writing skill

Productive skills have a vital role in learning the English language as they provide foreign learners with opportunities to practice real-life activities in the classroom. The photo-based method for teaching language skills has been developed due to advances in visual technology, the shift to student-centered learning, and the demand for 21st-century skills. Thus, this study aimed to examine the effectiveness of utilizing Photovoice on Iranian intermediate learners’ English language productive skills. The research followed a quantitative quasi-experimental design that included pretest and post-test equivalent treatment and control groups. Sixty intermediate female language learners were chosen from a private institute in Isfahan, Iran. First, they were selected conveniently and then they were homogenized based on their performance on the Preliminary English Test. They were divided into two experimental ( n = 30) and control ( n = 30) groups. The experimental group received Photovoice as a methodological innovation, incorporating reflective and collaborative activities, while the control group received routine language instruction involving traditional teaching practices such as lectures, textbook exercises, and grammar drills. One pretest and one post-test were administered to assess the learners’ speaking and writing skills. Then, between-subjects MANOVA and t-tests were employed to analyze the data. The results revealed that Photovoice significantly helped students improve their speaking and writing skills. The present study might have useful implications for curriculum designers, language learners, teachers, and other researchers who are considering the use of Photovoice in language classes.

The aim of the current study was to demystify the impact of using ChatGPT on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ writing skill. To this end, 45 EFL male and female students from two language schools participated in this study, selected via convenience sampling from 67 learners based on a placement test. The participants were divided into three groups. In the first experimental group the students practiced writing using ChatGPT, while in the second experimental group, they received writing instructions using ChatGPT and teacher input, and in the third, the participants followed the conventional method was utilized. Before and after the treatment, the participants were subjected to pre and posttest. Finally, the performance of the three groups was compared via one-way ANOVA. In addition, 10 EFL learners from both experimental groups were selected voluntarily to take part in the interview and the qualitative data were analyzed based on the theme-based analysis. The findings revealed that the second experimental group outperformed the first experimental and the control groups, revealing the efficiency of the instruction via ChatGPT along with teacher input. The result of the interview showed that while the EFL students generally hold a favorable view of ChatGPT, they expressed concerns about the use of the artificial intelligence (AI) tool. In addition, they lack the necessary skills to effectively employ it to help them write. This deficiency could be a significant obstacle to the implementation of technology in their EFL writing.