Literature

چکیده

انگیزش یکی از عوامل کلیدی است که تعیین کننده­ موفقیت یا شکست زبان­آموزان در محیط­های  EFLیا  ESL می­باشد. بنابراین مسئولیت سنگینی بر دوش پژوهشگرهای حوزه­ انگیزش قرار دارد تا معلمان را در جهت ایجاد انگیزش در زبان­آموزان، بالا بردن، و حفظ آن یاری کنند. تحقیق دورنیه و سیزر (1998) در کشور مجارستان اولین مطالعه­ مهم روی راهبردهای انگیزشی بود. بعد از آنها مطالعات اندکی در این حوزه انجام شد. در این تحقیق 250 نفر معلم ایرانی شرکت کرده ­اند و از آنها خواسته شده است که دو نوع پرسشنامه شامل 48 راهبرد انگیزشی را به این شرح کامل کنند: (1) نگرش آنها درباره میزان اهمیت راهبردهای انگیزشی (پرسشنا مه­ی میزان اهمیت) و (2) نگرش آنها درباره میزان استفاده از راهبردهای انگیزشی در کلاس درس (پرسشنامه ی میزان استفاده)، در ضمن نسخه­ی فارسی پرسشنامه ­ها به معلمان تحویل داده شده است. نتایج بدست آمده از تحلیل آماری پرسشنامه ­ها  مشخص کرد که : راهبردهای انگیزشی ” نمایش رفتار مناسب از طرف معلمان” و “ آشنا کردن زبان آموزان با ارزش­های مربوط به زبان انگلیسی” در هر دو پرسشنامه به ترتیب در رتبه ­های اول و دهم ( آخرین رتبه ) قرار گرفته­اند. در میان 10 ماکرو راهبرد انگیزشی استخراج شده از هر دو پرسشنامه، راهبردهای اشاره شده در بالا وابسته به فرهنگ خاصی نیستند و در اکثر فرهنگ­های کشورهای مختلف به میزان مشابهی قابل رویت هستند، ولی تکنیک­های انگیزشی از قبیل: “بوجود آوردن محیطی شاداب در کلاس درس” به نظر می­رسد وابسته به فرهنگ خاص کشورها هستند و میزان اهمیت و کاربرد آنها برای فرهنگ­های کشور های مختلف، متفاوت است. علاوه بر این، مقایسه­ نتایج پرسشنامه ­های “میزان اهمیت” و  “میزان استفاده” مشخص کرد که نگرش معلمان نسبت به اهمیت راهبردهای انگیزشی هیچ رابطه­ای با نگرش آنها نسبت به میزان کاربرد واقعی این راهبردها در کلاس درس ندارد.

Abstract

Motivation is one of the key factors that determine language learners’ success/ failure in ESL/EFL situation. Thus, it is a major challenge for language motivation researchers to help teachers elicit, enhance, and sustain students’ motivation. Dörnyei and Csizér’s (1998) research in Hungary was the first important study on motivational strategies. Following Dörnyei and Csizér (1998), a few similar studies have been carried out in this realm. 250 Iranian EFL teachers participated in this study and they were asked to rate a list of comprehensive 48 motivational strategies in terms of (1) how much importance, Importance Questionnaire, they attached to these and (2) how often, Frequency Questionnaire, they implemented them in their real teaching practice. The Persian version of the questionnaires was used in this study. The results provide evidence that some strategies like “displaying appropriate teacher behaviors” and “familiarising learners with L2-related values” were ranked first and tenth respectively in both questionnaires. Among ten macro-strategies derived from both questionnaires, some scales like two aforementioned ones are culture specific and can transfer across cultures but some other scales like “Creating a pleasant classroom climate” are culture dependent and vary from culture to culture. Also, comparing the results of two questionnaires revealed that teachers’ attitudes to the Importance of motivational strategies have no relationship with their answers to their actual Frequency of use in real EFL classes.

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE- INTRODUCTION   1

1.1.       Overview   2

1.2.Statement of the Problem   3

1.3.Significance of the Study  5

1.4.Research Questions  6

1.5.Definition of Key Terms  7

1.6. Limitations of the study  8

CHAPTER TWO- REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE   10

2.1.Overview   11

2.2.Conceptualizations of Motivation  11

2.3.The Influential Theories of L2 Motivation  13

2.3.1. The Social-Psychological Period (1959-1990) 14

2.3.1.1. Gardner’s Social-Psychological Theory  14

2.3.1.2. Keller’s (1983) Motivational-Design Model 20

2.3.2. The Cognitive-Situated Period (1990-2000) 21

2.3.2.1.Dörnyei’s (1994) Framework of L2 Motivation  22

2.3.2.2. Williams and Burden’s (1997) Model of L2 Motivation  25

2.3.2.3. Task Motivation  27

2.3.2.4. L2 Motivation Expectancy-Value Theories  28

2.3.2.4.1. The Concepts of Self-Confidence and Linguistic Self-Confidence  29

2.3.2.4.2. Language Anxiety  31

2.3.2.4.3. Attribution Theory of L2 Learning  32

2.3.2.5. Achievement Motivation Theory  33

2.3.2.6. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) 34

2.3.3. The Process-Oriented Period (2000 Onwards) 36

2.3.3.1.Dörnyei and Ottó’s (1998) Process Model of L2 Motivation  36

2.4. Significance of Motivation/ L2 Motivation  39

2.5. Types of Motivation and their Role in SL/FL Acquisition  40

2.5.1. Integrative Motivation  40

2.5.2. Instrumental Motivation  42

2.5.3. Intrinsic Motivation  43

2.5.3.1. The Intrinsic Needs of Students  44

2.5.3.1.1. The Need for Autonomy and Self-Determination  45

2.5.3.1.2. The Need for Competence  45

2.5.3.1.3. The Need for Belonging and Relatedness  46

2.5.3.1.4. The Need for Self-Esteem    46

2.5.3.1.5. The Need for Involvement and Enjoyment 46

2.5.3.2. Achieving Intrinsic Motivation in L2 Learning  47

2.5.3.3. The Role of Intrinsic Motivation in L2 Learning  47

2.5.4. Extrinsic Motivation  48

2.6. The L2 Motivational Self System   51

2.7. Motivational Strategies  53

2.7.1. Creating Basic Motivational Conditions  59

2.7.1.1. Demonstrating Proper Teacher Behaviour 59

2.7.1.1.1. Teacher’s Enthusiasm    59

2.7.1.1.2. Teacher’s Commitment 62

2.7.1.1.3. Teacher’s Care and Acceptance  63

2.7.1.1.4. Teacher’s Immediacy  65

2.7.1.2. Creating a Pleasant Classroom Atmosphere  66

 

2.7.1.3. Promoting Group Cohesiveness and Setting Group Norms  67

2.7.2.Generating Initial Motivation  70

2.7.2.1. Familiarising Learners with L2 Culture and L2 Related Values  70

2.7.2.2. Increasing Learners’ Expectancy of Success  71

2.7.2.3. Promoting Learners’ Positive Goals (Goal-Orientedness) and Realistic Beliefs  74

2.7.2.4. Relating Language Learning to Learners’ Needs and Goals  77

2.7.3. Maintaining and Protecting Motivation  78

2.7.3.1. Making Learning Stimulating and Enjoyable  78

2.7.3.2. Diminishing Learners’ Anxiety and Building up Their Self-Confidence  79

2.7.3.3. Promoting Learners’ Autonomy  82

2.7.4. Encouraging Positive Self-Evaluation  83

2.7.4.1. Promoting Learners’ Motivational Attributions  83

2.7.4.2. Providing Learners with Motivational Feedback  85

2.7.4.3. Increasing Learners’ Satisfaction  86

2.8. Current Status of English in Iran  90

CHAPTER THREE- METHOD   92

3.1. Overview   93

3.2. Participants  93

3.3. Instruments  94

3.4. Design  95

3.5.Procedure  95

3.5.1.Piloting  95

3.5.2.Data collection  96

3.6. Data Analysis  97

CHAPTER FOUR- RESULTS AND DISCUSSION   101

4.1. Overview   102

4.2. Research Question 1  102

4.2.1. Results  102

4.2.2. Discussions  109

4.3. Research Question 2  110

4.3.1. Results  110

4.3.2. Discussions  111

4.4. Research Question 3  112

4.4.1. Results  112

4.4.2. Discussions  114

4.5. Research Question 4  115

4.5.1. Results  115

4.5.2. Discussions  117

CHAPTER FIVE-CONCLUSION, PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH   118

