درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

This study was an attempt to see whether the instruction of pragmatic markers in virtual vs. face-to-face classroom settings had any effect on Iraqi EFL learners’ speaking ability. It also attempted to examine the intervening effects of some factors including age (teenagers in the language institute vs. adults in the university), gender, social class, and the learners’ English language proficiency levels.  To achieve these purposes, a group of 224 Iraqi EFL learners at a university and a private language institute in Kufa, Iraq passing conversation courses were selected and randomly divided into four groups. The two experimental groups (both in university and language institute settings) received instruction on pragmatic markers in online vs. face-to-face conversation classrooms while the two control groups (in university and language institute settings) did not receive instruction on pragmatic markers in online vs. face-to-face conversation classrooms. An English language speaking test was given to the learners to assess their oral performance before and after the treatment. The test was randomly selected from IELTS speaking tests. For the teenagers in the language institute, a simplified speaking task was designed based on IELTS criteria for assessing speaking performance. The results indicated that generally those who received pragmatic instruction outperformed those who did not receive such kind of instruction and the participants in face-to-face classrooms outperformed their virtual counterparts in terms of speaking ability. The study also examined the intervening effects of some social and personal factors including age, gender, social class and level of language proficiency. Based on the findings of this study, the male participants and the students from higher proficiency levels outperformed females and their lower proficiency counterparts in terms of speaking ability. However, they did not show any differences with regard to age and social class. This study offers important implications for EFL teachers, learners and material designers, with regard to the promising effect of face-to-face instruction of different pragmatic features of language through speech acts on learners’ speaking skill. 

The phonological status of word-initial glottal stops in Persian has been a subject of controversy. Particularly, researchers hold divergent views on whether the glottal stop functions as a phoneme in word-initial positions. These perspectives can be categorized into three main positions: (1) glottal stops are phonemes in all occurrences (Samareh, 1985; Windfuhr, 1979); (2) word-initial glottal stops are phonemes only in loanwords, especially from Arabic (Bijankhan, 2018; Haghshenas, 1991; Jam, 2019; Kord-Zaferanloo-Kambozia, 2003); and (3) word-initial glottal stops are not phonemes in Persian (Jahani, 2005; Majidi & Ternes, 1999; Sepanta, 1973). In this paper, a critical review of previous findings is provided along with new insights and neglected evidence relevant to the underlying representations of words with glottal stops. Based on these considerations, the paper leans towards the position that glottal stops function as phonemes in all positions regardless of occurrence in loanwords or native words. It also calls for a revision of previous research, emphasizing the importance of non-acoustic aspects in exploring the phonological functions of word-initial glottal stops.