Parisa Riahipour; Mansoor Tavakoli; Abbas Eslami Rasekh
Abstract
Professional identity has been perpetually an underlying factor in teacher development. The maintenance of a strong professional identity is a key factor in teacher development which is ultimately a fundamental aspect in the prosperity or failure of any educational system. As a dynamic phenomenon, teachers’ ...
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Professional identity has been perpetually an underlying factor in teacher development. The maintenance of a strong professional identity is a key factor in teacher development which is ultimately a fundamental aspect in the prosperity or failure of any educational system. As a dynamic phenomenon, teachers’ professional identity can be influenced by a variety of factors and particularly any type of educational reform. The present study with an explanatory mixed method design was used to investigate transitions in Iranian EFL teachers’ professional identity in the context of Fundamental Reform Document of Education (2012). For the quantitative phase of the study, a researcher-made questionnaire developed based on the four components of professional identity namely, self-image, self-esteem, job motivation and task perception proposed by Kelchtermans (1993) was distributed among 98 Iranian EFL teachers. Considering the ongoing nature of the professional identity, the questionnaire was assigned to the teachers during the pre-reform and post – reform era. In the qualitative phase, in order to capture a comprehensive picture of the salient factors of teachers’ professional identity and their underlying reasons, a set of semi-structured interviews with 7 volunteer teachers were conducted. The findings revealed that the introduction of the curriculum reform made no change in teachers’ professional identity in terms of self-esteem and task perception, but it slightly affected teachers’ self-image and job motivation. The findings also revealed a potential transition path in Iranian EFL teachers’ professional identity development. Finally, some implications for policy-makers and material developers and suggestions for future researchers were discussed.
Mohammad Salehi; Afsaneh Farhang
Abstract
There has been a burgeoning of research in teacher, peer, and self-assessment in terms of reliability and validity, the use of rubrics, the implementation of these kinds of assessments in different academic settings, the effect of demographic variables in these assessments, and the benefits of these ...
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There has been a burgeoning of research in teacher, peer, and self-assessment in terms of reliability and validity, the use of rubrics, the implementation of these kinds of assessments in different academic settings, the effect of demographic variables in these assessments, and the benefits of these assessments. However, the effect of these assessments on subsequent learning has rarely been explored. To fill that void, this study set out to examine the effects of these kinds of assessments on subsequent learning as evidenced by students’ final exam scores. Two intact classes were chosen and teacher, peer, and self-assessments were employed in a general English class. The scores achieved on the students’ oral presentations exhibited a statistically significant correlation between the teacher awarded scores and those on the final examination of general English proficiency as a course. Peer awarded scores could also predict final exam scores, though not as good as teacher awarded ones. Self-assessment failed to correlate significantly with final exam scores and teacher/peer assessments. The reasons for the findings are discussed further in the paper.
English language learning
Abdullah sarani; Muhammad Jalil Zarei; Hossein Navidinia
Abstract
Recent developments in technology and education have created an enormous array of opportunities in the field of language learning and teaching. From one side, modern technologies are promptly attracting new users, providing growing dimensions, and allowing more sophisticated uses. Form the other side, ...
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Recent developments in technology and education have created an enormous array of opportunities in the field of language learning and teaching. From one side, modern technologies are promptly attracting new users, providing growing dimensions, and allowing more sophisticated uses. Form the other side, the students’ zeal toward utilizing mobile technologies in classroom brought the idea of examining these technologies in the context of Iran. To this end, this study investigated the effect of flipped classroom on Iranian EFL students' writing development at senior high school. A group of 48 K-10 male students were conveniently assigned into two groups. The students of the control group were taught writing using distance method just like a traditional classroom held online, while the students of experimental group were taught writing through online flipped method. The results using independent and paired sample t-test and ANCOVA revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in content, organization, and vocabulary areas.
English language learning
Mohammad Ahmadi Safa; Seyed Amir Afzalimir
Abstract
This study aimed at investigating the comparative effects of cooperative and competitive learning on English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ speaking ability and self-confidence. Moreover, EFL learners’ attitude towards cooperative and competitive learning procedures were explored. To ...
