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This study examined the impacts of providing regulatory focus feedback (RFF) in the forms of prevention and promotion as well as reference of comparison feedback (RCF) in the forms of normative and self-referential on EFL learners’ speaking complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) in online speaking courses. For this purpose, 100 intermediate EFL learners in a language institute were randomly assigned into four experimental groups and one control group (N=20). Language learners were required to respond to two speaking tasks from the IELTS exam before and after receiving 16 sessions of the intervention. The data were subjected to ANCOVA analysis and paired samples comparisons. The results showed that the participants’ speaking performance was better in all four experimental groups compared to the control group. Moreover, the superiority of self-referential feedback in improving the participants’ oral production ability over normative feedback was demonstrated. Prevention-focused feedback was shown to be influential in improving accuracy. Finally, practical implications for how EFL teachers can enhance language learners’ oral production ability are discussed.

This study investigated the effectiveness of two different scopes of corrective feedback on enhancing the complexity, accuracy, and fluency of L2 written productions among 150 intermediate EFL learners participating in intact online courses. The corrective feedback scope includes highly focused and comprehensive feedback delivered via digital platforms in synchronous and asynchronous formats. Participants were divided into five groups: synchronous highly focused feedback, synchronous comprehensive feedback, asynchronous highly focused feedback, asynchronous comprehensive feedback, and a control group receiving corrective feedback via traditional methods, characterized by the indiscriminate identification and marking of all errors. Results across the feedback groups regarding their impact on complexity, accuracy, and fluency in EFL learners' written productions indicated a significant effect on accuracy, while complexity and fluency showed no significant differences based on feedback scope and delivery modality. The results of this study have several important implications for educators, material developers, and policymakers in the field of language education. For teachers, adopting synchronous feedback strategies could significantly enhance the accuracy and complexity of students' written work.

The present study explored the effects of voicing and place of articulation on voice onset time (VOT) and fundamental frequency (F0) of onset of Persian oral plosives uttered by normal hearing (NH) and hearing-impaired (HI) children. Twenty-one NH children and twenty-one HI children matched for age and gender took part in this study. The participants were asked to repeat 36 CV words including all eight Persian plosives (/p/, /t/, /k/, /c/, /b/, /d/, /g/, /Ɉ/) in combination with the vowel /æ/. All syllables were recorded in a nearly sound-proof room using PRAAT Software. Independent samples t-test was used to compare the groups across gender. The results revealed: (a) HI children had higher VOT and F0 of onset values in nearly all aspects except for VOT and F0 onset of voiced plosives and F0 onset of alveolar and velar plosives; (b) both groups of girls had higher VOT values than boys did; (c) VOT is affected by the place of articulation and F0 is related to voiced-voiceless classification of plosives. Overall, NH children were able to distinguish and produce sounds more correctly, implying that HI children need further training. The study has implications for speech therapists, clinical linguists, and application designers to focus on speech sounds which are challenging for HI children to produce.  

This study is an attempt to explore the integration of positive psychology within language testing, while assessing its effects on learner performance, self-efficacy, motivation, and test anxiety in EFL contexts. Postulated on a mixed-method approach, firstly, the study involves in a quasi-experimental design, where 100 EFL learners were assigned into control and experimental groups. The latter group experienced strength-based feedback and growth-focused assessment practices. The results of the paired t-tests and ANCOVA revealed significant improvements in the EFL students' language proficiency, with the anxiety construct reduced by 30%, alongside substantial increases in the constructs of motivation and self-efficacy. These outcomes can be taken into account as the highlight of the efficacy of positive psychology interventions, contrasting with traditional deficit-focused models of assessment. Afterwards, in the qualitative phase, the research advocates for a paradigm shift in language testing, while emphasizing EFL learners' emotional well-being, cognitive engagement, and learner autonomy. Furthermore, this study contributes to the broader discourse, representing implications on rethinking pedagogical approaches to language assessment, proposing more humanistic and learner-centered frameworks.

