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Among the many applications for enhancing pronunciation skills, the ELSA (English Language Speech Assistant) application is one that shows how to improve students’ pronunciation effectively. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of the ELSA application on learners’ pronunciation skills and their attitudes toward its use. A quasi-experimental design was employed with 50 EFL learners divided into experimental and control groups. First, a placement test was conducted to assign learners to appropriate levels. Then, the pretest was administered to both the experimental and control groups. The experimental group received the treatment and practiced pronunciation with the ELSA application, while the control group practiced pronunciation using traditional pronunciation exercises. At the end of the course, a post-test was administered to both groups. Both groups were evaluated through interactive tasks in the oral performance pretest and posttest. The results indicated a significant difference between two groups after using the application. Additionally, a validated questionnaire administered showed they had positive attitudes toward the application. The findings suggest that ELSA can improve EFL learners’ pronunciation skills. Therefore, it can be beneficial for course designers and teachers to enhance learners’ pronunciation in an engaging environment.

This study investigated the discourse features of requestive speech acts in 10 textbooks from the Top Notch and Summit series to assess their potential for developing learners' pragmatic competence. Requests were analyzed in terms of directness strategies, head acts, and supportive discourse moves, drawing on the frameworks of Blum-Kulka et al. (1989) and Farch and Kasper (1989). The findings revealed a bias towards direct request strategies in both series, likely influenced by their utilitarian discourse structure. While Top Notch provided a wider range of directness levels, Summit, designed for advanced learners, offered limited exposure to diverse request strategies. Internal supportive moves, particularly the use of questions, were more prevalent than external moves in both series. These findings suggest that while the series contribute to language learning, they may not fully equip learners with the pragmatic competence necessary for effective intercultural communication. Further research is needed to explore the impact of explicit instruction and implicit learning on the acquisition of request strategies.

Learners’ classroom involvement is thought to be highly influential in their academic success in that highly involved learners typically invest more time and energy in acquiring course content. For this reason, the predictors and determinants of learners’ classroom involvement have been highly attended to by educational researchers. Nonetheless, the predicting role of teachers’ emotional competencies like compassion and empathy has rarely been researched. Furthermore, to the best of the researcher’s knowledge, no theoretical review has looked into the concurrent impacts of teachers’ compassion and empathy on EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners’ classroom involvement. To address this lacuna, the current theoretical review aimed to explicate the effects of these two emotional competencies on EFL learners’ classroom involvement. The desirable effects of teachers’ compassion and empathy on EFL learners’ involvement were demonstrated using theoretical and empirical evidence. The implications of the present review’s findings are thoroughly discussed.

As a national high-stakes test of English proficiency, MSRT needs further scrutiny of reliability. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate different sources of variation that may impact the MSRT test-takers’ reading comprehension. Accordingly, some factors including the reading topics, item types, and participants’ general proficiency were delved into based on the scores obtained from 60 MSRT prospective candidates. Upon administering a sample of the reading subtest taken from a recent version of MSRT, the collected data was dichotomously scored and then analyzed in terms of internal consistency, inter-correlations, and causal patterns. The yielded results showed an overall reliability of 0.86 for the reading module, while a moderate interrelationship was obtained amongst the passages (r = 0.47) as well as the item types (r = 0.44). Furthermore, the Mixed ANOVA results demonstrated that topic and item type significantly affected the reading performance, whereas the proficiency factor did not play a conspicuous role in distinguishing the participants’ reading accomplishment. Both theoretically and operationally, the results reported through this study may stress the need for reconsidering the influence of such test-method facets as topic and item type in the MSRT reading subtest to upgrade the test’s unidimensionality and fairness. 

