- English Department, Faculty of Letters & Humanities, Shahrekord University, Rahbar Blvd., Shahrekord, Iran
- 09132663269
Mahmood Hashemian
Shahrekord University, English Department, Faculty Member
- Mahmood Hashemian is an associate professor at Shahrekord University. His area of research includes cognitive-semanti... moreMahmood Hashemian is an associate professor at Shahrekord University. His area of research includes cognitive-semantic linguistics, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, pragmatics, and applied linguistics. He has published in JTLS, IJAL, IJLS, IJALS, Linguistik Online, JLTR, TPLS, Iranian EFL Journal, IJEL, International Journal of Social Sciences, JLRLTR, IRJABS, LCT, RALs, IJLTR, and ILT. Also, he has given lectures in TELLSI (4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16), LDP2010, LDP2013, LDP2015, LDP2017, LDP2019 (Ahvaz, Iran), ELT in the Islamic World (Tehran, Iran), 2nd International Language Conference 2011 (Malaysia), the 1st Thammasat ELT International Conference: Voices in ELT (Thailand), 1st International Akdeniz Language Studies Conference 2012 (Turkey), 1st Conference on Language Learning & Teaching: An Interdisciplinary Approach (Mashhad), National Conference on Language, Teaching, and Literature (Malayer), 1st National Conference on Teaching English, Literature, and Translation (Shiraz), 1st International Conference on TESOL, isPAL (Tehran), 7th Conference on Issues in English Language Teaching in Iran (Tehran), and Global Conference on Linguistics & Foreign Language Teaching (Dubai, 2014).edit
Though reading is the primary skill that has a place in the current syllabuses and textbooks designed for students in Iran, many students still experience serious problems coping with reading materials, and oftentimes, they have to go... more
Though reading is the primary skill that has a place in the current syllabuses and textbooks designed for students in Iran, many students still experience serious problems coping with reading materials, and oftentimes, they have to go through the exhaustive and time-consuming job of translation to understand them. Things are even getting worse when it comes to English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) situations. To help students overcome this hurdle and to design good ESAP materials, we have taken some basic principles into our account. First, we have tried to incorporate language and subject matter (content) proportionally. Though our primary goal was to amalgamate language and content by striking a balance between the two, we have given the weightings to language since we believe in foreign language settings, English IS the instructional hub of the class through the medium of subject matter. Therefore, with priority given to language, care has been taken to develop the course around the linguistic needs of students, channeled through content.
The model used in preparing this textbook is the modified version of the framework proposed by Hutchinson and Waters (1987) with four elements: (I) Input, (II) Gathering Information, (III) Language Focus, and (IV) Task. As stated by Hutchinson and Waters (1987), Input may be selected from a wide range of communicative data like a simple text, a video-recording, or a complicated diagram, depending on the needs and the goals the designer has defined in primary analysis before the materials designing. The Input includes reading texts that are semi-technical, sometimes accompanied by a diagram or a picture to facilitate understanding, and it has an average length of 542 words. The Gathering Information aims to extract information from the Input and bridge the gap between content and language.
In designing the exercises, we have tried to introduce a mixture of variety and consistency. Therefore, while the general pattern that all the lessons follow is the same, each lesson makes use of a host of exercises to fulfill its specific objectives. The directions of exercises are from the Input to the Output, and the first couple of steps are usually comprehension checks. Step 1 aims to organize the information directly mentioned in the Input section; to do this, it makes use of such techniques as diagram interpretation, table or chart description, and sentence completion. Step 2 takes its aims to encourage the students to find answers for themselves and to check their vocabulary knowledge by finding synonymous expressions from the Input section. Within the next 2 steps (i.e., Steps 3 & 4), students are required to go beyond the information offered in the Input section and to establish a relationship between the subject matter and their own knowledge and reasoning, while they still use the language already learned in the lesson. In Language Focus, students are given the opportunity to acquire the language knowledge before they are expected to use it. Because reading is the primary skill in this textbook, Language Focus has been devoted to the reading sub-skills of skimming, scanning, using context, rephrasing, derivations, etc. The Task element seeks to persuade the readers into using language, which is the ultimate goal of language learning. In this section, students are expected to use all the information they have achieved to carry out some communicative tasks.
The selection of the topics was based on the feedback received from the students and instructors of the field. A questionnaire was distributed among 100 Environmental Sciences students, instructors, and experts and 17 topics were selected by most of them, forming the core of this textbook.
The lessons have been arranged in a way that gives the textbook an inter-textual coherence. Thus, the first lesson prepares the ground and briefly introduces the basics of Environmental Sciences. The major section of this book (i.e., the next 12 lessons) is devoted to sources of pollution and ways to control them. Finally, the last 4 lessons discuss some of the most challenging topics in relation to environmental issues.
The generality and the variety of topics make this book a useful resource for BS and MS students of Environmental Sciences with such orientations as Environmental Health, Environmental Management, Water and Air Pollution, and Environmental Impact Assessment. The book is also a useful resource for all those people who wish to increase their environmental knowledge by reading interesting and understandable texts.
The model used in preparing this textbook is the modified version of the framework proposed by Hutchinson and Waters (1987) with four elements: (I) Input, (II) Gathering Information, (III) Language Focus, and (IV) Task. As stated by Hutchinson and Waters (1987), Input may be selected from a wide range of communicative data like a simple text, a video-recording, or a complicated diagram, depending on the needs and the goals the designer has defined in primary analysis before the materials designing. The Input includes reading texts that are semi-technical, sometimes accompanied by a diagram or a picture to facilitate understanding, and it has an average length of 542 words. The Gathering Information aims to extract information from the Input and bridge the gap between content and language.
In designing the exercises, we have tried to introduce a mixture of variety and consistency. Therefore, while the general pattern that all the lessons follow is the same, each lesson makes use of a host of exercises to fulfill its specific objectives. The directions of exercises are from the Input to the Output, and the first couple of steps are usually comprehension checks. Step 1 aims to organize the information directly mentioned in the Input section; to do this, it makes use of such techniques as diagram interpretation, table or chart description, and sentence completion. Step 2 takes its aims to encourage the students to find answers for themselves and to check their vocabulary knowledge by finding synonymous expressions from the Input section. Within the next 2 steps (i.e., Steps 3 & 4), students are required to go beyond the information offered in the Input section and to establish a relationship between the subject matter and their own knowledge and reasoning, while they still use the language already learned in the lesson. In Language Focus, students are given the opportunity to acquire the language knowledge before they are expected to use it. Because reading is the primary skill in this textbook, Language Focus has been devoted to the reading sub-skills of skimming, scanning, using context, rephrasing, derivations, etc. The Task element seeks to persuade the readers into using language, which is the ultimate goal of language learning. In this section, students are expected to use all the information they have achieved to carry out some communicative tasks.
The selection of the topics was based on the feedback received from the students and instructors of the field. A questionnaire was distributed among 100 Environmental Sciences students, instructors, and experts and 17 topics were selected by most of them, forming the core of this textbook.
The lessons have been arranged in a way that gives the textbook an inter-textual coherence. Thus, the first lesson prepares the ground and briefly introduces the basics of Environmental Sciences. The major section of this book (i.e., the next 12 lessons) is devoted to sources of pollution and ways to control them. Finally, the last 4 lessons discuss some of the most challenging topics in relation to environmental issues.
The generality and the variety of topics make this book a useful resource for BS and MS students of Environmental Sciences with such orientations as Environmental Health, Environmental Management, Water and Air Pollution, and Environmental Impact Assessment. The book is also a useful resource for all those people who wish to increase their environmental knowledge by reading interesting and understandable texts.
People usually have a telephone voice, which means they adjust their speech to fit particular situations and to blend in with other interlocutors. The question is: Do we speak differently to different people? This possibility has been... more
People usually have a telephone voice, which means they adjust their speech to fit particular situations and to blend in with other interlocutors. The question is: Do we speak differently to different people? This possibility has been suggested by social psychologists within Accommodation Theory [1]. Converging toward the speech of another person can be regarded as a polite speech strategy while choosing a language not used by the other interlocutor can be considered as the clearest example of speech divergence [2]. The present study sets out to investigate such processes in the course of everyday telephone conversations. Using Joos-s [3] model of formality in spoken English, the researchers try to explore convergence to or divergence from the addressee. The results propound the actuality that lexical choice, and subsequently, patterns of style vary intriguingly in concordance with the person being addressed.
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The bulk of L2 research on figures of speech boils down to the comprehension domain. By contrast, little work has been conducted on the investigation of the discourse goals for the speaker or the writer's figurative production. This... more
The bulk of L2 research on figures of speech boils down to the comprehension domain. By contrast, little work has been conducted on the investigation of the discourse goals for the speaker or the writer's figurative production. This study, going beyond the customary metalinguistic approaches to figurative investigation, aimed at shedding light into a number of different discourse goals as they were identified by Iranian EFL undergraduates in sentences containing figurative language based on 4 independent variables: Figure Type, Tenor Concreteness, Context, and Modality. The participants were given a number of sentences, containing both metaphors and similes, and were asked to choose as many 12 discourse goals as possible which they considered to be the reasons for triggering the utterances. The results indicated that the discourse goal of Compare Similarities was more frequently selected for similes than for metaphors by the participants. The Context variable turned out to have ...
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Television can be considered a rich, helpful, and valuable source to expose L2 learners to huge amounts of comprehensible input so that they can improve their L2 knowledge and, in particular, their L2 vocabulary knowledge. This study... more
Television can be considered a rich, helpful, and valuable source to expose L2 learners to huge amounts of comprehensible input so that they can improve their L2 knowledge and, in particular, their L2 vocabulary knowledge. This study aimed to discover how effective sustainable and extensive TV viewing can be in L2 vocabulary learning, considering the language of the on-screen text (L1 or L2) and instruction type (preteaching L2 items or not). Eighty L2 learners (58 female and 22 male), who had an intermediate English proficiency and were divided into four groups, participated in the intervention over an academic term in a language institute. Participants viewed 14 episodes of a TV series under four experimental conditions: (1) captions and preteaching, (2) captions without preteaching, (3) subtitles and preteaching, and (4) subtitles without preteaching. A pre/posttest design to examine the gains regarding both L2 vocabulary meaning and form was adopted. Results suggested that exten...
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This study examined the effect of collocation instruction on enhancing L2 learners’ reading comprehension. For this purpose, a convenient sample of 75 intermediate Iranian university students from Sheikhbahaee University participated in... more
This study examined the effect of collocation instruction on enhancing L2 learners’ reading comprehension. For this purpose, a convenient sample of 75 intermediate Iranian university students from Sheikhbahaee University participated in this study. One of the classes was selected as the experimental group and the other as the control group. All of the participants were given a reading test as a pretest to check their reading comprehension and collocational competency. Then, 30 lexical collocations extracted from the test were taught to the participants and, finally, the same test, used as the posttest, was administered to assess all the participants’ reading comprehension to explore the probable effect of the treatment. Results of paired samples t test indicated that the participants in the experimental group outperformed the control group in reading comprehension. In fact, teaching collocations could play a significant role in enhancing L2 learners’ reading comprehension.
Recent developments in cognitive linguistics have highlighted the importance and the ubiquity of metaphors in language. Their effect has been instrumental in making significant headway into the pedagogical practice and design of teaching... more
Recent developments in cognitive linguistics have highlighted the importance and the ubiquity of metaphors in language. Their effect has been instrumental in making significant headway into the pedagogical practice and design of teaching materials. The current study was carried out to explore the efficacy of focus-on-form (FonF) and focus-on-forms (FonFs) instructions on learning metaphorical language by Iranian intermediate learners of English. First, 60 participants who were homogeneous in terms of language proficiency and metaphorical competence were assigned to 3 groups, 2 being the experimental groups and 1 the control group. One of the experimental groups was exposed to the explicit teaching of metaphors (i.e. FonFs) included in 20 reading passages. The second group was taught the target metaphorical expressions through implicit instruction (i.e. FonF). And, the control group went through the usual classroom instruction; they took the same pretest and posttest as the 2 experim...
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In the last 2 decades, studies on conceptual metaphors have profoundly increased. The development in this field was followed by Lakoff and Johnson's (1980b) work on describing the conceptual role played by metaphors and their... more
In the last 2 decades, studies on conceptual metaphors have profoundly increased. The development in this field was followed by Lakoff and Johnson's (1980b) work on describing the conceptual role played by metaphors and their correspondence with language and thought. This study aimed to compare conceptual metaphors in Persian and English through a corpus-based approach as well as examining both the universality and culture-specificity of conceptual metaphors within Persian/English and describe in detail the Persian conception of some metaphorical concepts from the cognitive perspective. The cognitive theory of metaphor was resorted to and applied to a cross-cultural analysis of a randomly selected set of conceptual metaphors in English and Persian. To analyze the data, 12 conceptual metaphors introduced by Wright (1999) were investigated and gathered. Then, the metaphorical expressions in the 2 languages were grouped under their source and target domains. Results pointed to the ...
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The goal of this study was to investigate the kinds of discourse goals that Iranian EFL learners perceive as the most probable reasons behind the utterance of figurative language, metaphors and similes, with reference to 4 independent... more
The goal of this study was to investigate the kinds of discourse goals that Iranian EFL learners perceive as the most probable reasons behind the utterance of figurative language, metaphors and similes, with reference to 4 independent variables of Figure Type (Metaphor or Simile), Tenor Concreteness (Concrete or Abstract), Context (List Format or Story), and Modality (Oral, Written, and Both). The participants were presented with 16 sentences, featuring both metaphors and similes, and they were asked to mark as many 12 discourse goals as possible they believed to be the reasons for their production. The results indicated that most of the participants leaned towards the choice of Compare Similarities for the similes as the best candidate for describing the intention of the writer or the speaker, signifying the effect of the independent variable Figure Type. The factor of Context influenced the choice of the discourse goals Provoke Thought, Get Attention, Clarify, and Contrast Differe...
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Being a successful L2 learner/communicator involves the ability to apply not only linguistic and communicative competences, but also metaphorical competence and fundamental cognitive abilities like emotional intelligence (EI). In fact, EI... more
Being a successful L2 learner/communicator involves the ability to apply not only linguistic and communicative competences, but also metaphorical competence and fundamental cognitive abilities like emotional intelligence (EI). In fact, EI can act as a predictor of one's success in life. Furthermore, because metaphors are the main means of helping to understand abstract concepts and to act upon abstract interpretations, L2 teachers, being aware of their learners’ EI profiles, should make them aware of their L2 metaphorical competence of the conceptual world. In spite of the importance given to L2 learners’ metaphorical comprehension/usage and their individual differences, almost no systematic attempt investigated the issue. This study scrutinized L2 learners’ EI profiles to underline the leading and the least common type of EI among 126 upper-intermediate L2 learners (51 males and 75 females). First, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was computed to investigate the r...
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This study explored the effect of input vs. collaborative output tasks on Iranian EFL learners’ grammatical accuracy and their willingness to communicate (WTC). In so doing, the study utilized 3 input (i.e., textual enhancement,... more
This study explored the effect of input vs. collaborative output tasks on Iranian EFL learners’ grammatical accuracy and their willingness to communicate (WTC). In so doing, the study utilized 3 input (i.e., textual enhancement, processing instruction, and discourse) and 3 collaborative output (i.e., dictogloss, reconstruction cloze task, and jigsaw) tasks and compared their effects on 5 English grammatical structures (used to, too, enough, wish, and past tense). To this end, 50 Iranian intermediate EFL students in 2 groups (input- and collaborative output-based) participated in this study. To collect the data, a 32-item grammar test and WTC questionnaire were used as the pretests and posttests. Results of the t tests and analyses of covariance revealed that the input- and output-based tasks had a significantly positive effect on the participants’ grammatical accuracy. Moreover, the output-based instruction enhanced the participants’ WTC more than the input-based one. Findings have ...
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An increasing number of studies have investigated the effects of different types of corrective feedback. However, doubts have been raised whether field (in)dependent (FI/FD) L2 learners benefit differently from the explicit type of... more
An increasing number of studies have investigated the effects of different types of corrective feedback. However, doubts have been raised whether field (in)dependent (FI/FD) L2 learners benefit differently from the explicit type of corrective feedback (i.e., metalinguistic). This study examined the (possible) effects of metalinguistic feedback on FI/FD intermediate L2 learners’ writing accuracy. To this aim, 52 Iranian intermediate L2 learners in intact classes were classified into FI/FD learners through Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT). They were, then, randomly assigned into 2 experimental and 1 control groups. Experimental groups received metalinguistic feedback and the control group received no feedback. Two sample IELTS tests (i.e., the Writing section) were used as the pretest and posttest to measure the participants’ learning of English articles as a result of metalinguistic feedback. Data were analyzed through ANCOVA and post-hoc. Although the results revealed that both th...
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of portfolio assessment as a process-oriented mechanism on the autonomy of Iranian advanced EFL learners. A particular concern was to examine the potential effect of gender on... more
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of portfolio assessment as a process-oriented mechanism on the autonomy of Iranian advanced EFL learners. A particular concern was to examine the potential effect of gender on portfolio assessment by taking the learners’ writing ability into account. The participants were 80 male and female advanced EFL learners to whom the Learner Autonomy Questionnaire (Kashefian, 2002) was administered to check their homogeneity prior to the study in terms of autonomy; a truncated form of a TOEFL test was also given to the participants to assess their language proficiency. The participants were then randomly divided into 4 groups: 2 experimental groups (20 females in class A and 20 males in class B) and 2 control groups (20 females in class C and 20 males in class D). The portfolio assessment was integrated into the experimental groups to explore whether and to what extent their autonomy might enhance and also to investigate the possible eff...
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Although investigating the factors that influence test scores is important, a majority of stakeholders show a paucity of attention towards individual learner differences due to having large classes of L2 learners. This study sought to... more
Although investigating the factors that influence test scores is important, a majority of stakeholders show a paucity of attention towards individual learner differences due to having large classes of L2 learners. This study sought to explore the possible effect of working memory and cognitive style on L2 learners’ metaphorical test performance. The study was conducted in 2 phases. The first phase was quantitative, and the second consisted of a series of case studies using “think-aloud protocol” and “retrospection.” In the statistical phase, aimed at shedding light on the effect of the cognitive style of field (in)dependence (FI/FD) on metaphorical test performance, 80 senior undergraduates majoring in English Translation were selected through a truncated test of TOEFL adopted from Barron (2004). Metaphorical test performance was analyzed through recognition, text-based true-false, and scripturally implicit questions, refined by conducting factor analysis. Moreover, the participants...