5.1. Overview   119

5.2. Conclusion  119

5.3.Pedagogical Implications  121

5.4.Suggestions for Further research  126

References 137

 

 

 

 

List of Appendixes

Appendix 1: English version of Frequency Questionnaires  127

Appendix 2: English version of Importance Questionnaires  130

Appendix 3: Farsi version of Frequency Questionnaires  133

Appendix 4: Farsi version of Importance Questionnaires  135

 

 

 

 

List of Tables

Table 3.1. Gender of Participants  93

Table 3.2. EFL Teaching Experience of Participants  93

Table 3.3. Importance and Frequency Survey Results: Descriptive Statistics and Rankings of Ten Macro-strategies and Related Strategies  99

Table 4.1. Importance Questionnaires Results:  Descriptive Statistics and Rankings of Ten Macro-strategies and Related Strategies  103

Table 4.2. Comparison of the Final Rank Order of the Macro-strategies/scales Obtained in This Study and in Hungary (1998), Taiwan (2007) 110

Table 4.3.  Frequency Questionnaires Results:  Descriptive Statistics and Rankings of Ten Macro-strategies and Related Strategies  112

Table 4.4. Pearson Correlation Results between Overall Means of Motivational   Strategies of the Importance and Frequency Questionnaires  115

Table 4.5.  Pearson Correlation Results between Macro and Micro-strategies of the Importance and Frequency Questionnaires  116

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

List of Figures

Figure 2.1. Gardner’s (1985) Socio-Educational Model of Second Language Acquisition (Gardner, 1985, p.199) 15

Figure 2.2. Components of Gardner’s Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) (Gardner, 1985, 144) 17

Figure 2.3. Tremblay and Gardner’s (1995) Model of L2 Motivation (cited in Dörnyei& Ushioda, 2011, p.48  19

Figure 2.4. Dörnyei’s (1994) Model of L2 Motivation (Dörnyei, 1994a, p.280) 24

Figure 2.5. Williams and Burden’s (1997) Framework of L2 Motivation (cited in Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011, p.54) 26

Figure 2.6. Schematic Representation of the Three Mechanisms Making up the Motivational Task- Processing System (cited in Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011, p.96) 28

Figure 2.7. Dörnyei and Ottó’s (1998) Process Model of L2 Motivation (Dörnyei and Ottó, 1998, p.48) 38

Figure 2.8. Gardner’s Conceptualisation of the Integrative Motivation (Gardner, 1986, p.87) 41

Figure 2.9. Dörnyei’s L2 Motivational Self System (cited in Dörnyei & Usioda, 2011, p. 52) 52

Figure 2.10. The Components of Motivational L2 Teaching Practice (cited in Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011, p.108) 58

Figure 2.11. Knight’s (2006) Model of Teacher’s Credibility (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011, p.108) 61

 

 

 

List of Abbreviations

TEFL: Teaching English as a Foreign Language

ESL: English as a Second Language

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

SL: Second Language

FL: Foreign Language

L2: Second Language

SDT: Self-Determination Theory

AMTB: Attitude/Motivation Test Battery

ARCS: Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction

CET: Cognitive Evaluation Theory

ESOL: English for Speakers of Other Languages

MOLT: Motivation Orientation of Language Teaching

COLT: Communication Orientation of Language Teaching

LSP: Language for Specific Purposes

NO: Number

M: Mean

SD: Standard Deviation

Diff: Difference

Corr.: Correlation

Sig.: Significance

 

 

 

CHAPTER ONE- INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

1.1.  Overview

In the field of second or foreign language (L2) teaching and learning, motivation is a significant factor that leads to the language learners’ success or failure. Motivation is the most used concept for explaining the failure or success of a learner. Dörnyei (1998) claimed that motivation is a key to learning. It is an inner source, desire, emotion, reason, need, impulse or purpose that moves a person to a particular action. Motivation has been regarded as one of the main factors that influence the speed and amount of success of foreign language learners. This issue seems to be highly related to the educational context of Iran where it is seen that many Iranian learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) fail to reach at least an average level of proficiency in English. As Dörnyei (2001b) claims, motivation is not a concrete concept; it is an abstract and hypothetical concept that is used to explain why people think and behave in certain situations as they do.

Students’ lack of motivation in language leaning contexts is a major problem for language teachers. According to Dörnyei (as cited in Marie-Jose´ Guilloteaux, 2013), a lot of researchers have tried to help teachers find ways of motivating language learners. In spite of the studies which have been done in this regard, the cultural and ethno-linguistic differences in various contexts were one of the important motives of doing this research.

Accordingly, the aim of this research is to evaluate (a) the extent to which a list of motivational strategies derived from Western educational contexts are perceived as relevant by Iranian EFL

READER:

 

1. HAMID MARASHI  ZADEH

DECEMBER  2013

 

 

 

 

ABSTRACT

 

The  present  study  was  an  attempt  to  compare  the  effect  of  critical  thinking  techniques,  and  autonomy  techniques  on  EFL learners’ writing  achievement.  To  fulfill  the  purpose  of  the  study,  74  participants   of   a  total  number  of   100  learners  at   intermediate  level  who  were  studying   in  Kish  Way  Language  School  in  Karaj  were  selected  by  means  of  a  piloted  PET.  At  the  next  stage,   the  74  participants  were  divided  into  two  experimental groups  randomly  so  that  one  group  would  receive  critical  thinking  techniques  and  the  other  autonomy  practice  as  the  two  treatments.  Prior  to the  start  of  the  treatments, the  scores  of  the writing  section  of  the  PET obtained by both groups  were compared to make sure that the learners were homogeneous regarding  their  writing  ability  at  the  outset.  At  the  end  of  the  instructional period,  both  groups  were  given  a  writing  posttest,  and  the  comparison  of their means revealed that the difference  between  the  two  groups’  writing  posttest  scores  was non-significant , hence the  null  hypothesis  failed  to  be  rejected,   implying   that   both   groups   benefited  the   treatments   equally   in  their   writing   improvement.

Table  of  Contents

ABSTRAT ……….I

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS II

CHAPTER I: BACKGROUNG AND PURPOSE .1

1.1. Introduction …2

1.2. Statement of the Problem ..5

1.3. Statement of the Research Question .6

1.4. Statement of the Research Hypothesis .6

1.5. Definition of Key Terms 7

1.6. Significance of the Study …8

1.7. Limitations, Delimitations, Assumptions .9

1.7.1. Limitations .9

1.7.2. Delimitations .10

1.7.3. Assumption 10

 

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE ..11

2.1. Introduction .12

2.2. Autonomy 12

2.2.1. Definitions of Autonomy .13

2.2.2. Learner Autonomy …14

2.2.3. What Does Autonomy Mean? …………………………………………………….18

2.2.4. Autonomous Learner’s Features .20

2.2.5. Elements of Autonomous Learning ..20

2.2.6. Models for Autonomy …21

2.2.7. Kinds of Autonomy …22

2.2.8. Autonomy in the Classroom ..23

2.2.9. Dimensions of Autonomy ..25

2.3. Critical Thinking 26

2.3.1. What is Critical Thinking?  .. ..29

2.3.2. What Does Critical Thinking Mean?  30

2.3.3. A Five Step Model to Improve CT Skills 31

2.3.4. The Importance of Teaching CT in L2 Classrooms 35

2.3.5. Content-based Instructions for Improving CT Skills 35

2.3.6. Critical Thinker’s Features 35

2.3.7. Relationship Between CT and Learning 36

2.3.8. Strategies of Critical Thinking ..38

2.4. Writing ..39

2.4.1. Writing Strategies ..41

2.4.2. Writing Modes ..42

2.4.3. Writing Process Approach and Product Approach 43

2.4.4. General and Specific Components of Writing Tasks 44

 

