Abbas Ali Zarei, a professor of TEFL, is a faculty member at Imam Khomeini International University in Qazvin, Iran. He has had 59 books and more than 160 papers published. He has also attended and presented at 80 national and international conferences across the world.
As the world evolves into more globalized, ethnically, and linguistically mixed societies, Interc... more As the world evolves into more globalized, ethnically, and linguistically mixed societies, Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) stages itself as a crucial asset. This fact holds particularly true when it comes to increasingly globalized healthcare academic milieux, where cultivating ICC is crucial for healthcare professionals to interact effectively with patients from diverse cultural backgrounds. The present study, employing a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design, explored the development of ICC among nursing, as the control group (27 participants), and medical students (32), as the experimental one through explicit ICC training at Zanjan University of Medical Sciences in Zanjan, Iran. Hence, targeted ICC training effectiveness in enhancing the cultural empathy (CE), flexibility (F), social initiative (SI), open-mindedness (OM), and emotional stability (ES) of medical students was investigated employing the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) as a key tool to gauge learners' ICC before and after the training. The findings showed a significant improvement in the participants' all ICC sub-scales, indicating the positive impact of explicit training on the development of CE, F, SI, and OM.
This study is an aim to examine the effect of meta-discourse on reading comprehension of EFL inte... more This study is an aim to examine the effect of meta-discourse on reading comprehension of EFL intermediate and advanced students. 120 EFL students were assigned into four groups of 30. There were two groups of treatment and control both in intermediate and advanced levels. Two versions of texts with and without discourse markers were given to the control and treatment groups respectively. The result demonstrated a significant difference between groups in advanced and intermediate levels. However, there was no significant difference within the intermediate groups. Therefore, in order to find out the possible reasons a follow up unstructured interview was conducted. The results revealed that the intermediate students were not aware of the role of discourse markers in the texts. Thus, Researchers raised their consciousness about discourse markers, which helped the premise of the study, and the second administration of the versions of the texts to the intermediate groups led in a signifi...
Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies, 2024
Article type: Research article Given the importance of learning collocations, this study investig... more Article type: Research article Given the importance of learning collocations, this study investigated the effectiveness of three types of mind maps, namely, bubble, double-bubble and multi-flow maps, on the comprehension and production of collocations. The participants were 120 upper-intermediate level male learners of English at Qalam institute in Tehran, who ranged from 15 to 18 years of age. This study used convenience sampling based on availability. A pretest was used to ensure the participants' unfamiliarity with the selected items. The participants belonged to four classes, each class being assigned to one treatment condition (one control and three experimental groups). All the groups had 12 treatment sessions, and in each session, eight collocations were introduced to the participants. After the treatment, two posttests of comprehension and production were given to all the participants, and the collected data were analyzed using two one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedures. In both comprehension and production tests, the bubble and double-bubble map groups performed significantly better than the control group. Although there was a meaningful difference between the multi-flow map and the control group in the comprehension of collocations, there was no meaningful difference in the production of collocations. These results can have important implications for language teachers, curriculum designers, and educational policy makers.
Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 2024
Objective: The involvement load hypothesis posits that the higher the involvement load of a task,... more Objective: The involvement load hypothesis posits that the higher the involvement load of a task, the more effective it will be in improving students' lexical learning. It does not differentiate between the different components of involvement load (need, search, and evaluation). Nor does it assume that the type of words to be learnt has any role in the effectiveness of tasks with different involvement load indices. This study compared the effect of the components of task involvement load on the comprehension, production, and retention of concrete and abstract words. Methods: Sixty upper-intermediate students were assigned to two groups. One group received a task in which the search component was dominant, the other group received a task (with the same overall involvement index) in which search was not present, and the evaluation component was the determining factor of task difficulty. A pretest, posttest, control group design (quasi-experimental method of research) was used to address the research questions. Results: One-way MANOVA results on the immediate posttest were in line with ILH predictions, showing no significant differences between tasks with equal involvement indices. On the other hand, the delayed posttest results showed that in case of receptive knowledge, there was a meaningful difference between abstract and concrete vocabulary, and the search group outperformed the evaluation group. However, the results of the productive posttest showed that the evaluation group outperformed the search group in abstract words. Conclusions: The findings can have significant implications for language learners, teachers, materials designers, and researchers.
