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Using Kane's interpretive argument model and Messick's validity argument approach, this study rigorously examined faculty and PhD candidate’s perspectives on PhD admission interviews in Iranian universities. We interviewed 10 professors and PhD interviewees which provided comprehensive insight into nuanced perspectives. We conducted rigorous content analysis to identify prevalent themes, forming a strong foundation for our analysis. This study emphasizes the vital requirement for standardized evaluation criteria, robust support systems, and an enhanced interview process to ensure fair and inclusive admission systems. Additionally, our development of guidelines based on Toulmin's reasoning model underscores the originality of our contribution and its potential to benefit stakeholders and the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology (MSRT) in Iran. The findings highlighted the importance of standardized criteria, support, and a stronger interview process for fairness and inclusivity in selecting PhD candidates. Faculty stressed clear guidelines to remove subjectivity, while candidates voiced concerns about unclear expectations and proposed added support like mentoring and preparation programs. Based on Toulmin's reasoning model, the study crafted validity argument guidelines for this context. As a result, these proposed changes will impact stakeholders and the MSRT by enhancing the PhD candidate evaluation process and ensuring a fairness and inclusivity. This study provides valuable insights to improve PhD admission procedures at Iranian universities by integrating standardized criteria, enhancing support mechanisms, and fostering fairness in decision-making.

This research paper delved into the critical issue of applying English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) assessment principles in local English language tests used for non-native English speakers in Iranian language institutes. A qualitative content analysis was made on 60 local tests, dissecting them into domains, dimensions, and rating rubrics to scrutinize their alignment with ELF assessment principles. The study unveiled that despite some alignment with ELF assessment principles, key aspects like local communicative context, intercultural competence, and linguistic diversity are often overlooked. In particular, writing and reading tests failed to fully reflect these principles, and listening and speaking assessments showed biases towards native English varieties. The study provides crucial insights for test developers to foster a more nuanced and accurate assessment of non-native English speakers' abilities. Moreover, it highlights the need to embed ELF principles into test construction, argues for broader assessment scopes and a focus on locally relevant tasks, and contributes to more equitable and contextually relevant English language proficiency tests by emphasizing linguistic diversity in assessment frameworks.

Language teacher factors have attracted attention in the field of language teaching in recent decades. This study sought to identify predictors of productive and maladaptive teacher immunity in British and Iranian English teachers. It also investigated the differences between British and Iranian teachers’ immunity. Accordingly, the researchers selected 283 British and 295 Iranian EFL teachers at language institutes as participants. In addition, they gave the participants seven reliable and valid questionnaires to assess their teacher immunity, age, income, emotion regulation, teacher reflection, professional identity, and grit. Finally, they analyzed the data using logistic regression analysis and a t-test. The results showed that British teachers’ emotion regulation, teacher reflection, and professional identity and Iranian teachers’ income, age, and emotion regulation were the most significant predictors of their teacher immunity. In addition, British teachers’ immunity was more productive than that of Iranian teachers. The results can provide specific guidelines for dealing with teacher factors in English classrooms.    

The present study investigated whether individual or collective reflective journals could lead to teachers’ professional development and professional identity (re)construction. To this end, 30 Iranian EFL teachers were selected through convenience sampling. The participants wrote pre-workshop reflective journals individually and collectively and attended a reflective consciousness-raising workshop for eight sessions. The participants were informed about the major tenets of reflection, professional development, and professional identity (re)construction in the workshop. Afterward, they wrote post-workshop reflective journals again individually and collectively. The participants sat follow-up interviews for the researchers to find out which kinds of journals better helped them develop professionally and (re)construct their professional identity. The findings showed that individual reflective journals and collective reflective journals contributed to teachers’ professional development and professional identity (re)construction respectively. The findings might imply that stakeholders involved that is EFL education policymakers, curriculum developers, and syllabus designers hold interactive workshops for pre-service and in-service teachers on reflective journal writing which might lead to both EFL teachers’ professional development and identity (re)construction. Moreover, it is recommended that the decision-makers and senior managers develop systematic checklists addressing those influential factors found in the present study to contribute to teachers’ professional development and professional identity construction.

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.

The growing popularity of language-learning apps among language learners has highlighted the need for rigorous evaluation of their efficacy in second language acquisition (SLA). This study combined quantitative measures to comprehensively understand the effectiveness of the Busuu app in improving the productive vocabulary of Iranian intermediate EFL learners with qualitative data from in-depth interviews to explore their perceptions and experiences while using the app. Forty-three learners (17 males and 26 females with a mean age of 27.53) were selected to assess the effectiveness of the Busuu app on learners’ productive vocabulary knowledge. Among them,15 participants (all female with a mean age of 29.40) agreed to be interviewed after the Busuu study to gain insights into learners’ perceptions and experiences with app-based learning. A pretest-posttest design using the LEX30 task, a standardized productive vocabulary assessment tool, was conducted before and after the Busuu study to evaluate participants’ productive vocabulary knowledge. Paired samples t-tests revealed no significant improvement in participants’ productive vocabulary knowledge. Nonetheless, the number of responses produced in the posttest was higher than in the pretest. According to the interview data, users rated vocabulary as the most favored feature of the app, while restricted access to premium content was noted as the least favored. Most participants acknowledged that the app exceeded their initial expectations before installing it. Additionally, improving vocabulary knowledge was the users’ primary expectation from utilizing the app. Furthermore, approximately all participants found the app beneficial for language learning. However, most of them reported low levels of enjoyment during app usage. The results can contribute to understanding what needs to be done to upgrade the quality and potential of the Bussu app, how the app can better support EFL learners in effectively activating their lexical knowledge, and what the users’ experiences and expectations from a language-learning app are.

