درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

The objectives of the present ethnography were three-fold: exploring the MA TEFL students' expectations of the Advanced Writing course taken as part of their coursework in the MA program, unearthing the actual classroom practices implemented, and eliciting any possible suggestions for its improvement. To this aim, stimulated recall and ethnographically-oriented qualitative research were used to interview nine MA students at IAU, Isfahan Branch and unravel their perspectives concerning the writing course they had passed. Non-participant observation was also used to triangulate the data and verify the students' responses regarding the expectations/problems of the course and the classroom practices besides cyclical data analysis to find the recurring patterns and themes in the data. Results showed the most serious problems were lack of enough writing practice during the course, limited class hours, and lack of feedback on students' writings. The prevalent classroom practices, on the other hand, were covering the APA writing style, teaching how to write the different sections of a research report, and working on essay writing during the first few sessions of the course. Finally, the top suggestions made by the students were adding practical writing activities to the course, having more writing courses, taking advantage of group work for students to monitor each other's work and provide peer feedback, and offering the course right before students take their thesis rather than in the first semester of the MA program. These findings can heighten the educator's awareness and contribute to a better understanding of students' needs/expectations regarding academic writing. Overall, by addressing the gap in understanding advanced EFL learners' expectations, this study can have practical implications that directly impact the teaching of writing. It can guide curriculum development, inform instructional approaches, enhance learner motivation and engagement, promote learner autonomy, and improve instructional materials, ultimately leading to more effective writing instruction and improved outcomes for advanced EFL learners.

Despite some investigations highlighting the role of English literary texts in learner identity construction, few studies have explored how integrating translated short stories from learners’ native culture impacts L2 learners’ identity reconstruction in EFL contexts. This study addresses how learning English through Persian short stories translated into English can affect reader identity reconstruction of Iranian undergraduate students of English. The researchers selected three translated stories of loyalty, justice, and love themes. After collecting the data through five WhatsApp semi-structured interviews and five open-ended questionnaires, the researchers applied qualitative content analysis to the data related to readers’ self-descriptions of the initial L2 learning experiences, the story-based instructional stage, and their aspirations. The findings revealed significant alterations in the emotional and attitudinal states of the learners throughout the stages. Despite prioritizing different cultural and linguistic resources, the three participants highlighted the contribution of resources in language learning in the story-based stage and in their aspirations. All participants focused on the scaffolding role of their native language and culture in enhancing classroom interactions. The results would enlighten materials developers to integrate translated literary texts from Persian literature into language teaching programs

Pronunciation is one of the sub-skills which has significant effect on improving the communication competency and linguistic performance. Moreover, Pronunciation is one of the most difficult parts of teaching a foreign language to adults. It seems that the sub-skill of pronunciation is not taught in the form of a well-rounded program in communicative approaches and interactive conversations in Persian language classes, and that learners pronounce Persian under the influence of the phonemes of their mother tongue. This study is an attempt to provide an answer for the question of what strategies foreign learners use in their learning process by examining pronunciation learning strategies. The current research is the application and collection of research data using the field research approach and the descriptive method is used for the data analysis. The research instrument in data collection is a questionnaire composed of 43 items, each question containing a pronunciation strategy. After verifying validity and reliability, it was randomly distributed among foreign Persian learners. Based on the findings, they make significant use of cognitive, social, metacognitive and compensatory strategies. Commonly, mother tongue does not have a significant effect on the use of these strategies, but Chinese speakers use the group of cognitive strategies significantly more than Arabic speakers do.

This study investigates the pragmastylistic features employed in English and Arabic religious texts, with a specific focus on the concept of rewarding. Drawing on Narmin Abbas Lutfi Baqqal's PhD dissertation, the research examines the pragmatic and stylistic characteristics of rewarding in Biblical and Prophetic Hadith texts. The study addresses two primary research questions: (1) What are the pragmastylistic features used in English and Arabic religious texts to convey rewarding? (2) Which pragmatic and stylistic features are more prevalent in these texts? By analyzing 20 Biblical verses and 20 Prophetic Hadiths, the paper identifies the linguistic and rhetorical devices used to express rewarding, highlighting both similarities and differences between the two languages. The findings reveal that both texts employ declarative and imperative speech acts, deixis, and figurative language, but with distinct stylistic preferences. This study contributes to the fields of pragmatics, stylistics, and religious discourse analysis, offering insights into how language shapes religious messages across different cultural and linguistic contexts.

