درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

The goal of the present study was to realize whether L1 (first language) or L2 (second language) affects the third language (L3) learning. Three mirror-image groups learning English were compared, as early learners of sequential Persian-Arabic bilinguals. The first group used L1 Persian-L2 Arabic languages. The second and the third groups used L1 Arabic-L2 Persian languages. Moreover, the first and the second groups used Persian, and the third group used Arabic as a language of communication. The Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) was administered to select initial L3 English learners. Sixty English learners participated in the study. The translation task and Grammaticality Judgment Test were administered to elicit English attributive adjectives. To compare the performances of the three groups, the non-parametric equivalent of One-Way ANOVA, which was the Kruskal-Wallis test, was used. Mann-Whitney U tests were applied to recognize the probably significant differences among groups. None of the Cumulative Enhancement Model (CEM), the L1 Factor Hypotheses, the L2 Status Factor, and the Typological Primacy Model was confirmed. However, the influence of the dominant language of communication on L3 learning supported data. Groups one and two had better performances in the comprehension and production of attributive adjectives. Group three obtained the lowest mean score. This study lets us determine the influence of earlier acquired languages, Persian and Arabic, on the initial stage of learning L3 English attributive adjectives. The results indicate that the language of communication has a substantial effect on transferring from the first and second languages into the L3 language.  

This paper aims to investigate the light verb constructions (LVCs) formed with the light verb dādan ‘to give’ in Persian by employing the principles of cognitive lexical semantics. It examines the semantic relationships between the heavy verb dādan and its uses as LVCs. The analysis of attested examples reveals that the use of dādan as a light verb (LV) is a function of the semantic structure of its simple verb counterpart. This suggests that its lightness status is highly systematic and can be explained in terms of cognitively driven motivations. In addition, a significant number of the LVCs express certain causation meanings, suggesting that Persian speakers tend to use the LV dādan to convey causative notions as newly emerged LVCs. This stance will constitute our line of argument to analyze the data in this study. By presenting a cognitive configuration of LVCs in Persian, the current paper can pave the way for a fine-grained theorization of typological aspects of LVCs in some other languages.

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines self-awareness competence as the ability to assess one's emotions, values, and skills realistically. Utilizing this definition as a theoretical framework, this qualitative study aimed to explore EFL teachers' perceptions and strategies regarding self-awareness competence in the classroom. To accomplish this goal, 19 EFL teachers from Iran were recruited through convenience sampling and took part in one semi-structured written interview and four focus group interviews to exchange their perspectives and strategies for developing their self-awareness competence. Adopting the routine analytical steps in grounded theory, i.e., open, axial, and selective coding, the study identified three key components for the participants’ self-awareness perceptions: knowing one’s emotions, having a growth mindset, and having a realistic sense of self-perception. The participants also outlined two primary categories of self-reflection strategies - practical and cognitive - to enhance their self-awareness competence. It was found that reflective practices were essential tools for cultivating the self-awareness competence of EFL teachers. Additionally, the study unveiled that EFL teachers' attitudes and strategies toward self-awareness competence were harmonious. Ultimately, the findings demonstrated promising prospects for future EFL teachers to enhance their personalized reflective strategies.

Postcolonial texts seek to rewrite the mythical narratives of vampires to problematize the power relations between the colonizer and the colonized. The vampire tradition is inscribed and recycled according to the collective Oriental heritage to articulate the untold stories of the muffled Eastern subject. Drawing on the mythical narratives of the ghoul (ogre) in classical Arabic culture and old Arabic folktales and of Lord Shiva in the Hindu myth, this paper compares the rewritings of the vampire topoi of otherness, unspeakableness, foreignness, and border existences in both Emile Habiby's Saraya, The Ghoul's Daughter (1991) and Bharati Mukherjee's Jasmine (1989). The metamorphosis of Saraya into a laughing muse and Jasmine into a potent goddess can be taken to represent the liminal state of Dracula between life and death on the one hand and the convergence of cultures on the other hand. Where these two works differ principally is in the geographic location of this site of cultural interaction. Whereas Habiby (1922 – 1996), the Palestinian writer, traces the predicament of Arabs in Israel and the Palestinian diaspora, Mukherjee (1940-), the Indian American writer, writes of the potential synthesis of Indian and American culture in the context of globalization.

Professional learning community (PLC) has been a generally recognized model for promoting teacher development, including EFL teachers’ writing assessment literacy, intercultural teaching competence, digital literacy, and so on. However, research on whether the changes in beliefs of teachers engaging in a PLC affects their teaching competence is relatively scant. To fill this gap, the present study investigated the extent to which a PLC with intercultural components changed EFL teachers’ beliefs in intercultural teaching, which in turn affected their intercultural teaching competence. In doing so, adopting an exploratory sequential method, qualitative data from teachers and a questionnaire from students were collected and analyzed through NVIVO 12 and SPSS 26.0. The data analyses revealed significant changes in the EFL teachers’ knowledge construction, motivation inspired by peer interaction, and reflection on intercultural learning and teaching practices. These changes led to the transformations in their beliefs and practices concerning intercultural instruction, although individual orientations were observed in their pedagogical approaches. Furthermore, the study’s findings were supported by evidence of corresponding changes in students’ learning outcomes in the development of intercultural competence. The study highlights the significance of PLCs in enhancing EFL teachers’ intercultural teaching competence and their professional development.

This paper aimsto reveal how the universals of translation (henceforth, UsT) can beregarded as a manner to examine the translator'sstyle in the TL. In doing so, this paper examines how Saleh Hosseini, as an Iranian literary translator,  made his style through the changes he completed at each micro-and macro-levels shift to result in his discursive presence and/or style in the novels he has translated into Persian. After having reviewed the main theories on shifts  including Nida, Catford, Leuven-Zwart, and Baker, this paper takes Baker’s definition of style as the translator’s ‘thumbprint’ as a way to approach the UsT in Hosseini’s Persian translations. Having occurred with the translated texts than with the original, the UsT are: ‘explicitation’, ‘normalization’, ‘levelling out’, and ‘simplification’ (Baker, 1996). Having selected 44 sentences from the three translated novels into Persian by Hosseini as a corpus, this paper indicates that the ratio of ‘normalization’ is much higher than the other three universals, meaning that Hosseini, through adhering to the norms of the Persian language, came to this universal as one of the signposts of his discursive presence, voice, and style in his translations.

For decades, task-based language teaching has become a commodity in ELT profession and has been the subject of many studies. Yet, there seems to be a paucity of research on the impact of TBLT on enhancing learners’ motivation in learning writing. In this regard, this article presents the results of student’s perceptions of the intervention of TBLT in teaching writing in two English classes for one academic term at one institution in Phnom Penh. The study examined the students’ perceptions regarding the impact of TBLT on their writing behaviors and motivation in learning writing before and after the intervention, as well as the constraints that they encountered during the implementation of TBLT. The results indicate positive-but-varying views regarding this intervention. Some challenges are also detected and suggestions are offered for future research in this area accordingly. The study has implications for EFL writing classrooms.