1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Farzane Deliery Moghadam; Javad Gholami
Abstract
Publishing research in English poses linguistic challenges for non-native English speaker scholars (NNSS). To prepare their manuscripts for submission, peer review, and post-acceptance stages, they may receive linguistic assistance and editing from different individuals, such as field specialists or ...
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Publishing research in English poses linguistic challenges for non-native English speaker scholars (NNSS). To prepare their manuscripts for submission, peer review, and post-acceptance stages, they may receive linguistic assistance and editing from different individuals, such as field specialists or EFL / ESL teachers, collectively called text-shapers. To the best of our knowledge, there is no recent comprehensive portrayal of text-shaping practices in the literature on English for research publication purposes (ERPP). This overview introduces the text-shaping community’s practices by reviewing the most significant and relevant studies on this realm in the leading journals on ESP / EAP and ERPP. We used the Web of Science database to make the review as inclusive as possible. Several search terms were used to compile the mainstream literature on the topic, including text shaper, literacy broker, language editor, author’s editor, convenience editor, editor, and copy editor. In this thematic review, we describe text-shapers' editing practices and strategies, outline their characteristics and techniques in providing linguistic services to NNES authors, and highlight the benefits and challenges text-shapers experience in the scholarly publishing industry. Moreover, text-shaping services in Asia, with mounting demand for publication in English, were examined explicitly along with other contexts to comprehensively depict its status quo geographically. As EFL teachers are one of the most active agents in delivering text-shaping services to the NNES authors, especially in contexts like Iran, this review could help the EFL community in Iran and similar contexts to get familiar with the bigger picture of text shaping and its dimensions.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Rajab Esfandiari; Sahar Saleh
Abstract
In the last two decades, citation behaviour in academic research writing has been highlighted in English for academic purposes. This concordance-informed, corpus-based study has focused on cross-disciplinary analysis of citations by English and Iranian academic writers in English Economics and Industrial ...
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In the last two decades, citation behaviour in academic research writing has been highlighted in English for academic purposes. This concordance-informed, corpus-based study has focused on cross-disciplinary analysis of citations by English and Iranian academic writers in English Economics and Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering research articles published in international and Iranian national English-medium journals. To that end, research articles in Economics and Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering were developed and divided into four sub-corpora: English corpus and Iranian corpus. Thompson and Tribble’s (2001) classification and Thompson and Ye’s (1991) framework were used to analyse citations. The computer program AntConc (version 3.5.7) was used to identify 1,032 citations. The results of data analysis showed more frequent uses of citations by Economics than Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering writers. In terms of citation structures, more integral citations were utilised by Economics writers, and more non-integral citations were used by Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering writers. In addition, the citation analyses of native and non-native writers revealed that English writers employed more citations than Iranian writers. The findings imply that the cultural context of publication, in addition to the linguistic background and knowledge structures of their disciplines, seems to shape the writers’ citation choices when writing their research articles.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Davud Kuhi
Abstract
This paper assumes that developing strong models of academic discourse analysis would not by itself guarantee researchers’ access to the realities of academic communication and that any development in the theory of academic discourse analysis should also be informed and equipped with developments ...
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This paper assumes that developing strong models of academic discourse analysis would not by itself guarantee researchers’ access to the realities of academic communication and that any development in the theory of academic discourse analysis should also be informed and equipped with developments in wider applied linguistics research methodology. The current paper proposes that the departure point of this dialogue between academic discourse theory and research methodology should be the concept of “triangulation”. While in applied linguistics research context, the concept has been defined as a research strategy aiming at developing diverse dimensions to approach the phenomena under investigation, I have argued that triangulation should be redefined and further operationalized in light of the realities of academic discourses and the very demands and desires of academic discourse researchers. To do so, a set of options including genre-based triangulation, culture-based triangulation, discipline-based triangulation, language-based triangulation, mode-based triangulation, time-based triangulation, expertise-based triangulation, analyst-based triangulation, corpus-based triangulation, and audience-based triangulation has been proposed.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Leila Dobakhti; Mahshid Panahi
Abstract
One of the necessities of learning foreign languages is reading comprehension, particularly for adult learners. Also, reading interest of learners would be developed considering the time spent to learn different literacy. The current research aimed at exploring it as a contributing factor when learners ...
