درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

As online learning gains popularity in educational settings, online exams have become efficient tools for evaluation. However, more research is needed on students' perceptions of online exams in developing countries like Iran. This study investigates the perceptions of 153 undergraduate students who have taken or are taking online general English courses at Yasouj and Shahrekord universities. The research aims to understand university students' perceptions of online English tests, including the ease and frequency of cheating, various forms of cheating, and reasons for cheating. A mixed-method approach was employed, incorporating interviews followed by a 19-item questionnaire. Parallel exams were conducted to compare students' performance. The analysis also examined differences in perceptions based on participants’ gender. The results indicate that cheating is easier and more prevalent in online exams than in traditional face-to-face exams. However, it does not occur more frequently in online English as a Foreign Language (EFL) exams than in other subject exams. The study identified various forms of cheating used by students and the reasons for cheating in online assessments. Additionally, gender was found to influence students' perceptions of cheating in online exams significantly. Based on these perceptions, strategies to combat cheating are proposed. The implications of this study are significant for educational stakeholders, particularly teachers and students, in their efforts to promote and maintain academic integrity.

Pragmatic failure is an issue usually occurring in cross-cultural communication when L2 learners cannot express themselves appropriately. This study aimed to discern the factors leading to cross-cultural pragmatic failure (CCPF) and the challenges EFL learners face in trying to overcome miscommunication problems. Following a qualitative research design, in the first study phase, one of the researchers observed 10 EFL teachers’ classes for 90 minutes each, twice a week during the term to take the required field notes for further analysis. To obtain more in-depth information, in the second phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 EFL teachers and learners, and the data were collected. The EFL teachers were from private English language institutes, and the student participants were EFL learners studying either in state-run universities or private language centers. The results of the thematic analysis revealed that EFL classroom context, time and budget, assessing pragmatic knowledge, ELT textbook, and teacher education were perceived as the causes of CCPF by the interviewees. Moreover, the extracted themes associated with learners’ challenges included linguistic incompetency, investing insufficient time and effort, psychological factors, cultural and sociocultural differences, inappropriate teaching methodology, and teachers’ pragmatic competence.

As environmental issues become more prevalent, it is vital to incorporate ecological components into the curriculum to equip future generations with the necessary foundations to preserve and improve ecology. In light of this circumstance, many countries are compelled to include instructional approaches representing environmentally-based topics in textbooks. Nevertheless, whether the textbooks facilitate environmental education (EE) to promote ecological principles or foster students' competence in recurrent environmental concerns is ambivalent, particularly in the Indonesian context. The current study attempts to analyze the ecological verbal and visual contents engaged in Indonesian EFL textbooks. This study also unpacks the extent to which EFL textbooks in Indonesia accurately reflected the ecolinguistics perspective. Content analysis was employed in this study, adapting Stibbe’s (2015) ecolinguistics framework and Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2016) visual grammar theory. The findings revealed that EE in Indonesian EFL textbooks highlights the natural beauty and ecotourism locations while mainly disregarding ecological degradation. In contrast, EFL textbooks must emphasize contemporary world issues to cultivate positive attitudes and ecological consciousness among learners. Subsequently, these findings have significant consequences for the development of environment modules in Indonesian EFL textbooks.

Technology integration has become increasingly significant in educational contexts, offering promising opportunities for the professional development of teachers, including EFL teachers. This study explored the transformative potential of integrating technology in the professional development of pre-service and in-service EFL teachers in schools, institutes, and universities. The research objective was to examine the impact of technology integration on teachers' anxiety levels and pedagogical practices. Forty-six pre- and in-service teachers (n=23 per group) participated in a comprehensive 10-session professional development program. The procedure included pre-testing the participants for anxiety levels, conducting the program (twice a week; from January to February, 2023), and administering post-tests after a one-semester interval (May, 2023) to assess changes in the teachers’ anxiety levels and pedagogical practices. The quantitative and qualitative findings revealed the compelling benefits of technology integration for the pre-service teachers, as they reported lower anxiety levels and a significant boost in confidence when selecting and utilizing appropriate technological tools, designing engaging digital activities, and effectively managing technology-related challenges. Conversely, the in-service teachers experienced no significant reduction in anxiety. Moreover, they reported fewer advantages from technology integration and tended to adhere to traditional teaching methods, predominantly due to the challenges of altering established instructional strategies. The findings underscore the critical role of prioritizing professional development for in-service teachers, considering their pivotal role in shaping the future landscape of education. Dedicated efforts should be aimed at supporting teachers to integrate technology effectively, foster better teaching practices, and facilitate optimal learning outcomes for EFL students.  

 Task sequencing (TS) has been a focus of empirical investigations in task-based language teaching (TBLT). Previous studies on TS failed to represent classroom contexts because they did not provide learners with corrective feedback (CF). This study aimed to address this gap by examining the combined effects of TS and CF on writing complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF). To do so, 113 upper-intermediate EFL learners were selected and divided into two groups. Participants took a pretest at the beginning of the study. Each group performed two three-task sets in simple-to-complex(S-C) or complex-to-simple(C-S) order. In each group, the errors in the first set of tasks were given CF by error codes (ECs), while the errors in the second set were only underlined. Participants in both groups were asked to revise their texts based on the provided CF and take a posttest at the end of the study. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was run to analyze the pretest and posttest data. The results showed that the group performing tasks in S-C order and receiving ECs outperformed the others. Findings supported the SSARC (Stabilize, Simplify, Automatize, Reconstruct, Complexify) model. The study has implications for material development.