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While the issue of intercultural competence has received considerable attention in second language learning and teaching over recent decades, the lack of a practical, valid, and dependable instrument to cross-culturally measure intercultural competence is strongly felt. For this reason, the current study aimed at developing and validating an inventory to examine EFL learners’ intercultural competence within the context of Iran. Following a qualitative-quantitative descriptive method research design, an instrument consisting of items adapted from intercultural competence-based survey instruments was generated. Accordingly, the study recruited 200 Iranian EFL learners to fill out the inventory. Furthermore, nine Iranian university professors in Applied Linguistics received an earlier draft of the Intercultural Competence Inventory (ICI) after it was prepared. The experts were requested to provide feedback on the developed Inventory’ content and face validity. After expert/content validation, the construct validity of the inventory was checked using R software running Mokken Scale Analysis. The analyses aimed to determine the structure of the inventory and verify the effectiveness of a five-point Likert response scale. The results concerning item attributes and the quality of the response scale provided confirmation of the scale's internal validity. Hopefully, the presence of this inventory in the Iranian context, characterized by strong internal consistency, internal validity, and construct validity, can contribute valuable insights to the study of intercultural competence among language learners.

The current research investigates the impact of two types of corrective feedback such as elicitation, and clarification requests - out of five types of corrective feedback - on the speaking abilities of Iranian intermediate EFL learners who are either introverts or extroverts. Participants in the study included 172 intermediate level students in 11 groups: 10 experimental and 1 control groups. They were language learners studying English in The Iran Language Institute in three branches: two branches in Babol, and one in Sari. The tools applied in this quasi-experimental research were: Oxford Placement Test (OPT) to achieve the homogeneity of the groups, speaking section of IELTS as pre-test and post-test and a Learning Style Survey to examine extraversion and introversion. ANCOVA and two-way ANOVA statistics were employed to analyze the data. The findings revealed that the extroverts had better performance in elicitation while the introverts had better performance in clarification corrective feedback. Employing the findings of the study, teachers can create a supportive and inclusive atmosphere that encourages both introverted and extroverted learners to participate and engage in speaking activities.

Many studies on L1 and/or L2 pragmatic competence are constrained by universalist orientations towards sociopragmatics and overlook the idiosyncratic cultural scripts and schemas of underexplored languages and cultures. Particularly neglected is the complicating role of Iranian cultural schema of a (dis-)belief in the evil eye with regards to the speech act of complimenting (and responding to it); actually, the schema is hypothesized (Talebzadeh & Rajabi, in preparation; Younesi & Talebzadeh, 202) to pose intricate interactional challenges for both parties due to the possible interpretations of and (non-)verbal responses to compliments (as predominantly Face-Saving Acts versus potentially Face-Threatening Acts). Moreover, still unknown is the way these could confound EFL learners’ cross-cultural communications. To address these gaps, we present the second phase of a more comprehensive study of compliment response (CR) behaviors of Iranian respondents while checking the adequacy of our proposed model (inspired by Herber’s taxonomy). To qualitatively and quantitatively examine the CRs of fifteen proficient Iranian female learners of English, we initially collected the data using two sets of Discourse Completion Tasks (DCT) (in Persian and English) consisting of a variety of situations and variables (e.g., social distance and compliment topics). Then, follow-up semi-structured interviews were conducted to tap into the participants’ (non-)beliefs in the evil eye and its presupposed effects on their compliment exchanges. The findings underscore the adequacy of our modified model and the particularities of Iranian cultural schemas. Specifically, being a widespread belief, evil-eye is shown to play a pivotal role in formulating the responses to compliments through the selective application of CR types such as Cheshm-Zadan and Taarof in reaction to the compliments given (particularly those on family members or beloved ones) across both languages. The study concludes with a discussion of the findings with reference to the relevant literature and implications for intercultural communication, language education, and sociopragmatic research and practice.

