Azizollah Dabaghi; Elahe Ghorbanchian; Zahra Amirian
Volume 7, Issue 16 , December 2015, Pages 1-14
Abstract
Indubitably, the efficacy of metalinguistic awareness in improving EFL learners’ grammatical knowledge and writing quality has long been an area of great interest in applied linguistics Brown (2001). Accordingly, the main objective of the present study was to investigate the impact of planned and ...
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Indubitably, the efficacy of metalinguistic awareness in improving EFL learners’ grammatical knowledge and writing quality has long been an area of great interest in applied linguistics Brown (2001). Accordingly, the main objective of the present study was to investigate the impact of planned and unplanned focus on form instruction on students’ ability to learn grammar and use it appropriately in their writing. For this purpose three intact classes registering for the Grammar and Writing course in university of Isfahan ,Iran were chosen for teaching the target structure (i.e., transitional devices) through different methods of focusing on form instructions. The selected samples comprised 30 in each group, male and female sophomore students with the age range of 19 to 24, studying English translation at university of Isfahan. The samples received instruction through planned focus on form instruction (PFFI), unplanned focus on form instruction (UFFI) and zero focus on form instruction (ZFFI) respectively. The results of the post-test on paragraph writing and on the subsequent delayed post-test revealed that the participants in the planned group notably out performed those in the unplanned and zero focus on form groups in handling transitional markers in the writing of paragraphs.
Saman Ebadi; shokoufeh - vakili latif
Volume 7, Issue 16 , December 2015, Pages 15-36
Abstract
This paper investigated the ways Iranian B.A and M.A students of English language and their professors represent themselves linguistically in their e-mails in general, and the ways they construct and negotiate power with regard to social and cultural norms in particular. It examined 84 e-mail messages ...
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This paper investigated the ways Iranian B.A and M.A students of English language and their professors represent themselves linguistically in their e-mails in general, and the ways they construct and negotiate power with regard to social and cultural norms in particular. It examined 84 e-mail messages students and professors exchanged in 2012-2013 academic year through Halliday`s Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) and components of critical discourse analysis (CDA). Both parties actively used e-mails to create and maintain interpersonal relationship with each other in different ways. They mainly relied on material and mental processes to convey their meanings and thoughts and felt free in the selection and manipulation of thematic elements in their writings. With regard to the construction and negotiation of power it was also revealed that both parties reconstructed and recontextualized (Bernstein, 1971) discourses and practices of the traditional classrooms prescribed by their social, cultural, and religious norms in internet context. The findings of this study will shed light on the contributions of power relations, social and cultural norms as well as other related factors in the process of communication between professors and students. Such critical functional approach has a powerful impact on students and instructors in their professional learning contexts and offers instructors in internet contexts explicit ways of recognizing and valuing differences in the language students use to respond in those contexts.
Mohammad Hassan Tahririan; Sadegh Khalili; Setareh Bagheri
Volume 7, Issue 16 , December 2015, Pages 37-54
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of blended learning and multimedia software on Iranian ESP students' vocabulary learning. To this end, 120 Iranian ESP learners were assigned to two groups: the experimental and control groups. The experimental group received instructions through ...
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of blended learning and multimedia software on Iranian ESP students' vocabulary learning. To this end, 120 Iranian ESP learners were assigned to two groups: the experimental and control groups. The experimental group received instructions through multimedia software while the control group received traditional instructions. The data were collected through a vocabulary posttest and classroom observations. The results indicated the great level of disparity between the two groups of learners regarding their acquisition of new vocabulary - in other words, multimedia software had positive effect on students' vocabulary learning. In addition, learning with technology also showed positive activity engagement. Based on the current study, suggestions were made on how multimedia software can be adopted and incorporated more effectively in ESP classes.
Mohammad Hadi Mahmoodi; Maliheh Dehghannezhad
Volume 7, Issue 16 , December 2015, Pages 55-84
Abstract
The present study was conducted to investigate how EFL learners with distinct levels of emotional intelligence might benefit from Critical Thinking-based instruction and use different language learning strategies. A further concern of this study was to investigate the relationship among critical thinking, ...
