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This paper follows a line of logical argumentation to claim that what Samuel Messick conceptualized about construct validation has probably been misunderstood by some educational policy makers, practicing educators, and classroom teachers. It argues that, while Messick's unified theory of test validation aimed at (a) warning educational practitioners and policy makers of the undesirable social consequences of test use and (b) entreating educators and test developers to think of a facet-driven item-banking-based construct-specific criterion-referenced common metric for any construct of interest in educational and other settings, his message has been misunderstood as a plea for alternative ways of evaluation and specifically a qualitative shift in educational assessment. The paper (a) draws on the conceptual differences between 'test function' and other construct-irrelevant peripheral 'affordances' to which any test can be put, (b) argues that the moment of truth for the qualitative camp has arrived, and (b) invites everyone to admit that even if qualitative assessment, 'thick' descriptions of achievement, and differentiated portraits and profiles of student performance might be much thicker than traditional norm-referenced psychometric tests, they are no match for any minimalistic facet-driven criterion-referenced common metric, nor is any of them an option. The paper suggests that the right way out is through an iron-clad criterion-referenced Occam's-razor-proof common metric for each construct of interest, perhaps the only option that is sure to transform the soft science of educational assessment into a hard science of educational measurement.

It has been argued in the literature on (language) testing that any act of testing/assessment can impact: (1) educators' curriculum design; (2) teachers' teaching practices; and (3) students' learning behaviors. This quality of any given testing situation or act of assessment has been called washback, or backwash if you will. Washback falls into the two categories of positive or negative--that is, beneficial or harmful. After an overview of the existing scholarly knowledge on washback, this paper argues that washback is not necessarily a test quality. Drawing on the notion of test method facets, the paper lends support to claims that see washback as a main function of teaching, learning, and policy-making situations or conditions rather than a quality of any given test. The paper also argues that the concepts of facet design and analysis including formal research designs, structural hypothesis testing, and measurement are inevitable and inescapable in any comprehensive model of washback. A possible borderline between backwash and washback is also proposed.

Language testing has witnessed three major trends in the 1990s: theoretical, methodological, and analytical. Theoretically, emphasis has been placed on the further understanding of the construct of language proficiency. Methodologically, there has been an outburst of interest in language performance testing and the promotion of the professional standards of test development and use. Analytically, emphasis has been placed on the implementation of Item Response Theory (IRT), G-theory, and the understanding of the multiple sources of variance in test performance. After a review of these trends, the current paper presents a complete picture of language assessment from an Archimedean point. It argues that language assessment, seen from such a point, has four intertwined but self-informed pillars: construct issues, psychometrics, edumetrics, and construct-irrelevant factors.

English for specific purposes (ESP) began around fifty years ago as a result of pressing worldwide demands for fast-paced language training in occupational and professional settings, rapid revolutions in theoretical linguistics, and burgeoning pressures on schools and educators to focus on, and to be responsive to, learners' needs. It started within the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) but has gradually established itself as an autonomous subfield of Applied Linguistics (AL). This paper will review the origins, evolution, and status quo of ESP, and then predict the future directions of this important field. The theoretical, analytical, and methodological evolutions of ESP are reviewed, the positions of genre analysis, target language use situation analysis, and context in ESP are described, the 'just-in-case' EAP and 'just-in-time' EOP approaches are compared, and the text-first and context-first approaches to discourse structure analysis are compared. The paper predicts that ESP will adopt a wide-angled epistemological stance to survey the (a) discursive, (b) generic, (c) social, and (d) organizational structures of specialized texts and discourses, as well as those of texts and discourses simplified for the popularization of science, in a systematic and contextualized manner. ESP practitioners are also warned about the potential threats of teaching genres of power within ESP.

