1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Davud Kuhi
Abstract
Since its introduction to EAP theory in the 1980s, the concept of genre has proven to be a rigorous theoretical construct for a deeperunderstanding of the nature of academic discourse. However, the inherent potential of this concept as a means of classifying and categorizing academic texts has also given ...
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Since its introduction to EAP theory in the 1980s, the concept of genre has proven to be a rigorous theoretical construct for a deeperunderstanding of the nature of academic discourse. However, the inherent potential of this concept as a means of classifying and categorizing academic texts has also given rise to what we have called “the misconception of homogeneity”. Criticizing this misconception and drawing on the concept of hybridity/heterogeneity of scientific/academic genres, the present paper explores some of the major implications of this view for EAP research and pedagogy. It is argued that the recognition of the concept of hybridity of academic genres would result in redefining the corpus design issues, focusing on genre networks instead of single genres, trying further possibilities of triangulation, redefining the criteria for the selection of formal/functional properties in analytic projects and development of thicker explanatory frameworks. The paper also looks at possibilities of operationalizing this concept within what is called “a hybridity-sensitive EAP pedagogy” and suggests intertextuality/interdiscursivity tracing tasks and discursive conversion tasks as means of raising EAP learners awareness.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Hamid Reza Mahboudi; Sanaz Hosseinnejad
Abstract
Immoderate smart phone usage usually makes the students addicted to it and spends less time reading lecture notes and textbooks. This study aims to determine university students' usage of smart phones and perceived rejection of paper books in an EFL context. The study collected data through a 20-item ...
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Immoderate smart phone usage usually makes the students addicted to it and spends less time reading lecture notes and textbooks. This study aims to determine university students' usage of smart phones and perceived rejection of paper books in an EFL context. The study collected data through a 20-item structured questionnaire consisting of the general characteristics, the number and hours of general smart phone usage, the daily usage of textbooks or paper books, and via the online short version of Smart phone Addiction Scale (Kwon, Kim, et al., 2013) administered to200 Iranian EFL participants aged ≥ 18 years and recruited from the Department of Humanities and Biological Sciences in Rabe Rashid Higher Education Institute (RRHEI), Tabriz, Iran. Results of the online SAS showed that the participants had a mean SAS-SV score of 47.02 (SD = 4.235), so theywereregardedasexcessivesmartphoneusers.Also,resultsofquestionnaireindicatedthatthe majority of participants were more inclined to spend an alarming amount of time on their smart phones rather than on their lecture notes and textbooks. The author concludes that students inRRHEIarestronglyaddictedtosmartphonesandthisaddictivebehaviormakesthemspendless time reading textbooks and using university library. The author ultimately gives some useful tips onhowtomitigatethenegativeeffectsofsmartphones.Theresultsofthisstudypromisepractical implications for policy-makers, parents, and academics and their students.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Hussein Meihami; Fateme Husseini
Abstract
Different aspects of identity have been investigated across various educational fields. Although many studies have been done to investigate different aspects of EFL teachers’ identity development, there is a paucity of research on identity-oriented EFL teacher education programs. Hence, the purpose ...
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Different aspects of identity have been investigated across various educational fields. Although many studies have been done to investigate different aspects of EFL teachers’ identity development, there is a paucity of research on identity-oriented EFL teacher education programs. Hence, the purpose of the current study was to investigate EFL teacher educators’ and EFL teachers’ perspectives about identity-oriented EFL teacher education programs to probe where the commonality of perspectives lies between the two groups in order to see how to run identity-oriented teacher education programs. To that end, three EFL teacher educators and five EFL teachers who were recruited based on convenience sampling were interviewed. Each participant was interviewed two times. The interviews were analyzed using grounded theory. The findings revealed that both EFL teacher educators and EFL teachers believed that an EFL teacher education program would be an identity-oriented one when 1) addressing reflective pedagogy, 2) bridging the gap between theory and practice, 3) involving EFL teachers in action research, 4) emphasizing sociocultural aspects of EFL teacher education, and 5) developing EFL teacher awareness about the varieties. Thus, it can be concluded that through including the mentioned features in the teacher education program, teacher educators can achieve identity-oriented teacher education programs.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Mehri Mokhtarzadeh; Hadi Farjami; Monireh Mokhtarzadeh
Abstract
The present study investigates the potential impact of inspirational quotes on improving English abstract vocabulary recall. To achieve this, a multiple-choice Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) of 60 items including vocabulary and grammar component was administered as the proficiency test to a sample ...