This study focused on the importance of Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLSs) in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and how Iranian EAP students learn academic vocabulary. The study used a predominantly quantitative approach by gathering data from 238 participants through online self-report VLS questionnaires, which were analyzed using SPSS-26. A triangulation approach was used to ensure accuracy and consistency, with qualitative data gathered through semi-structured interviews with 20 students. The analysis revealed that participants frequently used strategies for incorporating new vocabulary into their repertoire. Additionally, teacher-related, student-related, and material-related themes emerged through coding the participants’ beliefs. The results indicated that raising learners’ consciousness of VLSs, training teachers, providing tasks for all language skills, using technology, materials revision, and developing autonomous and independent learning can help with vocabulary acquisition and the satisfaction of EAP students. Overall, this study highlights the importance of VLSs in EAP and provides insights into effective strategies for acquiring academic vocabulary.

Enhancing one's proficiency in English grammar represents a foremost objective for individuals who are learning a foreign language. In EFL contexts, it is commonly observed that children tend to acquire knowledge of grammar rules incidentally, whereas adults usually require formal instruction to attain a more advanced level of proficiency. Numerous contemporary approaches have undergone substantial investigation, yet comparatively limited emphasis has been placed on the acquisition of grammar learning strategies. This article investigates the perspectives of learners with regards to the utilization of grammatical learning strategies during the duration of an English language course. This research centers on the cognitive and affective viewpoints of individuals participating in a grammar study group. The objective of the research is to investigate the utilization of specific strategies by learners for the acquisition of varied grammar structures. Novel methodologies and empirical investigations have the potential to enhance the comprehension of the educational process and self-regulation. The aforementioned holds the possibility of significant repercussions for individuals engaged in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning process, educators facilitating such learning, and professionals responsible for designing EFL curricula.

The ability to assess the language learners’ progress has been known as one of the most important parts of EFL/ESL teachers’ literacy. Language assessment literacy (LAL). The notion of LAL has evolved over time, as a large number of researchers showed to be enthusiastic to study this research area. However, the number of studies on teachers’ Writing Assessment Literacy (WAL) is scanty. As writing skill is very necessary for language learners to communicate with native speakers of the English language, it is very important for writing teachers to develop assessment tasks to positively contribute to the rate of learners’ progress in writing skill. Therefore, it is of much significance to review the related studies on assessment literacy, language assessment literacy, and writing assessment literacy. In this review study, the relevant studies were reviewed and further directions for writing assessment literacy of EFL/ESL teachers are suggested to the researchers interested in the field.

Classroom assessment practices play an important role in increasing students' learning. These practices are also key to the success of curriculum reforms. In line with this importance, the current study aimed to explore Iranian EFL teachers' classroom assessment practices following the new curriculum reform introduced in 2011. It also examined whether there were differences in teachers' practices based on variables such as gender, teaching experience, and educational degree through qualitative and quantitative approaches. A total of 28 EFL teachers at public high schools from three provinces in Iran (Lorestan, Kermanshah, and Ilam) participated in the semi-structured interviews. After transcribing the interviews, recurrent themes were identified by thematic analysis. The results revealed that English teachers used primarily assessment for learning or formative assessment, yet their assessments were still exam-based. The frequency of assessment practices indicated that oral questioning during instruction (60.7%), test after each lesson or unit of lesson (50%), written exams (35.7%), and group activity (32.1%) were the most frequently used assessment practices among teachers. The findings revealed that there is a discrepancy between teachers' classroom assessment practices and the curriculum reform. Across gender, there was a significant difference between participants in terms of role play, assigning summaries of lessons, and playing audio files. Regarding teaching experience and academic degree, there was no significant difference between participants. The findings would have implications for teacher education programs and EFL teachers.Key Words: Classroom assessment; EFL teachers; Formative assessment; Practices