جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « writing accuracy » در نشریات گروه « ادبیات و زبان ها »

The present study explored the effects of interactionist Dynamic Assessment (DA) and age on the writing accuracy of IELTS candidates. This research investigated the existence of an interactional effect between the age of learners and the type of treatment they received. First, 140 IELTS candidates were split into two age groups, adult and young. Each group was divided into two equal smaller groups, randomly assigned to two types of DA. All four groups took a writing pre-test. After a nine-session treatment of interactionist DA in study groups and interventionist DA in control groups, all groups took a writing post-test. The data collected during the post-test were analyzed by two-way ANOVA and compared with the pre-test data. The findings showed that implementation of interactionist DA significantly improved the learners’ writing accuracy while the learners’ age had no significant effect on their writing accuracy. With respect to the study findings, EFL teachers could use interactionist DA to enhance the accuracy of learners' writing skills by providing more opportunities for the learners to interact.

The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of cooperative error detection in an online context on ESP students' writing accuracy and their attitudes towards cooperative error correction. To achieve this aim, the researchers selected 60 ESP students after homogenization. The Barratt Impulsivity Scale (Barratt, 1995) was administered to the participants. The researcher randomly assigned the participants to two groups: the experimental group (n=30, reflective=13, impulsive=17) and the control group (n=30, reflective=13, impulsive=17). The experimental group received the intervention for ten sessions. Skype was used in this group. The participants in this group were divided into six groups of 5 members each. Then, in each session, the students were given a descriptive topic and they were supposed to write and share their writing in their groups. Other members of each group had to check each member's writing and, in case of a problem, underline the mistakes and share them with the group. Finally, they sent the revised writing to the teacher. In the control group, the participants had to write about the same descriptive topic. They wrote and gave their writing to the teacher who corrected it. The results showed that the participants in the experimental group performed significantly better than those in the control group. In terms of learning style, both reflective and impulsive ESP students benefited equally from the intervention. In addition, participants in the experimental group who received the treatment had a positive attitude towards cooperative error detection, seeing it as something positive and fun.

The present study aimed to examine the impact of instructing metacognitive strategies involving planning, monitoring, and self-evaluation, within proactive and reactive classroom contexts, on the writing accuracy of Iranian EFL learners. Employing a quantitative quasi-experimental design, the research comprised 168 participants, drawn from an initial pool of 206 undergraduate students within the science and engineering department of Azad University, Tabriz Branch, who had completed a general English course during the Spring of 2021. Employing purposive sampling, the homogeneous sample was divided into two experimental and two control groups, aligning with the study's independent variables: the teaching of metacognitive strategies and the classroom environment. The experimental groups underwent instruction in metacognitive strategies, with one group exposed to proactive instruction before commencing writing tasks, and the other receiving reactive instruction when encountering writing difficulties. Pre- and post-treatment writing samples were collected and evaluated for accuracy, and ANOVA was conducted on the pre-test scores, establishing initial comparability among the four groups. Subsequently, a Two-Way Analysis of Variance was employed to assess post-test scores. Notably, teaching metacognitive strategies exhibited a statistically significant influence on writing accuracy only within reactive classroom conditions. Conversely, the classroom environment exerted a negligible direct influence on writing accuracy, though a noteworthy interaction effect emerged between the two independent variables. This study holds substantial implications for EFL instructors, learners, and curriculum developers, highlighting the significance of incorporating metacognitive strategy instruction to enhance writing accuracy within specific instructional contexts.

