Moussa Pourya Asl
Abstract
Current feminisms have emphasized the systematic nature of women’s oppression. Feminist scholars like Luce Irigaray insist that woman’s difference and otherness is a matter of male-dominated institutional definition: because the woman is theoretically subordinated to the concept of masculinity, ...
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Current feminisms have emphasized the systematic nature of women’s oppression. Feminist scholars like Luce Irigaray insist that woman’s difference and otherness is a matter of male-dominated institutional definition: because the woman is theoretically subordinated to the concept of masculinity, she is seen and objectified by the man as his opposite, described as an absence, a lack, and, most notoriously, the other. The metaphor of vision, or the panoptic gaze, is thus faulted with a construction of “sexist norms”, and with the institutional definitions of gender and sexual difference. This paper examines the contention in the key theoretical writings of men—Freud, Lacan, and Sartre—who are engaged with the notion of femininity. Their conceptualizations on the notions of scopophilia, exhibitionism, and narcissism are specifically examined to explore the way the dichotomy of a male subject and a female object is formulated and perpetuated through heterocenteric assumptions about the gaze. It is concluded that within the masculine framework of Western metaphysics, a woman’s entry into a presiding scopic economy contributes to her ineluctable limitation to passivity and her socio-sexual victimization. In this regard, the panoptic gaze is endowed with a constitutive influence upon the subjectivity of the individuals—appropriating the woman into a definable being.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Rajab Esfandiari
Abstract
In rater-mediated assessments, the ratings awarded to language learners’ written, or spoken, performances do not necessarily reflect their language abilities because a number of other construct-irrelevant factors may affect the knowledge they demonstrate. Rater subjectivity and rating scales are ...
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In rater-mediated assessments, the ratings awarded to language learners’ written, or spoken, performances do not necessarily reflect their language abilities because a number of other construct-irrelevant factors may affect the knowledge they demonstrate. Rater subjectivity and rating scales are among the variables possibly influencing the final results. The purpose of the present study was to examine the extent to which university students’ ratings on their essays mirrored the effect of these two factors. To that end, 150 Iranian EFL teachers rated ten five-paragraph essays BA students had written as their course requirements at Imam Khomeini International University. The raters used two rating scales to rate the essays on a number of assessment criteria. The study rested on a partial rating design, and the Rasch-based computer program, FACETS, was used to analyze the data. Results of Facets analyses showed raters differed considerably in the amounts of severity they exercised when rating the essays. The results also showed rater bias interactions with holistic rating scales. The implications of the findings for proposing procedures for reducing the effects of such extraneous variables are discussed.
Aisan Norozi; zohre Mohamadi
Abstract
This study investigates the relation between EFL (English as a foreign language) learners’ autonomy, their identity styles, and their writing ability and it aims to show which independent variables have higher predicting power on variances in writing. To this end, 60 Iranian university EFL students ...
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This study investigates the relation between EFL (English as a foreign language) learners’ autonomy, their identity styles, and their writing ability and it aims to show which independent variables have higher predicting power on variances in writing. To this end, 60 Iranian university EFL students at the language center of the researchers’ institution were selected to participate in this study. The results of Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and regression analysis on participants’ answers to learner autonomy and identity styles questionnaires and their writing performance indicated that all identity style types significantly correlate and predict learner autonomy and only commitment identity style could predict writing ability. Multiple mediation analysis indicated that the identity styles significantly mediated the effect of autonomy on writing. The findings can provide insights to operationalize autonomous learning, learner-centered learning and individualized learning. The implications and suggestions for future direction of research are discussed in the light of limitations of the study.
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 ...
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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.
Hossein Ghader; Dr. M. Rahim Bahlooli Niri
Abstract
AbstractThis study aimed at examining the effect of pictorial presentation of vocabulary on EFL students’ retention relying on Dual Coding Theory and Additivity Hypothesis, both of which emphasize the additive effect of images on recall. To that end, 63 students who were in grade three of high ...
