فهرست مطالب
Journal of Applied Linguistics Studies
Volume:4 Issue: 1, Winter and Spring 2025
- تاریخ انتشار: 1403/06/11
- تعداد عناوین: 12
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Pages 1-15
Although a small proportion of English language is taken by prepositions, they play an important function. Foreign language learners fail to learn them and show difficulties in using propositions correctly. This quantitative study aimed to examine the effectiveness of Image schema method in helping intermediate Kurdish students in learning ten English prepositions including in, on, at, to, behind, in front of, between, beside, over and under. 100 intermediate EFL Kurdish learners within the age range of 18 to 20 from Lebanese French University in Kurdistan, Iraq made the participants of the present study. An Oxford Placement Test (OPT) was administered in order to have relatively two homogenous groups regarding their language proficiency. Based on the results, the students whose scores were +_1 standard deviation above or blow of the mean score were selected as the members of the two groups namely, one experimental and one control groups (50 in each group). To assess the participants' learning and retention before and after the intervention, a pretest and a posttest were employed. The findings of statistical analysis revealed that Image schema method had a greater impact on English preposition learning in comparison with rote learning. Thus, the present study has some pedagogical implications for English language instructors in Iraq to be aware of cognitive linguistic usage as a frequent practice in the EFL classroom.
Keywords: Cognitive Linguistics, English Prepositions, Image Schema, Kurdish Learners -
Pages 16-23
The present research was an attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of an adaptive online reading instruction with real-time feedback on the reading fluency of Iranian EFL learners and the perceptions of Iranian EFL students and teachers towards the use of the system. To this end, 60 out of 147 Iranian EFL students were selected based and a placement test, and equally divided into equal experimental and control groups. Before the instruction, a reading pretest was administered. The experimental group received instruction using adaptive online reading instruction. The system gave each participant unique reading tasks based on what they needed and how well they could read. There were timed reading tasks, comprehension quizzes, pronunciation drills, and other interactive activities in Hi-ELINA that helped with reading fluency. The instruction lasted for ten sessions. In contrast, the control group was taught through conventional reading instruction. Finally, a reading post-test was conducted. The data were analyzed based on an independent-sample t-test to compare the performance of the pretest and post-test. The findings revealed that there was a significant difference in the reading fluency scores of the experimental and control groups, verifying the efficiency of the adaptive online reading instruction with real-time feedback on reading fluency. In addition, the qualitative findings indicated that both Iranian EFL learners and teachers argued that the adaptive online reading instruction system was well-received by participants and that the real-time feedback provided was effective in improving their reading fluency.
Keywords: Real-Time Feedback, Reading Fluency, Computer-Assisted Language Learning, Adaptive Online Reading Instruction System -
Pages 24-36
This study aimed to scrutinize the dimensions of the hidden curriculum in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) at the undergraduate level in the Iranian context, with a specific focus on the perspectives of university learners. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research encompasses an extensive review of pertinent literature. A randomly selected cohort of 327 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners pursuing undergraduate studies in teaching English across various colleges and universities in Iran constituted the study participants. The investigative tools utilized in this study comprised a 33-item questionnaire designed to explore diverse facets of the hidden curriculum at the undergraduate level for the quantitative phase. Additionally, for the qualitative component, an open-ended question and a semi-structured interview format were employed. The quantitative findings unveiled that the organizational ambiance of the university, the social milieu within the educational institution, the dynamics of student-teacher relationships in classes, and the non-academic dimensions of university courses exert a discernible impact on students' cognitions, emotions, and behaviors within the academic environment. Consequently, these aspects are identified as integral components of the hidden curriculum within the TEFL undergraduate program in Iran. The qualitative results of the study are also presented, contributing to a nuanced understanding of the non-academic factors that wield substantial influence on academic outcomes within university settings.
Keywords: Hidden Curriculum, TEFL, Learners' Perspectives, The BA Level, Curriculum Development -
Pages 37-52
Teacher emotions refer to the range of feelings and affective states experienced by educators during their professional practice, particularly in the context of teaching and interacting with students. This study aimed at developing a questionnaire for Iranian EFL teachers’ emotionality. In so doing, a qualitative thematic analysis method was used. The participants recruited for this study included 25 Iranian EFL teachers (15 males and 10 females) (in the qualitative phase) and 200 Iranian EFL teachers (120 males and 80 females) (in the quantitative phase) who were selected from different language institutes of Iran through convenient sampling. To collect the data, semi-structured interviews, audio-reflective journals, and observations were used. To analyze the data, thematic analysis and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were used. According to the results, a questionnaire namely, the Questionnaire for Iranian EFL Teachers’ Emotionality in the Iranian Context was developed in 30 Likert items in six sub-scales including enjoyment, anxiety, burnout, responsiveness, emotional support, and flexibility. The results confirmed the reliability and validity of the developed questionnaire for Iranian EFL teachers’ emotionality. In line with the findings of the study, it can be concluded that Iranian EFL teachers experience emotionality in the form of positive and negative emotions. They experience such positive emotions as enjoyment, responsiveness, emotional support and flexibility. The negative emotions they experience include anxiety and burnout. Therefore, EFL teaching is a profession intermingled with diverse emotions. The findings have some implications for EFL teachers, learners, teacher education administrators and researchers.
