فهرست مطالب fatemeh behjat

In this research, the model of institutionalization of social innovation was presented with an emphasis on competitive advantage in order to gain more market share in complex competitive conditions. Based on the purpose, explanatory and exploratory which tries to determine the pattern of institutionalization of social innovation with emphasis on competitive advantage using Delphi method and structural-interpretive modeling. According to the results of this research, it is of a developmental type and also in terms of collecting information, it is of a mixed type. The statistical population of this research is the experts in commercial companies of Khuzestan province and the sampling method is of the targeted type and with the approach of selecting and using the specialized and scientific approaches of the experts.In order to collect the required data, 8 criteria and 49 sub-criteria were identified by creating a Delphi panel of 18 experts in commercial companies in Khuzestan province based on previous studies.In the order of applying different methods of marketing, the first rank, the focus of social activities, the second rank, the change and modification of marketing approaches, the third rank, focusing on expert human resources, the fourth rank, social marketing, the fifth rank, marketing innovation, the sixth rank, drawing a vision and Creation of common value ranked 7th, networking and development of mental image ranked 8th and the last priority of social innovation institutionalization criteria with emphasis on competitive advantage was achieved.

This study examined the effect of mobile-mediated dynamic assessment (DA) to enhance English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ vocabulary learning. To this end, 78 pre-intermediate level EFL learners learning English at a language institute were selected based on their availability to the researcher. The participants were randomly assigned to three equal groups (one control and two experimental). Next, the vocabulary pre-test was conducted for all participants to observe their development throughout the instruction. WhatsApp was used in one of the experimental groups (mobile-mediated DA), and 26 students entered a talk group where DA was applied. The second experimental group received DA in class (in-class DA). The control group assessed the participants’ zone of actual development (ZAD) at various points in the course. Concerning the experimental groups, a scale of prompts was used to mediate the learning process when students made an error, and the researcher acted as a mediator. The results showed that mobile-mediated DA was successful in enhancing EFL students’ vocabulary learning. Moreover, a reduction in the prompt's mean score at the end of the course suggested that fewer prompts were required to divert the participants’ attention to the error. The findings of this study can lead to a better understanding of the pedagogical importance of mobile-mediated DA.

Perception verbs are important category of verbs in natural languages that express perceptual events related to human and other conscious creatures. The purpose of the present study is to explore the argument structure of perception verbs of hearing in Persian within the framework of Goldberg’s Construction Grammar (1995, 2006). The research data include a collection of 320 sentences of standard Persian extracted from the Hamshahri corpus, Persian Newspaper, (version 2). The results of the data analysis show that the perception verb ‘ʃænidæn’ (to hear), is the most polysemous Perception Verbs of Hearing in Persian that has 5 different meanings: hearing, listening, realizing, obeying, and scenting. In these different meanings, ‘ʃænidæn’ appears in 3 argument structure construction: [SUB + Nominal OBJ], [SUB + clausal OBJ], [SUB + Prepositional OBJ]. The other verbs of hearing also have their own argument structure construction which determines their semantics and syntax, but they are less polysemous than ‘ʃænidæn’. Based on the constructionist approach, it can be concluded that polysemy of the perception verbs of hearing is constructional polysemy which can be explained at the level of abstract and schematic constructions, rather than concrete words.

Perception verbs as important category of verbs are used to represent perceptual events related to human and other conscious creatures. This article examines the argument structure of the most important perception verb in Persian, i.e. “didæn’ (to see), within the framework of Goldberg's Construction Grammar (1995, 2006). The data includes a collection of 500 Persian sentences extracted from the Hamshahri corpus. The results show that the subject of “didæn’, semantically, plays the role of senser and its object plays the role of phenomenon that sometimes appears as a nominal phrase and sometimes as a subordinate clause. The verb "didæn" has a high degree of polysemy and in this study 17 different meanings have been detected. In each meaning, the argument structure differs in terms of formal or semantic properties of the object and/or the number of complements. Therefore, it can be argued that, in contrast to the projectionist approach, the argument structure of “didæn” is not dependent to the verb itself, but to a particular construction in which the verb occurs. This conclusion is in line with the constructionist approach that posits that a construction by itself has independent form and meaning.

The present study explored the effects of three forms of reading-based L2 vocabulary tasks on learning and retention of 40 target words by Iranian intermediate and advanced male English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. To this end, 176 EFL learners were randomly selected and assigned to three experimental and one control condition across two levels of intermediate and advanced proficiency levels. The participants in the experimental conditions read 8 texts including 40 target words and performed word-focused (WF) tasks, oral reproduction (OR) plus summary writing (SW) tasks, and WF plus OR vocabulary tasks incorporating target words according to their task designation. The results of two-way MANOVA and Scheffe’s post-hoc test demonstrated that while all three experimental conditions significantly outperformed the control group in terms of learning and retention of target words, the WF plus OR task was found to be the most effective condition. The results are justified in light of Laufer and Hulstjin’s (2001) Involvement Load Hypothesis, Nation and Webb’s (2011) Technique Feature Analysis, the Skill Acquisition Theory, and Swain’s (1985) Output Hypothesis. The study concluded with pedagogical implications for language teachers and materials developers with regard to including both word-focused and meaning-oriented L2 vocabulary tasks in language classes and language textbooks.

