Research in English Language Pedagogy
Volume:10 Issue: 4, Autumn 2022

This study aimed to find out the most dominant learning style among Iranian EFL learners and the potential differences in attention control of the learners with various learning styles. In doing so, the Grasha-Richmann scale and a Victoria Stroop test were applied. A one-way ANOVA and then a post hoc test was run to find out the possible differences among learners with various learning styles in terms of attention control. The findings revealed the most preferred style was the Independent style, by contrast, the participative was the least frequent one. In addition, the avoidant learning style was not found in EFL learners' preferences. A one-way ANOVA test was run to find out the attentional control differences in learners with various styles. The results indicated a significant difference among learners in terms of attention control and also language learners with independent learning styles performed better on the attentional control test.

The professional development of EFL teachers is supposed to include and be related to many of the teacher’s characteristics that develop during their professional teaching practice. EFL teachers' critical thinking and reflective teaching can also be influenced by their developing cognitive and meta-cognitive professional skills and competencies. This study investigated the relationship between the professional development of EFL teachers and their reflective teaching and critical thinking. It also investigated whether any component(s) of professional development would best predict reflective teaching and critical thinking. To this end, 45 Iranian EFL teachers in Sanandaj participated in the study. They completed three questionnaires as follows. One was a Teachers’ Professional Development Questionnaire to measure the participant teachers’ professional development. The second questionnaire was a Teachers’ Reflective Thinking Questionnaire to assess the participants’ reflective thinking. The third questionnaire was a Critical Thinking Appraisal Form to measure the participants’ critical thinking. Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient was calculated to check the correlation of professional development and its subscales with reflective teaching and critical thinking. Multiple standard regression was run to check whether any component(s) of professional development would predict reflective teaching and critical thinking. The results indicated that out of the three components of professional development, namely, subject-matter field, dedicated field, and pedagogical field, it was the pedagogical field that significantly correlated with and predicted both reflective teaching and critical thinking.

The current study aimed to examine the effect of written corrective feedback (WCF) provided via a messenger bot on Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ use of definite/indefinite articles. It also explored learners’ attitudes toward using the messenger bot, which worked as a medium for providing WCF on the TOEFL iBT speaking task II. Seventy male and female TOEFL candidates (mean age: 26, range: 18-34)  chosen through convenience sampling participated in the study. Before the treatment, the participants in all groups were given a proficiency test and a speaking pre-test. Then, they were randomly assigned to one of the three groups: one received WCF on their errors in the use of articles through the bot (MB group, n=30); the second one received WCF in traditional classes (TF group, n=20); and the participants in the third group received no feedback and followed the normal course of instruction (NF group, n=20). Subsequently, all groups participated in a post-test The results of the mixed between-within subjects, ANOVA, showed that the MB group significantly outperformed the other two groups and there was not a significant difference between the TF and NF groups. The participants’ attitudes toward receiving WCF through the bot were elicited through in-depth semi-structured interviews. The transcribed interviews were then analyzed using the first two phases of the grounded theory, and two main themes of pedagogical applications and technological issues emerged. The implications stemming from the findings concerned the efficacy of using the messenger bot in providing corrective feedback.

This study investigated the attitudes of teachers and students toward the Iraqi primary school sixth grade task-based English textbook. Two hundred students and two hundred English teachers were invited to provide their opinions through questionnaires and interviews. Specifically, the focus was on the suitability of English textbook tasks in terms of the target age group, culture, customs, traditions, class duration, classroom capacity, the availability of teaching aids, as well as the capability of teachers to interact and communicate the textbook material to students to achieve the desired learning outcome. Two instruments were used in this study. The first instrument was two questionnaires to investigate the teachers’ and students’ attitudes toward the English textbook of sixth-grade primary level based on TB, and the second instrument was a semi-structured interview to investigate teachers’ attitudes. The semi-structured interview was used to survey the participants’ attitudes, feelings and intractability with the task-based English text. The results of questionnaires pointed to the negative attitudes of the teachers and students toward the English textbook of grade 6. Moreover, both the teachers and students faced difficulty understanding and following the tasks in the textbook, leading to their confusion and waste of time. That is, the tasks were believed to be difficult to complete, perform or even redo out of the class. Finally, the textbook content appeared unsuitable for both teachers and students in terms of cultural norms and their application in local daily life situations. The study concluded with recommendations for the Iraqi Ministry of Education to modify the textbook content to match the group age-targeted 12 years old, their cultural standards, the classroom capacity, and teaching aids.

