1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Sajjad Khorami Fard
Abstract
Dynamic Assessment is an approach to assessment within Applied Linguistics which is stemmed from Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural Theory of mind, his concept of Zone of Proximal Development and Feuerstein's theory of Structural Cognitive Modifiability. This study is an attempt to pinpoint the sources ...
Read More
Dynamic Assessment is an approach to assessment within Applied Linguistics which is stemmed from Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural Theory of mind, his concept of Zone of Proximal Development and Feuerstein's theory of Structural Cognitive Modifiability. This study is an attempt to pinpoint the sources of mental processing problems in listening comprehension and applies dynamic interventions to remove the problems and promote listening. Two male classes (each containing 5 upper-intermediate members) ranging in age from 19 to 24, were selected based on an intact group design. One class was selected as the control and another class as the experimental group haphazardly. The research was on the pre-test, mediation, and post-test paradigm. In the beginning, the two groups were pre-tested purposefully and their real time listening problems were detected through verbal and nonverbal recall protocols. Then, in the mediation phase dynamic group experienced different treatment sessions in two weeks to overcome the problems detected on the pre-test. The experimental group was instructed with mediations based on the Sandwich format of interventionist dynamic assessment while the control group received no intervention and was taught traditionally. Finally, all two groups were post-tested. The qualitative analysis showed that both groups suffered from various listening problems related to mental processing in comprehension. Result of quantitative analysis also revealed that the experimental group which was instructed dynamically outperformed the control group which was taught non-dynamically. The findings of this study suggest that dynamic interventions would not only affect the promotion of the EFL listening comprehension in educational settings but also have a significant effect on the performance of the dynamic group in comparison with the non-dynamic group.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Kazem Pouralvar
Abstract
The notion of expectancy grammar as a key to understanding the nature of psychologically real processes that underlie language use is introduced by Oller (1979). A central issue in this notion is that expectancy generating systems are constructed and modified in the course of language acquisition. Thus, ...
Read More
The notion of expectancy grammar as a key to understanding the nature of psychologically real processes that underlie language use is introduced by Oller (1979). A central issue in this notion is that expectancy generating systems are constructed and modified in the course of language acquisition. Thus, one of the characteristics of language proficiency is that it consists of such an expectancy generating system. Therefore, it is claimed that for a proposed measure to qualify as a language test, it must invoke the expectancy system or grammar of the examinee.This article aimed at finding the relationship between textuality of a text and its realization in expectancy grammar. To this end, texts with high and low lexical collocational density (LCD) as a means of reaching textuality in a text are given to participants in the form of cloze test. Texts with high and low lexical collocational density were selected to act as cloze tests and administered on EFL learners. An independant t-test was used to analyse the mean of the scores obtained in pairs of low and high LCD texts. The results showd that texts with high lexical collocational density enjoy higher degrees of readibility and are suitable for cloze tests. In other words, the group who took cloze tests with high lexical collocational density outpeformed the group whose cloze tests had been prepared on texts with low lexical collocational density.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Behjat Asa; Zohreh Seifoori; Nasrin Hadidi Tamjid
Abstract
Teacher training programs in EFL contexts pursue the goal of promoting teaching skills and critical dispositions in prospective and experienced teachers and their ability to reflect on and enhance their mediating roles to maximize learning outcomes. Yet, discrepancies in teachers’ roles during ...
Read More
Teacher training programs in EFL contexts pursue the goal of promoting teaching skills and critical dispositions in prospective and experienced teachers and their ability to reflect on and enhance their mediating roles to maximize learning outcomes. Yet, discrepancies in teachers’ roles during and after the programs are not uncommon and accentuate the need to assess outcomes. This quasi-experimental study aimedto provide research-based data on the outcomes of a 60-hour reflective task-supported (RTS) teacher training course, comprising theoretical, observational, and practicum modules, in terms of immediate and delayed changes in the mediating roles performed by 37 pre-service and 40 in-service Iranian male and female teachers. The findings obtained from the structured observation of the participants’ teaching demonstrations at the onset and the end of the study and during the first working semester were analyzed statistically through One-way repeated measures ANOVAs and indicated significant improvements in the mediating roles in both groups from the first to the second observation immediately after the training and from the immediate to the delayed observation only in the pre-service group. The findings underscore vitality of in pre-service and in-service training programs and accommodating reflective teaching and observational tasks in enhancing teaching roles.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Payman Rezvani; Mahnaz Saeidi
Abstract
This quasi-experimental study investigated the instructional efficacy of genre-based approach on Iranian EFL learners’motivation for writing. Out of 180 participants, 60 EFL male and female students at university level, with the age range of 19-28, based on a standard profeciency test, Preliminary ...
