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The study investigated the relationship between Iranian EFL teachers' perception of critical pedagogy (CP) and reflective teaching (RT), the possible effect of gender, academic degree, and teaching experience on teachers’ perceptions of CP, the possible differences among the three groups of teachers of universities, public schools and private language institutes regarding their perception of CP and also the possible difference between the reported CP perception of teachers and their actual classroom implementation. The instruments adopted for data collection purposes included the CP Questionnaire developed by Pishvaei and Kasaian (2013) and the RT Inventory developed by Akbari, Behzadpour and Dadvand (2010) which were validated through pilot-testing and factor analysis. Then, the CP Classroom Observation Checklist, was developed by the researchers and was viewed by an expert. The results of one-way ANOVA showed that there were significant differences among the three groups of university, school, and language institute EFL teachers regarding CP perception. Also, the results of Pearson correlation showed a significant relationship between participants' perception of CP and RT. Moreover, the results of Factorial ANOVA indicated that gender and teaching experience did not significantly differentiate the participants concerning CP perception; however, academic degree did so. Furthermore, the results of Independent Samples t-test revealed significant differences between the participants' reported perception of CP and their actual classroom implementation of it. The findings of the study might imply that English teachers should be equipped with the knowledge of how to put CP into practice in actual classroom settings in addition to the propositional knowledge of the concept.

Based on the learning-centred approach to needs analysis, the current study aimed at investigating the academic target needs of undergraduate students of English Language and Literature in Iran as a non-native context nationwide by employing a triangulation of instrumentations namely, questionnaires, class observations, and semi structured interviews. To this end, 320 stakeholders from eight different Iranian state universities participated in the current study. The results of this study revealed a discrepancy between the target needs of the students and the actual EFL courses they undertake during their academic and pre-academic studies. During pre-academic studies, students are not adequately equipped with critical thinking abilities, study skills, and general English proficiency which are required by their prospective academic needs. Likewise, the prevalent lecture-based teaching methodologies as utilized by Iranian content specialists at the tertiary level, seemed to be ineffective in sufficiently equipping the students with sound literary knowledge as well as professional writing and reading skills. The findings may promise implications for establishing a consistent nationwide pedagogical framework for EFL instruction at the non-native academic and pre-academic levels by a synthesis of different communicative and learning-centered approaches to language teaching based on a systematic cooperation among different stakeholders.

The study investigated EFL teachers’ current level of critical consciousness as well as their beliefs about the educational context where they taught. The study also explored how gender, teaching experience, workplace, and academic degree differentiated the participants with regard to their critical consciousness. Drawing upon the related literature and the existing questionnaires in the field, we designed and validated a questionnaire applying technical statistical procedures (e.g., confirmatory factor analysis). The questionnaire was then completed by 310 English teachers teaching in different language institutions across the country. The findings revealed that, in general, EFL teachers’ current level of critical consciousness was above average. However, they believed that the educational context did not encourage and cultivate in them critical consciousness. It was also found that, contrary to expectations, the academic degree did not differentiate teachers in this regard. Moreover, male and female teachers were found not to be significantly different in their critical consciousness. The theoretical and pedagogical implications are discussed in the paper.

Overviewing the current literature on Western and Islamic orientations to English language education and illuminating the advantages and challenges of each orientation, this study endeavored to critically examine English language teaching in the context of Iran. In effect, this study elaborated on modernist, postmodernist, and Islamic orientations to language teaching. In tandem, this critical examination initiated from the modernist orientation because this orientation constituted the basis of contemporary academic disciplines. The findings revealed that there exists a strong similarity between postmodernist and Islamic orientations, when Islam is studied as an educational paradigm rather than a political issue. Moreover, the critical examination of the relevant studies on the context of Iran showed the prevalence of the native speaker ideology, systematicity, and standardisation as manifestations of the modernist orientation leading to unequal Englishes. In reality, unequal Englishes can be considered as a colonial enterprise illegitimizing non-native speakers and downplaying local varieties. Analyzing the concept of unequal Englishes, we have also argued that there is a real need to establish a dialogue across postmodernist and Islamic orientations to challenge power relations and foreground knowing as an act of identity. Accordingly, we called for an ontological turn in English language education in Iran, which revolves around super-diversity and perceives language as a practice situated in a social-cultural-historical context.

