THE IMPACT OF TOTAL-PHYSICAL-RESPONSE STORYTELLING ON EFL LEARNERS’ SPEAKING ANXIETY AND SELF-ASSESSED SPEAKING SKILLS
Author :
DOI : 10.29228/ijla.62630
Year-Number: 2022-41
Yayımlanma Tarihi: 2022-06-12 09:32:16.0
Language : English
Konu : Foreign language education
Abstract
Keywords
Abstract
One of the main challenges in achieving EFL oral proficiency is rooted in speaking anxiety, particularly in the Turkish context. Therefore, testing various methods to find a way to decrease speaking anxiety levels is of great importance. To serve this purpose, this mixed-methods quasi-experimental study was conducted to investigate the TPRS method's impact on young adult EFL students’ speaking anxiety and self-assessed speaking skills. The quantitative data were gathered from 74 freshmen and sophomores in English-speaking courses in the faculty of tourism through a speaking anxiety questionnaire (Öztürk & Gürbüz, 2014) and the self-assessment rubric (Başak, 2019). In addition to the quantitative data, students were asked open-ended questions to shed more light on the issue from their perspective. The qualitative data were obtained from 19 volunteer students through semi-structured written interview questions. The statistical analyses of the quantitative data showed that the participants’ self-perceptions regarding their English-speaking performance slightly improved; however, their speaking anxiety significantly decreased. The qualitative results also revealed positive outcomes of TPRS in EFL speaking courses. The study is expected to encourage EFL teachers to benefit from TPRS in their courses to promote speaking skills by decreasing speaking anxiety levels among students.
Keywords
- A proper language education requires a certain amount of emphasis on the four basicskills including listening, speaking, reading, and writing. While they are all important fora comprehensive knowledge of the target language, long-neglected speaking skill hasstarted to gain more importance since the purpose of language education is now centeredon being able to use the target language for communicative purposes in the globalizedworld we live in. However, attaining speaking proficiency has been one of the mostdifficult obstacles to come over in the field. The biggest struggle seems to be rooted inspeaking anxiety as students might feel reluctant to speak for various reasons related to anxiety (Kao & Craigie, 2018; Long, Yih & Lin, 2019).
- Previous studies confirmed the negative impact of speaking anxiety on learners’ EFLspeaking performance. Tóth (2012) conducted a study to measure the impact of foreignlanguage speaking anxiety on learners’ speaking performance. The participants included16 EFL major learners selected from a large classroom based on their level of anxiety, 8being with the highest level of anxiety and 8 with the lowest. The comparison of theirspeech performance showed that anxiety had a significant impact on learners’ oralperformance. Higher level of anxiety caused various problems in speech performance inthe target language. A recent study by Sutarsyah (2017) reached similar conclusions aswell. According to the findings, EFL learners with a lower level of anxiety are more likelyto perform better orally. These findings are convenient with the findings of a previousstudy carried out by Arianti (2016) which concluded that negative feelings stemming from shyness and anxiety may hinder EFL students’ speaking performance.
- Anxiety is one of the primary reasons why EFL learners fail to effectively speak the targetlanguage. Therefore, teachers have sought to find ways to reduce the anxiety level whichmay harm learners’ speaking skills. Studies revealed that changing the way the lesson isdelivered plays an important role in the reduction of anxiety among students. Using amobile application (Han & Keskin, 2016), for example, or drama (Shand, 2008) might help learners with their anxiety problems, thus can enhance their speaking skills.
- The aims of TPRS, invented by Blaine Ray in the early 1990s and based on TPR andNatural Approach, also include lowering anxiety and creating a learner-friendlyenvironment where effective learning can take place. TPRS lessons evolve around storiesthat are created with the participation of the classroom. The lesson generally starts withthe introduction of the words and phrases to be used for the outline of the story. Thisperiod encourages a silent period where students are not expected to speak unless eachword is given, which is believed to help lower anxiety level (Alley & Overfield, 2008). Thesecond step involves story asking, where teacher first asks questions to develop the storywith the whole classroom. Students are encouraged to be creative and imaginative. Themain purpose is to create interesting stories so that students can remain engaged untilthe end of the story. Teacher from time to time stops to ask comprehension questions.This step is what distinguishes this method from the others. Final step includes readingthe created story and discussing it in the classroom (Kara & Eveyik-Aydın, 2019; Nurlaili, Nurani & Yohana, 2015).