i-manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 2014
To investigate the use of language learning strategies (LLS) by Iranian EFL learners across profi... more To investigate the use of language learning strategies (LLS) by Iranian EFL learners across proficiency levels, a total of 180 Iranian adult female EFL learners were selected and divided into three different proficiency level groups. To collect data, Oxford's (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) was used. One-way ANOVA procedures were used to analyze the obtained data. The results showed significant differences between the elementary level and the advanced level participants in their use of cognitive strategies, but the differences between the intermediate level group and the other two groups (elementary and advanced) were not significant. The same results were found in the participants' overall use of LLSs. However, in the use of the other five categories of LLSs across proficiency levels, no significant differences were found. The findings also showed that among the six learning strategies of SILL, cognitive strategies were the most frequently used strategy type followed by metacognitive strategies, and affective strategies were found to be the least frequently used type of LLSs.
The present experimental research was designed to explore the impact of a problem-based learning ... more The present experimental research was designed to explore the impact of a problem-based learning (PBL) methodology on EFL learners' speaking proficiency and its features of communicative success, pronunciation, grammatical accuracy, and lexical choice. Ninety preintermediate EFL learners were randomly distributed into 3 distinct groups: an online PBL group, a face-to-face PBL group, and a control group. The 2 experimental groups received instruction based on PBL (one conventional and one online PBL). They were offered speaking lessons according to the model of PBL introduced by Ansarian and Lin (2018) during 10 sessions. The control group was taught using the current conventions without any problem-based activities. Pre and posttests of speaking proficiency were administered at the beginning and at the end of the course. Data underwent analysis through ANCOVA. Findings showed that whereas the 2 forms of PBL significantly and positively affected the EFL learners' speaking proficiency, pronunciation, and grammatical accuracy, online PBL was significantly more effective than conventional PBL. Results also showed that the online PBL group performed significantly better than both the conventional PBL and the control groups in communicative success and lexical choice, whereas the difference between the latter 2 groups was insignificant. Findings can have pedagogical implications for English language teachers, especially for those who teach speaking skills and wish to implement PBL in language teaching classes, following a model of PBL exclusively for EFL classes.
Learners' self-regulation is of paramount importance in online language learning. Thus, the prese... more Learners' self-regulation is of paramount importance in online language learning. Thus, the present study was conducted to compare three online instructional methods of Technology-Mediated Task-Based Language Teaching (TM-TBLT), Problem-Based Instruction Online (PBIO), and Online Flipped Learning (OFL) with each other and with lecture-based online teaching in terms of their effect on language learners' self-regulation. To this end, 120 intermediate-level English learners were selected through convenience sampling, screened through the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT), and assigned (randomly) to one control and three experimental groups. They received instruction according to the principles of TM-TBLT, PBIO, OFL and a conventional lecture-based method, respectively. The data were collected using an online self-regulated English learning (OSEL) questionnaire and analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The findings revealed that all three experimental treatments had significant effects on online language learning selfregulation. The comparisons showed that all three instructional methods were equally effective in improving the participants' online self-regulation. The findings will have practical implications for teachers to choose the best-fitting online instructional methods for improving learners' self-regulation in online contexts. These findings can also help syllabus designers and material developers to write syllabi or create materials with special attention to fostering language learners' self-regulation.
Reducing anxiety in foreign language learning has long been a concern for many teachers. This stu... more Reducing anxiety in foreign language learning has long been a concern for many teachers. This study focused on exploring the effects of three dynamic assessment models on L2 speaking and listening anxiety. The participants were 120 pre-intermediate Iranian learners of English at a language institute in Qazvin, Iran. The learners were randomly assigned to four groups (three experimental groups and one control group). Before the treatment, the students' homogeneity was checked using Oxford Placement Test (OPT). Then, all the groups were given listening and speaking anxiety questionnaires as pretests. During 10 sessions, the first group received listening and speaking instruction using Buddof's Learning Potential Measurement Approach (LPM); the second group was treated with Guthke's Lerntest Approach; the third group was treated with Testing-the-Limits Approach. Lastly, the control group was taught conventionally in a teacher-fronted way. The same questionnaires were given to the participants in the twelfth session as posttests. Data were analyzed using two oneway analysis of covariance procedures. Significant differences were found among the groups' listening and speaking anxiety mean scores on the posttests after controlling for the initial differences. Those experimental groups that received testing-the-limits and Lerntest approaches had a lower level of listening and speaking anxiety on the posttest. It was
The concept of creativity is complex and significant in the process of learning English as a fore... more The concept of creativity is complex and significant in the process of learning English as a foreign/second language. Hence, the purpose of this study was 1) to investigate if creativity components, which are critical to developing learners' creativity, were present in the ELT (English language teaching) textbooks and 2) to examine the confluence among the components. Using basic content analysis, we analyzed the creative content of three ELT textbooks developed and used in Iran (expanding circle), India (outer circle), and the USA (inner circle). We investigated creativity using the investment theory, which considers factors such as intelligence, knowledge, thinking styles, personality, environment, and motivation. The ELT textbooks of Iran, India, and America all include components of creativity with a focus on knowledge in Iran and personality and intelligence in India and America. Furthermore, the findings revealed that Indian textbooks had a balanced inclusion of creativity components compared to the other two countries. We also found that creativity components overlapped across tasks and activities in the ELT textbooks of all three countries. We concluded that materials developers' beliefs and practices, the quality characteristics of creativity components, and the societal characteristics of the contexts where the ELT textbooks were developed and used might influence the confluence of creativity components in ELT textbooks.
