Applied Linguistics Inquiry
Volume:1 Issue: 2, Sep 2023

In this study an attempt has been made to investigate if vocabulary tests may predict L2 learners’ writing score in IELTS. 131 postgraduate international students studying in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) who obtained the minimum score (i.e. 6) in IELTS as a requirement for enrollment were participants of this study. Two vocabulary size tests (PVLT & Lex30) together with a test of vocabulary depth (WAT) were given to participants. Then, participants’ scores from three tests were correlated with their score in the writing section of IELTS. The results of the study revealed significant correlation coefficients between productive vocabulary size and academic writing skills. Moreover, the findings of Multiple Regression indicated that productive vocabulary levels test (PVLT) could be possibly a good predictor for IELTS academic writing. Further, scatter plots revealed a possible threshold of 2000 words for a L2 learner to get 7 in IELTS academic writing. The findings drawn from the study enable teachers to predict their learners’ competency in writing skill by through various vocabulary tests.

Indirect complaints (ICs) most often serve as rapport-inspiring speech behavior, whose affiliation by the recipient of complaint preserves solidarity among peers. The purpose of the present paper was to investigate the themes and response strategies used by Iranian students as an act of IC in the university context. Drawing on a mixed methods research design, the result of a thorough thematic analysis of the collected conversational data revealed that the themes Iranian students tend to use as an IC are not independent of their gender. In addition, two new IC response strategies were identified, namely attribution and admonishment. Hence, in order to account for all of the strategies used by Iranian students to respond to ICs, the existing categorizations are to be expanded. It was also discovered that only through explicit or embedded commiseration there is more potential of longer interactions among participants of conversations. The present study sheds some light on the pragmatics of the Persian language.

This research attempted to examine the underlying construct of writing self-regulation inventory extrapolated to Iranian EFL university context. A total sample of 116 sophomore EFL university learners attending essay writing course participated in this study. They were asked to do an in-class writing task assignment and immediately fill in an inventory. Pearson product-moment correlation and confirmatory factor analysis procedure using principal component analysis were applied to ascertain the relationships among the variables and construct validity of the instrument, respectively. The inventory yielded a strong internal consistency as to make the results of the present study reliable and to prove replication studies justifiable. The highest overall means and internal consistency reliability estimates were recorded both for goal subscale. However, achievement on task was negatively associated with cognitive, meta-cognitive, motivational, and behavioral dimensions of writing self-regulation. The results of factor analysis disclosed that goal, efficacy, meta-cognitive, cognitive, motivational, and behavioral variables are loaded on a single component; that is, they measured the same underlying theoretical construct. On the whole, the findings imply that the construct of writing self-regulation is consistent in EFL university context.

The ongoing debate surrounding the effectiveness of instructional models, particularly within the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education, underscores the need for empirical investigation. This study sought to address this discourse by examining the differential impact of two pedagogical approaches on the production of idiomatic expressions. Employing a quasi-experimental design, the research compared the performance outcomes of two groups of learners, one exposed to deductive instruction and the other to inductive instruction. The participants engaged in a comprehensive exploration of 64 English idiomatic expressions over the course of the study. Data collection included a pre-test, eight immediate post-tests, a delayed post-test, and an open-ended questionnaire. The 20-session experiment, integrated seamlessly into the regular classroom instruction, involved the alternation of deductive and inductive approaches in teaching eight idiomatic expressions per session. Findings revealed significant improvements in both groups’ scores, yet a noteworthy distinction emerged in favor of the inductive instruction. This outcome implies that an inductive pedagogical approach may exert a significant influence on the production of idiomatic expressions among EFL learners. The study contributes insights into the ongoing pedagogical discourse and underscores the potential benefits of adopting inductive strategies in the teaching of idiomatic expressions.

