مژگان رشتچی

Feedback literacy as a knowledge vital for developing EFL learners’ academic writing might be associated with several factors, including learners’ second language (L2) writing engagement. Besides, variables such as learners’ proficiency levels can affect the relationship between feedback literacy and writing engagement. This study investigated the relationship between 234 elementary (n = 85), intermediate (n = 78), and advanced (n = 71) Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ writing feedback literacy and writing engagement selected based on convenience sampling. After taking a placement test, they sat for a writing task adjusted to their proficiency level. Next, they answered a scenario-based L2 Writing Engagement Measure (WEM) and completed the Writing Feedback Literacy Questionnaire (WFLQ). The Spearman rank-order correlation indicated significant positive relationships between the three groups’ feedback literacy and writing engagement. However, there were no significant differences in the relationships between EFL learners’ feedback literacy and writing engagement across the three groups. The study’s findings provide insights for L2 teachers, teacher trainers, and educationalists to enhance students’ writing ability, feedback literacy, and writing engagement. Some suggestions for further research are proposed.

The present study explored the effectiveness of Google Docs as a cloud-based technology in enhancing the complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) facets of writing competence. Forty-nine Iranian EFL learners, majoring in English, from two intact classes participated in the study. The classes were randomly assigned to the Google Docs (GD) group and the Conventional Teaching group (CT) after their proficiency levels were identified. The GD group (n=25) used the Google Docs writing instruction platform, while the CT group (n=24) received traditional writing instruction. Furthermore, ten students from the Google Docs group participated in semi-structured interviews to express their perceptions of the treatment they received. A mixed-methods design, incorporating Multiple Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) and theme-based analysis, was employed to assess quantitative and qualitative outcomes. The findings indicated that the GD group demonstrated a significantly improved ability in CAF writing compared to the CT group. The interviews revealed several important themes, including the positive experiences associated with collaborative writing through Google Docs, the convenience and flexibility of real-time collaboration, and the effectiveness of peer support in enhancing writing competence. Additionally, the teacher’s role as a facilitator was found to be crucial. Overall, the results suggested that the interactive attribute of Google Docs, combined with peer correction and editing, noticeably supports more sophisticated and accurate writing skills.

The current study used a qualitative methodology to examine how Iranian EFL learners practically applied Metacognitive Reading Strategies (MRs) when reading narrative and expository English texts. The study also investigated the participants' perceptions of the impact of text type on using MRs while reading narrative and expository English passages. The researchers selected 40 intermediate EFL learners studying TEFL at Islamic Azad University and Farhangyan University using purposive sampling as focused participants. The instruments employed included the Oxford Placement Test, semi-structured interviews, and think-aloud protocols. The data analysis involved theme-based analysis. The think-aloud protocol analysis indicated that participants employed multiple strategies when engaging with the expository text compared to the narrative text. The finding suggested that text types affected readers` overall performance. The semi-structured interviews revealed that learner's perceptions of text type played a vital role in reading different text types. The practical implications of the study were also discussed.

Our planet faces major environmental issues that must be addressed through ecological initiatives, education, and awareness raising. In language education, ecolinguistics has grown substantially during the last decade and has taken a cognitive step toward fostering and improving people’s ecological awareness; however, there was no mention of pedagogical practices of ecolinguistics rooted in theories of second language teaching and learning. Thus, the present study sought to apply a framework of English teaching based on the Activity Theory to raise EFL learners’ ecological critical language awareness. The researchers of the current quasi-experimental study employed a non-equivalent pretest and posttest control-group design to assess the effectiveness of using an AT-based framework in EFL classes to foster learners’ critical language awareness of ecological issues. An experimental group (n=45) and a control group (n=45) with intermediate-level members selected through convenience sampling took part in the study. The experimental group was taught with the AT-based framework, while the control group was not. The result of the independent samples t-test indicated that the ECLA of the experimental group had risen significantly compared to the control group. Also, the results of a series of paired samples t-tests comparing the pretest and posttest of the experimental group’s score on each domain of the ECLA showed that the learners’ awareness of all six domains had significantly improved. The study suggests that implementing the AT-based framework to teach ecolinguistics in language classes can be a promising way to raise learners’ ECLA.

