EFL Learners’ Speaking Development: Asking Referential Questions (Pembangunan Pertuturan Pelajar EFL: Pertanyaan Soalan Rujukan)

Abstract

With the growing interest in interaction in EFL classes, referential questions play an important role in this regard. This study, a quasi-experimental pretest and posttest design, aims at investigating the effect of asking referential questions on the oral production of a group of lower intermediate male students (N = 16) who were learning English in Iran. The students’ performance in pretest and posttest was audio-recorded, and then by listening to the students’ voice by the experimental group teacher, the number of words produced by every student in pretest and posttest was counted. The time during which the students talked about the topics before and after asking referential questions was also calculated in minutes. The results reveal that: (i) asking referential questions increased talk time and number of words produced by the learners and therefore improved their speaking ability, and (ii) the students in experimental group produced more words and talked longer than the students in control group.  In conclusion, the finding of this study suggests that particular types of questions, called referential questions, increase learners’ oral proficiency in classroom.Keywords: Question, referential question, interaction, wait-time Dengan minat yang semakin meningkat dalam interaksi di dalam kelas English Foreingn Language (EFL), soalan rujukan memainkan peranan penting dalam hal ini. Kajian ini berbentuk kuasi eksperimen ujian dan ujian pasca ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti kesan pertanyaan soalan rujukan antara  kumpulan pelajar lelaki menengah rendah (N = 16) yang belajar bahasa Inggeris di Iran. Prestasi pelajar dalam ujian pra dan ujian pasca dikaji dengan menggunakan rakaman audio. Guru akan membuat eksperimen di mana di mana bilangan kata yang dihasilkan oleh setiap pelajar dalam ujian pra dan ujian pasca dikira. Masa di mana pelajar bercakap mengenai topik sebelum dan selepas guru bertanya soalan juga dikira dalam beberapa minit. Hasil  kajian mendapati (i) pelajar meminta soalan-soalan rujukan untuk meningkatkan masa bercakap dan bilangan kata yang dihasilkan oleh pelajar dan secara langsung meningkatkan keupayaan bercakap mereka, dan (ii) pelajar dalam kumpulan eksperimen menghasilkan lebih banyak perkataan dan bercakap lebih lama daripada pelajar dalam kumpulan kawalan. Kesimpulannya, penemuan kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa jenis soalan tertentu yang dipanggil soalan rujukan dapat meningkatkan kemahiran lisan pelajar di dalam bilik darjah.Kata kunci: Soalan, soalan rujukan, interaksi, masa menunggu