درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Increasingly, we can build new bridges between related fields of education. This makes it possible to use techniques that were originally designed for one specific area of teaching, in others. An example of this can be, on the one hand, the teaching of audiovisual translation and, secondly, the teaching of foreign languages. We can find instances of this possibility in recent and noteworthy works in which, for example, the application of subtitles to learn a foreign language is explored. Thus, along the same lines, the main objective of this article is the search for other possible avenues of connection between the two areas mentioned above, taking advantage of new technologies and of the tools with which they provide us. Our starting point will be audiovisual translation teaching and the use of software programs such as Windows Movie Maker and Subtitle Workshop, to later transfer them to the second language (in this case, English) classroom. In the first of these contexts, both software programs allow for, among many other possibilities and respectively, dubbing and subtitling simulations in class. On this occasion, our intention is to show the potential of the aforementioned software in the English language class, but not for interlinguistic purposes, as in the case of dubbing and subtitling into another language, but for intralinguistic ones, as in the case of postsynchronisation and of subtitling into the same language.

Given the seemingly important link between children’s working memory (WM) and their scholastic performance, it would be a worthwhile research enquiry to explore language learning as one potential way to improve WM. To this end, the present study examined the impact of two language teaching paradigms, namely, Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP) and Total Physical Response (TPR), on children’s WM over time. Seventy participants, aged 8 to 9 years, were administered tests of phonological, visuo-spatial sketchpad and central executive components, and made up TPR, PPP and control groups for a period of three months. Then, a posttest and a delayed posttest were administered to identify whether the treatments led to significant improvements. The results of the 3 WM measures indicated that the 2 interventions led to certain improvements. Whereas TPR led to significant improvements in the central executive, PPP produced significantly higher gains in phonological memory over time. Neither treatment induced any positive impact on the visuospatial sketchpad. The results lend evidence to the trainability of WM. It is also suggested that language learning experiences have long-lasting repercussions and that each language learning experience can impact certain components of WM.

Audiovisual translation is the term that has been utilized to mention mainly the transfer from one language to another language of the verbal elements that existed in audiovisual products. Among various modes of AVT, dubbing is the most common. Generally, in AVT there are problems in the field of idioms translation because idioms are considered one of the most problematical and complicated aspects of language. Moreover, since the meaning of idioms is not recognized by their words, translating them is hard task for translators. For solving this problematic issue, translators use different strategies. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to investigate and analyze the translation of idioms in dubbing. This research investigated the translation of English idioms in Persian dubbing of two comedy films named, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “21 Jump Street” according to Baker's (1992) strategies. To analyze the data, the frequency and percentage distribution were calculated for each Baker's strategy, which had been applied in the translation of English idioms into Persian dubbing of mentioned movies. Results showed that translation by paraphrase was the most frequent applied strategy, and using an idiom of similar meaning and form was the least frequent applied strategy in Persian dubbing of two mentioned comedy movies. The results of this study could be helpful for translators to recognize the frequent strategies of idiom translation used in dubbing and university teachers can train them for their students.

Speaking is deemed by many scholars as a fundamental skill in second language (L2) learning. From the myriad of factors playing a role in willingness to communicate (WTC) in a foreign language, communication apprehension and self-perceived competence have attracted a good deal of interest in recent decades. Furthermore, it is generally agreed that cooperative teaching can enhance learners' linguistic and psychological variables. To unravel the aforementioned dilemmas, 60 male and female EFL learners within the age range of 19 to 25(i.e., 30 each) were selected out of 100 participants via double sampling from several English institutes in Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan province and were assigned equally to an experimental and a control group. Subsequently, the treatment started where the experimental group was taught based on cooperative teaching, while the control group received conventional treatment. Before and after the treatment, three questionnaires (WTC, communication apprehension and self-perceived competence) were given to all the participants in three different phases. After collecting the data, they were analyzed descriptively. Finally, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was run. The findings of the study highlighted that there is a negative correlation between communication apprehension and WTC as well as a positive correlation between self-perceived competence and WTC of Iranian EFL learners in post intervention. The findings further indicated that cooperative teaching can influence learners' WTC, self-perceived competence and communication apprehension.