The present study aimed to assess the effects of written corrective feedback (WCF) on Iranian EFL learners' writing at the macro (i.e., rhetorical organization, task response, cohesion, and coherence) and micro levels (i.e., lexical resource, punctuation, grammatical range, and accuracy) with a dynamic assessment approach in focus. To this end, the Oxford Quick Placement Test was administered to 150 male and female Iranian EFL learners, of whom 80 homogeneous intermediate learners were selected and assigned to an experimental group and a control group. The two groups received WCF in the sense that the teacher provided symbols such as WW for the wrong word, SP for spelling, T for tense, WO for word order, etc. while marking their written productions. The difference was that the experimental group experienced dynamic assessment of L2 writing during the term (in which the teacher taught and tested the learners in an ongoing fashion and provided prompts, hints, support, and encouragement every session), whereas the participants in the control group experienced a conventional class, devoid of an ongoing dynamic assessment component. At the end of the treatment, the collected data were statistically analyzed. The results showed that although the experimental group significantly outpaced the control group regarding the micro-levels of writing, no substantial difference was detected between the macro levels of writing in both groups. It was, thus, concluded that written corrective feedback along with the dynamic assessment can significantly improve the writing of the students at micro-levels.

This study was an attempt to investigate the impact of elementary learners’ L1 in consciousness-raising tasks on their L2 writing accuracy. To achieve this end, 32 male and female elementary EFL learners, aged 17 to 26, participated in this study. They were assigned to two experimental groups (L1 and L2 groups) using the intact group sampling technique. The treatment was 13 two-hour sessions in which the participants of L1 group were exposed to consciousness-raising tasks through their L1, but the L2 group experienced the same tasks in English. At the end, a writing test was administered for both groups and the data collected through the pre-test and post-test were analyzed using paired-samples t test and one-way analysis of covariance. The results of the data analysis showed that L1 group significantly outperformed the L2 group in writing accuracy. This finding verifies the rejection of the ideological dogma of using first language in foreign language classes.

Despite extensive studies concerning written error correction, it is imperative that more research be conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of error correction on improving L2 writing. Driven by this gap, this study aimed to examine whether unfocused direct and indirect types of written corrective feedback had any impact on the writing accuracy of the Iranian English language learners’ new compositions. Through the random matching technique, ninety Iranian English language learners from seven foreign language centers in southwestern Iran were split into two groups for treatment and one group for control. As part of the evaluation, a writing test was utilized to determine whether the learners had improved their writing accuracy due to the treatment. The results showed that the participants in both treatment groups improved their writing accuracy, though the learning gains from both treatment were not significantly different. This study concludes with some implications for teachers regarding their use of appropriate types of written error correction.

Technology-supported collaborative writing has gained popularity in L2 writing pedagogy. The study investigated the effects of Edmodo as an online social platform on the writing accuracy of 50 Iranian intermediate EFL learners, who were chosen through the convenience sampling method. The researchers utilized a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design and assigned the participants to an experimental and a control group. The participants of the control group sent their assignments and received feedback asynchronously through email; whereas, the learners of the experimental group used Edmodo to work collaboratively on their writing assignments. Finally, after eight treatment sessions, the scores of the pretest and posttest were analyzed through using a paired-sample t-test and MANOVA. The results revealed that the application of Edmodo had a significant effect on writing accuracy.  Moreover, the participants’ attitudes were assessed by running a Likert-scale questionnaire. According to the findings, they had a positive attitude towards integrating Edmodo into their writing curriculum.  This study could bring about pedagogical implications for EFL writing courses.

Rapid development of information and communication technologies has changed learning a second language. Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has removed restriction to traditional face-to-face education. The effect of synchronous/ asynchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) on Iranian EFL learners’ writing accuracy and complexity was examined in this study. To this end, a quasi-experimental design was used. Forty EFL learners were selected from an institution in Zahedan based on an Oxford Placement test. To evaluate learners’ writing, measures of accuracy and complexity were used. The data was analyzed by the help of a series of Multivariate Analysis of Variance. Regarding the writing accuracy, the results of the study showed significant differences among the groups. However, the results didn’t show any significant difference among the groups for writing complexity. The results of the study were discussed and suggestions for further studies have been made. The implications of this work can be strengthening of interaction based on the presence of SCMC and encouraging cognitive effort to improve learners’ language skills.