- The literature review regarding the use of TPRS in EFL classrooms yielded positivefindings. The study by Kara and Eveyik-Aydın (2019), for example, concluded that TPRScan be effectively used to teach young learners English vocabulary. An earlier study byNurlaili, Nurani, and Yohana (2015) also found that TPRS is an effective way of teaching vocabulary.
- A more recent study by Nugraha (2017) revealed that TPRS makes learners feel lessstressed and more engaged in courses. In the study, the benefits of TPRS on learners’speaking skills were investigated. Both the qualitative and quantitative sets of datarevealed the efficiency of TPRS for improving learners’ speaking skills in an inviting andnon-threatening learning environment. A study with similar results was conducted earlierby Spangler (2009). In the study TPRS and Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) werecompared in terms of their impact on learners’ achievement, fluency and anxiety. For thepurpose of the study, one group was taught using CLT while the other experienced TPRS.Statistical analyses showed that there was no statistically significant difference betweenthe groups’ achievement and anxiety, however the group who experienced TPRS hadincreased fluency compared to the CLT group. TPRS was also compared with Audio-lingual method in a comprehensive study by Garczynski (2003) and the results revealedthat TPRS group improved their target language knowledge, in this case Spanish, at a faster rate than their Audio-lingual counterparts.
- There are studies focusing on how TPRS influences learners’ EFL listening skills, too.Susan (2013) carried out a study with an aim to examine the impact of TPRS on theparticipants’ listening comprehension. The mixed-methods study included a pre andpost-test to compare the difference in the participants’ listening comprehension scoresbefore and after the treatment along with a session of interview to find out the pros andcons of TPRS from the participants’ perspective. The analysis of the quantitative set ofdata showed that learners’ listening comprehension skills improved with the help ofTPRS. The qualitative data also revealed mostly positive feedback regarding the use ofTPRS. The student participants expressed that the use of TPRS helped them with theirvocabulary in a stress-free learning environment. Likewise, teacher participantshighlighted higher student participation because of the friendly and fun learningenvironment. Some of the student participants, on the other hand, commented that TPRSis more likely to be suitable for young learners rather than grown-ups, which is in linewith the conclusion of an earlier study by Beal (2011). The study compared the benefitsof TPRS to middle school and high school students in terms of anxiety, continuedenrolment and academic achievement, and the findings indicated better results with the younger group.
- With an aim to answer the research questions, both quantitative and qualitative datawere collected from the participants. The quantitative data were obtained throughspeaking anxiety questionnaire (Öztürk & Gürbüz, 2014) and the self-assessment rubric for speaking skills (Başak, 2019).
- Speaking anxiety questionnaire was originally developed by Horwitz et al. (1986) andincluded 33 likert-type items. However, the items directly related to speaking anxiety werereduced to 18, and the internal consistency of the current version was found to be .91 (Öztürk & Gürbüz, 2014).
- The self-assessment rubric, on the other hand, was prepared by Başak (2019) andincluded 25 items about speaking performance under the headings of overall skills,fluency, pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary knowledge, organization, andcommunication skills. For easier comprehension, all the item included sentences starting with ‘I can……….’ which students needed to rate from 1 to 5.
- This study is a quasi-experimental study which benefitted from both qualitative andquantitative data in order to shed light on the research questions (Gardner, 2008).Although the study was designed as a true experimental research in the beginning,turning to one group pre-post-test design was a must as the control group had to leavethe study because of the pandemic outbreak before the collection of the post-test data.
