The Effect of Verbalization on Young Learners’ Speaking Performance: Collective versus Idiosyncratic Changes
Subject Areas : Journal of Teaching English Language StudiesSomayeh Akbari 1 , Parisa Daftarifard 2
1 - Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 - Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Keywords: Young learners, Rasch model, sociocultural theory, Verbalization, speaking performance,
Abstract :
This study investigated the role of verbalization in the development of young learners’ speaking ability and vocabulary knowledge at Cambridge English Movers level A1 through quasi experimental design. A total number of 60 participants between the ages of 5 and 6 years old were selected based on convenient sampling and had comparable scores on the listening section of the Mover Exam. Participants were divided into two experimental and control groups and were taught for ten sessions. The participants in the experimental group practiced verbalization strategy during the course of the study, whereas the young learners in the control group did not. The data, then, were subjected to both parametric and nonparametric analyses for collective results and Rasch model for idiosyncratic investigation. The results of Mann-Whitney U tests and Independent T-Test indicated there was no significant difference between experimental and control groups in their speaking performance. This showed that verbalization strategy had no significant effect on the language learners’ speaking performance when their speaking proficiency was concerned collectively. However, the results of Rasch repeated measure analysis indicated some idiosyncratic growth in the experimental group
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