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Social media platforms, particularly Twitter, have transformed how academics communicate, disseminate research, and engage with broader audiences. This study explored intertextuality within academic tweets crafted by applied linguists across five English-speaking countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Ireland. By analyzing tweets from prominent Applied Linguistics associations, the research identified intertextual representations and examined how they refer to or incorporate other texts. The study used a qualitative approach to uncover the forms and functions of intertextuality, highlighting the complex relationships between texts and social actors on Twitter. A corpus of 300 tweets from major associations in Applied Linguistics provided a rich dataset for analysis. Key findings indicated that intertextual practices in academic tweets are crucial for self-promotion, publicizing research outputs, and building academic communities. Multimodal quotations, digital mentions, and hyperlinks enhance engagement, extend reach, and provide additional context. Tweets served multiple functions, including community building, networking, and public dissemination of academic knowledge. The study highlighted the evolving nature of academic communication on social media, suggesting that applied linguistics groups strategically use Twitter to enhance their scholarly presence and impact. Practical implications included the strategic use of hashtags, multimodal elements, and active engagement through retweets, mentions, and replies, which improve visibility, impact, and foster a sense of community within the field.

Although pair work interaction gained substantial attention in recent decades, little is known about the best method to enhance its effectiveness. This study investigated the impact of peer modelling demonstration of collaborative writing tasks as a pedagogical intervention on Language-Related Episodes (LREs) and pair dynamics. Using a one-group pretest-posttest design with a delayed posttest, twenty intermediate learners were randomly paired up to complete three tasks (information-gap, story reconstruction, and jigsaw), which also involved a paragraph-level writing over a three-week period. Each session, the participants were required to work on one task while recording their voices. In the second session of the study, the pairs were provided with the peer modelling video to explore its contribution to their performances. The pairs' audio-recorded performances (about 15 hours) were carefully transcribed and later analyzed for a) the frequency, types, and resolution of LREs and b) pair dynamics. Results of Negative Binomial Regression revealed that peer modelling had a significant positive effect on pair performance, in a way that, after the provision of peer modelling, the pairs produced a significantly greater number of LREs and correctly resolved the majority of the conflicts. Additionally, analysis of McNemar's test revealed that the pairs demonstrated more collaborative pair dynamics subsequent to peer modelling. The findings are pedagogically important as they support peer modelling as a valuable pedagogical technique to be integrated into language learning classes to ensure L2 development and foster qualities of pair work.

This study rigorously investigates the impact of portfolio self-assessment on the enhancement of English language skills among pre-intermediate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. A quasi-experimental design was employed, comprising a sample of 64 male students, aged between 12 and 15 years, drawn from two intact classes at the Dolat and Mellat Language Institute in Gilan, Iran. The participants were systematically divided into two groups and engaged in a 12-week instructional program: the experimental group (n = 31) was subjected to portfolio self-assessment, whereas the control group (n = 33) adhered to conventional assessment methodologies. To evaluate language proficiency, the American English File 2 Test was administered as both a pre-test and a post-test. The analytical approach consisted of descriptive statistics, Shapiro-Wilk normality tests, paired and independent samples t-tests, and effect size calculations. The analysis of the data revealed that the experimental group demonstrated a statistically significant superiority over the control group in language proficiency, as evidenced by the results (t (62) = 9.920, p < .001, r = .61) across all assessed language skills. Notable were the substantial effect sizes observed in reading (r = .76), listening (r = .34), and writing (r = .27). These findings underscore the efficacy of portfolio self-assessment as a learner-centered strategy that enhances language proficiency, fostering metacognitive awareness. The research highlights the need to integrate reflective assessment methods into EFL pedagogy and calls for further investigation into their long-term implications.

As a relatively new pedagogical approach, flipped instruction has received much attention. Accordingly, numerous studies in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) have delved into the usefulness of flipped classroom for language learning; however, this mode of instruction has yet to be explored in the area of second language (L2) listening. This being so, the current study investigated the effect of a flipped course model on Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ listening performance and L2 listening anxiety utilizing a pretest-posttest control group design. The study divided 39 students preparing for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam into two groups: One class received conventional instruction (non-flipped), and one class received instruction based on the principles of flipped instruction (flipped). The participants answered two IELTS practice tests and completed two questionnaires, namely the Listening Anxiety Questionnaire and the Perception of Flipped Learning Experience questionnaire. The results of statistical analyses revealed that the listening performance of both groups improved significantly from the pretest to the posttest and that the flipped class outperformed the control group. Furthermore, it was found that not only did flipping the class alleviate participants’ L2 listening anxiety substantially, but also it positively influenced their attitude toward this mode of instruction. Implications of these findings have been elaborated for stakeholders. 

