درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

This study examines the effectiveness of the cyclic group work method in enhancing reading comprehension among Iranian high school EFL learners, grounded in the principles of micro-teaching (Allen, 1967). By dividing texts into manageable sections, the method structures a 90-minute dynamic classroom session where students engage in collaborative learning, peer questioning, and critical discussion under teacher supervision. The research employs a qualitative-analytical framework to evaluate how this seven-stage approach—incorporating homogeneous and heterogeneous grouping, iterative questioning, and collective feedback—aligns with micro-teaching’s core tenets: initiating behaviors, material presentation, consolidation, monitoring, and evaluation. Findings reveal that the method fosters exceptional student participation, as learners subconsciously strive to contribute within and across groups, internalizing material through active dialogue. The teacher’s dual role as facilitator and supervisor ensures mental and physical engagement, enabling sustained practice in reading and reasoned text analysis. The study bridges gaps in EFL research by adapting cyclic group strategies to Iran’s teacher-centered, resource-constrained context, demonstrating improved comprehension outcomes.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of sensory processing sensitivity on emotional dysregulation in gifted students, examining the mediating role of anxiety sensitivity in this relationship. The research employed a descriptive correlational design, involving a sample of 390 gifted secondary school students from Isfahan city, selected based on Morgan and Krejcie’s sampling table. Participants completed three validated Likert-based instruments: the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS), the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3), and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). Data analysis was conducted using SPSS-27 for descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis, and AMOS-21 for structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess direct, indirect, and total effects among the variables. Model fit was evaluated using standard indices including RMSEA, CFI, TLI, and GFI. Pearson correlation coefficients indicated significant positive relationships between sensory processing sensitivity, anxiety sensitivity, and emotional dysregulation (r = .56 to .67, p < .001). The SEM results showed that sensory processing sensitivity had a significant direct effect on emotional dysregulation (β = .42, p < .001), and on anxiety sensitivity (β = .56, p < .001). Anxiety sensitivity also directly predicted emotional dysregulation (β = .49, p < .001). Importantly, anxiety sensitivity partially mediated the relationship between sensory processing sensitivity and emotional dysregulation, with a significant indirect effect (β = .28, p < .001). The model demonstrated excellent fit indices (CFI = .96, RMSEA = .052, χ²/df = 2.07). The findings underscore the importance of recognizing and addressing anxiety sensitivity as a key psychological mechanism linking sensory traits and emotional dysregulation in gifted youth. Interventions that integrate emotional regulation and sensitivity awareness may enhance educational and psychological outcomes for this population.

This study explores the cognitive levels targeted by reading-comprehension activities in two textbooks of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) authored by the Tunisian Ministry of Education. It adopts Freeman’s (2014) Taxonomy of Reading-Comprehension Questions to provide a quantitative analysis of the ‘categories’ vs. ‘types’ of questions used in reading activities in the two textbooks, and the ‘lower’ vs. ‘higher’ order thinking skills they require. The Analysis unveiled a recurrent pattern in the two textbooks favoring (1) question categories focusing on content and language as opposed to affect, and (2) question types focusing on explicit information and language input as opposed to questions requiring inferences, personal responses, and evaluations of the claims and views presented to learners. The diagnosed pattern is useful in developing the learners’ linguistic repertoire, but it has limited impact on developing their critical views towards the ideas presented to them and enhancing their awareness about the cultural content embedded in the reading materials.

The present explanatory mixed methods study was designed to investigate the difference between the effects of using the pyramid model of Willingness to Communicate (WTC) and Communicative Tasks (CTs) on reducing Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' speaking barriers. The participants were 57 Iranian EFL learners selected based on convenience sampling from a language institute in Tehran. The Preliminary English Test (PET) results verified their homogeneity. To foster a stronger spirit of cooperation among the participants, they were placed in three different classes based on their tendencies; hence, the researchers could consider them as three groups: the Pyramid Model Group (PMG), the Communicative Tasks Group (CTsG), and the Conventional Approach Group (CAG) each including 19 participants. The PMG received instructions pertaining to the six levels of PM in willingness to communicate (WTC), while the CTsG received instructions based on information gap, reasoning gap, and opinion gap activities. The CAG relied on the Audio-Lingual Method (ALM), which the institute regularly followed. Accordingly, the three groups went through pretesting, intervention, and post-testing. The participants completed a speaking barriers survey as pre- and post-tests. Then, ten participants from the three groups were randomly selected and interviewed about the impact of the methods they had experienced on their speaking barriers. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed the priority of the pyramid model of WTC over communicative tasks and conventional teaching in reducing learners' speaking barriers. The interview results also confirmed the quantitative findings indicating that anxiety, learners' low self-confidence, along with linguistic and instructional barriers could be reduced through being exposed to the pyramid model instructions. The results can be helpful for ELT professionals, EFL teachers and learners, and other stakeholders to hold more thriving L2 speaking classes.