فهرست مطالب

Journal of Interdisciplinary Research in English Language Communication
Volume:1 Issue: 1, Autumn 2024
- تاریخ انتشار: 1403/09/10
- تعداد عناوین: 7
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Pages 3-17The current exploratory study sought to determine move recycling (MR) or move repetitions and the plausible rationales behind this phenomenon within the Introductory segments of scholarly research articles (RAIs). To embark on this endeavor, a dataset comprising 400 RAIs from social science disciplines (i.e., Psychology, Applied Linguistics, Economics, and Sociology) was assembled. These articles span the years 2006 to 2018. Afterward, the frequency of recycling of the five key moves within RAIs was identified. The findings revealed that the recycled moves, arranged by descending order of frequency, encompass M1 (Establishing a Setting), M2 (Reviewing Literature), M3 (Indicating the Gap), M5 (Stating the Value), and M4 (Stating the Purpose of the Study). It was assumed that within RAIs, MR serves as a means of interacting with readers through various rhetorical functions such as justifying the study and persuading skeptical readers. These findings could have far-reaching consequences for a wide range of audiences. EAP and ESP instructors can guide novice researchers away from viewing RAIs solely as linguistic documents. Instead, they can encourage these less experienced researchers to prioritize writer-reader interaction and emphasize the deliberate use of MR within RAIs as a potent tool for persuasion and engaging the reader's attention.Keywords: Introduction Section, Move Recycling, Persuasive Discourse, Research Article, Social Science
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Pages 18-31English grammar is widely recognized as an indispensable component of teaching English, serving as the fundamental framework for students to comprehend and acquire the language. The acquisition of English grammar has emerged as a prominent concern for high school students during the learning process. Therefore, the identification of an efficacious approach to facilitate students' mastery of English grammar assumes of paramount significance. Mind mapping, a cognitive tool that facilitates divergent thinking offers individuals the opportunity to harness both the analytical and creative faculties of the human brain, thereby enhancing their cognitive abilities and memory retention. In this research endeavor, the primary objective was to explore the efficacy of employing the Mind Mapping technique in the context of Iranian EFL learners' grammar acquisition, specifically among tenth-grade students. To accomplish this objective, the researchers adopted a quasi-experimental methodology. The experimental group received instruction utilizing the mind mapping technique, while the control group adhered to the traditional teaching method. The findings of this study revealed statistically significant disparities between the two groups, favoring the experimental group, which can be attributed to the utilization of the mind mapping technique. The incorporation of mind mapping in grammar instruction augments students' comprehension and retention of grammatical concepts, thereby enabling educators to better cater to their educational requirements and enhance overall learning outcomes.Keywords: Mind Mapping, Grammar Learning, Strategy Learning
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Pages 32-43The aim of this study was to find the effect of teachers’ cognition about grammar on the grammatical performances of their students. Through questionnaires, observations, and brief interviews, four teachers were selected for two main categories and four subcategories of teachers’ beliefs about grammar along a continuum from the strong exercise-based view to the weak exercise-based view, the weak task-based view, and the strong task-based view. Comparison of their students’ grammar scores showed significant differences between the two main categories and between the two subcategories of the exercise-based category, but this was not the case between the two subcategories of the task-based category. In other words, if a usage-based test is used to measure students’ grammatical competence, exercise-oriented teachers, especially those who are more so, are supposed to train more grammatically competent students. The results suggest that teacher educators should help teachers to assess how their beliefs affect their students’ grammatical performances and to better synchronize their beliefs and teaching approaches for the grammatical objectives particular to their courses and students.Keywords: Grammar, Teacher Cognition, Teachers’ Actual Practices, Teacher Education
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Pages 44-56Following a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest research design, this study was meant to investigate the effects of contextualized storytelling, as a new teaching technique, including visual aids, as one of the vocabulary learning strategies, on young Iranian EFL learners’ target vocabulary retention. Drawing on the optimal input and the output hypotheses, it was hypothesized that the contextualized storytelling technique integrated with visual aids will have positive effect on increasing young EFL learners’ receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge. To test the hypothesis, 60 Iranian lower intermediate students aged between 11 and 12 were selected and randomly assigned into two equal groups of 30 members (experimental and control groups). As data collection instruments, the Oxford Quick Placement Test and Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) were administrated to the participants. The t-test results revealed that the contextualized storytelling technique had a significant effect on the retention and active use of the target vocabulary items. The findings carry implications for ELT teachers and practitioners in an EFL context.Keywords: Young Learner, Vocabulary, Language Learning Strategy, Receptive, Productive Vocabulary Knowledge, Contextualized Storytelling