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Conceptual Fluency (CF) and Metaphorical Competence (MC) have piqued the interest of a number of L2 researchers. Leading the front are Danesi (1992; 1995; 2003) and Johnson and Rosano (1993) who contend that metaphorical language cannot... more
Conceptual Fluency (CF) and Metaphorical Competence (MC) have piqued the interest of a number of L2 researchers. Leading the front are Danesi (1992; 1995; 2003) and Johnson and Rosano (1993) who contend that metaphorical language cannot afford to be ignored by L2 curricula anymore. Their push is to instill in L2 learners a more functional communicative competence over a traditional formal competence. This article reports on a study carried out to scrutinize the development of CF and MC in Persian students of English. First, a group of language students (95 freshmen, 92 sophomores, 139 juniors, and 90 seniors) were tested to see whether they were conceptually and metaphorically competent, and the results showed they were almost bereft of such a competence, and the analysis of their written discourse uncovered a very low level of metaphorical density. The findings were in line with what Danesi (1992) has averred: L2 learners do not necessarily develop CF and MC after several years of ...
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This study explores the (possible) relationship between affective variables and metaphorical competence. The main objective is to investigate the difference between the thinking/feeling and the judging/perceiving personality variables and... more
This study explores the (possible) relationship between affective variables and metaphorical competence. The main objective is to investigate the difference between the thinking/feeling and the judging/perceiving personality variables and L2 learners� metaphorical competence. Participants are 90 male and female Iranian L2 learners who take the OPT and responded to the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality questionnaire. They are divided into 2 categories of thinking/feeling and judging/perceiving in line with the results of the MBTI. Then, a teacher-made metaphor test is administered to the groups to check their metaphorical competence. Finally, to observe whether there is any significant difference between the 2 groups in terms of metaphor comprehension, an independent samples t test is carried out. The metaphor test is the dependent variable and the personality type is the independent variable. Results show that the thinking/feeling personality category has no significant...
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ABSTRACT
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ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT
In the last 2 decades, studies on conceptual metaphors have profoundly increased. The development in this field was followed by Lakoff and Johnson's publication of Metaphors We Live By (1980) in which the authors describe the... more
In the last 2 decades, studies on conceptual metaphors have profoundly increased. The development in this field was followed by Lakoff and Johnson's publication of Metaphors We Live By (1980) in which the authors describe the conceptual role played by metaphors and their correspondence with language and thought. In fact, metaphors in language mirror people’s ordinary conceptual system. This study aimed to compare conceptual metaphors in Persian and English through a corpus-based approach as swell as examining both universality and culture-specificity of conceptual metaphors within Persian/English and describe in detail the Persian conception of some metaphorical concepts from the cognitive perspective. The cognitive theory of metaphor was resorted to and applied to a cross-cultural analysis of a randomly selected set of metaphors in English and Persian. Analysis was based on the linguistic data from a collection of conceptual metaphors in the 2 languages. Results pointed to the ...
Examining the effect that different tasks and techniques have on vocabulary learning is of crucial importance. There are a few, but not enough, studies comparing incidental and intentional vocabulary learning. The present study aimed to... more
Examining the effect that different tasks and techniques have on vocabulary learning is of crucial importance. There are a few, but not enough, studies comparing incidental and intentional vocabulary learning. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of these 2 types of learning through reading.The sample involved 69 intermediate EFL learners who were placed into 2 groups after completing a 30-item vocabulary test. Each group was supposed to complete one of the 2 tasks: intentional and incidental. Both groups had to read 3 texts accompanied by an L2 gloss, but only the intentional group was informed about an upcoming posttest. The 24 target words were typed bold for the participants in this group, and some vocabulary exercises were provided. The incidental group, on the other hand, was required to answer some comprehension questions. The treatment was done in 3 sessions, and the posttest was administered immediately after the final text.The results of a one-way ANCOVA revea...
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Politeness plays an important role in initiated e-mail requests sent from students to faculty. One such feature of requests susceptible to politeness is the degree of imposition, which is one of the important variables in speech act... more
Politeness plays an important role in initiated e-mail requests sent from students to faculty. One such feature of requests susceptible to politeness is the degree of imposition, which is one of the important variables in speech act production. Although the literature on requests is abundant, there are few studies on low-and high-imposition requests, in general, and on Iranian L2 learners' low-and high-imposition requests, in particular. Through analyzing L2 learners' requests, this study was an attempt to explore the distribution of pragmalinguistic means when writing English e-mail requests with low-and high degrees of imposition. For the purpose of this study, a corpus of 208 e-mail requests was collected for a rigorous qualitative analysis. The e-requests were classified into 4 categories: information, validation, feedback, and action. They were, then, coded and analyzed. It appeared that, though similar in many ways, the distribution of request type, openings, head act strategies, and internal and external modifiers were relatively conditioned by the degree of imposition. The findings can have valuable resources for future studies of potential interlanguage pragmatics studies, which are concerned with L2 learners’ performance and pragmatic competence in L2 learning.
The goal of this study was to compare the use of conceptual metaphors in English novels written by native and nonnative writers of English. Therefore, two novels were selected: To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee, a native English... more
The goal of this study was to compare the use of conceptual metaphors in English novels written by native and nonnative writers of English. Therefore, two novels were selected: To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee, a native English writer, and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, a nonnative English writer. To find the instances of conceptual metaphors in each book, approximately 10% of the pages of each novel was randomly selected and examined line by line based on the framework introduced by Lakoff and Johnson (1980). In the next step, to find the number and type of metaphors used in each book, the identified metaphors were categorized under their underlying concepts and counted. Then, the frequencies of different types of metaphors in each book were tallied and tabulated, and with the use of a chi-square test, the possible differences among the 2 writers' use of different types of metaphors were found. Results indicated that, in both novels, there were significant differences among the 5 types of metaphors that were identified, namely structural metaphors, ontological metaphors, orientational metaphors, metonymy, and personification. Findings revealed that, in both books, ontological metaphors were the most frequently used type and personification was the least frequently used one. Also, no statistically significant difference was seen between the two writers' use of the different types of metaphors. Findings are claimed to bear some implications for L2 pedagogy, benefiting teachers, syllabus designers, writers, and L2 learners.
In the last 2 decades, studies on conceptual metaphors have profoundly increased. The development in this field was followed by Lakoff and Johnson s (1980b) work on describing the conceptual role played by metaphors and their... more
In the last 2 decades, studies on conceptual metaphors have profoundly increased. The development in this field was followed by Lakoff and Johnson s (1980b) work on describing the conceptual role played by metaphors and their correspondence with language and thought. This study aimed to compare conceptual metaphors in Persian and English through a corpus-based approach as well as examining both the universality and culture-specificity of conceptual metaphors within Persian/English and describe in detail the Persian conception of some metaphorical concepts from the cognitive perspective. The cognitive theory of metaphor was resorted to and applied to a cross-cultural analysis of a randomly selected set of conceptual metaphors in English and Persian. To analyze the data, 12 conceptual metaphors introduced by Wright (1999) were investigated and gathered. Then, the metaphorical expressions in the 2 languages were grouped under their source and target domains. Results pointed to the fact that whereas there is a certain degree of universality in terms of the predominant conceptual metaphors, there are also variations between the 2 languages for cultural and linguistic reasons.
A significant amount of contribution to pragmatics research comes from cross-cultural and developmental pragmatic studies with L2 learners in focus; however, despite broad interest in such analyses, the role of lecturers has been... more
A significant amount of contribution to pragmatics research comes from cross-cultural and developmental pragmatic studies with L2 learners in focus; however, despite broad interest in such analyses, the role of lecturers has been relatively ignored. As the lectures' perceptions/opinions of L2 learners' e-mail requests are important, L2 learners must become familiar with their lecturers' perceptions of (in)appropriateness and (im)politeness of e-mail requests. Therefore, through examining Iranian applied linguistics lecturers' perceptions of (in)appropriateness and (im)politeness of L2 learners' e-mail requests, this study was an attempt to provide insights into lecturers' ideal norms of (in)appropriateness and (im)politeness of L2 learners' e-mail requests. To this aim, a purposive sample of 38 university lectures participated in this study. A questionnaire was utilized to collect the data. The lecturers' comments in the questionnaire served as the basis to identify the major themes (e.g., directness, language use accuracy, etc.). An in-depth qualitative analysis of the lecturers' comments revealed that the perceptions of the lecturers were greatly influenced by the use of appropriate openings and closings of the e-mails. Also, language use accuracy and appropriateness were among the most recurring reasons mentioned by the lecturers to regard the e-mails as (in)appropriate and (im)polite. Overall, the results stress the importance of pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic aspects of language for applied linguistics lecturers. Findings have implications for L2 learners, teachers, and researchers.
Compound words develop day-by-day rapidly in a great variety of languages because human beings need new words to express more clear meanings or it is because people are interested in creating words which did not exist before. Furthermore,... more
Compound words develop day-by-day rapidly in a great variety of languages because human beings need new words to express more clear meanings or it is because people are interested in creating words which did not exist before. Furthermore, it is still problematic to translate technical terms because such terms are often compound words and, thus, new terms are progressively created by combining existing base words. The present study was an attempt to study the Persian equivalents for English open compound nouns (OCNs) in the psychology register. It investigated the applied procedures utilized by 2 Persian lexicographers in the translation of English OCNs in English-to-Persian Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychology and Psychiatry as well as the Glossary part belonging to the translation of the book of Introduction to Psychology, based on the translation procedures proposed by Vinay and Darbelnet's (1995/2004). For this purpose, the English OCNs were extracted from the mentioned dictionary and the Glossary part; then, they were compared and contrasted to their Persian equivalents. Next, the extracted English OCNs were corresponded to the classification of Vinay and Darbelnet's (1995/2004) in translation studies for both works and divided into various groups. Finally, the applied procedures in the translation of the OCNs based on their frequencies were identified and classified. Analysis of the relevant data indicated that the chi-square results were not significant at (² (4, N = 80) = 3.754), considering p >.05. Thus, the conclusion would be that in, both works, the lexicographers applied different translation procedures in a significantly similar order. Moreover, the results of the study revealed that the most conspicuous procedure was literal translation. Notably, this study provides some guidelines to professional translators, Iranian translation students, and lexicographers in order to select the most appropriate TL equivalents and have a better and more precise translation.
Every act of translation deals with some problems and challenges. Translation of advertisements may be more challenging than other types of translations due to the importance of both form and content in cross-cultural translation and... more
Every act of translation deals with some problems and challenges. Translation of advertisements may be more challenging than other types of translations due to the importance of both form and content in cross-cultural translation and audience response. In translating advertisements, the most important issue to be addressed by the translator is the cultural representation of the original texts. However, little attention is accorded into culture-bound parts of advertisements and their translations. The present study aimed to investigate the translation of verbal metaphors from English to Persian. To achieve this aim, a number of home appliance English and Persian TV commercials were recorded from national and international channels. The verbal metaphors from English were compared with their translations into Persian. Moreover, Black's (1962) interaction theory of metaphor was taken to analyze the data. This theory examines whether or not the source and target texts are equivalent from the metaphor perspective. Also, the study investigated the localization, domestication, adaptation, addition, and reduction in the translation process. The verbal metaphors in English advertisements were compared to the Persian translations in line with the interaction theory of metaphor to achieve the above goals of transferring idea from the source language into the target language. The results indicated relatively lack of awareness of cultural approach to the translation of advertisements and revealed the similarity and divergence between the two languages.
Resumptive pronouns have been one of the most problematic issues in L2 teaching. The goal of this study was to see which of the 3 methods (i.e., traditional, blended learning, and task planning) is more successful to teach EFL learners to... more
Resumptive pronouns have been one of the most problematic issues in L2 teaching. The goal of this study was to see which of
the 3 methods (i.e., traditional, blended learning, and task planning) is more successful to teach EFL learners to correctly use
resumptive pronouns. Participants were 60 young intermediate L2 learners who were divided into 3 groups of 20 learners. All
the participants were given a pretest to check their knowledge of resumptive pronouns, the result of which indicated their lack
of knowledge of such pronouns. And, they were given a posttest at the end of the study to see the (probable) effect of the
above methods on eradicating this problem. Participants were to submit 4 pieces of writing based on the topics in their lessons,
the results of which indicated that comparing the 3 methods, task planning was more successful to help them to correctly use
presumptive pronouns.
the 3 methods (i.e., traditional, blended learning, and task planning) is more successful to teach EFL learners to correctly use
resumptive pronouns. Participants were 60 young intermediate L2 learners who were divided into 3 groups of 20 learners. All
the participants were given a pretest to check their knowledge of resumptive pronouns, the result of which indicated their lack
of knowledge of such pronouns. And, they were given a posttest at the end of the study to see the (probable) effect of the
above methods on eradicating this problem. Participants were to submit 4 pieces of writing based on the topics in their lessons,
the results of which indicated that comparing the 3 methods, task planning was more successful to help them to correctly use
presumptive pronouns.
Resumptive pronouns (RPs) are one of the most challenging grammatical points for EFL learners because this structure is different in their L1. We aimed to examine whether blended learning/TBLT are useful to teach RPs. We examined the... more
Resumptive pronouns (RPs) are one of the most challenging grammatical points for EFL learners because this structure is different in their L1. We aimed to examine whether blended learning/TBLT are useful to teach RPs. We examined the extent to which such methods improve performance on the posttest. Forty learnerstook part in the study who were assigned to 2 groups: one group was taught via TBLT, and the other via blended learning. Before piloting the study, the participants were given an OPT to check their homogeneity. Besides,they were given a researcher-made test on RPs to check their knowledge, the result of which indicated that the participants did not have sufficient knowledge about this point. Finally, the participants were given a researcher-made test as the posttest to check the effect of the treatment and the extent to which it was helpful for the correct use of RPs. Findings indicated that TBLT was more fruitful. Findings of the present study have pedagogical as well as practical implications.
Applying new technologies with their effective potentials have changed education and, consequently, the L2 teacher role. Coping with online materials imposes the necessity of employing Web-based approaches in L2 instruction. The ability... more
Applying new technologies with their effective potentials have changed education and, consequently, the L2 teacher role. Coping with online materials imposes the necessity of employing Web-based approaches in L2 instruction. The ability to use reading strategies in a Web-based condition needs sufficient skill which will be fulfilled if it is integrated in pedagogy. The main focus of the present study was to investigate the efficiency of teaching reading strategies in a Web-based condition to Iranian EFL learners. Thirty L2 learners at upper-intermediate level from an English institute in Isfahan were selected as the experimental group. The group received a 20-hr reading strategy training in Web-based condition. Participants were taught 4 general reading strategies which were practiced through 3 stages of cognitive theory: cognitive, associative, and autonomous proposed by Anderson (1993). The instruments included a pre/posttest of hypertext reading comprehension, a pre/posttraining questionnaire for assessing the participants' familiarity with general reading strategies, a pre/posttest of reading comprehension, and an attitude questionnaire towards Web-based reading strategy instruction. Findings indicated that after reading strategy program, the participants' frequent usage of each reading strategy increased significantly and, consequently, they performed better at the reading tasks in Web-based and conventional conditions. Furthermore, the group had positive attitudes towards Web-based reading strategy instruction.
This study was an attempt to clarify and remind L2 learners/teachers of 2 kinds of writing: dicto-comp and dictation. We explored the effect of controlled writing on the accuracy of the writing of adult Iranian EFL learners. Prior to the... more
This study was an attempt to clarify and remind L2 learners/teachers of 2 kinds of writing: dicto-comp and dictation. We explored the effect of controlled writing on the accuracy of the writing of adult Iranian EFL learners. Prior to the study, the homogeneity of 30 adult EFL learners was checked through an OPT test. Thirty participants were assigned to 210 one-hour sessions: Group A via dicto-comp and Group B via dictation. Following this practice, the participants in both groups were asked to write texts as the posttest about similar topics to the one of the pretest. Results indicated that the participants working in the dictation wrote more accurately than those who wrote in dicto-comp format; however, but both dictation and dicto-comp had positive effects on the writing of the participants.
The present study employed a descriptive survey design to investigate L2 learners' attitudes towards language learning, and the possible effects of teachers' beliefs on learners' attitudes. Participants were chosen from among 2 groups:... more
The present study employed a descriptive survey design to investigate L2 learners' attitudes towards language learning, and the possible effects of teachers' beliefs on learners' attitudes. Participants were chosen from among 2 groups: Twenty EFL teachers were asked to take part in this study and 80 from a pool of 213 learners at 2 language schools who were chosen to fill out the learners' attitude questionnaire. The teachers were subsequently placed at/in 3 groups of high-opinion group (HOG), moderate group (MG), and low-opinion group (LG), and the attitudes of the learners of these 3 groups of teachers were compared to uncover the possible impact of teacher beliefs on learner attitudes. The relationship between the teachers' beliefs and the learners' attitudes was analyzed, and it that showed there was a statistically significant difference in the learners' attitude scores for HOG, MG, and LOG. Analysis of the data showed that the learners of the HOG teachers gained significantly higher attitude scores than the learners of the MG teachers. Simply put, it was found that EFL teachers' beliefs can influence their learners' attitudes about language learning. Language teachers should learn about the effect of their beliefs and experience it and become more aware of practicing them.
This study investigated the effects of the storytelling approach on improving of EFL learners' vocabulary knowledge. To this end, 30 upper-beginner EFL learners (out of a population of 134) were selected by means of an OPT test and were... more
This study investigated the effects of the storytelling approach on improving of EFL learners' vocabulary knowledge. To this end, 30 upper-beginner EFL learners (out of a population of 134) were selected by means of an OPT test and were assigned to 2 groups: 1 experimental and 1 group. The participants were selected from among young EFL learners who were between 8 and 14 years old. They had already registered for English classes in Paya Language Center, Isfahan, Iran. As for the materials, they were mainly prepared by the teacher/researcher. Based on the units of Backpack books-taught in Paya Language Center-some stories were prepared and adopted by the teacher/researcher along with a visual presentation using the PowerPoint software. In carrying out the study, the participants were taught the key vocabulary via pictures and gestures. Once the participants had identified the new words, the teacher started telling and introducing the stories. While reading the stories, the teacher directed the participants' attention to the PowerPoint presentation that included the visual representation of the story to facilitate the comprehension process. After the treatment, there was a posttest to assess the participants' improvement. Results of data analysis revealed that the storytelling approach to teaching vocabulary proved effective for the experimental group. All the experimental group participants experienced a significantly meaningful increase in their vocabulary knowledge, compared to the control group. Finally, there was a boost in the interest rate of the experimental group participants in terms of motivation.