Speech act theory is a significant issue in comprehending the intricate dynamics of human communication, acting as a guiding light in understanding how language is used to perform actions beyond the literal meanings of words. While traditional frameworks have presented valuable perceptions in classifying speech acts, the evolving nature of communication requires reconsidering and expanding these conventional approaches. The researchers of the current study proposed an innovative framework for speech act classifications, one that exceeds traditional boundaries and embraces the nuanced complexities of modern discourse. Based on seminal works by Austin (1962) and Searle (1969), and also by considering important research by Grice (1975), Levinson (1983), and emerging perspectives represented by Verschueren (1999) and Sbisa (2002), the researchers of this study critically assess current classifications, identifying essential challenges and opportunities in speech act analysis. The proposed framework introduces other categories such as Metaplocutionary Acts, Interlocutionary Acts, and Negotiation Acts, offering a more comprehensive and context-sensitive approach to understanding speech acts. Through interdisciplinary collaboration and empirical validation, the researchers of this study aim to refine and apply this framework across diverse linguistic and cultural contexts, thereby paving the way for a more nuanced and dynamic comprehension of human communication.

The present study aimed to explore how the ELT curriculum is perceived, adopted, and implemented by EFL high school teachers. This study also shed some light on several effective factors in curriculum planning and practicing. Data for this study came from a survey and follow-up interviews with EFL teachers. The Findings revealed some critical systemic gaps between policy and practice: (1) a disconnect between policymaking processes and established ELT pedagogical theories; (2) insufficient incorporation of stakeholder voices, particularly teachers, during policy formulation; (3) neglect of teacher agency, professional needs, and motivational factors in curriculum design; and (4) an absence of foundational needs analysis research to inform policy decisions. The study underscores the imperative of prioritizing teacher autonomy, participatory policymaking, and evidence-based frameworks in curriculum development. To mitigate disparities between policy objectives and classroom practices, recommendations include decentralizing decision-making to empower educators, integrating teacher feedback into policy cycles, leveraging academic expertise, and fostering context-sensitive adaptations of global ELT methodologies. These insights contribute to broader regional discussions on educational equity, teacher professionalization, and sustainable language policy reforms in institutional settings.

The focus of prior studies has been on introducing different cultulings in Iranian culture; as a result, little attention has been given to their relationship with individual differences and language-related variables. Therefore, to address this gap, the researchers first devised a cultuling competency test to measure individuals’ ability to identify 14 culturally different contexts. They then substantiated the construct validity of the cultuling competency test through CFA, and its reliability was measured using Cronbach’s alpha, suggesting high reliability. Next, the researchers aimed to assess the role of cultuling in individuals’ language aptitude, verbal intelligence, cultural intelligence, and second language (L2) willingness to communicate (WTC). The results indicated that cultuling is a significant predictor of verbal intelligence. It was also found that L2 WTC and cultural intelligence are positively correlated. Finally, the findings revealed that language aptitude has a significant relationship with both cultural and verbal intelligence.

Since reflective practice is regarded as a significant professional learning tool for teachers to change, modify, and reform their educational practices, it is important for teachers to move towards a more creative use of reflection. Thus, imaginative and creative reflective practice can serve as a new approach to enhance teaching efficiency, originality, reflectivity, and practicality. Additionally, teachers can utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to implement reflective practice in creative and imaginative ways to support innovative reflections and address complex teaching challenges. Accordingly, this study employed imaginative and creative reflective practice with a Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (ChatGPT) as a novel AI tool. This study explored how imaginative and creative AI-oriented reflective practice could contribute to the professional development of EFL teachers within a complex educational system. To this end, the perspectives of six novice and experienced EFL teachers were examined through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and post-class discussions within a qualitative case study framework. The findings indicated that teachers were able to transform and reform their belief systems by learning new concepts, reflecting on their practices, innovating knowledge and practice, and initiating change through imaginative and creative AI-oriented reflective practice. The study concludes with suggestions on how to engage language teachers in imaginative and creative AI-oriented reflective practices.

This research explores translation dynamics through the innovative lens of chaos theory, focusing on how the butterfly effect manifests in linguistic transfer. By challenging traditional linear translation models, the study demonstrates how seemingly minor initial conditions can generate profound, cascading interpretive consequences across textual landscapes. Adopting a complexity science perspective, among others, the research examines translations of Rumi’s Masnavi and Camus’s L’Étranger to highlight translation’s inherently nonlinear and adaptive nature. The theoretical framework integrates insights from complexity science, poststructuralist theory, and translation studies, offering a sophisticated analytical approach that moves beyond reductive binary conceptualizations. Using purposive theoretical sampling, the study traces how subtle translation choices recursively shape semantic and cultural interpretations. By emphasizing translation’s sensitivity to initial conditions, the research contributes to emerging scholarship that views translation as a complex, dynamic system characterized by intricate interactive processes. Methodologically, the study employs qualitative case analyses to reveal the profound complexity of translation.

