The Effect ofAbbreviation as a Note- taking Aid On The Reproduction/Reconstruction of Class Lectures

This study aimed at investigating the use of abbreviation as a note-taking technique to help EFL students overcome their speed writing difficulties. /11 order to see whether using abbreviation while taking' notes of lectures has any improving effect 011 note-taking and reproduction of lectures, two ltomogeneous groups of EFL students were chosen as the subjects of this study: the control group (11=30) am/ the experimentat group (11=30). The experimental group undertook a treatment in the use of abbreviations in writing and note- taking. They were taught 1·0111e conventions (a set of soutul symbols) to he used in transcribing class lectures at the 1110111e111 they are delivered. Before ftny treatment was given, the students in both groups were pre tested through a proficiency test (TOEFL). A r-test was conducted for comparing the me1111 scores of the two groups 011 TOFEL. Tire result of the I-test demonstrated that the two groups were lro1110,:e11011s in terms of their tanguage proficiency. After the treatment period, in order to find 0111 whether any difference existed between the two groups' results, the notes of the students receiving instruction i11 note-taking with reduced form of language (symbols 1111d abbreviations) were ,·0111pare1/ with the notes of control group i11 terms of the 1111111ber of idea uuits recorded. Results of data unalysis showed that there was" significant difference between the two groups regarding their use of propositions. The experimental group produced 1979 proposittons, almost twice the 1111111ber ofpropositions produced by the control group, i.e., 1070. Thus, it ca11 be concluded that the 111e of abbreviations and symbols luts a great impact 011 lecture note-taking of EFL students