The Implementation of Educational Texting as an Instructional Facilitator in the Iranian EFL Context

En aquest estudi, mitjançant un mostreig de conveniència, després de l'administració d'una prova de col·locació d'Oxford (OPT), es van seleccionar 74 participants per a aquest estudi. Es van assignar aleatòriament a un grup experimental i a un grup de control per igual. Per mesurar la capacitat de lectura dels estudiants, la part de lectura de la prova d'anglès preliminar (PET) es va utilitzar com a prova prèvia i més tard com a prova posterior. Per calcular la quantitat d'autonomia entre els alumnes després d'implementar els ítems de vocabulari mitjançant missatges de text, es va distribuir un qüestionari. Es va dur a terme una sessió d'entrevistes semiestructurades entre els participants del grup experimental per comprendre millor les seves percepcions sobre MALL en el context d'aprenentatge de l'anglès. Finalment, per calcular la mida del vocabulari dels alumnes i els seus coneixements de vocabulari, es va realitzar una prova d'associació de paraules (WAT) i una prova de nivell de vocabulari (VLT). El grup experimental va rebre 108 paraules via SMS durant 18 sessions, incloses 6 paraules en context cobertes en 6 frases. El grup control, va rebre la instrucció tradicional, en un entorn presencial, amb els materials preparats de la classe i del professor. Després de realitzar el posttest, els resultats de l'estudi van revelar que el rendiment d'ambdós grups en funció de la seva prova de lectura és similar i el tractament no va tenir un efecte estadísticament significatiu en el grup experimental. El segon estudi va revelar que el tractament va tenir un paper molt important en la millora del nivell de motivació dels alumnes del grup experimental. Les percepcions dels participants del grup experimental van mostrar que els estudiants tenen una actitud positiva cap a l'aprenentatge d'idiomes assistit per mòbil en el context d'aprenentatge de l'EFL. El gènere va demostrar no ser un factor diferencial per al rendiment dels aprenents a la prova d'autonomia. L'aprenentatge de vocabulari mitjançant SMS podria augmentar significativament la mida del vocabulari dels aprenents, les puntuacions dels aprenents en la profunditat del vocabulari no van mostrar diferències estadísticament significatives.En este estudio, a través de un muestreo por conveniencia, después de la administración de un Oxford Placement Test (OPT), se seleccionaron 74 participantes para el propósito de este estudio. Fueron asignados aleatoriamente a un grupo experimental y otro de control por igual. Para medir la capacidad de lectura de los alumnos, se utilizó la parte de lectura del Examen Preliminar de Inglés (PET) como prueba previa y luego como prueba posterior. Para calcular la cantidad de autonomía entre los alumnos después de implementar los elementos de vocabulario a través de mensajes de texto, se distribuyó un cuestionario. Se realizó una sesión de entrevistas semiestructuradas entre los participantes del grupo experimental para comprender mejor sus percepciones sobre MALL en el contexto de aprendizaje de inglés. Finalmente, para calcular el tamaño del vocabulario de los estudiantes y su conocimiento del vocabulario, se realizaron una prueba de asociación de palabras (WAT) y una prueba de nivel de vocabulario (VLT). El grupo experimental recibió 108 palabras a través de SMS durante 18 sesiones, incluidas 6 palabras en contexto cubiertas en 6 oraciones. El grupo control, recibió la instrucción tradicional, en un ambiente presencial, con los materiales preparados por la clase y el docente. Después de realizar la prueba posterior, los hallazgos del estudio revelaron que el desempeño de ambos grupos en base a su prueba de lectura es similar, y el tratamiento no tuvo un efecto estadísticamente significativo en el grupo experimental. El segundo estudio reveló que el tratamiento desempeñó un papel muy importante en la mejora del nivel de motivación de los alumnos en el grupo experimental. Las percepciones de los participantes en el grupo experimental mostraron que los estudiantes tienen una actitud positiva hacia el aprendizaje de idiomas asistido por dispositivos móviles en el contexto de aprendizaje de EFL. El género no mostró ser un factor diferenciable para el desempeño de los aprendices en la prueba de autonomía. El aprendizaje de vocabulario a través de SMS podría aumentar significativamente el tamaño del vocabulario de los alumnos, las puntuaciones de los alumnos en la profundidad del vocabulario no mostraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas.In this study, through convenience sampling, after the administration of an Oxford Placement Test (OPT), 74 participants were selected for the purpose of this study. They were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group equally. To measure learners reading ability, the reading part of the Preliminary English Test (PET) was used as a pretest and later as a posttest. To calculate the amount of autonomy among learners after implementing the vocabulary items through texting, a questionnaire was distributed. A semi-structured interview session was conducted among the participants of the experimental group to further grasp their perceptions towards MALL in the English learning context. Finally, to compute the vocabulary size of the students and their vocabulary knowledge, a Word Association Test (WAT) and a Vocabulary Level test (VLT) were conducted. The experimental group received 108 words via SMS during 18 sessions, including 6 words in context covered in 6 sentences. The control group, received the traditional instruction, in a face-to-face environment, with the ready-made materials of the class and the teacher. After conducting the posttest, the findings of the study revealed that the performance of both groups on the basis of their reading test is similar, and the treatment did not have a statistically significant effect on the experimental group. The second study revealed that the treatment played a very important role in improving learners' motivation level in the experimental group. The perceptions of the participants in the experimental group showed that students have a positive attitude towards mobile-assisted language learning in the EFL learning context. Gender showed not to be a distinguishable factor for the performance of the learners in the autonomy test. Learning vocabulary through SMS could significantly increase the size of the learners' vocabulary, learners' scores on the vocabulary depth did not show statistically significant differences