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The present study investigates the potential impact of inspirational quotes on improving English abstract vocabulary recall. To achieve this, a multiple-choice Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) of 60 items including vocabulary and grammar component was administered as the proficiency test to a sample of 63 second-semester male and female students aged 18 to 22, studying English Translation in Semnan University, Iran. The 40 upper-level language students were selected and randomly assigned into two groups of 20 as an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group was exposed to inspirational quotes for one month and the control group was instructed abstract vocabularies through plain sentences. At the end of the treatment, a cued recall achievement test was used to measure the participants’ immediate recall of the target words. Two weeks after the treatment, the same test was administered to explore the delayed recall of participants and to estimate the effect of inspirational quotes on long term recall of abstract vocabulary by the experimental group compared with that of the control group. Analysis of immediate and delayed cued recall achievement tests confirmed the hypotheses that inspirational quotes had a significant effect on both immediate and delayed recall of abstract vocabulary. Based on these findings it is concluded that inspirational quotes can be utilized not only as a supportive context for teaching and learning of abstract vocabulary but also as motivational, emotional, and meaningful pedagogical sources.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Nur Izzati Azman; Mansour Amini; Lin Siew Eng; Masoumeh Alavi
Abstract
Different types of reading strategies pose challenges to instructors and learners in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. This study aimed at identifying and comparing reading strategies used by instructors and students in dealing with literal comprehension, reorganization, and inferential ...
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Different types of reading strategies pose challenges to instructors and learners in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. This study aimed at identifying and comparing reading strategies used by instructors and students in dealing with literal comprehension, reorganization, and inferential comprehension questions. The participants werefive EFL instructors and 27 students from the English Language Proficiency Programme (ELPP) at the University of Malaya, Malaysia selected through purposive sampling. Thisqualitative study involved in-class observations and interviews with instructors, and questionnaires administered to students.The analysis of the data revealed that both instructors and students practice various reading strategies when dealing with comprehension questions, and some strategies used by the instructors are never or seldom used by the students. Strategies such as “reading questions before reading the passage”, “skimming and scanning”, “connecting prior knowledge”, and “finding context clues” were found to be used by both instructors and students. The findings indicated that instructors’ implementation of a variety of reading strategies affects students’ comprehension level over the reading materials. Therefore, the study can provide clear guidelines for the EFL instructors to seek for their students’ advancement of reading proficiency. This could ultimately result in students’ better academic achievement and learning motivation.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Maryam Ahmadi; Abbas Ali Zarei; Rajab Esfandiari
Abstract
Finding more effective ways of teaching second language idioms has been a long standing concern of many teaching practitioners and researchers. This study was an endeavorto explore the effects of three linguistic mnemonic devices (etymological elaboration, keyword method, and translation) on EFL learners’ ...
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Finding more effective ways of teaching second language idioms has been a long standing concern of many teaching practitioners and researchers. This study was an endeavorto explore the effects of three linguistic mnemonic devices (etymological elaboration, keyword method, and translation) on EFL learners’ recognition and recall of English idioms. To achieve the purpose of the study, ninety male and female EFL learnersat intermediate level of language proficiency who were preparing themselves for IELTS were selected. They were in three groups of thirty members each. Each groupwas randomly assigned to one of the treatment conditions and was taught idioms using one of the above-mentioned linguistic mnemonic devices. The one-way ANOVA procedurewas used to analyze the data. The results showed statistically significant differences between these techniques, with the etymological elaboration method being the most effective of all, on both recognition and recall of idioms. The findings of the study can have implications for textbook designers, curriculum developers, teachers, and learners.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Saeed Karimi-Aghdam
Abstract
Language learning strategies, “the techniques or devices which a learner may use to acquire knowledge” (Rubin, 1975, p. 43) or more pertinently “complex, dynamic thoughts and actions, selected and used by learners with some degree of consciousness in specific contexts” (Oxford, ...
