The current study investigated the integration of one recent technology, i.e., Augmented Reality (AR), in language education and its effect on language achievement. To this end, the investigators designed and implemented a quasi-experimental pretest and posttest study involving two stages. The initial stage examined if Augmented Reality improved language achievement in EFL learners. The second one explored the existence of any interaction between such an effect and variables of learners’ gender, age, and educational background. The participants were 40 adult beginner-level adult learners in a language institute in Shiraz, Iran, and were randomly divided into control and experimental groups. In contrast, those in the control group studied the conventional materials. Data was collected through achievement tests included in the course materials package and analyzed with ANCOVA via SPSS. The findings revealed that language achievement was significantly enhanced for the experimental group. Moreover, results indicated that only educational background showed a meaningful relationship with the way learners benefit from using AR in improving their language achievement among the three moderator variables. The findings have implications for researchers and language instructors, and policymakers. پرونده مقاله

The view of learning from our errors in an EFL learning context as the subject of myriad applied linguistic studies has not yet taken root. Thus, the impact of extensive and intensive recasts on grammatical and lexical development in EFL context along with the students’ insights of recasts and the role of working memory was evaluated in this study and a quasi-experimental design was employed. The participants included 59 Iranian EFL students. Instruments of the study included an Oxford placement test of English, speaking and writing assignments and a working memory survey. Five short stories were presented during the experiment. The intensive recast group received feedback only on articles and theme words whereas the extensive recast group received feedback on any mistake that occurred throughout communication. The ANOVAs’ results showed that recasts had a helpful effect on EFL learning. A large effect size was indicated for the intensive group, outscoring the extensive group and the control group. Chi-square analysis of the interviews demonstrated a significant and positive difference on the perception of recasts by students of the intensive condition. Working memory was also positively correlated with the scores of learners in the intensive group. Therefore, higher SD learners revealed a higher improvement on oral tasks while higher AD learners were greater on the written tasks. A thorough study of the results implies a rich ground on the effect of recasts and WM in education, helping both teachers and students to a great extent in their teaching and learning journey. پرونده مقاله

This study aimed at designing a scale for developing EFL materials based on the principles of Critical Pedagogy. In so doing, a qualitative thematic analysis method was used. The participants of this study consisted of 20 (10 males and 10 females) EFL experts with more than 15 years of teaching EFL at the university level with at least one published paper on critical pedagogy and materials development, who were selected through purposive sampling from different states and Azad universities in Iran. To collect the data, a semi-structured interview was implemented. The existing literature on critical pedagogy and different materials development models was reviewed so that through merging the interview and literature review data, the recurrent categories can be identified and converted into the items of the intended scale. To analyze the data, thematic analysis was used. The following main themes were revealed as the main themes for CP-based EFL materials development: Defining CP-based objectives, developing CP-based content, encouraging CP-based teaching methods, encouraging CP-based evaluation procedures, and defining CP-based roles for teachers and students. Based on the extracted themes, a scale was developed into six categories. The developed scale consisted of 50 items in a five-point Likert range from 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree. The findings have some implications for EFL teachers, learners, curriculum planners, and researchers. پرونده مقاله

available option for higher education institutions around the world. In Iran, universities used various platforms. For example, the Islamic Azad University started utilizing an exclusive platform (Vadana) and Payame Noor University used Adobe Connect. However, some challenges and problems were reported by the educators and students using these platforms, somehow due to a lack of preparation and premeditation. This study focused on the problems and challenges in contrast to the opportunities and solutions associated with e-learning among university educators and students through a mixed-methods approach. On the quantitative side, two questionnaires were created and distributed among undergraduate TEFL students. In total, 216 responses were received. The findings revealed that the participants were mostly in agreement with the statements mentioned in both questionnaires. Later, using Confirmatory Factor Analysis, both questionnaires were validated. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 7 faculty members. Data saturation was reached after 5 interviews. The interview texts were then transcribed, and the findings were qualitatively presented and discussed. Based on the findings, the challenges and problems of e-learning encompassed technical issues, physical and mental concerns, additional burdens, assessments, proper training, IT literacy, and issues related to pedagogy. On the other hand, e-learning yielded benefits such as enhancements in communication, interaction, teaching, and learning, along with increased accessibility, convenience, productivity, and safety. The findings might be of value to students, educators, policymakers, and administrations involved in the delivery of online English language teaching in Iran. پرونده مقاله