Self-regulation equips learners with the expertise to continue and improve their studies throughout their life span. The current study investigated the impact of reflective learning using Kolb’s cyclical stages on EFL learners’ self-regulation. The participants were 61 Iranian EFL learners from two intact university classes randomly assigned to the Reflective (n=30) and Non-reflective (n=31) groups. During an eight-week instruction, the Reflective group experienced reflective practices, and the Non-reflective group was exposed to traditional teaching. The data were collected through Seker’s (2016) Self-Regulated Questionnaire, administered before and after the treatment and participants’ think-aloud protocols. The quantitative data analysis using ANCOVA and MANOVA revealed that the Reflective group significantly outperformed the Non-reflective group in all self-regulated learning components except for external and metacognitive self-regulation subscales. The protocol data analysis substantiated the quantitative findings, indicating that reflective learning significantly improved learners’ self-regulated skills. The results offer significant implications for language instructors and language learners.

Writing skill is a challenging and frequently-used activity in academic circles. This study investigated the effects of reflective writing on EFL learners’ writing performance. The participants were 61 Iranian EFL learners from two intact university classes randomly assigned to the non-reflective (n=31) and reflective (n=30) groups. Over sixteen sessions of instructions over eight weeks, the non-reflective group was taught using the traditional writing method; however, the reflective group was exposed to reflective writing instruction under Kolb’s Model. The data were collected through reflective writing compositions and the content analysis of think-aloud protocols. The quantitative data analysis revealed that the reflective group significantly outperformed the non-reflective group in writing compositions. The thematic analysis of think-aloud protocols substantiated the quantitative data findings, indicating that all participants went through the cognitive psychological processes of ‘planning, drafting, pausing and thinking, reading and reproducing, reviewing, editing and revising’ as they were engaged in reflective writing via Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle. The results offer significant implications for language instructors, curriculum planners, and course designers.

Children need to start learning English from a very young age in this fast globalizing world. The knowledge of the English language can assist in providing several opportunities for them in the future. It is also essential to know how very young children acquire a foreign language and which content and activities should be selected for their age. This study aimed to observe and describe the procedure of the language development of very young children. Researchers employed a descriptive case study design to portray and assess foreign language learning of two three-year-old twins’ grammar acquisition, vocabulary gains, and fluency in the early years of life (3-4/5). Besides the methods firmly associated with qualitative study and case studies, there were four sources of data collection: observation, audio-video recordings, and diary records. The central unit of the twins’ language development analysis was their utterances. The findings supported using a naturalistic environment where very young children could be exposed to the English language informally in everyday contexts and activities. This research can share its findings with education communities and very young children’s teachers to promote a new professional development model for fostering language development in very young learners’ classrooms, assessments, and curricula.

Self-regulation equips learners with the expertise to continue and improve their studies throughout their life span. The current study investigated the impact of reflective learning using Kolb’s cyclical stages on EFL learners’ self-regulation. The participants were 61 Iranian EFL learners from two intact university classes randomly assigned to the Reflective (n=30) and Non-reflective (n=31) groups. During an eight-week instruction, the Reflective group experienced reflective practices, and the Non-reflective group was exposed to traditional teaching. The data were collected through Seker’s (2016) Self-Regulated Questionnaire, administered before and after the treatment and participants’ think-aloud protocols. The quantitative data analysis using ANCOVA and MANOVA revealed that the Reflective group significantly outperformed the Non-reflective group in all self-regulated learning components except for external and metacognitive self-regulation subscales. The protocol data analysis substantiated the quantitative findings, indicating that reflective learning significantly improved learners’ self-regulated skills. The results offer significant implications for language instructors and language learners.

The current study used a qualitative methodology to examine how Iranian EFL learners practically applied Metacognitive Reading Strategies (MRs) when reading narrative and expository English texts. The study also investigated the participants' perceptions of the impact of text type on using MRs while reading narrative and expository English passages. The researchers selected 40 intermediate EFL learners studying TEFL at Islamic Azad University and Farhangyan University using purposive sampling as focused participants. The instruments employed included the Oxford Placement Test, semi-structured interviews, and think-aloud protocols. The data analysis involved theme-based analysis. The think-aloud protocol analysis indicated that participants employed multiple strategies when engaging with the expository text compared to the narrative text. The finding suggested that text types affected readers` overall performance. The semi-structured interviews revealed that learner's perceptions of text type played a vital role in reading different text types. The practical implications of the study were also discussed.

