نسرین حدیدی تمجید

Self-reflection as a crucial human activity involves assessing experiences and developing strategies to tackle challenges in language instruction and acquisition. It can be pursued through several methods. This study seeks to implement scenario-based assessment (SBA) model and dialogue journal writing (DJW) in an entire process to examine their impact on enhancing the writing self-reflection strategies of Iranian EFL learners. To achieve this objective, 60 EFL learners were selected through convenience sampling. These participants were then randomly divided into two experimental groups and one control group. The first experimental group underwent treatment using a SBA model, while the second experimental group followed the requirements of treatment through a DJW model. The control group, on the other hand, received instruction using a traditional teacher-centered method. Both the experimental groups and the control group underwent pre-test and post-test assessments to evaluate their writing performance. The gathered data were analyzed using MANCOVA and the findings revealed that the SBA group outperformed the DJW and control groups in terms of improving their writing self-reflection strategies.This study's results offer more evidence to show the positive impact of using a SBA design on the writing self-reflection skills of Iranian EFL learners as a whole. The study showed that the SBA approach had a greater impact on improving engagement in self-reflection and insight. The findings of this study suggest that SBA can generate higher levels of assistance and function to create a successful pedagogical tool as well as an assessment device for classroom teachers, experts, and parties involved.

In keeping with Control-Value Theory (CVT), learners’ achievement emotions and language achievement can affect e ach other. The flexibility of learners in academic settings can be a refugee from academic difficulties, and protect learners from discouragement after a negative emotional experience about achievement. Review of the literature proved the existence of several studies that have been conducted to support this theory. In this study, the possible contributions of eight achievement emotions (pride, hope, enjoyment, shame, anxiety, boredom, anger, and hopelessness) to language achievement in EFL context were examined to see if there was a relationship between them and learners’ language achievement. Accordingly, 279 advanced EFL learners (148 male and 131 female) of Iran Language Institute (ILI) took part. The Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ) was used to collect the data about the learners’ emotions and participants’ Grade Point Average (GPA) as evidence for their language achievement was employed to see how much of their achievement emotions could be contributed to their language achievement. The results of multiple linear regression revealed that enjoyment, hope, and anxiety were the three significant emotion factors predicting EFL learners’ language achievement and among them anxiety was the strongest predictor. In addition, based on the results of the independent-samples t-test, there was a statistically significant difference between the female and male learners’ achievement emotions scores. The learners’ emotions in language classes can be dealt with so that they can experience a better language learning experience. The findings are beneficial for EFL teachers, learners, and course designers.

The current study was an effort to investigate the role of participatory structure and output modality in enhancing Iranian EFL learners’ speaking, and examine their perceptions toward participating in speaking activities. The population of this study included all female EFL learners (90 language learners of English) at intermediate level studying at Avayeh Daneshvaran Language Institute in Tabriz and the sampling procedure was convenience sampling. From among these language learners, 63 learners, in four intact classes, were selected as the sample group after conducting a sample of the PET. The instruments that were used in this study included two samples of the English language proficiency test of PET, the speaking section of which was conducted as the pre-test and posttest of the study, and an open-ended questionnaire. The data which were collected were analyzed through one-way ANOVA and two-way ANCOVA. The researchers analyzed the responses of the intended participants to the open-ended questionnaire qualitatively. The findings revealed that output modality was effective in improving speaking skill and that participatory structure and the interaction of these two had no significant effect on this skill. Regarding the qualitative section, the findings presented that the participants had optimistic attitude toward the use of podcasts and summary telling and writing in improving their speaking. The findings of the present study are valuable for teachers, English language learners, teacher educators, curriculum designers and researchers.

Many difficulties learners experience during language learning interfere with their performance, and those associated with their psychology play an integral role in this process. Underpinned by Bandura’s social cognitive theory and Dweck’s implicit theory of intelligence, this article explored how language mindsets influenced female EFL learners’ cognitive engagement through the mediation of risk-taking. Following a quantitative design and drawing on stratified sampling, the researchers ran the Power Analysis Calculator and selected 384 language learners from six institutes of Tabriz, Iran. The data were collected by three questionnaires, including the Language Mindset Inventory of Lou and Noels (2017), University Student Engagement Inventory (USEI) designed by Maroco et al., (2016), and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) of Patton, Stanford and Barratt (1995). The PLS-SEM analysis showed that learners’ growth mindsets were directly related to cognitive engagement. Furthermore, risk-taking significantly mediated this relationship. This finding provides some implications for school psychology to develop in students self-theories that highlight growth and competence instead of limitation and inactivity.

