Effects of Processing Instruction and Dictogloss on the Acquisition of the English Passive Voice among Thai University Students

Abstract

There were two purposes to this study. One was to compare the effects of teaching the English past simple passive through processing instruction (PI), dictogloss (DG), and traditional instruction (TI), and the other was to study the students’ retention of the subject matter. A quasi-experimental research was conducted with 95 Englishmajor freshmen from a public university in Thailand. The research materials were three lesson plans and worksheets. A pre-test, an immediate post-test, and a delayed post-test were conducted. The participants were divided into three groups: the processing instruction group (PI: n= 29), dictogloss group (DG: n=29) and the traditional instruction group (TI: n=37). Data analysis was performed by using Mean (X), Standard Deviation (SD), One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA): F, and the Scheffé test post-hoc test. The results indicated that while all types of grammar instruction could enhance the acquisition of the English passive, the PI and TI instructions were more effective than the DG instruction. The students in each group retained their understanding of the English passive over time. It is suggested that this study can inform teachers of ESL and EFL in their pedagogical approach, as well as indicating future research directions.