پديد آورندگان :
خليلي پاجي، كوكب دانشگاه سمنان - دانشكده روان‌شناسي و علوم‌تربيتي، سمنان , طالع پسند، سياوش دانشگاه سمنان - دانشكده روان‌شناسي و علوم‌تربيتي - گروه روان‌شناسي تربيتي، سمنان , كيان ارثي، فرحناز دانشگاه سمنان - دانشكده روان‌شناسي و علوم‌تربيتي - گروه روان‌شناسي تربيتي، سمنان
كليدواژه :
يادآوري معنا , درك مطلب , ژست , تصوير , لغت
چكيده لاتين :
Introduction
Children learn languages in their early years of life and can effectively communicate with people around them. Given the complexities of today's societies and the movement of societies towards globalization, the need is felt for a common language to make possible the transmission of concepts and messages. From the various existing languages, English is considered an international language, which people of different ages are trying to acquire. There are different instructional methods for teaching English vocabulary (Badeley, 1990). The aim of the present study was to examine the role of pictures and gestures as nonverbal aids in facilitating the preschoolers' learning of the vocabulary of a novel language. Research questions: Q1: Is there any significant difference in the preschoolers’ recall and comprehension of new words when presented under the following conditions: the word alone, the word with pictures, and the word with a gesture? Q2: Is there any significant difference between female and male preschoolers in their recall and comprehension of English words when presented under the following conditions: the word alone, the word with pictures, and the word with a gesture?
Methods
The present study was conducted through a one - shot design. Sixty 4 to 6- year-old preschool children (30 females, 30 males), selected through the available sampling method from the kindergartens of region 6 in Tehran, consisted the participants of the study. Before the implementation of the main research phase, a pilot study was conducted. In this study, the students’ range of vocabulary was examined and six words that were not taught before were selected. The words included sunflower, tongue, gum, Rug, scissors and Fig. Six objects per word were shown to the children and they were asked to identify those objects. The child was introduced to a puppet named Max and was told that Max comes from a different country and speaks a language different, and thus gives objects different names as they do. Three words were taught under three learning conditions, the words presented along with pictures, along with a gesture, or alone. The word sunflower was taught along with the picture; the word tongue was taught along with the gesture and the word gum was presented alone. The participants were then tested for their recall and comprehension of the new words using a Recall Test and a Comprehension Test. Of course, the words were tested in a different order from the one in which they were taught to make sure they had learned the words, rather than their order. After the first series of vocabulary was taught and tested, they were reviewed again in the same order and manner as they were taught. Following that, in the second phase of the study, three different words were taught in the stated ways, i.e. with a picture, with a gesture, and alone. The words were then tested and reviewed in the same manner as they were in Phase 1. One week after the training, a follow up was used to examine the students’ recall and comprehension of the six new words. Accordingly, a repeated measures design was used to analyze the data, with the learners’ comprehension and recall scores functioning as the dependent variables and the three different instructional approaches being considered as the independent variables.
Results
The results suggested a significant effect for the way words are presented (i.e. with a picture, with a gesture, and alone) (ŋ2 = 0.37) and comprehension of words (ŋ2 = 0.18). Nevertheless, no significant difference was found between males and females in their recall and comprehension of the words presented in the stated ways. Overall, the participants demonstrated a better comprehension and recall of the words presented with picture and gesture, as compared to those that were presented without any of these teaching/learning assets. However, comparing these two teaching/learning assets (i.e. picture and gesture), the learners showed a better comprehension and recall of the words presented with gesture, as compared to those presented with a picture. The same results were observed for their performance on the follow-up Comprehension Test.
Discussion and Conclusion
Based on the results, it can be argued that nonverbal aids are effective in increasing learning. The stability of learning using gesture is higher than the other two teaching/learning approaches, namely using pictures and no nonverbal aids. Therefore, the use of gesture to teach is an important method for increasing the learners’ long-time learning. It is an effective way to recall and understand words. Practical implications of findings were discussed.
