The Effects of Prewriting to English Speaking Proficiency for Elementary School Students in Taiwan

• Main Authors: Shu-Chen Chien, 簡淑真
• Other Authors: Li-Jiuan Tsy
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2015
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/95777828811405575019

碩士 === 銘傳大學 === 應用英語學系碩士在職專班 === 103 === Complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) have proved to be useful measurements for language performance in numerous empirical studies (Skehan 1998; Ellis 2003, 2008; Ellis and Barkhuizen 2005). Among the three dimensions, complexity has gained considerable attention in the literature of recent years. Many studies have showed that complexity in speech, compared with accuracy and fluency, has a positive correlation with learners’ general language proficiency. Delaney (2012) suggested that complexity is the center of the language proficiency and the key role to increase language quality for language learners. The present study was conducted as an investigation to evaluate whether adopting writing as a preparation rather than just practicing speaking for an oral report could benefit students more on their complexity and language proficiency. Two classes of 5th graders at a public elementary school in New Taipei City participated in this study. One class was used as a control group using only speaking practice before the oral reports while the other class served as an experimental group using writing instead. During the planning time, the students in the experimental group prepared their reports by writing, whereas the control group by speaking. The treatment lasted for 14 weeks. By comparing the amount of the word types and the average number of words in the sentences generated by the participants in their oral reports, this study examined if pre-writing for a short report could serve as a feasible tool to enhance young learners’ oral ability with more words choices and speech length, which were defined respectively as lexicon and syntax complexity of a language performance (Skehan, 2009a; Pallotti, 2015). It was found that the students in the experimental group gained higher lexical and syntactic complexity than the control group. The results offer a different insight for educators of young learners to reconsider using writing as a preparation for oral reports.