Metadiscourse Training: Does a Revised Introduction to Metatext Elements Improve EFL Learners’ Skills in Academic Lectures Comprehension and Production?

Mahdieh Namnik

(Iran Language Institute, Tehran, 1416853141, Iran)

Abstract: Since metatext or metadiscourse is a major feature of the ways in which we communicate in a range of genres and settings, many scholars have conducted studies on the notion of this knowledge from different perspectives. Following such studies the present study investigated the impact of teaching metadiscourse on the Iranian EFL learners’ ability to comprehend and deliver academic lectures. To achieve these purposes 54 homogeneous subjects were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The two groups were subjected to exactly the same procedures except that the control group did not receive any treatment. Prior to the treatment, both groups sat for a pretest on academic lecture comprehension, which was piloted in advance. Moreover, both groups were also pretested on their ability to deliver academic lectures. After the treatment both groups sat for two posttests, one on academic lecture comprehension and one on delivering academic lectures. The results of the t-test run to compare the gain scores of the control and experimental groups on comprehending academic lectures revealed that there was a significant difference between the two groups gain scores and thus, the treatment proved to have a significant impact on EFL learners’ abilities for the production and comprehension of academic lectures. Similar results were found through t-test when the duration and number of words in lectures were taken into account, indicating that the experimental group used more discourse markers in their academic lectures due to the effect of the treatment. Finally, Chi-square analyses demonstrated that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group with respect to the organization of their academic lectures in terms of including introduction and conclusion in their lectures.

Key words: metadiscourse, lectures discourse