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The use of Web 2.0 technology in language education has received much research attention quite recently. In an attempt to shed more light on the use of Google Docs as a kind of Web 2.0 technology in language learning, the purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of online collaborative writing using Google Docs and collaborative writing in a face-to-face classroom on the writing performance and writing self-regulation of EFL learners. A sample of 38 homogeneous intermediate learners was recruited as the participants who were then randomly divided to an experimental group (N= 19) and a control group (N= 19). The participants of the experimental group received online collaborative writing using Google Docs while the control group received collaborative writing in the face-to-face classroom. Two timed-writing tasks and the Second Language Writing Self-regulation (SLWS) scale were administered to gather the data. The results obtained from performing paired-samples t-tests and ANCOVA revealed that collaborative writing both via using Google Docs and in the face-to-face classroom significantly enhanced the writing performance and writing self-regulation of the participants. However, the gains experienced by the experimental group were significantly higher than those experienced by the control group. Pedagogical implications for Google Docs supported collaborative writing are finally discussed.

Although there is a large body of literature on the use of connectors by EFL learners in argumentative writing, African language learner groups are not represented and most studies have adopted a cross-sectional approach. This paper seeks to analyze how frequently connectors are used on the basis of pseudo-longitudinal data from first, second, and third-year undergraduate students from the Institute for Applied Pedagogy, University of Burundi. The study adopted the corpus linguistic and quantitative approaches. The data were collected through 2 writing assignments given to students in 2019. In total, 622 essays, amounting to 306,664-word tokens, were collected. Data preparation followed three steps, namely, typing the handwritten essays, preparing the TXT files, and metadata for the corpus. The latter was searched using AntConc tool, on the basis of a comprehensive list of 95 connectors, classified into 6 categories. The tool availed frequency information, that is, how often each connector occurs in the corpus. Percentages were computed using XLS facility and are presented in tables and graphs. Results indicate that 19 connectors were frequently used by learners, the most frequent ones being those which add information followed by those expressing a result relationship. However, connectors expressing transition and summation were found to be rarely used in the corpus. Another discovery is that learners in all three years of study seem to have the same preferences in terms of connectors. Furthermore, cases of misuse such as wrong combinations and incorrect spelling, semantic, stylistic and syntactic errors were observed at all levels. The findings of this study can be useful to learners, teachers, and material designers.

This study was an attempt to examine the effect of using comic strips on improving grammar recognition and performance among Iranian young EFL learners. To this end, one experimental and one control groups were formed, each having 45 preintermediate participants chosen via convenience sampling. The researcher-made pretests of grammar and speaking assured the researchers that the participants did not know the grammatical points targeted in this study. In continuation, the experimental group received grammar instruction with the aid of comic strips, and the control group was taught the same grammar points through conventional methods of grammar teaching. After 16 sessions, both groups sat for a researcher-made grammar posttest and speaking test. Also, an interview was conducted to evaluate the extent to which the treatment for the experimental group and conventional instruction for the control group were effective. Data collected from the groups were, then, submitted for data analysis including ANOVA and t test. Results indicated that the implementation of comic strips could have a positive effect on grammatical competence and performance.

Within the framework of professional development, teachers adapt, develop, and complement their pedagogical competences and behavior, and they become an agent of change. In this regard, teachers’ awareness of the components of pedagogical competence plays an important role. The current paper addressed the components of assessment strategies and teaching skills and investigated Iranian university instructors’ awareness of these components with regards to their personal, professional, and educational backgrounds. In so doing, a 29-item questionnaire already established in terms of validity and reliability was administered to 72 university instructors practicing teaching in Guilan universities. Analysis of the results revealed that the instructors used different assessment strategies and employed various teaching skills with regard to their gender, teaching experience, fields of study, and university degrees. The results may be practically utilized by education authorities to provide instructors with appropriate trainings to augment the instructors’ teaching and learners’ learning in the end.

