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Cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs) have received much interest within the field of language testing over the last decade due to their great potential to provide diagnostic feedback to all stakeholders and ultimately improve language teaching and learning. A large number of studies have demonstrated the application of CDMs on advanced large-scale English proficiency exams, such as IELTS, TOEFL, MELAB, and ECPE. However, too little attention has been paid to the utility of CDMs on elementary and intermediate high-stakes English exams. The current study aims to diagnose the reading ability of test takers in the B1 Preliminary test, previously known as the Preliminary English Test (PET), using the generalized deterministic input, noisy, “and” gate (G-DINA; de la Torre, 2011) model. The G-DINA is a general and saturated model which allows attributes to combine in both compensatory and non-compensatory relationships and each item to select the best model. To achieve the purpose of the study, an initial Q-matrix based on the theory of reading comprehension and the consensus of content experts was constructed and validated. Item responses of 435 test takers to the reading comprehension section of the PET were analyzed using the “G-DINA” package in R. The results of attribute profiles suggested that lexico-grammatical knowledge is the most difficult attribute, and making an inference is the easiest one.

Since 2010, deep learning has been further developed, and the concept of multi-modality has penetrated into all walks of life. However, it has not been fully researched and applied in college English teaching, so this study modeled and practiced the multimodal teaching method of college English under the deep learning mode and its application. The definitions of modality and medium are first introduced, and then the definition of multimodality in this study is clarified. Then the classification of multimodal transport is expounded. The random forest algorithm is chosen as the main algorithm of this research, and a dynamic multimodal model is established. After that, there was a collaboration with a university and sophomore students were selected for practice. After processing and analyzing the collected data, it was found that in the data sample of 268 students, the number of students who did not study independently accounted for 24%, which indicates that most college students lack interest in learning English. Preliminary tests were also conducted on students' English proficiency throughout the year, and the results showed that the students' English proficiency was at a pass level and the overall English proficiency was weak. Reassessment of students' English proficiency showed that the actual teaching effect of each English proficiency was greater than 85%, and the effectiveness of English teaching in the selected universities was significantly improved. The average score improved by 8 points, indicating that multimodal teaching is scientifically effective After a semester of multimodal teaching, the English teaching effectiveness of the university selected in this article has significantly improved. The research results indicate that the development of deep computer learning has introduced multimodal concepts into the teaching field, which is very suitable for assisting language learning based on its own advantages. After a semester of multimodal teaching, the English teaching effectiveness of the university selected in this article has significantly improved. The research results indicate that the development of deep computer learning has introduced multimodal concepts into the teaching field, which is very suitable for assisting language learning based on its own advantages.

This study investigated the interplay of working memory capacity and language proficiency in the context of vocabulary acquisition through word-focused tasks. The involvement load hypothesis served as a theoretical framework, positing that the degree of cognitive engagement influences lexical learning outcomes. A total of 100 EFL learners participated in this study. They were divided into distinct groups based on varying levels of working memory capacity, language proficiency, and aspects of working memory (phonological short-term memory and executive working memory). The participants engaged in receptive and productive vocabulary tasks under different experimental conditions, including reading-only, reading plus blank-fill, and reading-plus production. The results revealed intricate relationships between working memory capacity, language proficiency, and vocabulary acquisition. While the efficacy of the hypothesis varied across conditions, its predictions were influenced by the nuances of individual cognitive capabilities and language competence. Learners with higher proficiency levels acquired more lexical items, both receptively and productively.  Although the difference with the phonological short-term memory was not significant, executive working memory was more facilitative of lexical gain. Additionally, the role of input modality in shaping vocabulary learning outcomes was highlighted. That is, reading plus production and blank-fill tasks resulted in more lexical gain than reading-only tasks.  The study contributes to the theoretical understanding of vocabulary acquisition by underscoring the complex interplay of cognitive processes and language factors. These insights hold implications for foreign language pedagogy, guiding educators in crafting more effective interventions for enhancing both receptive and productive lexical knowledge.

