Open AccessThe effect of vocabulary size in oral productions on the speaking proficiency of EFL learners
Author(s) -
Ehsan Kazemi
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
global journal of foreign language teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2301-2595
DOI - 10.18844/gjflt.v7i4.3003
Subject(s) - fluency , vocabulary , session (web analytics) , psychology , class (philosophy) , foreign language , mathematics education , pedagogy , linguistics , computer science , philosophy , artificial intelligence , world wide web
This study investigates the effect of using a bigger vocabulary size in oral classroom presentations on the speaking proficiency of students in English as a foreign language. The study was conducted with 30 freshman students doing their listening and speaking course in Semnan University. For the entire course of 12 weeks, the students in the experimental group were asked to present their productions in terms of the vocabulary they employed, which was also the focus of the teacher’s evaluation in each session. At the end of the course, they were interviewed for their proficiency in speaking. The descriptive and inferential calculations were done based on a modified version of an oral proficiency interview scale suggested by Penny Ur. The answers were recorded and their fluency and accuracy were graded. The results suggest that students with a vocabulary-rich production improved their speaking proficiency in English more than other students did.
Keywords: Vocabulary size, speaking proficiency, production, fluency, accuracy, interview.