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Abstract
The present study aimed to analyze the significant impact of WebQuest instruction (WQBI) on Iranian upper-intermediate EFL learners’ listening skills in two different time intervals: Immediate post-test and delayed post-test. Also, the researcher attempted to analyze the relationship between employing WebQuest-Based Instruction (WQBI) and Iranian upper-intermediate EFL learners' critical thinking. Running an OPT, a total number of 60 upper-intermediate EFL learners in the IELTS Academy Language Institute Centre in Tehran were purposefully selected as the final participants of the study to participate in a ten-session treatment for five weeks. Participants were randomly assigned to two different groups; the experimental group received a WebQuest-based instructional setting whereas the control group received traditional treatments in a face-to-face context. The standard IELTS listening tests from the IELTS standard series, released by Cambridge University (2020), were employed in three phases. Also, five short-term WebQuests for the listening skills from the selected unit of Touchstone Series: Book II were uploaded on a website. Ricketts's Critical Thinking Scale (2003) was utilized to analyze the relationship between WebQuest and Iranian upper-intermediate EFL learners' critical thinking. Data were analyzed and the results of the independent-sample t-test showed a significant difference (p<0.05) between Iranian EFL learners’ listening achievements in the control and experimental groups in the immediate post-test phase. Indeed, no significant difference (p =.27, p > 0.05) among Iranian upper-intermediate EFL learners’ listening achievement in the immediate and delayed phases was found. The results of correlation analysis revealed a significant (p<0.05, p= .00) and strong relationship (r =.69) between EFL learners' listening post-test scores and their critical thinking. It was concluded that employing WebQuests interventions can reinforce Iranian EFL learners’ general listening in the short term. Also, utilizing WebQuests in listening classes had a significant correlation with increasing EFL learners’ critical thinking. The results of the present study can be utilized in designing technology-based materials such as WebQuests for listening practices in EFL contexts.