Investigating the effect of enhanced input on the use of English passive in Afrikaans-speaking adolescent learners of English as L2
Year: 2011
Type: dissertation
Study design: Clinical Trial
Abstract: When English as a second language (L2) is learnt via classroom instruction, the extent to which learners become proficient depends, in part, on the education system in place and, more specifically, on the methods of instruction.This study set out to compare the efficacy of two focus-on-form methods of L2 instruction, namely enhanced input and traditional teacher-centred instruction, in teaching one typically problematic aspect of English grammar for L2 learners, namely the use of the passive form.The participants comprised two groups of grade 11 Afrikaans-speaking learners in a secondary, Afrikaans-English parallel medium school in the southern region of Gauteng, South Africa.One day before the onset of instruction on the English passive, all potential participants completed a pre-test to assess their existing knowledge of the English passive, in order to allow the members of one group to be paired with the members of the other group.Eight pairs could be found; a total of 16 learners thus participated in the study.Both groups then received 14 lessons (7 hours in total) on the English passive: The Enhanced group received (written) input enhancement in groups, whereas the Traditional group as a whole did copying exercises and received explanations on the formation of the passive structure.Participants wrote a post-test immediately after the end of the instruction period and a delayed post-test nine weeks later.The results of the immediate and delayed post-tests did not indicate a significant difference between the two groups; neither did the learners' scores improve significantly from the pre-test to the post-tests.Reasons for this lack of improvement are suggested.Classroom observation indicated that learners in the Enhanced group enthusiastically participated in the activities, whereas the Traditional group appeared to be bored after a few lessons.The study also set out to ascertain whether different methods of assessment on the English passive lead to different test marks.It seemed that assessment tasks requiring little writing (such as multiple choice questions) result in higher marks than tasks requiring learners to formulate answers on their own.Although this was a small-scale study, the results suggest that under better circumstances (e.g., more time for instruction and a larger group of participants) it might be useful to conduct similar types of studies to test the effects of enhanced input and/or assessment methods when South African schools change from Outcomes Based Education to the new Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement system in 2012.
Author: Karin Nell
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1892696038