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One of the necessities of learning foreign languages is reading comprehension, particularly for adult learners. Also, reading interest of learners would be developed considering the time spent to learn different literacy. The current research aimed at exploring it as a contributing factor when learners are engaged to comprehend and read. The present empirical work was conducted to describe the impact of reading interest and guided reading method on the learners’ reading comprehension. It was conducted in Bushehr province, Iran. In this study, there were 8 instructors and 140 EFL learners of oil and gas industry. The learners were placed into classes through Quick Placement Test. Research design was mixed method design. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were applied. To analyze the data, SPSS software was used and independent samples t-test was employed. The improvement of the experiment group’s post-test scores specified the effectiveness of guided reading method in comparison to explicit reading method. The unstructured interview characterized the instructors’ and learners’ experiences, discoveries, and feelings in using guided reading method. The findings could assist EFL instructors in selecting a method that can facilitate adult learners’ reading comprehension.
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)
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)
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)
Mina Babapour; Davud Kuhi
Abstract
By the force of our social constructivist gyrations, we have developed glimpses of a social, cultural and historical dimension in which the discourse of science operates. These glimpses indicate us how much the discourse of science is part of complex webs of human’s social interaction. Recognizing ...
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By the force of our social constructivist gyrations, we have developed glimpses of a social, cultural and historical dimension in which the discourse of science operates. These glimpses indicate us how much the discourse of science is part of complex webs of human’s social interaction. Recognizing this social, cultural and historical nature, the present paper looks at the way informal elements are penetrating into the discourse of science. Working on a corpus of scientific journal articles, scientific magazine articles and scientific newspaper articles, the present article shows that regardless of their generic qualities, communicative purposes and the target audience, all scientific texts included in the three corpora are vulnerable to the penetration of informal elements. However, the differences in terms of communicative purposes and target audiences affect the way informal elements are distributed in the three corpora. Providing a deeper sociolinguistic explanation on the observed variations, the paper is concluded with some implications of the findings for ESP pedagogy.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
Davud Kuhi
Abstract
In light of a large number of admirable attempts which look at scientific discourse from social, dialogic and interpersonal points of view, the propositions which consider scientific discourse as an interactive endeavor are now well-established. By the force of our social constructivist gyrations, we ...
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In light of a large number of admirable attempts which look at scientific discourse from social, dialogic and interpersonal points of view, the propositions which consider scientific discourse as an interactive endeavor are now well-established. By the force of our social constructivist gyrations, we have developed glimpses of a social, cultural and historical dimension in which the discourse of science operates. These glimpses indicate us how much the discourse of science is part of complex webs of human’s social interaction. Recognizing this social, cultural and historical nature, the present paper attempts to highlight the heterogeneity and hybridity of scientific discourse and indicate a number of ways scientific discourse is influenced by non-scientific discourses. Recognition of this hybridity helps the author develop a preliminary framework based on the concept of vertical intertextuality and reveal how modern scientific discourses borrow generic, stylistic and rhetorical conventions of non-scientific discourses. The paper is concluded with some of the implications of the developed perspective for ESP pedagogy and suggesting a number of genre-related, style-related and register-related pedagogic tasks.
1. Applied Linguistics (Language Teaching and Learning)
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)
Dr. Azizeh Chalak; Mahdokht Nilforoush
Abstract
This article aims to investigate and analyze the perceived English language needs of engineers who want to develop their job position through English Language in their workplaces such as public relations, technical and operational, engineering support of production, planning and development, financial, ...
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This article aims to investigate and analyze the perceived English language needs of engineers who want to develop their job position through English Language in their workplaces such as public relations, technical and operational, engineering support of production, planning and development, financial, general accounting, and legal affairs. In today’s competitive world, the economy needs more people with higher level skills in the workplace. Taking into consideration the specializations mentioned above, the article focuses on the perceived needs of engineers concerning Business English, not general English. Due to the business and economic development of the last decades in Iran, English has rapidly become the language used all over the world. Developing an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course in their workplaces is another purpose of this study. Questionnaire, interviews and observations were used to gather information in this research. Engineers’ expectations, managers’ demands, economy’s needs ask for more reliable methods to provide a better learning in workplace situation. Finally, based on the findings obtained from this study, it can be concluded that workplace courses have lots of effect on the engineers’ job and development and by passing the time they ask for more variable ESP courses relating to their job.
