karim sadeghi

Assessing language skills in an integrative form has drawn the attention of assessment experts in recent years. While some research data exists on integrative listening/reading-to-write assessment, there is comparatively little research literature on listening-to-speak integrated assessment. Also, little attention has been devoted to the role of individual attributes within the context of integrated assessment. The objective of the current research was to investigate the relationship between integrated listening/speaking assessment and individual characteristics of ambiguity tolerance (AT), use of cognitive/metacognitive strategies, and foreign language anxiety (FLA). Oxford Quick Placement Test was used to homogenize 60 EFL learners in terms of language proficiency (B2-C1). Additionally, integrated listening/speaking performances were collected using sample TOEFL-iBT tests. The transcribed spoken samples were evaluated by two raters using TOEFL-iBT rubrics in terms of overall description, delivery, language use, and topic development. Additionally, information on individual characteristics was gathered by means of 3 different questionnaires. Data analysis revealed that FLA had a negative relationship while AT and the use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies had a positive correlation with integrated listening/speaking test performance. Individual differences have generally been neglected in the assessment literature, but this study revealed that performance on integrated listening/speaking tests can be affected by language-irrelevant constructs such as individual attributes in addition to test-takers’ language competence.

Language teacher emotion labor has recently gained traction as more educators recognize the importance of addressing institutional power dynamics. The present contribution is a review of poststructuralist-discursive research on language teacher emotion labor. The rationale behind a particular focus on poststructuralist-discursive perspective lies behind the recent proliferation of studies framed within this framework. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines (Page et al., 2021), the content of 57 studies published from 2018 to November 2024 was analyzed for their themes, methods, and implications. The findings revealed that emotion labor experienced by language teachers in online and face-to-face instruction, the interplay of emotion labor, identity, and motivation, emotion labor caused by top-down assessment policies, and emotion labor due to institutional expectations in transnational and EMI/EAP/ESP contexts were among the most frequently investigated themes in the relevant body of literature. It was also observed that language teacher emotion labor has predominantly been examined through qualitative research paradigms, including case studies and (auto)ethnographies. Semi-structured interviews, document analysis, narrative frames, short stories reconstructed based on narrative data, vignettes, and visuals comprised the most prevailing data collection instruments deployed in this area of research. Furthermore, the implications of the existing literature mainly signified the need for institutional reform and raising language teachers’ awareness of the complexities of emotion labor through teacher education programs. The current review calls for more longitudinal, observational, cross-cultural, and mixed-methods explorations of language teacher emotion labor in the future.

This study investigated the combined effect of the phase of explicit instruction and feedback timing on task performance and grammar acquisition. Fifty pre-intermediate learners were randomly assigned to 3 major conditions and 5 sub-conditions: pre-task explicit instruction with either immediate or delayed feedback, main-task explicit instruction with either immediate or delayed feedback, and control group. All groups were given a grammaticality judgment test (GJT) and an elicited imitation test (EIT) as the pre- and post-test. During the treatment period, the 4 experimental groups completed three tasks within three weeks. The third task was analyzed for task performance (CAF). The results indicated that among groups, the pre-task/immediate group was the most fluent group and that they had the most attempts to use the target form as much as main task/delayed group. The pre-task/delayed group produced the longest units with highest accuracy and most correct use of the target form.  However, none of the differences were significant except for pre-task (the group that received explicit instruction before task completion) and delayed feedback group which statistically produced longer units and made fewer errors compared to the control group. Additionally, the groups which received explicit instruction within the task completion (main task with either immediate or delayed feedback) statistically made fewer errors than the control group. Regarding performance on GJT and EIT, although pre-task/immediate group gained the highest scores, the differences were not statistically significant. It can be concluded that providing explicit instruction of structure before task with delayed feedback can benefit task performance in terms of complexity and accuracy, and providing explicit instruction within task completion with either immediate or delayed feedback to promote accuracy.

