Iranian English As Foreign Language Learners Research Articles

Potential Impact of Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) on EFL Learners’ Writing Accuracy: Learners’ Attitudes in Focus

The present study aimed to examine the potential impacts of Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) on Iranian English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ writing accuracy. Another study objective was to identify the learners’ attitudes toward using AWE in English classes. As such, 50 female EFL students at the intermediate level of language proficiency were chosen via convenience sampling to participate in the present study. They were then randomly divided into two groups of Control Group (CG) and the Experimental Group (EG), each consisting of 25 learners. Before the treatment, a researcher-made writing composition pre-test was administered to both groups. Next, the learners in the EG received the treatment in which an AWE system was employed to check the learner’s written productions. Next, learners in the CG were exposed to the conventional pen-and-paper methods of English writing classes. Then, a writing composition post-test was administered. The performances of learners on pre and post-tests were scored based on accuracy in terms of syntactic errors. After administering the post-test, EG learners were asked to fill in a questionnaire on AWE. Moreover, they were asked two questions in a semi-structured interview on their attitudes toward applying to the AWE program. The researcher recorded and later transcribed the learners’ answers for further analysis. The independent sample t-test revealed that Iranian EFL learners’ writing accuracy significantly improved after receiving AWE. Furthermore, the Chi-square test results, in conjunction with the interview results, showed that learners had positive attitudes toward AWE in writing classes. The study will have implications for the second language (L2) writing practices of EFL teachers and students.

Samesaying and double-voiced discourse in Iranian EFL learners’ production of L2 reported speech

AbstractConsidering the paucity of research done on the reported speech of L2 speakers compared with the body of work based on native speakers, particularly in the domain of education, this study investigates ‘polyphony’ (the dialogic nature of discourse) in the indirect reports of Iranian English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners in light of Bakhtin’s concept of ‘double-voiced discourse’ (DVD) (Bakhtin, 1984; Zbikowski, 2002). The goal of the article was to characterise the types of reporting attested in L2 data in the language-learning classroom and to analyse instances of discord between speakers’ voices to better understand what gives rise to these differences in an additional language. To achieve this, we observed naturally occurring interactions between Iranian EFL learners to see how they change the original speech in their indirect reports via the use of semantic and syntactic transformations. The findings revealed traces of distorted reported speech that not only refute the monophonic nature of indirect reports among the interactants but also emphasise the representational characteristics of DVD in its different forms. Samesaying and distorted reported speech are closely examined in accord with the nature of an L2 produced in a language-learning classroom. This article contributes to interlanguage pragmatics, with a focus on sociopragmatic variations that delve into intersubjectivity in language interaction in an institutional context.

The Relationship between Learning Vocabulary via Mobile (Mobile-Assisted Language Learning) and Iranian EFL Learners’ Social Anxiety and Loneliness

The present study has investigated the relationship between learning English vocabulary via mobile phone and the learners’ social anxiety and loneliness. The participants of the study were thirty-two intermediate English as foreign language (EFL) learners studying English at the University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran. Sixty American English idioms were chosen and became available in a Telegram channel, during a six-week period of treatment to provide the participants with Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL). A researcher-designed achievement test was administered to assess the learners’ vocabulary learning via mobile phone. Interaction Anxiousness Scale (IAS) (Leary 1983) and UCLA Loneliness Scale version 3 (ULS) (Russell 1996) were used to estimate the learners’ social anxiety and loneliness, respectively. The results showed no significant correlation between the variables; thus, it can be concluded that MALL not only frees the learners from the restrictions of time and place, but also minimizes the possible intervention of some socially and emotionally affective variables, such as social anxiety and loneliness in the process of language learning. Keywords: Learning Vocabulary, Mobile-assisted Language Learning, Social Anxiety, Loneliness

The Relationship between Learning Vocabulary via Mobile and Iranian EFL Learners’ Personality Trait

