English language teaching
mehri farzaneh; farzaneh khodabndeh; Ehsan Rezvani
Abstract
This study investigates the impact of input flooding techniques on the utilization of parallel structures in essay writing among EFL learners, comparing two instructional settings: flipped online and flipped face-to-face. A total of 73 participants were randomly assigned to three groups: the flipped ...
Read More
This study investigates the impact of input flooding techniques on the utilization of parallel structures in essay writing among EFL learners, comparing two instructional settings: flipped online and flipped face-to-face. A total of 73 participants were randomly assigned to three groups: the flipped online group , the flipped face-to-face group , and a control group . In the flipped online approach, the participants were exposed to input flooding through pre-recorded videos and received online feedback on their essays, allowing for extensive exposure to parallel structures. In the flipped face-to-face approach, the participants received the same instructional materials emphasizing relevant structures and engaged in activities to promote the use of parallel structures. The control group followed their regular instructional method without any specific intervention. Following the treatment sessions, all participants underwent a post-test essay assessment to evaluate their proficiency in utilizing parallel structures. The results indicate that the flipped online group demonstrated the highest level of proficiency, highlighting the effectiveness of input flooding techniques in promoting the use of parallel structures in essay writing.
English language learning
Mohammad Ahmadnejad; Naseh Rahimi; Rozhin Ghaslani
Abstract
This study scrutinized the impact of Web 2.0 on the language achievement and self-regulated learning of Iranian EFL learners in online language courses. A mixed-methods approach was employed to leverage the Learning Management System (LMS) alongside WhatsApp as a supplementary tool in the experimental ...
Read More
This study scrutinized the impact of Web 2.0 on the language achievement and self-regulated learning of Iranian EFL learners in online language courses. A mixed-methods approach was employed to leverage the Learning Management System (LMS) alongside WhatsApp as a supplementary tool in the experimental group. In the quantitative segment conducted over a three-month semester, an experimental design was implemented involving 24 Iranian male and female students from the Iran Language Institute (ILI). These participants were divided into two coeducational online classes: LMS and WhatsApp were utilized in the experimental group (n=12), while the control group (n=12) solely employed LMS. Quantitative data were gathered using the Oxford Placement Test (OPT), the Language Learning Self-Regulated Scale, and pre-test and post-test assessments. Concurrently, the qualitative phase entailed interviews with 8 participants, aimed at capturing nuanced insights into the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing WhatsApp alongside LMS for online learning. The quantitative outcomes revealed a notable impact on language achievement and self-regulated learning among EFL learners in the experimental group, emphasizing WhatsApp's supplementary role. Furthermore, qualitative findings shed light on the multifaceted aspects of employing WhatsApp in conjunction with LMS, unveiling both its merits and drawbacks. The implications for online EFL classes are substantial, offering valuable insights into optimizing digital platforms for enhanced language learning experiences.
English language learning
Farahman Farrokhi; Fatemeh Gholami
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of three vocabulary development strategies of keyword method, thematic clustering and developing morphological awareness on the Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary repertoire. Adopting a quasi-experimental design, sixty high-intermediate to advanced Iranian EFL ...
Read More
This study investigated the effects of three vocabulary development strategies of keyword method, thematic clustering and developing morphological awareness on the Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary repertoire. Adopting a quasi-experimental design, sixty high-intermediate to advanced Iranian EFL learners were randomly assigned to three experimental groups and partook six online sessions of vocabulary instruction during a week. Using a pre-test and three post-tests, the vocabulary repertoire of the subjects was measured. The pre-test was administered a week before the commencement of the treatment sessions; the first post-test was administered immediately after each treatment; the second post-test was held 24 hours after each treatment and the third post-test was held one week after the end of the treatment sessions. Paribakht and Wesche (1993) model of measuring vocabulary enhancement was used to quantify the vocabulary repertoire of the subjects. Split-plot ANOVA test revealed that the subjects in the keyword group outperformed the subjects in the other two groups in all the three post-tests. Moreover, it was revealed that the thematic clustering group outperformed the developing morphological awareness group. The findings of this research may have pedagogical implications for English teachers, learners and material developers.
English language learning
Ahmadreza Nikbakht; Golnar Mazdayasna
Abstract
This study aimed to explore the effect of multimedia glosses on the vocabulary acquisition of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. The program employed in this study provided the learners with glosses for words in the form of sounds and videos. The participants were 40 intermediate EFL learners studying ...
Read More
This study aimed to explore the effect of multimedia glosses on the vocabulary acquisition of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. The program employed in this study provided the learners with glosses for words in the form of sounds and videos. The participants were 40 intermediate EFL learners studying English at a private institute in Esfahan. The participants were assigned to experimental and control groups. Participants were given the exact reading context from a software called "Tell Me More." The experimental group had access to multimedia glosses for unknown words. The learners were granted access to the glosses by clicking on the highlighted words. The control group, regarding the clarification of the unknown word lexis, received help from the researcher through the conventional method and had access to a dictionary. After 10 sessions, a vocabulary test was given to experimental and control groups. The application of an independent t-test indicated that the performance of the participants exposed to multimedia glosses was significantly superior to that of the control group. The present study offers valuable insights for CALL material designers in selecting the optimal combination of modalities to facilitate L2 vocabulary acquisition.
