Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies
Volume:9 Issue: 2, Spring 2022

Grounded in Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of mind and the learner-centered approach to second/foreign language acquisition (SLA), this study investigated the extent to which the embedded differentiated instructions and diagnostic assessment, being mediated on Google Meet™ computer-mediated communication platform, would impact the improvement of mixed-ability English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) learners’ English words pronunciation and their degree of engagement in language learning. In a repeated-measures research design, an intact group of 66 EFL learners were partitioned into three tiers of higher, mid- and lower achievers to complete a virtual pretest of listening comprehension, followed by a series of parallel tiered performance tasks of English words pronunciation on a weekly basis. Their task outcomes were subsequently subjected to collective computer-mediated diagnostic assessment. After 10 sessions of intervention, the participants performed on an immediate virtual posttest of listening comprehension, and a post hoc interview. The results of mixed between-within subjects analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated both the significant learning progress by the tiers, and the outperformance of the lower achievers on the tiered tasks. The statistical results of an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) similarly reported significant improvement of the tiers’ performance on the pretest-posttest summative assessment in this study. The inductive content analysis of the participants’ responses to the structured interview elicited seven themes which were interpreted as the participants’ strong approval of the usefulness of differentiated instructions, effectiveness of diagnostic assessment, and successful appeal of Google Meet platform.

Among intriguing areas in vocabulary acquisition research are such variables as breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge, and their predictability in writing performance. In this spirit, this study set out to determine how receptive breadth, productive breadth, and receptive depth of word knowledge, using word families, predict total writing task score and the vocabulary component of EFL learners’ narrative, descriptive, and argumentative writing performance. To this end, by administering Oxford Quick Placement Test to the learners enrolled in an advanced writing course, 70 (49 males, 21 females) EFL upper intermediate learners were selected as the participants of the study. To determine the participants’ receptive depth, and productive and receptive breadth of the word knowledge, the Word Associates Test, the Lex30, and the Vocabulary Size Test were administered to the participants respectively. The participants also undertook descriptive, narrative and argumentative writing tasks. The results of the correlation coefficients and regression analyses of the data specified that: a) receptive vocabulary breadth and depth significantly contributed to both overall writing and vocabulary component of narrative, descriptive and argumentative writing; b) The breadth of productive vocabulary knowledge measured by the Lex30 only correlated with the vocabulary component score as well as the total score of narrative, descriptive, and argumentative writing. The implications include the fact that lexical knowledge aspects can be systematically used in both developing syllabus materials and classroom teaching methodologies.

Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) provides a framework of teacher knowledge to integrate technology into education successfully. Applying digital technologies to TPACK in order to understand the range of language teachers’ ability levels is of considerable importance. The present study sought to examine Iranian EFL teachers’ perceived knowledge of Web 2.0 technologies in light of Mishra and Koehler’s (2006) TPACK framework. To this end, a structural model was put forth on the basis of interactions of the TPACK seven-factor model. The participants of the study consisted of 160 EFL teachers, who were selected through an alternative sampling procedure. The data were collected from the participants through a TPACK-EFL questionnaire. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was employed to analyze the pathways of Web 2.0 technology, pedagogy, and content and their interactions in the TPACK model. The results revealed that Web 2.0 technological knowledge (TK), pedagogical knowledge (PK), and content knowledge (CK), as core knowledge components, influenced the second-level knowledge bases, namely technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and technological content knowledge (TCK) positively and directly except for one construct. Conversely, the impacts of TK, PK, and CK on TPACK were not statistically significant, and, as a result, did not work towards developing EFL teachers’ TPACK. Furthermore, TPK, TCK, and PCK were found to serve as contributing factors in the development of TPACK. Finally, the pedagogical and theoretical implications of interrelationships between the constructs and possible interpretations are discussed.

Research on cognitive styles in the area of listening comprehension is very important and needs to be explored. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between Iranian EFL learners’ cognitive styles and their listening comprehension. This study sought to explore the extent to which these styles can predict the L2 learners’ performances on tests concerning listening comprehension. To this end, a mixed methods design was utilized to investigate the possible relationship between the aforementioned factors. Some seventy upper-intermediate EFL learners from three language institutes in Iran were asked to complete a questionnaire and then take part in a listening comprehension test in IELTS format after a two-week interval. The questionnaire was drawn from Learning Styles Survey designed by Cohen, Oxford, and Chi (2002). It included ten sections which were used to determine learners’ cognitive styles and their demographic information. The obtained data were analyzed using Spearman Rho’s correlation. The findings indicated that there was a statistically significant correlation between Analytic cognitive style and listening comprehension performance of the participants. It was also found that there was a statistically negative correlation between Global cognitive style of the learners and their listening comprehension. Other cognitive styles including Particular, Synthesizer, Field Dependent, Deductive, Inductive, Impulsive, Field Independent, and Reflective had no statistically significant relationship with listening comprehension. Finally, pedagogical implications for EFL teachers and learners, limitations and suggestions for further study are presented.

