simin sattarpour

The general consensus on the invaluable contributions of audio-visual materials based on cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML) to enhancing the quality of language classes has turned them into indispensable tools which teachers utilize for more effective teaching of different language skills. The primary aim of this study was to explore the effect of audio visual aids on reading skill at university level. The secondary aim was to find out if this change in materials could have any impact on the motivation and attitudes of the students toward English learning. To this end, this quasi-experimental study adopted a pre-test post-test research method. A total of 256 General English university students were divided to experimental (n=184) and control (n=81) groups. The experimental group received audio-visual aids as the treatment while the control group was taught by a conventional text-based method, commonly practiced in General English classes at Tabriz University of Medical S...

Robinson’s Cognition Hypothesis and Skehan’s Limited Attentional Capacity Model provide the major impetus for this study. The present article reports the findings of a between-subject factorial experimental research study which explored 1) the effects of increased cognitive task complexity, manipulated through the intentional reasoning demands and number of elements on the lexical and syntactic complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) of EFL writers’ productions; and 2) the joint effects of cognitive task complexity factor and learners’ language learning aptitude (Low vs. High) on the written output. Firstly, we gave Carroll and Sapon’s Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) to 226 participants and then did a random stratification of the low- and high- aptitude learners into three groups. The participants received letter writing tasks with different cognitive complexity levels (low, medium, and high). The findings indicated that increasing cognitive task complexity resulted in signific...

This study aimed at examining the main and interaction effects of increased intentional reasoning demands, planning time, and also language learning aptitude on syntactic complexity, accuracy, lexical complexity, and fluency (CALF) of 226 EFL learners’ performance on letter writing tasks. The participants were first randomly assigned to three experimental groups to be given a task with differing degrees of reasoning demand (low, medium, and high) to each group. Then, within each reasoning group, we reassigned an equal number of high- and low- aptitude learners to Planning and No-planning groups by random stratified sampling. The results revealed that (a) increasing task complexity with regard to the amount of intentional reasoning demands resulted in greater lexical and syntactic complexity and less fluency while no significant effect was observed on accuracy; (b) increasing task complexity through planning time led to significantly lower syntactic complexity and fluency; (c) reason...

Reading comprehension ability consists of multiple cognitive processes, and cloze tests have long been claimed to measure this ability as a whole. However, since the introduction of cloze test, different varieties of it have been proposed by the testers. Thus, the present study was an attempt to examine the relatedness of Cloze-Elide test, Multiple-choice (MC) cloze test, and C-test as three different types of cloze procedure used for measuring reading comprehension. To this end, one C-test consisting of four short texts, one fixed ratio (n=7) multiple-choice cloze test, and one cloze-elide test were prepared from reading passages with similar readability levels. The participants of the study were 30 (male &female) freshman university students majoring in English literature. The results of ANOVA test showed that there were not any statistically significant differences at the 0.05 level of significance among the performance of the students on the three tests measuring their reading c...

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease of central nervous system (CNS), is associated with damage to the myelin sheath of neurons. It is demonstrated that vitamin D deficiency plays an important role in the development of the disease. Binding of vitamin D to its specific nuclear receptors is way to exert its function. Objective: Possible correlation between vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene and MS was evaluated in Azeri population of Iran. Method: Different genotypes of Bsml site were determined by using PCR-RFLP method in 148 MS patients and 220 nonrelative healthy controls. Results: In MS patients, genotype bb was significantly higher than the healthy controls (p<0.05). Additionally, most subjects of MS group had been insufficiently exposed to sunlight before the age of 15 (p<0.001). Our findings indicated that the red meat intake in MS patients was significantly higher than the healthy controls (p<0.001). In addition, the healthy controls had appropriate dieting beha...

Background : The significance of strategy use in writing is well established. However, particular strategy types which different learners can use in different contexts provides invaluable insights for the stakeholders. The current study examined the frequency of cognitive strategy use in writing as well as the quality of writing produced by language learners at different levels of proficiency (high or low) and from different language backgrounds (Turkish-Persian or Persian). Methods: For this study, 176 Iranian learners of English were divided into bilingual (n=91) and monolingual (n=85) categories and participants were placed at high (n=95) or low (n=81) proficiency levels based on their scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) administered for placement purposes. The research data was collected through writing cognitive strategy questionnaire and argumentative writing samples. Results: The results of ANOVA and Mann-Whitney tests revealed that (1) language backgr...

Background: The content for courses for English for specific purposes (ESP) has been largely determined on the basis of the intuitive judgments and personal preferences of syllabus designers and teachers rather than a standard needs analysis. The present study was an attempt at assessing the current English language abilities of undergraduate students majoring in the medical sciences and identifying their target needs for academic success through quantitative and qualitative methods. Methods: The participants included 197 undergraduate students, 12 Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) teachers, and 15 content teachers from the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Data were collected through a target needs analysis, self-assessment questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. Results: Pronunciation, technical and general vocabulary knowledge, and use of bilingual dictionaries were regarded as ‘important’ and ‘very important’ target needs by the participants, thoug...

Background : The significance of strategy use in writing is well established. However, particular strategy types which different learners can use in different contexts provides invaluable insights for the stakeholders. The current study examined the frequency of cognitive strategy use in writing as well as the quality of writing produced by language learners at different levels of proficiency (high or low) and from different language backgrounds (Turkish-Persian or Persian). Methods: For this study, 176 Iranian learners of English were divided into bilingual (n=91) and monolingual (n=85) categories and participants were placed at high (n=95) or low (n=81) proficiency levels based on their scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) administered for placement purposes. The research data was collected through writing cognitive strategy questionnaire and argumentative writing samples. Results: The results of ANOVA and Mann-Whitney tests revealed that (1) language backgr...

Background : The significance of strategy use in writing is well established. However, particular strategy types which different learners can use in different contexts provides invaluable insights for the stakeholders. The current study examined the frequency of cognitive strategy use in writing as well as the quality of writing produced by language learners at different levels of proficiency (high or low) and from different language backgrounds (Turkish-Persian or Persian). Methods: For this study, 176 Iranian learners of English were divided into bilingual (n=91) and monolingual (n=85) categories and participants were placed at high (n=95) or low (n=81) proficiency levels based on their scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) administered for placement purposes. The research data was collected through writing cognitive strategy questionnaire and argumentative writing samples. Results: The results of ANOVA and Mann-Whitney tests revealed that (1) language backgr...