درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

This study was designed to explore the relation pattern of cultural intelligence, cultural identity, autonomy, and self-efficacy and second language achievement of Iranian EFL learners. The participants were 247 undergraduate students. Data were collected nationwide, from different parts of Iran; that is, from Kerman, south of Iran; Hamadan, west of Iran; Mashhad, east of Iran; and Gorgon, north of Iran. The participants' ages ranged from 18 to 26 and they were mostly juniors and seniors. They completed the following questionnaires: Cultural Intelligence Questionnaire (Ang, et al., 2007), Cultural Identity Clarity Scale (Usborne & Taylor, 2010), Learner Autonomy Questionnaire (Cotterall, 1995, 1999) and Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (Pinitrich, Smith, Garcia & Mckeachie, 1991). The participants’ GPA of three general English courses were considered as their second language achievement. Responses from questionnaires were collected through convenience sampling. The design of the study is based on path analysis. After data collection, the hypothesized model was tested by AMOSE program. The results demonstrated that the variables under study could strongly predict EFL learners' L2 achievement. L2 achievement may largely depend on students’ cultural intelligence, cultural identity, autonomy and self-efficacy. Also, it was reported that autonomy was the strongest predictor of EFL learners’ L2 achievement.

While the use of apps specifically designed for language learning has witnessed a surge over the past decade, research on the productivity of these apps for language learning purposes along with their essential design and content features from students’ lens remains scant. The present paper illustrates an attempt to explore the way using language learning apps throughout an academic semester develops university level students’ semi-technical English language knowledge and the features and qualities they find essential in these educational apps. Drawing on empirical data obtained from pre- and post-tests and App Feature Interview form, it was observed that students who used language learning apps had a significantly better performance in a semi-technical English language post-test compared to the students who did not use language learning apps of their choice. Following content analysis, participants’ responses to an interview question were explored to determine the qualities they found crucial for language learning apps. Students highlighted 18 qualities, which were categorized under three main themes: smartphone, pedagogical content, and design features, as required for effective language learning apps. The findings of this study provide insights for educational app designers and educators on what works better in these apps from users’ perspective.

This study focused on the effects dynamic form of text-based vocational vocabulary glosses: Dynamic glosses are a series of incremental mediations intended to support students in identifying correct word definitions. After running a pre-test (TOFEL i), 34 ESP learners in medical university were chosen to participate in the study, 17 students randomly assigned to the treatment group and 17 randomly assigned to the control group. Participants in treatment and control conditions received three short ESP texts with many vocational vocabularies using the computers in the language lab and the Adobe Connect application. As the participants in the dynamic gloss condition faced unknown vocational vocabulary items in the passages, the teacher provided the learners with a set of mediations from the most implicit to the most explicit prompts, and the learners tried to identify the correct meaning of the word. In the non-dynamic gloss condition, the learners were given the L1 definition for the target words. The post-test results indicated that the treatment group meaningfully outperformed the control group.    

This study aimed to determine the university students’ level of social presence, preferred synchronous learning tool, and learning performance and their differences according to sex, age, year, major, Blackboard experience, and perceived computer literacy. The relationship between students’ social presence, preferred synchronous tool, and learning performance was also determined. The respondents were 29 students enrolled in the ESL online elective class, Global Business Communication, at a university in South Korea. There were two sets of online surveys used in this study. The statistical tools used in this study were the mean, Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test, Mann-Whitney Test, and Kruskal-Wallis Test. The results showed that the students maintained a Moderately High level of social presence throughout the duration of the course, chose KakaoTalk as their preferred synchronous learning tool, and concluded the course with an overall average grade, or learning performance level of “B”. There was a significant difference regarding the students’ learning performance when they were classified according to Blackboard experience; and no significant relationship existed between the students’ social presence, preferred synchronous tool, and learning performance.

This study sought to investigate the problems and challenges of the current state of teaching translation in post-graduate studies. In so doing, it used a content analysis design within a qualitative method. The participants consisted of 20 (10 males and ten females) translation teachers who were selected through purposive sampling. To collect the required data, a semi-structured interview was used in the form of individual and focus group interviews. To analyze interview data, the content of transcribed interviews was qualitatively analyzed by the researcher to identify the common themes and categories in them, based on an exploratory theme-based approach. The results of the thematic analysis of interview data led to the identification of some problems and challenges including students’ lack of willingness to learn translation, the emphasis on practical elements in teaching translation, lack of an effective teaching translation program, students’ demotivation, and so on. Moreover, a program consisting of five steps was suggested for using technology in teaching translation in post-graduate studies in Iran. The findings have some implications for translation teachers and students, and authorities.

