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PhD examination is a unique type of assessment with examiners playing a key role in it. Despite extensive research on various modes of academic genre, research on the examiners’ language representing oral review genre is yet underrepresented. One important way to identify this genre is to unpack the metadiscursive features that constitute this type of academic discourse. Using a metadiscourse framework, developed by Hyland (2005), this study investigates the metadiscursive markers that constitute Iranian and International examiners’ language of PhD dissertation evaluation. The data include the transcriptions of Iranian and International examiners’ evaluative discourse in eight PhD dissertation defenses, taken place in Iran and the US (MICASE corpus), representing English for Academic Purposes. The results indicate that the examiners use a variety of interactional as well as interactive metadiscourse markers to convey the effective and appropriate evaluation of the PhD dissertations at hand. Further breakdown of the metadiscourse devices and the comparison of the two sets of data are provided. The results unpack an aspect of oral academic review as a specific genre with implications for both EAP-user examiners and PhD candidates to become aware of the discursive features of the examiners language.

Due to the advancement of multimedia technology, it is now very common to use tools and equipment for teaching and learning. Understanding how to best utilize the benefits and functions of multimedia technology has now taken the lead in English teaching and learning. The positive contributions that multimedia technology makes to the teaching and learning of English listening, speaking, reading, and writing are highlighted in this essay. It also focuses on strategies and methods to enhance English comprehensive ability in a multimedia environment and highlights issues that need to be addressed. It is advised to focus more on the natural integration of multimedia technology and English teaching, expand the range of English reading, increase interest in English learning, enhance the comprehensive ability of English application, and establish a resource-sharing environment for teachers.

The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to explore pre-service EFL teachers’ conceptions and self-efficacy for effective online teaching and (b) to determine their instructors’ conceptions of online teaching effectiveness and their approaches to preparing them for effective online teaching. The participants were 100 MA students of TEFL and 6 teacher educators at Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST). The data collection instrument was a questionnaire with 40 principles of effective online teaching classified into 7 categories of facilitating learning, interaction, deep learning, relationship, resources, engagement, and organization followed by two open-ended questions. A semi-structured interview was also conducted to examine teacher educators’ conceptions of online teaching effectiveness. The results revealed that pre-service teachers considered themselves more self-efficacious in fostering relationship while less in maintaining organization in online English language classes. To be an effective online teacher, they also held the view that teachers need to establish a friendly atmosphere and relationship, provide useful materials, have adequate technological knowledge, give prompt feedback, and engage learners in their learning process. For teacher educators, effective online teaching was having adequate technological knowledge, providing appropriate content, establishing an online presence, successful classroom management, and having positive perceptions of online teaching.

Despite the increased research on various aspects of academic optimism (AO) in general education, this line of inquiry has not received adequate empirical attention in English language teacher education. The present mixed-methods study aimed to explore the role of AO in MALL-oriented listening instruction among Iranian EFL teachers, with a focus on variations in their experience ranges. A total of 168 teachers participated in the study and completed the study scales, and 15 teachers with higher levels of perceived AO were further interviewed to gather qualitative data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to examine the quantitative data, while thematic analysis was conducted to analyze the qualitative data. The quantitative results indicated significant differences between novice, experienced, and highly experienced language teachers, with the latter holding more positive beliefs about AO and MALL in relation to listening. Additionally, a significant correlation was found between AO and MALL. The qualitative findings complemented the quantitative results by highlighting the pivotal role of academic optimism in driving teachers’ motivation, the positive impact of teachers’ optimistic attitudes on student engagement and motivation, and the pedagogical strategies employed by optimistic teachers to effectively incorporate MALL in their instructional practices. These findings provide implications for teachers and teacher educators, emphasizing the importance of integrating AO principles in MALL-related professional development courses to positively contribute to teachers’ professional growth. The study contributes to the limited empirical research on AO within the context of English language teacher education and provides valuable insights into the complex interplay between academic optimism, MALL-oriented listening instruction, and teacher-student interactions.

Presenting the writer's voice and positioning it within the larger body of alternative voices is essential in academic writing. Realizing the challenges novice academic writers might experience while doing this, we selected and analyzed a corpus of 40 discussion chapters (timespan: 2010-2019) written by Iranian master's students. Following systemic functional perspective (Martin & White, 2005), we explored the engagement resources in the corpus to discover evaluative language choices and stance types. The results showed that although student writers actively engaged other voices and adopted a more balanced dialogically contractive and expansive stance, they employed fewer and less diverse linguistic devices. Moreover, these novice writers tended to avoid certainty and preferred more modest and cautious assertions. There was a great tendency to remain neutral toward other voices. In aligning with other voices, they preferred to present more supportive evaluations than critical ones as well as more explicit structures. They opted for implicit attitudes in evoking resources to show criticism. The implication of this study is for EAP and dissertation writing to novice writers. 

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.

This study investigated the effects of three vocabulary development strategies of keyword method, thematic clustering and developing morphological awareness on the Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary repertoire. Adopting a quasi-experimental design, sixty high-intermediate to advanced Iranian EFL learners were randomly assigned to three experimental groups and partook six online sessions of vocabulary instruction during a week. Using a pre-test and three post-tests, the vocabulary repertoire of the subjects was measured. The pre-test was administered a week before the commencement of the treatment sessions; the first post-test was administered immediately after each treatment; the second post-test was held 24 hours after each treatment and the third post-test was held one week after the end of the treatment sessions. Paribakht and Wesche (1993) model of measuring vocabulary enhancement was used to quantify the vocabulary repertoire of the subjects. Split-plot ANOVA test revealed that the subjects in the keyword group outperformed the subjects in the other two groups in all the three post-tests. Moreover, it was revealed that the thematic clustering group outperformed the developing morphological awareness group. The findings of this research may have pedagogical implications for English teachers, learners and material developers.