This research aimed to provide insights into L1 acquisition with respect to the formation of Wh-questions by a Persian and an English child. Similarities and differences concerning the variety of patterns produced (both adult-like and non-adult-like) and the frequency and emergence order of each pattern/ Wh-word were taken into consideration. For this purpose, data from an English and a Persian child were analyzed. Based on the findings, it is argued that the Persian grammar licenses a wider range of Wh-questions patterns. Besides, unlike the prevalent in-situ state of the Wh-structure in Persian, the present study indicated it to be mostly Wh-fronted in the data production of the child at the specified developmental stages. Moreover, the English child exhibited more instances of non-adult production which can be justified by the higher complexity of the structure in English, as it demands both dislocation of the Wh-word and inversion. Implications of the study are discussed.

Learning vocabulary seems to be a major focus of language instruction. The role of vocabulary knowledge in language learning has been studied by many researchers. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of using online Quizlet flashcards and student-created Quizlet flashcards on learning and retention of receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge. Sixty Iranian elementary high school students who were randomly divided into 3 groups (twenty subjects per group) participated in this study. The materials and data collection instruments included the Quick Placement Test (QPT), the students’ textbook, Top Notch1 from which the vocabulary items were selected, a pre-test, an immediate post-test, and a delayed post-test. It should be mentioned that the control group was taught the words through the conventional method while the first experimental group received the words using online flashcards and the next experimental group worked on developing their own Quizlet flashcards. The results showed that in terms of receptive vocabulary knowledge learning, the students of the online Quizlet flashcards group significantly outperformed students of the control group and online Quizlet flashcards. In learning of the productive vocabulary knowledge, the learners of the control group performed significantly better than other two experimental groups. The results on vocabulary retention revealed that students of the student-created Quizlet flashcards group significantly outperformed students of the control group in terms of retention of the receptive vocabulary knowledge, and in terms of the productive vocabulary knowledge retention there were no significant difference between the groups of the study. These findings will be advantageous for English language teachers to choose the teaching techniques which can facilitate the process of language teaching and learning.

This study addresses the science mapping and visualization of the 112 years of academic literature on medical English. The data for the present study was retrieved from the Web of Science database, which contains all English-only articles from 1912 to 2024. The scientometric techniques and analysis were done using VOSviewer. These methods of analysis include publication and citation patterns, co-authorship and co-occurrence networks, and bibliometric coupling of items. The findings indicated that the total number of articles published in Medical English from 1912 to 2024 was 10396. The publications surged from 1988 to 1992 and had a steady rise until its peak in 2023. Citations, however, differ from publication trends and have fluctuated during this time frame. Furthermore, authors, institutions, and the country's collaborative networks were examined to have a snapshot of the relationships across disciplines. The findings revealed a strong correlation between co-authorship and bibliometric coupling of countries, which shows that the USA, the UK, Australia, and Canada collaborate the most within the literature. Universities of San Francisco, Toronto, and Washington are considered among the leading research institutions in terms of output, while universities such as San Francisco, Harvard University, and Toronto rank among the top in terms of citations. Moving to author-level metrics, the output and citation patterns indicate that De Lusignan and Schillinger are the most prolific authors. At the same time, Shimada, Yoshida, and Grumbach have the most citations. Moreover, keyword co-occurrences showed that keywords such as "care," "impact," "healthcare," "health," and "quality" tended to appear most frequently in the literature.

The present study set out to chart the experience of Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and its antecedents in online education settings using the genealogy of emotion (Zembylas, 2002, 2008) as the theoretical framework. To fulfill this aim, e-learners in EFL classes were asked to keep emotion diaries for a semester-long period. The emotion diaries reporting the experience of FLE were then analyzed using Pekrun’s (2014) taxonomy of emotions in connection to FLE including achievement-related FLE, epistemically-related FLE, topic-related FLE, and socially-related FLE. Analysis of results indicated that teachers, peers, and family members were the main sources of FLE in the social category. Additionally, achievement in exams and classroom tasks and activities, topics related to students’ local cultural and social context, in conjunction with cognitively demanding tasks and questions that required learners to struggle over finding the answers were reported as other antecedents of enjoyment in online setting. It was discussed that Pekrun’s model (2014) is a good fit for the analysis of the origin of single emotions like FLE as the previous data-driven analyses missed out on some of the main antecedents of FLE. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications were discussed especially for teachers.

