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This study investigates the effects of summative, formative, and combined assessments on the development of listening and reading comprehension skills on advanced Iranian EFL learners. Data were collected from 40 advanced EFL learners, aged 19 to 35, from intact classes at a higher education institute, divided into three experimental groups, each receiving one of the assessment types (summative, formative, or a combination of both), along with a control group. Learners’ progress in listening and reading comprehension was measured over a four-month period using pre- and post-tests administered at the end of the term. Data analysis involved ANOVA, ANCOVA, and post hoc LSD tests. The findings of this longitudinal study revealed that while the combined application of formative and summative assessments had a significant positive impact on listening comprehension, neither assessment type alone contributed to improvement in this area. In contrast, the results showed that all forms of assessment—whether summative, formative, or combined—led to notable improvements in reading comprehension. These results highlight the differential effects of assessment types on listening and reading skills, suggesting implications for assessment practices in EFL contexts.

Few studies have addressed the interaction among reader and text variables in reading comprehension. This research probed the role of aspects of lexical knowledge to the TOEFL reading comprehension of passages with low and high lexical cohesion. The extent of this contribution was checked for five types of TOEFL reading test items: Main Idea, Stated Detail, Inference, Reference, and Lexical Inferencing. For this purpose, 60 Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) took the New Vocabulary Levels Test (NVLT), Word Associates Test (WAT), and TOEFL reading comprehension tests with low and high lexical cohesion determined through the computational tool Coh-Metrix. Results of Wilcoxon signed-rank tests revealed that the students outperformed on three types of TOEFL reading items (Main Idea, Inference, and Lexical Inferencing) for texts with high lexical cohesion. Multiple linear regression analyses further showed that vocabulary depth was a stronger predictor of the participants’ scores on Lexical Inferencing item of TOEFL reading texts with high lexical cohesion, while vocabulary size predicted the same item performance for the low-lexical-cohesion subtest. Moreover, vocabulary depth could significantly predict performance on Main Idea test item of TOEFL high-lexical-cohesion subtest over and above the low-lexical-cohesion subtest. The implications for teachers, test designers, and materials writers are discussed.

The emergence of technological advances dramatically changed the status of foreign language teaching forever, making computer-assisted language learning (CALL) into a key area in foreign language teaching and later a distinct academic discipline at higher education level. The present study describes the intended curriculum of a two-year post-graduate technology-enhanced language teaching program launched at Al-Zahra University, a women’s university in Tehran, Iran, as well as the national context within which the program was developed. It begins with a background on the significance of technology in education followed by a brief history of education in Iran. The main part of the paper describes the intended curriculum of the program from different perspectives including the aims and rationales, significance of the program, student profile (who takes it) and sources of the M.A. admission examination, abilities intended for graduates, courses of the program, syllabus and recommended readings, and assessment of the course outcomes. The paper finally concludes by discussing what is not included in the curriculum as well as the implications for teacher educators and suggestions for further research.

The essential requirement of validity in second language assessment and testing is of paramount importance since it guarantees that tests properly gauge the targeted constructs and produce propitious interpretations. In this light, there seems to be a pressing need to carefully assess outdated conceptions of validity in English language testing to ensure they are in lockstep with current linguistic and sociocultural circumstances. This review examines the book "Ethics and Context in Second Language Testing: Rethinking Validity in Theory and Practice," edited by M. Rafael Salaberry, Albert Weideman, and Wei-Li Hsu (2023), and it unravels new horizons for expanding the comprehension of validity beyond traditional frameworks. The review underscores the primary subjects addressed in the book's content, such as ethical issues, contextual factors affecting test design, and novel approaches for assessing validity in real-world settings. The review also stresses the book's critical analysis of existing paradigms and recommends a more nuanced perspective on validity that incorporates ethical considerations and contextual significance. To this end, the current review constitutes an important reference for researchers and practitioners to encourage them to critically examine and reframe validity in second language testing.

While cognitive and social-affective strategies have straightforward impacts on learners’ academic performance attached to specific tasks in a communicative and student-centered language classroom, metacognitive strategies, with their vigorous power, are arguably worth more attention. This group of strategies plays a vital role in making students become more self-directed and autonomous learners. This paper reported on a study investigating Vietnamese university students’ perception of using metacognitive strategies in their listening activities. Specifically, 140 English majors at the foreign language department of a university in Vietnam were involved in the study. Based on quantitative data from a questionnaire slightly adapted from Vandergrift et al. (2006), it was found that students in the study generally had a relatively high awareness of metacognitive strategies, with varying levels across the five subcategories of specific strategies. In addition, a comparison between the two groups (first-year and third-year students) showed minor differences regarding their listening strategy awareness. The findings suggested that metacognitive strategies should be encouraged, and listening strategies should be instructed early in English education programs.  

Students’ engagement in classroom activities has been at the center of attention these days that affect learners’ success, mental health and alternatively, their disengagement impacts their achievement and may also affect their future professional well-being. Motivation is another important contributor to success in education, which is also in line with engagement. Likewise, demotivation has been a concentration point of instructional research; yet, it has not obtained much concentration in the realm of language acquisition. Indeed, English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ demotivation has an essential role in hindering their learning in the English language learning classroom. The level of these two concepts, namely disengagement and demotivation is influenced by different factors in students and as far as EFL teaching is concerned, one of these factors is school climate which is deemed as a predictor of academic success. Indeed, the learning climate has been attracting the attention of researchers for decades given that this construct improves or prevents student achievement and poor mental health. Nevertheless, its contribution to mitigating learners’ demotivation and disengagement has not been scrutinized yet. Accordingly, this review presents the power of the learning climate where EFL students are learning a language and its role in students’ demotivation and disengagement. Subsequently, this is followed by giving some implications for EFL teachers, school authorities, and researchers.

