language teaching

The profession of second language teaching has experienced fundamental fluctuations in both theory and practice. With its own proponents and opponents, the postmethod was considered as the practical and reasonable solution to the limitations of the confining concept of the method. The purpose of this qualitative study was to elicit nonnative EFL teachers’ viewpoints and perceptions regarding postmethod pedagogy. In fact, the researchers were interested to know about nonnative EFL teachers’ perceptions of postmethod condition regarding their own context and needs. Selected based on purposive sampling procedure, the participants of this study were 10 nonnative EFL teachers categorized into three groups based on their teaching experience. The participants took part in semi-structured interviews and they were asked a series of questions to elicit their perceptions and interpretations of postmethod. The results of the study revealed some rays of hope in some cases, though not promising in a full manner. In other words, although nonnative EFL teachers could not mention the postmethod principles explicitly, they showed a logical understanding of postmethod pedagogy tenets and its applications in their teaching practices and procedures. The results of this study can help teacher educators design more effective teacher education courses and in-service programs to enhance nonnative EFL teachers’ viewpoints and perceptions regarding postmethod pedagogy and its implications in language teaching and learning processes.

As far as teaching English as a foreign language is concerned, the role of literature as a medium to enhance language learning or to promote other cognitive and affective variables has been quite contentious. Over the last three decades, however, some practitioners and second language scholars have resurrected literature as an effective vehicle to teach the second or foreign language. As an attempt to shed more light on the use of literature in English Language Teaching (ELT), the present study investigated the role of literature as a medium to foster critical thinking among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students. In so doing, a sample of 39 intermediate Iranian EFL students who were the students of two intact classes were recruited. They were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group (n=18) were required to read unabridged, authentic short stories written by literary figures whereas control group students were provided with abridged and simplified texts and short stories. A validated scale of critical thinking was administered as the pre-test and the post-test before and after the treatment. The results of a one way ANCOVA revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group on the post-test of critical thinking, suggesting that use of literary texts has been effective in enhancing the level of critical thinking among Iranian EFL students. The findings of the study have pedagogical implications for ELT theorizers and practitioners.

The aim of this study was to investigate the Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' willingness to implement postmethod pedagogy in the Iranian context. In so doing, a mixed methods approach was employed in which first a validated postmethod questionnaire was administered to a nationally representative sample of 711 Iranian EFL teachers. Then, a series of focus group discussions and individual interviews with 30 teachers were carried out in the qualitative phase of the study. The findings of quantitative data analyses revealed that the Iranian EFL teachers were not willing to implement postmethod principles in their classrooms. Furthermore, the result of the content analysis for the qualitative phase indicated that Iranian EFL teachers do not implement any particular method in the strict sense of the word. Moreover, the teachers mentioned knowledge and experience of teachers; lack of adequate teacher training program; time and financial constraints of teachers; idealistic nature of postmethod; resistance of language institutes; little support of textbook developers; and cultural tradition as the impediments to the implementation of postmethod pedagogy in Iran. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed.

This study was an attempt to examine the effect of using comic strips on improving grammar recognition and performance among Iranian young EFL learners. To this end, one experimental and one control groups were formed, each having 45 preintermediate participants chosen via convenience sampling. The researcher-made pretests of grammar and speaking assured the researchers that the participants did not know the grammatical points targeted in this study. In continuation, the experimental group received grammar instruction with the aid of comic strips, and the control group was taught the same grammar points through conventional methods of grammar teaching. After 16 sessions, both groups sat for a researcher-made grammar posttest and speaking test. Also, an interview was conducted to evaluate the extent to which the treatment for the experimental group and conventional instruction for the control group were effective. Data collected from the groups were, then, submitted for data analysis including ANOVA and t test. Results indicated that the implementation of comic strips could have a positive effect on grammatical competence and performance.

As the demand for online language education continues to grow, English teacherpreneurs play a significant role in shaping teaching practice and identity in virtual affinity spaces. This study examined the professional identity and practice of Iranian EFL teacherpreneurs in such spaces. The study adopted a qualitative approach and the data were collected through in-depth interviews and a focus group discussion. The findings of this research indicated that the participants as Iranian EFL teacherpreneurs in online affinity spaces possessed a wide range of positive traits and engaged in interactive and non-traditional teaching practices going beyond EFL traditional teaching practices. They also noted challenges being online English teacherpreneurs in Iran, highlighting a lack of financial support from mainstream education system and insufficient electronic facilities to create online content among others. This study has implications for different agencies in language teaching, including teachers and policy-makers in language education, raising their awareness regarding the identity and practice of online teacherpreneurs in virtual affinity spaces.  

Metaphor, as a conceptual and cognitive tool, plays an important role in language learning and teaching. It was once thought to be a stylistic problem, but now it is recognized as an essential part of both ordinary and specialist language and, more significantly, as a basic process of how people conceptualize the world. The use of metaphor in language, thought and communication has been examined in second language (L2) learning. The present paper examines roles of using metaphor in language learning and teaching. First and for most, this paper aims at shedding light on a new facet of Gardner’s (1983) multiple intelligence that is metaphoric intelligence. Second, it focuses on the overall history of its utilization in language learning and teaching. Third, a plethora of strategies and activities for its implementation will be discussed in details. Last but not the least, some problems of its application and justification of its implementation will be touched upon.