درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

This study aimed to explore the relationship between language acquisition and grade four senior high school (G4SHS) students’ achievement in English as a foreign language (EFL). To this end the 41-item English Language Acquisition Scale (ELAS) designed by Khodadady and Younesi (2017) was administered to 518 G4SHS students. Also to find the probable relationship between ELAS, its latent variables and participant achievement in EFL classes in EFL classes 126 participants were randomly selected out of population to answer schema-based cloze multiple choice items test ( S- test) designed by Khodadady and Ghergloo ( 2013). To know which of the G4SHS students who took the ELAS took the S-Test as well the researcher was matched the codes of the ELAS S-test and ELTAS carefully. The results showed that the ELAS consists of five factors, i.e., Qualified, grammatization, Humanistic, Engagement and Orientation. Also the ELAS and its underlying factors show significant relationships with English achievement scores. The results of the study are discussed .

The present study aimed at investigating the effect of peer feedback (PF) on EFL learners’ writing performance and writing anxiety. To this end, two intact classes including 48 intermediate EFL learners were selected and assigned into two groups of experimental and control (24 learners in each). This study had a quasi-experimental design including pre-test, treatment, and post-test to assess the students’ overall writing performance before and after the PF sessions. For data collection, the researchers used pre-test, post-test, 7 writing topics, and Cheng’s (2004) Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI). The results of paired sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U Test revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group due to the implementation of PF. Moreover, the researchers conducted Cheng’s SLWAI questionnaire at the end of the study. The findings indicated that the anxiety level of the experimental group receiving PF decreased to a significant extent. The implications are discussed in terms of writing instructors’ use of PF into writing classes to make the environment safer and more comfortable for the language learners to flourish their ideas.

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.

This quasi-experimental research aimed at investigating the effects of two different modes of worksheets on the vocabulary learning of Iranian young EFL learners. Some 20 male and female learners enrolled in a language institute in Chabahar agreed to participate in this study. Then, they were randomly divided into two experimental groups, and a vocabulary test was administered before the treatment as the pre-test. This pre-test was administered to determine the learners’ vocabulary knowledge and check their homogeneity. During the treatment, learners in Paper Worksheet Group (PWG) learned new words via paper worksheets, while the learners in Online Worksheet Group (OWG) learned vocabulary items via online worksheets. At the end, all the participants took a vocabulary post-test, which was the same as the pre-test. A paired sample t-test and an independent sample t-test were run, the results of which revealed that the PWG outperformed the OWG. More precisely, paper worksheets had a significant impact on young EFL learners’ vocabulary learning. Using worksheets, teachers can create a relaxed, challenging, and fun atmosphere so that young EFL learners can learn complex vocabulary items through active and multi-dimensional learning.

The two most important defining aspects of L1 national identity are language and social belonging that are manifested through the individual’s inclinations toward the mother tongue or the official language and the sociocultural heritage of the country in which people are living. Moreover, based on the available literature, L2 identity may also exert an influence over the L1 national identity; however, this claim has not been securitized through valid large-scale and comprehensive surveys. Therefore, this study sought to shed light on the relationship between various second language identity dimensions (SLID) and L1 national identity. A sample of 1018 Iranian EFL learners who were selected based on the purposive snowball sampling filled out a researcher-made and validated Multidimensional L2 Identity Questionnaire (MLIQ) and a National Identity Questionnaire (NIQ). Data analysis using multiple regression revealed that the constructed SLID model could significantly contribute to the L1 national identity. The results also showed that the following four dimensions of SLID were significant predictors of national identity: transitive vs. intransitive, convergent vs. divergent, homogeneous vs. heterogeneous, and active vs. passive dimensions. Among these, active vs. passive and convergent vs. divergent dimensions had strong contributions to explaining the degree of the L2 national identity. These findings can help EFL teachers and learners develop a positive L2 identity with balanced dimensions that also promotes L1 national identity

