The Effect of Regulatory Focus Orientations on Iranian EFL learners’ Speaking Fluency and Willingness to Communicate

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

English Language Department, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of regulatory focus orientations (i.e., prevention and promotion) on Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC) and speaking fluency. The initial population of the study included 56 Iranian male and female EFL learners, who were selected through convenience sampling, from a language institute. Upon administering Oxford Placement Test (OPT) as a proficiency test, 48 students were selected who were the upper-intermediate level of proficiency based on the OPT results. Next, they were divided into three groups, namely promotion-focused, prevention-focused, and control group. Then, the WTC questionnaire and the speaking test were administered as the pretests. Then the treatments, which lasted 12 1-hour sessions, were performed. The first experimental group received the instructions using promotion-focused condition, and the second experimental group were taught through the prevention-focused condition. In addition, the control group received the conventional treatments of the institute based on the syllabus. At the end of the treatment sessions, the students took WTC questionnaire and the speaking test as the posttests. The results of one-way ANOVA revealed that the promotion feedback increased WTC and speaking fluency of the Iranian EFL students, while the prevention feedback negatively influenced their WTC and speaking fluency. Finally, the implications of the study were provided.

Keywords

References

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Iranian Journal of Applied Language Studies
Volume 15, Issue 1
April 2023
Pages 191-208

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