This study attempted at classifying common errors found in the written performance of lower- and upper-intermediate Iranian EFL learners. It engaged a rich corpus of EFL writing samples collected over a course of 20 years (between 1992 and 2011) from lower- and upper-intermediate EFL learners studying at various Iranian universities to provide a precise taxonomy of errors in basic-level EFL writing (i.e., single paragraphs and five paragraph essays). A total of 3157 sophomore EFL learners were included in this study, and from each of them five writing samples were collected. There was a total of 15785 texts in the corpus which contained a total of 5,150,205 words. Corder's (1981) framework for error analysis was implemented, and it was found that basic-level EFL writing errors could best be classified into three major categories: structural, discursive, and cognitive. Classroom procedures and teaching techniques that can help both teachers and learners to overcome the identified error types are discussed.

Based on their scores on a proficiency test, the 894 participants in this study were grouped into three experimental groups (EG) and three control groups (CG). They attempted an argumentative writing task and the Cornell Critical Thinking Test, Form Z (CCTT-Form Z) as the pre-test. While CG participants received no treatment or placebo, EG participants received a three-week workshop treatment aimed at reconstructing their critical thinking and argumentation abilities. Two weeks after the workshop, all participants in all EG and CG groups attempted the same writing task and the Cornell Critical Thinking Test, Form Z (CCTT-Form Z) as the post test. SPANOVA analyses revealed that EFL writing performance will boost if EFL students' are helped to deconstruct, and then reconstruct, their cognitive and thought patterns for appropriate argumentation. The Multiple Trait Scoring Rubric for scoring students' writing (based on Hyland, 2003, p231) is appended.

In this interview, JD Brown reflects on language testing/assessment. He suggests that language testing can be seen as a continuum with hard core positivist approaches at one end and post modernist interpretive perspectives at the other, and also argues that norm referencing (be it proficiency, placement, or aptitude testing) and criterion referencing (be it diagnostics, progress, or achievement testing) fall on this continuum. He further suggests that evaluation is done at the level of program or course but that assessment is focused on the classroom, and then argues that both assessment and evaluation exploit measurement and testing albeit to different effects. He then comments on his views about high-stakes and low-stakes testing as well as washback, and finally expresses serious concerns about the impacts of language policy on language testing by calling the current NS models into question. Relating his concerns to validity issues, he suggests that language testers need to consider other options to the NS model to serve the needs of speakers of other Englishes.

This interview was conducted with Professor Keith Allan with the aim of providing a brief but informative summary of the state of the art of pragmatics. In providing answers to the interview questions, Professor Allan begins with a definition of pragmatics as it is practiced today, i.e., the study of the meanings of utterances with attention to the context in which the utterances are made. He further notices that discourse analysis, pragmatics, semantics, semiotics, and the philosophy of language are related disciplines, but unlike some other scholar, he does not distinguish "texts" from "discourses" in that he sees texts to be the interesting products of discourse. Later, in the course of the interview, he accepts the interviewers' chronological approach to pragmatics, but suggests that any historian of pragmatics would have his or her own version. Further, in his response to a question concerning Mey's Pragmatic Act Theory (PAT), Professor Allan quotes from Mey (2001) to presents a view of pragmemes and practs. He further suggests that there is no bound on the number of possible hypotheses (theories) of language structure and usage, and that all theories are worthy of consideration provided that rational grounds can be advanced for the assessment of different hypotheses. The future direction of pragmatics, in Professor Allan's view, will rely on corpora in that corpora provide bodies of naturally occurring texts which can be used to test any theoretical claims in pragmatics.

Societies have striven through centuries to develop educational systems that would foster the most idealistic educational outcomes among learners. A brief overview of the existing body of knowledge on this issue shows the recurring patterns of underachievement and the growing rates of student drop-outs which have motivated psychologists and educators to attempt at a pathological examination of the causes of student failure, and models of learning and cognitive styles which were proposed as possible explanation. The aim of this paper is to briefly review some of the most influential models and to draw readers' attention to inherent shortcomings of the models. The methodology used for this study was library research, where the author took notes to gather the data needed for this paper. After a brief review of the existing models, the paper proposes a more comprehensive model, which is called the Ideal Education Model (IEM) and recommends it as an alternative to the existing models.

