درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

This study was an attempt to explore the role that the increased perceptual saliency of L2 input features or output flaws and hereby promoting L2 learners’ noticing (through planned instructional activities) can play in the learners’ use of correct English intonation patterns. The participants were 80 Iranian EFL students attending four intact classes, two low-intermediate and two upper-intermediate levels, in a language institute in Shahrekord. The classes at each level were assigned to control and experimental groups. The experimental groups received the noticing-enhancing instruction while listening to native speakers' English audio-recorded on a CD and through in-class intonation assessment tasks, repeated activation of intonation patterns in both L2 input and output, metalinguistic explanations, picture descriptions, and interactive role-playings. An English native-speaker instructor was then hired to rate the learners’ audio-recorded data at both pretest and posttest times. The results of the statistical data analysis demonstrated that both the ‘noticing groups’ achieved significant improvement from their pretests to their posttests. Complementary gain score analysis indicated that the attainment of the lower-level group was relatively more than that of the higher-level group, perhaps due to the fact that they initially had more room for improvement. It is finally discussed that selective attention, or noticing, can influence the processing of the commonly neglected aspects of L2 input and thus leads to more learning. The findings also suggest that L2 practitioners include in their pedagogy activities that aim to increase the prominence or saliency of such intrinsic features of L2 input and communication in order to make them available for processing and internalization.

The present study investigated school general English achievement and group work among Iranian junior high school students. The main question this study tried to answer was whether group work could enhance a higher general English achievement among junior high school students. To answer this question, 60 female learners were divided into experimental and control group randomly with 30 members in each after administering a general English test to 100 Junior high school females to release qualified intermediate learners. Then, the experimental group was broken into 6 groups including 4 learners in each to work cooperatively while the control group went on working conventionally. Firstly, each group received general English test such as reading, listening, writing, and speaking as pretest to figure out their current level. Then as treatment, experimental group took practices in all skills in group while the control group received a placebo. The students were asked to do the posttest. The average was taken to indicate students overall English language achievement of method of instruction in the general English course. By analyzing the scores of each single group on their posttest (Independent samples T-test) and also analyzing pretest to posttest scores of experimental and control group (Paired sample T-test), the null hypothesis of the study was rejected. It meant that the group work had a better performance in terms of the general English posttest.

در جهان امروز که اجزای درونش به طور فرهنگی با یکدیگر در ارتباطند، فهم فرهنگی، مولفه ی اصلی ارتباط یا عدم ارتباط شمرده می شود. بدین معنا که اهداف یادگیری زبان را دیگر نمی توان تنها در قالب فرآیندی زبانی در نظر گرفت، بلکه بایستی یادگیری زبان را در راستای توانش ارتباطیِ بین فرهنگی سوق داد. بنابراین، مدرسان زبان خارجی ملزم به استفاده و ارتقای توانش بین فرهنگی در بین زبان آموزانشان هستند. در نگاه اول، این طور به نظر می آید که مدرسان به قدر کافی با فرهنگ های زبان خارجی که تدریس می کنند آشنا باشند، در نتیجه تحقیق حاضر، منطقاً در پی بررسی میزان آشناییِ مدرسان ایرانی با فرهنگ های خارجی و آمادگی شان برای آموزش توانش بین فرهنگی است. البته از طرفی این تحقیق به درک مدرسان از پروفایل یادگیریِ فرهنگی-زبانیِ زبان آموزانشان نیز می پردازد. بدین منظور، از 120 مدرس ایرانی که در موسسات خصوصی مشهد به تدریس زبان انگلیسی مشغول بودند خواسته شد به سوالات بخش 4 و 5 پرسشنامه ای تحت عنوان «مدرسان زبان خارجی و توانش بین فرهنگی که توسط لایز سرکو (2005) طراحی شده پاسخ دهند. یافته های تحقیق نشان داد که مدرسان به آشنایی و آمادگی بیشتر به منظور بین فرهنگی سازیِ آموزش زبان خارجی و ارتقای پروفایل یادگیریِ فرهنگیِ زبان آموزان از منظر توانش بین فرهنگی نیازمندند.