Foreign language enjoyment and speaking anxiety in the classroom are two potential emotion-inducing factors for foreign language learning. This sequential mixed methods study investigated whether and to what extent Iranian EFL students experienced foreign language enjoyment and public speaking anxiety in their English classrooms, and how they characterize the sources of the enjoyment and speaking anxiety in such a context. To these ends, 128 learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) from several English language institutes, selected based on convenience sampling, took part in this research. They completed Dewaele and MacIntyre’s (2014b) Foreign Language Enjoyment and Yaikhong and Usaha’s (2012) Public Speaking Class Anxiety questionnaires, and write down about an episode in which they had experienced enjoyment and speaking anxiety in the EFL classroom. Quantitative and qualitative statistical data analyses were applied to examine foreign language enjoyment and public speaking class anxiety. Descriptive data analysis showed that the learners had a medium-to-high foreign language degree of enjoyment and a low level of public speaking anxiety. Besides, they reported more enjoyment than public speaking anxiety in class. Further qualitative data analysis revealed 12 sub-themes and four main themes of Teacher, Learning, Class Activities, and Class Atmosphere in explaining their enjoyment, as well as eight sub-themes and four main themes of Exam Phobia, Reaction/Feedback, Personal Failure, and Lack of Self-Confidence for speaking anxiety. The findings provide implications for language teachers and policymakers to gain better insights into factors underlying enjoyment and speaking anxiety in the field of foreign language learning.

Research on the effect of implicit and explicit instruction on developing learners’ explicit knowledge by the use of measures of explicit knowledge abounds in the literature. However, measuring learners’ implicit knowledge employing fine-grained measures has rarely been the concern of researchers in the field. Therefore, the present study is an attempt to scrutinize the effectiveness of implicit and explicit instruction through administering a Word Monitoring Task (WMT), as a more valid psycholinguistic measure of implicit knowledge. The necessary data were collected from 47 pre-intermediate participants in three different groups, i.e., (1) the implicit group received textually enhanced texts of verb complementation, (2) the explicit group was presented with metalinguistic explanations and examples of the target feature, and (3) the control group was deprived of any instruction. The results of the mixed between-within subjects ANOVA revealed that although both implicit and explicit instructions facilitated the development of the implicit knowledge of the target feature, the learners in the explicit group outperformed their counterparts in the implicit and the control groups in both the immediate and delayed post-tests. Moreover, the results indicated more durable effects of implicit instruction compared with those of explicit instruction. Overall, the findings provided evidence for the superiority of explicit instruction and the long-term effect of implicit instruction in developing relevant knowledge of verb complementation. The findings of the study can benefit both teachers and learners in developing teaching/learning strategies to improve and facilitate the grasp of both explicit and implicit knowledge.

This study examined the effect of two types of feedback, post-text as a written feedback and recast as an oral one on written grammatical accuracy of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. To this end, 45 intermediate students who were studying at Ideal Language Institute in Sari were selected based on their performance on the Nelson proficiency test, and then divided into three groups (two experimental and one control groups) randomly. As pretest, the participants were asked to write 150-200 words about the worst memory they had in their life. Then, they were exposed to 10 weeks of treatment. Each week, they received a topic to write. One of the experimental groups received post-text feedback and another one recast. Afterwards, the three groups sat for the posttest. The obtained results were compared using ANCOVA. The findings revealed that there was a significant difference between the post-test scores of the students in different groups. It was made clear that both treatments were effective on the reduction of students grammatical errors in writing, but post-text feedback was much more effective than recast.

Test washback is held to be complicated and multifaceted in that a host of cultural, social, individual, test, and institutional factors are involved in shaping it. Thus far, the majority of washback studies have had as their focus the role of teachers in test washback or washback to teachers. How educational environments or institutions might function in isolation or in interaction with other factors in shaping washback to the learners and test takers has not received adequate research attention. The current study examined the mediatory role of academic institutions in washback to learners' perceptions of test content and test preparation. To this aim, 86 senior English students from two universities, one a top tier and the other a low tier one, completed two questionnaires: one on test takers' preparation practices including test analysis, test taking skills, drilling target skills, and socio-affective strategies; and the other on test takers' construal of test demands and uses as well as their expectation of success on the test.  The data analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modeling revealed that a washback model based on expectancy-value theory explains a moderate amount of variance in test preparation. Further, for test takers from the low tier university, favorable perceptions of test content were associated with more value placed on test taking. However, Multi-group analysis pointed to group-invariance of the model across the two institutions, indicating a lack of strong evidence for the mediatory role of educational environments in washback to test takers’ perceptions and preparation.