- For the purpose of the study, the participants were asked to fill out both speaking anxietyquestionnaire (Öztürk & Gürbüz, 2014) and the self-assessment rubric (Başak, 2019)before and after the courses they received through TPRS method for 16 weeks. After thetreatment, the participants were asked to answer the semi-structured interview questions regarding their experience about the TPRS method.
- The quantitative results of the study revealed decreased speaking anxiety levels andslightly increased self-perceived speaking ability after 16-week TPRS intervention. Thequantitative data also involved positive student perceptions regarding the use of TPRS inEFL speaking course. The results of the study are mainly in line with the literatureregarding the benefits of TPRS in the teaching of English as a foreign language (e.g. Asmalı, 2019; Beal, 2011).
- Speaking anxiety is one of the biggest obstacles for students who struggle to speak usingthe target language. Speaking anxiety might stem from several reasons such as a fear ofmaking mistakes or simply a lack of vocabulary knowledge. When experiencing speakinganxiety, students’ hearts beat faster, they also might sweat or tremble (Atas, 2015).Therefore, the main goal in speaking courses is to lower the anxiety level to a point wherestudents feel comfortable to utter sentences in the target language. However, the impactof TPRS on speaking anxiety level is not a widely researched issue yet. One of the fewexisting studies was conducted by Spangler (2009) to compare the effect of TPRS and CLTon foreign language anxiety and the results indicated no significant differences in theparticipants’ anxiety level after the study. The study by Beal (2011), on the other hand,investigated how TPRS affects speaking anxiety and concluded that TPRS has nosignificant impact on learners’ speaking anxiety levels. The results of the present studyare noteworthy because the participants’ speaking anxiety level significantly dropped bythe end of the study, showing that TPRS might prove helpful in decreasing speakinganxiety among students, especially in Turkish context. However, as stated before, thereare not many studies focusing on the influence of TPRS on speaking anxiety which makes it difficult to compare the results with the literature.
- Regarding the results about adult students’ attitude toward learning English with TPRS,the study by Braunstein (2006) is in accordance with this study. Braunstein (2006) foundthat the students had positive feelings on learning English with TPRS. They did not feel‘embarrassed’, ‘bored’, or ‘stupid’. On the contrary, they felt ‘enthusiastic’, ‘interested’,and ‘happy’ as the qualitative results of the present study showed. Moreover, theparticipants of the study by Braunstein (2006) mentioned that TPRS made it easier toremember vocabulary and understand English. In this study, the answers of the studentsto interview questions also indicated that they learnt new words even if they haddifficulties in understanding the stories. In other words, the use of TPRS contributed tostudents’ vocabulary acquisition. In parallel with this result, Watson (2009) whocompared TPRS method to the traditional teaching method also found that TPRSimproved vocabulary learning. Likewise, a recent study by Bulan and Kasapoglu (2021)argued the positive impact of TPRS method on vocabulary acquisition. Many otherresearchers, in their studies, have adapted TPRS to use with secondary students andadults since it was developed (Armstrong, 2008; Beal, 2011; Castro, 2010; Roberts &Thomas, 2014; Spangler, 2009) and the results, in line with the present study, indicatedthe effectiveness of TPRS in various aspects of foreign language learning and teaching,particularly in vocabulary acquisition as well as speaking performance and learning grammar.
- Researchers have been in search for the best method to improve learners’ speakingperformance. TPRS, in this sense, has been found to be one of the most favorablemethods available. In the study by Spangler (2009), for example, the impact of CLT andTPRS on students’ speaking skills was investigated and the results indicated betterimproved speaking performance after TPRS method. The participants in Namkatu’s (2017)study received lessons through TPRS method and the pre-post test results revealedimproved speaking skills after the intervention. Muzammil and Andy’s (2017) studyrevealed similar results. In the study, the researchers had one experimental and onecontrol group. The experimental group was taught using the TPRS method, and thecontrol group followed a non-TPRS method. The comparison of their pre and post-testsshowed that the TPRS group outperformed the non-TPRS group in speaking. Our studyalso indicated that the participants’ self-assessed speaking skills slightly improved.Therefore, the findings are parallel to the previous research concluding TPRS is a beneficial method for improving oral performance.