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Language learning strategies, “the techniques or devices which a learner may use to acquire knowledge” (Rubin, 1975, p. 43) or more pertinently “complex, dynamic thoughts and actions, selected and used by learners with some degree of consciousness in specific contexts” (Oxford, 2017, p. 48), have been widely researched and discussed for more than forty years since the mid-1970s. Shifting the focus to language learner from language teacher, from language teaching methodology to language learning styles, and from transfer of information to construction of knowledge as the fulcra of language learning process are qualities which brought language learning strategies into high vogue. The language learner no longer was viewed as an inert and passive meaning-apprehending receptacle devoid of creative agency; rather, language learner was viewed as an active and meaning-giving individual who is endowed with creative agency for envisioning and generating a course of actions to achieve his/her language using and learning objectives. Thus, language learner’s capacity to perform intentional and goal-oriented actions regarding how to initiate, guide, and sustain language learning process and how to attain high language proficiency received considerable attention in the extant research literature. The great swell of academic interest in language learning strategies reached its sharp crescendo in the 1980s and early 1990s (e.g., O’Malley & Chamot, 1990; Cohen, 1998).
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Mohammad Hossein Yousefi; Farzad Rostami; Davoud Amini
Abstract
The present study investigated the effects of cognitive complexity of pedagogical tasks on the learners’ uptake of salient features in the input. For the purpose of data collection, three versions of a decision-making task (simple, mid, and complex) were employed. Three intact classes (each 20 ...
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The present study investigated the effects of cognitive complexity of pedagogical tasks on the learners’ uptake of salient features in the input. For the purpose of data collection, three versions of a decision-making task (simple, mid, and complex) were employed. Three intact classes (each 20 language learners) were randomly assigned to three groups. Each group transacted a version of a decision-making task in dyadic condition. The results of the statistical analysis (one-way ANOVA) revealed significant differences among the groups. The participants in complex group tended to produce more uptakes. The results of the present study revealed that manipulating cognitive complexity of pedagogical tasks led to more uptake of the linguistic items made salient by the teacher and triggered much interaction between the participants. The study, also, has a number of theoretical and pedagogical implications for SLA researchers and syllabus designers.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Siamak Saadati; Golsa kheirandish
Abstract
In every mythological story, a quest for immortality and eternality depicts man’s inner fervor for unity with gods and the supreme power. Man seeks full immersion in life and longs for immortality at the same time. In other words, he wants to live both in time and in eternity. The desire for eternity ...
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In every mythological story, a quest for immortality and eternality depicts man’s inner fervor for unity with gods and the supreme power. Man seeks full immersion in life and longs for immortality at the same time. In other words, he wants to live both in time and in eternity. The desire for eternity in man shows his ceaseless struggle with time, and even more so an intense fight with death to conquer eternal life.Thisarticle studies religious and mythological figures who have either been immortal or sought to be so. Jesus Christ, Idris (Enoch), Khidr, and Elias (Elijah) from religious schools of thought;Peshotanu, Giv, Tous, Kay Khosrow, Garshasp, and Zahhak from Persian myths; and Utnapishtim in Mesopotamia are immortals. Some mythological figures such as Gilgamesh and Alexander also sought deathlessness, yet failed to find it.Most mythological and even religious schools of thought have dealt with immortality. Anyone who has set out to find eternality has returned empty-handed, losing their life during the quest: Gilgamesh and Alexander sought immortality and the structures of their journey and quest are similar in many ways. However, they both failed. Those who received immortality from God, on the other hand, remain eternal, as immortality belongs to the realm of God’s grace, not man’s struggle.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Somayeh Sheikhpour Ahandani; Mohammad Reza Khodareza
Abstract
This study investigated the intervention of Zimmerman & Hutchins (2003) Information Synthesization vs. Visualization on Iranian Undergraduate ESP (Accounting) learners’ reading comprehension achievement across gender. 120 ESP University students majoring in Accounting in Iran participated in ...
