درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

The systematic study of EAP teachers’ pedagogic content knowledge and their actual teaching practices in class is a fresh avenue in applied linguistics, especially in contexts like Iran, where, EAP courses are taught by two groups of teachers with different specializations; i.e., language teachers and content teachers. This study explored the similarities and differences between language teachers’ and content teachers’ PCK, and teaching practices, and students’ beliefs about their EAP teachers’ methodology at Medical Sciences Universities across Iran. In order to answer the research questions, a wide range of instruments including questionnaires, observations, semi-structured interviews, and field notes were utilized. Sources included language teachers, content teachers, students taught by language teachers, and students taught by content teachers. Representative samples of 318 EAP teachers and 1573 students participated in the study. The results indicated substantial inconsistencies across the two groups of teachers with respect to their PCK and teaching practices. The findings also showed that students favored language teachers’ methodologies and teaching practices. The findings promise implications for EAP instruction in Iran and highlight the pressing need for more systematic teacher training programs. 

Second language writing instruction has been greatly influenced by the growing importance of technology and the recent shift of paradigm from a cognitive to a social orientation in second language acquisition (Lantolf & Thorne, 2006). Therefore, the applications of computer-assisted language learning and activity theory have been suggested as a promising framework for writing studies. The present study aimed to investigate the perception of Iranian EFL learners of the efficacy and affordance of activity theory integrated with computer-assisted language learning in writing improvement. To this end, sixty-seven sophomores majoring in English translation were selected as the participants of this study. The writing instruction was geared to an e-learning platform based on the six elements of activity theory--subject, object, mediating artifacts, rules, community, and division of labor--appropriate for the writing course. The students were assigned to write nine expository paragraphs on six different developmental patterns and share various relevant materials on the platform during the treatment. Their assignments were carefully monitored and evaluated by the instructor. Upon the completion of the treatment, the students completed a closed-ended questionnaire and an open-ended questionnaire and took part in a semi-structured focus group interview to express their perception. The results showed that the students held favorable perception toward the use of computer-assisted language learning within the activity theory framework. The findings of the study also revealed that there was a significant difference among the students' perception concerning the four mediating elements of activity theory.

This study tested the impact of implicit and explicit knowledge of grammar on learners’ use of oral communication strategies (OCSs) and the interface of OCSs and oral fluency. The study was performed on 24 male and 36 female Iranian university students of English Translation studying at Payame Nour Universities of Lar, Khonj, and Evaz chosen based on availability and ease of access. The data were gathered using Timed Grammaticality Judgement Test (Dekeyser, 2000) as a measure of implicit knowledge of grammar, a structure section of TOEFL Paper-based Test (version 2004) as a measure of explicit knowledge of grammar, Oral Communication Strategies Inventory (Nakatani, 2006), and two oral production tasks for measuring learners' oral fluency. Analysis of the data using Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) and Pearson’s Correlation showed that both implicit and explicit knowledge of grammar affect learners’ use of oral communication strategies; however, no relationship was found between overall use of OCSs and oral fluency which can be suggestive of greater or possibly overriding impacts of some other variables on oral fluency compared to OCSs. The findings of the study are supposed to provide guidelines for learners, teachers and syllabus designers concerning the use of OCSs, especially with regard to other variables considered in this study.

This study was an attempt to evaluate the undergraduate TEFL program at Farhangian University. The university specializes in educating prospective teachers and the program is important since it is expected to equip the student teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary for qualified teachers. Hence, in this study, measures were taken to investigate the merits and demerits of the implemented TEFL program and explore the domains in which the program needs to be improved. The study assessed the program from the perspectives of 220 student teachers, 32 teacher educators, and 12 heads of departments and experts including the university deans, deputies, and research and teaching staff, through using three instruments, i.e. questionnaires, interviews, and observations in a mixed methods design .The findings indicated that the TEFL program did not address some educational and administrative needs as the participants believed that they were not enriched with the necessary skills, the practice of the learned theories, problem solving, critical thinking, flexibility, and innovation. Furthermore, this study demonstrated several theory- practice gaps in the curriculum.

