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Despite the surge of interest in exploring the interface between second/foreign-language (L2) learners’ pragmatics and motivational profiles, empirical research that holistically captures their interrelationship remains in its infancy. The current study explored the interplay between L2 learners’ motivational selves and their sociopragmatic and pragmalinguistic competence using structural equation modeling (SEM). It sought to elucidate the mechanisms within the theoretical framework of the L2 Motivational Self-System that underpin this relationship. A cohort of 260 participants learning English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) from three public universities in Iran was assessed using an online L2 motivation questionnaire and an oral discourse completion test (ODCT) to evaluate their L2 motivational selves as well as sociopragmatic and pragmalinguistic knowledge. The SEM analysis indicated that the learners’ sociopragmatics and pragmalinguistics were associated with some motivational subcomponents. Specifically, the students’ Ideal L2 Self exhibited significant positive predictive power in relation to their sociopragmatics. Their L2 Learning Experience contributed significantly to their pragmalinguistic knowledge. However, the participants’ Ought-to L2 Self appeared to predict their sociopragmatics negatively. Overall, those students who possessed a more robust Ideal L2 Self and an enriched L2 Learning Experience exhibited greater sensitivity to sociopragmatic and pragmalinguistic aspects and demonstrated better pragmatic production. Conversely, their Ought-to L2 Self which is inundated with obligations had a preventative function. These findings underscore the significance of integrating motivational constructs into L2 language pedagogy to enhance the learners’ Ideal L2 Self and their L2 Learning Experience, thereby optimizing their performance pragmatically.

This study represents the inaugural attempt at assessing the authenticity of the tasks encompassed in the IELTS Speaking Module. The evaluation is conducted from the vantage points of applied linguistics and general education, and serves to enhance comprehension of authenticity and authentic assessment. In order to achieve this objective, an analysis was conducted on the Speaking Module tasks using Bachman and Palmer's (1996; 2010) model of test usefulness from the discipline of applied linguistics, as well as Herrington and Herrington's (1998; 2006) inventory of the fundamental attributes of genuine assessment from the realm of general education. The results of both task analyses revealed low indices of authenticity of the tasks. The high degree of the convergence of the results from the analyses could open new horizons to experts in applied linguistics to exchange ideas about authentic language assessment with those in general education. Furthermore, such characteristics as problem-solving skills, higher-order thinking skills, integrated assessment, and multiple indicators of learning, are not included in Bachman and Palmer’s framework.

With the significant increase in academic publications and the growing emphasis on academic writing in recent years, the exploration of writers' authorial voice has become essential in the academic community. Therefore, the present study examined language learners’ preferences for the use of metadiscoursal elements of voice and the effectiveness of instruction in promoting the expression of authorial voice in academic writing among Iranian EFL learners. The participants were 143 intermediate English major university learners at Najaf Abad University of Isfahan who were randomly divided into a control group and two treatment groups. One group received explicit instruction and the other group received implicit instruction on the use of voice elements based on Hyland's (2005) interactional framework in the academic context. The control group did not receive any instruction on discourse markers. After an eight-session treatment, participants’ writings in the three groups were analyzed. The findings revealed that the treatment groups demonstrated a more significant improvement in their ability to express authorial voice compared to the control group. The group receiving explicit instruction utilized more stance markers compared to the group receiving implicit instruction. The findings highlight the importance of consciousness-raising in improving the use of discourse markers in academic writing.

Self-reflection as a crucial human activity involves assessing experiences and developing strategies to tackle challenges in language instruction and acquisition. It can be pursued through several methods. This study seeks to implement scenario-based assessment (SBA) model and dialogue journal writing (DJW) in an entire process to examine their impact on enhancing the writing self-reflection strategies of Iranian EFL learners. To achieve this objective, 60 EFL learners were selected through convenience sampling. These participants were then randomly divided into two experimental groups and one control group. The first experimental group underwent treatment using a SBA model, while the second experimental group followed the requirements of treatment through a DJW model. The control group, on the other hand, received instruction using a traditional teacher-centered method. Both the experimental groups and the control group underwent pre-test and post-test assessments to evaluate their writing performance. The gathered data were analyzed using MANCOVA and the findings revealed that the SBA group outperformed the DJW and control groups in terms of improving their writing self-reflection strategies.This study's results offer more evidence to show the positive impact of using a SBA design on the writing self-reflection skills of Iranian EFL learners as a whole. The study showed that the SBA approach had a greater impact on improving engagement in self-reflection and insight. The findings of this study suggest that SBA can generate higher levels of assistance and function to create a successful pedagogical tool as well as an assessment device for classroom teachers, experts, and parties involved.

