فاطمه کریمی

This study examines the employment of self-praise in online celebrity culture, particularly the self-presentation strategies adopted by male and female English and Iraqi celebrities on social media. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of self-presentation, politeness theory, and self-praise, the study examines how male and female celebrities employ self-praise to negotiate their public images, engage with audiences, and enhance their market value. By examining posts on Instagram, Twitter, and Weibo, this study identifies prevalent self-praise strategies, such as explicit self-praise, adapted self-praise, and implicit self-praise, and draws attention to the affordances of platforms like hashtags, character limits, and multimodal content that influence these strategies. Further, this study investigates the degree to which cultural norms, primarily of individualism and collectivism, inform male and female celebrities' practice and perception of self-praise in different cultural settings. The findings suggest that as a global platform for celebrity branding and social validation, self-praise is grounded in the cultural expectations and affordances of given platforms. This study adds to the knowledge of self-presentation in the digital era and offers insights into the intersection of self-praise, gender, celebrity culture, and social media.

This study investigates the impact of Iranian EFL learners' motivational goal orientations on their behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement in the classroom. Utilizing a mixed-methods design, the research involved 200 intermediate EFL learners from language schools in Iran, who completed the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT), a Goal Orientation Survey, and a Student Engagement Questionnaire. The results show that mastery goal orientations, both approach and avoid, positively predict these engagement dimensions, while performance goal orientations do not significantly affect engagement. The findings highlight the importance of fostering mastery goals to enhance student engagement and improve language learning outcomes. The implications of this study suggest that educators should create a supportive learning environment that emphasizes mastery goals, thereby facilitating deeper engagement and better academic performance among EFL learners. This study investigates the impact of Iranian EFL learners' motivational goal orientations on their behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement in the classroom. Utilizing a mixed-methods design, the research involved 200 intermediate EFL learners from language schools in Iran, who completed the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT), a Goal Orientation Survey, and a Student Engagement Questionnaire. The results show that mastery goal orientations, both approach and avoid, positively predict these engagement dimensions, while performance goal orientations do not significantly affect engagement. The findings highlight the importance of fostering mastery goals to enhance student engagement and improve language learning outcomes. The implications of this study suggest that educators should create a supportive learning environment that emphasizes mastery goals, thereby facilitating deeper engagement and better academic performance among EFL learners.

One of the most relevant areas in the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) that still merits further attention is the individual differences among English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners. With an eye on this issue, this study investigates the interrelations among stress coping strategies, foreign language anxiety (FLA), and language achievement among Iraqi EFL students. Utilizing a correlational research design, the study involved 150 upper-intermediate EFL learners who were randomly selected from EFL learners studying in two universities in Iraq. As for the data collection procedure phase of the study, the participants completed the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) to assess their levels of anxiety and coping strategies. The results indicated that there wsa a significant negative relationship between task-oriented coping strategies and foreign language anxiety, as well as a positive correlation between task-oriented coping and language achievement. The findings highlight the importance of effective coping strategies in mitigating anxiety and enhancing language learning outcomes among EFL learners. Furthermore, the study highlights the need for instructors to foster task-oriented coping strategies to improve language achievement and reduce anxiety, thereby creating a more supportive and effective learning environment.