- When the quantitative results of the study are discussed together, the improvement mightseem to be a direct result of the decrease of their speaking anxiety level as previousresearch indicates that lower anxiety leads the way to better speaking performance(Sutarsyah, 2017). The study by Tóth (2012), for example, examined the speakingperformance of EFL learners with high and low foreign language anxiety. The studyincluded 16 English major students. Each participant had a 10-15-minute conversationwith a native English speaker and the recorded interviews were analysed throughconstant comparative method. The results showed that the students with higher anxiety levels were less likely to maintain a healthy conversation.
- This study was aimed to be a study where the results of the experimental group would becompared to the results of a control group, however, because of the COVID-19 outbreak,implementing the post test of the control group was out of question. Therefore, the studyended up being a quasi-experimental study, the implementation period being shorterthan originally planned. Besides, the studies in the literature review section could not gobeyond 2019 as, for TPRS, face-to-face education is a must. However, education went online for almost 2 years because of the COVID-19 precautions.
- Akkakoson, S. (2016). Speaking anxiety in English conversation classrooms among Thaistudents. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction, 13(1), 63-82. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1134520.pdf
- Alley, D., & Overfield, D. (2008). An analysis of the teaching proficiency through readingand storytelling (TPRS) method. In C. M. Cherry & C. Wilkerson (Eds.), SCOLT:Southern Conference on Language Teaching: Dimension 2008 (pp. 13–25). Roswell, GA: Southern Conference on Language Teaching.
- Ariyanti, A. (2016). Psychological factors affecting EFL students’ speakingperformance. ASIAN TEFL Journal of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 1(1), 77-88. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.21462/asiantefl.v1i1.14
- Armstrong, A. (2008). Fun and fluency in Spanish through TPRS: an action researchproject. UW-L Journal of Undergraduate Research, XI, 1-6. Retrieved from https://www.uwlax.edu/.
- Asmalı, M. (2019). How effective is TPRS for adult EFL learners with limited Englishproficiency?. Focus on ELT Journal, 1(1), 86-95. doi: 10.14744/felt.2019.00005
- Atas, M. (2015). The reduction of speaking anxiety in EFL learners through dramatechniques. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 176, 961-969. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.565
- Beal, K. D. (2011). The correlates of storytelling from the teaching proficiency throughreading and storytelling (TPRS) method of foreign language instruction on anxiety,continued enrollment and academic success in middle and high school students(Doctoral dissertation, University of Kansas). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1808/7915
- Braunstein. (2006). Adult ESL Learners´ attitudes towards movement (TPR) and drama(TPR Storytelling) in the classroom. CATESOL, 18 (1), 7-20. Retrieved fromhttp://www.catesoljournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/CJ18_braunstein- 1.pdf
- Bulan, N., & Kasapoglu, K. (2021). An investigation of the effect of TPRS on vocabularyacquisition among third graders. Journal of Language and LinguisticStudies, 17(1), 645-662. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/hp/Downloads/2237- 8976-3-PB.pdf
- Castro, R. (2010). A pilot study comparing total physical response storytelling with thegrammar-translation teaching strategy to determine their effectiveness invocabulary acquisition among English as a second language adult learners(Master’s thesis, Dominican University of California) Retrieved from:http://scholar.dominican.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1123&context=master s- theses
- Dziedzic, J. (2012). A comparison of TPRS and traditional instruction, both withSSR. International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 7(2), 4-6. Retrieved fromhttps://www.ijflt.com/images/ijflt/articles-spring-2012/IJFLT.Dziedzic.3.12.pdfGarczynski, M. (2003). Teaching proficiency through reading and storytelling: Are TPRSstudents more fluent in second language acquisition than audio lingual students?(Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, Chapman University) Retrieved from https://jurnal.iainkediri.ac.id/index.php/jeels/article/view/329
