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Since comics comprise images and texts, the relations between them should be a major concern of comics studies. However, few studies have focused on the intersemiotic interaction between images and texts in the meaning construction of Chinese classic comics. This study applies Martinec and Salway’s system to Tsai Chih-Chung's English comic version of The Analects of Confucius (The Analects), attempting to explore the image-text relations in Chinese classic comics. It is found that the image-text relations in Tsai Chih-Chung's English comic version of The Analects can be summarized as unequal-status and logico-semantics combined. Quantitative analysis shows that the images are always subordinate to the texts, and in terms of logico-semantic relations, all of subsystems but “image more general” are included. Besides, the distribution of the logico-semantic relations of image and text indicates that two different subsystems, namely expansion and projection, integrate and work together to create meanings in this version. Qualitative analysis shows that the tactful deployment of the combinations of image-text relation in The Analects makes it visually-verbally coherent. The intersemiotic interaction between images and texts also contributes a lot to the discourse meaning construction of Tsai Chih-Chung's English comic version. However, in The Analects, the image-text relation relies too much on the extension of the image by the text as well as the projection of locution. This study provides a case reference for the analysis of Chinese classic comic as multimodal discourse, and also contributes to promoting the overseas dissemination of traditional Chinese culture.

The advent of ChatGPT, an all-purpose intelligent Chabot created by Open AI, has created a multitude of prospects and opportunities within the realm of language education. Owing to its exceptional capacity to produce a wide range of textual outputs, ChatGPT responds to queries in a matter of seconds. The present study aimed to examine the appropriateness of ChatGPT-based instruction and flipped language learning instruction (FLLI) in classrooms in terms of enhancing EFL learners’ interactional metadiscourse realization across language proficiency levels. Sixty-three English language learners were divided into four distinct groups: 16 in the advanced and 16 in the intermediate FLLI group, 15 in the advanced, and 16 in the intermediate ChatGPT group. Before initiating the study, all participants were given a pretest that specifically assessed the use of interactional metadiscourse markers (IMMs) in argumentative writing. The four experimental groups were separately exposed to ChatGPT-based instruction and FLLI during eight sessions. Results from a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedure through SPSS (version 25) revealed that the ChatGPT-based instruction was more effective than FLLI, and both intermediate and advanced language learners following the ChatGPT-based instruction used IMMs in argumentative writing more successfully. Moreover, the participants’ perceptions of ChatGPT and FLLI were analyzed through MAXQDA (version 2020), showing more positive attitudes towards using ChatGPT in language learning in general and IM realization in particular. The findings have the potential to provide advantages for teacher educators in terms of utilizing ChatGPT learning approaches.

Pedagogical competence plays a crucial role in teachers’ qualifications in different contexts. Teachers’ pedagogical competence in teaching different language skills has a great influence on students’ achievement. As a result, having enough information about teachers’ pedagogical competence may determine the quality and efficacy of teaching. Therefore, the present study was an attempt to examine Iranian EFL teachers’ perception of their levels of pedagogical competence in English language teaching. A mixed methods design was utilized for data collocation. The data were collected from 375 EFL teachers in the quantitative and qualitative phases, respectively. The participants were selected through convenience sampling among those who were teaching English at different institutes (N=125), high schools (N=125), and universities (N=125) in Tehran and Khuzestan, Iran. In order to reach the purposes of the current research, the participants were required to fill out one questionnaire, namely English language teachers’ pedagogical competence, and one interview. To analyze the raw data, descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. Findings revealed that there were not any significant differences among the high school, language institute, and university EFL teachers’ overall means of pedagogical competence. The results of the current study may be beneficial to language institute administrators, EFL teachers, teacher trainers, and materials developers.

The present study examined the effect of the online reformulation and collaborative feedback on Iranian learners’ writing in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context. To this end, three female intact classes (N = 55) at the upper-intermediate level were selected. Two of these classes were thence randomly selected as the experimental groups (1 & 2) and the other one as the control group. Experimental group 1 was provided with online writing feedback in the form of reformulation. Experimental group 2 received online feedback through reformulation followed by general online sessions with the participants for extra individual guidance, i.e., online collaborative feedback in the form of post-writing conferences. The control group experienced the same amount of online writing instruction. They were, however, provided feedback conventionally without reformulation tasks and collaborative feedback. To measure writing proficiency, IELTS task 2 was administered as the pre-treatment and the post-treatment test. One-way ANOVA and Post-hoc Tukey Test were used to compare the mean score of the composition tests between groups. The significant effect of online reformulation and collaborative feedback on writing was confirmed. This study has pedagogical implications for EFL English teachers and stakeholders in providing feedback on EFL learners’ writings.

