Applied Research on English Language
Volume:4 Issue: 1, Feb 2015

The present study attempted to examine the relationship between English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ motivational beliefs and their use of learning strategies. The three components of motivation، i. e. expectancy component، value component and affective component، were examined in relation to metacognitive، cognitive and effort management strategies. Two hundred and fifty seven EFL learners representing different proficiency levels completed the Persian version of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ)، which consisted of motivation scale and learning strategies scale. The analysis of the effect of proficiency level on motivational beliefs showed a significant effect of proficiency level on test anxiety and extrinsic goal orientation، suggesting that less proficient learners were significantly more anxious and more extrinsically oriented compared to advanced learners of English. It was also found that self-efficacy، control of learning beliefs، intrinsic goal orientation and task value could account for 70% of variations in self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies. Based on the findings of this study، several suggestions are made to aid instructors in creating a non-product-oriented approach to learning، which promotes foreign language learners’ learning outcomes.

Developing reading comprehension ability is an important aspect in acquisition of a language. The present study focused on improving reading comprehension ability through Task-based Instruction (TBI). TBI is a methodology that develops from a focus on classroom tasks. The participants of the study were 135 Iranian female students at different levels selected from high schools in Isfahan، Iran، through a quasi-experimental design. The participants were divided into four groups، two control groups (CGs) and two experimental groups (EGs). They received a pre-test، the instruction، and a post-test. The participants in EGs were taught through TBI، whereas CGs were exposed to a traditional method. The comparison between CGs and EGs were made through paired sample t-tests. The results revealed that the students in EGs outperformed CGs. The difference between the two grades was also investigated by independent sample t-test. The results showed that students at first-grade outperformed fourth-graders. The findings suggest that using flexible and interactive tasks in English classes improves reading comprehension ability of Iranian EFL learners. This study may have pedagogical implications for practitioners in the field and for syllabus designers to include appropriate tasks in English textbooks.

One of the theories accounting for pragmatic development of L2 learners is Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory. This study investigated the development of EFL learners'' pragmatic competence through the lens of an important concept of Vygotsky’s theory، i. e. the zone of proximal development. The study was conducted to answer two questions. The first question was whether the amount of scaffolding provided to EFL learners would have any relationship with their proficiency level. The second question was focused on the investigation of the relationship between learners’ individual ZPDs and the group ZPD. To this end، 20 EFL learners at low vs. high proficiency levels were selected and assigned randomly into two groups. Both groups received ZPD-sensitive instruction to produce the two speech acts of request and apology. The findings indicated no significant relationship between the proficiency level of the participants and the amount of scaffolding given for the production of the two speech acts. However، the findings revealed certain relationship between participants'' individual ZPDs and their group ZPD. This study suggests that EFL learners'' general language proficiency has little impact on the development of their pragmatic competence. Besides، based on the findings، scaffolding seems to have learner-specific effects، meaning that each learner may need a specific amount of scaffolding for his/her ZPD to grow despite being in the same group ZPD.

Vocabulary learning is considered to be the most comprehensive and the most difficult part of language learning for all the students especially for ESP students. These students complain that vocabulary items are too many and are easily forgotten after they are learned. Mnemonic devices، a group of mental strategies، are developed to facilitate vocabulary learning and retention for such students. These students، however، have varied needs and interests and if vocabulary teaching and learning are planned to be effective and enjoyable، various methods and strategies must be employed. To this end، the multiple-mnemonic method was developed and studied. Two intact groups of ESP students participated in this study. In the experimental group the multiple-mnemonic method was used while in the control group the vocabulary items were just taught and reviewed. The results of the study showed that the multiplemnemonic method group significantly performed better than the control group in terms of vocabulary development and retention. EVKS was also further evaluated and used in this study as a measure of vocabulary size and vocabulary depth.

Using willingness to communicate (WTC) and socio-educational models as a framework، the present study aimed at examining WTC in English and its underlying variables in a sample of 372 Iranian non-English major EFL learners. The data were collected through self-reported questionnaires. Path analysis framework using the Amos Program with maximum likelihood estimation was also utilized to examine the hypothesized model and the potential relationships between the variables. The final model showed a very good fit to the data. The results of structural equation modeling revealed that self-perceived communication competence (SPCC)، international posture and motivation were significant predictors of L2WTC. The findings also showed that L2 communication anxiety (CA)، motivation، personality trait of agreeableness and teacher immediacy could exert indirect effects on L2WTC. Furthermore، each of teacher immediacy and agreeableness variables predicted both international posture and CA among the EFL learners. Following these findings، potential factors affecting learners WTC should receive sufficient attention by teachers، administrators and learners alike. By adopting more immediacy behaviors، EFL teachers can also establish relaxing and supportive classroom climate and lower the learners’ affective filter. In such an atmosphere learners are more emotionally secured، suffer less communication apprehension، perceive themselves to be more proficient and motivated، obtain promoted international posture by forming realistic attitudes toward different cultures، and consequently become more willing to communicate in English.

In surveys of third language acquisition (TLA) research، mixed results demonstrate that there is no consensus among researchers regarding the advantages and/or disadvantages of bilinguality on TLA. The main concern of the present study was، thus، to probe the probable differences between Persian monolingual and Azeri-Persian bilingual learners of English regarding their syntactic knowledge. It was an attempt to investigate whether they differ significantly in learning relative clauses. To carry out this study، a total of 200 female high school students studying at second grade were randomly selected from two educational districts of Tabriz and Shiraz in Iran. The participants were homogeneous in terms of English proficiency، sex، and age. They attended public high schools; they were taught the same materials and had the same number of hours of instruction. A general proficiency test، a language history questionnaire، and two syntactic structure tasks were administered to both groups. Statistical analyses including t-tests and descriptive statistics revealed that monolinguals and bilinguals differ in the comprehension and production of English L3 relative clauses.