The Effect of Teaching Formulaic Expressions Through Contrastive Lexical Approach on Iranian Pre-intermediate EFL...

Area of Science:

• Second Language Acquisition
• Applied Linguistics
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Writing proficiency is crucial for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners.
• Traditional teaching methods may not adequately address the nuances of lexical acquisition for writing.
• The contrastive lexical approach (CLA) offers a potential pedagogical solution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of the contrastive lexical approach (CLA) on the writing skills of Iranian EFL learners.
• To compare the effectiveness of CLA with traditional instruction in improving EFL writing.
• To analyze the effect of CLA on learners' use of varied language structures and expressions.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental design involving 40 pre-intermediate female EFL learners in Iran.
• Random assignment into an experimental group (CLA) and a control group (traditional instruction).
• Pre- and post-tests to assess writing ability, with data analyzed using t-tests and effect size calculation.

Main Results:

• The experimental group using CLA demonstrated a significant improvement in writing skills compared to the control group.
• CLA effectively sensitized learners to L2 equivalents for L1 formulaic expressions.
• Learners in the CLA group showed enhanced competence in using varied structures and expressions.

Conclusions:

• The contrastive lexical approach is an effective method for enhancing EFL learners' writing skills.
• CLA facilitates a deeper understanding of lexical nuances, leading to improved writing proficiency.
• Educational institutions should consider integrating CLA into EFL writing curricula to foster better writing competence.