Read More
This quasi-experimental study investigated the instructional efficacy of genre-based approach on Iranian EFL learners’motivation for writing. Out of 180 participants, 60 EFL male and female students at university level, with the age range of 19-28, based on a standard profeciency test, Preliminary English Test (PET), were selected and randomly assigned into control and experimental groups. Each group contained 30 students for which a pre-test and post-test (as motivation for writing questionnaire) were administered. The teaching materials of narrative texts were prepared in a way to conform to the genere-based approach. The results of the study, based on statistical analysis of one way of ANOVA, indicated that the genre-based methodology had significant effects on Iranian EFL learners’motivation for writing. The finding is very useful for Applied Linguists and syllabus designers as well as language teachers and learners.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Henry G. Widdowson
Abstract
The basic assumption in applied linguistics is that the expert disciplinary study of linguistics can yield insights which can be applied to an understanding of how language is actually experienced, and so provide a principled basis for intervention by proposing ways of resolving the problems that people’s ...
Read More
The basic assumption in applied linguistics is that the expert disciplinary study of linguistics can yield insights which can be applied to an understanding of how language is actually experienced, and so provide a principled basis for intervention by proposing ways of resolving the problems that people’s experience in using and learning language gives rise to. But the validity of this assumption depends on how is expertise in linguistics to be defined, and how far, as it has been conventionally practiced, can it claim to account for the reality of how individuals experience language? What, for example, does it tell us, and not tell us, about how users and learners think and feel about their own and other peoples’ language, and what effect their attitude has on their using and learning? These are crucial questions about the scope of linguistics and its applied linguistic relevance since they have an immediate and urgent bearing on the problematic issues that applied linguistics would claim to address of how communication is enacted across different lingua-cultural and ideological borders in a globalized world. Since this global communication is predominantly mediated by the expedient use of English as a lingua franca, it raises the applied linguistic question that this talk will be centrally concerned with of what pedagogic implications this has for how English is conventionally taught as a foreign language subject.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Fahimeh Sadat Torabi; Ali Akbar Jabbari
Abstract
Learning the third language is one of the issues that has attracted much attention in recent years. In this research the influence of Persian language as a mother tongue and English as a second language on the correct orthography of French as a third language is studied. This study investigates three ...
Read More
Learning the third language is one of the issues that has attracted much attention in recent years. In this research the influence of Persian language as a mother tongue and English as a second language on the correct orthography of French as a third language is studied. This study investigates three hypotheses of transfer, L1 Transfer Hypothesis, L2 Status Factor, and Cumulative Enhancement Model. We examined the role of voice and text in correct orthography of the third language. This study accounts for the acquisition of coda consonant clusters of French by Persian EFL learners. Twenty-two participants of two levels of pre and upper-intermediate of English proficiency and beginner level French proficiency were selected. In this study, first we measured the level of learners' English knowledge by the Oxford Quick Placement Test and then we studied the effectiveness of the first and second languages on the third language learning by the Production test, and the Grammatically Judgment Test. Results of the transfer effect provided a major role for the ‘CEM’. The overall results of the two groups’ performance were not significant which in turn reflected the fact that L2 proficiency had no effect on the acquisition of French orthography.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Mina Babapour; Davud Kuhi
Abstract
By the force of our social constructivist gyrations, we have developed glimpses of a social, cultural and historical dimension in which the discourse of science operates. These glimpses indicate us how much the discourse of science is part of complex webs of human’s social interaction. Recognizing ...
