A Replication of Okada, Sawaumi, and Ito (2017): Effects of Viewing Speaker Videos by Proficiency Order on Japanese EFL Learners' Speaking Skills

Video-recording has been widely used in foreign language education to study learners' performance and thereby improve their language skills. Recent studies show that viewing not only their own recordings but also those of their peers enhances students' motivation for language learning. This study attempted to replicate Okada, Sawaumi, and Ito (2017), who examined how observing non-native speaker model videos by proficiency order affect students' public speaking skills. Participants were 31 Japanese university students enrolled in English communication courses. One group (n = 19) was shown more-proficient speaker videos first and less-proficient ones next, whereas the other (n = 12) was shown videos in the opposite order. Results indicated no significant effect on self-evaluation scores in either group. However, the third presentation was peer-rated significantly higher than the second for those who observed more-proficient models first and less-proficient ones next; these findings are not consistent with those of Okada et al. (2017), where students' third presentation was rated significantly higher when they observed less-proficient models first and more-proficient ones next. This internal replication study presents the accumulated results.