Many studies have advocated the importance of teaching critical thinking (CT) skills, and have also provided some suggestions for its effective pedagogy. However, there is a dearth of research examining the efficacy of such instruction. This quantitative(quasi-experimental) and qualitative study aimed to investigate the impact of explicit instruction of critical thinking (CT) on university students’ critical thinking skills measured through the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA) used as both pre- and post-test. The participants comprised four groups of 15-16 students each. The groups received different CT treatments: Critical Linguistics (CL) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (group 1), 11 Questions (group 2), CL and CDA followed by Peer Evaluation (group 3), and a control group (group 4) that only read about CT without practicing it. After receiving instruction on CT, the three treatment groups (1-3) critically analyzed 33 texts over 11 sessions. The results of the study indicated that Group 3 (CT & CDA followed by PE) had the highest improvement in their WGCTA scores from pre-to post-test, followed by Groups 2 and 1, while the control group showed no significant gain. The findings imply that reflecting critically on language learning materials can reveal hidden cultural and ideological elements within the texts. This can significantly enhance learners' advanced thinking skills, as well as support them in resisting cultural imperialism.

Technology is here to stay and transfer our entire lives, including modes of communication and education. Its deep impact on our educational lives during the COVID-19 pandemic which forced education everywhere to go online cannot be denied. Technology-Mediated Language Learning (TMLL) otherwise known as Computer- Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in its various realizations (online and offline) has been a common, but limited, practice in many educational encounters for a few decades. Its recent, more widespread use on a global scale has brought to the fore less-attended but thornier issues such as social justice. This paper takes social justice in TMLL as the starting point and attempts to outline social (in)justice issues addressed in published papers on this topic from 2015 to 2023 (4 years before the pandemic up to now). To this end, relevant articles (following the inclusion/exclusion criteria) were identified (N = 16) and examined meticulously in terms of utilized data collection tools, social justice issues addressed, as well as theoretical and pedagogical implications. The review uncovers that more attention has been drawn to social justice issues in online classes after the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period. The studies further signify the prominent role of language teachers in promoting social justice, highlight the widening digital gap between learners, and bring to spotlight hegemonies and governing power influencing social media content.

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of metacognitive Therapy and assertiveness training on social avoidance and distress of students with foreign language anxiety (FLA). The research design was semi-experimental and the population of the study was all students of public Junior high schools in Urmia, Iran. 60 students were selected following a multi-step random sampling procedure and were randomly assigned into three groups (N= 20 each). the data were analyzed using foreign language classroom anxiety scale (Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope, 1986) and social avoidance and distress scale (Watson & Friend, 1969). Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance. The results showed that metacognitive and assertiveness are effective in reducing social avoidance and distress, their effects are persistent in the follow-up phase (p <0.001). The obtained results show that metacognitive and assertiveness are effective in reducing social avoidance and distress students in both stages and the difference between metacognitive and assertiveness groups is not significant (p <0.05). Based on the results, there was no significant difference between metacognitive therapy and assertiveness training groups in reducing avoidance and social pressure (P <0.05).

Testing has traditionally been a critical component of educational programmes. While there is a considerable amount of research on various dimensions of assessment, only a limited number of studies have explored learners’ perceptions of assessment practices, to date. Accordingly, this qualitative study is an attempt to examine a group of undergraduate university students’ perceptions of their past assessment practices. To this end, 30 Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) students who had just taken a course on Language Assessment were asked to compose narratives (of at least 2000 words) about their assessment experiences. The collected data were then analyzed thematically, and the results indicated that students mostly held negative feelings toward their previous language assessment practices. Moreover, most of the students did not assign any significance to assessment, considering it redundant. The study found that instilling more positive views toward assessment is required to improve self-regulatory learning and therefore better learning outcomes in students.

Teachers serving at the front lines of education during difficult times of the pandemic seem to have been forgotten in these bustling days around the world. While delivery of high-quality education is on the shoulders of these people, their life and wellbeing have been affected as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, there is little documented evidence on how the pandemic has impacted language teachers’ wellbeing. To fill this gap, this qualitative study examines the wellbeing of English as a Foreign Language teachers in Iranian public schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ten participants who attended in-depth interviews were found to have their wellbeing levels severely affected by the pandemic. Indeed, the newly emerged challenges have been added to the existing obstacles and augmented the already stressful teaching profession. Based on the findings, recommendations are provided for authorities and parents to be employed during the pandemic and afterward to help teachers flourish and subsequently improve quality education.

