درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

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.

Materials evaluation studies have constantly demonstrated that there is no one fixed procedure for conducting textbook evaluation studies. Instead, the criteria must be selected according to the needs and objectives of the context in which evaluation takes place. The speaking skill as part of the communicative competence has been emphasized as an important objective in language teaching. The present study explored the core units of spoken grammar inherent in four widely-used ELT textbooks following McCarthy and Carter’s (2002) classification. A coding scheme was developed to make it possible for the researchers to use the classification in codifying the data. The data were then analyzed to detect the units of spoken grammar inherent in the target textbooks. Results from codification of dialogues and transcripts of audio recordings showed that the units of spoken grammar are not evenly distributed in these ELT textbooks. In addition, a significant difference was found between the textbooks in their inclusion of different categories of the spoken grammar.

The process of globalization entails the acquisition of a construct, cultural intelligence, with which EFL students can function appropriately in intercultural situations. This study was, first, intended to find the relationship between cultural intelligence and the use of expressions of gratitude by Iranian EFL learners. Second, it sought to determine whether there were any significant differences between low and high culturally intelligent EFL learners in the way they used expressions of gratitude in English. To this end, 118 intermediate learners were selected through convenient sampling, with their proficiency level being controlled. A discourse completion test (DCT) for the expressions of gratitude and a cultural intelligence scale were given to the participants of the study. Learners’ DCT responses were rated on a five-point Likert scale and then analyzed. Statistical tests including Pearson Correlation Coefficient and t-test were used to investigate the research questions. The results of the analysis revealed that there was not a significant relationship, either positive or negative, between cultural intelligence and use of expressions of gratitude. Furthermore, no difference was found between the two groups, high and low culturally intelligent, in the way they used English expressions of gratitude. These findings have implications for the instruction of pragmatic competence.

این تحقیق تاثیر آموزش توسعه راهبردهای خودتنظیمی را بر نگارش ایجابی و خود کارایی فراگیران ایرانی زبان انگلیسی بررسی کرده و میزان تاثیر این نوع آموزش راهبردی را با آموزش غیرراهبردی (سنتی) مقایسه نموده است. در این تحقیق از مدل توسعه ی راهبردهای خودتنظیمی شامل نمودار کمک حافظه و جدول واژگان انتقالی، مقاله های نمونه ایجابی و سازمان دهنده تصویری استفاده شده است. برای بررسی اهداف تحقیق، 60 فراگیر ایرانی زبان انگلیسی در مقطع لیسانس از دو دانشگاه در این تحقیق شرکت کردند و از شیوه ی نیمه تجربی پیش آزمون-پس آزمون با گروه شاهد استفاده شد. تجزیه و تحلیل کوواریانس نشان داد که هر دو نوع آموزش راهبردی خودتنظیمی و آموزش غیرراهبردی تاثیر مثبتی بر نگارش ایجابی فراگیران داشت، لیکن تاثیر راهبردهای خودتنظیمی، بر توانش نگارش ایجابی فراگیران زبان انگلیسی در زمینه های فرم و محتوای نگارش، سازماندهی و انسجام، ساختار جمله و واژگان در مهارت نگارش به مراتب بیشتر و به لحاظ آماری معنادار بود. هم چنین خودکارایی فراگیرانی که آموزش توسعه راهبردهای خودتنظیمی داشتند در نگارش بهبود یافت، ولیکن عملکرد بهتر آن ها نسبت به فراگیرانی که آموزش غیرراهبردی داشتند در پس آزمون به لحاظ آماری چندان معناداری نشان نداد. نتایج این تحقیق توجه مدرسان زبان را به بعد آگاهی فراشناختی نگارش و اهمیت تدریس راهبردهای خود تنظیمی به عنوان راهی برای کسب خود مختاری و خود کارایی در مهارت نگارش معطوف می دارد.

اکثر تحقیقات در زمینه کاربردشناسی زبان بینابینی بر روی انجام و یادگیری کارگفتها توسط غیربومی زبانان تمرکز کرده اند و ادب را تنها یک امر جانبی انگاشته اند. تحقیق حاضر مربوط به ادب زبانی می باشد و سعی دارد تأثیر روشهای آموزشی متفاوت را برروی فراگیری مهارتهای ادب در انگلیسی بررسی کند. هشت گروه دانشجویان سال اول و سال سوم رشته های زبان انگلیسی بطور تصادفی به سه گروه آزمایشی (مطالب تقویت شده، تدریس آشکارو ایفای نقش) و یک گروه کنترل (نمایش صرف) تقسیم شدند. شرکت کنندگان در امتحان تافل، امتحان پیش آزمون و پس از آموزش هفت هفته ای مجموعه ای از مهارتهای ادب در امتحان پس آزمون شرکت کردند. نتایج تحقیق نشان داد که آموزش تأثیر معنادار مثبتی بر روی یادگیری مهارتهای ادب دارد و تدریس آشکار موثرترین شیوه آموزشی می باشد. شیوه های ایفای نقش و مطالب تقویت شده در رتبه های دوم و سوم تأثیرگذاری قرار داشتند. همچنین نشان داده شد که اگرچه سطح مهارت عمومی زبان تاثیر معناداری بر روی دانش مهارتهای ادب (توانایی تشخیص مهارت ادب مناسب برای هر موقعیت اجتماعی ) دارد، ولی تأثیری بر روی فراگیری مهارتهای ادب ندارد. یافته ها دلالت بر آن دارند که آموزش مهارتهای ادب را می توان در سطح متوسط شروع کرد و تدریس آشکار به همراه فعالیتهای ایفای نقش برای زبان آموزان بسیارمفید خواهد بود.

