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The current study attempted to investigate the effect of a newly tailored curriculum on students’ general English achievement across gender as compared to the standard curriculum at Iranian tertiary education. The participants were 120 non-native undergraduate students of Pre-requisite General English course majoring in different disciplines at Ayandegan Institute of Higher Education in Tonekabon city. They were assigned into four groups including female control and experimental as well as male control and experimental. The experimental groups received teaching through the tailored curriculum and the control groups through the standard one. All the groups were given pretest and posttest on general English achievement. In order to analyze the data, a Kolmogrove-Smirnov test and an Independent Samples T-test were utilized. The findings of the study indicated female participant’s outperformance compared to the male ones, after being treated with tailored curriculum (TC) and standard curriculum (SC). However, the male participants experienced higher degree of progress after receiving TC as compared to SC, while such progress was not seen for the female.

Cet article s’interroge sur la traduction des métaphores politiques dans le discours diplomatique des hommes d’Etat iraniens au cours des deux périodes qui précédent et suivent le PAGC. En optant le modèle de la traduction des métaphores proposées par Hagström, cette étude vise à découvrir les méthodes et les stratégies de traduction que les traducteurs utilisent lorsqu’ils sont confrontés à des métaphores politiques venant des cartes conceptuelles éloignées. Il en ressort que pour les sphères sociolinguistiques éloignées (Iran vs pays occidentaux) tout un large éventail des stratégies est utilisé afin de restituer les allusions métaphoriques. En outre, il paraît que les stratégies de la traduction des métaphores politiques sont plus variées dans la période de Pré-PAGC, alors que durant la période de Post-PAGC les stratégies sont moins variées et elles se contentent de restituer une traduction littérale (reprise de la même métaphore de la culture source et sa restitution dans la langue-culture cible), réclamant ainsi une lecture plus active de la part des destinataires

Attitude plays a pivotal role in language learning as it influences learners’ motivation, engagement, and, ultimately, their proficiency. Recognizing the significance of attitude in language learning and toward language teaching methodologies, particularly Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), this study aimed to develop and validate a scale tailored to Iranian learners’ attitudes toward CLT, termed the CLTQ (Communicative Language Teaching Questionnaire). Using a correlational study, we constructed the CLTQ and checked its psychometric properties to ensure the CLTQ’s accuracy and appropriateness in an EFL context. The developed questionnaire was administered among a sample of 295 EFL learners and validated by means of principal component analysis (PCA) and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results obtained revealed a 6-factor CLTQ with 31 items. The statistical findings also showed that the CLTQ enjoys acceptable psychometric properties in terms of reliability and validity. The research outcomes underscore the importance of locally relevant instruments such as the CLTQ in assessing attitudes toward CLT among Iranian learners, offering valuable insights for educators, policymakers, and researchers aiming to enhance language teaching practices in Iran.

The current study adopted a mixed-method design approach to investigate the effect of the integration of the TPS strategy instruction into reading lessons on EFL students’ motivation to read. One hundred twenty Iranian intermediate EFL students (60 male and 60 female), studying English in a language institute in Iran, were selected and randomly assigned to an experimental group (N = 60) and a control group (N = 60). The experimental group received ten sessions of reading instruction based on the TPS-integrated reading strategy proposed by Baker and Westrup (2000) whereas the control groups received the same amount of instruction on the same materials based on the traditional direct instruction method. Then, the students’ reading motivations were measured using the revised version of the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ) (Wigfield & Guthrie, 1997). Besides, the students’ attitudes toward the TPS-integrated reading strategy instruction were examined by conducting a semi-structured interview. The analysis of the quantitative data showed no significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of reading motivation. It was also revealed that the integration of the TPS strategy in the reading lessons affected neither the students’ intrinsic motivation nor their extrinsic motivation. However, the findings of the interview concluded that the majority of the participants had developed positive attitudes toward the TPS. Regarding the motivation for reading, however, the findings of the interview were mixed. Finally, the study suggested some practical implications for EFL classrooms.

Learners’ self-regulation is of paramount importance in online language learning. Thus, the present study was conducted to compare three online instructional methods of Technology-Mediated Task-Based Language Teaching (TM-TBLT), Problem-Based Instruction Online (PBIO), and Online Flipped Learning (OFL) with each other and with lecture-based online teaching in terms of their effect on language learners’ self-regulation.  To this end, 120 intermediate-level English learners were selected through convenience sampling, screened through the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT), and assigned (randomly) to one control and three experimental groups. They received instruction according to the principles of TM-TBLT, PBIO, OFL and a conventional lecture-based method, respectively. The data were collected using an online self-regulated English learning (OSEL) questionnaire and analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The findings revealed that all three experimental treatments had significant effects on online language learning self-regulation. The comparisons showed that all three instructional methods were equally effective in improving the participants’ online self-regulation. The findings will have practical implications for teachers to choose the best-fitting online instructional methods for improving learners’ self-regulation in online contexts. These findings can also help syllabus designers and material developers to write syllabi or create materials with special attention to fostering language learners’ self-regulation.

