Journal of Language and Translation
Volume:13 Issue: 2, Summer 2023

AbstractThis study aimed at exploring Iranian B.A-level and M.A-level translators’ conceptions of research and investigating whether translators’ conceptions of research are different in terms of their education level. To this aim, a survey descriptive method was employed. Sample of the study included 60 M.A and B.A students of translation (30 males and 30 females) from different branches of Islamic Azad University. This selection was done based on convenience sampling. The data of this study were collected using Meyer, Shanahan and Laugksch’s (2007) questionnaire. Analysis of data was done using qualitative content analysis of the data. Results of data analysis showed that B.A-level and M.A-level translators have their own conceptions of research. Also, it was found that the participants’ conceptions of research were different in terms of their education level. In a more specific sense, M.A-level translators’ conceptions of research were more scientific and technical.Keywords: Conception; Research; Translator; Translation

Language learning and achievement are related to the skills teachers practice and the presence of expert capability such as teachers’ reflectivity. The objective of the present study was to search the extent to which EFL teachers are involved in reflective instruction, and test the level of growing teachers’ awareness of reflective teaching which leads to students’ language achievement. Data were collected by the following instruments: a) a TOEFL test administered to 350 Iranian EFL students, b) reflective journals written by 120 Iranian EFL teachers, and c) Reflective Teaching Inventory. For the qualitative stage, 120 male and female EFL teachers from two language institutes in Kerman, the center of Iran, were selected through convenient sampling and were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. After completing the treatment, a reflective teaching inventory as a post-test was given to the two groups to test the impact of the treatment. The results of the t-test indicated that the experimental group outdid the control group in taking advantage of reflective teaching components. This finding raises provocative questions regarding reflective teaching and teaching skills.

The present study was an attempt to demystify the role of paired task and test-taker speaking ability in assessing co-constructed discourse in paired oral assessment across Iranian EFL paired examinees with different ability combinations. To accomplish this aim, non-experimental qualitative research was devised in which 36 participants were purposely recruited from three distinct speaking competence levels; namely, upper-intermediate (High-Level), lower intermediate (Mid-Level), and elementary (Low-Level), with 12 learners in each. Participants with similar and different proficiency levels were randomly assigned to six different paired group combinations and were given a discussion task as a paired-test speaking task in which they were asked to discuss the topic of the conversation and attempt to develop the co-constructed discourse. The voices of each couple discussing the assigned topic were then record-ed. Following the transcription of the examinees' performances, the researcher analyzed the learners' conversations using Young's model of interactional competence, which deals with the speakers' ability to organize interactions in terms of turn-taking, break-down repair, and mutual understanding using ver-bal communication in relation to the situational context. The findings demonstrated that low-ability partners employed gestures and postures in turn-taking, as well as a lot of breakdown repairs while fail-ing in mutual comprehension, particularly in talks with more skilled interlocutors. Mid-ability pairs struggled to provide an adequate response in the second position to demonstrate understanding of an interlocutor's comment or statement but could advance the communication in terms of mutual under-standing and moderate success in proper breakdown repairs in their own similar and balanced pairs. However, they lost confidence in taking turns and relied heavily on fixes when conversing with more experienced interlocutors. Similarly, low-ability paired persons seldom tropicalized portions of other speakers' contributions in their own talk. High-ability speakers were more likely to demonstrate prior talk knowledge through contingent answers. These findings revealed that task direction and progress might have an impact on interactional behavior and how understanding is expressed. Additionally, the findings have some implications for teaching, learning, and testing L2 speaking through paired-test tasks for the purpose of improving EFL learners' speaking skills sub-skills.