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AbstractThis study aimed at examining the effect of pictorial presentation of vocabulary on EFL students’ retention relying on Dual Coding Theory and Additivity Hypothesis, both of which emphasize the additive effect of images on recall. To that end, 63 students who were in grade three of high school served as the participants of the study. They were randomly divided into three groups of still picture experimental, motion picture experimental, and control groups. During the eight sessions of treatment, 40 new words were taught to the three groups. The experimental groups received the words visually, using software, and the control group was instructed in traditional way. The participants were tested for their memory of the target items twice: immediately at the end of the course as a final exam (post-test) to assess their short-term memory and three weeks after the final exam to test their long-term retention. Data analysis using a mixed between-within subjects analysis of variance (split-plot ANOVA/SPANOVA) and a post hoc Scheffé test demonstrated the positive effect of pictorial presentation of vocabulary on the learners’ retention of words. The results also revealed that teaching vocabulary using motion picture mode was more effective.
Farzad Salahshoor; Mahnaz Sharifi
Abstract
The notion of genre has received a great deal of attention both in discourse analytic studies as well as in the field of ESP/EAP course design. The present paper has attempted to use genre analysis to account for the rhetorical features of research article introductions written by Iranian academics in ...
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The notion of genre has received a great deal of attention both in discourse analytic studies as well as in the field of ESP/EAP course design. The present paper has attempted to use genre analysis to account for the rhetorical features of research article introductions written by Iranian academics in two disciplinary fields of Education and Economics. The corpus comprised 40 research article introductions (20 from Education, 20 from Economics fields). Applying John Swales’ (1990) CARS model and based on the notions of generic move, and step, our analysis showed a high degree of compatibility between our data and Swales’ model. The only marked difference was that the frequencies of occurrence of moves 1 and 2 were significantly higher than that of move 3. Some minor differences were also identified and discussed. The findings may be of some value both to contrastive rhetorical studies and genre analytic studies. They may also be practically useful for EAP syllabus designers in developing genre-oriented EAP material, and EAP teachers in postgraduate courses aiming at developing academic writing skills.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Nuria Ballesteros Soria; Rémi Adam van Compernolle
Abstract
Pre-task planning has been extensively studied in task-based language teaching research, but a limited number of studies to date has explored the phenomenon through a sociocultural theory lens. In this article, we report on pre-task planning from a Vygotskian group-as-collective perspective by examining ...
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Pre-task planning has been extensively studied in task-based language teaching research, but a limited number of studies to date has explored the phenomenon through a sociocultural theory lens. In this article, we report on pre-task planning from a Vygotskian group-as-collective perspective by examining its mediational role during dynamic strategic interaction scenario tasks (DSISs) implemented in a first semester elementary-level US university Spanish classroom. DSISs involve pre-task planning, small group performances in front of the class, and post-task debriefings in which peer and instructor comments are immediately provided. Drawing on Vygotsky’s (1978) genetic method of analysis, we first show how turn-allocation emerged as an object of learning during the first debriefing, which was the result of pre-task planning and students’ observations following the first group performance. Second, we provide an account of the microgenesis of the debriefing observations through an analysis of planning tasks and the instructor’s framing and modeling of appropriate feedback, which we contend mediated students’ orientation to turn-allocation as a relevant learnable. In concluding, we discuss our findings, their research and pedagogical implications, and future directions for instructed research on L2 speaking development.
3. Applied Literature
Firouzeh Ameri
Abstract
The field of Applied Literature is concerned with the practical usages of literature, including the potentials of literature to empower and transform individuals. Jungian criticism, with its suggestions of the possibility of individuation and self-actualization in individuals, has been an important source ...
