The present study tries to explore psycho-dynamics of Iranian EFL learners under the functions of dynamic assessment intervention modalities (i.e., facilitative vs. authoritative) modalities in developing their writing skills. To this end, this qualitative study ran on the basis of semi-structured interviews and written protocols data collected from 120 Iranian advanced EFL learners was designed to elicit an in-depth understanding of the participants’ thoughts during performing writing tasks. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data from both sources (i.e., interviews and written protocols) revealed that: 1) authoritative modality works more effectively in facilitating the processes of opinion expression and effective revision and correction, 2) facilitative modality contributes more to developing critical and reflective thinking processes while writing. In the light of the facilitative modality, the learners can easily switch from their individualistic focus to a collaborative culture among teachers and learners. So, the learners become more self-regulated and can move from object-regulation through other-regulation towards self-regulation. Then, EFL learners’ psycho-dynamic actions are a function of DA-modalities. The findings offer theoretical and pedagogical insights for both researchers and practitioners in addressing language learning and learners. تفاصيل المقالة

The present paper provides a detailed description of target situation analysis of the ESP needs of border guarding police cadets. It was conducted as a part of a comprehensive ESP needs analysis research whose results have been used to develop an ESP curriculum for police cadets at Iran’s Amin Police University. The importance of English language in border guarding missions and lack of a proper ESP curriculum in the faculty were among the reasons of ESP curriculum development for police officers. The researchers utilized a qual/quan design (exploratory sequential - qualitative first). The study was conducted in 2018-2019. The participants were chosen from among 249 participants of current BA cadets, ESP teachers, and graduate frontline officers, managers, and commanders. The data were gathered utilizing semi-structured interviews and a researcher-made questionnaire. Through target situation analysis, the researchers determined the target needs in border guarding, the needs related to language skills in academic/target career, extra needs, the type of curriculum and materials they might need, the possible situations of applying English in the academic/target career, and specific border police content and subjects. The results are to be used in designing and developing an ESP curriculum, syllabus, and materials for police cadets who study ESP in the Faculty of Border Guarding at Amin Police University. تفاصيل المقالة

This study investigated the comparative effect of consciousness raising tasks on the reading comprehen- sion ability of the high and low risk-taking English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners. To achieve the purpose of this study, 106 students from the Shahid Sattary University in Tehran were selected from among a total number of 150 based on their performance on the Preliminary English Test (PET). A per- sonality trait questionnaire was administrated to determine learners’ risk-taking levels (i.e. high, modera- tor and low). Therefore, 30 high and 30 low risk-taking learners were selected as two experimental groups. Although the learners had different personality traits, they were in the same classes and received the same treatment. The design of this study was quasi experimental and an independent samples t-test was applied to test the null hypothesis. The findings of the study showed that the group with high risk- taking trait outperformed the low group. Therefore, a significant difference was found between the two experimental groups in term of their reading comprehension ability. تفاصيل المقالة