While writing skill is extensively studied in EFL contexts, more in-depth research is needed to explore how technology can assist its pedagogy. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of using an automated writing evaluation on Iranian EFL learners’ essay writing. Learning how to reduce errors (in an EFL context) by being corrected at the moment and being exposed to different examples regarding that error in the learners’ new texts through automated writing evaluation (AWE) tends to be the significance of this study. To this end, 50 Iranian EFL learners who were studying at the University of Qom, were randomly chosen. The sample included 25 females and 25 males, whose ages ranged from 19 to 25. The participants were given a pre-test before using AWE software. They were given a topic to write about as a pre-test. After the treatment, an IELTS Task 2 was utilized as a posttest. The IELTS writing band descriptors were used to evaluate the writings. The ANCOVA results showed a remarkable improvement in the essay writing of the EFL learners using an AWE software (i.e., Grammarly). The analysis of interview data revealed that the learners were more enthusiastic about using the AWE feedback because they were corrected while they were writing their essays. Since AWE is discovered to be a helpful device to promote learners’ writing skills, students would also be inspired to become associated with such online learning environments and utilize them earnestly and productively. This research also discovered the learners who got feedback from the AWE device got more prosperous but they also started to ask their teacher to provide more feedback to have AWE feedback and traditional feedback combined. The findings have implications for language teachers, material developers, and curriculum designers.

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.

In this research, we carried out a meta-analysis of the effects of teacher scaffolding on EFL learners’ reading proficiency in which 28 experimental and quasi-experimental studies published from 2008 to 2022 and 39 effect sizes were reviewed and synthesized. Three questions guide this analysis: What is the overall effect of teacher scaffolding on EFL learners’ reading proficiency? To what extent moderator variables such as learners’ educational levels and proficiency levels modify the effect of the teacher scaffolding? What is the magnitude of publication bias in this analysis? The overall effect size was found to be 0.89, which represents a large effect size based on Cohen, Manion and Morrison’ (2007) scale. The effect sizes of moderator variables were calculated and it was reported that the scaffolding has the most effect in elementary learners and elementary school level. The symmetrical funnel plot together with the fail-safe N test indicates that publication bias does not have any significant effect on the effect size reported in this study. The findings of this meta-analysis have implications for EFL teachers, researchers, policy makers and curriculum developers.

Autonomous learning is a study skill that may be challenging not only to learners with a dependent learning style but also to teachers used to teacher-oriented methodology. However, the considerable shift in the teaching and learning paradigm especially after the 2020 pandemic has made autonomous learning a must-gain skill. This research aimed to explore EFL teachers' perceptions of learner autonomy (LA), their actual practices, and the challenges of LA promotion at Omani secondary schools. It also investigated possible associations between teachers' beliefs about promoting LA and their academic level, gender, and years of experience. Within a convergent mixed-method parallel design, thirty Omani EFL school teachers were selected through convenience sampling to participate in the study. The instruments included teachers’ perceptions questionnaire, classroom observation data, and interviews with teachers. Frequency counts, ordinal regression analysis, and grounded theory were used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data. The results revealed that although EFL teachers at Omani secondary schools practice some strategies that promote learner autonomy, these practices are not intentionally and exclusively implemented for LA purposes. Moreover, the results showed some discrepancies between teachers’ beliefs and their actual practices of LA due to some constraints and challenges such as the intensive English curriculum, teachers being overloaded with numerous school tasks besides teaching, learners' limited exposure to English outside the classroom, and teachers' inadequate professional background in the concept, principles, and practices of learner autonomy. No significant association was found between the teachers' general beliefs about LA and their particulars. It may be argued that the concept of autonomous learning and strategies to promote LA should be included as a core component of teacher training programs. By the same token, more self-study and self-assessment practices may be added to the English course materials in schools to help learners develop this essential skill for their higher education.

The present study intends to extend the current ancillary understanding horizons of the developmental theory of individual-differences relationship-based (DIR) framework and emotioncy framework, to investigate aspects of emotioncy tensions that include identity-related attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs by providing "what-to-do" information when enacting identity tensions. Through validating the Student Identity Emotioncy Tension Scale (SIETS), the researchers suggested that social identities are also associated with specific emotional tensions by providing "what-to-feel" information during identity enactment. To do so, a total number of 300 students filled out the scale. In the validation process, statistical procedures were exerted to validate the scale. First, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to ascertain the underlying factors. Then, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Communalities were checked for the relevance of component variance. Cronbach’s coefficient was used to check the reliability of the 18 items. The results indicated that the scale can be best explained by a three-factor solution with an acceptable reliability. In the qualitative phase of cognitive interviews, students were interviewed to further examine the quality of the items. In the end, the findings were elucidated and implications for future research and practice were presented.