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The present study was conducted to investigate how EFL learners with distinct levels of emotional intelligence might benefit from Critical Thinking-based instruction and use different language learning strategies. A further concern of this study was to investigate the relationship among critical thinking, language learning strategy, and emotional intelligence of EFL learners. To this end, 88 EFL learners studying at private English language institutes in Shiraz took 4 sets of instruments:Oxford Placement Test, California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST), Bar-On Emotional Quotient inventory (EQ-i), and the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL).The results of the statistical analysis revealed that teaching CT skills had a significant effect on the LLS use of EFL learners across different EQ levels. However, no significant difference was found between LLS scores of students with high and low EQ levels. Moreover, a significant positive relationship was found between critical thinking and emotional intelligence, and overall language learning strategy and critical thinking. The results of the present study might give insight to EFL teachers so as to make them aware of the higher order thinking skills required for a successful application of language learning strategies in foreign language learning context. The present study was conducted to investigate how EFL learners with distinct levels of emotional intelligence might benefit from Critical Thinking-based instruction and use different language learning strategies. A further concern of this study was to investigate the relationship among critical thinking, language learning strategy, and emotional intelligence of EFL learners. To this end, 88 EFL learners studying at private English language institutes in Shiraz took 4 sets of instruments:Oxford Placement Test, California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST), Bar-On Emotional Quotient inventory (EQ-i), and the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL).The results of the statistical analysis revealed that teaching CT skills had a significant effect on the LLS use of EFL learners across different EQ levels. However, no significant difference was found between LLS scores of students with high and low EQ levels. Moreover, a significant positive relationship was found between critical thinking and emotional intelligence, and overall language learning strategy and critical thinking. The results of the present study might give insight to EFL teachers so as to make them aware of the higher order thinking skills required for a successful application of language learning strategies in foreign language learning context.
Ahmad Pariafsai; Mohammad Ghazanfari; Omid Akbari; Tahereh Hosseini Borabadi
Volume 7, Issue 16 , December 2015, Pages 85-111
Abstract
Many researchers have investigated different aspects of learning styles. Nevertheless, few studies have considered interactions between the notions of learning styles and “good language learners’” achievement. The present study aimed at exploring dominant learning style preferences ...
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Many researchers have investigated different aspects of learning styles. Nevertheless, few studies have considered interactions between the notions of learning styles and “good language learners’” achievement. The present study aimed at exploring dominant learning style preferences by senior high-school students and comparing their preferences with those by “good language learners”. To this goal, the Index of Learning Style (ILS) was administered. A sample consisting of 1307 senior high-school Iranian students (711 males and 596 females was randomly picked up from among a population of 3310 students, who could potentially participate in the study. In terms of the participants’ achievement scores, 343 top students were arbitrarily categorized as “good language learners” and the remaining 964 as “the average language learners”. The results of the (ILS) showed that most of the participants preferred ‘reflective’, ‘sensing’, ‘visual’, and ‘sequential’ learning styles. A two-way ANOVA test revealed that the difference between the participants’ mean scores was due to both their genders and Visual/Verbal and Sequential/Global preferences. Findings about the relationship between learning styles and the participants’ achievement scores indicated that except for the ‘understanding’ dimension, there was no significant relationship between the other three dimensions and the participants’ achievement scores. Moreover, the Chi-square statistic indicated a significant difference between the learning style preferences by senior high-school “good language learners” and those preferred by the average ones.
Mohsen Rezazadeh; Mansoor Tavakoli; Abbass Eslami Rasekh
Volume 7, Issue 16 , December 2015, Pages 113-146
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of two types of written feedback – direct corrective feedback (DCF) and metalinguistic explanation (ME) - on Iranian EFL learners’ implicit and explicit knowledge of English definite and indefinite articles. Assigned to three groups of DCF, ME, and control ...
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This study investigated the effects of two types of written feedback – direct corrective feedback (DCF) and metalinguistic explanation (ME) - on Iranian EFL learners’ implicit and explicit knowledge of English definite and indefinite articles. Assigned to three groups of DCF, ME, and control groups, the participants took four tests in three testing phases: pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest. Four testing instruments measured the two knowledge types: narrative writings, speeded dictation, untimed grammaticality judgment, and error correction tests. Results indicated that both treatments were effective in the immediate posttests. However, the ME proved to have longer lasting effects than the DCF as the improvement of both knowledge types were sustained after a three week period in the ME group. According to the obtained findings, it is argued that the description of the rules and the examples given explicitly in a ME handout might be more beneficial in promoting learners’ implicit and explicit knowledge of English articles than the DCF.
