Iranian Bilingual Schools and Language Institutes: Examining English Language Learners'' Proficiency

The present study attempted to compare the students of bilingual schools andenglish language institutes in iran in terms of their proficiency in receptive skillsand language components, that is, listening comprehension, reading comprehension,grammar, and vocabulary. the data were collected from a convenient sample of 190male students studying english in either language institutes or bilingual schools. thedata were gathered through 3 instruments, namely, preliminary english test (pet),classroom observations coded through the communicative orientation of languageteaching (colt) scheme, and semi-structured interviews. a number ofindependent samples t tests were run to analyse the data. the results indicated thatthe students of bilingual schools were more proficient in receptive skills andlanguage components. moreover, the results obtained from classroom observationsindicated that the teaching procedures in bilingual schools and english languageinstitutes differed greatly which could explain why the students from bilingualschools achieved a higher level of proficiency. students of bilingual schools werefound to be highly motivated and engaged in more group activities. the results fromthe interviews also indicated that students of bilingual schools had a positive attitudetoward the teaching program used in such schools because of type of interactions,problem solving and autonomous learning, close rapport between the students andteachers, and absence of stress and pressure.