The present study investigates the efficacy of preparation time in four speaking tasks of TOEFL iBT. As the current pre-task planning time offered by ETS is very short, 15 to 30 seconds, we intended to explore how the test-takers’ speaking quality would change if the preparation time was added to the response time, giving the respondents a relatively longer online planning opportunity. To this aim, two groups of TOEFL iBT candidates were studied under pre-task and online planning conditions. Totally, 384 elicited speaking samples were first transcribed and then measured in terms of complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF). The results yielded by a series of One-way MANOVA revealed the online planning group significantly outperformed the pre-task planning group in terms of accuracy and fluency across all four speaking tasks. Although with less robustness, the online planners had significantly higher speech complexity represented by lexical diversity and left-embeddedness. The results obtained through this study may challenge the efficacy of the currently provided preparation time in TOEFL iBT speaking subsection.

A bulk of research has revealed that emotions play a crucial role in different aspects of second/foreign language (L2) education. However, the emotions that English as a foreign language (EFL) students experience during assessment have been neglected, so far. Against this backdrop, this qualitative study intended to unveil the typologies, antecedents, and outcomes of assessment-related emotions of 24 Iranian EFL undergraduate students studying applied linguistics. To this end, a semi-structured interview and a narrative frame were employed. The results of the thematic analysis demonstrated that undergraduate EFL students experienced different positive and negative emotions before, during, and after assessment practices at the university. Furthermore, it was found that “teacher”, “tasks”, and “textbook” were the most frequent causes of the participants’ perceived emotions in assessment. Concerning the outcomes of assessment-induced emotions, the results demonstrated that “burnout”, “frustration”, “demotivation”, “stress”, and “self-doubt” were the most frequent negative outcomes, while “motivation”, “learning”, “pride”, and “excitement” were repeatedly posited as positive outcomes. Finally, the study enumerates some implications for L2 educators and researchers concerning the role of emotions in assessment processes and practices.

This paper discusses the use of Persian in comparison with Dari, a dialect of Persian language used in Kerman, one of the cities of Kerman Province located in southeast Iran. It is based on a random selection of 47 subjects from different sex, age, and occupational groups of Zoroastrian people with different levels of education in seven domains, i.e. family, friendship, neighborhood, transaction, education, government, and employment. In this study, the subjects were asked to determine which language they use in different domains on Likert’s 4-point scale. After collecting the data by the use of a questionnaire with 30 situations in the seven domains and analyzing them, the researcher concluded that there is a Persian-Dari diglossia in Zoroastrian speech community in which Dari functions as the Low language whereas Persian is the High one. As a matter of fact, Dari has been restricted to family domain and the young generation has lost it to a large extent.

This study explores how professional and student writers manifest their authorial identities and project their gender voices in their academic texts. To this end, 38 male-authored and 38 female-authored articles published in seven leading international journals were selected. Moreover, 38 articles written by male students and 38 articles authored by female students were collected from two universities in Iran. Taking an academic writing course, these students handed in their papers as term projects. These academic writings were analyzed based on Hyland’s metadiscourse framework comprising two major resources: interactional and interactive metadiscourse resources. The findings indicated the male authors mainly attended to discourse organization using more interactive resources while the female authors mostly solicited solidarity by employing more interactional resources. The professional authors engaged in a more critical stance using self-mentions and attitude markers and the students focused on discourse organization. Attitude markers and self-mentions, as markers of stance-taking, were absent in the students’ writing. The professional authors made use of their gender identity to promote their authorial identity instead of suppressing it. These results suggest that EAP programs should inform students how to employ both metadiscourse resources and their gender-based discourse choices to express their authorial identity more effectively.

