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As there is a great improvement in technology, the demand for innovative ways of delivering education is increasing and this has led to changes in learning and teaching methods. Distance education, which is so different from traditional education, consists of studying from home where students and teachers are physically distant while classroom learning is the type of education system in which the learners and the teachers work under one roof. Electronic means are used to keep students in touch with teachers, provide access to communication between students and bridge the gap and distribute educational material though distance learning programs. Both learning systems have their own advantages and disadvantages. Choosing between these two learning methods highly depends on learners’ requirements. In this paper, the researcher aims to discuss history and theories of distance learning, review literature on distant learning, state advantages and disadvantages of distance learning, express implications of the study to learners and teachers, and finally mention suggestions for improving distance learning.

Given the vital role that vocabulary plays in learning a language along with the fact that sense-induced emotions are noteworthy due to their influence on cognition, this study examined the impact of emotioncy-based language instruction on the long-term memory (LTM) vocabulary retention of Iranian EFL learners. To this end, 32 participants were selected based on their level of trait/state anxiety, working memory span, language proficiency, neophobia, and emotioncy towards the selected words to be instructed. Two weeks after the instruction session, the participants were given a retention test. To compare the mean scores of each participant exposed to the three emotioncy-based language instruction conditions (i.e., avolvement, exvolvement, and involvement), a one-way repeated measures ANOVA was employed. The results showed that the participants outperformed in recalling the words that were taught through the involvement level of the hierarchy of the emotioncy model in comparison to those taught through the exvolvement level as what is currently practiced in language classrooms. Finally, drawing on the concepts of emotioncy, emo-sensory quotient, embodied cognition, and multisensory learning, the study elaborates on the value of senses in evoking emotions conducive to cognition and memory enhancement. After all, the study suggests that senses act as the main gears that stimulate the evocation of certain emotions, and the resultant emotions shape cognition, resulting in better LTM retention of vocabulary items.

This research sought to investigate the relationship between simultaneous interpreters’ oral cloze performance, their emotional intelligence, and gender. In other words, the study tried to predict the variability in performance on simultaneous interpreting (SI) oral cloze test based on the variability in gender, emotional quotient (EQ) and its subscales. To this end, a number of seventy participants majoring in English Translation attending the course Oral Interpretation were selected. The Emotional Quotient Inventory (Bar-On, 1997) questionnaire was given to participants to gather the data. The students were also asked to take an oral cloze exam. The results of the study showed that no significant relationship was found between total EQ and oral cloze performance. However, two of the subscales of EQ, i.e. Flexibility and Stress Tolerance were found to be positive predictors of SI oral cloze score together. The results of the study indicated that the mere acquisition of oral cloze skill as one of the skills required for simultaneous interpreting, cannot guarantee students’ achievement in interpreting. Rather the consideration of personality traits can have a facilitative effect. Moreover, with regard to gender no association was found between student interpreters’ performance and their gender.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of mediation on the development of a novice teacher and in turn the effect of transformation of the teacher on the behaviors and emotions of the learners using Vygotskian sociocultural view of learning. For this purpose, a novice teacher teaching the general English course at an Iranian university was selected. To develop an understanding of the instructional setting and to diagnose her weaknesses and strengths, she was observed by a teacher educator during the first five sessions. Different instruments and tools like the teacher and students’ narratives, stimulated recall of voice-recorded actual teaching, and observation were also used during the study to trace the teacher’s cognitive and emotional development. As most of her practices displayed over-reliance on translation and deductive teaching of grammar, and her oral narration showed instances of cognitive/emotional dissonance, strategic mediations, both implicit and explicit, based on her needs were offered after the fifth session in a face-to-face interaction to help her develop gradually. Analysis of the results showed the gradual development of her and the positive attitudes and active engagement of the learners during she was being mediated. Implications of the findings are presented and discussed.

The present study set out to identify the problematic areas of pronunciation among Iranian female EFL learners. Further, this study investigated the relationship between empathy and authentic pronunciation, along with gender as a moderator variable. Comparing segmental features and phonological processes of both languages helped teachers to predict the target errors. To reach such a goal, a total of 69 Iranian undergraduate EFL learners were recruited from the Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, majoring in English literature and translation studies participated in the study. The subjects were conveniently sampled and were taking the course Conversation I. After administrating the Basic Empathy Scale (BES: Jolliffe & Farrington, 2006), the students were assigned to two groups: high-empathic group and low-empathic group. Both groups participated in an oral interview twice (before and after segmental form-focused instruction). The data were collected through taping participants’ pronunciation of some words. Two raters analyzed students’ pronunciation in terms of segmental features. The results demonstrated that the absence of some phonemes in the Farsi sound system and some phonological differences between the two languages caused difficulties for EFL learners. Furthermore, it was witnessed that those in the high-level group (i.e., more empathic learners) were more successful in acquiring authentic pronunciation than those in the low-level group.

