قاسم آقاجان زاده کیاسی

The study intended to investigate the impact of task involvement loads on Iranian EFL learnersˈ collocation knowledge and their level of motivation. To achieve these goals, a sample of 78 intermediate learners were selected based on Solutions Placement Test. The participants were divided into three experimental groups of 26 learners assigned to one of the experimental conditions, namely tasks with involvement load 3 (multiple-choice, MC), and involvement load 2 (Fill-in-the-blanks, FB), and 4 (sentence formation, SF). Before running pretest to the groups, their familiarity with the targeted collocations were tested. Over the treatment course, learners in MC were provided with the collocations requiring them to recognize the right collocations in the multiple-choice format tests. The learners in FB group were provided with the same collocations but were required to complete sentences with appropriate collocations given at the end of the text. Finally, the learners in SF group were asked to make their own sentences using the given collocations. At the end, a learning motivation questionnaire was administered to the learners to determine the possible association(s) of task involvement loads with the learners’ learning motivation. The results of a one-way ANOVA indicated the three groups showed different results on the posttests. However, the SF difference with MC and FB was the highest indicating the highest impact of SF on the learners’ L2 collocations. The results of a multiple regression analysis also indicated different associations between the involvement loads and learners’ motivation. The findings can have pedagogical and theoretical implications for EFL teachers, learners, and researchers.

The present study aimed at realizing and developing a scale and a model of English language teachers’ pedagogical competence (ELTPC). By reviewing the related literature and adapting Thomas’s (1987) langugae teacher competence, TESOL (2010) standards of professional EFL teachers, and teaching skills and model of pedagogical competence developed by Olsson, Martensson, and Roxa (2010) resulted in a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire consisting of seven constructs, namely preparation, management, teaching, subject mastery, assessment, attitude, and belief with 87 variables. The questionnaire underwent the scrutiny of experts’ opinion and reliability estimates, which resulted in an instrument of 60 variables for the constructs. Next, the constructs were validated with 320 high school English teachers through a principal components analysis carried out via exploratory factor analysis. The result showed the constructs enjoyed high factor loadings, and with seven variables removed from the questionnaire, a 53-variable scale was developed. Finally, a model was developed based on the seven-construct questionnaire of ELTPC. The researcher hopes that English teachers and the educational system monitor, assess, and improve the quality of teaching based on the developed scale and model of ELTPC

The present study sought to investigate the effectiveness of teacher versus learner assessment activities on the Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ writing ability. In order to find an answer to the questions of this research, 30 intermediate students from Zaban Iran Language Institute in Rasht, Iran were selected via administering Solutions Placement Test (SPT). Next, they were divided into three groups of 10. Learners were randomly assigned into two experimental groups of peer assessment and self-assessment, and one control group, teacher assessment. A pre-test of writing was then administered before the groups received 8 sessions of treatment through peer, self-, and teacher assessment techniques. After the treatment period, a post-test of writing was administered to all groups. The results of descriptive and inferential analyses revealed that the peer assessment group attained the highest scores on the writing test, and a statistically significant difference among the effects of the teacher assessment, peer assessment, and self-assessment on Iranian Intermediate EFL students’ writing ability was reported. Also, the group using teacher assessment technique attained higher scores than the group that used the self-assessment technique. The implications of this study can be considered for EFL teachers, learners, materials developers, and syllabus designers.

The study examined the impact of high school English teachers’ awareness of pedagogical competence on student learning. A psychometric measurement instrument of English language teachers’ pedagogical competence (ELTPC) was first developed through factor analysis with 320 high school teachers in Guilan, northern Iran. Based on the developed instrument, 36 teachers were divided into two groups of aware and unaware teachers of pedagogical competence (PC) according to Contrasting Groups Method. Then, 160 high school third graders received instruction from the aware and unaware teachers for 7 weeks. Finally, a survey regarding the teachers’ implementation of pedagogical competence in classrooms was conducted with 30 students. The findings showed that the students in the aware teacher group outperformed the students in the unaware group of teachers. Although based on the survey results, the aware teachers were reported to act better with regard to the students’ learning achievements, they were not reported as highly practicing the pedagogical competence. The findings can be practically used by teachers, teacher educators, and education administrators.