Teaching English as a Second Language Quarterly
Volume:43 Issue: 1, Winter 2024

Research article (RA) titles are one of the most important elements of a manuscript, influencing the reviewers’ decision and editors’ judgment, attracting the readers, and conveying the main idea of the article. Investigating 3197 RA titles published in 16 approved Iranian linguistic journals, this study aimed to map their pattern and portray their features of form and content. To this end, all the RA titles of the 16 Iranian journals publishing articles in applied linguistics up to 2022 (3197 titles) were collected. Then, they were analyzed for their length, presence of non-alphanumeric characters, syntactic structure, lexical diversity, as well as type and trend of information encoded.  Results show that RA titles in Iranian linguistic journals tend to be pretty long (average of 13.88) but mostly consist of non-repetitive words with high lexical diversity (.94). Authors mainly used colons (average of 82), hyphens (average of 79), and commas (average of 37) to form titles by nominal (average of 94) and compound (average of 82) grammatical structures. These titles mostly tended to embed information about the method, data, and results of the works and appeared to be highly informative. Interrelationships between features resulted in a checklist for RA title features that can be used by prospective researchers, academic writing instructors, and reviewers.

Studies that have employed the Linguistic Proximity Model to account for crosslinguistic influence in third language learning so far have used child simultaneous bilinguals as participants in their research designs. This study investigated adult sequential Kirundi-French bilinguals to uncover factors driving cross-linguistic influence in learning L3 English present perfect tense using the same Linguistic Proximity Model as a theoretical framework. To achieve that goal, ninety participants including thirty L1 Kirundi, thirty L1 French, and thirty L1 Kirundi-L2 French learners of English were recruited. Those participants were selected using a stratified random sampling technique that took into account their linguistic backgrounds and their scores on the proficiency measure. Data were elicited using a background questionnaire, a quick placement test, a grammaticality judgment task, and a translation task. Descriptive statistics, independent-samples Kruskal-Wallis tests, analysis of variance, and multiple comparisons served in the data analysis. The results showed that simultaneous facilitative and non-facilitative cross-linguistic influence from French and Kirundi were operational at both lower and advanced stages of L3 development, with lower-proficiency learners experiencing negative influence from L1 Kirundi during production. These findings further support the Linguistic Proximity Model as an underlying theory for cross-linguistic influence in third-language learning. They can also serve as a guide in planning pedagogical activities for third language learners at differing stages of the target language development.

This research investigated the effects of applying standardized grading procedures and tailored constructive feedback on the development of students' productive skills, with a specific focus on writing and speaking abilities in the Deanship of Preparatory Year students at the University of Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal, Saudi Arabia. The study introduced two programs: a writing portfolio program and a speaking remedial program. These programs aimed to assess students' strengths and weaknesses in these skills before offering individualized feedback from teachers between two assessment points. Pre- and post-program scores were compared, and teachers' reflections were gathered. The results demonstrate that students experienced substantial improvements in their scores, with progress ranging from 29% to 66% following the implementation of these initiatives. Additionally, the study revealed that teachers also benefited from these programs, leading to a reevaluation of the quality and quantity of their feedback and an adjustment in their teaching approaches to better support their students. These findings underscore the significance of providing constructive feedback in higher education institutions. They highlight the necessity of implementing feedback systematically and methodically to cater to the needs of struggling students, enhance the learning experiences of high-achieving students, and professionalize the processes of learning, assessment, and student support.

Language proficiency seems not to be realized without language learner’s engagement in terms of behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and metacognitive dimensions in the learning process. A mixed method was employed in this quasi-experimental study to examine the effectiveness of self-regulated learning (cyclical with and without emotion regulation) in improving EFL learners’ accurate use of grammatical structures and to compare it with the form-focused (non-SRL) control group. One hundred twenty-two homogenized lower intermediate EFL College students were randomly distributed to the two experimental groups and the control group. Two writing tests were used as the pre-test and post-test. The data analysis of the ANCOVA showed that self-regulated learning (cyclical and ER) had a significant effect on the students' grammatical accuracy in writing, which was followed by the SRL (cyclical) group. The focus on the form group showed the lowest performance. The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire was administered to students in the pretest and posttest phases. The result of the paired sample t-test on emotion regulation represented a large effect size. The content analysis indicated that most students significantly held positive perceptions of the SRL strategies taught. Thus, the findings of this study have pedagogical implications for F/S teachers, students, and material developers who can design SRL tasks in which language skills are met.

Poor vocabulary retention is one of the major difficulties experienced by English as a foreign (second) language (EFL/ESL) students. To tackle this problem, the current study explored the impacts of the modified visual input and the modified oral input on the short-term and long-term vocabulary retention of Iranian EFL students and their perceptions regarding implementing these two types of input in their classes. The initial population consisted of 90 male and female students from Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch in Tehran, Iran. The convenience sampling method was implemented to select the participants. After administering the Oxford Placement Test (OPT), 60 students were chosen to serve as the participants, and they were randomly divided into two groups of 30 learners, namely the experimental groups A and B, which received instructions based on the modified visual input and the modified oral input, respectively. Later, the participants received ten 60-minute treatment sessions. Next, the learners' short-term vocabulary retention was assessed using the same vocabulary test as the posttest. One month later, the same test was given to students to check their long-term vocabulary retention as the delayed posttest. The results showed that the two types of input had significant impacts on the vocabulary short-term and long-term retention of the Iranian EFL students to varying degrees. Moreover, the qualitative findings indicated that the learners adopted a significantly positive view toward implementing oral and visual input modifications in their classes. In the end, the implications of the study are provided.

Second language (L2) researchers often rely on quantitative methods and measurement instruments like questionnaires and scales to explore latent constructs. They usually borrow sophisticated statistical techniques from disciplines like psychology and education to conduct quantitative analyses in L2 research. However, there are growing concerns about the inappropriate use and reporting practices of such statistical procedures like exploratory factor analysis (EFA). This study aimed to describe and evaluate the methodological issues in EFA research practices, examine the relationship between study features and outcomes, and improve future L2 research practices. This study presented the results of a methodological synthesis study on exploratory factor analysis use published in five universally reputable psychology-related journals since 2000. Specifically, the researchers identified 93 EFA studies and developed a coding scheme of key EFA considerations to analyze how EFA was used and reported in these articles. The article discussed the several results and provides essential recommendations for L2 researchers intending to employ EFA in their works.