ناهید یاراحمدزهی

The present study aimed to capture and represent the mediator-learner’s interaction in the development of listening proficiency and statistically compare this interaction between high and low proficient English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. Thirty EFL learners participated in Oxford Quick Placemat Test (OQPT) and the Interactions/Mosaic Listening Placement (IMLP) Test to select those whose proficiency levels and listening skills were based on the placement guide of the tests, at upper-intermediate and advanced levels. Out of 30 learners, 12 learners (upper-intermediate level=6, advanced level=6) volunteered to participate in individualized tutoring sessions. The study adopted an interactionist Dynamic Assessment (DA) approach and implemented a qualitative research methodology to reveal the frequency and quality, the two criteria to interpret the learners’ developments and Zone of Actual/Potential Development (ZAD/ZPD) functioning, of mediator-learner’s interaction. The amount and quality of moves made by learners to complete the task were reported in quantitative data. Statistical analyses were run to examine whether the ability level may affect the responsiveness of learners to mediation. Findings of the study revealed that 17 reciprocity moves were identified that promoted the development of listening abilities of upper-intermediate and advanced level learners. It is also revealed that the upper-intermediate learners showed more responses as compared to the advanced learners.

Metacognitive reading strategies play a significant role in reading comprehension and educational success. Being noticeably absent from many Iranian classrooms and largely unaware of by many language learners and teachers, metacognitive reading strategies have fallen into oblivion in English language teaching, research, learning, and assessment. The present study was an attempt to measure the metacognitive reading strategy (MRS) awareness among Iranian university students majoring in English Translation Studies. It also aimed at determining whether gender and learners’ different academic levels would make any difference in using various types of MRS. Furthermore, it investigated the relationship between Iranian EFL learners’ awareness of MRS and their reading comprehension performance. A sample of 45 EFL university students majoring in English Translation at Chabahar Maritime University participated in this study. They were asked to complete the Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) questionnaire adapted from Tavakoli (2014) and to take a TOEFL Junior Standard Reading Comprehension Test. The results revealed that although the overall strategy use among these students was low (M=2.42), support reading strategies were used the most and problem-solving strategies were the least frequently used ones. Additionally, no significant difference was found between males and females as well as different academic levels in the use of MRS. No significant relationship was found between students’ overall use of metacognitive reading strategies and their reading comprehension achievement. The study concludes with a number of pedagogical implications and lists several guidelines for future research.

Limiting the scope of Maritime English (ME) courses to nautical subject matters, due to the conventional views who define ME as the global language used at sea, may not be based on a real needs analysis of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses in ports and maritime related organizations. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, this study aimed to challenge this traditional perception through conducting an ESP needs analysis in Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) of Iran. All the 17 departments’ managers and/or their delegates were interviewed, then a researcher-made questionnaire which was developed according to the interviews was distributed among the experts (70 respondents). The deductive content analysis was used for analyzing the qualitative part, and the quantitative data were analyzed through descriptive statistics. It was revealed that the overall needs of PMO in terms of ESP does not concord with conventional nautical-based Maritime English courses, and it in fact encompasses a much wider variety of content areas such as “port economic, marketing and investment, legal, tariffs, agreements and contracts, education, research, strategic port administration, logistics” etc.