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Despite a great number of studies exploring Schmidt’s noticing hypothesis in the cognitive perspective of language learning, the investigations focused on noticing in the ecological perspective are rather rare in number. The present study... more
Despite a great number of studies exploring Schmidt’s noticing hypothesis in the cognitive perspective of language learning, the investigations focused on noticing in the ecological perspective are rather rare in number. The present study was an attempt to examine how noticing of second language recast could affect the learners’ achievements of grammatical structures through these two perspectives (i.e., cognitive and ecological). To do so, one hundred and twenty first-year college students at Islamic Azad University and Applied Science University in Tehran took part in this study. The students were divided into two cognitive and ecological groups and received two different treatments. During the treatment, the learners in all groups received recast and their noticing was assessed through learners’ raising hands and underlining.In the end, a posttest was conducted to measure the effectiveness of the treatment. Data analysis revealed that the ecological perspective of language learni...
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<i>Abstract</i><br>The present paper attempted to investigate whether there is any significant relationship between participants' brain laterality and L2 proficiency level. To carry out the experiment, 30... more
<i>Abstract</i><br>The present paper attempted to investigate whether there is any significant relationship between participants' brain laterality and L2 proficiency level. To carry out the experiment, 30 participants administered in the present study. Fifteen of them did not have any English language learning experience and were at the start of language learning, while the rest had attended L2 learning classes for about 2 years in a popular English language center, located in Bandar-e Anzali, Iran. Finally, the researchers concluded that the activity of the right hemisphere went up by the increase in language proficiency among bilinguals. Thereupon, the result of the paper was at variance with Albert and Obler's (1978) early work on hemispheric differentiation, which indicated that bilinguals were less hemispheric dominant than monolinguals.<br><b>Find more at:</b><b>https://www.edusoft.ro/brain/index.php/brain/article/view/598</b><br>
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The phenomenon of affect and its relationship to second language learning is well-known and has been experienced by most language learners. One of the main debates that has recently appeared in the Second Language Acquisition (SLA)... more
The phenomenon of affect and its relationship to second language learning is well-known and has been experienced by most language learners. One of the main debates that has recently appeared in the Second Language Acquisition (SLA) literature is related to the status of affective factors in this domain. The present paper attempts at mulling over the current controversies over affect with a special attention to Vygotsky's account of the matter.
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According to Teacher Education Curriculum Development Document (TECDD) of Farhangiyan University, teacher professional competencies include Content Knowledge (CK), Pedagogical Knowledge (PK), Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and... more
According to Teacher Education Curriculum Development Document (TECDD) of Farhangiyan University, teacher professional competencies include Content Knowledge (CK), Pedagogical Knowledge (PK), Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and General Knowledge (GK). Of these competencies, CK and PCK are specific to teachers of each major while PK and GK are common among all majors. This study was an attempt to explore the components that constitute high school EFL teachers’ CK and PCK through review of the related literature and investigation of high school EFL teachers (N=40) and teacher educators’ (N=20) perspectives. Based on the content analysis of these two sources which resulted in strong agreement, 20 items of CK and 17 items of PCK were identified. To validate the items and explore their underlying factors, data were collected from 445 high school EFL teachers and teacher educators using a questionnaire. Factor analysis with Varimax rotation was carried out on CK and PCK items separate...
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Reading through reading : general english for university studetns , Reading through reading : general english for university studetns , مرکز فناوری اطلاعات و اطلاع رسانی کشاورزی
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Research in the area of characteristics of good language learners have been the home of choice for SLA researchers since mid 1970. In this regard, both learning and learner variables have been researched (see Griffiths, 2008). Yet, one of... more
Research in the area of characteristics of good language learners have been the home of choice for SLA researchers since mid 1970. In this regard, both learning and learner variables have been researched (see Griffiths, 2008). Yet, one of the features almost left intact in this scope is the relationship between the characteristics of good language learners and the promotional feedback they receive through their social achievements. The present qualitative study has focused on two successful language learners achieving moderate social and professional promotions. These subjects had received almost high scores in the IELTS academic module. They were interviewed to see which strategies they usually pick up in their language learning development. Since the researcher was familiar with the participants for years the previous observations also were taken into consideration. The subjects also were asked to write down about what has made them successful language learners and the significant...