The growing inclusion of technological devices in language learning calls for exploring their efficacy and determining to what extent learners’ characteristics mediate their effectiveness. In light of these concerns, the current study has sought to examine the relationship between learning English vocabulary via mobile phone and the learners’ personality trait. The participants of the study were 100 intermediate English as foreign language (EFL) learners studying English at the University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran. Sixty American English idioms were chosen and became available in a Telegram channel, during a six-week period of treatment to provide the participants with Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL). A researcher-designed achievement test was administered to assess the learners’ vocabulary learning via mobile phone. Big Five Inventory (BFI)” (John et al. 2008) was used to estimate the learners’ personality trait. The data analyses showed no significant correlation between the variables; however, simultaneous multiple regression offered extraversion as the unique significant predictor. The results revealed MALL not only frees the learners from the restrictions of time and place, but also minimizes the possible intervention of learners’ characteristics in the process of language learning. The fruitfulness of MALL in leaving behind students’ characteristics has important implications for both educators and practitioners.

Investigating the Effect of Blended Learning on Iranian EFL Learners' Autonomy, Self-esteem, and Vocabulary Achievement

This study aimed at examining the influence of blended learning on Iranian English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners' autonomy, self-esteem, and vocabulary achievement. To do this, 60 Iranian females intermediate EFL learners were chosen from an institute in Ilam, Iran. Then, the selected participants were divided into two groups; one experimental group (EG) and one control group (CG). Each group contained 30 learners. Afterwards, in three separate sessions, the instruments of learner autonomy, self-esteem, and vocabulary progress were distributed and administered among the participants of both groups. The researchers offered a blended learning teaching framework to the EG to encourage students to utilize the language in and out of the classroom. The target vocabulary was learnt by the learners using blended learning techniques. While the same vocabularies were learned through the face-to-face way of instruction in the CG. After the period of teaching that lasted for 6-weeks, the participants of both groups received the learner autonomy, self-esteem, and vocabulary achievement instruments as post-test. The results demonstrated that instruction through a blended learning approach had a considerable impact on participants' level of autonomy and vocabulary achievement. But the approach had no significant impact on learners' self-esteem. EFL learners, Teachers, and material developers can benefit from the results of the study.

The Effect of Iranian EFL Learners' Reading Motivation on Their Reading Comprehension Ability Regarding Their University Fields of Study

ABSTRACT Motivation in reading performance is important, as reading motivation facilitates effective learning. The decline in reading motivation that has typically been observed in Iranian universities is thus a serious concern for Iranian EFL learners. The aim of this study was to promote the reading literacy of Iranian English as foreign language (EFL) learners. A total number of 285 participants from six different fields of study (social sciences, math, primary education, chemistry, biology, and Persian literature) took part in this study. The researchers gave the instruments over a 2-day period; the Language Proficiency Test was given on day one and the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ) and the Reading Comprehension Test were given on day two after a 1-week interval. Participants’ responses to the reading motivation statements, reading comprehension questions, and English language proficiency questions were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test, T-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Chi-Square. The findings indicated that learners with higher motivation in reading comprehension performed much better in reading comprehension than other learners with lower motivation. It was also demonstrated that the participants’ discipline was a significant contributing factor to the relationship between reading motivation and reading performance. The findings further proved that the higher the students’ proficiency level, the higher their reading motivation level. In sum, the present study indicated conclusively that there are different dimensions of reading motivation that relate differentially to the participants’ reading performance. The findings of this study are fruitful for both teachers and students.

Cross-cultural Study of Perception of Humor by English Native Speakers and Iranian EFL Learners

As an instance of foreign language comprehension, L2 humor perception is proved to be challenging for the foreign language learners. However, the body of literature is heavier on the side of humor production than humor perception. The current study explores the extent to which Iranian English as foreign language (EFL) learners perceive different types of English humor in comparison with the English native speakers. The participants were 153 Iranian EFL learners at intermediate level of language proficiency who were randomly selected from English language learners from several English language institutes in Shiraz, Iran, and 30 American English native speakers who voluntarily participated in this study. A questionnaire consisting of six contextualized jokes of three major types of universal, cultural and linguistic (with morphological, phonological, lexical and syntactic subcategories)was developed based on Schmitz's classification of verbal humor to obtain the quantitative data. Moreover, a semi-structured interview was conducted to elicit the perception of those participants who did not find the jokes humorous. The results showed that the majority of Iranian EFL participants did not realize the humor in the jokes. Also, the findings revealed that generally speaking, Iranian EFL learners' perception of humor is significantly lower in all types of jokes examined. The best perceived type of humor was found to be the linguistic humor of morphological type for the Iranian EFL learners and the lexical type for English native speakers. It was also discovered that the phonological humor was the least perceived type of humor for both Iranian EFL learners and English native speakers.

