Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of weblog task assessment on Iranian EFL learners’ reading ability. To this purpose, a group of 30 English language students (both male and female) in Rozaneh Language Institute in Najafabad were selected based on their performance on the OPT. The researchers tried to select a homogeneous sample in terms of age factor and proficiency level. The homogeneous students were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. With the exception of the control group, both experimental groups received treatment. Group A received journalist tasks and group B received mystery tasks. The experimental groups were treated through a weblog designed by the present researchers. Before performing the treatment, all participants were tested to estimate their reading ability. At the end of the experiment, the participants took another test on reading comprehension. The scores of the tests were analyzed and interpreted using ANOVA. The findings revealed that the journalist and mystery tasks groups outperformed the control group. However, the mystery task proved more effective. The findings of the study can be very beneficial for the teachers of English who wish to improve Iranian EFL learners’ reading ability. Actually, blogs enable us to exploit learning as a natural part of everyday life.
Machine summary:
Statement of the Problem Past research on task based language learning and teaching has shown that implementing tasks has beneficial effects on improving reading skills (Ellis, 2008).
Based on what was stated above, the following research questions were addressed in the present study: RQ1: Does the weblog performance of journalist tasks have any significant effect on Iranian EFL learners’ reading ability?
RQ2: Does the weblog performance of mystery tasks have any significant effect on Iranian EFL learners’ reading ability?
RQ3: Which weblog performance task is more effective on reading ability of Iranian EFL learners?
Graphic Representation of the Groups' Performance on Posttest Discussion The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of weblog tasks assessment on Iranian EFL learners' reading ability.
The third research question served to examine which weblog performance task was more effective on the reading ability of Iranian EFL learners.
Actually, the results will be compared to the findings of similar studies to see whether weblog task assessment could improve the reading skill in Iranian EFL learners.
The third question sought to explore which one of the weblog performance tasks was more effective on the reading ability of the Iranian EFL learners.
Conclusion The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of weblog tasks on Iranian EFL learners' reading ability.
The findings of this study may be very beneficial for the teachers of English as a foreign language who wish to improve the Iranian EFL learners' reading ability.