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Over the past decades, the use of strategies by language learners has been the subject of considerable research. Yet comparatively few studies have examined the direct effects of strategy instruction on the actual writing strategy use of learners, with specific comparisons involving students at different levels of proficiency. This study examined if focused writing strategy instruction can increase the use of writing strategies by EFL learners. Using a mixed-methods design, 64 undergraduate learners in Iran were divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received strategy-based instruction grounded in Oxford’s (1990) framework, while the control group received conventional writing instruction. Data were collected through pre- and post-tests, stimulated recall protocols, and a validated strategy-use questionnaire. Findings from a mixed between-within ANOVA revealed significant time-group- proficiency interactions, indicating that strategy instruction benefited learners differently across proficiency levels. Qualitative analysis further highlighted how learners integrated strategies into their writing practices. The results have implications for tailoring writing instruction to proficiency-specific needs.

This study investigated the impact of newly developed English for Specific Purposes (ESP) materials on enhancing Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) and cultural awareness among Iranian undergraduate psychology students. Addressing the need for culturally responsive communication and limitations of conventional materials, researchers designed a 5-unit coursebook based on Byram’s (1997) ICC framework and the ICC materials development framework proposed by Mishan and Kiss (2024). Employing a mixed-methods design over a 10-week semester, 60 homogeneous students were equally assigned into two groups: an experimental group received newly developed ESP materials that integrated cross-cultural case studies, dialogic activities, and culturally diverse psychological modules, while the control group used traditional textbooks. Quantitative data from ICC questionnaires revealed a significant increase in ICC within the experimental group. Qualitative analysis of student reflections and interviews indicated enhanced intercultural attitudes, knowledge, skills, and cultural awareness, reflecting meaningful shifts in perspectives for the experimental group. These findings underscore the effectiveness of ICC-focused ESP materials in preparing psychology students for culturally sensitive practice. The study contributes to the development of ESP materials by advocating for the intentional integration of intercultural competence to cultivate globally competent practitioners.

For non-native researchers, grammatical accuracy is essential for successful communication with the Academic community. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the types of errors found in the academic writings of Iranian researchers and their distribution. To this end, 50 abstracts were randomly selected from two Iranian academic journals to identify the possible grammatical errors. A qualitative descriptive approach was utilized to analyze these abstracts. To achieve this, Surface Strategy Taxonomy was used to detect and categorize errors into four groups: omission, addition, misformation, and misordering. As a result, 120 errors were identified in 10 abstracts out of the 50. The results showed that the most prevalent errors in academic writings were omissions, whereas additions were the least common. These findings demonstrated the importance of the Surface Strategy Taxonomy for analyzing error patterns in academic writing and highlighted the most frequent grammatical errors in several published articles. Researchers and journal editors can benefit from these results to enhance the linguistic quality of English-language abstracts.

This paper explores how the application of desirable difficulties—spacing, interleaving, retrieval, and generative learning—affects long‑term retention and productive performance among Iranian learners of German as a Foreign Language (GFL). Building on a cognitive framework that distinguishes the durability of stored knowledge from its momentary accessibility, the study adopted a mixed‑methods design with A1‑level learners from Tehran. A total of twenty participants (N = 20) were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 10) receiving instruction based on desirable difficulties and a control group (n = 10) following massed‑practice routines. Quantitative analysis showed that the experimental group had significantly higher retention and production skills scores in the delayed post-tests, and the results were statistically significant (p < 0.01). Qualitative data derived from semi‑structured interviews with six volunteer learners from the experimental group indicated that participants associated increased cognitive challenge with deeper understanding and enhanced motivation. The results show that including challenging but beneficial activities helps make language knowledge more lasting and easier to use in different situations. This offers support for the idea of using spaced retrieval and interleaved practice in teaching foreign languages in a structured way to help learners develop strong and long-term language skills.

Dynamic Assessment (DA) is the integration of assessment and training into a single, continuous activity. This combination enhances linguistic skills by providing targeted mediation to students' needs and abilities. This mixed-methods study aimed to investigate the contribution of the two approaches of DA, namely interactionist and interventionist, to vocabulary learning among Iranian EFL learners with diverse cultural backgrounds, with a focus on learners’ attitudes. To meet the objectives, 90 male and female students aged 15-18, at the intermediate level from two language schools in Sarab, Iran, were recruited through convenience sampling. Oxford Quick Placement Test, Vocabulary Knowledge Scale, Vocabulary Test, Cultural Dimension Questionnaire, and recorded instructional sessions were used to gather the required data. The analysis of the quantitative data revealed that students in the interactionist individualism/collectivism group scored significantly higher on the vocabulary posttest than students with other cultural orientations within the same group and students in the interventionist group. Inductive thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed that the influences of both approaches differed in terms of the degree of negotiated mediations, the development of different learning strategies, and the promotion of different preparation orientations. The findings of the study have some pedagogical implications.

Ever since its introduction, the flipped learning approach has demonstrated promising results in English language teaching. To this end, the goal of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of flipped learning on speaking in two different cooperative and competitive EFL learning settings. To conduct the study, the researchers selected 60 learners through nonrandom convenience sampling and subsequently randomly assigned them into two experimental groups of 30 learners, namely the flipped learning cooperative and the flipped learning competitive groups. Both groups underwent the same flipped learning treatment; the point of departure, however, was the fact that in one group the learners exercised cooperative learning while the other group experienced competitive learning. Prior to the treatment, all 60 learners took a speaking pretest (a sample Preliminary English Test or PET) and after the treatment, a posttest (another sample PET) was administered to them. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was run on the two groups’ scores on the pre- and posttest. The result of the study indicated that the learners sitting in the flipped cooperative group outperformed those in the flipped competitive group. The implications of the findings of this study are elaborated in the paper.