درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

This study tried to investigate the impact of task-based instruction (TBI) on the enhancement of Iranian EFL learners’ speaking skill. The study also tried to scrutinize the impact of TBI on learners’ emotional intelligence. To meet these ends, 60 students were randomly divided into two groups, the experimental group and the control group. At the very first session of the term, two speaking examinations were conducted for both experimental and control group. After the speaking examinations, the participants were asked to answer Bar-On’s emotional intelligence questionnaire. The experimental group was instructed through task-based approach and the control group received instruction through present-practice-produce (PPP) approach. The scores obtained by two raters from the interview post-tests were analyzed through non-parametric tests, and the data obtained from EQ questionnaires were analyzed through t-tests. Results of the statistical analysis revealed that the experimental group performed significantly better on the speaking post-test than the control group. Furthermore, the findings also indicated that the learners in the experimental group became more emotionally intelligent than those in the control group.

A significant research base has increasingly substantiated that teachers are among the most significant players affecting student achievement in second language classrooms. As a result, teacher-related variables have enjoyed much research attention over the recent decades in both mainstream education and English Language Teaching (ELT). Likewise, the present study was set to test a structural model of collective teacher efficacy, teacher self-efficacy, job satisfaction, and teaching commitment, and specifically to examine the hypothesis that teaching commitment mediates the effects of collective teacher efficacy and teacher self-efficacy on job satisfaction. Using a sample of 312 Iranian EFL teachers, structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to establish the structural model. The findings of a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the fitness of both the employed scales and the structural model.  The findings and implications of the present study are finally discussed.

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) presents teaching techniques and procedures along with the underlying theory and principles and is comprehensible to readers who are new to the field of English Language Teaching (ELT). David Nunan (2015) proposes rich illustrations of theoretical constructs through providing practical examples of how to develop teaching materials and tasks from sound principles; he also presents content through various textual types including classroom vignettes which show language teaching in action, question and answer sessions. The book consists of twelve concise chapters: Language Teaching Methodology, Learner-Centered Language Teaching, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, Pronunciation, Vocabulary, Grammar, Discourse, Learning Styles and Strategies, and Assessment.

The present study investigated the potential role of tasks in engaging Iranian EFL learners in task-supported language learning, affecting on learner-centered instruction and the correspondence between the objectives and contents in current pre-university English course book (Learning to Read English for Pre-University Students). To do this, 100 Iranian EFL teachers of pre-university grade were invited to participate in this study. They were asked to fill out a 5-point Likert scale checklist (adapted from Lawrence, 2011). The checklist was initially piloted on 20 EFL teachers in order to see to what extent the items were clear and comprehensible to the subjects of the study and to find out the internal consistency or reliability of the items. The results of statistical analyses indicated that teachers tended to agree on the point that tasks have significant capability in engaging learners in communicative language use or task-based language learning. The vast majority of the teachers expressed that using tasks in textbook can improve learner-centered instruction. The evaluation of the textbook showed the contents are corresponded to their objectives.

This study investigated teachers’ views toward computer technology in teaching English pronunciation. In order to select teachers for the semi-structured interview, the researcher used a questionnaire and distributed it to 25 teachers from two Islamic Azad Universities of Guilan, Iran. The researcher chose 15 of them based on their answers to the questionnaire. Then a qualitative method design was used. It consisted of semi-structured interview questions with a sample of 15 teachers chosen from two Azad Universities. Data were collected and analyzed. Qualitative data were analyzed according to the process of reducing data, constructing theme, and drawing conclusions from the data. The findings showed teachers’ interest in using computer technology because it provided them with enjoyable and interactive environment, helped them obtain accurate pronunciation, and improved the quality of their pronunciation instruction. The findings also revealed that using computer technology raised teachers’ confidence and motivation toward it because it had a high potential that changed their instruction. Moreover, the findings indicated that teachers had enough knowledge of computer technology that helped them teach pronunciation effectively. In addition, the findings represented that using computer technology was not a threat to the traditional methods but it brought about better results than these methods.