EFL teachers’ professional identity is a multi-dimensional and complicated concept. It is influenced by many other issues in the educational context such as reflective practice. This study intended to explore the relationship between professional identity and reflectivity of Iranian EFL teachers. It also aimed to examine how high and low reflective teachers perceive the professional identity components. The participants were 89 EFL teachers teaching at three universities in Shiraz, Iran. Their selection was based on convenience sampling. The participants were asked to fill out two questionnaires including teacher professional identity questionnaire (Liou, 2008) and teacher reflectivity questionnaire (Akbari et al., 2010). Pearson product correlation coefficient revealed that there was a positive relationship between EFL teachers’ professional identity and reflectivity. Furthermore, the findings of regression analysis indicated that reflectivity could predict EFL teachers’ professional identity. Furthermore, the participants were categorized into two high and low reflective groups. Two groups were interviewed to examine the professional identity perceptions used by high and low reflective teachers. The thematic analysis showed that high reflective teachers used and implemented much more professional identity components in their teaching practice in comparison to the low reflective teachers.

Discourse markers improve both the quality and comprehension of a written text. This study aimed at investigating the effect of explicit and implicit instruction of formal meta-discourse markers on writ- ing skills. The quantitative data were collected from 90 upper-intermediate students at Shiraz Univer- sity Language Center. Two experimental groups went through an instruction, while the control group did not receive any instruction on formal meta-discourse markers. A pretest-posttest method of as- sessment was employed. After an eight-session treatment, a posttest was administered to compare the participants‟ performances. The results revealed that the instruction of formal meta-discourse markers had a positive effect on the learners‟ writing skills. Moreover, the results showed that learners who received explicit instruction of meta-discourse markers could perform better in writing than learners who received implicit instruction. The findings can have pedagogical implications for EFL educators and materials developers to enhance learners‟ writing skill. Furthermore, the findings provide impor- tant insight into the impact of teaching discourse markers and raising learners‟ awareness through ex- plicit instruction in order to make pupils produce more cohesive and coherent written texts. Besides, it sheds light on the effect of different types of instruction on learning metadiscourse markers and its application in writing skills.

Meta-discourse markers are an inevitable part of oral proficiency which improve both the quality and comprehension of learners’ speech. While studies of oral meta-discourse have been conducted since the 1980s in a European or US context, they have remained relatively untouched in Iran. Therefore, this study aimed to seek the impact of both explicit and implicit teaching of formal meta-discourse markers on EFL learners’ oral proficiency. To this end, the quantitative data were collected from ninety upper-intermediate students at Shiraz University Language Center. Two groups went through an instruction for an eight-session treatment. However the experimental group ‘B’ (N=45) were instructed the formal meta-discourse markers implicitly, the target formal meta-discourse markers were taught to the experimental group ‘A’ (N=45) explicitly. To compare the participants’ performances, an SOPI (Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview) posttest was administered. The results revealed that the instruction of meta-discourse markers had a positive effect on the learners’ oral outcome. Moreover, the findings showed that learners who received explicit method of teaching formal meta-discourse markers could perform better in speaking than learners who received implicit instruction. The findings can have pedagogical implications for EFL educators and materials developers to enhance learners’ oral proficiency. The findings also provide important insight into the effect of teaching discourse markers and raising learners’ awareness through explicit instruction to make pupils produce more cohesive and coherent speech.

Language classrooms are occasionally anxiety-breeding situations. Foreign language classroom anxiety which negatively affects foreign language learning is typically associated with productive activities mainly speaking skill. To cope with the issue and overcome language learning difficulties, the present study was conducted to explore the impact of mobile-assisted language learning on enhancing EFL students’ oral proficiency and relieving their speaking anxiety. 60 sophomore female students whose ages ranged from 18 to 24 were selected from Zand University in Shiraz, Iran and randomly divided into two groups. Traditional instruction was adopted to teach both groups for two hours in a week for four months. Out of class, however, they did various speaking activities. The participants in the control group followed their course book speaking activities. But, the experimental group experienced mobile-assisted language learning to do their out-of-class speaking activities via a mobile application (Voice Thread). The Preliminary English Test and the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale questionnaire were used to collect the required data. Paired samples t-test results indicated that Voice Thread experience significantly enhanced the participants’ oral proficiency and lowered their foreign language speaking anxiety.these findings provide experimental evidence that Voice Thread can be used as an educational tool to help EFL students to improve their oral proficiency and create their own individual less-threatening language learning environment.