Due to differences across languages, meanings and concepts vary across different languages, too. The most obvious points of difference between languages appear in their literature and their culture-specific items (CSIs), which lead to... more
Due to differences across languages, meanings and concepts vary across different languages, too. The most obvious points of difference between languages appear in their literature and their culture-specific items (CSIs), which lead to complexities when transferring meanings and concepts from one language into another. To overcome the complexities arisen from the distinction between languages in the process of translation, translation scholars have proposed different strategies. Newmark's proposed taxonomy for translating CSIs is the framework for achieving this study. So, after adopting CSIs with Newmark's (1988) 5 proposed domains of CSIs, we sought to find his proposed translation strategies applied in the English translation of Jalal Al-Ahmad's By the Pen by Ghanoonparvar (1988) and to evaluate the frequency of each in order to determine which strategy could help the most in translating CSIs. To do so, first, both the source language text and its translation were studied; then, the translation strategies applied were found. Having found the strategies as the sources of the data, they were arranged and analyzed. Results showed that functional equivalent was the most frequently used strategy, and modulation and paraphrase were the least frequently used ones. Findings have pedagogical implications for translation students and literary translators.
Both lack of time and the need to translate texts for numerous reasons brought about an increase in studying machine translation with a history spanning over 65 years. During the last decades, Google Translate, as a statistical machine... more
Both lack of time and the need to translate texts for numerous reasons brought about an increase in studying machine translation with a history spanning over 65 years. During the last decades, Google Translate, as a statistical machine translation (SMT), was in the center of attention for supporting 90 languages. Although there are many studies on Google Translate, few researchers have considered Persian-English translation pairs. This study used Keshavarzʼs (1999) model of error analysis to carry out a comparison study between the raw English-Persian translations and Persian-English translations from Google Translate. Based on the criteria presented in the model, 100 systematically selected sentences from an interpreter app called Motarjem Hamrah were translated by Google Translate and then evaluated and brought in different tables. Results of analyzing and tabulating the frequencies of the errors together with conducting a chi-square test showed no significant differences between the qualities of Google Translate from English to Persian and Persian to English. In addition, lexicosemantic and active/passive voice errors were the most and least frequent errors, respectively. Directions for future research are recognized in the paper for the improvements of the system.
This study, first, examined whether there was any relationship between Iranian L2 learners' vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs), on the one hand, and their multiple intelligences (MI) types, on the other hand. In so doing, it explored... more
This study, first, examined whether there was any relationship between Iranian L2 learners' vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs), on the one hand, and their multiple intelligences (MI) types, on the other hand. In so doing, it explored the extent to which MI would predict L2 learners' VLSs. To these ends, 40 L2 learners from Isfahan University of Technology in Isfahan participated in the study, and the following instruments were utilized to collect the data: the Oxford Placement Test (OPT) to gauge participants' proficiency level, the Multiple Intelligences Questionnaire (Mckenzie, 1999), and a vocabulary learning questionnaire based on the framework adopted from Schmitt's (1990). The strategies were divided into five categories: determination, memory, social, metacognitive, and cognitive. To analyze the data, Pearson correlation was applied to find out the relationship between the participants' intelligence categories and their preferred VLSs. Then, multiple regression analysis was run to indicate the significance of the specific VLSs in the participants' intelligences. Results revealed that there was a strong positive relationship between participants' intrapersonal intelligence and their tendency toward the cognitive and metacognitive strategies. Moreover, as participants' scores in their interpersonal intelligence test increased, they inclined toward the social strategies more. A potential positive and significant relationship between visual/spatial intelligence and memory strategies and also linguistic intelligence and determination strategies was also found out. Overall results revealed that the participants made a significant difference regarding their decisions for particular VLSs, as intrapersonal, interpersonal, linguistic, and visual learners predicted more specific and significant VLSs in comparison with other types of intelligences.
This study examined the effect of etymological elaboration, pictorial elucidation, and integration of these 2 strategies on idiom learning by L2 learners. A total number of 80 homogeneous intermediate learners studying English at 3... more
This study examined the effect of etymological elaboration, pictorial elucidation, and integration of these 2 strategies on idiom learning by L2 learners. A total number of 80 homogeneous intermediate learners studying English at 3 language institutes in Isfahan, Iran, were selected. The intermediate participants were selected as the result of administering an Oxford Placement Test (OPT) to them. Then, the participants were divided into 4 groups of equal size, that is, control, etymological, pictorial, and etymological/pictorial groups. Before the experiment, all the participants took a pretest to ensure their unfamiliarity with the idioms. The idioms that were known even by 1 participant were crossed out, and finally 30 idioms were chosen for instruction. Then, the experimental groups received their relevant treatments during 15 sessions, whereas the control group learners learned idioms through definitions and example sentences. After the implementation of the experiment, the 4 groups, once again, sat for a test (i.e., the immediate posttest) to see whether the treatments had improved idiom learning. Finally, the data were analyzed by an independent samples t test and one-way between-groups ANOVA. Results showed that all the 3 strategies significantly improved the participants' idiom learning. Results also pointed to the fact that the etymological elaboration/pictorial elucidation strategy was the most effective strategy on idiom learning.
Metaphorical competence influences the comprehension of idiomatic and metaphoric statements. Conceptual metaphors are tightly linked to idioms and are often accessed when idioms are understood. The main purpose of this study was to... more
Metaphorical competence influences the comprehension of idiomatic and metaphoric statements.
Conceptual metaphors are tightly linked to idioms and are often accessed when idioms are
understood. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of social networks (i.e.,
WhatsApp) on Iranian L2 learners’ metaphorical competence. After administering an OPT test, a
group of 50 homogeneous Iranian upper-intermediate students were selected and assigned into 2
groups: experimental and control. The experimental group received the treatment through
introduction, prologue, and spreading, whereas the control group did not receive any treatment
at all. The results of an independent samples t test revealed that e-learning had a statistically
significant positive effect on the participants’ metaphorical competence. The results revealed that
e-learning is, indeed, the cutting edge of education and an effective element in academic settings.
Conceptual metaphors are tightly linked to idioms and are often accessed when idioms are
understood. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of social networks (i.e.,
WhatsApp) on Iranian L2 learners’ metaphorical competence. After administering an OPT test, a
group of 50 homogeneous Iranian upper-intermediate students were selected and assigned into 2
groups: experimental and control. The experimental group received the treatment through
introduction, prologue, and spreading, whereas the control group did not receive any treatment
at all. The results of an independent samples t test revealed that e-learning had a statistically
significant positive effect on the participants’ metaphorical competence. The results revealed that
e-learning is, indeed, the cutting edge of education and an effective element in academic settings.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of paper and e-dictionaries on Iranian intermediate learners' reading comprehension. To this end, 90 female English Foreign language learners were randomly selected and assigned... more
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of paper and e-dictionaries on Iranian intermediate learners' reading comprehension. To this end, 90 female English Foreign language learners were randomly selected and assigned into 2 experimental groups (e-dictionaries and paper dictionaries groups) and 1 control group. All the groups took a pretest using no dictionaries. After 2 weeks of treatment design for the experimental groups, all the 3 groups took part in the posttest. The experimental groups did their task with their relevant dictionaries, whereas the control group did their task without using any kind of dictionary. Data were analyzed through analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and paired samples t test. Results showed that the participants' reading comprehension improved from the pretest to the posttest in both experimental groups. Results also indicated that the learners in the e-dictionaries group outperformed those in the paper dictionaries group. The outcome of study reveals that e-dictionaries could improve students' reading comprehension by motivating them, shortening the time of searching words and reading a text, and increasing the number of look ups.
Conceptual fluency (CF) and metaphorical competence (MC) have interested many L2 researchers. Leading the front is Danesi (1992, 1995, 2003) who contends that metaphorical language cannot afford to be ignored by L2 curricula anymore. His... more
Conceptual fluency (CF) and metaphorical competence (MC) have interested many L2 researchers. Leading the front is Danesi (1992, 1995, 2003) who contends that metaphorical language cannot afford to be ignored by L2 curricula anymore. His push is to instill in L2 learners a more functional communicative competence. This article reports on a study to scrutinize the development of CF and MC in Persian students of English. First, a group of language students (95 freshmen, 92 sophomores, 139 juniors, and 90 seniors) were tested to see whether they were conceptually and metaphorically competent, and the results showed they were almost bereft of such a competence, and the analysis of their writings uncovered low metaphorical density. The findings corroborated Danesi’s (1992) claim: L2 learners do not necessarily develop CF and MC after several years of study. Then, the juniors partook in the study in which they were exposed to the metaphorical language of English. The posttest results were indicative that they had developed their CF and MC, and their written discourse was almost as metaphorically dense as that of natives. The data implied it is possible to develop CF and MC in a classroom. Finally, the data indicated that there is a relationship between CF and MC.
Discourse markers (DMs), as linguistic elements that serve pragmatic roles in conversations, have been the subject of investigation in a host of studies. Many of these studies have focused on native speaker discourse. Though some studies... more
Discourse markers (DMs), as linguistic elements that serve pragmatic roles in conversations, have been the subject of investigation in a host of studies. Many of these studies have focused on native speaker discourse. Though some studies have also traced the acquisition of these markers in non-native interactions, the importance of their acquisition is hardly reflected in classroom textbooks or in research on second language development. In particular, studies on the development of DMs within an interview framework by non-native learners of English are scant. Therefore, the present study targeted the use and the function of DMs in interviews of Persian learners of English as a foreign language. Ninety female learners of English were selected and put in three groups on the basis of their performance on a simulated TOEFL test. Then, all the participants were interviewed and they were recorded for further analysis. The analysis of the data revealed differences in the frequency and functions of DMs, indicating that DMs are acquired developmentally. The results of this study are by no means conclusive, so more research is needed to substantiate the results.
People usually have a telephone voice, which means they adjust their speech to fit particular situations and to blend in with other interlocutors. The question is: Do we speak differently to different people? This possibility has been... more
People usually have a telephone voice, which means they adjust their speech to fit particular situations and to blend in with other interlocutors. The question is: Do we speak differently to different people? This possibility has been suggested by social psychologists within Accommodation Theory. Converging toward the speech of another person can be regarded as a polite speech strategy while choosing a language not used by the other interlocutor can be considered as the clearest example of speech divergence. The present study sets out to investigate such processes in the course of everyday telephone conversations. In spoken English, the researchers try to explore convergence to or divergence from the addressee. The results propound the actuality that lexical choice, and subsequently, patterns of style vary intriguingly in concordance with the person being addressed.
English for special purposes (ESP) is a branch of applied linguistics which endeavors to design English materials pertinent to students’ interests and specialties. This study is an attempt to arrive at a judgment on who deserves to... more
English for special purposes (ESP) is a branch of applied linguistics which endeavors to design English materials pertinent to students’ interests and specialties. This study is an attempt to arrive at a judgment on who deserves to monitor an ESP course: a content teacher or a language teacher. Also, the present study sets its sights on what ESP teachers need to do to improve their professional competence. The main purpose of every ESP course is to train students who can learn an L2 through the content of their specialism. Moreover, the percentage of the technical terms in ESP materials is very low, and these are the linguistic items and the communicative skills deemed to be essential to be taught. Therefore, it stands to good reasons to put the finger on the language teacher rather than a content teacher to monitor an ESP class. If so, ESP teachers have to develop their professional competence through undergoing further training, carrying out research, letting students put them right, and becoming familiar with the ESP materials and the language of the subject matter. To encapsulate, the content teachers’ inadequate knowledge of language methodology and pedagogical techniques makes the ESP course fail to instruct the kind of students who are dismissive of relying on unproductive skills, such as translation. Hence, the above arguments lend credence to the application of a language teacher to validate and teach ESP learning materials.
The bulk of L2 research on figures of speech boils down to the comprehension domain (Harris et al., 2006). By contrast, little work has been conducted on the investigation of the discourse goals for the speaker or the writer’s figurative... more
The bulk of L2 research on figures of speech boils down to the comprehension domain (Harris et al., 2006). By contrast, little work has been conducted on the investigation of the discourse goals for the speaker or the writer’s figurative production. This study, going beyond the customary metalinguistic approaches to figurative investigation, was an empirical probe into L2 learners’ perceived discourse goals for the utterance of figurative language (in this study, metaphors and similes). The possible effects of 4 independent variables came under the spotlight: Figure Type (Metaphor or Simile), Tenor Concreteness (Concrete or Abstract), Context (List Format or Story), and Modality (Oral, Written, and Both). Forty EFL Translation undergraduates were randomly assigned to 3 context conditions: (1) Oral Group, (2) Written Group, and (3) Oral and Written Group, presented with 16 metaphor and simile sentences in list or story formats, featuring both abstract and concrete tenors, and asked to mark as many 12 discourse goals as possible they believed to be the reasons for their production. The results pointed to the fact that the sole discourse goal of Compare Similarities (M = 7.975), in the simile version, carried weight with most of the participants. The Context variable turned out to have significant interaction with the choice of the discourse goals of Provoke Thought, Get Attention, Clarify, and Contrast Differences, whereas the factor of Modality influenced only Add Emphasis. Also, 3 goals, Add Interest, Clarify, and Show Positive Emotion significantly affected Tenor Concreteness. Comparatively, some marked differences were noticed between Iranian L2 learners and native speakers. L2 teachers are, therefore, advised to more emphasize the correct attributions of discourse goals for metaphors and similes.
This pragmatic analysis was an attempt to shed light on the speech act of request as used by Iranian nonnative speakers of English (NNSs) and Canadian native speakers of English (NSs) to find out possible similarities or differences... more
This pragmatic analysis was an attempt to shed light on the speech act of request as used by Iranian nonnative speakers of English (NNSs) and Canadian native speakers of English (NSs) to find out possible similarities or differences between the request realizations, and to investigate the influence of the situational variables of power, distance, context familiarity, and the influence of L1 for Iranian English learners. There were 4 groups in this study: Canadian NSs of English, Persian NSs, Iranian hotel staff, and Iranian L2 learners of English. One feature of this study was the involvement of 40 hotel staff in data collection procedure to check the impact of context familiarity. Each group consisted of 40, making a total of 160. The data were obtained by a Discourse Completion Test (DCT) which included 12 situations and was translated into Persian to elicit the data from Persian NSs as well. The data were analyzed and codified based on the cross-cultural speech act realization pattern (CCSARP) proposed by Blum-Kulka (1984). The findings revealed that the Persian culture is more direct and positive-politeness oriented, whereas the Canadian culture tends to be indirect and negative-politeness oriented. The Iranians displayed more variations in their request performance, and they were more sensitive to power differences. The Canadians were fixed and used conventionally indirect strategies in most situations. The L2 learners followed their L2 culture norm and uttered more indirect requests and showed pragmatic competence development in overall request strategies. But with respect to the situational variables, the L2 learners transferred their L1 pragmatic knowledge in their Interlanguage, and the hotel staff followed their L1 pragmatic conventions in their L2 realizations; thus, sociopragmatic transfer apparently occurred.
Aptness, defined as how the vehicle is well able to cover the salient features of the tenor (e.g., oil is like liquid gold vs. a train is like a worm), is claimed to be an important factor in the preference for metaphors over similes, or... more
Aptness, defined as how the vehicle is well able to cover the salient features of the tenor (e.g., oil is like liquid gold vs. a train is like a worm), is claimed to be an important factor in the preference for metaphors over similes, or vice versa. This study was an attempt to test for the supposed correlation between the perceived degree of aptness and a priori stylistic preference for metaphors and similes by Iranian L2 learners. Participants, aged 20-25, were selected from 80 EFL Translation undergraduates. In the first place, they were asked to read 2 alternative lists of the same sentences (lists A and B) and to rate each sentence as to its appropriateness by filling in a number between 2 endpoints of 1 (very inappropriate) and 7 (very appropriate). In the second place, they were invited to consider the 2 alternative forms of the same sentence and to say which one they preferred: the metaphor or the simile form. Results revealed no such strong or moderate relationship between the perceived mean aptness ratings and the mean preference scores for the simile and metaphor versions (r = -0.014 for the metaphors; r = 0.014 for the similes). All things considered, the perceived degree of aptness failed to predict the stylistic preference for metaphors and similes. This comes to the rejection of the validity of the claim put forth by Chiappe and Kennedy (1999) regarding the predictive power of aptness to inform the preference of metaphors and similes by Iranian L2 learners.
People usually have a telephone voice, which means they adjust their speech to fit particular situations and to blend in with other interlocutors. The question is: Do we speak differently to different people? This possibility has been... more
People usually have a telephone voice, which means they adjust their speech to fit particular situations and to blend in with other interlocutors. The question is: Do we speak differently to different people? This possibility has been suggested by social psychologists within Accommodation Theory. Converging toward the speech of another person can be regarded as a polite speech strategy while choosing a language not used by the other interlocutor can be considered as the clearest example of speech divergence. The present study sets out to investigate such processes in the course of everyday telephone conversations. In spoken English, the researchers try to explore convergence to or divergence from the addressee. The results propound the actuality that lexical choice, and subsequently, patterns of style vary intriguingly in concordance with the person being addressed.
This study aimed at examining cross-cultural differences in performing the speech act of refusal between Persian native speakers (PNSs) and English native speakers (ENSs) in terms of the frequency of the semantic formulas. Also examined... more
This study aimed at examining cross-cultural differences in performing the speech act of refusal between Persian native speakers (PNSs) and English native speakers (ENSs) in terms of the frequency of the semantic formulas. Also examined in this study was whether Persian L2 learners would transfer their L1 refusal patterns into English, and if there would be a relation between their proficiency level and the transfer of refusal strategies. To do so, 30 PNSs and 30 ENSs from both genders filled out the Persian and English versions of the same discourse completion test (DCT), respectively. The Oxford Placement Test (OPT) was used to form 30 Persian high proficient L2 learners and 30 low proficient ones, who were required to fill out the English version of the DCT. The refusals strategies used by the participants were turned into semantic formulas and, finally, classified into 3 groups of direct, indirect, and adjuncts to Refusals. The findings showed no significant differences in the use of direct refusal strategies between the ENSs and the PNSs. Unlike the PNSs who outweighed the ENSs in the use of indirect strategies, the ENS employed substantially more adjuncts to refusals. The findings also indicated the occurrence of pragmatic transfer in the use of indirect and adjuncts to refusals by the high and low proficiency groups. However, the low proficient L2 learners were found to transfer their L1 refusal patterns more than the high proficient group.
