Comprehension Of Iranian EFL Learners Research Articles

Collaborative learning, scaffolding-based instruction, and self-assessment: impacts on intermediate EFL learners’ reading comprehension, motivation, and anxiety

This research set to examine the impacts of collaborative learning (CL), scaffolding instruction, and self-assessment on reading anxiety, reading motivation, and reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. Based on Preliminary English Test (PET) results, a sample of 58 students was chosen to represent the study’s sample subject out of a total of 71 participants. Running a convenience sampling technique, two equal groups (the control and experimental) were chosen at random from among them. Afterward, both groups completed pretests to gauge their reading motivation, anxiety, and comprehension. Two groups were then treated with a variety of treatments. Learners in the experimental group got scaffolding instruction, self-assessment, and CL as treatment, whereas the control group received typical instructor-based teaching and assessment. Later, both groups took the post-test for reading anxiety, reading comprehension, and reading motivation after the treatment. According to the one-way ANCOVA analysis, the post-test results for the two groups were different. Based on the data analysis, the experimental group outdid the control group in reading anxiety, reading motivation, and reading comprehension. It was concluded that Iranian EFL learners were able to develop both their reading comprehension and reading motivation while experiencing less reading anxiety thanks to CL, self-assessment, and scaffolding instruction. Finally, the conclusions, implications, limitations, and suggestions for further studies were provided.

Comparative effects of partial dictation and dictogloss on listening comprehension ability of EFL learners

TEFL teachers and scholars acknowledge the unique characteristics of listening skills and the vital role it plays in language learning and communication. The present study seeks to empirically investigate if partial dictation versus dictogloss has any significant effect on listening comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. Participants include 60 male EFL learners who were selected via double sampling and after taking the listening pre-test were randomly assigned to two experimental groups (partial dictation versus dictogloss) and a control group. A thorough analysis of the data using paired sample t-test indicated that the partial dictation group slightly outperformed the dictogloss group in the listening post-test and both experimental groups significantly outperformed the control group. The results can have implications for learners, teachers and material developers. Keywords: Dictogloss, listening comprehension, partial dictation, EFL learners, comprehension ability.

Partial Dictation vs. Dictogloss Effect on Listening Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners

The unique characteristics of the listening skill and the vital role they play in language learning and communication do not receive the attention they deserve and the situation is worsened in EFL contexts due to lack of communication in everyday context. Given this, the present study was an attempt to empirically investigate if partial dictation versus dictogloss had any significant effect on listening comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. To this end, 60 male EFL learners were selected via double sampling and, after taking homogeneity test and listening pre-test, they were randomly assigned to two experimental groups (partial dictation versus dictogloss) and a control group. The first experimental group was exposed to dictogloss, while the second experimental group was exposed to partial diction. The control group underwent the mainstream usual classroom activities. After the treatment which took one hour each session for seven sessions, a listening post-test was given to all groups. The thorough analysis of data using paired sample t-test indicated that partial dictation group slightly outperformed the dictogloss group in the listening post-test and both experimental groups significantly outperformed the control group in the listening test. The result can have implications for learners, teachers, and material developers in all second and, especially, foreign language contexts where listening comprehension does not receive the attention it deserves and this, in turns, deprives EFL learners of viable sources of input. It is recommended that dictation in either partial format or dictogloss become an instructional activity in English classes because of its usefulness in improving listening comprehension and, more importantly, because of its practicality which is an important concern in many language learning contexts. 
 Key words: Dictogloss; English as a Foreign Language, Listening Comprehension; Partial Dictation

Looking at the Impact of the Flipped Classroom Model on Reading Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners

The flipped classroom instruction has been the focus of many researchers. It needs a lot of preparation and technological tools and many have tried it in different ways to teach different subjects with different grades. This study utilized to investigate the effect of flipped classroom on reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners with different proficiency level (elementary and intermediate). So, 120 participants were selected based on their performance on Oxford Placement Test, then 60 participants for intermediate and 60 for elementary level were selected and a Nelson and PET reading test were submitted for their homogeneity. The Oxford Placement Test (OPT) was administered to 200 students in order to select 120 subjects to participate in the main study. In this experimental research, the effect of flipped classroom on reading comprehension is measured therefore, flipped classroom is the independent variable and reading comprehension is the dependent variable. The result of the posttest showed a statistically significant point of preference for the experimental group over the control group in reading comprehension for both of elementary and intermediate levels. The findings showed that the students who received instruction through flipped classrooms had better performance compared to those who were trained through traditional classrooms.

