درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Second or foreign language (L2) learners’ development of interlanguage pragmatic (ILP) competence to understand and properly interpret utterances under certain social and cultural circumstances plays a pivotal role in the achievement of communicative competence. The current study was designed to explore the effects of synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) and asynchronous computer-mediated communication (ACMC) course modules delivered through social media networks (SMN) on the development of the Iranian L2 learners’ comprehension of implicatures. The participants of the study were 90 English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) undergraduate students attending three intact classes. The classes were randomly assigned to one control and two experimental (SCMC and ACMC) groups. An open-ended implicature comprehension test was used to assess students’ ILP development in this pretest-posttest comparison-group study. The control group received the traditional teacher-fronted instruction, and the S/ACMC groups received instruction via synchronous and asynchronous modules of SMNs for 4 months, respectively. Students’ attitudes towards the CMC-based courses were also sought. Split-plot ANOVA results indicated that both experimental groups developed significant ILP ability to comprehend and interpret L2 implicatures after the instruction; however, by comparison, the ACMC group improved more considerably. It is concluded that, first, comprehending L2 implicatures is not impervious to computer-mediated instruction and, second, different CMC affordances may result in differential ILP developmental effects in teaching L2 pragmatics. The findings can help L2 teachers decide how to use CMC affordances and SMN modules to raise L2 learners’ pragmatic awareness

The current study aimed to examine the effects of strategic planning, online planning, strategic planning and online planning combined (joint planning), and no planning on the complexity, accuracy, and fluency of oral productions in two simple and complex narrative tasks. Eighty advanced EFL learners performed one simple narrative task and a complex narrative task with 20 minutes in between. The order of the two stories was counterbalanced to control for any possible practice effect. The results suggest that no planning in both tasks was the least effective. Strategic planning led the learners to elevate both their complexity and fluency significantly in the narrative simple task and only their fluency in the complex task. Online planning helped the participants improve their accuracy significantly both in the simple and complex tasks. Finally, joint planning resulted in the significant elevation of accuracy and fluency in the simple task on the one hand, and complexity and accuracy in the complex task on the other. With respect to the effect of task complexity, the interaction between task complexity and CAF was significant. The results and comparisons between groups are discussed in the light of Levelt’s model of speaking, Skehan’s Trade-off Hypothesis, and earlier studies.

The present research probed the sociocultural challenging variables which may affect EFL learners’ identity formation during their language studies in an Iranian context. A thorough analysis of the literature encompassing EFL teachers’ opinions and EFL coursebook analyses was performed to develop a comprehensive view of the recognized sociocultural domains and variables. Furthermore, an open-ended questionnaire was designed and distributed among 50 adolescent male and female EFL learners at the age range of 13-21 years (M=16) as Erickson’s identity confusion stage to identify the newest sociocultural challenging variables in the present Iranian context. The result of the research led to compilation of a Sociocultural Variables Inventory presenting an extended range of variables operating in the context of Iranian EFL learners’ identity formation. The inventory could act as a basis for research in the fields of TEFL, sociolinguistics, cultural studies, and further interdisciplinary research.

