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This article analyzes complex words, morphologically and semantically, within the Perceptual approach introduced by Safavi (2020). The authors aim to examine the possibilities of word formation of complex words in Persian as their first objective. To achieve this goal, they examined 2850 complex words selected randomly from the Sokhan Dictionary (Anvari, 2004). Following the mentioned approach, word-formation patterns are determined based on whether the morphemes belong to closed or open classes. According to a predetermined agreement, A stands for closed class units and B stands for open class units. This study reveals 57 patterns of word formation, with ‘B + B’ appearing to be the most common among all the patterns examined. Next, the authors investigated how much closed-class units help Persian speakers interpret the semantic head of complex words examined. To reach this aim, 20 Persian speakers not having any knowledge of linguistics were given a questionnaire of 120 words made up of eight affixes selected by the authors and questioned about interpreting each word. Finally, data analysis related to the questionnaire revealed that the meaning interpretation of the words appeared to be significantly impacted by the morphemes belonging to the closed class.

This study examined the possible effects of orthographic/phonologic priming techniques on the receptive language skills of Iranian EFL learners with different proficiency levels. From an initial pool of 700 EFL learners from a language learning institute, two hundred and seventy learners from both genders were selected based on their performance on an English proficiency test and classified into six experimental and three control groups. After gaining certitude about the participants’ English proficiency levels, the semantic and orthographic/phonologic priming phase was conducted, and consequently, the participants’ contextualized comprehension of the primed words was assessed via a set of reading and listening comprehension tasks. The performances of the participants on the designed tasks indicated that semantic primes were more efficient for improving both comprehension skills compared with the orthographic-phonologic primes. Moreover, based on the results, language proficiency affected the success of the primes on both reading and listening comprehension tasks; advanced learners showed a greater improvement than the beginners and the intermediates under the influence of the priming techniques. Orthographic-phonologic primes were found to be more efficient for beginners, whereas the advanced learners showed an enhanced performance with regard to semantic primes. Overall, semantic primes showed more facilitative effects across various comprehension tasks due to their activation of deeper cognitive processing. Orthographic-phonologic primes were also successful. However, they were more efficient in the early stages of language learning, where visual recognition played a more critical role.

The present research was targeted toward examining the relationship between cultural intelligence (CQ), emo-sensory intelligence (ESQ), language learning strategies (LLS), and students’ language achievement (LA). A number of 300 EFL Iraqi students studying at the English Language Department of AL-Qadisiyah University, Iraq was selected through convenience sampling. The participants filled out the cultural intelligence questionnaire, emo-sensory intelligence scale, and the language learning strategy inventory. Students’ final scores were used as a means through which their language achievement could be gauged. The data were analyzed using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis. The findings indicated a significant relationship between ESQ, CQ, learning strategies, and students’ language achievement. In addition, it was found that CQ and language learners’ strategy could directly predict the language achievement of Iraqi EFL learners. ESQ, could only predict language learners’ achievement through the mediation of language learning strategies.

This study endeavored to explore the beliefs that Iranian English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teachers held and scrutinize the extent to which their beliefs can correspond to their actual practices in EAP context. To these ends, a mixed mehod study was conducted in which 40 EAP teachers (20 English teachers & 20 subject-area teachers) teaching EAP courses in Universities of Medical Sciences in Iran participated in this nationwide study. The quantitative data gathered through a belief questionnaire was analyzed by SPSS software and the qualitative data collected through interview and observation of EAP courses was analyzed through content analysis. Analyses of the gathered data disclosed that the participants held different beliefs in terms of teaching strategies so that they did differently in their reading-based performances as well as the teaching and learning strategies. Besides, it was revealed that unlike subject-area teachers whose beliefs and performance were derived from their content-related concerns, English teachers’ beliefs and performance were presided by the students’ real needs, interest, and what is substantiated in the current literature. Within the EAP community of teachers and teacher educators, not only novice teachers who aim to enter into the EAP teaching mainstream can benefit from the findings, but also EAP teachers currently teaching such courses can gain the advantage of reflecting upon the beliefs and their actual practices. In addition, the findings may have implications for all EAP teachers to verbalize tacitly held beliefs, think consciously about them, and be aware of existing challenges and critical areas in EAP teaching.

