درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Due to the significance of teachers’ beliefs and individual variables, a bulk of studies has focused on teacher characteristics over the past two decades. As an attempt to further clarify the interplay between teacher-related constructs in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, the present study set out to explore the structural model hypothesizing the predictive role of teachers’ self-efficacy and collective teacher efficacy in affecting the psychological well-being of teachers in Iranian EFL context. In so doing, a sample of 179 English teachers was given the three self-report scales measuring the variables under investigation. As for the statistical analysis, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to test the fit of the hypothesized model. The results indicated that teacher self-efficacy accounted for 19.8% of the variance while collective teacher efficacy amounted to 11.3% of the variance in psychological well-being. In addition, it was revealed that although both predictors had a unique effect on psychological well-being, teacher self-efficacy was a stronger predictor of psychological well-being than collective teacher efficacy. The results and implications are finally elaborated.

Condemning a laissez faire approach to English Language Teaching (ELT), English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher trainers unanimously agree that the building blocks of teachers’ teaching framework are profoundly influenced by conducting research. Focusing on quantitative research, this study endeavored to scrutinize the impact of the Critical Appraisal of Published Research (CAPR) in undergraduate teacher training programs on EFL teachers’ Data Analysis Knowledge (DAK). To this objective, 30 male and female EFL teachers were non-randomly selected and randomly assigned to two groups. In two Research classes, the experimental group received the CAPR whereas the control group received traditional teacher-centered instruction with summative assessment. The DAK section of the Quantitative Research Literacy (QRL) questionnaire was employed as the pretest and posttest. Subsequent to corroborating participants’ pre-treatment homogeneity in terms of DAK, analyzing the post-treatment data through running an independent-samples t-test, eta squared = .338 (representing a large effect size), indicated the existence of a significant difference in the post-treatment DAK scores between the two groups. The obtained results confirmed that the CAPR has a significantly better impact on EFL teachers’ DAK which is a key area of QRL. Therefore, it seems accurate to argue that ELT teacher training programs should endeavor to involve the students in a mentally engaging process, e.g. CAPR, where the content of the course is put into practice by the students, something which is required for balancing the concrete and the abstract.

The present study was an investigation of metacognitive strategy training on improving Iranian EFL learners’ listening performance and the differences and similarities at three levels of elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels. Few studies have been conducted to investigate three levels. So, 348 third grade female senior high school students of Zanjan/Iran were selected through multistage cluster random sampling method and based on Cambridge placement test (2010), 116, 132, and 100 students in 3 elementary, advanced, and control groups participated in this experimental study. During two months and over period of nine forty-minute sessions, students in experimental groups received metacognitive and listening instructions. To address the research question, ANOVA test was conducted and the results showed that there were meaningful differences between students’ performance and the students of experimental advanced group showed more improvement than students in experimental intermediate and elementary groups, and students of intermediate experimental group showed more improvement than students in experimental elementary group. The implication of the study is that metacognitive strategy training should be incorporated into the regular listening teaching programs to help students become more effective listeners.

This research aims to investigate the contributions of KARDS (knowing, analyzing, recognizing, doing, and seeing) to Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) institute teachers’ professional identity reconstruction. The researchers employed purposive sampling to choose twenty teachers. A KARDS questionnaire (Hassani, Khatib, & Yazdani Moghaddam, 2019a, 2019b) was used to classify the teachers into a more KARDS-oriented group (n=10) and a less-KARDS oriented group (N=10) on the basis of their scores on the questionnaire through quartile-based visual binning technique. Pre-course interview, post-course interview, teacher educator and teachers’ reflective journals, and class discussions were employed to gather data. After the pre-course interview, there was an implementation phase during which all twenty teachers became familiar with KARDS. Then, Grounded Theory was applied to analyze the data. Findings showed that there were four big shifts from “uncertainty of practice to certainty of practice”, “the use of fewer macro-strategies to the use of more macro-strategies”, “linguistic and technical view of language teaching to critical, educational, and transformative view of language teaching”, and “conformity to nonconformity to dominant ideologies” in teachers’ professional identities in both groups. The changes were analogous and/or identical in nature but not in quantity, and they should be underscored and incorporated in teacher education programs.

Today, great a number of assessment methods have been practiced in educational systems. However, Dynamic Assessment (DA), as the modern assessment method with its emphasis on improvement and development of learning through joining teaching and assessment, is of paramount significance. Thus, one can call DA as a major and revolutionizing factor in teaching and assessment. So far, some conducted studies have dealt with the efficacy of DA on different language areas. In line with the relevant studies conducted, the present study worked on the effect of interventionist DA on introvert versus extrovert learners’ academic essay writing in English language translation students at Islamic Azad University Shahr-e-Qods Branch. As a result, it was confirmed that DA had a statistically significant effect on the academic essay writing of both Iranian introvert and extrovert EFL learners. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant difference between the performances of the extroverts vs. introverts on academic essay writing while applying interventionist DA. In other words, the extroverts had higher scores in their posttests compared to the introverts. Moreover, the results of the attitude questionnaire revealed that the extroverts had more positive attitude towards the application of DA than the introverts.

پژوهش حاضر به بررسی تاثیر داده محور بر تشخیص و تولید هم آیی ها ی زبان آموزان با سطح توانش انگلیسی بالا و پایین متوسط پرداخت. همچنین تاثیر ثانویه داده محور بر هم آیی های ثانویه (هم آیی هایی که در واژه یاب گنجانده نشده بودند ولی به صورت مستتر در تکالیف استفاده شده بودند) نیز مورد بررسی قرار گرفت. نگرش زبان آموزان نسبت به نقش واژه یاب در یادگیری هم آیی ها و تغییر نگرش آنها در طی فرایند پژوهش نیز از طریق مصاحبه مورد ارزیابی قرار گرفت. حدود 40 زبان آموز ایرانی به دو گروه آزمایشی و گواه تقسیم شدند. هر گروه به دو زیرگروه سطح توانش بالا و پایین نیز تقسیم شدند. گروه آزمایشی به مدت 10 جلسه به واژه یاب دسترسی داشتند تا تکلیف دوباره نویسی را انجام دهند. نتایج حاکی از آن است که زبان آموزان با سطح توانش بالا بیشتر از زبان آموزان با سطح توانش پایین از تاثیر اولیه و ثانویه واژه یاب بهره مند شدند. هر دو زیرگروه، نگرش مثبتی به تاثیر واژه یاب در یادگیری هم آیی ها داشتند و این نگرش با گذر زمان پررنگتر شد.

Following the recent developments in educational technology-integrated learning, interest in the true implementation of flipped and blended classrooms as innovative approaches has become increasingly popular among language education authorities. This research aimed at comparing flipped, blended, and traditional teaching (T-learning) contexts on Iranian EFL learners’ grammar learning. To this end, 60 intermediate EFL students out of 80, based on their performance in an Oxford Placement Test (OPT), were selected and divided into three groups, including two comparative and one control group, 20 in each. At the beginning of the study, the three groups participated in a pretest to assess their initial ability of grammar knowledge. To integrate technology into their instruction, both comparative groups received the same treatment and materials based on the Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition (SAMR) model. The blended comparative group received instruction in both on-line and T-learning contexts, while the flipped comparative group received instruction in an online context. The control group received instruction in a T-learning context. After the treatment sessions, they participated in a post-test. The findings showed that reading interesting English newspaper articles, both in the blended and flipped classrooms had a statistically significant effect on developing EFL learners' grammar knowledge. The findings of the study may be beneficial for EFL teachers and material developers to reconsider the role of educational technology (Ed Tech) tools to support classroom-based learning.