 In the present study, it was intended to investigate whether Iranian EFL learners with different personality types could benefit from corrective feedback(CF) or not. 317 EFL learners from 4 Institutes in Tabriz took the TOEFL test; 271 participants scored between 477 and 510; the scores of 164 of them fell between ±1SD; 34 of them agreed to participate in the study and were asked to deliver a 200-word composition. Their compositions were analyzed based on CAF (complexity, accuracy, and fluency). Afterward, they were asked to answer the questions relating to the Extroversion-Introversion dimension to investigate their level of introversion. Then the participants were provided different types of corrective feedback through 10 class discussion sessions. After passing this period, they were asked to deliver another 200-word composition. This final composition was analyzed based on CAF again. The result showed that the text quality of the introverted language learners did not differ significantly from the text quality of the extroverted language learners.

The major objectives of this research were to develop an understanding of the challenges faced by English teachers in Iranian schools and their training. The research was carried out on a sample of 728 English teachers from junior and senior high school in 32 provinces of Iran. Self-reporting questionnaires were conducted as a survey method. The results of this study indicate that the biggest challenges faced by English teachers seems to be teaching mixed level classes, managing behavior discipline, choosing appropriate activities and materials, and relating to students. Around one-thirds of teachers had no pre-service training in teaching English prior to teach students; the problem is compounded by lack of support and in-service training, three-fourths of teachers didn’t have any in-service training. Approximately half of those surveyed did not have probationary periods; in addition, four-fifth of them had no support during their first of teaching. Overall, Many teachers felt not well prepared for teaching English. Overall, the evidences from this study recommend that current teachers’ training programs should be modified and outlines some recommendation to overcome these challenges.

In this study, the perceptions of selected experienced English teachers about the construction of their unique language acquisition device (LAD) in the Second Language Acquisition (SLA) process is investigated. The grounded theory and constructive design were employed and open, axial, and selective coding after semi-structured interviews ranging from 30 to 90 was used. The teachers' perceptions showed seven categories related to the construction of their unique LAD, namely, (a) unique environment; (b) Psychological problems; (c) genetic factors; and (d) cyberspace. Perceptions showed that the following mentioned factors have been affected uniquely by those mentioned categories separately and uniquely. Factors such as motivation, interest, self-confidence, self-esteem, attitude, viewpoint, opinion, intentions, learning styles and strategies, exposure to the TL, rate of acquisition, acquisition progress, IQ and intelligence, social interaction, mental status, memory capacity, concentration, learning potential, metaphorical thinking, and ideology so that they would be equipped with the unique language acquisition device (ULAD) in SLA.

The present study aimed to assess the effects of written corrective feedback (WCF) on Iranian EFL learners' writing at the macro (i.e., rhetorical organization, task response, cohesion, and coherence) and micro levels (i.e., lexical resource, punctuation, grammatical range, and accuracy) with a dynamic assessment approach in focus. To this end, the Oxford Quick Placement Test was administered to 150 male and female Iranian EFL learners, of whom 80 homogeneous intermediate learners were selected and assigned to an experimental group and a control group. The two groups received WCF in the sense that the teacher provided symbols such as WW for the wrong word, SP for spelling, T for tense, WO for word order, etc. while marking their written productions. The difference was that the experimental group experienced dynamic assessment of L2 writing during the term (in which the teacher taught and tested the learners in an ongoing fashion and provided prompts, hints, support, and encouragement every session), whereas the participants in the control group experienced a conventional class, devoid of an ongoing dynamic assessment component. At the end of the treatment, the collected data were statistically analyzed. The results showed that although the experimental group significantly outpaced the control group regarding the micro-levels of writing, no substantial difference was detected between the macro levels of writing in both groups. It was, thus, concluded that written corrective feedback along with the dynamic assessment can significantly improve the writing of the students at micro-levels.