The global education landscape is witnessing a rise in teacher accountability, where educators bear a heightened responsibility for demonstrably achieving student learning outcomes. In response, teachers are engaged in a continuous quest to enhance their pedagogical effectiveness, seeking strategies and methodologies to optimize their classroom practice. The present study investigates the relationship between Continuous Professional Development (CPD) practices and teacher success in the Iranian context. A sample of 364 EFL teachers from junior and senior high schools self-reported on their CPD engagement, while 422 of their students provided their perceptions of teacher success. Findings revealed the substantial potential of CPD to elevate teacher success through interconnected processes of knowledge updating, reflective practice, collaborative learning, and refined decision-making skills. Notably, updating knowledge strongly influenced both collaboration and reflection, while reflection moderately stimulated collaboration, and collaboration exerted a robust influence on effective decision-making. However, the study unexpectedly uncovered a negative direct association between teacher decision-making and professional success within the specific Iranian context. Additionally, no significant gender-based differences in teacher success were observed. The negative association between teacher decision-making and professional success in the Iranian context warrants further investigation. This suggests that factors specific to the Iranian educational system or cultural context might influence the relationship between these two variables. Understanding these factors is crucial for developing contextually relevant CPD programs.

Adverse Conditions in the Professional Lives of English Instructors: Recommendations to Ameliorate Teacher Resilience Abstract The present qualitative study strived to examine Iranian English instructors’ experiences of adverse conditions in their teaching environments. To yield this purpose, 30 novice language institute English instructors in Tabriz (Iran) were selected as the participants. To triangulate the data, we utilized interview and narrative data collection techniques. Adapting inductive, bottom-up approach to analyzing the themes, three main themes were generated: teacher factors, contextual factors, and student factors. The findings of the study were ascribed to the participants’ resilience in their academic settings. The findings can provide the teacher educators and educational psychologists with certain guiding principles regarding teacher resilience. The results of the study has a number of implications for pedagogy and teaching practice as well as the educational psychology and teacher education . Keywords: adverse conditions, emotional regulation, psychological wellbeing, teacher education, teacher resilience

Objective: This study explores the effect of recruiting topics highly valued by students along with the interest-igniting mode of reading texts in the site of practice, collectively framed as funds of identity (FoI), on willingness to read (WTR).Methods: To this end, three groups of students were recruited. Over a 17-session extracurricular experiment, all the three groups received books in and out of tune with their FoI, elicited through an initial-semester researcher-made questionnaire. One group (n = 20) received e-books with few interactive features, the second group (n = 20) received e-books with no interactive features, and the third group (n = 20) received print books. WTR and attitude changes toward e-books were assessed using initial- and final-semester questionnaires. Students were also required to send summaries of their readings and keep journals throughout the experiment. They finally gave a post-treatment interview.Results: Qualitative sets of data in juxtaposition with quantitative ones lent support to the positive influence FoI and e-books—as on-site emerging FoI—exercised on WTR and attitude change toward e-books.Conclusions: FoI operationalized through e-books increased learners' WTR. In light of the patterns of changes observed, FoI of students are suggested to be taken into consideration for obtaining better educational results.

Despite research on preservice teacher practicums, few studies have examined these experiences through a complexity theory lens to capture the intricate, dynamic interplay of factors involved. Addressing this gap, this qualitative case study explored the multidimensional influences shaping the practicum experiences of three preservice English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in Vietnam. Using an in-depth case study design with semi-structured interviews and classroom observations, the study analyzed the participants' lived experiences across diverse school environments through the lens of complexity theory principles. The findings revealed complex interactions of student factors, curricular demands, resource constraints, and contextual influences shaping the preservice teachers' dynamic, self-organizing learning trajectories as they adapted to emergent needs. Notably, the pivotal role of context profoundly influenced pedagogical decision-making. The study's insights underscore the importance of teacher education programs providing contextualized support and learning opportunities to nurture adaptable, reflective educators responsive to complexity. This research contributes a nuanced complexity theory perspective on the multifaceted nature of preservice EFL teacher learning.

With the emergence of new online technologies and computer-mediated language teaching, many recent studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of online peer assessment. The present mixed methods study examined the effect of online peer assessment on Iranian intermediate-level EFL students` writing accuracy. In the quantitative phase of the study, 28 EFL learners studying in an English institute were randomly assigned to two groups and were taught for 14 sessions. The experimental group attended online peer assessment on Wiki as a forum for out-of-classroom discussions regarding English writing, and the control group attended face-to-face peer assessment. To analyze the numerical data collected through a pretest and a posttest, an independent sample t-test was used to investigate the difference between the two group scores before and after the assessments. The results showed that the difference between the posttest means of the experimental group and the control group was significant. Moreover, the results of analyzing the qualitative data, gathered through focus-group interviews, also confirmed the quantitative results, revealing the positive opinions of the interviewees about the role of technology in language learning. Therefore, online peer assessment seems to have benefits that make it worthwhile despite all the difficulties and extra effort of introducing and teaching it to students. The findings may have implications for material designers, language teachers, and language learners.