The current study was intended to investigate the impact of Dynamic Assessment (DA) on promoting reading comprehension ability of Iranian male and female EFL learners, focusing on Guthke's Lerntest approach. In this study, the researcher used DA which unifies instruction with assessment to provide learners with mediation to promote their hidden potential during assessment. In this action research project, Guthke's Lerntest approach was used to develop the reading comprehension skill classes that integrated mediation with assessment to support 60 Iranian EFL learners' reading skill. The Guthke's lerntest approach and the mediation design are presented in detail in this article. The participants' reading scores are presented to show the effect of Guthke's Lerntest approach on promoting Iranian EFL learners' reading performance. In addition, the participants' pre and post-test scores were compared to determine whether the participants revealed significant progress after receiving Guthke's Lerntest approach in reading comprehension setting. The findings showed that participants of experimental group significantly outperformed the one in the static way. In conclusion, the results of the study revealed that employing the Guthke's Lerntest approach can offer a new condition to enhance the EFL learners' reading comprehension ability and that doing research in this field can be beneficial for EFL learners, English instructors and other researchers in other fields. 

Teacher identity has turned out to be of great importance in teacher pedagogical practice. A number of factors are implicated in shaping and reshaping teachers' identity. Despite numerous studies on teacher identity, language teacher religious identity has remained under-researched. Therefore, the current study examined how Iranian religious English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers are identified. To do so, 30 religious teachers were selected through purposive sampling. The data were collected through employing semi-structured interviews, developed based on Simon’s (2004) six components of identity, namely personal features, physical characters, special abilities, behavioral qualities, ideological attributes, and group membership. The results demonstrated that religious teachers tend to manifest certain Islamic-based personal attributes like fairness and kindness and also adhere to some Islamic rules of physical features like head covering for females and dignified clothes for males. In addition, religious teachers' behaviors and performances were profoundly affected by their religious background, realized in their attempts to control their anger, to avoid insulting and backbiting, and to disregard or replacing the materials which seem to be against the Islamic thought. The findings can have practical implications for teachers, institute administrators, and other stakeholders whose cognizance of religious teachers' identity could help prevent possible identity tensions.

New technologies can change everything in the world and people can have different reactions to them. Some people tend to use innovations but some people do not, due to the influence of different factors. Personality type can be considered as one of those factors that might have a relation with the feelings toward the innovations. Therefore, this paper explores the relationship between Iranian EFL teachers’ personality traits and their sense of technophobia and technophilia. Two hundred and ten Iranian EFL teachers participated in this study. The Big-Five Personality Traits Questionnaire (John & Strivastava, 1999) and Technophobia and Technophilia Questionnaire (Martínez-Córcoles, Teichmann, & Murdvee, 2017) were used in the current study. To find the answers to the research questions, Pearson correlation, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), and independent-sample t-test were used. The results showed that all subscales of personality traits were negative significant predictors of technophobia except Neuroticism. Moreover, the results indicated a positive significant relationship between overall technophilia and all constructs of personality traits.

Pre-service teacher cognition literature abounds with the concept of change as well as proposals regarding desirable conceptual changes to be undertaken so that teacher candidates can set out their path of professional development with right beliefs. Yet, such changes would seem less likely to occur if the trainees’ thoughts, beliefs, and cognitions are not identified in the first place. This study was an attempt to identify the cognitions of EFL pre-service teachers and trace possible changes expressed by the candidates. Through a convenient sample of 64 pre-service teachers studying at three teacher training colleges in Iran, this mixed -methods exploration utilized a teacher cognition questionnaire and interview techniques. Results of the cognition questionnaire indicated that many of the candidates’ cognitions were still in need of adjustments. Also, the content analysis of the interviews revealed that the candidates’ attempts during the practicum revolved mostly around challenging debilitating beliefs, developing a sense of professional agency, managing stress, and resolving tensions between contradicting beliefs. Findings suggest that the trainees’ prior experiences as language learners exerted a very influential effect on their cognitions and also their attempts to refine those cognitions.