This study compares lexical retrieval amongst monolinguals and intermediate bilinguals and advanced bilinguals. It also investigates the possible effects of their language learning strategies on their respective lexical retrieval advantage. The study used a mixed methods design and the groups consisted of 20 Persian near-monolinguals, 20 Persian-English intermediate level bilinguals, and 20 Persian-English high-proficiency bilinguals. Auditory and visual lexical Memory Span Tasks were utilized to evaluate the lexical retrieval of all the language groups. The way that bilinguals used their L2 on a daily basis was examined using semi-structured interviews. It was suggested that the knowledge of two languages will not necessarily result in lexical retrieval advantages in bilinguals when compared to monolinguals. However, it was found that the specific language learning strategies used by the bilinguals could potentially influence their lexical retrieval advantages. Furthermore, when comparing lexical retrieval in different language proficiency groups, the method by which bilinguals manage their two languages as well as the environment they are located in should be taken into consideration.

Pienemann (1998, 2015) put forward Processability Theory to enlighten why language learners follow definite developmental paths. The aim of the present study was to run a comparative investigation into the difficulty order of different grammatical structures for male and female Iranian EFL learners predicted by Processability Theory. 185 Iranian university students took part in this study. They received a Demographic Questionnaire and a Validated Researcher-Made Grammar Test designed based on the stages of Processability Theory. Item Response Theory (IRT) Rasch Modeling was used to analyze the collected data. Results pertained to the research questions revealed that the stages predicted by Processability Theory do not account for the Iranian male/female EFL learners. Another major finding emerged from the data was that the difficulty level of different grammatical structures presented by Pienneman in PT doesn’t match the difficulty order obtained in this study by male/female EFL respondents. All things considered, results of the study provided a reliable counterevidence for the assumptions of the theory.

This study was designed to explore the relation pattern of cultural intelligence, cultural identity, autonomy, and self-efficacy and second language achievement of Iranian EFL learners. The participants were 247 undergraduate students. Data were collected nationwide, from different parts of Iran; that is, from Kerman, south of Iran; Hamadan, west of Iran; Mashhad, east of Iran; and Gorgon, north of Iran. The participants' ages ranged from 18 to 26 and they were mostly juniors and seniors. They completed the following questionnaires: Cultural Intelligence Questionnaire (Ang, et al., 2007), Cultural Identity Clarity Scale (Usborne & Taylor, 2010), Learner Autonomy Questionnaire (Cotterall, 1995, 1999) and Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (Pinitrich, Smith, Garcia & Mckeachie, 1991). The participants’ GPA of three general English courses were considered as their second language achievement. Responses from questionnaires were collected through convenience sampling. The design of the study is based on path analysis. After data collection, the hypothesized model was tested by AMOSE program. The results demonstrated that the variables under study could strongly predict EFL learners' L2 achievement. L2 achievement may largely depend on students’ cultural intelligence, cultural identity, autonomy and self-efficacy. Also, it was reported that autonomy was the strongest predictor of EFL learners’ L2 achievement.

This paper focuses on the impact of an asynchronous online discussion forum on the development of students’ ability in and attitudes toward writing in English. To do this, 60 undergraduate students majoring in English were assigned to two experimental and control groups while receiving different types of feedback. Students in the experimental group were required to take part in an asynchronous forum by writing a five-paragraph essay, challenging their ideas and providing feedback based on a pre-designed feedback sheet, whereas students in the control group received traditional face-to-face feedback by the teacher. Analysis of the data obtained through a pre-test, a post-test, and a survey indicated that students’ writing improved significantly in the experimental group, on both lexis and grammar planes, as the results of engaging in replying to peers’ questions, involving in writing by exchanging feedback, and employing self-assessment strategies to revise their own work. Furthermore, they also expressed more positive attitudes toward writing. The study offers implications for L2 writing instruction in EFL contexts