A Mathew Effect in the Case of EFL Learners in Junior High School in Iran

Abstract: This study is an attempt to investigate Matthew effect on reading in Iranian EFL learners in junior high school level. 25 learners participated in this study along with their English teacher who had been teaching them for a three-year period. Based on Lamb’s model of positive and negative feedback, the behavior of the high and low achievers in terms of their final exam scores was investigated. The results revealed that the high achievers continued to boost their performance during the three-year period while the low achievers did not make progress in the same period. This was a proof for a Matthew effect in the context. However, the behavior of some leaners did not fit into the Lamb’s model for Matthew effect. The researchers concluded that lack of the economic and cultural capital play important role in the happening of a Matthew effect but the counterexamples found in this study showed that they are not the only causes for the phenomenon. The main causes of a Matthew effect in this study were to be found inside the classroom in terms of teacher-learner interactions and peer relationships and the first contacts with English as a subject inside the classroom.

Matthew effect, EFL learners, reading comprehension, junior high school