CHAPTER III: METHOD ..48

3.1. Introduction .49

3.2. Participants .49

3.3. Instrumentation 50

 

3.3.1. PET for Homogenization .50

3.3.2. Writing Posttest 51

3.3.3. Writing Scale/Rubric 52

3.3.4. Textbook ..52

3.3.5. Materials for Practicing Autonomy and Critical Thinking 52

3.4. Procedure .53

3.4.1. Practicing CT Techniques …54

3.4.2. Practicing AUT Techniques 56

3.5. Design ..58

3.6. Statistical  Analysis .58

 

CHAPTER  IV:  RESULTS  AND  DISCUSSION …60

4.1. Introduction ..61

4.2. Descriptive Statistics of the Pre-treatment Writing Scores …67

4.3. Descriptive Statistics of the Raters’ Scores to the CT Posttest Writing 69

4.4. Descriptive Statistics of the Posttest Writing Scores .73

4.5. Testing the Null Hypothesis 74

4.6. Discussion .75

 

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS 78

5.1. Introduction 79

5.2. Restatement  of  the  Hypothesis ..79

5.3. Conclusion 79

5.4. Pedagogical Implications …80

5.5. Implications for EFL Teachers, Learners, and Syllabus Designers 81

5.5.1. Implications for EFL Teachers 81

5.5.2. Implications for EFL Learners .82

5.5.3. Implications for EFL Syllabus Designers .83

5.6. Suggestions for Further Studies 83

REFERENCES 85

APPENDICES …123

Appendix A:  PTE 1 (used for homogenization) 124

Appendix B:  PET 2 (used  as  post-treatment  test) .144

 

 

 

CHAPTER  I

 

BACKGROUD  AND  PURPOSE

 

 

 

 

 

1.1. Introduction

Education  and  learning  need  some  special  techniques  to  indulge  learners  more  deeply  and  efficiently-  techniques  that  involve  learners  to  become  more  independent  and  at  the  same  time  more  thoughtful. It  is  a  rather  recent  issue  that  educators  are  focusing  their  attention  to  critical  thinking  and  autonomy  on  different  skills,  although “ critical  thinking  is  as  integral  part  of  education  and  training  in  schools  of  foreign  and  second  language  instruction” (  Shangarffam  &  Mamipour,  2011,  p.1 ),  and  so  is  autonomy.

 

Writing  is  one  of  the  most  effective  ways  of  conveying  ideas  and  thoughts  to  others,  so  learning  to  write  is   important  because  without  it  education,  and  more  important,  communications  will  be  defective  and  will  face  problems.

 

According  to  Pemberton  and  Nix  (2012),  writing,  autonomy,  and  critical  thinking  seem  to  be  linked  to  each  other,  and  proficiency  in  writing  can  be  a  sign  of  students’  autonomy,    critical  thinking  ,and  reasoning  skills  on  the  other  hand.  Critical thinking  and  autonomy  are  both  considered  desirable  educational  goals.  Raya,  Lamb,  and  Vieira  (2007),  mention  that  “The competence  to  think  critically  is  coextensive  with  the  notion  of  autonomy  and  self-sufficiency”  (p.43).  And  in  the  same  way,  Little  (1991)  explains  autonomy  as  an  ability  “for  detachment,  critical  reflection,  decision  making,  and  independent  action”(p.4).  Therefore,  it  is  important  that  teachers  help  students  develop  exploring  ways  for  autonomy  and  critical  thinking  (Pemberton  &  Nix,  2012).  Consequently,  it  seems  that  teaching  learners  to  become  autonomous  and  at  the  same time critical  thinkers  is  probably  a vital  factor  in  their  progress.

 

 

In  line  with  the  ongoing  development  in  communication  and  definitely  writing,  the  methods  that  teachers  use  to  help  foster  learners’  autonomy,  and  make  a  “paradigm  shift  from  teacher-centered  to  learner-centered  instruction”  (Jacobs  &  Farrell,  2002,  12)  are  considered  very  important  ,and  as  Wu  Li-li  (2008)  mentions   with  the  growing  need  of  language  teaching  in  communication-oriented  way  nowadays,  language  teaching  is  facing  a  challenge  and  is  being  substituted  by  the  learner-centered  one.  As  a  result, the  learner-centered  approach  made  the  concept  of  learners’  autonomy      emerge (Bagheri  &  Aeen,  2011).

Nowadays,  learner  autonomy  is  considered  as  “an  unquestionable  goal  and  integral  part  of  language  learning  methodologies  throughout  the  world.  Large  amounts  of  time,  energy,  and  money  are  spent  on  its  promotion  and  implementation”  (Reinders,  2000,  p.2).  In  fact  learner  autonomy  seems  to  become  important  because  of  the  motive  that  it  creates  in  learners.  Learning  autonomy  emphasizes  language  learners’  role  as  an  active  participant  in  his/her  learning  who  has  “a  choice  as  what  and  how  of  the  curriculum  can  be  used  in  learning”,  and  also,  “has  a  responsible  feeling  for  his/her  own  learning”  (Jacobs  &  Farrell,  2001,  p.7).

 

According  to  Bagheri  and  Aeen  (2011),  although  there  are  very  trivial  differences  in  the  way  that  scholars  and  language  teachers  express  their  understanding  of  learners’  autonomy,    they  all  agree  with the  importance  of  autonomy  in  motivating  learners,  and  the  result  is    better  and  effective  work  of  autonomous  learners.  They  added  that  autonomous  learners  are  more  initiative  and  creative  in  learning,  and  this  leads  to  more  useful  classroom  instruction.  When  learners  have  the  freedom  to  choose  the  kind  of  curriculum  and  instruction,  the  result  is  choosing  the  best  that  matches  their  learning  styles  and  preferences  and  finally  more  effective  learning  happens.   According  to  Benson  (2010),  “When  we  talk  about  autonomy,  we  refer  more  to  a  certain  kind  of  relationship  between  the  student  and  the  learning  process.”  (p.79).  To  be  autonomous  means  “to  be  directed  by  considerations,  desires,  conditions,  and  characteristics  that  are  not  simply  imposed  externally  upon  one,  but  are  part  of  what  can  somehow  be  considered  one’s  authentic  self” (Christman,  2008, p.1).

Autonomy has  been  considered  an  important  factor  in  educational  settings  during  recent  years.“The  development  of  autonomy  as  an  educational  aim  is  the  development  of  a  kind  of  person  whose  thought  and  action  in  important  areas  of  his  life  are  to  be  explained  by  reference  to  his  own  choices,  decisions,  reflections,  deliberations  –  in  short,  his  own  activity  of  mind”  (Dearden,   as  cited  in  Cuypers,  2004,  p.1).  According  to    Candy, (1991, as cited in Thanasoulas,  2002),  autonomy  is  a  dynamic  process  that  is  considered  as   educational   interventions,  so  it  helps  learners  to  gain  more  control  over  their  own  learning,  and  at  the  same  time  it  motivates  learners’  thinking  critically  about  different  issues  during  learning;  however,  learners  differ  in  their  learning  strategies,  interests,  needs,  ideas,  and  the  way  of  thinking,  therefore  they  develop  varying  degrees  of  autonomous  and  critical  thinking  throughout  their  learning  processes.  In  this  regard,  instructing  autonomy  and  critical  thinking  may  help  students  to  take  charge  of  their  own  learning  more  efficiently.

