Massed Instruction

Admittedly, as opposed to simple writing treatments, massed or spaced instructions, more or less, seem to add variety and attractiveness to writing accomplishment. The current attempt concerned the efficacy of putting in service the two above-mentioned distribution instructions on EFL learners' writing performance. To conclude, 40 upper-intermediate learners (19 to 23 years) of both gender enjoyed 8 sessions in an institute in Ilam, Iran. They were randomly divided into two groups of massed and spaced each group consisting of 20. Instruments utilized were a Quick Oxford Placement Test, a writing pre-test, and a writing post-test. One group was disciplined paragraph writing with massed and spaced instruction with accuracy, complexity and fluency in focus. The researchers taught each session in an intensive 60 minutes' session to massed groups, whereas the similar session was taught to the spaced groups in three 20-minute short sessions at irregular time intervals. Subjects were retested after 8 weeks. Lastly, a posttest of writing was carried out for all groups. The results of the paired samples t-test and One-way ANCOVA denoted that the spaced distribution group significantly outperformed the massed distribution group on the posttest in their final post-test.

Strong reading comprehension skills and reading motivation are essential for personal growth, academic success, and overall well-being. Developing these skills can positively impact individuals' lives in various ways. Thus, this investigation aimed to examine the influence of massed and spaced instructions on the reading comprehension and reading motivation of Iranian EFL students. The researchers selected 150 Iranian participants from 300 based on their Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) performance. The selected intermediate participants were randomly assigned into two experimental groups (massed and spaced) and one control group. The participants were given a reading comprehension pretest and post-test and a reading motivation questionnaire before and after the treatment. Three groups were provided with instruction on reading skills by English texts and new words from American English File 3. The massed group received a 90-minute session for each text, whereas the spaced group received three 30-minute sessions; the first session lasted 30 minutes, followed by two more sessions, each lasting 30 minutes, scheduled two days apart. The results of data analysis utilizing one-way ANOVA showed a considerable difference between the post-tests of the spaced and massed groups compared to the control group. The findings demonstrated that the spaced group outperformed the massed and control groups (p < .05) in terms of reading comprehension and reading motivation. The results have some pedagogical implications for English instructors, learners, and curriculum developers.