Sanaz Jafari - Department of English, Shahreza Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahreza, Iran
Mohammad Reza Talebinejad - Department of English, Shahreza Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahreza, Iran
Saeed Ketabi - Department of English, Shahreza Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahreza, Iran

There is growing interest in integrating scaffolding in educational decisions everywhere including Iran. Drawing on sociocultural theory, this quasi-experimental study was aimed to determine the effect of technology-, motivational-, and metacognitive-based scaffolding on improving Iranian adult advanced EFL learners’ speaking. A sample of ۹۰ advanced EFL learners was selected non-randomly based on their performance on Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) from two language institutes in Tehran, Iran during the summer and autumn semesters of ۲۰۱۹. The selected participants were randomly assigned to three equal groups. IELTS was used to compare their language proficiency at the beginning and the end of the study. Scaffolding provided conditions for learners to highly engage in speaking activities. The results of paired-sample t-tests revealed a significant improvement in the speaking scores of the three study groups. The results of the one-way ANOVA and Scheffe post-hoc tests indicated that motivational-based scaffolding was more conducive to enhance Iranian EFL learners’ speaking. The results of this study showed the positive impacts of integrating scaffolding into different language learning strategies, and this may carry pedagogical implications for both language teachers and learners.

EFL learners, English speaking, Metacognitive-based scaffolding, Motivational-based scaffolding, Technology-based scaffolding