On  the  other  hand,  writing  is  a  means  of  developing  and  conveying  ideas  to  others.  Therefore,  it  needs  creating  meanings,  doing  it  autonomously,  and  thinking  critically  about  it.  Wade ( as cited in Al-Hazmi,   2006)  mentions  that  writing  plays  an  essential  role  in  critical  thinking  instruction,  because  it  improves  more  self-reflection.  White  and  McGovern  (as  cited  in  Bagheri  &  Aeen,  2011)  believe  that  process  approach  of  writing  creates  self-critical  ones  because  it  makes  students    reflect  on  their  understanding,  to  communicate  their  feelings  about  what  they  know,  and  how  they  are  experiencing  their  learning.

According  to  Siegel  (as  cited  in    Cuypers,  2004,  p.4),  critical  thinking  is  a  highly  significant  educational  notion.     An  investigation  done  by   Alsagoff   (2008, as cited  in  Jimenez,  Ramos,  Rosales, &  Soraya,   2010,  p.18)   characterizes “ critical  thinking  as  the  intellectual  disciplined  process  of  actively  and  skillfully  conceptualizing,  applying,  analyzing,  synthesizing,  and/or  evaluating  information  gathered  from,  or  generated  by,  observation,  experience,  reflection,  reasoning,  or  communication,  as  a  guide  to  belief  and  action”. And  all  the  mentioned  factors  plus  autonomy  are  necessary  factors  in  writing  effectively.

Simpson  and  Courtney  (2002)  state  that  in  critical  thinking  one  tries  to  determine  what  to  do  or  what  to  believe,  and  to  apply  critical  thinking  skills  to  one  another.  It  means,  one  analyzes  one’s  own  inferences,  explains  one’s  own  interpretation  or  evaluates  one’s  own  analysis.  On  the  other  hand,  Holec  (1981)  defines  autonomy  as  the  “ability  to  take  charge  of  one’s  own  learning”(p.3)  that  can  be  in  line  with  one’s  critical  thinking  and  maybe  with  the  same  impact  on  one’s  learning.  Critical  thinking  is  also  considered  as  a  cognitive  ability  that  is  affected  by  multiple  skills  such  as  identifying,  understanding,  and  analyzing  an issue  by  using  inferences  through  top-down  and  bottom-up  strategies  to  validate  the  reliability  of  claims  and  arguments(Pithers  &  Soden,  2000).  This  suggests  that  critical  thinking  is  a  complex  concept  that  can  be  used  to  support  assumptions,  information,  and  claims  in  EFL  writing  ( Barnawi,  2010,  p.2).  As  a  result,  all  factors  affecting  writing  are  considered  important,  and  autonomy  and  critical  thinking  are  two  variables  that  can  be  in   relation  to  writing.

 

1.2. Statement  of  the  Problem

There  is  a  great  lack  in  researches  on  the  comparative  impact  of  autonomy  and  critical  thinking ,  although  studies  on  the  impact  of  two  of  the  variables separately –   autonomy  on  writing  (  Bagheri &  Aeen,  2011),  or  critical  thinking  on writing (Mamipour &  Shangarffam,  2011) –  showed  a  significantly  positive  impact  .

Learning  is  considered  as  a  long  process  of  gaining  knowledge  which  needs  great  effort,  and  traditionally  all  the  time  students  were  asked  to  gain  knowledge  by  listening  to  their  teachers  and  following  their  instructions  (Zhang  &  Wu,  2004,  as  cited  in  Li  Yahong,  2009,  p.1),  and  also  teachers  traditionally  controlled  everything  in  the  classroom  and  they  believed  transmitting  knowledge  to  students  as  their  main  duty  (Zhang,  2006).  As  a  result,  they  spoke  most  of  the  classroom  time  while  students  were  expected  to  listen  to  them,  take  notes,  and  memorize  their  notes  (Zhang,  2006),  rather  than  thinking  critically  about  what  they  are  taught  and  developing  their  own  ideas  by  talking  to  their  classmates  and  teachers  or  even  raising  some  novel  questions  about  different  issues.

 

It seems that teachers  are  usually  in  a  higher  position  to  encourage  their  students  to  do  what  they  think  is  the  best  for  their  students’  learning  ;  whilst  students’  abilities to  take  charge  of  their  own  learning  alongside  their   teachers’  guidance,  and  think  critically  about  different  issues  are  ignored.  It  seems  that  it  does  not  create  much  sense  of  satisfactory  in  students  in  their  learning,  because  there are a lot of groans about   the language  teaching  system in Iran   and to the researcher’s knowledge,  a lot of them  believe  they 

Table of Contents

Epigraph. II

Dedication. III

Acknowledgments. IV

Table of Contents. V

List of Tables. VIII

List of Graphs. IX

Abstract X

CHAPTER I: Background and Purpose.. 1

1.1. Introduction. 2

1.2. Significance of the Study. 7

1.3. Statement of the Problem.. 11

1.4. Research Questions 14

1.5. Definition of the Key Terms 15

1.6. Limitations and Delimitations 16

CHAPTER II: Review of the Related Literature.. 18

2.1. Introduction. 19

2.2. Translation. 21

2.3. Culture. 25

2.4. Language and Culture. 29

2.5. Translation and Culture. 33

2.6. Translation Problems 36

2.6.1. Linguistics Differences. 37

2.6.2. Social Differences. 41

2.6.3. Cultural Differences. 42

2.7. Presuppositions 47

2.7.1. Philosophical Presupposition. 48

2.7.2. Semantic Presupposition. 48

2.7.3. Pragmatic Presupposition. 49

2.7.4. Cultural Presupposition. 50

2.8. Cultural Presuppositions 50

2.9. Different Classifications of Cultural Presuppositions 52

2.9.1. Newmark’s Classification. 53

2.9.2. Thriveni’s Classification. 58

2.9.3. Pavlovic’s Classification. 60

2.10. Translation Strategies 63

2.11. Translation Strategies for Cultural Presuppositions 66

2.11.1. House’s Strategies. 67

2.11.2. Newmark’s Strategies. 68

2.11.3. Baker’s Strategies. 72

2.11.4. Hervey and Higgins’ Strategies. 74

2.11.5. Aixela’s Strategies. 77

2.11.6. Vinay and Darblenet’s Strategies. 81

2.11.7. Wiersema’s Strategies. 82

2.12. Concluding Points 83

Chapter III: Methodology.. 84

3.1. Introduction. 85

3.2. Corpus 86

3.3. Theoretical Framework. 88

3.4. Design. 97

3.5. Procedure. 97

3.6. Data Collection. 98

3.7. Data Analysis 98

Chapter IV: Results and Discussions. 100

4.1. Introduction. 101

4.2. Description of the Data. 101

4.2.1. Cultural Presuppositions. 102

4.2.1.1. Ecology. 102

4.2.1.2. Material Culture (Artifacts) 102

4.2.1.3. Social Culture. 104

 

4.2.1.4. Organizations, Customs, Ideas. 105

4.2.1.5. Gestures and Habits. 107

4.2.2. Translation Strategies. 108

4.2.2.1. Transference. 108

4.2.2.2. Naturalization. 109

4.2.2.3. Cultural Equivalent 110

4.2.2.4. Functional Equivalent 110

4.2.2.5. Descriptive Equivalent 111

4.2.2.6. Synonymy. 112

4.2.2.7. Through-translation. 113

4.2.2.8. Shifts or Transposition. 114

4.2.2.9. Reduction and Expansion. 115

4.2.2.10. Couplets, Triplets, and Quadruplets. 116

4.2.2.11. Notes, Additions, and Glosses. 117

4.3. Analysis of the Data. 121

Chapter V: Conclusion, Implications, and Suggestions for Further Research.. 126

5.1. Introduction. 127

5.2. Conclusion. 128

5.3. Pedagogical Implications 130

5.4. Suggestions for Further Research. 132

References 134

Appendixes 139

 

