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Construct-irrelevant variance is considered as a major threat to validity which indicates the existence of additional unrelated variables that distort the meaning of test scores and cause the test to be biased. Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis is an important technique in examining the validity and fairness of educational tests. Concerning the importance of test fairness in large-scale exams, this study aimed to (1) detect gender DIF in the reading comprehension section of the B2 First exam using the Rasch model and Mantel-Haenszel method, and (2) investigate the comparability of results from the two DIF detection techniques. To this end, the reading section of the B2 First exam was administered to 207 undergraduate students of English as a foreign language (EFL). After checking the fit of the data to the Rasch model, the results of the Rasch model-based DIF analysis showed the presence of two items indicating DIF, whereas the results of Mantel-Haenszel showed that there were three gender-DIF items.

Language teacher factors have attracted attention in the field of language teaching in recent decades. This study sought to identify predictors of productive and maladaptive teacher immunity in British and Iranian English teachers. It also investigated the differences between British and Iranian teachers’ immunity. Accordingly, the researchers selected 283 British and 295 Iranian EFL teachers at language institutes as participants. In addition, they gave the participants seven reliable and valid questionnaires to assess their teacher immunity, age, income, emotion regulation, teacher reflection, professional identity, and grit. Finally, they analyzed the data using logistic regression analysis and a t-test. The results showed that British teachers’ emotion regulation, teacher reflection, and professional identity and Iranian teachers’ income, age, and emotion regulation were the most significant predictors of their teacher immunity. In addition, British teachers’ immunity was more productive than that of Iranian teachers. The results can provide specific guidelines for dealing with teacher factors in English classrooms.    

This research synthesized the methodological issues of studies published in English for Specific Purposes from its debut in 1980 up to 2020, from both an overall perspective and also periodically in four decades. To this aim, we examined 617 empirical articles with regard to two themes: (a) research methodology, and (b) data sources. More specifically, we probed into the methodological designs, how they were integrated and the points of departure in qualitative research. Our results brought to the fore that the majority of ESP articles were framed as combined methods studies, most frequently concurrent designs, dominated by qualitative data and data collection. As well, about half of qualitative studies did not specify their approach and the majority of quantitative works utilized descriptive statistics and combinations of different tests. Pertaining to data sources, text samples as well as an amalgamation of different data collection techniques were the most prominent ones. Based on these results and discussion, we provided empirically–grounded recommendations and suggestions for promoting methodological transparency and rigor for the prospective studies for the field of ESP and applied linguistics in general.  

The growing popularity of language-learning apps among language learners has highlighted the need for rigorous evaluation of their efficacy in second language acquisition (SLA). This study combined quantitative measures to comprehensively understand the effectiveness of the Busuu app in improving the productive vocabulary of Iranian intermediate EFL learners with qualitative data from in-depth interviews to explore their perceptions and experiences while using the app. Forty-three learners (17 males and 26 females with a mean age of 27.53) were selected to assess the effectiveness of the Busuu app on learners’ productive vocabulary knowledge. Among them,15 participants (all female with a mean age of 29.40) agreed to be interviewed after the Busuu study to gain insights into learners’ perceptions and experiences with app-based learning. A pretest-posttest design using the LEX30 task, a standardized productive vocabulary assessment tool, was conducted before and after the Busuu study to evaluate participants’ productive vocabulary knowledge. Paired samples t-tests revealed no significant improvement in participants’ productive vocabulary knowledge. Nonetheless, the number of responses produced in the posttest was higher than in the pretest. According to the interview data, users rated vocabulary as the most favored feature of the app, while restricted access to premium content was noted as the least favored. Most participants acknowledged that the app exceeded their initial expectations before installing it. Additionally, improving vocabulary knowledge was the users’ primary expectation from utilizing the app. Furthermore, approximately all participants found the app beneficial for language learning. However, most of them reported low levels of enjoyment during app usage. The results can contribute to understanding what needs to be done to upgrade the quality and potential of the Bussu app, how the app can better support EFL learners in effectively activating their lexical knowledge, and what the users’ experiences and expectations from a language-learning app are.

Classroom management is a key component of teachers' professional competent for promoting learning. This study investigated teachers' classroom management strategies in responding to Iranian EFL learners' misbehaviours in terms of teachers' biological factors including age and gender. The participants of the study were 75 (41 females and 34 males) teachers at universities and in language institutes of Fars Province, Iran. The study enjoyed a descriptive design using two sets of instruments encompassing a Five Likert-scale questionnaire and a semi-structured interview for collecting the data. The questionnaire determined teachers' classroom management strategies and the interview collected their opinions regarding classroom management. To analyze the data, one-way ANOVA and an independent sample t-test were run. The findings indicated that teachers' age and gender had significant effects on the types of strategies that they used when they faced misbehaviour. The findings also revealed that male teachers significantly used the strategies such as verbal warning, and female teachers removing the student from the class. The age groups were different in terms of using two strategies namely reward student with free time or activities and lower students' grade. The findings could have implication for curriculum designers, EFL teachers, and policymakers because it could enhance their skills in better management of learners' misbehaviours.

