درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Learning in every context is influenced by the social factors such as the people with whom the learners are communicating in that specific learning environment. As the role that social factors can potentially play in the process of education seems not to have been explored comprehensively in the field of English language teaching, in general, and in the Iranian educational context, in particular, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of both social goals and achievement goals on emotional, behavioral, and cognitive engagement, in an academic context. The participants of the study consisted of 302 undergraduate students (88 females, 206 males, 8 unspecified), majoring in English literature at two state universities and two private universities in Iran. The data were collected through one questionnaire consisting of items relating to different types of social goals and various types of engagement. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Regression Analysis were conducted to analyze the data. The results of CFA confirmed the validity of such goals in our context. Also, regression analysis showed that mastery goals, social status goals, and social concern goals predicted variance in different facets of engagement.

Large-scale standardized ESL tests such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) are widely used around the world to measure language proficiency of test takers and make different decisions based on their scores. Reading comprehension is an integral part of such tests which requires test takers to read passages and answer a set of questions. Although IELTS is a popular standardized test and is used for making critical decisions about test takers, very few attempts have been made to explore the validity of the exam and especially the reading part of the General Training Module. With this in mind, the purpose of the present study was to use a non-parametric item response theory model, called Mokken Scale Analysis (MSA), to examine the validity of the reading part of the General Training module of IELTS. To this end, item responses of 352 test takers to the reading comprehension test were analyzed. The results of item scalability, total scalability, and item-pair scalability showed that the reading part is a weak unidimensional scale. Using Monotone Homogeneity Model (MHM), monotonicity results also indicated that there are some items which violate the monotonicity assumption, although their values are insignificant. The analysis of unidimensionality using the AISP revealed that there are two scales and four unscalable items in the reading part. Therefore, Mokken scale analysis did not support the unidimensional structure of the reading part of the General Training module of IELTS.

This study analyzed the overlap of motion lexicon, namely manner and path verbs’ frequency profiles, in English high school textbooks (9th-12th grade) and English university entrance exams (2010-2019) in Turkey through AntwordProfile r, a corpus linguistic tool. The manner verbs were sampled from Levin’s study (1993) while the path verbs were gathered from Talmy’s book (2001). The frequency of motion verbs in official teaching materials was compared with their frequency in exam materials using SPSS. The results indicate that the mismatch of motion verbs between the textbook and exam corpora is statistically significant in terms of manner verb frequency levels (p < .000). While path verbs scored, on average, higher in descriptive statistics in the textbook corpus, there was no statistical significance observed. The findings suggest that whenever the students take English exam, they may be more likely to be under a higher cognitive load and may be forced to develop the negative backwash effect since what is taught is not tested. This, consequently, raises concerns regarding the content validity of exams and other issues related to the reliability and validity of the national English exams. The findings of this study have implications for material developers and test takers.

Considering the great importance of speaking to EFL learners, teachers have tried to use different teaching techniques to help learners master this skill. One of these techniques is learner-based language teaching. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of using selected class presentation on the speaking development of EFL learners.  To this purpose, a mixed-methods research was conducted, with both qualitative and quantitative data. The population of the study comprised 66 female EFL students of a language institute in Bandar Abbas. To homogenize them, Nelson Placement Test was administered and as a result, 50 students whose score were around the mean were selected as the pre-intermediate participants of the study. They were randomly assigned to two equal, experimental (EG) and control groups (CG). The experimental group was exposed to treatment by the teacher, while the control group was taught through traditional speaking method.  A standard speaking test was used as both pre-test and post-test. The results obtained from the statistical analysis of the participants’ scores in pre-test and post-test revealed that using selected class presentation in the class has considerable impact on the improvement of learners’ speaking performance. This finding shows that emphasizing on the role of the learners by involving them in suitable the speaking tasks can positivity affect their Oral language output.

With the global spread of English as the lingua franca for academic publishing, non-native researchers and university students are constantly facing linguistic barriers including insufficient vocabulary knowledge in writing for publication. This persistent need motivated the development of a good number of corpus-based word lists for frequently used academic and technical words in research articles across disciplines. Nevertheless, despite its importance in corpus-based study of language for word list development, replication research has received far less attention in this line of inquiry. The current study aimed to address this gap and replicated two published studies that investigated the use of academic vocabulary in applied linguistics research articles. To this end, research articles published from 2010 to 2020 in 20 well-known journals in the field were collected, and a corpus with around 48 million words was compiled and analyzed. The findings indicated that academic vocabulary accounted for 11.46% of the corpus, which is similar and close to the reported coverage of the AWL in replicated studies. However, regarding the frequently occurring academic and non-academic content words, the findings showed considerable variation with respect to the results reported earlier. In light of these findings, the study highlighted the importance of replication research to test the reliability of corpus-based vocabulary studies that developed field-specific academic word lists. Finally, the study developed an updated version for applied linguistics academic word list, that might be regarded as a resource and guide for the vocabulary learning component of the relevant EAP programs in the field.

