درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Known as what educational contexts do not teach, null curriculum has been considered one of the most significant types of curricula due to its absence, being left out or overlooked. This non-existent curriculum brings an important theoretical tool to the field of curriculum development for the idea that something which is not offered to students has an educational significance and effect. To follow the purpose of the study which is teachers' perspectives on the null curriculum at the BA level, 300 university instructors were selected to participate in this study. To answer the research questions various statistical methods (one-way ANOVA, independent sample t-test, Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Scheffe’s test) have been utilized. Results of this quantitative study revealed that among the sub-constructs of the 21 st century, critical thinking, collaboration skills, creativity and innovation skills, self-direction skills, technological literacy, global and local connection skills, economic and financial literacy, business and entrepreneurial literacy and media literacy should be considered as aspects of the null curriculum in TEFL curriculum in BA level in Iran, and they should be added to the present curriculum; however, communication skills are not regarded as aspects of null. In addition, Iranian EFL university instructors’ ratings on different components of 21 st -century skills as one aspect of the null curriculum significantly differed. Finally, a model was proposed to describe the relationship between the ratings of the components of 21st-century skills as one aspect of the null curriculum by Iranian EFL university instructors. The findings of the present study can help to a better understanding of the ELT curriculum, aspects of the null curriculum, and 21 st -century skills in the Iranian context.

Attention has been drawn to recent, expanding studies on Second Language (L2) online programs and problems with people with learning difficulties, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This group of learners suffers from feelings of detachment and low self-confidence due to their lack of Willingness to Communicate (WTC) in an online classroom. Thus, the current quasi-experimental study explored the impact of a supplementary intervention targeted at helping learners create, substantiate, and live up to their ideal L2 self-images on multivariate components of ADHD learners' WTC in online English classes. For this purpose, 29 Iranian ADHD learners selected through convenience sampling were divided into two equivalent groups based on their ADHD levels. The groups were then randomly assigned to an experimental (N = 15) and a control condition (N = 14). In the experimental group, the vision ignition intervention was integrated into a 10-week online English course, whereas the control group's learners received no vision-enhancement intervention throughout the course. The learners' WTC was measured through a standard psychometric survey at the outset and conclusion of the course. Multivariable Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) was conducted to determine whether a linear combination of the subcomponents resulted in significant differences between groups. Along with an overall significant between-group difference in WTC, the results revealed the intervention's significant impact on WTC's two subcomponents: communicative self-confidence and integrative orientation.

There is dearth of research on disclosing the ethos of Appreciative Inquiry (AI)-based pedagogy application in language education settings (Johnson, 2014), especially amid the Covid-19 pandemic era. To disclose the ethos in AI-based pedagogy as an appropriate pandemic pedagogy, the present study attempts to uncover the Iranian EFL learners' narratives on their lived experiences of a pedagogical shift in an English language school in northern Iran when dealing with an online class during the pandemic. Embedded in 4-D ethos of AI-based pedagogy, namely Discovery, Dream, Design, and Destiny, this study utilizes data from observational field notes and interviews in shaping narratives. It was shown that the online language lesson agenda is a dynamic resource that emerges from content development and can be planned to confirm the learner's knowledge. More creative ways of learners' assessment are also yearned for to neutralize cheating possibilities. In addition, new modes of meaning in language education are envisaged to be designed. Learners position themselves as enriched multimodal text repertoires in a dynamic not static language community of practice. The c urrent study has some implications for online language practice, especially in periods of crisis such as a pandemic.

Studies in literary religious discourses, including recent Quranic studies, suggest that speech act theory provides the researchers with variable pragmatic tools to interpret meanings that are constructed upon the intention of the speaker. This study draws upon speech act theory (SAT) to analyse the two ubiquitous speech acts of promise and threat in the Holy Quran. Employing the speech acts of promise and threat in the Quran to the detailed analysis of felicity conditions, this study, while arguing for the compatibility of SAT to the language of Quran, concludes that the main impetus behind the speech acts of promise and threat is creating the motivation in the addressees to conduct good and avoid evil deeds; therefore, the rules and conditions that drive the illocutionary force of promise and threat perfectly align with the motivational language of the Holy Quran.

The concept of “orthographic depth” refers to the degree of the deviation of the writing system from the one-to-one correspondence between graphemes and phonemes. This study aims to explore and compare of the “orthographic depth” between Persian and English writing systems using UTPECC corpus and homographic scale. To this end, the scope of the application of the homography feature in 10000 words of Persian writing system was determined by using the word processing software 2010 through the synchronic study in the field of graphology. Then, the occurrence frequency of this feature was briefly compared with a similar number of words in English writing system. The research results show only 4 graphemes possess homography feature in Persian writing system, each of which corresponds to a limited number of phonemes (maximum 4 phonemes). While this feature is observed in 11 graphemes of English writing system and the variety of their corresponding phonemes was much more than Persian writing system. Considering the fact that the extent of the occurrence of the homography feature in English writing system is significantly higher than Persian writing system, it can be stated that the orthographic depth of English writing system exceeds that of Persian writing system.