Grounded in Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of mind, dynamic assessment (DA) procedures integrate assessment and instruction into one unified activity. Mediation as the core concept of DA is defined as the assistance and the feedback offered by the mediator to the learners while engaging in the process of assessment. This study aimed at addressing the effect of DA training on the meditational moves of student mediators regarding a writing accuracy task in small groups in an EFL classroom. A multiple case study design was used in this study. Five students underwent DA training during which they were exposed to a large classroom DA by a teacher mediator followed by basic theoretical underpinnings of DA as well as mock DA practice and discussion. Data were collected though video records of DA training workshops and Group Dynamic Assessment sessions. Additionally, stimulated recall was used to help student mediators reflect on the interactions. Language-related episodes were used for data analysis. The findings showed that DA training resulted in qualitative and quantitative changes in the meditational moves of student mediators, which calls for incorporating of small group DA as an essential complementary to large classroom DA and learner-centered approaches to teaching and assessment in the EFL classrooms.

Wikis, as one of the Web social networking tools, have been increasingly integrated into second language instruction to promote collaborative writing. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the use of wikis as a collaborative tool affected language learners’ writing accuracy. To this end, 72 EFL learners were selected from a language institute in Gachsaran, Iran. The selection of participants were based on the results of their OPT test scores (among 80 students). They were randomly assigned into control and experimental groups. The participants of experimental group were asked to upload their writing assignments in the teacher- created wiki site where they edited and corrected their classmates’ writings and sometimes discussed their writing topics. On the other hand, the control group delivered their writing assignments to the teacher for corrections and corrective comments. The participants’ performances in pre-test and post-test were compared. The obtained results indicated that the participants in the experimental group significantly outperformed their counterparts in the control group in terms of writing accuracy. The results confirmed the positive effect of teaching writing through wiki.

This study was an attempt to consider the effect of using Telegram application for EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners' writing accuracy and learning grammar points. Twenty intermediate EFL learners were selected from the vacant language learners in a language institute to participate in this study. The students who achieved the required score on a language proficiency test (the Oxford Placement Test, OPT) were selected as the participants. Pre-test were given before the treatment sessions to control the participants' grammar knowledge and writing accuracy at the beginning of the research. During a term which has sixteen-session course, the teacher presented the instruction on grammar and accuracy in writing to the participants by instant messaging, using above application. At the end of semester, they were given the post-test. Achieved data were analyzed through Paired Samples t-tests to compare the means of the pre-test and the post-test of the learners. It has discovered that writing accuracy of the participant had improved by receiving instruction of grammar points through social network (Telegram App). There was a significant difference in the means of the participants on the pretest and posttest. They performed more effectively on the posttest, which can be attributed to instruction through social networking. The results of the study can be beneficial for language teachers, materials developers and students

The present study investigated differential effect of two types of feedback namely, computer-mediated and metalinguistic, on Iranian EFL learners’ writing accuracy. To this end, based on Nelson Proficiency Test (300 A), 69 Iranian advanced EFL learners, including 45 males and 24 females, aged between 17 and 24, learning English in language institutes in Salmas, were selected randomly out of the total population of 121 EFL learners and then divided into three groups. The participants in the two experimental groups received metalinguistic and computer-mediated feedback separately while those in the control group received no feedback. The analyses of the results obtained through a pre-test and a post-test indicated that both feedback types significantly influenced learners’ writing accuracy. However, analysis of the participants’ performances on the post-test demonstrated that metalinguistic group outperformed computer-mediated one. Thus, the effect of metalinguistic feedback was more than that of computer-mediated feedback. In addition, both of them were more influential than no-feedback instruction. The findings of the present study can be fruitful for syllabus designers and EFL teachers.

The present study explores the effect of providing different types of written corrective feedback (WCF) on 79 Iranian EFL learners’ writings over time through a pre-test, immediate post-test and delayed post-test. In this way, the study first aims to investigate the extent to which different types of WCF result in improved accuracy in writing over a period of two months, and then maintains to see if there is a differential effect on accuracy when the students are required to revise their writings based on the feedback provided to them over this period. However, to narrow down the scope of the study, considering the level of the learners, and the type and complexity level of the expected writing tasks, it was decided to use the three linguistic errors (capitalization errors, the correct use of definite and indefinite articles, and simple present tense verb) which occurred mostly frequently during the participant's first writing tasks as the target linguistic structures of the work. After analyzing the collected data, it was found that providing WCF indeed contributes to the accuracy of the students’ writings because the results indicated each type of feedback employed in the treatment groups could clearly bring about writing improvement at varying degrees. In particular, the findings suggested that direct feedback might bring about greater effects on students’ writing accuracy, whereas different types of feedback are more likely to produce rather long term improvement and/or learning over time.