Impact of strategy-based instruction via webfolio assessment on IELTS general reading of EFL learners

This study employed a webfolio assessment system to investigate how the use of blogs within a portfolio framework in Iranian EFL reading classes which implemented Strategy-Based Instruction affects reading comprehension. For the purpose of this study, 45 advance male learners were divided into three groups. Two IELTS general reading tasks adopted from Cambridge IELTS 10 were administered as pre-test and post-test phases of the study to the experimental groups in order to find the difference in the reading comprehension of the learners prior to the treatment and then at the outset of the study. The pre- and post-tests were administered along with a Skill-Based Strategy Inventory adopted from Oxford (2001) to find the differences in using strategies before and after the treatment. Analysing the performance of three groups showed that utilising the webfolio assessment system (M = 24.30) had a significant effect on the reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners in comparison with the paper-based portfolio assessing system (M = 21.96).
 Keywords: Computer-mediated communication, cooperative/collaborative learning, evaluation methodologies, evaluation of CALL systems, teaching/learning strategies.

The Effects of Reciprocal Teaching on Reading Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners

The present study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of the Reciprocal Teaching Procedure (RTP) on reading comprehension of intermediate Iranian EFL learners in Iran. Two intact groups were chosen non-randomly, one as the control group and the other as the experimental group. Then an IELTS reading test was administered to both groups as pretest. After analyzing the collected scores by independent t-test it was known that there was no meaningful difference between control and experimental groups before the treatment. Both groups were offered 15 sessions of reading, the experimental group received treatment, they were taught reading by applying RTP as an instructional strategy, but the control group was taught reading through the conventional method. The results showed that reciprocal teaching can improve reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

The Effect of Moodle-Mediated Instruction on the Reading Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners

Web-based devices and applications which have the potential to increase the motivation and engagement of students to in language learning have attracted much attention among the ELT community. On the brand new web-based technological devices which have been employed for the educational purposes is the Moodle, an open source virtual learning environment. Given the significance of technology in general and the potentially influential role of the E-learning Moodle in second language learning, the present study investigates the effect of Moodle-mediated second language instruction on the reading comprehension of Iranian EFL students. In so doing, the EFL learners of two classes of English majors in an Islamic Azad university in Iran were recruited as the participants of the study. The students in the experimental group (n=18) made use of blended learning in which Moodle was added to in-class instruction, whereas the learners in the control group (n=21) were taught traditionally in which the learners just made use of in-class instruction. The experiment lasted for a period of one semester. The statistical analysis of the data revealed that the experimental group students outperformed those of the control group in terms of reading comprehension. The findings have significant implications for second language instruction.

The Effect of Listening Strategy Instruction on Iranian Pre-intermediate EFL Learners’ Listening ability

Listening comprehension plays an important role in the process of language learning as it is one of the four major skills in language acquisition. This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of listening strategy instruction on improving listening comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. To achieve this goal, forty students studying at Birjand University were participated in the current study. All of thestudents were within the age range of 18 to 22. Then, they were non-randomly divided into two groups, as a control and an experimental group. Theexperimental was taught based on a guide lesson plan regarding listening strategies while the control group did not receive any treatment. The listening section of TOEFL was utilized to measure the listening performance of the participants before and after the treatment. The results of Independent Samples Test indicated thatinstructing listening strategies had no significant impact onlistening comprehension of Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners.