Dynamic assessment offers a holistic approach to evaluation by embedding assessment within instruction. Despite evidence suggesting the effectiveness of DA in language classrooms, there remains a reluctance among teachers to adopt DA practices. This reluctance stems from a lack of understanding of how DA models impact specific learning outcomes, particularly in speaking skills. One main contributing factor is the dominance of quantitative DA studies, which do not contextualize the differences between DA models. With an inductive thematic analysis design, this study explored the perceived effects of interactionist and interventionist DA models on speaking accuracy, fluency, and complexity among Iranian EFL students. Thirty undergraduate intermediate EFL learners from Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch, were recruited through purposive sampling. Each participant had received one hundred hours of speaking lessons with one of the DA models embedded before participating in a semi-structured interview. The analysis of participants' perceptions and reflections revealed that both DA models were well-received for improving speaking skills but had different effects on subskills. Learners perceived the interactionist model as an effective teaching method that improved their speaking accuracy and complexity but reduced fluency, while the interventionist model favored fluency at the expense of grammatical accuracy and complexity.

Collaborative dialogue (CD) in developing L2 skills known as ‘knowledge-building dialogue’, in spite of its momentum in foreign language acquisition, has rarely been conjoined and empirically investigated with a Task-based approach. To this end, the present research was conducted with a two-fold aim: firstly, investigating the effect of task-based collaborative dialogue on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ speaking ability, and secondly, exploring teachers’ and learners’ perceptions of the exercised treatment process. The participants of the study consisted of 100 Iranian B.A. TEFL and Translation Studies students were identified as relatively homogeneous with regard to their language proficiency through administering Oxford Placement Test (OPT) and ten Iranian EFL teachers. The experimental group was exposed to task-based collaborative dialogues, while the control group experienced conventional mainstream teaching the speaking skill. Upon completing the treatment, CD questionnaires were administered to the experimental group of learners and teachers to investigate their perceptions of implementing CDs in speaking classes. Subsequently, the teachers and 12 students from the experimental group attended the semi-structured interview sessions to explore their views regarding the efficiency of task-based CDs. The findings indicated that the experimental group outperformed the control one regarding speaking skill. The results of the questionnaires and the semi-structured interviews complemented each other and indicated that the teachers and the learners adopted positive views toward applying the task-based CD. The findings offer some implications for the stakeholders, including material developers, EFL learners, and teachers, to incorporate task-based collaborative dialogues in second language education.

Complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) are measures of language proficiency in productive skills. This study with a non-equivalent control group pretest-post-test design explored whether Dynamic Assessment (DA) procedures enhances EFL teachers' writing CAF. Three 22-member groups of homogeneous teachers were randomly assigned to one control group (Non-DA), an interactionist DA group (IA-DAG), and an interventionist DA group (IV-DAG). After the nine-session treatment, the study groups took a writing post-test. A one-way ANOVA test showed that the experimental groups outperformed the control group, although no significant differences were found between DA groups. Besides, no statistically significant differences were found between the groups' writing complexity. Considering accuracy, IA-DAG outperformed Non-DAG whereas no significant differences were observed between the experimental groups and between IV-DAG and Non-DAG. Fluency measures showed the superiority of DA groups to the control group. The first conclusion was that DA processes have a decisive role in improving writing skills and the CAF triad. Second, CAF components do not develop in a linear process, and employing DA procedures can be useful for its improvement. The paper has implications for language teachers and SLA researchers.

The study aimed to investigate the relationship between process writing (PW) and critical thinking (CT) ability of Iranian EFL learners. Furthermore, the role of PW in the enhancement of CT was investigated. In so doing, 65 upper-intermediate language learners were selected from Rasht Islamic Azad University based on convenience sampling. The results of the pretests indicated that participants were homogeneous regarding language proficiency as determined by Babel test, CT by Watson-Glaser critical thinking appraisal (W-GCTA), and writing ability by a writing test. By implementing a quasi-experimental design, the participants were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received a step-by-step process of teaching CT and utilized CT skills in developing an essay. The control group, in contrast, merely practiced PW. After applying the non-parametric Spearman rank-order correlation, the results revealed that there was a significant correlation between PW and CT ( rs =.632, p <.05). The results of the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test substantiated that there was a significant difference in CT ability of control and experimental groups ( U =.000, p <.05), revealing that PW is a vehicle of CT, not an ingredient.