The Effects of the Aural Lexical Advance Organizer and Read-aloud Method on Korean EFL High School Students Listening Comprehension and Vocabulary Learning

Abstract

Roles of advance organizers in listening comprehension have been actively investigated in the field of L2 listening research. The effects of a lexical advance organizer (LAO), which pre-teaches words used in the listening script have also been explored in several previous researches. This study aims to investigate the combined effects of using the aural lexical advance organizer with the read-aloud method on Korean EFL high school students English listening comprehension and vocabulary learning. The aural lexical advance organizer is distinguished from the written lexical advance organizer, which lacks information about the spoken form of words. The read-aloud method is opposed to the silent-reading method, where students do not pronounce words. The participants were 146 Korean third grade high school students. They were divided into Group C, A, and R. Group C received the written lexical advance organizers and used the silent-reading method. Group A received the aural lexical advance organizers and used the silent-reading method. Group R received the aural lexical advance organizers and used the read-aloud method. Three tests were conducted

the post-listening comprehension test, post-vocabulary test and the delayed-vocabulary test. Each vocabulary test consisted of the meaning section and the pronunciation section. The scores were analyzed by one-way ANOVA, post-hoc Scheffe test and paired t-test. In the post-listening comprehension test, Group R achieved significantly higher scores than other groups. In the post-vocabulary meaning test, no difference was discovered among the three groups, whereas Group R scored significantly higher than other groups in the pronunciation test. In the delayed test, Group R showed significantly higher scores both in the meaning and the pronunciation test than other groups. The findings revealed the necessity of using the aural lexical advance organizer and the read-aloud method together. Moreover, the read-aloud method enhanced students participation and concentration. The present study suggested the content of a good lexical advance organizer and the appropriate method of using it for improving EFL Korean high school students' listening comprehension and vocabulary learning

A lexical advance organizer should contain not only the written form of words, L1 equivalents and exemplary sentences, but also the sound of the words and the exemplary sentences. The read-aloud method is recommended as a method of using the aural lexical advance organizer.