Research on the characteristics of effective EFL teachers integrates many constructs, which are treated independently in most cases. Consequently, the present study aims to explore the perspectives of teacher educators, teachers, and learners with regards to teacher effectiveness as an attempt to reduce the mismatches. To meet this aim, 34 teacher educators, 39 teachers, and 161 learners engaged in the context of university and language institute were selected on the basis of convenience and criterion sampling to respond to the 30 items on a 5- point Likert- scale questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised of items related to subject matter knowledge, teachers’ personal and interpersonal aspects, and approaches to language teaching. While the English questionnaire was distributed among the teacher educators and teachers, the Persian version of the questionnaire was handed over to the learners in the institute to be returned within a week’s time. Moreover, the questionnaire was available online to enrich the data collected. The ANOVA results indicated that the perceptions of teacher educators and teachers were quite similar, but were significantly different from the perspectives of the learners. Additionally, based on MANOVA analysis, it was revealed that the differences existed mostly in the category of ‘subject matter,’ whereas there was a strong agreement regarding ‘personal and interpersonal features’ of effective EFL teachers. The findings of the study may be fruitful for EFL curriculum developers, administrators, teacher educators, teachers and language learners.

This study aimed at examining the effects of the feedback types designed based on the regulatory focus theory (i.e., prevention vs. promotion) and reference of comparison (i.e., normative vs. self-referential) on achievement emotions and achievement goals. One hundred intermediate English language learners were assigned to four experimental groups, promotion, prevention, self-referential, normative, and one control group (N= 20 for each). The participants in the experimental groups received feedback based on their assignment for 16 sessions, and their achievement emotions and achievement goals were assessed before and after the intervention. ANCOVA analyses revealed that significant differences existed between the four experimental groups and the control group regarding achievement emotions and achievement goals. Self-referential feedback and promotion feedback increased positive emotions and led students to mastery-approach and mastery-avoidance goal adoption, while normative feedback and prevention feedback increased negative emotions. Furthermore, normative feedback positively affected performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals. Prevention-focused feedback had a positive effect on mastery-avoidance goals. The researchers recommended that teachers use feedback emphasizing learners’ growth and improvement as a means for progress check. 

Many studies have advocated the importance of teaching critical thinking (CT) skills, and have also provided some suggestions for its effective pedagogy. However, there is a dearth of research examining the efficacy of such instruction. This quantitative(quasi-experimental) and qualitative study aimed to investigate the impact of explicit instruction of critical thinking (CT) on university students’ critical thinking skills measured through the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA) used as both pre- and post-test. The participants comprised four groups of 15-16 students each. The groups received different CT treatments: Critical Linguistics (CL) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (group 1), 11 Questions (group 2), CL and CDA followed by Peer Evaluation (group 3), and a control group (group 4) that only read about CT without practicing it. After receiving instruction on CT, the three treatment groups (1-3) critically analyzed 33 texts over 11 sessions. The results of the study indicated that Group 3 (CT & CDA followed by PE) had the highest improvement in their WGCTA scores from pre-to post-test, followed by Groups 2 and 1, while the control group showed no significant gain. The findings imply that reflecting critically on language learning materials can reveal hidden cultural and ideological elements within the texts. This can significantly enhance learners' advanced thinking skills, as well as support them in resisting cultural imperialism.      

Test de Connaissance du Français (TCF), a French knowledge test for any non-native speakers of French, is an official language exam for the certificate of proficiency in French designed by France Éducation international (FIE) and accredited by le Ministère Français de l’Éducation Nationale, de la Jeunesse et des Sports (French Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports). To meet the need triggered by American TOEFL and British IELTS, TCF was created in 2001 by FIE (formerly Centre International d'études Pédagogiques) and has been administrated in more than 120 countries by more than 700 centers around the world and has served for more than 2,000,000 candidates by the year 2022 for personal, academic or professional purposes (France Éducation International, n.d.). The increasing number of French learners worldwide and the growth of popularity French enjoyed give rise to the need of more reviews of test fairness and usefulness on recognized French competence tests such as TCF. However, unlike the large number of assessment practices focusing on English language testing, only a few studies available show awareness about the assessment on world languages other than English. With the hope to enrich the body of research in the field of language testing and to expand the scope of assessment on world languages, this review aims at examining the overall usefulness and fairness of TCF using Kunnan’s (2018) most recent theoretical framework of test fairness and justice. As a result, our review shows that TCF test developers have made great efforts on addressing core issues of validity, reliability, and authenticity, while there might be room for improvement to provide more meaningful and useful information to all stakeholders.