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This study aimed at investigating the comparative effects of cooperative and competitive learning on English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ speaking ability and self-confidence. Moreover, EFL learners’ attitude towards cooperative and competitive learning procedures were explored. To these ends 90 learners were selected on the basis of a sample PET results and were assigned into three 30-learner cooperative, competitive and control groups. The speaking section of a sample PET test and Academic Confidence Scale were administered to the three groups before the treatment. As the treatment, the first experimental group members were engaged in cooperative learning, the second experimental group members were engaged in competitive learning, and the control group received regular teacher-fronted instruction. At the end of the treatment, the speaking section of another sample PET and Academic Confidence Scale were re-administered as the posttests.10 EFL learners were randomly selected from each experimental group and seated for a semi-structured interview. The analyses revealed that while both cooperative and competitive learning procedures had significant within-group effects on the learners' speaking ability, the impact on academic self-confidence was significant only for cooperative learning procedure. Moreover, analyses verified that the impact of cooperative learning on speaking ability and self-confidence of EFL learners was statistically superior to the other procedures. Content analysis of the interview data showed that the majority of EFL learners believed that cooperative learning helps them develop their own ideas in greater depth, enhance their participation and creativity in speaking, improve self-confidence and reduce anxiety.
English language learning
Zahra Amirian; Mitra shayanfar; mohsen rezazadeh
Abstract
This study aimed at investigating the interrelationships between EFL teachers' mindsets, self-efficacy, and emotional experiences and Iranian EFL learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) and L2 motivational self system (L2MSS). The participants of this study were 100 Iranian teachers and 501 students ...
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This study aimed at investigating the interrelationships between EFL teachers' mindsets, self-efficacy, and emotional experiences and Iranian EFL learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) and L2 motivational self system (L2MSS). The participants of this study were 100 Iranian teachers and 501 students of the same EFL teachers, both male and female randomly selected from high schools. To fulfill the purpose of the study, teachers were asked to complete four questionnaires to measure their implicit theories of intelligence, efficacy, and emotional experiences including their burnout symptoms. Learners were required to complete two questionnaires to measure their willingness to communicate and L2 motivational self system. The results of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) revealed a significant structural relationship among all variables. Results also indicated that motivation was the strongest direct predictor of willingness to communicate. WTC was also indirectly correlated with teachers' implicit theories, efficacy, and emotional experiences through the mediating effect of L2MSS.
English language learning
Shahram Ghahraki; Manssor Tavakoli; Saeed Ketabi
Abstract
Perhaps the degree of test difficulty is one of the most significant characteristics of a test. However, no empirical research on the difficulty of the MSRT test has been carried out. The current study attempts to fill the gap by utilizing a two-parameter item response model to investigate the psychometric ...
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Perhaps the degree of test difficulty is one of the most significant characteristics of a test. However, no empirical research on the difficulty of the MSRT test has been carried out. The current study attempts to fill the gap by utilizing a two-parameter item response model to investigate the psychometric properties (item difficulty and item discrimination) of the MSRT test. The Test Information Function (TIF) was also figured out to estimate how well the test at what range of ability distinguishes respondents. To this end, 328 graduate students (39.9% men and 60.1% women) were selected randomly from three universities in Isfahan. A version of MSRT English proficiency test was administered to the participants. The results supported the unidimensionality of the components of MSRT test. Analysis of difficulty and discrimination indices of the total test revealed that 14% of the test items were either easy / very easy, 38% were medium, and 48% were either difficult or very difficult. In addition, 14% of the total items were classified as nonfunctioning. They discriminated negatively or did not discriminate at all. 7% of the total items discriminated poorly, 17% discriminated moderately, and 62% discriminated either highly or perfectly, however they differentiated between high-ability and higher-ability test takers. Thus, 38% of the items displayed satisfactory difficulty. Too easy (14%) and too difficult (48%) items could be one potential reason why some items have low discriminating power. An auxiliary inspection of items by the MSRT test developers is indispensable.
English language learning
Esmaeel Ali Salimi; Zari Saeedi; Mahmoud Saaedi Asl
Abstract
Language teaching and language training are integral parts of the educational curriculum in every language centers around the world. Offices, companies, and educational centers should update themselves to keep the current progression and try to help their employees to refresh their minds based on educational ...