The present study aimed at investigating the effect of CALL on intermediate EFL learners’ vocabulary learning and comparing it with traditional teaching method. To this end, a quasi-experimental design was used in which 80 students were chosen based on their performance in an Oxford Placement Test (OPT), and were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. Six reading comprehension passages consisting of 72 new words were selected from the book “504 essential words” and used as the pretest of the study. Then, the experimental group received twelve sessions of treatment which was teaching vocabulary through different tools in the computer such as related pictures, video, textual highlights, PowerPoint slides, or Narsis software while the control group received the traditional way of teaching such as providing oral pronunciation of words, explaining their parts of speech, and offering a direct translation of words in Persian. Afterward, both groups attended the post-test of vocabulary at the end of the study. The scores of learners in pretest and posttest were analyzed statistically via running independent T-test. The findings revealed that CALL instruction was more effective in enhancing learners’ vocabulary learning in comparison to the traditional vocabulary instruction. The findings indicated that the experimental group had a better performance than that of the control group, and the learners in the CALL group learned more vocabulary than the learners in the traditional group. The findings of this research have implications for teachers and learners as teachers can use CALL in EFL classes to help them be independent learners, and make vocabulary learning more attractive and enjoyable to learners. The findings can help material developers and syllabus designers to consider the importance of CALL while planning textbooks and materials.

Academic Confidence, Grit and WTC of students play important roles in their second language achievement. This paper examined the role of academic confidence and grit in willingness to communicate of Iranian EFL students in different communicative and educational contexts. To this end, 385 EFL students responded to the relevant questionnaires. The analysis of the data revealed that the students with higher levels of academic confidence and grit had a higher L2 WTC in in-class, out-of-class, and online classrooms. The results also revealed that the students’ grit was a predictor of their L2 WTC in all communicative contexts, and the university students scored the highest, followed by language institute and senior secondary school students. Moreover, academic confidence and grit had significant relationship with L2 WTC of students in senior secondary schools, language institutes and universities. Another finding was that grit was a predictor of all groups’ L2 WTC, while academic confidence predicted L2 WTC of students in language institutes and universities. The results of this study have implications for EFL teachers.

سواد سنجش معلم نقش محوری در برنامه های آموزش معلمان بازی میکند، با این حال به نظر میرسد هم در سواد سنجش و هم در اجرای آن کاستی هایی وجود دارد. مطالعه حاضر با استفاده از یک کلاس سنجش آنلاین، که شامل مباحث تئوری و همچنین عملی میشود، سواد سنجش 16 معلم (8 معلم ضمن خدمت و 8 معلم پیش سرویس) و میزان استفاده از سواد سنجش آنها را بررسی میکند. بخش کمی مطالعه سواد سنجش معلمان، و بخش کیفی صحت نتایج بخش کمی و همچنین میزان استفاده معلمان از سواد سنجش در قلمرو عملی را مورد بررسی قرار میدهند. داده های این تحقیق با استفاده از پرسشنامه های معتبرجمع آوری شدند، که یکی از آنها از Mertler (2013) اقتباس شد و دو مورد دیگر به وسیله محققین طراحی شدند. به علاوه، از یک پروژه ارزیابی عملی نیز برای جمع آوری داده ها استفاده شده است. یافته های تحقیق نشان میدهند اگرچه معلمین ضمن خدمت به واسطه تجربه بیشتر، در ابتدای تحقیق از سواد سنجش بیشتری برخوردار بوده اند، در انتهای تحقیق و در مقایسه با معلمین پیش سرویس از درجه کمتری از سواد سنجش برخوردارند. یافته های بخش کیفی تحقیق نیز نشان دهنده عدم ترجیح معلمان برای استفاده از سواد سنجش در فعالیت های کلاسی است. نتایج تحقیق حاضر گنجاندن هم جنبه های تئوری و هم جنبه های عملی سواد سنجش معلمان را در برنامه های آموزش معلمان پیشنهاد میدهد. به علاوه، بررسی دقیق موانعی که مانع استفاده سواد سنجش تئوری معلمان در عمل میشود نیز پیشنهاد میشود.

