Iranian High School Research Articles

Suppression of academics and school training in Iran during the "Woman, Life, Freedom" revolution.

For the past 6 months, there has been an ongoing revolution in Iran after the brutal death of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini in morality police custody. Iranian universities' professors and students have been on the frontline of this revolution and have been fired or sentenced. On the other hand, Iranian high schools and primary schools have been under suspected toxic gas attack. In the current article, the latest status of oppression of the university students and professors and toxic gas attack on primary and high schools in Iran has been evaluated.

Iranian EFL Teachers’ Attitude Towards Utilization of ELT in Students’ Future Lives

In countries in which there is no formal second language, and English is considered a foreign language and has no place in people’s everyday lives and communications, the utilization of the foreign language taught in schools as the second language is under question. This study has been conducted to indicate English teachers’ attitudes toward the utilization of teaching English as a foreign language in Iranian high schools as well as current language policies. In this study, 66 EFL teachers from Gotvand, Shushtar, and Dezful, Iran, made up the sample of this study. To answer the questions of this study, a validated questionnaire was prepared and distributed among the samples. In this questionnaire, 20 statements formed a Likert scale and the teachers had to show their level of agreement or disagreement with the statement. This paper elaborates on the attitude of EFL teachers with different degrees regarding the utilization of ELT in students’ future lives.

Iranian High School Students’ Self-presentation on a National Educational Social Networking Site: A Reciprocation of “Field”, “Habitus”, and “Doxa”

Iranian High School Students’ Self-presentation on a National Educational Social Networking Site: A Reciprocation of “Field”, “Habitus”, and “Doxa”

Evaluation of the barriers and facilitators of iron supplementation program among adolescent females

Iron deficiency anemia is a major health problem in female adolescents; so, the iron supplementation program has been implemented in Iranian female high school students for nearly two decades. This study aimed to assess the barriers and facilitators of the program. This cross-sectional study was conducted by cluster random sampling with a sample size of 399 high school girls from the northern, southern, eastern, western and central regions of Iran. To collect data, we applied valid and reliable researcher-made questionnaires. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 22 software using the chi-squared test. From the students' point of view, the most important reasons for not taking iron supplements were the bad taste of iron supplements, nausea after consumption, and not prescription of the iron supplement by physicians. Most the students believed that inviting health care professionals and movies or clips had the greatest impact on encouraging students to take supplements. About 45% of students reported that educational programs were not held for them, and only 28% of students received educational content/educational media about iron supplement. Also, 71% of students reported that there are not enough glasses for the consumption of supplement iron. There were significant relationships between iron supplements distributors (deputy assistant: 22.6% vs. 14.1%, P=0.045), allocated enough time to intake iron supplements (72.0% vs. 37.1%, P<0.001), implemented the educational program in schools (61.8% vs. 33%, P<0.001), and the educator person of the program (health teachers: 42.7% vs. 35.7%, P=0.039) with consumption of iron supplement by the students. To achieve the goals of the program, it is necessary paying attention to various aspects of the program such as providing better quality iron supplements, providing more appropriate environmental conditions, designing more attractive training programs, strengthening general announcement, and employing more experienced executive staff.

Culture in English Language Teaching: A curricular evaluation of English textbooks for foreign language learners

A critical assessment of the current systematical planning and an in-depth review of the teaching materials efficiently improve fine educational materials to the benefit of developed learning and teaching contexts. In some countries, such as Iran, that belong to the expanding circle, local book writers provide English teaching materials that may ignore sociopragmatic language components, particularly culture. There is a blind spot and massive gap in the related literature regarding the inclusion and organization of cultural knowledge in these textbooks. This study investigated culture in Iranian schools by conducting a nationwide survey to fill the gap. The investigation was based on the components of the curriculum administered and used in Iran, namely Vision Series. The evaluation was aimed at two prospects; firstly, to interpret whether the English textbooks taught at high schools in Iran have standardized principles and elements regarding Communication and Culture. Secondly, to investigate the extent to which cultural knowledge and technology as the curricular components are implemented in the Vision Series. In this respect, the 5 Cs checklist developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages was employed. The evaluation done by 120 English language teachers reveals that the textbook Vision 3 is more preferable and desirable than Vision 1 and 2, yet not significantly. The evaluation based on the seven curricular components indicates that Vision textbooks have standards at a low level and are not designed and developed to enhance language learners’ cultural competence in the target language. This study highlights the role of enhancing language learners’ cultural awareness in the expanding circle of World Englishes.