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Language teaching and language training are integral parts of the educational curriculum in every language centers around the world. Offices, companies, and educational centers should update themselves to keep the current progression and try to help their employees to refresh their minds based on educational development. Hence, this study explored the effectiveness of different in-service training programs on EFL teachers' empowerment concerning two factors: self-efficacy and innovation and creativity held in Khuzestan- Iran. To this end, 30 EFL teachers were selected through convenient sampling related to their experiences in each of the programs- E-learning, Class-based, and Blended ones. The participants were divided into three groups of 10 – Class-based, group A., E-learning, group B., and the experiences of the two classes (A & B), group C. An interview with 8 open-ended questions was conducted. First, all interviews were transcribed, summarized, categorized, and analyzed. Then, the derived themes were coded and analyzed through content analysis. The findings uncovered that about 80% of the participants leaned to participate in Traditional in-service class (class-based) since it had a great impact on teachers to develop and fortify their educational empowerment. Therefore, policymakers and educational centers should raise their awareness on the notion of teachers' empowerment while emphasizing on, at least, Traditional programs instead of the current E-learning and the blended ones.
English language teaching
Alyaa Alkawaz; Mahmoud Afrouz; Daryush Nejadansari; Azizollah Dabaghi
Abstract
L2 learners' pragmatic development could be manifested by their proper speech act production. Due to the existing differences among languages, errors in speech act realization are inevitable. Employing well-established teaching methods could help L2 learners overcome their problems in speech act production. ...
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L2 learners' pragmatic development could be manifested by their proper speech act production. Due to the existing differences among languages, errors in speech act realization are inevitable. Employing well-established teaching methods could help L2 learners overcome their problems in speech act production. This endeavor aimed to explore the effects of explicit metapragmatic instruction on Iraqi EFL learners' use of English requests, apologies, and refusals examining the possible intervening role of error type and gender. The study sample comprised 80 English major B.A. students at Al-Kufa University, Iraq. Within six online sessions, the EG received instruction through direct awareness raising and being provided with metapragmatic information. Data analyses indicated that explicit pragmatic instruction significantly improved the students' speech act realization. Additionally, while the female learners benefitted more from the intervention and a higher percentage of sociopragmatic, compared to pragmalinguistic, errors were amended after the treatment, the variables of gender and pragmatic error types did not have significant intervening effects. The findings imply that developing pragmatic competence via direct pragmatic intervention and metapragmatic knowledge awareness needs to receive much attention on the part of Iraqi language instructors, materials developers, and curriculum designers, as it could greatly help learners avoid pragmatic failures.
English language learning
Mohammad Ahmadi-Safa; Melika Majidi-Kia
Abstract
A major concern of language testing researchers has for long been the identification of construct-irrelevant influential cognitive and psychological bias factors in test takers’ language test performance and recently the identification of the tentative models of interactions among such factors. ...
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A major concern of language testing researchers has for long been the identification of construct-irrelevant influential cognitive and psychological bias factors in test takers’ language test performance and recently the identification of the tentative models of interactions among such factors. With the same purpose in mind, the present study investigated the direct and indirect interrelationships among EFL learners’ test anxiety, test-wiseness, reading metacognitive awareness, and reading comprehension test performance through a path analytic research design. To this end and on the basis of the related literature and the previous research findings, first a hypothesized model of the interrelationship among the variables was assumed. Next, 317 undergraduate and graduate students took the related questionnaires and tests. Finally, the obtained data were analyzed through AMOS statistical package and the hypothesized model of the interrelationship among variables was tested. According to the final verified model, test-wiseness directly predicted reading comprehension test performance, while test anxiety did not. Moreover, while reading strategies metacognitive awareness did not directly predict reading comprehension test performance, it was indirectly associated with reading comprehension test performance through the mediation of test-wiseness. In addition, both correlational and path analyses confirmed a strong negative relationship between reading strategies metacognitive awareness, and test anxiety. The findings highlight the importance of the language test takers' less test anxiety and enhanced metacognitive awareness of reading strategies and test-wiseness for their more reliable test-taking performances.
