سیما مدیرخامنه

Although processing instruction (PI) has been a very popular grammar teaching method over the last years, there are, however, very limited if any attempts to explore different proficiency learners’ achievements using this approach. This study was, therefore, an attempt to investigate the role of PI in possibly bringing about enhanced acquisition of three grammatical structures: regular past tense, causatives and relative clauses. In addition, it sought learner’s attitudes towards PI as it is believed that the success of an approach is highly dependent upon the viewpoints of its practitioners and the students being exposed to it. Three proficiency groups of elementary (n = 42), intermediate (n = 38) and advanced (n = 40) EFL learners were compared. The results of a set of independent samples t-tests revealed significant effects for the use of PI in all the groups except for a lack of improvement for elementary learners’ production of the regular past tense structure. The analysis of the attitude questionnaire and learners’ further ideas on the effectiveness of PI revealed their appreciation of the integration of this instructional practice in their target language courses. The results are discussed in relation to effective grammar and writing pedagogy.

One of the important issues in EFL instruction is the idea of eliminating students’ linguistic errors through providing corrective feedback (CF). Accordingly, this study investigated the effect of various CF types (i.e., comprehensive, selective, and no feedback) on advanced EFL learners’ writing in different writing conditions (i.e., individual & collaborative). 132 EFL advanced learners aged from 14-20 were considered as the main participants. Learners were divided into 6 groups (i.e., three individual and three collaborative writing conditions). Furthermore, each writing condition included three groups with selective, comprehensive, and no correction orientations. Data collection tools and procedures encompassed an institutionalized Placement Test, pre-test, and post-test. The treatment that lasted for nine sessions was followed by a post-test. Data were submitted to a series of ANOVA tests with follow up pair-wise comparisons and independent-samples t-tests. Findings indicated that: (1) CF, especially selective one, was more effective in enhancing learners’ writing accuracy, and (2) members of the collaborative writing groups outperformed those in the individual ones in terms of their writing accuracy development. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed in relation to enhancing writing accuracy of the learners.

To date, controversy among scholars exists on whether or not teachers should react to EFL learners' written grammar errors. This study investigated the effect of three feedback types (i.e., selective, comprehensive, and the one recommended by Truscott (1999), that is, no correction) with regard to possible improvements in accuracy in the writings of a total of 66 elementary EFL learners. It, further, sought whether such an effect would last in the long run. During 11 weeks, selected global (e.g., past tense, countable/uncountable, and comparative adjectives) and all grammar errors in the written pieces of the subjects in two treatment groups ( n= 22 in each) were reacted through coded underlining. However, in line with Truscott, the only reaction participants in the third group ( n= 22) received were comments such as great, good, ok, etc.. Analysis of the written pieces in the immediate and delayed post tests  revealed that selective feedback had a significantly more positive influence on learners' accurate use of selected grammatical structures  both in the short and in the long run. The implications are discussed in terms of effective guidelines for teaching writing in EFL contexts. Keywords: Comprehensive feedback; Selective feedback; No correction; Writing accuracy   تصحیح گرامر از نوع بازخورد انتخابی در مقایسه با بازخورد جامع در آموزش نگارش: شواهد متقابل بر دیدگاه تروسکات امروزه در خصوص اینکه آیا  معلم باید به اشتباهات دستوری زبان آموزان  در نگارش باخورد اصلاحی داشته باشد یا نه، در میان پژوهشگران اختلاف نظر وجود دارد. این تحقیق با هدف بررسی تاثیر سه نوع بازخورد اصلاحی( انتخابی، جامع، و نوع توصیه شده توسط تروسکات (1999)،  که بازخورد بدون اصلاح میباشد) بر امکان بهبود  در دقت در نگارش 66  زبان آموز مبتدی انجام شده است. علاوه بر این، این پژوهش به بررسی این تاثیر احتمالی دردراز مدت نیز پرداخته است. در طول 11 هفته،  ساختار های انتخاب شده ( صفات مقایسه ای، اسامی قابل شمارش / غیر قابل شمارش، و زمان گذشته) و تمامی اشتباهات دستور زبان در متن های نوشته شده توسط زبان آموزان در دو گروه تحت بررسی (22 نفر در هر گروه)، از طریق خط تاکید کدگذاری شده مورد بازخورد قرار گرفت. با وجود اینکه، مطابق با نظر تروسکات، تنها عکس العملی که زبان آموزان در گروه سوم (22 نفر) دریافت کردند، نظراتی مانند عالی،  خیلی خوب، خوب، و غیره بود. تجزیه و تحلیل متن های نوشته شده درپس آزمون فوری و تاخیری نشان داد که بازخورد از نوع انتخابی تاثیر مثبت تری در استفاده دقیقتر زبان آموزان از ساختارهای دستوری، هم در کوتاه مدت و هم در دراز مدت بوده داشت. کاربردهای این تحقیق در قالب دستورالعمل های موثر برای آموزش نگارش  زبان خارجی مورد بحث قرار گرفته است. واژگان کلیدی:  بازخورد انتخابی،  بازخورد جامع، عدم بازخورد ، دقت در نگارش

