1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Jalil Yazdankhah; Bahram Behin; Mohammad Hossein Yousefi; Hassan Asadollahfam
Abstract
Adopting a qualitative design, the present study investigated Iranian EFL teachers’ attitudes toward critical thinking as well as its role in language teaching. To meet these objectives, 36 EFL teachers were selected through purposeful sampling as the participants of the study. For the purpose ...
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Adopting a qualitative design, the present study investigated Iranian EFL teachers’ attitudes toward critical thinking as well as its role in language teaching. To meet these objectives, 36 EFL teachers were selected through purposeful sampling as the participants of the study. For the purpose of the data collection, in-depth interviews, focus group interviews, and teachers’ narratives were utilized. To assure the trustworthiness of the data, several measures have been taken. The lead author conducted the in-depth as well as focus group interviews and elicited teachers’ narratives. The interviews were conducted in Persian language and the whole procedures were audiotaped. The data were transcribed verbatim and after member checking the data with the participants, they were translated into English. The data were analyzed through thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). To assure inter coder reliability, coding the data was done by the second and third authors independently. The third and fourth authors were involved in finding the potential themes and sub-themes. Finally, five themes of efficiency, intelligence, change, success and initiation were generated as a result of the data analysis. The present study revealed that the participants emphasized some fundamental building blocks of critical thinking. The participant teachers also advocated critical thinking - focused programs in teacher education as well as its application in language teaching. The study has a number of implications for language pedagogy, teacher education and policy makers.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Farzad Rostami; Mohammad Hossein Yousefi; Davoud Amini
Abstract
There have been some researches on the way teacher identities are (re)constructed; however, the study which investigatesthe improvement of the identity through the shift in language teaching has not been conducted. Thus the present qualitative study set out to investigate Iranian EFL teachers’ ...
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There have been some researches on the way teacher identities are (re)constructed; however, the study which investigatesthe improvement of the identity through the shift in language teaching has not been conducted. Thus the present qualitative study set out to investigate Iranian EFL teachers’ professional development who had been teaching either Arabic or Persian languages for more than six years prior to entering the English language teaching profession. Eleven Iranian in-service teachers took part in the study through purposeful sampling. For the purpose of the data collection, in-depth interviews, teachers’ narratives, and focus group interviews were used. The thematic analysis of the data through the Identity Theory (Burke & Stets, 2009) perspective revealedthree main themes: identity shift,identity development, and productive identity. The results indicate that teachers' professional learning requires rebuilding identity perception, and constructing a new identity will lead, in turn, to the professional development of teachers and their constructive learning. The present study contributes to the existing knowledge of teachers’ professional identity in that changes in the languages teachers teach will lead to reconstructing their professional identity in a positive wayand happen as a result of opportunities for professional development. The results have a number of implications for policymakers, teacher educators, and language teachers.
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.
2. Applied Linguistics (Inspirations from neighbor disciplines)
Mohammad Hossein Yousefi; Farzad Rostami
Abstract
AbstractPrint advertisements not only directly try to persuade buyers but also indirectly play a role in shaping their social attitude. An interesting area of research that as yet has received little or no attention is the study of the representations of females in magazines that their readers are mostly ...
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AbstractPrint advertisements not only directly try to persuade buyers but also indirectly play a role in shaping their social attitude. An interesting area of research that as yet has received little or no attention is the study of the representations of females in magazines that their readers are mostly women. This study examined print advertisements in local family and health magazine from a Critical Discourse Analysis perspective. It mainly focused on the use of women in advertisements and strategies employed by advertisers to manipulate and influence their customers. The analysis is based on Fairclough’s three -dimensional framework. It demonstrates how the ideology of ‘women's portrait’ is produced and reproduced through advertisements in popular local women’s magazines. The findings indicated that advertisers used various strategies to take advantages of women. The advertisements promote an idealized lifestyle and direct readers to a certain extent into believing whatever that is advertised is indeed true. This study revealed how the ideologies of beauty and health are constructed and reconstructed through magazines by stereotyping how advertised products are synonymous with a better life. Advertising language is used to control people’s minds. Thus people in power (advertisers) use language as a means to exercise control over others.Keywords: critical discourse analyses, gender role, advertisement, magazine
Leila Ahmadpour; Dr. Mohammad Hossein Yousefi
Abstract
Peer assessment has gained growing popularity in education and teaching. Being a learning tool, evaluating their peers can equip learners with skills to develop judgments about what forms high-quality work. There have been however research gaps in the literature showing a lack of adequate work on the ...
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Peer assessment has gained growing popularity in education and teaching. Being a learning tool, evaluating their peers can equip learners with skills to develop judgments about what forms high-quality work. There have been however research gaps in the literature showing a lack of adequate work on the investigation of peer assessment in a group-oriented classroom context. The present study intended to compare the effectiveness of group work with peer assessment and scaffolding with lack of it on learners’ oral accuracy. For this purpose, the regular past tense –ed grammatical target structure as a challenging feature was selected. A total of 34 low-intermediate Iranian EFL learners in two intact classes took part in the study. Although one class was exposed to group work enhanced by peer assessment and scaffolding, the control class did not receive any such instruction. Participants provided answers to pre- and post- grammar tests and their performance was subjected to statistical data analysis by means of ANCOVA. The results indicated the superiority of the experimental group in comparison to the control group. The findings were therefore in line with the cognitive elaboration hypothesis and the sociocultural theory. The findings were discussed with relation to implications for language teachers.
Shabnam Kurosh Khanshan; Mohammad Hossein Yousefi
Abstract
Teacher self-efficacy has been identified as an important characteristic of teachers that can positively influence both teacher and student outcomes. The relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy and their linguistic proficiency, however, is yet to be investigated. The present study was an attempt ...
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Teacher self-efficacy has been identified as an important characteristic of teachers that can positively influence both teacher and student outcomes. The relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy and their linguistic proficiency, however, is yet to be investigated. The present study was an attempt to examine the rather under-researched issue of teachers’ level of linguistic competence in their efficacy perceptions. For this purpose, 50 teachers from different universities in Iran with varying demographic characteristics took part in the study. Respondents were asked to provide answers to the Teacher Efficacy Scale (TES) and the perceived linguistic proficiency self-rating. The results of statistical analysis using Spearman correlation and Regression analysis demonstrated a significant relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy and their level of proficiency. The results of regression, too, confirmed the predictability of the level of the proficiency of the self-efficacy beliefs of teachers in their classroom practices. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research and implications are provided for future investigations.