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The study examines the effects of the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) on intermediate English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ L2 autonomous motivation, self-efficacy, and perceived locus of causality. Given the evolving paradigms of language teaching, SDLMI values ​​autonomy, competence and connectedness in teaching instruction and offers a distinctive approach. Drawing on contemporary motivational theories, the study examines how SDLMI impacts these key dimensions in intermediate EFL learners compared to a traditional instructional approach. Participants from four EFL classrooms completed SDLMI in the experimental group and conventional instruction in the control group. Instruments included the Preliminary English Test, motivational questionnaires, and SDLMI-based assessments. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent samples t-tests. Descriptive statistics for both groups (mean and SD) were calculated. Independent samples t-tests were conducted to compare the means between the experimental group and the control group and to examine possible significant differences in the effect of SDLMI on autonomous motivation, self-efficacy, and perceived locus of causality. The study contributes to instructional practices, advocating for autonomy-supportive strategies in fostering holistic language. 

Textbook evaluation is of paramount importance in ensuring that textbooks are of high quality and aligned with educational goals. This study evaluated two common English language textbooks in Iran (i.e., American English File [private schools] and Vision series [state schools]) based on the brainling (brain+ language) model, heeding EFL learners’ cognition, senses, emotions, and culture. To this end, a brainling-based scale was validated based on “cogling”, “emoling”, “sensoling”, and “cultuling” components of the brainling model and distributed among Iranian teachers (N=218) and EFL learners (N=236). It was found that there were significant differences in the brainling components present in English textbooks used in state and private schools. Moreover, the independent samples t-tests revealed that there were significant differences in mean scores for brainling components between the two types of textbooks for students. However, it is worth noting that such differences were not observed among teachers’ ratings of these components.  The results could assist content developers in incorporating brainling as a worthwhile scale for evaluating English language textbooks.

A sustained, school-based approach that offers in-service EFL teachers opportunities for collaboration in creating an environment that promotes their capacity-building and instructional growth is necessary for their professional growth. This study aimed to contribute to the growing body of research on the effect of distributed leadership in teacher professional learning. Specifically, this study scrutinized the connection between distributed leadership and professional learning of teachers, focusing on the mediating role of teacher agency. A cross-sectional survey design was applied, collecting data from 458 teachers in Iran. Teacher Professional Learning Scale, Teacher Agency Scale, and Distributed Leadership Scale were completed by them. Structural equation modelling was run to analyze the relationship between variables. The findings revealed a minimal direct relationship between distributed leadership and the professional learning of teachers, with teacher agency acting as a major mediating factor. These results contribute to existing research by suggesting that distributed leadership may not have a substantial direct effect on teacher learning, but rather indirectly improves teacher agency.

ChatGPT-assisted language instruction is gathering irresistible momentum in today’s fast-moving, AI-governed world of educational enterprises. The current scoping review article sought to analyze and synthesize the existing literature on the complementary use of ChatGPT in second/foreign language (L2/FL) education and pedagogy. Aligned with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA‑ScR), the study adopted a systematic approach to evidential data search and analysis. A total of 28 peer-reviewed articles retrieved from well-established databases, such as Scopus and Web of Science (WoS), were reviewed to map the scope and consequences of the growing body of literature on using ChatGPT as an L2/FL learning/teaching tool. Centering around five predetermined variables, including setting, design, focus area, objective, and concluding remarks, the content or thematic analysis results helped to shape a clear picture of the literature under review. The literature-derived evidential data also referred to the fruits of ChatGPT-assisted instruction under three distinct headings: learning outcomes, pedagogical outcomes, and cognitive-affective impetus for language learning and teaching. The review results also revealed the repercussions of the instruction mainly concerned with ethical and technical concerns. Given the immature but fast-paced nature of the literature on the instructional model, this early attempt, though provided a brief sketch of the research scope and chief outcomes of the model, needs to be complemented with future systematic reviews to fully unlock the potential of language pedagogy well suited to the demands of today’s technology-governed education.