Motivation for learning a new language is both self and time-oriented. The language learner’s motivation experiences gradual fluctuation over time and the view of oneself is different on each timescale of the study. Interaction among different timescales throughout the Second Language Development (SLD) is a novel area of investigation (de Bot, 2015). In order to probe this interactive nature, the present study tried to examine the motivational dynamics of a group of language learners in longer timescales composed of a number of tasks performed on shorter timescales. To this end, a group of university students were surveyed at the onset, while performing tasks and at the end of the course to better picture the interplay of different motivational themes over time. The results revealed different manifestations of components of L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) over different timescales of the study. Apart from this evolutionary manifestation of L2MSS components, ANNOVA results revealed significant difference between scores of each individual component among all three timescales. In sum, results of the study confirmed temporal and visionary variation in participants’ motivation. Finally, some implications were driven from the findings of the study.

From a Systemic Functional perspective, Grammatical Metaphor (GM) as is taken to be a chief driving force in the discourse of different genres, an important adult language machinery for ideational meanings to be semantically cross-mapped and realized through a different form in the stratum of the lexico-grammar, in order to convey changed meanings and tinker with the discursive flow and development of text in real time, mainly through nominalization of adjectives and verbs. Using a number of established works of the English novel as data, this study draws upon the author’s previous model for the categories of GM used in modern prose fiction, with the main focus placed on one of the six categories, Prepositional GM (PGM). PGM figures with a very high frequency in fiction and occurs when a GM is preceded by a preposition. This study finds that the language of prose fiction in English deploys some of these PGMsin either of two different meaning sof the adverbial, varying according to context. Again, as seen to be the hallmark of GM by many, GM is found to open up vast ideational meaning potentials in the semantics stratum, from which the lexico-grammar makes choices according to context and intended meaning. As argued elsewhere in the literature and here, and as backed up by the author’s own experience of the advanced teaching of writing and reading, broadened understanding of GM is a critically important component to writing instruction and its effectiveness, as seen in the large-scale horizons and agendas for effective teaching of English as a Foreign Language in Iran and beyond.

Given the role philosophical mentality can fulfill in bringing individuals the essential skills of wisdom and well thinking, the present paper, by applying Smith’s (2007) theoretical framework, strived to explore the extent philosophic-mindedness exists among the participants. Considering the fact that, a philosophic mind begets philosophical answers, the participants’ philosophical thinking ability was evaluated through analyzing their answers to philosophical questions. To this end, through convenience sampling, a group of 40 EFL students in BA degree, 21 female and 19 male with the age range of 19 to 35, at Shiraz University, Iran, were selected. They were asked to read two simple short passages, story and non-story, and answer the related questions. Based on three characteristics of philosophic-mindedness (i.e. comprehensiveness, penetration, and flexibility) it was revealed that the majority of the participants signified rigidity and dogmatism in their way of thinking and were in the habit of shallow and superficial thinking. They seemed to be unable to afford themselves a profound insight into the questions. The minority, on the other hand, took notice of different options in the questions, reappraised their varying strands, and provided reasonable answers.  In addition, it was inferred that lack of comprehensiveness alone assures lack of philosophical mentality. Finally, the three dimensions of philosophic-mindedness recommended in the framework can be utilized by stakeholders in educational fields to realize a person with (non-) philosophical mentality.

Motivation raising strategies are frequently used in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes; nevertheless, learners’ perceptions of such strategies used by language teachers have not sufficiently been explored. Also, there are not enough studies on differences and similarities between more and less proficient EFL learners regarding this issue. To scrutinize this topic, a groups of more (No=50) and less proficient EFL learners (No=50) participated in this study by completing to a validated, researcher-made questionnaire with a five-point Likert type format. Non-parametric Mann-Whiteny U test was run in the SPSS ver. 23 to check the differences between the two groups. The results of the study verified that, regardless of each individual scale in the utilized questionnaire, overall, the more proficient ones manifested significantly less perceptions on teachers’ motivation raising strategies based on the total estimated mean ranks compared with the less proficient learners.  However, within the surveyed scales, only in the classroom atmosphere scale, the results showed that the less proficient learners were more mindful of teacher strategies for motivation raising. The findings from this study have implications for motivation raising strategy instructions for a language classroom. 

Task motivation has recently gained prominence in second language (L2) research. However, its potential effects on the transfer of learning across tasks have not been investigated. The present study sought to deal with this issue through a mixed-methods approach. A total of 82 intermediate English learners took part in the study. Initially, they were tested regarding their knowledge of the English definite article. Then, they performed a consciousness-raising task that accentuated the article. Following the task, their task motivation was measured using a self-report questionnaire. After a few days, they completed another task requiring the knowledge of the article to see whether those who experienced higher task motivation on Task 1 were able to transfer the newly gained knowledge more efficiently to Task 2 compared to learners with low task motivation. Then, focus group interviews were conducted with learners representing both groups. Analysis of variance revealed that task motivation significantly affects transfer of learning. Moreover, thematic coding analysis of the qualitative data indicated that positive task appraisal, peer effect, increased effort, and activating self-regulation strategies were the major factors associated with high task motivation leading to efficient transfer of learning. The findings suggest some implications for pedagogy and research.

