درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

The present study aims to explore negation patterns in Ardalani, a variety of central Kurdish (Sorani) spoken mainly in Sanandaj, within the typological framework proposed by Miestamo (2005). This framework explains the main negation patterns found in the languages of the world as symmetric, asymmetric, and symmetric-asymmetric. Although Miestamo applied this stypological framework to analyze a wide range of languages, none of the Kurdish dialects are represented in his study. The data used in the present study comprises 263 negative sentences with their affirmative counterparts, which were obtained from the spoken Sorani material broadcast on Kurdistan Radio and Television. The results indicate that Ardalani follows a symmetric-asymmetric pattern. It reveals a symmetric pattern in the past tense with perfective and imperfective habitual aspect but displays an asymmetric pattern in the imperfective continuous aspect and modal structures. For the sentences in the imperfective continuous aspect, the speakers apply either A/Fin/Neg-LV or A/Cat/ATM. In the former, the verb loses finiteness and the features move to the available copula in the structure. In the latter, the aspect changes from continuous to habitual, a more common strategy. Modal structures also follow A/Cat/ATM, in which the modal marker is removed and replaced with the negation marker. However, the modal content remains semantically the same as its affirmative counterpart. 

This investigation aimed to inform instructional practices that foster linguistic development and enhance the overall language learning experience by unraveling the nuanced dynamics at play. To this end, the researchers explored the influence of two distinct vocabulary books, "Keyword for Fluency" and "1100 Words You Need to Know," on language growth, willingness to communicate (WTC), and academic engagement within the upper-intermediate learner demographic. With 40 participants in the experimental group (EG) exposed to "Keyword for Fluency" and 40 participants in the control group (CG) using "1100 Words You Need to Know", all demonstrating upper-intermediate language proficiency, a concurrent mixed-methods research design was employed. A comprehensive teacher-made test was designed and administered to gauge language growth. The EG received targeted instruction based on "Keyword for Fluency," while the CG adhered to conventional language teaching methods centered on "1100." Our findings showcased substantial language growth, increased WTC, and enhanced academic engagement among participants in the EG as opposed to the CG. This study offers valuable insights for educators, curriculum designers, and researchers seeking to optimize vocabulary instruction strategies for upper-intermediate learners.

This study focused on the relationship between VIA (Values in Action) character strengths and the general second language (L2) proficiency of Iranian upper-intermediate EFLlearners. The researchers aimed to investigate the reletionship between six VIA virtues (courage, justice, humanity, temperance, wisdom, and transcendence) and learners' general L2 proficiency. The study involved 300 Iranian EFL learners enrolled in five language institutes in Isfahan, Iran. The participants' proficiency level was assessed using an Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT). Language proficiency was evaluated through the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and a questionnaire was used to measure VIA characteristics. The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation. The findings showed a significant positive relationship between various subcategories of VIA characteristics and general L2 proficiency. These subcategories included wisdom, creativity, curiosity, judgment, love of learning, courage, perseverance, honesty, humanity, love, kindness, social intelligence, justice, fairness, leadership, temperance, forgiveness, humility, prudence, self-regulation, transcendence, appreciation, gratitude, hope, humor, spirituality, and L2 proficiency. These results have implications for educational practitioners, such as school counselors, instructors, educational policymakers, and researchers, as they highlight the importance of VIA character strengths in promoting language learning achievement.

The current study was conducted to examine Iranian EFL students’ listening comprehension and writing performance after receiving auditory and audiovisual input. With a quasi-experimental test-retest design, a listening comprehension test was administered in auditory and audiovisual formats to 51 intermediate EFL students from two intact classes. The results indicated that the students’ mean scores in the audiovisual listening test were significantly higher than that in the auditory test administered after a six-week interval; however, no significant difference was found in the accuracy and fluency of summary writing. The analysis of the participants’ responses to the questionnaire indicated that 75% of the students preferred the video format of the test and only 22% found it distracting. Most participants believed that visual input helped them remember details for a longer period and stay more concentrated, engaged and interested in the topic. To conclude, in addition to auditory input, audiovisual material is recommended as a preferred instrument to assess learners’ listening comprehension.

The rapid advancement of technology has opened up new avenues for language learning, and understanding the factors that impact students' behavioural intentions is crucial for the effective integration of technology in EFL classrooms. The present study investigates the influence of risk-taking behaviour and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in enhancing the behavioural intention of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students through the integration of technology. The study utilized a quantitative research approach, employing surveys and data analysis techniques to test reliability using the PLS-SEM program tool to gather and analyze data from a sample of 75 EFL college students. The participants were assessed during the continuous assessment of the course based on their risk-taking tendencies, as well as their perceptions and attitudes towards technology acceptance according to the TAM framework. The study's findings are intended to offer important new understandings of the correlation between risk-taking behaviour and TAM characteristics (perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use), and EFL college students' behavioural intention. Additionally, the research aims to identify the factors that positively influence students' intention to adopt and utilize technology in their language learning process. The implications of this study can contribute to the development of effective strategies for educators and institutions to enhance EFL college students' behavioural intention through technology integration. By understanding the role of risk-taking behaviour and TAM variables, educators can design instructional approaches that align with students' preferences and promote active engagement in the learning process.  

