درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Many textbooks include semantically related words and sometimes teachers add synonyms, antonyms, etc. to the words in order to present new vocabulary items without questioning the possible effects. This study sought to investigate the effect of teaching vocabulary through synonym, semantically unrelated, and hyponym sets based on Higa’s (1963) proposed continuum. A total of 120 Iranian intermediate EFL adults were selected and classified into two high and low language proficient learners based on their PET (2003) scores. They learned the vocabulary items based on the three above-mentioned methods. Learners’ vocabulary achievement was measured using Paribakht and Wesche’s (1993) Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) in order to assess both the quantitative (number of learnt vocabulary [NLV]) and the qualitative knowledge of vocabulary (depth of learnt vocabulary [DLV]) by administering the same test twice with a two-week interval for obtaining ST and LT results. To address research questions, two independent two-way ANOVAs and two mixed design two-way ANOVAs were conducted. The results revealed that the learners from synonym sets group gained better ST vocabulary achievement quantitatively and language proficiency level proved not to play any significant role in the learners’ vocabulary accomplishment based on belonging to any given group. It was also revealed that quantitatively hyponym, semantically unrelated, and synonym set groups were respectively the most effective methods of clustering that lead to less forgetting in LT which supports Higa’s proposition.

Literature has already confirmed that student engagement as an external or multidimensional construct may contribute to the academic success of college students. However, very few studies have tried to examine the contributions the more ""internal forms of engagement"" (cognitive and affective) might make in this regard, and how the engagement patterns may change over the academic years. To fill the gap, this study was carried out to answer two research questions: (1) what is the relationship between the internal forms of engagement (cognitive-affective) and students’ academic success (represented by Grade Point Average--GPA)? ; (2) How does the pattern of the relationship change across years of study? To do so, a 40-item Cognitive-Affective Engagement Questionnaire (CAEQ) was developed, validated (α=.91), and administered to a sample of 312 undergraduate English major students (222 females and 90 males). The results indicated while cognitive engagement and academic success are positively correlated throughout years of study, the relationship reaches its peak for the affective engagement in the second year and then gradually diminishes. The findings have implications for curriculum and materials developers, as well as the English language teachers who seek programs which can consistently challenge and satisfy students throughout their studies.

Although filling the gap in reading comprehension gained momentum with the rise of the top-down approach, Vygotsky’ concept of scaffolding and the dual code theory provided a strong support for the use of paratext to enhance comprehension. Scaffolding is dependent on other-regulation, one type of which is object-regulation. From this vantage-point, various types of paratext can function as sources of object-regulation to scaffold the interaction between the reader and the text. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore the effect of three types of paratext (the picture, preface, and title) on the reading comprehension and recall of less proficient and more proficient EFL learners. The control groups in the two proficiency levels read a text with no paratext, whereas participants in the experimental groups read the same text accompanied by the three types of scaffolding paratext. Both groups were also given a recall test which required the recall of propositions from the original texts. The results showed the beneficial effect of paratext on reading comprehension among the more proficient experimental group. As to reading recall, neither less proficient nor more proficient group succeeded in manifesting better recall than the control groups. These findings have two implications. First, there is proficiency “short-circuit” for the scaffolding effect of paratext on reading comprehension. Second, short-circuit has a task-bound nature. As the results of this study show, the proficiency ceiling needed to move beyond the short-circuit effect of comprehension is different from that of recall because recall is a comparatively more demanding task.