 

List of Tables

Table 1: Food. 18

Table 2: Clothes. 18

Table 3: Housing. 18

Table 4: Transport 18

Table 5: Work. 18

Table 6: Leisure. 18

Table 7: Political and Administrative. 18

Table 8: Religious. 18

Table 9: Artistic. 18

Table 10: Historical Terms. 18

Table 11: Gestures and Habits. 18

Table 12: Transference. 18

Table 13: Naturalization. 18

Table 14: Cultural Equivalent 18

Table 15: Functional Equivalent 18

Table 16: Descriptive Equivalent 18

Table 17: Synonymy. 18

Table 18: Through-translation. 18

Table 19: Shifts. 18

Table 20: Reduction. 18

Table 21: Couplets. 18

Table 22: Triplets. 18

Table 23: Additions. 18

Table 24: Notes. 18

Table 25: Overall frequencies of cultural presuppositions. 18

Table 26: Overall frequencies of translation strategies. 18

Table 27: All cultural presuppositions separately for each short story. 18

Table 28: All cultural presuppositions and their translation strategies. 18

 

List of Graphs

Graph 1: Percentages of Cultural Presuppositions. 18

Graph 2: Percentages of Translation Strategies. 18

 

 

Abstract

Translation as a way to transfer the meaning is a kind of activity that involves not only two languages, but also two cultures. Like any other field of study, translation deals with all the aspects of human life such as social, industrial, and cultural. In other words it is not enough for translators to have a good command of both the source and target languages; they have to be completely aware of both the source and target cultures. Each culture creates certain messages, connotations, and denotations. Therefore it is likely that many concepts occur in one language and culture but not in the other. In other words, one of the major problems facing translators is how to find equivalents for implicit ideas, opinions, and presuppositions, which have their bases in their underlying cultures. Facing with unshared elements of culture, namely cultural presuppositions, between the source and target language, translators have a variety of options to treat the cultural aspects of the ST and finding the most appropriate strategy to convey these aspects in the TT. The present study will focus on different translation strategies which the Persian translators of James Joyce’s “Dubliners” (2001) have applied to deal with translation problems rooted in cultural presuppositions. The process of classification of cultural presuppositions and the translation strategies for dealing with them is based on Newmark’s (1988) translation categorizations.

 

CHAPTER I

 

Background and Purpose

 

1.1 Introduction

Translating as an activity is almost as old as mankind, but the history of translation as a discipline dates back to no more than two decades ago (Schaffner & Kelly-Holms, 1995). In this short period of systematic investigation of this discipline, the nature of such studies has undergone a drastic change. Traditionally there has been a dividing line between the language and the extra linguistic reality. Although there have been different definitions of translation but most of them emphasized the linguistic aspects of the translation process. For instance, Catford’s (1974) definition of translation is as follows: “translation is the replacement of textual material in one language by equivalent textual material in another language.” (P.20). As it can be seen here what is significant is the equivalent textual material. Next, Newmark (1981) defines translation in this way: “Translation is a craft, consisting of two languages, in the attempt to replace a written message and/or statement in another language” (P.7).

Defining translation seems simple at first glance and there are many definitions of this kind. However, translation is not strictly limited to language, rather, language and culture are deeply intertwined and it is the translation which bridges the gap between different languages and hence, cultures. Here it is clear that these definitions by famous theoreticians exclude the factor of culture in translation. As Snell-Hornby (1988) claims, translation must be regarded something more than merely transcending the linguistic elements from one language to another. It has recently come to be understood as a cultural system and it was to be treated with delicate observing the cultural aspects. Gradually some theorists confirm this fact that translation is an activity which involves a kind of verbal, but never strictly verbal communication. Miremadi (1991), for instance, has stated: “it is a two-way process: from one culture to the others and form other cultures into one’s culture. In other words, there is a give and take process” (P.11). Toury (1978) also believes that “Translation is a kind of activity which inevitably involves at least two languages and two cultural traditions” (P.200). The reason for such a drastic change in the point of view toward the translation studies is that the contemporary approach sees language as the integral part of culture. Language is an expression of culture and individuality of its speakers; so cultural meanings are intricately woven into the texture of the language.

Newmark (1988) defines culture as: “the way of life and its manifestation that is peculiar to a community that uses a particular language as its means of expression” (P.93). Culture is a complex collection of experiences which condition daily life; it includes history, social structure, religious, traditional customs and every day usage. Translating as an activity and translation as the result of this activity are inseparable from the concept of culture.

Regarding this definition, it is clear that there are many words and expressions that differ from one culture to another; for instance, way of living varies from one society to another according to the beliefs of the people, the situation in which they live, the technological advances, etc. So, every culture has its own characteristics. The people of a special society know the characteristics of their culture while the people of other communities are not able to understand it. Histories of different societies and cultures are characterized by events and processes that shape their cultural cognition. It is possible that different events and processes have similar effects on language use and it is also possible that similar processes and events have different impacts on the structure of a language and how it is used by its speakers. Speakers of different languages exhibit different verbal and nonverbal behaviors in their interactions and the possibilities of misunderstanding are rife when two totally different cultures come into contact with each other. It is worth to mention here that what is interesting for people of a society within their own culture may not be enjoyable for people in another society. Each culture expresses its idiosyncrasies in a way that is “culture-bound”. That is, the origin and use of cultural words and idiomatic expressions are intrinsically and uniquely bound to the culture concerned. Since the culture of a community can determine its language, the vocabulary of a language are

ABSTRACT

The present study was an attempt to investigate the comparative effect of cooperative and competitive learning on EFL learners’ achievement of speech acts.  As appropriate application of speech acts is of paramount importance in the second language development, the present experimental study was designed to see which method best helps the learners enhance their abilities in speech acts of apology and greeting. Based on the results of the proficiency test of PET, 55 female EFL learners at intermediate level whose scores fell within one standard deviation below and above the mean were selected and divided into two groups for the purpose of the study. Then a piloted researcher-made discourse completion test (DCT) comprised of 20 items was administered as the pretest. Following 10 weeks of treatment via employing cooperative and competitive methods, the posttest was administered. The outcome of the pre and post-test data analyses clarified that the participants in the cooperative group significantly outperformed those in the competitive group demonstrating that employing cooperative learning as a combination of classroom techniques could promote the second language speech act knowledge of the learners. Findings of the present study could be employed by second language teachers, materials developers, and ELT practitioners to help the EFL learners move towards cooperative learning.

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I: Background and purpose……………………………………………………………………………… 1

1.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2

1.2 Statement of problem…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9

1.3 Statement of Research………………………………………………………………………………………………. 11

1.4 Statement of the Research Hypothesis………………………………………………………………………… 11

1.5 Definition of the Key Terms……………………………………………………………………………………… 11

1.6 Significance of the Study………………………………………………………………………………………….. 12

1.7 Limitations and Delimitations……………………………………………………………………………………. 13

CHAPTER II: Review of the Related Literature………………………………………………………………. 15

2.1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 16

2.2. Speech Acts……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 16

2.3. Core Assumptions and Statements…………………………………………………………………………….. 18

2.4. Scope and Application…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 19

2.5. The Performatives……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 20

2.5.1. Explicit and Implicit Performatives…………………………………………………………………………. 22

2.6. Felicity Conditions………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 24

2.7. The Locutionary, Illocutionary and Perlocutionary Acts………………………………………………. 28

2.7.1. Locutionary Acts………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 29

2.7.2. Illocutionary Acts…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 31

2.7.3. Perlocutionary Acts………………………………………………………………………………………………. 33

2.8. Cooperative Learning………………………………………………………………………………………………. 34

2.8.1. Social Interdependence Perspective………………………………………………………………………… 37

2.8.2. Cognitive Development Perspectives………………………………………………………………………. 38

2.8.3. Behavioral Social Perspectives……………………………………………………………………………….. 38

2.8.3.1. Positive Interdependence……………………………………………………………………………………. 39

2.8.3.2. Individual Accountability/Personal Responsibility…………………………………………………. 40

2.8.3.3. Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction……………………………………………………………………… 41