Societies have striven through centuries to develop educational systems that would foster the most idealistic educational outcomes among learners. A brief overview of the existing body of knowledge on this issue shows the recurring patterns of underachievement and the growing rates of student drop-outs which have motivated psychologists and educators to attempt at a pathological examination of the causes of student failure, and models of learning and cognitive styles which were proposed as possible explanation. The aim of this paper is to briefly review some of the most influential models and to draw readers' attention to inherent shortcomings of the models. The methodology used for this study was library research, where the author took notes to gather the data needed for this paper. After a brief review of the existing models, the paper proposes a more comprehensive model, which is called the Ideal Education Model (IEM) and recommends it as an alternative to the existing models. ["Journal on Educational Psychology" is published by i-manager.]

Persian, the lingua franca of Iran, is spoken as a mother tongue by all monolingual or polyglot Iranian citizens who belong to a rich variety of pedigree-Iranian ethnic populations, including Gilak, Mazandarani, Baloch, Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Qashqai, Assyrian, Armenian, Lur, Talysh, Tat, and so on. There are random political dissidents who desperately desire to sell their myth that Persian has long been a 'colonizing' force, but the vast majority of Iranians earnestly argue that Persian has never been a 'colonizing' language; it has always been a lingua franca or a language of communication freely and consciously chosen by the inhabitants of the Iranian plateau who cherished it throughout history. This paper (a) draws on the existing literature on 'language colonization' and 'language weaponization' to afford a clear understanding of these topics and (b) aims at demystifying the status quo of Persian. It concludes that Persian has never been a colonizing force and argues that the 'teaching of local languages' is quite acceptable, but 'teaching in local languages' is the call by radical separatist groups who aim at the disintegration of a historically-unified nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aimed at showing whether native, ESL and EFL book review authors differed in terms of types of rhetorical moves the employ in the reviews they write. 60 book reviews (N = 60) from applied linguistics journals were randomly selected from a pool of 87 book reviews published in "Asian EFL Journal," "ESP," "System," and "TESOL Quarterly" between 2004 and 2010. The reviews were converted into *txt files and submitted to the AntMover software for move analysis. Two human coders used the Motta Roth's (1995) framework for the analysis of the moves. The intercoder reliability of the study was estimated through a Spearman's "rho" at 0.819 ("rho" = 0.819), and the convergent validity of the instruments by another Spearman's "rho" at 0.782 ("rho" = 0.782). The data were submitted to a set of Kruskal-Wallis H Test. The results of the study indicated that writers' linguistic backgrounds have a statistically significant role in their choice of book review moves and move structures. It was also found that book reviews fall into the two categories of "informative" and "evaluative" reviews with the difference between the two lying in the presence or absence of writers' focused evaluation of the books under review in terms of their advantages and/or disadvantages. Two appendixes present: (1) Table for Determining Minimum Returned Sample Size for a Given Population Size for Continuous and Categorical Data; and (2) Desiree Motta Roth Framework and Sample BR Analysis. (Contains 3 figures and 11 tables.)

Since the beginning of the 20th century, professionals in language teaching have strived for ways that could guarantee better outcomes in language teaching classes. Different methods were used mostly in the first half of that century. Then some language teaching professionals moved beyond methods with the hope of gaining greater results. In one case, some language teachers moved towards what is now called reflective teaching (RT). RT requires teachers' self-observation as well self-evaluation which should go on in a cyclical manner to ensure teachers' understanding of their own classroom actions so that refinements can be introduced where necessary. RT is a process whereby teachers' reflect on their own classroom actions to collect and analyze descriptive data which can show where a change for batter ca be made. RT results in teacher and material flexibility and teacher professionalism. This paper provides a descriptive account of RT in language classrooms.