Read More
By the force of our social constructivist gyrations, we have developed glimpses of a social, cultural and historical dimension in which the discourse of science operates. These glimpses indicate us how much the discourse of science is part of complex webs of human’s social interaction. Recognizing this social, cultural and historical nature, the present paper looks at the way informal elements are penetrating into the discourse of science. Working on a corpus of scientific journal articles, scientific magazine articles and scientific newspaper articles, the present article shows that regardless of their generic qualities, communicative purposes and the target audience, all scientific texts included in the three corpora are vulnerable to the penetration of informal elements. However, the differences in terms of communicative purposes and target audiences affect the way informal elements are distributed in the three corpora. Providing a deeper sociolinguistic explanation on the observed variations, the paper is concluded with some implications of the findings for ESP pedagogy.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Hadi Farjami
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to elicit lived images about English learning from male and female Iranian English language learners. Ninety male and 210 female language learners from Iranian universities and language institutes chose from an inventory of images and provided own images. The 781 valid responses ...
Read More
The purpose of this study was to elicit lived images about English learning from male and female Iranian English language learners. Ninety male and 210 female language learners from Iranian universities and language institutes chose from an inventory of images and provided own images. The 781 valid responses by males and 1903 valid responses by females were listed as images. The researcher examined the images and slightly summarized them under more generic labels. The number and percentages of males and females who offered each image were tabulated. The images by each gender were also arranged in descending order and their rank differences were calculated. The examination of the types of images and the frequencies of participants who chose or provided them offer patterns which reveal their conceptual models and lessons which can be of value to language teaching practitioners. Some of these patterns and insights are briefly discussed but many are left to the judgment, deliberation, and reflection and practical wisdom of the readers.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Sahar Ahmadpour; Hassan Asadollahfam
Abstract
The present study investigated the effect of extensive and intensive listening on the accuracy of tense use among EFL learners in Iran. It was based on pre-test post-test with intact classes. According to the purpose of the study, a sample (n = 60) of homogeneous participants were selected. From among ...
Read More
The present study investigated the effect of extensive and intensive listening on the accuracy of tense use among EFL learners in Iran. It was based on pre-test post-test with intact classes. According to the purpose of the study, a sample (n = 60) of homogeneous participants were selected. From among the 6 intact classes, one experimental group (n = 19, 9 male and 10 female participants) was identified to take intensive listening method as treatment, another experimental group (n = 20, 12 male and 8 female participants) was identified to take extensive listening as a treatment, and a control group (n = 21, 9 male and 12 female participants) was identified in order to not take intensive listening or extensive listening activities. All groups of the study were given pre-test of verb tense usage in order to measure their grammatical knowledge in verb tense prior to the treatments of the study. After finishing twenty five sessions of treatments for all groups, a post-test including verb tense was given to the participants. The data gathered from the study were compared through SPSS. It was found that extensive listening and intensive listening had positive effects on the accuracy of tense use among EFL learners in Iran. In addition it was found that none of intensive listening group and extensive listening group outperformed each other and there was not any significant difference between these two groups' performances.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Atoosa Toosi; Mojtaba Teimourtash
Abstract
Mindful learning seems to be a theory of learning with a number of applications and implications in the realm of methodology and second language acquisition. It stands against the mindless, or rote, learning which makes the students passive, parroting some cliché with no real use in real life. ...
Read More
Mindful learning seems to be a theory of learning with a number of applications and implications in the realm of methodology and second language acquisition. It stands against the mindless, or rote, learning which makes the students passive, parroting some cliché with no real use in real life. In essence, a mindful approach provides students with noble opportunities to overcome the learning obstacles through discovering new perspectives. Mindfulness requires the students rely on their own abilities and experiences, recognize the advantages and disadvantage of their skills, and find out how and what to use in any given situation. To Langer (2016), it is the key role in deciphering the latent talents of students in learning how to learn. In her book, “The Power of Mindful Learning”, Ellen J. Langer. professor of psychology at Harvard University, tackles the approaches taken for granted for years yet, to the great extent, useless in practice. She further scratches new dimensions of learning and delves into their characteristics.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Behrooz Azabdaftari
Abstract
There are such great names in language studies as Noam Chomsky, Lev S. Vygotsky, Howard Gardener and Michael Halliday who are widely accredited with having introduced new concepts in linguistics and neighboring disciplines and to whom we remain deeply indebted. In this article which has been written ...
