The Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Training on the Verbal Intelligence of Students Participating in English Language Learning Classes

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) training on the verbal intelligence of students participating in English language learning classes. Methodology: The study utilized a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and post-test control group. Three schools were randomly selected from all public secondary schools in District 2 of Shiraz city, and two first-grade classes were chosen from each school. A total of 30 students with the lowest pre-test scores on the verbal intelligence instrument were selected and randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n=15), which received CBT training, or the control group (n=15), which did not receive any training. The CBT training consisted of 12 sessions over six weeks. The verbal intelligence questionnaire, with 25 questions across four sub-variables, was used to measure outcomes. Data were analyzed using multivariate covariance analysis and independent t-tests. Findings: The results showed no significant differences between the experimental and control groups in the pre-test. However, post-test scores revealed that the experimental group had significantly higher scores across all verbal intelligence variables and sub-variables compared to the control group. The multivariate covariance analysis confirmed the assumptions of normality, homogeneity of variance-covariance matrix, correlation between dependent variables, and homogeneity of regression slopes. The effect size was 0.33, indicating that CBT training explained 33% of the variance in verbal intelligence post-test scores. Conclusion: The study concluded that cognitive-behavioral therapy training significantly enhances verbal intelligence in students participating in English language learning classes.