مطالب

The incentive behind conducting the present study was initially ignited by the curiosity to examine the extent of Iranian EFL teachers’ familiarity with the concept of “critical literacy”. This qualitative contribution was carried out in two phases. In the first phase, an open questionnaire was developed and compiled after reviewing the literature, analysing existing questionnaires and gathering feedback from academics in the field. Qualitative data was then collected from 29 EFL teachers and analysed using an open questionnaire followed by an interview. The obtained data allowed the development of 23 questions for the interview part, which was accompanied by observing the online courses of all teachers by the researchers throughout the semester. It was concluded that the participants displayed very low levels of knowledge of Critical Literacy along with little, if any, application or incorporation of it. These findings may assist stakeholders in education, including second/foreign language (L2) policy makers, teacher educators, teacher recruitment institutes and material developers. They need to take appropriate action to enhance the critical literacy of L2 teachers before and during employment, thus promoting the implementation of this key concept in the pedagogical context of the process.

Apparently, the most common debate in post-revolutionary Iran is the debate between "Tradition" and "Modernity," which ultimately has manifested in the two fronts of "Traditionalism or Fundamentalism" and "Reformism or Moderation." These two fundamental dichotomies have shown themselves in every crisis and transformation, and political parties and movements in Iran have grown and been able to attract public opinion and create a social base on the basis of this general rift in Iranian society. The present study aims to answer the main question of ‘How the future structuring and configuration of political movements in the Islamic Republic of Iran will be?’ And ‘What scenarios can be envisioned in this regard?’ To this aim, a qualitative document analysis method was used and data collected using the tool of fishing from various sources. Additionally, by employing the scenario-writing method, it delves into examining the future structuring and configuration of political movements in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Hence, three scenarios or configurations in the arrangement of political forces in Iran are conceivable: Continuation of the arrangement and structuring of political movements in the form of fundamentalism and moderation, reinterpretation and reconstruction of the principles and discursive elements of political movements known as fundamentalist and reformist and formation of a new arrangement and configuration.

Poor vocabulary retention is one of the major difficulties experienced by English as a foreign (second) language (EFL/ESL) students. To tackle this problem, the current study explored the impacts of the modified visual input and the modified oral input on the short-term and long-term vocabulary retention of Iranian EFL students and their perceptions regarding implementing these two types of input in their classes. The initial population consisted of 90 male and female students from Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch in Tehran, Iran. The convenience sampling method was implemented to select the participants. After administering the Oxford Placement Test (OPT), 60 students were chosen to serve as the participants, and they were randomly divided into two groups of 30 learners, namely the experimental groups A and B, which received instructions based on the modified visual input and the modified oral input, respectively. Later, the participants received ten 60-minute treatment sessions. Next, the learners' short-term vocabulary retention was assessed using the same vocabulary test as the posttest. One month later, the same test was given to students to check their long-term vocabulary retention as the delayed posttest. The results showed that the two types of input had significant impacts on the vocabulary short-term and long-term retention of the Iranian EFL students to varying degrees. Moreover, the qualitative findings indicated that the learners adopted a significantly positive view toward implementing oral and visual input modifications in their classes. In the end, the implications of the study are provided.

New Assyria constructed magnificent palaces and temples in its three capital cities, Kalho/Kalah (Nimrud), Dursharokin (Khorsabad), and Nineveh (Koyunjik), which were all adorned with exquisite reliefs. In addition to intimidating and influencing foreign nationals, they engaged in political-religious propaganda. The relief was regarded as one of the most significant works of Assyrian art used to embellish their magnificent government and religious buildings. In these reliefs, they depicted various scenes and subjects while emphasizing the king's and gods'/angels' authoritative presence. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to examine and identify these unique works of art through iconographic analysis of multiple themes. On the other hand, it is beneficial to comprehend the cultural and social conditions of the time by analyzing the scenes and themes in motifs. This study intends to examine scenes taking into account the significance of religion and especially gods/angels in society and the Assyrian court, and after classifying the various scenes of the winged god/angels in the reliefs of the palaces of Kalho, Dursharokin, and Nineveh, providing an archaeological and artistic description of them, and analyzing the icons using the iconography method. How are the scenes in the reliefs of New Assyria classed thematically, and what is the method for iconographically analyzing the depictions of gods and angels? This research is a type of fundamental research based on its nature and approach; it is a type of historical and analytic research, and its method and instrument for information collection are documentary.