درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

The present study investigated Iranian EFL teachers' alternative assessment literacy (AAL). The study employed a sequential explanatory mixed methods design, including qualitative and quantitative approaches. To achieve more accurate results, the AAL inventory (Mertler & Campbell, 2005) and an interview with ten teachers (to explore their challenges) were used to collect the data. The study participants were 306 Iranian TEFL teachers teaching English in different language institutes in Tehran. The study results revealed that Iranian EFL teachers enjoyed moderate knowledge of AAL. Also, their beliefs in employing AAL standards in L2 classroom assessment and its related methods were valuable and appreciated presenting their awareness of the issue. In addition, they claimed to have used specific alternative assessment-related strategies and practices in the L2 classroom. The findings imply that EFL teachers' AAL is inadequate as they cannot perform well in practice, while theoretically, they are knowledgeable enough. Therefore, continuous in-service training programs on educational assessment and AAL should be considered to cater to teachers' assessment literacy problems in the Iranian context.

Theory and practice are two sides of one coin, and the way they are perceived adds to its practice. This holds true regarding teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) literacy status and its implementation. To shed more light on these issues in the Iranian EFL setting, t his study was designed to pursue a three-fold purpose: the status quo of the Iranian EFL teachers' TPACK literacy, the contribution of TPACK literacy, and perception developments in the light of TPACK intervention. For the intervention purpose, TPACK workshops were implemented with 15 teachers through employing the TPACK framework and the learning by doing method. The results of chi-square data analysis showed statistically significant differences between the participants’ TPACK literacy before and after TPACK workshops and also positive contributions of the intervention. Moreover, it was observed that participants’ perceptions towards TPACK literacy developed in the light of TPACK workshops. Thereby, the study develops a new perspective and provides empirical evidence to investigate incorporating technology and knowledge into teaching English and Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in Iran. Also, the theoretical and pedagogical recommendations for future research and practice are provided.

Critical cultural awareness (CCA) as an essential element of intercultural competence has attracted a myriad of scholars in the fields of language teaching, communication studies, cultural studies, gender studies, ethnic studies among others. That is why this study aims to investigate the attitudes of Iranian high school teachers and learners toward critical cultural awareness. The participants of the study included 307 teachers and 359 learners in different high schools in Qazvin. All the participants filled out the Critical Cultural Awareness Questionnaire. The data were then fed into SPSS software and were subjected to Principal Components Analysis. Three factors were extracted and named as CCA in ELT Programs, CCA in ELT Textbooks and Materials, and CCA in General Terms. The participants’ responses were analyzed based on these factors. The results of item analysis revealed that both teachers and learners indicated that all cultures should be equally addressed in ELT textbooks and materials. It was also concluded that the teachers' and learners’ awareness regarding the integration of culture into the mainstream teaching should be raised and they should put more emphasis on culture in their classes. One significant implication for EFL teachers and also syllabus designers is that an intercultural curriculum can enable learners to understand the target materials more efficiently.

Culture is an integral facet of teaching and learning English as a foreign language. This qualitative study examined EFL teachers’ perceptions toward fostering their students’ cultural awareness in Iranian language schools. Based on a researcher-developed protocol, semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve EFL teachers from Tehran, Karaj, and Urmia, Iran, whose teaching experiences ranged from 6 to 19 years, with the purpose of identifying their perceptions, experiences, and challenges regarding fostering students’ cultural awareness. The interviews drew upon emergent methodology to categorize the interviewees’ value-laden comments into six major attitudinal themes of meaning of culture, the role of English culture and social norms in EFL teaching and learning, the materials and activities teachers employ to foster their students’ cultural awareness, benefits of teaching English culture in Iranian language schools, EFL teachers’ challenges regarding teaching English culture, and teachers’ suggestions or recommendations regarding teaching culture in the Iranian EFL context. The findings illustrated that despite the fact that Iranian EFL teachers preferred to include cultural content in their courses, they faced a variety of challenges regarding teaching English culture and social norms. Further, Iranian policymakers, stakeholders, and educators are expected to provide professional training opportunities for EFL teachers in teaching English culture. Thus, teaching culture should be underscored in EFL classes and instructors are required to explore and apply various effective strategies and authentic materials to enhance their language learners’ cultural knowledge. The implications are presented and discussed in more detail in the paper.

The present study aimed to explore whether there is any significant relationship between Iranian EFL teachers’ traits in terms of personality type and their classroom management orientation. To this end, 130 EFL teachers from private language institutes and schools participated in this study. Three data collection instruments were used: a) personal demographic questionnaire, b) Attitudes and Beliefs on Classroom Control inventory, and c) Five Factor Model personality questionnaire. The results showed that, out of five factors of personality trait and three factors of classroom management orientation, there were two significant relationships; there was a significant relationship between conscientiousness personality trait and instructional classroom management orientation, and there was also a significant relationship between conscientiousness and behavioral classroom management. No other significant relationship was found between other factors of personality and classroom management. The findings of this research can help raise awareness of teachers and teacher trainers alike of teacher personality traits and their possible relationship with classroom management orientation (of teachers).

This study intended to assess how ELT teachers evaluate the quality of Pre and In-service TPD Programs in an EFL context. Data for this study came from a survey and follow-up interviews with 300 high school EFL teachers. The findings suggest that the ELT teachers recommend professional development programs that prioritize continuous learning, knowledge and skills updates, subject matter expertise, and technology integration in teaching practices. The study reveals challenges faced by the ELT teachers in participating in TPD programs, such as the need for innovative and updated programs, practical application focus, budget constraints, and high-quality facilitation. The characteristics of a good TPD program from the perspective of ELT teachers were also discussed, emphasizing the importance of addressing immediate needs, incorporating the latest trends and innovations, aligning with international standards, and providing support systems and collaboration opportunities. In addition, the study highlighted the motivation of the ELT teachers for professional development and the need for targeted programs to support their specific needs. Finally, suggestions were made and implications were discussed.