This study attempted to identify the relationship between short-term in-service development programmes and teaching proficiency of EFL teachers in Esfahan high schools. Two main objectives were defined: 1) to determine the relationship... more
This study attempted to identify the relationship between short-term in-service development programmes and teaching proficiency of EFL teachers in Esfahan high schools. Two main objectives were defined: 1) to determine the relationship between the content components of short-term in-service programmes and teachers’ utilisation approach towards the components of the programmes in class, and 2) to determine the relationship between EFL teachers’ perception towards short-term in-service programmes and teachers’ utilisation approach towards the components of the programmes. Data were collected through questionnaires and observation checklists. Participants were 312 Iranian EFL teachers from Esfahan high schools, and 46 English teachers. Findings indicate: a) there is no significant difference towards the content components of the programmes between male/female teachers; b) there is significant difference towards the content components of the programmes among the 3 age groups; c) there is significant difference towards the content components of the programmes between Bachelor and Master holders; and d) there is significant difference towards the content components of the programmes among the 3 groups. Findings indicate: 1) there is no significant relationship between short-term in-service development programmes for EFL teachers in Esfahan high schools and the approaches teachers utilise in classroom contexts, and 2) there is no significant relationship between EFL teachers’ perception towards the programmes and the approaches teachers utilise in classroom contexts.
Research has shown that English learners and teachers with higher Emotional Intelligence (EI), referring to their ability to recognize and regulate their emotions, are capable of making better decisions, communicating more effectively,... more
Research has shown that English learners and teachers with higher Emotional Intelligence (EI), referring to their ability to recognize and regulate their emotions, are capable of making better decisions, communicating more effectively, developing tolerance, and experiencing less stress. The aim of this study was to highlight the significance of EI in EFL, specifically as to tests for the “writing” skill. The participants included 40 male and 40 female BA students of TEFL, aged 19-25, who took an EI questionnaire (INTE) developed by Jaworowska and Matczak (2001) applied to identify the participants’ EI scores, a valid EI test, and a teacher-made questionnaire. Also, each participant wrote an expository and an argumentative essay. The scores were submitted to a descriptive analysis with the help of SPSS. Moreover, one-way repeated measures ANOVA was used. The multiple-trait scoring scheme developed by Hyland (2003) was applied by 3 raters. For post hoc comparisons, the Tukey HSD test was conducted. The results showed at which proficiency level EI left its greatest influence. Additionally, this finding informs teachers of the “writing” skill and educators at what time and proficiency level and to what extent to consider EI in their teaching programs.
Speech act theories are pragmatic ones for language use; they attempt to account for how language is used every day to achieve intentions and psychological factors. We can use directive speech acts to get the hearer to do something.... more
Speech act theories are pragmatic ones for language use; they attempt to account for how language is used every day to achieve intentions and psychological factors. We can use directive speech acts to get the hearer to do something. Requestive speech act can also be seen in performative verbs. English and Persian may request something directly or indirectly. Imperatives sentences have their basic use to get or to advise the hearer to do something. For instance, asking for a fund and some other areas in Persian differ from those of English. Asking for something with an imperative mood in Persian in order to make that person happiness, comfort, and better health may be much more satisfying for the listener but not to achieve other goals. The expression of “Xahesh mikonam” is added to Persian because without it, the request will be impolite. Requesting needs some feedback, too. In Persian, before the act of request, people start to apologize in order to meet their needs; however, in English, speakers directly go to the point. Therefore, there are many contrastive psychological factors between these 2 languages because of cultural differences. We have to teach these differences to reduce contrastive psychological factors and cultures between English and Persian to pave the way for Persian English learners.
The ability to communicate efficiently in English is an entrenched objective in ELT. A scanty appraisal of syllabus specifications and introductions to course books will pinpoint that communicative ability has become an end, and... more
The ability to communicate efficiently in English is an entrenched objective in ELT. A scanty appraisal of syllabus specifications and introductions to course books will pinpoint that communicative ability has become an end, and communicative practice has become part of classroom procedures. One of the earliest terms for the communicative movement was communicative competence (Hymes, 1972), via which Hymes displayed a radical shift of emphasis among linguists, away from a narrow focus on language as a formal system. For Hymes, adding the ‘communicative’ element to ‘competence’ meant adding, “… rules of use without which the rules of grammar would be useless” (p. 278). However, recent research has found that L2 learners of high grammatical proficiency will not necessarily show concomitant communicative skills. Some scholars explained nonnative-like production by the lack or low level of conceptual fluency and metaphorical competence in an L2. With the seminal study of Lakoff and Johnson (1980a), many linguists have concluded that ‘metaphor’ is pervasive in language and thought. Such scholars’ impetus is to impart in L2 learners a more functional communicative competence. Chomskyan linguistic and Hymesian communicative competences are only the preliminary steps for L2 learners to acquire an L2, for these alone cannot guarantee production of appropriate utterances. Many of the problems L2 learners encounter may emanate from the differences in the conceptual systems of the L1 and the L2. To realize the full potential of the L2 process, L2 learners must also acquire the conceptual system of that L2.
The present study examined the influence of social context on the use of emoticons in Internet communication. Secondary school students (n = 158) responded to short Internet chats. Social context (i.e., task-oriented vs. socio-emotional)... more
The present study examined the influence of social context on the use of emoticons in Internet communication. Secondary school students (n = 158) responded to short Internet chats. Social context (i.e., task-oriented vs. socio-emotional) and valence of the context (i.e., positive vs. negative) were manipulated in these chats. The participants were permitted to respond with text, emoticons, or a combination of both. The results showed that the participants used more emoticons in socio-emotional than in task-oriented social contexts. Furthermore, the students used more positive emoticons in positive contexts and more negative emoticons in negative contexts. An interaction was found between valence and kind of context. In negative, task-oriented contexts, the participants used the least emoticons. The results are related to research about the expression of emotions in face-to-face interaction
This study measured the effects of reading goals on learning in a computer mediated environment. Reading goals were defined as the purpose one has for reading. Learning was defined as adding to one’s prior knowledge. And, a computer... more
This study measured the effects of reading goals on learning in a computer mediated environment. Reading goals were defined as the purpose one has for reading. Learning was defined as adding to one’s prior knowledge. And, a computer mediated environment was defined as reading text from a computer monitor. For the sample, 125 undergraduates (77 of whom females) were given one of the following 3 reading goals: to read to understand the text, to read to take a test, or to read to teach the material to another student. Then, the participants read a long (3000+ words) passage of text from a computer screen. A computer program presented the text on the screen 4 lines at a time and measured how long the students spent on each page initially, how many times they re-read the pages, and how much time they spent re-reading the pages. Learning was measured in 4 ways: recall of the main topics and supporting details of the passage, time spent reading each page of the text, time spent re-reading the pages, and the number of times the pages were re-read. Recall of supporting details was significantly greater for the teaching goal than the testing goal. The time spent re-reading was significantly greater for the teaching goal. The students with the knowing goal recalled significantly more supporting details than the students with the testing goal. The above findings suggest that reading goals do have an effect on learning in a computer mediated environment.
Almost all English language teachers get students to study grammar, vocabulary, and so forth, but some of these same teachers make little attempt to teach pronunciation in any overt way and only give attention to it in passing.... more
Almost all English language teachers get students to study grammar, vocabulary, and so forth, but some of these same teachers make little attempt to teach pronunciation in any overt way and only give attention to it in passing. Pronunciation teaching not only makes students aware of different sounds and sound features, but it can also improve their speaking. Concentrating on sounds, making aware of where words should be stressed, and where words are made in the mouth give students information about spoken English and help them achieve the goal of improved comprehension and intelligibility. Pronunciation forms a natural link to other aspects of language use, such as listening, vocabulary, and grammar, and ways of highlighting this interdependence in teaching need to be explored. The present study looks at the problems which Iranian learners deal with through learning English according to the differences between their segmental and suprasegmental patterns in phonology. Comparing the Persian vowel system with that of English reveals some significant differences in the following 3 areas: 1) the number of vowels, 2) tense/lax distinctions, and 3) the pure/glide sounds. There are also noticeable differences in consonantal distributions between Persian and English, such as their numbers, clusters, and manner and place of articulation. The syllabus types of English and Persian also cause a lot of problem in spoken language. The differences between word stress patterns in Persian and English also make problematic areas for Iranian students. In this paper, through detailed examination of Persian and English sound systems, some of the specific problematic areas have been identified, especially in reference to some of the blatant phonological differences between the 2 languages.
Introduction With regard to the role of football schools in providing players of various ages for national teams, researches in this country (i.e., Iran) point to the fact that the followings are the main reasons for lack of development... more
Introduction
With regard to the role of football schools in providing players of various ages for national teams, researches in this country (i.e., Iran) point to the fact that the followings are the main reasons for lack of development in our country: lack of investment on people of 15-16 years old; lack of an organized system, lack of specializing in the process of talent-judging with a focus on the impassivity of the Ministry of Education to find talents; dispersal of instruction thanks to the use of various styles and schools in different eras; lack of basic, continuous instruction for players, especially at low age levels; and inattention to backing and satisfaction with the superstars (1). Therefore, the first step towards a skilled-practical appraisal of the instructional efficiency and output of football schools is ignoring the instructional methods of such schools. Alagig has divided football instruction into 6 levels so that it includes the ages of 5 to 17 and even higher. He claims that it is possible to play football at any age, but a systematic and organized instruction for children must begin around the age of 9/10. At the preceding age, the functions of psychological-behavioral and logical are well balanced, and they are in full force to begin learning football at the ages of 9 to 12 (2). Housevert and Jefrese have divided football programs into 3 levels (3). Garbezans and Goonargaresh believe that the learning of football skills occurs better in formative years (4).
Regarding the afore-mentioned researches, the present research aimed at the effect of football schools’ instructions on the teenagers’ basic skills in an 8-session program, hoping that the results would be useful for controlling, supervising, and coordinating in football instruction and bringing up football players and paving the ground for nurturing and flourishing the superior talents of football schools.
Methodology
The present research was carried out in the field, and it was semi-experimental. The population included all football schools in Esfahan, all of which were certified by Esfahan Football Board. First, the whole population was supposed to be included, but then, with regard to the limitations, 16 schools were selected. In line with the background of the present research, the following 3 age groups were selected: 10, 11, and 12. And in each football school, 7 samples were selected in each age group. Overall, 21 samples were selected randomly from each school. The participants taking part in the pretest and the posttest were 171─ 10-year-olds: 55; 11-year-olds: 64; and 12-year-olds: 52. The participants took the pretest and the posttest (8 weeks after the pretest) designed by the Social Statistics Department at the University of Southampton, including the following activities: running with the ball, rotating with the ball, drilling, and speed running (5 & 6). The researcher utilized the tests in Europe’s football schools, adapted from England Football Federation. England Football Federation is upgrading its football’s instruction program for young players of both genders. This program aims at the players’ development and improvement ability in the following special techniques: running with the ball, changing direction (with)out the ball, drilling, heading the ball, shooting, and passing and controlling the ball. The preceding techniques for young players’ learning are determined while analyzing football matches; they are quick and behavioral/moveable; and they do not include passive activities like legerdemain (5). Harking back to the above-mentioned techniques, Charles Hughes, the head of England Coaches’ Committees and Football Instruction Union, argues that some of these fundamental techniques, specially designed for children of 7 to 13 years old, have been carefully researched as to their validity and reliability (6).The researcher used descriptive statistics, consisting of mean, variance, and standard deviation; in inferential statistics, the matched t-test was utilized.
Findings
After analyzing the data, it was found that the instruction in the football schools on the skills of speed running and drilling among 10- or 11-year-old teenagers was significant at p < 0/05, but it was not significant on the skills of running with the ball and rotating with the ball at p < 0/05. Moreover, the instruction in the football schools on the skills of speed running, drilling, and rotating with the ball in 12-year-old teenagers was significant at p < 0/05, but it was not significant on their skill of running with the ball at p < 0/05.
Table 1: Review & Comparison of the Skill Tests for
10-Year-Old Teenagers in the Football Schools
Test Type Number of Testees Pretest Mean Posttest Mean Sig. Alpha Level (α) Result
Running with the Ball 52 8/20 8/05 0/648 0/05 Non-Significant
Rotating with the Ball 52 11/33 11/47 0/530 0/05 Non- Significant
Speed Running 52 15/94 15/45 0/01 0/05 Significant*
Drilling 48 21/42 20/25 0/01 0/05 Significant*
Discussion & Conclusion
Apparently, techniques and skills in football─like other sports─are of paramount importance, and the necessary condition for a qualified and better football player is the possession of high techniques and skills (5). Techniques are innately born that distort game rules/principles, so they introduce differences among players, and individual skills per se, with the help of unexpected solutions, put an end to complicated situations (7). Techniques mean all behavioral movements/actions specific to football that lead to a fair and goal-oriented sport (4). Charles Hughes avers that techniques in football function like barters, and a player is better whose techniques are sophisticated and better (6).Warner, utilizing his own tests (hitting with the right foot, hitting with the left foot, and drilling), tested 12- to 17-year-old male students, and the results indicated that skill executions and functions augmented with increasing age (8). Williams and Reilly’s research results showed that the talented players had high technical skills than the untalented ones (9). Diterosch et al. tested young players between 10 to 18 years old, using the F-Mark test. In such tests, the players with a higher average age managed to achieve higher records (10).
In the current research, the instruction in the football schools had a significant difference between the pretest and posttest in the skill of rotating with the ball among 12-year-old teenagers, while this difference was not significant for 10- and 11-year-old teenagers, pointing to the lack of effect of such instruction in such football schools among the above-mentioned age groups. This observance probably points to the experience and more behavioral cognition of this age group during the instruction sessions of such football schools, and it might indicate to the importance exercised by the trainers on this skill on age 12 compared to ages 10 and 11.
There was no significant difference between those who took the pretest and the posttest on the skill of running with the ball in the 3 age groups, signaling to the lack of effect of instruction in football schools on this basic skill in each age group. The reason seems to relate to the lack of a pre-determined plan to enhance this skill as well as a non-organized instruction based upon experience, since the football players start to move with the ball as soon as they get familiar and gain experience, and they run while the coaching team does not pay attention to this crucial aspect. Accordingly, there has been almost no attention to this skill consistent with professional perspectives and behavioral patterns, and so the instructors have not had the required instructions themselves!
In contrast to the above, there was a significant difference between the pretest and the posttest in the skill of speed running in the 3 age groups, showing that instruction in such football schools does have an effect on this skill. Regarding the fact that there was no use of the ball in this skill and the testees had to cover a two-way zigzagged route, the difference in the results might be to the ease and convenience of this test on the one hand, and attending the speed in running and agility per se could be inferred to be emphasized in most in instruction football schools on the other hand, which is a positive point in evaluating football players and the methods of the instructors, ultimately leading to the significant difference.
As for the skill of drilling the ball, there was a significant difference between the pretest and the posttest in the 3 age groups, pointing to the fact that there is an emphasis and an effect of instruction in football schools on the development of this skill in all age groups. The testees’ record increases with a decrease in age, and the level of their skill decreases, too. After the passage of a few instruction sessions, there was also a radical change in the posttest records of 12-year-old football players compared to the 10- and 11-year-old ones.
In sum, it could be argued that instruction in football schools has had the most efficiency/output for the 12-year-old groups, and it has been consistent with their needs. And, had there been special trainers in such football schools for this age group, they would have been more successful compared to trainers for lower age groups.
Finally, this research alleges that activities carried out in Esfahan’s football schools are successful and satisfying. And, their activities lead to the enhancement of skill activities of football players in such schools, though there are differences among football schools.
With regard to the role of football schools in providing players of various ages for national teams, researches in this country (i.e., Iran) point to the fact that the followings are the main reasons for lack of development in our country: lack of investment on people of 15-16 years old; lack of an organized system, lack of specializing in the process of talent-judging with a focus on the impassivity of the Ministry of Education to find talents; dispersal of instruction thanks to the use of various styles and schools in different eras; lack of basic, continuous instruction for players, especially at low age levels; and inattention to backing and satisfaction with the superstars (1). Therefore, the first step towards a skilled-practical appraisal of the instructional efficiency and output of football schools is ignoring the instructional methods of such schools. Alagig has divided football instruction into 6 levels so that it includes the ages of 5 to 17 and even higher. He claims that it is possible to play football at any age, but a systematic and organized instruction for children must begin around the age of 9/10. At the preceding age, the functions of psychological-behavioral and logical are well balanced, and they are in full force to begin learning football at the ages of 9 to 12 (2). Housevert and Jefrese have divided football programs into 3 levels (3). Garbezans and Goonargaresh believe that the learning of football skills occurs better in formative years (4).
Regarding the afore-mentioned researches, the present research aimed at the effect of football schools’ instructions on the teenagers’ basic skills in an 8-session program, hoping that the results would be useful for controlling, supervising, and coordinating in football instruction and bringing up football players and paving the ground for nurturing and flourishing the superior talents of football schools.
Methodology
The present research was carried out in the field, and it was semi-experimental. The population included all football schools in Esfahan, all of which were certified by Esfahan Football Board. First, the whole population was supposed to be included, but then, with regard to the limitations, 16 schools were selected. In line with the background of the present research, the following 3 age groups were selected: 10, 11, and 12. And in each football school, 7 samples were selected in each age group. Overall, 21 samples were selected randomly from each school. The participants taking part in the pretest and the posttest were 171─ 10-year-olds: 55; 11-year-olds: 64; and 12-year-olds: 52. The participants took the pretest and the posttest (8 weeks after the pretest) designed by the Social Statistics Department at the University of Southampton, including the following activities: running with the ball, rotating with the ball, drilling, and speed running (5 & 6). The researcher utilized the tests in Europe’s football schools, adapted from England Football Federation. England Football Federation is upgrading its football’s instruction program for young players of both genders. This program aims at the players’ development and improvement ability in the following special techniques: running with the ball, changing direction (with)out the ball, drilling, heading the ball, shooting, and passing and controlling the ball. The preceding techniques for young players’ learning are determined while analyzing football matches; they are quick and behavioral/moveable; and they do not include passive activities like legerdemain (5). Harking back to the above-mentioned techniques, Charles Hughes, the head of England Coaches’ Committees and Football Instruction Union, argues that some of these fundamental techniques, specially designed for children of 7 to 13 years old, have been carefully researched as to their validity and reliability (6).The researcher used descriptive statistics, consisting of mean, variance, and standard deviation; in inferential statistics, the matched t-test was utilized.
Findings
After analyzing the data, it was found that the instruction in the football schools on the skills of speed running and drilling among 10- or 11-year-old teenagers was significant at p < 0/05, but it was not significant on the skills of running with the ball and rotating with the ball at p < 0/05. Moreover, the instruction in the football schools on the skills of speed running, drilling, and rotating with the ball in 12-year-old teenagers was significant at p < 0/05, but it was not significant on their skill of running with the ball at p < 0/05.