Critical pedagogy (CP), as a poststructuralist educational movement, challenges the asymmetrical, power-over nature of classroom discourse and seeks to accommodate multivocality in the classroom and in the society. This study probed the discourse architecture of EFL classrooms in Iran. Specifically, it aimed to explore to what extent Iranian EFL classrooms have stepped away from the teacher-dominant initiation-response-follow-up (IRF) discourse structure and welcomed CP-oriented dialogism and multivocality. To this end, a number of EFL classrooms in Isfahan and Shahrekord (Iran) were observed, and the running classroom discourse was audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. The results showed that discourse-construction opportunities were distributed unevenly in favor of teachers regarded as the sole authority in the classroom. Student-regulated symmetrical talks were seldom evidenced in the classrooms. The findings further demonstrated that the power-over IRF discourse architecture, despite its communicative inadequacies, still seems to be dominant in EFL classrooms in Iran. Finally, it is suggested that L2 practitioners should move towards transforming the status quo, include more elements of CP into L2 classrooms, and invest in dialogism and multivocality as essential mechanisms to de-silence the students.

تاکید حال حاضر برمهارت های تفکر مرتبه بالاتر ، بسیاری از مدرسان زبان های خارجی را بر آن داشت که به بررسی تاثیر ترکیب روش های گوناگون تدریس و ارزیابی بر افزایش مهارت های تفکر بپردازند. در پاسخ به این نیاز رو به رشد برای مطالعه تاثیر راهبردهای مختلف تدریس بر مهارت های تفکر مرتبه بالاتر، پژوهش حاضر با هدف بررسی تاثیری که ادغام ارزیابی نمونه فعالیت ها، هوش چندگانه، و بازخورد از طریق گفتگو بر پیشرفت یادگیری مهارت ای تفکر مرتبه بالاتر می تواند داشته باشد انجام شد. برای این منظور، چهل زبان آموز سطح پیشرفته در دو کلاس به طور تصادفی به دو گروه کنترل و آزمایش تقسیم شدند که در گروه کنترل ، روش تدریس بر اساس بررسی مستمرنمونه فعالیت های نوشتاری و در گروه آزمایش بر اساس ادغام بازخورد از طریق گفتگو و بررسی مستمر فعالیت های نوشتاری مبتنی بر هوش چندگانه بود. نتایج این تحقیق نشان داد فراگیران در گروه آزمایش نسبت به گروه کنترل پیشرفت بیشتری در یادگیری مهارت های تفکر مرتبه بالاتر داشتند. این یافته ها لزوم درنظرگرفتن هوش غالب زبان آموزان را به عنوان یک معیار برای انتخاب فعالیت های کلاسی و ارائه بازخورد از طریق گفتگو برای ارتقای مهارت های تفکر مرتبه بالاتر مورد تاکید قرار می دهند.

بی شک کارآمد بودن آگاهی فرا زبانشناختی در بهبود کیفیت نگارش و دانش دستوری یادگیرندگانی که زبان انگلیسى را به عنوان زبان خارجی می آموزند از دیرباز حوزه جذابی در زبانشناسی کاربردی بوده است(براون، ٢٠٠١ ). از این رو، هدف اصلى مطالعه ى حاضر بررسى اثر تدریس بصورت تاکید بر صورت به طور برنامه ریزی شده و برنامه ریزى نشده بر توانایى دانش آموزان برای یادگیری دستور و کاربرد صحیح آن در نگارش است. به همین منظور سه کلاس فشرده در دانشگاه اصفهان ایران که دوره های دستور و نگارش برگزار می کند برای تدریس ساختار مورد نظر (یعنی کلمات پیوند دهنده) از طریق روش های متفاوت تدریس تاکید بر صورت انتخاب شدند. نمونه های انتخاب شده شامل دانشجویان سال دوم و (٣٠ نفر در هر گروه) در رده ى سنی ١٩ تا ٢٤ بودند که در دانشگاه اصفهان مترجمی انگلیسی مطالعه می کردند. نمونه ها به ترتیب آموزش با تاکید بر صورت بطور برنامه ریزی شده و برنامه ریزى نشده و تاکید صفر بر صورت دیدند. نتایج پس آزمون پارگراف نویسی و پس آزمون متعاقب آن که با تاخیر گرفته شد نشان داد که شرکت کنندگانی که در گروهی قرار داشتند که تدریس برنامه شده می دیدند عملکردشان بطور قابل ملاحظه ای بهتر از آن دسته ای بود که در به کارگیری کلمات پیوند دهنده در نوشتن پارگراف هایشان آموزش برنامه ریزی نشده و صفر دیده بودند.

