درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

The literature on foreign language reading instruction has witnessed a significant bulk of research reporting the effectiveness of strategy instruction in improving reading outcomes. However, few studies have investigated the effects of reading strategy instruction on reading affective variables among young English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of teaching second language (L2) reading strategies on young Iranian EFL learners’ reading self-efficacy and reading attitudes. To this end, a sample of 48 Iranian EFL learners, aged 11-13, was recruited through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to an experimental group (N = 25) and a control group (N = 23). Using a quasi-experimental design, the researchers employed an experimental group that received a 12-week reading strategy instruction and a control group that were taught with the regular method without any strategy instruction. The Reading Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (RSEQ) and Reading Attitude Questionnaire (RAQ) were administered to measure the reading self-efficacy and reading attitudes of the participants as pre-test and post-test of the study. The strategy instruction intervention for the present study was based on Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA). The findings of the study indicated that the learners in the experimental group significantly outperformed those of the control group in terms of L2 reading self-efficacy. However, it was revealed that there was no significant difference between the reading attitudes of the two groups at the end of the semester. Overall, it may be concluded that EFL practitioners can incorporate teaching of reading strategies into their classrooms in order to help learners to gain both confidence and competence to address reading tasks more effectively.

Cross comparison of works of art and literature has stabilized itself as an outstaning field which has attracted many researchers. Intellectuals and their works have contributed to the revelation of current themes of the communities of their times. This paper has tried to detect the thematic commonalities of Franz Kafka’s the Metamorphosis and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World regarding modern man’s obsessions. Based on the theoretical views and content analysis of the two works, the research reveals the illustration of the serial and linear world trend from bureaucracy as the initial offshoot of modernism to totalitarianism as a global movement which is detected in dystopian literary works as the commonality of the two writers. The two writers have deployed similar fiction elements, namely characterization and theme, to achieve these goals. On the line of their artistic endeavour, their reflection of such trends in the two selected works shed light of the clarification, manifestation, prognostication, and the possible eradication of these modern man’s obsessions.

Dahān-e Qolāmān is one of the Achaemenid sites in the eastern part of Iran. Archaeologically, it is significant since it is the only excavated Achaemenid site at eastern half of Iran and relatively revealing information on urbanization, architecture, administrative, religious, industrial buildings as well as pottery manufacturing.  The most important structure of Dahān-e Qolāmān is “Building No. 3” that has attracted the attention of different archaeologists and experts on its function. Ovens and fireplaces are among most important features of the structure that culminated to high variations at period “B”. Considering finding archaeological evidences and their comparison to Zoroastrian written sources, especially Avesta, it appears that the Building No. 3 belonged to Zoroastrians from Dranka province, and the regional Satrap supervised its construction according to orthodox religious basics, while fundamentally differs from Zoroastrian beliefs of western Iran.

The article deals with some “generic” features of Russian literature. The works of Russian thinkers are permeated by the idea of Russian writers’ exclusive fate, which consists in these writers’ discovering their own selves. Their artistic quest was aimed at comprehending the spiritual substance of a human being within themselves. Russian artistic school also implies the period of growth, the development of Russian national culture, its historical and cultural character, and according to N.Ya. Danilevsky and A.S. Khomiakov, it was convinced that our writers should take in the European heritage, but they should not limit their works to it. One should embrace works of different schools and become a free artist. The central and the most intense questions to consider for each thinker are those of Russian artists’ worldview, their spiritual and creative act (their unique “artistry”), the subject matter, lyricism, the artistic word, and particular types of creative works. It is not a coincidence that in their articles they have dwelled on the European (Catholic and Protestant) lifestyles and that of the Old Testament. They concluded that the Russian artistic type is characterized by “completeness and integrity of mind”, maturity and manhood, unparalleled sincerity, simplicity and directness in treating the subject matter, and artistic ingenuousness.