Background and Objectives: The essence of Problem-based Learning (PBL) is to find a prêt-à-porter... more Background and Objectives: The essence of Problem-based Learning (PBL) is to find a prêt-à-porter solution to a problem, which is also known as scenario. Several features differentiate this teaching methodology from other typical approaches in language teaching contexts. In order to reinforce the association between learners' construction of the required knowledge to solve an ill-structured problem when assessing different possible solutions and attempting to find an acceptable solution, learners need to collect necessary information mostly on their own with the help of a teacher as a facilitator. PBL can also be considered as a potentially useful approach to language teaching and learning, especially with regard to productive skills in which leaners practice more fluently if they experience more involvement in the learning process. The PBL also contributes to learners and learning psychological aspects. Despite the generally acknowledged benefits of PBL, it has not been commonly used, especially in foreign language learning contexts. One reason for this may have been concerns about how the method might affect foreign language learners' feeling of anxiety, self-efficacy and willingness to communicate. The major objective of this study was to bridge the gap in our understanding of how the implementation of the PBL approach affects English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' psychological factors of willingness to communicate, self-efficacy, and classroom anxiety. Materials and Methods: Ninety pre-intermediate EFL students were selected according to the Oxford Placement Test (OPT) and purposeful sampling method. They were randomly assigned into 3 groups of online PBL, face-to-face PBL, and control group with 30 learners in each. Students in both online PBL and face-to-face PBL classes embarked on a 10-session speaking course according to the framework of the PBL approach. Meanwhile, the control group received speaking instruction based on a conventional method other than the PBL. Three questionnaires of Willingness to Communicate (WTC), English selfefficacy, and foreign language classroom anxiety scale were administered before and after the course to all participants. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was employed to analyze the data. Findings: Results showed that EFL learners in the online and face-to-face PBL classes outperformed those in the control group in their WTC and self-efficacy. In addition, learners in the online and face-to-face PBL groups meaningfully experienced a lower level of classroom anxiety compared with the control group. Conclusions: The findings of the present study suggest that the PBL approach efficiently motivates learners to communicate and interact within the classroom context. In addition, learners in the online and conventional PBL groups felt more self-determining and responsible for their learning as a result of feeling more comfortable in the learning environment. Results also shed light on the idea that due to the experiential aspect of PBL, when learners explore the solutions to the problem/scenario and discuss them with others, that forms an environment with a minimized classroom speaking anxiety. Implications are also discussed at the end of the study.
The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between selfregulated learning st... more The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between selfregulated learning strategies and reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. The participants of the study were 119 Iranian B.A. and M.A. students majoring in English at Imam Khomeini International University in Qazvin and Islamshahr Azad University. The Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency was given to the participants to determine their language proficiency and reading comprehension. Then, the participants were asked to respond to the Self-Regulation Trait Questionnaire. The obtained data were analyzed using a stepwise multiple regression analysis. The results revealed that from among the six components of self-regulated learning strategies, only planning and effort components were significant predictors of reading comprehension. The results of the present study may be helpful for teachers, learners, and materials developers.
