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Previous research has shown the differential effects of task-related prompts on syntactic complexity, grammatical accuracy, and lexical diversity when L2 learners use writing prompts to produce a piece of writing. However, the extent to which the freedom in the selection of prompts affects these linguistic facets in L2 argumentative essays is still unknown. The present study, therefore, was designed to investigate differences between syntactic complexity, grammatical accuracy, and lexical diversity in argumentative essays. Seventy-one upper-intermediate male and female Iranian English-as-a-foreign language (EFL) learners from Imam Khomeini International University in Qazvin and Safir Plus institute in Tehran participated in this study. Five-paragraph essays were used to collect data, and SPSS (version 25) was used to analyze the data. Results of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed statistically significant differences between syntactic complexity, grammatical accuracy, and lexical diversity. Results from post-hoc analyses revealed statistically significant differences between lexical diversity and grammatical accuracy as well as lexical diversity and syntactic complexity, but no statistically significant differences were found between grammatical accuracy and syntactic complexity in argumentative essays.

Although previous studies have shown the benefits of graphic organizers in improving learners' vocabulary knowledge, scant attention has been paid to the possible differences in the effect of individually-developed, cooperatively-developed, and teacher-developed graphic organizers on intermediate L2 learners' vocabulary knowledge. The present study addressed this topic by examining 80 intermediate language learners. The participants were selected based on convenience sampling procedure and studied English in four classes. The learners in the conventional group received the translation/definition of the lexical items. Those in the teacher-generated were provided with the graphic organizers prepared by their teacher, and the participants in the other two groups made the graphic organizers either individually or cooperatively. The researchers employed Vocabulary Knowledge Scale as the pre-test, immediate post-test, and delayed post-test to examine the participants' vocabulary knowledge. The findings of this study indicated that the mean scores of the control group in the immediate and delayed post-tests were significantly lower than those of all graphic organizer groups. In addition, the cooperatively-generated graphic organizer group was significantly more successful than learner and teacher-generated graphic organizer groups, but there was no difference between the learner and teacher-generated groups.

The use of digital games has increased dramatically in the last two decades due to the augmentation in the number of Personal Computers (PCs) and mobile devices worldwide. Not only can digital games be played for entertainment, but also, they may have both positive and negative effects on their players. Various effects of digital games on individuals’ levels of attention span, concentration, and addiction have already been tested by numerous studies; however, their impact on incidental Second Language (L2) acquisition is still untouched by language researchers. To address this lacuna, this is a longitudinal observational study that lasted for three months to investigate the impact of digital games played by young learners for entertainment at home on their unintentional acquisition of English as an L2. The age of the participants ranged from 8 to 14 years old, and the experiment was conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. Three main games were played by the sample; namely, Free Fire, Minecraft, and Among Us. The findings revealed that digital gaming significantly influenced the vocabulary development of the participants, and gaming was a clear asset for their L2 acquisition. It was also found that the players’ level of vocabulary retention was high; however, two drawbacks were identified in this regard, namely, the prolonged screen time and vocabulary items specifically related to a given area of a particular game. Overall, this study can be an impetus for further research into evaluating the benefits or drawbacks of using digital games for specific aspects of L2 acquisition such as the development of cognitive abilities or enhanced understanding. 

This study was an attempt to examine the effect of using comic strips on improving grammar recognition and performance among Iranian young EFL learners. To this end, one experimental and one control groups were formed, each having 45 preintermediate participants chosen via convenience sampling. The researcher-made pretests of grammar and speaking assured the researchers that the participants did not know the grammatical points targeted in this study. In continuation, the experimental group received grammar instruction with the aid of comic strips, and the control group was taught the same grammar points through conventional methods of grammar teaching. After 16 sessions, both groups sat for a researcher-made grammar posttest and speaking test. Also, an interview was conducted to evaluate the extent to which the treatment for the experimental group and conventional instruction for the control group were effective. Data collected from the groups were, then, submitted for data analysis including ANOVA and t test. Results indicated that the implementation of comic strips could have a positive effect on grammatical competence and performance.

In the educational setting of Iran, language assessment literacy (LAL) is still an underexplored issue. This paper investigated the development of LAL among EFL students taking language assessment course at state universities in Iran. The three components of LAL (i.e., knowledge, skills, and principles) were the focus of the inquiry. To collect the required data, a questionnaire, encompassing 83 Likert items and a set of open-ended questions, was developed, and responses from 92 course instructors were collected. Teaching and assessment practices of two course instructors were also observed throughout an educational semester. SPSS (26) was used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that these courses mainly focused on knowledge and skills, overlooking the principles of assessment. Adherence to traditional assessment approaches, use of inappropriate teaching materials, and lack of practical works in assessment also characterized the investigated courses. The paper concludes with suggestions to better design language assessment courses to increase the assessment literacy of English graduates who will probably enter the teaching contexts after graduation.