With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, language teachers are presented with new possibilities for addressing challenges in language education. This intervention study aimed to investigate views from ESL teachers on the benefits and challenges of integrating ChatGPT, An artificial intelligence (AI) language model created by OpenAI in 2023, into ESL classrooms for personalized language learning. The study carried out in two upper-secondary schools, combines teacher questionnaires and interviews with a personalized learning intervention based on ChatGPT. The primary focus was on understanding the effect of ChatGPT-based personalized learning assignments on learners’ grammatical knowledge in a local classroom setting. Through the questionnaire, initial teacher concerns regarding the precision, dependability, and helpful application of AI tools were investigated. Despite these reservations, the intervention demonstrated a notable decrease in grammatical errors in student writing. Subsequent interviews revealed a positive shift in teacher perceptions, indicating increased receptivity to AI-based approaches after witnessing positive outcomes. The study highlights the importance of teacher training and hands-on experience in overcoming initial hesitations associated with AI tool adoption in pedagogical practices. Moreover, the promising results suggest that AI-powered instruments, like ChatGPT, have the potential to enhance personalized language learning. This underscored the significance of educators cultivating their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) to overcome hesitations and effectively harness the potential of ChatGPT for augmenting individualized learning. The study’s findings provided evidence supporting the utilization of ChatGPT-based personalized learning assignments to meet the specific requirements of the schools in question.

The study aimed to investigate the Iranian EFL teachers’ knowledge of educational ethical codes in academic settings through the employment of a newly-designed questionnaire, developed by the researchers. To this end, six university professors as experts were invited to participate in an unstructured interview related to the issue under study. The preliminary themes were extracted from the relevant literature and the experts’ opinions through qualitative analysis. Next, the initial questionnaire items were generated and approved by three experts. The reliability of the constructed questionnaire was calculated using Cronbach's alpha. Afterwards, the 40-item questionnaire was administered to 400 EFL teachers resulting in the elimination of eleven items through exploratory factor analysis. Five factors were drawn from the responses of teachers through EFA representing their knowledge of educational ethical codes. Additionally, the confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the five extracted components of the newly developed questionnaire including educational, affective, socio-cultural, behavioral, and professional ethics factors were all acceptably loaded on their constructs at an acceptable level, and the scale can successfully determine EFL teachers’ knowledge of ethical codes in educational settings. The findings of the study have valuable implications for teachers, students, teacher trainers, educational policymakers and administrators.

As the world evolves into more globalized, ethnically, and linguistically mixed societies, Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) stages itself as a crucial asset. This fact holds particularly true when it comes to increasingly globalized healthcare academic milieux, where cultivating ICC is crucial for healthcare professionals to interact effectively with patients from diverse cultural backgrounds. The present study, employing a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design, explored the development of ICC among nursing, as the control group (27 participants), and medical students (32), as the experimental one through explicit ICC training at Zanjan University of Medical Sciences in Zanjan, Iran. Hence, targeted ICC training effectiveness in enhancing the cultural empathy (CE), flexibility (F), social initiative (SI), open-mindedness (OM), and emotional stability (ES) of medical students was investigated employing the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) as a key tool to gauge learners' ICC before and after the training. The findings showed a significant improvement in the participants' all ICC sub-scales, indicating the positive impact of explicit training on the development of CE, F, SI, and OM.

Teachers’ engagement in continuing professional development activities plays an essential role in the design, implementation, and effectiveness of in-service teacher training (INSET) programs. Understanding multidimensional orientations of teacher engagement in continuing professional development (CPD) activities, albeit fluctuations and deceptive images, may provide implications for the rate and pace of their professional development. To address this issue, the present study aims to understand teachers’ engagement orientations, namely cognitive, behavioral, and affective; as well as the levels, i.e. authenticity or fakeness of their engagement. In doing so, this study further aims to analyze how the participants with different engagement orientations revealed signs of fake and/or genuine engagement. The data collected from the observations of a six-week-long CPD course and semi-structured interviews conducted after the completion of the course indicated that teachers with different engagement orientations demonstrated various ways of genuine and/or fake participation in the CPD course. Pedagogical implications highlight an assortment of courses of action to maximize authentic teacher engagement.