درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

In this research, different English translations of Sa‘di’s Bustan were studied. An anecdote was selected randomly with its three English translations to identify whether or not the translators have managed to convey the messages of the original poem. The three selected translations were examined according to two of the criteria that Larson (1984) has proposed (accuracy and naturalness) for testing a translation. By accuracy, the researcher intended to see whether, the translators have been successful in rendering the SL text accurately and precisely without radical changes, omission and addition; and by naturalness, it was meant whether the translations sound natural or they contain strange and foreign words. The results of the study show that Edwards has been successful in understanding the main idea of the original poem and conveying it into prose. Clarke’s translation is word-for-word and being literal, the natural criterion has been breached in some instances. Wickens’s has attempted to transfer the exact meaning of the original to the target text. Among the three translations studied, that of Wickens is considered to be the most accurate one.

In response to the increasing interest in and need for a practical brief measure in language testing, this study explored the properties of an offline short-form test (OSF) versus a conventional lengthy test. From the total of 98 vocabulary items pooled from the Iranian National University Entrance Exams, 60 items were selected for the conventional test (CT). To build the OSF, we created an item bank by examining the item response theory (IRT) parameter estimates. Data for the IRT calibration included the responses of 774,258 examinees. Upon the results of the item calibration, 43 items with the highest discrimination power and minimal guessing values from different levels of ability were selected for the item bank. Then, using the responses of 253 EFL learners, we compared the measurement properties of the OSF scores with those of the CT scores in terms of the score precision, score comparability, and consistency of classification decisions. The results revealed that although the OSF generally did not achieve the same level of measurement precision as the CT, it still achieved a desired level of precision while lessening the negative effects of a lengthy test. The results also signified an excellent degree of correspondence between OSF and CT scores and classification results. In all, findings suggest that OSF can stand as a reasonable alternative for a longer test, especially when conditions dictate that a very short test be used.

A community of practice may shape and reshape the identity of members of the community through providing them with situated learning or learning environment. This study, therefore, is to clarify the salient learning-based features of the language teaching community of practice that might formulate the identity of language teachers. To this end, the study examined how learning situations in two communities of practice (English and Arabic) developed the professional identity of language teachers. The results of the semi-structure interviews with 5 language teachers highlighted some differences between English and Arabic language teaching communities of practice in terms of the situated learning activities they provide for language teachers to develop their professional identity. Furthermore, since the community of practice can be considered a potential curriculum that may be learned by newcomers with legitimate peripheral access, it would be considered as a main source of identity formation of both English and Arabic language teachers. The findings of the study can be used to better understand the nature of being a professional language teacher in non-native contexts. They have implications for novice and experienced language teachers as well as for teacher educators to review the content of the teacher training courses

لغت عنصر مهمی در مهارتهای چهارگانه زبانی است. مسئله به خاطرسپاری بلندمدت لغات برای معلمان زبان انگلیسی همواره دارای اهمیت زیادی بوده است. چرا که اغلب معلمان شاهد هستند که دانش آموزان لغات آموزش داده شده را پس از مدت کوتاهی فراموش می­کنند. این مطالعه بر آن است تا تأثیر استفاده از نرم افزار ""ورد سیفت"" (word sift)را که ابزاری وابسته به اینترنت برای تولید ابر کلمات است در به خاطرسپاری بلندمدت لغات زبان آموزان زبان انگلیسی بررسی نماید. برای این منظور 60 زبان آموز که داری سنی بین 17 تا 24 سال بودند انتخاب شدند و به دو گروه شاهد و آزمایش تقسیم شدند. 100 لغت که در 6 متن بکار رفته بودند به آنها آموزش داده شد. آموزش اصلی شامل 12 جلسه تدریس بعلاوه یک جلسه اضافی برای بررسی تاثیر آموزش در به خاطرسپاری بلندمدت کلمات بود. نتایج آزمون t و تحلیل واریانس یک راهه نشان داد که استفاده از نرم افزار ""ورد سیفت"" و بکار بردن ابرکلمات به طور کلی تاثیر معنادار مثبتی بر به خاطرسپاری بلند مدت لغات در زبان آموزان زبان انگلیسی دارد.