Keywords: Anxiety, Burnout, Emotionality, Emotional Support, Enjoyment, Flexibility, Responsiveness -
Pages 53-63
Systematic functional grammar is one of the theoretical approaches to linguistics that is opposed to formal linguistics. In this approach, the social and contextual roles of language are emphasized. The design of the study was corpus-based and qualitative research regarding systematic functional grammar (Halliday, 2014). In this study, seven types of cohesive devices (i.e., euphemism, passivization, collocation, reiteration, deletion, substitution, references) were analyzed to examine the coherence of English for specific purposes (ESP) of environment discipline articles in Persian and English articles. The research was to discover the significant difference between cohesive devices in the ESP texts of environment written by Persian and English authors. From among 173 articles in two languages in the last ten years, 100 articles (50 Persian and 50 English) were randomly selected and the number of words in each category was taken into account. The corpus-based data was used and the words in each text type were counted in articles. There were 45791 words in Persian articles and 44918 words in English articles. The Word count was used to collect a homogeneous sample. The results showed that in Persian environment texts, the highest frequency belongs to references, and the lowest one addresses substitution. In English texts, the highest frequency was in references and the lowest one refers to reiteration. There was a significant difference between Persian and English cohesive devices regarding euphemism, passivization, collocation, reiteration, and references were significantly different but there was no significant difference was observed in the use of the deletion.
Keywords: Content Analysis, Cohesive Devices, Discourse, Environment Discipline, Systemic Functional Linguistics -
Pages 64-83
Educational systems fundamentally rely on competent teachers who possess high levels of teaching aptitude. Yet, despite the significance of measuring teachers’ aptitude, few studies have tried to develop a valid/reliable instrument that could examine teaching aptitude. Contributing to the literature, this study which is a correlational survey, validated the English Language Teaching Aptitude questionnaire (ELTAQ). The participants of this study were selected through simple random sampling. ELTAQ included 54 items representing the eight components of the theoretical construct. The reliability of ELTAQ was measured via Cronbach’s alpha, which was 0.958 for the whole instrument. The factorial structure of this questionnaire was investigated in a two-stage process using the higher-order factor analysis method. Primarily, the factorial structure of each of the 8 components of the questionnaire was evaluated through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Next, the 8 components were validated through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and then CFA. With some modifications, the results of the study generally confirmed the validity of ELTAQ. According to the results, affective factors, creativity, moral factors, general intelligence, knowledge, communication, professional factors, and memory were the eight ELTAQ components that could measure English teachers’ teaching aptitude. The findings of this research will help future researchers and institutes in better evaluation of teaching aptitude. ELTAQ can be useful for both teachers and institutions. Teachers can assess themselves and find their strengths and weaknesses in teaching English Language.
Keywords: Teachers Of English, English Language Teaching Aptitude, Structural Equation Modeling, Validation, Confirmatory Factor Analysis -
Pages 84-102
As teaching is a stimulating activity with its difficulties specifically at higher levels, teachers are exposed to some problems such as burnout and attrition that should be alleviated. Therefore, exploring the factors contributing to the issue might be a warranted research domain. As one of the factors, the resilience of teachers has become a crucial focal point in education, emphasizing the necessity of cultivating the capacity to overcome challenges encountered during the teaching process. Simultaneously, research underscores the pivotal role of instructors' self-efficacy as teacher training programs try their best to train highly competent teachers. In line with this, the current study sought to examine the significance of resilience and self-efficacy among International English Language Testing System (IELTS) teachers. A total of 20 IELTS teachers from Oxford Language Center in Tehran were selected through purposive sampling, and they participated in semi-structured interviews as part of the research investigation. The results through theme analysis demonstrated a substantial positive correlation between self-efficacy and the resilience of IELTS teachers. This paper contributes to the enhancement of self-efficacy and resilience among IELTS teachers. Consequently, the findings offer implications for language stakeholders, urging them to acknowledge and consider the critical role of teacher self-efficacy and resilience in this domain.
