Investigating the effectiveness of using conceptual maps on students' speaking skills in English

Authors
Mehdi Rostami 1
Elham Abbasi 2
Nahid Mirshekari 3
1 Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University
2 Payam noor University of Tehran
3 Zahedan branch, Islamic Azad University
Abstract
The present study used a quasi-experimental design in an attempt to evaluate the possibility of using concept mapping as a tool for teaching English speaking skills. In addition, the effect of gender on students' performance in using concept mapping in class was investigated. The participants in this study were 30 male students and 30 female students at the intermediate and advanced levels of English, who were selected from among 119 students who took the preliminary English test by Cambridge to determine students’ level of proficiency as a pre-test. Conceptual mapping was applied to the experimental group in the pre-speaking stage with the aim of organizing the participants' concepts and lines of thought, while in the control group, all teaching stages were done in the traditional method. The analysis of the obtained data showed that conceptual mapping can be used in teaching speaking skills as an effective method. Also, the analysis of the data showed that there is no significant difference between the groups of boys and girls in the construction and use of conceptual maps.
Keywords
English language students
speaking skills
conceptual mappings
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Educational Research
Volume 13, Issue 47 - Serial Number 19
February 2024
Pages 207-225