The Effect of Narrative Techniques on Cultivating Critical Thinking and Improving Oral Proficiency of Intermediate Iranian EFL Learners

Abstract

This study is intended to examine the effectiveness of narrative techniques on cultivating critical thinking and improving oral proficiency of intermediate Iranian EFL learners. For these purposes, a number of 75 Iranian male and female learners, all at intermediate level, were randomly selected and participated in the study. The participants were randomly assigned into two experimental groups (EG1 and EG2) and a control group, each containing 25 participants. To elicit the relevant data, the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) was administered to evaluate the level of critical thinking in all groups of the study and a course-based speaking pretest in the form of an oral interview was administered to decide on the participants’ initial proficiency in speaking. Then, both experimental groups and the control group received instruction and were exposed to the same quantities of authentic speaking materials.. The results indicated that in all three groups of the study, participants’ level of oral proficiency improved in comparison with the status at the beginning of the study; however, the amounts of improvement were significantly greater in the experimental groups compared to those of the control group. Furthermore, the differences between two experimental groups was statistically significant in terms of the amount of oral proficiency improvement; so that, the participants in the EG2 who were exposed to both narrative techniques and critical thinking strategies together –as the treatment– showed on average higher amount of improvement in oral proficiency compared to those of the EG1 who received narrative techniques solely.