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This study investigated the intervention of Zimmerman & Hutchins (2003) Information Synthesization vs. Visualization on Iranian Undergraduate ESP (Accounting) learners’ reading comprehension achievement across gender. 120 ESP University students majoring in Accounting in Iran participated in this study and were assigned to 4 homogeneous groups, 30 male and 30 female students in experimental groups, 30 male and 30 female students in comparison groups. An ESP reading comprehension administered to all participants as a pre-test showed that 4 groups were not significantly different in ESP reading comprehension ability. For treatment, Accounting reading comprehension passages were taught through focusing on Information Synthesization strategy in the experimental group and in the comparison groups it was taught through focusing on Visualization strategy. At the end of the treatment, the post-test was administered. The results revealed that Information Synthesization had more effect on improving the students’ ESP reading comprehension ability than Visualization, and also gender does not interact with ESP reading comprehension ability of the participants.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Mehrnaz Jamshidi; Zohreh Mohamadi Zenouzagh
Abstract
This study aimed to discover the effect of mobile-assisted teaching of collocations on Iranian EFL learners’ reading achievement. For this purpose, a PET test was given to 85 intermediate EFL learners as the proficiency test. After homogenization, 30 female and male students within the age range ...
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This study aimed to discover the effect of mobile-assisted teaching of collocations on Iranian EFL learners’ reading achievement. For this purpose, a PET test was given to 85 intermediate EFL learners as the proficiency test. After homogenization, 30 female and male students within the age range of 16 to 30 years old from an institute in Alborz Province were selected as the participants in the experimental group and 30 female and male students within the age range of 14 to 25 years old from another institute in Alborz province were selected as the participants in the control group, as well. A reading test was utilized as the pre-test to measure the participants’ reading achievement. The participants in the experimental group received mobile-assisted teaching of collocations through Flax Completing Collocation game while the participants in the control group received teacher instruction of the collocations existing in the game inside the classroom. To discover the effect of mobile-assisted teaching of collocations, a post-test, the same as the pre-test was given to the participants after the treatment. An independent t-test was run to compare the experimental and control groups’ means on the pre and posttest of reading achievement. The results indicated that the experimental group, after receiving mobile-assisted teaching of collocations, significantly outperformed the control group on the posttest of reading achievement. Regarding the findings of the study, the achieved results would help EFL teachers, learners, and material developers to be informed about the effect of mobile-assisted teaching of collocations on reading ability. Furthermore, this study presents some recommendations in future studies.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Shahla Nazeri; Davoud Amini; Farzad Salahshoor
Abstract
“Code-Switching”, an important issue in the field of both language classroom and sociolinguistics, has been under consideration in investigations related to bilingual and multilingual societies. First proposed by Haugen (1956) and later developed byGrosjean (1982), the termcode-switching ...
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“Code-Switching”, an important issue in the field of both language classroom and sociolinguistics, has been under consideration in investigations related to bilingual and multilingual societies. First proposed by Haugen (1956) and later developed byGrosjean (1982), the termcode-switching refers to language alternation during communication. Although code-switching is unavoidable in bilingual and multilingual contexts, its role and motivational determinants in language classes are sometimes ignored. The goal of the present article was to investigate the motivational determinants of classroom code-switching in EFL classrooms. The research was conducted with 400 participants, including 374 students and 26 teachers. The data collection techniques included questionnairesand observation checklist, all of which were designed based on Hymes’ (1962) framework and Poplack’s (1980), Myers-Scotton’s (1989), Blom and Gumperz’s (1972), and Gumperz’s (1982) categorizations. The data were analyzed through the software SPSS (Version 20). The results revealedthat providing the listener with better understanding, clarification, and checking comprehension are the most important motivational determinants for codeswitching.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Saeedeh Mohammadi
Abstract
Genre analysis as an area of great concern in recent decades, involves the observation of linguistic features used by a determined discourse community. The research article (RA) is one of the most widely researched genres in academic writing which is realized through some rhetorical moves and discursive ...
