Iranian English As Foreign Language Research Articles

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.

The Nexus between emotional, metacognitive, and motivational facets of academic achievement among Iranian university students

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to scrutinize university students’ affective experiences in academic contexts as well as the ways to integrate affection into existing models of motivation and learning. In particular, it probed 235 English as foreign language (EFL) students’ emotional exhaustion by investigating its role in their intrinsic motivation, effort regulation, and academic achievement. It also sought to examine the impact of intrinsic motivation on effort regulation and academic achievement as well as the effect of effort regulation on academic achievement among Iranian university students.Design/methodology/approachTo do so, two distinctive questionnaires, namely; the “student version of Maslach Burnout Inventory” (Schaufeli et al., 2002) and the “Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire” (Pintrich and DeGroot, 1990) were administered to the participants. The data were analyzed via structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsThe findings of the study yielded via SEM revealed that students’ emotional exhaustion negatively predicted students’ intrinsic motivation, effort regulation, and academic achievement. It was also found that intrinsic motivation significantly and positively predicted effort regulation and academic achievement. Finally, effort regulation was found to be a positive and significant predicator of university students’ academic achievement.Originality/valueWhile a plethora of studies, thus far, strived to investigate the concept of burnout in different contexts, there is still a scant body of research attempting to delve into the most significant dimension of the syndrome (i.e. emotional exhaustion), and, to the best knowledge of the present researchers, no documented study to date has studied Iranian university EFL students’ emotional exhaustion, intrinsic motivation, and effort regulation within a single framework.

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.

An Investigation into the Educational Philosophy and Spirituality of Iranian EFL Teachers

Although philosophy and spirituality are related to various branches of disciplines, they have not been subject to focused attention in foreign language teaching. In this paper, schools of educational philosophy, and spirituality in education were connected together to present the stance, viewpoint, and practice of these two constructs in English as foreign language (EFL) Iranian educators. Results indicated that the dominant philosophy of education of Iranian EFL teachers was progressive education. Furthermore, combination of progressive and humanistic philosophies and humanistic philosophy were to some extent established a balance with progressivism. None of the participants practice spirituality in classrooms. By illuminating the spiritual language of humanistic and progressive philosophies, we may conclude that the nature and spiritual discourse of each philosophy as well as their practical implications should be articulated in teacher education programs to fulfill the everlasting growth of an individual as an utmost purpose of education.

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>

On the Effect of Online Peer Knowledge Sharing on Iranian EFL Teachers' Professional Development

Online peer knowledge sharing is an effective way which can help English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers improve their profession. The present study sought to explore the effect of online peer knowledge sharing on Iranian EFL teachers' professional development. To achieve the goals of this study, 50 Iranian EFL teachers were selected from Khorasan Razavi, Iran, based on their score in Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT) adopted from Pirtaj's unpublished thesis (2013). Then, they were randomly assigned to experimental (N=25) and control (N=25) groups. During the course lasting for 16 sessions, participants in the experimental group shared their knowledge (content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge) on the internet and the control group received the instructions being the same as those shared among participants in the experimental group without any knowledge sharing. Finally, at the end of the course posttest was administered which was the same as the pretest. Results of t-test confirmed that online peer knowledge sharing was significantly effective in improving Iranian EFL teachers' professional development. Pedagogically, the present findings help EFL teachers, students, and curriculum designers.

The Effect of Implementation of Smart Board on Iranian Lower-Intermediate EFL Learners' Reading Comprehension and Their Intrinsic Motivation in Reading

Smart board has been found as an effective learning tool in English as foreign language (EFL) reading comprehension. The present study aims at exploring the effects of smart board on reading comprehension and intrinsic motivation to read. Among 90 EFL learners, fifty-two Iranian lower-intermediate EFL learners were selected based on Quick Placement Test (QPT) developed by Oxford University Press and University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (2001). These participants were randomly assigned in two experimental (smart board) and one control (traditional board) groups. Each group included 26 male EFL students. At the beginning of the study, pretest (Reading Comprehension Test from Key English Test developed by Cambridge ESOL Examination, 2008) was administered to both experimental and control groups. In addition to KET, a translated copy of intrinsic motivation in English reading questionnaire (IMERQ) adopted from Wigfield and Guthrie (1997) was given to these two groups. Throughout the course of 14 sessions (three months), participants in experimental group were taught reading materials from Intro-interchange (Ricahrds, 2005) by using smart board. Participants in control group took benefits from traditional board. Reading materials were the same for both groups. Finally, participants in both groups sat for posttest. Here, both instruments administered at the start of the study, were used as the posttest. Results of t-test indicated that implementation of smart-board significantly improved participants' reading comprehension and their intrinsic motivation to read. These findings provide pedagogical implications for utilizing smart board in EFL context. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n4s1p281

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.