هدف مطالعه ی حاضر افزایش آگاهی در زمینه ی ساختار تعامل در کلاسهای زبان بیگانه ی انگلیسی است. با استفاده از چارچوب متدولوژیکی گفتمانکاوی، تعاملات کلاسی پنجاه و دو معلم به مدت سه ساعت ضبط و جمع آوری گردید تا بافت های تعاملی بر اساس اهداف آموزشی در توالی نوبت ها شناسایی شوند. سپس با تلفیق روش گفتمان کاوی با روش های کمی، توزیع بافت های تعاملی و تاثیر عوامل محیطی، شامل توانش زبانی شاگردان و تربیت (آموزش) معلمین، مورد بررسی قرار گرفت. با تحلیل گفتمان کاوانه ی اطلاعات تحریری، چهار بافت تعاملی، شامل بافت هایی با محوریت ساختار، معنا، مهارت، و مدیریت، مورد شناسایی قرار گرفت. بررسی توزیع بافت ها نشان داد که بخش عمده ای از تعاملات کلاسی با محوریت ساختار و مهارت های زبانی شکل می گیرند. در حالی که بافت معنامحور کمترین سهم را در تعاملات کلاسی دارد. تحلیل واریانس چند متغیره یدوسویه نشان داد که توزیع تمامیبافت های شناسایی شده تحت تأثیر سطح توانش زبانی شاگردان می باشد. اما آموزش معلمین تنها بر توزیع بافت ها با محوریت ساختار و مدیریت مؤثرند. یافته های مطالعه ی حاضر توجه معلمین و مربیان تربیت معلم را به لزوم اصلاحات در وضعیت کنونی تعاملات کلاسی سوق می دهد.

Gaining insights into the learners’ individual characteristics such as beliefs about language learning and their relationship with learning strategies is essential for planning effective language instruction. Thus, the present study investigated the relationship between beliefs about language learning and learning strategy use in Iranian high school students. This study also compared the correlation of the two variables between males and females and monolingual and bilingual students. The strategy inventory for language learning (SILL) and the beliefs about language learning inventory (BALLI) were used to collect data from four hundred and sixty-two high school students from different cities of the country. Descriptive analyses, Pearson r correlation, and the Fisher z-transformation test, were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that the students used metacognitive strategies most and compensation and affective strategies least. Also, they held strong motivational beliefs about English language learning. Significant positive correlations were found between beliefs and strategy categories. The strongest correlation was found between the students’ metacognitive strategies and their motivation and expectations. The findings revealed no significant difference between the correlation coefficients of monolinguals and bilinguals, and males and females in terms of their language learning beliefs and strategies. Regarding the pedagogical implications of the results, it is discussed that knowledge of students’ language learning beliefs and their preferred strategies can lead teachers and educational authorities toward more informed instructional choices.

This study aimed at gaining insights into students’ attitudes in the learning English using the Smart Board or Interactive White Board (IWB) technology in EFL classrooms. The main goal of this paper is to evaluate students’ attitudes towards the use of Smart Board as an instructional tool on student motivation, participation, interaction and retention for learning English in Iranian schools. To achieve this aim, an observation was carried out during lessons in the classroom by the researcher. A questionnaire consisting of 20 questions was also developed by the researcher based on an extensive literature review as well as related instructional theories. The researcher also conducted an interview to find the effect of Smart Boards on student motivation, participation, interaction and retention of information in English classrooms. Analysis of these three instruments yielded patterns of responses concerning how Smart Board or IWB technology can motivate the students and increase their participation in classroom. The results of this study also indicate that students interact more in classrooms where technology is used effectively. Finally, it was found that Smart Boards enhance students' retention of information and learning process in EFL classrooms. The findings of the study will carry important implications for students, language instructors, and administrators as well.