scholarly journals Neutralizing Trade-off Effect between Accuracy and Fluency in EFL Writing by Mentor Text Modeling: Cognitive Complexity in Focus

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Biria ◽  
Farahnaz Liaghat
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Complexity ◽  
Teaching Writing ◽  
Approaches To Teaching ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Writing Instructions ◽  
Mentor Texts ◽  
Improving Accuracy ◽  
Traditional Approaches ◽  
Writing Competence

The present study sought to explore the efficacy of a brand-new approach to teaching writing called mentor text modeling in neutralizing trade-off effect between accuracy and fluency in writing tasks with different levels of cognitive complexity. To this end, a total of 60 (30 male and 30 female) Iranian EFL learners were randomly selected and assigned to three groups of comparison, each containing 20 (10 male and 10 female) learners. Employing a pretest/posttest experimental design, learners of the three groups received instruction on advanced writing during an 11-week course. At the commencement of the course, the learners’ fluency and accuracy in writing were gaged through three writing tasks with high, moderate, and low levels of cognitive complexity. Having been exposed to the same instructional input, the learners of each group underwent writing instructions based on one of three approaches to teaching writing, namely, mentor text modeling, product-based approach, and process-based approach. At the end of the study course, the learners’ writing performance was assessed on three tasks parallel to the pretest measures. Results of running correlation analysis indicated that contrary to the two traditional approaches to teaching writing, mentor text modeling was capable of improving accuracy and fluency simultaneously and, as a result, was found to be effective in neutralizing the trade-off effect between accuracy and fluency in writing tasks with high, moderate, and low cognitive complexity levels. The study’s finding may urge EFL teachers to include mentor texts while teaching writing to realize a balanced improvement in EFL learners’ writing competence. 

scholarly journals Dictogloss or Processing Instruction: Which Works Better on EFL Learners’ Writing Accuracy?

2021 ◽  
pp. 263-277
Author(s):  
Yasaman Azmoon
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Writing ◽  
Elementary Level ◽  
Instructional Interventions ◽  
Approaches To Teaching ◽  
Processing Instruction ◽  
Focus On Form ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Writing Accuracy ◽  
Writing Task

Although many investigations have been carried out into the consequence of applying different approaches to teaching writing, there is still a lack of the empirical comparing research into two influential focus-on-form methods of generating writing accuracy. This study is therefore significant as it is the very first study that compares the relative effects of the two instructional interventions of dictogloss and processing instruction on EFL learners’ writing accuracy. To achieve the abovementioned aim, 56 teenage Iranian participants with elementary level English were homogenized and selected out of 90 learners at a language school, using the results of a piloted sample Key English Test (KET). These participants were randomly divided into two experimental groups with 28 participants in each to practice in one group dictogloss tasks and in the other processing instruction tasks after a pretest. A picture sequence writing task was administered as a posttest at the end of the treatments to both groups. Finally the mean scores of both groups on the posttest were compared through an independent samples t-test. The result rejected the null hypothesis demonstrating that dictogloss could significantly motivate the participants who outperformed the processing instruction group regarding their writing accuracy.

scholarly journals Does Spelling Still Matter—and If So, How Should It Be Taught? Perspectives from Contemporary and Historical Research

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven C. Pan ◽  
Timothy C. Rickard ◽  
Robert A. Bjork
Keyword(s):  
Approaches To Teaching ◽  
Traditional Methods ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
Relevant Evidence ◽  
Spelling Instruction ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Traditional Approaches

AbstractA century ago, spelling skills were highly valued and widely taught in schools using traditional methods, such as weekly lists, drill exercises, and low- and high-stakes spelling tests. That approach was featured in best-selling textbooks such as the Horn-Ashbaugh Speller of 1920. In the early 21st century, however, skepticism as to the importance of spelling has grown, some schools have deemphasized or abandoned spelling instruction altogether, and there has been a proliferation of non-traditional approaches to teaching spelling. These trends invite a reevaluation of the role of spelling in modern English-speaking societies and whether the subject should be explicitly taught (and if so, what are research-supported methods for doing so). In this article, we examine the literature to address whether spelling skills are still important enough to be taught, summarize relevant evidence, and argue that a comparison of common approaches to spelling instruction in the early 20th century versus more recent approaches provides some valuable insights. We also discuss the value of explicit spelling instruction and highlight potentially effective ways to implement such instruction, including the use of spelling tests. Overall, our goals are to better characterize the role of spelling skills in today’s society and to identify several pedagogical approaches—some derived from traditional methods and others that are more recent—that hold promise for developing such skills in efficient and effective ways.