The inseparable connection between language and culture has been at the forefront of many studies. Similarly, the role of teaching materials in fostering intercultural competence of language learners is consistently highlighted in the literature. In this regard, the current study aims at investigating the representation of culture in Complete IELTS textbook published by Cambridge University Press, 2012. Adopting Kachru's concentric circles of English speakers around the world, the cultural content related to Center and Periphery Countries was explored. To quantify and categorize cultural themes, Byram's cultural checklist (1993) was used. Next, the content of four sections of the textbook, namely reading, listening, speaking, and writing, was analyzed to record any cultural representation. The sample included 16 reading , 10 listening , 10 speaking and 10 writing sections. The results indicated that the textbook contains cultural presentations of different countries with more weight given to Periphery Countries. The culture of these regions occupies 67.97% of the content, whereas Center Countries take up 32%. Moreover, in terms of the eight areas of Byram, the majority of the cultural presentation (55.61%) falls under the category of geography. It can be concluded that the textbook is free of any cultural bias and ideological/political motives.

This study investigates the impact of film watching versus traditional narrative listening on the language development of Iranian preschoolers across three age groups.The primary objective is to assess and compare language development in preschoolers exposed to narratives through both traditional listening and animated film watching. The study investigates differences in language skills, such as topic maintenance and descriptive abilities, between these two exposure methods.Conducted in Iran, the study encompasses various settings where children were exposed to both narrative listening and animated film watching, followed by story recounting over five sessions. The collected data were meticulously coded to identify disparities in topic maintenance and the length of story descriptions. Key findings reveal that traditional narrative listening resulted in more consistent topic maintenance and longer descriptions compared to film watching. Older children consistently crafted similar stories, demonstrating a deeper understanding of literacy concepts. Additionally, children with more educated mothers exhibited extended and fluent language skills, while others excelled in the context of film watching. This research underscores the significance of considering different media in preschoolers' language development, highlighting their distinct impacts on language skills. These findings carry implications for literacy practices, parenting, materials development, and policymaking.

This study aimed to examine the translation of legal discourse structures in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and their impact on the creation, maintenance, and alteration of power relations. The researchers used Fairclough's model for this study. The findings indicated that the Persian translated text (SL) contained some untranslated text, which was an omission strategy. Consequently, this omission resulted in translation errors. The discourse practice level error analysis revealed that the Persian translation had an error rate of 11%, which was statistically significant (P>0.05) for the Persian translation. On the other hand, the social practice level demonstrated that English terms and words were used in the Persian translation without explanation. However, according to Fairclough's model of CDA, there was a significant difference between the discourse knowledge produced by the Persian and English legal discourse structures of JCPOA. This variation was 6.00% for English verbs (30.8% English versus 24.8% Persian) and 1.6% for English adjectives/adverbs/nouns (13.8% English versus 12.2% Persian). The study discovered that there was a significant difference between the knowledge produced by English and Persian legal discourse in the official Persian translation of JCPOA, based on Fairclough's model (including genre, discourse, and style).

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has forced many educational institutions worldwide to move from in-person to online classes. Although online technologies do facilitate learning and testing, academic dishonesty in online assessments (OAs) remains an issue of concern since technological devices provide students with ample opportunities to cheat in exams. The purpose of this study was to investigate Iranian high school students' perceptions of cheating in OAs. In addition, the study tried to examine the potential differences between male and female students’ perceptions of cheating in OAs. The participants were 214 Iranian high school students. They were asked to answer a questionnaire about academic dishonesty in OAs. The results indicated that more than 80% of the participants had experienced cheating in OAs. “Looking at the teaching materials and copying answers” was mentioned as the most frequent method of cheating. The main reason for cheating was “getting a better score”, and the main reason for not cheating was “being morally and socially unacceptable”. In addition, almost 70% of the participants did not have a negative attitude to cheating in OAs. Furthermore, there was not any significant difference between male and female students' perceptions of cheating (Sig.>.05).