The Effect of Note Taking vs. Summarizing Strategy on Iranian EFL Learners’ Listening Comprehension

This study, specifically, investigated the effect of note taking and summarizing strategies on Iranian EFL learners’ listening comprehension. The study aimed at investigating the effects of note taking and summarizing on listening comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. The participants of the study included 75 female language learners in Bojnord who were homogenized in terms of language proficiency. They were divided into two experimental and onecontrol groups. ANCOVA test was used to analyze the effect of instructing listening strategies on the students’ listening comprehension. The results revealed that both note taking and summarizing strategies were effective in enhancing Iranian EFL learners’ listening comprehension performance. In addition, it was found that summarizing strategy was more effective than note taking strategy in improving students’listening comprehension. In terms of theoretical implications, the results of the study contribute to the validity of such theories like depth of processing, output hypothesis, and noticing hypothesis.

The Effectiveness of Note-Taking on Reading Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners

By taking notes students could save time for reading all textbooks for their exams or for their representations. It helps them to be vigilant all the time in class for having good notes and they have to paying attention to lectures or teachers all the time, therefore note-taking causes to listening better to lessons and lectures an also it causes to improves their comprehension when they read texts. Thus, the present study is important because note-taking could provide student’s memorization and helps them to remember what they learnt, absolutely important information. Also it accelerates to one-over their studies.The method used in this research was survey. The 40 Persian EFL learners were selected from a language institute in Karaj to participate in the present study. These learners were divided into two groups; one of them is experimental group (N=20) and the other one is control group (N=20). Pretest and post test were two instruments that were used to carry out this study, a pretest about skill of note-taking of passages of the lessons was used for both experimental and control group. This test consisted of 4 passages. The same test was administrated again as the post test for both groups by the end of the course to see the different conclusion between taking note of experimental group and control group control groups. Reliability between 4 texts is in oscillation from 0.6 to 0.81 (from 0.6 upwards). Therefore this reliability was an acceptable one. To analyze data descriptive statistics (that was contained percentage, frequency and mean score) and also inferential statistics (that was contained ANOVA, Pearson correlation, independent sample t-test, multivariate’s test, regression) were carried out by using SPSS16 soft ware. The findings confirmed that note taking is effective in reading comprehension.

The Effect of Reflective Reading on Reading Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners

Reading comprehension as a survival skill in EFL context is included in almost all language proficiency and achievement tests. However, it seems that traditional approaches to reading comprehension instruction have not been successful at satisfying the learners’ need. Considering the advantages of reflective reading, it appeared as a probable solution to reading problem of EFL learners. Therefore, this experimental study aimed at investigating the effect of reflective reading on reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. To this end 49 male and female participants were selected through convenient sampling and were randomly assigned to two control and experimental groups. An English proficiency test was given to the sample to make sure about the homogeneity of the participants and equality of proficiency levels of the two groups. Later reading comprehension ability of the study groups was measured. As the ten-session treatment began the experimental group experienced reflective reading, while the control group followed conventional method of reading and answering comprehension check questions. After the treatment period, the groups’ reading comprehension ability was assessed once more. Independent samples t-tests were run to analyze the gathered data. It was found that reflective reading has positive effect on reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. Pedagogical implications of this finding for language teachers, learners, material developers, policy makers and researchers are discussed.

THE EFFECTS OF TYPES OF ORAL TEXTS’ GENRES ON THE IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS’ LISTENING COMPREHENSION

This study aims at investigating the effects of types of oral texts’ genres on listening comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. The participants of the study were 65 male and female EFL students which all of them from Issar institute in Nikshahr and Chabahar. In order to have homogeneous groups and real-intermediate level students, the first part of the Oxford Placement Test (OPT) containing 40 questions was performed. After the sampling procedure, the pretest was performed and then students were randomly assigned to two groups of control and experimental. The experimental group received a course encompassing the instruction of generic features including news with two genres, political and economic, for twenty sessions of instruction. The subjects in the control group listened to some pieces of news (without any specific generic features, mostly reports with ordinary people about routines). The results showed the experimental group had a better performance on the listening comprehension posttest.

