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The general consensus on the invaluable contributions of audio-visual materials based on cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML) to enhancing the quality of language classes has turned them into indispensable tools which teachers utilize for more effective teaching of different language skills. The primary aim of this study was to explore the effect of audio visual aids on reading skill at university level. The secondary aim was to find out if this change in materials could have any impact on the motivation and attitudes of the students toward English learning. To this end, this quasi-experimental study adopted a pre-test post-test research method. A total of 256 General English university students were divided to experimental (n=184) and control (n=81) groups. The experimental group received audio-visual aids as the treatment while the control group was taught by a conventional text-based method, commonly practiced in General English classes at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). The reading section of preliminary English test (PET) and Gardner’s attitude and motivation test battery (AMTB) were used for data collection. The results of independent samples t-test and Mann-Whitney tests revealed that the students provided with audio-visual materials obtained greater reading outcomes and also showed more positive attitudes and higher motivation toward English learning. Thus, our research revealed that the higher productivity and livelihood of reading classes can be tangible even in the in the narrow space of a single university semester.

Academic Confidence, Grit and WTC of students play important roles in their second language achievement. This paper examined the role of academic confidence and grit in willingness to communicate of Iranian EFL students in different communicative and educational contexts. To this end, 385 EFL students responded to the relevant questionnaires. The analysis of the data revealed that the students with higher levels of academic confidence and grit had a higher L2 WTC in in-class, out-of-class, and online classrooms. The results also revealed that the students’ grit was a predictor of their L2 WTC in all communicative contexts, and the university students scored the highest, followed by language institute and senior secondary school students. Moreover, academic confidence and grit had significant relationship with L2 WTC of students in senior secondary schools, language institutes and universities. Another finding was that grit was a predictor of all groups’ L2 WTC, while academic confidence predicted L2 WTC of students in language institutes and universities. The results of this study have implications for EFL teachers.

The relationship between identity and language learning has attracted the scholars` attention in the fields of second language acquisition (SLA) with considerable focus on social and cultural dimensions of language learning. However, relatively little research has been devoted to examining the identity construction of language learners in virtual communities of practice despite the global trend of foreign language instruction. Consequently, the current mixed methods classroom-based study investigated whether the implementation of intercultural movie clips in virtual communities of practice could contribute to social and cultural identity improvement of participants in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context. To achieve this goal, two intact classes in an institute were assigned to experimental and control group, each containing thirty EFL learners. This study was implemented on the pre-test post-test equivalent-group design. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative analysis, using two questionnaires, and a semi-structured interview, the results indicated that positive changes took place in social and cultural identity of the participants. Moreover, by getting access to new social, cultural and linguistic resources and as a result the adoption of new identities, some special features such as fewer psychological barriers to understanding others, increasing courage to accept new norms, and feelings of unity and equity were obtained by the learners.   

There have been few representative studies investigating Iranian senior high school students’ L2 selves shaped by the ELT reform. Thus, the current study was an attempt to ponder on the ideal-self, ought-to self, and L2 experience orientations of Iranian EFL high school students. Moreover, it intended to seek whether there was any relationship between three L2 motivational variables of Iranian EFL high school students across gender and residential background. To this end, 200 males and 184 females from Iranian senior high schools in South part of Iran were selected through purposive sampling. Based on a mixed methods design, the study was conducted to gain the breadth and depth of the issue under investigation. The results showed that there was no substantial gap between male and female learners in L2 motivational preference of English learning. In addition, there was a significant difference between female and male students’ views on ought-to self. Moreover, it was observed that there was no marked difference between the L2 experience of female and male L2 learners. Regarding residential background, there was a significant difference among the mean ranks of the urban residential participants at three L2 motivational orientations but, there was not a significant difference among the mean ranks of the rural residential participants. The findings of the study recommend the incorporation of L2 motivation in teaching methods to improve the learning environment and learner investment in language learning.

