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While the potential of Dynamic Assessment (DA) and its variants (Computerized Dynamic Assessment (CDA) and Group Dynamic Assessment (GDA)) for EFL classrooms has been recognized, there is a lack of research on its practical implementation compared to the well-established field of Summative Assessment (SA). Thus, the objective of this qualitative study was to investigate the evolving perspectives of EFL teachers concerning the integration of DA and SA within their classrooms. To achieve this, 50 EFL teachers in Iran were recruited through convenience sampling to complete an online open-ended questionnaire. The primary purpose was to explore their familiarity with, perceptions of practicality for, and preferences regarding DA and SA. Additionally, a sub-group of volunteer participants was requested to provide narratives detailing their real-world classroom experiences using DA and SA. Content and thematic analysis of the responses revealed that the majority of participants were familiar with DA, with the most commonly employed type being GDA. While DA was predominantly viewed as a form of feedback, SA was still seen as a more formal means of classroom assessment. Consequently, it is highly recommended that EFL teachers exploit the advantages of both assessment approaches in order to ensure more equitable decisions concerning students' abilities.

This study aimed to investigate the impacts of nonverbal working memory on the writing skills of Iranian (EFL) deaf learners. To attain the purpose of the study, 15 secondary school deaf learners were selected to participate in this study. They were 8th-grade female students of Golestan Exceptional School aged 13-15. The researcher used a non-verbal memory test and a writing test to collect the required data. The participants were asked to participate in the selected tests. The results revealed that there was a statistically significant relationship between learners' non-verbal working memory and writing tests. The findings, also, demonstrated that there was not any significant difference between the writing skill performance of learners with higher capacities of non-verbal working memory and learners with lower capacities of non-verbal working memory. Therefore, the level of non-verbal working memory did not influence the writing skill. The findings have implications for pedagogy as well as further research.

This study intended to assess how ELT teachers evaluate the quality of Pre and In-service TPD Programs in an EFL context. Data for this study came from a survey and follow-up interviews with 300 high school EFL teachers. The findings suggest that the ELT teachers recommend professional development programs that prioritize continuous learning, knowledge and skills updates, subject matter expertise, and technology integration in teaching practices. The study reveals challenges faced by the ELT teachers in participating in TPD programs, such as the need for innovative and updated programs, practical application focus, budget constraints, and high-quality facilitation. The characteristics of a good TPD program from the perspective of ELT teachers were also discussed, emphasizing the importance of addressing immediate needs, incorporating the latest trends and innovations, aligning with international standards, and providing support systems and collaboration opportunities. In addition, the study highlighted the motivation of the ELT teachers for professional development and the need for targeted programs to support their specific needs. Finally, suggestions were made and implications were discussed.

In cognitive stylistics, “deixis” is deemed one of the core linguistic elements through which both the physical and ideological stances of the participants in fictional narratives, namely the narrator and the character(-focalizer)s, are demonstrated. This study aims at investigating the cognitive functions of the different kinds of deixis, i.e., perceptual, spatial, temporal, social, textual, and compositional deixis, in The Bell (1958), a critically acclaimed novel by the British philosopher and novelist Iris Murdoch. Because of its special narrative discourse, in particular the use of variable internal focalization, Murdoch’s novel proves to be a proper case for exploring how deixis impacts upon the (implied) reader’s cognition of the story. Thus, utilizing a descriptive-analytic method, the present research examines the text worlds and mind styles shaped in this novel through various kinds of deixis, among other textual elements, and explores the relationship between these text worlds and the way they inform the reading process. To achieve this goal, this qualitative study draws upon the cognitive deixis theory to examine selected extracts from Dora Greenfield’s and Toby Gashe’s discourses in this novel, as two of the major character-focalizers. The findings suggest that deictic expressions serve a significant function in appreciating the characterization of the fictional personages, their relations, and consequently the narrative’s overall theme, thereby affecting and somehow directing the reading process. This mainly occurs through the reader’s cognitive pushes and pops in and out of the different layers of the narrative discourse as well as projecting the narrator’s and character-focalizers’ text worlds or deictic fields and constantly shifting among them. By foregrounding the role of deixis in narration, this study carries significant implications for cognitive stylistics of prose fictional narratives, providing a deeper appreciation of the relationships between characters and between characters and fictional settings in such texts.

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.

