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Metadiscourse is a set of linguistic ties used to communicate attitudes and denote the grammatical attributes of a text. The present study was conducted to inspect using hedging, boostering, and self-mentioning metadiscourse markers in the well-known Persian and English psychology books. Based on the chosen corpora of the study, this inquiry purposed to realize what the general preferences are in the use of hedging, boostering, and self-mentioning metadiscourse markers in Persian and English psychology books. The corpora of four psychology books, two by Persian- speaking psychologists and two by English-speaking psychologists, were chosen and analyzed based on Hyland’s (2005) model of metadiscourse. The data obtained and collected from the chosen corpora were analyzed by Ant Conc 3. 5 . 7 and SPSS statistical software. By analyzing the corpora of the study quantitatively, it is resulted that Persian-speaking psychologists used more metadiscourse markers than that of English-speaking psychologists in their books. Secondly, it is detected that Persian-speaking psychologists used fewer hedging metadiscourse markers in their books than that of their English-speaking counterparts. Thirdly, it is found that Persian-speaking psychologists used more boostering metadiscourse markers in their books than that of their English-speaking counterparts. Next, it is realized that Persian-speaking psychologists used more singular first-person self-mentioning metadiscourse markers in their books; however, their English-speaking counterparts used more plural third-person self-mentioning metadiscourse markers in their books. In addition, textual analysis has shown the difference of Persian and English sub-corpora in using hedging, boostering, and self-mentioning metadiscourse markers.

The present study intends to study Iranian EFL teachers’ attitude towards post-method pedagogy (PMP) and its implementation in private language institutes. The participants of this study were 80 male and female EFL teachers from different private institutes in two cities of Mazandaran province in Iran. For the purpose of data collection, this study applied a Likert type questionnaire. In order to analyze it, minimum, maximum, mean, and standard deviation were calculated, then different tests including Friedman test, Wilcoxon test, Pearson Correlation, and Independent T-test were utilized. Considering the findings of the study, one cannot conclude that teachers have a positive attitude toward post-method principles. In fact, the findings show uncertainty about the actual emergence of PMP principles in EFL institutes in Iran and the fact that there is a long distance to the actual realization of principles of Particularity , Practicality, and Possibility , especially the last one. Furthermore, there is a significant relationship between respondent teachers’ familiarity of some principles of PMP and their experience, field of study, and education degree.

Recent innovations in formative assessment have turned the spotlight on the implementation of assessment for learning in the classroom. Notwithstanding a considerable wealth of research on assessment for learning in mainstream education, few research studies in the field of language teaching thus far have touched upon assessment for learning. This quantitative study investigated Iranian English language teachers’ perceived monitoring and scaffolding practices in respect of their gender and class size. To achieve this purpose, 384 Iranian EFL teachers who were selected using convenience sampling completed a 28-item Likert scale questionnaire on assessment for learning entailing two main constructs, namely monitoring and scaffolding. Our findings revealed a statistically significant gender difference with regard to perceived scaffolding. Likewise, the results showed that EFL teachers’ perceived monitoring and scaffolding practices did not differ with respect to class size. The key implications of the findings for the application of scaffolding and monitoring practices in the classroom were also addressed.

Language classrooms are occasionally anxiety-breeding situations. Foreign language classroom anxiety which negatively affects foreign language learning is typically associated with productive activities mainly speaking skill. To cope with the issue and overcome language learning difficulties, the present study was conducted to explore the impact of mobile-assisted language learning on enhancing EFL students’ oral proficiency and relieving their speaking anxiety. 60 sophomore female students whose ages ranged from 18 to 24 were selected from Zand University in Shiraz, Iran and randomly divided into two groups. Traditional instruction was adopted to teach both groups for two hours in a week for four months. Out of class, however, they did various speaking activities. The participants in the control group followed their course book speaking activities. But, the experimental group experienced mobile-assisted language learning to do their out-of-class speaking activities via a mobile application (Voice Thread). The Preliminary English Test and the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale questionnaire were used to collect the required data. Paired samples t-test results indicated that Voice Thread experience significantly enhanced the participants’ oral proficiency and lowered their foreign language speaking anxiety.these findings provide experimental evidence that Voice Thread can be used as an educational tool to help EFL students to improve their oral proficiency and create their own individual less-threatening language learning environment.

It is necessary to establish mutual relationships between suppliers and demanders to ensure the quality of services. As English is the language of international communications, and the linguistic competence can greatly help develop the tourism industry, this study aimed to analyze the effects of learning English listening, speaking, reading, and writing on tourism development in Iran through the mediating roles of effective communications and teaching in English. The study is applied regarding purpose, and descriptive-survey study of correlation type regarding method. The population consisted of the professors and students of tourism management of Iran's universities, tourism faculties of Tehran, Mashhad, Semnan, Ahvaz, Babolsar, Yazd, and Kerman, as well as the experts in the tourism industry of Iran and foreign tourists. Data collection was field and library method done by distributing a questionnaire online and in person to 351 participants to complete them. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling techniques were used to analyze the collected data. The research findings indicated that listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills have a significant effect on effective communication and education in English. On the other hand, effective communication and teaching in English affect tourism development. The results indicate the essential role of linguistic competence in developing the tourism industry. For better understanding, recognition and learning the international environment and the development of the tourism industry, Iran needs to deal with this challenge, learning English, maintain its competitiveness in the globalization stage.