As developing material is an ongoing process that needs to be analyzed in a multidimensional manner, the present study focuses explicitly on English Textbook Vision3 in Iranian senior high schools to investigate to what extent this English textbook involves the domains of learning objectives defined by Benjamin Bloom’s Taxonomy (1985) each of which contains several subcategories investigated through the study in details. Considering gained tables on analyzing Information Load and Significance Factor of the English textbook Vision3 (Student’s and Workbook) within cognitive, affective and psycho-motor domains of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy using Shannon Entropy Method, it is concluded that regarding cognitive domain,“Evaluation” in the first, “Application” in the second, “Synthesis” in the third “Knowledge” in the fourth, “Analysis” in the fifth and “Comprehension” is in the sixth place of significance and none of six defined cognitive subcategories are neglected within developing the textbook as the last English textbook of senior high school program in Iranian Educational Curriculum. However, statistical results show that among affective domain’s subcategories only“Responding” and “Receiving” are put into practice, while higher levels of affective domain including “Valuing”, “Organizing” and “Characterization” are neglected throughout the both student’s and the workbook. Furthermore, studying the psycho-motor domain of the considered English textbook it seems that “Guided Response”, “Mindset” are the only subcategories which are noticed through strategies In general, tables reveal that the most frequent involved domain among Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy belongs to cognitive one and the other two domains (affective and psychomotor) play little role through their higher subdivisions.

Scaffolding as an instructional strategy significantly contributes to learning development. However, there is a lack of studies assessing the comparative effects of various scaffolding strategies. The present study intended to evaluate the effects of motivational, metacognitive, and computer-based scaffolding on Iranian intermediate EFL learners' writing according to Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. In this quasi-experimental study, sixty male and female intermediate EFL learners in the age range of 14 to 23 were chosen by convenience sampling from the Jahad language center in Tehran, Iran. They were enrolled according to their performance on Preliminary English Test (PET) in the 2020 spring English courses and were randomly assigned to three equal groups. The IELTS writing test was used as a pretest and posttest. Learners received a scaffolding instruction package on writing. A statistically significant improvement in the participants’ posttest writing scores was observed in all groups, and motivational scaffolding was the most effective strategy in developing the writing skill of EFL learners. The results could have implications by providing insights helpful for language teachers, learners, and syllabus designers.

This study examined the effect of Iranian EFL teachers’ years of experience and their effectiveness on Iranian EFL students’ achievement. 70 EFL teachers and 60 intermediate students were selected from different English language institutes in Shiraz, Fars province. The instruments to collect data were Oxford Quick Placement Test, Demographics, and Teacher Effectiveness Questionnaire. The results were analyzed using One-way ANOVA, frequency analysis, independent samples t-test</em>, and Multiple Regression Analysis. The findings revealed teachers’ perceptions of effectiveness are related to their years of teaching experiences. It appeared that highly experienced teachers in this study perceived that their effectiveness positively influenced students’ achievement. Besides that, it is hoped that this study can also add more in-depth literature review in academia about the effect of Iranian EFL teachers’ experience and their effectiveness) organization and communication skills, pedagogical knowledge, socio-affective skills, and English proficiency) on EFL students’ achievement.

No pluralistic curricula have ever been developed for ESP education in the context of Iran. Therefore, the present study was conducted to design a pluralistic curriculum (PC) model for ESP in the Iranian setting. In so doing, the study benefited from presenting an analysis scheme in a qualitative method. The participants of the study consisted of 20 Iranian male and female ELT experts who were chosen through purposive sampling from various universities of Iran, including Tehran University, Isfahan University, University of Shahid Chamran, University of Shiraz, Shahid Rajaei University, University of Allameh Tabatabaei, and the University of Tarbiat Modares, from among the teachers whose educational and research interests were curriculum planning and teaching materials, who had a history of teaching and research in TEFL for over 10 years. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather the needed data. The results showed that the PC components for ESP include three main components: pluralistic ESP teaching, pluralistic ESP materials, and pluralistic ESP content. Each of these components included several subcomponents. The findings indicated that if educational systems become pluralistic, students can achieve academic success with full potential in ESP courses by joining different groups such as racial, ethnic, and cultural groups.