Recruiting efficient EFL teacher educators (TEs) is crucial for language institutes as it can directly affect the quality of language instruction and, consequently the success of language institutes. Nevertheless, language institute policies for employing TEs and strategies for their professional development have not been well-documented. To this end, semi-structured interviews were conducted in this qualitative study to investigate 30 language institute managers’ recruitment policies and professional development strategies for employing non-native English TEs in the Iranian EFL context. The participants’ answers to interview questions were transcribed and analyzed based on the three levels of the open, axial, and selective coding process. The results revealed that job experience, academic/educational competencies, and digital literacy are the most important features implicating the recruitment of TEs. As for professional development strategies for TEs, the main ones included holding regular meetings for TEs, asking TEs to take part in professionally relevant seminars, workshops, and webinars, and encouraging them to make peer observations of teacher education courses. These findings have implications for language TEs' recruitment and their professional development.

PhD examination is a unique type of assessment with examiners playing a key role in it. Despite extensive research on various modes of academic genre, research on the examiners’ language representing oral review genre is yet underrepresented. One important way to identify this genre is to unpack the metadiscursive features that constitute this type of academic discourse. Using a metadiscourse framework, developed by Hyland (2005), this study investigates the metadiscursive markers that constitute Iranian and International examiners’ language of PhD dissertation evaluation. The data include the transcriptions of Iranian and International examiners’ evaluative discourse in eight PhD dissertation defenses, taken place in Iran and the US (MICASE corpus), representing English for Academic Purposes. The results indicate that the examiners use a variety of interactional as well as interactive metadiscourse markers to convey the effective and appropriate evaluation of the PhD dissertations at hand. Further breakdown of the metadiscourse devices and the comparison of the two sets of data are provided. The results unpack an aspect of oral academic review as a specific genre with implications for both EAP-user examiners and PhD candidates to become aware of the discursive features of the examiners language.

This cross-cultural study aims to examine how Iranian and American motivational speakers employ metadiscourse devices as a convincing tool to interact with their audience. To this end, eight motivational speeches in English and Persian were randomly selected from 2015 to 2021, and analyzed for the use of stance (i.e., hedges, boosters, attitude markers, and self-mentions) and engagement (i.e., reader-pronouns, directives, questions, shared knowledge, and personal asides) expressions. The findings showed that self-mention and attitude markers were the most frequently used stance markers in English and Persian corpus, respectively. Moreover, hedges found to be the least frequently used stance markers in the two corpora. With regard to the use of engagement markers, results showed that reader pronoun is the most frequently used engagement markers, and shared knowledge and personal asides were the least frequently used engagement markers in both languages. Finally, the results of chi-square test showed statistically significant differences in the use of stance and engagement expressions in the two languages, confirming cultural septicity nature of metadiscourse markers, and that speakers of different languages employ interactional devices according to their context.

Developing a learner’s ability to communicate in a second language is the goal of communicative language teaching (CLT). Many EFL teachers now accept and employ CLT as a teaching method. Although teachers’ views have a significant influence on how they practice CLT, there haven’t been many studies about teachers’ attitudes about CLT in a specific context, such as Iran. This was revealed through a study of related literature. The current study sought to examine how EFL teachers felt about CLT. The first aim of the present study is to ascertain how EFL teachers feel about CLT. Examining the fundamental causes of instructors’ attitudes is the second goal. Thirdly, determining whether there is a disconnect between instructors' perceptions about CLT and their classroom behavior. The researchers employed a mixed-methods strategy in this study. The study included 30 EFL instructors. Three phases made up the research design: firstly, a questionnaire for gathering quantitative data was used, then interviews and observations were used for gathering qualitative data. The findings of this study showed that, in general, EFL teachers had positive attitudes about the CLT’s tenets and exhibited CLT’s traits in their teaching. There was not much of a discrepancy between the teachers’ perceptions about CLT and their actual classroom actions. This study offers valuable insights that can inform curriculum development, teacher training, and policy decisions, ultimately enhancing the quality of English language education in Iran and similar contexts around the world.