Mahzad Keyvanloo; Mohammad Reza Amirian; Marjan Vosoughi; reza Bagheri Nevisi
Abstract
The main purpose of the study was to explore the connection between teachers' critical thinking, autonomy, and their teaching experience among public and private English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers. In addition, the differences between the two main contexts of English language learning (public ...
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The main purpose of the study was to explore the connection between teachers' critical thinking, autonomy, and their teaching experience among public and private English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers. In addition, the differences between the two main contexts of English language learning (public and private contexts) were scrutinized vis a vis teachers' critical thinking and their autonomy. Two different groups of EFL private language institute teachers and EFL high school teachers were selected from two major cities in Khorasan Razavi, Iran. As the results of Path Analysis indicated, all subfactors of EFL teachers' critical thinking (analysis, evaluation, inference, inductive reasoning) except deductive reasoning were positive significant predictors of their autonomy. Additionally, the experience was a positive significant predictor of their autonomy. Furthermore, among five sub-factors of EFL teachers' critical thinking, four subfactors were predicted by experience including analysis, inference, inductive reasoning, and deductive reasoning. However, the experience did not predict evaluation. Also, the results of the Pearson correlation indicated that critical thinking was positively associated with autonomy with a moderate connection, and positively and weakly with experience. Furthermore, the results of the t-test for independent samples indicated that there was a significant difference between the two different contexts in the level of autonomy with private EFL teachers being more autonomous than public EFL teachers. Nevertheless, there was no significant difference between the two types of context in critical thinking.
Fatemeh Akbari; Seyed Mohammad Reza Amirian; gholam reza zareian
Abstract
Established on the basis of Vygotsky's SCT, this study tends to document the EFL students' development of phrasal verbs through two SCT-oriented approaches including concept-based instruction (CBI) and dynamic assessment (DA). Moreover, the students' performance in the follow-up stage is explored to ...
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Established on the basis of Vygotsky's SCT, this study tends to document the EFL students' development of phrasal verbs through two SCT-oriented approaches including concept-based instruction (CBI) and dynamic assessment (DA). Moreover, the students' performance in the follow-up stage is explored to see whether they experience a conceptual development in a new context. Participants were 45 pre-intermediate and intermediate high school students who were randomly assigned into two experimental groups and one control group. The study followed a mixed-methods procedure employing both experimental design and qualitative case study. To examine the appropriateness of the instruments and tasks, initially a pilot study was run in a one- to- one tutoring session. Subsequently, all groups were asked to go through the pretest followed by 10 sessions of instruction and posttest. Finally, DA and DA-CBI groups participated in a follow-up stage. ANOVA results on posttest showed the significant influence of integrating DA and CBI as a joint function on EFL students' conceptual development over the traditional control group, F (2, 42) = 14.27, p= .000
Ali Zangoei; Gholamreza Zareian; Seyyed Mohammad Reza َAdel; Seyed Mohammad Reza Amirian
Abstract
The present study reports the results of a dissertation aimed at consolidating assessment and instruction of L2 pragmatics comprehension by drawing on an interventionist computerized dynamic assessment (C-DA) through which the test was embodied by providing graduated hints (from the most explicit to ...
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The present study reports the results of a dissertation aimed at consolidating assessment and instruction of L2 pragmatics comprehension by drawing on an interventionist computerized dynamic assessment (C-DA) through which the test was embodied by providing graduated hints (from the most explicit to the most implicit) which were standardized for all test takers. To do so, a web-based software, called a Computerized Dynamic Assessment of Speech Acts, Routines, and Implicatures (CDASRI), accessible at http://da-pragmatics.com, was developed. Then, 137 upper-intermediate or advanced high school and university students ranging in age from 16 to 36 from two provinces of Khorasan Razavi and Golestan, Iran, were selected based on convenience sampling, who voluntarily took part in the study. Based on how many hints or mediations were used by each test-taker, the CDASRI provided three scores: actual score (traditional score), mediated score, and learning potential score (LPS). The results of the study indicated that the test could improve test takers’ pragmatic comprehension competence. Moreover, the significant difference between the mediated (using hints) and actual (without hints) scores of learners accounted for the fact that because of test-takers’ different Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) levels, their level of responsiveness to mediation was significantly different from one another. Hence, it can be concluded that traditional non-dynamic test loses sight of a big part of learners’ abilities through neglecting learners’ potentialities and putting emphasis only on their preliminary performance. The study concludes with some pedagogical implications for language teachers and instructors who seek an effective perspective for their assessment and instruction.