Due to time constraints and large classes, teachers typically prefer to have product-based writing classes. Going through the existing literature, almost no study has examined the interrelationships among four variables of strategy use, self-efficacy, language proficiency, and writing autonomy in product and process writing classes. To this end, 381 Iranian male and female EFL students of English majors were chosen from the Universities of Qom and Kermanshah.  OPT and the questionnaires were distributed in person, via email, and an already-made Google-Doc link of the instruments. The data were analyzed using multiple correlation and SEM. Multiple correlations pointed to two-way correlations among the included variables in the process-oriented group in comparison to the product-oriented groups. In other words, learners in the process-based group appeared to be more autonomous, more self-efficacious, and more proficient language learners and could make more appropriate use of L2 strategies. The findings obtained from SEM also revealed the fact that the model of relationships among self-efficacy, autonomy, language proficiency, and strategy use enjoyed a good fit. Teachers will be able to make more informed and proper decisions regarding the adoption of either process-based or product-based instructional approaches to teaching writing in their own classes in general, and the way students’ levels of self-efficacy, autonomy, language proficiency, and strategy use can be boosted in particular. 

The present study investigated whether individual or collective reflective journals could lead to teachers’ professional development and professional identity (re)construction. To this end, 30 Iranian EFL teachers were selected through convenience sampling. The participants wrote pre-workshop reflective journals individually and collectively and attended a reflective consciousness-raising workshop for eight sessions. The participants were informed about the major tenets of reflection, professional development, and professional identity (re)construction in the workshop. Afterward, they wrote post-workshop reflective journals again individually and collectively. The participants sat follow-up interviews for the researchers to find out which kinds of journals better helped them develop professionally and (re)construct their professional identity. The findings showed that individual reflective journals and collective reflective journals contributed to teachers’ professional development and professional identity (re)construction respectively. The findings might imply that stakeholders involved that is EFL education policymakers, curriculum developers, and syllabus designers hold interactive workshops for pre-service and in-service teachers on reflective journal writing which might lead to both EFL teachers’ professional development and identity (re)construction. Moreover, it is recommended that the decision-makers and senior managers develop systematic checklists addressing those influential factors found in the present study to contribute to teachers’ professional development and professional identity construction.

Objective: The involvement load hypothesis posits that the higher the involvement load of a task, the more effective it will be in improving students’ lexical learning. It does not differentiate between the different components of involvement load (need, search, and evaluation). Nor does it assume that the type of words to be learnt has any role in the effectiveness of tasks with different involvement load indices. This study compared the effect of the components of task involvement load on the comprehension, production, and retention of concrete and abstract words. Methods: Sixty upper-intermediate students were assigned to two groups. One group received a task in which the search component was dominant, the other group received a task (with the same overall involvement index) in which search was not present, and the evaluation component was the determining factor of task difficulty. A pretest, posttest, control group design (quasi-experimental method of research) was used to address the research questions. Results: One-way MANOVA results on the immediate posttest were in line with ILH predictions, showing no significant differences between tasks with equal involvement indices. On the other hand, the delayed posttest results showed that in case of receptive knowledge, there was a meaningful difference between abstract and concrete vocabulary, and the search group outperformed the evaluation group. However, the results of the productive posttest showed that the evaluation group outperformed the search group in abstract words. Conclusions: The findings can have significant implications for language learners, teachers, materials designers, and researchers.

This research paper delved into the critical issue of applying English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) assessment principles in local English language tests used for non-native English speakers in Iranian language institutes. A qualitative content analysis was made on 60 local tests, dissecting them into domains, dimensions, and rating rubrics to scrutinize their alignment with ELF assessment principles. The study unveiled that despite some alignment with ELF assessment principles, key aspects like local communicative context, intercultural competence, and linguistic diversity are often overlooked. In particular, writing and reading tests failed to fully reflect these principles, and listening and speaking assessments showed biases towards native English varieties. The study provides crucial insights for test developers to foster a more nuanced and accurate assessment of non-native English speakers' abilities. Moreover, it highlights the need to embed ELF principles into test construction, argues for broader assessment scopes and a focus on locally relevant tasks, and contributes to more equitable and contextually relevant English language proficiency tests by emphasizing linguistic diversity in assessment frameworks.