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1.INTRODUCTIONEducators have long recognized the importance of vocabulary acquisition in L2. Laufer (1997) puts forth that no text comprehension is possible, either in one's native or in a foreign language, without understanding the... more
1.INTRODUCTIONEducators have long recognized the importance of vocabulary acquisition in L2. Laufer (1997) puts forth that no text comprehension is possible, either in one's native or in a foreign language, without understanding the text's vocabulary. "Perhaps the greatest tools we can give students for succeeding, not only in their education but more generally in life, is a large, rich vocabulary and the skills for using those words" (Pikulski & Templeton, 2004, p. 1). Indeed, vocabulary learning is regarded as the heart of any language learning (Laufer, 1997). Dewey (1910) states that vocabulary is critically important because a word is an instrument for thinking about the meaning it expresses. Regarding the importance of vocabulary, Aitchison (1989) also contends that words are tools of thought, and one will often find that s/he is thinking inappropriately because he is using the wrong tool.However, recent research shows that vocabulary instruction might be prob...
Research Interests: Psychology and Vocabulary
The present study examined whether the advantage of females on L2 vocabulary recall and acquisition is partly as a result of estrogen secretion or not. In this regard, through volunteer and convenience sampling 15 intermediate EFL female... more
The present study examined whether the advantage of females on L2 vocabulary recall and acquisition is partly as a result of estrogen secretion or not. In this regard, through volunteer and convenience sampling 15 intermediate EFL female participants aged between 23-31 were selected from the subject pool of 55 participants. The participants were studying at Iranian Language Center located in Bandar-e Anzali, Iran. To ensure the homogeneity among the participants, Babel English Placement test was used. In the course of study, the participants were taught two series of 42 lexical items in each phase of menstrual cycles (i.e., follicular and luteal). The treatment period was held six sessions at each phase. Each session took 30 minutes. To compare the performance of the participants, immediately after the sixth session, a piloted teacher-made vocabulary recall test was administered at each phase. Finally, the mean scores of participants' performance in the two phases were contraste...
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The prevalence of Sociocultural Theory (SCT) as a major theory in SLA has spurred a considerable number of studies to investigate the various aspect of L2 acquisition through the lens of this theoretical framework. The present study aimed... more
The prevalence of Sociocultural Theory (SCT) as a major theory in SLA has spurred a considerable number of studies to investigate the various aspect of L2 acquisition through the lens of this theoretical framework. The present study aimed at investigating the impact of Scaffolded Written Corrective Feedback (WCF) on Iranian EFL learners’ writing performance in terms of fluency, accuracy, grammatical complexity, and lexical complexity. Additionally, the study sought to inquire about the Iranian EFL learners’ attitudes toward Scaffolded WCF through a series of post-interviews and a questionnaire. For this purpose, 25 students who had enrolled in a university-level writing course were conveniently sampled after a homogeneity test for the study. The pedagogical treatment the participants received throughout the study was Scaffolded WCF (i.e. a ZPD-based teacher/peer corrective feedback on their writing performance). The data obtained from the pretest, immediate posttest, and delayed pos...
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Although the study of emotional brain has long been taken heed in second language acquisition (SLA), the current study makes an endeavour to reconsider the stance of emotional brain in SLA from neuroscientific perspectives. In so doing,... more
Although the study of emotional brain has long been taken heed in second language acquisition (SLA), the current study makes an endeavour to reconsider the stance of emotional brain in SLA from neuroscientific perspectives. In so doing, inspired by Lamendella (1977) who holds that first language acquisition (FLA) is generally based on the limbic system, the present paper insists that SLA in a natural setting entail greater involvement on the part of limbic system. Henceforth, as to the present writers, investigating the function of learners' limbic system in SLA will contribute to our understanding of SLA.
