research paper
Rasoul Mohammad Hosseinpur; Zahra Parsaeian
Abstract
The upsurge of interest in the employment of instructional technologies in learning English has coincided with a growing interest in Online Informal Learning of English (OILE). Considering the under-explored area of speaking skill, the present study investigated the participants’ microgenetic development ...
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The upsurge of interest in the employment of instructional technologies in learning English has coincided with a growing interest in Online Informal Learning of English (OILE). Considering the under-explored area of speaking skill, the present study investigated the participants’ microgenetic development of speaking ability in terms of accuracy and fluency through informal participation in online activities. Through a stratified purposive sample selection, three adult male and female intermediate-level participants were selected and agreed to engage in some online informal activities such as emailing, watching online videos like TED Talks, participating in webinars, reading online news, etc. The participants’ microgenetic development were tested throughout the study in two-week-time intervals. The results of the audio recorded data highlighted the positive impact of the OILE activities on the development of the spoken accuracy and fluency. The results also suggested that each individual participant was on his/her own unique developmental trajectory and that accuracy and fluency development was not a linear process, and there was a trade-off between accuracy and fluency. The overall findings of the study suggested that learners’ speaking ability, particularly fluency and accuracy, can be enriched by interacting with online informal contexts. This study also confirmed that each learner is on his/ her own developmental trajectory. Learners’ developmental trends are various due to differing categorizations and entrenchments in their lives considering Usage-Based (UB) approach.
research paper
Amir Rakhshan; Sajjad Fathi
Abstract
Competitive and individualistic approaches are the more predominant manners of classroom practice. The alternative approach for competition and individualism is the cooperative or collaborative teaching approach that has drawn significant attention in the TEFL field in recent years. This study intends ...
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Competitive and individualistic approaches are the more predominant manners of classroom practice. The alternative approach for competition and individualism is the cooperative or collaborative teaching approach that has drawn significant attention in the TEFL field in recent years. This study intends to evaluate the impact of collaborative assessment on Iranian EFL learners’ reading skill development and reliance reduction on teachers. Forty intermediate EFL learners from a language center were recruited through administering Oxford Placement Test (OPT). The required data were obtained through multiple instruments, including Oxford Placement Test (OPT), Reading Comprehension Test (RCT), and Students’ Reliance on the Teacher Questionnaire (SRTQ). The experimental group was subjected to collaborative assessment practice during the instructional phase; meanwhile, the control group was exposed to conventional teacher-based assessment practice. The educational phase consisted of eight sessions, each lasting thirty minutes and occurring twice per week for one month. The data analyzed based on the Shapiro-Wilk Test and the Independent Sample T-Test revealed that collaborative assessment had a statistically significant effect on enhancing reading skill ability and reducing students’ reliance. The results suggest that collaborative assessment has the potential to be a useful tool for improving learning outcomes and fostering learner autonomy. In addition, this study has some suggestions for researchers seeking further studies.
research paper
Narges Rahmani; Ataollah Maleki
Abstract
Attempting to improve teaching instructions, researchers have proposed numerous instructional techniques. In vocabulary learning as one of the key areas in EFL, inadequate knowledge leads to complications and frequently faces the learners with challenges. This study explores how an instructional technique ...
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Attempting to improve teaching instructions, researchers have proposed numerous instructional techniques. In vocabulary learning as one of the key areas in EFL, inadequate knowledge leads to complications and frequently faces the learners with challenges. This study explores how an instructional technique that employs semantic, structural, and semantic/structural elaboration affects vocabulary learning. The research was carried out with 114 participants who experienced the mentioned elaborations in three groups. For creating a +semantic, +structural, and +semantic/structural climate in each group, participants were given flashcards containing words beside the equivalents, words by numbered letters without any equivalents, and words by numbered letters beside the equivalents, respectively. The data—obtained from Lexical Production Scoring Protocol (LPSP)—were then input into One-way ANOVA and Post-hoc tests. To check the accuracy of Transfer Appropriate Processing (TAP) theory, different tasks during the teaching and testing phases in +semantic were designed. Due to this inconsistency, the findings proved to be in line with TAP theory, suggesting that Level of Processing (LOP) theory should be accompanied with TAP to end in facilitating results. Data analysis -mirroring the Type of Processing–Resource Allocation (TOPRA) effect- indicated that while the +semantic as compared to +semantic/structural facilitated performance on recall of words, had a negative effect in comparison with +structural. Based on the results, the limited processing resources remind curriculum developers to bear in mind which aspect of learning is of more importance to let the learners make the most and best use of their inborn gifts.
research paper
Meisam Mirzaei Shojakhanlou; Abdulbaset Saeedian
Abstract
Investigating language teacher cognition and ways of promoting their cognition are the building blocks of teacher education because their practices are highly contingent on their cognition about underlying concepts in language pedagogy. This study explored the development of novice teachers’ cognition ...