There is little doubt that vocabulary is one of the core components of language without which the... more There is little doubt that vocabulary is one of the core components of language without which the story of language learning is hardly worth telling. Claims that one may learn a language without learning words may be like a surgeon claiming that the operation was a success, but that the patient died. Despite the consensus on the undeniable role of vocabulary in language learning, the relevant literature does not seem to offer a rosy picture of the current ways of teaching L2 vocabulary. For this, one can point the finger of blame partially at presentation techniques. To help resolve part of the controversy, the present book compares the effects of three commonly used techniques of vocabulary teaching; namely, glossing, semantic mapping, and imagery on L2 vocabulary comprehension and production. Apart from the results of an empirical analysis, it also includes a relatively comprehensive review of the relevant literature on the topic. The reading of this book is suggested for those who are interested in carrying out research on the issues raised or addressed in this book. The book may also be of interest to second/foreign language learners, teachers and materials developers.
Researchers and teaching practitioners have been trying to find more effective methods of teachin... more Researchers and teaching practitioners have been trying to find more effective methods of teaching idioms due to the significance of these expressions in language learning contexts. The present study sought to investigate the effects of three verbal mnemonic tools (grouping, stories, and conceptual metaphor) on EFL learners’ recognition and recall of English idioms. Ninety EFL learners at intermediate language proficiency level who were preparing themselves to take IELTS participated in this study. They were in three groups of thirty members each. Each group was randomly assigned to one of the experimental conditions and was instructed idioms using one of the verbal mnemonic devices. The collected data were analyzed using the one-way ANOVA procedure. The results showed statistically significant differences among these devices, with ‘stories’ being the most effective on recognition and ‘conceptual metaphor’ being the most beneficial in the recall of idioms. The findings of the study ...
This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of vocabulary, syntax, and discourse-oriented t... more This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of vocabulary, syntax, and discourse-oriented teaching on Iranian EFL learners' short-term and long-term reading comprehension ability. 90 intermediate level EFL learners were assigned to three groups. One of the groups received vocabulary-based reading instruction, the other group received syntax-based reading instruction, and the third group received SFL discourse-base reading instruction. Following the treatment, immediate and delayed reading comprehension tests were administered. The results of the two One-Way ANOVA procedures showed that the group which received discourse-based instruction had the best performance on both immediate and delayed post-tests, followed by the group that received syntax-based instruction. It was concluded that Iranian EFL learners will have best performance on reading comprehension when they receive instruction on the discourse features (register, genre, and cohesive ties). It was also concluded t...
The purpose of the present paper was to investigate the contribution of paper dictionaries and el... more The purpose of the present paper was to investigate the contribution of paper dictionaries and electronic dictionaries to EFL learners' vocabulary learning. To do so, four groups of male and female EFL learners were selected. The experimental groups (one male, one female) used only electronic dictionaries while the two control groups (male and female) used only paper dictionaries. The scores of all four groups on a vocabulary test were compared using a two-way ANOVA procedure. Results indicated that although the gender of the participants did not meaningfully influence their vocabulary learning and did not interact with the kind of dictionary the learners used, the contribution of electronic dictionary to vocabulary learning was significantly greater than that of the paper dictionary. The findings of this study can be helpful for instructors, textbook writers, syllabus designers and language learners.
There is almost a unanimous agreement among both practitioners and language learners that colloca... more There is almost a unanimous agreement among both practitioners and language learners that collocations are among the most challenging aspects of second language vocabulary learning. Because of this, finding more efficient ways of teaching collocations has long been the focus of teachers' and researchers' attention. In modern education, direct explicit teaching practices have lost much of their credibility and appeal. An alternative to explicit teaching could be input enhancement, which may happen in a multitude of ways. This book contains a theoretical review as well as an empirical analysis of the effects of three types of input enhancement (visual and semantic input enhancement and input flooding)on the comprehension and production of lexical collocations. It can be useful for second language learners, teachers, researchers and syllabus designers.
Abstract. The present study sought to investigate the effect of visual semantic priming, audio se... more Abstract. The present study sought to investigate the effect of visual semantic priming, audio semantic priming and audiovisual semantic priming on L2 vocabulary retention. 30 male and female B.A level students of (Shahid Beheshti University) in Tehran majoring in Law in one group participated in this study. The software named Res Meter was presented to each subject with the same SOA in three pair word groups and parts: a) audio semantic priming, b) visual semantic priming, and c) audiovisual semantic priming. At the end of the experimental period, the participants received vocabulary retention posttests. Two separate one-way ANOVA procedures were used to analyze the obtained data. The results indicated Audio semantic priming and Audio Visual semantic priming has significant differences among the effects of visual semantic priming on L2 vocabulary retention. The findings of the present study may have implications for L2 learners and teachers.
