Reading/Listening & the 4/3/2 on EFL Students’ Speaking Skills

Abstract

In the present study, the relative impact of integrated reading and speaking vs. listening and speaking on the improvement of students' speaking skills with Persian language background was explored. Fifty five Iranian language learners divided into two experimental groups participated in the study. The same materials were used for both groups. Students' speaking ability was evaluated once at the beginning and then at the end of the term (applying Bachman & Palmer rating scale, 1983). The results indicated that both methods were effective in improving students' speaking skills. 4/3/2 technique (Maurice, 1983) was also applied in both classes to improve the students' speaking fluency in which each student spoke three times, each time with a different partner about a favorite topic for four, three, and two minutes in each segment, respectively. The students were recorded doing the 4/3/2 and then for each student, the number of words spoken per minute and the number of hesitations, repetitions, and false starts per 100 words in each of the three deliveries and also the number of errors per 100 words were calculated to investigate their fluency and accuracy, respectively. The control of content was also analyzed by exploring how speakers' talks became more concise each time they were speaking. The technique's positive effect on students' speaking fluency was quite apparent. It also improved students' accuracy since they were repeating the same material each time and also their control of content became much better by omitting some unimportant points and changing the constructions.