Universities require highly qualified and committed instructors to carry out the significant tasks of educating the future generation of the society. The primary interest of this study was to explore the construct of teacher commitment to determine its dimensions and components and finally design EFL Teachers’ Professional Commitment Questionnaire. First, through a thorough analysis of the available literature as well as a semi-structured interview, the core dimensions and components were opted. Then, in the second qualitative phase, the researcher designed the early draft of a structured questionnaire which was handed into 25 experts. Content Validity Ratio was computed to ensure validity. Subsequently, the modified draft of the EFL Teachers’ Professional Commitment Questionnaire was designed and administered to 70 EFL university instructors to investigate the validity and reliability of the instrument employing Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. As a result, three dimensions of Commitment to Students, Commitment to Profession, and Commitment to University along with 10 components were confirmed. The practical implication of this study is a validated EFL Teachers’ Professional Commitment Questionnaire performing as an evaluative tool to assess the level of teachers’ commitment with respect to their commitment to students, university, and profession in the EFL academic context of Iran.

There is a bulk of studies supporting the positive effect of strategy instruction on reading comprehension. This study examined the effect of two reading strategies (i.e., false correction and inference strategy) on English reading comprehension of Iranian paramedical students, using a pretest, posttest, control group design. It also surveyed their attitudes toward the effect and usefulness of these strategies. The participants were sixty paramedical students, selected through availability sampling from the Medical University of Kashan. They were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group (CG). The first experimental group was instructed to use inference strategy (henceforth IS), whereas the second was instructed to use a strategy based on elaborative interrogation theory (i.e., false correction strategy, henceforth FCS). The experimental data were collected through a researcher-made pretest and posttest, and survey data through a researcher-made questionnaire. The results of statistical analyses indicated that IS group significantly outperformed FCS and CG on the posttest. The results of questionnaire data also showed that IS led to more positive attitudes. Moreover, IS was perceived as more useful in meeting participants’ academic needs. The findings of the study imply a needs-based approach to ESP pedagogy.

This study investigated a new blended approach for enhancing vocabulary achievement. To this end, the project used a convenience sample of 50 intermediate EFL learners ranging from 19-35 years of age from three intact classes studying English translation at university. They were randomly assigned to two groups of 25 students each. In the experimental group, the treatment consisted of providing photos/cartoons related to the sessions’ course of instruction on Instagram, with the learners discussing and exploring the meaning of vocabularies via peer scaffolding using metacognitive strategies. The control group followed the syllabus and assigned homework according to the class program. To investigate the vocabulary achievement of the participants, a piloted multiple-choice vocabulary posttest was administered. The results that were analyzed through independent samples T-test revealed that the blended approach could significantly affect the performance of the experimental group. This study has implications not only for teachers, researchers, and syllabus designers but also for EFL learners with unpacking the notion of metacognition and peer scaffolding, proposing an integrated framework that illustrates how it may pervade the teaching-learning process as an educational goal. The implication of this study supports student responsibility, a student-centered classroom, and higher levels of cognition.

The present study is an attempt to discover the relationships among reflection, role stressors and resilience. To this end, a mixed-method approach was adopted. In the quantitative phase, 122 EFL teachers completed three questionnaires namely English Language Teaching Reflection Inventory, Teacher Role Stressors Scale and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. The results of correlation indicated that there is a significant positive relation between reflection and resilience. However, the correlation between reflection and role stressors was found to be negative. Multiple regression revealed that of the five components of reflection, metacognitive and critical reflection are significant predictors of role ambiguity while only critical reflection can predict role conflict. Metacognitive and practical reflection were also found to be significant predictors of teachers’ resilience. In the qualitative phase, fifteen face-to-face interviews were conducted with the participants who had also taken part in the first phase of the study. Data were transcribed, coded and thematically structured based on a grounded theoretical perspective. The two main themes which emerged out of the interviews confirmed that reflection leads to resilience through strengthening teachers’ professional identity while it also leads to resilience or stress through making teachers prepared and knowledgeable. The possible justifications of the obtained results as well as the implications of this study for teaching English and teacher education in EFL context are discussed.