Despite the deep ocean of knowledge on language learning and teaching, the need for further proof of inconsistent data and the demand to stay updated with the context is inventible. This need inspired the present study concerning the effect of extensive versus intensive TEs on grammatical and lexical growth in L2 (English as a Second Language). A quasi-experimental design was applied on 61 ESL students in three intermediate groups. They were divided into two experimental groups, including an intensive TE group and an extensive TE group, and a control group to join five treatment sessions. An Oxford test was first applied, followed by an oral and a written test as the pretest. Similar versions of the oral and written tests were used as the posttest. The findings of ANOVA demonstrated a facilitative effect for intensive TEs on L2 learning. The Tukey's post hoc results showed that the intensive TE group outperformed the extensive TE group and the control group in both tests. The findings provide a deep insight of the teaching methodologies to the educational community. Prospective teachers can also consolidate their knowledge by an accurate insight into the right approach within the relevant context. پرونده مقاله

One of the challenges in English Language Learning (ELL) research is understanding the impact of different instructional techniques on grammatical and lexical growth. This study addresses this challenge by investigating the effects of extensive versus intensive recasts and textual enhancements (TEs) on Foreign Language (FL) development, while considering the role of working memory capacity and students' perceptions. A quasi-experimental design was implemented, involving four experimental groups and one control condition. The results of one-way ANOVA and mixed between-within group ANOVAs revealed the facilitative effect of recasts on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning. Specifically, the intensive recasts group demonstrated significantly higher performance compared to the extensive recasts group, intensive TE group, extensive TE group, as well as the control group, in both tests. The study also examined students' perceptions through interviews, which indicated a notable difference in accurate perception of recasts. Students in the intensive recasts condition exhibited a higher level of accuracy compared to those in the extensive recasts group. Conversely, the extensive recasts group displayed limited error detection. Additionally, a significant correlation between working memory and learners' gain scores was observed in the intensive recasts condition. This suggests that learners with higher storage capacity demonstrated more substantial development in oral tasks, while learners with higher attention domain exhibited greater improvements in written tasks. By shedding light on these findings, this study contributes to our understanding of effective instructional techniques and their impact on EFL development. پرونده مقاله

The first traces of e-learning in Iran dates to 2004, although this was not implemented until 2005. The present systematic review aimed at finding out where e-learning stands within the field of English language education also referred to as Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). Data were collected through two main sources. The first source was MetSearch (Cardiff Metropolitan University’s e-library) which covers several reputable databases, yet we specifically looked into ProQuest Central, Scopus, PubMed, and ScienceDirect. The second source was Google Scholar which includes more publications but is less structured. Our search terms were e-learning OR elearning AND Iran OR problems OR challenges OR opportunities. We investigated a period of 15 years (i.e., between 2008 and 2022). Only peer-reviewed original articles written in English and addressing the challenges, problems, or opportunities related to e-learning in Iran were included. Our final search led to 12 original articles focusing on the aforementioned areas of e-learning. The findings revealed that the literature highly lacked studies related to e-learning in the area of TEFL in Iran. The included studies were mostly related to medicine and medical sciences, nursing, agriculture, technology, and sciences. With the increasing usage of e-learning among TEFL students and educators, especially after the strike of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers need to fill the huge gap that exists in the literature. پرونده مقاله

This study investigated the relationship between cultural intelligence and the use of expressions of gratitude among Iranian upper intermediate EFL learners. 50 upper intermediate learners were selected through purposive sampling, with their proficiency level being controlled. A discourse completion test (DCT) for the expressions of gratitude and a cultural intelligence scale were given to the participants of the study. Learners' DCT responses and cultural intelligence were rated on a five-point Likert scale and then analyzed. Statistical test including Pearson Correlation was used to test the hypothesis. The results of the analysis revealed that there was no significant relationship between cultural intelligence and the use of expressions of gratitude. Based on the results, it can be concluded that cultural intelligence, in general, and its level, in particular, may not have any influence on Iranian upper intermediate EFL Learners' use of expressions of gratitude, implying that at least in the case of acquiring expressions of gratitude, there seems to be no reason to capitalize much on learners' cultural intelligence. پرونده مقاله