Alireza Ahmadi; Sahar Alavi Zahed
Volume 9, Issue 20 , November 2017, , Pages 1-24
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of two types of paragraph on EFL learners’ written production. It addressed the issue of how three aspects of language production (i.e. complexity, accuracy, and fluency) vary among two types of paragraphs (i.e. paragraphs of chronology ...
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The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of two types of paragraph on EFL learners’ written production. It addressed the issue of how three aspects of language production (i.e. complexity, accuracy, and fluency) vary among two types of paragraphs (i.e. paragraphs of chronology and cause-effect) written by EFL learners. Thirty intermediate level learners of English participated in the study. Each learner wrote the two specified types of paragraphs in the final exam of their writing course. In the first phase of the study, separate paired t-tests were conducted on each dependent variable to see whether there were any statistically significant differences in measures of complexity, accuracy, and fluency across the paragraph types. In the second phase of the study, to investigate if the raters detect the inconsistencies in the complexity, accuracy, and fluency of paragraphs written by a learner, four raters were asked to rate 12 paragraphs written by six learners whose paragraphs differed extremely in one of the three features. The findings revealed that EFL learners performed significantly better in paragraphs of chronology than the paragraphs of cause-effect in terms of fluency and accuracy. However, the analysis of complexity measures showed that there was no significant difference between the two types of paragraphs. In the qualitative analysis, it was found that raters did not consistently consider these three features in their examining the quality of the paragraphs. They paid attention to qualities such as coherence, cohesion and unity more consistently.
Mohammad Amiryousefi
Volume 9, Issue 19 , June 2017, , Pages 1-24
Abstract
With the developments of new technologies appearing very quickly, the attention has been focused more on technology than learning. English centers and institutes have mostly been busy accommodating new programs and technologies and hence have not spent enough time to evaluate the CALL programs and technologies ...
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With the developments of new technologies appearing very quickly, the attention has been focused more on technology than learning. English centers and institutes have mostly been busy accommodating new programs and technologies and hence have not spent enough time to evaluate the CALL programs and technologies employed to find their affordances and limitations. The present study was an attempt to study the perceptions and evaluation of the Iranian EFL learners and teachers about CALL. To this end, 240 students and teachers of two big institutes in Iran where CALL is used in their English learning program participated in the study. The required data were collected through a five-point Likert scale questionnaire comprising 33 response categories and an open-ended question. The results of data analysis showed that CALL can enhance language learning and English listening, reading, and writing skills. It can also increase students' motivation and interest in learning and their exposure to language. However, it cannot improve speaking skill well. It also causes technology addiction, lacks good standards and interactive nature necessary for the development of communicative proficiency, and may give the confidence to the teachers that everything is prepared by CALL courseware designers and hence they may come unprepared. The present study argues that the mere focus on technological support is not adequate, and a pedagogical understanding of language teachers’ and learners’ new roles and identities should be developed.
Mohammad Afshar Rad; Aram Reza Sadeghi Benis
Volume 6, Issue 13 , September 2014, , Pages 1-14
Abstract
A large number of studies dealing with phonology have focused their attention on phonological production at the expense of phonological perception which provides the foundation stone for phonological production. This study focuses on phonological perception at phonemic level. The purpose of the study ...
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A large number of studies dealing with phonology have focused their attention on phonological production at the expense of phonological perception which provides the foundation stone for phonological production. This study focuses on phonological perception at phonemic level. The purpose of the study is helping beginning learners improve their perception of the English phonemes which are confusable for them. To this end, we propose transcribing as an aural input enhancement device and examine its effect on learners’ phonemic perception. Thirty one females who were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups participated in this study. The experimental group had transcribing exercise during the experiment while the control group did not. The results of the study show that transcribing improves beginning learners’ phonemic perception significantly. Therefore, EFL teachers are advised to include transcribing exercise as one of the techniques to improve learners’ phonemic perception and, hence, their listening comprehension.
Mohammad Reza Anani Sarab; Yahya Gordani
Volume 6, Issue 14 , December 2014, , Pages 1-18
Abstract
The present study investigated the use of L2 private speech by English foreign language (EFL) learners in regulating their mental activities. Thirty intermediate adult EFL learners took a test of solving challenging English riddles while their voices were being recorded. Following, instances of the produced ...
