درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Discrepant cultural systems of languages are more likely to reflect challenges for translators maintaining the cultural dynamics of translation. Such perspective is mostly highlighted in the translation of literary texts where the main parts of the equation are language and culture. The present study aims to investigate cultural, historical and religious loss or gain in the translation of culture-specific items (CSIs) along with the rendering procedures used by the translators. To this end, through a comparative analytical and descriptive method based on (Vinay & Darbelent Model, 1995), culture-specific items of three Persian translations of the Huckleberry Finn story were extracted and divided into three subcategories of cultural, historical, and religious; consequently, the procedures applied by the translators which led to the cultural loss or gain were analyzed. The findings demonstrated that the first translation by Mohebbi had the highest degree of loss (17.16%), and the third translation by Daryabandari had the highest degree of gain (41.58%). Also, the highest frequency of lost items belonged to the cultural type with %6/31 in the first translation by Mohebbi and %2/52 in the second translation by Pirnazar. The findings indicated that the policies and normative differences of societies in different periods had an undeniable impact on the transmission of concepts which reflects the degree of loss and gain in translation. The result of the present study could be thought-provoking for psychoanalytical studies on the translator’s decision-making.         

This study explored the interaction of socio-psychological parameters with spin-off approaches to teaching EFL reading comprehension at elementary level. While such parameters covered cognitive style as well as personality type features, the spin-off approaches included theme-based, task-based, community language learnings, natural approach, and content-based instruction. The sample was comprised of 54 female students - studying at Jassas high school, in Dezful, Iran. A Quick Oxford Placement Test was used to homogenize the elementary participants. As for the cognitive style, Group Embedded Figures Test (Witkin et al., 1971) was employed to distinguish between field independent vs field independent and Barrat Impulsiveness Scale (Patton et al., 1995) was also utilized to divide participants into impulsive, and reflective groups. Next, the Preliminary English Test for schools (reading part) was given to the subjects as pretest and posttest. The results indicated that field independent group outperformed field dependent group, and reflective group outperformed impulsive group with regard the spin-off approach to teaching reading. This implies the current findings can contribute to both assessment and teaching theories.

This study explores the relationship between the story and the author’s personal life encounters. Specifically, it aims to construe the linguistic choices in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper , which highlights the discriminatory factors that worsen the woman’s plights and struggles specifically shown by masculine dominance, feminine poor role positioning, oppression, and marginalization. Considering these issues, the current study aims to describe the author’s experience of the world, what’s inside her, and around her. Results show that the text has 629 transitivity processes, with relational as the dominant process type by the inanimate characters which effectively describes the kind of environment which shapes a clear conflict against her milieu.  Among the participant roles and circumstances, carrier, and location show their dominance, respectively.  An in-depth analysis using the transitivity system unveils the author’s connectivity to her own life presented through literary metaphors.  The paper further proves that literature can be taught using linguistic approaches. 

One of the main difficulties facing English as a Foreign Language learners in general and translation students in particular is their lack of mastery of the complexities of grammar in the target language they are learning. This study was an attempt to investigate the influence of categories of auxiliaries (auxiliaires) and present perfect (présent parfait) on Iranian sophomore translator trainees’ ability to use them in English. A total of 60 Iranian male and female sophomore EFL language learners participated in the study. They were chosen out of 90 participants through a piloted version of the Nelson-Danny Test as the homogeneity test. The selected participants were divided into two groups: an experimental group and a control group, with 30 students in each class. In the present study, the participants were subjected to a pretest, treatment, and posttest. Independent samples t-tests were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that knowledge of French grammar, especially the présent parfait, significantly affected Iranian EFL learners' grammatical knowledge of the same notions in English. The findings could be employed by English teachers, EFL learners, and materials developers in the field of ELT in the Iranian context.

Using Critical Digital Pedagogy (CDP) acknowledges the recent advancements in technology in the field of education. As teachers should effectively deal with the needs of students with the help of educational technologies to increase their critical awareness, the level of digital literacy of Iranian teachers is not desirable and naturally teacher training in Iran should be in line with the latest changes in the world, this qualitative study aimed to find out how ELT experts perceive the CP technology-based EFL teacher preparation program in the Iranian context as part of a basic interpretative project. Thirty ELT experts with a Ph.D. in TEFL were selected through convenience sampling among experienced university professors who had relevant research expertise in the field. Consulting the related literature, the researcher developed a semi-structured interview in approximately three open-ended questions. The results analyzed by MAXQDA showed that perceptions of ELT experts were consistent with CP assumptions and the use of technology in education. The interpretation of the findings indicates a reconciliation between CP principles and technology. Participants perceived the valuable concepts of CP in light of technology used to shape a technology-based CP curriculum. Findings have implications for EFL teacher education administrators, curriculum planners, and educators. 

A major concern of language testing researchers has for long been the identification of construct-irrelevant influential cognitive and psychological bias factors in test takers’ language test performance and recently the identification of the tentative models of interactions among such factors. With the same purpose in mind, the present study investigated the direct and indirect interrelationships among EFL learners’ test anxiety, test-wiseness, reading metacognitive awareness, and reading comprehension test performance through a path analytic research design. To this end and on the basis of the related literature and the previous research findings, first a hypothesized model of the interrelationship among the variables was assumed. Next, 317 undergraduate and graduate students took the related questionnaires and tests. Finally, the obtained data were analyzed through AMOS statistical package and the hypothesized model of the interrelationship among variables was tested. According to the final verified model, test-wiseness directly predicted reading comprehension test performance, while test anxiety did not. Moreover, while reading strategies metacognitive awareness did not directly predict reading comprehension test performance, it was indirectly associated with reading comprehension test performance through the mediation of test-wiseness. In addition, both correlational and path analyses confirmed a strong negative relationship between reading strategies metacognitive awareness, and test anxiety. The findings highlight the importance of the language test takers' less test anxiety and enhanced metacognitive awareness of reading strategies and test-wiseness for their more reliable test-taking performances.