Adverse Conditions in the Professional Lives of English Instructors: Recommendations to Ameliorate Teacher Resilience Abstract The present qualitative study strived to examine Iranian English instructors’ experiences of adverse conditions in their teaching environments. To yield this purpose, 30 novice language institute English instructors in Tabriz (Iran) were selected as the participants. To triangulate the data, we utilized interview and narrative data collection techniques. Adapting inductive, bottom-up approach to analyzing the themes, three main themes were generated: teacher factors, contextual factors, and student factors. The findings of the study were ascribed to the participants’ resilience in their academic settings. The findings can provide the teacher educators and educational psychologists with certain guiding principles regarding teacher resilience. The results of the study has a number of implications for pedagogy and teaching practice as well as the educational psychology and teacher education . Keywords: adverse conditions, emotional regulation, psychological wellbeing, teacher education, teacher resilience

The present study made an effort to determine the impacts of proactive and retroactive meta-cognitive strategy instruction on Iranian ESP learners’ autonomy. Furthermore, it strived to examine the degree to which the interaction between this instruction and proactive/retroactive instruction conditions influenced these learners’ autonomy in their courses. To this end, first, the researchers selected 168 intermediate-level ESP learners from among the ESP learners of Islamic Azad University (Tabriz Branch) as the participants. Second, they non-randomly assigned the participants to four groups including the proactive experimental group, retroactive experimental group, proactive control group, and retroactive control group. Third, the researchers administered the autonomy pretest to all of the groups. Fourth, they used the Adobe Connect Learning Management System to provide the proactive experimental group, and the retroactive experimental group with their relevant treatments in ten sessions. Nonetheless, they used traditional language instruction techniques to provide the control groups with their instruction. Fifth, the researchers administered the autonomy posttest of the study to the participants after the end of the treatment sessions. Finally, they used SPSS 24 to analyze the data. The results showed that meta-cognitive strategy instruction ameliorated the participants’ autonomy. Moreover, the retroactive instruction condition was more efficacious than the proactive condition. In addition, the interaction between meta-cognitive strategy instruction and retroactive condition had a significant positive effect on the learners’ autonomy development. The results may provide ESP teacher educators, syllabus designers, and instructors with guiding principles regarding meta-cognitive strategy instruction.

Feeling anxiety and technostress can have harmful effects on EFL learners' language learning. On the other hand, having high academic enjoyment (AE) can generate positive impacts on English language learning. Concerning the psychological variables' role in English language learning, this investigation inspected the effects of digital literacy (DL) on technostress, foreign language anxiety (FLA), AE, and language achievement. To meet this objective, 70 intermediate subjects were selected and divided into an experimental group (EG) and a control group (CG). Next, the pre-tests of technostress, FLA, AE, and language learning achievement were administered to both groups. After that, the EG was taught the coursebook using technology. DL was also focused on it, and the students were trained to apply technology when learning new English materials. On the other hand, the same lessons were taught to the CG applying a traditional method. After teaching all classes, the mentioned scales were administered as the posttests of the study. The results of the One-way ANCOVA test indicated that the EG outdid the CG in the four posttests, implying that using DL reduced the anxiety and technostress of the EG but increased their AE. The ramifications of this investigation can inspire both EFL learners and educators to apply digital tools and technology in English learning and teaching.

The CTML served as the primary source of motivation for this investigation, which explored the effects of Immersive Learning (IL) and Communicative Language Teaching on the Oral Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency (CAF) of Iranian EFL learners with Expressive Language Disorder (ELD). Using a quasi-Solomon four-group design, the participants, who were all Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners with mild to moderate levels of ELD, were separated into experimental and control groups. There were a total of 36 participants in this study. The intervention consisted of virtual reality (VR) authoring eighty speech exercises in the form of learning chunks for twenty sessions lasting seventy minutes each. In the groups that served as controls, the content was presented using a method known as Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). Both the pre-test and the post-test were conducted orally using the CAF test. In terms of oral complexity (syntactic complexity and diversity), oral accuracy (error-free sentences and accurate verb forms), and oral fluency (number of vocally generated syllables), the findings revealed that individuals who received IL fared better than their counterparts in the CLT group. The findings may have important implications for teaching English as a foreign language and for rehabilitative education.

The forced transition to online instruction due to covid-19 pandemic brought about many changes and challenges. Therefore, evaluating these changes is of utmost importance. The study aimed to contribute to the existing literature by investigating the online adaptation of Iranian EFL high-school teachers. Purposive sampling was employed to approach the 20 teacher participants of the study. To this end, the researchers used semi-structured interviews to gather qualitative data concerning their perception towards of online instruction. The results of the study were promising. Although they reported many challenges and shortcomings, they believed those weaknesses motivated them to increase their digital literacy and integrate ICT into their approach. Moreover, teachers saw the pandemic as a forced opportunity and believed it was time to harness the power of ICT integration in post-pandemic education. Finally, all the study findings and possible implications are discussed, and suggestions are presented to prevent barriers to online instruction.