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Genre analysis as an area of great concern in recent decades, involves the observation of linguistic features used by a determined discourse community. The research article (RA) is one of the most widely researched genres in academic writing which is realized through some rhetorical moves and discursive steps to achieve a communicative purpose. This study aimed at proposing a model of generic patterns competence applicable in writing RAs in different English for Academic Purposes (EAP) disciplines. In so doing, a “qualitative meta-synthesis” (Walsh &Downe, 2005) approach was adopted as the research method. A meta-synthesis exercise was framed and the currently available literature on various models of generic moves suggested for the different sections of RAs was investigated. 391 relevant abstracts and 354 full papers were selected and screened and a number of 26 studies were appraised for final inclusion. Afterwards, a reciprocal translation was conducted to generate the latent themes and concepts in the general model. More specifically, a thematic coding strategy was applied for synthesizing the selected qualitative evidence. Then, different obtained themes and categories were synthesized to extract the major dimensionsof the model of RA generic competence. Finally, four super themes of generic competences were emerged including: RA abstract generic competence, RA introduction generic competence, RA methodology generic competence, and RA discussion generic competence. The new model can be a common frame of reference to guide the EAP researchers in understanding and following the appropriate generic structuresin producing an acceptable body of academic discourse to be published in highly prestigious journals.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Sajjad Sherafati; Narjes Ghafournia
Abstract
The current study was an attempt to investigate the relationship among L2 Motivational Self-System, Reading Comprehension Ability, and Gender of Iranian EFL Learners. 70 participants of both male and female at intermediate level at Shokooh Institute in Kashmar-Iran were randomly selected. The instruments ...
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The current study was an attempt to investigate the relationship among L2 Motivational Self-System, Reading Comprehension Ability, and Gender of Iranian EFL Learners. 70 participants of both male and female at intermediate level at Shokooh Institute in Kashmar-Iran were randomly selected. The instruments of the study were a L2 motivational self-system questionnaire by Yan(2011), and a reading comprehension test. The questionnaire consists of 61 questions, based on six-point scale from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree". The reading comprehension test was extracted from the texts in VOA special English website. The obtained data were analyzed through descriptive analysis and Pearson Correlation coefficient. The data were fed into SPSS 22, followed by employing T-test, Shapiro-Wilk and Levene's test. The findings revealed a positive relationship between L2 motivational self-system and reading comprehension ability and also a negative relationship between L2 Motivational self-system and the gender of EFL learners. The findings have some useful pedagogical implications for language teachers and syllabus designers that can be taken into account in teacher-training programs.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Mahnaz Moayeri; Davood Mashhadi Heidar
Abstract
The present review article discusses the significant role of technology, particularly blogging, in the development of the writing skill. Similar to the conventional classroom teaching, practitioners and researchers view blogs as tools for constructing grammar and writing skills and dispersing knowledge. ...
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The present review article discusses the significant role of technology, particularly blogging, in the development of the writing skill. Similar to the conventional classroom teaching, practitioners and researchers view blogs as tools for constructing grammar and writing skills and dispersing knowledge. In spite of the fact that learning through blogs can advance higher development of identity and bring about collaboration and social interaction, it can offer higher opportunities for learners to represent and express themselves, fostering the skills to develop and build their own community(Love, 2004; Spangenberg, 2004). Blogging is not presumed to be a substitution for conventional classroom writing pedagogy, neither just an issue of delivering classroom writing into digital space of the 21st Century, but,instead, it is writing in an innovative way that cultivates, among learner bloggers, a strong interest to write for the aim of communication and expression. Theadvantages of blogs, specifically in comparison to other technological advances such as discussion boards, are overviewed in this article. Besides, the relevant empirical investigations that have endeavored to explore the role of blogging in the cultivation of writing and learners’ attitudes towards it are presented. Considering that the majority of research studies have pinpointed the potential of blogging in writing development, it is suggested that teachers use models to familiarize their learners with blogging prior to actively using it in their writing classes.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Farzad Sharifian; Azizeh Chalak; Zeinab Dehkordi
Abstract
Introduction of Cultural Linguistics in the modern ages of communication can address the issue of cultural schema transfer in online communication. Despite a good number of studies on a compliment, this pragmatic behavior has not been examined in the context of online communications such as social networking ...