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The field of Applied Literature is concerned with the practical usages of literature, including the potentials of literature to empower and transform individuals. Jungian criticism, with its suggestions of the possibility of individuation and self-actualization in individuals, has been an important source for scholars in the field of Applied Literature for healing. Still, the traditional Jungian approach to literature has been criticized in recent years, especially due to its apparent universalist assumptions and its insensitivity to context-specific issues in texts. For the same reason, New Jungian critics have been recently exploring the possibilities of reconciling Jungian concepts with more context-oriented literary theories. This paper, then, in accordance with this new trend, attempts to do a New Jungian reading of a contemporary postcolonial novel, Sweetness in the Belly, by Camilla Gibb , as a case study, to investigate the potentials within this approach of extension of Jungian ideas and dialogue with other more modern literary theories after poststructuralism. The research benefits from the views of New Jungian critics as well as the theories in relation to the identity issues of migrants. The paper is concluded with the proposition that, as the exploration of this novel testifies, the New Jungian approach as well as the contemporary fiction of identity construction can prove as valid resources for Applied Literature for healing.
3. Applied Literature
Moussa Pourya Asl
Abstract
The South Asian American diasporic writer, Jhumpa Lahiri has been widely acclaimed by the first-world intellectuals for her truthful representations of diasporic experience. In recent years, however, some scholars have drawn upon Gayatri Spivak’s notion of “Native Informant” to interrogate ...
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The South Asian American diasporic writer, Jhumpa Lahiri has been widely acclaimed by the first-world intellectuals for her truthful representations of diasporic experience. In recent years, however, some scholars have drawn upon Gayatri Spivak’s notion of “Native Informant” to interrogate the controversial canonization of Lahiri in the West, and point instead to her disavowed participation in the production of favored knowledge. In consideration of the rising incidence of critical controversies in naming the diasporic writer, this article aims to conduct a review of the established literature to synthesize and integrate the copious amount of scholarly insights available on variables related to naming and categorizing. To this end, the corpus of interpretation, criticism and appreciation are surveyed with three questions in mind: What controversial and mixed reactions have Lahiri and her fiction provoked? How much deliberation has been given to interpreting her short stories and novels as works of art, and how much thought has been given to critique or to side issues? This will allow the researcher to track the critical gaze that seemingly produces auras of exoticism and thereby allegedly appropriates the position of the writer as a Native Informant. The study concludes that the major concern of any critical work on Lahiri should not merely be the issues of diasporas and cultural tensions, but facets of the author’s politics of representation.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Seyedeh Maryam Mousavi; Ali Amirghassemi; Mahnaz Saeidi
Abstract
Teachers' psycho-affective state is important to the quality of their classroom performance. Self-efficacy and fluid intelligence are thought of as being protective in adverse conditions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation among Iranian EFL teachers' self-efficacy, fluid intelligence, ...
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Teachers' psycho-affective state is important to the quality of their classroom performance. Self-efficacy and fluid intelligence are thought of as being protective in adverse conditions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation among Iranian EFL teachers' self-efficacy, fluid intelligence, and burnout. To this end, a quantitative research was conducted, and 140 EFL teachers within the 20-40 age range in Mashhad, Iran, were selected through convenience sampling. They filled up three questionnaires of RAPM (Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices), OSTES (Ohio State Teacher Efficacy Scale), and MBI-ES (Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educator’s Survey) for fluid intelligence, self-efficacy, and burnout, respectively. Pearson correlation coefficient, Multiple Regression, and MANOVA were used for analyzing the data. The results showed a significant positive relationship between the male and female teachers’ self-efficacy and fluid intelligence. Findings also revealed a significant negative correlation between the male and female teachers’ self-efficacy and burnout. Moreover, the correlation between fluid intelligence and burnout for both male and female teachers was negative. It was also found that gender is not a determining factor in Iranian EFL teachers' burnout. The study finds it essential for educational policymakers in Iran to devise programs to enhance language teachers' self-efficacy and fluid intelligence as potential protectors against burnout.
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)
Saeed Karimi-Aghdam; Phalangchok Wanphet
Abstract
Since English didactics has a relatively short history in Norway, exploring its nature, scope, academic identity, definition, status, and raison d'être is an ineluctable necessity. This article sets out to answer a simple yet fundamental question about English didactics: Is English didactics a ...
