Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Translation Studies

The present study intended to design some materials based on the guidelines of González Davies (2004) for ‘legal texts and correspondence translation’ course of graduate students majoring in translation studies. To this end, first a checklist on the basis of Gentry and Gable's (2001) model was designed to find out the participants’ perceptions of the tasks. Next, the researchers designed related tasks based on Gonzales Davies’ (2004) guidelines inspired by Kiraly’s (2000) constructivist approach. In the third phase, the participants were given the designed tasks published in a book during10-12 sessions. Finally, the researchers held a semi-structured interview with the participants to find out their perceptions towards classroom activities as well as their translation ability. The results indicate that the participants had positive perceptions regarding the designed tasks. The findings have implications for translation classroom courses.

The present research aimed to investigate gender-specific charactonyms and their meanings in Persian Translations of John Bunyan’s (1678) The Pilgrim's Progress. It also aimed to reveal translation strategies applied by both translators in their translations, Siyahat-i Masihi (‘سیاحت مسیحی’) by J. L. Potter in 1926 and Seir-o Solouk-i Za’ir (‘سیر و سلوک زائر’) by Golnaz Hamedi in 2002. To do so, SL gender-specific charactonyms and TL equivalents were compared together at Evelyn Hatch’s (1992) macro-level analysis. According to Hatch (1992), characters, as one of the elements of a story, play a significant role and affect the macrostructure of the story. Then, Alexander Kalashnikov’s (2011) two types of charactonyms were used to analyze the translations. The results show that Potter preferred to preserve the titles of gender (masculine and feminine) in his translation. In contrast, Hamedi more tended to distance the gender of the charactonyms having deeper meanings. This led to affect the novel due to the omission of the characteristics and additional information behind the charactonyms.

M-learning is the enhanced form of e-learning that focuses on three common components i.e. place, time, and wireless device. The aim of this research is to identify the perceptions of the students regarding M-learning at Kandahar University. To this end, 191 male and female students responded to a questionnaire designed to ask their perceptions in this regard. The results from the study showed that students have positive attitudes towards M-learning and they are ready for M-learning approach in respect to using wireless devices, the Internet, and necessary applications. Additionally, they can also afford to buy the devices which support m-learning, however, half of the students ask for the providence of Internet through their respective university. Moreover, the Internet connection is also a big challenge especially for students who live in villages and areas far from cities. The study concludes with some issues for further research and some recommendations to authorities in higher education for better implementation of M-learning.

Academic Confidence, Grit and WTC of students play important roles in their second language achievement. This paper examined the role of academic confidence and grit in willingness to communicate of Iranian EFL students in different communicative and educational contexts. To this end, 385 EFL students responded to the relevant questionnaires. The analysis of the data revealed that the students with higher levels of academic confidence and grit had a higher L2 WTC in in-class, out-of-class, and online classrooms. The results also revealed that the students’ grit was a predictor of their L2 WTC in all communicative contexts, and the university students scored the highest, followed by language institute and senior secondary school students. Moreover, academic confidence and grit had significant relationship with L2 WTC of students in senior secondary schools, language institutes and universities. Another finding was that grit was a predictor of all groups’ L2 WTC, while academic confidence predicted L2 WTC of students in language institutes and universities. The results of this study have implications for EFL teachers.

With the advancement of technology and its role in making life more convenient, some EFL teachers prefer to use it in their classrooms. In view of this, the current study aimed to explore the effect of Anki and WhatsApp on the vocabulary retention of Iranian EFL learners. The study’s design was quasi-experimental with three groups of WhatsApp-based vocabulary instruction, Anki-based vocabulary instruction and the traditional one. Sixty EFL learners studying English in a language institute participated in the study, and were divided into three groups of twenty. To ensure their homogeneity, a Solution Placement Test was given to them. After the treatment, the post-test was given to them to check their vocabulary retention. The results of the repeated measures ANOVA indicated that Anki-based and WhatsApp-based vocabulary instruction were effective in enhancing their vocabulary retention. The results of MANOVA showed that there were significant differences among the three groups in their vocabulary retention.

This study aimed to compare the effect of two types of assessment, i.e., self-assessment and peer assessment, on reflective and impulsive EFL learners’ speaking skill. To this end, a group of 51 (24 impulsive and 27 reflective) intermediate EFL learners were selected based on their performance on a PET (Preliminary English Test), and the Impulsiveness Sub-Scale of Eysenck’s Impulsivity Inventory. They were randomly divided into two experimental groups (i.e., self-assessment and peer assessment), each containing impulsive, and reflective learners. In the self-assessment group, the assessment was based on the Speaking Self-Assessment Sheet designed by Babaii, Taghaddomi and Pashmforoosh (2015). In the peer assessment group, the assessment was based on the Peer Assessment Rating Sheet by Yamashiro and Johnson (1997). At the end of the treatment, the participants received the speaking section of another PET as a posttest. The results of two-way ANOVA revealed that (a) the assessment type and cognitive type had no significant interaction, (b) self-assessment and peer assessment had the same effect on impulsive and reflective learners’ speaking skill, (c) irrespective of the assessment type, learners with different cognitive types performed differently, with the reflective learners outperforming their impulsive counterparts.