نشریه پژوهش های زبانشناختی در زبان های خارجی
سال سیزدهم شماره 1 (بهار 1402)

Within second language writing realm, the important role of genre has been emphasized for at least two decades. The main purpose of this analysis was to identify the move/step structure and textual features of Discussion part of Applied linguistics research articles. Two raters analysed 60 RA Discussions (30 from non-natives and 30 from natives) by incorporating Yang and Allison (2003) model for genre analysis and by adapted model from Hinkel (2003) for textual feature analysis. The findings demonstrated quantitative differences between moves 2 (reporting results) ,4(commenting results), 5( summary of the findings), and 6( evaluating the study) utilized in the two groups. These findings might be due to non-natives' preference for rhetorical concepts and values in their local writing community about genre structure of Discussions in Applied Linguistics RAs. The results also revealed that non-native writers use more numerative, resultative nouns, past tense, passive, modals, frequency adverbs, adverb and adjective clause, exemplar, and hedging. The results may promise some implications for syllabus design, ESP pedagogy, and materials preparation.

Fiction is full of non-verbal cues, including body language cues. Examining stories from the perspective of non-verbal communication, especially body language, which is a chain of extensive cues and messages are received according to the context of communication, can lead to a new reading of the text. Azhar Gerjis in the novel“sleeping in the cherry Field” has used the signs of body language, including the language of the eyes, hands, head, touch, limbs and physical appearance. This research intends to use descriptive-analytical method based on semiotic approach to analyze the role and position of body language and their function in this novel.Research findings show Gerjis messages such as; Astonishment, anxiety, anger and rage, forgetfulness, fear, etc. are conveyed to the audience through body language, the unveiling of which plays an important role in discovering the message hidden in the text. Among the non-linguistic behaviors mentioned in the novel, eye language with (32%) has the most role during message transmission and language of physical appearance (facial hair) with (2%) has the least role and body language in this novel is more, alternative and substitute. It has become verbal communication but in some cases it has emphasized more to complete the verbal message or verbal messages. The use of body language in this novel has increased the theatrical capacity of the story.

The present study aims to examine and present common strategies in the area of learning pronunciation and phonetic rules in textbooks of sixth-generation for German as foreign language. The transfer of incorrect pronunciation and phonetic habits from the mother tongue to foreign languages or interferences are considered as unavoidable while learning foreign languages. However, the role of textbooks in eliminating this problem is very important. Therefore, it is essential to focus on pronunciation and the teaching of phonological principles while choosing the appropriate textbook for the German course. The first part of this article explains the effective criteria in neurodidactics as a pragmatic approach to learning pronunciation to learning pronunciation in the German textbooks, and then the summarized results are used to introduce a comprehensive set of criteria for the whole work. The textbook analysis is carried out with the help of two textbooks of sixth-generation, i.e., Schritte plus Neu and Menschen at level of A1 on the basis of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). All exercises and tasks for learning the phonetic rules in these textbooks are analyzed in detail, and it is subsequently shown which textbook has established itself as more effective in teaching the phonetic rules of the German language. This study will therefore address the following goal: The German teachers can use the catalogue of criteria for selecting the appropriate textbook and for using the more efficient methods and exercises for teaching the phonetic rules of the German language.

In this study, the researchers examined the possible effects of a sociocultural model of teaching reading comprehension on the learners’ performance using a mixed-method approach. The authors relied on Vygotsky's theory of learning and his notion of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) to analyze scaffolding behaviors among two experimental groups (teacher scaffolding and peer scaffolding) and a control group contributing to reading comprehension using both qualitative and quantitative analyses. The learners were intermediate-level students participating in a 15-session private reading comprehension course. At every session, individual learners received scaffolding helps provided by the teacher in teacher scaffolding and the peer in peer scaffolding groups while performing reading comprehension tasks. Each group of peers included one low and one high intermediate student. In the quantitative phase, the data collected through pretest and posttest were analyzed using ANOVA test. Moreover, the qualitative part, the data including audio recorded talks between the teacher and students (teacher scaffolding), were analyzed through a microgenetic approach. In the qualitative phase, the applicability of the teacher's scaffolding instructions in different levels was presented. The levels and variety of guidance required by the learner to successfully perform a given task were analyzed applying Lidz's (1991) scaffolding instructions. The results in the quantitative phase supported the benefit of the practicality of scaffolding techniques in teaching reading comprehension.

The study investigated the role of age of arrival, length of resistance, amount and types of input, language-richness, and parents’ educational background in predicting Iranian immigrants’ speaking fluency, accuracy, complexity, and pronunciation. Homogenized through the CELPIP-General Test, 108 Iranian intermediate EFL learners in Canada were selected based on the availability sampling to complete the Alberta Language Environment Questionnaire (ALEQ) and participated in a speaking test. The performances were assessed based on Wigglesworth and Storch’s (2009) fluency, Storch and Wigglesworth’s (2007) accuracy, and Skehan’s (2009) complexity. Pronunciation was measured according to Jenkins’ (2000) Lingua Franca Core (LFC). The structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and the schematic illustration confirmed the hypothesized model (x^2⁄df= .037 RMSEA=.043; RMR =.01; GFI = .95; AGFI =.74; NFI =.70; CFI =.79; IFI =.88; TLI=.89) revealing that age of arrival (AoA), schooling in L2, and language-rich activities could predict fluency, accuracy, complexity, and pronunciation, however, LoR was a significant predictor of neither complexity nor pronunciation. While siblings' input/output could predict only speaking accuracy, maternal education significantly predicted speaking complexity. The findings supported the Critical Period Hypothesis, the significant role of AoA in the development of bilingualism, and the effectiveness of L2 instruction. The results confirmed the direction of the path model exposing the inefficacy of paternal and maternal education and parents' input/output in predicting the variances in immigrants' speaking ability. The findings suggested that parents maximize the number of activities in the second language and migrate to second-language countries before their children’s critical age.

