The Potential of Learner Output for Enhancing EFL Learners‟ Short-term and Long-term Learning of the English Simple Present Tense

Abstract

Refuting Krashen’s Input Hypothesis, some SLA researchers have called attention to the vitality of learner output in the development of their interlanguage systems, which is the essence of Swain’s (1985) Output Hypothesis. The present study sought to find out the extent to which elementary EFL learners’ output promotes their learning of the English simple present tense. To this end, 33 Iranian EFL learners were assigned into a control and an experimental group. Both groups were presented with three texts including rich examples of the structure, over three one-hour sessions. Following the presentation of the text on each session, the experimental group engaged in two output tasks: a reconstruction task, in which they individually reconstructed in written form the text they had been exposed to, and a picture description task, in which they worked in pairs to produce a written description of three pictures, one on each session, while the control group only answered comprehension questions based on the texts. The comparison of the pre-test and the immediate and delayed post-test results indicated a significant gain in the experimental group’s performance immediately after the treatment, but only a trend toward significance within three weeks of the experimental period. The results show clear benefits arising from pushing students to produce second language output for the short-term and long-term learning of the English simple present tense. However, offering more output opportunities over time might be the key to the efficiency of learner output in the acquisition of the target language form.