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Since English didactics has a relatively short history in Norway, exploring its nature, scope, academic identity, definition, status, and raison d'être is an ineluctable necessity. This article sets out to answer a simple yet fundamental question about English didactics: Is English didactics a propaedeutic discipline or a parasitic discipline? We argue that English didactics is warranted to address three interrelated issues if it purports to establish itself as a propaedeutic discipline. First, English didactics needs to demarcate and delimit its disciplinary boundaries with other adjacent disciplines which feed into it. Second, delineating the ontological axioms and epistemological underpinnings as well as the methodological apparatus which distinguish English didactics from other closely related disciplines is warranted. Third, through invoking intellectual capital and scientific findings of other disciplines, English didactics must aim to generate its own novel theoretical and practical knowledge. This article calls for more attention to expounding and theorizing English didactics than currently conceptualized.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Ali Zangoei; Ali Derakhshan
Abstract
Pragmatic Listening Comprehension (PLC), as a complex process, is influenced by various cognitive, psychological, contextual, social, cultural, and linguistic factors. To make a stride toward understanding the role of such factors in PLC, the present study sought not only to scrutinize to what extent ...
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Pragmatic Listening Comprehension (PLC), as a complex process, is influenced by various cognitive, psychological, contextual, social, cultural, and linguistic factors. To make a stride toward understanding the role of such factors in PLC, the present study sought not only to scrutinize to what extent PLC was associated with language proficiency, Self-Regulated Learning in Listening (SRLL), and Willingness to Communicate (WTC) but also to examine an empirical path analysis model to predict PLC through language proficiency, SRLL, and WTC. To this aim, a group of 269 upper-intermediate and advanced level Iranian EFL learners, whose ages ranged from 19 to 34, participated in the study by answering the 40-item pragmatic multiple-choice discourse completion test (MDCT), as well as the valid and reliable questionnaires of SRLL and WTC. The results of correlational analyses revealed that PLC was significantly and positively associated with language proficiency, SRLL, and WTC. These findings were further approved in the path analysis model; language proficiency, SRLL, and WTC were significant positive predictors of PLC. The path model disclosed the significant prediction of PLC in terms of the three independent variables of the study. Based on these results, relevant pedagogical implications were proposed with the aim of enhancing the pedagogical knowledge and practice of key educational stakeholders.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Mehdi Mehranirad; Foad Behzadpoor
Abstract
The field of language teaching has recently witnessed a resurgent wave of interest in the value of educational research and its impact on teachers’ practice. Consequently, various strands of inquiry have commenced to investigate the relationship between research and practice. Within these discussions, ...
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The field of language teaching has recently witnessed a resurgent wave of interest in the value of educational research and its impact on teachers’ practice. Consequently, various strands of inquiry have commenced to investigate the relationship between research and practice. Within these discussions, however, the opinions of teachers are mostly ignored or reflected only circumstantially. The purpose of this study was to take teachers’ views about research on board by exploring the extent to which they use and conduct research as well as the barriers that may hinder their research engagement. To collect data, a survey questionnaire was designed and validated through soliciting experts’ opinions and conducting factor analysis. The questionnaire was then administered among a large sample of Iranian English teachers. Participants’ responses showed moderate levels of research engagement among English teachers. Results also indicated that four categories of barriers can best account for teachers’ lack of research engagement: problems related to the nature and quality of research, restrictive educational policies, lack of systematic partnership, and problems associated with the use of research in educational settings. The findings suggest that the research-practice division is the result of a complex interaction of an array of factors that cannot be simply reduced to technical matters. Thus, reconfiguration of the gap requires multidimensional strands of development in research and practice communities as well as in educational policies.
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)
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 ...
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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)
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, ...
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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.
Esmaeil Safaei Asl; Nader Safaei Asl
Abstract
This study investigates English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ needs and desires with regard to the in-service training courses (ITCs) programs in Marand, East Azerbaijan province, Iran. 21 EFL teachers at both junior (N=10) and senior high schools (N=11) participated in this study. The ...