As the world evolves into more globalized, ethnically, and linguistically mixed societies, Interc... more As the world evolves into more globalized, ethnically, and linguistically mixed societies, Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) stages itself as a crucial asset. This fact holds particularly true when it comes to increasingly globalized healthcare academic milieux, where cultivating ICC is crucial for healthcare professionals to interact effectively with patients from diverse cultural backgrounds. The present study, employing a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design, explored the development of ICC among nursing, as the control group (27 participants), and medical students (32), as the experimental one through explicit ICC training at Zanjan University of Medical Sciences in Zanjan, Iran. Hence, targeted ICC training effectiveness in enhancing the cultural empathy (CE), flexibility (F), social initiative (SI), open-mindedness (OM), and emotional stability (ES) of medical students was investigated employing the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) as a key tool to gauge learners' ICC before and after the training. The findings showed a significant improvement in the participants' all ICC sub-scales, indicating the positive impact of explicit training on the development of CE, F, SI, and OM.
This study is an aim to examine the effect of meta-discourse on reading comprehension of EFL inte... more This study is an aim to examine the effect of meta-discourse on reading comprehension of EFL intermediate and advanced students. 120 EFL students were assigned into four groups of 30. There were two groups of treatment and control both in intermediate and advanced levels. Two versions of texts with and without discourse markers were given to the control and treatment groups respectively. The result demonstrated a significant difference between groups in advanced and intermediate levels. However, there was no significant difference within the intermediate groups. Therefore, in order to find out the possible reasons a follow up unstructured interview was conducted. The results revealed that the intermediate students were not aware of the role of discourse markers in the texts. Thus, Researchers raised their consciousness about discourse markers, which helped the premise of the study, and the second administration of the versions of the texts to the intermediate groups led in a signifi...
Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies, 2024
Article type: Research article Given the importance of learning collocations, this study investig... more Article type: Research article Given the importance of learning collocations, this study investigated the effectiveness of three types of mind maps, namely, bubble, double-bubble and multi-flow maps, on the comprehension and production of collocations. The participants were 120 upper-intermediate level male learners of English at Qalam institute in Tehran, who ranged from 15 to 18 years of age. This study used convenience sampling based on availability. A pretest was used to ensure the participants' unfamiliarity with the selected items. The participants belonged to four classes, each class being assigned to one treatment condition (one control and three experimental groups). All the groups had 12 treatment sessions, and in each session, eight collocations were introduced to the participants. After the treatment, two posttests of comprehension and production were given to all the participants, and the collected data were analyzed using two one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedures. In both comprehension and production tests, the bubble and double-bubble map groups performed significantly better than the control group. Although there was a meaningful difference between the multi-flow map and the control group in the comprehension of collocations, there was no meaningful difference in the production of collocations. These results can have important implications for language teachers, curriculum designers, and educational policy makers.
Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 2024
Objective: The involvement load hypothesis posits that the higher the involvement load of a task,... more Objective: The involvement load hypothesis posits that the higher the involvement load of a task, the more effective it will be in improving students' lexical learning. It does not differentiate between the different components of involvement load (need, search, and evaluation). Nor does it assume that the type of words to be learnt has any role in the effectiveness of tasks with different involvement load indices. This study compared the effect of the components of task involvement load on the comprehension, production, and retention of concrete and abstract words. Methods: Sixty upper-intermediate students were assigned to two groups. One group received a task in which the search component was dominant, the other group received a task (with the same overall involvement index) in which search was not present, and the evaluation component was the determining factor of task difficulty. A pretest, posttest, control group design (quasi-experimental method of research) was used to address the research questions. Results: One-way MANOVA results on the immediate posttest were in line with ILH predictions, showing no significant differences between tasks with equal involvement indices. On the other hand, the delayed posttest results showed that in case of receptive knowledge, there was a meaningful difference between abstract and concrete vocabulary, and the search group outperformed the evaluation group. However, the results of the productive posttest showed that the evaluation group outperformed the search group in abstract words. Conclusions: The findings can have significant implications for language learners, teachers, materials designers, and researchers.
i-manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 2014
To investigate the use of language learning strategies (LLS) by Iranian EFL learners across profi... more To investigate the use of language learning strategies (LLS) by Iranian EFL learners across proficiency levels, a total of 180 Iranian adult female EFL learners were selected and divided into three different proficiency level groups. To collect data, Oxford's (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) was used. One-way ANOVA procedures were used to analyze the obtained data. The results showed significant differences between the elementary level and the advanced level participants in their use of cognitive strategies, but the differences between the intermediate level group and the other two groups (elementary and advanced) were not significant. The same results were found in the participants' overall use of LLSs. However, in the use of the other five categories of LLSs across proficiency levels, no significant differences were found. The findings also showed that among the six learning strategies of SILL, cognitive strategies were the most frequently used strategy type followed by metacognitive strategies, and affective strategies were found to be the least frequently used type of LLSs.
