مطالب

This mixed-methods study investigated the communicative competence and communicative strategies employed by Iranian English for Specific Purposes (ESP) students and teachers, a context where curricula often prioritize linguistic knowledge over interactive proficiency. Data were collected from 150 Master of Arts (MA) engineering students and ten ESP instructors using a communicative competence questionnaire and audio-recorded classroom observations. The observations were transcribed and coded using an established taxonomy of communicative strategies, which demonstrated high inter-rater reliability. The results revealed a difference wherein students reported strong self-perceived interpersonal skills but exhibited significant difficulties in conversational smoothness and comfort. Analysis of classroom interactions showed that students relied predominantly on compensatory strategies, with a heavy use of code-switching, while teachers primarily used stalling strategies. A significant difference was found in the strategic patterns between the two groups, and more complex strategies like circumlocution were absent among the students. The findings point to a critical misalignment between students’ sociocultural confidence and their strategic repertoire, underscoring a systemic neglect of oral proficiency and strategy training. The study concludes that a curricular shift toward explicit strategy instruction and authentic communicative practice is urgently needed in Iranian ESP education.

The growing importance of technology for teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic urges educators to become technology-proficient teachers and use technology to run their classes. Meanwhile, teachers with different traits may have various perceptions of using technology. This study explores the relationships between teachers' personality types and attitudes toward adopting technology in English Language Teaching (ELT). Thus, it is aimed to determine if personality types would predict teachers' attitudes toward technology (ATT) in ELT. An online questionnaire with 92 participants (English language teachers) using the Big Five Inventory (John et al., 1991) for personality domains and Kessler's (2007) questionnaire for measuring ATT were utilized. After analyzing the data, it was uncovered that the personality types could predict ATT in ELT. Additionally, there was a significant relationship between personality factors and ATT among English language teachers. The results showed a significant positive relationship between  extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness , openness to experience  on one side, and ATT. Additionally, Neuroticism was not found to be significant in the ATT. The Findings indicated that teachers' negative ATT might have a detrimental effect on its implementation in the classroom. This study's findings might shed new light on the relations between types of personalities and their priority for running technology-oriented classes.

Understanding and producing relative clauses (RCs) presents significant challenges for second language learners, particularly when L1 and L2 relativization strategies differ. This study investigated the effect of Persian (L1) on resumptive pronoun (RP) usage in English RCs by Iranian EFL learners (N = 90 English Literature and Translation Studies majors), examining the Noun Phrase Accessibility Hierarchy Hypothesis (NPAHH). The study had two primary objectives. First, we hypothesized that lower-proficiency learners would demonstrate more negative transfer. Participants were categorized into high- and low-proficiency groups using the Oxford Placement Test. Results revealed significant between-group performance differences, though error patterns based on the RC head's grammatical function were similar across groups. Both groups showed highest accuracy for object-function RCs, suggesting strong L1 influence. Second, testing the NPAHH revealed that learners (regardless of proficiency) exhibited lowest error rates for object-position RCs, followed by subject, complement, and genitive positions. This pattern partially aligns with but does not exactly match the NPAHH's predicted difficulty hierarchy (subject > object > complement > genitive). The findings highlight how L1 transfer interacts with universal accessibility constraints in RC acquisition.

SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: This study examines the widespread claim that Theravāda and Tibetan Buddhist traditions contain sufficient textual ambiguity to allow a “middle-way, pro-choice” position, particularly during early pregnancy. Its primary objective is to determine whether such ambiguity genuinely exists within the orthodox sources of either school and whether a coherent doctrinal basis can be found for reconciling elective abortion with the first precept. METHOD & FINDING: This study adopts a qualitative, document-based, historical-analytical method. It analyzes primary Buddhist sources—including the Pāli Canon, Vinaya, Buddhaghosa's commentaries, the Abhidhamma, Tibetan bardo literature, and Lamrim texts—together with relevant statements by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and Ganden Tri Rinpoche. The findings suggest that both traditions generally locate the beginning of consciousness (vijñāna / rnam-shes) and moral personhood at conception, and therefore tend to regard induced abortion as intentional killing, except in cases involving serious and immediate danger to the mother's life. Some contemporary moderate pro-choice readings, however, are based on biological and conceptual assumptions that diverge from canonical formulations. CONCLUSION: The evidence indicates that neither Theravāda nor Tibetan Buddhism provides a doctrinally defensible basis for elective abortion. The orthodox consensus of these traditions—contrary to the assumption of rigidity—offers what is understood as the most compassionate and karmically beneficial response through adoption, social support, and education, thereby constituting the authentic Buddhist middle way.