Classroom performance assessment has gained prominence parallel to the multiplicity of the purposes ahead of assessment. Of many, the major controversy, which was the motive behind this study, is the incorporation of L1-based elicitation as a valid measure of second language (L2) performance assessment. To shed empirical lights on this issue, this explanatory sequential mixed-methods research employed 87 Iranian intermediate EFL learners, whose L2 classroom performance was assessed through L1-based elicitation techniques. In order to validate this mechanism, multi-method mono-trait model (namely, Pearson correlation, structural equations, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, composite reliability and convergent validity) suggested by Henning and Mesick’s Unitary Concept of validity were applied. The results from these multiple sources of evidence yield support to their common consensus that L1-based elicitation techniques are valid measures of L2 performance assessment. The findings then offer legacy to the educational implications of L1-based mechanisms both in L2 instruction and assessment.

Despite the significant role of emotions in any aspect of language learning, including its pragmatic aspect, there have been few research studies on this topic. As a stride toward narrowing this research niche, the objectives of this research were threefold. Firstly, it aimed to examine the two face-threatening speech acts of request and apology as indicators of learners’‎ interlanguage pragmatic competence (ILP) and its relationships with learners’ Emotional Quotient (EQ). Secondly, it sought to investigate ‎whether gender as an intervening variable would have any significant relationship with ILP and EQ, and thirdly whether EQ could predict ILP ‎development. To this end, 72 (50 females and 22 males) Iranian lower-intermediate level learners ranging ‎in age from 17 to 25 from two universities took part in this research. A multiple-choice discourse completion test ‎‎(MDCT) (Liu, 2004) and Bar-Onʼs ‎(1997) EQ scale were used and correlation analysis was done to search for any linkage between ILP and EQ. The Pearson product-moment correlation outcomes ‎revealed no significant relationship between EQ and ILP. However, a significant relation was found between Independence as a component of EQ and ‎EFL learners’ ILP competence. The independent samples t-test outcomes indicated ‎that female participants had a higher level of (ILP) competence than male participants; however, male and female participants did not differ significantly regarding their EQ level. The findings indicate that ‎EQ, in general, is not influential in EFL learners’ ILP competence. The paper concludes by providing pedagogical implications for EFL learners and instructors.

Teaching and learning languages via the Internet is becoming increasingly common all over the world and therefore, the experts growingly debate around the positive or negative effects of online education. The present study aimed to critically investigate into science and technology lessons of the VOA English Learning Website in a two-year interval, which claims to teach new words and phrases through the authentic VOA world news. Applying van Dijk’s (1998) Ideological Square Model of CDA, the researchers attempted to critically analyze the representation of the key term the United States within the collected VOA news story transcripts in order to observe whether the Website was trying to manipulate the learners’ minds through in-group favoritism and out-group derogation. The findings revealed that the VOA online lessons promoted certain American political, economic, cultural, social, and ideological values through particular discursive structures that tend to describe in-group members in a positive or at least neutral manner. Thus, as McPhail’s (2006) Electronic Colonialism Theory assumes such free online lessons on the VOA Website, which is a core country multimedia giant, struggle to convert and capture the attitudes, desires, beliefs, faiths, lifestyles, and consumer behavior of the other countries. Therefore, it is highly recommended that English teachers and learners try to inspect the content, reflect on the purposes, and evaluate the merits of similar online authentic materials before and while applying them to facilitate the language learning process.

Regardless of the appreciation of language learners’ achievement in task-based language teaching, not much has been hinged upon learners’ perception and reception of various elements. This study examined task complexity and modality effects on Iranian EFL learners’ comprehension of task difficulty, competencies, and difficulty-skill balance as well as the learners’ task experience. The Flow Outlook features were also applied to investigate how difficulty-skill balance anticipated flow experience. Via a repeated-measures design, and with a focus on task complexity (simple vs. complex) and task modality (written vs. spoken), 49 EFL learners carried out four argumentative tasks (two simple written and spoken vs. two complex written and spoken tasks); then, they ticked the flow questionnaire to gauge their perception of task difficulty, competence, and task experience. Repeated-measures MANOVA revealed although task complexity influenced task difficulty and difficulty-skill balance significantly, the skill was not affected significantly; task modality influenced task difficulty and skill significantly while difficulty-skill balance received no significant effect. The follow-up post hoc test indicated that complexity and modality significantly influenced flow, attention, and control, but not interest. Linear regression revealed difficulty-skill balance was a predictor for learners’ flow experience for both writing tasks and simple speaking task but not for complex speaking tasks. Pedagogically, the findings of this research may have some implications for English language teachers, learners, and materials developers.