This study intended to explore the effect of Augmented Reality (AR) on lowering foreign language anxiety (FLA) in adult Iranian EFL learners. To this end, a triangulation study including a quasi-experimental pre-test post-test design in the first phase, and an oral interview in the second phase was designed and implemented. Forty adult Iranian EFL learners took part in the quantitative study and were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The authors developed and delivered the AR-infused materials through the Zappar application, an AR platform. The treatment involved the conventional language teaching method for the control and the AR-integrated one for the experimental group for 20 sessions. The anxiety level of learners in both groups was assessed before and after the treatment to check for any effects. Data on participants’ FLA has been gathered through Horwitz’s (1986) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Survey (FLCAS) questionnaire and analyzed via ANCOVA in SPSS. Also, the participants in the experimental group were interviewed at the end of the experiment to provide feedback on their AR-integrated language learning experience. Results revealed that AR did not affect learners’ foreign language anxiety levels. Also, some learners found it not very relaxing and easy to use. This could be attributed to the novelty of the experience and the cognitive load imposed on learners. The study’s outcomes were in contrast to several previous research findings; however, since research in this area is still in its infancy, more research should be done on the impact of AR on language education. پرونده مقاله

EFL teachers’ professional identity is a multi-dimensional and complicated concept. It is influenced by many other issues in the educational context such as reflective practice. This study intended to explore the relationship between professional identity and reflectivity of Iranian EFL teachers. It also aimed to examine how high and low reflective teachers perceive the professional identity components. The participants were 89 EFL teachers teaching at three universities in Shiraz, Iran. Their selection was based on convenience sampling. The participants were asked to fill out two questionnaires including teacher professional identity questionnaire (Liou, 2008) and teacher reflectivity questionnaire (Akbari et al., 2010). Pearson product correlation coefficient revealed that there was a positive relationship between EFL teachers’ professional identity and reflectivity. Furthermore, the findings of regression analysis indicated that reflectivity could predict EFL teachers’ professional identity. Furthermore, the participants were categorized into two high and low reflective groups. Two groups were interviewed to examine the professional identity perceptions used by high and low reflective teachers. The thematic analysis showed that high reflective teachers used and implemented much more professional identity components in their teaching practice in comparison to the low reflective teachers. پرونده مقاله

Meta-discourse markers are an inevitable part of oral proficiency which improve both the quality and comprehension of learners’ speech. While studies of oral meta-discourse have been conducted since the 1980s in a European or US context, they have remained relatively untouched in Iran. Therefore, this study aimed to seek the impact of both explicit and implicit teaching of formal meta-discourse markers on EFL learners’ oral proficiency. To this end, the quantitative data were collected from ninety upper-intermediate students at Shiraz University Language Center. Two groups went through an instruction for an eight-session treatment. However the experimental group ‘B’ (N=45) were instructed the formal meta-discourse markers implicitly, the target formal meta-discourse markers were taught to the experimental group ‘A’ (N=45) explicitly. To compare the participants’ performances, an SOPI (Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview) posttest was administered. The results revealed that the instruction of meta-discourse markers had a positive effect on the learners’ oral outcome. Moreover, the findings showed that learners who received explicit method of teaching formal meta-discourse markers could perform better in speaking than learners who received implicit instruction. The findings can have pedagogical implications for EFL educators and materials developers to enhance learners’ oral proficiency. The findings also provide important insight into the effect of teaching discourse markers and raising learners’ awareness through explicit instruction to make pupils produce more cohesive and coherent speech. پرونده مقاله

This study aimed at developing and designing a new model and instrument to explore attitudes of Iranian EFL Teachers towards reflection-for-action through their teaching. In so doing, the researchers followed several rigorous steps including extensive literature review, content selection, item generation, designing the rating scales and personal information part, item revision, and detecting factor structure. An initial draft of the questionnaire consisting of ten dimensions along with 49 items, investigating teachers’ attitudes towards the components of reflection-for-action scale based on the literature and interview with a panel of experts. Then, it was distributed to a group of 150 Iranian EFL teachers to refine it more. Finally, Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the obtained data revealed that the questionnaire consisted of a seven-factor structure including Academic Qualification as the (first factor), Experience (second factor), Professional Development (third factor), Collaboration (fourth factor), Perception (fifth factor), Efficacy (sixth factor), Motivation (seventh factor). پرونده مقاله