The global education landscape is witnessing a rise in teacher accountability, where educators bear a heightened responsibility for demonstrably achieving student learning outcomes. In response, teachers are engaged in a continuous quest to enhance their pedagogical effectiveness, seeking strategies and methodologies to optimize their classroom practice. The present study investigates the relationship between Continuous Professional Development (CPD) practices and teacher success in the Iranian context. A sample of 364 EFL teachers from junior and senior high schools self-reported on their CPD engagement, while 422 of their students provided their perceptions of teacher success. Findings revealed the substantial potential of CPD to elevate teacher success through interconnected processes of knowledge updating, reflective practice, collaborative learning, and refined decision-making skills. Notably, updating knowledge strongly influenced both collaboration and reflection, while reflection moderately stimulated collaboration, and collaboration exerted a robust influence on effective decision-making. However, the study unexpectedly uncovered a negative direct association between teacher decision-making and professional success within the specific Iranian context. Additionally, no significant gender-based differences in teacher success were observed. The negative association between teacher decision-making and professional success in the Iranian context warrants further investigation. This suggests that factors specific to the Iranian educational system or cultural context might influence the relationship between these two variables. Understanding these factors is crucial for developing contextually relevant CPD programs.

The interplay of Iranian EFL learners’ tolerance of ambiguity and their performance encountering unknown vocabularies in reading comprehension while considering their L2 reading anxiety was investigated in this study. A sample of 70 intermediate-level EFL learners from a language institute in Shiraz, Iran participated in the study. The Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale (SLTAS) and the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) were used to measure participants’ ambiguity tolerance and L2 reading anxiety, respectively. To assess students’ performance in dealing with new words in reading comprehension, two vocabulary tests and two reading tests were given to them. The data were analyzed by both SPSS and PLS 4 software using Pearson correlation and structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings revealed significant relationships between ambiguity tolerance and reading comprehension performance encountering unknown vocabularies, between L2 reading anxiety and reading comprehension performance encountering unknown vocabularies, and between ambiguity tolerance and L2 reading anxiety. Additionally, L2 reading anxiety was found to play a significant mediating role in the relationship between ambiguity tolerance of Iranian language learners and their performance in dealing with unknown vocabularies in reading comprehension. Moreover, the study provides evidence that reading anxiety does not play a moderating and significant role in the relationship between ambiguity tolerance of Iranian language learners and their performance in dealing with unknown vocabularies in reading comprehension. The study suggests that ambiguity tolerance and L2 reading anxiety are important factors that influence Iranian EFL learners’ performance encountering unknown vocabularies in reading comprehension. This study highlights the importance of fostering ambiguity tolerance and reducing L2 reading anxiety in both language teaching and learning. In addition, it provides insights for syllabus designers to d

This case study examines the influence of students’ motivation on their EFL performance to identify motivational factors and as a result, it was created a proposal for increasing their motivation. The population selected was 126 first-semester students and 5 professors in charge of the EFL process at a private university in Colombia, Bogotá in the first and second semesters of 2023. Moreover, the methodology used was qualitative with a social constructivist worldview to research based on students' and professors’ perceptions. That way, the collected results show that most students’ extrinsic motivation causes their low EFL level when entering the program as students may be goal-oriented and short-term sustained, which can contribute to dropping out of the program. Therefore, it is recommended that professors take action to increase students’ motivation by teaching students relevant topics, exposing the benefits of learning EFL, encouraging them to be self-directed students, promoting a safe environment, making them use e-learning tools and using gamified assessment/activity tools so that students can improve their academic performance.

This study explores the impact of supplementary blended learning on the listening comprehension skills of Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. A sample of 60 male Iranian EFL learners was selected from a population of 100 learners studying English at Pardis Language Institute, Hamadan, Iran, via double-stage sampling. After being selected, participants were sorted into two groups, that is, a control group and an experimental group. In the treatment sessions, all participants listened to parts of the American English File (book 2). The participants in the control group received the usual procedure of teaching listening in the institute. In the experimental group, the students received target language input via videos and supplementary reading materials before classes so that they had sufficient exposure to the input. The listening topics were uploaded on a common social networking site, i.e., the telegram application, which was also reserved for giving teachers feedback on the students’ questions. The results of the data analysis showed that supplemental blended learning had a statistically significant effect on EFL learners’ listening comprehension. In other words, the research question was answered positively, and the corresponding null hypothesis was rejected.