باورهای معلمان در طول زندگیشان تحت تأثیرعوامل مختلف شکل می گیرد. بنابراین،آگاهی از افکار و عقاید معلمان در خصوص زندگی وشرایط کاریشان کمک شایانی به درک صحیح ما از تعریف واقعی معلمان در یک محیط فرهنگی و اجتماعی بخصوص می کند. هدف این مطالعه موردی، بررسی زندگی شخصی و کاری شش معلم زبان انگلیسی در مدارس دولتی و مؤسسات خصوصی زبان به منظورارائه تصویر صحیحی از باورها و تجربیات معلمان بر فرآیند یادگیری زبان دومشان، تجربیات تدریس، انتظارات و شرایط کنونی آنها، و تلاشهایشان برای ایجاد نوآوری در روش هایتدریس شانمی باشد. بدین منظور هدف، مصاحبه ها و مشاهدات مکرر به مدت یک سال برای جمع آوری اطلاعات لازم انجام شده و سپس توسط شیوه مقوله بندی معنایی تجزیه و تحلیل شدند. نتایج حاکی از آن بود که بیشتر معلمان چه در مدارس دولتی ویا مؤسسات خصوصی زبان از شرایط کاری و زندگی خود راضی نبودند. همچنین آنها با عوامل ناامید و دلسردکننده بسیاری، همچون نداشتن امنیت شغلی، شغل دائمی، تعادل میان کار و زندگی، بیمه و در عین حال، داشتن حجم کاری بالا، حقوق کم، محیط کاری پر استرس، شغل یکنواختو راکد، محیط کاری خسته کننده، محدودیت در نوآوری، مشکلات در ادامه تحصیل،و دوره های آموزشی غیرعلمی، ناشی شده از سیاست های داخلی و خارجی مسئولان، روبرو بودند. امید است با بها دادن به صحبت های معلمان زبان انگلیسی، موقعیت و وضعیت حقیقی آنها در جامعه کنونی آشکار گشته و به دنبال آن شاهد برطرف شدن برخی از نیازها و انتظاراتشان باشیم.

This study aimed at finding out the effect of two different methods of ESP instruction, namely, the traditional grammar translation method and an eclectic method on improving university students' reading comprehension ability. The main assumption was that compared to the Grammar-Translation which is probably not an efficient method, an eclectic method that focuses on improving reading comprehension ability of the university students through the use of some necessary strategies and skills, as proposed by Brown (2003), seems to be more effective.The participants, within the age range of 18-24, included 72 male and female Agriculture students who were semi-randomly assigned to two experimental groups (i.e. eclectic vs. traditional) each consisting of 36 learners. Following a pre-test, treatment (15 weeks, 2 sessions per week), and a post-test, the obtained data was analyzed using two-way ANOVA to examine the effects of the independent variables, while taking gender as a moderator variable. The results of the analysis showed that the eclectic method was significantly more effective compared to the traditional one in improving reading comprehension ability of the students, while gender did not turn out to have any significant effect on the students' reading comprehension. The findings are discussed in relation to effective reading comprehension instruction through the use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies in ESP teaching contexts.

This study explored the use of meta-cognitive strategies (MCS) in reading comprehension among Iranian EFL learners with varying levels of proficiency (i.e. high proficient vs. low proficient). Furthermore, there was an attempt to investigate the impact of motivation on language learners’ MCS use. The proposed hypotheses predicted: 1) there is no significant difference between the high proficient EFL learners’ use of MCS compared to their low proficient peers, and 2) there is no relationship between the two groups’ MCS use and their motivation. One hundred participants, aged 16-24, were selected from the intermediate and advanced EFL learners in Jihad Daneshgahi Institute of Kermanshah. The data was collected through: a) a modified version of the FCE reading paper, b) a modified version of the PET reading paper, c) Taraban's (2006) MCS Questionnaire, and d) an adapted form of Gardner's (1985) motivation questionnaire, and was submitted to a series of independent samples t-test and co-relational analysis. The results indicated: 1) a significant difference between the two groups in terms of the use of meta-cognitive strategies, favoring the highly proficient readers, and 2) a significant relationship between the use of meta-cognitive strategies and motivation of the participants.