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Pages 57-69Rapid growth of remote learning due to COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected EFL education. Virtual videoconferencing platforms introduced a technological mediation possibility that could give rise to a specific type of anxiety for EFL learners when speaking in English (Shriberg, 2009). Moreover, research on foreign language anxiety and oral proficiency in blended and fully online language classes is still scarce. The present study drawing on mixed-methods design aimed to investigate the effect of facilitative strategies such as virtual feedback, positive self-talk and relaxation techniques on speaking performance and anxiety among EFL learners at a remote learning situation. Meanwhile, learners’ attitudes towards their speaking abilities, anxiety and using facilitative strategies as well as the effectiveness of such strategies in improving their speaking performance and reducing anxiety were gathered by a semi-structured interview. Ninety-three undergraduate students from the University of Zanjan, Iran participated in the study, and were assigned as the experimental group because of the quasi-experimental pre-test post-test design. The instruments consisted of Oxford Placement Test (OPT), a pre- and post- Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) questionnaire, a pre- and post- speaking performance rubric, as well as semi-structured interviews. During a six-week intervention period virtual collaboration activities, instruction in cognitive restructuring and relaxation practices were implemented. Quantitative pre-post analyses measured pedagogic outcome, while interviews captured attitudes. Data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics including paired-samples t-tests and thematic analysis (TA). The results indicated that interventions such as virtual collaboration, positive self-talk, and relaxation techniques had a positive effect on EFL learners' speaking performance and anxiety during remote learning. The analysis of the results of the interviews implied that participants held positive attitudes towards their own speaking abilities and anxiety levels during remote learning. They also approved adopting facilitative strategies to manage their target language anxiety, as they largely believed such strategies could effectively enhance their speaking skills.Keywords: L2 Speaking Performance, L2 Speaking Anxiety, EFL Virtual Class
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Pages 70-83The present study aims to investigate the impacts of teacher electronic feedback (TEF) on syntactic complexity of online writing produced by advanced English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners. A total of 180 argumentative essays were written by 33 advanced EFL learners in a language institute in Zanjan, Iran. The learners were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and a control group, with twelve learners receiving synchronous TEF, and twelve learners receiving asynchronous TEF. Eight measures of complexity were used to calculate the learners’ syntactic complexity. For data analysis, a series of one-way ANOVAs and two-way ANOVAs were performed to respectively ensure the participants’ homogeneity prior to treatment and analyze the development of syntactic complexity over time. The results indicated that synchronous TEF provided through video conferencing and text chats significantly improved the production of compound-complex sentences and longer noun phrases, while asynchronous TEF using Microsoft Word track changes had only a significant effect on the length of noun phrases. The findings indicate that synchronous and asynchronous TEF can be effective in increasing learners' syntactic complexity, and that combining both strategies may be the most effective approach for teachers to provide feedback in online writing classes.Keywords: Corrective Feedback, Electronic Feedback, Synchronous Feedback, Asynchronous Feedback, Syntactic Complexity, Online Writing Class
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Pages 84-98Knowing that advertising discourse might vary cross-culturally, this study qualitatively investigated English and Persian TV advertisements with regard to the realization of persuasive language. The data were recorded from global TV channels for a period of one month and, following the Systemic Functional Grammar, the appraisal framework was the analytical tool grounding the data analysis. The data were categorized and then the representations of the evaluative resources via persuasive strategies were distinguished. As the findings of the study revealed, Persian TV advertisements tend to employ repetition and explanation through instances of appreciation, monoglossic positions and representations of force while English advertisements exploit more diverse strategies through different appraisal resources. Accordingly, it is argued that compared to English TV advertisements, Persian advertisements pursue a pattern in which they manifest less variety and creativity.Keywords: Advertising, TV Advertisement, Persuasive Strategies, The Appraisal Model