The present experimental research was designed to explore the impact of a problem-based learning ... more The present experimental research was designed to explore the impact of a problem-based learning (PBL) methodology on EFL learners' speaking proficiency and its features of communicative success, pronunciation, grammatical accuracy, and lexical choice. Ninety preintermediate EFL learners were randomly distributed into 3 distinct groups: an online PBL group, a face-to-face PBL group, and a control group. The 2 experimental groups received instruction based on PBL (one conventional and one online PBL). They were offered speaking lessons according to the model of PBL introduced by Ansarian and Lin (2018) during 10 sessions. The control group was taught using the current conventions without any problem-based activities. Pre and posttests of speaking proficiency were administered at the beginning and at the end of the course. Data underwent analysis through ANCOVA. Findings showed that whereas the 2 forms of PBL significantly and positively affected the EFL learners' speaking proficiency, pronunciation, and grammatical accuracy, online PBL was significantly more effective than conventional PBL. Results also showed that the online PBL group performed significantly better than both the conventional PBL and the control groups in communicative success and lexical choice, whereas the difference between the latter 2 groups was insignificant. Findings can have pedagogical implications for English language teachers, especially for those who teach speaking skills and wish to implement PBL in language teaching classes, following a model of PBL exclusively for EFL classes.
Learners' self-regulation is of paramount importance in online language learning. Thus, the prese... more Learners' self-regulation is of paramount importance in online language learning. Thus, the present study was conducted to compare three online instructional methods of Technology-Mediated Task-Based Language Teaching (TM-TBLT), Problem-Based Instruction Online (PBIO), and Online Flipped Learning (OFL) with each other and with lecture-based online teaching in terms of their effect on language learners' self-regulation. To this end, 120 intermediate-level English learners were selected through convenience sampling, screened through the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT), and assigned (randomly) to one control and three experimental groups. They received instruction according to the principles of TM-TBLT, PBIO, OFL and a conventional lecture-based method, respectively. The data were collected using an online self-regulated English learning (OSEL) questionnaire and analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The findings revealed that all three experimental treatments had significant effects on online language learning selfregulation. The comparisons showed that all three instructional methods were equally effective in improving the participants' online self-regulation. The findings will have practical implications for teachers to choose the best-fitting online instructional methods for improving learners' self-regulation in online contexts. These findings can also help syllabus designers and material developers to write syllabi or create materials with special attention to fostering language learners' self-regulation.
Reducing anxiety in foreign language learning has long been a concern for many teachers. This stu... more Reducing anxiety in foreign language learning has long been a concern for many teachers. This study focused on exploring the effects of three dynamic assessment models on L2 speaking and listening anxiety. The participants were 120 pre-intermediate Iranian learners of English at a language institute in Qazvin, Iran. The learners were randomly assigned to four groups (three experimental groups and one control group). Before the treatment, the students' homogeneity was checked using Oxford Placement Test (OPT). Then, all the groups were given listening and speaking anxiety questionnaires as pretests. During 10 sessions, the first group received listening and speaking instruction using Buddof's Learning Potential Measurement Approach (LPM); the second group was treated with Guthke's Lerntest Approach; the third group was treated with Testing-the-Limits Approach. Lastly, the control group was taught conventionally in a teacher-fronted way. The same questionnaires were given to the participants in the twelfth session as posttests. Data were analyzed using two oneway analysis of covariance procedures. Significant differences were found among the groups' listening and speaking anxiety mean scores on the posttests after controlling for the initial differences. Those experimental groups that received testing-the-limits and Lerntest approaches had a lower level of listening and speaking anxiety on the posttest. It was
The concept of creativity is complex and significant in the process of learning English as a fore... more The concept of creativity is complex and significant in the process of learning English as a foreign/second language. Hence, the purpose of this study was 1) to investigate if creativity components, which are critical to developing learners' creativity, were present in the ELT (English language teaching) textbooks and 2) to examine the confluence among the components. Using basic content analysis, we analyzed the creative content of three ELT textbooks developed and used in Iran (expanding circle), India (outer circle), and the USA (inner circle). We investigated creativity using the investment theory, which considers factors such as intelligence, knowledge, thinking styles, personality, environment, and motivation. The ELT textbooks of Iran, India, and America all include components of creativity with a focus on knowledge in Iran and personality and intelligence in India and America. Furthermore, the findings revealed that Indian textbooks had a balanced inclusion of creativity components compared to the other two countries. We also found that creativity components overlapped across tasks and activities in the ELT textbooks of all three countries. We concluded that materials developers' beliefs and practices, the quality characteristics of creativity components, and the societal characteristics of the contexts where the ELT textbooks were developed and used might influence the confluence of creativity components in ELT textbooks.
