Journal of Applied Linguistics Studies
Volume:3 Issue: 2, Summer and Autumn 2024

This survey research looked at Iranian EFL teachers’ level of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) in connection to their educational background and teaching experience. The survey included 104 Iranian EFL teachers from several branches of the Iran Language Institute (ILI). The TPACK Self-Assessment Questionnaire (Baser et al., 2016) was used to measure the participants’ scores in different TPACK Questionnaire components (TK, CK, PK, PCK, TCK, TPK, and TPCK). The results showed that among the participants at different educational levels, there was no significant difference considering their scores in TK, PK, CK, PCK, TPK, and TPCK. However, when it comes to TCK scores, the MA participants outperformed the BA ones. The findings also showed that the more experienced participants outperformed the less experienced ones in terms of their obtained scores in PK, PCK, and TPCK. However, there was no significant difference between the more experienced and less experienced participants’ TK, CK, TCK, and TPK scores. The findings of this study indicated the importance of hosting TPACK workshops for language teachers who require more training in this area.

With the dissemination of the concept of intercultural citizenship and the growing demand for citizens to communicate in settings with a kaleidoscopic array of cultural diversity, EFL textbooks should reflect these multicultural values besides their attention to language. This study examines cultural contents/themes from written passages and pictures of Vision series, the Iranian senior high school textbooks. To this end, the cultural contents (source, target, international cultures) and cultural themes (big ‘C’ and little ‘c’) were qualitatively extracted. The results of the quantitative content analysis revealed that there were not any significant differences among the three books in terms of cultural categories. However, source cultural content gained higher frequency as compared to others; Big ‘C’ themes gained statistically more frequency than the little ‘c’ which could be the aftermath of the authors’ sole focus on L1 communicative competence. The study further concludes that the textbooks failed to foster intercultural communicative competence and intercultural communication. The findings have implications for syllabus designers and material developers to integrate the principles of English as an international language in their practice by further including target and international cultural content types.

In recent years, the issue of plagiarism has received a lot of attention from the academic world. However, few studies have been conducted in the area of detecting why students will be drawn into such a hateful action. The factors that overtly or covertly contribute to the growth of plagiarism among graduate TEFL students in Iran were investigated in this study. In order to accomplish this, the researchers employed a qualitative approach by conducting a semi-structured interview with 20 graduate students studying English language teaching (ELT) to ascertain their perceptions of the underlying causes of plagiarism. The participants were selected through convenience sampling strategy and they varied in age from 26 to 55. Based on the data collected from the content analysis procedure of the transcribed interviews, the main causes of plagiarism among TEFL students were decoded which included ‘low English proficiency’, ‘lack of time’, ‘lack of support from the instructor’, ‘lack of interest in the topic, ‘laziness or a lack of motivation’, and ‘the use of science as a market for money making. The current study is of high significance since it has vital implications for academics teaching in higher education, TEFL university students, curriculum developers, and EAP/ESP specialists.

The researchers noticed the empty place of a model of classroom management literacy for Iranian EFL teachers in the extant literature. By employing a mixed-methods design, this research developed a model of classroom management literacy for Iranian EFL teachers. To achieve this, 30 Iranian EFL teachers who were experienced and Ph.D. holders in TEFL, participated in the qualitative phase via random sampling from virtual groups of high school EFL teachers in WhatsApp or Telegram. Moreover, 300 Iranian EFL teachers as the participants of the qualitative phase were conveniently selected to participate in the quantitative phase. Data collection was done via a closed-ended questionnaire, an open-ended questionnaire, and a semi-structured interview. In the qualitative stage, a model of classroom management literacy was developed, involved the grounded theory-based data analysis. In the quantitative phase, using Structural Equation Modeling (SPSS and AMOS 24 software), the developed model of classroom management literacy for Iranian EFL teachers was exposed to validity and reliability analysis. According to the qualitative and quantitative results, a model of classroom management literacy for Iranian EFL teachers developed in two main categories, including knowledge resources of classroom management and classroom management practices. These two categories consisted of some sub-categories. At a more specific level, these two categories were sub-categorized into some strategies. Moreover, the results showed that the developed model of classroom management literacy for Iranian EFL teachers was of high validity and reliability. The findings have some implications for EFL teacher education researchers, policymakers, curriculum developers, and teachers.

There have been different approaches to assess students’ learning in language teaching classes. Traditional standardized testing and dynamic assessment have been used in language classes. While traditional testing is considered a product-oriented approach, dynamic assessment is believed to focus on the process of learning and assist it. Existing literature is replete with different definitions of dynamic assessment. However, different attempts in defining dynamic assessment mainly contrast it with traditional testing. This has resulted in the conception that these two approaches are contradictory and their complementary relationship is not well acknowledged. This article, taking a postmodernist perspective, in general, chaotic/complexity view point in particular, and advocating a relativistic perspective, is an attempt to highlight the complementary relationship between these two approaches i.e., traditional testing and dynamic assessment. In so doing, it deals with defining and comparing these two approaches and considers two views on their relationship including their contradictory and complementary relationships.

