اسماعیل علی سلیمی

Highlighting the inseparable link between language, culture, and technology in English as a foreign language education, this qualitative exploratory study examined the impact of cultural and multicultural awareness on Iranian EFL teachers’ professional development within augmented virtual reality (AVR)-based and conventional teacher education programs. Thus, 28 EFL teachers participated in semi-structured interviews and reflective inquiries following eight-week training courses. Data analysis was done manually via qualitative thematic analysis and by MAXQDA according to Guskey’s (2002) professional development model. Consequently, seven themes for the conventional group (maintaining a culturally responsive environment, enhanced teachers’ behavior, curriculum improvement, creative ideas, enhanced skills, efficient communication, and preparing students for effective communication) and five themes for the AVR group (experiencing authentic material and environment, accessibility features, less interactivity in the classroom, teachers’ passion and confidence improvement, and less cultural boundaries) were extracted. The study highlighted the crucial role of cultural and multicultural immersion and adaptive teaching strategies in creating culturally responsive environments. This approach equipped EFL instructors to address diverse student needs and foster inclusive learning spaces effectively. Moreover, the AVR technology deepened cultural immersion and supported modern teaching approaches, enhancing educators' ability to engage with diverse cultural classrooms. Despite the observed improvements in trainees’ passion and confidence, a need for reconsidering technological aspects in contemporary teacher education was identified. Ultimately, the findings offered pedagogical implications for EFL teacher education and teacher trainers to equip teachers with the necessary skills to address cultural and multicultural challenges in EFL teaching and stimulate their professional growth.

Stance has been examined extensively in the past few decades. However, the majority of the studies have been synchronic, with the few exceptions being snapshot diachronic studies without trend-related inferential statistics. This study adopted a trend-related inferential statistical measure and a more continuous diachronic dataset to examine the changes in using stance in the research articles of English applied linguistics from 2000 to 2020. To this end, 416 articles were randomly selected from 10 applied linguistics journals indexed in the first quartile of Scopus and probed using LancsBox for normalized frequency of Hyland’s (2005b) list of stance markers. Results were then analyzed for trends using the Jonckheere-Terpstra test. The results showed significant decreases for the overall stance markers (J=37168, z= -2.85, d= -.28, p= .004)), hedges (J=37014, z= -2.96, d= -.293, p=0.003), boosters (J=36298, z= -3.47, d= -.345, p=.001), and attitude markers (J=36647, z= -3.22, d= -.32, p=0.001), while self-mention markers were found to have experienced a slight, non-significant increase (J=42527.5, z= .94, d= .096, p=0.349). The functional analysis of the selected excerpts showed that the quantitative decrease in the use of stance markers has been compensated for, with an increase in the modification range and strength of the used stance markers as the two ways we could discover. After discussing the findings, the paper ends with some suggestions for further research. 

Framed within Grounded Theory, this study explores the informal labeling of EFL students in Iranian majority and minority groups’ online classes from the perspectives of teachers. It aims to understand the impacts of both positive and negative labels on students’ interactional abilities and relationships within these contexts. Through semi-structured interviews conducted with 23 EFL teachers from both Tehran and Sanandaj, representing diverse ethnic backgrounds, findings reveal contrasting approaches between teachers in the two regions. Tehran teachers are observed to cultivate a nurturing environment through the application of positive labeling, which subsequently enhances students’ interactional competence. Conversely, teachers from Sanandaj tend to employ more direct and critical forms of negative labeling. The study underscores the importance of teachers’ awareness of labeling theory in shaping students’ reality. Pedagogical implications highlight the necessity for teachers to refrain from negative labeling, instead offering support and encouragement, thereby fostering students’ positive mindset, resilience, and confidence. By enhancing teachers’ understanding of labeling theory, significant improvements can be achieved in students’ learning experiences, creating a more conducive environment for language acquisition and growth. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of labeling and emphasizes the vital perspective of teachers in shaping classroom dynamics and student experiences.

Indirect complaints (ICs) most often serve as rapport-inspiring speech behavior, whose affiliation by the recipient of complaint preserves solidarity among peers. The purpose of the present paper was to investigate the themes and response strategies used by Iranian students as an act of IC in the university context. Drawing on a mixed methods research design, the result of a thorough thematic analysis of the collected conversational data revealed that the themes Iranian students tend to use as an IC are not independent of their gender. In addition, two new IC response strategies were identified, namely attribution and admonishment. Hence, in order to account for all of the strategies used by Iranian students to respond to ICs, the existing categorizations are to be expanded. It was also discovered that only through explicit or embedded commiseration there is more potential of longer interactions among participants of conversations. The present study sheds some light on the pragmatics of the Persian language.

Since writing abilities in both Persian and English are still underdeveloped among emergent multilinguals, it is essential to provide a pedagogy that addresses this need. Hence, this study aimed to investigate how language teachers develop a pedagogical translanguaging space within the Iranian multilingual context of writing classrooms. Participants in this study were eight language teachers from various provinces of Iran, where at least one indigenous language is spoken. The participants were asked to participate in a narrative inquiry session, where they shared their experiences of implementing translanguaging strategies for teaching writing. Transcendental phenomenology was used as the method, and thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings suggested strategies, such as artefact scaffolding where teachers ask students to use Google Translate Application to complete a composition and then edit it with peers and multilingual brainstorming to activate prior knowledge and also tasks such as bilingual writing in which students need to write a local story in Persian and a foreigner story in English, designed to enhance students' writing abilities in both Persian and English. This study offered a pedagogy leveraging students' linguistic repertoire through translanguaging strategies to enhance writing ability across multiple languages, fostering an inclusive educational environment that values diverse linguistic backgrounds. Teachers and teacher trainers can implement the recommended strategies and tasks in their classes and workshops.