Background and Objectives: The essence of Problem-based Learning (PBL) is to find a prêt-à-porter... more Background and Objectives: The essence of Problem-based Learning (PBL) is to find a prêt-à-porter solution to a problem, which is also known as scenario. Several features differentiate this teaching methodology from other typical approaches in language teaching contexts. In order to reinforce the association between learners' construction of the required knowledge to solve an ill-structured problem when assessing different possible solutions and attempting to find an acceptable solution, learners need to collect necessary information mostly on their own with the help of a teacher as a facilitator. PBL can also be considered as a potentially useful approach to language teaching and learning, especially with regard to productive skills in which leaners practice more fluently if they experience more involvement in the learning process. The PBL also contributes to learners and learning psychological aspects. Despite the generally acknowledged benefits of PBL, it has not been commonly used, especially in foreign language learning contexts. One reason for this may have been concerns about how the method might affect foreign language learners' feeling of anxiety, self-efficacy and willingness to communicate. The major objective of this study was to bridge the gap in our understanding of how the implementation of the PBL approach affects English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' psychological factors of willingness to communicate, self-efficacy, and classroom anxiety. Materials and Methods: Ninety pre-intermediate EFL students were selected according to the Oxford Placement Test (OPT) and purposeful sampling method. They were randomly assigned into 3 groups of online PBL, face-to-face PBL, and control group with 30 learners in each. Students in both online PBL and face-to-face PBL classes embarked on a 10-session speaking course according to the framework of the PBL approach. Meanwhile, the control group received speaking instruction based on a conventional method other than the PBL. Three questionnaires of Willingness to Communicate (WTC), English selfefficacy, and foreign language classroom anxiety scale were administered before and after the course to all participants. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was employed to analyze the data. Findings: Results showed that EFL learners in the online and face-to-face PBL classes outperformed those in the control group in their WTC and self-efficacy. In addition, learners in the online and face-to-face PBL groups meaningfully experienced a lower level of classroom anxiety compared with the control group. Conclusions: The findings of the present study suggest that the PBL approach efficiently motivates learners to communicate and interact within the classroom context. In addition, learners in the online and conventional PBL groups felt more self-determining and responsible for their learning as a result of feeling more comfortable in the learning environment. Results also shed light on the idea that due to the experiential aspect of PBL, when learners explore the solutions to the problem/scenario and discuss them with others, that forms an environment with a minimized classroom speaking anxiety. Implications are also discussed at the end of the study.
The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between selfregulated learning st... more The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between selfregulated learning strategies and reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. The participants of the study were 119 Iranian B.A. and M.A. students majoring in English at Imam Khomeini International University in Qazvin and Islamshahr Azad University. The Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency was given to the participants to determine their language proficiency and reading comprehension. Then, the participants were asked to respond to the Self-Regulation Trait Questionnaire. The obtained data were analyzed using a stepwise multiple regression analysis. The results revealed that from among the six components of self-regulated learning strategies, only planning and effort components were significant predictors of reading comprehension. The results of the present study may be helpful for teachers, learners, and materials developers.
