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This study aimed at proposing a framework based on Integrative Systemic Therapy (IST) for addressing foreign language listening anxiety (FLLA) among Iranian learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The effectiveness of the framework in reducing the levels of FLLA among language learners was investigated when implemented by a therapist as well as by learners independently. To this end, 30 intermediate EFL learners with high level of listening anxiety were selected as participants through convenience sampling. They were then randomly assigned into control group (n=10), therapist group (n=10), and self-therapy group (n=10). The therapist group met with an experienced therapist once a week for a month and self-therapy group was just instructed on how to use the framework independently during the same period. The control group received no treatment. The scale developed by Kim (2000) for measuring FLLA and an IELTS listening test were used to explore the effectiveness of the framework. The results of the study revealed that the proposed framework was effective in reducing the levels of FLLA both when implemented by the therapist and by EFL learners independently. The findings reflected the importance of personalization when selecting foreign language anxiety-reducing strategies to enhance the effectiveness of the foreign language anxiety management

This article tries to delineate different aspects of Mediated Learning Experience (MLE) in detail: MLE as a model of learning in psychology, MLE as a dynamic assessment methodology, and MLE as a basis for designing a course. This article tries to delineate different aspects of Mediated Learning Experience (MLE) in detail: MLE as a model of learning in psychology, MLE as a dynamic assessment methodology, and MLE as a basis for designing a course. MLE, well-known as Feuerstein's theory, is presented as a model of learning in psychology for enhancing cognitive functioning and problem-solving skills in children with cognitive challenges. Some other studies and scholars such as Poehner (2008) consider MLE as a dynamic assessment methodology because in dynamic assessment, assistance emerges from the interaction between the mediator and the learner. The other studies look at MLE as a holistic and integrative approach which is able to prepare a course. Definition of MLE principles and a meticulous and elaborate analysis of the first five MLE principles in different studies, entitled as MLE Taxonomy, are presented in a table at the end of the article.

The presented study examined the effect of applying software technology, (i.e., WhiteSmoke Writing Software (TM 2020), on the improvement of EFL learners' writing skills. To do so, 55 EFL learners ranged in age from 20 to 22 who were studying English as a Foreign Language in Bahar Institute of Higher Education, Iran were invited to participate in the research. During the study, the participants who were already studying Passages coursebook were informed that for 7 weeks the class orientation and focus will change to writing instruction, which was most welcome by them. One class was considered as an experimental group of 26 students, while the other one was a control group of 29 students. Based on the prior completion of the course, all were considered intermediate. Control group students worked conventionally on the book and received feedback on their performance from the teacher while the learners in the experimental group worked with WhiteSmoke Writing Software which is the most comprehensive grammar checker. At the end of the study, the comparison of the pretest and posttest demonstrated that the participants in the experimental group outperformed the control group subjects at a 0.05 significant level. The outcomes of the current study approved that the application of software technology in the classroom context was treasured. Also, the utilization of software made the learners be in charge of their own learning process, which can be a great advantage on the part of online teaching and learning.

Despite the fact that classroom interaction is an indispensable aspect of language learning, many EFL students do not show any willingness to participate (WTP) in classroom activities. In view of this problem, the current study aimed to describe how Iranian EFL learners’ participation in collaborative tasks can lead to WTP. Therefore, primarily discoursal features of collaborative tasks and then behavioral representations of WTP were identified. To this end, nine EFL intermediate learners (five males and four females) participated in the study and were assigned to two groups. First two collaborative tasks were designed: The first group were asked to make a digital story collaboratively and the second group were asked to make an advertisement for selling a house. The classroom interactions among students in different classrooms were video-recorded and transcribed based on conversation analysis principles. Then the frequency of the turns taken by each student was counted as indicator of WTP in the assigned task. Multimodal analysis (gaze, facial expressions, head movement, body posture and gesture) was also used to analyze behavioral representations of EFL learners’ WTP. The findings revealed that discoursal features of WTP include negotiation, elaboration, conflict, sharing expertise, humor, asking for elaboration, conflict.,and behavioral representations include eye contact, body language, and the sitting position of students which can indicate that students’ engagement in collaborative tasks can have impact on their WTP. The findings can have implications for EFL teachers, material developers, and teacher education programs.

In recent years, some language teachers have made investments in approaches and models such as mobile assisted flipped language learning. Some studies in Iran have examined flipped learning impact on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ language skills as well as language systems. However, no researches have been conducted on the impact mobile assisted flipped learning might have on improvement of intermediate EFL learners’ cohesive devices and their motivation to learn cohesion which is the focus of the current study. To this end, 40 female intermediate EFL learners in an English language institute in Kerman, Iran were recruited. Employing a quasi-experimental design, subjects were assigned to two classes of experimental (EG- N = 20) and control (CG-N = 20). Oxford Placement Test, researcher-made writing achievement tests, and Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) were utilized to collect the required data. The findings indicate that participants in mobile assisted flipped language learning group outperformed those in the control group. Moreover, the results of a chi-square test showed a significant relationship between mobile assisted flipped language learning and intermediate EFL learners’ motivation to learn cohesive devices. The findings might help stakeholders design, introduce, and address mobile assisted flipped language learning to their context-specific needs, thereby facilitating the language learning process.

Assessment literacy refers to the knowledge teachers have about definitions of testing and the employment of this knowledge to classroom practices. This study inspected the extent to which high school teachers of English, mathematics, science, and social studies utilize assessment literacy and instructional improvement practices in their classrooms and the probable relationship between these two factors. To this end, ninety-seven teachers from sixty high schools across Zanjan province in Iran were selected based on convenient sampling. The instrument used was a 32-item questionnaire designed by researchers and validated by experts. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was also conducted in order to validate the factor structure of the questionnaire. The results showed a strong positive relationship between assessment literacy and instructional improvement practices in all four subject areas through correlations. This suggests that showing an understanding of assessment literacy results in a greater understanding of instructional improvement in the classroom. Moreover, a one-way ANOVA was performed in order to determine if there is a significant difference in the use of assessment literacy practices and instructional improvement among different subject areas. The data revealed no statistically significant differences between neither assessment literacy nor instructional improvement scores by subject area. The study can be beneficial to school districts and teachers since the review of existing teaching practices and an increase in ongoing professional development in assessment literacy theories and practices may improve instructional improvement in all subject areas.

This study is conducted to reveal the types of mood, speech function realizations, and the persuasion strategies applied to Donald Trump’s clauses in his three remarks regarding the issue of COVID-19. Discourse analysis is applied to analyze the data. The applied mood types and speech function realizations are then correlated with Cialdini's principles of persuasion to see the persuasion principles applied in the three remarks. The results show that the President's three remarks are dominated by declarative mood with three most frequently used speech functions: statements of fact, statements of opinion, and statements of the assertion. In terms of Cialdini's persuasion principles, the speaker uses all of the six principles in his three remarks, except the principle of preference employed only in the third remark. The other five principles, namely authority, consistency, social-evidence, reciprocity, and rareness/scarcity, are contained in the three remarks with their persuasive purposes. In Cialdini's persuasion principles, the clauses used by President Trump reveals the strategies of taking advantage of his powerful authority in his remarks, showing his consistency while delivering the remarks, expressing his best efforts for his inhabitants, and showing successful evidence in overcoming the pandemic compared with other countries’ endeavors.