beliefs

Gaining insights into the learners’ individual characteristics such as beliefs about language learning and their relationship with learning strategies is essential for planning effective language instruction. Thus, the present study investigated the relationship between beliefs about language learning and learning strategy use in Iranian high school students. This study also compared the correlation of the two variables between males and females and monolingual and bilingual students. The strategy inventory for language learning (SILL) and the beliefs about language learning inventory (BALLI) were used to collect data from four hundred and sixty-two high school students from different cities of the country. Descriptive analyses, Pearson r correlation, and the Fisher z-transformation test, were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that the students used metacognitive strategies most and compensation and affective strategies least. Also, they held strong motivational beliefs about English language learning. Significant positive correlations were found between beliefs and strategy categories. The strongest correlation was found between the students’ metacognitive strategies and their motivation and expectations. The findings revealed no significant difference between the correlation coefficients of monolinguals and bilinguals, and males and females in terms of their language learning beliefs and strategies. Regarding the pedagogical implications of the results, it is discussed that knowledge of students’ language learning beliefs and their preferred strategies can lead teachers and educational authorities toward more informed instructional choices.

Although the importance of reading in higher education as an index of success has been highlighted, the metacognitive knowledge or beliefs of graduate students have remained under-researched. This qualitative study reports on a study that, first, examines how graduate students of applied linguistics conceive of academic reading and academic readers in their graduate programs; second, what factors they believe can contribute to the development of those self-conceptions; and, third, if there was the possibility of adding a course on academic reading to their MA programs, how they would judge the advantages and disadvantages of such a course. In so doing, in-depth interviews were conducted with 31 graduate students at eight different universities. The findings revealed considerable changes in the participants' conceptions as the result of taking part in their graduate programs. They attributed those self-conceptions to their efforts and struggles as well as their teachers' help and guidance. Their perceptions of an academic reading course were positive. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

One essential yet often-ignored factor in pronunciation teaching is learners’ beliefs towards teaching and learning of pronunciation. Awareness of this factor can help both learners and teachers achieve their language learning and teaching objectives. The current study investigated 195 Iranian EFL learners’ beliefs and perceptions about various aspects of pronunciation teaching and learning. The learners answered a 30-item Likert-scale online questionnaire which inquired about their views regarding the overall importance of pronunciation instruction, the type of syllabus, the design of classes devoted to pronunciation, the introduction of pronunciation features, the ways of practicing these features, and the role of error correction. To enhance the findings from the questionnaire, the researchers interviewed a subsample of the participants about various pronunciation dimensions specified in the questionnaire. Results revealed that the majority of the participants believed teaching and learning pronunciation was of paramount importance in EFL contexts as it helped them achieve their communicative goals more effectively. The learners also largely preferred a structural over a task-based syllabus for pronunciation instruction but differed regarding whether pronunciation features should be taught in isolation or in communicative contexts, and whether correction of their pronunciation errors should be done by the teacher or peers. Findings of this study can inform the mainstream pronunciation teaching and learning practices and materials designs.

Corrective feedback has received significant attention in English language teaching, and its role has been highly substantial. Considering the importance of corrective feedback in EFL classes, this study aimed at finding the effects of indirect and gradual CF on Iranian EFL learners' grammatical development and their beliefs toward CF. Twenty EFL learners, meeting the criterion of being lower-intermediate in their proficiency, participated in this study and were divided randomly into two groups of indirect and gradual CF. An Oxford Placement Test, Aljaafreh and Lantolf's (1994) regulatory scale, error correction test, writing tasks, and Corrective Feedback Belief Scale were used as data collection instruments. The indirect group received indirect CF based on cognitive theory and the gradual group received feedback based on Aljaafreh and Lantolf's (1994) regulatory scale for four sessions. The findings obtained from Mann-Whitney U tests revealed that the gradual group which received CF based on sociocultural theory was better able to overcome the problems related to simple present and present progressive tenses than the indirect group which received indirect CF based on cognitive theory. The findings also indicated that all learners, both gradual and indirect, preferred receiving CF and both groups always preferred to be corrected and likewise, both groups considered the teacher as the main provider of CF. The results of this study suggest that gradual feedback based on learners’ ZPD was more effective in improving EFL learners’ grammar development. In conclusion, these findings support the idea that social interaction is a prerequisite for cognitive development.

