فیروز صدیقی

Language classrooms are occasionally anxiety-breeding situations. Foreign language classroom anxiety which negatively affects foreign language learning is typically associated with productive activities mainly speaking skill. To cope with the issue and overcome language learning difficulties, the present study was conducted to explore the impact of mobile-assisted language learning on enhancing EFL students’ oral proficiency and relieving their speaking anxiety. 60 sophomore female students whose ages ranged from 18 to 24 were selected from Zand University in Shiraz, Iran and randomly divided into two groups. Traditional instruction was adopted to teach both groups for two hours in a week for four months. Out of class, however, they did various speaking activities. The participants in the control group followed their course book speaking activities. But, the experimental group experienced mobile-assisted language learning to do their out-of-class speaking activities via a mobile application (Voice Thread). The Preliminary English Test and the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale questionnaire were used to collect the required data. Paired samples t-test results indicated that Voice Thread experience significantly enhanced the participants’ oral proficiency and lowered their foreign language speaking anxiety.these findings provide experimental evidence that Voice Thread can be used as an educational tool to help EFL students to improve their oral proficiency and create their own individual less-threatening language learning environment.

Recent innovations in formative assessment have turned the spotlight on the implementation of assessment for learning in the classroom. Notwithstanding a considerable wealth of research on assessment for learning in mainstream education, few research studies in the field of language teaching thus far have touched upon assessment for learning. This quantitative study investigated Iranian English language teachers’ perceived monitoring and scaffolding practices in respect of their gender and class size. To achieve this purpose, 384 Iranian EFL teachers who were selected using convenience sampling completed a 28-item Likert scale questionnaire on assessment for learning entailing two main constructs, namely monitoring and scaffolding. Our findings revealed a statistically significant gender difference with regard to perceived scaffolding. Likewise, the results showed that EFL teachers’ perceived monitoring and scaffolding practices did not differ with respect to class size. The key implications of the findings for the application of scaffolding and monitoring practices in the classroom were also addressed.

Although L2 writing has attracted salient attention and monopolized many studies in EFL contexts, there is still no full image of its complicated nature.  Trying to play a supplementary role in achieving that image, this study aimed at finding whether Persian and English argumentative and descriptive academic writings were inter/intra-lingually associated and if genre played a role in provoking any differences in the means of total scores obtained from the essays. In so doing, 50 Iranian senior MA TEFL students at the intermediate level were asked to write down two argumentative and two descriptive essays in Persian and English. Each essay was assessed against IELTS task 2 writing band descriptors. Then, the data were analyzed through the Pearson product-moment correlation and paired-samples <em>t</em>-test. The results revealed there were significant positive correlations between the total scores obtained from Persian and English argumentative and descriptive essays. The findings supported the existence of a common underlying proficiency (Cummins, 1980), out of which L1 and L2 writing skills emerged. The results also illustrated there were significant differences between the means of some of the total scores. It was supposed these differences might be due to the possible genre-sensitive nature of common underlying proficiency.

This experimental study considered the effects of learning style variations on EFL learners’ performance in different question types of the reading skill and their strategies to get higher scores. To achieve such goals, ninety learners with different academic backgrounds from IELTS classes of Shukuh English Language Institute in Tehran, participated in this study. The researcher first utilized two questionnaires with regard to learning styles and strategy uses. According to the Kolb’s questionnaire it is believed that learners have Activist, Theorist, Pragmatist and Reflector learning styles. A majority of candidates were recognized as Reflector but activist candidates had a better performance in IELTS and also for strategy use. In considering learning style variation according to the results of the one-way analysis of variance, we were on the safe side to say that variation due to belonging to different style groups causes variation of performance for Yes, No, not given questions in reading skill. The most favorable learning strategy of the activist learners, who were the most successful students according to their band scores, was making summaries which had not only the highest frequency, but also the highest weighted sum.

Purpose: Teachers, like other human beings are affected by the fallacy of ‘Halo Effect’. Regarding their role in teaching and training students, this study tried to investigate the halo effect in relation to appearance, gender, and proficiency of teachers. Methodology: In order to perform such an evaluation, this study used 350 males and female EFL students and 53 males and female EFL teachers of universities and institutes of Karaj. Three questionnaires (appearance, gender, and proficiency questionnaires) were designed and evaluated. The questionnaires were distributed among students and after the students answered them the questionnaires were gathered. Findings: The results of this study showed that proficiency was the most important feature for both male and female students. The second important feature for students was teacher's appearance. Gender was the least important feature of a teacher for students. The students think of the proficiency as the most important factor. According to the results of data analysis of students' final marks in real situation (classroom environment), the most important factor affecting the achievement of students in a positive way was appearance of a teacher. Thus, appearance of a teacher can cause halo effect. Teachers and educational system can benefit from the results of this study. Conclusion: Teachers should be sensitive to proficiency and appearance in order to be better teachers, and educational system can understand strengths and weaknesses of the process of hiring teachers regarding appearance and proficiency.

Purpose: This paper follows a two-fold objective: First it examines the relationship between the external factors of compensation, support, empowerment, boundaries and expectations, pre-service and in- service training and Iranian EFL teachers’ performance. Second, it searches for the moderating effect of self-regulation on the relationship between teachers’ external assets and their performance. Methodology: To achieve the above aims, a quantitative approach to research was employed. The samples included two hundred Iranian EFL teachers of universities and English institutes of Kerman, Iran. The data were collected by means of self-administered questionnaires and analyzed by AMOS software. The direct structural model was employed to determine the path relationships between the external factors and teachers’ performance. Findings: The result showed that external assets had a positive and significant effect on the Iranian EFL teachers' performance as dependent variable (β = .372, C. R= 6.211, P <.05). Moreover, self-regulation moderates the path relation between two of the variables: boundaries and expectation and the EFL teachers' performance. The path relation between the other four variables of the external assets including pre-service and in- service training, support, compensation and empowerment for low and high self-regulation was not found to be significant, i.e. self-regulation moderation effect for these relations was not supported. Discussion: Working conditions for teachers should be best promote effective learning and enable teachers to concentrate on their professional tasks.