Adaptive teaching addresses students’ diversity and their immediate learning needs. Particularly, in the high-interactive context of English teaching, fostering adaptive teaching in teacher professional development programs not only stimulates teacher change at the micro level, but also facilitates implementing the organizational and curricular innovations imposed by authorities at the macro level. The current English teaching literature lacks a measure for evaluating and fostering adaptive teaching within higher education. Hence, within the present study, the Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth (IMTPG) was adapted and validated as a measure for evaluating and fostering teacher adaptability for 183 international English teachers in higher education. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was employed for validating two different enactment and reflection links in the original IMTPG, and the final adapted IMTPG for adaptive teaching (At-IMTPG) was proposed. The AT-IMTPG can be applied for evaluating how adaptive English teachers are, seeking to resolve the problem of implementing educational innovations by English teachers in higher education. It can also be used to design teacher professional growth programs for fostering adaptive teaching within English teaching higher education. Such a change in the classroom level is hoped to be translated into an educational change in English teaching higher education.

As reflective practice has become an influential factor in teacher professional development, teachers need some techniques to enhance their reflective teaching. In this light, this study was intended to examine: (a) whether self-evaluation techniques could promote English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ reflective teaching, (b) whether EFL teachers who used self-evaluation techniques would differ from the teachers who did not use them in the 5 aspects of reflection (practical, cognitive, affective, metacognitive, and critical), and (c) whether EFL teachers’ years of experience and gender would make a significant difference in their degree of reflectivity. To these ends, 20 male and female Iranian EFL teachers participated in the study with its pretest posttest control group design and responded to Akbari, Behzadpour, and Dadvand’s (2010) Teacher Reflectivity Questionnaire. Unlike the control group, the experimental group employed 3 self-evaluation techniques of video recording lessons, advance organizers, and colleagues’ reviews. Results from a one-way analysis of covariance, a one-way multivariate analysis of covariance, and a two-way analysis of variance revealed that the self-evaluation techniques significantly improved the EFL teachers’ reflectivity. Also, the self-evaluation techniques made a significant difference in the practical, cognitive, metacognitive, and critical aspects of the teachers’ reflection. However, the EFL teachers’ years of experience and gender did not make a significant difference in their degree of reflectivity. The findings encourage EFL teachers to join other stakeholders to evaluate and reflect upon their own teaching for positive changes in EFL classrooms

The present study explored the effects of interactionist Dynamic Assessment (DA) and age on the writing accuracy of IELTS candidates. This research investigated the existence of an interactional effect between the age of learners and the type of treatment they received. First, 140 IELTS candidates were split into two age groups, adult and young. Each group was divided into two equal smaller groups, randomly assigned to two types of DA. All four groups took a writing pre-test. After a nine-session treatment of interactionist DA in study groups and interventionist DA in control groups, all groups took a writing post-test. The data collected during the post-test were analyzed by two-way ANOVA and compared with the pre-test data. The findings showed that implementation of interactionist DA significantly improved the learners’ writing accuracy while the learners’ age had no significant effect on their writing accuracy. With respect to the study findings, EFL teachers could use interactionist DA to enhance the accuracy of learners' writing skills by providing more opportunities for the learners to interact.

This study investigated Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ remotivational strategies drawing on an integrative framework encompassing Ecological Systems Theory (EST) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT). In this framework, the four EST layers consisting of microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem and the three related aspects of SDT, including autonomy, relatedness, and competence, were integrated to unravel teachers’ remotivational strategies. The participants included 32 Iranian EFL teachers teaching at six language institutes in Isfahan and Hamedan provinces in Iran. The data were collected via conducting semi-structured interviews. The results of a thematic analysis indicated that Iranian EFL teachers’ remotivational strategies were embedded in the four EST layers consisting of the immediate classroom setting, situations beyond the immediate setting, the linkages and processes taking place between the settings, and the manifestation of a particular subculture. Moreover, the results revealed that teachers’ remotivational strategies were also situated within the three SDT aspects, including autonomy, relatedness, and competence. Overall, the results of thematic analysis led to the emergence of various themes positioned in the four layers of EST, while such themes conceptually fit the three aspects of SDT. The results provide EFL teachers and teacher educators with awareness concerning how remotivational strategies are nested across multiple systems while simultaneously being informed by a certain motivation-specific theory.

This quantitative study aimed to investigate Iranian EFL student teachers’ perceptions on the use of Machine Translation (MT) for foreign language learning in academic context. To this end, 107 EFL student teachers from a women-only state university in Tehran, Iran, completed a recently developed and validated questionnaire in the field. The findings revealed that most participants were familiar with digital technology including MT and its different types such as Google Translate (GT). Satisfied with MT output, the majority of the participants in the study installed MT apps on their smartphones or used its website on their computers to complete assignments or to translate from Persian to English and vice versa. However, they were neutral about whether their instructors confirmed their MT use, or whether they preferred their teachers know they use MT or not. They were also not sure whether consulting MT was against the regulations. The results showed that authorities in the field of foreign language teaching are required to take a positive stand on this emerging technology; in addition, considering the importance of training for both instructors and learners, they should hold workshops for more responsible and effective MT implementation.