درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

The present study aimed to develop writing skills by using the blogging technique. This experimental research used a pre-post group design. The study had two groups; a control group (23 male students) and an experimental group (24 male students). The students in the control group were taught traditionally through paper-and-pencil assignments. On the other hand, blogging was taught in the experimental group. The topics focused on current global events, which were prepared and posted by the researcher. The learners were asked to search for photos, videos, or articles related to the assigned topic and write about these events in their own words. They also had to post comments and feedback on their classmates’ blog posts. The learners worked on their blog posts individually, in pairs, or in small groups. The researcher worked as a facilitator. Comparing the posttest scores using SPSS analysis of learners who blogged about current global events and those who only used paper-and-pencil tasks on the same topics showed significant differences in writing improvement in favor of the blog group. Moreover, students in the blog group showed positive attitudes toward the blogging activity. They enjoyed interacting and cooperating with their peers and reflecting on their performance in writing in response to the feedback and comments they got from other classmates’ blog posts. The study ended with some recommendations for intensifying the blogging activity of EFL students in writing courses. Also, blogging about current global events was confirmed to be efficient in raising students’ global awareness and promoting their writing skills.

Vocabulary learning can occur incidentally when explicit and implicit cognitive processes are at work. The present study investigated how frequently a set of (implicit/explicit) lexical strategies was used by Iranian learners of English while reading journalistic texts for comprehension, and how effective they were regarding vocabulary retention in incidental vocabulary learning. Also, it examined the role of gender in lexical strategy use in such a context. To this end, 40 upper-intermediate learners of English, including 20 males and 20 females, were selected and asked to read journalistic texts. To collect the data, think-aloud and a retention test (Vocabulary Knowledge Scale) were used. Descriptive and chi-square data analyses revealed that the most frequent lexical strategy was consulting a dictionary (particularly a bilingual dictionary), followed by inferring (particularly contextual strategies) and ignoring strategies. The male participants were found to use inferring strategies more frequently whereas the female participants were found to use the ignoring strategy more frequently. Moreover, significant differences were observed between explicit and implicit strategy types with higher lexical use and retention effect for explicit ones. Findings provide implications for L2 vocabulary learning. 

This study applied multi-faceted Rasch measurement to investigate the halo effect in the performance-based assessment of writing across rubric criteria. Five raters who had received specialized training applied a four-criteria rating rubric to analytically rate writing scripts on two argumentative topics. Facets, a Rasch computer program, was utilized to pinpoint the halo effect by analyzing rater and rubric criteria interactions. After examining the appropriateness of the rubric in terms of functionality, the results showed that except for one rater, the raters did not exhibit any sign of the halo effect across rubric criteria. Generally, the severity hierarchies for raters and difficulty levels for rubric criteria suggested that raters’ training and their perceptions of the importance of criteria were associated with their manifestation of the halo effect. Pedagogically, through a detailed facet analysis of interactions between raters and rubric criteria, rater trainers may better realize how to design effective training programs to minimize raters’ variance including the halo effect and improve the overall objectivity of human rating.

Despite the increased research on various aspects of academic optimism (AO) in general education, this line of inquiry has not received adequate empirical attention in English language teacher education. The present mixed-methods study aimed to explore the role of AO in MALL-oriented listening instruction among Iranian EFL teachers, with a focus on variations in their experience ranges. A total of 168 teachers participated in the study and completed the study scales, and 15 teachers with higher levels of perceived AO were further interviewed to gather qualitative data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to examine the quantitative data, while thematic analysis was conducted to analyze the qualitative data. The quantitative results indicated significant differences between novice, experienced, and highly experienced language teachers, with the latter holding more positive beliefs about AO and MALL in relation to listening. Additionally, a significant correlation was found between AO and MALL. The qualitative findings complemented the quantitative results by highlighting the pivotal role of academic optimism in driving teachers’ motivation, the positive impact of teachers’ optimistic attitudes on student engagement and motivation, and the pedagogical strategies employed by optimistic teachers to effectively incorporate MALL in their instructional practices. These findings provide implications for teachers and teacher educators, emphasizing the importance of integrating AO principles in MALL-related professional development courses to positively contribute to teachers’ professional growth. The study contributes to the limited empirical research on AO within the context of English language teacher education and provides valuable insights into the complex interplay between academic optimism, MALL-oriented listening instruction, and teacher-student interactions.

