درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

This research studied the creativity in Persian translation of The Remains of the Day by Najaf Daryabandari and the influence of creativity on a more successful literary translation. To this end, Schjoldager (2008) and Holst (2010) models were introduced and definitions of the micro-strategies and macro-strategies of these models were presented. The main questions with regard to the purpose of the study were whether the Persian translation of this novel is creative and whether creativity is influential in a more successful literary translation. In this study, the translator's creativity was studied through examples that were obtained by means of comparative analysis of the source and target texts as well as features defined in the eight creative micro-strategies of the Holst model. In addition, the features of translated text in terms of using Qajar prose were considered the macro-strategy, which was adopted by the translator. The findings of the study were as follows: The Persian translation of The Remains of the Day by the translator, Najaf Daryabandari, was a creative translation. In the research process, it could be inferred that the translator was able to present a successful literary translation in a meaningful and tactile manner in the target language by using creativity and by comparing and understanding the similarities of the nineteenth century classic English and Qajar dialects. Among extracted samples in this study, the most frequent one was the micro-strategy of adaptation, which was one of the most creative micro-strategies of the Holst model.

Japanese exhibits a large degree of flexibility in terms of word order. Thus, not only SOV but also OSV (scrambling) and SVO (postposing) are grammatical. In terms of discourse function, there are some similarities between scrambling and (non-pause type) postposing. According to Author (2017) and Shimojo (2005), scrambled objects and postposed elements are anaphorically salient but cataphorically non-salient. Yet, Shimojo (2005: 202) observed no example with a postposed object. In order to explain this tendency, I propose that scrambling is not as costly as postposing due to the following two reasons. First, scrambling follows given-new-ordering whereas postposing does not. Second, rightward movements are more costly than leftward movements in Japanese (Fukui: 1993). Therefore, postposing is expected to be selected when scrambling cannot be chosen. As scrambling can be used for the object but not for the subject in SOV, postposing is dominantly utilized for subjects.

Of paramount importance in the study of cognitive diagnostic assessment (CDA) is the absence of tests developed for small-scale diagnostic purposes. Currently, much of the research carried out has been mainly on large-scale tests, e.g., TOEFL, MELAB, IELTS, etc. Even so, formative language assessment with a focus on informing instruction and engaging in identification of student’s strengths and weaknesses to guide instruction has not been conducted in the Iranian English language learning context. In an attempt to respond to the call for developing diagnostic tests, this study explored developing a cognitive diagnostic reading comprehension test for CDA purposes. To achieve this, initially, a list of reading attributes was prepared based on the literature and then the attributes were used to construct 20 reading comprehension items. Then seven content raters were asked to identify the attributes of each item of the test. To obtain quantitative data for Q-matrix construction, the test battery was administered to 1986 students of a General English Language Course at the University of Tehran, Iran. In addition, 13 students were recruited to participate in think-aloud verbal protocols. On the basis of the overall agreement of the content raters’ judgements concerning the choices of attributes and results of think-aloud verbal protocol analysis, a Q-matrix that specified the relationships between test items and target attributes was developed. Finally, to examine the CDA of the test, the Fusion Model, a type of cognitive diagnostic model (CDM), was used for diagnosing the participants' strengths and weaknesses. Results suggest that nine major reading attributes are involved in these reading comprehension test items. The results obtained from such cognitive diagnostic analyses could be beneficial for both teachers and curriculum developers to prepare instructional materials that target specific weaknesses and inform them of the more problematic areas to focus on in class in order to plan for better instruction.

This study is an attempt to extend our current knowledge by exploring the relationship between spiritual intelligence (SI) and multiple intelligences (MI) on one hand and the relationship between spiritual intelligence and language learning strategies (LLS) on the other hand among 30 MA TEFL learners of a state university in Tehran. To this end, King's Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory, Oxford's Language Learning Strategy Inventory, and Multiple Intelligences Inventory developed by McKenzie were utilized to gather data. The obtained results revealed a moderate positive correlation between some subscales of SI and MI including: personal meaning production and musical intelligence, and also between existential intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence and critical existential thinking. Furthermore, a moderate positive correlation was found between conscious state expansion and metacognitive strategies as two subscales of SI and LLS. Based on the results, implications for further research are discussed.

This study investigated the quality of metacognition at its inter-individual level, i.e., socially-shared metacognition, across two collaborative writing tasks of different difficulty levels among a cohort of Iranian EFL learners. Moreover, it examined the correlation between the individual and the social modes of metacognition in writing. The analysis of think-aloud protocols of a number of pre-intermediate and advanced EFL learners revealed instances of episodes in which peers used metacognitive activities at pair level. Besides, comparing think-aloud protocols of tasks indicated more frequent and longer use of socially-shared metacognitive episodes in more difficult writing tasks. The study also found high correlation between the social mode of metacognition in L2 writing and learners’ individual metacognition. The pedagogical implications include the provision of learning opportunities in which learners are challenged to exploit metacognitive strategies, such as planning, monitoring, and self-evaluating.