Task-based language learning offers learners the rich input they need to study the target language and contributes to developing intrinsic motivation in the classroom (Ellis, 2020). Thus, the present study explored the effect of employing convergent and divergent activities to improve male and female learners’ reading comprehension and writing abilities. To fulfill the purpose, a quasi-experimental study was designed and, through a homogeneity test, 32 female and 28 male students at the intermediate level were chosen. Then, they were randomly divided into four experimental groups. They underwent the teaching based on convergent and divergent activities principles. Accordingly, the results of ANCOVA indicated that male learners benefited from divergent activities, whereas convergent activities were significantly beneficial to female learners. More importantly, the result of MANOVA depicted that there was a statistical difference across gender. A follow-up Scheffe’s post-hoc test was also conducted to locate the exact areas of differences. Results showed that female learners in convergent groups obtained the highest mean scores for writing and reading posttests. Finally, pedagogical implications suggested that EFL practitioners should address the gender differences in learning style preferences to design effective input-based and output-based tasks to encourage the learners to participate in an active learning environment.

This study investigated the effect of the flipped classroom on intermediate EFL learners' speaking complexity, accuracy, and fluency, employing a sequential mixed methods design. To achieve this, two female intact classes at the intermediate level at Rasan English Language School in Isfahan, Iran, participated in the study. One of these classes was randomly assigned as an experimental group (N=16) and the other one as a control group (N=16). A PET was administered to both groups before the intervention to ensure that the participants were homogeneous. Next, the experimental group was taught based on a flipped classroom. The control group, however, was taught conventionally. The speaking section of the PET as pretest and posttest was given to the groups to measure the speaking components. MANOVA was applied to compare speaking complexity, accuracy, and fluency mean scores of the two groups. The effect of the flipped classroom on speaking complexity and fluency was significantly positive, while it was non-significant for speaking accuracy. At the qualitative stage, data from an interview with the experimental group participants were utilized to find out the participants' attitudes toward the flipped classroom.

Nonverbal cues include communicative markers like gestures, eye contact, nodding, tone of voice, and intonation among others which are associated and concomitant with language either consciously or unconsciously while playing significant roles in communication. The related literature demonstrates that nonverbal cues have great potential in foreign language learning. In this regard, it was predicted that EFL learners' attitudes toward nonverbal cues could affect their learning process significantly. This descriptive-analytical study was conducted to investigate students' attitudes toward their instructors' use of nonverbal cues in their communication and the extent to which using these elements could facilitate students' learning process. Utilizing a questionnaire as our instrument, we collected data from 50 undergraduate senior students of Linguistics at the University of Gonabad. Our rationale for choosing senior college students was to identify their attitudes toward their instructors' use of nonlinguistic cues since the beginning of their academic career at the university. Our findings revealed that our students had positive attitudes toward teachers' recruitment of nonlinguistic cues in their communication. Moreover, the parameter of gender was not found to affect students' attitudes with both males and females having positive attitudes toward the significance of nonverbal clues in communication. However, the parameter of learners' background experience of utilizing nonverbal clues in their native language was strongly related to their attitude toward EFL learning. Considering the predominant role of nonverbal communication in Iranian EFL settings, it was recommended that their recruitment in English teaching be taken more seriously.

Learning a second/foreign language is a complicated process involving many factors and elements to occur effectively. It requires an investigation of variables and issues related to EFL learners in the process of learning. A limited number of studies have been performed concerning student-related factors to realize EFL learners’ spiritual intelligence and its relation to language learning. The study helped fill this gap by exploring the correlation between EFL learners’ Spiritual Intelligence (SI) and Learner Autonomy (LA). A total of 365 EFL students were chosen from different branches of Islamic Azad University. Two validated and reliable questionnaires on SI (Azadi et al., in press) and LA (Dixon, 2011) were distributed among the participants. The SI questionnaire is a 27-item self-report measure consisting of four main factors, and the LA questionnaire contains 38 questions covering six factors. The correlation between the two variables was determined through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results showed a significant relationship between SI and LA.