Les études abordant la question des compétences culturelles sont aujourd’hui de pleine actualité et sont souvent reprises pour analyser différents aspects de ces compétences au sein de l’enseignement-apprentissage des langues-cultures étrangères ; ces études ont donc leur utilité dans la mise en évidence de la diversité de ces compétences sous les différentes appellations et applications parmi lesquelles nous avons choisi de mettre en lumière la compétence transculturelle. Il n’existe pas de commun accord quant à la définition du concept de la compétence transculturelle et à sa place à l’égard d’autres compétences culturelles. Cet article tente de répondre à la question comment définir précisément la notion de compétence transculturelle, comment l’interpréter et la promouvoir. Cette étude a donc pour objectif de proposer une conception de la compétence transculturelle. La manière dont la compétence transculturelle peut être acquise et développée sera également discutée et abordée dans le cadre d’une recherche de terrain auprès des étudiants de licence en langue et littérature françaises de l’Université Hakim Sabzevari. Nous avons décidé d’emprunter le dispositif de la pensée en réseaux pour la mise en application et le développement de cette compétence. Quant au choix de la modalité de la collecte des données, nous avons eu recours aux entretiens semi-directifs afin de vérifier l’impact de la mise en œuvre du dispositif sur le développement de la compétence transculturelle sur le public examiné. L’analyse des résultats obtenus par les entretiens montrent les traits distinctifs de la compétence transculturelle due à la mise en place du dispositif choisi..

Despite the determining role of culture-bound materials in the enhancement of EFL learners’ productive skills, a scarcity of investigation on the influence of culture-oriented content on their productive skills is staunchly perceived. This gap can be partly filled by implementing Content Based Language Teaching (CBLT) program which contrives the EFL content especially in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classrooms. In this respect, a culture-oriented EAP course book was designed based on Tomlinson’s (2001) materials development framework. A total of 100 participants were recruited according to their language proficiency results, and were fractionated into two productive EAP task groups embracing Oral Presentation and Systematic Writing as the two befitting techniques to strengthen productive skills. After practicing and teaching the developed course book in each class in twenty treatment sessions, the participants were given a posttest. Correspondingly, a paired samples t-test indicated that culture-oriented content affected the EFL students’ speaking and writing skills separately. Similarly, an independent samples t-test revealed the influence of culture-oriented content on their speaking skill than the writing skill. The findings suggest the significance of the first culture as the benchmark for incorporating second culture contents in EFL teaching arenas.

This study intended to compare the effects of prescriptive and collaborative models of observation on EFL teachers’ perception of their self-efficacy. From among 80 participants, 40 teachers, including 20 novice and 20 experienced teachers, were randomly assigned to the collaborative observation group (experimental group) and another group of 40 teachers, which comprised of 20 novice and 20 experienced teachers, were randomly assigned to the prescriptive observation group (control group). A sequential explanatory design was employed so that both quantitative and qualitative data collection/analysis procedures could be employed. The quantitative data were collected through The Ohio State Teacher Efficacy Scale (OSTES) (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001), and the qualitative data were elicited through semi-structured interviews. The results of both quantitative and qualitative data revealed (i) the significant difference between prescriptive and collaborative observation in terms of teachers’ perception of their self-efficacy, and that (ii) in the collaborative observation group, there was a significant difference between novice and experienced teachers’ perception of their self-efficacy. The study has implications for both teachers and teacher educators, suggesting that collaborative observation could enhance EFL teacher development.              