Although global English Language Teaching (ELT) coursebooks have been subject to numerous (critical) analyses, the changes occurring to their contents over different editions have received scarce attention. In this study, the researchers examined the transformations over different editions of Interchange series (level 2) regarding some selected aspects of their textual contents. Seeking experienced English teachers’ views of the global coursebooks’ transformations over the past decade was another aim of the study. The analysis and comparison of the included topics and titles, characters, sites and contexts in Interchange series as well as interviews with 12 English teachers revealed that the content-based changes of different editions of this coursebook are superficial and cosmetic-like and despite the claims for globality, fallacies such as real-life-ness, representation and globality are still evident. We hope the findings of the study would aid curriculum and policy makers, institute managers, and language teachers to reconsider the functioning and value of current global ELT coursebooks.

This study is a mixed-methods parallel design aiming at exploring the perception of 49 ESP teachers toward formative classroom assessment with regard to their language assessment literacy (LAL) in Iran within the theoretical framework of Hay and Penney (2013). The data were collected through an online semi-structured interview and a questionnaire, extracted from Shahzamani and Tahririan's (2021) questionnaire, consisting of 13 Likert items and 9 open-ended questions which were validated for this study through confirmatory factor analysis. The results of a Chi-square test on the Likert items showed a significant difference between the participant’s responses to each item which revealed an overall tendency of the ESP teachers toward employing formative assessment as an efficient way for evaluating their own teaching efficacy, the quality of the teaching materials, and their students' progress. The results also revealed that the two features of 1) ability to assess learners based on cultural-related issues in a certain context, and 2) ability to design suitable assessment methods for multilevel ESP classes should be added to the components of LAL in the existing literature. The results have implications for teacher educators to consider these two features in teacher education programs. Also, academic authorities are to notice that reliance on summative assessment and evaluation merely based on final exam scores are not appreciated by most ESP teachers.           

A C-Test is a gap-filling test for measuring language competence in the first and second language. C-Tests are usually analyzed with polytomous Rasch models by considering each passage as a super-item or testlet. This strategy helps overcome the local dependence inherent in C-Test gaps. However, there is little research on the best polytomous Rasch model for C-Tests. In this study, the Rating Scale Model (RSM) and the Partial Credit Model (PCM) for analyzing C-Tests were compared. To this end, a C-Test composed of six passages with both RSM and PCM was analyzed. The models were compared in terms of overall fit, individual item fit, dimensionality, test targeting, and reliability. Findings showed that, although the PCM has a better overall fit compared to the RSM, both models produce similar test statistics. In light of the findings of the study, the choice of the best Rasch model for C-Tests will be discussed.

Extracting incompatible values in the best-sellers current in ELT markets is a real concern. In this study, the researchers tried to bring some claims/counterclaims for hidden ideologies regarding two imported English language teaching coursebooks-Four Corners and Impact Values Series, which are commonly taught within Iranian English language institutes. The main intention was that they might transmit incompatible English culture to the Iranian learners. Through a qualitative design, vigorous content analysis was conducted over diverse randomly selected texts/topics and images in the two books, it was found out that regarding images, four themes instantiated incongruent values to the local context for Iranian learners including A) boy-girl relationship, B) imbalance of religious norms as opposed to other religions, C) incongruent lifestyles, and D) the proportion of the male vs. female images in the two books. As to topics included in the books, mismatching items were detected within seven main categories including A) Cross-gender relationship, B) disregarding the importance of family, C) excessive Use of Internet, D) Mobile Phones, and Computers, E) food and drink prohibitions, F0 forbidden or inappropriate habits,G) incompatible jobs and professions, and H) showing disrespect for older people. Finally, some suggestions regarding compatibility issues with local cultural input enrichment with the Iranian culture were given.