The Effectiveness of an Interactive WhatsApp Bot on Listening Skills

The present paper attempted to measure the effectiveness of an interactive WhatsApp bot on the listening skills of Omani English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. For this purpose, 40 Omani intermediate EFL learners were divided into two groups: a control and an experimental in a higher education institution. A pretest was conducted to ensure the homogeneity of listening skills among all the participants. While both groups received instructions and exercises on listening in class, an interactive WhatsApp bot was designed for the experimental group to receive more instructions and training without time and place limitations. Later, a posttest and a delayed posttest were conducted to compare learners’ performance. The study results showed smooth progress of both groups in listening exams during the posttest and delayed posttest; however, the experimental group’s performance was significantly high. The findings of the study are efficacious and helpful for teachers and learners

THE EFFECT OF TEACHING PUNCTUATION MARKS EXPLICITLY ON OMANI EFL LEARNERS WRITING ABILITIES

This is a research study about teaching punctuation marks explicitly and its effects on EFL learners` writing abilities. To do this, 40 Omani EFL learners at intermediate level from Sohar College of Applied Sciences, Oman were selected. Ministerial placement test homogenized students according to their level of proficiency. A pretest was applied to ensure students similar knowledge on the basis of punctuation marks. Then, treatment was provided for the experimental group of learners and finally another writing test as a posttest was applied to measure the results. Results revealed that teaching punctuation marks explicitly doesn’t have any effect on the learners` writing abilities in that college.  Article visualizations

The Reflection of Vocabulary Implementation Through Educational Texting on EFL Learner’s Reading Skill

This paper investigates the efficiency of using text messaging in the EFL reading classroom at the Islamic Azad University-South Tehran Branch, Iran. After the administration of an Oxford Placement Test (OPT), 74 participants who scored one standard deviation above and below the mean were selected. Participants were randomly assigned into two groups, an experimental and a control, each including 37 individuals. The reading part of the Preliminary English Test (PET) was administered as a pretest. The experimental group received 108 words via short messages during 18 sessions. During each session, they received 6 sentences with 6 words in a meaningful context. In contrast, the participants of the control group received traditional instruction. They were given the same structural points through inductive and deductive instruction in the classroom and the words were presented while teaching each unit. After the treatment, the participants in both groups were assigned to do a reading posttest. The results of the ANCOVA revealed no statistically significant difference between the control and the experimental groups regarding their reading scores. Thus, the vocabulary learning via short message did not have any significant effect on Iranian EFL learners' ability to comprehend pre-intermediate level texts