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This study examined the comparative effects of online and offline blended teaching on EFL learners’ listening comprehension. Based on quasi-experimental design, this study engaged an experimental (No=30) and control group (No=30), each receiving two different types of treatment. For the experimental group, the teacher taught English listening activities using a mixture of online and offline mode, while the for the control group the teacher offered face-to-face offline mode treatment of listening. Independent sample t-tests and paired samples tests results showed a significant positive effect of blended learning on the participants’ listening skills such that the experimental group improved their listening comprehension more than the control group This is justified on the grounds that online learning with more accessibility, relatively low cost, time efficient, and suitably combined with offline learning can offer self-paced instruction for learners whereby they self-manage their learning and progress at their own convenience.

This case study examines the influence of students’ motivation on their EFL performance to identify motivational factors and as a result, it was created a proposal for increasing their motivation. The population selected was 126 first-semester students and 5 professors in charge of the EFL process at a private university in Colombia, Bogotá in the first and second semesters of 2023. Moreover, the methodology used was qualitative with a social constructivist worldview to research based on students' and professors’ perceptions. That way, the collected results show that most students’ extrinsic motivation causes their low EFL level when entering the program as students may be goal-oriented and short-term sustained, which can contribute to dropping out of the program. Therefore, it is recommended that professors take action to increase students’ motivation by teaching students relevant topics, exposing the benefits of learning EFL, encouraging them to be self-directed students, promoting a safe environment, making them use e-learning tools and using gamified assessment/activity tools so that students can improve their academic performance.

While second language acquisition can be a complex and time-consuming process, developing efficient approaches that are less demanding on the part of the learner can greatly enhance the learning outcomes. The present study was an attempt to explore the potential application of priming as an approach to enhance the production of motion phrasal verbs. Ninety students were divided into intermediate and upper-intermediate groups based on their proficiency levels. The participants were required to narrate a silent movie as a baseline written production task. In the next stage, for the purpose of priming, they were required to read a storybook containing instances of motion events expressed in phrasal verbs. Immediately afterward, the participants were asked to narrate a second silent movie. The researchers also administered a working memory test to investigate its potential impact on the learning outcomes. The results indicated that only the upper-intermediate group benefited from the priming mechanism. Additionally, the results suggested that working memory did not show a significant predictive role in implicit learning within the specific context of motion phrasal verbs. These findings are in line with the processability hypothesis, which posits that developmental readiness plays a significant role in language learning.

This article aims at contrasting the conceptualization of space in Persian and English. Using three semantic primes of 'space', namely 'below', 'side' and 'touch' proposed in Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM), as one of the cognitive semantics approaches to study language, this cross-linguistic design intends to uncover the similarities and differences of conceptualizations in the two languages. The data came from the Hamshahri corpus of Persian-written data and the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA).The data were compared to see whether or not the NSM theory is viable to explain the spatial conceptualization. The results indicated that the semantic primes have more than one exponent in Persian and English, with their particular function and conceptual range. Besides, the prime of 'touch' has not spatial correspondence in Persian language. This means that the NSM approach does not provide enough analytical toolkits to satisfactorily explain the similarities and differences in cross-cultural cognitive semantic comparisons and cannot exhaustively explain the conceptualization of ‘space’. Nonetheless, this approach provides us with some insight into the cognitive properties in the minds of the speakers.

Our planet faces major environmental issues that must be addressed through ecological initiatives, education, and awareness raising. In language education, ecolinguistics has grown substantially during the last decade and has taken a cognitive step toward fostering and improving people’s ecological awareness; however, there was no mention of pedagogical practices of ecolinguistics rooted in theories of second language teaching and learning. Thus, the present study sought to apply a framework of English teaching based on the Activity Theory to raise EFL learners’ ecological critical language awareness. The researchers of the current quasi-experimental study employed a non-equivalent pretest and posttest control-group design to assess the effectiveness of using an AT-based framework in EFL classes to foster learners’ critical language awareness of ecological issues. An experimental group (n=45) and a control group (n=45) with intermediate-level members selected through convenience sampling took part in the study. The experimental group was taught with the AT-based framework, while the control group was not. The result of the independent samples t-test indicated that the ECLA of the experimental group had risen significantly compared to the control group. Also, the results of a series of paired samples t-tests comparing the pretest and posttest of the experimental group’s score on each domain of the ECLA showed that the learners’ awareness of all six domains had significantly improved. The study suggests that implementing the AT-based framework to teach ecolinguistics in language classes can be a promising way to raise learners’ ECLA.

Online classes, among other things, may require confidence, persistence, use of effective strategies, managing distractions, and maintaining focus on the part of the learners. Due to the prevalence and unique nature of this mode of instruction, it seems necessary to examine the factors that contribute to successful learning outcomes. This study examined the function of internet self-efficacy and online self-regulated learning in an online reading course. 264 university students completed the Persian versions of the Online Self-regulation Questionnaire (Cho & Cho, 2017) and the Online Learning Self-Efficacy Scale (Zimmerman & Kulikovich, 2016). Their reading performance was evaluated by the reading section of the TOEFL. The results, analyzed by a bivariate correlation, showed a significant correlation between internet self-efficacy and reading comprehension. Also, a significant positive connection was found between reading comprehension and self-regulated learning. Learners confident in using online environments and active in regulating their cognitive processes during reading tasks showed better comprehension outcomes. The regression analysis findings, however, show that self-efficacy (β = 0.47, t = 8.15, p < 0.00) is a stronger predictor of reading performance than self-regulation (β = 0.16, t = 2.89, p < 0.00). The findings highlight the importance of promoting self-regulation and internet self-efficacy to improve reading comprehension. Further research should explore other factors, such as cultural perspectives, teaching methods, cognitive abilities, and technological advancements.

