Contributory Role of the Gestures and Facial Expressions in Teaching Concrete Vocabulary Items to Iranian Elementary EFL Learners

Abstract

The present study examined to what extent using gesture and facial expression influence concrete vocabulary learning in English language among Iranian EFL learners. Accordingly, 60 female students were non-randomly selected from a language institute in Shiraz. First, a pretest was administered to the participants to determine their language proficiency level. Next, the subjects were assigned to an experimental and a control group, each comprising 30 students. The students in the control group received no treatment, whereas the participants in the experimental group were instructed through gesture and facial expressions. Drawing on a t-test, the null hypothesis stating that gesture and facial expression did not have any significant effect on the concrete vocabulary of Iranian EFL learners was rejected. In addition, the results of the t-test revealed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and the control groups in concrete vocabulary learning. Therefore, it is concluded that gesture and facial expression can play a significant role in improving vocabulary items.