The Comparative Effect of Consciousness Raising Tasks on the Reading Comprehension of the High and Low Risk-Taking English as Foreign Language Learners

Subject Areas : All areas of language and translation

Shahram Janbazi ¹ , Abdollah Baradaran ²

1 - Department of English Language Teaching, Islamic Azad University; Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran
2 - Department of English College of Foreign Languages,Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University Tehran, Iran

Received: 2018-10-03 Accepted : 2018-10-03 Published : 2018-04-01

Keywords: reading comprehension, Risk-taking, Consciousness raising tasks,

Abstract :

This study investigated the comparative effect of consciousness raising tasks on the reading comprehen- sion ability of the high and low risk-taking English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners. To achieve the purpose of this study, 106 students from the Shahid Sattary University in Tehran were selected from among a total number of 150 based on their performance on the Preliminary English Test (PET). A per- sonality trait questionnaire was administrated to determine learners’ risk-taking levels (i.e. high, modera- tor and low). Therefore, 30 high and 30 low risk-taking learners were selected as two experimental groups. Although the learners had different personality traits, they were in the same classes and received the same treatment. The design of this study was quasi experimental and an independent samples t-test was applied to test the null hypothesis. The findings of the study showed that the group with high risk- taking trait outperformed the low group. Therefore, a significant difference was found between the two experimental groups in term of their reading comprehension ability.

References:

Ashouri, A. F. &Fotovatnia, Z. (2010).The effect of individual differences on learners’ translation belief in EFL learning. English Language Teaching.3(4), 228-236. Retrieved from http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/view/6422/6358

Beebe, L. M. (1983). Risk taking and language learner. In H. S. (Ed.), classroom oriented research in second language acquisition, 39-66.  Rowley: Mass: Newbury House.

Behrouzi, P., &Kazemirad, F. (2012). The effect of consciousness-raising tasks on Iranian elementary EFL learners' syntax acquisition. International Journal of Linguistics, 4(2), 334-347.

Brown, H. D. (1994). Principles of language learning and teaching, Prentice Hall Regents, New Jersey.

Brown, H. D. (2000).Principles of language learning and teaching. (4th ed.), New York: Pearson Education.

Crivos, M. B., &Luchini, P. L. (2012).A pedagogical proposal for teaching grammar using consciousness-raising tasks.MJAL, 4(3), 141-153.

Crozier, W. R. (1997).Individual learners: Personality differences in education. London: Routledge.

Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition.Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Ellis R. (2002). Grammar teaching – practice or consciousness-raising? In Richard J. and Rennandya W. (Eds.), Methodology in Language Teaching: An Anthology of Current Practice, 167 – 174, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Jonassen, D. H., & Grabowski, B. (1993). Handbook of Individual differences and instruction. Lawrence Erlbaum Associate Hillsdale, NJ.

Kiani, Gh. R., &Pournia, Y. (2006).The relationship between risk-taking and the syntactic complexity and grammatical accuracy of the Iranian international EFL learners' descriptive and expository writing.Pazhuhesh-e Zabanha-ye Khareji, 27,143-164.

Rivers, W. M. (1981). Teaching foreign language skills. Chicago: The University of Chicago.

Schmidt, R. (1990). The role of consciousness in second language learning.Applied Linguistics,11, 129- 158.

Yashima, Tomoko. (2002). Willingness to communicate in a second language:   The Japanese EFL context. The Modern Language Journal, 86 (1), 54-66.