This paper investigates the conceptual and cognitive motivations behind anger-related Hindi idioms. The study is based on 40 idiomatic expressions on anger curated from diverse sources, including websites, books, and native speakers’ intuition. The study employs the theoretical framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) for the analysis of these linguistic expressions. For the identification of conceptual metaphors, Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP) by Pragglejaz Group (2007) was employed After analysis, nine conceptual metaphors and an equal number of conceptual metonymies were found in the chosen idiomatic expressions. Conceptual metaphors such as “ANGER IS FLUID,” “ANGER IS A WILD ANIMAL,” and “ANGER IS A STORM,” as well as conceptual metonymies like “REDDENING OF THE FACE” and “GNASHING OF TEETH,” were identified, among others. The findings reveal that there is a coherent conceptual organization underlying these idioms, predominantly characterized by conceptual metaphor and metonymy. The study can give us insight into the cultural conceptualisation of anger expressions in Hindi which can contribute the broader landscape of emotion research from Cognitive linguistic point of view and also in teaching-learning of Hindi idioms.

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.  

The issues of humor and collocation are among the themes that have recently attracted the attention of researchers in language pedagogy. In line with this current trend of research, this study investigated the effect of reading humorous texts on learning collocations by Iranian EFL learners. To achieve this end, 59 Iranian EFL students majoring English Literature and English Translation were selected as the participants, and their language proficiency and knowledge of collocation were determined via Success Test and Collocation tests. They were given a pre-test (in order to determine their knowledge of specific collocations used in humor texts), five tests with five humor texts, and a post-test (in order to find the effect of reading humor texts on learning collocations). Paired sample t-tests and ANOVA were then employed to analyze the collected data. The findings of the study revealed that humor texts can bear positive impacts on collocation learning of Iranian EFL learners. The findings of the study can have implications for teaching collocations.

While many English language learning textbooks provide exercises on the difference between present simple and present progressive tenses, they often lack meticulous explanations regarding their meaning and contextual usage. Having been inspired by cognitive linguistic studies on English present tense and the theory of Cognitive Grammar, an empirical study was devised to incorporate the elements of cognitive linguistics analysis of English present progressive tense into EFL grammar teaching material. This quasi-experimental study included 53 adult EFL learners being homogenized in terms of their English proficiency based on their scores on Quick Oxford Placement Test, and randomly assigned to three groups. The course of instruction lasted for three weeks during which the groups met 6 times. The cognitive group (N = 18) received cognitive linguistic explanations followed by examples indicating inherited epistemic contingency in English present progressive tense (including, current ongoingness, historical present progressive, future present progressive, temporary validity, duration, iteration, repetition, and modality) and structural construal indicated by present simple. The task-based group (N = 16) received conscious-raising tasks lacking cognitive linguistic explanations. The control group (N = 19) did not receive any explicit instruction. Pretest and posttest scores were used to measure the effectiveness of the types of instruction. The results of paired samples t-test and one-way ANOVA revealed that the cognitive group outperformed the task-based group and the control group showing a higher level of construing usage context of present simple and present progressive tense. 

As the mainstream English course books on the market written by native speakers include concepts such as exchange students, host family, online dating, and the like not in line with Iranian/Persian culture and moral values, the present study worked on innovatively devising three contemporary storybooks. These storybooks were prepared based on shared moral themes extracted from the didactical Persian classic literature and further administered in practice. The current "classroom-ethnography" research explored the opportunities/challenges of practically implementing the locally devised materials for young learners in the real EFL context in Iran. These strengths/drawbacks were scrutinized through the "triangulation" technique in which the perceptions of the recipients of the storybooks, including the young learners and ten experienced teachers anticipating the process of study before the practical phase of the research were inspected. The researcher/teacher's observation of the study process and the class video recording were also investigated. Then, the common points extracted from the acquired data were classified and coded systematically. The research resulted in some opportunities, such as enhancing the young learners' English proficiency level and improving their critical thinking ability. However, the main challenges are the time restrictions and locating an appropriate English setting for the practical study of such local English materials. In alignment with the novelty of created storybooks and the entrenched moral themes illustrating Iranian moral values, the practical section discussing the strengths and drawbacks of implementing the devised materials in a real EFL context would differentiate the current research from the related literature in Iran.

This research has been done to investigate the relationship between verb comprehension and verb production of Persian learners in Persian language writing as a second language, based on the processes of ideational metafunction in Halliday’s systemic functional grammar. The statistical population was the Persian learners of the international center of teaching Persian to non-Persian speakers in Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. The data collection method was based on field study and random sampling method. The data were gathered through tests, interviews and essays which were divided into two parts: verb comprehension and verb production. The results of the tests were analyzed for verb comprehension, while the outputs of compositions were used in verb production. The collected data then were analyzed by SPSS. The results indicated that there was a positive correlation between comprehension and verb production of mental process at elementary levels. On the other hand, no correlation was found between Persian learners’ verb comprehension and verb production at intermediate level. Furthermore, there was a negative correlation between comprehension and production of the behavioral process at intermediate level and the comprehension and production of the material process at the advanced level. This showed the effect of three factors on creating a positive and negative correlation between processes in foreign Persian learners: 1) the objectivity and subjectivity of processes, 2) the versatility of processes, 3) Persian learners’ language level.