- Han, T., & Keskin, F. (2016). Using a mobile application (WhatsApp) to reduce EFLspeaking anxiety. Gist: Education and Learning Research Journal, 12(12), 29-50. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.26817/16925777.243
- Kara, K., & Eveyik-Aydın, E. (2019). Effects of TPRS on very young learners’ vocabularyacquisition. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 10(1), 135-146. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.10n.1p.135
- Long, K. L. Y., Yih, Y. J., & Lin, S. S. P. (2020). Undergraduates’ speaking anxiety inEnglish as second language (ESL) classrooms. International Journal of ServiceManagement and Sustainability, 4(1), 25-39. Retrieved from http://www.ijsmssarawak.com/ijsms_vol_4_1/2.pdf
- Muzammil, L., & Andy, A. (2017). Teaching proficiency through reading and storytelling(TPRS) as a technique to foster students’ speaking skill. JEELS (Journal of EnglishEducation and Linguistics Studies), 4(1), 19-36. Retrieved fromNamkatu, N. U. (2017, August). Teaching proficiency through reading and storytelling: Amethod to improve students' speaking ability (a class of access microscholarshipprogram batch 5 ambon). Paper presented at International Conference on EnglishLanguage Teaching (ICON ELT 2017), Atlantis Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.2991/iconelt-17.2018.39
- Nugraha, M. A. (2017). The use of teaching proficiency through reading and storytelling(TPRS) method in teaching speaking skills (Doctoral dissertation, UniversitasPendidikan Indonesia) Retrieved from http://repository.upi.edu/id/eprint/29269Nurlaili, N., Nurani, S., & Yohana, L. (2015). The effectiveness of teaching Englishvocabulary through total physical response storytelling (TPRS). Deiksis, 7(1), 63-68. Retrieved fromhttps://journal.lppmunindra.ac.id/index.php/Deiksis/article/view/539/806
- Ortiz, M. A. P., & Guaraca, M. P. O. (2018). The effects of the TPRS method on thestudents’ English vocabulary acquisition. Dominio de las Ciencias, 4(3), 264-277.Retrieved fromhttps://dominiodelasciencias.com/ojs/index.php/es/article/view/809/html
- Printer, L. (2019). Student perceptions on the motivational pull of teaching proficiencythrough reading and storytelling (TPRS): A self-determination theoryperspective. The Language Learning Journal, 49(3), 288-301. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2019.1566397
- Roberts, B., & Thomas, S. (2014). Center for accelerated language acquisition (CALA) testscores: Another look at the value of implicit language instruction throughcomprehensible input. International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching: 10(1),2- 12. Retrieved from https://www.mtsu.edu/cala/documents/CALA_article_IJFLT.pdf
- Shand, J.W. (2008). The use of drama to reduce anxiety and increase confidence andmotivation towards speaking English with two groups of English language learners(Master’s thesis, The University of Arizona, USA) Retrieved fromhttps://repository.arizona.edu/bitstream/handle/10150/193390/azu_etd_1018 7_sip1_m.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
- Susan, I. (2013). The Use of teaching proficiency through reading and storytelling (TPRS)to improve students listening comprehension (Pre-experimental research at asecond grade of a junior high school in Bandung). Journal of English andEducation, 1(1), 104-113. Retrieved from https://ejournal.upi.edu/index.php/L- E/article/view/335
- Sutarsyah, C. (2017). An analysis of students’ speaking anxiety and its effect onspeaking performance. IJELTAL (Indonesian Journal of English Language Teachingand Applied Linguistics), 1(2), 143-152. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.21093/ijeltal.v1i2.14
- Spangler, D. (2009). Effects of two foreign language methodologies, communicativelanguage teaching (CLT) and teaching proficiency through reading and storytelling(TPRS), on beginning-level students’ achievement, fluency and anxiety (Doctoral Dissertation, Walden University) (UMI No. 3396360)
- Tóth, Z. (2012). Foreign language anxiety and oral performance: Differences betweenhigh-vs. low-anxious EFL students. US-China Foreign Language, 10(5), 1166-1178. Retrieved fromhttp://www.davidpublisher.org/Public/uploads/Contribute/55ac531d1e273.pdf
