To dictogloss or not to dictogloss: Potential effects on Jordanian EFL learners’ written performance

Abstract

This study investigates the potential effect of a proposed dictogloss-based program on Jordanian EFL tenth-grade teachers' writing instruction and on their students' writing performance. The participants are 20 Jordanian EFL teachers and 96 tenth-grade students selected from the public schools of Al-Kourah Directorate of Education in the second semester of the academic year 2015/2016. The teachers were trained on both the theoretical and practical aspects of dictogloss. The students were divided into an experimental group (n=70) and a control group (n=26). The former was taught through dictogloss while the latter was taught per the guidelines of the Teacher's Book. Descriptive statistics were used to compare the teachers' performance on the one hand and that of the students on the other. The findings revealed that the level of teachers' instructional practices in writing was high on the three dimensions of the observation checklist (viz., preparation and planning, Dg procedures, and assessment), and that the teachers were reportedly highly satisfied with the content, method, and time of training as well as their interaction, motivation, and benefit. Moreover, statistically significant differences were found between the teachers' performance on the pre- and post-tests, which can be attributed to the training. The findings further revealed statistically significant differences not only among the students of the experimental group on the pre- and post-test but also in the overall writing performance of the experimental and control groups, in favor of the former.