Read More
There are such great names in language studies as Noam Chomsky, Lev S. Vygotsky, Howard Gardener and Michael Halliday who are widely accredited with having introduced new concepts in linguistics and neighboring disciplines and to whom we remain deeply indebted. In this article which has been written on the occasion of Professor Henry Widdowson's visit in April 2018 to Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University in Tabriz, Iran, professor Widdowson's thoughts and contributions to applied linguistics and language teaching are reviewed in passing. The author make this issue his point of departure and takes up some of the ground breaking ideas of Professor Widdowson and elaborates very briefly on the following notions: 1) English in Training and Education. 2) Applied Linguistics and Linguistics Applied. 3) Authenticity of Teaching Materials in ESP. 4) Present Situation versus Target Situation Analysis of Students’ Language Learning needs: The Language Audit 5) Linguistic principles and intuitive interpretation
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Elham Sarvandy; Jane Ekstam
Abstract
AbstractThe last thirty five years have created a challenging situation for Iran and its people: on the one hand, the discriminatory British and American policies towards the country have given rise to considerable bitterness; on the other, we continue to teach both British and American English. If Iranian ...
Read More
AbstractThe last thirty five years have created a challenging situation for Iran and its people: on the one hand, the discriminatory British and American policies towards the country have given rise to considerable bitterness; on the other, we continue to teach both British and American English. If Iranian people wish to play a more active role internationally, it is time to review our English language teaching policy, practices and pedagogy. This paper focuses on one particularly effective approach, namely English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). It addresses six important principles of ELF and their potential in relation to the present cultural and teaching situation in Iran, focusing on the position of the native speaker and the importance of mutual intelligibility, intercultural competence, the importance of training local multilinguals, the value of lingua franca contexts as learning environments, the difference between spoken and written English, and the adaptation to the Iranian context of assessment procedures. Our paper ends with a brief discussion of the implications for pedagogical practice of the use of the Internet, including the use of blogs in the ELF classroom.Keywords: ELF, ELF principles, Elf in Iranian context, the Internet
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Naser Abbasi; Simin Navahi Khosrowshahi
Abstract
The short-term in-service EFL teacher education programs are assumed to be of crucial importance in upgrading teachers' methodologies and gearing their teaching more closely to the students' needs. Therefore, a dynamic in-service program for EFL teachers is needed to keep abreast of the time.The present ...
Read More
The short-term in-service EFL teacher education programs are assumed to be of crucial importance in upgrading teachers' methodologies and gearing their teaching more closely to the students' needs. Therefore, a dynamic in-service program for EFL teachers is needed to keep abreast of the time.The present study aims to investigate the role of experience in EFL teachers' satisfaction of the in-service teacher education programs in Zanjan city. 200 EFL teachers from Zanjan province (1 &2 districts) were participated in this study.The data collected through the Course-evaluation questionnaire with “five-level Likert scale”. The results were analyzed through both descriptive and inferential statistics.The findings showed that There is a significant difference between teachers’ experience and their satisfaction of in-service programs.Thus novice teachers and experienced teachers have different expectation of the in-service teacher education programs.This production of significant difference about the relationship between the EFL teachers' experience and their satisfaction of the in-service teacher education programs can be contributed to different perceptions of the teachers on the relationship between the EFL teachers' experience and their satisfaction of the in-service teacher education programs
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Kamran Janfeshan; Mohammad Mahdi Pourarian
Abstract
The present study was an attempt to investigate the impact of gender on using reading subskills and reading comprehension skill of Iranian EFL learners. To this end, four subskills involved in the reading comprehension process were selected. Then some reading passages whose comprehension questions were ...
Read More
The present study was an attempt to investigate the impact of gender on using reading subskills and reading comprehension skill of Iranian EFL learners. To this end, four subskills involved in the reading comprehension process were selected. Then some reading passages whose comprehension questions were believed to measure the intended subskill were chosen. Eighty-eight EFL adult upper-intermediate learners forming two groups of forty-four males and females participated in the present study. At first, they were homogenized through a Nelson test and then made to sit for a reading comprehension test. The comparison of the means of the two groups in the subskills clearly showed that, in two of the subskills, i.e. making a logical inference and understanding the mood, tone, or impression of a reading passage, males and females differed significantly with males outperforming the females in the first subskill and females outperforming the males in the second one. However, no significant differences were found in the other two sub-skills, i.e. getting the main idea of a reading passage and guessing the meaning from context.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Davud Kuhi
Abstract
In light of a large number of admirable attempts which look at scientific discourse from social, dialogic and interpersonal points of view, the propositions which consider scientific discourse as an interactive endeavor are now well-established. By the force of our social constructivist gyrations, we ...