Reviewing the literature, there is an evident lack of appropriate research on the potential difficulties of assessing speaking skill and the urgent need of more rigorous assessment of speaking skill and its intricacies. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a collaborative local rubric for assessing Iranian high school students’ speaking skill constructed through the school-university members' collaboration. The participants of this study were 3 high school English teachers and 3 university instructors. They had at least 5 years of experience in English teaching and familiarity with rubrics and how to use and develop them.To gather data, a semi-structured interview was conducted with the participants. After coding and analyzing the data, it was revealed that the participants mentioned some similar criteria such as the importance of pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, fluency and the use of a 0-4 assessment scale. However, some contradictions arose between the participants about the scores and the strictness/flexibility of those levels. The currently-developed speaking rubric, which is a simulation of the IELTS and TOEFL speaking rubrics, intended to help high school teachers undertake a more thorough assessment resulting in students’ enhanced learning of speaking. This study proposed practical implications for teachers and instructors in particular test constructors and examiners.

The present study was conducted to investigate Indonesian English language education department learners’ L2 pronunciation anxiety (PA) and whether the duration of their study in the department as well as their gender impacted their PA. This cross-sectional study employed an online survey using a Google Form questionnaire as the method of collecting data with convenience sampling. To this end, 101 learners participated in this study. The study found that in general learners experienced a moderate level of PA. This anxiety was related to interlocutors and peer comparison, learners' perception of competence, and their perception of being English as Foreign Language (EFL) speakers. Furthermore, it was found that PA did not significantly differ across learners from different study years and female learners reported a significantly higher level of PA than their male counterparts. Considering the little influence of the study duration of PA, pedagogical implications include the need to revisit English education curricula regarding pronunciation learning encompassing such aspects as learning materials and activities, teaching methods, assessment, and evaluation, as well as learning objectives.        

The introduction of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) to teach English at the secondary levels of education in Bangladesh is a relatively recent phenomenon. English Language Teaching Improvement Project (ELTIP) jointly funded by the Government of Bangladesh and DFID of the UK Government developed the English textbook for classes nine and ten. The CLT approach is considered to improve the language abilities especially ‘communicative competence’ of the learners. But some researchers pointed out that CLT approach is not working well in Bangladesh. Proper implementation of CLT is now a challenge for the policy makers of the country. The present study aims at exploring the challenges in implementing CLT at the secondary level of Bangladesh and the country’s demand for such abilities in school and the workforce. Based on both primary and secondary sources of data and information, the study comprises of empirical survey (through questionnaires), classroom observation scheme, textbook evaluation, and so on. Classroom observation and interview of the secondary students and English teachers proved that communicative activities such as group work, pair work, individual activities, role play, and simulation do not happen in the classes due to the negative attitude of both the teachers and students towards CLT. As a result, implementation of CLT is facing challenges all over the country especially in the non-government schools of rural areas. In most of the cases, the lack of proper knowledge of CLT and motivation of both teachers and students are the cause of failure of CLT approach and a threat to the advancement of English Language Teaching (ELT) in Bangladesh.

Objective: The effectiveness of Lexical Bundle (LBs) instruction for facilitating writing skill development has been a controversial issue in language teaching. This study examined the impact of LBs instruction on English for Specific Purposes (ESP) learners’ performance on IELTS writing task 2. Methods: To this end, first, 60 male and female ESP learners were randomly selected from among 150 ESP learners of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences as participants. Second, these participants were assigned to the experimental group and the control group, each with 30 learners. Both groups were then administered IELTS writing task 2 as a pretest. The experimental group was provided with ten sessions of IELTS-Task 2-related LB instruction.  The control group, however, did not receive this kind of instruction. Finally, the researchers administered IELTS writing task 2 to both of the groups anew as a posttest. Results: The results suggest that teaching the relevant bundles had significant positive impacts on ESP learners’ general performance of the relevant writing tasks, task achievement grammatical range and accuracy, vocabulary knowledge, as well as observing cohesive ties and coherence in their writing. Conclusions: The results may provide some useful insights regarding the instruction of LBs in IELTS preparation courses for the ESP learners.