The relationship between EFL learners’ satisfaction with online education and their anxiety level

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between Iranian senior high school EFL learners’ satisfaction with online education and their anxiety level during COVID-19 outbreak. To this end, 180 students from two senior high schools were asked to participate in this study. Based on the performance of the participants on the Quick Placement Test, the researcher recruited 100 students through availability sampling. To determine the anxiety level of the participants, the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale was employed. Moreover, the satisfaction questionnaire was used to check the learners’ satisfaction with online education. The Pearson correlation was run to determine the correlation between different levels of anxiety and e-learners’ satisfaction. The results indicated that there was a significant negative correlation between these variables. In other words, as the anxiety level of the participants increased, their satisfaction with online education decreased to a significant extent. Keywords: Anxiety levels, EFL elementary learners, e-learners’ satisfaction;

Scaffolding via Group-dynamic Assessment to Positively Affect Motivation, Learning Anxiety, and Willingness to Communicate: A Case Study of High School Students.

Although a mass of studies has demonstrated the effectiveness of scaffolding through group-dynamic assessment (G-DA) in fostering English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' language skills and components, its contributions to developing psychological constructs, such as motivation, learning anxiety (LA), and willingness to communicate (WTC) have remained largely unexplored in the context of Iranian high schools. Thus, this study purported to disclose the contributions of G-DA to Iranian high school students' motivation, LA, and WTC. For these purposes, 124 grade 11 students were chosen through a random sampling method at Shahed High School in Borujerd City, Iran, homogenized through the Oxford Quick Placement test (OQPT), and randomly allocated as a control group (CG) (n = 23) and an experimental group (EG) (n = 23). Afterward, a pre-test, interventions (for 16 one-hour sessions held two times a week as an extra-curricular program), and a post-test were implemented. The results of the independent samples t-tests evidenced that EG's motivation significantly improved compared to CG after the interventions. Additionally, the findings revealed that the G-DA-based instruction significantly contributed to relieving EG's LA. Further, the results uncovered that a statistically significant difference existed between EG and CG concerning the gains in WTC. The findings gained in this study are anticipated to contribute significantly to the various EFL settings, as well as they offer a variety of recommendations and implications for relevant stakeholders.

Cultivating Iranian High School Students’ Writing Skills through Task-Based Language Teaching: A Mixed-Methods Study

This mixed-methods study attempts to explore the effects of TBLT on the development of Iranian high school students’ writing skills. To this end, two entire classes were selected in Shahed high school in Borujerd City, Iran. The groups went through pre-test, intervention, post-test, and delayed post-test procedures. In addition, using a classroom observation checklist, the researchers checked how much of the TBLT tenets can be implemented in real classes, and a focus group interview was used to further investigate the students’ perceptions about the effectiveness of TBLT. The collected data were analyzed through repeated measures: ANOVA, a calculation of percentage, and content analysis. Findings showed a statistically significant difference between the experimental group and control group in relationship to their writing skills. Moreover, the results of the classroom observation checklist disclosed that the principles and procedures of TBLT were implementable in Iranian high school classes. Furthermore, the findings of the focus group interview revealed that the participants have positive attitudes toward TBLT. Finally, a range of implications is suggested for the different stakeholders.

“Physics with Chocolate Taste”: A Cognitive-Pragmatic Approach to the Titles of Iranian Educational Books

This paper investigates some linguistic strategies in educational books titling aimed at Iranian high school students. In Iran, the competition for admission in top universities is very significant, and thus studying supplementary material for school subjects is highly required. The books published by the Ministry of Education lack flexibility and innovation, and as such, the demand for high quality materials is very high, and consequently a rewarding book market has been formed. In this competitive market, publishers do their best to attract a higher number of customers, and choosing eye-catching titles for their published books is one of the most decisive marketing tasks. In the present study, a total of 120 book titles have been collected and analyzed. In terms of the cognitive processes, it was found that strengthening and mitigation play a significant role in creating book titles. According to the findings, the cognitive operation of strengthening is more dominant than mitigation: in 46 cases of book titles (25.8%), one positive feature is linguistically strengthened to promote book selling, with only 11 cases involving the mitigation process. It is also shown that authors and publishers tend to employ metaphors to create attractive titles for their books. The pattern BOOK IS A JOURNEY tends to be the most frequent metaphor (17 items), followed by those related to food (14), game (12), medicine (6), animal (4), and weapon (3). Some titles showcase a kind of allusion to literary works or cultural symbols reflected in various forms of arts and media.

