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This study investigated the impact of interaction and output modality on vocabulary learning and retention of EFL learners. To investigate the impact of Interaction, solitary (n =69) and collaborative (n =62) groups served as experimental and No Interaction No Output (n =26) as control group. To address the effect of modality, spoken (n =39) and written (n =31) modalities served as experimental and No output modality (n =26) as control group. The study was done in 8 weeks. The groups read passages with target words highlighted. Solitary and collaborative groups reconstructed the passages individually or in dyads. The spoken and written modality groups reconstructed them in the respective modality. Then, pretest, immediate, and delayed posttests were administered. The ANOVA results showed that the collaborative group outperformed the other groups and spoken modality outperformed the written modality group focusing on interaction and modality separately. The 2×2×2 ANOVA results showed significant main effects for time, interaction, and output modality. An ‘interaction’ effect was found between time and interaction, time and modality, and modality and Interaction. The ‘interaction’ between time, Interaction, and modality was insignificant. The findings have implications for language teachers, syllabus designers, and language testing experts.

This study investigated the relationship between Iranian high school students’ Universal Grammar knowledge and their performance on such standardized general English proficiency tests as PET and FCE internationally administered by Cambridge University. To this end, 108 students were randomly chosen from some high schools located in Malayer from Hamedan. Since this study was correlational in nature, and descriptive and hypothesis-testing by definition, the research participants were given no treatment. Three tests were administered to them instead. To measure UG knowledge, a researcher-made UG test was given to all participants. This test which was made both reliable and valid included pied-piping and preposition stranding principle, binding principle, pro-drop parameter, that-trace effect, projection principle, resumptive pronoun and subjacency principle. To assess the participants’ general English proficiency, PET and FCE tests were run. All participants took the three tests consecutively at two-week intervals after they were given clear and detailed instructions. The findings were manifold. Firstly, there was a significant relationship between UG knowledge and performance on the proficiency tests. Secondly, there existed no significant difference between the proficiency tests as far as the UG test was concerned. Finally, the UG test scores were, through the Cubic regression model, proved to predict the scores gained on both proficiency tests. Most importantly, this study led to some suggestions regarding the learner variables and the under-explored issue of integration of generative SLA and language testing, more specifically standardized general English proficiency tests.

The use of podcasts in learning has been supported by distance education theories that deal with the role of interaction as well as communication in improving teaching and learning. New technologies such as podcasts can have influential learner support in distance education and address learner cognitive requirements by incorporating communication within study resources. The present study investigated the effects of learners’ autonomy on their vocabulary podcasting tasks, gain and retention in an E-learning context. Two separate one-way multivariate analysis of variance (one-way MANOVA) were run in order to answer the questions. The results revealed that autonomy levels significantly affected Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary gain and retention. The participants who had higher autonomy levels had higher levels of vocabulary gain as well as retention applying audio podcasts plus still pictures and audio podcasts plus animated pictures. As the effects of attitude and autonomy on language learning are unquestionable, the present study can help teachers and learners have better considerations of attitude and autonomy in an E-learning context.

This study was conducted to evaluate the cultural contents and cultural elements represented in Vision (I & II) and Pre-University English (I & II). This study also aimed at determining if there were significant differences between these series in terms of cultural content and cultural element representation. To this end, the two ELT coursebook series were selected and analyzed based on Cortazzi and Jin’s (1999) framework and the framework proposed by Adaskou, Britten, and Fahsi (1990). The results revealed that there were significant differences between these two series in terms of cultural contents and cultural elements. While the Vision series contained more L1 and Neutral-cultural contents, Pre-University series showed tendency to contain L2 and L1 cultural contents. With respect to the cultural elements, both series contained more esthetic and semantic cultural elements. This study has implications for EFL curriculum designing in Iran and can make Iranian EFL instructors familiar with the importance of culture as an indispensable part of language.