The Effect of Symmetrical Scaffolding on the Reading Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners

This study seeks to investigate the impact of symmetrical (S) scaffolding on advance students' reading comprehension. Twenty advance Iranian learners participated in this study. The participants were both male and female students with an average age of 21. They were taught by symmetrical scaffolding. Before administering a Pre-test was administered to them. At the end of the study, a Post-test was administered, and its results were analyzed through t-test. The results indicated that S scaffolding has significant effect on learners' performance in reading comprehension.

The Effects of Pre-Reading Activities on Reading Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners

This study investigated the effects of three types of pre-reading activities (movie-watching, vocabulary presentation, and pre-reading summarization) on the reading comprehension of 76 elementary-level EFL Iranian learners. The participants were randomly assigned to one control and three experimental conditions and then a pretest was given to them. After completing the initial stages, participants in all groups read the same passages under different conditions for seven sessions. Each group was then given a posttest. After that, Paired-samples T-tests were run to find out if the participants had made any significant gains from the pretests to the posttests, which proved to be the case. Results of a One-way ANOVA also revealed that students who had received treatments were better in performance than those who had not received any treatment. Finally, the Split-plot ANOVA test run on the results of the posttest and delayed posttest indicated that there was a slight decrease overtime in scores of the students in two of the experimental conditions which was the result of both instruction or class type and its interaction with time but not time itself. Keywords: movie watching, vocabulary presentation, pre-reading summarization

The Effect of Orthographic Knowledge on Word Identification and Reading Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners

The present study attempts to employ orthographic knowledge enhancement as a tool in order to determine its efficiency in improving Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension. Orthographic knowledge can be defined as one’s familiarity with the general spelling rules of a language, or the ability to defer those letter combinations that are permissible form those that are not, which makes it an exceptional requirement for effective word identification and as a result successful reading comprehension skill. In doing so, 55 male and female students learning English at pre-intermediate level in a language institute in Astaneh, Guilan, Iran were randomly selected and were equally divided into an experimental and a control group. A researcher-made reading comprehension test followed by multiple-choice items as well as a word identification measure was given to both groups as a pre-test, and then the experimental group received the treatment in eighteen 30-minute sessions, in which the instructor taught skills to enhance students’ orthographic knowledge. Meanwhile, the control group did not receive any specific treatment. Finally the post-test, which was the same as the pre-test was administered. Their scores were calculated through computer softwares. The results indicated that raising orthographic knowledge results in significant improvement in both word identification and reading comprehension. The findings of this study can benefit EFL learners in improving their reading comprehension skill.

Individual Dynamic Assessment: An Analysis of Iranian EFL Learners' Listening Comprehension Errors

Error analysis is very important in facilitating listening comprehension. By error identifications, teachers can help learners to practice more in the problematic areas. However, only a few research studies investigated error analysis in listening comprehension and nearly no study has been conducted on the analysis of errors in a dynamic assessment-based (DA) instruction; therefore, the present study tends to investigate the listening source of errors which hinders listening comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. To achieve this, the present study conducted a detailed description of the listening process framework in an interactive EFL listening classroom. That is, an interactionist dynamic assessment-based approach was applied to investigate the source of EFL learners' listening comprehension errors. The participants included six lower intermediate students. The materials used in the enrichment sessions (eight sessions lasting for one hour in DA-based instruction) were listening tracks taken from Listening Advantage Book 3. The qualitative analysis of data revealed that the learners' listening comprehension problems could be categorized into (1) unknown words, (2) grammatical structures, (3) pronunciation, (4) lengthy sentences and (5) unfamiliar phrases or collocations. Finally, according to the findings, it can be concluded that learners' errors are indicators of learners' mastery in a performing task therefore; teachers can both figure out the level of their students and are able to understand what kinds of problems students encounter while practicing listening comprehension in classes and instruct them accordingly.