Crowdsourcing Translation as a Post-Editing Method (CTPE) has emerged as a rapid and inexpensive method for translation and has drawn significant attention in recent years. This qualitative study aims to analyze and synthesize the approaches and aspects underpinning CTPE research and to identify its potential that is yet to be discovered. Through a systematic literature review focused on empirical papers, we examined the limited literature thematically and identified recurring central themes. Our review reveals that the topic of CTPE requires further attention and that its potential benefits are yet to be fully discovered. We discuss the eight core concepts that emerged during our analysis, including the purpose of CTPE, CTPE areas of application, ongoing CTPE processes, platform and crowd characteristics, motivation, CTPE domains, and future perspectives. By highlighting the strengths of CTPE, we conclude that it has the potential to be a highly effective translation method in various domains.

The provision of scaffolding entails contingent assistance given to learners. Despite the proliferation of research on scaffolding, scant attention has been devoted to studying the modes of classroom interaction in fulfilling various scaffolding intentions in content-based instruction (CBI). To narrow the gaps, the present qualitative study embarked on an investigation of science teachers’ scaffolding in four modes proposed by Walsh (2006), namely managerial, classroom context, skills and systems, and materials modes. Four science teachers participated in this qualitative study, and 12 sessions of science classes were observed and analyzed deductively based on four classroom modes through conversation analysis (CA). The content analysis of the videotaped recordings indicated that managerial and materials modes were frequently used to enhance students’ comprehension and develop classroom interaction. The findings evidenced that pedagogical objectives were mostly related to cognitive structuring, contingency management, and direction maintenance requirements. Furthermore, the findings revealed that students’ engagement and involvement through recruiting interest was the only scaffolding intention employed in all four modes to involve students in the learning process. The findings can provide insights to teachers and teacher educators in the realization of distinct scaffolding intentions in various classroom modes by delineating the interrelationship between language use and teaching purpose.  

Objective: The effectiveness of Lexical Bundle (LBs) instruction for facilitating writing skill development has been a controversial issue in language teaching. This study examined the impact of LBs instruction on English for Specific Purposes (ESP) learners’ performance on IELTS writing task 2. Methods: To this end, first, 60 male and female ESP learners were randomly selected from among 150 ESP learners of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences as participants. Second, these participants were assigned to the experimental group and the control group, each with 30 learners. Both groups were then administered IELTS writing task 2 as a pretest. The experimental group was provided with ten sessions of IELTS-Task 2-related LB instruction.  The control group, however, did not receive this kind of instruction. Finally, the researchers administered IELTS writing task 2 to both of the groups anew as a posttest. Results: The results suggest that teaching the relevant bundles had significant positive impacts on ESP learners’ general performance of the relevant writing tasks, task achievement grammatical range and accuracy, vocabulary knowledge, as well as observing cohesive ties and coherence in their writing. Conclusions: The results may provide some useful insights regarding the instruction of LBs in IELTS preparation courses for the ESP learners.

Recent developments in technology have affected various aspects of human life, including education. These technological advancements have resulted in the introduction of new trends in teaching methodology. These trends include pure online instruction, mixed online and face-to-face instruction (blended), etc. In order to identify the efficacy of such kinds of instruction in comparison with traditional methods, this quasi-experimental study was conducted to explore the effects of virtual vs. blended-language instruction on the development of listening and reading skills by Iranian intermediate EFL learners. To achieve this goal, 60 intermediate EFL learners were selected to participate in two experimental (virtual and blended) and one control (traditional face-to-face) groups. After the provision of the treatments in experimental (reading and listening through virtual and blended methods of instruction) and control (reading and listening through traditional method) groups, a post-test was conducted to measure the attainment of the participants in each language skill.  The results revealed that both virtual and blended methods of instruction could lead to better reading and listening performances. However, the difference between the effect of each treatment was more tangible in one skill scores (reading in the virtual group and listening in the blended group). The point worth noting is that the blended group could significantly outperform the other two groups. Comparing the results of all post-tests in reading and listening, it was revealed that blended instruction could result in better reading and listening; however, reading skill was more affected due to the higher mean difference between pre-test and post-test scores. This study has some implications for language teachers in taking advantage of technology in education in a balance with their traditional styles of teaching.

This study investigated the impact of a teacher education course on pre-service teachers’ pedagogical beliefs. A sample of 84 Iranian EFL pre-service teachers who had just been accepted to Farhangian University were selected through convenience sampling. Using a sequential mixed-methods design, their pedagogical beliefs were measured through a researcher-made questionnaire before and after a training course on the philosophy of education for English language teachers. Moreover, the changes reported by the participants were traced through thematic analysis of their reflective journals. Finally, in a focus group interview, they commented on the contributing factors to the success of the course in changing their pedagogical beliefs. The results of quantitative data demonstrated the impact of the training course on changing the participants’ pedagogical beliefs. The analysis of qualitative data obtained from the reflective journals indicated that the changes that the participants professed were of two emerging themes of raising awareness of new assumptions and adopting new pedagogical beliefs. In addition, the analysis of the interview transcripts revealed that the participants attributed the course success to the implementation of appropriate teaching strategies, the course contents, and the teacher educator’s performance. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that EFL pre-service teachers’ pedagogical beliefs can be modified in training courses of teacher education programs if a safe and collaborative atmosphere is created for them to critically reflect on their prior pedagogical beliefs within innovative theoretical frameworks.