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The Time Factor in EFL Classroom Practice
Author(s) -
Serrano Raquel
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
language learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.882
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1467-9922
pISSN - 0023-8333
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9922.2010.00591.x
Subject(s) - psychology , grammar , active listening , vocabulary , foreign language , variety (cybernetics) , english as a foreign language , language proficiency , period (music) , mathematics education , vocabulary development , teaching method , linguistics , computer science , communication , philosophy , physics , artificial intelligence , acoustics
This article analyzes whether the distribution of the hours of classroom practice has any effect on students’ foreign language gains by comparing two types of EFL (English as a foreign language) programs: one in which the hours of instruction are distributed in long sessions over a short period (intensive course) and another in which the students attend short sessions over a long period of time (regular course). Data from 152 participants at two proficiency levels were gathered. Learners’ grammar and vocabulary knowledge, as well as listening, writing, and speaking skills were examined through a variety of tasks. The results of the analyses performed indicate that intermediate‐level students tend to make more language gains in intensive programs than in regular programs, whereas advanced EFL students do not seem to benefit from intensive classroom practice as much as intermediate students do.