This meta-analysis provides a comprehensive evaluation of research studies on computerized dynamic assessment (C-DA) in English language teaching and learning, addressing the need for a systematic overview in light of recent technological advancements. A systematic search across three databases (ERIC, Web of Science, and Scopus) initially identified 2807 articles, with 22 C-DA studies meeting the inclusion criteria after screening. Findings reveal that C-DA significantly enhances language learning outcomes, particularly in reading and listening and writing skills, with large effect sizes reported across multiple studies. Interventionist approaches and quasi-experimental designs were most commonly used, reinforcing the strong impact of mediation on bridging learners' actual and potential performance. While C-DA demonstrated substantial improvements in skill-based outcomes, its effects on affective factors like anxiety and intrinsic motivation were more modest. These findings highlight C-DA’s potential as a transformative tool in language assessment and instruction, particularly when mediation is tailored to learners' needs. However, integrating C-DA with complementary strategies may be necessary to address psychological and motivational factors. 

Despite its recognized importance in preparing prospective teachers for the realities of the classroom, the practicum in Iranian TEFL programs faces several challenges that can significantly impact its effectiveness and hinder the development of competent and confident TEFL teachers in the country. This study, characterized as a comprehensive nationwide triangulated project, aimed at exploring and comparing the perception of the Iranian TEFL Preservice Teachers (PSTs) and the corresponding stakeholders on major issues, problems and challenges of the practicum program at Farhangian University. To these ends, a researcher-made practicum evaluation questionnaire was distributed among the participants (including 230 PSTs and 215 stakeholders) whose answers were analyzed through factor analysis. Based on factor loadings, nine major extracted factors in the two participant groups were compared through Independent Samples t-tests. The results showed that PSTs and stakeholders shared common perceptions on six factors while they held different perceptions only on three other factors. A semi-structured interview was additionally designed and conducted with 15 PSTs and 15 stakeholders. Finally, 10 practicum courses were observed to obtain an accurate understanding of the current situation of ELT PSTs’ internship education in Iran. The findings uncovered major issues and challenges with regard to ELT practicum including (a) limited adaptability and innovation in instructional approaches, resources, and materials utilized by the cooperating teachers who served as a role model for PSTs, (b) insufficient collaboration between educational institutions and universities, (c) lack of proper supervision by university advisors, d) insufficiency of time allotted to PSTs for teaching,  and e) huge gap between theoretical concepts related to the practicum principles studied in university courses with the practical realities faced by PSTs in the school environment, to name a few. The findings of the study might firstly give some insight to universities and schools in developing and implementing high-quality practicum programs that might contribute to the advancement of ELT teacher education programs. Moreover, the study can contribute to our understanding of the extent to which PSTs can integrate theoretical knowledge into their teaching practices.

The present mixed methods study examined the relationship of three constructs within applied linguistics, namely, shame, guilt, and grit among Iranian EFL learners. By considering the principles of positive psychology, the authors tried to determine the existence of any significant association between the variables. In this vein, 263 Iranian students aged between 13 to 18 participated in the study and filled out the questionnaires. Analyses of the data revealed strong negative relatedness between shame and the other two variables, while the learners’ guilt and grit were found to be positively correlated.  Expanding the quantitative results, the authors utilized a grounded theory approach and interviewed 30 students to further investigate the shame-inducing factors in L2 classroom and the analyses signaled that the ashamed learners suffer from internal and external shame-provokers. Attending to shame and other negative feelings would possibly reduce the learners’ shame and stress, help them progress in learning and enhance their well-being.

This study aimed at investigating and comparing the expenditure of cognitive effort in translating various text types. The text typology of Reiss (1971, 2014) including informative, expressive, and operative text types was used as the theoretical framework. A mixed-method approach involving the use of screen recording, keystroke logging, think-aloud protocols, and retrospective interviews was adopted for the investigation. To pursue the research aims, 22 senior translation students were recruited to participate in the study and perform three translation tasks: translating informative, expressive, and operative texts. By using think-aloud protocols, the participants were instructed to speak out during the execution of the tasks. The amount of time spent by each participant and the number of pauses taken by them on each translation task were measured and compared as indicators of cognitive effort. Additionally, time and pause analyses were triangulated using technical operation analysis to have a better perception and obtain more reliable results. The findings of this study showed a significant difference in the cognitive effort required to translate informative, expressive, and operative texts. The findings also revealed a higher level of cognitive effort in translating expressive text compared with informative and operative ones

The present study, adopting a sequential mixed-methods design, chiefly aimed to determine the strongest predictors of EFL learners’ involvement in the components of motivational self-regulatory strategies (MSRSs). In so doing, 154 English-major university students joined in the quantitative phase, and a pool of seven students was selected to participate in the qualitative phase of the study. A number of validated instruments were utilized to gather the relevant data. The Pearson moment-to-moment correlation, SEM, multiple regression, and a semi-structured interview method were used to analyze the data. The results showed a positive relationship between the components of MSRSs and involvement in writing skills. Among MSRSs components, performance self-talk, mastery self-talk, and environmental control made significant contributions to the prediction of involvement in writing skills. More specifically, the strongest predictor of involvement in writing skills in MSRSs components was performance self-talk. Following the inter-coder reliability, the responses elicited from the interviews regarding EFL learners’ opinions about the role of MSRSs in increasing their involvement in writing skills delineated eight themes, including quiet talk, consistent working, interest, coping with distractions, class environment, motivating peers, regulating emotions, and teachers’ help. In the end, the interplay between MSRSs components and involvement factors was discussed and several practical implications were proposed.