The rapid development of technology and its impact on the creation of images have made it essential to provide students with digital visual literacy (DVL) practices to help them explore and understand the images. More importantly, images have valuable connections to language learning and hold the potential for teaching English effectively. Accordingly, the present study investigated the impact of the DVL-integrated instructions in an English-speaking course on EFL learners' speaking proficiency. The Digital Image Guide (DIG) method was conducted for the DVL instructions. A total of 18 female Iranian EFL learners aged 18-27 from a national university participated in the study, undergoing ten instructional sessions. Various components, such as visual elements in several images, flyers, brochures, memes, and book covers, were introduced to the learners throughout the treatment phase. Using mixed-methods research, quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The quantitative phase employed a pretest-posttest one-group design, and data was collected through the speaking section of the Cambridge English Qualification Test. The qualitative phase collected data on the learners' attitudes toward the course. The data were analyzed using SPSS and content analysis. The findings of a paired-sample t-test examining oral proficiency test data revealed the effectiveness of the course on the speaking proficiency of the learners. The analysis of the interview data revealed that the students held positive attitudes toward the course and the instructions. The findings of this study demonstrated that teaching digital visual literacy through the Digital Visual Literacy (DVL) approach and Digital Image Guide (DIG) Method could help learners with their speaking proficiency.

The integration of technologies and social media into second/foreign language education has recently gained momentum in different contexts. Given their nature, social media have been empirically identified to improve different aspects of L2 teaching and learning. However, their facilitative role in enhancing EFL/ESL students’ language skills and academic engagement has been limitedly explored. To fill this lacuna, the present study intended to provide a theoretical analysis on the utility and power of injecting technologies and social media into L2 classes and improve students’ language skills and academic engagement. In so doing, the conceptualizations, definitions, dimensions, and empirical studies that provide evidence for the interplay of these constructs are presented. Moreover, a variety of implications are enumerated for EFL/ESL teachers, learners, teacher trainers, language policy-makers, curriculum designers, and scholars in L2 education, who can recognize the facilitative role of social media in English language teaching learning.  

The study investigated (a) pre-service teachers' strategy use in managing online classes of young learners in terms of six categories of time, interaction, assessment, behavior, instruction, and content; (b) the extent to which their practice matched their beliefs; and (c) their strengths and weaknesses in online classroom management. To collect the required data, the teaching practices of 26 pre-service teachers (f = 19, m = 7) who were MA students of TEFL (Teaching English as a foreign language) at Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) were observed and then rated according to 40 strategies defined in a rating scale. The student teachers were also asked to rate their own online teaching, and then their scores were compared with those of the observers. They also answered three interview questions on their strategy use, strengths, and weaknesses in managing their class in the Adobe Connect. The results of this mixed methods research revealed that student teachers used time management strategies more than the other strategies in their practice and that the majority of whom overrated their strategy use. The results also indicated that their strengths in using the components of classroom management could be hierarchically ranked as time, interaction, content, instruction, behavior, and assessment. With regard to their weaknesses, assessment was found as the weakest component. This study can help teacher educators to offer pre-service teachers an appropriate instruction on their challenges of managing online classes of young learners.

Writing a thesis is crucial in the master's or PhD study process. There is no denying the supervisor's responsibility in this situation. Therefore, this study attempts to investigate the Kurdish students` perceptions toward their supervisors at various universities in Iraqi Kurdistan. In this study, two groups of students took part: 13 master students and 11 PhD students. Students, both male and female, who were studying at different universities in Kurdistan were included. They were all in their last year of studies and writing their theses and dissertations. A questionnaire and interviews were conducted to collect the data. The results revealed that students perceived the supervisors as a supporter, a leader, and a knowledgeable person who give them continuing feedback. The major point regarding the characteristics of effective supervisors was their knowledge of students` research topics, requiring supervisors to acquire enough knowledge and information on the topics of students` theses.

In recent years, technology-mediated collaborative writing has received great attention in the research literature. The purpose of the present study is to compare the effects of online collaborative writing using Google Docs and individual writing in a face-to-face conventional classroom on the writing performance of Iranian EFL learners. To this aim, a sample of 32 homogeneous intermediate learners was selected as the study's participants. They were then randomly divided into an experimental group (N = 16) and a control group (N = 16). Then, the experimental group participants performed online collaborative writing using Google Docs while the control group fulfilled individual papers in the face-to-face classroom. Two writing tasks by the students were employed to gather the data. Later, data were analyzed through paired-sample t-tests to investigate differences in writing in each group. Finally, ANCOVA was used to investigate the difference in writing performance between the two groups. This study added further insights concerning the contribution of Google Docs in technological research in technology-mediated collaborative writing and provided some pertinent pedagogical implications

