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Second Language

Acquisition
Article Title
Using Dictation to
Improve Language
Proficiency
Author
Dr. Mohammad
Rahimi,
Shiraz University
Source
http://asian-efl-journa
l.com/March_08_mr.p
hp
Dictation
testing device for
measuring
language
proficiency
Experimental Group (EG)
Control Group (CG)
 showed improvement in
their performance on the
whole proficiency test .
 EG showed improvement
in all the components of
the post-test grammar ,
vocabulary , reading and
listening comprehension .
 CG improved in the

vocabulary section only


 Lado (1961)
- having very little value in
testing the language.

- dictation cannot measure


any aspect of the language .
 Harris (1965)
- rejects dictation
- uneconomical and imprecise
technique of language testing.
 Somaratne (1957)

- considers it as just as test of


spelling.
 Stanfield (1985)
- rejects using
dictation as a test
of foreign language
proficiency.
 Proponents of dictation
advocate it as a good
device for measuring
language proficiency.
 Integrative language

proficiency tests such as


TOEFEL
 Oller and Streiff (1975) believe that
dictation triggers the internalized
expectancy grammar of the learner.

 Give us information about his


overall language proficiency.
 Cartledge (1968)
- believes that dictation is
not a teaching device.
- It can merely help
learners have some
practice in oral
comprehension.
 Research shows that
dictation can help
learners improve
different aspects of their
proficiency.
 Sawyer and Silver (1961)
- dictation is primarily a learning
exercise and only secondarily a
testing device.
 Student’s control of his
new language is
proportionately that great.

 Learn to listen, to
concentrate, to write from
dictation.
 Morris (1983)
- concludes that dictation
is a technique - testing
techniques and as a
learning activity.
- helps students develop
their accuracy.
 Whitaker (1976)
- considers dictation as a
good teaching device.
- An oral comprehension,
together with literacy
and ability to read.
 Dictation may be found to be
both profitable for teaching
and valid for testing.

 Eg: Listening comprehension


 Researchers believe
that dictation can be
utilized as a teaching
technique.
 Stanfield (1985)
- mentions that since in
dictation the learners go
through two cognitive -
process
i.e synthesis and analysis.
 Jafarpur and Yamini (1993)
claim that, “Dictation allows
the language learner to both
comprehend and produce the
language in the context of
meaningful discourse.
 “dual-access processing”
– the subjects alter and
harmonize his perception,
conception and
expression.
 believe in the priority of listening to
speaking in language learning.

 Meaning we should wait for the language


to which the learners are exposed to be
internalized and then show its effects in
the learners’ production.
 According to Alwright (1984)
and Lightbown (1983), teaching
or learning technique does not
immediately show its effects,
 so we should wait for some time

(the incubation period)


 to see the effect of teaching and

learning in the learners’


performance.
 25 listening items selected
from Sharpe (1995) were
added to it.

 It was used as both pre-


and post- tests to measure
the subjects’ overall
language proficiency.
Procedure

the conversation class, all the
subjects took the proficiency test
as the pre-test.

 the listening comprehension part,


there was no time limit for the test.
Data analysis

 The results of the test were subjected


to the following statistical procedures.

 Two independent t-tests


- difference between the mean scores
- EG and CG on the pre-test as well
as post test.
A pair test is run to find:

 The difference between the


mean of the scores on the
following pre- test and post-
proficiency test for CG as
well as for the EG .
SUBJECTS

 65 English majors enrolled


in Conversation II classes.
 took part in two separate

classes;
 one taken as the
experimental group (EG)
consisted of 34 students
and the other, the control
group (CG), consisted of
31 students.
 age -18 to 25 years; average of
22.
Instrumentation

 The main instrumentation of the


study was Shiraz University
Placement test , consisted of three
sections:

grammar, vocabulary and reading


comprehension items.
 25 listening items selected from Sharpe
(1995) were added to it. Although, the
test included 165 multiple- choice items
(the test format was like TOEFL)
 It was used as both pre- and post- tests
to measure the subjects’ overall
language proficiency.
 1. Difference between
performance

 2. Different components

 3. Scores on the whole pre-


and post-test and their
components.
 Finally, an ANOVA test
was run for the mean
gains of the subjects in
the components of the
post- test.

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