Cet article présent, nous ne projetons en aucune façon d'établir ou de définir ce qu'est l'art, dont l'œuvre d'art en ontologie. Ce n'est pas notre préoccupation aujourd'hui, et non plus davantage de la plupart des artistes contemporains. À la recherche d'une ontologie bien particulière sur l’œuvre d’art contemporain, Roger Pouivet, le philosophe contemporain français, l'appelle « l'ontologie appliquée ». Il s’agit de considérer l'œuvre en tant que telle, sans se préoccuper des catégories fondamentales qui la possèdent. À ce stade, il paraît nécessaire de parler du changement de paradigme dans le champ d’arts plastiques, qui résulte de l'apparition des œuvres des textes écrits ou oraux.  En ce qui concerne le concept de « Zugganzes » de ’Heidegger, il faut bien comprendre, quoi qu'il en soit, le cumul des éléments nécessaires jusqu’à ce que l’établissement d’un système s’achève. Cela veut dire que pour un processus de créer une œuvre d'art contemporain il explique qu’à la fois chaque élément a son rôle clé, même indispensable, et une mission pour compléter le rôle des autres éléments. Au fur et à mesure de cet article, nous répondrons aux questions de recherche : 1) Comment peut-on mettre en avant un processus de détermination d'une œuvre d'art qui s'enrichit des textes écrits ou oraux, en époque contemporaine ? 2.) Pourquoi et pour quelle raison a-t-on choisi de mettre en lien les deux concepts de « Zugganzes » et de l'hypothèse de « l'ontologie appliquée » dans ce travail de recherche ? Cette recherche essaye de nous montrer que: les œuvres d'art contemporaines qui sont considérées comme des textes visuels enrichissent des textes écrits ou oraux. En effet, cet acte vise à attirer l'attention des spectateurs en tout temps et en tous lieux. À la fin, on comprendra qu’il est possible de créer visuellement des textes symboliques en pratiquant simultanément les textes écrits ou oraux comme des éléments visuels et en profitant de leurs contextes.   

Classroom performance assessment has gained prominence parallel to the multiplicity of the purposes ahead of assessment. Of many, the major controversy, which was the motive behind this study, is the incorporation of L1-based elicitation as a valid measure of second language (L2) performance assessment. To shed empirical lights on this issue, this explanatory sequential mixed-methods research employed 87 Iranian intermediate EFL learners, whose L2 classroom performance was assessed through L1-based elicitation techniques. In order to validate this mechanism, multi-method mono-trait model (namely, Pearson correlation, structural equations, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, composite reliability and convergent validity) suggested by Henning and Mesick’s Unitary Concept of validity were applied. The results from these multiple sources of evidence yield support to their common consensus that L1-based elicitation techniques are valid measures of L2 performance assessment. The findings then offer legacy to the educational implications of L1-based mechanisms both in L2 instruction and assessment.

The present study investigates the implantation of political science terminology approved by the Academy of Persian Language and Literature (APLL) in the Hamshahri corpus made up of news text from Hamshahri newspaper and their acceptability among MA students of English translation studies (ETS), English literature (EL), and Political science (PS). To conduct this research the frequencies of the political terms approved by the APLL with their competing terms were compiled from the corpus. For analyzing another group of terms without competing terms, 90 MA students were purposively selected from the abovementioned majors. Accordingly, a 60-item 5-point Likert Scale questionnaire (including 60 political terms) along with an open-ended question were administered. The implantation coefficients (IC) of the first group of the terms with competing terms indicate that the factors such as conciseness and derivative capabilities result in higher IC. The descriptive results indicated that around two third of the ETS and EL students agree with the APLL-approved political science terms, while less than half of the PS students accept these neologisms. Moreover, the Chi-Square test (value of 92.000, p= 0.000 < 0.05) revealed that there is a correlation between the level of agreement and the major. In addition, Cramer’s V test result with the value of 0.092 indicated a weak correlation between the academic major and the attitude. Finally, analysis of the open-ended question showed that conciseness, transparency, morphological well-formedness, and familiarity with neologisms were the main reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with them.

Teaching grammar has always created some challenges for EFL teachers. Therefore, this study explored the effect of four scaffolding strategies as contextualizing, modeling, metacognitive scaffolding, and bridging on Iranian EFL students’ grammatical knowledge. Moreover, this study examined Iranian EFL learners’ attitudes towards scaffolding strategies. To fulfil the purpose of this study, 40 language learners were chosen based on convenience sampling as the participants of this study. They were both males and females between 20 to 30 years old divided into two groups as the control and experimental groups. After assuring the homogeneity of the students in terms of their English proficiency in general and grammatical knowledge in particular, a parallel achievement test was administered to both groups as the pre-test. Following that, as the treatment, scaffolding strategies were applied for the experimental group to teach grammar and a traditional way of teaching grammar for the control group. After running the classes, a parallel achievement test was administered to both control and experimental groups as the posttest. The data analysis revealed that the experimental group that received scaffolding strategies significantly outperformed in the grammar part compared to the control group which received a conventional way of teaching grammar. It is believed that utilizing scaffolding strategies can motivate learners and facilitate the tough task of grammar learning and thereby make teachers aware of their ability to obtain success in their teaching process.