2.8.3.4. Teamwork Skills………………………………………………………………………………………………… 42

2.8.3.5. Group Processing ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 42

2.8.4. Structuring Cooperative Learning…………………………………………………………………………… 45

2.8.5. Interactions in Groups…………………………………………………………………………………………… 47

2.8.6. Students Perceptions of Cooperative Learning…………………………………………………………. 50

2.9. Competitive Learning………………………………………………………………………………………………. 52

CHAPTER III: Methodology…………………………………………………………………………………………. 57

3.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 58

3.2. Participants…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 58

3.3. Instrumentation………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 59

3.3.1 Preliminary English Test (PET)……………………………………………………………………………….. 59

3.3.2 Discourse Completion Test……………………………………………………………………………………… 60

3.3.2.1 Reliability and validity of the instrument……………………………………………………………….. 63

3.4. Materials………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 63

3.5. Procedure……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 63

3.5.1. Pretest ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 63

3.5.2. Treatment…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 64

3.5.3. Posttest……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 66

3.6. Design……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 67

3.7. Statistical Analyses………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 67

CHAPTER IV: Results and Discussions………………………………………………………………………….. 68

4.1 Pilot study of Preliminary English Test (PET)……………………………………………………………… 69

4.2. Subject-Selection Statistics………………………………………………………………………………………. 70

4.3 Pilot study of MCDCT …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 70

4.4. Proficiency Test (PET)…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 71

4.5. Pretest of Speech acts………………………………………………………………………………………………. 73

 

4.6 Post test of speech acts……………………………………………………………………………………………… 73

4.7 Testing Assumptions………………………………………………………………………………………………… 74

4.8. Empirical Validity…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 76

 

 

 

4.9. Reliability Indices……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 77

4.10 Reliability of the Writing Tasks in the PET test………………………………………………………….. 77

4.11. Discussion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 79

CHAPTER V: Conclusion and Pedagogical Implications…………………………………………………… 83

5.1 Restatement of the Problem………………………………………………………………………………………. 84

5.2 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 86

5.3 Pedagogical Implications…………………………………………………………………………………………… 87

5.4. Suggestions for Further Research………………………………………………………………………………. 88

REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 91

APPENDIX A……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 105

APPENDIXI B…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 128

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Table 4.1 Descriptive statistics of PET pilot study…………………………………………………………….. 89

Table 4.2 Descriptive Statistics of subject selection……………………………………………………………. 70

Table 4.3 descriptive statistics of pilot study of MCDCT pre/post test ………………………………… 70

Table 4.4 Descriptive statistics of PET by groups………………………………………………………………. 71

Table 4.5 Independent samples t-test of PET scores…………………………………………………………… 72

Table 4.6 Descriptive statistics of speech acts posttest by groups………………………………………… 73

Table 4.7 normality tests…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 74

Table 4.8 Independent samples t-test of Posttest scores……………………………………………………… 75

Table 4.9 Pearson Correlation PET with Pretest and Posttest of Speech Acts……………………….. 76

Table 4.10 K-R21 Reliability…………………………………………………………………………………………… 77

Table 4.11Inter-Rater Reliability of the Writing Pretest …………………………………………………….. 78

Table 4.12 Intra-Rater Reliability of the Writing Pretest…………………………………………………….. 78

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER I

 

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Introduction

It is generally recognized that the goal of language teaching is to develop learner’s ability to communicate appropriately in a given target language and culture. This means that it is not enough for teaching practices to exclusively focus on the features of the target language linguistic system. Otherwise, inappropriate use of language can lead to pragmatic failure and those speakers who do not use pragmatically appropriate language run the risk of appearing uncooperative at very least or more seriously, rude or uncultured (Bardovi-Harlig, Hartford, Mahan-Taylor, Morgam, & Reynols, 1991).

Pragmatic ability in a second or foreign language is part of a nonnative speaker’s (NNS) communicative competence and therefore has to be located in a model of communicative ability (Savignon, 1991). In Bachman’s model (1990, p. 87ff), ‘language competence’ is subdivided into two components, ‘organizational competence’ and ‘pragmatic competence’. Organizational competence comprises knowledge of linguistic units and the rules of joining them together at the levels of sentence (‘grammatical competence’) and discourse (‘textual competence’). Pragmatic competence subdivides into ‘illocutionary competence’ and ‘sociolinguistic competence’. ‘Illocutionary competence’ can be glossed as ‘knowledge of communicative action and how to carry it out’. The term ‘communicative action’ is often more accurate than the more familiar term ‘speech act’ because communicative action is neutral between the spoken and written mode, and the term acknowledges the fact that communicative action can also be implemented by silence or non-verbally. ‘Sociolinguistic competence’ comprises the ability to use language appropriately according to context. It thus includes the ability to select communicative acts and appropriate strategies to implement them depending on the current status of the ‘conversational contract’ (Fraser, 1990).

Obviously, in EFL settings, one of the most dominant reasons is the learners’ transfer of speech act strategies from their native language (Ellis, 1994).

In recent years, with the unremitting development of Speech Act Theory, it has gradually emerged as an important topic and has been considered as a basic theory in pragmatics. A speech act as an action performed by means of language is an important element of communicative competence and the Speech Act Theory not only conveys the linguistic rules people share to create the acts, but also leads language learners to use this language tactfully or appropriately. It is believed that to learn a language is indeed to learn how to communicate in that language. However, evidence shows that many learners of English fail to achieve the tactful or appropriate use of English in their daily communication with native speakers. Thereby, researchers suggest that applying Speech Act Theory in language teaching has become increasingly imperative (Green, 2010).

One of instructional techniques the language teachers can use to increase learner’s achievement of speech acts is cooperative learning (Wright, 2010). Cooperative learning is an instructional technique that enables students to work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning (Ellis, 2008). Now cooperative learning is applied in almost all school content areas and increasingly, in college and university contexts all over the world and is claimed to be an effective teaching method in foreign/second language education by many scholars (Kessler, 1992, as cited in Brown, 2007).

Ochs and Schieffelin (2011) argue that a central tenet of second language development research is that learners’ participation in communicative practices are promoted but not totally determined by course books, teachers, or even the built environment. A very crucial factor to consider in the process of second language development, especially when it comes to the effective communication, is the presence of socially and culturally informed persons, peers, and the like. Within a cooperative atmosphere and based on the perspective which mainly stresses cooperation, not competition, learning will be promoted. This, of course could find enough supports in the constructivism literature (Jaramillo, 1996; Lantolf & Thorne, 2006; Mitchell & Myles, 2004; Van Lier, 2004; Vygotsky, 1986; Young, 1993), and is technically named scaffolding.

“Within the body of cooperative learning, scaffolding plays a crucial role. Particularly in the early stages of learning, an instructor might invite student participation in the task at hand.  “This practice engages the student in learning and provides her/ him with ownership of the learning experience” (Hogan and Pressley, 1997, p. 76). “For example, a teacher might write the decimal point on the chalkboard and then ask a student to identify the next step in converting a fraction to a decimal.  The student might be invited to participate verbally or she might be asked to come to the chalkboard and contribute her ideas or strategies in writing.  Rather than asking a student for direct participation, an instructor might scaffold learning by asking students to contribute clues or ideas” (Hogan and Pressley, 1997, p. 91).

According to Van Lire (2004), there are many benefits of cooperative learning, and it should have its place in the classroom for several reasons. Humans are social beings that learn extremely well through interaction. While using methods of cooperative learning, students will develop a sense of community and commitment. This method of learning also supports positive peer teaching and learning which is beneficial as well.

