درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Veryfew attempts have been made in the past to develop instruments to measure pragmatic knowledge of second language (L2) learners. The absence of such instruments in the literature of English language teaching (ELT) underscores the need for the researchers to develop new tests that are specifically designed to assess this crucial but less explored aspect of language learners’ (LLs) knowledge. In line with this objective, the present study was conducted to develop and validate four tests of pragmatic knowledge that measured LLs’ knowledge of speech acts. The following steps were taken in this study to develop the written discourse completion tests (WDCTs) and the multiple-choice discourse completion tests (MCDCTs) that respectively measured the test takers’ ability to produce and comprehend request speech act. During the “prototype step” the researchers identified the content and the number of items for each designated test battery. At the “test construction step” the sociolinguistic variables of power (P), social distance (D), and absolute rank of imposition (R) were inserted into the content of the test items. Finally, at the “validation step” the reliability of the tests was examined. The finding of the study showed that the constructed test batteries were sufficiently reliable and valid for measuring pragmatic knowledge of L2 learners.

In spite of the significant role of teachers in the efficacy of classroom management particularly in teaching English as a Foreign Language, the issue has not been addressed sufficiently especially in relation with other individual variables. Hence, this study made an attempt to investigate the association between Iranian EFL teachers’ classroom management, reflective thinking and transformational leadership style. 247 English Foreign Language teachers took part in the study. To measure the variables of the study, Teachers Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001), Reflective Thinking Scale (Choy & Oo, 2012) and Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire(Avolio, Bass & Jung, 1995) were used. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was applied to test the hypothesized model of associations. After confirming the hypothesized model (= 1.275; RMSEA=.02; RMR =.03; GFI =.97; AGFI =.93; NFI =.97; CFI =.99; IFI =.99), the results revealed significant internal correlations among the main as well as the sub-scales of the study. Multiple regression analysis further confirmed the direction of the path model proposed for the study. Generally, it was concluded that reflective thinking and transformational leadership improve teachers' efficacy of classroom management which, in turn, facilitates teaching processes. Implications are discussed.

تحقیقات متعدد نشان داده اند که اصطلاحات زبان شناسی و محدوده توصیف کننده های خارجی موجود در یک زبان از زبانی به زبان دیگر متفاوت است. پژوهش حاضر به بررسی شباهت ها و تفاوت های میان فرهنگی توصیف کننده های خارجی در کنش گفتار درخواست می پردازد. بدین منظور،پرسشنامه ای از 30 دانشجوی عراقی و 30 دانشجوی مالایی دانشگاه علوم مالزی جمع آوری شد. قالب نظریه مدیریت روابط اسپنسر اوتی (2008) برای آنالیز توصیف کننده های خارجی بکار گرفته شده است. داده های این تحقیق از پرسشنامه ای در قالب آزمون تکمیل گفتاری که از 8 موقعیت تشکیل شده جمع آوری شده است. داده ها سپس براساس طبقه بندی توصیف کننده های خارجی عاریه گرفته شده از بلام کالکا،هاوس و کسپرآنالیز شده است. هدف اولیه این تحقیق مقایسه تاثیرعوامل موقعیتی بر تحقق الگوی توصیف کننده های خارجی کنش گفتار درخواست بین دانشجویان عراقی و مالایی می باشد. نتایج این تحقیق می تواند در مطالعات میان فرهنگی و بین فرهنگی موثر باشد.

Abstract: The widespread use of test scores for different educational and social decision making purposes has made the washback effect of tests a distinct educational phenomenon (Cheng, 1997).The high school third grade final exam in the general educational system of Iran has for long been a high stake test designed to assess the achievement of high school graduates in different school subjects. The present study aimed to investigate the washback effect of this nation-wide exam on EFL teachers’ teaching methodology, assessment procedures, and attitudes towards different aspects of the educational system. For this purpose, a researcher made, validated questionnaire was administered to 160 EFL teachers. The results indicated that the third grade nation-wide final exam adversely affects EFL teachers’ teaching methodology and increases teaching to the test effect quite noticeably as they try to teach according to the content and format of the test. The results further showed an even stronger negative effect of the exam on EFL teachers’ assessment procedures. However, the teachers’ attitude towards different aspects of the educational system was not found to be as strongly affected as the other two variables. The findings of the study are of importance for testing and assessment bureaus in charge of extensive high stake tests development. Moreover, raising teachers’ awareness of the drawback of teaching-to-the test effect of such a high stake test might help them improve their teaching and evaluation practices.