The current study set out to examine the effect of pair and group virtual interaction in online classrooms on the development of speaking abilities of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. This investigation was based on the quantitative data collected based on quasi-experimental design. In order to do so, 45 students were chosen based on their scores on the CEFR placement test. These students were then divided into two experimental groups, namely group work and pair work as well as a control group who worked individually. Students had to participate in the IELTS Speaking test twice as pre-test and post-test. The course was held on the Skype platform for five weeks. Each session consisted of 45 minutes of speaking practice using the Talk a Lot textbook and 20 minutes of discussion. In order to compare the means of three independent groups, Kruskal-Wallis Test was used to compare pre-test and post-test results. The Post hoc test was used for multiple comparisons and the mean differences of groups. The findings indicated that there is a significant difference between the experimental groups and the control group regarding the effect of group and pair work in online classrooms on the speaking ability of EFL learners. According to the study findings, students who participated in pair and group work training in online classrooms had greater speaking performance than those who only received individual learning.

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of explicit instruction aimed at improving vocabulary on the writing proficiency and long-term retention of new vocabulary among second language (L2) learners. The achievement was accomplished through the administration of a fill-in-the-blank assessment, which included 30 individual words and 6 lexical phrases, to a group of 30 EFL students at an upper-intermediate level. Subsequently, these students engaged in a reading exercise centered around the topic of 'Bull Fighting' and subsequently crafted a paper titled 'A Cruel Sport'. The results demonstrated a notable enhancement in the quantity of terms actively utilized in their writing following the focused vocabulary teaching. The statistical analysis revealed that the participants were capable of retaining the newly-acquired language even after a considerable amount of time had elapsed since the lesson. This study presents comprehensive information on these findings and provides suggestions for L2 teachers, asserting that although comprehending a word does not inherently result in its active utilization, learners possess the capacity to enhance their active vocabulary and accurately employ recently acquired words. Explicit training in vocabulary is advantageous for converting recognition vocabulary into productive language during immediate writing tasks and enhancing retention. Nevertheless, consistent and regular practice in utilizing recently learned vocabulary is necessary for it to become effective in long-term written expression.

In today's society, it is important for teachers, particularly foreign language teachers, to understand that reflectivity is considered as a main factor in growing teaching profession. This study sought to examine the different dimensions of reflective teaching among Iranian EFL teachers considering the variables of gender, academic degree , teaching experience ,and interactional effect between them .In doing so, initially using an explanatory sequential mixed method survey design a five–point Lickert scale ,29-items Reflective Teaching Questionnaire including (practical, meta-cognitive, critical, cognitive and affective ) was distributed to 142 EFL teachers (male and female) with 4 to 30+ years of professional experience with BA, MA, and PhD. academic degrees. Considering teaching experience, the participants were categorized into three groups.MANOVA results indicated the significant effect of teachers’ experience on their reflective teaching with the least effect reported on the affective dimension. Secondly, sixteen EFL teachers were invited to participate in an interview. The results of the present study will be useful for EFL teachers to have effective teaching, and to involve themselves more in exploring their students’ learning styles and critical aspects of the teaching context. Obviously, reflective teaching would help teachers to foster their independence. The analysis revealed that shortage of time, prescribed syllabi, predetermined textbooks, and ineffective teacher training programs were the main obstacles to reflectivity as experienced by the teachers. The outcomes have pedagogical implications for Iranian EFL teachers and theoreticians in the area of language teaching.

The present study, adopting a sequential mixed-methods design, chiefly aimed to determine the strongest predictors of EFL learners’ involvement in the components of motivational self-regulatory strategies (MSRSs). In so doing, 154 English-major university students joined in the quantitative phase, and a pool of seven students was selected to participate in the qualitative phase of the study. A number of validated instruments were utilized to gather the relevant data. The Pearson moment-to-moment correlation, SEM, multiple regression, and a semi-structured interview method were used to analyze the data. The results showed a positive relationship between the components of MSRSs and involvement in writing skills. Among MSRSs components, performance self-talk, mastery self-talk, and environmental control made significant contributions to the prediction of involvement in writing skills. More specifically, the strongest predictor of involvement in writing skills in MSRSs components was performance self-talk. Following the inter-coder reliability, the responses elicited from the interviews regarding EFL learners’ opinions about the role of MSRSs in increasing their involvement in writing skills delineated eight themes, including quiet talk, consistent working, interest, coping with distractions, class environment, motivating peers, regulating emotions, and teachers’ help. In the end, the interplay between MSRSs components and involvement factors was discussed and several practical implications were proposed.

