Abstract

The main concern of the present research was to examine the effect of classroom testing in bringing up the noticing of learners using pop quizzes and formative tests. Following the noticing hypothesis by Schmidt (1990, 2001) and backwash effect of testing on teaching, we specifically tested whether noticing through testing might result in better uptake of lexical items by Iranian EFL learners. Following MacKey and Gass (2005), a comparison design study was conducted using three groups of learners with intermediate level of language proficiency. Based on the results of Oxford Placement Test, 77 female EFL students in Iran were selected and randomly assigned into three groups. The first group took pop quizzes, the second group took formative tests, and the third group was incidental learning. Since the data were not normally distributed, non-parametric tests were applied to test the hypotheses formulated for the purpose of the study. The results of the statistical tests revealed the probable positive effect of noticing function of testing on the acquisition of lexical items. The research results might be helpful for teachers to include cognitive tasks to bring up noticing and awareness of learners to facilitate input-to-intake process.

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