This study intended to investigate the interplay of critical thinking explicit instruction, academic writing performance, critical thinking ability, and critical thinking dispositions of Iranian students. To this end, 140 students of Jahrom University of Medical Sciences (73 males and 67 females) were selected. They were divided into the experimental and control groups. Both groups received instruction in academic writing course for 15 weeks 3 hours per week. However, the experimental group received instruction integrated with critical thinking strategies. The students in both groups were administered pre- and post-instruction tests to examine the effectiveness of instruction. Three instruments were utilized in this study including, the researcher-developed essay test, Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test, and California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory (CCTDI). Descriptive statistics and independent-samples t-test were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that there were statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental and the control groups. The results also showed that some CCTDI subscales were not significantly different at the posttest such as, truth-seeking, cognitive maturity, and open- mindedness, whereas the mean posttest scores of other CCTDI subscales had significant difference such as, analyticity, CT inquisitiveness, CT self-confidence, and systematicity. The experimental group had a higher score in the academic writing test compared with the control group. Changes in students’ critical thinking ability, academic writing performance, and their critical thinking dispositions suggest that the CT techniques have been fruitful, and more efforts should be made to integrate the explicit instruction in critical thinking into academic courses.

English vocabulary, especially at the elementary stage of language learning process, is easily forgotten. Language games seem to be a good strategy for learning a foreign language. This study aimed to find a way to help elementary EFL learners fix the new English numbers in their minds. First, the general test of English numbers as a pretest was administered to 60 participants. They were required to write equivalents of the target numbers in the blank spaces. After giving the pre-test, the researcher divided the learners into the experimental group and the control group. Students in experimental group were taught new English numbers through games including: One to TEN, Slap that, Number of chairs, How many plastic apples?, Count in jumps, Cooperative numbers Circling math challenge, Answer me, Buzz fizz, Circling math challenge, Choose your score now. In the control group, the new numbers were presented through traditional methods such as repetition or translation. The study was conducted at Poyandegan language Institute in Neyriz. Thirty students as an experimental group and 30 students as a control group aged between 9-12 participated in this study. The collected data were analyzed using paired and independent samples T- test. The study indicated that there were statistically significant differences in mean scores of vocabulary tests in favor of the experimental group in the post test. It is hoped that due to the findings of this study teachers will reconsider the role of games and appreciate its value.

Nowadays Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is becoming not only enormously popular but also increasingly important in our lives and education system. Generally, learners are usually eager to work on computers or with various kinds of modern technology. This research was carried out to find out whether using weblogs is effective in Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary and writing skills. To do so, two samples of learners were selected through an OPT test as the control and experimental groups, and a pretest of vocabulary was administrated. Then, the traditional methods of teaching vocabulary and writing were used for the control group, and weblogs were used for the experimental group. After three months of instruction, another test of vocabulary and writing was given as the posttest to the students of both groups to assess their achievement. The results of the analysis of ANCOVA showed that weblogs were more effective than the traditional ways of teaching vocabulary and writing.

One of the promises of web-based education is to help students take control of their learning pace as the basic requirement of language learning is being life-long. The purpose of the present study was to find out which of the e-tools -- weblogs, wikis, or podcasts -- can better help EFL learners excel in their writing skill. To this end, 156 Iranian sophomore students majoring in English and studying at Islamic Azad University, Abadeh and Shiraz Branches and the Zand Institute of Higher Education were selected based on random sampling as participants. As the design of the study was a pre-experimental one, there were three experimental groups involved but no control group. Before the instruction, the participants were given an essay writing test, whose results were used to divide them into three groups. Two of the groups received in-class instruction and were assigned out-of-class activities through weblogs and wikis. The third group received the instruction through podcasts. The treatment lasted for two and a half months and at the end, another essay writing test was given to all groups. A two-way ANOVA for the comparison of the participants' gain scores indicated that using the tools available on the Internet could lead to improvement in the EFL students writing abilities, and gender was not a determining factor. The study reveals the fact that web tools, in general, and blogs, wikis, and podcasts, in particular, can foster EFL students’ writing skills and teachers can use them as supplements in their language instruction.

Learning a foreign language offers a great challenge to students since it involves learning different skills and subskills. Quite a few number of researches have been done so far on the relationship between gender and learning a foreign language. On the other hand, two major approaches in teaching grammar have been offered by language experts, inductive and deductive. The present study examines which method of teaching grammar is more fruitful for Iranian male and female students. For this purpose, 150 freshman students, 110 females and 40 males, majoring in English were selected from all available students at Abadeh and Shiraz Azad universities. All the subjects took the NTC's grammar test prior to the instruction as pre-test. Then, they were divided into two groups and were taught grammar inductively and deductively in each group for one semester. At the end of the instruction, the same test was taken as post-test. The comparison between the students' pre and post-test indicated that there was a significant improvement in their knowledge of grammar. By the way, through a two-way ANOVA, it was found out that males learned grammar better when they were taught inductively and females showed a better performance when they were taught deductively.