scholarly journals Teacher Practices and Students’ Preferences for Written Corrective Feedback and Their Implications on Writing Instruction

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 112
Author(s):  
Aridah Aridah ◽  
Haryanto Atmowardoyo ◽  
Kisman Salija
Keyword(s):  
Writing Instruction ◽  
Teacher Practices ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Teaching Writing ◽  
Effective Feedback ◽  
Writing Instructions ◽  
The One ◽  
Direct Feedback

The discrepancy between students’ preferences and teacher practices for feedback on writing has created difficulty on the side of teachers and confusion on the side of the students. What teachers believe and practice as effective feedback for students may not be the one that students perceive as useful and effective feedback for them. This paper investigates the types of written feedback preferred by the students and the types of feedback provided by the teachers on students’ writing. This study employed a survey design which involved 54 students and 22 teachers using convenience sampling technique. The instrument used in collecting data was a questionnaire in the form of Feedback Scale. The results showed that there were some points of compatibility between students’ preferences and teachers’ practices and some other points were incompatible. The data showed that both students and teachers preferred to have or to give direct feedback but the data also indicated that students liked to have more direct feedback than the teacher could provide. It was also found that the teachers provided more indirect feedback than the students expected to have. The students also preferred unfocused feedback to focused feedback. The findings of the study have crucial implications on writing instruction. There is a need to design writing instructions which accommodate both teachers’ practices and students’ preferences for written feddback. Based on the profile of students’ preference and teachers’ practices, a model of feedback provision in teaching writing is proposed. This model is called preference-based feedback on writing instruction.

scholarly journals An Exploratory Study into Trade-off Effects of Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency on Young Learners’ Oral Task Repetition

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn Sample ◽  
Marije Michel
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Task Repetition ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
De Se ◽  
The Difference

Studying task repetition for adult and young foreign language learners of English (EFL) has received growing interest in recent literature within the task-based approach (Bygate, 2009; Hawkes, 2012; Mackey, Kanganas, & Oliver, 2007; Pinter, 2007b). Earlier work suggests that second language (L2) learners benefit from repeating the same or a slightly different task. Task repetition has been shown to enhance fluency and may also add to complexity or accuracy of production. However, few investigations have taken a closer look at the underlying relationships between the three dimensions of task performance: complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF). Using Skehan’s (2009) trade-off hypothesis as an explanatory framework, our study aims to fill this gap by investigating interactions among CAF measures. We report on the repeated performances on an oral spot- the-difference task by six 9-year-old EFL learners. Mirroring earlier work, our data reveal significant increases of fluency through task repetition. Correlational analyses show that initial performances that benefit in one dimension come at the expense of another; by the third performance, however, trade-off effects disappear. Further qualitative explanations support our interpretation that with growing task-familiarity students are able to focus their attention on all three CAF dimensions simultaneously.Au sein de la littérature relative à l’approche fondée sur les tâches, on évoque de plus en plus d’études portant sur la répétition des tâches pour l’enseignement de l’anglais langue étrangère aux jeunes et aux adultes (Bygate, 2009; Hawkes, 2012; Mackey, Kanganas, & Oliver, 2007; Pinter, 2007b). Des études antérieures semblent indiquer que les apprenants en L2 profitent de la répétition de la même tâche ou d’une tâche légèrement différente. Il a été démontré que la répétition des tâches améliore la fluidité et qu’elle pourrait augmenter la complexité ou la précision de la production. Toutefois, peu d’études se sont penchées davantage sur les relations sous-jacentes entre les trois dimensions de l’exécution des tâches : la complexité, la précision et la fluidité. S’appuyant sur l’hypothèse du compromis de Skehan (2009) comme cadre explicatif, notre étude vise à combler cette lacune en examinant les interactions entre les mesures de ces trois éléments. Nous faisons rapport du rendement de six jeunes âgés de 9 ans qui apprennent l’anglais comme langue étrangère alors qu’ils répètent une tâche impliquant l’identification de différences. Nos données reproduisent les résultats de travaux antérieurs en ce qu’elles révèlent une amélioration significative de la fluidité par la répétition de tâches. Des analyses corrélationnelles indiquent que l’amélioration d’une dimension lors des exécutions initiales se fait aux dépens d’une autre; cet effet de compromis disparait, toutefois, à la troisième exécution. Des explications quali- tatives supplémentaires viennent appuyer notre interprétation selon laquelle la familiarité croissante que ressentent les élèves avec une tâche leur permet de se concentrer sur les trois dimensions (complexité, précision et fluidité) à la fois.