The primary aim of this study was to open up new ways with which teachers could help learners improve their knowledge of vocabulary via collocation activities. This study investigated the effect of collocation activities on Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ vocabulary knowledge in order to solve their vocabulary problems. To this end, 60 female students from Pardis Institute in Lahijan, Iran participated in this study. They were divided into two groups of 30, one as an experimental group that received collocation activities as the treatment and a control group which received traditional method of vocabulary instruction. The researchers used a quasi-experimental, pre-test/post-test control group design. The data were analyzed using an Independent Samples T-test and a series of paired Samples T-tests. The findings of this study showed that collocation activities improved significantly participant learners’ vocabulary knowledge. The findings from paired-sample t-test indicated that the learners in the experimental group outperformed the control group in vocabulary knowledge.

در این پژوهش به بررسی تاثیر فناوری های جدید اطلاع رسانی و ارتباطی در آموزش بر بهبود توانش های دستوری و آگاهی فراشناختی در دستور نزد معلمان آینده زبان فرانسه در دانشکده تعلیم و تربیت دانشگاه تانتا، پرداخته می شود. به نظر می رسد که استفاده از فناوری های اطلاع رسانی و ارتباطی در آموزش نه تنها عملکرد دستوری زبان آموزان بلکه آگاهی فراشناختی آنها را نیز می-تواند بهبود بخشد. آگاهی فراشناختی تاثیر زیادی بر فراگیری زبان فرانسه دارد. تحقیقات زیادی مانند عبدالغنی (2009 و 2010) نشان دادند که زمانیکه فراگیران به عملکردهایشان آگاه باشند چگونه مرتکب این یا آن خطا می شوند و چگونه آنها می توانند با استفاده از فناوری های اطلاع رسانی و ارتباطی در آموزش، عملکرد زبانی شان را بهبود بخشند. از منابع مجازی بر خط مانند Franc-parler.org (پایگاه جهانی معلمان زبان فرانسه به عنوان زبان خارجی) و غیره استفاده شد تا تاثیر آنها بر آموزش دستور و رشد آگاهی فراشناختی در دستور نزد معلمان آینده زبان فرانسه در مصر بررسی شود.

این مطالعه جهت بررسی کاربرد راهبردهای فراشناختی در مهارت صحبت کردن انجام گرفته و به طور خاص سعی در بررسی این موضوع دارد که در تمرینات یک سویه و دو سویه صحبت کردن چه راهبردهای فراشناختی به کار گرفته می شود. به همین منظور 60 دانش آموز سطح بزرگسال (زن) به طور تصادفی و از طریق آزمون یکسان سازی OPT انتخاب شدند و به دو گروه کنترل و آزمایش تقسیم شدند. برای بررسی به کارگیری راهبردهای فراشناختی از پرسشنامه فراشناختی (اکسفورد، 1990) استفاده شده است. گروه کنترل تمرینات یک سویه و دو سویه را به شیوه مرسوم انجام دادند و گروه آزمایش پس از دریافت راهبردهای فراشناختی به انجام تمرینات پرداختند. بعد از مرحله پس آزمون و مقایسه ANCOVA مشخص شد که مقدار میانگین مقایسه ای بین دو گروه تفاوت قابل توجهی داشته است. نتایج نشان می دهد که گروه آزمایش بهتر از گروه کنترل عمل کردند. از طریق آمار توصیفی و آزمون خی دو این نتیجه به دست آمده است که استفاده از راهبردهای فراشناختی در تمرینات یک سویه و دو سویه صحبت کردن متفاوت بوده و در هرکدام یک سری از این راهبردها به کار گرفته شده است.

This study aimed at investigating the effect of using smart board technology on the EFL learners' achievement motivation and willingness to communicate (WTC). The participants were 65 second grade female students from Shahid Nazari girls’ high school in Andimeshk, Iran, who were selected randomly. An OPT was administrated to the the participants to homogenize them. Other instruments were Hermans’ achievement motivation questionnaire and McCroskey & Baer’s WTC questionnaire to estimate the participants’ achievement motivation and willingness to communicate, respectively. For data analysis, Levenetest, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, independent samples T test, paired sample T test, MANCOVA and ANCOVA were used. The findings indicated the experimental group outperformed the control group. Overall, the findings provided empirical support for the significant effect of using smart board technology on the EFL learners’ achievement motivation and WTC.