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Introduction of Cultural Linguistics in the modern ages of communication can address the issue of cultural schema transfer in online communication. Despite a good number of studies on a compliment, this pragmatic behavior has not been examined in the context of online communications such as social networking sites where compliments are commonly paid and received. The present study aimed to examine the realization of Persian cultural schema of Shekaste-nafsi (Sharifian, 2005) on compliment responses uttered by Persian EFL on Facebook. To do so, 30 Persian EFL learners were selected through convenient sampling, and their compliments and compliment responses were recorded as data. Herbert's (1986) taxonomy was used to identify the strategies' types and the Persian cultural schema of Shekaste-nafsiwas served as a model to gloss the samples. The interpretationssuggested that participants applied their Persian cultural schemas and expressed their modesty while they tend to be polite and appreciate the compliments. The findings indicated the importance of cultural schema and highlighted the pragmatic knowledge transfer both in Persian and English while online communicating. The results of the present study may contribute to the issue of pragmatic transfer in the process of foreign language learning and can benefit the EFL learners in identifying the source of miscommunication.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Javad Gholami; Mahsa Alinasab; Saeed Ayiewbey; Mohammad Nasimfar
Abstract
Nowadays, studying in higher education is not as uncomplicated as it seems to be, particularly in PhD programs. Given the complex interplay of multiple variables affecting one’s experience in such programs, there is a mounting need for probing more into the ways in which PhD students’ lives ...
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Nowadays, studying in higher education is not as uncomplicated as it seems to be, particularly in PhD programs. Given the complex interplay of multiple variables affecting one’s experience in such programs, there is a mounting need for probing more into the ways in which PhD students’ lives are affected by these factors, and how their transition trajectories emerge. The present study explored the elements which shape PhD students’ lives, and how they interact with each other. Employing an ecological model framework, this cross-sectional study investigated how present as well as graduate students’ lives were affected in different phases of the program. To this end, ten PhD students or graduates of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), representing early, mid, and completion phases of the program, were interviewed to qualitatively elicit the views they harbor toward the program. The findings emanating from the content analysis of the interview transcripts revealed that multiple factors in tandem mold students’ perceptions of the program. The most notable extracted themes embraced dissatisfaction with academic procedures, satisfaction with university professors, and challenges related to the students’ private lives.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Davud Kuhi; Mina Babapour
Abstract
The present article shows that all scientific texts included in journals, magazines, and newspapers are vulnerable to the penetration of hedges and boosters. However, it was found that scientific texts in the three corpora tended to open up the possibilities of alternative voices rather than narrowing ...
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The present article shows that all scientific texts included in journals, magazines, and newspapers are vulnerable to the penetration of hedges and boosters. However, it was found that scientific texts in the three corpora tended to open up the possibilities of alternative voices rather than narrowing them down. The relatively higher frequency of occurrence of hedges in comparison with boosters indicates that regardless of whether the audience is expert or non-expert, their voices are seen as respected in the scientific texts. Similarly, boosters as means of narrowing down the alternative positions and developing a strong and certain authorial voices are equally disfavored in both expert and popularized scientific texts. Despite this similar pattern of the use of hedges and boosters in the investigated corpora, the means to achieve the mentioned objectives slightly differed and the informal style of language use dominating popular genres influenced the textual realizations of such functions.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Minoo Alemi; Neda Khanlarzadeh
Abstract
Acquiring proficiency in academic genres is a key factor in research community. Among various genres in academic discourse communities, spoken genre, especially Conference Presentations (CPs), play a crucial role in research communities, though investigation on this important genre is in its infancy ...
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Acquiring proficiency in academic genres is a key factor in research community. Among various genres in academic discourse communities, spoken genre, especially Conference Presentations (CPs), play a crucial role in research communities, though investigation on this important genre is in its infancy or is relatively under-researched. Therefore, the present study aims to shed light on the importance of two most frequently used structures in CPs, passive voice, and pseudo-cleft. To this end, 600 minutes of Iranian international CPs were recorded and then transcribed. The rate of employment of the structures, and the effect of gender and university degree of presenters were estimated. The results of the chi square analysis of the data suggested that although rate of use of passive voice was higher than pseudo-cleft, the differences between males and females, and graduates and postgraduates were minor and hence gender and university degree did not significantly influence the rate of use of the structures. Since passive voice and pseudo-cleft are two of the most important structures in academic genre, the results of the present study have obvious importance in increasing conference presenters and lecturers’ awareness of the employment of the structures efficiently.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Fereshteh Asadzadian; Ghader Asadzadian
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the Canonical analysis of the relationship between personality traits and attitude with motivation and EFL learners’ written production task. This research in terms of data collection procedure is a correlation type. The statistical population consisted ...
