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Language placement tests (LPTs) are used to assess students’ proficiency in a progressive manner in the target language. Based on their performance, students are assigned to stepped language courses. These tests are usually considered low stakes because they do not have significant consequences in students’ lives, which is perhaps the reason why studies conducted with LPTs are scarce. Nevertheless, tests should be regularly examined, and statistical analysis should be conducted to assess their functioning, particularly when they have a medium or high-stakes impact. In the case of LPTs administered on a large-scale, the logistic and administrative consequences of an ill-defined test may lead to an economic burden and unnecessary use of human resources which can also affect students negatively. This study was undertaken at one of the largest public institutions in Latin America. Nearly 1700 students sit an English LPT every academic semester. A diagnostic statistical analysis revealed a need for revision. To retrofit the test, a new test architecture and blueprints were designed in adherence to the new curriculum, and new items were developed and tried out gradually in several pilot studies. Item Response Theory (IRT) was used to examine the functioning of the new test items. The aim of this study is to show how the test was retrofitted, and to compare the functioning of the retrofitted version of the English LPT with the previous one. The results show that the quality of items was higher than that of the former English LPT.

This study posits that an important key component of political discourse derives from its heavy reliance on persuasion strategies to support the ideological bases. Throughout the argument, the study positions an emphasis on the US Democratic Party’s (DP) success in receiving the public consent and acceptance. Their victory is more likely the result of the power of their democratic ideologies that are constructed through the strategic use of rhetorical devices and linguistic structures. In an attempt to investigate which particular discursive strategies and rhetorical devices are instrumental in constructing a particular type of ideology, we adopted a CDA approach and analyzed Barak Obama’s public speeches to the US nation. The analytic categories found in his speech are: rhythmic paralleled structures and repetition; nominalization; and metaphorical framing. Moreover, in our macro-analysis of Obama’s discourse, special attention is paid to the effective role of devices such as topoi, or fallacies in his political argumentations and positive representation of DP.

The present study is an attempt to find if there is a relationship between silent reading speed and reading comprehension score in undergraduate students a pre-requisite study before starting a research involving factors related to metacognition and the affective domain. The sample of the study consists of twenty-four undergraduate students pursuing various foreign languages such as French, Russian, Arabic, Japanese, and German. To assess the reading comprehension of the students, two passages with multiple choice questions were selected from a book designed to check and improve reading speed and reading comprehension. The students worked in pairs, keeping a record of time taken to read for their partner. The word count of the passage was divided by the student’s speed of reading to analyze the reading speed simultaneously the students answered the multiple choice questions given after the passage which was used to assess the comprehension level. The findings of the t-test revealed that there is a significant difference between the reading speed and reading comprehension scores and the Pearson’s correlation shows that there is a positive and moderate relationship between the two variables. Secondly, it revealed that there is a significant difference between male and female students with respect to their reading comprehension scores and reading speed. In both cases the female students performed better in comparison to the male students. Finally, it reveals that there is a significant difference between the students pursuing different languages at their undergraduate level with respect to their reading comprehension and reading speed. The results indicated that the students from Japan had the highest scores, followed by those from Germany, France, Arabic, Spanish, and Russian.

The present paper examines the theory of conceptual metaphor, using the theoretical framework of the cognitive writing model to improve EFL learners’ writing creativity and metacognitive writing awareness. To that end, 120 male and female EFL Bachelor-of-Arts (BA) students majoring in English language from Foreign Languages Center at Islamic Karaj Azad University in Iran voluntarily participated in this research study. The participants were randomly assigned into two equal groups, with the experimental group receiving the cognitive instruction and the control group the traditional instruction. Using a two-way analysis of co-variance (ANCOVA) procedure, the researchers assessed the posttest scores of both groups. The results of the analysis indicated that the experimental group significantly enhanced its scores in the posttest of metacognitive writing strategies and writing creativity compared to the control group. Findings suggest that writing is not drafting and rewriting prefabricated patterns, but it is a recursive and interactive process in which writers attempt to construct meaning and create original ideas using real-life experiences. Findings also imply that conceptual metaphors are powerful literary devices for improving EFL learners’ idea generation, writing creativity, and metacognitive writing awareness which deserve to be taught at universities.

