درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Online teaching ultimately encourages language teaching to use established and best practices to provide this teaching modality in empirically validated ways. The use of the media in classrooms leads students to learn about the subject more creatively and objectively.  The study investigated the relationship between teachers' media literacy and their attitude toward online teaching. Three hundred eighty-three males and females EFL teachers participated in the present study. All participants had a Master of Arts in TEFL. The participations were selected through convenience sampling. Then, the researcher used the Pearson correlation to investigate the correlation between teachers’ media literacy and their attitude toward online teaching. The results showed that there was a positive significant relationship between teachers’ media literacy and their attitude towards online teaching.

Multilingualism and its tangled relationship with culture have been the center of debate for many years. It still sparkles various conceptual arguments and day by day, more academic research is circulating on this subject. The concept of multilingualism and the arguments around this discourse roots in the language itself. To fully grasp the notion of cultural multilingualism, first, we need to perceive how and where language and culture are interlinked. The study of culture has the originality of studying history itself. The first studies on both language and culture date back to the earliest time human attempted to analyze and perceive history. The globalization of multilingualism has led scientists and experts to analyze multilingualism through a cultural lens. It's only in a few decades that perceiving and understanding multilingualism through cultural perspectives has opened the eyes of experts to new horizons. Concerning this fact, this study has evaluated Never Let Me Go, a 2005 Nobel-winning novel by the Japanese-British novelist and screenwriter, Kazuo Ishiguro according to cultural multilingual values. Additionally, this study questions the concept of cultural multilingualism, together with its significance in shaping one's identity and self as the main key in Ishiguro's novel. Proven by the given facts, the current study illustrates how cultural multilingualism forms the author's writing style and mindset as a multilingual individual.

The present investigation aimed to examine the impact of dynamic assessment on the acquisition of passive voice in a speaking context among Iranian intermediate EFL learners. To this end, forty intermediate-level learners from a Language Institute in Lahijan were randomly chosen to participate in the study through the administration of an OPT. The study employed a pre/post-test design with two participant groups: experimental and control. Speaking proficiency was assessed using four instruments: EIT, TGJT, UGJT, and a focused communication task, all administered orally. The experimental group engaged in task-based interactions with their interlocutors while receiving dynamic assessment interventions. Conversely, the control group completed the same tasks, but their instruction focused on explicit form correction. After the intervention phase, participants in both groups were administered a post-test of speaking proficiency. This post-test utilized the identical four measures employed in the pre-test. A battery of statistical analyses, encompassing t-tests and ANOVA with Pearson correlation coefficients, was conducted to assess group differences. The results yielded statistically significant differences in mean scores between the groups. These findings suggest that Dynamic Assessment (DA) may be a more effective intervention strategy than the Focus on Form approach. The study concludes by exploring the broader implications of these results for language learning pedagogy.

A large body of research has investigated the role of motivational strategy use in EFL learners’ language achievement, teachers’ work engagement, and creativity.  However, there have been very few studies on EFL teachers’ status quo of these variables and the correlation among them. This study was an attempt to investigate the Iranian EFL teachers’ status quo regarding these variables and to explore the correlation among them. To this end, 100 Iranian EFL teachers of both genders were selected. To explore the objectives of this study, the Motivational Strategy Use Questionnaire, Creativity Style Questionnaire, and Work Engagement Scale Questionnaire were employed. Data were analyzed through t-tests and multiple regression. Results revealed that EFL teachers have acceptable levels of motivational strategies usage, work engagement, and creativity. The results of Multiple regression analysis proved a statistically significant relationship between motivational strategy use and creativity in the classroom and no significant relationship was found between motivational strategy use and teachers’ work engagement. Teachers’ gender was found to have no contribution to teachers’ work engagement, creativity, and motivational strategies usage. This study has theoretical and practical implications for teachers.

The growing interest in learning English language as an international language through international textbooks has necessitated the need for the evaluation of the cultural content embedded in English coursebooks. With regard to the close interrelation of language and culture, this study investigated the extent to which cultural aspects are represented in two international EFL textbooks. To this end, content analysis was used to analyze two commercial coursebooks (i.e., Summit 1a and Viewpoint 1), which are used in Iranian language institutes. The results of the directed content analysis revealed that two subcategories emerged from the content analysis (i.e., technology and environment), which were coded as an off-list category. Therefore, it was found that the reevaluation and extension of Stern’s (1993) framework for culture is necessary. Moreover, the results of the quantitative content analysis showed that there was not a balanced representation of cultural aspects in the selected coursebooks and the most frequent element was individual values in life. In addition, it was found that there was significant variation between the two coursebooks in the representation of culture. The study concluded that more in-depth investigation of cultural content is needed to develop cultural awareness of language learners. This study has implications for language material developers, language teachers, and language learners.

Despite a currently proliferating interest in the second language (L2) willingness to communicate (WTC), much less has investigated Asian high school students’ beliefs about L2 teachers’ strategies to encourage WTC inside the classroom. This qualitative study explores the strategies employed by Vietnamese EFL teachers to encourage their students’ WTC inside the classroom and students’ beliefs about their teachers’ strategies. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with seven teachers and eight students. Results revealed that the teachers employed six main strategy groups, namely grouping, warm-up, topic choice, correction strategies, class atmosphere, and motivational strategies. Also, the students indicated their preferences for some strategies and suggested other strategies which they believed to be effective. They expressed expectations and suggested ways to improve their teachers’ strategies to encourage WTC inside the classroom. The students’ preferences and recommendations of strategies reflected contextual factors. As WTC is a context-sensitive construct, it might be necessary for L2 teachers to understand their students’ beliefs to foster L2 WTC effectively inside the classroom.