This article deals with the behavioral intentions of high school English teachers in Iran (hereafter teachers) for the development of computer-mediated courses (hereafter courses). It applies the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to examine the relationship between attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and intentions to create the courses. A survey was conducted using the social media platforms, namely Shad and Telegram. Four hundred forty teachers participated in the survey filling in a questionnaire consisting of thirty-five 7-point bipolar Likert- scale items. Path analysis was employed to investigate the factors influencing the teachers’ behavioral intentions to develop the courses. Moreover, the analyses revealed that 44 percent of the variance in the teachers’ intentions cumulatively explained by their attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. The poor model fit indicated that some factors such as contextual limitations or cultural differences might be at work, but the provision of significant relationship between the theory’s constructs is worth considering.

Integrating Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) principles within Electronic Portfolios (e-portfolios) promotes reflection, progress monitoring, and strategic refinement, potentially strengthening learners’ speaking self-efficacy. Despite this alignment, empirical research on self-regulatory e-portfolios for speaking self-efficacy is limited. To address this gap, the present study examined the effects of a OneNote-based self-regulatory e-portfolio on Iranian EFL learners’ speaking self-efficacy and their attitudes toward the tool in an online speaking course. Grounded in SRL and social cognitive theory, speaking self-efficacy was conceptualized as a multidimensional construct encompassing performance, linguistic, and self-regulatory self-efficacy. A total of 52 intermediate and upper-intermediate Iranian EFL learners, selected based on a PET sample test, were randomly assigned to an experimental or a control group. Over a five-week online course, the experimental group developed self-regulatory e-portfolios in OneNote structured according to Zimmerman’s (2000) cyclical model of self-regulation. In contrast, the control group received conventional instruction. Data were collected using the 18-item Self-Efficacy for EFL Speaking Scale (SEESS), an attitude questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews. A Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) revealed statistically significant gains in performance, linguistic, and self-regulatory self-efficacy for the experimental group, with medium to large effect sizes. Learners also reported positive attitudes toward the e-portfolio, valuing its accessibility, organizational features, and support for reflection, goal setting, and feedback, despite some initial emotional and usability challenges. Overall, the findings underscore the pedagogical value of OneNote-based self-regulatory e-portfolios for enhancing speaking self-efficacy in online EFL contexts.

Despite the fact that impoliteness has been the focus of much investigation in various contexts, including political and cultural, there remains a paucity of evidence on the manifestation of impoliteness in literary texts. Examining Harold Pinter’s Mountain Language (1988) and Ashes to Ashes (1996), this paper discloses the impact of (im)politeness on identity. It posits that because of a mismatch in power dynamics and impoliteness between communicators, identity and self-esteem are subject to threat. Harold Pinter’s plays manifest profound interconnection between (im)politeness and identity construction/destruction. Our analysis shows how, in plays under scrutiny, characters are in a constant verbal struggle for survival and dominance and how this conflict impacts on characters’ social identity. Adopting Bousfield and McIntyre (2018) alongside Garcés-Conejos Blitvich (2009)’s model, this paper elucidates how impoliteness operates within the political settings of the plays in which the oppressors’ aggressive language aims to delegitimize the social identity of the oppressed ones. Furthermore, we strive to indicate how the impolite language and social/individual identity are closely related which contributes to a deeper understanding of characterization in literary works.