scholarly journals Genre-based Approach to Writing in EFL Contexts

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 95
Author(s):  
Vu Phi Ho Pham ◽  
Thi Kim Loan Bui
Keyword(s):  
Systemic Functional Linguistics ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Teaching Writing ◽  
Microsoft Excel ◽  
Efl Writing ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Step Structure ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teachers And Students

Writing is a challenging and demanding skill for EFL learners in Vietnam. Teaching writing skills at Vietnamese universities is problematic since different approaches to writing have not been implemented effectively. Mainly, a genre-based approach to writing has not yet been implemented in EFL writing classrooms successfully. This paper investigates how the genre-based writing approach has been taught and learned at Van Lang University. The study mentions some critical notions of systemic functional linguistics, genre-based writing approach, and the importance and effects of genre-based approach to writing. 128 students turned in their midterm essays in week 5 of the 10-week writing course. These 128 expository essays were analyzed and synthesized using Microsoft Excel to calculate the differences in move-step structure. The findings indicated that the students had difficulty following the fixed move-step structure, and they also faced challenges of lexico-grammatical usage for the expository. Hence, the study suggests some implications for applying a genre-based approach to writing for EFL teachers and students and suggests further research.

scholarly journals Reading input flooding versus listening input flooding: Can they boost speaking skill?

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-58
Author(s):  
Mojgan Rashtchi ◽  
Leila Mohammad Yousefi
Keyword(s):  
Control Group ◽  
Coding System ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Speaking Skill ◽  
Listening Group ◽  
And Control

Abstract The present study compared the effects of reading input flooding and listening input flooding techniques on the accuracy and complexity of Iranian EFL learners’ speaking skill. Participants were 66 homogeneous intermediate EFL learners who were randomly divided into three groups of 22: Reading input flooding group, listening input flooding group, and control group. The reading flooded input group was exposed to the numerous examples of the target structures through reading. In the same phase, the listening group was given relatively the same task, through listening. The participants’ monologues in the posttest were separately recorded, and later transcribed and coded in terms of accuracy and complexity through Bygate’s (2001) standard coding system. The results of ANCOVA indicated the outperformance of reading input flooding group. The study also supported the trade-off effects (Skehan, 1998, 2009) between accuracy and complexity.

Modern approaches in teaching writing skill within the process of foreign language teaching

2020 ◽  
pp. 110-117
Author(s):  
Umida Kulmagambetovna Khodjaniyazova 
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Process Approach ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Teaching Writing ◽  
Foreign Language Writing ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
Product Approach ◽  
Writing Competence

This article is devoted to the problem of the development of writing competence in the process of foreign language teaching. The article refects the main directions of the language policy in the Republic Uzbekistan with reference to the fundamental normative documents in this area, describes the conditions for the successful language policy in the feld of foreign language education. The characteristic features of foreign language writing competence is presented. The concept of the term «approach» is analyzed by foreign scholars and the author focuses on the advantage of two modern approaches in teaching foreign language writing competence as Product approach and Process approach. A review of two modern approaches is presented by involving the points and claims of well-known foreign scholars. The article deals with the assessment criteria, the learning process and effective techniques that are used on the basis of product approach. It presents a typical model for process approach created by the English specialist C. Tribble. Carried out comparative analysis of two given approaches, leads to the conclusion that both product approach and process approach, despite of their advantages, are not perfect enough in teaching writing since both approaches were criticized by methodologists. As a result of the study, it is concluded that it is preferable to use a mixed approach, along with traditional ones to develop writing competence of students.

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