English language teaching
Zahra Cheraghi; Hengameh Omranpour
Abstract
Giving consideration to the importance and on-going challenge of vocabulary learning, there is an increasing demand for seeking out new approaches that correspond well with the needs of digital natives. With the rapid advance of technology, deploying innovative approaches such as gamified and flipped ...
Read More
Giving consideration to the importance and on-going challenge of vocabulary learning, there is an increasing demand for seeking out new approaches that correspond well with the needs of digital natives. With the rapid advance of technology, deploying innovative approaches such as gamified and flipped mobile- assisted language learning is gaining worldwide popularity. The current study was an attempt to scrutinize the effectiveness of integrating gamification with flipped approach on EFL learners' receptive vocabulary learning. With the aim of carrying out this research, 68 EFL high school students were randomly allocated into an experimental and control group. The required data were gathered by means of pre- and post- tests. Moreover, the obtained data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics including two paired, and one independent samples t-tests. Quantitative findings revealed that the experimental group participants outperformed their non-gamified coequals. Additionally, as post-test scores showed tremendous improvement, it was found that both aforesaid approaches were devastatingly effective in enhancing EFL learners' vocabulary development. The results of this study can be useful for EFL instructors and teachers for giving them insights on how to employ flipped approach for teaching receptive vocabulary.
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. ...
Read More
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 learning
Seyyedeh Fahimeh Parsaiyan; Mansoureh Jalilian; Khadijeh Karimi Alavijeh
Abstract
Visual literacy (VL), despite its significance, has not received deserved attention in EFL classes in Iran. Addressing this pedagogic and research lacuna, the researchers integrated VL practices into a General English course attended by female university learners, and examined the vision competencies ...
Read More
Visual literacy (VL), despite its significance, has not received deserved attention in EFL classes in Iran. Addressing this pedagogic and research lacuna, the researchers integrated VL practices into a General English course attended by female university learners, and examined the vision competencies developed by them. The analysis of the data collected through class observation, learner documents, and semi-structured interviews revealed that the learners developed the vision competencies regarding compositional, affective, and critical dimensions of visuals. It is hoped that the findings of this small-scale study encourage language planners, materials developers, and English teachers to pay heightened attention to the visuals’ potential and open more spaces for VL development in their curricula, materials, and language teaching practices.
English language learning
Amir Mashhadi; Abbas Al Suraifi; Ahmed Kadhum Fahad
Abstract
The expansion of mobile wireless technology into education in recent decades has offered an incredible opportunity to design learning differently and to enhance students' learning experiences that extend beyond the typical teacher-led classrooms. Following the outbreak of COVID-19 and the subsequent ...
Read More
The expansion of mobile wireless technology into education in recent decades has offered an incredible opportunity to design learning differently and to enhance students' learning experiences that extend beyond the typical teacher-led classrooms. Following the outbreak of COVID-19 and the subsequent closure of educational institutions around the world, distance/mobile learning has become a widely accepted form of information and communication technology-enhanced education. Given the infancy of technology-enhanced education at Iraqi educational institutions, this study was conducted to determine how Iraqi EFL learners preferred information and communication technology-enhanced education and how ready they were to adopt mobile learning for English learning purposes in higher education. This study also examined whether there were any significant differences in the learners' preferences and readiness for mobile learning considering their gender. Methodological triangulation was undertaken using a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with some Iraqi EFL learners at four public universities so as to seek the research objectives. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the data from the questionnaire. The data of the interviews were then analyzed using thematic analysis to identify and report the common themes of the two coders of the interviews. The findings revealed a plethora of evidence indicating learners' positive attitudes towards using mobile learning as a viable medium for language learning purposes in intra- and extramural situations, as it expanded the boundaries of learning beyond the limitations of traditional pedantic educational settings. Besides, no significant differences were found in the preferences and readiness of Iraqi EFL learners considering their gender for the adoption of mobile learning in higher education, though females liked mobile learning better than males.
English language learning
Sanaz Mohazabieh; Rahman Sahragard; Ehsan Rassaei; Mustafa Zamanian
Abstract
This quantitative study aimed to investigate the combined effects of two types of strategic planning, namely collaborative and teacher-led planning conditions and task complexity on Iranian intermediate language learners' oral production in terms of complexity, accuracy, and fluency. To achieve this ...