Table 1: Review & Comparison of the Skill Tests for
10-Year-Old Teenagers in the Football Schools
Test Type Number of Testees Pretest Mean Posttest Mean Sig. Alpha Level (α) Result
Running with the Ball 52 8/20 8/05 0/648 0/05 Non-Significant
Rotating with the Ball 52 11/33 11/47 0/530 0/05 Non- Significant
Speed Running 52 15/94 15/45 0/01 0/05 Significant*
Drilling 48 21/42 20/25 0/01 0/05 Significant*
Discussion & Conclusion
Apparently, techniques and skills in football─like other sports─are of paramount importance, and the necessary condition for a qualified and better football player is the possession of high techniques and skills (5). Techniques are innately born that distort game rules/principles, so they introduce differences among players, and individual skills per se, with the help of unexpected solutions, put an end to complicated situations (7). Techniques mean all behavioral movements/actions specific to football that lead to a fair and goal-oriented sport (4). Charles Hughes avers that techniques in football function like barters, and a player is better whose techniques are sophisticated and better (6).Warner, utilizing his own tests (hitting with the right foot, hitting with the left foot, and drilling), tested 12- to 17-year-old male students, and the results indicated that skill executions and functions augmented with increasing age (8). Williams and Reilly’s research results showed that the talented players had high technical skills than the untalented ones (9). Diterosch et al. tested young players between 10 to 18 years old, using the F-Mark test. In such tests, the players with a higher average age managed to achieve higher records (10).
In the current research, the instruction in the football schools had a significant difference between the pretest and posttest in the skill of rotating with the ball among 12-year-old teenagers, while this difference was not significant for 10- and 11-year-old teenagers, pointing to the lack of effect of such instruction in such football schools among the above-mentioned age groups. This observance probably points to the experience and more behavioral cognition of this age group during the instruction sessions of such football schools, and it might indicate to the importance exercised by the trainers on this skill on age 12 compared to ages 10 and 11.
There was no significant difference between those who took the pretest and the posttest on the skill of running with the ball in the 3 age groups, signaling to the lack of effect of instruction in football schools on this basic skill in each age group. The reason seems to relate to the lack of a pre-determined plan to enhance this skill as well as a non-organized instruction based upon experience, since the football players start to move with the ball as soon as they get familiar and gain experience, and they run while the coaching team does not pay attention to this crucial aspect. Accordingly, there has been almost no attention to this skill consistent with professional perspectives and behavioral patterns, and so the instructors have not had the required instructions themselves!
In contrast to the above, there was a significant difference between the pretest and the posttest in the skill of speed running in the 3 age groups, showing that instruction in such football schools does have an effect on this skill. Regarding the fact that there was no use of the ball in this skill and the testees had to cover a two-way zigzagged route, the difference in the results might be to the ease and convenience of this test on the one hand, and attending the speed in running and agility per se could be inferred to be emphasized in most in instruction football schools on the other hand, which is a positive point in evaluating football players and the methods of the instructors, ultimately leading to the significant difference.
As for the skill of drilling the ball, there was a significant difference between the pretest and the posttest in the 3 age groups, pointing to the fact that there is an emphasis and an effect of instruction in football schools on the development of this skill in all age groups. The testees’ record increases with a decrease in age, and the level of their skill decreases, too. After the passage of a few instruction sessions, there was also a radical change in the posttest records of 12-year-old football players compared to the 10- and 11-year-old ones.
In sum, it could be argued that instruction in football schools has had the most efficiency/output for the 12-year-old groups, and it has been consistent with their needs. And, had there been special trainers in such football schools for this age group, they would have been more successful compared to trainers for lower age groups.
Finally, this research alleges that activities carried out in Esfahan’s football schools are successful and satisfying. And, their activities lead to the enhancement of skill activities of football players in such schools, though there are differences among football schools.
Conceptual fluency and metaphorical competence are the forgotten dimensions of Second Language Acquisition Research (SLAR), and they are possibly as important as linguistic and communicative competences, collectively known as verbal... more
Conceptual fluency and metaphorical competence are the forgotten dimensions of Second Language Acquisition Research (SLAR), and they are possibly as important as linguistic and communicative competences, collectively known as verbal fluency. The main claim proposed by Lakoff and Johnson (1980), also later advanced by Danesi (1993), is that the human mind is metaphorical, and that is why everyday common language is metaphorical. Therefore, if the goal of Second Language Teaching (SLT) is to prepare language learners capable of communicating naturally with other people, and possibly with native speakers, the focus should also be on the advancement of conceptual and metaphorical competences as well as linguistic and communicative ones.
Tropes (Figures of Speech) are one of the most important, but neglected, aspects of human language. Traditionally, they have been regarded collectively as an extra and redundant part of human language, and that is why their study has been... more
Tropes (Figures of Speech) are one of the most important, but neglected, aspects of human language. Traditionally, they have been regarded collectively as an extra and redundant part of human language, and that is why their study has been either neglected by SLA researchers or mostly confined to literature and rhetoric. Scholars have limited the scientific study of tropes, if any, to only literature since the (wrong) assumption has been, for mote than two millennia, that tropes belong to literary forms of language, not to the common language used by commoners. Accordingly, they have been categorized into the following main components in literature: metaphor, simile, metonymy, synecdoche, personification, hyperbole, and irony. However, the old tradition was challenged by Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980a) seminal book “Metaphors We Live By.” In the preceding classic book, they tried cogently to challenge the deeply-entrenched assumptions of the old tradition and supplant them with new postulations. In line with the new cognitive-semantic view of tropes, figures of speech are NOT just nice-looking and pleasing components of human language; rather, they are part and parcel of any human language. Actually, the phrase “figures of speech” is jettisoned all together, and the more appropriate phrase “figures of thought” is proposed since human language, far from being literal, is metaphorical. The securitization of any part of any human language points to the mere fact that the common language used by ordinary people, not just the language of poets and rhetoricians, IS metaphorical in nature. In fact, the term “metaphor” is the umbrella term for all types of figures of speech/thought in the new position. Metaphor is defined as “understanding one conceptual domain in terms of another conceptual domain,” whose main function is “understanding” (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980a). In the cognitive-semantic view of metaphor, there is no need to have various terms for metaphorical examples of language. The only concept needed is the conceptual metaphor “A IS B” as in “Time Is Money,” “Theories Are Buildings,” “An Argument Is War,” and “Ideas Are Fashion.” The gist of the new view of metaphor is that we humans are constantly engaged in metaphorizing; that is, resorting to certain domains (mostly concrete ones) to understand other domains (mostly abstract ones). The new account of metaphor claims that metaphor, far from being decorative, ornamental, and superfluous, is an indispensable component of any human language. And since language is a reflection of the mind, the mind is metaphorical. In a nutshell, the old tradition claims that most of language is literal and some is metaphorical, while the new view claims that most of language is metaphorical and some is literal.
Conceptual fluency and metaphorical competence have piqued the interest of a number of second language researchers. Leading the front are Danesi (1992, 1995, 2003) and Johnson and Rosano (1993) who contend that metaphorical language... more
Conceptual fluency and metaphorical competence have piqued the interest of a number of second language researchers. Leading the front are Danesi (1992, 1995, 2003) and Johnson and Rosano (1993) who contend that metaphorical language cannot afford to be ignored by second-language curricula any longer. Their push is to instill in second-language learners a more functional communicative competence over a traditional formal competence. To be conceptually fluent and metaphorically competent in a second language means to be able to take part in the target culture perception of the physical and social world and to interact with it like a native speaker (Danesi, 1992), which at this stage of the game seems to be totally absent in second-language methodology and syllabus. This paper reports on a study carried out to scrutinize the development of conceptual fluency and metaphorical competence in Persian students of English. First, a group of language students (95 freshmen, 92 sophomores, 139 juniors, and 90 seniors) were tested to see whether they were conceptually and metaphorically competent, and the results showed they were almost bereft of such a competence, and the analysis of their written discourse uncovered a very low level of metaphorical density. The findings were in line with what Danesi (1992) has averred: Second language learners do not necessarily develop conceptual fluency and metaphorical competence after several years of study. Then, the juniors took part in the study for a six-month period in which they were exposed to and taught about the metaphorical language of English. The posttest results were indicative that they had developed their conceptual fluency and metaphorical competence to a large extent, and that their written discourse was almost as metaphorically dense as that of native speakers. To be precise, the findings revealed that it is possible to develop conceptual fluency and metaphorical competence in a classroom setting. Finally, the data indicated that there is a relationship between conceptual fluency and metaphorical competence.
Despite emphasizing the potential of audiovisual materials for incidental vocabulary learning, scholarship on the affordances of these materials for vocabulary uptake is scant. This study investigated whether the insertion of an oral... more
Despite emphasizing the potential of audiovisual materials for incidental vocabulary learning, scholarship on the affordances of these materials for vocabulary uptake is scant. This study investigated whether the insertion of an oral output task between 2 viewings of a TED talk positively affects vocabulary learning. To this end, 30 Iranian intermediate EFL students participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to 2 groups and were asked to watch a TED talk video twice. The learners of one group (n = 15) were told to orally sum up the content of the TED talk within 5 min after the first viewing and, then, watch it once more. However, the other group (n = 15) was not required to retell the input in between. After the second viewing, both groups were given a vocabulary test while they were not forewarned about this test. Analysis of immediate and delayed posttests indicated that those participants who had summed up the content of the TED talk and watched it a second time picked up the meanings of more words from the input than the other group who had watched the TED talk twice without an oral output task. Retelling task promoted the first group to seek the content matter of the original text and attend more to the relevant lexis while watching the video again in order to fill the lacunae they experienced. Therefore, the announced summary task brought about better vocabulary uptake. This process is explained with reference to Swain's (1995) output hypothesis, as the output task was conducive to noticing. The study offers a way toward enhancing L2 students' listening metacognition strategies. It also highlights the potential of authentic audiovisual materials in incidental vocabulary learning.
This study identified a gap in the literature between reading strategy, self-efficacy, and reading comprehension ability. As such, the study aimed to examine whether Iranian EFL learners' reading strategies and self-efficacy could predict... more
This study identified a gap in the literature between reading strategy, self-efficacy, and reading comprehension ability. As such, the study aimed to examine whether Iranian EFL learners' reading strategies and self-efficacy could predict their reading comprehension ability. A sample of 172 intermediate Iranian EFL learners (90 females and 82 males) took part in the study. Self-report questionnaires on self-efficacy and reading strategies were administered, and the participants were asked to answer to a reading comprehension test. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Results of correlation and regression analyses indicated that self-efficacy and reading strategies significantly predicted L2 reading compression ability. Moreover, hierarchical regressions analysis showed that higher self-efficacy and reading strategies together predicted a larger proportion of the variance. Findings of the study are discussed in light of previous research in the field. Also, pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research in the field are given.
Recently, flipped teaching has become a new trend in the realm of teaching, and it is becoming widespread throughout the educational system. The purpose of the current study was to find out if there was any significant difference between... more
Recently, flipped teaching has become a new trend in the realm of teaching, and it is becoming widespread throughout the educational system. The purpose of the current study was to find out if there was any significant difference between the participants' oral CAF in traditional and flipped classrooms. In order to have a homogenous sample, 40 lower-intermediate participants were selected from a reputable institute in Isfahan, Iran, using a placement test. Then, they were randomly divided into 2 groups: experimental and control. First, all the participants were asked to attend an interview session and were audiorecorded and scored by 2 teachers to make sure that the interview was reliable. After that, a pretest was given to the participants that included some questions related to their real life and the grammar that they were going to learn during the experiment. After participating in 3 sessions of treatment, a posttest was given to the participants to find out how much they had improved during the 3 sessions of treatment. The findings revealed that the flipped classroom improved the participants' self-efficacy, motivation, autonomy, engagement, and self-confidence. But there was no significant difference between the participants in the traditional classroom and the participants in the flipped classroom in terms of their oral CAF. In conclusion, books instructed in institutes need to be revised and add some parts based on recent technology.
A maladjustment behavior is a worldwide phenomenon that influences and cuts across all the psychological developmental stages. In this regard, the current study aimed to examine the contributory role of self-esteem and family relationship... more
A maladjustment behavior is a worldwide phenomenon that influences and cuts across all the psychological developmental stages. In this regard, the current study aimed to examine the contributory role of self-esteem and family relationship status on their susceptibility to social maladjustment and to investigate maladjustment behavior's influence on Iranian EFL learners' reading ability. To collect the data, a total number of 200 participants (100 males and 100 females) were chosen from 5 language institutes. This study adopted a descriptive survey research design using a battery of psychological tests consisting of Social Maladjustment Scale (SMS), Index of Family Relations (IFR), and Index of Self-Esteem (ISE). Also, a reading task was given to the participannts based on their proficiency level. To compare the importance of these factors from the participants' points of view, descriptive statistics (means and SDs) as well as a series of independent samples t tests were run, using Bonferroni adjustment to find out the (possible) significant differences between the mean scores of the dependent variables. The results showed that the younger adolescents (13-16) were more socially maladjusted compared to older adolescents (17-20). Still and all, the analysis did not show any significant differences reported on social maladjustment behavior in reference to family relations and gender status. The main significance of these findings is that psychological constructs like self-esteem may be cogent enough to manage the problems associated with social maladjustment behavior among adolescents. Consequently, educational programs should be adapted to foster healthy self-esteem that will allow adolescents to handle social situations.
Motivation is one of L2 learners’ characteristics with extensive research backing up its positive contribution to L2 learning/performance. We used the regulatory focus and the regulatory fit to concentrate on motivation more as a quality... more
Motivation is one of L2 learners’ characteristics with extensive research backing up its positive contribution to L2 learning/performance. We used the regulatory focus and the regulatory fit to concentrate on motivation more as a quality of both learners and their immediate situation. To this end, 31 intermediate students of Shahrekord technical and vocational school for girls participated in two experiments to test whether prevention and promotion orientations, as the participants’ predominant tendency (specified using a questionnaire), and the condition induced by the the oral task can affect the participants' performance in terms of accuracy and fluency. In the first experiment, the participants performed a descriptive monologic task. Then, we transcribed the responses and mapped the measures of fluency and accuracy throughout the text. Tthe second experiment was similar to the first one except that, in this phase, there were two different versions of the speaking task, each designed to induce either the promotion or prevention task conditions, using different wording of the questions. Here, not only was the effect of predominant motivational orientations and task condition examined but also the interaction between these two variables (the assumption of the regulatory fit) was investigated. Findings did not reveal any significant causal relationship between the independent variables and the participants’ performance. It appears that factors like learning experience and the educational philosophy that the participants were subjected to prevented the realization of the regulatory focus and the regulatory fit's predictions.
A range of research has revealed the pivotal role of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies in promoting been little empirical study of the (possible) interplay of the multiple dimensions of SRL strategies in L2 contexts. Neither has... more
A range of research has revealed the pivotal role of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies in promoting been little empirical study of the (possible) interplay of the multiple dimensions of SRL strategies in L2 contexts. Neither has the role of writing strategies based on SRL theories been discussed in L2. This study deployed a multidimensional model of SRL writing strategies embracing cognition, metacognition, social behavior, and motivational regulation to probe what structural model best represents self-regulated writing strategy dimensions among Iranian EFL students. Also, the extent to students of Shahrekord University was investigated. The writing strategies for self-regulated learning questionnaire (WSSRLQ; Teng & Zhang, 2016) and a writing test were adopted for the study. Three participants' writing outcomes. The results supported the validity of a higher-order model focusing on cognition, metacognition, social behavior, and motivational regulation. Furthermore, multiple regression analysis showed that self-regulation functioned as an integrated construct that affected the Iranian EFL students. These strategies lead to a better understanding of L2 writing processes within the SRL mechanism and, thus, improve writing outcomes.
In the last 2 decades, studies on conceptual metaphors have profoundly increased. The development in this field was followed by Lakoff and Johnson's publication of Metaphors l/'e Live By (1980) in which the authors describe the conceptual... more
In the last 2 decades, studies on conceptual metaphors have profoundly increased. The development in this field was followed by Lakoff and Johnson's publication of Metaphors l/'e Live By (1980) in which the authors describe the conceptual role played by metaphors and their correspondence with language and thought. In fact, metaphors in language mirror people's ordinary conceptual system. This study aimed to compare conceptual metaphors in Persian and English through a corpus-based approach as well as examining both the universality and culture-specificity of conceptual metaphors within Persian/English and describe in detail the Persian conception of some metaphorical concepts from the cognitive perspective. The cognitive theory of metaphor was resorted to and applied to a cross-cultural analysis of a randomly selected set of metaphors in English and Persian. Analysis was based on the linguistic data from a collection of conceptual metaphors in the 2 languages. Results pointed to the fact that whereas there is a certain degree of universality in terms of the predominant conceptual metaphors, there are also important variations between the 2 languages for cultural and linguistic reasons. Therefore, data provide evidence for the presence of shared metaphors and culture-specific metaphors in Persian and English in favor of the idea that various cognitive, linguistic, social, and cultural forces shape people's use and understanding of metaphoric discourse.
The 3rd televised Iran's presidential debate over foreign policy held on June, 7, 2013, was special in terms of the critics and heated exchanges that took place between the candidates. This study aimed at critically analyzing the... more
The 3rd televised Iran's presidential debate over foreign policy held on June, 7, 2013, was special in terms of the critics and heated exchanges that took place between the candidates. This study aimed at critically analyzing the interdiscursive mix of genres and discourses drawn upon and oriented to in Hassan Rouhani's presidential 3rd debate. At first, the generic and discursive structures were identified; then, to explore the sociocultural, religious, and political values underlying the different aspects of Hassan Rouhani's discourse, a CDA approach drawing upon Fairclough's 3-dimensional analytical framework (2010) was adopted. we used CDA to focus on the way social relations, identity, knowledge, and power were constructed through the spoken texts in the political arena. Results disclosed that Hassan Rouhani's discourse was characterized by a complex of discourse practices including genres and discourses. The relational meaning of obligation predominant in his discourse implied the authoritative position he claimed for himself. There was also a great deal of ambivalence in his discourse with respect to the inclusive and exclusive use of we. Hassan Rouhani's recipe for victory was challenging his rivals and talking as a critic of the current situation, leading to a massive electorate that all stood behind him.