This study investigated the impact of mobile-assisted language learning on mastering receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge by Iranian EFL learners. The sample of this study included 140 male and female learners from Andisheh Language Institute, Langroud, Iran. Following a Quick Placement Test, 100 intermediate learners were randomly divided into two groups of 50 to conduct the research. Then the treatment began, the experimental group received Beelinguapp as an educational app, whereas the control group used paper word cards. Finally, learners in both groups were given a posttest of CAT and VKS to see if there were any differences in receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge between the experimental and control groups. The data were statistically analyzed using Paired sample t-test, independent sample t-test, ANCOVA, Wilcoxon signed, and Mann Whitney tests. The findings revealed that there is a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group in terms of receptive vocabulary knowledge in the post-test. That is, the participants in the experimental group outperformed those in the control group in receptive vocabulary knowledge. It was also observed that there is no difference between using mobile applications and paper word cards in terms of productive vocabulary knowledge. Pedagogical implications for integrating technology tools in enhancing learners’ vocabulary knowledge are discussed.

It is a general belief that learning management systems (LMSs), especially smart ones, can better learning outcomes. Accordingly, information-age educational centers have to be designed and prepared to adopt these technological developments, sooner or later. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of a smart reading instruction management system (RIMS) on the reading ability of Iranian EFL learners. A mixed-methods design was adopted. Accordingly, forty learners selected via convenient sampling took part in the quantitative stage of the study in which a quasi-experimental design was adopted. The results of statistical analyses also showed that RIMS had a significant effect on reading comprehension so the participants (n = 20) made improvements after the course and outdid their counterparts in the control group. Additionally, the qualitative analysis of mediation episodes that occurred in the experimental group showed that RIMS is perceived to be flexible in terms of meeting learners’ needs and interests. It is motivating and provides chances for storing teacher-learner interaction for future formative assessment, incompetency diagnosis, and feedback provision. Moreover, it is perceived to be a suitable timesaving breakthrough for promoting individualized learning methods.

The current study attempted to investigate the impact of topic interest and L2 proficiency on Iranian EFL learners’ incidental vocabulary learning in terms of their gender. There were 107 (F = 56, M = 51) EFL learners of English at the pre-intermediate and intermediate levels of linguistic proficiency, selected through convenience sampling in this quasi-experimental study. The participants were divided into four experimental groups based on their proficiency level and gender, that is, Male Intermediate High-Interest Topics (MIHIT), Male Pre-Intermediate Low-Interest Topics (MPILIT), Female Intermediate High-Interest Topics (FIHIT), and Female Pre-Intermediate Low-Interest Topics (FPILIT) groups. The adapted version of the Topic interest survey by Ebbers (2011) was utilized to determine the participants’ interests. Also, reading passages were taken from British Council’s texts, and two vocabulary tests were given as a pretest and a posttest. The independent samples t-tests and paired samples t-tests run on the four groups revealed a statistically significant difference. Results suggested that topic interest had a statistically significant effect on the incidental vocabulary learning of Iranian EFL male and female learners. Besides, unlike the male group, there was a statistically significant difference in female posttest scores, indicating that L2 proficiency had an effect on their EFL incidental vocabulary learning.

Persuasive writing is considered a complex genre for EFL learners to master and yet vital for academic arguments. As meta-discourse markers are recognizable and familiar devices to persuade, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of explicit online instruction on Iranian high school students’ persuasive writing. The participants were high school students, homogenously divided into two groups: experimental (n=40) and control (n=40). An official e-platform used in Iranian state-run schools was used for online instruction. The participants received different passages containing meta-discourse markers in a writing class with the regular schedule. The teacher assigned the experimental group to notice and discuss the markers in small groups. Then, a passage-related topic was assigned and the learners wrote a persuasive essay in each session. For the control group, the same procedure was adopted except for the explicit focus on meta-discourse markers. Finally, a writing test demonstrated the significant effect of explicit instruction on persuasive writing of high school students, through statistical analysis explaining participants’ attitudes and high frequency of interactive type meta-discourse markers. Students’ attitudes were also examined through interviews. Pedagogical implications are suggested to include an explicit focus on meta- discourse markers in writing courses.

Acquiring writing skills is more difficult compared to other three skills because writing skills require mastery of many different linguistic elements of the language that are beyond what is just taught in the standard curriculum. Therefore, EFL teachers should adopt effective strategies and techniques to develop the students' proficiency to write. This study was conducted to explore the effectiveness of genre-based instruction as a teaching strategy on the Iranian middle school students' proficiency in argumentative writing. To do so, a mixed method design was adopted in which 40 EFL students were selected based on a multi stage sampling procedure form high schools in Varamin. A researcher-made writing test and a perception questionnaire were used to collect the quantitative data. This study also collected qualitative data through an interview and in-classroom observation. The experimental findings of this current study revealed that GBI had a significant effect on the development of argumentative writing ability among EFL students. The results of the qualitative part also indicated that social learning, situated learning, dialogic interaction, and ZPD through GBI encouraged students to develop their writing proficiency.