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The advent of postmethod pedagogy has completely changed today's conceptualization of language teachers, and the importance of powerful teaching has increasingly gained momentum in the field of TESOL. However, contemporary English... more
The advent of postmethod pedagogy has completely changed today's conceptualization of language teachers, and the importance of powerful teaching has increasingly gained momentum in the field of TESOL. However, contemporary English language teaching contexts suffer a dearth of a workable package to educate the much-needed autonomous postmethod language teachers who are able to have their own contextualized praxis. As such, the present research aims to nurture the required self-growth and self-development in language teachers through forming collaborative professional and critical discussion circles. Enjoying a mixed method research design whose quantitative section included a quasi-experimental design consisting of three phases--a pretest, an educational 12-week long treatment phase, and a posttest--the results of the study gained by two instruments, namely, the reflective teaching questionnaire developed by Akbari et al. (2010) and two similar language teaching episodes, bore wi...
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Pragmatics was written by Chapman (2011) and published by MPG Books Group, Bodmin and Kings Lynn in Great Britain. Chapman’s monograph offers a beautifully clear and wide-ranging introduction to all the major developments in core... more
Pragmatics was written by Chapman (2011) and published by MPG Books Group, Bodmin and Kings Lynn in Great Britain. Chapman’s monograph offers a beautifully clear and wide-ranging introduction to all the major developments in core theoretical pragmatics, from the very beginning to the present day. With increasing scholarly interest in meaning in context in the field of linguistics (e.g. Halliday, 2001; Hasan, 2009; Van Dijk, 2009), it seems like a timely contribution. The author’s aims of this book are to describe both early and recent developments in pragmatics, and also to show how pragmatics relates to the study of language more generally. It does more than provide an introductory overview. It encourages the reader to engage with some of the fundamental issues faced by pragmatics, and to appreciate the current controversies and debates in which they are engaged. The primary aim of this book is to contribute students taking undergraduate degree level courses in pragmatics or in lin...
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The study examined the impact of high school English teachers’ awareness of pedagogical competence on student learning. A psychometric measurement instrument of English language teachers' pedagogical competence (ELTPC) was first... more
The study examined the impact of high school English teachers’ awareness of pedagogical competence on student learning. A psychometric measurement instrument of English language teachers' pedagogical competence (ELTPC) was first developed through factor analysis with 320 high school teachers in Guilan, Northern Iran. Based on the developed instrument, 36 teachers were divided into two groups of aware and unaware teachers of pedagogical competence (PC) according to Contrasting Groups Method. Then, 160 high school third graders received instruction from the aware and unaware teachers for 7 weeks. Finally, a survey regarding the teachers’ implementation of pedagogical competence in classrooms was conducted with 30 students. The findings showed that the students in the aware teacher group outperformed the students in the unaware group of teachers. Although, based on the survey results, the aware teachers were reported to act better with regard to the students’ learning achievements,...
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and TBLT methodologies in recent years. Much attempt has been made both by researchers and language instructors to make use of the most efficient teaching practices aimed at enhancing language production and affecting learning outcomes in... more
and TBLT methodologies in recent years. Much attempt has been made both by researchers and language instructors to make use of the most efficient teaching practices aimed at enhancing language production and affecting learning outcomes in a positive way. In the same direction, during 1950s an approach emerged in the United Kingdom based on behaviorist teaching practices known as PPP, which soon popularized the field of language teaching and employed by many professional schools throughout the world. However, due to ignoring the communication as a main goal of language learning, this approach came under serious attacks and criticisms by various scholars from 1990s onwards. The present paper is an attempt to critically look at this issue from several perspectives: First, in order to know the three Ps approach, this article will present its main characteristics and principles. Second, it will elaborate on the main challenges and criticisms posed against this approach by various scholar...