This study investigated the effects of corrective feedback (CF) and the Flipped Teaching Model (FTM) on English language learners’ overall and categorical grammar accuracy. The study was conducted at Payame-Nour University (PNU) of Mahabad, Iran. A total of 80 Iranian EFL learners participated in the study. The participants were randomly assigned into two flipped and two non-flipped groups of 20: one in each pair of groups receiving explicit and the other implicit CF. Data were collected across two time periods (pre-intervention and post-intervention). Two measures of Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) were conducted. The results revealed no significant differences in the effect of CF type in the flipped classes, and both led to the learners’ higher level of overall grammar accuracy. However, the explicit group outperformed the implicit one in the non-flipped classes. Explicit feedback in flipped and non-flipped classes led to the learners’ outperformance in acquiring specific grammatical structures, such as adjective/reduced adjective clauses, but not in others, like comparative/superlative adjectives, gerund/infinitive, word forms, word order, and apposition. These findings have implications for language educators seeking to enhance learners’ grammatical accuracy in both flipped and non-flipped classrooms, particularly in relation to the use of explicit feedback for certain types of grammatical structures.

The purpose of this research is to investigate Iranian English teachers’ perception of teaching reading comprehension and reading comprehension strategies and their use which can be influenced by individual factors such as gender and teachers’ teaching experience. To serve this purpose, 78 EFL teachers were selected in a stratified manner from West and East Azerbaijan’s language institutes and schools in the second semester of the academic year 2021. This sample included 54 females (=22 experienced, 17 developing, and 15 novices) and 24 males (=1 highly experienced, 6 developing, and 7 novice). To collect the research data, the first three sections of a five-point Likert scale standardized questionnaire was employed to tap teachers’ perception of reading comprehension and the importance of reading strategies. The obtained data were analyzed through Two-Way between Groups Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to investigate the significant main and interaction effects of teachers’ gender and their teaching experience on their perception of teaching reading comprehension and reading strategies. The results showed that the gender and teaching experience had no significant main or interaction effect on their understanding of the way reading comprehension should be taught or the paramount of reading comprehension strategies. Moreover, the findings unraveled some uncertainties in   teachers’ perceptions of reading comprehension skills and misconceptions regarding the significance of reading comprehension strategies. The findings are pedagogical significant and will be discussed in length.

This study aimed at determining the effect of teaching idiom strategies, that is, socializing learning and cognitive linguistic approach, on Iranian EFL learners' recognition and production of ambiguous idioms. To this end, 78 upper-intermediate students of Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch, Iran, formed the total population of the study. Then, Proficiency English Test (PET) was administered to ensure the homogeneity of the needed sample. Based on the results of this test, 60 students were selected as the final participants. They were randomly assigned to two experimental groups: WhatsApp socializing group and etymological elaboration group. A pretest was used to ensure the unfamiliarity of the idioms. The criteria for choosing ambiguous idioms were that all ambiguous idioms required to have etymology and could be illustrated using a picture Also, posttests for the recognition and production of ambiguous idioms were used to compare the performance of the two groups. The statistical analysis of results indicated that the etymological elaboration group outperformed the socializing group in both idiom recognition and production. The findings of this research have pedagogical implications for teachers, syllabus designers, and materials developers in using appropriate instructional methods for teaching idioms.

Although a plethora of research endeavors have investigated the rhetorical structure of the Research Articles (RAs) through the lens of move analysis, Move Recycling (MR) across RA sections has remained unnoticed. The current study sought to bridge this gap by exploring cross-disciplinary variations in the recycling of the Objective move (research questions/hypotheses/purposes) across four conventional sections (Introduction, Method, Result, and Discussion) of RAs. To this end, 600 English RAs from four prestigious journals in six soft science disciplines, published between 2006 and 2018, were selected. The quantitative data analysis results revealed that the Objective move’s recycling was sensitive to the disciplinary variations and RA sections. That is, Economics RAs were the main platforms for recycling the Objective move, and Psychology RAs witnessed the least amount of its recycling. Moreover, Objective move recycling was observed most frequently in the Discussion sections and least frequently in the Method sections of RAs. In the study’s qualitative phase, the RA authors’ rationales for MR, which were received via email, underwent content analysis. Based on the recurrent themes in the RA authors’ responses, four main reasons for MR, including editorial policy, readers’ guidance, discipline conventions, and RA length, were identified. This study’s findings might provide a concise view of MR for researchers, teachers, and students in various disciplines. EAP instructors can raise students’ awareness of MR and encourage them to use it in their RAs as a comprehension facilitator.

Lexical inferencing has been recognized as an effective learning strategy in SLA. The present study investigated Iranian EFL learners’ development of reading comprehension as a result of exposure to lexical inferencing strategy instruction. To do so, 45 female participants studying in Simin Language Institute in Rasht, Iran were selected from among 60 students based on the results of a sample of Oxford quick Placement (OQP) test, who scored from 40 to 47. They were in two intact classes, assigned to one experimental (n=24) and one control group (n=21). The experimental group underwent the teaching of reading comprehension through lexical inferencing strategy to help learners infer the meaning of unknown words and promote their understanding of the text. However, the control group received the traditional instruction of reading comprehension concentrating on the translation of new words. The results of the pre- and post-tests of reading comprehension revealed the significant outperformance of the treatment group over the control group’s reading comprehension ability. It was concluded that lexical inferencing strategy teaching could develop the learners’ potential to improve their cognitive capacities in inferring the meaning of unknown words, which might be facilitative in their reading comprehension.