The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to explore pre-service EFL teachers’ conceptions and self-efficacy for effective online teaching and (b) to determine their instructors’ conceptions of online teaching effectiveness and their approaches to preparing them for effective online teaching. The participants were 100 MA students of TEFL and 6 teacher educators at Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST). The data collection instrument was a questionnaire with 40 principles of effective online teaching classified into 7 categories of facilitating learning, interaction, deep learning, relationship, resources, engagement, and organization followed by two open-ended questions. A semi-structured interview was also conducted to examine teacher educators’ conceptions of online teaching effectiveness. The results revealed that pre-service teachers considered themselves more self-efficacious in fostering relationship while less in maintaining organization in online English language classes. To be an effective online teacher, they also held the view that teachers need to establish a friendly atmosphere and relationship, provide useful materials, have adequate technological knowledge, give prompt feedback, and engage learners in their learning process. For teacher educators, effective online teaching was having adequate technological knowledge, providing appropriate content, establishing an online presence, successful classroom management, and having positive perceptions of online teaching.

One strategy that eases the process of teaching argumentative writing might be teaching them how to express their thoughts, beliefs, and in general, ideologies in academic essays. This study aimed to investigate the effect of teaching writing skills on ideology transfer in the academic writings of EFL students. To this end, a sequential mixed-methods design was used. Participants were 80 male and female IELTS candidates who were selected based on some criteria such as proficiency level, age, and educational background. A sample Mock Writing Task 2 and a sample IELTS Writing Task 2 were used as instruments in the pre-test and post-test respectively. Learners’ essays produced during these stages were analyzed based on Fairclough’s (2001) three-dimensional model of critical discourse analysis: description, interpretation, and explanation. To analyze the data, content analysis methods were applied during which discursive strategies used by the candidates were identified and coded, and the frequency and percentage of them were calculated. After the analysis, the following themes were extracted in the participants’ writings, as representing ideology transfer: tendency towards representation of identity, use of active voices, use of first-person pronouns, social views, author visibility, ideology-laden concepts, and idea development. Moreover, there were significant changes in the post-test writings of the participants in terms of the number of discursive strategies used to express ideology. This shows that teaching writing skills can significantly affect EFL learners’ ability to transfer their ideology into academic writing. The findings can have some implications for EFL learners, teachers, and curriculum planners.

Reflective practice and noticing can be regarded as two essential concerns for novice teachers’ survival and development in their first practices. Therefore, this study was an attempt to explore how reflective practices activate novice English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ noticing. To that end, we conducted an instrumental case study to explore the role of reflective practice among Iranian novice EFL teachers in activating their noticing. An inductive-deductive thematic analysis of the data collected through teachers’ portfolios and semi-structured interviews indicated that novice teachers’ noticing could be activated and sharpened through teachers’ personal, cognitive, and professional developments addressed by reflective practice. Furthermore, the findings showed that there are relationships among novice teachers’ personal, cognitive, and professional developments and the components of teacher noticing, including framing, perceptual activities and exploration, and interaction, leading to sharpening novice EFL teachers’ noticing. Hence, it can be concluded reflective practice can activate novice EFL teachers' noticing, impacting their professional development through framing, interaction, perceptual activities, and exploration. The study has implications for EFL teacher education programs, where teacher educators can help teachers develop critical reflection skills to address problems in their classrooms.

Studies in literary religious discourses, including recent Quranic studies, suggest that speech act theory provides the researchers with variable pragmatic tools to interpret meanings that are constructed upon the intention of the speaker. This study draws upon speech act theory (SAT) to analyse the two ubiquitous speech acts of promise and threat in the Holy Quran. Employing the speech acts of promise and threat in the Quran to the detailed analysis of felicity conditions, this study, while arguing for the compatibility of SAT to the language of Quran, concludes that the main impetus behind the speech acts of promise and threat is creating the motivation in the addressees to conduct good and avoid evil deeds; therefore, the rules and conditions that drive the illocutionary force of promise and threat perfectly align with the motivational language of the Holy Quran.

Valid online formative assessments are crucial for accurate measurement of students' progress and effective pedagogical decision-making in digital learning. This quantitative-based study followed two primary aims. First, it aimed to investigate the extent to which Iranian EFL teachers working in universities and language institutes apply indicators of online formative assessment validity. Twenty-one online classrooms were observed in three sessions using a checklist. The second aim of this study was to determine the effect of EFL teachers’ place of living on the validity of online formative assessment. To this end, 316 Iranian EFL teachers from diverse EFL settings, including public schools, private schools, language institutes, and universities were asked to fill out online formative assessment validity scale developed by Maleki et al. (2023). The sample included both male and female teachers with varying age group ranges and academic degrees. The findings of the study indicated that Iranian EFL teachers in universities and language institutes tend to overlook indicators associated with the learner-centered aspects of online formative assessment validity. Furthermore, it was revealed that EFL teachers’ place of living could impact the validity of online formative assessment. This study has several implications for online EFL teachers and policymakers. The findings of this study emphasize the context-bound nature of validity in online formative assessment. Besides, it helps Iranian EFL teachers identify specific areas that need more attention and improvement in order to enhance the validity of their online formative assessments.