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Negotiation, as an interactional strategy and proactive focus on form (FoF) have received increased attention in second language research. The combination of negotiation and proactive FoF, however, has not been examined in relation to L2... more
Negotiation, as an interactional strategy and proactive focus on form (FoF) have received increased attention in second language research. The combination of negotiation and proactive FoF, however, has not been examined in relation to L2 vocabulary learning. To address this gap, the present study investigated how the amount of negotiation and proactive FoF impacted learners’ vocabulary knowledge development. The participants were 100 adult learners of English, assigned to three experimental groups and one control group. The three experimental groups investigated three categories of no negotiation, limited negotiation, and extended negotiation in proactive FoF. A pretest-posttest design was employed in order to detect any improvement in participants’ vocabulary knowledge components, consisting of collocations, synonyms, derivation, and hyponymy. The results revealed that (a) participants’ vocabulary knowledge significantly improved in all the experimental groups, (b) extended negotia...
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The sociolinguistic content analysis of imported ELT textbooks’ cultural values (global or local) and their impact on Iranian EFL learners’ social identity Ali Seidi, Mohammad Khatib2,Parviz Maftoon 1. Department of English Language,... more
The sociolinguistic content analysis of imported ELT textbooks’ cultural values (global or local) and their impact on Iranian EFL learners’ social identity Ali Seidi, Mohammad Khatib2,Parviz Maftoon 1. Department of English Language, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. 2. Department of English Language, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran. 3. Department of English Language, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
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The importance of vocabulary learning has been underlined in the field of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) because non-English majors who require reading English texts in their fields of study have to expand their English vocabulary... more
The importance of vocabulary learning has been underlined in the field of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) because non-English majors who require reading English texts in their fields of study have to expand their English vocabulary knowledge much more efficiently than ordinary ESL/EFL learners. Since academic vocabulary instruction in Iranian universities is realized through the use of General English (GE) textbooks, the present study pursued a dual purpose of evaluating Iranian engineering undergraduates’ knowledge of academic vocabulary, as well as conducting a comparative corpus analysis of the academic vocabulary content of GE textbooks, electrical/electronic engineering Master’s Entrance Examinations, and authentic electrical and electronic engineering texts. The participants were 520 engineering students from ten universities. The corpora under study comprised a total of 1,180,000 running words. The results revealed an inadequacy of academic vocabulary knowledge among Iran...
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This research study explored the impact of learning styles and input modalities on the second language (L2) learners' input processing (IP). This study also sought to appraise the usefulness of Processing Instruction (PI) and its... more
This research study explored the impact of learning styles and input modalities on the second language (L2) learners' input processing (IP). This study also sought to appraise the usefulness of Processing Instruction (PI) and its components in relation to the learners' learning styles and input modalities. To this end, 73 male and female Iranian EFL learners from Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch participated in the study. The participants from four intact classes were exposed to PI. The data were collected through a pretest and two parallel posttests on the target structure, reconstructive elicited imitation tasks in both aural and written modes, and a structured interview. The data were analyzed using MANOVA. The findings revealed that the ectenic learners had a more form-based rather than a meaning-based approach towards IP. Input modality was also revealed to be an influential factor in L2 learners' IP. Furthermore, the Explicit Information (EI) turned out...
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Self-regulation of learning has been extensively investigated in second language (L2) learning. Many studies have focused on the strategies that language learners employ to regulate their own learning processes. However, motivational... more
Self-regulation of learning has been extensively investigated in second language (L2) learning. Many studies have focused on the strategies that language learners employ to regulate their own learning processes. However, motivational self-regulation is considerably less explored. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between motivational self-regulatory strategies (MSRSs) and academic achievement. A motivational self-regulation questionnaire was administered to 64 male and female adult Iranian EFL learners to measure their choice of various strategies. The quantitative data was analyzed by applying correlational and multivariate analyses. The results demonstrated that there was a strong relationship between motivational self-regulatory strategy use and academic achievement. However, no difference was found between male and female learners in their use of the strategies. Further examination revealed that higher-achieving students differed from lower-achieving part...