Reflection is a key component of teacher development by which teachers can gain an understanding of the teaching knowledge, connect theory to practice and develop teaching skills. This study aimed to investigate the underlying structure of the items that make up ‘reflection-for-action’ in an Iranian EFL context. To present a framework for research and highlight the components of reflection-for-action, this study developed and validated a teacher reflection-for-action questionnaire. To this end, ten components were identified after undertaking a comprehensive review of the literature and conducting interviews with domain experts on Reflection. Then a draft version of the Reflection questionnaire, consisting of 49 items, was pilot tested with 200 teacher evaluators, who were working for various English language institutes and universities in Iran. The results, using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), led to a 38-item questionnaire with strong estimates of reliability and validity. The results also demonstrated that the questionnaire consisted of a seven-factor structure of collaboration, motivation, perception, experience, academic qualification, professional development, and efficacy. Consequently, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was carried out with another 200 Iranian EFL teachers to check the fitness of the proposed model. The result of CFA indicated that the model enjoyed a satisfactory level of goodness of fit, showing that the seven-factor were not the result of random variance in the learners’ responses. Finally, statistical results are discussed and implications are provided. پرونده مقاله

This study focused on the effects dynamic form of text-based vocational vocabulary glosses: Dynamic glosses are a series of incremental mediations intended to support students in identifying correct word definitions. After running a pre-test (TOFEL ibt), 34 ESP learners in medical university were chosen to participate in the study, 17 students randomly assigned to the treatment group and 17 randomly assigned to the control group. Participants in treatment and control conditions received three short ESP texts with many vocational vocabularies using the computers in the language lab and the Adobe Connect application. As the participants in the dynamic gloss condition faced unknown vocational vocabulary items in the passages, the teacher provided the learners with a set of mediations from the most implicit to the most explicit prompts, and the learners tried to identify the correct meaning of the word. In the non-dynamic gloss condition, the learners were given the L1 definition for the target words. The post-test results indicated that the treatment group meaningfully outperformed the control group. پرونده مقاله

This study addresses the dearth of research on the interplay between textual enhancements (TE), recasts, and working memory capacity in SLA. Investigating extensive versus intensive recasts and TEs, it explores their impact on grammatical and lexical growth in EFL context. Additionally, students' perceptions of recasts and the role of working memory capacity are evaluated. Experimental groups included intensive/extensive vocabulary and grammar TE/recasts conditions, alongside a control group. Pre/post-tests, interviews, and a working memory questionnaire were used. Results indicate recasts' facilitative effect, with intensive recasts outperforming extensive recasts and TEs in promoting grammatical and lexical development among high working memory capacity learners. Learners in the intensive recasts group had accurate error perceptions. Working memory correlated with intensive recasts' gains, with high Storage and Attention Domains showing development in oral and written tasks. These findings illuminate the efficacy of TE, recasts, and working memory, offering valuable insights for educators and learners alike. پرونده مقاله

This study aims to explore and compare the impacts of scaffolded and explicit feedback on Iranian EFL learners' correct use of articles in oral productions. To this end, 45 intermediate female EFL learners in three intact classes in a language institute in Behbahan, Iran were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to two experimental groups of scaffolded and explicit and one control group. The research used a quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental design in the form of a pretest, treatment, posttest, and delayed posttest. While the two experimental groups received either scaffolded or explicit feedback treatment, the control group received no feedback on their errors in the use of articles. The find- ings revealed that the EFL learners in the scaffolded CF and explicit groups outperformed those of the control group concerning the accurate use of both definite and indefinite articles in their oral productions. The implications of the results are also explicated. پرونده مقاله

Wikis, as one of the Web social networking tools, have been increasingly integrated into second language instruction to promote collaborative writing. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the use of wikis as a collaborative tool affected language learners’ writing accuracy. To this end, 72 EFL learners were selected from a language institute in Gachsaran, Iran. The selection of participants were based on the results of their OPT test scores (among 80 students). They were randomly assigned into control and experimental groups. The participants of experimental group were asked to upload their writing assignments in the teacher- created wiki site where they edited and corrected their classmates’ writings and sometimes discussed their writing topics. On the other hand, the control group delivered their writing assignments to the teacher for corrections and corrective comments. The participants’ performances in pre-test and post-test were compared. The obtained results indicated that the participants in the experimental group significantly outperformed their counterparts in the control group in terms of writing accuracy. The results confirmed the positive effect of teaching writing through wiki. پرونده مقاله

