Processing Instruction Revisited: Does it Lead to Superior Performance in Interpretation and Production?

Year 2019, Volume: 5 Issue: 1, 89 - 111, 24.03.2019

Majid Farahian Farnaz Avarzamani

https://doi.org/10.32601/ejal.543783

Abstract

There have been plenty of research studies which have demonstrated
the efficacy of focus on form (FonF) approach in language teaching. However,
processing instruction as a kind of FonF approach has not been given due
attention. As such, the present study is an attempt to shed more lights upon
the effects of the processing instruction (PI) on EFL (English as a Foreign
Language) learners’ acquisition of passive voice by comparing PI to dictogloss
and an output instruction. The participants recruited for the study were 51
pre-intermediate level EFL students. The pretest revealed that there was no
significant difference between the groups regarding passive voice knowledge. As to the treatment, the first group
(n=17) received processing instruction, the second group (n=17) was exposed to
dictogloss tasks, and the third (n=17) was given meaningful output instruction.
In the immediate posttest, two types of tasks (interpretation and production)
were used to assess the participants’ English passive voice comprehension and
production. The findings indicated that the processing instruction group
outperformed dictogloss and meaningful output instruction in both tasks, and
thus it had a significantly positive effect on the comprehension and production
of the English passive voice. 

Keywords

processing instruction, dictogloss, meaning-based output instruction, English passive voice

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