Keywords: IELTS Teachers, Qualitative, Resilience, Self-Efficacy -
Pages 103-116
Recent developments in foreign language education have sparked numerous studies emphasizing the importance of students' goal-setting, learning strategy selection, and management of their learning processes. Language learners frequently encounter difficulties in utilizing self-regulation strategies, which educators must address to effectively support their students. This research critically examines the emerging significance of self-regulation learning strategies in vocabulary acquisition. Utilizing an explanatory sequential design and various data collection methods, including questionnaires, interviews, and observations, this study aimed to shed light on different aspects of self-regulation strategy use among 200 Iranian EFL pre-intermediate and intermediate level students, selected through convenient sampling from various English institutes in Urmia, Iran. Statistical analyses, such as the T-test and Mann-Whitney test, indicated that Iranian EFL learners' application of self-regulation strategies for vocabulary learning is above average. The subscales of self-regulated learning strategies positively influence vocabulary acquisition. Additionally, the findings revealed no significant difference in vocabulary learning between male and female Iranian EFL learners. Furthermore, the interviews suggested that learners who consistently employed self-regulation strategies experienced enhanced vocabulary acquisition, better retention, and more effective usage in speaking and writing tasks.
Keywords: Learning Strategy, Self-Regulated Learning, Self-Regulated Learning Strategies, Vocabulary Knowledge -
Pages 117-139
This study scrutinizes the rhetorical moves and sub-moves in corpora of literature review sections of 20 research articles published in prestigious journals and 20 literature review chapters of Iranian Ph.D. dissertations from English language teaching (ELT) discipline aiming to compare expert and novice writers’ practices and products. The move analysis approach was applied to fulfill the aims of this corpus-based discourse study. To this end, Kwan’s (2006) literature review move model was employed for the move analysis. The results indicate discrepancies in the length and frequency of use in several rhetorical sub-moves. Yet, both novice and expert writers almost followed a holistic schematic structure, including a novel strategy identified in both sets of corpora. In addition, the findings shed light on the significance of the disciplinary realization of the schematic structure and explicit writing practices for student writers. The pedagogical implications of the findings are also discussed for designers and instructors to produce more appropriate academic materials for inexperienced and novice writers in terms of communicative purposes.
Keywords: Academic Writing, Genre Analysis, Schematic Structure -
Pages 140-147
The evolution of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) has transformed language education, integrating advanced technologies and innovative methodologies to enhance linguistic acquisition. This paper explores critical issues in CALL, including learner anxiety, educator preparedness, and inconsistencies in implementation, highlighting the challenges these factors pose to achieving effective outcomes. It examines emerging trends such as augmented reality (AR), gamification, artificial intelligence (AI), and virtual reality (VR), emphasizing their potential to reshape language learning environments through immersive, personalized, and context-rich experiences. Furthermore, the paper underscores the importance of addressing factors influencing reliability and validity in CALL assessments, including test design, administration, and learner characteristics. Drawing on theoretical and empirical insights, it discusses how these advancements align with contemporary pedagogical principles, promoting engagement, motivation, and inclusivity. The study concludes by advocating for a balanced integration of technological tools and sound pedagogical practices, ensuring that CALL continues to adapt to the dynamic needs of globalized, tech-savvy learners while fostering sustainable and effective language education.
Keywords: CALL, Language Learning, AI -
Pages 148-161
Although self-regulated learning has attracted much attention recently, few studies have investigated how the variable contributes to learners’ language proficiency (LP). In addition, previous studies have not compared the relationships between self-regulated language learning (SRLL) and LP with the relationships between learning strategies (LSs) and LP. The present study, therefore, investigated the correlation between SRLL, LSs, and LP among 313 Iranian high school English language learners by completing the two questionnaires and a self-assessment form. In order to achieve results, correlational analysis design and convenience sampling were used. The data analysis showed the strongest correlations between metacognitive strategy (r = .553, p < .05) and other LS. Besides, metacognitive strategies can significantly predict SRLL (F (1, 309) = 135.932, p < .05). Additionally, the strongest correlations can be found between metacognitive (r = .499, p < .05), SRLL, and LP. Moreover, the strongest correlations between metacognitive (r = .499, p < .05) SRLL and LP can be found. Finally, metacognitive strategies considered are the best predictors of LP (F (1, 308) = 92.089, p < .05). The study highlights the correlation between SRL, LSs, and LP, emphasizing the importance of incorporating SRL into the teaching and learning process for educators. The pedagogical implications of the findings and suggestions for further research are also discussed.
Keywords: Language Learning Strategies, Language Proficiency, Self-Regulated Language Learning -
Pages 162-169
This study aimed to investigate the microgenetic development of participants in terms of complexity, accuracy, and fluency in writing. Twenty eight male and thirty two female participants at an intermediate level of proficiency were selected. The final sample consisted of students who achieved intermediate band scores. These selected participants underwent 10 teaching and testing sessions. They chose two out of three suggested topics and wrote two compositions to assess their writing development. Writing performance was evaluated in the first and tenth sessions for fluency, accuracy, and complexity. Repeated measures MANOVA and post-hoc comparison tests were used to explore writing development over time. The results highlighted students' progress in writing over time. The multivariate analysis of variance showed significant differences in mean scores for poor, average, and high language learners across the sections of complexity, accuracy, and fluency. The implications of these findings are significant for both educators and curriculum developers and will be discussed.
Keywords: Microgenesis Development, Complexity, Fluency, Accuracy, Writing Performance