Cooperative learning can also be focused on from the perspective of motivation: Motivational perspectives on cooperative learning focus primarily on the reward or goal structures under which students operate (Slavin, 1995). From this perspective, cooperative incentive structures create a situation in which the only way group members can attain their own personal goals is if the group is successful. Therefore, to meet their personal goals, group members must both help their group-mates to do whatever helps the group to succeed and, perhaps even more importantly, to encourage their group-mates to exert maximum efforts. In other words, rewarding groups based on group performance (or the sum of individual performances) creates an interpersonal reward structure, in which group members will give or withhold social reinforces (e.g., praise, encouragement) in response to group-mates’ task-related efforts (Slavin,1983).

Cooperative learning can create a situational perspective for the second language learners named “the social cohesion perspective” (Cohen, 1994), which is an emphasis on teambuilding activities in preparation for cooperative learning and processing or group self-evaluation during and after group activities.

It is generally asserted that cooperative learning is a highly appropriate option for all students because it emphasizes active interaction among individuals of diverse abilities and background (Yule, 1996) and demonstrates more positive student outcomes in academic achievement, social behavior and effective development.

One of instructional techniques language teachers can use to increase learner’s achievement of speech acts is competitive learning, and according to Johnson, Johnson, and Stanne (2000), competitive learning is that kind of learning in which the students have got to work against each other for the purpose on achieving a good grade. So one student should achieve the goal and another one is bound to fail. Thus the competitive learning can be interpersonal of inter-group. Competitive learning is of great value if the students want to view the material they have learned.

Competitive learning exists when one student goal is achieved but all other students fail to reach that goal (Johnson & Johnson, 1991). Competitive learning can be interpersonal (between individuals), or intergroup (between groups), where a group setting is appropriate. This strategy has been described as the most appropriate when students need to review learned materials (Griffiths & Podirsky, 2002).  However, there have been many criticisms of this type of learning, including promoting high anxiety levels, self-doubt, selfishness, and aggression. It may also promote cheating and interfere with learners’ capacity to problem-solveing (Johnson & Johnson, 1991). Competitive interaction strategy could be used in the studies where students work in subgroups. This way Members of each subgroup work strictly on his/her own, strive to be the best in the subgroup for price or reward.

Literature evidence concerning the relative effectiveness of and practical preferences of pundits among these teaching techniques have been varied and mixed. In a study carried out by Dowell (1975, cited in Pneuman, 2009) on the effectiveness of a competitive and cooperative on the comprehension of a cognitive task, he stated that the students in the cooperative learning environment performed better than they did in a competitive environment. Alebiosu (1998) was of the view that students exposed to cooperative learning strategies performed significantly better in all the skills than their counterparts exposed to competitive or individualistic learning strategies. Johnson and Johnson (1991) contended that achievement outcomes were actually more accepted in competitive settings for high self-concept children than in the cooperative settings. Esan (1999, as cited in Pneuman, 2009) was of the view that individualistic setting showed a positive attitude towards mathematics than both cooperative and competitive setting. Okebukola and Ogunniyi (1984) presented that the cooperative arrangement was better for promoting achievement while the competitive arrangement was better for practical skills. Ojo and Egbon (2005) were of the view that the cooperative learning environment was found to be more

چکیده:

هدف از انجام این مطالعه مقایسه اثر داستان گویی و ایفای برانگیزه زبان آموزان بوده است. بدین منظور پس از برگزاری آزمون (PET) در ابتدای مطالعه به منظور همسان سازی، از بین 90 زبان آموز در سطح متوسط و در گروه سنی 13 تا 17 سال موسسه زبان های خارجی آریان در شهر گرگان60  نفر انتخاب شدند و بدین ترتیب دو گروه مختلف آزمایشی را شکل دادند: 30 نفر در گروه آزمایشی 1 و 30 نفر در گروه آزمایشی 2 . پرسشنامه انگیزه گاردنر به عنوان پیش آزمون ازهر دو گروه گرفته شد. سپس گروه آزمایشی  1مورد آموزش از طریق داستان گویی و گروه آزمایشی 2، مورد آموزش از طریق ایفای نقش در آموزشگاه قرار گرفتند. پس از سپری کردن 20 جلسه آموزشی در یک ترم،همان پرسشنامه،به عنوان پس آزمون برگزار و در پایان دوره آموزشی میانگین نمرات هر دو گروه از طریق آزمون مستقل تى محاسبه شد. نتایج تفاوت معناداریدر میزان انگیزه گروه آزمایشی ایفای نقشنسبت به گروه آزمایشی دوم نشان داد واین گروه نسبت به گروه داستان گویی توانست برتری داشته باشد.

ABSTRACT

This study was an attempt to investigate the comparative effect of storytelling and role playing on EFL learners’ motivation. To fulfill the purpose of this study, 60 female learners with the age range of 13 to 18 years old were selected among a total number of 90 learners studying at Arian Institute in Gorgan through their performance on a piloted PET for homogenizing them prior to the study. Four classes with 15 participants in each were randomly assigned to two experimental groups with two different treatments. Both experimental groups attended 20 sessions with the same material, and the Gardner’s attitude and motivation test battery (AMTB) was administered as the pretest and posttest of the study. The mean scores of the two groups on this posttest were computed through an independent samples t-test in order to test the hypothesis raised in the study. The results demonstrated that learners benefited significantly from role playing and storytelling instructions.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ABSTRACT                                                                                                          ii                                  

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS                                                                                     iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS                                                                                       iv

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES                                                                    vii

 

CHAPTER I: BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE                                                1                                                                                                                                

1.1. Introduction                                                                                                   2

1.2. Statement of the Problem                                                                                5

1.3. Statement of the Research Question                                                                6

1.4. Statement of the Research Hypothesis                                                            6

1.5. Definition of Key Terms                                                                                  6

1.6. Significance of the Study                                                                                 8

1.7. Limitations and Delimitation                                                                           9

1.7.1. Limitations                                                                                              9        1.7.2. Delimitation                                                                                                   10

 

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE                      11

2.1. Introduction                                                                                                   12

2.2. History of Storytelling                                                                                   15

2.2.1. Storytelling in the English Language Classroom                                  16

2.2.2. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and

Storytelling                                                                                            17

2.2.3. Storytelling and Task-based Language Teaching                                  19

 

 

2.2.4. The National Curriculum, Communicative Language                          20

Teaching (CLT) and Storytelling

2.2.5. Learner Autonomy and Storytelling                                                      21

2.2.6. Multiple Intelligences (MI) and Storytelling                                        22

2.2.7. Rationale for Storytelling                                                                      24

2.2.8. Studies on Storytelling                                                                          24

2.3. Role playing                                                                                             26

2.3.1. Role playing and Task-based Language Teaching                                26

(TBLT)

2.3.2. Advantages of Role playing                                                                  27

2.3.3 Disadvantages of Role playing                                                               31

2.3.4. Rationale for Using Role playing                                                          32

2.4 Motivation                                                                                                 34

2.4.1. Types of Motivation                                                                          37

2.4.1.1 Instrumental and Integrative Motivation                                                     37

2.4.1.2 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation                                                   38

2.5.Theories and Constructs Reflecting Motivational Beliefs                                 39

and Attitudes

2.5.1 Attribution Theory                                                                                 39

2.5.2 Self- efficacy                                                                                           41

2.5.3 Mastery Experience                                                                                41

2.5.4Social Modeling                                                                                       41

2.5.5.Social Persuasion                                                                                    42

2.5.6.Psychological Response                                                                                42

2.5.7.Self – worth Theory                                                                                43

2.5.8.Goal Theories                                                                                         43

2.5.9. Self – Determination Theory (SDT)                                                      44

 

 

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY                                                                    46       

3.1. Introduction                                                                                                       47

3.2. Participants                                                                                                       47

3.3. Instrumentations and Materials                                                                       48

3.3.1.    Tests                                                                                                              48