The application of zone of proximal development (ZPD), as a major tenet of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory (SCT, 1978), has recently been invited in the L2 learning/teaching profession. This study mainly examined whether Iranian EFL learners’ interactions in diverse ZPD-activated proximal contexts through the use of storytelling instruction could improve their oral (speaking) proficiency and attitudes towards speaking in ZPD-based learning context. A pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was used with 60 intermediate EFL participants selected from Asre-no English Language Institute in Iran, after administering the OQPT. Then, the participants were assigned into 2 experimental groups (ZPD-activated equal and unequal groups), and 1 control group, with 20 participants in each group. The students in both experimental groups were exposed to the storytelling-based instruction within different ZPD-activated proximal contexts (equal and unequal), but in the control group the traditional teacher-fronted instruction within a non-ZPD context was conducted. A semistructured interview and a questionnaire were used to assess the participants’ speaking proficiency and attitudes before and after the instruction. The findings from the analysis of covariance and t test suggested that using storytelling instruction within ZPD-activated contexts significantly improved both the participants’ speaking proficiency and their attitudes. Further data analysis of the ZPD participants’ performance indicated that no significant difference between the learners’ speaking proficiency development of equal and unequal peer groups was found. By implication, ZPD-based pair work and storytelling-based instruction, interwoven with each other in a balanced manner, would be highly fruitful in developing EFL learners’ speaking skill and their attitudes.

Recent thrust of research has focused on non-conventional classrooms for teaching to EFL learners. Amongst the newly developed models, Unplugged Classroom Model (UCM) is the most debated one as textbooks are aside and the syllabus is based on conversation-driven activities. This study sought to determine the pros and cons of unplugged teaching for enhancing EFL learners' oral proficiency. From a pool of 317 intermediate and upper-intermediate Iranian EFL learners, 120 intermediate and upper-intermediate learners (60 each) were selected based on SPEAK NOW 1-4 Interview Placement Exam and were divided into conventional and non-conventional classrooms at each proficiency level. The participants in the non-conventional classrooms received unplugged instruction; whereas, their counterparts in the control group (conventional) classrooms were taught according to their textbook's instruction. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to measure learners' performances before and after instruction through paper-based exams and interviews. Participants' perspectives and viewpoints in the non-conventional classrooms were analyzed using the Community of Inquiry (CoI) questionnaire and the instructor's observations, respectively. The findings revealed that not only did the UCM participants enjoy collaborative learning but also enhanced their learning ability to produce more orally proficient utterances and to expand their gained knowledge in order to scaffold their classmates' conversation.

This study aimed to analyze high school EFL teachers’ attitudes toward collaborative action research (CAR). This study was of both qualitative and quantitative types. The number of the selected samples of this research, based on the convenience sampling method, were 20 male and female EFL teachers teaching at the Education and Training Organization of Isfahan Province. As the instrument of this research, they were given the standard questionnaire of Savaskan (2013) and Byrnes (2009) to fill. Then, the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-test through SPSS Software, version 25. According to the obtained results, based on descriptive statistics, both male and female teachers had a positive attitude toward collaborative action research. (56.25% of the answers were under average (3) which showd a more positive attitude). Also, in comparison with the female teachers, male ones had a more positive attitude toward collaborative action research (2.70˂2.95). Conducting such research in this realm paves the way to make sure about the right selection of the teaching techniques in general, and collaborative action research and its subcategories in particular.

Research evidence reported to date demonstrates the differential effects of manipulating second language (L2) task conditions on the resultant production as measured in terms of complexity, accuracy, and fluency. The present study was aimed at adding to the available body of findings by exploring the synergistic effects of two task condition variables, namely online planning and immediacy (± Here/Now) on L2 oral discourse. For this purpose, 60 Iranian intermediate learners of English as a foreign langue (EFL) were asked to perform the task of narrating a story based on a sequenced set of pictures under four conditions (i.e., Here/Now and pressed online planning, Here/Now and careful online planning, There/Then and pressed online planning, There/Then and careful online planning). The results of statistical analyses revealed that carefully planning speech while performing the task consistently assists complexity and accuracy, but negatively affects fluency of speech. Besides, it was observed that carrying out the same task using the past tense without contextual support (i.e., There/Then), if coupled with careful online planning, simultaneously enhances complexity and accuracy. Performing a task in Then/There also reduces fluency. Interestingly, it was also found out that the opportunity to carefully plan online while performing the task in There/Then exponentially increases complexity and accuracy with strong negative effects on fluency. Lastly, pedagogical implications of the findings are discussed regarding the contribution of task condition to directing learners’ attention and their L2 speech quality.