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the Canonical analysis of the relationship between personality traits and attitude with motivation and EFL learners’ written production task. This research in terms of data collection procedure is a correlation type. The statistical population consisted of the students who were selected by random cluster sampling method. Data were analyzed using standard questionnaire of motivation, attitude, and personality traits, and analyzed by SPSS software using statistical tests. The results of correlation analysis of variables showed that there is a significant positive correlation between personality traits with motivation and written skills. It was also determined that attitudes with motivation and written skills predict a positive and significant relationship. Finally, the results of this study can be a very clear perspective for planners and trainers of writing skills training courses to pay more attention to non-cognitive and attitudinal variables such as personality traits and learners’ motivation in English language classes.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Hamid Reza Mahboudi
Abstract
The aim of this study was to see if there was any significant difference between undergraduate students of biological sciences and humanities in their test anxiety scores at University College of Rub-bi Rashid, Tabriz, Iran. This analytical-descriptive study was conducted on a sample of 188 students ...
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The aim of this study was to see if there was any significant difference between undergraduate students of biological sciences and humanities in their test anxiety scores at University College of Rub-bi Rashid, Tabriz, Iran. This analytical-descriptive study was conducted on a sample of 188 students composed of 94 students of humanities and 94 students of biological sciences. The cases were selected by simple random sampling and Sarason Anxiety Questionnaire was used for gathering data and finally the collected data was analyzed via SPSS 24. The mean of anxiety level among students of humanities was 1.84 and 2.05 before and after the test respectively, and the measured mean for students of biological sciences was 1.89 before the test and 2.15 after the test. This result showed a significant difference between these two types of students (P < 0.05) in both phases, but there were no significant differences between experimental and test groups’ sex and anxiety level (P > 0.05). Moreover, the results of chi-square tests showed no significant difference between the two types of students after the test (P > 0.05). In these two studied groups, the test anxiety was increased after the test in comparison with that before it. Also, it was concluded that biological students’ test anxiety was as large as humanity students’ test anxiety in the second phase. Similarly, no significant difference was observed between boys and girls after the test. Finally, the authors suggest some handy tips that can help to relieve the pressure on the tests.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Farnaz Sahebkheir
Abstract
In this study, the researcher chose three different vocabulary techniques (Visual Representation, Textual Enhancement, and Glossing) and compared them with traditional method of teaching vocabulary. 80 advanced EFL Learners were assigned as four intact groups (three experimental and one control group) ...
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In this study, the researcher chose three different vocabulary techniques (Visual Representation, Textual Enhancement, and Glossing) and compared them with traditional method of teaching vocabulary. 80 advanced EFL Learners were assigned as four intact groups (three experimental and one control group) through using a proficiency test and a vocabulary test as a pre-test. In the visual group, students used flashcards; in the textual enhancement, every synonym and antonym were highlighted and numbered and in the glossing group new vocabularies were numbered and their explanations were provided in the margins or footnotes. Students in the control group learned vocabulary through traditional way by meaning explanation, translation, or providing synonyms and antonyms. All the other three groups had the same procedure as control group but besides these processes they had access to visual, textual, or glossing techniques, too. The results showed that in the posttest, all three experimental groups outperformed the control group. However, the highest improvement in both post-test and delayed post-test was for glossing group. As a whole, we can say improvement in vocabulary learning was respectively for glossing, then visual, and finally textual enhancement. Therefore, it can be concluded that using pictorial, textual cues and glossing enhance their interlanguage system.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Mona Hosseini
Abstract
The book ‘Developing expertise through experience’consists of twenty chapters written by language educators. Alan Maley has edited the book. The writers of the chapters have written their stories and experiences about learning English and being an Educator with regard to the notion of ‘sense ...