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The present study investigated the use of L2 private speech by English foreign language (EFL) learners in regulating their mental activities. Thirty intermediate adult EFL learners took a test of solving challenging English riddles while their voices were being recorded. Following, instances of the produced private speech were analyzed in terms of form, content, and function. Numerous instances of reading aloud and repetition as well as self explanations and reviewing show how important they are in cognitive regulation of EFL learners. In addition, the results indicate the beneficial functions of private speech such as planning, managing the thought, self-orientation, motivating, and controlling anxiety among many others. The paper emphasizes the training of private speech and calls for patience in the face of silent periods produced by language learners.
Hamed Babaie Shalmani; Seyyed Ayatollah Razmjoo
Volume 7, Issue 15 , May 2015, , Pages 1-41
Abstract
This study compared the effects of two annotation modalities on the reading comprehension of Iranian intermediate level EFL learners. The two experimental groups under study received treatment on 10 academic L2 reading passages under one of two conditions: One group received treatment on key words in ...
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This study compared the effects of two annotation modalities on the reading comprehension of Iranian intermediate level EFL learners. The two experimental groups under study received treatment on 10 academic L2 reading passages under one of two conditions: One group received treatment on key words in the reading passages through a multimedia environment providing textual annotations. The second group received treatment under a similar environment but received compound glosses. The control group, however, received no treatment and was encouraged to use contextual guessing. The findings revealed that the experimental group who received treatment through compound glosses outperformed the other two groups on the comprehension test, and the group who used textual annotations obtained a higher mean on the posttest than the control group. One explanation is that compound glosses might help learners better decipher the meanings of key words in L2 passages, thus contributing to their deeper understanding of the texts.
Seyed Mohammad Alavi; Baqer Yaqubi; Mostafa Pourhaji
Volume 8, Issue 18 , December 2016, , Pages 1-18
Abstract
The prevailing pattern of classroom interaction is a tripartite exchange structure known as IRF (teacher initiation, student response, teacher follow-up/feedback; Sinclair & Coulthard, 1975). Although it has its own contributions to classroom discourse, it has been criticized on several grounds, ...
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The prevailing pattern of classroom interaction is a tripartite exchange structure known as IRF (teacher initiation, student response, teacher follow-up/feedback; Sinclair & Coulthard, 1975). Although it has its own contributions to classroom discourse, it has been criticized on several grounds, particularly for affording minimum learner participation opportunities (Kasper, 2001). An alternative practice has been promoting learner initiation and agency through moving out-of-IRF. However, when the form of interaction is teacher-fronted, IRF becomes the centerpiece and moving out of it tends to be difficult. This paper aims at exploring first what learners need to take initiatives and exercise agency in teacher-fronted interaction, and second how teachers can play a facilitative role in this process. Conversation analytic study of an EFL teacher’s naturally-occurring interaction with learners during a homework review activity demonstrates how the teacher’s extended wait-time practice affords a learner the interactional space needed to initiate a question and voice her locus of trouble. Moreover, the teacher's consistent extended wait-time practice after the learner’s initiation functions as an invitation bid for other learners to orient to the trouble and successfully negotiate it in their learner-learner interaction. Extracts of this study portray learners’ management to drive their own learning.
Sajad Davoudi-Mobarakeh; Abbas Eslami-Rasekh; Hossein Barati
Volume 6, Issue 13 , September 2014, , Pages 15-41
Abstract
There is a growing interest among the higher education principals and policy makers to improve teacher evaluation methods and more important than that to use the evaluation data. A number of research studies implied the ineffective instruction of ESP courses in Iran (Atai, 2002; Eslami, 2005; Hayati, ...
