مطالب

Researchers studying the impact of feedback have traditionally compared groups of students who received different sorts of feedback. However, because there will be individual answers to any educational treatment within a group of students, and the impacts of feedback can vary drastically even among participants who received the same type of feedback in the same investigation, the current study used a qualitative case study approach and techniques such as narrative construction and qualitative comparative analysis to see students’ attitude and cognition toward their teachers’ written corrective feedback. Eight participants were chosen through purposeful sampling. The participants were IELTS preparation learners from different online classes. The interview questions were adapted from Silver and Lee (2007). Their assignment and the feedback received by the instructor serves the main data of this study. Moreover, an individual narrative profile was conducted for each student. Three different texts from each learner were collected. The texts were five-paragraph essay type writings, each provided by written feedback including correction tips on linguistic aspects of their texts. The results showed that learners are mostly willing to receive positive, organized, constructive, encouraging, detailed and clean feedbacks. Feedbacks in which the comments and instructions are clear are valued by the learners. Furthermore, teachers’ make sure that the technical words used in the feedback are understandable to all the learners.

Due to the vital role of back channels in mutual understanding and their use in many aspects of language learning, the present study investigated the attitudes toward back-channeling in Iranian EFL online versus regular classes. The study was quasi-experimental in design, with interviews and recording of course sessions by ZDF Soft Screen Recorder and the voice Memos application in both classes to measure the duration of silence, TTT (Teacher Talk Time), STT (Student Talk Time), BC (Back Channels), and other activities such as TCS (Teachers' Code-Switching), SCS (Students’ Code-Witching), S (the time passed in silence). In doing so, two online classes included 30, two regular ones included 27, and four English teachers of the participants were randomly selected from the Kanoon Language Institute in Isfahan, Iran, to take part in the study. Learners received four and a half hours of instruction per week within the course period. In the next step, all the data gathered was analyzed and statistically addressed by using, IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 26) software. The results revealed back channels had positive effects on learners in both classes. Besides, teachers and learners had positive attitudes toward using back channels, however, in online classes, learners were more willing to use back channels. The findings of this study could be fruitful for improvement with well-designed materials and explicitly teaching back channels, which can provide opportunities for learners to express their emotions, and ideas, and enhance their strengths.

Due to its increasing role in language learning, Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is now widely studied. Much of the recent studies have focused on examining stakeholders' attitudes and investigating its impact on the employment of CALL. We followed a componential definition by considering more variables that allegedly define CALL and as such influence its integration into high school language learning curriculum. The context-related components of CALL were defined, and a total score was assigned which presented a broader understanding of CALL as a variable in the current study. Also, engaging more stakeholders in such studies is supposed to add to the validity and provide a more tangible picture. As such, this study considered four groups of participants, that is students, teachers, preservice teachers and principals. The findings revealed that all groups had moderate to high CALL scores, indicating acceptable CALL skills and knowledge to be gradually qualified to higher standards. Moreover, the study indicated the groups’ attitudes did not significantly predict the use of CALL in high school language learning curriculum. It is concluded that other variables, may play a more determining role in predicting the integration of CALL into English classes in high schools.

The prevailing assumption in education is that students should have the ability to choose their writing topics and positions. However, this belief lacks substantial empirical evidence. To investigate this further, Semi-structured interviews with 40 male students in the field of English Language Teaching in Farhangian University who had completed two argumentative writing assignments in a university course were conducted. One assignment allowed them to choose their writing position, while the other assignment had the position assigned to them. These students were in their second to third year of study and possessed above-average writing skills. Our interview protocol focused on exploring their evolving perspectives on choice as a motivating factor in this specific writing assignment. Applying a grounded theory approach to thematic analysis, it became evident that students believed they should be able to choose their writing topics because they were more likely to be interested in them and had a better understanding of the subject matter. They also perceived that choice enhanced their motivation and the quality of their writing, ultimately influencing their grades. While most students in the study expressed a preference for choice, they also recognized several advantages of not having choice. These included the opportunity to enhance their writing skills, develop new perspectives, and cultivate tenacity in their writing.