Discourse markers improve both the quality and comprehension of a written text. This study aimed at investigating the effect of explicit and implicit instruction of formal meta-discourse markers on writ- ing skills. The quantitative data were collected from 90 upper-intermediate students at Shiraz Univer- sity Language Center. Two experimental groups went through an instruction, while the control group did not receive any instruction on formal meta-discourse markers. A pretest-posttest method of as- sessment was employed. After an eight-session treatment, a posttest was administered to compare the participants‟ performances. The results revealed that the instruction of formal meta-discourse markers had a positive effect on the learners‟ writing skills. Moreover, the results showed that learners who received explicit instruction of meta-discourse markers could perform better in writing than learners who received implicit instruction. The findings can have pedagogical implications for EFL educators and materials developers to enhance learners‟ writing skill. Furthermore, the findings provide impor- tant insight into the impact of teaching discourse markers and raising learners‟ awareness through ex- plicit instruction in order to make pupils produce more cohesive and coherent written texts. Besides, it sheds light on the effect of different types of instruction on learning metadiscourse markers and its application in writing skills. پرونده مقاله

The present study explores Iranian EFL learners’ perceptions of two types of corrective feedback, i.e., explicit and scaffolded feedback in oral productions. To this end, 30 female EFL learners selected through convenience sampling from two intact classes at a language school in Behbahan, Iran, were randomly assigned into two explicit and scaffolded feedback groups. The participants were all junior and senior high school students aged 15 to 20 at the intermediate level. A qualitative approach in the form of a series of semi-structured interviews was adopted to deeply explore the language learners’ perceptions of the corrective feedback types in question. The findings of the interviews demonstrated that half of the language learners in the explicit group set great store by explicit corrective feedback, while the other half were less favourably disposed toward explicit feedback. Likewise, a significant number of language learners in both groups found the teacher’s corrective feedback distracting. However, the overwhelming majority of the language learners in the scaffolded group viewed scaffolded corrective feedback as beneficial. The implications of the findings are also elucidated. پرونده مقاله

Teachers’ interpersonal behavior and the way it is perceived are considered to be determining factors in the quality of any educational context. However, due to the lack of face-to-face interactions in an online context, this issue is under question. Since this phenomenon has not been studied in an online environment, the primary objective of the present case study was to explore how experienced EFL teachers and their students perceived teacher interpersonal behavior in online classes and the extent to which the two groups’ perceptions either converged or diverged in six selected online classes in Shiraz, Iran. The samples of the study were six EFL teachers and their respective 106 language students. To gather the data, The Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) was administered to both groups to assess the eight scales of interpersonal behavior and dimensions. To analyze the data, the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test was employed to compare the two groups in terms of interpersonal behavior dimensions and scales. Accordingly, the results revealed that the EFL teachers and their students perceived the teachers to be moderately dominant and highly cooperative. There was a high level of convergence between the experienced teachers and their students’ perceptions of interpersonal behavior in terms of the Influence and Proximity dimensions. The Student Responsibility Freedom and Strict scales, however, were rated higher by teachers than their students. Following the findings, the present case study provides particular implications in the field of applied linguistics. پرونده مقاله

As a transformative approach, Critical Pedagogy (CP) explores the dialogic relationship between teaching and learning. As steps toward materializing the tenets of Critical Pedagogy (CP), the present study aimed at obtaining pieces of evidence for identifying instructors’ and teachers’ perspectives on a newly developed Critical Pedagogy (CP) based materials development scale in an EFL context to assess the validity and reliability of the newly developed scale. In doing so, 356 EFL instructors and teachers from different educational contexts in Iran were selected through availability sampling. To determine the validity and reliability of the scale, a quantitative study using a survey-correlational design was employed. The instrument used for data collection was the scale already developed for Critical Pedagogy (CP)-based materials development in a previously conducted study by the same researchers of the present study. To analyze the data, SPSS and AMOS 26 were employed using Exploratory and Confirmatory factor analysis, along with Cronbach’s Alpha test. The outcomes provided evidence that supported the validity and reliability of the developed scale. It was concluded that the already-constructed scale based on Critical Pedagogy (CP) tenets could be applied to the EFL materials. The outcomes can be beneficial by notifying the EFL teachers, materials developers, and researchers that education is a two-way process in which teachers and learners cooperate with each other to create efficient educational contexts. This scale is the representative of the macro-level of society and micro-level of classroom language skills leading to social transformation. پرونده مقاله