ABSTRACT

This study was an attempt to investigate the effect of choice theory-based instruction on Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary achievement. To fulfil the purpose of this study, 60 female advanced EFL learners were selected from among a total number of 90 learners through their performance on a piloted sample Cambridge ESOL Certificate of Advanced English test. The learners were assigned into two control and experimental groups, each with the same number of students (30). A teacher-made vocabulary test was given to both groups to identify the words that the learners knew prior to the treatment; subsequently, those words were not included in the treatment. Both groups sat in class for 18 sessions of 90 minutes each and were taught the same materials. In the experimental group, the students underwent the treatment based on choice theory principles, whereas the learners in the control group received the instruction which was based on the syllabus of the language school. A modified version of the same vocabulary achievement test used at the outset was administered as the posttest at the end of the treatment to both groups. The mean scores of the two groups on this posttest were compared through an independent samples t-test. The results showed that choice theory-based instruction had a significantly positive effect on EFL learners’ vocabulary achievement. Accordingly, this study suggests the application of choice theory-based instruction in the ELT environment.

摘要

这项研究试图调查基于选择理论的教学对伊朗EFL学习者的词汇成绩的影响。为了实现本研究的目的，通过在剑桥ESOL高级英语证书试点样本中的表现，从90名学习者中选择了60名女性高级EFL学习者。将学习者分为两个对照组和实验组，每组的学生人数相同（30）。两组都进行了教师自制的词汇测试，以识别学习者在治疗之前知道的单词；随后，这些词没有被包括在治疗中。两组学生在课堂上共坐了18节课，每节90分钟，并接受了相同的教材。在实验组中，学生根据选择理论原理接受了治疗，而对照组的学习者则根据语言学校的教学大纲接受了指导。在治疗结束时，对两组开始时使用相同的词汇成就测验的修改版本作为后测。通过独立样本比较两组在该后测中的平均得分t检验。结果表明，基于选择理论的教学对英语学习者的词汇成绩有显着的积极影响。因此，这项研究建议基于选择理论的教学在ELT环境中的应用。