درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

تحقیق حاضر کوششی در جهت یافتن مولفه های فرهنگی پنهان در مجموعه کتب درسی cover to cover از انتشارات اکسفورد می باشد که هم اکنون در برخی دانشگاه های ایران در درس زبان عمومی تدریس می شود. برای انجام تحقیق حاضر از دو شیوه استفاده شد: 1) بررسی کیفی متون خواندنی مجموعه سه جلدی این کتاب با استفاده از تحلیل محتوایی متون ان بر اساس اصالت سنجی متون از جهت گنجاندن ارزش های فرهنگی غربی. در این مرحله بررسی بر روی شش متن ( از هر جلد دو متن) به شکل انتخاب تصادفی صورت گرفت. 2) در مرحله دوم از روش مصابه با ""گروه هدف"" از تجربیات مدرسینی که از این مجموعه کتب در کلاس های درسی خود استفاده کرده بودند بهره گرفته شد. در نهایت بررسی دو مرحله ای نشان از عدم تطابق مفاهیم فرهنگی پنهان موجود در این مجموعه با محیط های فرهنگی و ملی ایرانی داشت. در پایان پیشنهادات نویسنده در راستای ارتقای وضعیت موجود با استناد به افزایش قدرت و آگاهی فرهنگی به مدد اموزش های تحلیلی برای گویندگان غیر بومی زبان بررسی شدند.

The aim of this study was to find out whether listening to English songs can improve pre-intermediate EFL learners’ listening comprehension. To this end, a non-randomized pretest-posttest control group design as one of the quasi-experimental research designs was employed. The sample of the study consisted of 40 male and female English learners from two classes in an Institute in Marand, Iran. The two classes were randomly assigned into the experimental and control groups. Then, a PET test was used to check the homogeneity of both groups. The listening section of PET was also considered as the pretest of the study. Then, fifteen English songs were used in the experimental group during the treatment period. Each session, within 45 minutes, one song was played for and practiced with the learners. Meanwhile, the control group had their usual teacher -fronted class without listening to songs. At the end, both groups were post tested on their listening comprehension using the listening section of another version of PET. The collected data were analyzed using Independent-Samples and Paired-Samples t-tests. The results revealed a statistically significant improvement in the performance of the experimental group. It is implied that songs are not only an entertaining tool but they can also be used as a pedagogic material in improving learners’ listening comprehension.

The present study was carried out to investigate the effects of listening strategy instruction on students’ listening achievement and strategy use. The participants of the study were 50 English major freshman students of Dilla University. These Students were placed in experimental and control conditions for the purpose of comparing the mean difference between the two groups. The control group was taught listening skills by the conventional approach while experimental group was given explicit listening strategy instruction. The study followed pretest-posttest control group experimental design. The main instruments used to collect data were IELTS listening tests and Strategy Inventory for Language Learners (SILL) which was adapted to listening skills strategy inventory. The study employed statistical techniques to analyze the data obtained from listening tests and Listening Strategy Inventory for Listening. To this effect, independent-samples t test and repeated measures t test were used to examine whether the listening tests/inventory mean differences between and within groups were statistically significant. The findings revealed that listening strategy instruction was more effective and had a positive impact on students’ academic achievement in listening than the conventional approach. Moreover, it was found that the instruction improved the participants’ strategy use.

Investigating the “knowing”, a module of the KARDS model proposed by Kumaravadivelu (2012) for teacher education, of Iranian teachers of learner autonomy, this study is an attempt to illuminate some of the yet unexplored areas of teachers’ various types of knowledge of learner autonomy. Furthermore, it attempts to illustrate how Iranian Non-EFL teachers’ knowing affects their practices with regard to learner autonomy and how this could differ from that of Iranian EFL teachers. To that end 112 EFL and Non-EFL teachers were purposefully cluster-sampled. Based on convenient sampling but only after data saturation was reached were 12 teachers interviewed. Based on the result of the interviews and the data gleaned from the literature a questionnaire was developed. The sample were asked to complete the questionnaire and then through negative case analysis some were interviewed. The questionnaire tapped into the social, political, psychological and personal aspects of learner autonomy. The results indicated the informants, be it EFL or non-EFL, found learner autonomy to be a psychological construct, which can be traced back to their personal knowledge. Finally, with regard to the feasibility and desirability of learner autonomy implementation in the education system, the informants see learner autonomy as more of a desirable concept than feasible. It is hoped that teachers and teacher educators find the results as well as the suggestions-for-action made at the end of the study helpful and that the results have tangible implications for the Iranian education system when fed into professional development activities and strategic planning.

The present study investigated the effects of selected presentation techniques including the keyword method, the peg word method, the loci method, argument mapping, concept mapping and mind mapping on L2 vocabulary comprehension and production. To this end, a sample of 151 Iranian female students from a public pre-university school in Islam Shahr was selected. They were assigned to six groups. Each group was randomly assigned to one of the afore-mentioned treatment conditions. After the experimental period, two post-tests in multiple choice and fill-in-the-blanks formats were administered to assess the participants’ vocabulary comprehension and production. Two independent One-Way ANOVA procedures were used to analyze the obtained data. The results showed that the differences among the effects of the above-mentioned techniques were statistically significant in both vocabulary comprehension and production. These findings can have implications for learners, teachers, and materials’ developers.