گودرز علی بخشی

Self-efficacy, which is known as the teachers’ self-perception of their competence and abilities in doing specific tasks, has attracted considerable attention in teacher education. It is seen as the teacher’s belief in achieving specific outcomes for students in their teaching practices, but the main sources of EFL teachers’ self-efficacy have not been systematically explored in a single study.  Therefore, this study set out to present a systematic review of the studies on EFL teachers’ self-efficacy. To this aim, a meta-analysis approach was employed to systematically review closely related papers from Elsevier, Google Scholar, and ERIC. The articles examined the sources of self-efficacy in a different context. Through precise screening, 13 papers were found to be eligible enough to be included in this study. Findings revealed that ‘Mastery Experiences’, ‘Vicarious Experiences’, ‘Social Persuasion and Support’,                                 ‘Emotional and Physiological States’, ‘Language Proficiency’, ‘Intelligence’, ‘Teaching skills and experience’, ‘pre-service training courses’, and ‘professional development activities’ are the main sources of self-efficacy. The findings could be theoretically and practically significant to EFL teachers, teacher trainers, and researchers interested in teacher education.

The negotiated syllabus, also known as a learner-centered and process-oriented syllabus, was introduced as an alternative to a pre-determined syllabus a couple of decades ago. The review of the related studies shows the number of studies in the use of negotiated syllabus in English language teaching is scanty. This study aimed at delving into the impacts of the negotiated syllabus on undergraduate students’ reading comprehension, oral production, and the participants’ perspectives about the syllabus. A mixed-methods research design was employed. Data were collected through researcher-developed tests and an interview checklist. The quantitative section analyzed through independent samples-tests (p=0.05) verified that the negotiated syllabus had a significant effect on the experimental mean scores regarding reading comprehension and oral ability production. In addition, results of the qualitative phase indicated that the use of negotiated syllabus, despite some learner, teacher, and institute-related constraints, has some pedagogical advantages. In light of the results, teachers are recommended to minimize the limitations and implement the negotiated syllabus in teaching English programs to optimize the language learners’ motivation and language achievement.  

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to identify specialized language needs of MA students in University of Mazandaran. Method: This study was mix method instruments which would deeply explore the perspectives of English for specific purpose teachers and students about task–based language needs of teaching ESP. Semi-structured interview was carried out with a number of teachers and students in the field of sport management. The statistical population of the stage includes some teachers and students in the field of sport management. The sampling method was Purposive sampling and Sampling continue until theoretical saturation. Three ESP teachers who have been teaching ESP to the students for at least four years participated in this study. They were all selected through purposive sampling. Also, MA and Ph.D. (twelve persons) students who had passed this course were selected in qualitative stage. In quantitative stage and based on the results of the first stage, the questionnaire was designed. This questionnaire was broadly distributed amongst students and teachers (33 persons) in the field of sport management. Descriptive and Inferential statistics, were used to analyze the demographic information of the participants and their responses. Results: The results of the study showed that the main real tasks which were most frequently used in the English sport management classes include Participating in daily conversations, giving lectures at conferences, Conversation with foreign experts, Understanding daily conversations. The method of working with and using English to English dictionary to take advantage of all the capabilities contained in it. Conclusions: The information obtained about the target tasks and their frequency can be employed when taking decisions about which tasks should be part of a curriculum.

The review of the literature indicates EFL teachers’ sense of efficacy has been influenced by cognitive and affective factors. Socio-economic factors may also influence EFL teachers’ sense of efficacy directly and their teaching effectiveness indirectly. One of the socioeconomic variables is the quality of work life (QWL). This study was an attempt to investigate the relationship between EFL teachers’ quality of work life and their teaching efficacy.  Ninety High school English teachers from Sistan and Baluchestan were selected. The data of the study were collected through two adapted instruments and analyzed through Pearson correlation and linear regression analysis. The results of the study showed that Iranian EFL teachers perceived themselves as having a good level of teaching efficacy. The results also showed that there was a significant correlation between all dimensions of QWL and teachers’ teaching efficacy except for “adequate and fair compensation” is significant at a P value of 0.05, but only one dimension of QWL could predict teachers’ teaching efficacy. Therefore, it could be strongly argued that teachers’ QWL is not the only influential factor in teaching efficacy.

