The effect of processing instruction and dictogloss tasks on acquisition of the English passive voice

This study was intended to compare processing instruction (VanPatten, 1993, 1996, 2000), an input-based focus on form technique, to dictogloss tasks, an output-oriented focus-on-form type of instruction to assess their effects in helping beginning-EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners acquire the simple English passive voice. Two intact classes of Grade 7 beginning EFL learners (n = 110) in China were randomly assigned to each type of instruction: Group A (n = 55) to processing instruction (PI), and Group B (n = 55) to dictogloss tasks (DG). A pretest and posttest (immediate and delayed) design was used, where participants' ability to comprehend and produce the target feature was assessed. Results showed that the PI group performed significantly better than the DG group in comprehension, and as well as the DG group in production on the immediate posttest. One month later, the two groups' performances were similar in terms of both comprehension and production on the delayed posttest. Both groups improved significantly from the pretest to the two posttests in comprehension and production. One reasonable pedagogical implication is that both PI and DG are effective pedagogical tools to help beginning-EFL learners to acquire target grammatical forms.