In this paper, we argue the effects of explicit multimodal metaphor training in developing speaking and listening skills in an EFL context. To examine the effects of using conceptual metaphors in English language classrooms and assess the metaphorical ability of EFL students, we directed two measuring instruments: pre-test and post-test for control and experimental groups in both listening and speaking skills. The pre-test and post-test scores of the experimental group who were exposed to explicit multimodal metaphor training were compared with the control group's scores through this bipartite study. The outcomes of this paper can shed light on teaching and learning the multimodal language in an EFL context. The findings showed that learners who were exposed to multimodal metaphors and received explicit instruction from their teacher resulted in better scores. In other words, this paper found that explicit multimodal metaphor instructions can lead to some improvements in metaphor comprehension and production in an EFL context.

Writing a book review is an instance of evaluative academic writing where the writer is involved in an interaction with the author and the reader, evaluates the viewpoints stated in the book and voices his own position and stance in a dialogue with the reader. Working within the framework of Martin and White’s (2005) Appraisal Theory as an effective tool for studying the essential resources employed in this interaction and evaluation, the present study examined 60 book reviews from the Humanities academic journals written by native male and female writers, and tried to investigate the type and frequency of the three Appraisal categories (Attitude, Engagement, Graduation). The findings indicate that both writer groups made extensive use of these resources in their writings. However, the male book review writers exceeded the female writers in all the three categories. In addition, the Attitude resources were used the most and The Engagement resources were the least employed resources. The implications of the study for teaching writing skills and developing materials and tasks for writing courses at academic levels are mentioned in detail

This study aimed at investigating the interrelationships between EFL teachers' mindsets, self-efficacy, and emotional experiences and Iranian EFL learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) and L2 motivational self system (L2MSS). The participants of this study were 100 Iranian teachers and 501 students of the same EFL teachers, both male and female randomly selected from high schools. To fulfill the purpose of the study, teachers were asked to complete four questionnaires to measure their implicit theories of intelligence, efficacy, and emotional experiences including their burnout symptoms. Learners were required to complete two questionnaires to measure their willingness to communicate and L2 motivational self system. The results of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) revealed a significant structural relationship among all variables. Results also indicated that motivation was the strongest direct predictor of willingness to communicate. WTC was also indirectly correlated with teachers' implicit theories, efficacy, and emotional experiences through the mediating effect of L2MSS.

This study represents the findings of a systematic review (SR) of literature in the teacher professional development (TPD) domain to outline the research patterns through content examination of 199 research articles (RAs) in the area of TPD over the previous 40 years (1982 -2021). RAs were investigated and their research content areas, utilized research methods, data collection procedures, and findings were analyzed and coded. The broad investigation of the RAs showed a wide variety of themes that corresponded to 22 research areas. TPD program effects, TPD & technology, and TPD & Sociolinguistics were the most searched content areas. It was also found that the qualitative method with 52.26% of occurrences appeared to be the dominant research method used in RAs. Exploring data collection procedures, it was uncovered that interview, questionnaire and observation were the main data collection strategies utilized within the TPD RAs. Analyzing the findings, changes in teacher practices, attitudes and knowledge, learner achievements, and determining priorities for TPD programs were the most reported findings in TPD RAs. This corpus-driven SR underpins the notion that TPD makes a difference in altering teachers’ practices and attitudes and improves learner abilities if specific characteristics are taken into account in the planning and administration of TPD programs.

Teachers' decision-making and pedagogical reasoning and their improvement are key to the effectiveness of teaching. Although a number of studies have been conducted on these issues, there is still not enough information about teachers' interactive decision-making and pedagogical reasoning, and teachers also do not have the necessary skills in this area. To address this gap, the current multiple case study investigated four novice EFL teachers' decision-making and their underlying pedagogical reasoning in implementing instruction. The result of the constant comparative and categorical content analysis on the ten-session classroom observations and the transcribed stimulated recall interviews indicated common themes, including teachers' overusing of learners' L1, excessively using the deductive approach to teaching, failing to incorporate technology but using available resources in class during instruction, using whole-class or individual instructional techniques, and rarely emphasizing on learners' knowledge of the world. The targeted teachers made such decisions to perform their predetermined responsibilities, transfer the correct information, motivate learners, manage time, and help learners toward their language achievement. This study has implications for teachers to reflect on their instructional decisions and pedagogical reasoning, and for managers to provide them with opportunities for reflection.