Improving Iraqi EFL Learners’ Speaking Performance, Anxiety and Will-ingness to Communicate Using Tiered Instruction
محورهای موضوعی :Mustafa Assi Okab 1 , Mehdi Sarkhosh 2
1 - , Department of English, Urmia State University, Urmia, Iran
2 - Department of English, Urmia State University, Urmia, Iran
کلید واژه: Speaking performance, tiered instruction, willingness to communicate,
چکیده مقاله :
This study examines the impact of tiered instruction on Iraqi EFL learners' speaking perfor-mance, speaking anxiety, and willingness to communicate (WTC). Utilizing a sample of 109 upper-intermediate English learners at the College of Arts in Baghdad, Iraq, the research imple-mented a mixed-methods approach involving pre- and post-tests, anxiety and WTC scales, and semi-structured interviews. Participants were divided into experimental and control groups, with the experimental group receiving tiered instruction tailored to their proficiency levels. The find-ings demonstrate that tiered instruction significantly enhances speaking performance and WTC while reducing speaking anxiety. Learners expressed positive attitudes toward the tiered ap-proach, highlighting its role in creating a supportive and communicative learning environment.
This study examines the impact of tiered instruction on Iraqi EFL learners' speaking perfor-mance, speaking anxiety, and willingness to communicate (WTC). Utilizing a sample of 109 upper-intermediate English learners at the College of Arts in Baghdad, Iraq, the research imple-mented a mixed-methods approach involving pre- and post-tests, anxiety and WTC scales, and semi-structured interviews. Participants were divided into experimental and control groups, with the experimental group receiving tiered instruction tailored to their proficiency levels. The find-ings demonstrate that tiered instruction significantly enhances speaking performance and WTC while reducing speaking anxiety. Learners expressed positive attitudes toward the tiered ap-proach, highlighting its role in creating a supportive and communicative learning environment.
Baran-Łucarz, M. (2014). The link between pronunciation anxiety and willingness to communicate in the foreign-language classroom: The Polish EFL context. Canadian Modern Language Review, 70(4), 445-473.
Bender, W. N. (2012). Differentiating in-struction for students with learning disabilities: New best practices for general and special educators. Cali-fornia: Thousand Oaks.
Boonkit, K. (2010). Enhancing the devel-opment of speaking skills for non-native speakers of English. Procedia-social and behavioral sciences, 2(2), 1305-1309.
Brown, H.D. (2007). Teaching by princi-ples: An interactive approach to lan-guage pedagogy, 3rd ed. New York, NY: Pearson.
Gregersen, T., & Horwitz, E. K. (2021). Language anxiety: From theory and research to classroom implications. Routledge.
Havwini, T. (2019). Indonesian EFL stu-dents’ willingness to communicate in the 2013 curriculum implementation: a case study. TEFL in journal, 30(1), 105-120.
Heacox, D. (2012). Differentiating instruc-tion in the regular classroom. Minne-apolis: Free Spirit Publishing
Ismail, M. (2023). Developing Reading Skill among Iraqi ENGLISH AS FOREIGN LANGUAGE learners: A Sociocultur-al Perspective. Al-Adab Journal, (147), 37-56.
Kayi, H. (2006). Teaching speaking: Activi-ties to promote speaking in a second language. The internet TESL jour-nal, 12(11), 1-6.
Keng, S.-J. (2005). Dynamic emergence of situational willingness to communi-cate in a second language. System, 33(2), 277-292.
Khatibi, M. B., & Zakeri, J. (2014). Iranian EFL learners’ willingness to com-municate across different context-and receiver-types. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 98, 932-939.
Kintz, A. J., & Robinson, D. H. (2021). Student reactions to instructor equity-mindedness: Exploring the influence of student and instructor characteris-tics. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 14(2), 162-175.
Koehler, S. (2010). Effects of differentiating for readiness, interest and learning profile on engagement and under-standing [Unpublished master’s the-sis]. St. John Fisher University. Re-trieved January 2, 2024 from http://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/mathcs_etd_masters/91
Konno, K., & Koga, T. (2023). Factors Af-fecting WTC during a Speaking Task. Journal of the Chubu English Language Education Society, 52, 77-84.
Lee, W., & Ng, S. (2010). Reducing student reticence through teacher interaction strategy. ELT journal, 64(3), 302-313.