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The primary aim of this study was to shed light on the impact of a new instruction model, reflective reciprocal teaching (RRT), on English as a foreign language learners' (EFL) reading comprehension ability. Its mode of inquiry was a... more
The primary aim of this study was to shed light on the impact of a new instruction model, reflective reciprocal teaching (RRT), on English as a foreign language learners' (EFL) reading comprehension ability. Its mode of inquiry was a mixed-method, and it took on a quasi-experimental design, including a pretest, treatment, and posttest paradigm. The sampling techniques were both convenience and random sampling by which 100 EFL freshman learners were selected and assigned into three groups of reflective reciprocal teaching (RRT), reciprocal teaching (RT), and control. Two tests, namely Oxford Quick Placement Test and Michigan English Language Assessment Battery, were used to measure EFL learners' proficiency level and reading comprehension ability in its quantitative phase. ANOVA was utilized to analyze the collected data. Also, during the next step, which aimed to explore the learners' perceptions of RRT instruction, semi-structured interviews were used to collect qualita...
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Framed in a cognitive approach to task-supported L2 vocabulary learning, the present study used a pedagogical approach to investigate the relative effectiveness of tasks with different involvement loads on the vocabulary knowledge of... more
Framed in a cognitive approach to task-supported L2 vocabulary learning, the present study used a pedagogical approach to investigate the relative effectiveness of tasks with different involvement loads on the vocabulary knowledge of Iranian EFL learners. The goal was to investigate the way that the construct of involvement load is related to the Input Hypothesis (Krashen, 1985) and the Output Hypothesis (Swain, 1996) to see whether the involvement load or input/output-orientation of tasks is the determining factor in task effectiveness. A quasi-experimental design with a pretest-treatment-posttest sequence was used in this study. The participants were 127 university students from four General English classes at Islamic Azad University, Mobarakeh Branch, who were assigned to four instructional groups. Contrary to the predictions of the Involvement Load Hypothesis (Laufer & Hulstijn, 2001), the results of the study indicated that involvement load is not the only determining factor in...
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This paper offers a state-of-the-art working definition for the concept of Critical Thinking (CT hereafter) in an attempt to provide a framework for the development of an operational definition for this complex concept. Having studied... more
This paper offers a state-of-the-art working definition for the concept of Critical Thinking (CT hereafter) in an attempt to provide a framework for the development of an operational definition for this complex concept. Having studied various definitions and models, proposed for CT by major figures in the field, the key defining features of this rich concept were identified and classified. Based on these key descriptors, a working definition consisting of three main components namely Mind Analysis, Data Evaluation, and Thinking in Education has been proposed and then each dimension of this definition is defined and elaborated further so that the complexity of the concept could be framed in an extended model. The elaborated conception of CT proposed in this paper seeks to include the core elements of CT so that it can be expandable into an operational definition with measurable items. There are two main reasons for conducting this research: Firstly, CT has evolved into a multifaceted...
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English language teaching has left behind many ups and downs until the introduction of CLT and TBLT methodologies in recent years. Much attempt has been made both by researchers and language instructors to make use of the most efficient... more
English language teaching has left behind many ups and downs until the introduction of CLT and TBLT methodologies in recent years. Much attempt has been made both by researchers and language instructors to make use of the most efficient teaching practices aimed at enhancing language production and affecting learning outcomes in a positive way. In the same direction, during 1950s an approach emerged in the United Kingdom based on behaviorist teaching practices known as PPP, which soon popularized the field of language teaching and employed by many professional schools throughout the world. However, due to ignoring the communication as a main goal of language learning, this approach came under serious attacks and criticisms by various scholars from 1990s onwards. The present paper is an attempt to critically look at this issue from several perspectives: First, in order to know the three Ps approach, this article will present its main characteristics and principles. Second, it will ela...
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Privatization of Formal English Education (FEE) in Iran’s public schools has become a controversial issue. There have been hopes and worries about the probable procedures and outcomes of privatizing English education among Iranian... more
Privatization of Formal English Education (FEE) in Iran’s public schools has become a controversial issue. There have been hopes and worries about the probable procedures and outcomes of privatizing English education among Iranian educational authorities. In this respect, we conducted a survey as an attempt to evaluate the current status of English education in public schools, as well as to examine its feasibility for privatization. A questionnaire was administered to 1470 junior and senior high school students, EFL student teachers, English teachers, and parents. Sixty-one high-ranking authorities of the Ministry of Education and university professors were also interviewed. The findings highlight certain inadequacies in English education currently being practiced in Iranian public schools. Furthermore, the study indicates the feasibility of the English education privatization in Iran as far as the educational, socio-cultural, economic, and administrative aspects are concerned. Yet,...