Family communication patterns and internet addiction among Iranian female high school students: The mediating role of psychological needs satisfaction

The prevalence of internet addiction in Iranian adolescents has been an increasing matter with a rising trend mostly in females. The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of satisfying basic psychological needs in the relationship between family communication patterns and internet addiction among female high school students in Iran. For this purpose, 250 second-grade female students of Yasouj high schools were selected with a multi-stage cluster random sampling method and asked to answer Revised Family Communication Patterns, Psychological Basic Needs Satisfaction, and Internet Addiction questionnaires. The results showed that family communication patterns were related to basic psychological needs. In addition, greater psychological needs satisfaction was connected with low levels of internet addiction. The direct effect of family communication patterns on internet addiction was not significant. The indirect influence of family communication patterns on internet addiction through basic psychological needs was of significance. Thus, basic psychological needs mediated the relationship between family communication patterns and internet addiction.

Academic self‐concept in physics: A multidimensional and hierarchical model based on learning targets

AbstractThe academic self‐concept (ASC) is a domain‐specific construct, which plays an influential role in academic motivation and choices. Although some ASC models and instruments have been developed for mathematics and science, none have been specifically designed to measure the physics ASC. Therefore, this study focuses on designing and validating a model for measuring the physics ASC. In the proposed model, students' physic academic self‐perception is measured by a novel instrument called Physics Academic Self‐Concept Inventory (PASCI) based on domain‐specific learning targets. The major physics learning targets considered in the PASCI design are physics knowledge, attitudes toward physics, and physics‐related skills. Confirmatory factor analysis and psychometric methods are used to test and validate the proposed model and the PASCI instrument on the data collected from 861 male and female students attending secondary high schools in Iran. The results indicate that the devised model has appropriate fit measures and robust structural validity so that in multiple group analysis, model parameters are invariant. The author suggests that the idea of physics ASC should be modeled as a hierarchical and multidimensional structure based on physics learning targets to be effectively helpful to physics education researchers and teaching physics in classrooms.

Stages of dairy product consumption among Iranian female high school students based on transtheoretical model: The case of osteoporosis prevention.

Background: As nutritional needs increase in adolescence, dairy consumption can play a key role in health and disease prevention; however, unfortunately, inadequate consumption of milk and dairy products has often been reported in adolescents. Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between decisional balance, self-efficacy, and the processes of change with the stages of change for dairy consumption in female high school students in Shaft county located in the west of Gilan Province, Iran. Methods: A total of 385 female high school students in Shaft County were studied through the census method in 2019. The data collection instrument was a valid and reliable questionnaire consisting of demographic information, stages of change and items of transtheoretical model constructs including the processes of change (cognitive process: consciousness-raising, dramatic relief, self-reevaluation, environmental reevaluation, and social liberation; behavioral process: self-liberation, counter conditioning, reinforcement management, stimulus control and helping relationships), decisional balance and self-efficacy. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21 software. Results: A total of 208 (54%), 53 (13.8%), 56 (14.5%), 32 (8.3%) and 36 (9.4%) students were in the pre-contemplate, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance stages, respectively. As the subjects progressed through the stage of change for dairy consumption, an increase in the mean score of self-efficacy, decisional balance, and processes of change was observed (P < 0.01). Conclusion: The constructs of the transtheoretical model should be considered in designing educational interventions to promote dairy consumption with regard to the stage of change for dairy consumption in the subjects.

Investigating the Effect of Perceived Social Support on the Promotion of Earthquake-Related Awareness in Iranian High School Students.

Students are one of the groups in society that are always exposed to earthquake-related hazards. Perceived social support plays a major role in students' self-efficacy to respond appropriately to earthquakes. Social support affects students' beliefs about their abilities and enhances their performance during earthquakes. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of perceived social support on the promotion of earthquake-related awareness amongst high school students. The present educational intervention with a randomized control group was conducted on 64 high school students in Lordegan, Iran. The participants were randomly divided into an intervention and a control group. Earthquake-related awareness index and perceived social support were completed by the two groups before, immediately after, and two months after the intervention. The intervention group received 120-minute educational intervention sessions once a week for four weeks. The data were entered into the SPSS 20 software and were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods. According to the results, educational intervention was effective in improving the perceived social support. The results also showed that increasing the perceived social support significantly improved the earthquake-related awareness among the high school students in the intervention group compared to the control group after the intervention (P <.001). The findings revealed that perceived social support played a major role in promoting earthquake-related awareness in the high school students. Due to the accuracy of the study, these results can be considered in future investigations.

