Exploring the Effectiveness of the Personal Practical Knowledge (PPK) Strategy in Advancing Iraqi EFL Students’ Academic Performance

Abstract

The objectives of the present study were to :explore the effect of the Personal Practical Knowledge Strategy on Iraqi EFL students' academic performance, explore the effect of the Personal Practical Knowledge Strategy on students' comprehension of English language content, explore the influence of the Personal Practical Knowledge Strategy on students' ability to apply language knowledge in authentic situations and determine the extent to which the Personal Practical Knowledge Strategy contributes to students' active involvement in learning. The study hypothesized that: there is no statistically significant difference at the (0.05) level between the mean scores of the experimental group taught by the Personal Practical Knowledge Strategy and those of the control group who taught by the prescribed method on the post-academic performance test, there is no statistically significant difference at the (0.05) level between the mean scores of the experimental group and the control group on the post-test of English language content comprehension, there is no statistically significant difference at the (0.05) level between the mean scores of the experimental group and the control group in their ability to apply English language knowledge in authentic situations. The sample consisted of fifty second-year students from the Department of English, College of Basic Education, University of Kirkuk, during the academic year 2025–2026. The students were equally assigned to   experimental and control groups (25 students for each), where the experimental was taught using the Personal Practical Knowledge (PPK) Strategy. The control group  was taught using the prescribed teaching method. The performance test was designed to measure students' academic performance, comprehension of English language content, and ability to apply language knowledge in authentic situations. The observation checklist was developed to explore students' active involvement in learning.   The findings revealed statistically significant differences at the 0.05 level in favor of the experimental group across all investigated variables.