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There is a growing interest among the higher education principals and policy makers to improve teacher evaluation methods and more important than that to use the evaluation data. A number of research studies implied the ineffective instruction of ESP courses in Iran (Atai, 2002; Eslami, 2005; Hayati, 2008; Ahmadi, 2008; Sherkatolabbasi & Mahdavi, 2012; Boniadi, Ghojazadeh & Rahmatvand, 2013). The basic objective of research in field of ESP/EGP instruction and evaluation is to facilitate informed decisions for the betterment of English classes. The literature suggested that most of the teachers and students were dissatisfied with the students’ progress in specific English courses. Data was collected from the teachers by various ways including observation checklist and feedback form. To carry out the study, 12 ESP and EGP teachers were observed using Marshall’s rubrics (2011) and observation logs’ analysis. Then, 18 teachers offered feedback on different aspects of their own courses. The data were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively using ANOVA statistical measurement. The findings firstly indicate that EGP teachers were more standard teachers in comparison to ESP teachers. Secondly, the feedback forms show discrepancy between the views of EGP teachers and ESP teachers in some areas including the material effectiveness and students’ interest. To reach a standard point in EGP/ESP instruction, more evaluation is to be applied by the faculty members, university principals and the teachers themselves. Politically correct attitudes towards teachers should not lead to ineffective English courses. Some practical implications are suggested to upgrade the current practice in ESP classes.
English language teaching
Zahra Ahmadpour Kasgari
Abstract
Quantum teaching method (QTM), a student-centred model of education, which provides the possibility for the integrated use of a combination of learning theories, has not received adequate attention in EFL teaching. This study, adopting an explanatory mixed-methods design, aimed at examining the effect ...
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Quantum teaching method (QTM), a student-centred model of education, which provides the possibility for the integrated use of a combination of learning theories, has not received adequate attention in EFL teaching. This study, adopting an explanatory mixed-methods design, aimed at examining the effect of QTM on EFL learners’ writing motivation. The participants comprised 78 pre-intermediate EFL learners who were placed into two groups based on convenience sampling procedures. The first group was assigned as the experimental group and another group as the control group. A writing motivation questionnaire (WMQ) was administered to both groups as pretest. Next, the experimental group was exposed to QTM for writing instruction while the control group received conventional writing instruction. After treatment, both groups took the WMQ as posttest. Moreover, 15 participants from the experimental group took part in semi-structured interviews. The results of Mann-Whitney U Test indicated the significantly positive impact of QTM on writing motivation. The results of qualitative analysis revealed five themes including satisfaction, enjoyment, engagement, personalization, and lowering anxiety as the factors improving writing motivation. Based on the results, EFL teachers are encouraged to employ QTM to enhance learners’ writing motivation.
English language learning
Masumeh Sadat Seyyedrezaei; Mohammad Amiryousefi; Ana Gimeno-Sanz; Manssor Tavakoli
Abstract
The present study examined the comparative effects of Etherpad-based writing instruction and face-to-face writing instruction on EFL learners' writing quality and writing self-efficacy. It also aimed at finding the learners' attitude towards the influence of Etherpad and their reason for success/ failure ...
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The present study examined the comparative effects of Etherpad-based writing instruction and face-to-face writing instruction on EFL learners' writing quality and writing self-efficacy. It also aimed at finding the learners' attitude towards the influence of Etherpad and their reason for success/ failure in this writing course. To this end, ninety students were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to one of the two instruction groups. In addition to an IELTS writing task, Self-efficacy in Writing Scale (SWS) was administered. During the course, the students received instruction on writing an argumentative essay. After the treatment, the SWS and another IELTS writing task were given. Subsequently, a semi-structured interview was conducted with twenty Etherpad-based learners to find their attitudes towards the reason for their success/ failure and the effectiveness of Etherpad. The results revealed that the Etherpad-based group significantly outperformed the face-to-face group in the writing posttest and demonstrated a higher level of writing self-efficacy. The interview data showed that the students attributed their success to both internal and external factors. Whereas, they ascribed their failure to internal factors rather than external ones. It was also revealed that the students found Etherpad as a predictor of their success in writing performance.
Ali Akbar Ansarin; Mahsa Mohammadpour Yaghiny
Volume 6, Issue 14 , December 2014, , Pages 19-36
Abstract
Investigating transfer of one’s pragmatic knowledge of first language to his second or foreign language, has been one of the areas of interest for researchers. However, there are contradictory results even within the scarce studies which have addressed transferability. This study was an attempt ...