Due to time constraints and large classes, teachers typically prefer to have product-based writing classes. Going through the existing literature, almost no study has examined the interrelationships among four variables of strategy use, self-efficacy, language proficiency, and writing autonomy in product and process writing classes. To this end, 381 Iranian male and female EFL students of English majors were chosen from the Universities of Qom and Kermanshah.  OPT and the questionnaires were distributed in person, via email, and an already-made Google-Doc link of the instruments. The data were analyzed using multiple correlation and SEM. Multiple correlations pointed to two-way correlations among the included variables in the process-oriented group in comparison to the product-oriented groups. In other words, learners in the process-based group appeared to be more autonomous, more self-efficacious, and more proficient language learners and could make more appropriate use of L2 strategies. The findings obtained from SEM also revealed the fact that the model of relationships among self-efficacy, autonomy, language proficiency, and strategy use enjoyed a good fit. Teachers will be able to make more informed and proper decisions regarding the adoption of either process-based or product-based instructional approaches to teaching writing in their own classes in general, and the way students’ levels of self-efficacy, autonomy, language proficiency, and strategy use can be boosted in particular. 

Classroom management is a key component of teachers' professional competent for promoting learning. This study investigated teachers' classroom management strategies in responding to Iranian EFL learners' misbehaviours in terms of teachers' biological factors including age and gender. The participants of the study were 75 (41 females and 34 males) teachers at universities and in language institutes of Fars Province, Iran. The study enjoyed a descriptive design using two sets of instruments encompassing a Five Likert-scale questionnaire and a semi-structured interview for collecting the data. The questionnaire determined teachers' classroom management strategies and the interview collected their opinions regarding classroom management. To analyze the data, one-way ANOVA and an independent sample t-test were run. The findings indicated that teachers' age and gender had significant effects on the types of strategies that they used when they faced misbehaviour. The findings also revealed that male teachers significantly used the strategies such as verbal warning, and female teachers removing the student from the class. The age groups were different in terms of using two strategies namely reward student with free time or activities and lower students' grade. The findings could have implication for curriculum designers, EFL teachers, and policymakers because it could enhance their skills in better management of learners' misbehaviours.

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.

Listening anxiety is the feeling of apprehension that learners might experience when trying to comprehend information from others. This anxiety associated with listening comprehension has been a significant focus of academic research for the past few decades. Foreign language listening anxiety (FLLA) can be triggered by different factors, including affective pressure, cognitive load, or communication disorders. However, there is a lack of appropriate conceptual models to accurately pinpoint the sources of anxiety related to listening. This research introduces a novel model in a non-experimental correlation research design to scrutinize the efficacy of cultural intelligence (CQ) and reflective thinking (RT) in predicting the source of FLLA among EFL learners. To accomplish this, a sample of 250 EFL students was administered the three scales for the constructs under study. In terms of the statistical analysis, structural equation modeling (SEM) was run to examine the fit of the conceptual model. The findings showed that both CQ and RT affect FLLA. However, RT was a stronger predictor of FLLA than CQ. Notably, critical reflection was found to be the strongest predictor of FLLA in the RT. Besides, both cognitive and behavioral dimensions equally influenced FLLA for CQ. Lastly, the results and implications for reducing FLLA are discussed.

This study examined how Iranian intermediate EFL learners' writing complexity, accuracy, and fluency were affected by collaborative online writing using Wikis. The language proficiency of 75 EFL learners was gauged based on their performance on the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT). They were intermediate male and female EFL learners studying English at three language institutes in Shahrekord, Iran. The participants were then split into two groups at random: a Wiki group (WG), and a control group (CG). Afterwards, learners in the control and experimental group were given a cause-and-effect prompt as a pre-test, and their writing complexity, accuracy, and fluency were assessed using CAF measures. Following the pre-test, the participants in the experimental group began a six-week training period in the collaborative environment of Wiki. The same instructional materials and procedures were presented to the control group, but in a non-collaborative, face-to-face setting. Similar to the writing pre-test, a writing post-test was given to both groups at the end of the intervention, and the writings were graded. In comparison to the conventional methodology, the results obtained revealed that the instructional method via Wiki was advantageous and effective in enhancing writing skills. This result is consistent with theories supporting the use of technology-based approaches in EFL writing settings. The main outcome of this research is that the ease and viability of teaching and learning writing are significantly and meaningfully influenced by giving learners control over their learning through Wiki.