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This study investigates English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ needs and desires with regard to the in-service training courses (ITCs) programs in Marand, East Azerbaijan province, Iran. 21 EFL teachers at both junior (N=10) and senior high schools (N=11) participated in this study. The data concerning the participants’ mentioned needs and desires were gathered by means of a structured interview. The data on ITCs programs, i.e. methodology/pedagogical skills, language improvement, and linguistics, were collected through the ITCs programs list which has been archived in the Office of Human Resources in Marand’s Department of Education from March 20, 2000 to March 20, 2015. The results of the study indicated that methodology/ pedagogical skills were the most required component for participants, with the other two components, i.e. language improvement and linguistics, lying respectively in the second and third ranks. In terms of the participants’ desire as to the ITCs programs, language improvement was found to be their most desired component, with the other two components, i.e. methodology and linguistics, being respectively the second and third favourites of the participants. Checking the ITCs programs against the participants’ needs and desires revealed that the ITCs programs offered to them were somewhat in parallel with their needs, but not with their desires.
Dr. Esmaeel Nourmohammadi; Laya Tahami
Abstract
The study investigated differences in the use of multiple-choice test-taking strategies by Iranian EFL learners regarding reading comprehension ability. Reading is the most important academic language skill that receives the particular focus in second or foreign language teaching; tests are also regularly ...
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The study investigated differences in the use of multiple-choice test-taking strategies by Iranian EFL learners regarding reading comprehension ability. Reading is the most important academic language skill that receives the particular focus in second or foreign language teaching; tests are also regularly applied to assess academic performance. This paper sought to investigate differences in the use of multiple-choice test-taking strategies by Iranian EFL learners regarding reading comprehension ability. The participants comprised 122 EFL learners, 61 females and 61 males, who answered a reading comprehension test while they were answering a test-taking strategy questionnaire. A number of one-way chi-square analyses were used to analyze the data. The findings manifested that there was a statistically significant difference between participants in the use of different types of test-taking strategies in answering multiple-choice reading comprehension test. The results of this study have pedagogical implications for teaching test-taking strategies to low-proficiency EFL learners.
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.
Fatemeh Tabrizi; Nesa Nabifar
Abstract
Systemic functional grammar constructs a grammar for the purpose of text analysis to investigate how grammar is used as a means of making meaning. Grammatical metaphor is one of the language phenomena introduced by Halliday (2004) in the framework of functional grammar. The present work focuses on the ...
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Systemic functional grammar constructs a grammar for the purpose of text analysis to investigate how grammar is used as a means of making meaning. Grammatical metaphor is one of the language phenomena introduced by Halliday (2004) in the framework of functional grammar. The present work focuses on the application of Halliday’s metafunctional framework in health texts of English newspapers. The analysis of data was conducted through a description of English newspaper texts, based on ideational grammatical metaphor. To this end, the researcher conducted some statistics to this strand of meaning, including frequency and percentage of nominalization type of ideational grammatical metaphor in health texts. The obtained results indicate that health texts of English newspapers are using the nominalization of ideational grammatical metaphor and also transitivity analysis in health texts shows how we can express the same meaning in different ways.
Maryam Shirinzarii; Maryam Bahraminezhad
Abstract
The present study was an attempt, in the first place, to find out whether there is any relationship between Iranian EFL learners' multiple intelligences and their language proficiency. The second objective was to explore whether one of intelligences or combination of intelligences are predictors of language ...
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The present study was an attempt, in the first place, to find out whether there is any relationship between Iranian EFL learners' multiple intelligences and their language proficiency. The second objective was to explore whether one of intelligences or combination of intelligences are predictors of language proficiency. To this end, 228 subjects of this study were chosen from among 280 English learners at Tehran Language Institutes based on their age and language proficiency level. The participants made up two groups of males and two groups of females, 10-14 and 20-24 age groups. In previous studies (e. g., Razmjoo, 2008; Hajhashemi, 2012) only one questionnaire was used to determine the MI of all subjects; however, in this study, specific questionnaires were administered for each age group. The researchers utilized three instruments: MIDAS-Kids, MIDAS-Adults, and Key English Test (KET). Since the subjects were at the elementary level of language proficiency, the researchers translated MIDAS (adults and kids versions) into Persian so that they could be more comprehensible. The next step was the administration of KET, version 2003. It was administered to 30 elementary students in the pilot study phase. After modification, it was administered again, and the reliability coefficient of it showed an acceptable reliability index. The results indicated that there is a significant relationship between multiple intelligences and language proficiency of Iranian EFL learners. Also, intrapersonal intelligence appeared as the predictor of total KET. Moreover, spatial and linguistic intelligences had significant relationships with language skills.