This study investigated the impact of using the technique of self-monitoring on non-academic EFL learners’ composition writing. Fifty female students studying English at Navid English Institute in Shiraz, Iran were chosen based on the results of a proficiency test. They were all 16-20 years old and were intermediate learners of English who were divided into two control and experimental groups and took a writing pre-test. The experimental group (EG) received a training program on the effective use of the technique of self-monitoring proposed by Charles (1990). That is, they learned to add annotations expressing doubts and queries on various parts of their five composition drafts. The students in CG wrote their drafts without annotations. At the end of the twenty-second session course, both groups took a writing posttest. The results indicated that the learners in EG performed significantly better and the global features of organization and content in their writing were enhanced. Surveying the students’ views on self-monitoring, through a questionnaire, revealed their interest in taking charge of their writing task. Findings point to the efficacy of the self-monitoring technique in promoting learners’ writing proficiency and autonomy in handling writing tasks.

The study aimed at investigating whether the retention of vocabulary acquired incidentally is dependent upon the amount of task-induced involvement. Immediate and delayed retention of twenty unfamiliar words was examined in three learning tasks( listening comprehension + group discussion, listening comprehension + dictionary checking + summary writing in L1, and listening comprehension + dictionary checking + sentence writing with the target words) inducing differential ‘involvement loads’- consisting of varying degrees of need, search and evaluation. Time-on-task was kept constant among all three tasks. The results partially supported the Involvement Load Hypothesis: The sentence writing task generated the highest retention rate, a finding which is quite in harmony with the Hypothesis’s prediction. However, the other two tasks did not result in different retention rates despite equal involvement loads. These results are discussed with reference to the involvement load hypothesis and some suggestions are made as to how to improve and revise the original theory.

بر طبق مدل اصلاح شده ی سلسله مراتبی که توسط کرال و استیوارت پیشنهاد شده است، در مراحل ابتدایی فراگیری زبان، رابط ها ی واژگانی بسیار قوی در نتیجه ی اتکا فراگیران به زبان اول برای دریافت معانی کلمات زبان خارجی ایجاد می شود؛ این رابط ها در مراحل بالاتر نیز باقی می مانند اگرچه ضعیف ترمی شوند. برای آزمایش این فرضیه، حافظه ی رویدادی دو گروه از فراگیران فارسی زبان انگلیسی سطح پایین و پیشرفته بر روی جفت های ترجمه ای غیرهم ریشه مورد آزمایش قرار گرفت. الگوی بدست آمده برای فراگیران سطح پایین با فرضیه ی مدل سازگار بود چرا که وجود رابط های واژگانی در سطوح پایین زبان آموزی ثابت شد. لیکن، نتایج بدست آمده برای فراگیران سطح پیشرفته نشان داد این رابط ها در سطوح بالا دیگر وجود ندارند و ازبین می روند.

این مقاله جنبه های مختلف گفتمان کلاس را در یک کلاس تدریس زبان انگلیسی که در آن از روش ارتباطی استفاده می شود مورد بررسی قرار می دهد. اطلاعات لازم از طریق مشاهده تعاملات کلاسی و ضبط صدا در 5 جلسه و جمعا بالغ بر 4 ساعت جمع آوری شد. برای تحلیل داده ها، چهارچوبی تحلیلی تهیه شد که مشتمل بر ویژگی های مهم کلاس یعنی تبادلات آموزشی، ویژگی های نهاده، روش بازخورد، و نوع سوالات بود. نتایج حاصل از تحلیل داده ها نشان داد که اطلاعات جمع آوری شده حاوی 52 مورد تبادلات آموزشی است که در 73% آنها واکنش معلم به گفته های زبان آموزان بیشتر کارکرد ارزیابی دارد، معلم گفتار خود را با توجه سطح دانش زبانی زبان آموزان تغییر می دهد، و از میان روش های مختلف بازخورد اصلاحی روش بازریزی (51%) و بازخورد صریح (22%) بیشتر از بقیه مورد استفاده قرار گرفته است که به تبع آن فرصت و شانس کمتری برای عکس العمل و خود اصلاحی از سوی زبان آموزان ایجاد می شد. همچنین، بیشتر (57% ) سوالاتی که معلم از زبان آموزان می پرسید با هدف سنجش دانش زبان آموزان بود و تنها در 21% آنها هدف کسب واقعی اطلاعات بود که پاسخشان برای سوال کننده معلوم نبود.