Qualitative research
Farshad Azimifar; Ali Roohani; Aliakbar Jafarpour
Abstract
While grit and achievement emotions (AEs) have been separately studied, their interplay in second/foreign language (L2) learning, particularly its impact on L2 achievement, remains underexplored. This study investigated this interplay in a sample of Iranian L2 learners, employing Q-methodology to show ...
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While grit and achievement emotions (AEs) have been separately studied, their interplay in second/foreign language (L2) learning, particularly its impact on L2 achievement, remains underexplored. This study investigated this interplay in a sample of Iranian L2 learners, employing Q-methodology to show shared perspectives on how grit would interact with positive and negative AEs in shaping their L2 learning journey. By using a nonprobability purposeful sampling approach, data from 43 L2 (English) learners were collected through Q-sorting, accompanied by think-aloud protocols to provide deeper insight into their subjective viewpoints. Three factors were identified through varimax rotation and manual adjustment statistical techniques. Factor arrays and qualitative analysis were then used to elucidate participants’ perspectives on the interplay between grit and achievement emotions in L2 learning. The Q-sorts analysis revealed three distinct factors: (1) grit-strengthening negative emotions, highlighting the paradoxical role of emotions like shame, anxiety, and hopelessness in fostering perseverance; (2) grit-building positive emotions, emphasizing how positive emotions motivate L2 learners to persist in their efforts; and (3) grit’s buffering role toward negative emotions, demonstrating how grit helps mitigate the detrimental effects of negative emotions like anxiety. These findings reveal the multidimensional and complex relationship between grit and AEs, underlining their joint role in L2 learning and provide practical insights for L2 educators to strategically harness emotions to enhance persistence and success in L2 contexts.
L2 Creativity
Elnaz Zariholhosseini; Sajad Shafiee; Omid Tabatabaei
Abstract
Creativity is an essential prerequisite for teaching, developing, and promoting a foreign language. Pupils show enthusiasm for learning a foreign language in a creative environment. The central goal of this research was, therefore, to inspect the variety between experienced and novice English-as-a-foreign ...
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Creativity is an essential prerequisite for teaching, developing, and promoting a foreign language. Pupils show enthusiasm for learning a foreign language in a creative environment. The central goal of this research was, therefore, to inspect the variety between experienced and novice English-as-a-foreign (EFL) instructors regarding the interplay between their creativity and students' academic success. A closed-ended questionnaire was applied to inspect EFL experienced and novice teachers' promotion of creativity. Furthermore, the cumulative grade point average (CGPA) was applied as a substitute for measuring academic accomplishment. The questionnaire was distributed among 100 experienced teachers and 100 novice teachers in some branches of Gooyesh, Jahad Daneshgahi, and Sadr language institutes in Esfahan, Iran. In addition, their students' scores were gathered at the end of intended educational courses to calculate the classes' mean scores. Therefore, the data were analyzed descriptively and inferentially using frequency, percentage, Fisher's Z transformation formula, and mean. Besides, the Pearson correlation was utilized to gauge the connections between experienced and novice teachers' promotion of creativity and their students' academic achievements. The results confirmed the beneficial relationship between the creativity of experienced and novice instructors and students' academic performance. However, there was no significant disparity in the creativity levels of experienced and novice teachers.
Mohammad Nabi Karimi; Eskandar Samadi; Esmat Babaii
Abstract
The present study explored the effect of semantic priming in the resolution of ambiguous sentences containing Relative Clauses (RCs) preceded by a complex Noun Phrase (NP) by L1-Persian learners of L2 English. The type of semantic relationship examined was the one between the RC and one of the NPs in ...
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The present study explored the effect of semantic priming in the resolution of ambiguous sentences containing Relative Clauses (RCs) preceded by a complex Noun Phrase (NP) by L1-Persian learners of L2 English. The type of semantic relationship examined was the one between the RC and one of the NPs in the complex NP to find out whether semantic manipulation through priming one of the NPs to the RC can affect L2 learners’ attachment preference. The participants were 60 L1-Persian learners of L2 English with different proficiency levels. In a self-paced Paraphrase Decision Task using E-prime software, their reading times and attachment preferences while reading ambiguous sentences were examined. The low-proficiency participants’ off-line (RC attachment preferences) and on-line data (reading times) were compared with off-line and on-line data obtained from high-proficiency participants. The results revealed that in both groups, semantic priming affected participants’ attachment preferences. These findings are consistent with Constraint-based Models of sentence processing, which assume that several sources of information, including semantics, are used in sentence processing. The results also support predictions of the Spreading Activation Model. There were also significant differences between the two groups, low-proficiency participants fully transferred their L1 (Persian) processing strategies to their L2 (English). However, high-proficiency participants processed sentences similarly to native English speakers even though there were still traces of their L1 parsing preferences which is consistent with Shallow Structure Hypothesis.