This study aimed at exploring the different types of corrective feedback (CF) with an emphasis on distinguishing implicit vs. explicit ones and their relationship to L2 leamers' intelligence types in their speaking ability at 3 levels of... more
This study aimed at exploring the different types of corrective
feedback (CF) with an emphasis on distinguishing implicit vs. explicit
ones and their relationship to L2 leamers' intelligence types in their
speaking ability at 3 levels of proficiency (i.e., intermediate, upperintermediate,
and advanced). Fifty L2 learners from the Language
Center at the University of Isfahan and Isfahan University of
Technology participated in the study. They answered the Oxford
Placement Test (OPT), the Multiple Intelligence Questionnaire
(McKenzie, 1999), and a researcher-designed questionnaire on the 6
types of implicit vs. explicit CF with a Likert-type format with respect to
Ranta and Lyster's (2007) as well as Sheen and Ellis' (2011)
classifications. To analyze the data, Pearson correlation was employed
to figure out the (possible) relationship between the participants'
intelligence types and their preferred oral CF. Then, chi-square was
run to display the significance of certain CF at the 3 proficiency levels.
Results revealed there was a positive relationship between the
participants' intelligences and their preferred types of CF and those
who had interpersonal and linguistic intelligences, whereas implicit CF
was favored more by the intrapersonal participants. Findings suggest
that among all the CF types, recast was the most prominent type
preferred in all the proficiency levels.
feedback (CF) with an emphasis on distinguishing implicit vs. explicit
ones and their relationship to L2 leamers' intelligence types in their
speaking ability at 3 levels of proficiency (i.e., intermediate, upperintermediate,
and advanced). Fifty L2 learners from the Language
Center at the University of Isfahan and Isfahan University of
Technology participated in the study. They answered the Oxford
Placement Test (OPT), the Multiple Intelligence Questionnaire
(McKenzie, 1999), and a researcher-designed questionnaire on the 6
types of implicit vs. explicit CF with a Likert-type format with respect to
Ranta and Lyster's (2007) as well as Sheen and Ellis' (2011)
classifications. To analyze the data, Pearson correlation was employed
to figure out the (possible) relationship between the participants'
intelligence types and their preferred oral CF. Then, chi-square was
run to display the significance of certain CF at the 3 proficiency levels.
Results revealed there was a positive relationship between the
participants' intelligences and their preferred types of CF and those
who had interpersonal and linguistic intelligences, whereas implicit CF
was favored more by the intrapersonal participants. Findings suggest
that among all the CF types, recast was the most prominent type
preferred in all the proficiency levels.
This study explored the effects of metapragmatic discussion on recognizing and producing English request downgraders, employing 2 types of problem-solving tasks. Metapragmatic discussion occurs when L2 learners and the instructor engage... more
This study explored the effects of metapragmatic discussion on recognizing and producing English request downgraders, employing 2 types of problem-solving tasks. Metapragmatic discussion occurs when L2 learners and the instructor engage in a dialogue about the pragmatic expressions they have just seen/heard, the goal of which is to point out and make the learners aware of pragmatic features. Following the pretest, 60 university students were assigned to 2 instructional treatments: problem-solving tasks with metapragmatic discussion (PTWMD) and problem-solving tasks without metapragmatic discussion (PTOMD). Each test had a discourse completion test (DCT) and an acceptability judgment test (AJT). Situations in the 2 testing instruments had I speech act, I request, with the 3 sociolinguistic variables of power, speaker difficulty, and distance. Participants in the 3 intact classes were randomly assigned to 2 treatment groups and I control group in the same classes. During the problem-solving tasks, the participants in both treatment groups had to discover the rules for themselves by attending to not only the relationship between the forms/meanings of the L2 features but also their sociopragmatic/pragmalinguistic features. Results showed that the 2 treatment groups performed better than the control group. Results also indicated that the PTWMD group showed more statistically significant improvement than the PTOMD group in the DCT, whereas no difference was evident in the AJT for both groups. Results indicated that the participants in the PTWMD group had additional metapragmatic information about the L2 pragmatic features during the metapragmatic discussion and that the PTWMD group was more motivated and attended more intensively to the L2 linguistic forms, their functional meanings, and &e relevant contextual features, thereby developing more firmly established and, thus, more easily and rapidly accessible knowledge about the Ll features.
The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of social networks on Iranian L2 learners' metaphorical competence. To this end, the Oxford Placement Test was administered to the upper-intermediate L2 learners of English in... more
The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of social networks on Iranian L2 learners' metaphorical competence. To this end, the Oxford Placement Test was administered to the upper-intermediate L2 learners of English in Shahrekord at a language institute named Iranian Academic Center for Education, Culture, and Research. Then, 50 learners were selected to enter to the next phase of the study. Participants were selected via convenience sampling and assigned into 2 groups: experimental and control. In doing so, prior to any treatment, a researcher-made idiom test was given to the participants as the pretest. Experimental group received the treatment through introduction, prologue, and spreading, whereas the control group did not receive any treatment at all. At the end of the study, the idiom test was given to the participants again as the posttest. Results of an independent samples t test revealed that e-learning had a statistically significant positive effect on the participants' metaphorical competence. The major advantages of online idiom learning for Iranian L2 learners can be its convenience of time and place, detailed information, and in learning content that motivates their interests and autonomy. Thus, e-learning is known as the cutting edge of education and as an effective element in academic settings.
Compared to macrodevelopmental approach (e.g., conventional cross-sectional and longitudinal methods) that investigates using pre and posttest designs and its failure to provide detailed information about how changes occur, a... more
Compared to macrodevelopmental approach (e.g., conventional cross-sectional and longitudinal methods) that investigates using pre and posttest designs and its failure to provide detailed information about how changes occur, a microdevelopmental approach (embodied in microgenetic method), which resembles making a movie, presents the advantage of observing developmental changes as they occur. Viewed from this vantage point, a macrodevelopmental approach may not afford adequate explanations of the SLA-related phenomena. This is because it may be useful for depicting the product of a process of change. The current study explored the effect of consciousness-raising tasks on the microgenetic development of request speech act. To this aim, 50 out of 60 male and female Iranian M.A. and undergraduate students, majoring in TEFL and translation respectively, in Shahrekord University were homogenized by Oxford Placement Test (OPT) and selected as the participants. Next, all the participants were administered the deductive consciousness-raising pragmatic task as the material instruction for 5 sessions and were presented with discourse completion tests (DCTs) during the first, third, and fifth sessions of instruction. Results showed that, in the course of time, the participants became more capable of producing appropriate requests in different situations and they became more conscious of using indirect requests rather than direct requests.
Due to the fact that intercultural communicative competence (ICC) has recently found its way into L2 theory and research, not only is it important for L2 learners to gain knowledge of ICC, but also it is essential to be aware of... more
Due to the fact that intercultural communicative competence (ICC) has recently found its way into L2 theory and research, not only is it important for L2 learners to gain knowledge of ICC, but also it is essential to be aware of personality traits. The present study explored the following issues among 33 upper-intermediate L2 learners (14 males and 19 females). First, the study was an attempt to find the upper-intermediate L2 learners' ICC and personality traits/types profiles. Second, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were computed to discover the (possible) relationship between the participants' ICC and their personality traits. Third, an independent samples t test was computed to observe whether there was any significant difference between the ICC scores of the male and female participants. Finally one-way between-groups ANOVA was conducted for the comparison of the ICC scores of the 3 age groups (i.e., 20 and younger; between 21 and 25; 26 or above). Results demonstrated that, first; the participants were stronger at the introvert trait and ENFJ type. Second, there was no correlation the coefficients between the 8 personality traits and the ICC scores. Third, it was revealed that the participants' gender differences had no significant effect on their ICC scores. Fourth, the results pointed to the fact that there were no statistically significant differences in the mean scores of the ICC for the 3 age groups of Iranian L2 learners. The findings are theoretically and practically significant.
Recent developments in L2 teaching have highlighted the importance and ubiquity of metaphorical competence in an L2. This study examined the efficiency of pictorial metaphors and metaphors with text on metaphorical competence learning and... more
Recent developments in L2 teaching have highlighted the importance and ubiquity of metaphorical competence in an L2. This study examined the efficiency of pictorial metaphors and metaphors with text on metaphorical competence learning and retention by L2 learners. First, 60 Iranian intermediate participants (female and male, aged 14-18) were selected through using an Oxford Placement Test out of 80 participants in Mehr Goya Language Institute in Ardestan, Isfahan. The homogenized participants were divided into 3 groups of equal size: (1) textless pictorial metaphors, (2) pictorial metaphors followed by text, and (3) a control group. Before starting the treatment, to check whether the participants had prior knowledge of English metaphorical expressions, a pretest with 25 multiple-choice items was administered to all participants. Subsequently, the experimental groups received 25 metaphorical expressions via relevant treatments during 5 sessions, whereas the control group received them through conventional teaching. After the treatment, the 3 groups, once again, sat for a test (i.e., the immediate posttest) and, after a lapse of time, for the delayed posttest to see whether the treatment had improved the learning and retention of metaphorical competence. To analyze the data, an independent samples t test and one-way ANOVA were utilized. Results pointed that the pictorials metaphors and metaphors with text significantly had improved the participants' metaphorical competence learning and retention. Moreover, the integration of pictorial metaphors and metaphors with text was the most effective strategy on metaphorical competence learning and retention.
Writing as a basic communication skill enjoys a unique status. There is no doubt that the writing skill is a highly complex task for EFL learners to master. Recently, writing has undergone a paradigm shift from the traditional way of... more
Writing as a basic communication skill enjoys a unique status. There is no doubt that the writing skill is a highly complex task for EFL learners to master. Recently, writing has undergone a paradigm shift from the traditional way of writing test to alternative assessment of writing. This study investigated the effect of portfolio assessment technique as a teaching, learning, and assessment tool of alternative approach on the writing processes of EFL learners. To this end, 40 male and female Iranian EFL learners who were studying at the upper-intermediate level of English language proficiency, screened based on a standard TOFEL test with similar writing ability, were randomly divided into 2 groups. The experimental group (n = 20) received the treatment (i.e., portfolio assessment), whereas the control group (n = 20) underwent the traditional approach of writing assessment. Participants in both groups received a self-reporting questionnaire on the different processes of writing, immediately after the pretest and posttest. Results of the statistical analysis indicated that the experimental group outperformed the control group in their writing processes of planning, drafting, revising, and editing. Findings suggest that the portfolio assessment technique improves students' writing performance, in general, and the writing process, in particular. Results have implications for assessment, teaching, and learning of L2 writing.
Grammar is viewed as a set of discourse-affected choices, and the assumption is that this is a fruitful way of teaching appropriate and accurate language use. in teaching tenses, it is necessary tor l2 learners to work at discourse level... more
Grammar is viewed as a set of discourse-affected choices, and the assumption is that this is a fruitful way of teaching appropriate and accurate language use. in teaching tenses, it is necessary tor l2 learners to work at discourse level from the start because they need it to create meaningful communicative discourse. This study investigated the (possible) effect of the discourse-based approach in teaching present continuous tense to Iranian elementary EFL learners 30 elementary teenagers, aged 9-13, and 30 elementary adults, aged 15-22, from an institute in Mobarakeh, Iran, were selected from the same levels. A pretest was administered and participants were treated in both sentence- and discourse-based approaches. Two course books (i.e., Family and Friends 2 & American English File Starter) were used for treatment. Finally, a posttest was given to participants. An independent samples t-test and ANCOVA were run to compare the mean scores between the experimental and control groups on the posttest and compare the (possible) variation in the scores between the 2 age groups. Results indicated that there was a significant difference in the teenagers' posttest scores, but there was no significant difference in the adults' scores. There was also no significant difference between the scores of the 2 age groups. Results imply that teens are better in learning present continuous tense applying sentence-based approach, but for adults both approaches show the same results. Findings provide implications for applying discourse-based approach for both age groups from the starting to avoid probable errors.
With a simple investigation with language learning and translation process, researchers are able to capture all educational business institutions’ chief goals in bringing up the educated and experienced marketing interpreters and... more
With a simple investigation with language learning and translation process, researchers are able to capture all educational business institutions’ chief goals in bringing up the educated and experienced marketing interpreters and translators both in oral and textual business discourse. Therefore, all educational business institutions’ major aims are focused on the notion of assuring learning marketing guidelines and translation strategies as important elements to transfer advertisement ideas and messages in the best way. It is generally believed that the fundamental purpose of international marketing institutions is to train professional interpreters and translators as the main factors to start the work; educators are supposed to acquire one language in line with cultural values and points with marketing process together with translation strategies to transfer massages from SL to TL. So, a given language reflects the cultural values of the society in which the language is used and spoken. To this aim, the theories of Cateara and Graham (2002), Forcevill (1996), and Lakoff and Johnson (1980) in line with Tylor’s (1987) on culture or civilization, advertisement, metaphors, and domestication were applied in this study. Pairs of advertisements between Persian and English were compared and significant positive correlations were found between the language learning and cultural translation within the context of advertisements. Results showed that culture must be fully incorporated as a vital component of language learning and translation strategies in the business world. Also, advertising images are complex cultural artifacts and their interpretation orally and textually requires complex domestic interpretation for the TL culture and language.
Metaphor, as a matter of thought and, a way of cognition, is pervasive in our everyday life and language. Efforts have been made to provide the way for language learners to effectively acquire and employ conceptual metaphors. This study... more
Metaphor, as a matter of thought and, a way of cognition, is pervasive in our everyday life and language. Efforts have been made to provide the way for language learners to effectively acquire and employ conceptual metaphors. This study aimed at exploring the effects of universal and culture-specific conceptual metaphors in teaching metaphorical expressions to Iranian adult learners of English. For this purpose, from the population of young learners' attending evening classes at one of Isfahan's language institutes, 24 participants, aged 18-
35, were selected and assigned into control and experimental groups.
Treatment contained 50 metaphorical expressions presented to the participants during 10 sessions of instruction in order to enhance their metaphoric competence in English. comparing the data obtained, the results showed that this implementation enhanced the participants,
metaphorical awareness and success in understanding the metaphorical
expressions, and that they were more likely to benefit from universal
rather than culture-specific conceptual metaphors. This study provides
both L2 teachers and leaders to have their own fair share from the
implications of this study and the outcomes will shed more light for
better teaching of metaphors to L2 leaders.
35, were selected and assigned into control and experimental groups.
Treatment contained 50 metaphorical expressions presented to the participants during 10 sessions of instruction in order to enhance their metaphoric competence in English. comparing the data obtained, the results showed that this implementation enhanced the participants,
metaphorical awareness and success in understanding the metaphorical
expressions, and that they were more likely to benefit from universal
rather than culture-specific conceptual metaphors. This study provides
both L2 teachers and leaders to have their own fair share from the
implications of this study and the outcomes will shed more light for
better teaching of metaphors to L2 leaders.
Corrective feedback is one of the key issues in L2 writing that contributes a decisive role in the improvement of grammatical accuracy of L2 learners' writing ability. Although literature has investigated effects of different types of... more
Corrective feedback is one of the key issues in L2 writing that
contributes a decisive role in the improvement of grammatical
accuracy of L2 learners' writing ability. Although literature has
investigated effects of different types of corrective feedback, debate
about contribution of corrective feedback on L2 writing has been
considered prominent in recent years and it is not clear whether field
(in)dependent L2 learners benefit differently from explicit type of
corrective feedback. Accordingly, this study aimed to assess effect of
metalinguistic feedback on grammatical accuracy of field
(in)dependent intermediate L2 learners' writing ability. To this aim, 3 4
intermediate L2leamers in 4 intact classes, in a language institute in
kan, classified into field (in)dependent L2 leamers through GEFT test,
participated in this study. Field (in)dependent L2 learners were
randomly assigned into 2 experimental groups that received
metalinguistic feedback as the treatment and 2 control groups that did
not receive any feedback. IELTS tests (i.e., writing section) were used
as the pretest and the posttest to measure the participants' learning of
the L2 forms as result of metalinguistic feedback. The obtained data
were analyzed through ANCOVA and post-hoc. Although findings
revealed that both freld (in)dependent L2 learners benefited from
metalinguistic feedback, field dependent learners outperformed field
independent learners.
contributes a decisive role in the improvement of grammatical
accuracy of L2 learners' writing ability. Although literature has
investigated effects of different types of corrective feedback, debate
about contribution of corrective feedback on L2 writing has been
considered prominent in recent years and it is not clear whether field
(in)dependent L2 learners benefit differently from explicit type of
corrective feedback. Accordingly, this study aimed to assess effect of
metalinguistic feedback on grammatical accuracy of field
(in)dependent intermediate L2 learners' writing ability. To this aim, 3 4
intermediate L2leamers in 4 intact classes, in a language institute in
kan, classified into field (in)dependent L2 leamers through GEFT test,
participated in this study. Field (in)dependent L2 learners were
randomly assigned into 2 experimental groups that received
metalinguistic feedback as the treatment and 2 control groups that did
not receive any feedback. IELTS tests (i.e., writing section) were used
as the pretest and the posttest to measure the participants' learning of
the L2 forms as result of metalinguistic feedback. The obtained data
were analyzed through ANCOVA and post-hoc. Although findings
revealed that both freld (in)dependent L2 learners benefited from
metalinguistic feedback, field dependent learners outperformed field
independent learners.
Strategies employed by 12 leamers engaged in negotiation of face relationships during social interactions like requests vary according to their Ll background. Differences in nonnative speakers' pragmatic performance may lead to serious... more
Strategies employed by 12 leamers engaged in negotiation of face
relationships during social interactions like requests vary according to
their Ll background. Differences in nonnative speakers' pragmatic
performance may lead to serious communication problems. Although
previous research has investigated different types of request strategies
employed by L2 learners, it is still unclear whether they use
different/similar types of request strategies in different contexts. This
study investigated cross-cultural variation in the use of request
strategies by EFL/ESL learners to their faculty. To this aim, the
request strategies elicited from 50 intermediate Iranian EFL learners
studying at Shahrekord University, kan and 24 intermediate ESL
learners studying at 4langaage institutes in England were examined. A
DCT was used to elicit the request strategies. Chi-square findings
suggest the preference for the use of more conventionally indirect
request strategy (i.e., query preparatory) to their faculty by the
learners. Results indicate that the learners' Ll had no effect on the
choice of request strategies employed by such learners to their faculty.
Conclusions are that EFL/ESL learners generally use more negative
politeness strategies to mitigate their requests to their faculty.
relationships during social interactions like requests vary according to
their Ll background. Differences in nonnative speakers' pragmatic
performance may lead to serious communication problems. Although
previous research has investigated different types of request strategies
employed by L2 learners, it is still unclear whether they use
different/similar types of request strategies in different contexts. This
study investigated cross-cultural variation in the use of request
strategies by EFL/ESL learners to their faculty. To this aim, the
request strategies elicited from 50 intermediate Iranian EFL learners
studying at Shahrekord University, kan and 24 intermediate ESL
learners studying at 4langaage institutes in England were examined. A
DCT was used to elicit the request strategies. Chi-square findings
suggest the preference for the use of more conventionally indirect
request strategy (i.e., query preparatory) to their faculty by the
learners. Results indicate that the learners' Ll had no effect on the
choice of request strategies employed by such learners to their faculty.
