International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature

Moussa Ahmadian ¹, Majid Amerian ¹, Azar Tajabadi ²

Affiliations
1 Dept. of English Language and Literature, Arak University Arak 38156-8-8349, PO. Box: 879, IR
2 Dept. of English Language and Literature, Arak University Arak 38156-8-8349, IR

Abstract

Often associated with Vygotsky's socio-cultural theory, collaborative dialogue as a teaching technique has been frequently studied over the past few decades. There has been a great debate among experts and researchers regarding the effectiveness of this technique in facilitating the acquisition of second language skills in different educational contexts. Drawing upon an experimental design, the present study focused on the effect of collaborative dialogue on vocabulary acquisition and retention of EFL learners. Sixty-four Iranian lower intermediate EFL learners were homogenized by Oxford Placement Test, and were randomly divided into two collaborative and individual groups. A number of six tasks were developed and implemented at three stages of pre-task, during-task, and post-task. The learners in the collaborative group performed the tasks in groups of 3-4, while their counterparts in the individual group performed all the tasks individually. The learners' vocabulary knowledge was assessed using a researcher-made constructed-response vocabulary test in three occasions: pre-test, post-test, and follow-up-test. A set of independentsample t-tests was run to compare the groups' performance. The results revealed that the collaborative technique had significantly immediate and delayed effects on vocabulary acquisition and retention of the collaborative group. Possible reasons for this over-performance are discussed.

Keywords

Vocabulary Acquisition, Vocabulary Retention, Collaborative Dialogue, Sociocultural Theory, Lower Intermediate Level.

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Majid Amerian ¹, Moussa Ahmadian ¹, Ehsan Mehri ²

Affiliations
1 Dept. of English Language and Literature, Arak University, Arak 38156-8-8349, PO. Box: 879, IR
2 Dept. of English Language and Literature, Arak University, Arak 38156-8-8349, IR

Abstract

One of the influential concepts of sociocultural theory in language acquisition research is the zone of proximal development, which is an opportunity for language learners to develop their capacities. It is believed that the learner's language development happens through scaffolding in language learning (Bruner, 1983). This study relies on the scaffolding technique to investigate the effect of three forms of scaffolding process, namely teacher, class, and peer scaffolding, on the writing development of EFL learners. To do this, an intact group sample of 30 participants was selected. The participants were doing their essay writing course in which 19 of them were in one class, assumed as the experimental group in the study, and 11 were in another, assumed as the control group. To maintain possible homogeneity of the participants, an Oxford Placement Test was administered to both groups. The experimental group practiced the techniques of teacher, class, and peer scaffolding in three consecutive sessions respectively, while the control group practiced three individual techniques. After analyzing the mean of the total scores in addition to interrater reliability, the multivariate tests, on the quantitative analysis, showed that the control group outperformed the experimental group. For further understanding of the reasons, on the qualitative analysis, the talks in the experimental group were analyzed. Finally, the findings of both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis are discussed.

Keywords

Writing Development, Teacher Scaffolding, Class Scaffolding, Peer Scaffolding, Sociocultural Theory.

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Ehsan Mehri ¹, Majid Amerian ²

Affiliations
1 Dept. of English Language and Literature, Arak University, Arak 38156-8-8349, IR
2 Dept. of English Language and Literature, Arak University, Arak 38156-8-8349, PO. Box: 879, IR

Abstract

The introduction of dynamic assessment within sociocultural theory opened a new door toward looking at the relationship between the teaching and assessment. The dialectic relationship between the two processes provides previously unfound information regarding the assessment and the development of the learners. However, the implementation of the interactionist dynamic assessment has carried some difficulties in class in general and the groups in particular. The current study tries to address the effect of group dynamic assessment on the development of the control over the past tense; therefore, it is two-folded in the aim. Not only does it work as a practical sample of group dynamic assessment in class, but also it seeks to analyze its effect on the development of control over the past tense. To this end, three learners at the levels of elementary, low-intermediate, and intermediate general proficiency were asked to read a novel and retell the story. The dynamic intervention provided by the teacher during the story retelling was later evaluated in the transcendence tasks of writing. The Friedman test indicated that the three learners had significant development in their control over the past tense in their writing. Moreover, the qualitative analysis of the interactions suggests that the learners changed their role from the mere receivers of the teacher's mediator into the active providers of mediation to other group members. Also, they developed their understanding of the concept of the past tense through implementing it in transcendence tasks of writing.

Keywords

Sociocultural Theory, Dynamic Assessment, Group Dynamic Assessment, Zone of Proximal Development, Interaction.

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