This study investigated the possible relationships between Linguistic Intelligence and Grammar Performance of English as a Foreign Language Learners. To this aim, 139 homogenous undergraduate male and female English language learners between 22 and 32 years old participated in this study. Participants had been studying English language programs at the University of Kohdasht. The instruments utilized in this study were the Multiple Intelligence Questionnaire (MIDAS) designed by Shearer in 1996 to value linguistic intelligence, and a grammar TOEFL test to measure grammar performance of the learners. Descriptive statistics and correlation indicated a statistically significant relationship between linguistic intelligence of the learners and their performance on grammar. The results of regression analysis revealed that linguistic intelligence was the best predictor of learners’ performance on grammar. The independent sample t-test also showed no significant differences between males and females with respect to linguistic intelligence of learners and their performance on grammar. The findings propose professional English teachers to investigate the function of individual differences such as linguistic intelligence in different steps of teaching and learning of grammar in classes and provide more effective activities to help language learners improve their performance on grammar.

Knowing a language and communicating with the speakers of that language require learning about the culture of the native speakers of that language. The aim of this study was to develop a validated model of cultural identity among Iranian English learners. Initially, it was attempted to determine different factors of cultural identity based on the learners’ perceptions about cultural identity to develop a model. Thus, 20 EFL learners studying at Safir English language institute in Tehran, Iran were interviewed about their cultural identity and their attitudes were recorded. Considering qualitative phase, a close inspection of the responses of these learners in the interviews and going through three stages of open, axial and selective coding, four factors including “religion, culture, nationality, and language” were extracted. After that, a questionnaire indicating factors of cultural identity was constructed. In the quantitative phase, the questionnaire went through an exploratory factor analysis for the sake of validity and after a pilot study with 183 learners, 384 EFL learners filled it out. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis was also run through LISREL 8.8. to confirm that the proposed model enjoyed validity for future research by running a confirmatory factor analysis and the model of cultural identity was developed. The findings of this study can make English teachers and materials developers aware of these important findings to be prepared to help the learners with possible challenges in English classes.

This research aimed at investigating English and Persian abstracts of TEFL theses. In order to achieve the objective of the study, 120 English thesis abstracts and their Persian translations of Iranian TEFL students at MA level at different universities of Iran were collected and analyzed. The sampling method used was purposive sampling. The qualitative content analysis was done by two raters based on Swales’ (2004) model. Then, the frequencies and percentages of different moves were calculated in the English and Persian corpora. Finally, Chi-square tests were run to check the significance of difference between the frequencies of different moves in the English and Persian corpora. The results showed the occurrence of various moves in the English corpus. The results also confirmed that different moves were present in the Persian corpus. Finally, the results demonstrated that there was a significant difference between the frequencies of different moves in the two corpora, except Move 1 Step 2 Making topic generalizations, Move 2 Step 1B Indicating a gap, Move 2 Step 1C Question raising, and Move 3 step 6 (PISF) Stating the value of the present research.

The present study tries to explore psycho-dynamics of Iranian EFL learners under the functions of dynamic assessment intervention modalities (i.e., facilitative vs. authoritative) modalities in developing their writing skills. To this end, this qualitative study ran on the basis of semi-structured interviews and written protocols data collected from 120 Iranian advanced EFL learners was designed to elicit an in-depth understanding of the participants’ thoughts during performing writing tasks. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data from both sources (i.e., interviews and written protocols) revealed that: 1) authoritative modality works more effectively in facilitating the processes of opinion expression and effective revision and correction, 2) facilitative modality contributes more to developing critical and reflective thinking processes while writing. In the light of the facilitative modality, the learners can easily switch from their individualistic focus to a collaborative culture among teachers and learners. So, the learners become more self-regulated and can move from object-regulation through other-regulation towards self-regulation. Then, EFL learners’ psycho-dynamic actions are a function of DA-modalities. The findings offer theoretical and pedagogical insights for both researchers and practitioners in addressing language learning and learners.

