Dr. Fatemeh Hemmati, Nayyereh Borhani & Shamsoddin Aref
Payame Nour University, Tehran, Iran
This study aimed at investigating the effect of employing collaborative guessing games on Iranian EFL learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC) and their foreign language speaking performance. To this end, 80 Iranian female intermediate students from a private language institute in Mashhad took part in the study. The proficiency level of the participants was tested using an EPT test and based on the scores, 36 students were selected and divided into three groups (n= 12) to constitute the experimental and control groups of the study. The participants’ willingness to communicate was tested by McCroskey’s (1992) WTC. Also, an oral interview test was used to check the learners’ speaking achievement after the treatment. Reliability and validity of both tests were ensured through the piloting process before the treatment. The results of One-Way ANOVA showed that participants who worked in collaborative groups or pairs outperformed the students who worked in an individualistic conventional setting. Furthermore, collaborative guessing games had a significant influence on the participants’ WTC and speaking skills.
The above abstract is a part of the article which was accepted at The Third International Conference on Current Issues of Languages, Dialects and Linguistics (WWW.TLLL.IR), 31 January-1February 2019 , Ahwaz.