Stated key words after the abstract section in research articles are among those lines of inquiry which have received less attention in Applied Linguists (AL) studies. In this paper, the researcher explored the distribution of stated key terms and expressions as used by 73 researchers in AL domains in both local (NOORMAGZ) and global database publishers (SAGE, ELEVIRE, SINCENCE DIRECT) Those Scimago journal lists, which were abstracted in Thomson Reuters Web of Science [WoS] journals were precisely screened in terms of their compatibility with title vs. topic match index as well as their position in the research articles throughout the whole sampled research papers including Introduction, Review of Literature, Method, Results & Discussion (IRMRD) to explore authors’ tendencies towards art-based utilization of key word selection/assignment for research writing aims. The results over title-topic match indicated that at least one or two stated key words significantly appeared in the title of research paper within both local and global databases with the higher preference for keyword-title match among Iranian researchers. Regarding the most probable positions in the sampled research articles, gained data in this research could not significantly show any differences between local and global researchers. Possible implications were discussed in the light of critical, art-based approaches for key word elaboration/explanation in English Language Teaching (ELT) and AL research.   

Sentiment analysis, as one of the text-mining techniques, has been widely used in many research areas related to public opinions. The present work seeks to examine the reception of the translations of  Louis Cha’s martial arts novels in the English and French worlds through sentiment analyses of readers’ online book reviews in popular book reviewing websites such as Amazon and Belio. The results show that the English and French versions of Louis Cha’s martial arts novels are mostly well received by readers since both English and French readers had given the highest ratings to the narrative features, plots and characterization features of the translated novels. Furthermore, between the translations in English and French, the reception level of the Anna Holmwood’s English version is higher than that of the French version by Jiann-yuh Wang. Overall, the findings of the study suggest that translations maintaining original Chinese cultural elements have been well-received in the Western community.

The present study aimed at constructing a reliable and valid instrument that could explore EFL learners’ perceptions of culture management. A focus group was held with EFL university students familiar with culture-related concepts, and the themes were extracted from a detailed analysis of transcripts. An extensive literature review and interviews with applied linguistics experts were conducted to generate the CM Questionnaire items. Subsequently, the draft questionnaire was piloted with 251 Iranian undergraduate EFL students studying at two public universities in Iran. An exploratory and a confirmatory factor analysis were run, and the overall factor loading estimates illustrated a satisfactory level of convergent validity for the developed Instrument. The satisfactory levels of factor loading and construct validity test supported the convergent validity of CM factors and their related items. The explored factors included Cultural Communication, Cultural Leadership, Cultural Awareness, Cultural Performance, and Culturally Relevant Teaching, with Cultural Communication as the most meaningful factor. The findings demonstrated that CMQ could be a valid and reliable instrument for investigating culture management perceptions. The implications of the study for EFL teachers, learners, and other stakeholders are also discussed along with some recommendations

The present study aimed to analyze two secondary English school textbooks from Iran and Egypt to see to what extent these two middle-eastern countries with similar religious, historical, and social backgrounds include culture in their official textbooks.  For this purpose, Vision I , the Iranian secondary school textbook, and Hello I, the Egyptian English school textbook, were chosen. Four aspects of culture (topics, cultural dimensions, international/intercultural issues, and cultural references) were investigated in these two textbooks. The results show that Vision I has a more limited number of cultural content compared to Hello I . However, a lack of in-depth cultural information could be observed in both textbooks. Thus, it is necessary to take special measures concerning Vision I by including a greater array of cultural content and giving this content depth and detail. For Hello I , the cultural content needs to exceed in quality. The present study's findings might be insightful for syllabus designers, textbook publishers, and teachers to reconsider the essential role of culture qualitatively and quantitatively.

The current study examined the Iranian EFL teachers’ and students’ perceptions about Communication Strategies Teachability. The study was conducted with 20 teachers and 110 students from universities and private language Institutes in Tabriz, Iran. The literature regarding the teachability of communication strategies (CSs) has been far from conclusive. Some researchers reject the possibility of CSs instruction while many empirical studies support their teachability. Taking a mixed method design, the present study used a language proficiency test, a questionnaire and an interview for data collection. In the quantitative phase, the participants’ responses to questionnaire before and after a 12-week period of teaching CSs were statistically compared. The analysis of the quantitative data obtained from the questionnaire through Paired-samples t-test indicated that the students’ perceptions towards the usefulness of CSs grew significantly more positive after their instruction. The qualitative analysis of the interview data collected from the teachers indicated that most teachers found CSs useful and possible to teach. It was also found that these strategies improved capability of English language learners to speak and enhaned their conciousness of CSs. This study could offer pedagogical implications for both teachers and students and pave the way for further studies in the field.

