interview revealed that learners’ oral performance improved in complexity, accuracy, and fluency.