This study aimed to examine the role of figurative language in shaping political texts based on the modern framework suggested by Kövecses. The research corpus comprised thirty thousand words selected as a text sample to see the source of the conceptual domain used. It was prepared through a systematic random sampling of various editorial articles in Western political journals on the relationship between Iran and the West in the period 2010-2019. Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) was used to specify patterns in political articles, usually providing support for previous research by authority figures in critical and political metaphor analysis that metaphors are used to shape political thought, aid political persuasion, and in directing circumstances and cognitive models to form the interpretation of the nation as a person or body metaphor. Finally, the study provides substantial support for the textual findings of conceptual metaphors used. The findings of the study provide EFL classrooms with a number of implications for future research.

The aim of this qualitative research was to investigate and assess the strategies used for translating onomatopoeias and interjections from English comic books into Persian. In this regard, six issues of the Walking Dead written by Kirkman (2003) were selected to examine onomatopoeias, interjections, and the strategies for translating them in three different translations. The sounds in the comic book were categorized based on the model presented by Igareda (2017). All translation strategies were indicated in order to identify the frequency of each strategy. Afterwards, the chi-square test was utilized to indicate the most and least frequently used strategies. The results of this study demonstrated that maintaining the original as an English loan was the most prevalent strategy used for translating all onomatopoeic words. Equivalence and substitution, together, were the least common strategies used for the translation of onomatopoeias in speech balloons. However, when onomatopoeias were in the background, the least common strategies were omission, changing the meaning, and so on. For translating interjections, the most frequent strategy was translating interjections into corresponding interjections, and the least common strategies were repetition, changing the meaning, and so forth.

Achieving success in teaching English requires teachers to demonstrate varying essential characteristics that consist of several underlying and interacting constructs. The purpose of this study was to orient the reader and succinctly identify the key variables of teachers' passion that leads teachers to success. In fact, the study tried to identify the components of a model of teachers’ passion which can be expanded based on teachers’ perceptions and MSA model. It delineated the characteristics of successful English teachers embedded within five central dimensions, along with their underlying structures. The data of the study were collected with semi-structured interviews. The content analysis method was used to analyze the data. By the research aim, this study identified 5 dimensions from 22 subcomponents and 65 concepts. Individual characteristics were determined as the first dimension of the study. The subcomponents under these categories identified as ‘Self-awareness’, ‘Personal Lifestyle’ and ‘Potential Ability. Psychological characteristics were determined as the second dimension of the study. The subcomponents under these categories included ‘Anger Management, ‘Emotion’ ‘Positive Attitude’ and ‘Flexibility’. In conclusion, teachers were passionate about being successful, effective working conditions, students’ desire for learning, being more autonomous, equitable and consistent implementations regarding with education approach. The present study can offer major practical implications for language teachers, language students and material developers. In the second language learning context, creating positive emotions and lessening the negative emotions both on the part of the teachers as well as the learners could increase motivation, effort and success.

Over the past few centuries, the function of translation has become wider and in addition to linguistic aspects, ideological, economic, cultural, and political factors have dominated the process of translation. Since translation is not merely a linguistic and neutral task and for too long, it assisted superpowers in colonizing weaker nations, the relationship between the original text and the translation requires considerable investigation under postcolonial approach. It is proved that there is a special relationship between ‘postcolonialism’ and ‘translation’ and many postcolonial translators and authors transmitted their own cultures in their works; therefore, this paper is focused on postcolonial analysis of English translations of five Persian poems translated by the postcolonial orientalist, Arthur John Arberry to see whether he has made any attempts to replace Eastern concepts with Western ones or not. Accordingly, the intended English translations have been selected from Persian Poetry: An Anthology of Verse Translations (2008) edited by A. J. Arberry and corresponding Persian poems have been collected from various books. The results of the analysis of the data obtained from the corpus revealed that in transferring some specific concepts in the Persian poems, the translator ignored Persian-Eastern identity, thus making the poems westernized for the readers.