درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Theoretically framed within Vygotskyan sociocultural theory of mind (SCT), Dynamic assessment (DA) is a new approach to classroom assessment offering mediation to help learners perform beyond their level of independent functioning. As a web-based qualitative inquiry into the nature of mediation in DA and its impacts on the participants’ private speech patterns, this study explored the role of private speech as a social and psychological tool to mediate learners' thinking and performance in online DA. The subjects of the study were two Iranian university students along with two English native speakers orally narrating a series of picture stories and having weekly DA mediation with the researcher via Skype. In the present study, the students' private speech markers’ typology emerged out of thematic analysis of oral narratives transcribed before and after DA mediation and it was presented as a criterion to evaluate the learners' progression towards self-regulation. The frequency of occurrence of the learners’ private speech markers was reported and interpreted based on the emergent typology to evaluate the possible changes in their use as the result of DA mediation. Meanwhile, the differences between native speaker participants and the learners’ use of private speech markers in oral narratives were highlighted and discussed. The results of the study indicated that mediation was effective in reducing the number of private speech markers in the learners' narratives after mediation which reflects their progression towards self-regulation in online DA. The findings of the study highlight the importance of private speech as a mediating tool in DA which reflects learners’ struggle to take control of direction of learning and move beyond their current capabilities.

این مطالعه به بررسی تاثیر استفاده از دو نوع مواد اموزشی واقعی با موضوع اشنا ولی متفاوت از لحاظ ساختار بلاغی بر کیفیت شنیداری زبان آموزان سطح بالای ایرانی می پردازد. این مواد از لحاظ استدلال و منطق بیانی متفاوت هستند. براساس عملکرد زبان آموزان بر امتحان تعیین سطح فاولر و کو (1976) تعداد 60 نفر انتخاب شدند. پس از آن یک تست محقق – ساخت که دو نوع ساختار بلاغی توضیحی و مباحثه ای برای دو گروه اجرا شد. نتیجه نشان داد که شناخت موضوع به تنهایی تاثیر مهمی بر عملکرد زبان آموزان نداشته است هرچند عملکرد انها بر تست های توضیحی نسبت به مباحثه ای بهتر بود. به نظر می رسد که دانش کلی و مبهم به تنهایی کافی نیست و عملکرد ضعیف انها بیشتر مربوط به سختی ساختارهای بلاغی از لحاظ شناختی و زبانی بود. برداشت اصلی از ین موضوع می تواند این باشد که زبان آموزان سطح بالای ایرانی نیاز به شناختن این نوع ساختارها هم از لحاظ موضوعی و هم از لحاظ ساختار زبانی، اجتماعی و فرهنگی دارند. بعلاوه موضوع تعیین سطح زبانی مثلا به عنوان سطح بالا می بایست برای تک تک مهارت های زبانی در مقایسه با سطح کلی به گونه ای دیگر تعریف شود.

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.

This study aims to compare the effects of four types of FFI on second language vocabulary learning. To do so, the study adopted a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design, including five groups, each receiving a distinct treatment. The participants were 80 fourth-grade male students ranging in age from 17 to 19. Before the treatment phase, the participants took a researcher-made test of vocabulary as a pretest which was meant to measure the participants’ prior knowledge about the target words. After the treatment phase, the participants took a researcher-made test of vocabulary as posttest to measure the students' achievement of the target words. Independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA were run to analyze the scores from the pretest and the posttest. The results indicated that there was no statistically significant difference between proactive and reactive FonF in the comprehension mode in terms of promoting vocabulary learning. There was also no statistically significant difference between these two forms of FonF in the production mode in terms of promoting vocabulary learning. However, there was a statistically significant difference between the comprehension-based and production-based FonF in enhancing vocabulary learning. These results extend the positive effect of FFI to L2 vocabulary teaching/learning.