چكيده فارسي :
Built upon on the tenets of Vygotskian sociocultural theory (SCT), this study attempted to investigate the effect of arts-based tasks on promoting emotional intelligence (EI) and vocabulary learning of Iranian EFL students. To this aim, two low-intermediate EFL classes from two separate senior public high schools were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups: the arts-based tasks (N=30) and the traditional (N=30). A test of vocabulary and TEIQue-ASF (Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Adolescent Short Form) were administrated as pre- and post-tests for both groups. Then emotionally laden materials were instructed to both groups through pertinent methods for eight sessions. The experimental group was involved in arts-based tasks such as films, cartoons, short portrayed stories, music, and picturing while the emphasis was on the emotional content and words. By contrast, the control group was exposed to texts laden with emotional content without benefiting from any arts-based tasks. After the instructional sessions, a post-test of vocabulary and TEIQue-ASF (Petrides et al. 2006) were administrated to probe the effect of treatment for both groups. Results of the study revealed that the arts-based tasks group significantly outperformed the traditional group on both the TEIQue and vocabulary tests in the post-test. Results are explicated in light of sociocultural theory and some implications are presented.