Zahra Talebi; Nader Asadi; Hanieh Davatgari
Abstract
The main purpose of the present quasi-experimental study was twofold; its first purpose was to investigate the effects of using of two approaches namely; genre and process on EFL learners’ accuracy, fluency, and complexity in written task production. Secondly, it attempted to investigate the effects ...
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The main purpose of the present quasi-experimental study was twofold; its first purpose was to investigate the effects of using of two approaches namely; genre and process on EFL learners’ accuracy, fluency, and complexity in written task production. Secondly, it attempted to investigate the effects of mentioned approaches on EFL learners’ attitude toward writing skill. to this end, 60 learners of English at intermediate level were selected randomly as the participants of the study and assigned into three groups of product, process, and genre groups. a written task was employed to collect data from the participants. the collected written data was quantified in terms of accuracy, fluency, and complexity measures. The results of the study based on one-way ANOVA revealed that there were significant differences on EFL learners’ writing performance. The current study might carry some pedagogical implications for EFL learners’ writing skill, learner attitude toward writing, teacher education and task designers.
Dr. Ameneh Zare; Farnaz Zare
Abstract
The Qur’an is the only holy book of Muslims all around the world. Each person with any religion and language is interested in comprehending and accepting the rules and regulations of their own belief. Translation of the Qur’an is only an attempt to present its meaning. One of the most challenges ...
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The Qur’an is the only holy book of Muslims all around the world. Each person with any religion and language is interested in comprehending and accepting the rules and regulations of their own belief. Translation of the Qur’an is only an attempt to present its meaning. One of the most challenges in translation of the Qur’an is collocation. A collocation is a sequence of words or terms that co-occur more often than would be expected by chance. The present study concerns a comparative analysis of the collocations in the Holy Qur’an. This article examined the possibility of losing the original features during the translation. In order to find this, the researcher considered three Arabic-English translations. The translators are Muhsin Khan and Muhammad AlHilali (1999), Muhammad Pickthall (1930), and Abdullah YusufAli (1934). The framework is based on Vinay and Darbelenet Model of Translation (1985) to see which strategies were happened during the translation and is there any relationship between the translation texts or not. The result shows that some of the collocation translated different from one translator to other one. Moreover the translations of each translator are adapted to one of the different method of Vinay and Darbelenet Model of translation.
Zohreh Seifoori
Abstract
A fundamental necessity at postgraduate level is a developed strategic reading skill that permits digesting tremendous amounts of technical academic content. The need is more paramount for EFL contexts and postgraduate students majoring in English Language Teaching (ELT) and English Literature (EL) most ...
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A fundamental necessity at postgraduate level is a developed strategic reading skill that permits digesting tremendous amounts of technical academic content. The need is more paramount for EFL contexts and postgraduate students majoring in English Language Teaching (ELT) and English Literature (EL) most of whom will ultimately search a career in teaching. The aim of the present ex-post facto study was to compare reading comprehension, overall metacognitive awareness of reading strategies (RSs) and awareness of Global, Problem-solving, and Support reading strategies of these prospective English teachers. To this end, a convenient sample of 60 ELT and 40 EL postgraduates were recruited from a pool of 130 students. The research data were collected using a reading comprehension test and the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategy Inventory (MARSI) (Mokhtari & Reichard, 2002). The Independent Samples t-test analyses of the research data revealed that both groups were average in their reading comprehension and metacognitive awareness of reading strategies. MANOVA analysis of the MARSI components also indicated that although ELT postgraduates were significantly more aware of Global, Problem-solving, and Support RSs, both groups were at medium level. The findings highlight the need for strategic-based instruction in reading courses and offer a number of implications.