IMPACT OF EFL TEACHERS’ JOB SATISFACTION AND THEIR INTROVERSION/EXTROVERSION TOWARDS THEIR INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY USE

In teaching and learning a second or foreign language, individual differences and affective factors have recently received great importance and attention from psychological and pedagogical point of views. Accordingly, the current research attempted to explore the impact of extroversion and introversion as personal traits on job satisfaction among Iranian English as foreign language learners (EFL). Apart from that, the study also attempted to clarify the impact of these factors on EFL teachers' instructional strategy use through teaching L2 and classroom activities. Eighty EFL learners were selected as the participants for the study. In collecting the data, three instruments were utilized: a personality questionnaire, job satisfaction questionnaire and strategy inventory for language learning. The collected data were scored, classified, and interpreted by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The obtained statistical results were reported in three sections. Firstly, the findings revealed that introvert Iranian EFL teachers were more satisfied than their extrovert counterparts even though this difference was not statistically significant. Secondly, the EFL teachers were more satisfied with the use of“Memory Strategy ” as an instructional strategy in their teaching. On the other hand, they were least satisfied with the “Social Strategy” as an instructional strategy in teaching. Finally, as indicated in the results obtained, EFL teachers with different levels of job satisfaction did not utilize different types of instructional strategies as expected. In other words, there was no statistically significant correlation between the level of job satisfaction and teachers’ instructional strategy use

The effects of explicit and implicit teaching of connectors on the reading comprehension performance of Iranian EFL learners

Reading comprehension is considered a salient source of input and an important language skill in English as Foreign Language (EFL) learning contexts. Moreover, connectors are regarded as main const...

An investigation into EFL learners' reflection in writing and the inhibitors to their reflection

The present study explored Iranian EFL (English as Foreign Language) learners’ reflective writing and the inhibitors which are a deterrent to write reflec- tively. The participants consisted of both students and teachers. A researcher-made questionnaire probed the EFL learners’ reflection in writing. The essays produced by the learners were also evaluated to consolidate the findings of the survey. In the second phase of the study, we examined both students’ and teachers’ percep- tions about the inhibitors of reflection in EFL writing. To do so, a semi-structured interview was conducted for the students and the themes extracted from the essays were categorized. Afterward, the teachers were given a researcher-made survey of the inhibitors to EFL students’ reflective writing questionnaire (IRWQ). The findings revealed that Iranian EFL writers have noticeable weaknesses in imple- menting higher-order thinking while writing and they are mostly involved in lower levels of reflection such as habitual actions and understanding. Regarding the reasons, as the results of the interview revealed, students believed that, among other factors, low proficiency is the most important inhibitor while their teachers considered teachers’ lack of training, students’ lack of adequate foreign language (FL) proficiency, and lack of support from the side of teachers as the most influential factors that limit students to write reflectively.

British or American? Iranian EFL learners’ Perceptions toward English Accents: Exploring possible relationships

Native English accents (British and American) are known as highly favored and accepted varieties compared to other existing accents in English as foreign language (EFL) context. Notwithstanding the research accomplished on EFL learners’ attitudes toward either of the accents (British or American), studies are still scant regarding the investigation of their perspectives in detail toward one of the accents specifically within the context of Iran. The aim of this study is to examine the Iranian EFL learners’ attitudes toward the two major known English accents (British and American. Additionally, the study highlights the major factors contributing to the learners’ preferences toward either of the accents (British or American). To that aim, a developed and validated questionnaire was distributed among 108 EFL learners selected from two of the major EFL contexts (universities and private institutes). The results indicated that the majority of the learners preferred American over British English accent. Besides, factor analysis revealed that American English exposure, lack of guidance, and lack of reinforcement toward British accent were among the mentioned factors accepted by learners for their preference of American. Finally, the study concludes with interpretations regarding the learners’ decision making issues in either of the two major accents, and recommendations are provided for revisiting the EFL learners’ attitudes and insights toward native English accents.

