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Assessment literacy refers to the knowledge teachers have about definitions of testing and the employment of this knowledge to classroom practices. This study inspected the extent to which high school teachers of English, mathematics, science, and social studies utilize assessment literacy and instructional improvement practices in their classrooms and the probable relationship between these two factors. To this end, ninety-seven teachers from sixty high schools across Zanjan province in Iran were selected based on convenient sampling. The instrument used was a 32-item questionnaire designed by researchers and validated by experts. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was also conducted in order to validate the factor structure of the questionnaire. The results showed a strong positive relationship between assessment literacy and instructional improvement practices in all four subject areas through correlations. This suggests that showing an understanding of assessment literacy results in a greater understanding of instructional improvement in the classroom. Moreover, a one-way ANOVA was performed in order to determine if there is a significant difference in the use of assessment literacy practices and instructional improvement among different subject areas. The data revealed no statistically significant differences between neither assessment literacy nor instructional improvement scores by subject area. The study can be beneficial to school districts and teachers since the review of existing teaching practices and an increase in ongoing professional development in assessment literacy theories and practices may improve instructional improvement in all subject areas.

The present study aimed to explore whether there is any significant relationship between Iranian EFL teachers’ traits in terms of personality type and their classroom management orientation. To this end, 130 EFL teachers from private language institutes and schools participated in this study. Three data collection instruments were used: a) personal demographic questionnaire, b) Attitudes and Beliefs on Classroom Control inventory, and c) Five Factor Model personality questionnaire. The results showed that, out of five factors of personality trait and three factors of classroom management orientation, there were two significant relationships; there was a significant relationship between conscientiousness personality trait and instructional classroom management orientation, and there was also a significant relationship between conscientiousness and behavioral classroom management. No other significant relationship was found between other factors of personality and classroom management. The findings of this research can help raise awareness of teachers and teacher trainers alike of teacher personality traits and their possible relationship with classroom management orientation (of teachers).

Developing textbook material is a crucial component of any curriculum, which should be based on sound and systematic techniques. In a detailed view, considering the importance of knowing English not only as an international language but as the language of commerce, tech and science, English course needs to be programmed efficiently to provide a suitable circumstance of learning for learners. In this regard, the present study is to develop a new English textbook for Iranian Senior High Schools to provide an opportunity for high school students as well as teachers to be actively engaged in the text, questions, and images of the textbook based on William Rummy’s Technique to keep up with the developments of the field. The results of the study demonstrate demonstrates that the involvement index is appropriate enough to actively engage the learners in the newly developed English textbook. That is, the texts, questions, and images within the textbook are suitably developed to engage the students actively.

This study investigated the effects of dialogic tasks on Iranian English as Foreign Language learners' language learning anxiety considering the moderating effects of the learners’ gender and levels of proficiency as well. A total number of 213 male and female Iranian EFL learners within the age range of 15-19 were selected through convenience sampling from three language schools in Fars, Iran. Learners at two levels of proficiency (upper vs. lower intermediate), were chosen and assigned to experimental and control groups. Then, an adapted translated version of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (Horwitz et al., 1986) was run as a pretest and posttest to measure the learners’ anxiety. The treatment was dialogic tasks operationalized through sequencing picture stories. The results revealed that dialogic tasks exerted a significant effect on reducing Iranian EFL learners' anxiety. Moreover, it was discovered that upper-intermediate learners experienced lower levels of anxiety than their lower-intermediate counterparts. Finally, it was found that female learners in this study suffered from more anxiety levels than male learners. Although integrating dialogic tasks into classroom activities has proved to be beneficial as learners could experience sufficient opportunities for speaking, this task could not assist learners of different levels of proficiency and gender in the same way. These findings will provide practical implications for language teachers and learners.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, universities around the world faced closure because of social distancing and lockdown, therefore, unprecedently, education had to move online and universities in Iran were not exceptional. This sudden and abrupt shift required teachers to rethink their attitudes and beliefs. This study has been conducted to explore English Language Teachers’ attitudes toward their practices concerning the effects of social distancing and the maximized use of technology in the teaching profession. Having adopted a qualitative method to investigate teachers’ experiences, the data of this study were collected through interviews with nine English language university teachers, and their reflective journals. Generally, the results communicate considerable appreciation for integrating technology in English language courses. To be more detailed, this study revealed three main categories for positive attitudes (pedagogical innovation, instructional support, and professional identity formation) each with some subcategories. Also, the analysis highlights three concerns (technology-related challenges, classroom management, and inflexibility in behavior) for online teaching. The implications of the study mainly provide a welcoming environment for utilizing technology in teaching, especially in English language teaching.