3.3.1.1. The Preliminary English Test (PET)                                                    48

3.3.1.2. Attitude and Motivation Test Battery a                                                      50

Pretest and a Posttest

3.3.2. Materials                                                                                                        51

3.3.2.1.                                          Main Course Book for Both Groups

3.3.2.2. Flashcards and Posters for Both Groups                                                    51

3.4. Procedure                                                                                                          51

3.5. Design                                                                                                              54

3.6. Statistical Analyses                                                                                          55

CHAPTER IV: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION                                                56       

4.1. Introduction                                                                                                      57

4.2. Participant Selection                                                                                        57

4.2.1 PET Pilot Study                                                                                              58

4.2.1.1 PET Administration for Homogenizing                                                      59

the Participants

4.2.2. Inferential Statics                                                                                           67

4.2.2.1. Post-Test Results                                                                               71

4.2.2.2. Post-Test Descriptive Statistics                                                                  71

4.3. Testing the Null Hypotheses                                                                            74

4.4. Discussion                                                                                                       75

 

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND PEDAGOGICAL                                    82

IMPLICATIONS                                                                                     

5.1. Introduction                                                                                                   83

5.2. Summary of the Findings                                                                              83

5.3. Pedagogical Implications                                                                               85

5.3.1. Implication for EFL Teachers                                                                    85

5.3.2. Implication for EFL Syllabus Designers                                                    86

5.4. Suggestions for Further Research                                                                  87

 

REFERENCES                                                                                                      89

 

APPENDICES                                                                                                       97

Appendix A: Preliminary English Test (PET)                                                        98

Appendix B: Appendix B: Writing Rating Scale                                                  120

Appendix C: Attitude and Motivation Test Battery                                              122

by Gardner, 1985 (AMTB)

Appendix D: Sample Lesson                                                                                 126

 

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

 

Table 4.1 Descriptive Statistics of the PET Pilot Administration                       58

Table 4.2 Reliability Estimates of the PET before and after Removing             59

Malfunctioning Items

Table 4.3 Reliability of the PET in First Homogenization                                  60

Table 4.4 Descriptive Statistics of the Two Ratings of PET Writing                 60

Section (First Homogenization)

Table 4.5 Correlation between the Two Ratings of the PET                               61

Writing Tasks (First Homogenization)

Table 4.6: Descriptive Statistics of Total PET (First Homogenization)             62

Table 4.7 Reliability of the PET (Second Homogenization)                               62

Table 4.8 Descriptive Statistics of the Two Ratings of PET Writing                 63

Section (First Second Homogenization)

Table 4.9 Correlation between the Two Ratings of the PET Writing                 64

Tasks (Second Homogenization)

Table 4.10 Descriptive Statistics of Total PET (Second Homogenization)        64

Table 4.11 Descriptive Statistics of the Total PET Scores of the Two               65

Experimental Groups

Table 4.12: Independent Samples Test on the Total PET at the Onset               66

Table 4.13: T-test for both experimental groups                                                     67

Table 4.14: Paired Samples Test for the experimental group 1                          68

Table 4.15: Paired Samples Test for the experimental group 2                          69

Table 4.16: Independent Samples Test Experimental 1                                    70

and Experimental 2 (Pretest)

Table 4.17: Descriptive Statistics of the motivation Post-test                           72

Table 4.18: Independent Samples Test Experimental 1                                    74

and Experimental 2(Posttest)

Figure 4.1: Scatter Plot of Descriptive Statistics of the motivation Post-test

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER I

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

 

 

1.1 Introduction

Scholars in the field of teaching and learning English as a foreign or second language have long been concerned with finding ways to increase the learners’ motivation and removing the barriers they bring with themselves into the educational environment. Incorporating different instructions and techniques into the classroom adds variety as well as opportunities for a lot of language production. Some believe that these techniques can be used as integral part of the class. Using storytelling and role playing in EFL classes have gained special attention in recent years. If the teacher believes that the activity will work and the necessary support is provided, it can be very successful. However, if the teacher is not convinced about the validity of using role-play, the activity “will fall flat on its face just as you expected it to” (Ladousse, 1987, p.7). A widely spread and one of the best communicative activities as well as cooperative learning is a role play which trains the students in the classroom to cope with unpredictable real-life situations in an English speaking environment.  Ladousse (1987) points out the special reasons for using role play in the lessons. It puts students in situations in which they are required to use and develop language necessary in social relationships and helps them to build up their social skills. Using role play is useful especially while teaching shy students who have difficulty participating in conversations about themselves. Through this activity they are put into various roles and no longer feel that their own personality is implicated. Role play is an essential communicative technique which develops fluency, promotes interaction in the classroom and increases motivation.

Nowadays, with the development of communication technology, the necessity of learning English as one of the most important languages of the world became more apparent. Therefore, the need for learning communicative skills increases. On important issue in teaching – learning settings is psychological ones like stress, anxiety, and motivation. The present study deals with the effect of two applicable instructions of teaching on motivation. It is important that educators recognize the impact of the tasks on their students and ensuring that they are considering learners academic and emotional needs.

However, storytelling has a strong effect on learners’ perception and comprehension. Baker and Greene (1977) assert “storytelling increases the listeners’ awareness-sense of wonder, of mystery, of reverence for life” (p.17).

Louise Phillips (2000), in her research about storytelling mentioned the importance and effect of storytelling: There is enough research that has found valuable learning potential in storytelling experiences for children. This research indicates that storytelling  “(a)enhances children’s imagination” (Raines and Isbell, 1994;pp. 264-265); “(b) supports and improves children’s social lives” (Britsch, 1992; p. 80); “© develops their cognitive skills such as ‘deferred imitation’, speculation and knowledge”(Britsch, 1992; p.23; Nicolopoulou, Scales and Weintramb, 1994; p. 103; Mallan, 1991;p. 12); “(d) contributes significantly to all aspects of language development” (Cooper, Collins and Saxby, 1992; Mallan, 1991); and “(e) is an effective bridge to early literacy” (Bruner, 1986; Rosen, 1988 as cited in Miller and Mehler, 1994).

The power and value of reading to children is indisputable (Trealease, 1985; Hall, 1992; Snow, 1992 as cited in Tallant, 1992). In addition to great pleasure, it offers for children both story structure and makes them ready to become independent reader (Tallant, 1992).

It should be noted that role playing activities help the students to experience the “real-world” situations (Oberle, 2004, p 199). Van Ments (1983) mentioned three main advantages of role-playing activities: (a) they are positive and safe in dealing with attitudes and feelings, (b) they provide a safe venue for expressing personal and sometimes unpopular attitudes and opinions, and © “role-playing is highly motivating as the majority of students enjoy these types of activities and become more inspired learners (as Cited in Graves, 2008).

On the other hand, motivation is considered as a key feature in the success of language learning. In fact, Dörnyei (2000) puts that “motivation provides the primary impetus to embark upon learning, and later the driving force to sustain the long and often tedious learning process” (p.425). With regard to the importance of comparison of digital and traditional role-play among Iranian EFL Learners’ proficiency in motivation, most scholars have written paper about the importance of role-playing in motivation.

 

 

• Statement of the Problem

Teaching is a process in which teachers have to consider many different aspects if they want to make this process successful such as students level, background, social context, interests, purposes, personality, age, learning styles, abilities, and personality characteristics. About those factors and others, Lightbown and Spada (1997, p. 33) believe: “in addition to personality characteristics, other factors generally considered to be relevant to language learning are intelligence, aptitude, motivation, and attitudes.”

According to AbuêndiaPadilha (1999), it is really important for teachers to promote learner’s confidence by focusing on some issues and topics which make them interested. De Almeida believes that “in this way, learners will be able to continue with their learning process in a meaningful way. Not only can it provide a good language environment, but also motivation.” (2011, p.4)

among Technical Translators of the Field