The role of learning styles in academic performance has long been the question of many educationalists. Sensory learning styles, which categorize learners into three groups of visual, auditory, and tactile students, have been said to be likely to play parts in academic performance. The purpose of the present study is twofold. Initially, this study aimed to see what weaknesses Iranian university students have in reading comprehension task. The next step was to seek if possessing different sensory learning styles can lead to a significant difference regarding reading comprehension performance. In this study, Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment was applied to provide us with comprehensive mastery reading subskill profiles of everyone. To do so, a reading comprehension test along with a learning style questionnaire were given to 301 Iranian university students, the responses were all divided into either correct or incorrect responses, and according to examinees’ questionnaire, they were categorized into three groups of visual, auditory, and tactile learners. According to the present study, Iranian university students were found to have difficulty dealing with implicitly stated information, understanding difficult vocabulary, and summarizing the textual information. Regarding the second question of this study, visual learners performed significantly better than their auditory counterparts in four skills of Basic Linguistic Knowledge, Implicitly Stated Information, Understanding Difficult Vocabulary, and Understanding Complex Text. However, no significant difference was found between auditory and tactile participants. This result reinforces the prominent role of learning styles in academic and educational settings, to develop efficient instructions and curriculums that best meet learners’ needs.

This study intended to unveil the impact of incorporation of positive psychology theory into English instructions on the preference for anxiety-reducing strategies among Iranian EFL learners. The participants consisted of 60 EFL learners, from Safir Institute, Tehran, Iran, at the intermediate level, who were selected out of 90 EFL learners selected on convenience sampling basis. The 60 learners selected on the basis of their scores from an Oxford Placement Test (OPT), given to the 90 learners, were split into two equal 30-member groups. Both groups were given the language anxiety reducing strategies (LARS) questionnaire as pretest. Then, positive psychology-based instructions were provided to the experimental group drawing on five types of positive psychology-based instruction techniques for 20 sessions. These five instruction techniques included gratitude, optimistic intervention, positive affirmations, savouring, and strength-building measures. The control group received no intervention concerning positive psychology, and learners followed the conventional syllabus of the language school. After the treatment, the two groups took the LARS questionnaire as post-test. The results of ANCOVA indicated that teaching positive psychology techniques significantly increased anxiety-reducing strategies preference among Iranian EFL learners.

This study investigates the effect of strategy training on EFL learners’ attitudes regarding the concept and applicability of critical thinking in an educational context. To achieve this goal,80 EFL learners were selected using convenience sampling and homogenized based on the Oxford Placement Test.They completed a questionnaire adapted from Stupple et al.(2017) to assess their attitudes toward critical thinking,which served as the pre-test. Subsequently,the participants were divided into experimental and control groups.The experimental group underwent strategy training over10 sessions,during which various strategies were explained, and participants practiced using them to solve problems and exchange feedback.Additionally,they discussed the applicability and challenges associated with critical thinking in an educational context.The control group received mainstream instruction.After the treatment,both groups completed the same critical thinking questionnaire as the posttest.Furthermore,qualitative interviews were conducted with participants from the experimental group to gain an in-depth understanding. The data analysis revealed significant changes in the attitudes of the experimental group.Overall,this study follows a quasi-experimental explanatory sequential mixed-method design “In nature,the data analysis showed that,in general,the attitudes of the experimental group had changed significantly in the post-test compared to the control group.However,there was no significant difference in the attitude of the experimental and control groups regarding the applicability of strategy training for improving critical thinking and their ability to deploy critical thinking effectively.The results of the interviews and the comment section showed that teachers’ theoretical knowledge and willingness,EFL learners’ preparedness, and educational factors play important roles in the successful implementation of strategy training for developing critical thinking among EFL learners.”

Blended learning (BL) is being increasingly utilized in teaching and learning languages, therefore, carrying out this study in view of the lack of studies on BL within the Iranian EFL context is very significant. The study conducted at the English Department of Karaj Islamic Azad University provides valuable insights into how instructors and learners perceive the interplay between blended, online, and face-to-face (F2F) instructions. A mixed methods design has been applied to the study. 410 learners, studying English translation, and 46 university instructors responded to a Likert-type questionnaire and an open-ended one and 10 of them were interviewed. The findings revealed that, by incorporating both traditional classroom instruction and online learning tools, students can benefit from a more personalized and interactive learning experience. This approach can also help educators adapt their teaching methods to better meet the needs of diverse learners. In terms of educational policies, there may be a need for increased support and resources for implementing BL modules in language education. Additionally, language teaching programs may need to be revised to include more digital resources and tools to enhance language learning outcomes. Overall, the integration of BL in language classes can lead to more effective and engaging language education practices.