In recent decades, many second language acquisition (SLA) researchers have identified the leading role of organizing sequentially cognitive tasks in Task-Based Language Teaching. Presenting types of different task sequence has become increasingly crucial for syllabus designers. This investigation examines the theoretical basis of task sequencing, which claims that pedagogical tasks should be developed and ordered cognitively from easy to complex. The current study aims to compare the performance of English learners in sequenced and isolated familiar tasks. Sixty EFL learners studying at the intermediate level in two private language institutes participated in this research. They were randomly selected as one experimental and one control group, each comprising 30 subjects. Before starting treatment, all the participants took a listening comprehension test as a pretest. The treatment took place over one semester, during which the subjects performed simple-complex familiar sequenced tasks while the control group received familiar randomized tasks. After treatment, the posttest of listening comprehension, which contained two complex task features, i.e., - Here-and-Now and - Planning time, was employed. The independent-samples t-test showed that the experimental group who received simple-complex sequenced tasks outperformed the control group in listening to complex tasks. The findings supported the employment of simple-complex sequencing tasks to foster listening task complexity performance.

This study aimed at describing a causal model of variables influencing preservice EFL teachers΄ technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). A descriptive correlational design was used to meet the objective of the study, therefore, 138 (67 male and 71 female) fourth-year student teachers in Teacher Education University were selected through convenience sampling method. A questionnaire including seven sections each of which measuring an aspect of TPACK was utilized. The sections of instrument were borrowed from those validated by Sahin (2011) for evaluating content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and technological knowledge, and by Chai, et al. (2011) for measuring technological knowledge, technological pedagogical knowledge and TPACK. Path analysis and Pearson correlation were used for inferential statistical analysis. Results showed that there existed significant positive correlations between the TPACK constructs. Additionally, content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge, unlike technological knowledge, were found to have a direct impact on TPACK. Moreover, it was found that, among the measured variables, content knowledge had the greatest total effect on TPACK whereas that of pedagogical content knowledge was the minimum. Therefore, the results of this study have implications for curriculum design, policy decisions and teacher education planning.

The goal of this study was to explore English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ and learners’ beliefs and classroom practices in relation to task rehearsal as an operationalization of repeating a task, which entails learners’ awareness of the repeated performance before they do a task for the first time. Five intact EFL classes with five teachers and 32 learners were recruited. The teachers asked the learners to perform a task that was included in the textbook twice with an interval of one week, while they made the learners aware of the second iteration prior to their first performance. Data were collected through observing the two sessions of each class and interviewing both the teachers and the learners immediately after the second task occasion. Results indicated that the participants (both teachers and learners) believed that task rehearsal was beneficial for facilitating task implementation and task performance. Findings also showed that task rehearsal led the participants to show changes in their classroom behaviors related to this practice from the first to the second session, which clearly reflected their beliefs. Implications of these results for L2 task implementation and teacher education are discussed.

This study aimed at investigating and comparing the expenditure of cognitive effort in translating various text types. The text typology of Reiss (1971, 2014) including informative, expressive, and operative text types was used as the theoretical framework. A mixed-method approach involving the use of screen recording, keystroke logging, think-aloud protocols, and retrospective interviews was adopted for the investigation. To pursue the research aims, 22 senior translation students were recruited to participate in the study and perform three translation tasks: translating informative, expressive, and operative texts. By using think-aloud protocols, the participants were instructed to speak out during the execution of the tasks. The amount of time spent by each participant and the number of pauses taken by them on each translation task were measured and compared as indicators of cognitive effort. Additionally, time and pause analyses were triangulated using technical operation analysis to have a better perception and obtain more reliable results. The findings of this study showed a significant difference in the cognitive effort required to translate informative, expressive, and operative texts. The findings also revealed a higher level of cognitive effort in translating expressive text compared with informative and operative ones