Read More
In light of a large number of admirable attempts which look at scientific discourse from social, dialogic and interpersonal points of view, the propositions which consider scientific discourse as an interactive endeavor are now well-established. By the force of our social constructivist gyrations, we have developed glimpses of a social, cultural and historical dimension in which the discourse of science operates. These glimpses indicate us how much the discourse of science is part of complex webs of human’s social interaction. Recognizing this social, cultural and historical nature, the present paper attempts to highlight the heterogeneity and hybridity of scientific discourse and indicate a number of ways scientific discourse is influenced by non-scientific discourses. Recognition of this hybridity helps the author develop a preliminary framework based on the concept of vertical intertextuality and reveal how modern scientific discourses borrow generic, stylistic and rhetorical conventions of non-scientific discourses. The paper is concluded with some of the implications of the developed perspective for ESP pedagogy and suggesting a number of genre-related, style-related and register-related pedagogic tasks.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Zahra Mohamadian; Shiva Sabbagh Shabestari
Abstract
Collocation is known as one of the most problematic areas in learning a second language and it seems that if one has tendency to improve his or her communication ability in another language, the elaboration of collocation using competence is among the most important issues. This study investigated the ...
Read More
Collocation is known as one of the most problematic areas in learning a second language and it seems that if one has tendency to improve his or her communication ability in another language, the elaboration of collocation using competence is among the most important issues. This study investigated the role of implicit input enhancement in teaching grammatical collocations for Iranian EFL learners. Two groups of Iranian intermediate EFL high school students in a language institute in Ardebil participated in this study. One group was assigned as control group and the other as experimental that received treatment sessions. A Twenty-item multiple choice pre-test was administrated at first for both control and experimental groups. 10 session of treatment through bolding the target grammatical collocations in the reading passages were provided for experimental group. Post-test was administrated for both control and experimental groups after treatment sessions. The scores of post-test were analyzed using t-test. The results of t-test showed that there is no significant difference between two groups. The findings demonstrated that enhancing the collocational input is not significantly beneficial for EFL learners.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Amirreza Nemat Tabrizi; Fateme Zununi Vahed
Abstract
Good language learners slot in a repertoire of strategies and when language tests are at stake, test-taking strategies and test-wiseness pave pay to a prolific outcome. Among such tests, TOEFL iBT seems to be a prerequisite to academic success and a nightmare many Iranian students struggle with. Therefore, ...
Read More
Good language learners slot in a repertoire of strategies and when language tests are at stake, test-taking strategies and test-wiseness pave pay to a prolific outcome. Among such tests, TOEFL iBT seems to be a prerequisite to academic success and a nightmare many Iranian students struggle with. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to raise awareness about the type of questions in iBT, brush up the necessary skills integratively and help them employ strategies that can facilitate optimal results during the preparation course and as they were taking the test. Furthermore, we intended to investigate if the level of proficiency alone was sufficient or strategies played a more important role. Therefore, 34 iBT candidates (18 intermediate and 16 advanced) sat an iBT test and later took part in special strategy training courses. They were interviewed on the effectiveness of the strategies during the course and after they sat the second exam. As the results revealed, there was a significant difference between the two sets of exam results and being test-wise and the strategies of goal setting, covering, interleaving and considering the context along with spaced practice and compensation strategies helped the candidates perform better without further language classes.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Saeed Taki; Sanaz Jafari
Abstract
The Mnemosyne computer software is a flash-card aid, which optimizes learners’ learning process. The current study was conducted to evaluate the extent to which Mnemosyne can assist college-level Iranian EFL learners to improve their vocabulary learning by utilizing spaced repetition. For this ...
Read More
The Mnemosyne computer software is a flash-card aid, which optimizes learners’ learning process. The current study was conducted to evaluate the extent to which Mnemosyne can assist college-level Iranian EFL learners to improve their vocabulary learning by utilizing spaced repetition. For this purpose, 60 intermediate-level EFL learners were chosen based on their performance on a proficiency test. Then, they were divided into two equal-sized experimental and control groups, each consisting of 30 participants. The participants of the experimental group were asked to use Mnemosyne on their own computers, their cell phones or other devices. They had opportunity to use numerous numbers of free flashcards on various subjects and users could build their own on different topics. The control group received instructions through conventional teaching methodology. The posttest was given to the participants of both groups in order to check the students’ vocabulary learning. The results of independent sample t-test between the posttest scores of the two groups showed a significant difference between the scores of the experimental group and those of the control group. The results demonstrated that Mnemosyne significantly improved students’ performance in vocabulary learning.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Gholam-Reza Abbasian; Maryam Khezrinejad; Mojtaba Teimourtash
Abstract
The increasing demand for lifelong learners and reflective practitioners has re-conceptualized the connection between assessment and learning to the extent that alternative assessment methods (i.e., self-, peer and teacher-assessment, etc.) have emerged. However, their incorporation ...