Despite its pivotal importance in comprehension and production, many English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners struggle with retrieving and applying new vocabulary beyond class. This study investigated the comparative effects of the Ripple Effect Approach (REA) and the Word Wall Approach (WWA) on vocabulary retrieval and production among Iranian intermediate EFL learners. Sixty participants (30 females and 30 males), aged between 18 and 23 years ( M age = 20.5), were selected through the Preliminary English Test (PET) and randomly divided into two experimental groups. The REA group was taught through interconnected, contextualized vocabulary exercises, while the WWA group received visual aids and interactive word displays. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was employed, with data collected through vocabulary tests. Statistical analyses, including repeated-measures ANOVA and MANOVA, revealed significant improvements in vocabulary retrieval and production for both groups. However, the REA group demonstrated higher retention rates, with a mean increase of 3.6 points in retention from pre-test to post-test, compared to a 3.2-point increase for the WWA group. These findings underscore the effectiveness of interactive and varied instructional approaches in enhancing vocabulary acquisition and retention among EFL learners. Implications for educators suggest incorporating the REA and WWA to meet diverse learner needs and improve teaching practices, emphasizing the importance of integrating innovative, learner-centered techniques into educational curricula. Incorporating these approaches might develop adaptive and responsive educational frameworks, enhancing EFL learners’ learning outcomes and experiences.

This article delved into the realm of EFL assessment in Iraq by investigating the beliefs of Iraqi EFL teachers about assessment practices they employed in their classroom and determining whether there was any congruency between their beliefs and actual assessment practices. For this purpose, 140 experienced Iraqi EFL teachers were selected by convenience sampling and the data were collected by the Teachers’ Assessment Practices Belief Questionnaire and the Teachers’ Assessment Practices Questionnaire. The findings of Pearson correlation and descriptive analysis revealed that the cognitive level of assessments (e.g., reasoning and application), types of assessments (e.g., portfolios and concept mapping), and evaluation criteria (e.g., improvement and student effort) were highly valued by the teachers. Regarding assessment practices in the classroom, the participants reported obtaining, elucidating, and responding to learning evidence and assisting students to acquire a positive orientation of learning (making learning explicit). Promoting learning autonomy (an expanded opportunity to assume increased autonomy in defining their learning goals and evaluating both their work and that of their peers) was also found in the teachers’ reports. Besides, an interest in assisting students adhere to performance goals stipulated by the curriculum using careful questioning and assessed by scores and grades (performance orientation). Implications and suggestions of the study are discussed in the article.

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an international comparative study of reading comprehension that is administered by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) to measure the reading competency of fourth grade students in the participating countries. The test is a very comprehensive measure of reading literacy which covers a wide variety of reading subskills and texts. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the psychometric qualities of PIRLS 2021 using the national data of Kazakhstan. The 2-parameter item response theory was used to evaluate the test. Item difficulty, discrimination, infit, outfit, and the root mean square deviance (RMSD) fit statistics were examined. The multiple-group IRT was used to examine differential item functioning. Findings sowed that PIRLS 2021 is a robust measure of reading comprehension and does not exhibit differential item functioning (DIF). However, based on the 2PL discrimination and infit and outfit values, several items are problematic. The implications of this finding are discussed.

Evaluating research designs plays a pivotal role in promoting principled Mixed Methods Research (MMR). Although the quality of mixed methods designs has been among the most debated topics, scant attention has been drawn to the investigation of Applied Linguistics (AL) Islamic World Science Citation Center (ISC) journals. Informed by this gap, the present exploratory sequential mixed methods study aimed at analyzing the research designs, tools of data collection, and purposes of 303 MMR articles published in 12 leading ISC journals. This involved a qualitative content analysis using a code sheet based on established MMR typologies, followed by a quantitative frequency analysis to determine the prevalence of these coded categories. The findings indicated that sequential designs were more frequently used in the corpus. Moreover, as regards the tools of data collection, questionnaires and interviews were the most commonly utilized ones. Finally, exploration purpose was the prime purpose opted for by the researchers in the study corpus. The study highlights the importance of conducting principled MMR through the reconceptualization of designs from method to methodology level. It further argues for a systemic view of MMR in which there is a cyclic interaction among fully integrated stages of an MMR design. The implications of the findings are discussed throughout the paper.