The present study aimed to investigate the reliability and factor structure of the self-regulating capacity in vocabulary learning strategies scale (SRCvoc) in the Iranian EFL context. To this end, the original (SRCvoc) questionnaire (Tseng, Dornyei, & Schmitt, 2006) was translated into Persian, using a translation/back-translation procedure. Then, the Persian version of the SRCVOC was piloted to 43 high school students and showed acceptable internal consistency reliability (α = .81). In the main phase of the study, a sample of 1167 high school students (grades 9-12) from fifteen high schools in three Iranian cities completed the Persian SRCvoc. Based on the results, the Persian version of the scale demonstrated acceptable internal consistency reliability (<em>α </em>= 0.81). The factor structure of the translated version of the measure was investigated through a series of factor analyses. The results showed that the translated SVLSQ is composed of one dimension with five subcomponents, with a different factor structure as compared to the original questionnaire. The findings of the study suggest that the Persian version of the SVLSQ is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring self-regulatory vocabulary learning strategies in Iran. 

This study explored both teachers’ and learners’ perceptions of teachers’ pedagogic strategies which may engender willingness to communicate (WTC) in an English as a foreign language class and the difference between their perceptions to detect how convergent or possibly how divergent these are. The project used a convenience sample of 300 students taking an intermediate English course and their teachers (N=60) in several English Language Institutes in Tabriz, Iran. The instruments included a Likert scale questionnaire on teachers’ pedagogic strategies and learners’ WTC completed by both teachers and learners. Based on the data collected from the questionnaires, it was revealed that the teachers and learners agreed on the role of teachers’ wait time in learners’ WTC but not on the other strategies such as motivating strategies, error correction strategies, and teachers’ congruence. The findings of the study have important implications for teachers in terms of reconsidering their pedagogic strategies to play their facilitating roles in engendering students’ WTC in the class. The results also have the implications for EFL teacher education in the new era of communication.

This study investigated the relationship among Iranian English teachers’ adversity quotient, personal growth initiative, and pedagogical success. The participants comprised 28 male and female English teachers and a total of 336 male and female EFL learners who attended the abovementioned teachers’ classes (12 for each teacher). Stoltz’ (1997) Adversity Response Profile (ARP) and Robitscheck’s (1998) Personal Growth Initiative Scale (PGIS) were administered among the 28 teachers while Moafian and Pishghadam’s (2009) Characteristics of Successful Iranian EFL Teachers Questionnaire (SIETQ) was administered among the 336 students. To look into the relationship and the predictability of the three aforesaid constructs, a Pearson product-moment correlation and subsequently multiple regression analysis were run following all statistical prerequisites necessary for running these parametric tests. The results demonstrated that there was a significant correlation among the teachers’ scores on the ARP and SIETQ, and their PGIS and SIETQ. Also, there was a significant difference in the predictability of the teachers’ SIETQ by their ARP and PGIS.

This study explored how much of the time Iranian EFL teachers partake in constant expert turn of events (CPD) activities and how powerful these activities were in improving their instructing techniques. The current review is meant to investigate the view of Iranian EFL instructors about CPD, additionally, various kinds of CPD activities for example CELTA/DELTA courses that they liked, and explored how frequently Iranian EFL educators partake in the accompanying CPD activities. The members were 55 EFL instructors educating at various language establishments in Tehran and Karaj city. The information was gathered utilizing a three-segment online overview. The survey had been arranged in light of a 5 point-Likert scale and had shipped off members by email. To address the review's exploration questions, enlightening and inferential insights were used. For quantitative investigation, the information was at first placed into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Then, at that point, utilizing enlightening measurable methodologies, different insights for the information were registered and summed up. The discoveries of this quantitative review uncovered that English educators take part in an assortment of CPD activities. The discoveries of the review have suggestions for explicit activities that might be impetuses in building uplifting perspectives towards other CPD activities for EFL educators.