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This study aimed to investigate the relationship between Iranian EFL learners’ gender and their willingness to communicate (WTC). It was also an attempt to investigate the relationship between WTC inside and outside the classroom, in... more
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between Iranian EFL learners’ gender and their willingness to communicate (WTC). It was also an attempt to investigate the relationship between WTC inside and outside the classroom, in general, and among male and female Iranian English language learners inside and outside the classroom situations, in particular. To this end, 30 advanced learners consisting of 15 males and 15 females were randomly selected from an English Language Institute in Asadabad, Hamedan. They were asked to fill out the WTC questionnaire developed by MacIntyre, Baker, Clément, and Conrod (2001). Applying an independent t-test, it was revealed that Iranian EFL female learners are more willing to communicate compared to their male counterparts. Also, the results of another independent t-test showed that Iranian EFL learners’ willingness to communicate does not differ significantly inside and outside the classroom contexts. Finally, the results of a Two-Way ANOVA r...
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The present paper attempted to investigate whether there is any significant relationship between participants' brain laterality and L2 proficiency level. To carry out the experiment, 30 participants administered in the present study.... more
The present paper attempted to investigate whether there is any significant relationship between participants' brain laterality and L2 proficiency level. To carry out the experiment, 30 participants administered in the present study. Fifteen of them did not have any English language learning experience and were at the start of language learning, while the rest had attended L2 learning classes for about 2 years in a popular English language center, located in Bandar-e Anzali, Iran. Finally, the researchers concluded that the activity of the right hemisphere went up by the increase in language proficiency among bilinguals. Thereupon, the result of the paper was at variance with Albert and Obler's (1978) early work on hemispheric differentiation, which indicated that bilinguals were less hemispheric dominant than monolinguals.
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2 Abstract: Empiricist emergentism is as a main alternative to the assumption of universal grammar proposed by Chomsky. This type of emergentism goes on to hold that learning takes place by extracting regularities from the input. By the... more
2 Abstract: Empiricist emergentism is as a main alternative to the assumption of universal grammar proposed by Chomsky. This type of emergentism goes on to hold that learning takes place by extracting regularities from the input. By the same token, Ellis disputed the view held by generative linguistics that such a complex phenomenon as language can only be learned if it is assumed that humans are endowed genetically with a language specific learning device. In this regard, empiricist emergentists contend that language acquisition can be abridged to the use of simple learning strategies extracted from regularities in the input. The present paper is an attempt to shed light on the plausible stance of emergentism, in general and empiricist emergentism, in particular, in SLA.
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The current study compared the model fit indices, skill mastery probabilities, and classification accuracy of six Diagnostic Classification Models (DCMs): a general model (G-DINA) against five specific models (LLM, RRUM, ACDM, DINA, and... more
The current study compared the model fit indices, skill mastery probabilities, and classification accuracy of six Diagnostic Classification Models (DCMs): a general model (G-DINA) against five specific models (LLM, RRUM, ACDM, DINA, and DINO). To do so, the response data to the grammar and vocabulary sections of a General English Achievement Test, designed specifically for cognitive diagnostic purposes from scratch, was analyzed. The results of the test-level-model fit values obtained strong evidence in supporting the G-DINA and LLM models possessing the best model fit. In addition, the ACDM and RRUM were almost very identical to that of the G-DINA. The value indices of the DINO and DINA models were very close to each other but larger than those of the G-DINA and LLM. The model fit was also investigated at the item level, and the results revealed that model selection should be performed at the item level rather than the test level, and most of the specific models might perform well ...
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Teachers do not see themselves as powerful and in some ways, they are sadly correct in this assessment. However, the words employed by the people keep their language strong. Thus, even those who are in power, but unable to employ the... more
Teachers do not see themselves as powerful and in some ways, they are sadly correct in this assessment. However, the words employed by the people keep their language strong. Thus, even those who are in power, but unable to employ the appropriate words in appropriate context will lose their power. The concept of power in a class is not what a dominant group has on the subordinate group, but is defined in terms of resistance created on the part of students. As to the writers, power and resistance run in parallel, even between the teacher and his/her students. In the paper, the writers, having provided a review of ideas regarding critical discourse analysis (hereafter CDA) investigated the concept of power in teacher's talk and examined how power is exercised and resisted in classroom.
