سید عبدالمجید طباطبایی لطفی

Nowadays, the goal of language education has changed from mastery of structure to the ability to use language for communicative purposes; however, the cultural content of the ELT textbooks in Iran has never been sufficiently discussed. Therefore, the major purpose motivating this study was to study the perceptions of teachers and learners of the localization of Iranian English textbooks in the Iranian EFL textbooks (i.e., Prospect series), besides investigating if there were any significant differences between the perceptions of teachers and learners. For this purpose, the participants of this study comprised two samples. The first group who took part in this study were 87 EFL teachers, and the second was a sample of 105 EFL learners. The research instruments were a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview protocol. For the evaluation of the textbook, a researcher-made questionnaire was used. The questionnaire was designed based on Cheng (2005). The purpose of this questionnaire was to probe the Iranian EFL teachers' and students' perceptions of the localized materials. In order to explore teachers' attitudes towards localized materials, a semi-structured interview was used. The findings suggest that while teachers and learners might view the series differently, there exists a common ground of appreciation for its value in enhancing the English learning experience. This convergence in positive perceptions emphasizes the importance of educational resources that cater to diverse learning styles and preferences. This study can have some pedagogical implications for curriculum developers, educational policymakers, teachers, and material designers.

The purpose of this study was to provide additional research to investigate the effects of mnemonic techniques and digital game-based task on teaching vocabulary to Iranian EFL students through distance education. To that end, a quasi-experimental research method with a pretest posttest non-equivalent control group design was used . The participants of the study were 75 pre-intermediate EFL learners and were chosen from among female learners. After homogenizing the participants through the Oxford Placement Test (OPT), the vocabulary knowledge test (VKS), developed by Wesche and Paribakht (1996), was used as the pretest and the posttest. For measuring the reliability of the test, it was piloted with thirty students who were similar to main sample of the study, which was found to be acceptable in terms of Cronbach’s alpha. The only difference between the pretest and posttest was the order of the items to diminish the practice effect. Then the participants were randomly divided into three equal groups of 25 (two experimental groups and one control group). During a 30-day teaching period, students in the experimental groups were taught English vocabulary using mnemonic and digital game while students in the control group were taught lessons using the traditional methods. After 7 sessions, a posttest of vocabulary was administered. Results of data analysis showed that mnemonic and digital game-based task techniques had a significant effect on teaching vocabulary to Iranian EFL students through distance education. However, no statistically significant difference was found between the effects of the two techniques. The findings of this research may have implications for EFL learners, teachers and curriculum designers.

In the Islamic school, there are examples and models that all their personal, social and political status is beyond time, place, race and culture. In this school, after the Prophet (PBUH) and the infallible Imams (PBUT), their prominent companions are among the best examples and role models. One of these companions is Miqdad bin Amr. He is one of the first Muslims who, in addition to his high status among the Sunnis, is also considered to be of high status among the Shiites. Despite the wide range of sources related to the personality of Miqdad bin Amr, the materials available about him are brief, scattered or limited to a specific time period, and some aspects of his personality have not been analyzed. Therefore, this article provides a linguistic analysis of his character as a role model by collecting relevant historical, and narrative sources and paying special attention to Miqdad’s personality traits and characteristics. This article uses a descriptive method based on qualitative and quantitative linguistic content analysis. The analysis of Miqdad’s character using the pattern of character classification in Islamic sources shows that Miqdad’s personality is described as chaste, calm, self-confident and clever in narrative, historical and Qur’ānic sources.

Dynamic assessment (DA) is an effective strategy to combine teaching and testing and it is even more enjoyable through digital devices such as computer and moblie devices. The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether the effect of interventionist dynamic assessment through WhatsApp, Bigbluebutton, and face to face classes had significant impacts on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ learning of grammar. The participants of this quasi-experimental study were seventy-five male intermediate EFL learners studying English in one of the English language institutes in central Iran. Three intact pre-intermediate level classes were chosen based on non-random convenience sampling and assigned to the three groups of WhatsApp, Bigbluebutton, and traditional group. The instruments that were used in this study were the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) and a multiple-choice grammar test. Over the course of six sessions, all three groups received interventionist DA strategies in teaching countable and uncountable nouns and determiners. The results of statistical data analysis showed that all three groups had significantly progressed over the study since there was significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores of each group. However, no statistically significant differences were found among the three groups’ means on the posttest of grammar. The findings have implications for language teachers and researchers of second language acquision.