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Enhancing students' lexical fluency and academic performance in speaking exams presents a significant challenge for English as a foreign language (EFL) instructors. The pursuit of effective tools to engage students and facilitate their learning process has been ongoing. The incorporation of technology in EFL learning contexts, particularly through learning-oriented assessments, offers a promising solution to the traditional difficulties of vocabulary acquisition in the classroom. Research indicates that Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) not only streamlines the learning process but also boosts student motivation and participation. In light of the challenges faced in improving the speaking exam performance of students in foundation programs in Oman, a study was conducted to assess the impact of Mentimeter, a Student Response System, on student engagement, vocabulary recall, and speaking proficiency. The study involved 275 students from a public university in Oman who participated in Mentimeter quizzes designed to measure the platform's effect on vocabulary retention, lexical fluency, and overall speaking performance. Additionally, the study explored teachers' perceptions of the integration of Mentimeter as a formative assessment tool. The findings underscore the significance of MALL in enhancing learning-oriented assessment in EFL classrooms and provide insights for educators on utilizing such technologies to bolster vocabulary retention and speaking skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This exploratory study investigates how international students perceive and experience communication challenges in Iran's higher education context. This study explores the real-life experiences of international students enrolled in various academic programs. This study employs a qualitative approach using interviews to gather data. This study involved 70 international students from different countries. Participants were enrolled in various programs at Iranian universities. The findings revealed five communication challenges: linguistic barriers, cultural differences, lack of confidence, ineffective teaching practices, and poor teacher rapport. As mentioned by the participants, these challenges influence effective communication and participation in academic settings. This study found that these communication challenges often co-occur together and can lead to other communication challenges. In this regard, linguistic barriers among international students can contribute to a lack of confidence, and ineffective teaching practices can lead to language barriers. The most common pattern observed in the data was linguistic barriers leading to a lack of confidence. This study emphasizes the importance of addressing these challenges to establish a more inclusive and engaging learning environment for international students. By acknowledging and actively addressing the communication challenges faced by international students, educators and policymakers can play a crucial role in establishing a supportive and inclusive learning environment that enhances students' communication skills and overall academic success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates persuasive strategies used in the writings of Iranian university students in the field of teaching English as foreign language (TEFL). The study utilized the 7 principles of persuasive strategies presented by Cialdini (The psychology of persuasion, Quill William Morrow, New York 1984; Pre-suasion: A revolutionary way to influence and persuade, Simon & Schuster, New York 2016), which include 'reciprocity', 'commitment and consistency', 'social proof', 'liking', 'authority', 'scarcity', and 'unity'. The results indicate that strategies such as 'liking', 'unity', and 'authority' were used more frequently than other persuasive strategies. On the other hand, 'scarcity' was the least used strategy by the participants. Significant gender differences were also observed in the data. These findings have important pedagogical implications and suggest the need to incorporate persuasive strategies into instructional materials and teaching practices to enhance the persuasive writing skills of university students. Furthermore, gender differences highlight the importance of considering individual differences when teaching persuasive writing. Finally, the study discusses the pedagogical implications of these findings in the context of learning and teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effect of interactive games on improving reading comprehension skills and attitudes toward games among Iranian learners of English as a foreign language. In this quantitative study, the participants in the control group received reading comprehension instruction through traditional models of teaching reading while the participants in the experimental group developed their reading skills through participating in interactive games. A reading comprehension test was administered as a posttest. The mean performance of the two groups was compared by performing an independent-samples t-test and a paired-samples t-test. The analysis revealed that participants in the experimental group (N = 30, M = 26.33, SD = 2.80) significantly outperformed those in the control group (N = 30, M = 16.80, SD = 3.71) in the posttest. Moreover, an examination of the participants' perceptions showed they have a positive attitude toward games. The findings of this study suggest that interactive games are powerful tools for improving student engagement, motivation, and learning outcomes in the classroom. The study also provides some practical suggestions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of tragic events such as the 'Paris Attacks of 2015', the expression of condolences through e-messages has become a common way for individuals to offer support and sympathy to those affected. However, limited research has been conducted on the linguistic aspects of condolence e-messages and how they reflect the speech act of condolence. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the syntactic and pragmatic elements present in these messages. The aim is to understand how the syntactic and pragmatic elements of these messages contribute to the expression of the communicative speech act of condolence. Condolence e-messages were identified and analyzed using an adapted version of Elwood's (2004) coding scheme. The analysis focused on common themes in the condolence sentences, revealing that some linguistic functions were overtly used to express grief. Additionally, specific words such as 'pray', 'love', and 'condolence' were frequently used in conjunction with the expressions of condolence. The findings highlight the influence of sociocultural factors in shaping the norms and variations in the production of speech acts across different cultures. Understanding these linguistic variations can contribute to effective communication and cultural sensitivity in expressing condolences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate the impact of small-group student-led discussion as a pre-writing task on the writing performance of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. To this end, a quasi-experimental study design was employed in which 80 Iranian intermediate EFL learners were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups, with the former being required to engage in small-group student-led discussions prior to writing paragraphs on a predetermined topic. Their paragraphs were subject to analysis focussed on the components of vocabulary, grammar, content, writing mechanics, and organization. Results indicated that, following the treatment, learners' writing performance improved significantly according to raters' holistic evaluation, as well as specifically in relation to the elements of content and vocabulary. Our study indicates that the socially negotiated nature of learners' interactions can help them engage with and develop a more wide-ranging and in-depth understanding of written content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In line with the concept of mobile learning in English Language Teaching (ELT), the aim of this research is to explore how Iranian ELT practitioners take advantage of social media to propose supportive and impactful language learning programs by adhering to persuasive linguistic devices. The research design is nonexperimental and explorative. ELT-related commercial videos and pictures were identified on social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. We delved into the syntactic and pragmatic features of the data on ELT-related ads to identify the persuasive techniques and strategies these ads resort to for attracting language learners to online classes and services. To analyze the data, the widely-used and acknowledged Cialdini's (The psychology of persuasion, Quill William Morrow, 1984) principles of persuasion are employed. The results manifested that 'reciprocity' and 'scarcity' were the most used persuasive strategies, while 'commitment and consistency' and 'consensus' were the least favorable persuasion principles in these ads. The analysis of the Iranian ELT-related ads indicated that the language used within this context is purposeful and strategic. A contextual investigation of the ELT-related ads on social media can meaningfully contribute to social practices underlying English language pedagogy and digital literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the discursive features of graffiti in institutional settings is in its infancy and few studies have investigated the phenomenon and its implications in educational contexts. In this paper, we report on a study in which we employed systemic functional linguistics (Halliday in Learning how to mean, Edward Arnold, 1975). to probe communicative functions and gender differences in Iranian university student graffiti that appeared in all-male and all-female locations. The data comprised authentic instances of graffiti generated by students, analysis of which suggests that male and female university students each have their own distinctive motives for using graffiti, as realised in significant differences observed in the context-specific functions they perform. Graffiti pieces represented a distinctive and meaningful way of communicating, and its most salient features were creativity, simplicity and variation. Indications are that university students' graffiti reflects psychological and social challenges, and the thoughts, attitudes and feelings expressed through it serve students' personal and interactional purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]