Teacher autonomy (TA), including its conceptualization and multidimensionality, has received increasing attention in the past two decades. Notwithstanding many attempts to measure TA, teachers’ capacity for self-directed professional action (CSDPA) has remained under-researched. To address this gap, this article delved into the status of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ CSDPA by developing and validating a questionnaire based on TA literature and semi-structured interviews with teachers. Employing exploratory factor analysis (EFA), the factor structures of 300 Iranian EFL   teachers’ responses were examined in terms of their CSDPA. The analysis results yielded five factors regarding teachers’ CSDPA, including their capacities for self-directed instructional and curricular activities, self-directed institutional actions, self-directed teacher learning activities, self-directed assessment and collegial negotiation activities, and self-directed relational and ethical actions. The research outcomes suggest implications for language teachers, institute principals, and teacher educators to attend to teachers’ autonomy as a key feature of their professional action.

Considering the EFL context, many teachers experience difficulty in incorporating what is learned in their pedagogical practices. This study attempted to discover the perception of in-service EFL teachers with various age groups, teaching experiences, and genders on the efficiency of the program in developing teachers’ content, pedagogical content, and pedagogical knowledge. The participants were selected from two groups of teachers who passed specific courses at Farhangian University and those who graduated from other universities which offered BA programs in TEFL. To this end, a questionnaire was constructed based on an extensive examination of the stated objectives of the current curriculum and was pilot-tested with 40 EFL teachers in both groups. As many as 160 high school teachers in Farhangian groups and 135 teachers in Non-Farhangian completed the revised questionnaire. A semi-structured interview consisting of ten open-ended questions was conducted with 20 of the participants in Farhangian and 20 teachers in Non-Farhangian groups. Based on MANOVA analysis, the effect of gender in Farhangian groups was statistically significant. The result of MANCOVA specified that there was no statistically significant mean difference between the two groups regarding the efficacy of the program in content knowledge (CK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and pedagogical knowledge (PK).

The implementation of a curriculum involves numerous variables and entities, both individual and institutional, which makes it a complex and multifaceted process in education. Implementing Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) curricula has proven challenging in various global contexts. The present study, using a human activity system model, investigated CLT implementation in Iranian senior high schools. There were four groups of participants in this qualitative study, including 20 teachers, 28 students, 10 teacher directors, and 10 parents. We used semi-structured interviews and class observations. The study's findings highlight several significant obstacles to implementing CLT in the examined educational setting. Key challenges include teachers' reliance on traditional methods despite acknowledging the benefits of communicative activities, inadequate professional development, and insufficient familiarity with CLT principles. Students face issues such as demotivation, overdependence on teachers, and limited opportunities to engage with English outside the classroom. Additionally, logistical difficulties, such as overcrowded classrooms, insufficient educational materials, and non-communicative assessments, combined with a lack of cooperation among educators and restricted teacher autonomy, further hinder the effectiveness of CLT. Based on these findings, we proposed several solutions and pedagogical implications to facilitate the successful implementation of this curriculum reform. 

Although researchers have analyzed the formal, syntactic, and functional behavior of cleft sentences in the English language across various genres, their distributional frequencies have received very little attention in academic research genres. Therefore, drawing on a 20,389,297-word corpus including 1,521 research articles (RAs), 116 PhD dissertations, and 48 textbooks, in applied linguistics, this study followed Biber et al.’s (1999) and Collins’ (2002) models to identify and analyze four major types of cleft structures in our corpus. Using a corpus-based research design, we drew on concordances to extract the target cleft structures. The computer program AntConc was used to identify instances of cleft sentences, and the statistical significance of the findings was evaluated through separate chi-square tests. The results of frequency analysis showed varying degrees of these grammatical structures across the three research genres, with textbooks including the highest number of clefts, followed by dissertations, and RAs. The results promise pedagogical implications for non-native English student writers to familiarize themselves with conventions in academic research genre writing for publication purposes. The findings suggest that academic research genre writing affects the frequency and use of these complex grammatical structures.  

