نشریه پژوهش های زبانشناختی در زبان های خارجی
سال دهم شماره 4 (زمستان 1399)

The stream of consciousness is a new and complicated writing method which makes comprehension difficult for the readers of both the source and the target text. The present study aimed to reveal problems related to comprehending and translating stream-of-consciousness texts by examining William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury and its Persian translation entitled "خشم و هیاهو", by Saleh Hosseini. This entailed detecting difficulties in comprehending the source text, evaluating how the translator has overcome them, and finding the problems which target readers might face. The major issues are time discrepancy in the first chapter and comprehension issues in the second chapter of The Sound and the Fury. The narration flow in a classic story is linear: A happens then B, namely there is not much to challenge the readers’ mind. However, in Benjy’s chapter, the reader encounters lots of new things. Benjy narrates the first chapter by associations, which means while walking around, he sees objects and each object revives a lot of memories for him. The clever idea is that because he is an imbecile, he does not know that his memories are not part of here and now; and this makes the reader confused. The beauty of the story is that the reader feels incapacitated by what happens in the story. The unique sense of being an imbecile not by saying it but by feeling it happens in the steam of consciousness created through the great genius of a writer like Faulkner.

The discrimination against women in language is one of the most discussed topics in societies and academic centers in Spanish speaking countries. The reason for this debate is the development of the Spanish culture and language. With the increasing social role of women in Spanish speaking countries, changes have taken place in the development of this language that require further reflection. Women's rights activists believe that women have been ignored in Spanish. The goal of this study is to investigate sexism in Spanish language and its possible causes. For this, we will study how the grammatical gender of the names of women's jobs is used in the electronic newspapers in Spanish as a statistical population. In some job nous, the use of the masculine nouns is preferred to refer to the feminine gender. The present study examines the causes of this cultural phenomenon that has caused women to be ignored in the current language. In order to do this, an investigation has been carried out through experimental methodology, and based on data from electronic newspapers from three Spanish speaking countries in Argentina, Mexico and Spain, examines the subject of gender discrimination in grammar and the newspapers. The results of this study allow us to know the reality of the contradictory use of the masculine noun to refer to the name of feminine jobs in these three countries, also, it will familiarize Spanish students and translators with the importance of grammatical gender in the today's Spanish language.

This study aims to explore English language proficiency tests of Iran’s Ministry of Higher Education and universities by analyzing the needs of the participants (PhD candidates and graduates) and then propose a standard and uniform test. To this end, after thematizing the qualitative answers obtained through semi-structured interviews with 30 faculty members (19 females and 11 males) and 35 PhD candidates and graduates (13 females and 22 males) from different cities and majors in universities throughout Iran, a researcher-made questionnaire was developed. To validate the designed questionnaire, first 200 PhD graduates and candidates (117 males and 83 females), studying various majors in universities across Iran, answered the questionnaire (convenience sampling). Then 442 participants (223 males and 219 females) including PhD graduates (N= 57), PhD candidates (N= 320), and faculty members (N= 65) answered the validated questionnaire. Totally, 642 participants expressed their views on the problems of English language proficiency tests in terms of four criteria: validity, reliability, impact, and fairness of the test. The findings show that the participants are not satisfied with these tests and believe that these tests are designed based on the old versions of TOEFL and IELTS international tests and cultural and local considerations are overlooked. Finally, some suggestions are made to improve the quality of English language proficiency tests in Iran.

Due to the outbreak of the Corona-virus pandemic, virtual classes have become the cornerstone of education all around the world including Iran. Being an obligatory transition and the only option university professors have to continue education with, online teaching is accompanied with particular challenges which have not been experienced before and need to be investigated. This research intends to explore the challenges that EFL faculty faced in the design and delivery of online courses during the Covid-19 outbreak and seek probable solutions to those challenges. The data for the study included messages posted to the backup team over an entire academic semester which provide a live, naturalistic, and in-the-moment representation of faculty’s perceptions and challenges. The data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis method for recurring themes and taxonomies that the postings represented. Analysis of the results revealed 6 categories of challenges the target faculty members faced in their online instruction: technical problems, concerns about exam safety and validity, the need for policies, planning, and regulations, faculty’s adaptability struggles, pedagogical challenges, and challenges related to students such as inadequate distribution of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) infrastructure, lack of self-motivation, lack of interaction and the possibility of their isolation, and inadequate computer literacy skills. The findings are then discussed with reference to the solutions offered in the literature to remedy those barriers. This study provides implications for faculty’s professional development programs and support services as well as policy making and planning for future online courses.