This study investigates the effect of corrective feedback on Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ interlanguage pragmatic (ILP) development in the context of invitation acceptance and declination. Three intact experimental groups were selected via convenience sampling from an English institute in Tehran: a recast group (N = 13), a metalinguistic group (N = 17), and a clarification request group (N = 12). Prior to the treatment, the groups participated in a dialogic extended discourse pretest. The dialogues for invitation acceptance and declination were drawn from Top Notch, American English File, English Result, and Four Corners. Learners’ performance was assessed using two checklists—one for pragmalinguistic and the other for sociopragmatic knowledge—based on a five-item Likert scale ranging from inappropriate to most appropriate. Treatment sessions were conducted three times per week, each lasting 60 minutes, over a period of one month. The findings reveal that corrective feedback significantly enhanced ILP development. Notably, the metalinguistic group outperformed the recast and clarification request groups. Consequently, metalinguistic corrective feedback proved more effective than recast and clarification feedback in fostering Iranian EFL learners’ ILP development concerning invitation acceptance and declination.

Teaching and learning have long struggled with burnout, a condition of mental exhaustion. Burnout has turned out to be influenced by several antecedents; the effects of some such as self-efficacy, motivation, and enjoyment have already been addressed, whereas those of others remain to be considered. Due to persistent burnout among students and several unidentified contributing factors, this study investigates how proactive personality and L2 grit impact L2 burnout. The following are hypothesized: 1. proactive personality can negatively predict burnout among Iranian L2 learners. 2. L2 grit can negatively predict burnout among Iranian L2 learners. A total of 613 students, which comprise 315 females and 298 males, studying at various senior and junior high schools in Semnan, Iran, were selected through convenience sampling; they were provided with a questionnaire quantifying how proactive and gritty they are. Subsequently, the data was analyzed using SPSS 22, showing that both proactive personality and grit negatively predict burnout; proactive personality alone explained 6.4% of the variance (R² = .064), while L2 Grit explained 62.0% (R² = .620). It can be concluded that higher levels of both antecedents reduce learner burnout.

Advances in generative artificial intelligence (AI), particularly large language models, offer new possibilities for language learning. This study, grounded in sociocultural theory, examined the impact of an AI assistant ( Monica ) on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ writing development. A total of 120 male students (aged 26–36, A2 proficiency) participated in a four-month in-service program. The participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental group, which engaged in AI-mediated collaborative writing, or a control group, which collaborated face-to-face. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was employed, integrating pretest–posttest measures, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative analyses (Split-Plot ANOVA) showed that the AI-assisted group significantly outperformed the control group in Organization, Language Use, and Mechanics, but not in Content or Vocabulary. Importantly, students’ perceptions shifted dramatically: While only 23% initially held positive expectations, 90% reported positive experiences post-intervention, highlighting the role of affective factors in technology adoption. Qualitative data confirmed cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational benefits of AI interaction, but also revealed challenges including overreliance on AI, uncritical acceptance of feedback, difficulty integrating new vocabulary, and cognitive overload when faced with multiple corrections. Sociocultural concerns, such as academic integrity, face-saving practices, and peer judgment, further influenced student engagement. From a theoretical standpoint, the study contributes to sociocultural scholarship by evidencing the ways in which student–AI interaction shapes and mediates writing development. Pedagogically, it calls for intentional scaffolding to foster critical and reflective practices, reframing AI not as a functional tool but as a meaningful collaborator in the learning process.

Literature theoretically provides many positive contributions that could impact students’ learning performance in reading. It is because literature consists of two fundamental functions that Horace called it dulce et utile (sweet and useful). Besides, literature also contains two important elements, i.e., intrinsic and extrinsic. Integrating these literary elements into literary reading activities builds students’ comprehension skills to analyze various aspects, e.g., character, plot, setting, theme, and stylistics as the intrinsic elements and sociology, psychology, politics, and philosophy as the extrinsic elements. In studying the discourses, this research presented perceptional theory and a study of the LBI approach used in a reading course that analyzed the impacts on students’ learning performance. The methodology used in this research was Cresswell's (2016) mix-method with an explanatory case study approach. To collect the needed data, several instruments were utilized in this research, such as interviews and questionnaires. All the collected data were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. After collecting, analyzing, and discussing the data, the results demonstrated that students perceived that LBI material was enjoyable, challenging, and contains moral teaching. Furthermore, students also felt that LBI material impacted some good learning performance, i.e., LBI material improved students’ reading skills, triggered students’ critical thinking, and transformed students’ learning attitudes.