Journal of Language and Translation
Volume:9 Issue: 4, Winter 2019

A major concern in Translation Studies (TS) has been on what really goes on in the translators’ head while they are translating (not what researchers claim is going on). Among the techniques utilized in studying such cognitive processes and systems, think-aloud protocols (TAPs) have been widely em- ployed. As a content analysis study, this Qual-Quan mixed methods research aimed at exploring the com- parative differences introspective and retrospective TAPs can cause in English-to-Persian translation quality. The selected participants were 15 MA students studying TS at Islamic Azad University, Karaj Branch. The participants were required to translate two English texts into Persian, one introspectively and the other retrospectively, while the participants’ voices were audio-recorded and fully transcribed later. Relying on a recent translation quality assessment scale (Famil Khalili, 2011), the frequency distribution for the 14 encoded themes proved that the participants performed differently in introspection and retros- pection TAP phases. In fact, while the themes coherence and grammaticality had the highest frequency counts in the retrospection phase, dialogical register, linguistic functions and speech acts had a considera- ble improvement in the introspection phase.

Speech acts shape the core of pragmatic competence and their mastery is a prerequisite for successful dis- course encounters in an L2. Cross-cultural comparisons, as claimed by Johnstone (2018), are very effec- tive for knowing and acquiring the speech acts. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to compare a limited number of communicative routines in English and Persian within the framework of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) developed by Wierzbicka (1991) and to examine if the words uttered by speakers at the surface level (exterior) would match their thoughts (interior) especially in such routines as compliment, request, and invitation patterns. The participants comprised 21 MA students studying Eng- lish language teaching. The data was obtained by a validated researcher-made questionnaire containing both structured and unstructured items and 10 scenarios on the basis of which the study participants pro- vided comments, appropriate expressions, and responses. For the English routines, the data was obtained from three English plays. The aforementioned communicative routines in Persian were described in terms of their NSM while the metalinguistic components for the English routines were adopted from Wierz- bicka (1991). The results indicated that the NSM provided rich insights into subliminal cross-cultural dif- ferences. Since this study makes use of simple cultural scripts (similar to circumlocution) to describe communicative routines in both English and Persian, learners can easily understand differences within the hidden cross-cultural bound interactions. Implications of the study suggest that both EFL teachers and learners can gain more profound insights about the cross-cultural sociopragmatic differences between English and Persian.

In modern literature, polyphony is a sort of recital which involves a variety of voices and standpoints. This plurality of independent voices was introduced by the Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin. This study sought to look into how the notion of polyphony based on the character(s)' voices in Faulkner‟s novel entitled The Sound and the Fury are transmitted to the target reader This novel plus the two Per- sian translations were thus selected. Accordingly, the character(s)' voices and dialogues in the English novel and its Persian translations were used to identify the substantial divergences in the priorities of the two sides (i.e., the author‟s aims and the translated texts). Considering the topic, the theoretical framework of the study fell into two parts: the Bakhtinian reading of polyphony and hermeneutics. To do so, the grammatical interpretation through Schleiermacher's views as the hermeneutical method was selected. Having applied the grammatical interpretation, the researchers were able to analyze the data thoroughly. An analysis of the original text and the two Persian translations revealed that the translation of the character(s)' voices or events was the most frequent strategy applied in one of the translated texts, whereas in the second translation, the concept of Bakhtinian reading of polyphony was not precisely preserved.

This paper addresses the quality of the Persian translations of 32 English tourism textbooks. The qual- ity was assessed at sentence-level and page-level by the researchers and from the viewpoint of a tour- ism management student. In Phase 1, the quality of one randomly selected sentence from each text- book was assessed applying Hurtado Albir‘s analytical model; two were acceptable and 30 unaccept- able. The dominant error types according to her model were also identified. In Phase 2, the quality of one randomly selected page from each textbook was assessed applying Waddington‘s Method C, which is a holistic model; on average, the quality proved to be inadequate. In phase 3, the opinion of one end-user regarding the overall quality of the translation of six sentences and six pages from the whole corpus was elicited. To her, the overall quality was adequate at the sentence-level and inade- quate at the page-level. It can be concluded that the quality of the translated textbooks is unacceptable and that they fail to serve the intended purpose.

Drawing on narrative theory and the notion of framing, this paper focused on the translated material from the Islamic Republic of Iran‟s media outlets in the website of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) to explore how this institute constructed its desired narratives about Iran in the context of the current tensions between Iran and the U.S. In so doing, the paper applied the technique of framing through selective appropriation around the text to see what interpretive context MEMRI had made for its readers through its patterns of selection. The sites around the text at which this sort of framing could oc- cur were investigated to see what patterns of causal emplotment had been made as a result. The results showed that MEMRI had selected its translated material mostly from among those remarks made by Iran‟s non-moderate political and military individuals and institutions with a firm stance against the U.S., and also focused on their most hostile remarks with antagonistic themes to activate a pattern of causal emplotment which presented a reductionist and negative image of Iran.