In educating German as a foreign language, teaching and learning the grammar has always been considered as one of the most important and difficult parts, and therefore, finding a suitable teaching method can play an important role in better achievements of language learners. For many years, teaching German language to non-Germans has been studied from different perspectives. One of the approaches in evaluating the different methods of teaching German language is to consider the centrality of educator or student. This survey concerns a comparative study of two methods of teaching German grammar, namely teacher-centered and student-centered methods, and seeks to answer the question of, whether using one of the two teaching methods can alone result in a better learning of the linguistic structures, or integrating and combining them would lead to better achievements for the German language learners. A survey of the results of different studies and the analysis of statistical outcomes of the polls obtained from a number of German language learners shows that due to weak and strong points in both the methods, the best outcome in teaching grammar would be reached when the instructor would utilize both the teacher-centered and the student-centered methods, parallel to each other.

The two constructs of Willingness to Communicate (WTC) and Intercultural competence (IC) are among influential factors affecting the success or failure of communication. This study aimed at exploring the potentiality of synchronous video-based computer-mediated communication class on intermediate EFL learners' inside and outside the classroom WTC and IC. In so doing, 52 intermediate learners from different cultural backgrounds selected through the Solutions Placement Test (SPT) were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The necessary data were collected through WTC Inside the Classroom Scale, WTC Outside the Classroom Scale, and IC Scale. Culturally-based videos were implemented in both groups to raise students' awareness of target culture and to trigger their intercultural competence by gaining insight into their own and other cultures. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) software, Discord, enabled the participants of the experimental group to communicate on a chat channel. However, the control group had face to face negotiation on video contents. The results indicated that synchronous class led to a statistically significant improvement in both inside and outside the classroom WTC. With regard to IC, although the intercultural competence of both groups improved, no significant difference was reported between the two groups. In the rapidly diversifying world, facilitating learners' WTC and pushing them to become intercultural speakers should be among teachers' priorities.

Vygotsky (1978) uses the example of a child's gesture, arguing that finger-pointing presents an interpersonal relationship, and an intrapersonal relationship occur only after an internalization. The purpose of this study was to investigate the discourse and corresponding gestures at a foreign language university general English course using Socio-cultural theory as a theoretical framework. This study used a qualitative research methodology. The instruments used in the current research included: a questionnaire, two video-recordings, student surveys, and a follow-up semi-structured teacher interview. Particularly, the observations were of the teacher in interaction with students concerning the subject matter. The teacher and students teaching was video-recorded for the first five weeks of a sixteen-week course, meeting twice per week for one hour and thirty seconds. The teacher’s gestures were analyzed according to the transcription conventions developed by McNeill (1992). The findings are discussed in relation to the teacher’s embodied practices. The data revealed that the teacher gestured and mimetically illustrated in order to concretize the language. The gestures observed were organized into different linguistic categories of grammar and lexis on the basis of the lessons of the course- book. So, not only the gesture types, but also the functions, are discussed. This organization reinforces the notion that the instructor was trying to concretize the language and codify it.

We know that language is constantly and gradually evolving. So, the mobility and evolution of words according to social, cultural, historical, etc. are inevitable. The contact of different languages and cultures throughout history leads to the travel of these words from one language to another, which sometimes leads to linguistic and phonetic changes. The presence of French words in Persian as the most common traveller words among European languages in Persian follows the same approach. These French words inhabit Persian language due to linguistic and cultural differences and other various reasons. The inequality in the number of traveller words and the flow of this amount of words from French to Persian have historical reasons which are due to the result of language contact. Despite the existence of suitable equations, there are also traveller words still alive in Persian language according to some reasons. However, there is no appropriate information about number of these traveller words, more or less, in some specialized fields. In this article, according to the theory of Galisson and observing 1577 specialized words in the Dictionary French Loanwords in Persian NEDA, we examine the domains of these words using statistical analysis. This article, deals with obtaining the percentage of words that exist in each field and will analyse the reasons of their travel.

The present article reviews the cultural reflection of female and feminine identity in Persian and Russian proverbs. Proverbs, as one of the reserves of spiritual culture, is the oldest style of oral creativity of any nation. The purpose of this study is to select examples of both languages and reflect the cultural categories, gender linguistics, social linguistics, about the identity of women or femininity in general and their analysis among Persian and Russian proverbs. The method used in this research is based on the study of literary texts and the dictionary of proverbs that have been used as research sources and etymology of words and their frequency of use in recent years in the written and spoken language of speakers of two languages. Among the proverbs studied on the subject of female identity, about 2287 proverbs were found. In conclusion, due to the differences in climate and culture of Russian society, we came across their very close similarities in terms of female identity with Iranian examples, but at the same time we saw some differences in each of the two languages, so that although it sometimes refers to ignoring the value of women in both societies, but women still respected as the other half of society.

