چکیده:
Meta-discourse markers are an inevitable part of oral proficiency which improve both the quality and comprehension of learners’ speech. While studies of oral meta-discourse have been conducted since the 1980s in a European or US context, they have remained relatively untouched in Iran. Therefore, this study aimed to seek the impact of both explicit and implicit teaching of formal meta-discourse markers on EFL learners’ oral proficiency. To this end, the quantitative data were collected from ninety upper-intermediate students at Shiraz University Language Center. Two groups went through an instruction for an eight-session treatment. However the experimental group ‘B’ (N=45) were instructed the formal meta-discourse markers implicitly, the target formal meta-discourse markers were taught to the experimental group ‘A’ (N=45) explicitly. To compare the participants’ performances, an SOPI (Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview) posttest was administered. The results revealed that the instruction of meta-discourse markers had a positive effect on the learners’ oral outcome. Moreover, the findings showed that learners who received explicit method of teaching formal meta-discourse markers could perform better in speaking than learners who received implicit instruction. The findings can have pedagogical implications for EFL educators and materials developers to enhance learners’ oral proficiency. The findings also provide important insight into the effect of teaching discourse markers and raising learners’ awareness through explicit instruction to make pupils produce more cohesive and coherent speech.
خلاصه ماشینی:
Therefore, this study aimed to seek the impact of both explicit and implicit teaching of formal meta-discourse markers on EFL learners’ oral proficiency.
Keywords: Explicit instruction, implicit instruction, Meta-discourse markers, oral proficiency Introduction One of the most significant and essential criteria for having an appropriate use of the English language is using meta-discourse markers that are a group of cohesive ties or connecting items that lead to cohesion and fluency of speech.
As a result, In case language learners wish to develop organized, connected, and well-formed speech, they should enhance the skills to use a spectrum of cohesive ties and connectors, consisting of formal meta- discourse markers, to organize their oral outcome cohesively and coherently.
Learners were then asked to have different conversations with each other on a wide range of topics which were later evaluated through the SOPI test of speaking Furthermore, regarding the oral test, it is worth mentioning that participants were interviewed for about fifteen minutes both before and after the instruction of our target formal meta-discourse markers.
The main research question of the present study aimed at seeking the impact of the explicit and implicit instruction of formal meta-discourse markers on Iranian upper-intermediate EFL learners’ oral proficiency.
Furthermore, the results of the performances of learners in the experimental group ‘B’were in line with the research hypothesis that Iranian upper-intermediate EFL learners’ oral outcome was increased by learning meta-discourse markers as a result of the explicit instruction.