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Investigating transfer of one’s pragmatic knowledge of first language to his second or foreign language, has been one of the areas of interest for researchers. However, there are contradictory results even within the scarce studies which have addressed transferability. This study was an attempt to investigate perceived pragmatic transferability of L1 refusal strategies by Persian EFL learners. Specifically, the effect of degree of imposition of the context and eliciting act type on transferability rate was investigated. To this end, a DCT was developed with the help of 60 (male & female) Persian EFL learners. This DCT was then administered to 74 Persian EFL learners as the main participants of the study. The results showed the existence of the interactional effect of both degree of imposition and type of eliciting act on the learners’ transferability rate. This suggests that learners’ perception of the differences in conditions under which they refuse has an effect on their choices of the pragmatic aspects to be transferred to English.
Aliakbar Ansarin; Firozeh Jamshidi; Zohreh Mohamadi
Volume 8, Issue 18 , December 2016, , Pages 19-42
Abstract
One of the main ways to acquire unfamiliar words is to make guesses about words meaning. This study investigates the comparative effects of pictorial annotations and morphological instructions on Iranian EFL learners’ lexical inferencing ability. Considering homogeneity issues using PET (Preliminary ...
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One of the main ways to acquire unfamiliar words is to make guesses about words meaning. This study investigates the comparative effects of pictorial annotations and morphological instructions on Iranian EFL learners’ lexical inferencing ability. Considering homogeneity issues using PET (Preliminary English Test), the researchers assigned the participants into two experimental and one control groups. All groups took a vocabulary self-report test before the treatment. The treatment contained 6-weeks long reading texts tasks with 40 underlined and boldfaced target words. Groups differed as one experimental group was taught mainly through the annotated pictures technique while the other experimental group through the aid of morphological analysis of unknown words and the control group receiving the traditional root vocabulary learning technique. The results of a one-way analysis of variances (ANOVA) between the self-report vocabulary test and a piloted researcher-made lexical-inferencing post-test revealed no significant difference in performances of morphological instruction group and control group. The results also indicated that the pictorial annotation group significantly outperformed the morphological group on inferring the unfamiliar lexical items. It can be concluded that the outcomes of this study may provide insights to EFL teachers as well as students on how to best approach guessing target words while reading a text.
English language teaching
Mohammad Ahmadi Safa; Moneer Jafari
Abstract
One important aspect of pragmatic competence is the ability to comprehend and/or produce speech acts appropriately in different contexts. The acquisition and use of such an ability by non-native speakers of a language has been a major research line in interlanguage pragmatic competence (ILP) studies. ...
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One important aspect of pragmatic competence is the ability to comprehend and/or produce speech acts appropriately in different contexts. The acquisition and use of such an ability by non-native speakers of a language has been a major research line in interlanguage pragmatic competence (ILP) studies. Among different speech acts, the speech act of thanking is one of the most recurring acts, which has been comparatively less under the spotlight of ILP researchers. The purpose of this study is to explore how Iranian EFL learners express their gratitude and what thanking strategies they use in 14 different thanking situations. For this purpose, data were collected from 59 Iranian female advanced EFL learners through Written Discourse Completion Tasks (WDCT). Quantitative and qualitative analyses of data demonstrated a variety of thanking strategies were used by the participants in different thanking situations; however, the direct expression of gratitude without any preceding or succeeding complementary expression was the most frequently used strategy. Moreover, the diversity of different thanking strategies were almost similar in different thanking situations. The obtained results might imply that Iranian EFL learners need to be made more sensitive to both less direct and a wider variety of thanking speech act realization strategies.
English language teaching
Mohammad Ali-Akbari; Sara Haghi; Ali Yasini
Abstract
The current study investigates the feasibility of implementing EFL teachers' Individual Development Planning at Iranian public schools. It further explores the underlying reasons for the (imp) possibility of practicing this program and seeks the teachers' suggestions to improve the schools' condition. ...