Drawing on the team-teaching model of multiple instruction, this study aimed to investigate the impact of team-teaching on the English language achievement of Iranian high school students. The study employed a sequential explanatory mixed-method design, consisting of two phases for data collection and analysis. In the quantitative phase, 40 male and 40 female students aged 16-18 were conveniently sampled from tenth-grade high schools in Lahijan, Iran. They were divided into two experimental and two control groups. The experimental groups received instruction using the team-teaching model, while the control groups received traditional instruction. Data analysis was conducted using one-way ANOVA, which revealed a statistically significant improvement in the performance of the experimental groups compared to the control groups. Due to gender differences, the results showed no significant disparities in the outcomes achieved by male and female students. In the qualitative phase, the same participants from the experimental groups were asked to provide open-ended responses regarding the advantages and disadvantages of the team-teaching method, using a questionnaire developed by Jones and Harris (2012). The responses were carefully examined using open coding techniques, and common themes were identified through systematic comparison of the codes. The findings indicated that team-teaching offered a wide range of benefits. Considering gender differences, it was evident that male participants perceived the benefits of the team-teaching model to outweigh the drawbacks more than their female counterparts. These findings have pedagogical implications for Iranian teachers and theoreticians in the field of English language instruction.

Despite being a popular topic in language testing, cognitive load has not received enough attention in vocabulary test items. The purpose of the current study was to scrutinize the cognitive load and vocabulary test items’ differences, examinees’ reaction times, and perceived difficulty. To this end, 150 students were selected using cluster/convenience-sampling, and took the Cambridge Placement Test (CPT) and Vocabulary Size Test (VST; Nation & Beglar, 2007). After uploading the vocabulary-size test’s items in PsychoPy software, there was a behavioral stage to measure students’ reaction times and correct responses. Out of these 150 high school students, a total of 60 (20 from each proficiency level of elementary/intermediate/advanced groups) were selected. In this quantitative study, all 60 students were interviewed to determine their perceived difficulty of the international VST items and their item’s difficulty-index. The data were analyzed quantitatively via simple regression and qualitatively through the examination of the students’ perceived difficulty. The results and interview findings revealed a significant connection between cognitive load/reaction time, difficulty estimate, and perceived difficulty at intermediate level. In contrast, at elementary and advanced levels, these variables could not predict the cognitive load. The findings can help to test, course, and syllabus designers by educating them on the significance of cognitive load theory so that they can base their exam designs on its premises and alleviate students' increased cognitive-workload.

In recent years, dynamic assessment and positive psychology have attracted the attention of many researchers. This phenomenological study explores Iranian intermediate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' perception of academic buoyancy, reflective thinking, and academic resilience in response to dynamic assessment. Data were gathered through narrative inquiry, observation, and focus group discussion involving 18 intermediate EFL learners at a language institute in South Iran. Member checking, peer debriefing, and audit trail were used to ensure the credibility and dependability of the instruments. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed that dynamic assessment positively influenced learners' academic buoyancy by providing tailored scaffolding and support, fostering resilience in the face of academic challenges, and enhancing reflective thinking abilities. These findings suggest that integrating dynamic assessment techniques into language teaching practices contributes to students' adaptive coping mechanisms and ability to navigate academic setbacks, enhancing their academic success and overall well-being. The study underscores the importance of incorporating dynamic assessment approaches to cultivate resilient and empowered learners within EFL settings. This study contributes to understanding dynamic assessment's role in fostering academic resilience and reflective thinking in language learning contexts. The implications of the study are discussed.

The pluricentricity of English language has led to the appearance of new trends in English language education. This is especially important in Expanding Circle (EC) countries to develop intercultural communication among learners. The current study attempted to investigate the views of Iranian Englishteachers towards the relevancy of English as an international language (EIL) to their practice of English language teaching and the influence of teacher education on shaping their attitudes. To this end, a mixed method sequential research design was used to collect data, sing a questionnaire delivered to115 EC teachers who, at the time, were taking an online teacher education workshop held in a Language Institute in Tehran regarding EIL and varieties of English. Subsequently, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 34 teachers who had expressed their agreement to be interviewed. The analysis of the data showed that although the EC teachers had mostly expressed positive perceptions about EIL and varieties of English, their perceptions misaligned with their practices in ELT classes. The mismatch between teachers’ conception of EIL and its relevance to their context of teaching seemed to have undermined their self-confidence in applying this concept to practice. They seemed to have taken it for granted that American English is the sole variety to be practiced in Iran, as it is considered the most desirable target language variety. Implications of the results for educators and policy-makers on bridging the gap between theory and practice in ELT classes are presented.

Concern about the Iranian EFL learners’ dissatisfaction with their learning achievement motivated this qualitative study. While the importance of teacher feedback in English as a foreign language (EFL) and its correlation with self-directed learning (SDL) of EFL learners is recognized in the literature, there seems to be a gap specifically regarding the role of Iranian EFL teachers' productive feedback features in fostering EFL learners' SDL. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the teachers' self-reported productive feedback perception and practices in support of Iranian EFL learners’ SDL to fill in the gap. For this aim, fourteen Iranian EFL teachers were interviewed, and the data obtained from the semi-structured individual interviews were analysed through content analysis. According to the findings, the participating EFL teachers unanimously comprehended the benefits of productive feedback in the classroom in support of learners’ SDL. These benefits, emerging from the analyzed data based on teachers’ insights, may contribute to learners’ self-awareness, freedom, effective learning, and a stress-free learning environment. However, the presence of lack of time, teachers’ shortage of knowledge, and the top-down approach to the education system of Iran prevented Iranian EFL teachers from actually implementing these productive feedback features supporting learners’ SDL.