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Investigating language teacher cognition and ways of promoting their cognition are the building blocks of teacher education because their practices are highly contingent on their cognition about underlying concepts in language pedagogy. This study explored the development of novice teachers’ cognition about corrective feedback (CF) through task-based teacher education. The data were culled from two novice Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers through a questionnaire, observation, and journal. They took part in a course centering on the ways of enhancing knowledge about CF. The course was based on task-based teacher education. The teachers were to learn and practice giving feedback through some task-based teacher education activities such as role plays and observations. The data before the course indicated that the teachers had restricted knowledge about the functions and types of CF. However, the task-based teacher education course raised the teachers’ awareness about the scaffolding potentialities of CF. They also gained insights into implicit and explicit CF types as well as their functions. In addition, CF helped them enhance their awareness about the intrusiveness of error correction in the process of communication flow. Finally, the contribution of the findings of the study for novice teachers and teacher educators and how they should educate novice teachers are discussed.
research paper
Nouroddin Yousofi; Saba Bashiri
Abstract
This study gives an account of a mixed-methods exploration of the impacts of a mobile-based flipped classroom on Iranian EFL learners’ writing proficiency. The participants were selected in a non-random convenient sampling procedure. Two intact classes (N=30) of upper-intermediate EFL learners ...
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This study gives an account of a mixed-methods exploration of the impacts of a mobile-based flipped classroom on Iranian EFL learners’ writing proficiency. The participants were selected in a non-random convenient sampling procedure. Two intact classes (N=30) of upper-intermediate EFL learners were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. The quantitative and qualitative data were gathered via pre-and post-test scores and individual semi-structured interviews on WhatsApp. To measure groups’ differences in their writing proficiency, independent and paired samples t-tests statistical techniques were used, along with open thematic coding to analyze the interview data regarding the experimental group’s perceptions on the mobile-flipped writing course. Quantitative results showed that the post-test mean score of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group at p=0.05. Furthermore, the mobile-based flipped learning provided the experimental group with some features that contributed to the course effectiveness, including fostering self-confidence, preparation, and pre-class practice, as well as autonomous and independent learning. It should be mentioned that some factors related to the pre-class sessions made some obstacles for the experimental group, including being cost- and time-consuming. This study can have valuable implications for the stakeholders in the field of language education in general and those who intend to conduct effective flipped EFL courses in particular.
research paper
Zahra Sadat Hadj Seyed Hossein Khani Taher Kermani; Neda Fatehi Rad; Valeh Jalali
Abstract
AbstractThe importance of the metacognitive awareness raising strategy has been well-documented in research findings as a type of support for the language skills acquisition of English as a foreign language (EFL) learner in overall; nevertheless, the efficacy of this strategy on EFL learners' reading ...
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AbstractThe importance of the metacognitive awareness raising strategy has been well-documented in research findings as a type of support for the language skills acquisition of English as a foreign language (EFL) learner in overall; nevertheless, the efficacy of this strategy on EFL learners' reading comprehension and self-regulation level has received little notice. This research investigated the effectiveness of metacognitive awareness raising in a flipped educational environment on Iranian EFL learners' reading skills and their self-regulation levels as a partial attempt in this direction. In order to do this, a sample of 56 low-intermediate EFL students from one of the private language schools in Kerman, Iran, were chosen for the study relying on a convenient sampling strategy. The Oxford placement test, a reading pre-test, a reading post-test, a self-regulation scale, and a semi-structured interview were used to gather the results. Independent samples t-test findings indicated that from the pre-test to the post-test, EFL students in the treatment group outperformed the control group in both reading comprehension and self-regulation level. The findings of the semi-structured interview supported those of the t-test, and it was determined that the treatment's collaborative, entertaining, and educational elements had impressed the students. In sum, the results confirmed that integrating flipped classrooms with metacognitive development increased EFL learners' reading comprehension and self-regulation levels. The pedagogical implications of the strategy are discussed.
