مهرداد سپهری

This study aimed to examine the impact of Group Dynamic Assessment (G-DA) on the listening comprehension of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. To this purpose, through the Preliminary English Test (PET) 140 Iranian EFL female learners in four English Language Institutes of Ahvaz, Iran, were tested, and 80 of them were selected as the sample of the study using convenience sampling. They were taught through group dynamic assessment. After the pretest and treatment sessions, the participants were given the listening comprehension post-test and the resultant scores were statistically analyzed to detect their development from pretest to post-test. The obtained results revealed that Group Dynamic Assessment (G-DA) had a positive impact on the participants’ listening comprehension. This finding implies that EFL teachers may need to consider the positive impact of dynamic assessment on EFL learners’ listening comprehension improvement and provide them with more opportunities to interact. They may also need to create a change in the traditional models of listening comprehension assessment which emphasize psychometric quantification of students' performances

The teacher, his instructional method, and indeed his characteristics are considered to be the decisive factors for the success or failure of education. The current study was carried out to determine the Iranian EFL teachers’ perception of immunity in their occupational contexts, that is in English language institutes and public schools. To achieve this objective, one hundred EFL teachers teaching in public schools (N = 50) and language institutes (N = 50), in Isfahan, were selected through convenience sampling to participate in this study. Then, the Teachers’ Immunity Level questionnaire was administered to them, and they were interviewed as well. The teachers were asked about their perception of immunity in their own occupational setting. All the teachers working in language institutes believed that teachers in these educational centers are suffering from low levels of job immunity. The teachers were also asked about the reasons underlying the high and low levels of job immunity in these two educational contexts. The teachers in language institutes believed that the dearth of monitoring by the government, the large number of unemployed educated people, employers’ greed, and lowering the value of education in the society are among the most important reasons underlying this catastrophe in language institutes. These findings can have some implications for the decision-makers in the Iranian Ministry of Education to provide language institutes with more support and attention with an eye to eliminating the mentioned problems.

Recent developments in technology have affected various aspects of human life, including education. These technological advancements have resulted in the introduction of new trends in teaching methodology. These trends include pure online instruction, mixed online and face-to-face instruction (blended), etc. In order to identify the efficacy of such kinds of instruction in comparison with traditional methods, this quasi-experimental study was conducted to explore the effects of virtual vs. blended-language instruction on the development of listening and reading skills by Iranian intermediate EFL learners. To achieve this goal, 60 intermediate EFL learners were selected to participate in two experimental (virtual and blended) and one control (traditional face-to-face) groups. After the provision of the treatments in experimental (reading and listening through virtual and blended methods of instruction) and control (reading and listening through traditional method) groups, a post-test was conducted to measure the attainment of the participants in each language skill.  The results revealed that both virtual and blended methods of instruction could lead to better reading and listening performances. However, the difference between the effect of each treatment was more tangible in one skill scores (reading in the virtual group and listening in the blended group). The point worth noting is that the blended group could significantly outperform the other two groups. Comparing the results of all post-tests in reading and listening, it was revealed that blended instruction could result in better reading and listening; however, reading skill was more affected due to the higher mean difference between pre-test and post-test scores. This study has some implications for language teachers in taking advantage of technology in education in a balance with their traditional styles of teaching.

In recent years, the personal characteristics and attitudes of teachers have attracted the attention of various scholars. The teacher’s immunity level is one of the newly proposed concepts in this area. The present study aimed at exploring the difference between the immunity level of the Iranian EFL teachers at language centers and public schools. In order to achieve this objective, one hundred EFL teachers teaching in public schools (N = 50) and language centers (N = 50), in Isfahan, were selected through convenience sampling to participate in this study. Then, the Teachers’ Immunity Level questionnaire was administered to them, and they were interviewed as well.  The obtained results revealed that teachers working in public schools have higher levels of immunity compared to the ones working in language centers. This finding can have some implications for the decision-makers in the Iranian Ministry of Education to provide adequate amenities to improve teachers’ immunity in language centers.

The current study explored the effects of different feedback types on reducing Iranian test-takers’ speaking anxiety at the lower- and upper-intermediate levels. For this purpose, 90 male and female learners aged 21 to 45, who were preparing themselves to take the IELTS Mock test, were selected through a convenient sampling method and divided into lower-intermediate and upper-intermediate levels on the basis of the Oxford Placement Test (OPT) results. Then, they underwent ten treatment sessions of recast, explicit, metalinguistic, and clarification corrective feedback. To measure the anxiety in speaking performance, Chowdhury’s (2014) questionnaire was given to the participants once before treatment and once after the treatment. Then, the score of each learner was calculated and recorded for the data analysis. The obtained results revealed that there was a statistically significant difference among the feedback types regarding the participants’ speaking anxiety at the lower-intermediate as well as the upper-intermediate level. The implication of this finding is that teachers should constantly implement different types of corrective feedback in their classes to help students with their speaking anxiety problems.    

The popularity of integrating technology in language instruction and its fundamental effect on the language learning dimensions has been widely acknowledged whereas learners’ motivation and attitude are expected to be improved in a web-based Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) environment. Therefore, this paper aimed to investigate the Iranian EFL learners’ motivation to learn English and attitude in a CALL environment. The participants of this study were 120 intermediate EFL learners from two private English language institutes in Isfahan, Iran. They were divided into two equal groups; one experimental group (EG) and one control group (CG). Then, a motivation questionnaire pretest was administered out to check the participants’ motivation at the beginning of the course. As the treatment, the EG learners were taught through CALL-based instruction and the CG learners were taught traditionally. After the treatment, a posttest of motivation and an attitude questionnaire were administered. The outcomes indicated that the CALL-based instruction promoted the participants’ motivation as checked by the Motivation Questionnaire. Moreover, as measured by a 20-item A-CALL attitude questionnaire, it was discovered that the learners in the EG had positive attitudes toward using CALL-based instruction. In light of the findings, a number of conclusions are obtained and several implications are put forward.

This study investigated the effects of recast and explicit corrective feedback on Iranian IELTS test-takers anxiety in speaking across different levels of proficiency. Ninety male and female learners, aged 21 to 45, who were preparing themselves to take the IELTS Mock test, were divided into upper-intermediate and advanced levels. Then, they were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups (recast and explicit correction). There were 10 treatment sessions for each group. In the recast group, the students’ mistakes were corrected using reformulation. In the explicit correction group, mistakes were not tolerated, and they were corrected on the spot. In order to measure the anxiety in speaking performance, Chowdhury’s (2014) questionnaire was given to the participants once before the treatment and once after the treatment. Then, the score of each learner was calculated and recorded for the data analysis. The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the control and explicit corrective group and the control and recast groups at the upper-intermediate level. However, there was a statistically significant difference between the control and recast groups and the control and explicit group at the advanced levels.