There is little doubt that vocabulary is one of the core components of language without which the... more There is little doubt that vocabulary is one of the core components of language without which the story of language learning is hardly worth telling. Claims that one may learn a language without learning words may be like a surgeon claiming that the operation was a success, but that the patient died. Despite the consensus on the undeniable role of vocabulary in language learning, the relevant literature does not seem to offer a rosy picture of the current ways of teaching L2 vocabulary. For this, one can point the finger of blame partially at presentation techniques. To help resolve part of the controversy, the present book compares the effects of three commonly used techniques of vocabulary teaching; namely, glossing, semantic mapping, and imagery on L2 vocabulary comprehension and production. Apart from the results of an empirical analysis, it also includes a relatively comprehensive review of the relevant literature on the topic. The reading of this book is suggested for those who are interested in carrying out research on the issues raised or addressed in this book. The book may also be of interest to second/foreign language learners, teachers and materials developers.
Researchers and teaching practitioners have been trying to find more effective methods of teachin... more Researchers and teaching practitioners have been trying to find more effective methods of teaching idioms due to the significance of these expressions in language learning contexts. The present study sought to investigate the effects of three verbal mnemonic tools (grouping, stories, and conceptual metaphor) on EFL learners’ recognition and recall of English idioms. Ninety EFL learners at intermediate language proficiency level who were preparing themselves to take IELTS participated in this study. They were in three groups of thirty members each. Each group was randomly assigned to one of the experimental conditions and was instructed idioms using one of the verbal mnemonic devices. The collected data were analyzed using the one-way ANOVA procedure. The results showed statistically significant differences among these devices, with ‘stories’ being the most effective on recognition and ‘conceptual metaphor’ being the most beneficial in the recall of idioms. The findings of the study ...
This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of vocabulary, syntax, and discourse-oriented t... more This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of vocabulary, syntax, and discourse-oriented teaching on Iranian EFL learners' short-term and long-term reading comprehension ability. 90 intermediate level EFL learners were assigned to three groups. One of the groups received vocabulary-based reading instruction, the other group received syntax-based reading instruction, and the third group received SFL discourse-base reading instruction. Following the treatment, immediate and delayed reading comprehension tests were administered. The results of the two One-Way ANOVA procedures showed that the group which received discourse-based instruction had the best performance on both immediate and delayed post-tests, followed by the group that received syntax-based instruction. It was concluded that Iranian EFL learners will have best performance on reading comprehension when they receive instruction on the discourse features (register, genre, and cohesive ties). It was also concluded t...
The purpose of the present paper was to investigate the contribution of paper dictionaries and el... more The purpose of the present paper was to investigate the contribution of paper dictionaries and electronic dictionaries to EFL learners' vocabulary learning. To do so, four groups of male and female EFL learners were selected. The experimental groups (one male, one female) used only electronic dictionaries while the two control groups (male and female) used only paper dictionaries. The scores of all four groups on a vocabulary test were compared using a two-way ANOVA procedure. Results indicated that although the gender of the participants did not meaningfully influence their vocabulary learning and did not interact with the kind of dictionary the learners used, the contribution of electronic dictionary to vocabulary learning was significantly greater than that of the paper dictionary. The findings of this study can be helpful for instructors, textbook writers, syllabus designers and language learners.
There is almost a unanimous agreement among both practitioners and language learners that colloca... more There is almost a unanimous agreement among both practitioners and language learners that collocations are among the most challenging aspects of second language vocabulary learning. Because of this, finding more efficient ways of teaching collocations has long been the focus of teachers' and researchers' attention. In modern education, direct explicit teaching practices have lost much of their credibility and appeal. An alternative to explicit teaching could be input enhancement, which may happen in a multitude of ways. This book contains a theoretical review as well as an empirical analysis of the effects of three types of input enhancement (visual and semantic input enhancement and input flooding)on the comprehension and production of lexical collocations. It can be useful for second language learners, teachers, researchers and syllabus designers.
Abstract. The present study sought to investigate the effect of visual semantic priming, audio se... more Abstract. The present study sought to investigate the effect of visual semantic priming, audio semantic priming and audiovisual semantic priming on L2 vocabulary retention. 30 male and female B.A level students of (Shahid Beheshti University) in Tehran majoring in Law in one group participated in this study. The software named Res Meter was presented to each subject with the same SOA in three pair word groups and parts: a) audio semantic priming, b) visual semantic priming, and c) audiovisual semantic priming. At the end of the experimental period, the participants received vocabulary retention posttests. Two separate one-way ANOVA procedures were used to analyze the obtained data. The results indicated Audio semantic priming and Audio Visual semantic priming has significant differences among the effects of visual semantic priming on L2 vocabulary retention. The findings of the present study may have implications for L2 learners and teachers.
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Papers by Abbas Ali Zarei