حوزه فناوری های رایانه ای، زبان ویژه خود را می سازد. امروزه این حوزه هم به شکل سیستمی غنی از واژگان تخصصی و هم به شکل اصطلاحات حرفه ای نمود پیدا کرده است. در این مقاله به تاریخچه استفاده از اصطلاح «زبان حرفه ای» (Сленг) که از دهه هشتاد سده بیستم در روسیه رواج گسترده ای یافته، پرداخته شده است. در حوزه رایانه، مجموعه اصطلاحات حرفه ای بخش چندلایه ای از واژگان را تشکیل می دهند که می توان آن ها را با استفاده از شیوه تعیین ساختار حوزه معنایی ارائه نمود. ۲۷۸ واحد واژگانی از اصطلاحات حرفه ای در حوزه رایانه که با روش نمونه برداری مستمر از فرهنگ لغت «اصطلاحات حرفه ای جوانان: فرهنگ تفسیری» ت. گ. نیکیتینا استخراج شده اند، در پنج گروه موضوعی توزیع شده اند: ۱- برنامه ها و عملکردها؛ ۲- سیستم ها، سمبل ها و نشانه ها؛ ۳- اعمال و فرمان ها؛ ۴- قطعات و تجهیزات؛ ۵- انسان. در مقاله با استفاده از داده های درصدی، حوزه معنایی واژگان رایانه ای را تعیین می نماییم. گروه چهارم که تجهیزات رایانه را توصیف می کند در جایگاه اول، و اعمال و فرمان ها (گروه سه) که بخش مهمی برای کاربران به شمار می آیند، در جایگاه دوم قرار می گیرند. گروه اول در جایگاه سوم قرار می گیرد و درصد قابل توجهی را به خود اختصاص می دهد؛ زیرا هدایت عمل را تشریح می کند. گروه دوم که سهمی حدود ۹ درصدی در حوزه معنایی واژگان رایانه ای دارد و بی شک از اجزای مهم سیستم مورد اشاره به شمار می آید، جایگاه چهارم را به خود اختصاص می دهد. در جایگاه آخر، گروه «انسان» که این سیستم را به کار می اندازد، قرار می گیرد. به این ترتیب، به کمک ساختار حوزه معنایی، ویژگی های خاص مجموعه واژگانی اصطلاحات حرفه ای حوزه رایانه تعیین می گردد.

In an attempt to liberate teachers from deficiencies of the conventional methods, Kumaravadivelu (1994) proposed the concept of “post method condition” to overcome the challenges caused by the very nature of methods. The literature regarding post-method pedagogy has indicated that most of the studies focus on its theoretical aspect, while the practical realization has been largely untouched. To this end, the present study was an endeavor to unveil the perspective of Iranian EFL teachers concerning the applicability of this pedagogy. 21 male and female in-service EFL teachers from different cities in Iran (Shiraz, Marvdasht, Bushehr, Tehran, and Gonbad-e-Kavus) participated in this qualitative research where data came from semi-structured interviews as the primary source of data collection. The interview data were transcribed and coded using Straus and Corbin’s (1998) constant comparative method, including three codification processes of open, axial and selective codings. The finding indicated that absence of required autonomy among teachers, teacher’s job security, students’ passivity, absence of critical thinking skills among students, dominance of transmission model of teacher education, inefficiency of the textbooks, teacher’s focus on coverage and grade pressure, and demanding nature of post-method pedagogy as the main pedagogical barriers which prevent language teachers from applying this pedagogy in their teaching practices.

This study compares lexical retrieval amongst monolinguals and intermediate bilinguals and advanced bilinguals. It also investigates the possible effects of their language learning strategies on their respective lexical retrieval advantage. The study used a mixed methods design and the groups consisted of 20 Persian near-monolinguals, 20 Persian-English intermediate level bilinguals, and 20 Persian-English high-proficiency bilinguals. Auditory and visual lexical Memory Span Tasks were utilized to evaluate the lexical retrieval of all the language groups. The way that bilinguals used their L2 on a daily basis was examined using semi-structured interviews. It was suggested that the knowledge of two languages will not necessarily result in lexical retrieval advantages in bilinguals when compared to monolinguals. However, it was found that the specific language learning strategies used by the bilinguals could potentially influence their lexical retrieval advantages. Furthermore, when comparing lexical retrieval in different language proficiency groups, the method by which bilinguals manage their two languages as well as the environment they are located in should be taken into consideration.

The present study aimed to investigate whether Reports on the results and Comments on the results moves’ recycling in the Research Article (RA) Discussion sections is affected by cultural/disciplinary variations. To this end, 600 empirical RAs in six Soft Science disciplines, including Economics, Sociology, Applied Linguistics, Linguistics, Management, and Psychology, with an equal number in each discipline and culture, published in the period from 2006 to 2018 were selected. Weissberg and Buker’s (1990) move model was used as a starting point to analyze the RAs. First, the Reports on the results and Comments on the results moves were identified in the Results sections. The Chi-Square test was then used to calculate and compare the frequency of their recycling in the Discussion sections across cultures and disciplines. The data analysis results revealed that changes in the disciplines or sociocultural settings do not result in variations in recycling the two moves under study. Given that the current study provides a relatively new framework for scrutinizing scientific discourse, it may promise certain pedagogical implications for native and non-native students in Soft Science disciplines, researchers, English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) instructors, and course designers.