bilingualism

Research has shown that writing skill of Iranian learners is not at a satisfactory level. One of the ways to develop writing ability is improving strategic behavior of learners. The current study set out to compare writing performances and patterns of using metacognitive strategies in bilinguals and monolinguals as well as senior and freshmen students. A total of 176 English major university students took part in the study (88 bilinguals and 88 monolinguals). Data were collected through three instruments: a background questionnaire, a writing metacognitive strategy questionnaire, and participants’ compositions. A two-way factorial ANOVA was used to analyze the data obtained through the strategy questionnaire. Since the composition data were not parametric two Kruskall-Wallis tests were employed for data analysis. The results revealed that bilinguals used more metacognitive strategies and had higher writing scores than monolinguals. In addition, seniors had better writing performance than freshmen while the difference between them in using strategies was not significant. Based on the results it can be concluded that teaching writing metacognitive strategies may result in better writing performance.

Issues related to bilingualism and the effects which might have on language learners’ cognitive and meta-cognitive variables have attracted the attention of a couple of researchers in the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA).Since a couple of decades ago, there has been a plethora of studies on cognitive and metacognitive differences between bilinguals and monolinguals. However, the impact of bilingualism on EFL learners’ WMC and verbal intelligence has not be explored yet. The present study aimed at comparing the WMC and verbal intelligence of bilingual and monolingual language learners. In so doing, 30 Baluch EFL learners and 30 Persian speaker EFL learners were selected through convenience sampling. The data of the study were collected through running WMC measure and verbal intelligence test. The data of the study were analyzed through running descriptive and inferential statistics tests (independent samples-t-tests). Results showed that bilingual language learners outperformed the monolingual language learners in both WMC measures and verbal intelligence test. Therefore, it could be concluded that bilingualism affects EFL learners’ WMC and verbal intelligence. The findings have theoretical implications for applied linguists and psycholinguists and practical implications for teachers and syllabus designers.    

The purpose of this descriptive-internet survey was to examine whether Persian- English bilinguals express different personality traits when they switch language when responding to Big Five Inventory (BFI) as a measure of personality once in Persian and once in English. It has been proposed that language activates cultural specific frames and bilinguals represent different personality patterns in each language. In this research 60 Persian- English sequential bilinguals living in the United States were selected by volunteer sampling method. They were asked to respond to an online version of BFI in both languages. The result demonstrated that, bilinguals had higher levels of Agreeableness, Extraversion, and Openness in English than in Persian where as their scores for Neuroticism were lower in English. These findings support the effect of language on personality and demonstrate the function of language as a strong cue for Cultural Frame Switching (CFS) since language was able to activate CFS for Agreeableness, Extraversion, Openness, and Neuroticism.

Purpose: This study investigated the relationship between gender and bilingualism with English learning among 7-11 years old students. Methodology: 261 students (124 girls and 157 boys) were selected through multi-stage sampling method from elementary school. Employing check list the level of English scores was obtained .The children's private speech obtained from listening to them when they were solving a puzzle in group. Findings: An independent t test showed that there was no significant relationship between bilingualism and English scores (p<05/0). Furthermore an ANOVA test indicated that there was a significant relationship between the type of private speech and English scores (p<0/01). A Sheffe post hoc showed that the solving private speech had the significant relationship with high performance in English scores among four types of private speech: Solving speech, Task relevant speech, non- facilitative Coping/ reinforcing speech and task- irrelevant speech. Discussion: considering the nature of the "solving private speech" indicates that this kind of private speech had a more meta-cognitive nature which leads to better cognitive function such as learning English.

The purpose of this research is to know the lived experience of Ahvaz city teachers in teaching bilingual students and it was done by phenomenological method. The research community includes all primary school teachers in Ahvaz. Sampling was done in a purposeful way and all the samples were chosen voluntarily from among the teachers who dealt with bilingual students. The sample size depended on data saturation, which finally included 21 people. The data collection method is a semi-structured interview. After collecting the data, it was coded and analyzed. Analyzes have been done using thematic analysis. After analyzing the experiences of participating teachers, the findings include 6 main themes and 13 sub-themes. The main themes are: non-native language, inconsistency between the language of the teacher and the learner, learner's disability and teacher's fatigue, love to teaching, communication, local language, methods. The result of the research shows that establishing a friendly relationship with children, involving students and their parents in their children's educational affairs, using educational aids suitable for the local and environmental conditions of bilingual students are more effective in their education. Also, teachers of bilingual schools should participate in classes and workshops that provide the correct methods of interaction with bilingual students and relative familiarity with their language and culture.

This article examines the impact of gender, age, and education on the attitudes of Kurdish speakers in Mahabad towards standard Persian and the Kurdish language. Since people’s emotions towards their own or others’ languages are related to their language attitudes, this important component plays a significant role in measuring success in language planning, learning speed, language selection and use, and predicting the extinction or sustainability of a language. The study’s statistical population consisted of 80 Kurdish-Persian bilinguals in Mahabad who were randomly selected. This study is situated within the theoretical framework of sociocognitive linguistics, and the research perspective was measured through an indirect method (matched-guise test). After distributing the questionnaire and conducting the matched-guise test, the collected data were analyzed. The results of the statistical analysis showed that the variables of gender, age, and education in Mahabad had no significant impact on the attitudes of bilingual Kurdish speakers towards standard Persian and the Kurdish language. The Kurdish speakers of Mahabad exhibited numerically positive attitude towards the standard Persian language compared to Kurdish language, but no significant difference in terms of any of the mentioned variables was observed between the two languages under study.