Validity, reliability and factor analysis of Reid’s English language learning styles for high school students: A case study on Iranian students

The purpose of this research was standardization through a test construction by addressing the assessment of validity and reliability of Reid’s English language learning styles among high school students. This research was of quantitative approach. In this paper, 357 (189 females and 168 males) high school students in Isfahan Province on 2013–2014 academic year were randomly selected using stratified sampling method. They were asked to fill Reid’s English language learning styles’ questionnaire. The questionnaire was assessed in terms of content validity, construct validity, face validity, and factor validity. Likewise, its reliability was confirmed by assessing its internal consistency using a split-half method. LISREL 8.5 and SPSS Software, Version 19, were used for its statistical calculations. The results indicated that Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were strong for all subscales and the overall scale of psychometric measurement. Moreover, confirmatory factor analysis revealed a good fitness for the scale. Results of split-half method also indicated that coefficient of test reliability was desirable. Therefore, considering the results, it can be said that the Persian version of the language learning style questionnaire demonstrated an acceptable validity and reliability. Findings of this study can be useful for Iranian high school students to improve their learning status because their native cultural milieu and their own educational structure were under focus which consequently leads to the discovery and innovation of new teaching and learning methods to improve their knowledge in each area, and new learning styles can be discovered based on their own special condition.

Iranian EFL Learners’ Perceptions towards Demotivation in Learning English

Demotivation in learning English has always been challenging for teachers, parents and researchers and they sought ways to discover its roots and solve it. One important source of solutions to learners’ demotivation is their own perceptions. However, such a rich resource of information on demotivation has received little attention. Therefore, inspired by such a gap, the present study investigated Iranian high school EFL students’ perceptions of demotivation in learning English. Following quantitative survey research, a questionnaire was designed both inspired by demotivation questionnaires of Sakai and Kikuchi (2009) and Falout and Maruyama (2004) and teachers’ focus group on attitudes. It was created based on the Likert Scale and composed of three phases including 54 statements about teachers, textbooks and classroom conditions. The questionnaire was sent to 300 volunteer high school students selected from a random list of public and private high schools across the country. After completion, the questionnaire data were controlled and entered into SPSS. Then, descriptive statistics were computed and Pearson correlation and Runs Test were carried out. However, analysis of the learners’ perceptions revealed that students attributed their demotivation to teachers, classroom conditions, and textbooks respectively. It was found that in Iran, teachers were deemed not qualified enough to motivate students. Apart from that, the classroom conditions and English textbooks were in poor conditions and did not manage to attract and motivate learners.

Editorial

In this first issue of 2022, Journal of Modern Languages (JML) is pleased to share six interesting articles which are of relevance to the field of languages and linguistics. The first article of Volume 32, Department Store Surveys as a Methodology in the Study of Linguistic Variation by Shangxin Zheng and Xiaomei Wang, evaluates the use of Department Store Surveys (DSS) as an effective sociolinguistic tool to study linguistic variation in a multilingual society. Then, the next article by Vivian Chiew and Cecilia Cheong talks about the socio-cognitive and professional practice perspectives on chairperson statements. The findings of their study do not only illuminate the importance of professional discourse but also highlight pedagogical implications for English for Professional Communication (EPC) programmes. In this issue, we have also included an article that concern minority languages, a major area of interest for many researchers. In the article Maimani Language and Lawati Language: Two Sides of the Same Coin?, Said Humaid Al Jahdhami shares with us the resemblance between two minority languages which are Maimani Language and Lawati language. The other two articles focus on translation. In the article Evaluating the Curriculum for M.A. English Translation in Iran: Is the Curriculum Effective for Students?, Aynaz Samir evaluates the effectiveness of the English translation programme in Iran by investigating 341 university students’ perspectives. Insights for curriculum reform in the area of English translation are provided. The following article The Art of Paper Cutting: Strategies and Challenges in Chinese to English Subtitle Translation of Cultural Items by William Chai, Hui Yi Ong, Mansour Amini and Latha Ravindran highlights the technical, cultural and linguistic challenges faced in translating culture-specific items. Some of the proposed strategies in dealing with the translation of culture-specific terms are omission, equivalence, adaptation and direct transfer. Last but not least, Abbas Pazireh, Nilofar Hessamodini and Zohre Jaferi reported the findings of their quantitative study in the article Iranian EFL Learners’ Perceptions towards Demotivation in Learning English. In their study, 300 Iranian high school students’ perceptions of demotivation in learning English were gathered and factors such as teachers, textbooks, classroom conditions were identified. We hope that these articles published by JML are insightful to you and that you would share them with your friends and colleagues. For your easy reference, a list of featured articles published in the last five years is attached in the Appendix.