Research within EFL education highlights specific challenges in fostering critical reading and collaborative learning skills among students, extending to the implementation of Virtual Literature Circle (VLC). Notable issues include persistently low engagement levels and limited participation observed within conventional instructional methods. Moreover, there exists a substantial gap in providing meaningful collaborative learning experiences in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts, emphasizing the need for alternative approaches. This study investigated the impact of VLC within a Critical Reading class tailored for EFL students. Through a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design involving a cohort of 25 EFL students at STKIP PGRI Sidoarjo, the study examined their engagement with VLC and subsequent skill development. The findings revealed promising advancements, with students demonstrating increased engagement and active participation during VLC sessions. Additionally, students reported enhanced critical reading skills and a deeper understanding of literary texts through collaborative discussions within VLC. However, challenges persist, including the importance of diversified group dynamics, structured facilitation, and support mechanisms. Notably, students expressed a preference for the collaborative learning format facilitated by VLC over traditional instructional methods. These findings underscore the critical importance of VLC in addressing challenges and enhancing collaborative learning experiences for EFL students.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have significantly transformed the education system in recent decades, providing new opportunities for both teachers and students and improving the quality of education. The purpose of this study is to analyze the opinions of foreign language teachers regarding the impact of ICTs in the classroom, the training acquired and the challenges faced during the teaching-learning experience. A study with a quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional, and descriptive approach was carried out using a questionnaire as a data collection instrument. The final sample consisted of 117 foreign language teachers from bilingual schools of Primary and Secondary Education in Andalusia (Spain), both public and subsidized/semi-public. Specifically, 66.6% are female and 33.4% male. The results indicate that teachers believe in the positive impact that ICTs may have on the teaching-learning process, and feel highly motivated in carrying out their work through ICTs. However, teachers continue to express the need for further and continuous training and highlight the importance of technical support and how the lack of resources can undermine the quality of foreign language teaching. 

Communication skill is considered to be one of the most demanding skills of the day, and proficiency in listening and speaking skills paves the way for being communicative. To develop one’s listening and speaking skills, there are many ways and factors including the use of audiovisual materials in an English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom. This study analyzed the effectiveness of audiovisual materials in developing tertiary level students' English listening and speaking skills. To do so, experiments followed by formative assessment were carried out on the first-year undergraduate students of the Department of English, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh. To triangulate the experiment results and ensure trustworthiness, a student-questionnaire survey was also conducted. The overall findings revealed that the use of audiovisual materials has a major impact on the development of listening and speaking skills of EFL students. The findings of this research are supposed to help education policymakers, education administrators, teachers, and students to adopt better policies and decisions to make teaching and learning English more effective and fruitful at different stages in second or foreign language contexts.

Becoming one of six official United Nations languages, English proficiency has become a prominent requirement for students and professionals entering international education and/ or careers, as assessed through standardized English proficiency tests. English learners conducted varied procedures to pursue the minimum test score criteria, including joining an English test preparation program. This study investigates the effect of English test preparation as an intervention on EFL learners' English language proficiency performance by reviewing the effect sizes found by previous studies using meta-analysis of pre-post contrasts. A total of 20 selected studies, according to the criteria determined by researchers between 2018-2021 and conducted in various countries, were collected from Google Scholar sources and included in the research. English language proficiency performance, as indicated by their test scores, is independent of the language skills tested with a p-value of less than 0.05 (p-value = 0.00) and an average weighted effect (M) that appears to be 0.859. This research implies that adequate test preparation is essential for English language learners who wish to achieve the desired level of proficiency. Apart from the ability to write, speak, and read, the psychological aspects of students are also important to prepare before they take the intended test

This study aims to assess the performance of university students through the C-Test and to analyze the extent to which this test is valid in measuring language ability. A standardized C-Test has been created with four brief passages, each containing 20 gaps. The length of each passage varied from 95 to 109 words. Throughout each passage, only the first and last sentences were not changed. The test was taken by 100 students; 39 were male and 61 were female at Al-Nisour University/Department of English in Baghdad, Iraq. The sample consists of two groups. Both groups come from the same school and would receive similar educational input in both cases based on their grade level. The validity and reliability of the C-Test were investigated using various techniques. The study analyzed the performance of Stage 4 and Stage 3 students on the Common Language Proficiency Test in Iraq. The results showed that the test discriminates well between high-ability and low-ability examinees, with no significant difference between the two groups. The Rasch model separation reliability was relatively high, and the data were one-dimensional. The students faced difficulties in guessing the most appropriate words due to their limited English proficiency. The results suggest that developing and implementing this test could significantly improve students' academic achievements in basic foreign language classes in Iraq.