Photovoice as a Participatory Learning Method in Improving Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners’ Writing Skills

Abstract

Writing has long been seen as a challenging skill that language learners need to learn. In addition, by guaranteeing participant engagement in significant communication processes, visual methods such as photovoice can be utilized in language instruction to enhance language learning. Thus, the present study attempted to examine the effects of utilizing Photovoice as an innovative instructional method on Iranian intermediate English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ writing skills. The study also examined the participants’ attitudes toward the implementation of photovoice in language learning. The research followed a mixed-methods design to collect and process the data. Sixty female intermediate learners from a private English language institute in Isfahan, Iran, were selected through convenience sampling and then randomly assigned into two equal groups: an experimental group and a control group. The Preliminary English Test was run to ensure the participants were homogeneous in terms of their level of proficiency in English. The experimental group received a photovoice method, while the control group received routine English language instruction. Triangulation was achieved through administering a pretest and posttest of writing, distributing an attitude questionnaire, and conducting an interview. The results of the paired-sample t-test and one-way ANCOVA revealed the outperformance of the experimental group over the control group. The results indicated that photovoice had a significant effect on enhancing writing skills, and learners had positive attitudes toward using photovoice in their writing classes. The findings could benefit language learners, educators, researchers, and curriculum designers by incorporating the photovoice method into English writing classes.