To date, controversy among scholars exists on whether or not teachers should react to EFL learner's written grammar errors. This study investigated the effect of three feedback types (i.e., selective, comprehensive, and the one recommended by Truscott (1999), that is, no correction) with regard to possible improvements in accuracy in the writings of a total of 66 elementary EFL learners. It, further, sought whether such an effect would last in the long run. During 11 weeks, selected global (e.g., past tense, countable/uncountable, and comparative adjectives) and all grammar errors in the written pieces of the subjects in two treatment groups (n = 22 in each) were reacted through coded underlining. However, in line with Truscott, the only reaction participants in the third group (n = 22) received were comments such as great, good, ok, etc.. Analysis of the written pieces in the immediate and delayed post tests revealed that selective feedback had a significantly more positive influence on learner's accurate use of selected grammatical structures both in the short and in the long run. The implications are discussed in terms of effective guidelines for teaching writing in EFL contexts.

The literature of ELT is perhaps overwhelmed by attempts to enhance learners’ writing through the application of different methodologies. One such methodology is critical discourse analysis which is founded upon stressing not only the decoding of the propositional meaning of a text but also its ideological assumptions. Accordingly, this study was an attempt to investigate the impact of critical discourse analysis-based (CDA) instruction on EFL learners’ writing complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF). To fulfill the purpose of this study, 60 female intermediate EFL learners were selected from among a total number of 100 through their performance on a piloted sample PET. Based on the results, the students were randomly assigned to a control and an experimental group with 30 participants in each. Both groups underwent the same amount of teaching time during 17 sessions which included a treatment of CDA instruction for the experimental group. A writing posttest was administered at the end of the instruction to both groups and their mean scores on the test were compared through a MANOVA. The results led to the rejection of the three null hypotheses, thereby demonstrating that the learners in the experimental group benefited significantly more than those in the control group in terms of improving their writing CAF. To this end, it is recommended that CDA instruction be incorporated more frequently in writing classes following of course adequate syllabus design and materials development.

Second language acquisition (SLA) literature is replete with studies exploring the effect of teachers‟ corrective feedback or comments on the improvement of students‟ writing accuracy, with little attention paid to the true nature of the process of revision. This case study was intended to understand the type and nature of revision that writing teachers required students to make to their drafts based on the feedback they were provided. A second aim of the study was to reveal how students evaluated teacher's comments and what problems they faced in revising their writing drafts. A close scrutiny of four university teachers‟ comments on the papers of 32 student-writers reveals that writing teachers provide, to a large extent, common and identical comments which mainly deal with language-bound errors and problems. They hardly seem to expect students to re-examine the text beyond its surface level. In the current study, almost 97 per cent of teachers‟ comments directed students‟ attention to low level skills such as punctuation, spelling and grammatical structure. Teachers‟ comments did not seem to communicate to student writers the meaning of revision anything more than editing or proofreading. The results also indicated that students did not attribute any other meaning to revision than tidying-up or copy-editing. The problems students faced while revising are discussed and some pedagogical implications are offered.

The focus of this study is to investigate the comparative effect of teaching grammar through interpretation tasks and pictorial clues on EFL learners’ writing accuracy. The participants were 60 female intermediate EFL learners with age range of 21-35 who were divided into two experimental groups after being homogenized by a piloted PET test. In the piloted researcher-made pre-test, the researcher required the participants to write a narration and also complete another narration with some blanks with provided words using grammatical points they were going to be taught. After the treatment phase, another researcher-made parallel form of the pre-test was administered as the post-tests. To investigate the research question of the study, an ANCOVA was conducted. The results revealed that there was not any significant difference between the performances of either group. In other words, the mentioned ways of teaching grammar had equal effect on the learners’ writing accuracy.