Language learning is a complex process that is controlled or influenced by a host of linguistic and non-linguistic factors. Some of these factors are the main concerns of psychologists rather than linguists. Ever since psychology began to develop in the 20th century, more and more individual characteristics were identified and defined. Eysenck's introduction of a way to measure temperament interested (applied) linguists, and some of them tried to investigate the influence of temperament on language learning. The present study, too, set out to investigate the probable effects of temperament on EFL speaking achievement. 139 Iranian intermediate-proficiency university students took the U-test, an IELTS-based structured interview, and the Eysenck Personality Test. They then took a speaking course. Another structured interview was conducted at the end of the course as the post-test. The results of a Mixed between-within Subjects Analysis of Variance (SPANOVA) indicated that introverts were advantaged in speaking achievement. The sanguine participants in the study outperformed the choleric ones who in turn outperformed the melancholic participants. The weakest results belonged to the phlegmatic participant group. Appended to this document is Normalized Scores for the Scales on the "Eysenck Personality Test" in Iran. (Contains 11 tables and 2 figures.)

Since the beginning of the 20th century, professionals in language teaching have strived for ways that could guarantee better outcomes in language teaching classes. Different methods were used mostly in the first half of that century. The some language teaching professionals moved beyond methods with the hope of gaining greater results. In one case, some language teachers moved towards what is now called reflective teaching (RT). RT requires teachers' self-observation as well self-evaluation which should go on in a cyclical manner to ensure teachers' understanding of their own classroom actions so that refinements can be introduced where necessary. RT is a process whereby teachers' reflect on their own classroom actions to collect and analyze descriptive data which can show where a change for better can be made. RT results in teacher and material flexibility and teacher professionalism. This paper provides a descriptive account of RT in language classrooms.

With the rising concerns over the fairness of language tests, Differential Item Functioning (DIF) has been increasingly applied in bias analysis. Despite its widespread use in psychometric circles, DIF is facing a number of serious problems. This paper is an attempt to shed light on a number of the issues involved in DIF analysis. Specifically, the paper is focused on four problems: (a) the inter-method indeterminacy, (b) the intra-method indeterminacy, (c) the ad hoc interpretations, and (d) the impact of DIF on validity. In order to orient the reader, the paper also provides a brief introduction to the fundamental concepts in DIF analysis.

Rhetorical structure refers to a complex network of relationships and the way the underlying ideas are organized within a text. This study was conducted to see whether explicit instruction of descriptive and causative text organization positively affected L3 reading recall. 240 Turkish students of EFL who had Persian as their second language were assigned to two groups (experimental and control) controlled for language proficiency with only the former receiving instruction in rhetorical organization. Comparison of pre-test and post-test written recall data showed that explicit instruction had a positive effect on L3 reading recall. It was also noted that the amount of L3 reading recall was a function of the type of rhetorical organization of reading texts. (Contains 8 tables and 2 figures.)

A good test is one that has at least three qualities: reliability, or the precision with which a test measures what it is supposed to measure; validity, i.e., if the test really measures what it is supposed to measure; and practicality, or if the test, no matter how sound theoretically, is practicable in reality. These are the sine qua non for any test including tests of language proficiency. Over the past fifty years, language testing has witnessed three major measurement trends: Classical Test Theory (CTT), Generalizability Theory (G-Theory), and Item Response Theory (IRT). This paper will provide a very brief but valuable overview of these trends. It will then move onto a brief consideration of the most recent notion of Differential Item Functioning (DIF). It will finally conclude that the material discussed here is applicable not only to language tests but also to tests in other fields of science. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.) ["Journal on Educational Psychology" is published by i-manager.]

The present study intended to see if, everything else being equal, participants' study major really affected their language achievement. It was hypothesized that the exact EFL sub-discipline (i.e., Translation, Literature, or Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL)) in which students are majoring affects their language achievement in meaningful ways. A total of 198 (N=198) university students all majoring in English took their ordinary courses and at the end of the semester, they were given their exams. Their semester-end cumulative grade point averages (GPA) were compared to their previous-term GPAs. SPANOVA results did not identify study major to be a predictor of language achievement. (Contains 8 tables and 1 figure.)

