Research Question 3: How do visual arts enhance language chunks learning and

may be used as a springboard to vocabulary development aiding learners to connect such living images with words.

4.1.3 Research Question 3: How do visual arts enhance language chunks learning and

More specifically, the experimental group improved substantially between the pre- and post- instruction stage, while concerning the participants of the control group, there was a slight improvement (Table 4, Appendix XVI, p. 204).

Concerning the results of the means of the while-intervention language chunks development tests delivered to both the control and the experimental group, an independent sample test (Appendix XIV, p. 197) showed no statistically significant differences between the two groups. However, the results of the descriptive statistics showed a trend that the experimental group scored higher in all the language chunks development tests compared to the control group (Appendix XIV, p. 197).

More specifically, concerning the fourth thematic area, an independent sample test showed that there was no significant difference between the two groups in their attempt to respond to larger units of words describing wild animals’ action: F= . 127 (df = 30) p = , 886. However, the experimental group seemed to score on average higher (M= 4.9, SD=

1.06) than the control group (M=4.8, SD=1.36), (Figure 18) indicating that shifting information from visual imagery to language and the other way around enhances understanding on the part of the learners (Gorjian ,Hayati and Barazandeh, 2012).

5,69 5,88 4,81

6,69

1,58 1,45 0,83

1,38

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

mean St.Dev

Control-Pre-Test Control-Post-Test Experimental –Pre-Test Experimental-Post-Test

Figure 18: Oral Recognition of groups of words describing wild animals’ action

Concerning the fifth thematic area an independent sample test showed no significant difference between the two groups in their attempt to produce larger units of words in order to express feeling situations: F= . 001 (df = 30) p = . 630. However, the experimental group seemed to score on average higher (M= 1.6, SD= 1.08) than the control group (M=1.4, SD= 1.08) (Figure 19). This indicates that “working with something that is concrete such as art to something abstract such as language encourages learners to link their own experiences” (Gorjian ,Hayati and Barazandeh, 2012, p. 349) and to be able to produce simple sentences in the target language (Ingles, 2017).

Figure 19: Oral production of groups of words describing feeling situations

In the last thematic area, an independent sample test showed no significant difference between the two groups in their attempt to talk about weather conditions using formulaic language: F= . 011 (df = 30) p = . 191. However, the experimental group seemed to score on average higher (M= 3.8, SD= 1.74) than the control group (M= 3, SD= 3.8), (Figure 20). This may prove that learners are able to understand and use simple language chunks

4,8 4,9

1,36 1,06

0 1 2 3 4 5

mean St.Dev

Control Experimental

1,4 1,6

1,09 1,08

0 0,5 1 1,5 2

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Control Experimental

in order to describe themselves and others via practice activities that use the senses as a tool to learn from Ingle’s perspective (2017).

Figure 20: Oral production of groups of words describing weather conditions, clothing and fruit items

These findings suggest that VAs-based instruction may indeed have a positive influence on YLs’ development of language chunks use since the experimental group learners seem to have acquired a larger number of units of words met during the instruction stage in comparison to the control group. More specifically, learners seemed able to associate new expressions taught with mental images of concrete scenes depicted in the paintings thus facilitating retention in the long term memory ( Boers, 2018) (See section 2.2.4). This is also confirmed by information obtained through audio recordings of the lessons and the teacher’s diary. For instance, in the thematic area of life in the farm (See section 3.6.3), learners were able to comprehend larger chunks of language used by the teacher such as,

“A boy is having lunch”, “A boy is playing the flute”, “A girl is milking the goat”, “A cow is lying down”, “A girl is giving a hug to her horse” and identify the paintings which the teacher was walking about. This is also illustrated in Excerpt 6 (Appendice XII, p.180) revealing that there is indeed an association between visual arts and the generation of formulaic units in the mental lexicon of learners (See section 2.3.4). Moreover, in the thematic area of feelings, two learners were able to use larger chunks of language such as

“She feels sad” and “She feels happy” to comment on their peers’ drawings about feelings (Appendix XII, Excerpt 16, p. 178). Finally, during the last thematic area, learners were able to produce formulaic language such as “It’s hot” and “It’s cold” to talk about the

3

3,8

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0 1 2 3 4

mean St.Dev

Control Experimental

weather conditions when they became involved in a game where they had to dress up like the figures in the painting (Appendix XII, Excerpts 18 and 19, p.180).

Taking into consideration the specific results, it can be suggested that language chunks development (discussed in 2.2.4) was positively affected through learners’ interaction with visual arts and activation of the senses (discussed in 2.2.2). For instance, certain activities encouraged learners to use a mixture of senses which enabled them to identify themselves with the situations depicted (Alexiou, Mattheoudakis, Saratsli and Vagenas, 2019) and construct larger units of speech without formal language instruction (Cameron, 2011, Becker and Ross, 2016). Through paintings, learners were given the opportunity to associate expressions learnt with images of concrete scenes facilitating thus retention in the long term memory (Boers, 2018).

Conclusion

Given the findings above, what one must consider is that there is indeed a strong connection between visual arts-based instruction and the enhancement of young learners’

oral skills as well as vocabulary and language chunks development. Although there wasn’t a significant difference between the tests of the two groups, the descriptive statistics as well as the information obtained through qualitative tools of data collection can prove that the participants of the experimental group improved substantially concerning all the three variables compared to the participants of the control group.