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The present study set out to investigate the effect of a newly-developed model of writing instruction in comparison with Swalesian genre approach, and the traditionally-favored product-oriented approach on Academic Writing Motivation of... more
The present study set out to investigate the effect of a newly-developed model of writing instruction in comparison with Swalesian genre approach, and the traditionally-favored product-oriented approach on Academic Writing Motivation of Iranian EFL learners. The devised model was called System-Nested, Genre-Oriented, Structurally-Mediated Model of Writing Instruction. Next, with a quasi-experimental design, three groups of learners received writing instruction via traditionally-favored product-oriented approach (N = 8), Swales’ genre-based approach (N = 8), and the newly-developed model (N = 7). The participants received an academic writing motivation questionnaire prior and subsequent to their treatments as pretest and posttest. The results of ANCOVA revealed that the participants in the newly developed model group outperformed the other two groups on the posttest of writing motivation. Additionally, the learners in the Swalesian genre approach group performed significantly better ...
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Although there is a myriad of theoretical and pedagogical research studies into L2 grammar, the instruction in this area remains traditional and there have been calls for more usage-based approaches that can fill the gap between theory... more
Although there is a myriad of theoretical and pedagogical research studies into L2 grammar, the instruction in this area remains traditional and there have been calls for more usage-based approaches that can fill the gap between theory and practice. Accordingly, this quasi-experimental compared the effects of two pedagogical frameworks, namely Systemic-Theoretical Instruction (STI), derived from Vygotsky’s ideas and proposed by Gal’perin and discovery learning (DL), derived from Piaget’s ideas mainly proposed by Bruner, on learning English tense-aspect system. To this end, 71 Iranian low-intermediate EFL learners, aged 12 to 19, were instructed in three groups through STI, DL (experimental) and traditional method (comparison). They took a pretest, a posttest and a delayed posttest consisting of grammar tests checking their receptive and productive grammar knowledge. Results of one‐way repeated‐measures analyses of ANOVA revealed that all groups improved significantly in both the ent...
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A key issue in language teacher education is what teachers need to learn in language teacher programs and how this learning impacts their language teaching practices. The seeds for teacher professionalism are planted and nourished during... more
A key issue in language teacher education is what teachers need to learn in language teacher programs and how this learning impacts their language teaching practices. The seeds for teacher professionalism are planted and nourished during teacher education program to develop independently after graduation from pre-service teacher educations. The purpose of this study was to investigate English teacher education programs and their effects on novice/experienced English language teachers' professionalism in Iran. The researchers used purposeful sampling to select 150 participants from five Farhangian University Branches in Iran (2016-2017). For this purpose, a computerized questionnaire was constructed and validated. A one-way ANOVA indicated that out of the four dimensions of professionalism-- professional development, reflection, responsibility, and ethics-- only two-- professional development and reflection-- were statistically significant for both novice and experienced teachers...
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This study investigated how awareness affected learners’ intake and production in relation to their cognitive styles. It is assumed that learners’ cognitive styles may affect their ability to notice particular features in the input and,... more
This study investigated how awareness affected learners’ intake and production in relation to their cognitive styles. It is assumed that learners’ cognitive styles may affect their ability to notice particular features in the input and, consequently, their intake and production. Adult learners of English were exposed to four English structures through four sets of problem-solving tasks, followed by posttest assessment tests. The participants were asked to think aloud while performing the problem-solving tasks, and their voices were recorded. These online think-aloud protocols, along with postexposure questionnaires, were used to assess the three levels of awareness. Learners’ cognitive styles were determined using the Ehrman and Leaver Learning Styles Questionnaire. Results indicated that (1) cognitive styles did not have any significant impact on levels of awareness reported in the think-alouds; (2) cognitive styles did not significantly affect the intake of the target structures; ...