Semantic network analysis of the biotechnology domain in Iranian high school biology textbooks

Textbooks can have a fundamental and positive effect on both learning and teaching. As such, in order to understand how students structure concepts in their minds, it is necessary to analyze the structure in which those concepts presented in textbooks are described. This study examined a network of concepts used in the domain of biotechnology in the Iranian 12th grade biology textbook and investigated the alignment of science concepts used in its sub-domains. The findings of this study suggest that too many concepts, as well as unconnected ones, were used in biotechnology domain, which led to a complicated conceptual network. Therefore, this paper recommends that the number of biology concepts described in the later text books in the biotechnology domain at Iranian high schools should be reduced in order to facilitate a better formation of connections between concepts and their descriptions.

Online peer-dynamic assessment: an approach to boosting Iranian high school students’ writing skills: a mixed-methods study

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is three-fold. First, to explore the effects of online peer-dynamic assessment (Peer-DA), rooted in the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) notion, on boosting Iranian high school students’ writing skills. Second, to disclose how online Peer-DA can lead to improving the participants’ writing skills. Third, to disclose their perceptions of the effectiveness of online Peer-DA in boosting writing skills. To these aims, one intact grade 11 class, including female students (n = 18) was selected randomly. The class went through pre-test, intervention, immediate post-test, and delayed post-test procedures. Additionally, the peers’ interactions were recorded meticulously and one-third of the students were selected randomly and invited to a focus-group interview. The data were analyzed through a repeated measure ANOVA, a microgenetic development approach, and a content analysis approach. Findings evidenced a significant improvement in the students’ writing skills on the immediate post-test and the delayed post-test. Also, the microgenetic development analysis documented that the contingent prompts led to improving the students’ writing performance. Besides, the findings of the focus group interview evidenced that the students had positive attitudes toward the online Peer-DA. Finally, a range of implications is offered for relevant stakeholders. ABBREVIATIONS: Peer-DA: Peer dynamic assessment; ZPD: Zone of proximal development; SCT: Sociocultural theory

Students’ perceptions of learning environment: associations with personal mastery goal orientations, regulations, and academic performance in biology

ABSTRACT Previous research has reported the importance of students’ perceptions of learning environment in their affective outcomes, motivational regulations, and performance. In this study, we investigated the predictive effects of students’ perceptions of biology classroom learning environment on their mastery goals orientation, motivational regulations, and performance in biology. A total of 329 Iranian high school students completed questionnaires on perceptions of biology classroom learning environment, personal mastery goal orientation, and, intrinsic and extrinsic regulations in learning biology. The results revealed that perceived meaningfulness predicted personal mastery goals orientation moderately and positively. Perceived autonomy had significant and positive influences on intrinsic and extrinsic regulations. The results also showed that students’ perceived meaningfulness and intrinsic regulation were slightly and positively correlated. Personal mastery goals orientation was moderately and positively correlated with students’ intrinsic and extrinsic regulations. Moreover, the results indicated that perceived competition, perceived meaningfulness, personal mastery goals orientation, and extrinsic regulation positively affected students’ performance in biology. The findings also underscore the central mediating role of students’ personal mastery goals orientation in the relationship between perceptions of learning environment and their regulations in biology learning. The results support many of the hypothesized relationships and provide broader clarification and implications for the literature.

Perfectionism and L2 Achievement: The Mediating Roles of Motivation and Self-Regulated Learning Among Iranian High School Students

The current study investigated how perfectionism can be related to L2 learners’ achievement with motivation and two aspects of self-regulated learning as possible mediators. This study also evaluated the factor structure of the Big Three Perfectionism Scale (BTPS) in an Iranian sample. The participants were 495 Iranian high school students who completed six BTPS sub-scales and measures of self-determined motivation and self-regulated learning. Psychometric analyses indicated that rigid perfectionism and self-critical perfectionism as two higher order factors have construct validity. Structural equation modeling indicated that rigid perfectionism positively predicted L2 achievement, while self-critical perfectionism negatively predicted L2 achievement. Mediational models indicated that neither autonomous-mastery/performance motivation nor controlled motivation mediated the path from perfectionism to L2 achievement. However, both aspects of self-regulated learning, namely, deep learning and persistence could mediate the relationship between perfectionism and L2 achievement. Specifically, higher levels of rigid perfectionism were positively related to deep learning and persistence that, in turn, were related to higher L2 achievement. In contrast, self-critical perfectionism was negatively related to deep learning and persistence, that, in turn, were related to lower L2 achievement. The results are discussed in terms of the practical implications for L2 teachers and parents.