The Role of Reformulation Tasks in EFL Learners' Sound Discrimination to Develop Writing Skills

The ability to realize sound discrimination can be the basis of productive language skills like speaking and writing. This study examines the role of reformulation techniques including interpreting, oral summarizing, and retelling tasks in relation to the development of sound discrimination boosting learners' writing skills. English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The participants (N=93) were selected from students majoring in English translation at Abadan Azad University. They were then divided into three equal experimental groups that received three types of reformulation tasks. But the control group received traditional instructions for text-based exercises. The tasks were used as interpreting, oral summarizing, and retelling. Participants took a pre-test of their ability to distinguish sounds, assessing their ability to distinguish sounds. Finally, the groups took a one-paragraph essay. A rubric developed by Robinson and Howell (2008) was used to score essays. ANOVA was used to estimate the significant differences between the groups. Findings indicated retelling was more effective than the oral summary and interpreting techniques in sound discrimination and writing accuracy. Implications suggest that retelling tasks improve a learner’s ability to distinguish sounds and develop writing skills.

The Role of Reformulation Tasks in EFL Learners' Sound Discrimination to Develop Writing Skills Keywords:

Reformulation tasks , EFL learners , sound discrimination