Magableh, I. S. I., & Abdullah, A. (2020). On the Effectiveness of Differentiat-ed Instruction in the Enhancement of Jordanian Students' Overall Achieve-ment. International Journal of In-struction, 13(2), 533-548.
Mardhatillah, M., & Suharyadi, S. (2023). Differentiated instruction: Challenges and opportunities in efl class-room. Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics, 8(1), 69-77.
McCroskey, J. C. (2006). The role of cul-ture in a communibiological approach to communication. Human Communi-cation, 9(1), 31-35.
McCroskey, J. C., & Richmond, V. P. (1990). Willingness to communicate: A cognitive view. In M. Booth-Butterfield (Ed.), Communication, cognition, and anxiety (pp. 19-37). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
McCroskey, J. C. (1970). Measures of communication-bound anxiety. Speech Monographs, 37, 269–. 277
Mohamad, A. R. B., Ab Wahid, N. D. B., & Tambahan, J. T. (2008). Anxiety And Speaking English As A Second Lan-guage Among Male And Female Business Students In Universiti Indus-tri Selangor. In AFBE 2008 Confer-ence Papers, 65-84.
Nunan, D. (2003). The impact of English as a global language on educational poli-cies and practices in the Asia‐Pacific Region. TESOL quarterly, 37(4), 589-613.
Paloniemi, A., Pulkkinen, J., Kärnä, E., & Björn, P. M. (2023). The work of special education teachers in the tiered support system: The Finnish case. Scandinavian Journal of Educa-tional Research, 67(1), 35-50.
Pham, H. L. (2012). Differentiated instruc-tion and the need to integrate teaching and practice. Journal of College Teaching & Learning (Online), 9(1), 13.
Pierce, R. L., & Adams, C. M. (2005). Chapter 4 Tiered Lessons one way to differentiate mathematics instruc-tion. Math Education for Gifted Stu-dents, 49, 1-15.
Richards, M. R. E., & Omdal, S. N. (2007). Effects of tiered instruction on aca-demic performance in a secondary science course. Journal of advanced academics, 18(3), 424-453.
Rock, M. L., Gregg, M., Ellis, E., & Gable, R. A. (2008). REACH: A framework for differentiating classroom instruc-tion. Preventing school failure: alter-native education for children and youth, 52(2), 31-47.
Sapan, M., & Mede, E. (2022). The effects of differentiated instruction (DI) on achievement, motivation, and auton-omy among English learners. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Re-search, 10(1), 127-144.
Subban, P. (2006). Differentiated Instruc-tion: A Research Basis. International Education Journal, 7, 935-947.
Tieso, C. L. (2003). Ability grouping is not just tracking anymore. Roeper Re-view, 26, 29–36.
Tomlinson, C.& Imbeau, A. (2015). As-sessment and student success in a dif-ferentiated classroom. ASCD.
Tomlinson, C.A. (2014). The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners (2nd ed). Pearson: Boston.
Tomlinson, B. (2000). Discovering English with Sketch Engine: A Corpus-Informed Approach to Language Ex-ploration. The Modern Language Journal, 84(4), 561-566.
Tomlinson, C. (1999). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners. Alexandria, VA: As-sociation for Supervision and Cur-riculum Development.
Trang, T. T. T., Baldauf Jr, R. B., & Moni, K. (2013). Investigating the develop-ment of foreign language anxiety: an autobiographical approach. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Devel-opment, 34(7), 709-726.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1987). Thought and lan-guage. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Weimer, M. (2013). Learner-centered teaching: Five key changes to prac-tice. John Wiley & Sons.
Yaikhong, K., & Usaha, S. (2012). A Meas-ure of EFL Public Speaking Class Anxiety: Scale Development and Pre-liminary Validation and Reliabil-ity. English Language Teaching, 5(12), 23-35.
Zed, B. C. & Kassida, H. (2018). Investigat-ing Teachers’ and Students’ Strategies to Reduce Anxiety in EFL Speaking Classes Case of 1st year students at M’sila University. Retrieved January 12, 2024 from http://dspace.univ-msi-la.dz:8080//xmlui/handle/123456789/7724
Zhou, L., Xi, Y., & Lochtman, K. (2023). The relationship between second lan-guage competence and willingness to communicate: the moderating effect of foreign language anxiety. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural De-velopment 44(2), 129-143.