The present study aimed to investigate whether Reports on the results and Comments on the results moves’ recycling in the Research Article (RA) Discussion sections is affected by cultural/disciplinary variations. To this end, 600 empirical RAs in six Soft Science disciplines, including Economics, Sociology, Applied Linguistics, Linguistics, Management, and Psychology, with an equal number in each discipline and culture, published in the period from 2006 to 2018 were selected. Weissberg and Buker’s (1990) move model was used as a starting point to analyze the RAs. First, the Reports on the results and Comments on the results moves were identified in the Results sections. The Chi-Square test was then used to calculate and compare the frequency of their recycling in the Discussion sections across cultures and disciplines. The data analysis results revealed that changes in the disciplines or sociocultural settings do not result in variations in recycling the two moves under study. Given that the current study provides a relatively new framework for scrutinizing scientific discourse, it may promise certain pedagogical implications for native and non-native students in Soft Science disciplines, researchers, English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) instructors, and course designers.

In educational psychology, mindsets refer to a set of core beliefs about intelligence and its role in successful learning in a specific domain. This study investigated the extent to which, the EFL learners’ mindsets might predict their English achievement considering the mediating roles of engagement and self-regulation. The data were collected by means of three questionnaires: The Language Mindset Inventory (LMI), the University Student Engagement Inventory (USEI), and the Academic Self-Regulated Learning Scale (A-SRL-S), as well as the institutes’ reports on their English achievement. We analyzed the data quantitatively using the SPSS 20 and Amos 8 Software. The results revealed that there was a significant direct relationship between language mindsets and English achievement of the EFL learners. Besides, this relationship was significantly mediated by the learners’ engagement and self-regulation. Drawing on the findings of this research, the challenge for teachers is to cultivate in students the mindsets that emphasize growth and potentials rather than constraints and stagnation.

The learners’ identity is one of the most important key elements of learning to motivate learners to learn English. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the male and female EFL learners’ motivation and their identity with a focus on gender. The study had a descriptive correlational design. The participants of this study were 50 Iranian male and 50 female postgraduate English majors, aged between 23 and 41, who were selected through convenient sampling. Three questionnaires of motivation, hardiness, and perfectionism were distributed among the participants. The results of Pearson correlation analyses demonstrated that there was not a significant relationship between EFL learners’ motivation and their hardiness in both genders. Also, the results showed no significant relationship between EFL learners’ motivation and their perfectionism in the two groups. Moreover, the results of independent-sample t-tests failed to find any significant difference between male and female students’ motivation and their hardiness and perfectionism. 

هدف از انجام این تحقیق بررسی رابطه کاربرد استراتژیهاییادگیری لغات و خودگردانی بین زبان آموزان ایرانیزبان انگلیسی به عنوان زبان خارجی با توجه به جنسیت بود. بدین منظور از تعداد 82 (39 مرد و43 زن) دانشجوی سال دوم و سوم رشته آموزش زبان انگلیسی که حداقل 45 واحد درسی را دردانشگاه آزاد تبریز، ایران گذرانده بودند، خواسته شد تا با پر کردن پرسشنامه خودگردانی و پرسشنامه استراتژیهاییادگیری لغات در این مطالعه شرکت کنند. پس از کنار گذاشتن پرسشنامه های ناقص، 70 پرسشنامه قابل قبول در تحلیل آماری مورد استفاده قرار گرفت. تجزیه و تحلیل همبستگی، رابطه مثبت و معناداری را بین کاربرد استراتژیهای یادگیری لغات زبان آموزان زبان انگلیسی بعنوان زبان خارجی و خودگردانی آنان، هم برای مردان و هم برای زنان نشان داد. این یافته ها میتواند برخی از مضامین آموزشی را برای آموزگاران در بر داشته باشد.

Reading comprehension is one of the most important skills, especially in the EFL context. One way to improve reading comprehension is through strategy use. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of question-generation strategy on learners' reading comprehension. The participants in the study were 63 intermediate students from three intact groups in Resa institute in Boukan, They were randomly assigned to two experimental and one control groups. They were given two samples of the reading section of the standardized Preliminary English Test (PET) as the pre- and post-tests. The students in the experimental group A generated text-based reading comprehension questions individually, and in the experimental group B in groups of three but the learners in the control group answered the reading comprehension questions provided in the text. The results of ANOVA revealed that the students in the experimental group B, who employed group-question generation strategy, outperformed the experimental group A, who employed individual- question generation strategy and the control group in the reading comprehension post-test. The findings can have some implications for EFL teachers and syllabus designers.