This study aims to propose a new definition of ‘meaning’ using corpus linguistics. The framework used in the current study is the Dooley and Levinsohn’s (2001) model of functional-cognitive approach. The corpus of the study contains 4 narratives (two English narratives and two Turkish ones). The results of the study show that meaning develops like a cell. As far as the study is concerned, meaning, as a physiologic cell, can be imagined as a cellular-cognitive schema. According to the cellular-cognitive schema, meaning is built in three steps like giving a birth (to a baby or a butterfly). That is, the birth of a baby, a butterfly, and meaning follow the same pattern. In the mentioned items, a cell or a unit (caterpillar regarding butterfly, sperm regarding baby, word regarding meaning) is located in the initial step. In the second step, there happens to be a cell/unit growth (butterfly: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly; baby: sperm, getting flesh/bone, baby; language: word gets new information). And in the final step, the cell/unit turns into a live creature (a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, a sperm turns into a baby, a word gets its meaning). Each of the items is produced in its context (sperm in mother’s womb, butterfly in its living environment, and language in linguistic context).

Gender has been underresearched in studies on interdependence between L1 and L2. This descriptive-survey study, intended put to the test interdependence between L1 and L2 reading among male and female students. To this purpose, 225 (male N=103 ; female N=122) non-English major students attending general English classes were distributed a reading strategy awareness (RSA) inventory in L1, Nelson test of general English proficiency (GEP) and a reading comprehension (RC) test in L2. Analysis of data showed a moderate correlation among these three variables both in male and female students; however, it was found that female students had higher mean scores on RSA, GEP and RC., reading strategy awareness had more contribution to L2 reading for the female students, and together, the two variables of RSA and GEP had more contribution to L2 reading for the female students. All in all, the study showed different results for interdependence between languages for the two genders as the findings showed stronger interdependence between L1 and L2 in female students rather than male students. As in cross language studies L1 has been shown to affect L2 learning, it is recommended that L2 teachers consider the role of gender in interdependence between L1 and L2.

Differential item functioning(DIF) is considered to be one of the tools for the examination of test performance. This method is capable of finding the factors affecting the subjects’ performance and preventing the occurrence of bias in the test. A plethora of methods for detecting Differential Item Functioning has been suggested during the last couple of decades. The multiplicity of methods for diagnosing DIF sometimes is a confusing issue for researchers and it complicates the comparability of the findings of each method. This study has aimed to investigate the comparability of results from three widely used DIF detection techniques: the Rasch model, Logistic Regression, and Mantel-Haenszel (MH). The data comes from an administration of the University of Tehran English Proficiency Test (UTEPT) which is a high-stakes test administered annually to PhD candidates. An analysis of DIF by the three techniques indicated that the items had not significant differences in their performance. The Mantel-Hansel model flagged two items having DIF just similar to the findings of logistic regression model. Likewise, the items that were detected as strong-DIF items in Rasch model were the same as items detected by the two aforementioned models. Thus, it could be stated that logistic regression and Rasch model are among the best models for the assessment of DIF in language tests. It is promising that the application of such methods into the validation process of the tests would increase the quality of assessment and meet the needs for having a fair and justifiable results.

The concept of authorial voice has been discussed by many scholars in the field of applied linguistics. This study was an attempt to explore voice from an appraisal theory perspective. To this end, Iranian and Iinternational author’s usage of authorial voice in their published research articles was investigated. A corpus of 30 research papers (15 Iranian and 15 International research articles) written in English language in the field of applied linguistics was gathered. The thematic analysis of authorial voice was conducted by using Swale’s move structure analysis (1990) as well as Martin and White’s appraisal model (2005). The data were analyzed mostly quantitatively. For the qualitative part some excerpts have been chosen from the texts to find a meaningful pattern. The findings revealed that the tendency of Iranian and International writers for some linguistic resources was to some extent the same that is they followed a similar pattern of voice. The two groups showed similarity when using Affect, Judgment and Appreciation. This study remarkably introduces a new form of studying authorial voice in different sections of the articles based on Swales’ move structure analysis (1990) and Martin and white’s appraisal model. This contributes to new information about authorial voice in different sections of articles in the field of applied linguistics, and gives unique insights about the assessment and teaching of voice in ELT and applied linguistic disciplines.

Various research studies have been designed to examine the potential effects of conceptual metaphor awareness-raising activities on the retention, remembrance and production of new vocabulary. While yielding rich harvests, these studies were limited in scope. Therefore, this current mixed-method design study was carried out to investigate the long-term effects of metaphoric concepts awareness-raising activities on EFL learners’ press reading skill and metaphoric competence. Two intact press reading classes were randomly assigned to either experimental (27 students) or control group (24 students) and both were given a metaphoric language test and a teacher-made achievement test to ensure their equality at the outset. During the 15-week-long course, experimental group received conceptual metaphor awareness-raising activities besides the routine materials and practices, whereas control group was given some extra reading comprehension materials. At the end of the research treatment, the two groups were tested again on the same tests. Quantitative data analyses through running two independent samples t-tests revealed statistically significant differences in two groups’ performance on the post-tests. Also, the interview results showed a positive change in the attitude of the participants with regard to such activities. The results which are discussed within cognitive linguistics have implications for classroom teaching practices and material development.