Volume 5. December 2009. | December home |

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Title
Strategy-Based Instruction: A Focus on Improvement of IELTS Speaking

 Author
Khalil Motallebzadeh (Ph.D.)
Islamic Azad University, Mashad Branch

 Bio Data
Khalil Motallebzadeh is assistant professor in Islamic Azad University (IAU), Iran. He has a Ph.D. in TEFL and is especially interested in language testing, teacher education, and e-learning. He has published articles in national and international academic journals. He has also attended several international conferences on ELT. He has been a visiting scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC) in 2007-2008.

Abstract
       Many studies have been conducted to explore language learning strategies and their relations or effects on learners’ performances (Prokop, 1989; Oxford, 1990; Gallo-Crail & Zerwekh, 2002). This study investigates the impact of three learning strategies for coaching candidates who were taking the IELTS speaking subtest:  cognitive strategies, social strategies, and compensatory strategies. These strategies were applied to improve candidates’ language skills in analyzing and outlining information, asking questions for clarification and verification as well as guessing from the context to make up for missing knowledge. In a non-intensive IELTS coaching program, 53 students were instructed through learning strategies for a period of four and half months. These candidates sat the academic module of IELTS in July 2007 and their scores were analyzed. There was significant evidence that the strategies were effective in raising their scores on the speaking component. 

Keywords: Language Learning Strategies, IELTS, Strategy-Based Instruction, Cognitive Strategies, Social Strategies, Compensatory Strategies