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The current study investigates the feasibility of implementing EFL teachers' Individual Development Planning at Iranian public schools. It further explores the underlying reasons for the (imp) possibility of practicing this program and seeks the teachers' suggestions to improve the schools' condition. To this end, data were collected from 180 EFL teachers using a researcher-made questionnaire and a follow-up semi-structured interview. The results of one-sample t-tests revealed a slight possibility following the interviews which indicated 14 underlying reasons for the insufficient grounds at public schools. Participating teachers also argued that equipping a room with necessary technological tools, allocating monetary resources, assigning specific teachers time to practice IDP, taking advantage of head teachers, changing the school administration delegation, and performing advocating cultural acts can provide a ground for IDP implementation. The findings demonstrate the necessity of creating changes by policymakers, school principals, and EFL teachers so that they can all benefit from this program.
Parviz Ajideh; Leila Mahmoudi
Volume 9, Issue 20 , November 2017, , Pages 25-48
Abstract
Examining the effectof high-stakes tests on learners’ perceptions has been one of the strands of washback-related research.The present study purported to investigate the washback effect of the English section of theIranian National University Entrance Exam (henceforth INUEE) on the pre-university ...
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Examining the effectof high-stakes tests on learners’ perceptions has been one of the strands of washback-related research.The present study purported to investigate the washback effect of the English section of theIranian National University Entrance Exam (henceforth INUEE) on the pre-university students’ perceptions about the high-stakes test. The participants of the study were 218 female students at two pre-university schools in the city of Ahwaz, Iran. The data were collected through a validated questionnaire. Responses and reactions to the questions were found to be mixed: a sizeable segment of the students were positive about the INUEE, considering it a valid evaluator of academic knowledge and viewing the test as a factorwhich at least 'forced' them to study English.However, those with negative perceptions criticized the test for mainly being an evaluator of rote-memorization ability (rather than academic knowledge) and a major source of anxiety, and its multiple-choice testing format,etc.The findings could be of pedagogic help and significance to policy makers, language testing scholars and teachers.
Rozana Shamsabadi; Saeed Ketabi; Abbas Eslami Rasekh
Volume 9, Issue 19 , June 2017, , Pages 25-52
Abstract
This study sought to investigate the effect of explicit instruction of lexical bundles (LBs) on the development of Iranian EAP students’ writing quality and receptive and productive knowledge of LBs. Assigned to two experimental and control groups, the eighty participants took pre- and post-tests ...
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This study sought to investigate the effect of explicit instruction of lexical bundles (LBs) on the development of Iranian EAP students’ writing quality and receptive and productive knowledge of LBs. Assigned to two experimental and control groups, the eighty participants took pre- and post-tests of writing tasks and the receptive knowledge test. Afterwards, the obtained scores were subjected to a series of Analyses of Covariance (ANCOVAs) and paired samples t-tests. Results of the within-group and between-group analyses indicated that explicit instruction of LBs enhanced the participants’ productive and receptive knowledge of LBs and also improved the overall quality of their written productions. Possible explanations are provided and the implications of the findings for the applicability of LBs instruction are discussed.
English language learning
Hadi Heidari; Ali Malmir; Abbas Ali Zarei
Abstract
The two most important defining aspects of L1 national identity are language and social belonging that are manifested through the individual’s inclinations toward the mother tongue or the official language and the sociocultural heritage of the country in which people are living. Moreover, based ...
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The two most important defining aspects of L1 national identity are language and social belonging that are manifested through the individual’s inclinations toward the mother tongue or the official language and the sociocultural heritage of the country in which people are living. Moreover, based on the available literature, L2 identity may also exert an influence over the L1 national identity; however, this claim has not been securitized through valid large-scale and comprehensive surveys. Therefore, this study sought to shed light on the relationship between various second language identity dimensions (SLID) and L1 national identity. A sample of 1018 Iranian EFL learners who were selected based on the purposive snowball sampling filled out a researcher-made and validated Multidimensional L2 Identity Questionnaire (MLIQ) and a National Identity Questionnaire (NIQ). Data analysis using multiple regression revealed that the constructed SLID model could significantly contribute to the L1 national identity. The results also showed that the following four dimensions of SLID were significant predictors of national identity: transitive vs. intransitive, convergent vs. divergent, homogeneous vs. heterogeneous, and active vs. passive dimensions. Among these, active vs. passive and convergent vs. divergent dimensions had strong contributions to explaining the degree of the L2 national identity. These findings can help EFL teachers and learners develop a positive L2 identity with balanced dimensions that also promotes L1 national identity