The present study aspired to scrutinize the relationship among EFL learners' Self-directed Learning (SL), Resilience (RE), and Willingness to Communicate (WTC). To accomplish this purpose, 124 male and female undergraduate EFL learners, within the age range of 20 to 32, were selected through convenience sampling. These EFL learners were asked to fill in three questionnaires, namely the SL Questionnaire (Williamson, 2007), the RE questionnaire (Wagnild & Young, 1993), and the WTC questionnaire (MacIntyre, Baker, Clément, & Conrod, 2001). The results manifested that there was a significant and positive correlation between RE and WTC, SL and WTC, and RE and SL. Further- more, in order to compare RE and SL in terms of predicting WTC, a regression analysis was con- ducted, the results of which indicated that SL makes the strongest statistically significant unique con- tribution to predicting WTC. Meanwhile, RE turned out to be the second significant predictor of WTC. This highlighted the significance of enabling EFL learners to operate independently and be- come self-directed language learners.

The present study aimed to explore whether focused written corrective feedback has any significant effect on improving undergraduate university students’ paragraph writing ability; if so, the study fur- ther sought to demonstrate whether this effect differs within high/low self-regulated learners or not. For the purpose of the study, 60 BA university students were chosen out of 145 learners through the application of a sample Oxford Placement Test (OPT). Subsequently, the participants were randomly assigned into one control and one experimental group. The experimental group was assigned into two groups of high and low self-regulated learners based on Magno’s (2009) Academic Self-regulated Learning Scale (A-SRL-S) questionnaire. The control group received feedback in their writings through the conventional procedure, whereas the experimental group received focused written correc- tive feedback in some selected areas of the grammar. The data analysis revealed that focused written corrective feedback has a significant effect on improving writing ability; in addition, the results showed that high self-regulated learners benefited more from focused written corrective feedback than low self-regulated learners.

Various predictive research designs have been used to discover the relationship between learners' aca- demic achievement and the degree of teacher-student interactions they receive individually or in a group and the mediating role of their academic interest in learning. How these relation- ships/correlations work in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) setting, however, has remained a rarely investigated topic. This study explored the effects of teacher-student interactions on academic achievement by focusing on the mediating role of academic interest. In doing so, 218 EFL learners (102 males and 116 females) who were undergraduate English students at Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch were selected out of 645 students through the stratified random sampling method. This number of the learners was determined according to a sample size calculator for structural equation modeling (SEM). A correlational survey design was employed to investigate the purposes of the study through the SEM framework. The results demonstrated a significant correlation among variables and multiple predictions of students' academic achievement through the predictor variables. The outcomes confirmed that the increased interest of the EFL learners in learning and their interactions with their teachers could considerably contribute to improvement of their academic performance.

Negotiated syllabus addresses learners‟ needs and assists them in developing their own on-going syl- labus through shared decision-making in the classroom. Many studies focus on the effect of this learner-centered syllabus on language learning. However, few studies exist on its effect on the reading ability of language learners, especially in the area of English for specific purposes (ESP). To address this gap, this quasi-experimental pre-test post-test intact group design examined if negotiated syllabus has any significant effect on developing the reading comprehension of ESP students. To this end, 32 students in the experimental group were given the choice to design a negotiated syllabus through col- laboration while 39 students in the control group received a pre-designed syllabus. The data analysis showed that the ESP learners in the experimental group outperformed their counterparts in the control group on the reading post-test. The results of this study have implications for authorities in higher education, educational policy makers, and teacher professional development in ELT and ESP in par- ticular which are discussed in detail in the paper.

The purpose of this study was to determine the contribution of academic vocabulary knowledge and academic listening self-concept to the academic listening comprehension of Iranian Engineering students. The participants of this study were 147 undergraduate students at the Iran University of Science and Technology. A revised version of the academic self-concept questionnaire developed by Liu and Wang (2005), an academic vocabulary test by Schmitt, Schmitt, and Clapham (2001), and a sample of IELTS academic listening test were the instruments of this study. The results of the data analysis revealed that academic vocabulary knowledge and academic self-concept both contributed to the learners’ academic listening comprehension. The results also showed that the contribution of academic vocabulary knowledge to academic listening comprehension was higher than that of academic listening self-concept, indicating that the academic vocabulary knowledge was the significant contributor to academic listening comprehension. This study recommended that EGAP instructors make students aware of the importance of academic listening and help them improve their academic self-concept and vocabulary knowledge.