Beyond the mono-method quantitative and qualitative research syntheses (e.g. meta-analysis and meta-ethnography, respectively) and with a pragmatic perspective on conducting mixed methods research (MMR), recently a very few research synthesists have adopted a Mixed Methods Research Synthesis (MMRS) approach to answer complex review questions. Therefore, to better understand the issue of quality, this study takes the initiative in aligning the mixed methods research quality with the Plonskyian views with specific reference to study quality proposed in methodological synthesis literature. The main purpose of the methodological synthesis here was to provide empirically-based evidence for describing and evaluating mixed methods studies in an Iranian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) context. We synthesized mixed methods theses in an Iranian EFL context by describing and evaluating three interrelated components of study quality through focusing on transparency and reporting practices related to: (a) MMR formulation stage (or MMR problem specification stage), (b) MMR design-related features, and (c) MMR interpretation and integration (or MMR implementation stage). The cumulative findings highlighted a set of deficiencies and strengths across MMR studies in the respective EFL setting. Of notable results were unsatisfactory attention to the issue of integration and transparency at the levels of design, method, and interpretation. The study has implications for designing and implementing sound MMR studies. Furthermore, it includes suggestions for doing solid MMR research as well as writing and preparing well-founded mixed methods articles.

This study investigates EFL teachers’ perceptions regarding Dynamic Assessment (hereafter DA) prior and subsequent to taking part in workshops and panel discussions. Twenty-five EFL teachers participated in a semi-structured interview, 10 of whom were selected through purposive sampling to take part in a five-session workshop, which was held to familiarize them with the principles of DA. Following workshop training sessions, a panel discussion was run for 2 sessions and teachers shared their ideas and discussed their problems in applying DA in their classes regarding reading skill. Their classes were video-taped for further analysis and they were also asked to keep reflective journals regarding their practice. After these treatment sessions, a second semi- structured interview regarding EFL teachers’ perceptions about DA was run. According to the results of the discussion sessions and interviews, using them as the base of work, an observation checklist was created to assess the EFL teachers' classroom practices and see whether they correspond to their attitudes or not. The results of this study showed that EFL teachers found workshop training sessions both informative and practical. They mentioned panel discussion groups as a good platform to discuss their practice- related problems with their colleagues and writing reflective journals as an awareness raising act which help them improve their DA practices. Implications for teachers and teacher training courses are discussed.

Studying the role teacher care performs in education is necessary to address the human aspects of teaching. However, TEFL postgraduates have been a neglected cohort in most of the previous studies of teacher care. Therefore, this study investigated the role of caring teachers in TEFL postgraduate education based on the perceptions and experiences of postgraduate instructors and students. Accordingly, 20 students, both MA and PhD, and 6 postgraduate instructors were selected, through purposive sampling, from two state universities in Tehran. Conducting semi-structured interviews with both groups, data were collected and analyzed within the framework of interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA), as a qualitative paradigm. Due to the complex and contextual nature of teacher care as an abstract concept and still under-researched in TEFL, IPA was employed to provide an in-depth understanding about the role of caring TEFL instructors in postgraduate education. The findings revealed that caring instructors could perform a key role in strengthening postgraduates’ motivation and therefore enhancing their academic performances, creating a stress-free and peaceful learning environment, inspiring them to make transformative decisions in their lives, and their learning how to care in academic settings. This research has implications for instructors, teacher educators, and policy makers seeking to establish moral education at TEFL postgraduate level.

Over the past few years, peer-assessment, as an alternative assessment procedure, has drawn the attention of many researchers. In the study, it was attempted to find what kinds of language components peer-assessors attend to when rating their peers' essays and to investigate whether proficiency levels of peer-assessors make a difference in terms of severity and leniency they exercise. Fifty-eight student raters at Imam Khomeini International University in Qazvin rated five essays, using an analytic rating scale. Paper-based test of English as a foreign language (TOEFL) and five-paragraph essays were used to collect the data. FACETS (version 3.68.1) was used to analyze the data. The results of Facets analysis indicated that advanced peer-assessors had more variability in their severity compared to intermediate peer-assessors. Moreover, the majority of peer-assessors were, on average, more severe than lenient. The results also revealed no statistically significant difference between the ratings of intermediate and advanced peer-assessors. The final finding was that task achievement was the most attended assessment criterion, but grammatical range and accuracy was the least attended assessment criterion. The findings suggest peer-assessors do not attach an equal weight to all assessment criteria. The findings of the study may carry implications for the summative assessment of students' abilities.