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Alternative assessments have evolved from an epistemological change in education. They see assessment and instruction as two sides on the same coin which go hand in hand. The traditional roles of both teachers and learners are, consequently, modified which is essential for better language development. In this line, the present study aimed at comparing the effects of portfolio and journal writing assessment on EFL learners’ autonomy. The study followed a quasi-experimental design with two study groups having a pre-test, treatment, post-test format. To this end, 39 EFL learners whose scores on PET test were one standard deviation above and below the mean were selected for the groups which were then randomly assigned for two treatment types, namely portfolio assessment (PA) and journal writing assessment (JWA). The groups’ autonomy levels were compared by one-way ANCOVA, the results of which did not reveal any significant difference in the positive effects of these two common alternative assessments. It was inferred that language teachers can take the advantage of any or both of these alternative assessment types to improve their learners’ autonomy and make them lifelong language learners. The great role of autonomy in language learning and further pedagogical implications for the findings for language learners, teachers, and curriculum developers are discussed in the paper. 

هدف مطالعه ی حاضر افزایش آگاهی در زمینه ی ساختار تعامل در کلاسهای زبان بیگانه ی انگلیسی است. با استفاده از چارچوب متدولوژیکی گفتمانکاوی، تعاملات کلاسی پنجاه و دو معلم به مدت سه ساعت ضبط و جمع آوری گردید تا بافت های تعاملی بر اساس اهداف آموزشی در توالی نوبت ها شناسایی شوند. سپس با تلفیق روش گفتمان کاوی با روش های کمی، توزیع بافت های تعاملی و تاثیر عوامل محیطی، شامل توانش زبانی شاگردان و تربیت (آموزش) معلمین، مورد بررسی قرار گرفت. با تحلیل گفتمان کاوانه ی اطلاعات تحریری، چهار بافت تعاملی، شامل بافت هایی با محوریت ساختار، معنا، مهارت، و مدیریت، مورد شناسایی قرار گرفت. بررسی توزیع بافت ها نشان داد که بخش عمده ای از تعاملات کلاسی با محوریت ساختار و مهارت های زبانی شکل می گیرند. در حالی که بافت معنامحور کمترین سهم را در تعاملات کلاسی دارد. تحلیل واریانس چند متغیره یدوسویه نشان داد که توزیع تمامیبافت های شناسایی شده تحت تأثیر سطح توانش زبانی شاگردان می باشد. اما آموزش معلمین تنها بر توزیع بافت ها با محوریت ساختار و مدیریت مؤثرند. یافته های مطالعه ی حاضر توجه معلمین و مربیان تربیت معلم را به لزوم اصلاحات در وضعیت کنونی تعاملات کلاسی سوق می دهد.

The pivotal role of listening comprehension in second/foreign language learning requires that researchers conduct studies which investigate factors that affect test takers’ performances. The present study was set out to examine whether item modality (i.e., written vs. oral items) affects listening comprehension test performance. In addition, it investigated whether allowing test takers to take notes while listening would also affect their performances. To this end, two different tests, each containing 20 multiple choice items, were administered to 66 (35 female and 31 male) upper-intermediate EFL learners. The first test was administered to look into the role of item modality, and the second test was employed to investigate the effect of note-taking. The application of independent samples t-tests to analyze the data revealed that that test takers performed better when the items were provided in written rather than oral form, and that test takers’ performances did not differ significantly when they were allowed to take notes. More detailed findings and implications are discussed in the paper.

In recent years, the line of research on the socio-pragmatic aspects of language and language use has been increasing very rigorously. In this regard, taboos as well as euphemisms, due to their significant role in impacting on the interactions among interlocutors, have been the subject of research in various societies and cultures from a vast variety of aspects. That being so, the present study was an attempt to explore the perceptions of Iranian adult speakers of linguistic taboos and euphemisms in Iranian society. To achieve this aim, a convenient sample of 48 Iranian adult speakers, 24 males and 24 females, from Shiraz, Iran was recruited to participate in the study. The researcher interviewed them one by one and audio recorded their answers for further analysis and to determine their perceptions of linguistic taboos and euphemisms in Iranian society. The findings indicated that: a. Most of the participants believed that sex is the most offensive topic in Iranian society; b. All of the participants believed that people should use euphemisms in their speech and should take after of their speech especially in formal situations; c. Most of the Iranian adult speakers believed that the most important factor which leads to the use of taboo words is anger; and d. Most of the participants, both male and female, said they do not discuss taboo topics in mixed-sex groups.

Literature has already confirmed that student engagement as an external or multidimensional construct may contribute to the academic success of college students. However, very few studies have tried to examine the contributions the more ""internal forms of engagement"" (cognitive and affective) might make in this regard, and how the engagement patterns may change over the academic years. To fill the gap, this study was carried out to answer two research questions: (1) what is the relationship between the internal forms of engagement (cognitive-affective) and students’ academic success (represented by Grade Point Average--GPA)? ; (2) How does the pattern of the relationship change across years of study? To do so, a 40-item Cognitive-Affective Engagement Questionnaire (CAEQ) was developed, validated (α=.91), and administered to a sample of 312 undergraduate English major students (222 females and 90 males). The results indicated while cognitive engagement and academic success are positively correlated throughout years of study, the relationship reaches its peak for the affective engagement in the second year and then gradually diminishes. The findings have implications for curriculum and materials developers, as well as the English language teachers who seek programs which can consistently challenge and satisfy students throughout their studies.