mental imagery

Due to the importance of idioms, many researchers and teachers have long sought to find ways of making idiom teaching and learning more effective. This study compared three visual mnemonic devices (pictures, mental imagery, and movie clips) in terms of their effect on EFL learners’ recognition and recall of English idioms. Ninety intermediate level EFL learners who were preparing themselves for IELTS participated in this study. They were in three groups of thirty members each. Each group was taught idioms using one of the afore-mentioned visual mnemonic devices. Receptive and productive tests of idioms were administered to all groups after the treatment. The one-way ANOVA procedure was used to analyze the collected data. The results revealed statistically significant differences among these devices, with pictures method being the most effective on both recognition and recall of idioms. The findings of the study can have significant theoretical as well as pedagogical implications for language researchers, textbook designers, curriculum developers, teachers, and language learners. 

The aim of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of mental imagery on the English language comprehension of sixth grade students. The method is semi-experimental and its plan involves pretest, post-test, and follow-up. Using a multi-stage random sampling method, 32 students were selected from schools in the district (2) and assigned to either the experimental or evidence group - each group consisted of 16 students. All the students within both groups were given a pretest which consisted of 20 multiple choice questions (with 4 possible answers each). There was no significant difference between the mean scores gained by the students of both groups on the pretest. The experimental group received the mental imagery teaching program and how to form pictures in the mind-e.g, how to visualize-before reading, while reading, and after reading a short story, for example, by being requested to draw pictures of the characters, scenes, or setting in the story as they perceived them. The evidence group received no instruction. To measure the effectiveness of the treatment program for each experimental condition, a research-made reading comprehension test was applied. There were  significant differences between the experimental and evidence groups, when data analysis was performed by ANOVA, using repeated measures. The findings showed that the mental imagery teaching program can improve the English language comprehension and this study suggests that the English teacher may improve her teaching strategy by optimizing the use of a variation technique in school. The teacher should be creative while delivering materials in the class.

Human society faces new challenges, especially the ones damaging the human brain and cognition. The addictive use of cyberspace essentially causes these challenges. This study was a comparative descriptive-analytical study conducted to diagnose cognitive impairments of cyber addiction through a QEEG test and to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive intervention on the cognitive functions involved in the mental imagery of adolescents. The statistical population of the study included 9-12 year-old students who visited Mehraz Andisheh clinic in Shiraz. The available sampling method was used and 40 people with research conditions (including 20 girls and 20 boys) were randomly assigned to two control and experimental groups. This research was conducted in 2023. The study used a mobile-based social network addiction diagnosis questionnaire (Ahmadi et al.; 2015), software (RehaCom et al., IVA-2, Neuroguide), an EEG device, and Kim Carrad visual memory test. After being selected and called to the place of research, people who had the conditions to enter the study first completed the consent form. Then, the  EEG recording was conducted for 5 minutes with eyes open and closed. Also, as a pre-test, they performed a visual attention test (IVA-2) for visual memory (Kim Carrad test) and a visual processing test (Captain Log). Then, for ten sessions, the participants in the experimental group received cognitive rehabilitation by RehaCom software, each lasting for 45 minutes with an interval of one day. After the completion of the treatment sessions, the evaluations were repeated. In this research data analysis was done using SPSS software 26 and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The study findings showed that the cognitive intervention led to a significant difference at the 0.05 level in the pre-test and post-test scores of the experimental group while there was no significant difference between the pre-test and the post-test in the control group. Based on the results, it can be seen that the intervention led to a difference in the pre-test and post-test and a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test groups in the experimental group at the 0.05 level. The study results also showed a significant relationship between the cognitive impairments of cyber addiction and brain wave patterns. These results emphasize that brain signals may be used as an indicator to diagnose cognitive impairment in people with cyber addiction. Also, the results showed that RehaCom software could improve the cognitive functions involved in the mental imagery of teenagers suffering from Internet addiction.