Common culture is the basis of exact identification of nations and the manner of their distinctions from others. Cultural and social beliefs are inseparable parts of human lives as they always lived with human beings right from their creation. In a way that even today a number of beliefs of civilized people, with regard to a chain of appropriate or inappropriate rites and ceremonies, have roots in ancient days. As such, identifying and presenting an exact analysis could be possible only through the investigation of past cultures of different people and nations. A common and deep belief among human being is evil eye that too has an ancient precedence. Documents acquired from cave paintings, medieval historical records and number of repelled witchery stones narrate and confirm the prevalence of this particular belief among people through centuries and ages. The present paper tries to respond to the question that whether evil eye being one of the ancient cultural beliefs of our people prevailed among other nations around the world, too? In case of its prevalence, whether or not religious sources confirm it? As such, the authors have tried to study ancient people and important world religions in order to reach to conclusion. They finally came to the point that different religious sources—including Islamic ones confirm the prevalence of witchcraft/evil eye among nations and people around the world.

This study attempted to investigate the level of EFL learners’ epistemological beliefs and learning strategy use as well as the contribution of epistemological beliefs to their learning strategy use in Bahir Dar University. Comprehensively selected 136 EFL students at the Faculty of Humanities of Bahir Dar University responded to modified versions of Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire and Motivated and Self Directed Learning Strategies Questionnaire. The descriptive statistics showed that the participants generally held a low level of epistemological beliefs (mean scores ranging from 2.49 to 3.09 on a five-point scale) and they moderately used cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies (mean scores ranging from 3.29 to 3.82 on a five-point scale). The results of multivariate analysis indicated there was a significant multivariate effect of epistemological beliefs on the various dimensions of learning strategies, contributing 15.8% of the variance. The follow-up univariate analyses also showed the difference in epistemological beliefs had a significant impact on their use of all dimensions of learning strategies except rehearsal strategy. This means that EFL students with sophisticated epistemological beliefs, compared to their counterparts with naïve beliefs, are more strategic in handling learning situations through deploying appropriate higher order cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies.

Purpose: This research is aimed at The effect of social skills training philosophy, beliefs and tolerance of ambiguity in the junior high school students was conducted. The aim of the present study, the use and the collection of data for quasi-experimental, pretest and post-test with group The control and testing Respectively. Methodology: The statistical population consists of all Secondary school students of Tehran Region 3 in the first semester of the academic year 98-1397 Was (N = 6500) A sample of 30 patients were considered for sampling random cluster sampling was used. Data were collected, Wells' metacognitive beliefs questionnaire (1997), the ambiguity tolerance questionnaire that Lin (1993), Matson Social Skills Inventory (1983) and a philosophy training course for the group Experiment for 13 sessions 60 min. That by "design philosophy lessons for children" was formulated participated. To analyze data Statistical analysis of covariance analysis Was used. Findings: The results obtained showed that social skills training philosophy, beliefs and tolerance of ambiguity impact There. Apply this training method Improve social skills, beliefs and was ambiguity tolerance. Conclusion: So you need to improve social skills, beliefs and tolerance of ambiguity that the purpose of their business flourish of mental Is used and useful means of teaching philosophy in the educational system, he said.

Current theories argue that decision making is largely based on quick and intuitive processes.The results of study on topping organizations show that successful decision-makings are intuitive rather than rational. Therefore in recent years the issue of intuition and intuitive decision making as an effective management has attracted increasing attention in scientific circles and world-class research. Identify the components and designing intuition conceptual model in decision making based on the Islamic approach is the main purpose of this article. In the main stage of article which is Qur'anic approach, concepts and issues related to intuition were identified using data-based grounded theory strategy and Tafsir al-Mizan. The results of the study is emergence of 86 concepts which were categorized in 18 subsidiaries and 7 main concepts using the seminary and academic expert&rsquos perspectives.