An investigation into EFL learners’ reflection in writing and the inhibitors to their reflection

The present study explored Iranian EFL (English as Foreign Language) learners’ reflective writing and the inhibitors which are a deterrent to write reflectively. The participants consisted of both ...

Effect of collocations on Iranian EFL learners’ writing: Attitude in focus

This study aimed at investigating the effect of collocations as language chunks on Iranian female intermediate English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ writing skill. Moreover, the researchers intended to find out the attitude of learners towards writing skill after collocations were taught. Study sample comprises 30 female Iranian EFL learners, aged between 18 and 26 years old, who were studying English in a language institute in Isfahan. The instruments used for data collection included three tests (Oxford Placement Test, writing pretest and posttest) and an attitude questionnaire developed by Peter Elbow and Pat Belanoff. The results of the statistical analyses revealed that there was a significant effect of using collocations on the writing skill of Iranian female intermediate EFL learners. Furthermore, it can be claimed that the learners’ attitude boosted in the course of this experiment, indicating that using collocations had a significantly positive impact on the attitudes of Iranian EFL learners towards writing skill. Keywords: Attitude, collocations, language chunks, writing skill

The Effect of Learners’ Autonomous Textbook Selection on Intermediate Iranian EFL Learners’ Speaking Ability

Abstract The ability to employ the language as a communicational tool often serves as a measure of one’s speaking success in the language learning class. This research sought to investigate the effect of learners’ autonomous textbook selection on the speaking ability of Iranian English as foreign language (EFL) learners. Moreover, finding and analyzing factors considered by the learners in selecting the textbooks were another aim of this research. Sixty Iranian intermediate EFL learners from the Simin Language Institute in Ramsar, Mazandaran, Iran, were selected as the participants of the study based on their scores on Oxford Placement Test. This test determines the level of the students’ English proficiency. These participants were randomly assigned into the control and experimental groups. An interview procedure was run as their pretest. The experimental group studied from their selected books, besides the researcher’s teaching in the class. After 16 sessions, a posttest, the same as the pretest, was run as well. The quantitative results indicated the superior performance of the experimental group over the control group. Furthermore, an analysis of the Litz’s (2000) questionnaire shows that learners considered criteria such as practical considerations, layout and design, activities, skills, language type, subject and content of the selected books.

IRANIAN LEARNERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY-ASSISTED INSTRUCTION ON THEIR ENGLISH AURAL/ORAL SKILLS

The present study aimed to investigate the perceptions of Iranian English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners regarding the impact of technology-assisted instruction through the utilization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on their listening comprehension and speaking ability. To this end, eighty Iranian EFL learners whose age range was between twenty to thirty five took part in the study. They were randomly divided into four groups and were exposed to technology-assisted instruction on their course-related contents through different ICTs as their out-of-class activities for one hour per week during two and a half months. The ICTs which were the focus of this study included: Podcasts, YouTube, Skype, and Instagram. The analysis of the participants’ answers indicated that the majority of them (83.8%) were positive toward technology-assisted instruction. In addition, 80% of them tended to use ICTs for their future language learning purposes.

Iranian EFL Learners’ Writing Problems: A Move towards Solution

Writing connotes the declaration or expression of thoughts, feelings, plans and wishes in a composed form that demands skills and expertise as opposed to knowledge. Skillful writing calls for diligent work, perusing or reading, composing through reaching inferences from perusing materials and long period of practice. This study seeks to investigate the problems and identify the practical needs of writing skill in English as Foreign Language (EFL) context with special focus on Iranian citizens studying in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). In Iran, learning English language appears cumbersome for learners because it is handled as a foreign language. Hence, the leaners are confronted with plethora of problems in writing the language because it is not utilized in real life conversation or situation. In order to achieve its objectives, the study administered questionnaires to the respondents to elicit information on the difficulties confronting them while learning English as Foreign Language and their pragmatic needs.