Teachers’ self-regulation (SR), which improves teaching practices, has not received due attention from EFL researchers. This mixed-methods study aimed to examine the SR strategies and teaching effectiveness of English language teachers in Iranian universities and institutes located in three Iranian cities. The first sample of this study comprised 172 EFL teachers (128 males and 44 females) from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Their ages ranged from 23 to 55 years old. The majority of them majored in the different branches of English—English literature (5 BAs, 30 MAs, 10 PhDs), English teaching (10 BAs, 50 MAs,16 PhDs), and English translation (7 BAs, 28 MAs, 16 PhDs). On the other hand, the second sample comprised 153 EFL learners, who were the students of the participating teachers (49 males and 104 females). The age range varied from 14 to 35, and they came from different socioeconomic backgrounds. A study was conducted Teachers completed a Teacher Self-Regulation Scale (TSRS) questionnaire to declare the types and frequency of SR strategies they used while the participating students completed the Characteristic of Successful Iranian EFL Teachers (CSIET) questionnaire, which included ten questionnaire items. According to the quantitative data analysis, SR strategies and teaching effectiveness were negatively correlated. Moreover, 20 EFL teachers were interviewed to determine their awareness of their teaching effectiveness. The study indicates that teachers were not familiar with SR strategies, which can negatively impact their teaching effectiveness. The findings of the study may have insights for teacher educators, administrators, and university teachers, highlighting the role of SR in EFL teaching effectiveness.

The paradigm shift from traditional language curricula to communicative ones necessitates the (re)evaluation of language materials from the perspective of learner-centered pedagogy. The purpose of this study was to compare two English coursebooks (i.e., Interchange 2 and Four Corners 2) in terms of learner-centeredness based on the criteria of the existing theories. For the purpose of this mixed methods study, a directed content analysis (DCA) was initially done to develop a framework based on the related theories for evaluating learner-centeredness of the activities and tasks in language materials, involving six subcategories (i.e., information gap, open-endedness, contextualization, authenticity, discursivity, and skill integration). Moreover, fourteen types of learner-centered activities and tasks were identified from different theoretical sources, which fell under the six categories of the learner-centeredness framework. To validate the framework, it was expert-wised. It was found that the directed approach to content analysis supported and extended the existing theories of learner-centeredness using the contextual aspects of the phenomenon. In the second phase of the study, the types of tasks and activities in the two coursebooks were identified and analyzed through summative content analysis using the researcher-developed framework. Finally, the quantitative data gathered after coding the corpus were statistically analyzed to check whether there was any significant difference between the two coursebooks in terms of the learner-centeredness of their tasks and activities. The result of Mann-Whitney Test showed that there was no significant difference between the frequency of the learner-centered activities and tasks in Interchange 2 and Four Corners 2. The findings of this study may carry implications for the language instructors, learners, and material developers.

In the context of the rapid dissemination of information, scaffolding the readability of online content is critical. This study introduces the brainling model as a novel approach to measuring readability, which heeds readers’ cognition, senses, emotions, and cultural background in conjunction with language. To achieve the aims, two texts covering a general topic were selected, both possessing the same readability level according to the Flesch Reading Ease scale. However, one of the texts was modified in accordance with the brainling components (i.e., cogling, emoling, sensoling, and cultuling). Following each reading text, five multiple-choice comprehension questions, a 10- item Likert scale for readability, and a scale for the text’s difficulty level scale were designed. The Google Form was used to collect responses from 209 individuals with intermediate language proficiency at an educational institution in Oman. After verifying the reliability and validity of the questions and scales, significantly higher mean scores were observed for the readability scale components of clarity and engagement in the brainling-based modified text, compared to the unmodified text. Moreover, the results obtained from the text difficulty scale, readers rated the brainling-based text as easier to comprehend. Furthermore, based on the reading comprehension test, participants achieved higher scores when reading the brainling-based text. These findings demonstrate that modifying a text based on the brainling model, which integrates both brain and linguistic structures, significantly enhances clarity, engagement, text difficulty, and reading comprehension scores. Adopting the brainling approach can be a solution for fostering mutual understanding and collaboration among culturally diverse members and alleviating challenges such as misunderstanding, that may hinder goal achievement.