Iranian EFL Teachers’ Attitudes towards Lesson Planning based on their Gender

The purpose of this study was to examine Iranian EFL teachers’ attitudes towards lesson plan based on their gender. The research is a quantitative study in which the data is obtained to get a great understanding on the relationship between lesson plan of Iranian English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers and teachers’ gender. The population included 93 teachers in Eyvan and Ilam, Iran high schools and institutes. Participants in this study answered a Modified Questionnaire, adopted from Ramaila et al (2014). Independent sample t-test was computed to determine the difference between teachers’ attitudes towards lesson plan and their gender. Through statistically analysis it was found that, the female teachers were more interested in use of lesson plan than the male teachers. This paper recommends that more seminars workshops and in-service courses be organized for all science teachers to help train and boost their attitudes on the significance of lesson plans in teaching/learning of English in schools. Keywords: Teachers’ Attitudes; Lesson Plan; Gender; Iranian EFL

The Relationship between Iranian EFL Teachers’ Empowerment and Teachers’ Self-efficacy

The present study focuses on the relationship between teacher empowerment and teacher self-efficacy. The research is a quantitative study in which the data is obtained to get a great understanding on the relationship between empowerment and self-efficacy of Iranian English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers. The sample consisted of 60 teachers in Ilam and Eyvan high schools. Participants in this study answered the School Participant Empowerment Scale (SPES) questionnaire (Short and Rinehart, 1992). The Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) was used to measure teacher self-efficacy and differences in teachers on age, gender, and years of teaching experience. Pearson Product -Moment correlation was computed to determine the relationship between teacher empowerment and teacher self-efficacy. The findings indicated significant positive correlation between teacher empowerment and teacher self-efficacy. Independent sample t-test revealed no statistically significant differences on empowerment or self-efficacy based on age and empowerment based on years of teaching experience or gender. In addition, a statistically significant difference was found between teachers’ self-efficacy and gender. The results of this study can be useful for EFL teachers and administrators.

English Compliment Response Strategies on Social Networks by Iranian EFL Learners

Development of technology including computers and the Internet has introduced a new channel of sharing ideas and beliefs in social networks all over the world. Despite a huge number of studies on compliment, this verbal behavior has not received sufficient attention in such contexts as online communication in social networks. This study aimed to investigate the realization of English compliment response strategies by Iranian English as Foreign Language (EFL) Learners on social networks. To this end, a sample of 30 Iranian EFL learners studying at Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan Branch (IAUKB) was selected from friend’s list on social networks. Observing ethical issues, participants’ compliments and compliment response strategies were recorded, classified, analyzed in terms of frequency and percentage, and then interpreted. The findings revealed that the most frequent response strategy to English compliments was acceptance strategies at macro level and appreciation token at micro level. The findings of this study may benefit teachers, linguists, language learners, and others interested in language learning and teaching.

Iranian EFL Learners’ Autonomous Behavior in Out-of-class Contexts: A Call for Understanding Learners’ Personalized Approaches to Learning

The salient, and often ignored, role that out-of-class learning plays in second/foreign language (L2) learners’ development is overshadowed by classroom research. The main aim of this study is to problematize the role of out-of-class learning in the specific English-as-Foreign-Language (EFL) context of Iran by examination of the ways in which four learners attempted to revamp their English language ability on their own in out-of-class settings. In so doing, we draw on the concepts of agency and autonomy in the field of L2 research to understand and explain learners’ self-directed practices for language learning within situations outside the classroom. Data were collected through in-depth interviews in which the students were asked to describe their personal approaches to English learning, use and practice in any situations beyond the classroom, most possibly hidden from their teachers. Three rounds of semi-structured interviews were carried out with the learners on an individual basis during May 2012. Thematic analysis of the interviews suggests that despite the dearth of naturalistic learning opportunities in our context, Iranian EFL learners take a variety of individual and collective initiatives to create authentic opportunities of language learning, use and practice for themselves in out-of-class contexts such as on-campus and outside the university. Based on the findings, it can be argued that in order to foster learners’ more active role in their learning, greater attention should be paid to their personally-conducted, autonomous English learning activities outside the classroom.

Are Emotionally Intelligent EFL Teachers More Satisfied Professionally?

Despite the fact that Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is an important factor in one’s success in terms of working environment, it is believed that emotional quotient or EQ plays a more important role. With that in mind, this study investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction of English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers who work at private language institutes in Iran/Shiraz. Furthermore, this study tried to answer whether there is a significant difference between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction of Iranian’s EFL teachers in terms of gender. A 90-item Bar-On questionnaire was used to measure the teachers’ emotional intelligence; also, a modified version of Karavas’s (2010) job satisfaction scale was used to see how satisfied our teachers are with their teaching career. To answer the research question, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient statistical test was run. The results showed that there was a positive and significant correlation between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction of EFL teachers in Iran/Shiraz. Furthermore, the results revealed that there was a statistically significant difference in emotional intelligence between EFL male and female teachers, but there was no statistically significant relationship between Iranian EFL teachers’ job satisfaction in terms of gender. Based on our findings, it is suggested that some preparatory courses aiming at enhancing the important psychological traits such as emotional intelligence should be incorporated in educational programs designed for novice teachers so that it will contribute to pedagogical improvement.