In L2 development, the cognitive complexity of tasks plays a crucial role in task performance and language features produced. However, there have only been few studies addressing the impact of task complexity on EFL learners' attention to L2 system and form-focused self-repairs (FFS).This study explores the role of increasing cognitive task complexity in EFL learners' form-focused attention (FFA) to L2 system (i.e. grammar, lexis, and phonology) and FFS and the effect of increasing procedural task complexity on EFL learners' FFA to L2 system and FFS. The participants comprised one hundred EFL junior students of TEFL. The sample was chosen from the cohort of EFL students at Islamic Azad and state universities in Isfahan and Shahrekod. The participants performed under task conditions of−/+ casual reasoning and −/+ planning time. After each stage, each participant filled in a Likert-type scale to examine his/her attention to different aspects of L2 system .Finally, Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was used to compare the learners’ instances of of self-repairs at un-increased and increased task complexity occasions. Repeated-Measures ANOVA was used to examine the data. Results showed an overall effect of task complexity on EFL learners' attention to L2 system and FFA behavior across task types.

In the area of teaching translation, investigating the effectiveness of technological solutions in developing translation skills is both timely and in demand. As the first step, one can try to explore feedback generated by machines compared to humans. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of electronic feedback provided by the designed translation software on the translation skills of Iranian EFL students compared to the feedback given by an expert human observer. To this end, 60 intermediate male and female students were selected as participants after the administration of Oxford Placement Test (OPT), followed by a translation skill test as pretest and posttest. The analysis of the pretest and posttest data revealed that after receiving the two types of feedback, both groups performed significantly better on posttest. Further analysis of the data, however, indicated that sustained electronic observer feedback was superior to human observer feedback in terms of developing translation skills. It can be discussed that taking advantage of an efficient electronic tool which enjoys the potential of providing some feedback would drive the focus away from the repetitive mistakes and frees up the time and focus on students’ personal problems. The findings may have implications for translation education, training, and practice.

Due to the significance of teachers’ beliefs and individual variables, a bulk of studies has focused on teacher characteristics over the past two decades. As an attempt to further clarify the interplay between teacher-related constructs in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, the present study set out to explore the structural model hypothesizing the predictive role of teachers’ self-efficacy and collective teacher efficacy in affecting the psychological well-being of teachers in Iranian EFL context. In so doing, a sample of 179 English teachers was given the three self-report scales measuring the variables under investigation. As for the statistical analysis, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to test the fit of the hypothesized model. The results indicated that teacher self-efficacy accounted for 19.8% of the variance while collective teacher efficacy amounted to 11.3% of the variance in psychological well-being. In addition, it was revealed that although both predictors had a unique effect on psychological well-being, teacher self-efficacy was a stronger predictor of psychological well-being than collective teacher efficacy. The results and implications are finally elaborated.

This study aimed, firstly, to investigate the underlying components of Iranian cultural identity and, secondly, to confirm the aforementioned components via Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis. In order to achieve these goals, the researchers reviewed the extensive local and international literature on language, culture and identity. Based on the literature and consultations with a group of 30 university undergraduate and post graduate learners English language learners and a cadre of four university professors in the field of sociology, an Iranian EFL Language Learners’ Cultural Identity Model with six components (Nationality, Religion, Arts, Persian Language and Literature, Media, and Globalization) was hypothesized. In order to test and validate the model, a questionnaire was developed. To probe the reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach’s Alpha was used. The reliability of all the items in the questionnaire was 0.78. To estimate the construct validity of the model, Exploratory Factor Analysis using PCA was performed, which indicated five components (Religion, Arts, Persian Language and Literature, Media, and Globalization) underlying Iranian Cultural Identity. Then, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis through AMOS 22 was performed to test the model and the interaction among the components. The SEM results confirmed the existence of five factors. Finally, statistical results are discussed and implications are provided.