The study here had the impetus to investigate whether an intervention of a grammatical sensitivity task would enhance a better reading comprehension achievement among Iranian undergraduate ESP learners majoring accounting. To achieve this purpose, 40 Iranian undergraduate ESP learners of accounting were selected via administering an OPT, and participated in the experiment of the study. They were divided into an experimental and a comparison group and were exposed to a pre-test of reading comprehension; then the experimental group received 5 sessions of grammatical sensitivity task treatment (GJ Tests) while the control group received a placebo. Finally, the posttest was administered to both groups. The data were analyzed via running the independent samples T-test between the posttests, and the paired-sample T-tests was used to indicate the possible progress of the groups. The results revealed a better performance of the experimental group receiving higher scores in the reading comprehension posttest after 5 session of treatment. Investigating the effect of grammatical sensitivity on Iranian ESP reading comprehension learners in a meta-analysis process was supposed to be the main impetus for the present study. It was performed through analyzing the learners’ reading comprehension test performance results which were done comparatively between the pretest and the posttest of the experimental and control groups independently. It was revealed that the participants with higher degree of grammatical sensitivity reflected a more acceptable achievement performance in their ESP reading comprehension test.

As English teachers’ professional competence may be affected by different factors, it is necessary to investigate Iranian English teachers’ perceptions of professional competence with respect to the role of gender and teaching experience. Hence, the aims of the present study are two-fold. First, to explore the Iranian state school English teachers’ perceptions of professional competence and its components. Second, to investigate the role of gender and teaching experiences in the Iranian state school teachers’ professional competence. To this aim, a total of 338 state school English teachers, including both genders were selected through a random sampling method. The participants responded to the professional competence questionnaire, developed and validated by Khodadadi and Maghsoodi (2020). The collected data were analyzed using the calculation of the percentage of each item, a Freedman test, an independent sample t-test, and a one-way ANOVA. Findings evidenced that the professional competence components, including knowledge, skills, and attitudes were considered important by the participants. Additionally, the results documented that there was not a statistically significant difference between the male teachers and female teachers concerning their professional competence. Furthermore, the results disclosed that there was not a statistically significant difference among the participants of different teaching experiences. The study ends with presenting a range of implications and suggestions for further research.

The present study with a cognitive critical approach and with the aim of informing and relying on theoretical frameworks tries to deal with the existence of a large and neglected gap in the field of English for Academic Purpose (EAP), which is the lack of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach or more precisely, the lack of communicative activities in EAP books. Therefore, this research has investigated and compared the types of activities in three Iranian EAP textbooks and their three international counterparts. Also, the perceptions of Iranian EAP instructors have been investigated through interviews. The findings of the research showed that there are no communicative activities in most Iranian EAP textbooks. On the other hand, in their international counterparts, communicative activities were abundant and highly varied. In addition, the implicit results of the study showed that the international EAP books contained communicative activities in the field of extending skills or soft skills. All interviewees agreed with the findings of the first phase of this study. They also pointed out the obstacles in designing communicative activities and providing suitable solutions. The suggestion of this article is that designing activities in EAP books that stimulate communication can be very helpful in improving students' communication in EAP. It is hoped that these results as a cognitive tool will increase the awareness of authors, professors and students in EAP.

Vinay and Darbelnet explained a basic method for studying, analyzing and critiquing in a literary entitled Comparative Stylistics of French and English: a Methodology for Translation, In 1985.The two Canadian researchers define seven different techniques, commonly used by translators consciously or unconsciously, under two generic categories: direct and indirect translation. This systematic method in classifying translation techniques is a convenient model which is used to analyze and critique different translations.This article uses the same pattern to analyze the translation of the novel "Someone I loved" by Anna Gavalda, translated by Elham Darchinian. The authors of this analysis seek to investigate the reason and circumstances of the translation and the manner of the translator choices to be determined "How the translator make the current version of translation accessible to the audience and what is the reason for the Intellectual tendencies of the translator?"The findings of this study indicates Elham Darchinian has mostly referred to four methods that are in the field of indirect translation, and among them, she has used Modulation with the highest frequency.Therefore, it seems that the translator's concern was more with the Persian-speaking audience to provide a fluent, understandable, and pleasant translation, rather than with preserving the author's style and context.

This study investigated the effects of watching English cartoons on incidental vocabulary learning and Iranian young learners’ attitudes towards watching English cartoons for EFL learning. The current study examined the effects of watching a series of cartoons (Caillou) on incidental vocabulary learning using a quasi-experimental design. A total of 21 young students from two intact classes of a private school located in Tehran, who were learning English as a foreign language (EFL), participated in the study. Immediately after 10 sessions of conducting the treatment for both experimental and control group, they were given a 25-item multiple choice test. Two weeks after the treatment, they were given another 25-item multiple choice test with 5 items in common with the immediate posttest. The participants were assigned to one of the two groups: Group A (10 sessions of watching Caillou series cartoons) and Group B (10 sessions of reading comprehension task). T-test analyses were conducted to examine development between and within each group. Results revealed that the experimental group demonstrated significant gains based on the multiple choice test. In addition, Group A gained better results in the delayed posttest. After conducting the task, an attitude questionnaire was given to the participants of the experimental group.