In- service professional development activities seem to be of much significance to teachers who face challenges in teaching or teaching related issues such assessment and curriculum development. Despite the rich literature review of teachers' professional development, in-service professional development needs of EFL teachers have not been assessed yet. The present study aimed at developing and validating an in-service professional development needs scale for EFL teachers. In doing so, a mixed research method was used. In the qualitative phase, the professional development needs were explored through interviewing with 20 EFL teachers who were selected through purposive sampling. In the quantitative phase, the professional development scale was submitted to 220 teachers. Data were analyzed through running exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha. Results showed that extracted professional development needs were reduced to four main areas: a) teaching, communication skills and assessment, b) educational psychology and technology, c) material development, and d) language and meta-language skills. The findings can be used by language schools and educational centers to provide EFL teachers with the most urgent professional development needs.

Though personality factors and language learning strategies have been extensively examined over the last three decades, we have witnessed a dearth of studies zooming in on these issues from a cultural perspective within the Iranian context. Additionally, few studies have investigated whether personality factors can predict the choice of language learning strategies in an Iranian EFL context. In response to these shortcomings, a group of Iranian EFL learners were administered Big Five Factors Inventory (Goldberg 1993), Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (Oxford 1990) and Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (Mokhtari & Reichard 2002). It was found that the Iranian EFL learners could highly or moderately used the language learning strategies. It was also found that personality factors could predict the use of some language learning strategies in the cultural context of Iran. It was concluded that cultural norms could modulate some aspects of personality and language learning strategies and consequently some aspects of personality could predict the choice of particular language learning strategies. An awareness of learners’ personality factors and the way they shape the language learning strategies can contribute to successful language learning and optimally help teachers devise appropriate teaching techniques.

استقلال فراگیر همواره یک مسئله بحث برانگیز میان زبان شناسان کاربردی بوده است. مطالعات متعددی به منظور بررسی برداشت معلمان و یادگیرندگان از استقلال فراگیر و همچنین امکان استقلال فراگیر انجام شده است. با وجود اهمیت استقلال فراگیر و وجود چندین مطالعه مرتبط، چالش در ترویج استقلال فراگیر در موسسات ایرانی به زعم محقق انجام نشده است. هدف اصلی این مطالعه بررسی چالش ها در ترویج استقلال یادگیرنده از دیدگاه معلمان زبان انگلیسی ایران بود. برای این کار، یک طرح تحقیق کیفی استفاده شده است. برای انجام این تحقیق ، 23 معلم زبان انگلیسی ایرانی در دانشگاه های مختلف در تهران به صورت هدفمند انتخاب شدند. داده ها از طریق مصاحبه عمیق جمع آوری شده و از طریق تحلیل محتوا بر اساس مدل رندر تحلیل شده است. بر اساس تحلیل محتوای مصاحبه ها، سه موضوع مختلف استخراج شد. اولین موضوع مشاهده شده، چالش های مربوط به موسسه، شامل اهداف تجویزشده ، مواد و روش های ارزیابی می باشد. دومین موضوع، چالش های مربوط به فراگیر می باشد که از هفت زیرمجموعه تشکیل شده است. سومین موضوع به دست آمده، چالش های مربوط به معلم می باشد که از چهار زیرمجموعه تشکیل شده است. این یافته ها می تواند توسط معلمان، تربیت کنندگان معلمان و همچنین زبان آموزان استفاده شود. می توان نتیجه گرفت که معلمان زبان انگلیسی باید آموزش لازم دراستقلال یادگیرنده را از طریق دوره های آموزشی قبل از خدمت و ضمن خدمت ببینند.

The use of effective multimedia instructions such as mobiles, computers, and the internet in language learning has turned out to be useful since the last decades. The impact of multimedia and synchronous approaches of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' learning of language skills and components has been studied to some extent. However, the impact of computerized mediated instruction through multimedia (text and graphics) on learning collocations requires further investigations. This study aimed at investigating whether synchronous and asynchronous multimedia components: text and text with added graphics had any effects on EFL learners' learning of collocations. In doing so, 150 male EFL learners at pre-intermediate proficiency level were selected through convenience sampling. They were divided into six groups. The results of the study showed that computerized mediated instruction was more effective than non-computerized instruction. Also, synchronous computerized instruction was more effective than asynchronous computerized instruction. The results also showed that presentation through text with added graphics was more effective than presentation through simple text. The results are discussed and some pedagogical implications are presented.