The current study was conducted to examine Iranian EFL students’ listening comprehension and writing performance after receiving auditory and audiovisual input. With a quasi-experimental test-retest design, a listening comprehension test was administered in auditory and audiovisual formats to 51 intermediate EFL students from two intact classes. The results indicated that the students’ mean scores in the audiovisual listening test were significantly higher than that in the auditory test administered after a six-week interval; however, no significant difference was found in the accuracy and fluency of summary writing. The analysis of the participants’ responses to the questionnaire indicated that 75% of the students preferred the video format of the test and only 22% found it distracting. Most participants believed that visual input helped them remember details for a longer period and stay more concentrated, engaged and interested in the topic. To conclude, in addition to auditory input, audiovisual material is recommended as a preferred instrument to assess learners’ listening comprehension.

The present study investigates the effectiveness of a conceptual approach, grounded in cognitive linguistics, in enhancing the comprehension and production of phrasal verbs among Iranian EFL learners of English. To this end, 38 participants (16 males and 22 females) at intermediate levels of language proficiency were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group, and underwent instruction through the conceptual approach or the traditional method, respectively. A pre-test was administered to assess baseline performance, followed by the intervention and two post-tests (i.e., a cloze test and a story-retelling task) to measure changes in comprehension and production of the phrasal verbs. The cloze test measured differences in phrasal verb comprehension, while the story-retelling task assessed production and accuracy. The mixed between-within-subjects ANOVA (SPANOVA) revealed significant improvement in the experimental group on the post-test. Independent sample t-tests confirmed superior performance in the production and accuracy of phrasal verbs for the experimental group. This suggests that the conceptual approach offers a systematic method for learners to approach phrasal verbs analytically, contrasting with the traditional perception of these elements as non-analyzable. As a practical implication, educators in EFL contexts, are strongly urged to adopt the presented conceptual approach. This innovative pedagogical strategy not only enriches the learning experience but also addresses linguistic challenges associated with phrasal verbs, fostering creativity in the instructional process through situational presentations and orientational metaphors. 

Since the emphasis of the studies has shifted from a teacher-centered approach to a learner-centered one, researchers have discovered the significance of variables originating inside learners during the learning process. The present study was an attempt to focus on self-efficacy and strategy use as two learners’ variables. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there is any relationship between EFL learners’ self-efficacy, strategy use, and grammar performance. In addition, it aimed to find out whether there is any difference between high self-efficacious learners and low self-efficacious learners in strategy use and grammar performance. To conduct the study, a non-experimental correlational design was used and thirty-five participants consisting of males and females studying English language teaching were selected randomly out of all the sophomores. Two questionnaires and a test were the main instruments in gathering data. Based on the results of the questionnaire, they were divided into two groups of high and low by using a normal distribution curve. As a result of running several data analysis tests, the findings of the present study revealed a significant relationship between EFL learners’ self-efficacy, strategy use, and their performance on a grammar test. Furthermore, it was illustrated that high self-efficacious learners performed better than low self-efficacious ones on the grammar test and grammar strategy use questionnaire.

In recent years, dynamic assessment and positive psychology have attracted the attention of many researchers. This phenomenological study explores Iranian intermediate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' perception of academic buoyancy, reflective thinking, and academic resilience in response to dynamic assessment. Data were gathered through narrative inquiry, observation, and focus group discussion involving 18 intermediate EFL learners at a language institute in South Iran. Member checking, peer debriefing, and audit trail were used to ensure the credibility and dependability of the instruments. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed that dynamic assessment positively influenced learners' academic buoyancy by providing tailored scaffolding and support, fostering resilience in the face of academic challenges, and enhancing reflective thinking abilities. These findings suggest that integrating dynamic assessment techniques into language teaching practices contributes to students' adaptive coping mechanisms and ability to navigate academic setbacks, enhancing their academic success and overall well-being. The study underscores the importance of incorporating dynamic assessment approaches to cultivate resilient and empowered learners within EFL settings. This study contributes to understanding dynamic assessment's role in fostering academic resilience and reflective thinking in language learning contexts. The implications of the study are discussed.

Giving consideration to the importance and on-going challenge of vocabulary learning, there is an increasing demand for seeking out new approaches that correspond well with the needs of digital natives. With the rapid advance of technology, deploying innovative approaches such as gamified and flipped mobile- assisted language learning is gaining worldwide popularity. The current study was an attempt to scrutinize the effectiveness of integrating gamification with flipped approach on EFL learners' receptive vocabulary learning. With the aim of carrying out this research, 68 EFL high school students were randomly allocated into an experimental and control group. The required data were gathered by means of pre- and post- tests. Moreover, the obtained data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics including two paired, and one independent samples t-tests. Quantitative findings revealed that the experimental group participants outperformed their non-gamified coequals. Additionally, as post-test scores showed tremendous improvement, it was found that both aforesaid approaches were devastatingly effective in enhancing EFL learners' vocabulary development. The results of this study can be useful for EFL instructors and teachers for giving them insights on how to employ flipped approach for teaching receptive vocabulary.