The impact of a pictogram-based instructional module on oral communication and academic engagement among pre-service FFL teachers: a quasi-experimental study

Developing oral communication skills and maintaining academic engagement are significant challenges in French as a Foreign Language (FFL) instruction. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a pictogram-based instructional module designed to address both outcomes simultaneously. A quasi-experimental, pre-test/post-test control group design was employed with 80 first-year FFL students at an Egyptian Faculty of Education. The experimental group (n = 40) received an eight-week pictogram intervention, while the control group (n = 40) followed the traditional curriculum. Outcomes were measured using validated oral communication and academic engagement scales, and data were analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) to compare post-test scores while controlling for initial differences. The results revealed that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group on both oral communication (F(1, 77) = 124.71, p < .001) and academic engagement (F(1, 77) = 98.54, p < .001), with large effect sizes for both measures. The findings provide strong causal evidence that a pictogram-based instructional module is a highly effective pedagogical tool for simultaneously improving FFL students' oral communication competencies and fostering their academic engagement. This approach offers a validated, theoretically-grounded alternative to traditional teaching methods. A key implication is that integrating structured pictogram-based activities into FFL curricula offers a potent, low-resource method for enhancing both linguistic proficiency and student motivation.