Conclusions are that EFL/ESL learners generally use more negative
politeness strategies to mitigate their requests to their faculty.
Approaches to legal translation and contracts fulfillment have been mostly oriented towards the activity of protecting the contracts, rather than the potential and effective translating clause" and articles from the source language (SL)... more
Approaches to legal translation and contracts fulfillment have been
mostly oriented towards the activity of protecting the contracts, rather
than the potential and effective translating clause" and articles from the
source language (SL) to the target language (TL). Legal texts
always considered sensitive and demand professional acts
rendering. This study falls into two parts for analyzing and comparing
the English-Persian business contracts. First part aims at showing how
pragmatic and functional points are significant in legal translation.
Corpus was 2 translated versions of 3 authentic contracts, which were
of oil, carpet, and gold to be translated by three professional translators
certified by a translation office in Tehran, Isfahan, and Kish under the
certification of the Ministry of Justice, asking them to translate these
texts the way they would successfully deal with legally binding,
offrcial documents. Second part is derived from Vermeer's (1989)
Skopos theory to the translation of the contracts through a small pilot
study between professional translators who know the theory and who
do not know. This study shows that critical and standardized legal
language features can still be termed to serve the ultimate goal of
successfully communicating the message across languages as intended
and as commissioned.
mostly oriented towards the activity of protecting the contracts, rather
than the potential and effective translating clause" and articles from the
source language (SL) to the target language (TL). Legal texts
always considered sensitive and demand professional acts
rendering. This study falls into two parts for analyzing and comparing
the English-Persian business contracts. First part aims at showing how
pragmatic and functional points are significant in legal translation.
Corpus was 2 translated versions of 3 authentic contracts, which were
of oil, carpet, and gold to be translated by three professional translators
certified by a translation office in Tehran, Isfahan, and Kish under the
certification of the Ministry of Justice, asking them to translate these
texts the way they would successfully deal with legally binding,
offrcial documents. Second part is derived from Vermeer's (1989)
Skopos theory to the translation of the contracts through a small pilot
study between professional translators who know the theory and who
do not know. This study shows that critical and standardized legal
language features can still be termed to serve the ultimate goal of
successfully communicating the message across languages as intended
and as commissioned.
Translation seems to play a significant role in international business and marketing in the frame of advertisements. With the proper translation, the ideas of the common culture between the SL and TL are transferable. Over the last... more
Translation seems to play a significant role in international business and marketing in the frame of advertisements. With the proper translation, the ideas of the common culture between the SL and TL are transferable. Over the last decades, translation studies, as an interdisciplinary approach through culture and language, have focused on the larger parts to transfer and exchange messages and information between cultures in constant movement. This fact has focused not only on interdisciplinary collaboration where contextualization has been a fundamental and central issue, but also this has covered widespread perspectives on translation for individual contexts. The works of identifying unconscious meanings in the task of "cultural translation" is, therefore, more on the shoulder of psychoanalysts than linguists. To this aim, in line with E.B. Tylor's (1987) famous definition of culture, culture or civilization, taken in its wide ethnographic sense is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. A pair of advertisements between Persian and English was compared, and all the aspects were scrutinized by the abovementioned method. In sum, translating culturally determines a better understanding and more positive attitude towards the products of target consumers as source consumers. Also, colors play a very important role in translating the sense of message. Moreover, translating ideas from English to Persian should be with standardization, culturalization, and domestication in international communication.
Recent studies have suggested that with the development of economy, politics, and culture, advertisements translation play a significant role in public areas and even in private. It is necessary to take the culture of the consumer who the... more
Recent studies have suggested that with the development of economy, politics, and
culture, advertisements translation play a significant role in public areas and even in
private. It is necessary to take the culture of the consumer who the marketer tries to present
the product into account. This study will analyze two advertisements for English-Persian
FTAA (Free trade area of America) and oil and gas trade in Iran during post sanction. In
this study both verbal and visual aspects of advertisements besides the translation from
the SL to TL will be relevant to gain an insight into the similarities and differences
between two languages based on intercultural and international marketing. Therefore, the
theories of R.Cateara and L.Graham (2002), Forcevill (1996), and Lakoff and Johnson
(1980). In sum, it is concluded that in transferring English advertisements into Persian
advertisement, the soul of translation based on culture, metaphor, verbal and visual should
not be neglected, on the contrary, the translator should be acquired metaphors, cultural
points, in both languages explicitly in text and language instruction and research should
be the actual goal. In other words, the system of language and culture is both complex of
norms and habits. So, transferring idea from Persian marketers to English marketers and
vice versa should be with standardization and differentiation of an international marketing
and translating.
culture, advertisements translation play a significant role in public areas and even in
private. It is necessary to take the culture of the consumer who the marketer tries to present
the product into account. This study will analyze two advertisements for English-Persian
FTAA (Free trade area of America) and oil and gas trade in Iran during post sanction. In
this study both verbal and visual aspects of advertisements besides the translation from
the SL to TL will be relevant to gain an insight into the similarities and differences
between two languages based on intercultural and international marketing. Therefore, the
theories of R.Cateara and L.Graham (2002), Forcevill (1996), and Lakoff and Johnson
(1980). In sum, it is concluded that in transferring English advertisements into Persian
advertisement, the soul of translation based on culture, metaphor, verbal and visual should
not be neglected, on the contrary, the translator should be acquired metaphors, cultural
points, in both languages explicitly in text and language instruction and research should
be the actual goal. In other words, the system of language and culture is both complex of
norms and habits. So, transferring idea from Persian marketers to English marketers and
vice versa should be with standardization and differentiation of an international marketing
and translating.
This study was an attempt to find about the effect of activating multiple Persian polysemous senses on the understanding of English sentences via reading skill. An OPT was given to 82 Persian learners of English who were assigned to 2... more
This study was an attempt to find about the effect of activating multiple Persian polysemous senses on the understanding
of English sentences via reading skill. An OPT was given to 82 Persian learners of English who were assigned to 2 groups
of highly proficient and low proficient L2 learners. Eighty English sentences were given to the participants, and each
sentence had an exchanged Persian polysemous noun or verb (e.g., He found it hard to get his “language” round these
Polish names, and He could speak several “tongues.” The Persian polysemous word in the preceding sentences is زبان
/zæbɑ:n/). Participants were asked to decide whether the L2 word—considered as an L1 polysemous word—was an
acceptable completion to a sentence. Results indicated that the low proficient participants outperformed the high proficient
ones in understanding the L1 polysemous words, and the highly related L1 polysemous words made more interference in
interpreting the L2 words. Results would shed light on the effect of L2 words considered as L1 polysemous words on L2
learners’ abilities of translation and interpretation of such words in L2 sentences.
of English sentences via reading skill. An OPT was given to 82 Persian learners of English who were assigned to 2 groups
of highly proficient and low proficient L2 learners. Eighty English sentences were given to the participants, and each
sentence had an exchanged Persian polysemous noun or verb (e.g., He found it hard to get his “language” round these
Polish names, and He could speak several “tongues.” The Persian polysemous word in the preceding sentences is زبان
/zæbɑ:n/). Participants were asked to decide whether the L2 word—considered as an L1 polysemous word—was an
acceptable completion to a sentence. Results indicated that the low proficient participants outperformed the high proficient
ones in understanding the L1 polysemous words, and the highly related L1 polysemous words made more interference in
interpreting the L2 words. Results would shed light on the effect of L2 words considered as L1 polysemous words on L2
learners’ abilities of translation and interpretation of such words in L2 sentences.
This study aimed to paint a picture of how Persian native speakers (PNSs) respond to compliments, in comparison to English native speakers (ENSs). We investigated whether Iranian EFL learners would transfer their L1 compliment response... more
This study aimed to paint a picture of how Persian native speakers (PNSs) respond to
compliments, in comparison to English native speakers (ENSs). We investigated whether Iranian
EFL learners would transfer their L1 compliment response (CR) strategies into English, and if
there would be a relationship between their proficiency level and transfer of these strategies. To
do so, a DCT was used to gather the data. Thirty fe(male) monolingual PNSs and 30 ENSs filled
out the Persian and English versions of the DCT to investigate the cross-cultural differences in
compliment speech act between Persian and English. Also, an OPT was administered to 100
Iranian EFL learners to gauge their level of proficiency and select 2 groups of 30 high-proficient
and 30 low-proficient learners. Both groups filled out the English version of the DCT. The
compliment patterns included 4 different situations on appearance, achievements, clothes, and
possessions. Results showed that, compared to the ENSs, the PNSs were more likely to reject or
scale down compliments, downplay their talents, and return the compliment because they felt that being modest helped to enhance their face and self-image. Findings also indicated that L1 CR strategies were transferred to L2.However,thelow-proficient L2 learners transferred their L1 CR strategies more than thehigh-proficient learners. Due to lack of sufficient pragmatic knowledge, EFL learners frequently resort to parallel forms in their L1.
compliments, in comparison to English native speakers (ENSs). We investigated whether Iranian
EFL learners would transfer their L1 compliment response (CR) strategies into English, and if
there would be a relationship between their proficiency level and transfer of these strategies. To
do so, a DCT was used to gather the data. Thirty fe(male) monolingual PNSs and 30 ENSs filled
out the Persian and English versions of the DCT to investigate the cross-cultural differences in
compliment speech act between Persian and English. Also, an OPT was administered to 100
Iranian EFL learners to gauge their level of proficiency and select 2 groups of 30 high-proficient
and 30 low-proficient learners. Both groups filled out the English version of the DCT. The
compliment patterns included 4 different situations on appearance, achievements, clothes, and
possessions. Results showed that, compared to the ENSs, the PNSs were more likely to reject or
scale down compliments, downplay their talents, and return the compliment because they felt that being modest helped to enhance their face and self-image. Findings also indicated that L1 CR strategies were transferred to L2.However,thelow-proficient L2 learners transferred their L1 CR strategies more than thehigh-proficient learners. Due to lack of sufficient pragmatic knowledge, EFL learners frequently resort to parallel forms in their L1.
The content of media products is not only a site for sociocultural analysis, but also a battleground for symbolic meanings of representation, including the symbolic meanings of gender. The representation of gender, particularly of women,... more
The content of media products is not only a site for sociocultural analysis, but also a battleground
for symbolic meanings of representation, including the symbolic meanings of gender. The
representation of gender, particularly of women, in the mass media has been a topic for academic
research since the late 1960s.Media products have been taken as a site where the position of
women and the conceptions towards gender in society can be studied and analyzed. Language
plays a significant role in the study of the representation of women, as well as the power relations within the society, which are manifested by the discourse in the media. However, there has not been enough research regarding the representation of women in Iranian media. The main purpose of the current study was to identify how nationally recognized Iranian visual media depict women’s expanding social roles on contemporary trends. To do so, a sample of visual media (a recent Iranian TV series) was selected from the recent years’ programs, and was compared with a recent American series of the same genre and theme. The analytic method adopted for the analysis of the verbal and written texts was based primarily on Fairclough’s (1992) 3-dimensional analytic framework. Results indicated that the representation of women in visual media in Iran is still stereotypical and subordinate to their male counterparts; however, there are signs of women’s expanding social roles by the way they are depicted in the aforementioned form of media which
was studied.
for symbolic meanings of representation, including the symbolic meanings of gender. The
representation of gender, particularly of women, in the mass media has been a topic for academic
research since the late 1960s.Media products have been taken as a site where the position of
women and the conceptions towards gender in society can be studied and analyzed. Language
plays a significant role in the study of the representation of women, as well as the power relations within the society, which are manifested by the discourse in the media. However, there has not been enough research regarding the representation of women in Iranian media. The main purpose of the current study was to identify how nationally recognized Iranian visual media depict women’s expanding social roles on contemporary trends. To do so, a sample of visual media (a recent Iranian TV series) was selected from the recent years’ programs, and was compared with a recent American series of the same genre and theme. The analytic method adopted for the analysis of the verbal and written texts was based primarily on Fairclough’s (1992) 3-dimensional analytic framework. Results indicated that the representation of women in visual media in Iran is still stereotypical and subordinate to their male counterparts; however, there are signs of women’s expanding social roles by the way they are depicted in the aforementioned form of media which
was studied.
As far as making errors is an indispensable part of L2 learning process, appropriate and pertinent corrective feedback (CF) is a significant medium for L2 teachers to prevent their learners’ errors from getting fossilized and assist them... more
As far as making errors is an indispensable part of L2 learning process, appropriate and pertinent corrective feedback (CF) is a significant medium for L2 teachers to prevent their learners’ errors from getting fossilized and assist them progress along with their L2 learning process. There are various factors contributing to the efficacy of CF, but proficiency level is of paramount importance. In this study, various oral CF types preferred by L2 learners at intermediate, upper-intermediate, and advanced levels of proficiency were considered. For this purpose, 20 participants were selected for each level. Different types of oral CF were identified, and their distribution in relation to the proficiency levels of the learners was determined. After conducting chi-square tests and comparing the significance values with respect to their preferred CF types, it is observed that the most significant CF types among the intermediate participants were paralinguistic signals and clarification requests. Moreover, for the upper-intermediate participants, recasts and repetition were the most frequent and significant types of CF that assisted them to reformulate their utterances. Finally, considering the advanced participants, the results pointed out that as they became more proficient in terms of their linguistic threshold, they would show no significant positive or negative attitudes towards any certain type of CF for treating their errors. Findings suggest that L2 teachers should accustom CF types and correction techniques to their learners’ proficiency levels and provide proper types of CF that can foster a more productive learning milieu to enhance learning quality and speaking ability.
Film adaptations are no more considered as mere entertainment but as rich sources to be used in literature classrooms to contribute to the full comprehension of long literary works (i.e., novels or plays). This study aimed to integrate... more
Film adaptations are no more considered as mere entertainment but as
rich sources to be used in literature classrooms to contribute to the full
comprehension of long literary works (i.e., novels or plays). This study
aimed to integrate movie adaptations into instruction of novels, which
cannot be subjected to negligence in literature classrooms. Sixty upper intermediate
students, aged 19 to 22, at Gooyesh English Institute
were selected based on their level of proficiency measured by an OPT
and assigned to 2 groups. A pretest of an overall comprehension of the
novel or play was administered. Then, the experimental group benefited
from 8 sessions of teaching the novel, A Farewell to Arms, using its film
adaptation. And, the control group received text-based instruction. At
the end of the course, a posttest was given to see if the instruction had
exercised any influence. Using SPSS, an independent samples t-test was
used. Findings were that there was a significant difference in the scores for
the experimental group (M:77.30, SD: 1.18) and the control group (M
:12.97, SD: 1.75) conditions, / (58) : 11.2419, p < 0.0001. Implications
are that using movie adaptations facilitates the enhancement of literary
competence.
rich sources to be used in literature classrooms to contribute to the full
comprehension of long literary works (i.e., novels or plays). This study
aimed to integrate movie adaptations into instruction of novels, which
cannot be subjected to negligence in literature classrooms. Sixty upper intermediate
students, aged 19 to 22, at Gooyesh English Institute
were selected based on their level of proficiency measured by an OPT
and assigned to 2 groups. A pretest of an overall comprehension of the
novel or play was administered. Then, the experimental group benefited
from 8 sessions of teaching the novel, A Farewell to Arms, using its film
adaptation. And, the control group received text-based instruction. At
the end of the course, a posttest was given to see if the instruction had
exercised any influence. Using SPSS, an independent samples t-test was
used. Findings were that there was a significant difference in the scores for
the experimental group (M:77.30, SD: 1.18) and the control group (M
:12.97, SD: 1.75) conditions, / (58) : 11.2419, p < 0.0001. Implications
are that using movie adaptations facilitates the enhancement of literary
competence.
As the backbone of language curriculums, textbooks are the main supplement for teachers’ instructions, and they are deemed as the basis for much of L2 input that learners receive and practice in L2 classrooms. This study was an attempt to... more
As the backbone of language curriculums, textbooks are the main supplement for teachers’ instructions, and they are deemed as the basis for much of L2 input that learners receive and practice in L2 classrooms. This study was an attempt to evaluate Preuniversity English Textbook in terms of the most important macrostrategies stated by Kumaravadivelu (2003). A questionnaire with 5 statements for 5 major macrostrategies (i.e., maximizing learning opportunities, raising cultural consciousness, ensuring social relevance, integration of language skills, and contextualizing linguistic input) was designed and distributed among 30 teachers teaching at the preuniversity level or having the background experience of teaching at this level. To meet the goal, chi-square was run to check the manifestation of these macrostrategies and their significance, if any. Results revealed that from among the 5 macrostrategies, “ensuring social relevance” and “integration of language skills” were not significantly observed. Although some modifications are made in Preuniversity English Textbook to alleviate the potential deficits regarding the integration of social and cultural aspects as well as the integration of language skills, the findings indicate that the deficits still exist, specifically in terms of Kumaravadivelu’s macrostrategies. Findings suggest that L2 textbooks should be loaded with cultural and social issues to let the learners apply them in their communication problems and boost their social interactional skills accordingly.
Different cultures express their idiosyncrasies in a culture-bound way. Cultural aspects—if not the only—are among the most arduous tasks in rendition of audiovisual materials from the SL into the TL. This study aimed at investigating the... more
Different cultures express their idiosyncrasies in a culture-bound way. Cultural aspects—if not the only—are among the most arduous tasks in rendition of audiovisual materials from the SL into the TL. This study aimed at investigating the applied strategies in rendering taboos, from English to Persian, in 5 dubbed Hollywood movies by IRIB, namely Sudden Death (1995), Family Business (1989), Welcome to Collinwood (2002), Deadly Impact (2009), and Law Abiding Citizen (2009). Original movies were compared with their dubbed versions. Accordingly, the taboo expressions were extracted and compared with the Persian translations in the dubbed movies. Adapting to Venuti’s (1995) strategies in translation studies (i.e., domestication and foreignization), the results were interpreted through the SPSS software. Analysis of the chi-square indicated that the p-value was not significant at χ2 (16, N = 5) = 39.17, p = 0, considering p ˂ 0.05. Besides, analysis of the data indicated that “deletion,” with the highest frequency (53.03%), was the topmost used strategy in the rendition of the taboo expressions. Therefore, Iranian audiovisual translators mainly tend to localize or domesticate the translation of taboo expressions while dubbing. This study will contribute to the proper translation of taboos in audiovisual translation, especially the dubbing field.