This study investigated the effects of corrective feedback (CF) and the Flipped Teaching Model (FTM) on English language learners’ overall and categorical grammar accuracy. The study was conducted at Payame-Nour University (PNU) of Mahabad, Iran. A total of 80 Iranian EFL learners participated in the study. The participants were randomly assigned into two flipped and two non-flipped groups of 20: one in each pair of groups receiving explicit and the other implicit CF. Data were collected across two time periods (pre-intervention and post-intervention). Two measures of Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) were conducted. The results revealed no significant differences in the effect of CF type in the flipped classes, and both led to the learners’ higher level of overall grammar accuracy. However, the explicit group outperformed the implicit one in the non-flipped classes. Explicit feedback in flipped and non-flipped classes led to the learners’ outperformance in acquiring specific grammatical structures, such as adjective/reduced adjective clauses, but not in others, like comparative/superlative adjectives, gerund/infinitive, word forms, word order, and apposition. These findings have implications for language educators seeking to enhance learners’ grammatical accuracy in both flipped and non-flipped classrooms, particularly in relation to the use of explicit feedback for certain types of grammatical structures.

beyond rote learning and to enhance their academic achievement, it is an under-researched construct in ELT contexts. Therefore, this study investigated whether explicit teaching of critical thinking through amalgamation of Critical Discourse Analysis and Critical Linguistics (group 1), Asking 11 Right Questions (group 2), and amalgamation of Critical Discourse Analysis and Critical Linguistics accompanied by Peer-evaluation (group 3) can improve Reading Comprehension abilities of university students in an EFL context.  In so doing, the study utilized a mixed methods design including quasi-experimental and narrative feedback; with 16 participants in groups 1 and 2 each, 15 participants in group 3 as experimental groups, and 15 participants in group 4 as control group. Reading comprehension and critical thinking pretests were employed to homogenize groups at the beginning of the study; then every session 3 provocative texts were applied for critical analysis based on the treatments students received within five sessions. The reading comprehension post-test results indicated that explicit teaching of critical thinking through Asking 11 Right Questions had the highest and most significant influence on reading comprehension ability followed by two other experimental groups with control group representing no significant gain. The findings imply that reflecting critically on learning materials can illuminate hidden cultural and ideological aspects of the texts which consequently helps learners to better understand the text, and to defend against cultural invasion.

Professional development (PD) has received a growing attention in teacher education research since it has the potential to affect teacher learning. More recently and in particular as an aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic, online PD modes have overtaken more traditional face to face approaches. Despite this, studies on language teachers' preferences for online PD approaches have been limited. To bridge this gap, this study investigated Iranian English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' perceptions of online PD. Participants included 105 male and female EFL instructors teaching at private institutes, universities, and public schools. An online questionnaire consisting of closed- and open-ended items was employed to discover teachers' perspectives on PD. The findings indicated that despite having little or no online PD experiences, most teachers had a positive perception towards an electronic mode of professional learning and rated expert teacher applications, online video lesson study, and video library as their favourite online resources. The study recommends taking advantage of various online PD formats in teacher education programs, esp. at a time when most teaching and learning continues to be online worldwide.

The present study investigated Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ perception of school climate and its relationship with their conception of effective teaching. A body of 147 teachers selected through purposive and snowball sampling strategies answered Oderand and Eisenschmidt’s (2016) questionnaire about school climate and effective teaching. Data were analyzed using factor analysis, which produced three factors to explain teachers’ perception of school contextual factors and three for their conception of effective teaching. The results indicated that teachers’ perception of school contextual factors to some degree correlated with their approach to teaching in the classroom. The study highlights the fundamental role of school senior management in helping teachers to apply appropriate teaching approaches

There has been an increasing attention to written corrective feedback (WCF) and its potential effectiveness in recent years. This paper examines the roles of direct versus indirect WCF in fostering learners’ written and oral accuracy across language proficiency. A quasi-experimental design was adopted to conduct the study. Seventy-six pre-intermediate and upper-intermediate EFL learners were randomly assigned into six groups (four experimental and two control groups). In the experimental group, a series of pictures were used as prompts for writing tasks in the treatment sessions, and pre-, immediate, and delayed posttests were used to measure written and oral accuracy. According to the results, WCF, regardless of the type, was facilitative in developing learners’ both written and oral accuracy, which was a manifestation of implicit knowledge. The results also revealed that the proficiency level played a key role in determining which type of CF was more beneficial. While the pre-intermediate learners benefited more from direct CF, the upper-intermediate group improved more as a result of indirect CF treatment. This study calls for more informed decisions by L2 teachers in the correction of written errors considering that it improved L2 learners’ oral accuracy