مطالعات کاربردی زبان - Iranian Journal of Applied Language Studies

This study was an attempt to determine the effect of task-based approach vs. traditional approach on the narrative and expository writing of the Iranian EFL learners. There were two control groups as well as two experimental ones in the current study. In the two control groups namely G1 and G2 narrative and expository writing were taught respectively using the traditional approach. Whereas، in the two experimental groups، namely G3 and G4 narrative and expository writing were taught respectively on the basis of task-based approach. After the treatment، a narrative writing post-test was given to the two narrative groups (G1 and G3) and an expository writing post-test was given to the two expository groups (G2 and G4). Data analysis showed that experimental groups outperformed control groups. So it was concluded that task-based approach was more effective in teaching narrative and expository writing compared to the traditional approach. It was also found that although there was a difference between the narrative and expository experimental groups (G3 and G4) in favor of the narrative group، this difference was not statistically significant

This paper aims at shedding light on the concept of postmodernism، and its implications in the TESOL. Postmodern philosophy as a prevalent concept and a hot buzzword in philosophy، science، and art is believed to have influenced the TESOL theoretically in some ways. The elements of postmodernism including: constructivism، subjectivism، relativism، localism، and pragmatism are found to have been applied in the TESOL to the concept of the demise of the methods، more focus on styles، strategies، and multiple intelligences، chaos/complexity theory and critical theories. But in practice، in developing countries the TESOL still lives in the modern era.

This paper aims at investigating the acquisition of Italian complex predicates by native speakers of Persian. Complex predication is not as pervasive a phenomenon in Italian as it is in Persian. Yet Italian native speakers use complex predicates productively; spontaneous data show that Persian learners of Italian seem to be perfectly aware of Italian complex predicates and use this familiar feature as a bridge between their native language (NL) and the target language (TL). Elicitation of complex predicates in guided context seems to indicate that the Persian group learners’ group is strikingly uniform to the Native Speakers’ group and quite homogeneous with the control group of learners with NL other than Persian. This research shows that the use of complex predicates in Italian Interlanguage (IL) cannot be considered a simple effect of transfer، but could be also analyzed as a more general IL strategy.

This study examined the differences among high، mid and low ambiguity tolerance groups in their reading comprehension ability and their metacognitive awareness of reading strategies. To this end، 123 first-year college students majoring in Engineering with an age range of 19-25 were stratified into three groups of high، mid and low ambiguity tolerance to participate in the study. They took part in the Nelson test of proficiency and a reading comprehension test and also filled out two questionnaires: the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory، and the Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale. The results showed significant differences between Low and High groups. That is، high ambiguity tolerance students scored higher on reading comprehension test، displayed higher metacognitive awareness of reading strategies، and showed higher perceived use of Global and Problem-Solving metacognitive reading strategies. However، no significant differences were found between the middle group and the other two groups in these variables. Also، no significant difference was found in the use of Supportive strategies among these three groups. The findings are interpreted to have implications for syllabus designers and EFL teachers.

In recent years a great number of books have appeared in various fields of ESP، and the number is increasing every year. These books are specially prepared and adapted for foreign students possessing varying degrees of language skills. Experts believe that the production of ESP books is a vital task that requires several stages and procedures. To produce these materials، special attention should be paid to the age of the learners their English background، their level of knowledge in specialist field and the teaching method. The best should be done to provide materials which enable the learners to increase their English proficiency، learn the required skills for communication، and achieve their terminal behavior. Since the majority of university graduates in Iran are not equipped with sufficient knowledge of English to read and understand the original specialized textbooks، this paper aimed to test the appropriateness of materials used in ESP classes، based on a study conducted at Chabahar Maritime University. The finding of this research rejected the null hypothesis، because the observed t. was 2.83 and the value of critical t.’ with the 49 degrees of freedom at the .05 level was 2، and this signifies that the novel content based texts motivated the students and improved their English proficiency.

The extensive research done on the interrelationship between different social factors such as social class، gender and age and different linguistic variables has shown that these factors have important effects on the way language is used. Among these factors a special importance can be placed on age due to the role it plays in revealing different patterns of language use، such as the age-grading pattern، the normal pattern of age differentiation and the important patterns of language change which can inform us about the emergence of a linguistic form or the death of some old form. This paper is intended to examine the interrelationship between age and the usage of Shirazi vocabulary or lexical items. Sixty respondents belonging to 6 age groups of Shirazi speakers answered a 60-item questionnaire. Each item included one Shirazi word with its definition and sometimes a short example to clarify its meaning. The respondents had to choose between two choices: either they used the item or they did not. The analysis of the results showed that age was an influencing factor on the speech of the speakers as the older people had a large collection of active Shirazi words (they actively used all the words) while the younger generation had two collections of more active and less active Shirazi words and as the age of the subjects increased their mean scores which represented their usage of Shirazi vocabulary items also increased. These words were also used less among the more educated Shirazi speakers.

The significance of error analysis for the learner، the teacher and the researcher is now widely recognized. Earlier studies of error analysis concentrated on intersystematic comparison of the “native language” and the “target language” and drew the required data largely from intuitions and impressionistic observations. This study was conducted on the basis of the following observations: (1) to restrict to the study of one area viz articles. (2) to avoid comparison in terms of the systems of native and target language. In this study the major areas of difficulties that students face in the target language، i.e. the occurrence of articles in different syntactic features was examined and an attempt was made to establish a hierarchy of difficulties 40 undergraduates faced in the use of articles. For testing the correct retrieval، a slightly modified version of Leacok’s essay ‘My Financial Career’ was prepared. It included sufficient examples of almost all the important uses of articles. The test was given to the subjects in the form of a running text. The responses of the subjects were analysed in terms of noun or noun phrases preceded by articles، noun or noun-phrases preceded by no article، and grammatical categories other than noun or noun-phrases proceeded by no article. The findings revealed that most of the errors the students committed were due to the nature as well as the grammatical complexity of the articles in English، i.e. L1 independent which cannot be explained in terms of transfer from the native language. It was also found that students’ competence using anaphoric reference is far greater than using cataphoric reference. The findings are interpreted to have pedagogical implications for syllabus designers and EFL teachers.

This paper reports the results of a study designed to investigate the interrelationship of Foreign Language Reading Anxiety (FLRA)، Reading Proficiency (RP) and Text Feature Awareness (TFA). The aim was to focus on how foreign language reading anxiety and text feature awareness are related and how، in turn، they affect students reading proficiency. That is، it south to determine how these three constructs correlate with each other. This study surveyed and analyzed 74 students from Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman. The results indicated that there is no significant relationship between RP and RA، positive significant relationship between RP and TFA and negative significant relationship between TFA and RA. Also results revealed that there is no significant difference between foreign language reading anxiety، reading proficiency and text feature awareness scores of male and female students، as a result; there is no relationship between gender and these three constructs