Critical thinking is defined by American Philosophical Association as purposeful, self-regulatory judgment which results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, and it is founded on conceptual criteria upon which a... more
Critical thinking is defined by American Philosophical Association as
purposeful, self-regulatory judgment which results in interpretation,
analysis, evaluation, and inference, and it is founded on conceptual
criteria upon which a judgment is based (Facione & Facione, 1996). It
is the ability to think clearly and rationally, which includes the ability
to engage in reflective and independent thinking-the ability to decide
what to do or what to believe. And, compensatory strategies are
compensation for missing knowledge. The present study aimed at
investigating the (possible) relationship between Iranian upperintermediate
EFL leamers' critical thinking and their compensatory
strategies, such as circumlocution and approximation. To achieve this
goal, 60 EFL learners including 40 female and 20 male junior and
senior EFL leamers majoring at English translation, aged 2l-30, from
Shahrekord University, were randomly selected and homogenized
based on the Oxford Placement Test (OPT). Participants were asked to
take the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (CTA) and to
complete a researcher-designed questionnaire about their preferred
types of compensatory strategies in oral communication. Pearson
correlation method was used to analyze the data. Results indicated that
there was a positive correlation between critical thinking and some
compensatory strategies like circumlocution and approximation.
purposeful, self-regulatory judgment which results in interpretation,
analysis, evaluation, and inference, and it is founded on conceptual
criteria upon which a judgment is based (Facione & Facione, 1996). It
is the ability to think clearly and rationally, which includes the ability
to engage in reflective and independent thinking-the ability to decide
what to do or what to believe. And, compensatory strategies are
compensation for missing knowledge. The present study aimed at
investigating the (possible) relationship between Iranian upperintermediate
EFL leamers' critical thinking and their compensatory
strategies, such as circumlocution and approximation. To achieve this
goal, 60 EFL learners including 40 female and 20 male junior and
senior EFL leamers majoring at English translation, aged 2l-30, from
Shahrekord University, were randomly selected and homogenized
based on the Oxford Placement Test (OPT). Participants were asked to
take the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (CTA) and to
complete a researcher-designed questionnaire about their preferred
types of compensatory strategies in oral communication. Pearson
correlation method was used to analyze the data. Results indicated that
there was a positive correlation between critical thinking and some
compensatory strategies like circumlocution and approximation.
This talk represents an attempt to draw together findings from a range of SLA studies in order to formulate a set of general principles for language pedagogy. These principles address such issues as the nature of L2 competence (as... more
This talk represents an attempt to draw together findings from a range of SLA studies in order to formulate a set of general principles for language pedagogy. These principles address such issues as the nature of L2 competence (as formulaic and rule-based knowledge), the contributions of both focus on meaning and on form, the need to develop both implicit and explicit second language knowledge, the problems posed by the learner’s built-in syllabus, the roles of input, output and interaction in learning, the importance of catering to individual differences in learners, and the need to assess language learning in terms of both free and controlled production. The principles draw on a variety of theoretical perspectives and are offered as provisional specifications for a learning-centered language pedagogy.
The current study aimed at exploring the different types of corrective feedback (CF) with an emphasis on distinguishing implicit vs. explicit CF and their relationship to L2 learners’ intelligence types in their speaking ability with... more
The current study aimed at exploring the different types of corrective feedback (CF) with an emphasis on distinguishing implicit vs. explicit CF and their relationship to L2 learners’ intelligence types in their speaking ability with different proficiency levels including intermediate and upper-intermediate. Thirty L2 learners from the Language Center at the University of Isfahan participated in the study, and the following instruments were utilized to collect the data: the Oxford Placement Test (OPT) to gauge the participants’ proficiency level, the Multiple Intelligence Questionnaire (Mckenzie, 1999), and a researcher-designed questionnaire on the 6 types of implicit/explicit CF with a Likert-type format with respect to Ranta and Lyster (2007) and Sheen and Ellis (2011) classifications. To analyze the data, Pearson correlation was applied to find out the relationship between the participants’’ inter/intrapersonal intelligencse and their preferred CF; then, chi-square was run to indicate the significance of the specific CF in the inter/intrapersonal participants. The results revealed that there was a strong positive relationship between the participants’ inter/intrapersonal intelligences and their preferred types of CF, and the chi-square indicated that the explicit CF was preferred more by the interpersonal learners and the implicit CF more by the intrapersonal ones. The findings suggest that L2 teachers should create and adapt classroom activities based on the learners’ intelligence types and proper types of CF which can foster a more productive learning milieu to enhance learning quality and speaking ability.
English translators usually encounter difficulties in the process of transferring verbo-pictorial metaphor in advertisement discourse. In this study efforts have been made to provide an effective way for the Iranian translators to acquire... more
English translators usually encounter difficulties in the process of transferring verbo-pictorial metaphor in advertisement discourse. In this study efforts have been made to provide an effective way for the Iranian translators to acquire verbo-pictorial metaphors to be capable to transfer them with equal message in their translations into Persian. To this purpose, 20 English translation MA students at Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan Branch, were first selected based on their high marks in an English Translation Journalism Test. Then, 20 verbo-pictorial advertisement metaphors were presented to the participants during 10 sessions of instruction to collect data on the translators' performance. Finally, three different advertisement texts consisting of verbo-pictorial metaphor were prepared and administered. The results of the study showed a significant difference in the rate of acquiring translation skills for specific purpose because translators were given the appropriate knowledge about advertisements discourse and specific information about verbal and pictorial data through training in comparison to general advertisement translators. It was also revealed that verbo-pictorial metaphor can be successfully taught concurrently with little difficulty. Therefore, this professional purpose-based approach, training translators for specific area and purpose which in this study Journalism discourse is under scrutiny, demonstrates that being a professional translator demands a strong background about all the nuance of specific area that translators should acquire during training and practicing. Here, translator training encourages immediate evaluation of the student progress in a practical translation work because the method is essentially communicative, holistic and interdisciplinary. In sum, this approach can improve the translator's abilities and skills in order to succeed in the translation of advertisement discourse.
Getting insights into L2 learners’ individual differences and their relationship with L2 performance makes teachers better understand their learners’ strengths/weaknesses in language learning and guide them more efficiently, as well as... more
Getting insights into L2 learners’ individual differences and their relationship with L2 performance makes teachers better understand their learners’ strengths/weaknesses in language learning and guide them more efficiently, as well as providing effective teaching to all L2 learners. This study aimed at investigating the (possible) relationship between Iranian L2 learners’ multiple intelligences (MI) profile, field (in)dependence (FI/FD), and reading performance. Participants were 42 TEFL undergraduates. To measure their degree of FI/FD and MI scores, GEFT and McKenzie’s MI Inventory (1999) were used, respectively. And, their reading performance was assessed through the Task-Based Reading Test (Salmani-Nodoushan, 2003) which measures performance on 5 reading tasks of true-false, sentence-completion, outlining, elicitation of writer’s view, and scanning. To find the (possible) relationship between the participants’ individual intelligences, FI/FD, and reading performance, Pearson product- moment correlation was conducted. Results revealed, first, there was no significant relationship between the participants’ MI and their overall reading performance. Second, there was a significant positive correlation between intrapersonal intelligence and performance on the scanning task. Third, there was no significant relationship between FI/FD and overall reading performance. Finally, a significant positive correlation was found between FI/FD and performance on the outlining task. Pedagogical implications for L2 teaching and learning are discussed in the paper.
The present study aims at exploring the (possible) relationship between vocabulary learning strategies and lexicon size. A total of 40 participants from upper- intermediate and advance proficiency levels from one language institute in... more
The present study aims at exploring the (possible) relationship between vocabulary learning strategies and lexicon size. A total of 40 participants from upper- intermediate and advance proficiency levels from one language institute in Isfahan participated in this study. This study was a correlational survey of descriptive nature. The following measuring instruments were used to collect the data: an Oxford Placement Test (OPT) to determine the participants’ proficiency level, a vocabulary size standardized test developed by Nation (2007), and a vocabulary learning strategies questionnaire based on Schmitt (1997, 2000) taxonomy, including determination, memory, cognitive, social, and metacognitive strategies . The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics (i.e., mean and standard deviation) and Pearson correlation. The results showed that there is a significant correlation between determination and metacognitive strategies and advance students’ lexicon size. The findings led to some suggestions to enhance L2 learners’ vocabulary learning, increase their vocabulary size and, consequently, improve their English language proficiency.
According to Mayer and Salovey (1993), emotional intelligence (EI) is a type of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and other’s emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use that information to guide... more
According to Mayer and Salovey (1993), emotional intelligence (EI) is a type of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and other’s emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use that information to guide one’s thinking and actions. And, as Dornyei (1995) points out, compensatory strategies are compensation for missing knowledge. The present study aimed at investigating the (possible) relationship between Iranian upper-intermediate and advanced EFL learners’ EI and their compensatory strategies, such as circumlocution and approximation. To achieve this goal, 30 EFL learners (20 female and 10 male) were selected from 3 institutes in Esfahan and homogenized based on the Oxford Placement Test (OPT). Then, the sample was asked to take the Bar-On’s EQ-i test (1997) and to complete a researcher-designed questionnaire about their preferred types of compensatory strategies in oral communication. Pearson product-moment correlation was used to analyze the data. The results indicated that there is a positive correlation between EI and compensatory strategies such as circumlocution and approximation.
The use of the Nation-wide University Entrance Test (NUET) as a lever to improve education to promote curricular innovation or to change teaching and learning has been a common practice in Iran. However, it can be problematized that the... more
The use of the Nation-wide University Entrance Test (NUET) as a lever to improve education to promote curricular innovation or to change teaching and learning has been a common practice in Iran. However, it can be problematized that the NUET is associated with modularized programs in which trading for grades rather than the creation of learners who are empowered in more intrinsic ways shapes the students’ overall learning goals and the orientations. This has become such a taken-for granted situation that the stakeholders rarely, if ever, question its desirability in any profound way, seek to explore its consequences for or impacts on the student and more generally society, or try to do something about it. The aim of this critical study is to explore whether different stakeholders’ (EFL teachers and pre-university students) actions and practices transform or perpetuate the detrimental washback of the NUET in Iran in and out of L2 classrooms. For this purpose, the data were collected through developed questionnaires, classroom observation checklist, and semi-structured interviews from 60 EFL teachers, a cohort of 319 pre-university students, and 15 pre-university students’ parents in Iran. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data attested that the EFL teachers’ and pre-university students’ pedagogical actions and practices mostly reproduced the negative washback effects by focusing and capitalizing on the test content, practicing test-taking techniques, reviewing the previous NUET items and using them in final/midterm test, and adopting teaching and learning styles that simply transmit the decontextualized linguistic knowledge to the students. Additionally, preuniversity students’ parents encouraged their children to study for the NUET and participate in the NUET’s preparatory classes, although they criticized the test and saw little value in it in terms of life-long learning. Finally, the findings of this study suggest a re-evaluation of teaching, learning, and testing actions and practices based on whether they reproduce or transform the deleterious impacts of the high-stakes testing industry on the stakeholders within and beyond the classroom contexts. This view of education and assessment is argued to empower EFL teachers and students to play a more active and transformative role in a more learning-centered educational milieu.
Every act of translation deals with some problems and challenges. Translation of advertisements maybe more challenging than other types of translations due to the importance of both form and content in cross-cultural translation and... more
Every act of translation deals with some problems and challenges. Translation of advertisements maybe more challenging than other types of translations due to the importance of both form and content in cross-cultural translation and audience response. In translating advertisements, the most important issue to be addressed by the translator is the cultural representation of the original texts. However, little attention is accorded into culture-bound parts of advertisements and their translations. Accordingly, the present study aimed to investigate the translation of verbal metaphors from English to Persian. To achieve this aim, a number of Home Appliance English and Persian TV commercials were recorded from national and international channels. As this research is descriptive study, so the verbal metaphors from English were compared with their translations into Persian. Moreover, Blacks' (1962) interaction theory of metaphor was taken to analyze the data. This theory examines whether or not the source text and target text are equivalent from metaphor perspective. In addition, the study investigates the localization, domestication, adaptation, addition, and reduction in translation process. The verbal metaphors in English advertisements were compared to Persian translation in line with Black' (1962) interaction theory of metaphor to achieve the above goals of transferring idea from source language into target language. Translation is undoubtedly an act of intercultural communication; therefore, the results indicated relatively lack of awareness of cultural approach to translation of advertisements and revealed the similarity and divergence between two languages.
L2 learners’ multiple intelligences (MI) profile plays a central role in their performance on different aspects of language learning, one of which is the use of language learning strategies (LLSs). Gaining insights into the relationship... more
L2 learners’ multiple intelligences (MI) profile plays a central role in their performance on different aspects of language learning, one of which is the use of language learning strategies (LLSs). Gaining insights into the relationship between MI and LLSs makes L2 teachers better understand their learners’ strengths and weaknesses in the use of strategies and lets them guide the learners better in this regard. This study was an attempt to explore the (possible) relationship between Iranian L2 learners’ MI profile and their use of LLSs. The participants were 30 female learners, aged 13-25, studying in a language institute in Iran. To measure their MI scores, McKenzie’s MI Inventory (1999) was used, and their learning strategy use was examined through the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL). To find the relationship between the participants’ overall MI scores and their use of strategies as well as the relation between individual intelligences and strategy use, Pearson product moment correlation was conducted. The results revealed a strong positive relation between the participants’ MI scores and their use of LLSs. Also, strong positive correlations were found between verbal intelligence and memory and cognitive learning strategies, intrapersonal intelligence and memory learning strategies, and visual intelligence and cognitive learning strategies. The findings have implications for L2 pedagogy. Identifying L2 learners’ dominant intelligences and, accordingly, their strengths and weaknesses in using LLSs as well as raising their awareness, L2 teachers can develop L2 learners’ strengths and strengthen their weaknesses in using LLSs and improve the efficacy of teaching and learning LLSs.
Recent developments in cognitive linguistics have highlighted the importance and the ubiquity of metaphor in language. Their effect has been instrumental in making significant headway into pedagogical practice and the design of teaching... more
Recent developments in cognitive linguistics have highlighted the importance and the ubiquity of metaphor in language. Their effect has been instrumental in making significant headway into pedagogical practice and the design of teaching materials. This study aimed at exploring the efficacy of focus-on-form(s) instruction on the learning of metaphors by intermediate L2 learners of English. To do so, 80 participants who were homogeneous in terms of language proficiency and metaphoric competence were assigned to 3 groups―2 experimental and 1 control groups. One of the experimental groups was exposed to a 20-session explicit teaching of metaphors (i.e., focus-on-forms) contained in the reading passages. The second group was taught the L2 metaphorical expressions through implicit instruction (i.e., focus-on-form) and was required to guess their meanings. And, the control group did not receive any particular kind of instruction; however, they took the same pretest and posttest as the 2 experimental groups did. To analyze the data, analysis of covariance was utilized. The findings revealed that the explicitly-taught group gained better results on the posttest. Therefore, the results indicated a positive correlation between focus-on-forms instruction and the development of metaphorical competence. It could be claimed that it is possible to enhance L2 learners’ metaphorical competence via the explicit teaching of metaphors.
Recent economic, political, and cultural developments have added to the importance of advertisements and the significant role they play in public and private sectors of the society. The discourse of advertisements has triggered a bulk of... more
Recent economic, political, and cultural developments have added to the importance of advertisements and the significant role they play in public and private sectors of the society. The discourse of advertisements has triggered a bulk of research and become the target of scrutiny from different perspectives. A fundamental issue in cross-cultural advertising is whether the knowledge which transfers from pictorial metaphor, that is, metaphors which are abundant in pictures, is similar in different cultures. Accordingly, the present study aimed to investigate cross-cultural differences between the Iranian TV commercials and Western countries. To achieve this aim, a number of food advertisements were recorded from Iranian and Western TV commercials. Moreover, Barth’s (1986) model―signified and signifier―was taken to analyze the data. The pictorial metaphors in the advertisements from Iranian TV commercials were compared to those of Western in line with Barth’s model and the specific factor of differences, that is, culture. The results indicated relatively sharp cross-cultural differences between the Iranian and Western TV commercials in terms of using pictorial metaphors in communicating knowledge. This study furthers our understanding of how cultures influence the way consumers decode messages. The differences observed are attributed to the cultural differences of Iran and Western countries.
This article reports on a study that aimed to examine the possible effects of the Iranian elementary female L2 learners’ (meta)cognitive reading strategy knowledge on their reading comprehension in 3 different stages of reading, that is,... more
This article reports on a study that aimed to examine the possible effects of the Iranian elementary female L2 learners’ (meta)cognitive reading strategy knowledge on their reading comprehension in 3 different stages of reading, that is, prereading, while-reading, and postreading phases. To this end, the study was carried out at 2 language schools in Iran. In order to control the language proficiency factor, 40 L2 learners were selected through the application of the Oxford Placement Test. The participants belonged to 2 different age groups. Twenty of them were selected from the young people, ranging from 15 to 20 years old. The other 20 participants who comprised the second group were adults, ranging from 35 to 40 years old. The participants completed a reading strategy survey and took a reading comprehension test. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to describe the respondents’ reading strategy use and their performance on the reading test. The results of the study showed no significant relationship between young and adult Iranian female L2 learners’ comprehension level and their use of reading strategies. In fact, the data obtained from the young group resulted in a significant relationship between reading comprehension and metacognitive reading strategy use. That is, the more L2 learners employ metacognitive reading strategies, the more their reading comprehension level will be. Besides, the participants of both groups were alike in their perceived use of cognitive reading strategy.
To fathom more in the globe of language, thought, and cognition, it is pivotal to tackle the cartridge shell of challenging the task of defining, elucidating, and comprehending metaphors, being widespread in everyday life. Inspired by... more
To fathom more in the globe of language, thought, and cognition, it is pivotal to tackle the cartridge shell of challenging the task of defining, elucidating, and comprehending metaphors, being widespread in everyday life. Inspired by this speculative inclination, this study sought to explore the relationship between L2 learners’ metaphorical competence and interpersonal intelligence. To collect the data, a total of 126 (51 males and 75 females) upper-intermediate M.A. learners majoring in TEFL and B.A learners majoring in English Literature and Translation from the University of Isfahan and Shahrekord University participated. To this end, metaphor tests and the Bar-On EQ-i were administered among the participants. To analyze the data, a Pearson product-moment correlation was run. The results indicated that there was a medium positive correlation between the L2 upper-intermediate learners’ metaphorical competence and interpersonal intelligence, that is, high levels of interpersonal intelligence associated with high levels of metaphorical competence and the growth of one might shape the development of the other. The findings put more emphasis on the process of comprehending metaphors by showing the importance of a relationship between metaphorical competence and interpersonal intelligence. The possible implications will be discussed.