Improving Listening and Speaking Skills through Controlled and Liberal techniques

This action research project intends to evalute the eclectic method practiced in an English conversation class in Neyshabur. The method included a repetition drill method which stared with role-play of the exact dialogue and repetition of the structures distancing the learners gradually from the context by encouraging them to move from drills to more free drills and ultimately free production of their own structures based on the real situation. The results showed that repetition of the predesigned structures positively influence the short-term memory extension and fluency of the learners. The comparison of the scores of the two sample groups, Group 2 following the method of the author and Group 1 practicing the normal common methods followed in most language institutes, supports the conclusion that repetition of the drilled patterns by Group 2 improved their listening and speaking skills more than Group 1. This reveals the significance of repetition in improving the speaking skills in general.