The effect of explicit teaching of figures of speech on EFL students descriptive paragraph writing production
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Date
2019
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University Of Oum El Bouaghi
Abstract
Writing is one of the most difficult skills to teach and learn; however, it is fundamental for the process of second/ foreign language learning. This study aims at examining the effect of explicit teaching of metaphor, simile and imagery on the production of descriptive paragraphs among first year students at Larbi Ben M'hidi University, Oum El Bouaghi, during the academic year of 2018 - 2019. The present study followed a quasi-experimental design. The participants of the control and experimental groups were pre-tested in order to evaluate their descriptive paragraph production before the treatment period started. Then, the experimental group received the treatment in four sessions. That is to say, they were taught metaphor during the first session, simile in the second, and imagery in the third, whereas, the last session was devoted to emphasise the importance and role of these figures of speech in descriptive writings. Unlike the experimental group, the control group was taught following the traditional method of teaching descriptive paragraphs without being explicitly introduced to those figures of speech. Eventually, a post-test was administered to the two groups' participants. However, it should be noted that the use of metaphors and similes was assessed together, while the use of imageries was evaluated on its own. The findings of the study indicated that there was a significant difference between the scores of the control group and those of the experimental group. Moreover, there was a noticeable improvement on the post-test scores of the students of the latter compared to the pre-test. To conclude with, teaching figures of speech explicitly helped students produce better descriptive paragraphs.
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Keywords
Explicit teaching, Writing production, Figures of speech