The present study aimed at realizing and developing a scale and a model of English language teachers’ pedagogical competence (ELTPC). By reviewing the related literature and adapting Thomas’s (1987) langugae teacher competence, TESOL (2010) standards of professional EFL teachers, and teaching skills and model of pedagogical competence developed by Olsson, Martensson, and Roxa (2010) resulted in a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire consisting of seven constructs, namely preparation, management, teaching, subject mastery, assessment, attitude, and belief with 87 variables. The questionnaire underwent the scrutiny of experts’ opinion and reliability estimates, which resulted in an instrument of 60 variables for the constructs. Next, the constructs were validated with 320 high school English teachers through a principal components analysis carried out via exploratory factor analysis. The result showed the constructs enjoyed high factor loadings, and with seven variables removed from the questionnaire, a 53-variable scale was developed. Finally, a model was developed based on the seven-construct questionnaire of ELTPC. The researcher hopes that English teachers and the educational system monitor, assess, and improve the quality of teaching based on the developed scale and model of ELTPC

Adaptive teaching addresses students’ diversity and their immediate learning needs. Particularly, in the high-interactive context of English teaching, fostering adaptive teaching in teacher professional development programs not only stimulates teacher change at the micro level, but also facilitates implementing the organizational and curricular innovations imposed by authorities at the macro level. The current English teaching literature lacks a measure for evaluating and fostering adaptive teaching within higher education. Hence, within the present study, the Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth (IMTPG) was adapted and validated as a measure for evaluating and fostering teacher adaptability for 183 international English teachers in higher education. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was employed for validating two different enactment and reflection links in the original IMTPG, and the final adapted IMTPG for adaptive teaching (At-IMTPG) was proposed. The AT-IMTPG can be applied for evaluating how adaptive English teachers are, seeking to resolve the problem of implementing educational innovations by English teachers in higher education. It can also be used to design teacher professional growth programs for fostering adaptive teaching within English teaching higher education. Such a change in the classroom level is hoped to be translated into an educational change in English teaching higher education.

Combining Bachman’s (1990) conceptualization of content validity with Messick’s (1989) unifying model of construct validity, this study attempted to fill the gap in researching content validation in the context of a university reading achievement test by (a) examining traditional content validity evidence and (b) analyzing the test scores to either back-up or rebut the evidence and explore the construct of the underlying test structure. On a sample of 477 third-year English-majored test takers at a Central Vietnamese University (CVU), the study was conducted in the pre-test stage where the test content was compared with the test specification and the post-test stage where the test scores were processed via Rasch and CFA competing model analyses. Results showed that while content relevance was satisfactory and the test construct was to a large extent not threatened by construct-irrelevant variance, content coverage of the test remained problematic with instances of construct underrepresentation. Moreover, the study supported the one-factor model of general reading ability as the underlying structure of the reading achievement test over the correlated three sub-skill and higher-order factor models. The study bears implications for both test writers in designing and test takers in performing the L2 reading test.

The area of Individual Differences (IDs) and their interactions with instructional conditions have recently been a point of interest in second language acquisition. However, the effect of such interaction on aural implicit grammar knowledge has not been researched exhaustively. This study thus examined the interactive effects of aptitude and treatment conditions on implicit grammar knowledge as elicited aurally. Grammar knowledge was operationalized as the ability to comprehend past/present simple passive verbs. To this end, 120 EFL learners were randomly assigned to four groups: three teacher-generated experimental (Isolated Form-Focused Instruction, henceforth FFI, Integrated FFI, and Incidental) conditions, each lasting for six treatment sessions, and a control group receiving the same content with no instruction. Initially, learners took a pre-test and cognitive tests (LLAMA-D, LLAMA-F, and LSPAN). They then received the treatments, and three days after the treatments, they took an Aural Timed Grammaticality Judgment Test as a measure of implicit grammar knowledge. Results of a general linear model revealed a significant effect for treatment. Additionally, LSPAN was found to mediate the effectiveness of instruction, with the highest effect on implicit grammar knowledge under the Isolated FFI condition. Post-hoc analyses also demonstrated that instruction made a significant difference compared with no instruction, though, in comparison with other conditions, Integrated FFI proved to be more effective. Results provide EFL teachers and curriculum developers with awareness concerning the interaction between instruction and cognitive differences. For improving the effectiveness of instruction and acquiring implicit knowledge, cognitive tasks, especially those boosting working memory, are suggested.

During the twentieth century, the views of sustainability and its vital contribution to the refinement of education systems have become so momentous that many researchers have sought to remove barriers to achieving sustainability in the education system and across disciplines. Yet, such research has been less common in the humanities. Hence, the present study tried to depict a picture of the strengths and shortcomings of EFL and Social Sciences (SS) instructors in terms of sustainability literacy, sustainability implementation, and eventually Sustainability Education (SE). Moreover, it provides the readers with the status of SE in EFL and SS faculties in Iran and offers clear recommendations for how and in which specific areas to adopt interdisciplinary approaches for SE development. This comparative study can pave the way for further practical studies in these areas through a quantitative method using a researcher-developed questionnaire with 300 participants. It proved that SS instructors have the potential to make outstanding contributions to sustainability literacy enhancement and EFL instructors are well aware of the strategies which work for sustainability implementation. It also came down in favor of the specific courses which should be incorporated into all-round teacher education policy. The study can be an important step towards teacher education reform and has implications for different fields of humanities. It has been implied that multidisciplinary approaches can bring about livelier and more effective teacher training programs.