Read More
The increasing demand for lifelong learners and reflective practitioners has re-conceptualized the connection between assessment and learning to the extent that alternative assessment methods (i.e., self-, peer and teacher-assessment, etc.) have emerged. However, their incorporation into various language skills might bring about certain consequences. Among them, the writing skill is often perceived as unique in its nature in terms of both teaching practices and assessment modalities. In a bid to exercise a Learner-Oriented Assessment (LOA) practice, the present study was designed to comparatively implement self-, peer-, and teacher-assessments in a writing course, and explore the experiences and perceptions of the learners towards the three assessment alternatives. Pertinent statistical analyses revealed significant differences among them such that higher proficiency level learners evaluated their writings more realistically, while lower proficiency level over estimated their abilities. Moreover, most of them had positive attitudes towards this novel assessment experience, holding that LOA could scaffold them in gaining a lot and arousing their awareness of their weaknesses and strengths.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Mohammad Ahmadi Safa; Roya Zamani Jamshidi
Abstract
Abstract The researchers have been interested to explore the impact of personality traits on second or foreign language learning. The current study is an attempt to investigate whether there exists a statistically significant relationship between introvert and extrovert EFL learners’ willingness ...
Read More
Abstract The researchers have been interested to explore the impact of personality traits on second or foreign language learning. The current study is an attempt to investigate whether there exists a statistically significant relationship between introvert and extrovert EFL learners’ willingness to communicate and ambiguity tolerance. To this end, a total of 150 EFL learners completed the Introversion/Extroversion Scale developed by McCroskey (1998), the Willingness to Communicate Questionnaire (McIntyre et al, 2001) and the Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale (Ely, 1995). The findings of Pearson correlation coefficient revealed that there was a significant positive relationship between (a) introvert EFL learners’ WTC and ambiguity tolerance, and (b) extrovert EFL learners’ WTC and ambiguity tolerance. Independent samples t-tests indicated a significant meaningful difference between introvert and extrovert EFL learners’ WTC and ambiguity tolerance. Whereas extrovert EFL learners were positively different from introvert learners in their willingness to communicate (WTC), introvert EFL learners were found to be more tolerant of ambiguity than extrovert EFL learners. The findings imply that EFL teachers and policy makers need to consider personality types as determining factors for the success of foreign language learners and accordingly modify their educational practices.Keywords: Introversion, Extroversion, Tolerance of Ambiguity, Willingness to Communicate.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Masoumeh Azma
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the effect of visual aids on elementary Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary learning. To achieve the aim of the study, 60 elementary EFL learners were selected based on their performance on proficiency test. After administering the pretest, the participants of the experimental ...
Read More
This study aimed to investigate the effect of visual aids on elementary Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary learning. To achieve the aim of the study, 60 elementary EFL learners were selected based on their performance on proficiency test. After administering the pretest, the participants of the experimental group received vocabulary visually. The teacher used different kinds of strategies such as: physical demonstration, creating a visual memory for the word, etc. Control group received vocabulary instruction through the conventional method, which was popular in similar courses by means of using dictionaries, definitions, synonyms, translation, etc. Finally, both groups took posttest. The results of independent sample t-test showed that visual aids were more effective to help elementary EFL learners to learn vocabulary. Accordingly, it was recommended that all the EFL teachers should feel responsible and use various types of visual aids as much as possible effectively.Key words: Teaching aids; visual Aids; educational technology; teaching; learning; English language learners (ELLs)
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Rasa Faramarzzadeh; Davoud Amini
Abstract
The crucial role of affective factors like anxiety, inhibition, motivation and self-esteem have long been of interest in the field of language learning due to their enormous association with the cognitive processes involved in performance in a second or foreign language. This study aimed at investigating ...