Within the realm of lexis, the area of collocation is of prime importance to producing natural-sounding language for anyone learning a foreign language. This study aimed at investigating the effects of two modes of sentence writing versus multiple-choice test practice manipulation on Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ lexical collocation learning. For this purpose, to ensure the homogeneity of the participants, Preliminary English Test (PET) was administered to 87 students studying English at two English institutes of Ofoghhaye Nour and Nourmahdi in Roudsar, Guilan, through which 60 students were selected as the target participants. They were intermediate students with the age range between 17 and 23. They were then divided into two equal comparison groups: Sentence-writing Group (SRG) and Multiple-choice Group (MCG). A piloted pretest of lexical collocation was administered to both groups. Then both groups underwent a 7-session treatment. SRG was treated by the virtue of sentence-writing practice for the target collocations, and MCG was instructed through recognition practice, here multiple-choice practice. After the treatment period, the same version of lexical collocation test was administered to both groups as posttest to examine the effectiveness of the treatments. The results of paired-samples and independent samples t-tests indicated that both groups had collocation gains but the effectiveness of multiple-choice test manipulation on learners’ lexical collocation outweighed that of the sentence-writing mode of test practice manipulation. The implications and recommendations were also presented.

Classroom discourse refers to the language and interaction used by the teacher and the students to communicate and shape learning in the educational context. The present study focused on Iranian EFL teachers’ classroom discourse by observing their dominancy, teacher talk, question types, and interactions in their classes. To do so, through a non-experimental, descriptive research design, 20 female experienced teachers with the age range of 30-40, teaching at an upper-intermediate level in different language institutes in Isfahan, Iran were selected based on the convenience sampling. Two classes of the teachers were observed, the sessions were recorded, and their classroom discourses were transcribed and later analyzed. Moreover, to increase the validity and reliability of the research, a semi-structured interview was conducted with volunteer participants; their reflections on their communication with the learners and discourse types were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics in terms of frequency and percentages. The findings of the study showed that the teachers made use of specific discourse to ascertain their dominance and control in their classes. The findings also revealed that the teachers used more monologic discourse patterns in their classes rather than dialogic ones. Teacher talk far exceeded student talk, Initiation-Response-Feedback pattern dominated the classroom discourse; and display questions were used more frequently than referential ones. These findings could benefit teachers to be more conscious about type of CD and its effect on student-to-student and teacher-to-student interactions. It could also serve the purpose of critical classroom discourse analysis

One prominent criterion to achieve efficient learning and instruction in an educational setting is the appropriate material(s) specifically developed for that particular group of learners, particularly in an English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) context. This study aimed at developing new EOP materials for pre-service cabin crew in an aviation school. To do so, initially the researchers performed the evaluation of the current EOP textbook through a checklist and interviews with 20 English teachers who did not express much satisfaction about it. Consequently, having been convinced about the unsatisfactory results, the researchers developed new materials for this group of learners. The new materials was later implemented on 30 learners as the experimental group as opposed to another 30 as the control group being instructed by the current material. The findings demonstrated significant differences in the experimental group achievement of language proficiency at the end of the course compared to their language proficiency at the beginning of the course. Moreover, the results expressed significant differences between the achievement of control and experimental groups at the end of EOP courses, in favor of the experimental group. The newly developed EOP materials for flight attendants could be widely instructed in the airlines and aviation schools based on the obtained findings.

The present study was an attempt to explore the ‘washback effect’ of task-based assessment (TBLA) on EFL Iranian learners’ pragmatic development. To this end, through conducting KET (Key English Test), 60 out of 120 EFL Iranian learners studying in an English language school, were randomly selected. They were assigned to treatment group (N=30), and control group (N=30). The treatment group was assessed through TBLA and the control group was assessed via non-task based assessment for 20 ninety-minute sessions. The class sessions were held twice a week. The obtained data was examined through independent sample t-test. The findings implied that TBLA as a pedagogical measurement tool can well replace the classic assessment procedures, since all educational efforts including testing and assessment procedures are planned to maximize the educational gains and developments.