Dynamic assessment in EFL classrooms: Assessing listening comprehension in three proficiency levels

The use of dynamic assessment (DA), grounded in Vygotskian Sociocultural theory, in classrooms is believed to have the potential to provide a situation for creating a group of learners’ Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) (Poehener, 2009). The present study explored the implementation of DA in English as Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms on groups of learners at different proficiency levels in the context of listening comprehension. 146 Iranian EFL learners at three proficiency levels were selected for this study (experimental groups=71 and control groups=75). A multi-assessment procedure in the format of dynamic and non-dynamic pretest-enrichment phase-dynamic and non-dynamic posttest was conducted. During the nine-week group dynamic assessment procedures, mediational strategies were only given to the experimental groups. The quantitative data analysis revealed that through mediated interactions within the group’s ZPD, group dynamic assessment is able to determine the learners’ developed abilities in listening comprehension while at the same time support the development of individual learners in this skill. Moreover, it was found that the level of proficiency of the learners did not have a significant effect on learners’ gains from group dynamic assessment procedures. These findings can have implications for all classroom teachers that the use of DA in classroom setting cannot only be beneficial to them but also be considered as a strategic learning and assessment method that can meet both the learners’ and teacher’s needs.

The Effect of Cultural Integration on the Development of Listening Comprehension among Iranian Upper-Intermediate EFL Learners

Cultural integration can be used as an effective learning practice in contexts of English as Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of cultural integration on the development of Iranian EFL upper-intermediate learners' listening comprehension. To this end, fifty-two upper-intermediate EFL learners were selected based on the Quick Placement Test, developed by Oxford University Press and University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (2012). These participants were randomly assigned into experimental (N=26) and control (N=26) groups. T-test analysis indicated significant effects of cultural integration on the development of listening comprehension on upper-intermediate EFL learners. The findings offer pedagogical implications for integrating First Language (L1) culture in EFL listening comprehension classrooms.

The Washack Effects of University Entrance Exam on Iranian EFL Teachers’ Curricular Planning and Instruction Techniques

Washback effect refers to the fact that testing controls not only the curriculum but also teaching methods and students’ learning strategies (Biggs, 1995). University Entrance Examination (UEE) in Iran as a nation wide high-stake test affects many aspects of the education system but the nature of its impact on the English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ curricular planning and instruction techniques is not clear. In an attempt to partially clarify the nature of this impact, the present study was done on 365 Iranian EFL teachers in Tehran and examined the nature and scope of the UEE's impact on their curricular planning and instruction techniques. Data were collected through a standardized and validated questionnaire and group interviews. Descriptive statistical procedures were used to analyze and describe the data. The findings indicate that from the teachers’ perspective, Iranian UEE has a significant influence on teachers’ curricular planning and instruction techniques. Furthermore the obtained results underscore the necessity of in-service professional teacher training programs, and the addition of more performance based assessment modes to the UEE.

The Effects of Task Type Planning on Students’ Essay Writing: A Study of Iranian EFL Learners

This study investigated the effects of planning on second-language written production with regard to proficiency level, and task type. The participants were 157 Iranian learners of English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners attending a four-year university program in Iran. They were asked to complete two different types of writing tasks i.e., expository writing task and argumentative writing task in different planned conditions i.e. Individual Planned Condition and Collaborative Planned Condition over a two-week period. In the Individual Planned Condition, the learners were given 10 minutes for individual planning in the pre-structured task sheet and then were asked to write an essay for 30 minutes. In the Collaborative Planned Condition, learners were allowed to interact with a peer during planning and were required to independently complete an essay. Participants’ written products were evaluated on five analytic measures covering the areas of Content, Organization, and Language in Use, Grammar, and Mechanics. The results of MANOVA test indicated that the planned condition had an impact on learners’ written performance in both tasks. Individually considered, learners in the Collaborative Planned Condition were able to achieve significantly higher scores in all the analytic features in Task 1 (Expository writing task). In contrast, there were no significant mean differences between two conditions in Task 2 (Argumentative writing task). The results also indicated that proficiency had influenced learners’ written performance in both tasks. The proficiency effect was consistently found throughout the analytic scores Task 1 and Task 2. However, the interaction between condition and proficiency was not found in the two tasks. The results of repeated measures for the effect of task type revealed that significant mean differences were only found in the Mechanics section. It is concluded that Iranian EFL learners’ written performance was affected by planned condition and proficiency, but only to a small degree by the nature of task type with regard to the five analytic features.