English coursebooks used in vocational secondary schools should accommodate the engineering students’ needs for their future profession. It is essential to reveal company trainers’ and engineers’ perception of the English coursebook used at school to know whether the English coursebook meets students’ needs for their future profession or not. Therefore, in this study, we investigated company trainers’ and engineers’ perception of the English coursebook that is used at vocational secondary schools based on the social semiotic perspective. We distributed open-ended questionnaires and conducted in-depth interviews to both engineers and engineering company trainers as professionals about the topics and registers provided in the English coursebook. The results of data analysis revealed that the topics and registers in the coursebook are not relevant with what students need for their future profession as engineers. In fact, both engineers and company trainers believed that the English coursebook should provide topics and registers related to the engineering field. Thus, we hope that the findings of this article would positively contribute to the development of English materials and coursebooks for vocational secondary school level.

علیرغم اینکه که مطالعات چشمگیری در زمینه تجزیه و تحلیل صدا و حضور نویسنده در نگارش های استدلالی انجام گردیده، هنوز در خصوص تأثیر آموزش بر این حضور تحقیقات کافی صورت نپذیرفته است. بنابراین ، مطالعه حاضر به بررسی تأثیر آموزش مبتنی بر مدل مارتین و وایت و الگوی تعاملی هایلند در شکل گیری صدا و حضور نویسنده و تعامل بین نویسنده و خواننده پرداخته است. برای این منظور، یک گروه کنترل و دو گروه تحقیق در مطالعه شرکت کردند. گروه های تحقیق در مورد عناصر تشکیل دهنده موضع نویسنده و تعامل با خواننده بر اساس دو مدل متفاوت آموزش داده شدند. تغییرات در استفاده از عناصر بین گروههای تحقیق و کنترل پس از آموزش بررسی گردید. زبان آموزانی که از تأثیر صدا و حضور نویسنده بر اساس مدل مارتین و وایت آگاه گردیدند، از موضع گیری تعاملی و تدافعی بیشتری در نگارش آیلتس استفاده کردند و تعامل قابل تو جهی با خواننده داشتند. نتایج حاصل از این تحقیق می تواند به مربیان کمک کند تا آگاهی زبان آموزان را از چگونگی حضور نویسنده در نوشتار بطور موثری ارتقا داده تا نوشتار های تعاملی متقاعده کننده ای را ارائه دهند.

As the use of paper-based portfolios and, more recently, ePortfolios began to attract unprecedent significance in many educational learning contexts, many researchers in the field of second and foreign language learning also begun to look more closely into their effects from diverse aspects. Nevertheless, a small number, if any, have addressed the issue from teachers and students' points of view in a comparative frame. This issue is even more noticeable in the Middle East, where portfolio learning has lately been incorporated in tertiary level studies. Hence, the present study compares students and teachers’ perception of the portfolio component of the English Foundation Program at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman. Seventy eight students and nine teachers participated in the study, where students expressed their ideas through a questionnaire, the teachers were interviewed to see how they perceive the portfolio element of the course. Using a mixed method for data collection and analysis, several chi-square tests were run to see if there is any significant difference between the perceptions of students and teachers. The results show that although the students generally agreed on the usefulness of the component, the teachers believe that it has lost its meaning.

Although English language plays an important role in the job of aviation personnel, language needs of these employees have been taken for granted. This study aimed at investigating the extent to which English is used by the employees at Iran Air airport services at Isfahan Airport, the required level of basic language skills in performing their jobs effectively, and the employees’ attitude towards their English professional courses. A questionnaire consisting of 24 items was constructed and distributed among all the employees working at three sections of Iran Air airport services (Ramp Control, Customer Services, and Baggage Services). Besides, Observation was done by the researcher at the airport to find out the basic language problems of the aviation personnel, and interviews were done with the head of each sections. The findings proved that English language is highly used in the employees’ jobs and they are not satisfied with their training courses. Also, the Ramp Control and Baggage Services employees considered speaking as the most important skill, while Baggage Services employees considered reading and writing as the important ones. Finally, it can be concluded that revision of the current professional training programs seems to be necessary to offer appropriate ESP course curriculum.

Textbook evaluation seems to be inevitable where textbooks are the main source of teaching and learning processes. This study aimed to investigate to what extent ''Vision 3'' (the last volume of the English book series entitled “English for schools”) has the characteristics of a CLT syllabus based on teachers’ points of view. To fulfill the objectives of this study, 60 male and female high school English teachers, teaching at different high schools answered an online questionnaire adapted from AbdelWahab (2013) which is a 3-point Likert scale checklist (i.e. poor, satisfactory, & good). The design of the scale enabled the researchers to evaluate the book in terms of four main criteria including; (1) physical and utilitarian attributes, (2) efficient outlay of objectives and supplementary materials, (3) learning/teaching content, and (4) language skills. The analysis of the data indicated that EFL teachers had a positive attitude towards the English textbook based on the CLT principles except for cultural considerations. The conclusion indicates that the book needs to be modified to include some aspects of cultural values about the target language culture. The results can guide the teachers, syllabus designers, textbook writers, evaluators, and curriculum designers in their planning and designing of future textbooks.