The Effects of Using Instructional Conversation Method on Oral Autonomy of Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners

This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the impact of instructional conversations on oral autonomy of Iranian English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Forty-nine Iranian intermediate EFL learners from three language institutes in Sarakhs were selected as the participants of the study based on their scores in Nelson Proficiency Test. Administering Nelson General Proficiency Test, participants were measured to make sure they are homogeneous. These participants were randomly assigned into to control and experimental groups. Participants in both groups sat for Learner Oral Autonomy Questionnaire with some modifications from Kashefian's learner autonomy questionnaire (2002). Results of independent samples t-test lack of any significant difference between the two groups in oral autonomy at the outset of the study. Throughout the study which lasted for 12 sessions participants in experimental group received the treatment, instructional conversations, as a tool for teaching speaking materials. Participants in the control group were taught the same materials as those practiced in the former group through such techniques as role playing, peer dialogues, and oral presentations. Finally, the posttest being the same as the pretest was administered. Results of independent samples t-test showed that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control one in Oral Autonomy Questionnaire. The present findings provide pedagogical implications for employing instructional conversation in EFL speaking classrooms.

A Comparative Study of the Impact of Metalinguistic Feedback and Explicit Correction on the Writing Performance of Iranian EFL Learners

<p>The present study aimed at investigating the impact of two different strategies of providing written corrective feedback on English as foreign language (EFL) learners’ writing performance. To achieve this goal, sixty EFL learners who participated in the study were assigned into two groups. Throughout the period of the study, two techniques of written feedback, metalinguistic feedback and explicit correction feedback were put into practice as the treatment. The first writing assignment was used as the pretest and the last writing assignment was the posttest. To determine the proficiency level of the participants, A Nelson English Proficiency Test was used. The result of the paired t-tests showed that the writing performance of two groups improved; however, the independent t-test was performed between the posttests of the two groups indicated that the group with metalinguistic feedback had greater improvement than the group which received the explicit correction feedback. The findings suggest that providing teacher corrective feedback is effective in reducing EFL learners’ grammatical errors and improves their writing achievement.</p>

The Relationship between Learning Styles and Metacognitive Reading Strategy of EFL Learners

<p>Learning styles and strategies are among the important factors which affect the learners’ performance in foreign language learning. The present study investigated the relationship between learning styles and metacognitive reading strategy of Iranian EFL (English as Foreign language) learners. It has also made an attempt to discover which learning style has the strongest correlation with metacognitive reading strategy. Accordingly, a total sample of 128 students who studied EFL at university was asked to answer a proficiency test. The purpose of administrating the proficiency test was to have a homogenized group of intermediate EFL learners. As the next step, the participants were asked to answer two questionnaires which explored their metacognitive reading strategy and learning styles. The data analysis indicated that thirteen learning styles out of twenty-three ones have a significant, positive correlation with metacognitive strategy. Moreover, there was a significant correlation between visual, auditory, introvert, intuitive, concrete, closure-oriented, synthesizing, analytic, sharpener, deductive, field independent, metaphoric, and reflective styles with metacognitive reading strategy. In addition, among 23 learning styles, visual, closure- oriented and synthesizing styles had the strongest correlation with metacognitive strategy. The findings revealed that Iranian EFL learners with these three learning styles use more metacognitive reading strategy.</p><p><strong>Keywords</strong><strong>:</strong> Learning Styles, Metacognitive Reading Strategy, Foreign Language Reading</p>

Verb-Noun Collocations in Written Discourse of Iranian EFL Learners

When native speakers of English write, they employ both grammatical rules and collocations. Collocations are words that are present in the memory of native speakers as ready-made prefabricated chunks. Non-native speakers who wish to acquire native-like fluency should give appropriate attention to collocations in writing in order not to produce sentences that native speakers may consider odd. The present study tries to explore the use of verb-noun collocations in written discourse of English as foreign language (EFL) among Iranian EFL learners from one academic year to the next in Iran. To measure the use of verb-noun collocations in written discourse, there was a 60-minute task of writing story based on a series of six pictures whereby for each picture, three verb-noun collocations were measured, and nouns were provided to limit the choice of collocations. The results of the statistical analysis of ANOVA for the research question indicated that there was a significant difference in the use of lexical verb-noun collocations in written discourse both between and within the four academic years. The results of a post hoc multiple comparison tests confirmed that the means are significantly different between the first year and the third and fourth years, between the second and the fourth, and between the third and the fourth academic year which indicate substantial development in verb-noun collocation proficiency. The vital implication is that the learners could use verb-noun collocations in productive skill of writing.