ساختن آزمون رایانه ای پویا و بررسی موثر بودن آن در پیشبرد مهارت خواندن دانشجویان هدف اصلی این تحقیق می باشد. امکان پذیری و ویژگی های روان سنجی دو مقوله ای هستند که استفاده ازازمو ن های پویا را محدود ساخته اند. نسخه رایانه ای ارزشیابی پویا به عنوان راه حلی برای این چنین محدودیت هایی ارائه می گردد. آزمون رایانه ای پویای خواندن (CDRD) این توانایی را دارد که به دانشجویان در صورتی اشتباهی مرتکب شوند کمک ارائه نماید. در پایان آزمون نرم افزار گزارشی از عملکرد دانشجویان به ما می دهد که حاوی دو نوع نمره می باشد: 1- نمره غیر پویا که بر اساس اولین پاسخ آنها به هر سوال می باشد و 2- نمره پویا که بر اساس مقدار کمکی است که آنها دریافت کرده اند. 77 دانشجوی زبان انگلیسی که اکثراً در سطح کارشناسی ارشد زبان بوده اند در این تحقیق شرکت کرده اند. نتایج تحقیق نشان داد در حالی که این آزمون رایانه ای استانداردهای روان سنجی آزمون را رعایت می کند قادر است که به دو هدف ارزشیابی پویا یعنی پیش برد توانایی دانشجویان و دادن اطلاعاتی در مورد پتانسیل توانائیهایشان نائل گردد. توصیه می شود که معلمان ارزشیابی پویا را در کنار ارزشیابی سنتی استفاده کنند. در این صورت آنها می توانند شناخت کامل تری از توانایی های دانش آموزان خود داشته باشند وهمچنین می توانند آموزش موثرتری برای آنها فراهم نمایند.

The present study seeks to investigate the potentiality of the translation task as a testing method for measuring reading comprehension. To achieve this objective, two types of translation tests, open-ended and multiple-choice tests, and two types of reading comprehension tests, multiple-choice reading comprehension and open-ended cloze tests were developed in this study. The reliability of the tests was computed in order to estimate which translation test was more reliable and valid. Correlation coefficients were run in order to investigate whether translation tests worked as reliable and valid measures of reading comprehension, and to examine the relationship between proficiency in reading comprehension and proficiency in translation. The results indicate that the open-ended translation test is more reliable and valid than the multiple-choice one; translation has a high potentiality to work as a reliable and valid tool to assess reading comprehension; and there exists a high positive correlation between the participants’ proficiency in reading comprehension and their proficiency in translation. The findings of this study might have pedagogical implications for instructors. They may be justified to highlight the role of translation tests and benefit from them in their reading comprehension classes.

Underlying the recently developed notions of applied ELT and life syllabus is the idea that language classes should give precedence to learners’ life qualities, for instance emotional intelligence (EI), over and above their language skills. By so doing, ELT is ascribed an autonomous status and ELT classes can lavish their full potentials to the learners. With that in mind, this study aimed to design and validate a scale for appraising the current English language learning textbooks with respect to EI competencies. Having used several psychological models of EI, the authors developed a 44-item scale. The scale was then disseminated to in-service EFL teachers at non-profit language institutes in Iran. Rasch rating scale model was utilized to substantiate the construct validity of the scale. Three items, two representing impulse control and one pertaining to adaptability, misfitted the model, requiring to be pruned. The results also showed that the 6-point Likert scale functioned effectively. The scale is therefore a unidimensional and valid instrument with considerable implications for language teachers, syllabus designers, and materials developers.

The present study is an attempt to explore any significant relationships between learners’ preferences for error correction, demotivation, and language proficiency (LP). One hundred Iranian EFL students, including both males and females, studying at the departments of foreign languages of Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman and Tehran University took part in this study. In order to obtain the required data, two questionnaires and a proficiency test were utilized: the learners’ preferences for error correction questionnaire (Fukuda, 2004) to measure learners’ preferences for error correction, the demotivation questionnaire (Sakai & Kikuchi, 2009) to measure demotivation, and Michigan Test (1997) to measure the learners’ language proficiency level. The findings of this study revealed that first, there was a significant negative relationship between the learners’ preferences for error correction and demotivation (- 0.79): the more satisfied learners are with the error corrections they receive, the less demotivated they will be; second, there was a significant positive relationship between learners’ preferences for error correction and LP (0.69): the higher the learners’ satisfaction with error corrections they receive, the higher their level of LP; third, there was a significant negative relationship between demotivation and LP (- 0.59): the more demotivated learners are, the less their scores of LP will be.

Although explicit and implicit knowledge of language learners are essential to theoretical and pedagogical debates in second language acquisition (SLA), little research has addressed the effects of instructional interventions on the two knowledge types (R. Ellis, 2005).This study examined the relative effectiveness of explicit and implicit types of form-focused instruction (FFI) on the acquisition of four morphosyntactic features by four measures of explicit and implicit language knowledge. The measures included: oral elicited imitation, timed and untimed grammaticality judgment, and metalinguistic knowledge tests. A pretest and two posttests were conducted immediately and three weeks after the instructional interventions. Durable effects of FFI on low intermediate Iranian learners were found for the target language forms.In particular, explicit and implicit FFI positively facilitated the development of explicit and implicit knowledge of the target features, both immediately after the instructional interventions and, marginally decreasing, over time. Also, explicit FFI was more effective than implicit FFI as measured by both explicit and implicit knowledge tests. The findings may contribute to understanding of the efficacy of explicit and implicit FFI on L2 learners’ controlled (explicit) and spontaneous (implicit) use of morphosyntactic forms at relatively early stages of L2 acquisition.