Assessing learners’ present and real life language needs can contribute to learners’ active participation in learning processes. Assessing learners’ taskbased needs and aligning them with pedagogical tasks are significant in English for medical purpose (EMS) courses. The main objectives of the present study were to assess learners’ needs and to determine whether they are practiced in EMS courses. In this study, pedagogical tasks practiced in EMS courses at universities of medical sciences in Iran were identified and the taskbased language learners practiced by stakeholders in real life situations were assessed. The results showed that some of the pedagogical tasks were not aligned with the real life task-based needs. Moreover, the pedagogical tasks and task-based needs were not aligned in terms of mode, channel, and degree of interaction. The results can be applied by EMS teachers and material developers for meeting the learners’ specific needs.

The application of critical pedagogy in educational contexts has received adequate research attention over the last decades. The main focus of this strand of research has, however, been on raising awareness of the educators. Nevertheless, little is known about the consequences of the violation of critical pedagogy principles from EFL teacher trainers’ perspectives. To begin to address this gap in research, a qualitative (phenomenological) study was carried out to explore the main consequences of violating critical pedagogy in the higher education system of Iran. The participants were 15 faculty members of TEFL and English Literature at 10 Iranian state universities. The data were collected through in-depth semi-structured face-to-face interviews and analyzed according to Radnor’s (2001) model. The results indicated that the main consequences of the violation of critical pedagogy were educational (related to teaching, learning, and testing), psychological, social, and ideological. Therefore, it was concluded that educators must follow the principles of CP in order to avoid the negative consequences and foster the learning and teaching processes more effectively.

Second-language (L2) acquisition is generally thought to be constrained by maturational factors that circumscribe a critical period for native-like attainment. Consistent with the maturational view are age effects among learners who begin L2 acquisition prior to, but not after, closure of the putative critical period. Some studies indicate that native-like acquisition of a second language by learners after critical period rarely happens. Some subsequent studies do not support the critical period account of L2 acquisition constraints, however. Accordingly, this study was undertaken to investigate the impacts of maturational constraints on native-like attainment of second language accent, pronunciation, and intonation by Iranians who spent some years in English-speaking countries. The performance of 120 Iranian late and early arrivals was evaluated using a 6 point semantic differential scale. Descriptive and inferential statistics (independent sample t-test and ANOVA) were run (p≤ .05) to analyze the data. In keeping with other researchers, the results of the study indicate that L2 native-like attainment is constrained by the age of language learners. The results also indicate that late language learners who lived in an English-speaking country acquired near native-like proficiency whereas the late language learners who lived just in Iran were not able to acquire near native-like pronunciation. We also found modest evidence of native-like attainment among late learners.

مکتب های یادگیری با ویژگی های شخصیّتی افراد ارتباط دارند (براون، 2003؛ کلب،1984).کارآیی آموزش معلّم (بندورا،1997، 1977،1995 ؛ تیلی،2001) دراصطلاحات آموزشی نیز حائز اهمیّت می باشد. با این وجود، اثرات جنسیّت و شخصیّت بر کارآیی آموزش دبیران و نوع فعالیّت های آنها به طور مناسب مطالعه نشده است. این مطالعه در راستای بررسی اثرات شخصیّت و جنسیّت بر کارآیی آموزشی معلّمان و همچنین فعالیّت های آموزشی آن ها انجام شده است. بدین منظور، 280 معلّم زن در این مطالعه شرکت نموده اند. از پرسشنامه های تیپ شخصیّتی مایرز و بریگز، کارآیی آموزشی و فعالیّت های آموزشی استفاده شده است. داده های تحقیق بوسیله ی آمار توصیفی و دو آزمون تحلیل واریانس دو طرفه تحلیل شده اند. نتایج تحقیق نشان می دهند که ترکیب درون گرائی، حس گرائی، تفکّر و قضاوت و همچنین ترکیب برون گرائی، حس گرائی، تفکّر و قضاوت رایجترین تیپ های شخصیّتی در میان معلّمان زبان انگلیسی درایران می باشند. نتایج همچنین نشان می دهد که دبیران زن و مرد با تیپ های شخصیتی مختلف کار آیی آموزشی یکسان دارند و جنسیت و شخصیت بر فعالیت های آموزشی آنها تاثیر دارند.