Read More
This quantitative study aimed to investigate the combined effects of two types of strategic planning, namely collaborative and teacher-led planning conditions and task complexity on Iranian intermediate language learners' oral production in terms of complexity, accuracy, and fluency. To achieve this purpose, 90 EFL learners were selected through convenience sampling from a language institute in Shiraz, Iran, and randomly assigned to two control and four experimental groups. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design in the form of pretest, treatment, and posttest. In the first step, all participants took part in a speaking pretest in which they were required to narrate a story based on a series of picture description tasks. While the experimental groups underwent 10 treatment sessions of picture description task performance along with two planning types i.e., teacher-led and collaborative planning conditions, the control groups were not allowed to plan the task performance. In the last session, the language learners took a posttest whose results were compared with those of the pretest. The findings revealed that the language learners in the collaborative planning groups outperformed the other groups in terms of both fluency and complexity. Further, teacher-led groups did better than the other groups in terms of accuracy. This study carries crucial implications for EFL teachers, material developers, syllabus designers, and speaking skill examiners.
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 ...
Read More
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.
Elahe Saedpanah; Mohammad Hadi Mahmoodi
Abstract
AbstractThe present study examined relationships among critical thinking, writing strategy use, second/foreign language (L2) writing anxiety, and L2 writing performance of Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. To this end, 100 homogenized EFL learners (57 female learners and 43 male learners) ...
Read More
AbstractThe present study examined relationships among critical thinking, writing strategy use, second/foreign language (L2) writing anxiety, and L2 writing performance of Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. To this end, 100 homogenized EFL learners (57 female learners and 43 male learners) filled out Facione and Facione’s (1993) California Critical Thinking Skills Test-form B (CCRST), Petric and Czarl’s (2003) Writing Strategy Questionnaire (WSQ), Cheng’s (2004) Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI), and the second task of the academic version of IELTS exam. Multiple correlation analyses revealed a significant positive relationship between L2 writing performance and writing strategy use; and L2 writing performance and critical thinking. Results also revealed a significant negative relationship between L2 writing performance and L2 writing anxiety. Furthermore, it was found that L2 writing anxiety was a stronger predictor of L2 writing performance. Additionally, the results of one-way MANOVA showed a significant difference between Iranian male and female EFL learners regarding both their L2 writing performance and L2 writing anxiety. These results emphasize the inclusion of pre-planned writing sessions for Iranian EFL learners which can help foster critical thinking skills and writing strategy use, reduce L2 writing anxiety and hopefully, improve their L2 writing ability. Key words: Critical thinking, EFL learners, L2 writing anxiety, L2 writing performance, writing strategy use.
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 ...
Read More
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.
Hanieh Varmaziyar; Azam Sazvar
Volume 9, Issue 19 , June 2017, , Pages 169-197
Abstract
The main objective of the present study was to investigate the differences between Iranian EFL monolinguals and bilinguals in terms of vocabulary language learning strategies. In fact, it was an attempt to investigate whether bilingual/ monolingual learners differ significantly in using vocabulary learning ...
Read More
The main objective of the present study was to investigate the differences between Iranian EFL monolinguals and bilinguals in terms of vocabulary language learning strategies. In fact, it was an attempt to investigate whether bilingual/ monolingual learners differ significantly in using vocabulary learning strategies. To this end, 70 EFL, 45 monolingual (Persian) and 25 bilingual (Arabic-Persian) pre-university students were selected to answer Schmitt’s Vocabulary Learning Strategies Questionnaire (VLSQ). The participants were homogeneous in terms of age, sex, nationality and level of instruction. Following the administration of a general English proficiency test and one VLSQ, interviews were conducted. Then, descriptive statistics and independent t-test were used to analyze the data. The findings obtained through comparison revealed significant dissimilarities between bilinguals and monolinguals’ usage of determination, memory, cognitive and metacognitive strategies. There was no significant variation, however, in their use of social strategies. Further, interviews exhibited some aspects that were not mentioned in the VLSQ.
Karim Sadeghi
Volume 2, Issue 217 , October 2010, , Pages 131-154
Abstract
Cloze was officially introduced in a journal on Journalism as a technique for estimating text readability and as "a new psychological tool for measuring the effectiveness of communication" (Taylor, 1953: 415). Different varieties of cloze have since been developed and experimented upon as measures of ...
Read More
Cloze was officially introduced in a journal on Journalism as a technique for estimating text readability and as "a new psychological tool for measuring the effectiveness of communication" (Taylor, 1953: 415). Different varieties of cloze have since been developed and experimented upon as measures of such diverse traits as reading comprehension and language proficiency. The findings of numerous corrleational studies on cloze as a measure of either skill is at best unsatisfactory and indeed contradictory. The present study seeks to find an answer to the question of whether standard cloze (with different text difficulty levels) is a valid measure of EFL reading comprehension (with IELTS Reading Paper as the criterion). 76 junior and senior students majoring in English Language and Literature at Urmia University participated in the study, where they sat 3 versions of standard 5-th deletion rate cloze tests as well as the Reading Paper of an Institutional IELTS (UCLES, 1995, 1997). While the results are in accordance with most previous research findings that cloze is a valid measure of EFL reading comprehension, serious problems are identified and discussed on the appropriacy of such a validation technique as correlation.
