March 2009 home | PDF | SWF |

Title
The Impacts of Teacher Self-disclosureon the Speaking Ability of EFL Learners

Authors
Reza Pishghadam & Rajabali Askarzadeh Torghabeh.

Bio Data:

Reza Pishghadam is assistant professor in TEFL, teaching in the English Department of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. His main research interests are:
Language testing, first language acquisition, and sociolinguistics.

Rajabali Askarzadeh Torghabeh is assistant professor in English language and literature, teaching in the English Department of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. His main research interests are: English language learning/teaching, English and American literature.

Abstract
This paper investigates the effect of teacher self-disclosure on the speaking ability of the EFL learners. To this end, two groups were selected: Teacher self-disclosing and teacher non-self-disclosing. In one group, teachers were asked to disclose their attitudes, feelings, and experiences on the subject matter and their profession, and teachers in the other group were not expected to do so.  To analyze the data, both the process- turn-taking and T-units- and the product of learning were taken into account. The results indicated that students in the teacher self-disclosing group took more turns speaking, participated more in discussions, and their speaking ability was improved more than students in the other group. Finally, the results are discussed in the context of second language learning, and the outcomes imply that teachers can utilize self-disclosure to minimize stress and anxiety, to maximize personal security in class, to maintain a humanistic relationship with their learners, and to provide them with the proper models of learning.

Key words: Anxiety, Language teaching, Speaking, Teacher self-disclosure

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