Read More
The crucial role of affective factors like anxiety, inhibition, motivation and self-esteem have long been of interest in the field of language learning due to their enormous association with the cognitive processes involved in performance in a second or foreign language. This study aimed at investigating the relationship between Iranian EFL learners’ self-esteem and conversational dominance in terms of total spoken words, total spoken turns and interruptions in mixed groups (advanced and intermediate levels). The participants were EFL advanced and intermediate female learners in Iran Language Institute (ILI) Tabriz, Iran. The data was collected by administering Coppersmith self-esteem questionnaire and recording and transcribing oral data. Pearson coefficient was used to examine the significance of correlation between self-esteem measures and the components of conversational dominance in speaking performance. The results showed a positive correlation between self-esteem and conversational dominance in terms of total spoken words, total spoken turns and interruptions among the learners. The foundational role of affective variables in cognitive performance is emphasized as a result.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Abdolvahed Zarifi; Elahe Asadpour
Abstract
Abstract The main objective of the current English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programs in Iran is to fill the gap between the students’ general English competence and their ability to read discipline-specific texts. This study aims to investigate the target and present reading comprehension needs ...
Read More
Abstract The main objective of the current English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programs in Iran is to fill the gap between the students’ general English competence and their ability to read discipline-specific texts. This study aims to investigate the target and present reading comprehension needs of EAP undergraduate students of Persian literature in Yasouj state university through a mixed method approach. A total of 30 undergraduate students who have passed ESP courses and 10 postgraduate students along with two content and two EAP instructors participated in the study which was designed on a mixed method approach using interviews and questionnaires. The results indicated that ‘skimming texts’, ‘using bilingual general dictionaries’, ‘scanning texts’, ‘knowledge of Persian literature terminologies’, ‘guessing meanings of words’, and ‘understanding main ideas’ were perceived as either ‘important’ or ‘very important’ to students’ success by all the participants. Moreover, the results suggested that General English Proficiency (GEP) level of the students, was generally low. The undergraduates held that they need more general English than highly specific academic English. Implications of this study can be used for improving EAP reading courses for Persian literature students. Keywords: Persian literature, Reading comprehension, ESP, need analysis, mixed method approach
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Dr. Azizeh Chalak; Mahdokht Nilforoush
Abstract
This article aims to investigate and analyze the perceived English language needs of engineers who want to develop their job position through English Language in their workplaces such as public relations, technical and operational, engineering support of production, planning and development, financial, ...
Read More
This article aims to investigate and analyze the perceived English language needs of engineers who want to develop their job position through English Language in their workplaces such as public relations, technical and operational, engineering support of production, planning and development, financial, general accounting, and legal affairs. In today’s competitive world, the economy needs more people with higher level skills in the workplace. Taking into consideration the specializations mentioned above, the article focuses on the perceived needs of engineers concerning Business English, not general English. Due to the business and economic development of the last decades in Iran, English has rapidly become the language used all over the world. Developing an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course in their workplaces is another purpose of this study. Questionnaire, interviews and observations were used to gather information in this research. Engineers’ expectations, managers’ demands, economy’s needs ask for more reliable methods to provide a better learning in workplace situation. Finally, based on the findings obtained from this study, it can be concluded that workplace courses have lots of effect on the engineers’ job and development and by passing the time they ask for more variable ESP courses relating to their job.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Dr. Amin Karimnia; Mohammad Reza Khodashenas
Abstract
Euphemism is a communicative strategy used to frame a polite or less offensive language and to save people’s public face in communication. This study investigated the euphemistic strategies used by Persian speakers in situations associated with death and lying. Warren’s model of euphemism ...
Read More
Euphemism is a communicative strategy used to frame a polite or less offensive language and to save people’s public face in communication. This study investigated the euphemistic strategies used by Persian speakers in situations associated with death and lying. Warren’s model of euphemism was drawn on as the analytic model guiding the study. To conduct the study, 60 male and female university students were randomly selected. The data were gathered through copies of an open-ended questionnaire and then analyzed. It was found that “figurative expression”, “implication”, “overstatement”, “understatement”, and “particularization” were the most frequently used euphemistic strategies among the participants in the contexts of death and lying. The study also revealed that there was no relationship between gender and the choice of euphemistic strategies. The findings implied that euphemistic strategies might reflect cultural and religious values.
