Research in English Language Pedagogy
Volume:10 Issue: 3, Summer 2022

Studying L2 classroom interaction can potentially help teachers and researchers to analyze classroom discourse in order to gain insights into class-based learning and promote teachers' awareness of their teaching. To measure, analyze and describe the interaction and the behavior of participants in classrooms several approaches can be used. One of the most powerful methodologies in Applied Linguistic research and L2 classroom interactions has recently been conversation analysis. This short pape r reports on several conversation analytic studies with a focus on English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom discourse and discusses the values of conversation analysis as a reflexive methodology for research on second or foreign language classroom discourse. The implications outlined are for language teaching and learning, classroom interaction, professional development of English language teachers, teacher education, and everyday talk.

Foreign language learning is often associated with affective factors among which the constructs of anxiety and perfectionism have been recognized as important predictors of language performance. The purpose of this research was to explore the significant influence of Iranian EFL learners’ socially prescribed and self-oriented perfectionism in the prediction of Foreign Language Anxiety, via the contribution of a mediated variable of achievement goals. Additionally, the associations among these constructs as a predictor of English language achievement were examined. The participants were 400 EFL learners within the age range of 15-30 who enrolled in private language learning institutes in Iran. The participants’ proficiency fell within the range of upper-intermediate to advanced levels. For estimating perfectionism, the Multi-dimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) of Hewitt and Flett (2004) and for anxiety factor, Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) developed by Horwitz et al. (2008) was utilized. Finally, Goal-orientation was measured by using Elliot and Murayama (2008) questionnaire. The language achievement was obtained from their final exam scores. Correlation analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to investigate the data collected. The research findings revealed there exists a relationship among the participants’ perfectionism, FLCA, and English language achievement via the mediating role of performance goal-orientation. The findings have significant theoretical and practical implications for teachers, school psychologists, teacher educators, curriculum designers, and researchers. They contribute to planning learning activities and utilizing various techniques for different types of learners and learning settings to meet the program goals and objectives.

Spaced repetition seems to play a significant role in the learning and retention of words in foreign language settings. This experimental study investigated the impact of expanding and equal spacing conditions on receptive and productive English vocabulary retrieval. The participants consisted of 63 pre-intermediate EFL learners in three intact classes randomly assigned to one control and two experimental groups. A Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) was used to select 20 unknown word pairs (each word and its synonym) for teaching purposes and check the effects of the treatments at the end of the study. The word pairs were later divided into two 10-item A and B sets because of the counterbalanced design of the study. The first experimental group studied set A under an equally spaced condition (2-2-2) and set B under an expanding spaced condition (0-1-5) with the same absolute spacing value. The second experimental group studied them in the reverse order, thus counterbalancing the effect of encounter order. The control group studied the target items under the no-spacing or massed condition (0-0-0). The statistical analyses of the three groups’ posttest scores indicated that all the three groups had improved their receptive and productive vocabulary retrieval. However, an equally spaced schedule had led to a significantly higher mean score only on the receptive items of the posttest and, therefore, better vocabulary retrieval. Therefore, it is suggested that EFL teachers consider spacing in general and the equal spacing condition in particular as important elements in facilitating both receptive and productive vocabulary learning.

This study investigated the different aspects of the English for Specific Purposes Needs of M.A students of Ancient Iran History studying at the Department of History in Iranian universities. The participants were selected from the universities of Iran based on convenience sampling. The Needs Analysis was designed on a qualitative and quantitative survey, using the semi-structured interviews and the questionnaires. 45 M.A students and 5 ESP instructors expressed their views through questionnaires and interviews. The results revealed that the students asked for the inclusion of the four language skills in their ESP courses. That is, a new ESP course focusing on the integration of all four skills should be developed. The instructors, however, echoed the reading skill as the predominant need for students to achieve a higher standard in academic and future careers. The interviews showed that the ESP courses were not sufficient to account for the specific needs of the students since these courses were not prepared according to the learners’ needs. The students expressed that they needed to master English because they had to use English sources during their academic studies. However, the ESP courses did not fully prepare the students to embark on their studies because it did not sufficiently take into account the learners’ needs. The students were dissatisfied with the current ESP courses of Ancient Iran History and asked for the urgent revision of ESP materials. The ESP instructors’ responses to the interviews indicated dissatisfaction with the students’ poor language skills, lack of motivation, and the insufficiency of the needs-responsive ESP coursebook. Giving more weight to English in the M.A entrance exam was suggested by instructors as one possible solution as this may increase the students’ level of motivation which may lead to the improvement of their language proficiency. The findings of this study can help researchers and ESP practitioners make particular pedagogic decisions. It presented a detailed description of the process of the Needs Analysis as a prerequisite step to design an ESP coursebook for English specific courses of the Ancient Iran History field at M. A level.

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.

Language teacher immunity is a novel concept in language teacher psychology that serves as a shield against the unavoidable hassles of teaching contexts. The current study aimed to fill the gap in the existing literature by employing a mixed-methods approach to find the relationship between Iranian EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers' immunity and their personality types. For the quantitative phase of the study, the data were collected through two questionnaires, teacher immunity by Hiver (2016) and the NEO-FFI-3 (NEO Five-Factor Inventory) by Costa and McCrae (2010), which were distributed among a random sample of 50 participants (19 males and 31 females) in various language institutes in Iran. For the qualitative phase of the study, an interview was conducted with eight EFL teachers through a phone call to reach in-depth information regarding teacher immunity. The findings indicated a significant positive correlation between teacher immunity facets and personality types. Teaching self-efficacy and conscientiousness was the most dominant teacher immunity facets and personality types. The current study would probably help EFL teachers know how to respond to various traumatic and detrimental situations in teaching English based on their personality and immunity types.

The current research investigated the impact of task-based language teaching (TBLT) on Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ reading comprehension ability. To this end, a total of sixty EFL learners were chosen based on their performance on Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT). Next, the researchers divided them into one experimental and one control group. At the beginning of this study, a pretest reading was run for both groups to examine their reading before introducing the treatment. Then, the experimental group was treated for ten sessions, which received training reading comprehension skills based on TBLT, whereas the control group received a placebo (teaching reading via the existing method). At the end of the study, both groups took part in the reading post-test. The researchers analyzed the data using Independent and Paired Samples T-test methods. The results represented that TBLT had a statistically significant effect on reading comprehension of Iranian intermediate learners. The results demonstrated that there was a statistically significant difference in post-test scores between the control and experimental groups. That is, the experimental group performed better than the control group in the post-test of reading comprehension ability and the progress in the experimental group was higher than the control group. Pedagogical implications are provided for EFL teachers and material designers to incorporate TBLT activities into curriculum development as a tool to aid learners’ reading comprehension skill.

This research examined EFL teachers' and their learners' perceptions regarding teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) proficiency after implementing TPACK workshops in the Iranian context. TPACK workshops were administered by 15 EFL teachers and 45 EFL learners by applying the TPACK model (Koehler & Mishra, 2006) and learning by doing (Hegelheimer & Chapelle, 2004). The data analyses showed statistically significant differences between the participants' perceptions regarding TPACK intervention in pre and post-workshop stages and positive augmentations of TPACK workshops on academic behavior of EFL teachers. Therefore, the study provides a novel viewpoint regarding the importance of the participants' perceptions in blending technology into English teaching practice and suggests the actual beliefs and perceptions of Iranian EFL teachers and learners towards incorporating technology into English language teaching and Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and teachers' academic behavior changes after implementation of online TPACK workshops as a professional development program.