درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Reading comprehension is a fundamental skill for language learners, yet EFL students often encounter obstacles in developing this ability. Grounded in the sociocultural theory, the current study explored the impact of teacher interactional scaffolding and peer collaborative scaffolding on the reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners in a blended learning context. A mixed-methods approach was employed, incorporating quantitative analysis of pre-and post-reading comprehension tests as well as qualitative examination of semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed that both teacher interactional scaffolding and peer collaborative scaffolding significantly enhanced learners' reading comprehension. However, no statistically significant difference was found between the two scaffolding approaches. Qualitative data analysis uncovered EFL learners' positive attitudes toward both forms of scaffolding, citing the dynamic support, collaborative problem-solving, and development of metacognitive skills as key benefits. The study underscores the pivotal role of scaffolding in facilitating EFL reading comprehension, with teacher interactional and peer collaborative scaffolding serving as complementary pedagogical strategies. Implications of this research include the need for EFL instructors to incorporate a judicious blend of teacher-led and peer-mediated scaffolding techniques to optimize learners' reading comprehension development. Additionally, the study highlights the adaptability of scaffolding approaches to blended learning environments, where the interactions between teachers, peers, and learners may necessitate innovative scaffolding implementations. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on the efficacy of sociocultural learning principles in enhancing EFL reading comprehension.

Abstract Since student L2 achievement is the primary objective of all language education contexts, a huge number of inquiries have explored the role of various elements including teachers’ qualities in promoting their L2 achievement. Teachers’ qualities, such as professional commitment, have been shown to affect students’ achievements; however, some factors such as academic burnout seems to play a role in disturbing teachers’ commitment, even though the association between two concepts is not crystal clear. Due to the importance of commitment and burnout, this qualitative research intends to systematically uncover Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions towards the dynamic interaction between academic commitment and burnout. To this end, a sample of 50 EFL teachers from high schools and language institutes of Urmia, Iran was selected based on the convenience sampling and they were interviewed to express their perceptions towards different types of commitment (to school organization, to the teaching profession, and to students) they experienced, the role of burnout and its relationship between professional commitment and burnout level. Based on the thematic analysis, the results indicated that teachers in both high schools and private institutes were aware of three types of commitment and they believed in the negative interplay between the two concepts. The majority of the participants indicated that they feel stressed and anxious due to the heavy workload and low salary that resulted in limited opportunities for professional development.

In recent decades, language educators have taken advantage of technological advancements in the language classroom, and L2 learners have voiced their interests, concerns, and preferences about those technological advancements. The current investigation was designed to find out the attitudes of Iranian intermediate IELTS candidates towards using digital multimodal composing (DMC) and massive online open courses (MOOC) in their speaking classes. To achieve this aim, a sample of 60 male and female EFL learners at the intermediate level were selected based on volunteer sampling procedures. Subsequently, the participants were assigned to the two conditions of DMC and MOOC. The two groups were exposed to the same instructional materials, with the difference being that in DMC, the learners had to produce videos during the course and post them on the Flip platform for their peers and teacher to review and comment. They then could use the feedback to make corrections/revisions; in the MOOC condition, the learners signed up for an IELTS course on futurelearn.com and received video presentations, pdf articles, and quizzes, and they were asked to leave comments or react to each other's' comments during the course. Each group received a researcher-made attitude questionnaire at the end of the course and expressed their opinions about the treatment they were exposed to. Not surprisingly, both groups welcomed the use of DMC and MOOC and had positive attitudes towards incorporating such techniques into speaking courses. Based on these findings, this study presents a discussion of certain pedagogical implications.

Abstract This research covers the differences in some of the interactional competence components, such as topic management, turn management, non-verbal behavior, breakdown repair, and interactive listening, among Iraqi elementary and advanced EFL learners. In relation to both the face-to-face and virtual environments, this article tries to divulge how the said competencies of these learners change with task types—opinion exchange and jigsaw tasks—and educational setting. A mixed-methods design was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data through recordings in both learning environments. Statistical comparison showed that there were significant differences between the interactional competence components for elementary and advanced learners across the two environments. Particularly, advanced learners took turns more efficiently and listened interactively more successfully in face-to-face than in virtual settings; elementary learners struggled to manage topics in virtual compared to face-to-face settings. These findings have implications for EFL pedagogy, particularly in the area of improving virtual learning environments for interactional competence development. The discussion addresses some implications related to instructional design, pedagogical practices, and language assessment in EFL contexts. A mixed-methods design was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data through recordings in both learning environments. Statistical comparison showed that there were significant differences between the interactional competence components for elementary and advanced learners across the two environments. Particularly, advanced learners took turns more efficiently and listened interactively more successfully in face-to-face than in virtual settings; elementary learners struggled to manage topics in virtual compared to face-to-face settings. These findings have implications for EFL pedagogy, particularly in the area of improving virtual learning environments for interactional competence development. The discussion addresses some implications related to instructional design, pedagogical practices, and language assessment in EFL contexts.

Although a wealth of research has been conducted in the field of English language teaching, the studies related to the effects of digital story telling (DST) instruction as an innovative technique for language learning have been fairly insufficient. The present research made an effort to examine the effect of using DST on Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension and their motivation. To address the study objectives, 40 female learners from Marefat Language Institute were recruited based on the results of an OPT as a standard test to homogenize. The participants (20 in each group) were randomly assigned into an experimental group and a control one. To measure learners’ motivation, the Motivation Questionnaire by Dörnyei and Németh (2006) and Taguchi et al. (2009) was applied. The experimental group received DST instruction based on Robin’s model (2008) and the control group received the conventional method designed by the institute. The analysis of the groups’ performance in the pre-test and post-test through an independent samples t-tests revealed that the DST group significantly outperformed the control group in both reading comprehension and motivation. This study has several implications for language teachers and syllabus designers in the classroom context.