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The book ‘Developing expertise through experience’consists of twenty chapters written by language educators. Alan Maley has edited the book. The writers of the chapters have written their stories and experiences about learning English and being an Educator with regard to the notion of ‘sense of plausibility’ defined by Prabhu. Prabhu explains that plausibility in pedagogy is teachers’ intuition about learning arising from her own experience of teaching. The book is a major effort to share experiences between professionals working in different parts of the world. Therefore, the purpose is not to reach an agreement between many individuals but rather an enlarging, sharpening or enriching of every individual’s personal perception.In the first chapter of the book, Robert Bellarmine elaborates on the understanding of the ‘teacher’s sense of plausibility’. He explains that it is a personal theory of learning and teaching and its elements are not only beliefs and values but also concepts, principles, rules of thumb, truths and metaphors.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Kazem Lotfipour-Saedi; Davoud Amini
Abstract
Due to the special (procedural) nature of the language (verbal communication) ‘knowledge’, the dominant trends in applied linguistics research in the last few decades have been advocating ‘acquisition’ rather than ‘learning’ activities where the main focus in SL & ...
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Due to the special (procedural) nature of the language (verbal communication) ‘knowledge’, the dominant trends in applied linguistics research in the last few decades have been advocating ‘acquisition’ rather than ‘learning’ activities where the main focus in SL & FL education should be on ‘meaning’ while some ‘focus-on-form’ being justified. But the ‘form’ to be ‘focused-on’ is mostly misconceived to be ‘grammaticality’ of sentences. This misconception is driven by the traditional outlook on language which considers it as a set of sentences carrying THE meaning deposited upon them, disregarding the true nature of verbal transactions where meanings are discursively constructed by the participants in interaction , and the text (enabled by its textuality) rather than sentences (supported by their grammatical accuracy) mediates this discursive process. The present paper argues that textuality representing an underlying discourse should be the ‘form’ to be focused on in SLA facilitation tasks. It is the textuality and its ‘impulse-creating and impulse-reiterating agencies which, upon their perception, help the receiver to grasp the hierarchical integrity of the linearly organized text. Each text can be seen as containing a set of units which are psycho-socio-linguistically determined packages facilitating the linear presentation of the textual hierarchy. These units, labeled as T-units in written text, can be defined as stretches of text occurring between two full-stops. These T-units are the epicenters for ‘impulse-creation’ while carrying some ‘impulse-reiterating’ elements as well. Variations in the overall configuration of the T-units including what is chosen as their main verb (epicenter), the number of impulse-reiterating elements revolving around it and their mode of realization will be discussed. It will be argued that the SLA ‘focus-on-form’ activities designed to raise the language learners’ consciousness should be along these textuality dimensions; and examples of such activities (mainly oriented towards reading/writing skills) will be discussed.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Maryam Alipour; Khazriati Salehuddin; Siti Hamin Stapa
Abstract
AbstractIn this study, phonological, morphological, and orthographical spelling difficulties were identified to examine the correlation between spelling difficulties and the time taken to memorize the spelling of words (time of memorization) among Iranian EFL students in Malaysia. The participants were ...
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AbstractIn this study, phonological, morphological, and orthographical spelling difficulties were identified to examine the correlation between spelling difficulties and the time taken to memorize the spelling of words (time of memorization) among Iranian EFL students in Malaysia. The participants were 41 Iranian EFL students (20 male and 21 female) who were selected purposefully from an Iranian secondary school in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. A pre-test and post-test design adapting Tabrizi at el.’s (2013) approach was used. Forty words from the second-year English textbook of Iranian EFL students were selected for use in both pre-test and post-test. After the identification of the most frequent type of spelling errors, a significant negative correlation was found between time of memorization and English spelling errors (r= - 0.765), indicating that when the time of response was short, English spelling errors increased. The findings may contribute to identification, classification, and treatment of spelling, and reducing spelling difficulties among EFL learners to mitigate spelling difficulties among young learners, particularly among Iranian EFL students.