Teachers’ sense of efficacy belief has been introduced as a context-specific construct, but the related literature is not clear on this specificity. This study was an attempt to show how contextual factors influence efficacy beliefs among English language teachers. To this end, thirty Iranian EFL teachers working in both school and private institute contexts were chosen as the participants to respond to Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Beliefs questionnaire (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001) twice: once based on school context and once based on private institute context. Afterwards, the participants were invited to a brief interview designed to investigate further the reasons for which they had scored higher in either context. The interview findings and the results of a t-test revealed that context really made a difference. It is argued that the proper or improper functioning of efficacy building sources is the cause of the difference

This study investigated the characteristics of effective secondary school Iranian EFL teachers from students’ and teachers’ perspectives. To this end, 376 junior secondary school students and 32 EFL teachers teaching at various Iranian secondary schools participated in the study. A validated open-ended questionnaire was distributed among the student and teacher participants and asked for their opinions on key characteristics of an effective EFL teacher. A semi-structured interview was also conducted with the teacher participants to investigate why they deemed the characteristics important. The results of the content analysis of the data obtained from the questionnaire and the interview indicated that students and teachers were approximately of the same opinion, both highlighting teachers’ professional qualities (e.g., knowledge of the subject matter, ability to impart knowledge properly, etc.), classroom management-related qualities (e.g., involving all students by assigning pair work/group work activities, assessing their learning progress regularly, etc.), and interpersonal relationships as being of crucial importance for effective EFL teaching. However, they differed in the degree to which they perceived these qualities to be important

پژوهش حاضر به منظور بررسی ارتباط میان سه متغیر مهم در معلمان زبان انگلیسی و موفقیت دانش آموزان آنها در فراگیری زبان خارجی انجام گردید. بدین منظور، به 105 معلم زبان انگلیسی از شهرهای شیراز و همدان، سه ابزار جهت جمع آوری اطلاعات داده شد: ابزار آموزش تفکر عمیق ( اکبری، بهزادپور، و دادوند، 2010)، پرسشنامه ی نگرش ها و عقاید در کنترل کلاس ((Martin, Yin, & Baldwin, 1998، و پرسشنامه ی راهبردهای یادگیری زبان (Ardasheva & Tretter, 2013). همچنین نمره آزمون نهایی درس زبان انگلیسی2673 دانش آموز پایه سوم دبیرستان این معلمان جمع آوری شد. نتایج آزمون همبستگی پیرسون نشان داد که ارتباط معناداری بین خصوصیات معلمان زبان انگلیسی و موفقیت زبان آموزان آنها وجود دارد. نتایج همچنین نشان داد که میان معلمان مرد و زن از لحاظ میزان تفکر و آگاهی از راهبردهای یادگیری زبان تفاوت معناداری وجود دارد؛ در حالیکه، هیچ تفاوت معناداری میان گرایش های مدیریت کلاس در بین این دو گروه مشاهده نشد. بعلاوه، تجزیه و تحلیل رگرسیون چندگانه نشان داد که این متغیرها، می توانند حدود 47 درصد از واریانس موفقیت دانش آموزان را پیش بینی کند. در نهایت، با توجه به یافته های این پژوهش، پیشنهاداتی عملی جهت افزایش موفقیت زبان اموزان در کلاس های زبان ارئه می شود.

This study scrutinized the relationship between utilizing language learning strategies, academic fields, and reading ability in reading comprehension test performance of Iranian postgraduate EAP students. The participants were 947 students, who answered a reading comprehension test and a learning strategy questionnaire successively in one session. The gathered data were subjected to a set of parametric statistical analyses, including descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance, Tukey HSD and Duncan tests. The findings manifested significant differences among the participants in different fields in employing overall, direct, and indirect strategies. A statistically positive relationship was found between the participants’ reading ability and use of overall, cognitive, compensation, metacognitive, and affective strategies. The findings reflected that the actual ability of language learners was significantly influenced by some nonlinguistic factors, and the observed scores did not represent their true ability. The findings can provide an empirical evidence for Bachman’s (1990) as well as Bachman and Palmer's (1996, 2010) conceptual frameworks of language use due to the impact of nonlinguistic factors on language ability of L2 learners in test-taking process. The findings can help language teachers improve instructional reading programs, decrease error of measurement, and narrow the gap between more successful and less successful learners in different fields of study.