Speaking Skill

This study attempted to investigate whether there was any significant difference between the speaking achievement of learners who were trained by means of audiotaped dialogue journal, dialogue journal writing, or traditional free speech. The participants, 45 male and female students aged between 21 and 32, were selected by random sampling from among free speech classes in an English teaching Institute in Tehran. On the basis of the scores obtained from an oral interview, a one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed, and it was proved that the three groups were homogeneous in terms of their speaking ability. Yet, the ANOVA performed on the scores of the learners after the treatment showed that the oral proficiency of the three groups differed significantly. A follow-up Tukey test revealed that the audiotaped dialogue journal group did not have any advantage over the dialogue journal writing group, whereas there was a statistically significant difference between the audiotaped dialogue journal group and the traditional free speech group.

This study investigated the impact of teacher and peer scaffolding on the speaking performance of Iranian EFL learners. Utilizing a quasi-experimental design, 60 intermediate-level female learners were selected from a population of 75, divided into three groups: teacher scaffolding, peer scaffolding, and a control group. The study employed the Preliminary English Test (PET) and speaking pretest and posttest to ensure homogeneity and measure the participants’ progress in speaking proficiency. The results of a One-way ANOVA indicated significant improvements in speaking performance for both scaffolding groups compared to the control group. However, no significant difference was found between the effects of teacher and peer scaffolding. These findings suggest that both types of scaffolding are equally effective in enhancing L2 speaking skills, supporting the theoretical framework of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The study underscores the importance of incorporating scaffolding into language instruction to foster better speaking outcomes.

The present explanatory mixed methods study was designed to investigate the difference between the effects of using the pyramid model of Willingness to Communicate (WTC) and Communicative Tasks (CTs) on reducing Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' speaking barriers. The participants were 57 Iranian EFL learners selected based on convenience sampling from a language institute in Tehran. The Preliminary English Test (PET) results verified their homogeneity. To foster a stronger spirit of cooperation among the participants, they were placed in three different classes based on their tendencies; hence, the researchers could consider them as three groups: the Pyramid Model Group (PMG), the Communicative Tasks Group (CTsG), and the Conventional Approach Group (CAG) each including 19 participants. The PMG received instructions pertaining to the six levels of PM in willingness to communicate (WTC), while the CTsG received instructions based on information gap, reasoning gap, and opinion gap activities. The CAG relied on the Audio-Lingual Method (ALM), which the institute regularly followed. Accordingly, the three groups went through pretesting, intervention, and post-testing. The participants completed a speaking barriers survey as pre- and post-tests. Then, ten participants from the three groups were randomly selected and interviewed about the impact of the methods they had experienced on their speaking barriers. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed the priority of the pyramid model of WTC over communicative tasks and conventional teaching in reducing learners' speaking barriers. The interview results also confirmed the quantitative findings indicating that anxiety, learners' low self-confidence, along with linguistic and instructional barriers could be reduced through being exposed to the pyramid model instructions. The results can be helpful for ELT professionals, EFL teachers and learners, and other stakeholders to hold more thriving L2 speaking classes.