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The evolution of language knowledge continues, as does the inquisitive nature of human beings. But the explosive growth of knowledge in the third millennium seems to herald a new era in language teaching. Deepened insights into philosophy... more
The evolution of language knowledge continues, as does the inquisitive nature of human beings. But the explosive growth of knowledge in the third millennium seems to herald a new era in language teaching. Deepened insights into philosophy have betrayed the poverty of structuralism to account for language learning. The shift from structuralism to poststructuralism has brought about inevitable, though controversial, trends, e.g., the World Englishes and standards movements. Media proliferation of the “mass-age” (McLuhan & Fiore, 2001) of the globalized era has led to a context where appealing terms such as computer-assisted and Internet-assisted language teaching might get blurred sooner in view of more sophisticated advances. Could the future witness virtual reality or expert systems-based language teaching? Language curriculum development in the third millennium should accommodate a recognition of the interdisciplinary knowledge and dynamicity and multimodality of concepts. Starting...
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Following the guidelines proposed by Weiner&#39;s (1986) Attribution Theory, the current study is an attempt to identify high school learner&#39;s perceptions of their successes and failures in learning English which would differ... more
Following the guidelines proposed by Weiner&#39;s (1986) Attribution Theory, the current study is an attempt to identify high school learner&#39;s perceptions of their successes and failures in learning English which would differ from culture to culture, having lots of consequence for language learners, and language teachers. The study, as an initial attempt in the context of Iran, aimed at: 1) identifying the factors to which high school students attribute their perceived successes and failures. To this end, the researcher used a validated questionnaire called ATFLL Questionnaire for identifying the factors to which high school students ascribe their perceived successes and failures in learning English. In so doing, a pool of 31 high school female students participated in this research work. The results from descriptive statistics revealed that high school students attribute their perceived successes and failures more to intrinsic motivation (M: 4.10) and language policy (M: 3.73). The research work offers psychological and potentially useful implications for students to identify their beliefs about their successes and failures from a constructivism perspective, and, it helps the teachers and syllabus designers to foster positive attitudes like self-efficacy, self-esteem, and a feeling of &#39;I can&#39;.
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Running Title Native-like Event-Related Potentials in Late Bilinguals : https://doi.org/10.32598/CJNS.7.25.1 Use your device to scan and read the article online
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Learning styles are considered among the significant factors that aid instructors in deciding how well their students learn a second or foreign language (Oxford, 2003). Although this issue has been accepted broadly in educational... more
Learning styles are considered among the significant factors that aid instructors in deciding how well their students learn a second or foreign language (Oxford, 2003). Although this issue has been accepted broadly in educational psychology,further research is required to examine the relationship between learning styles and language learning skills. Thus, the present study was carried out to investigate the relationship between the perceptual learning style preferences and the participants’ writing achievement after receiving instruction based on computer-assisted language learning within the activity theory framework. For this purpose, 67 students majoring in English translation at a university in Iran were selected as the participants of the study based on their performance on a version of The Oxford Placement Test. A correlational research design was employed using a writing pretest and posttest and a style preference questionnaire. The writing instruction was based on an e-learn...
Research Interests:
Over recent decades, second language acquisition (SLA) researchers have considered attention an important cognitive process mediating second language (L2) learning. The concept of noticing as conscious attention to form has become... more
Over recent decades, second language acquisition (SLA) researchers have considered attention an important cognitive process mediating second language (L2) learning. The concept of noticing as conscious attention to form has become especially important in the field. The present study explored whether two pedagogical interventions, namely textual input enhancement (TIE) and learners´ output production (LOP), in isolation and in combination, promoted learners’ noticing and learning of English relative clauses (RC). The study was conducted with a sample of 113 freshmen majoring in English language and literature. The participants were assigned to three experimental groups and the control group based on the treatments they received, +TIE+LOP, +TIE-LOP, -TIE+LOP, and -TIE-LOP. Before treatment, all the participants took a test of English RCs as the pretest. Then, the participants were required to read the reading texts including instances of RCs and take note. While the participants in th...