The Effect of Teachers’ Storytelling and Reading Story Aloud on the Listening Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners

This study was an attempt to compare the effect of reading story aloud (RSA) and storytelling (ST) on intermediate EFL learners’ listening comprehension. The design of the study was quasi experimental with listening pre and post tests. The participants were 99 Iranian EFL learners who were selected based on their performance on a Placement and Evaluation Package. For 6 sessions, the participants of both experimental groups who were 66 students listened to their teacher reading a story aloud in group 1 and telling the story in the second group. At the end of each session, they answered the questions that followed each story. After 6 sessions of treatment, the listening posttest was administered to both groups. Besides, there was a control group in which the students were expected to listen to listening parts of the book taught in their term through a traditional method of teaching without receiving extra treatment like the two mentioned experimental groups. Based on the results of one-way ANOVA test, it was evident that the ST method was more effective in improving the learners’ listening comprehension than the RSA. In order to specify where the difference(s) were, Scheffe post hoc test was applied. The results indicated that the gain in ST group’s listening comprehension was significantly more than that of RSA group. The results could have been due to the influence of the way of telling story with the help of teacher’s body language and continuous eye contact that attracted the students to follow the stories eagerly. The results have some implications for syllabus designers, material developers, and language teachers.

How do Concept-Maps Function for Reading Comprehension Improvement of Iranian Advanced EFL Learners of Both Genders?

This study was an attempt to examine the effect of concept mapping on reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. Pretest-posttest design was employed to scrutinize the possible improvement of the study’s participants who were male and female learners whose ages ranged from 19 to 40 and had taken general English courses at Islamic Azad University of Kharg. Two groups (one experimental and one control group) were exposed to the same reading comprehension test as the pre-and post-test, however, only the experimental group received the special treatment of concept mapping techniques for different texts during the treatment. After the application of the study’s treatment, data analysis procedure initiated which indicated that experimental group who received explicit concept mapping instruction had a better performance than the control group on the final reading comprehension test. In addition, the findings shows that students who used this strategy during the seven-week treatment had better results on comprehension reading test and could understand the reading passages better. The findings imply that concept maps can positively affect the reading comprehension ability of Iranian advanced EFL learners. It was also revealed that female learners were superior at employing concept-maps in comparison with their male peers.

The Impact of Teacher Scaffolding on Iranian Intermediate EFL Learner's Listening Comprehension Achievement

Among various aspects of effective instruction, scaffolding is an important concept that helps language teachers to consider the context of language learning. Teachers need to focus on strategies that are appropriate to different kinds of listening techniques and to consider the proficiency level of their students. The current investigation attempted to determine the impact of teacher scaffolding on listening comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. To this end, 60 intermediate learners (including 30 male and 30 female) were chosen from a language institute and divided in two groups. Hogan and Pressley's (1997) guidelines were used in order to incorporate scaffolding techniques throughout their lessons. The results confirmed the significant impact of teacher scaffolding on listening achievement in male and female EFL learners. Additionally, by considering gender, it was shown that there was no relationship between gender and listening achievement through teacher scaffolding.

A Comparative Study of the Effects of Two Approaches of Dynamic Assessment on the Reading Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners

The aim of this study was to examine and compare the impact of two Dynamic Assessment (DA) approaches, that is, Feuerstein’s Mediated Learning Experience (MLE) and Brown’s Graduated Prompt (GP) on Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension. Therefore, a mixed methods approach consisting of a semi-structured interview, a pretest, an intervention program, a posttest, and a transfer test was applied to assess and compare the efficacy of two DA approaches. One hundred and two EFL learners taking a General English course at Islamic Azad University were assigned to two experimental groups (MLEG and GPG) and one comparison group (CG). The participants in the MLEG took part in the MLE, and the participants in the GPG participated in the GP intervention program. The results of the qualitative as well as the aggregate and disaggregated quantitative data analyses indicated that both intervention approaches of DA were effective in enhancing the learners’ reading comprehension.