This study focused on the importance of Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLSs) in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and how Iranian EAP students learn academic vocabulary. The study used a predominantly quantitative approach by gathering data from 238 participants through online self-report VLS questionnaires, which were analyzed using SPSS-26. A triangulation approach was used to ensure accuracy and consistency, with qualitative data gathered through semi-structured interviews with 20 students. The analysis revealed that participants frequently used strategies for incorporating new vocabulary into their repertoire. Additionally, teacher-related, student-related, and material-related themes emerged through coding the participants’ beliefs. The results indicated that raising learners’ consciousness of VLSs, training teachers, providing tasks for all language skills, using technology, materials revision, and developing autonomous and independent learning can help with vocabulary acquisition and the satisfaction of EAP students. Overall, this study highlights the importance of VLSs in EAP and provides insights into effective strategies for acquiring academic vocabulary.

Researchers’ thorough familiarity with the related literature together with the appropriate implementation of previous studies in academic publications is of crucial importance. Simply put, scientific studies need to address the related literature in a proper manner to get published. The main objective of the current study was to delineate citation patterns in applied linguistics. To come up with a citation framework/typology for applied linguistics, the researchers employed constructivist Grounded Theory. In order to present a comprehensive picture of citation practices, the researchers decided to investigate a corpus of five international and two local journals published between 2015 and 2020. Initial results revealed 20 themes which were then further categorized into five major themes. The results revealed considerable discrepancies between the local and international studies in employing various citation forms which can be attributed to journal polices, target audience and researchers’ expertise level. Furthermore, differences were detected in quantitative and qualitative studies in using various citation techniques which can be associated with the nature of such studies.

Teachers have the power to change their students' lives for the better, therefore teachers should be armed with some skills to be effective. Reflective teaching as one of these skills empowers teachers to observe and evaluate themselves. Although research on reflective teaching has a long tradition, little is known about whether it could be a significant predictor of language teacher immunity and work motivation as two important factors determining the success or failure of teachers, particularly in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. Thus, the present study aimed at examining the possible association among reflective teaching, language teacher immunity, and work motivation through path analysis. To this end, English Language Teacher Reflective Inventory (ELTRI), Language Teacher Immunity Instrument (LTII), and Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale (MWMS) were administered to 320 Iranian EFL teachers. Data analysis revealed that teachers with higher reflective teaching practices are more immunized and motivated. Moreover, the significant role of language teacher immunity on work motivation was discovered. The implications of the present study may shed new light on the significance of incorporating reflective approach into teacher development programs as a core subject.

Metadiscourse is an essential component of academic writing, as it helps authors better communicate their ideas and engage their readers. It is through the analysis of the text's metadiscourse that one can explore academic writing and compare the rhetorical traits and preferences of various discourse communities (Hyland, 2005). To this end, this study examined the differences in the use, type, and frequency of interactional metadiscourse markers in the discussion and conclusion sections of political science and religious studies articles written in English language. The corpus of this study consisted of 45032 words extracted from fifty research articles, twenty-five articles in the field of political science, and twenty-five articles in the field of religious studies published between 2019 and 2023 in the top one high-impact factor and peer-reviewed international journals. To analyze the data, one Eta and two Chi-square tests were run. Considering the interactional resources of Hyland’s (2005) metadiscourse model, the researchers uncovered that despite some subtle differences in the use, frequency, and types of these metadiscourse markers, “hedges” were the most and attitude markers were the least frequently used metadiscourse markers employed in both political science and religious studies disciplines. The findings have some educational implications that shed light on the need to encourage English language teachers, university professors, and publishers in the fields of TEFL and ESP to provide EFL learners with appropriate sources and settings to increase their familiarity with various metadiscourse markers, especially the category of interactional MDMs that aids them write coherently and establish genuine interaction with audiences.