Based on Shulman's (1986) concept of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) emerged and became a helpful framework for comprehending the objectives of using technology in pre-service teacher training programs. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate Iranian pre-service EFL teachers’ (PSEFLTs) perceptions towards their TPACK regarding their gender and academic year of study. To this aim, 254 Iranian PSEFLTs across various academic years of study filled out a 39-item EFL TPACK questionnaire developed by Baser et al. (2016). The questionnaire included seven categories: Content Knowledge (CK), Pedagogical Knowledge (PK), Technology Knowledge (TK), PCK, Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK), Technological Content Knowledge (TCK), and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK). Based on the collected data, which were subjected to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and post-hoc analysis, it was found that PSEFLTs generally held mildly favorable perceptions towards their TPACK. Notably, the lowest mean score was observed for the TK component, while the component with the highest mean score was the CK component. In terms of the gender effect, statistically significant differences were found in the TK and TPCK dimensions, where males outscored females in both TK and TPCK and females outscored males in CK. Furthermore, an examination of the relationship between participants' TPACK and their academic years of study manifested a statistically significant difference primarily between freshmen and seniors. The results are expected to encourage curriculum planners to develop PSEFLTs’ training programs by integrating technology courses into the ELT curriculum.

Human beings employ different forms of linguistic politeness to ease communication and reduce the likelihood of conflict. With the rise of technology and social media platforms such as Email, Telegram, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Instagram, the concept of politeness has faced new challenges. The present study focused on Instagram comments and analyzed politeness strategies based on Leech’s grand strategy of politeness. The study examined a 20043-word corpus developed based on 696 posts across various topics on Instagram. The results revealed that Instagram users predominantly utilized negative politeness strategies (63.3%). Among the positive strategies, agreement constraints were the most frequently employed (32.7%), while tact constraint violations (32.1%) were the most common within negative strategies. The study utilized repeated measures of ANOVA and Tukey post hoc analysis via SPSS to examine differences among various constraints and their violations. Significant differences were found among most constraints, except for tact and modesty, generosity, and feeling reticence. In terms of constraint violations, no significant differences were observed between approbation and obligation of the speaker to others constraint violation, between agreement constraint violation and generosity constraint violation, between agreement and obligation of others to a speaker constraint violation, between agreement constraint violation and opinion reticence constraint violation, between sympathy and modesty constraint violation, between sympathy and feeling reticence constraint violation. The findings underscore the importance of analyzing language in specific media, providing insights into politeness and impoliteness in a specific medium. The results can enhance students' pragmatic skills and improve their online communication, prompting materials developers to consider such pragmatic dimensions.

Higher levels of student engagement are positively linked to higher learning achievement. However, enhancing student engagement in underprivileged and crowded educational contexts, specifically where high-tech tools are not available can cause a major challenge for teachers. The current study attempts to enhance students’ engagement in their learning by incorporating mini white-boards (MWs) as low-tech response systems. To this end, in a time-series design, an instruction-feedback cycle via mini white-boards was manipulated over a semester. Ten 10th-grade students, all from similar low socio-economic backgrounds and living in rural areas, participated in this study. Data were collected through observing students’ behaviors using engagement checklists. An attitude questionnaire was also administered to assess students' perceptions of using mini white-boards in their learning context. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize individuals’ engagement patterns across the study period. Additionally, a mixed-effects model was employed to account for individual variability and to assess the effects of the intervention on students’ engagement over time. The results indicated that using mini white-boards caused significant improvements in students’ overall engagement and attitude. The findings suggest that using low-tech solutions in low socio-economic settings can foster student engagement by allowing real-time feedback, collaborative interaction, and personalized participation.