For purposes of the present study, it was hypothesized that field (in)dependence would introduce systematic variance into EFL learners' performance on composition tests. 1743 freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior students all majoring in English at different Iranian universities and colleges took the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT). The resulting 582 Field-Independent (FI) and the 707 Field-Dependent (FD) students then took the 2000 version of the IELTS. Using SPSS commands for collapsing continuous variables into groups, and participants' IELTS scores (based on 25, 50, 75 percentiles), four proficiency groups were identified for each kind of cognitive styles. From each proficiency group, 36 FD and 36 FI individuals were selected through a matching process. The scores obtained by the resulting sample of 288 participants on the second writing task of the IELTS test were used as the data for this study. The results of data analysis revealed that individuals' cognitive styles resulted in a significant difference in their writing performance in proficient, semi-proficient, and fairly proficient groups, but not in the low-proficient group. The findings also indicated that cognitive style resulted in a significant difference in participants' performance on such aspects of EFL composition as content, structure, and language. (Contains 2 figures and 8 tables.)

A good test is one that has at least three qualities: reliability, or the precision with which a test measures what it is supposed to measure; validity, i.e., if the test really measures what it is supposed to measure, and practicality, or if the test, no matter how sound theoretically, is practicable in reality. These are the sine qua non for any test including tests of language proficiency. Over the past fifty years, language testing has witnessed three major measurement trends: Classical Test Theory (CTT), Generalizability Theory (G-Theory), and Item Response Theory (IRT). This paper will provide a very brief but valuable overview of these trends. It will then move onto a brief consideration of the most recent notion of Differential Item Functioning (DIF). It will finally conclude that the material discussed here is applicable not only to language tests but also to tests in other fields of science.

This article attempts to suggest the existence of a human computer called Quantum Human Computer (QHC) on the basis of an analogy between human beings and computers. To date, there are two types of computers: Binary and Quantum. The former operates on the basis of binary logic where an object is said to exist in either of the two states of 1 and 0. The latter, however, operates on the basis of fuzzy logic where an object can exist in more than two states simultaneously. Through analogy, it is hypothesized that human beings are superb quantum computers that operate on the basis of human logic that accepts multiple states for objects simultaneously. Moreover, and since human beings are composed of physique, mind, memory, soul, and spirit, it is also hypothesized that the QHC legalizes the existence of objects in Hilbert space. Finally, it is further suggested that, as fictitious as it may seem, human learning can be reduced into a "suggestion model" whereby information is suggested into the human computer in much the same way as a given software is assembled on a digital computer; the paper proposes a model for human learning based on its description of the quantum human computer. It is claimed that human learning can be whole sale rather than being linear, sequential and time-consuming. Sleep and hypnosis are presented as examples.

Task-based teaching is an area which has emerged from the upsurge of interest in cognitive approaches to language learning and teaching of the mid 1980s. Being a current vogue in a communicative language teaching, task-based language learning contains dangers if implemented without care. In particular, it is likely to create pressure for immediate communication rather than interlanguage change and growth. In this process, it may persuade learners to use lexical modes of communication excessively and prematurely, and to fossilize some way short of native-like second language competence. This paper takes a processing-pedagogic viewpoint to review what task-based instruction is, to identify its goals, and to warm EFL/ESL teachers about the potential pitfalls of task-based language learning.

Over the past few decades has changed so rapidly that remote areas of the Earth are now inhabited by human beings. Technology has also developed and people can stay at home and have access to virtual schools. This has stimulated the need for K-12 education. K-12 education has emerged from the no-child-left-behind concerns of governments for educating the young population of their countries. This paper is a critique of such an educational system. It begins with a definition of K-12 distance education, and notices the five most popular K-12 systems: Statewide supplemental programs, District-level supplemental programs, Single-district cyber schools, Multi-district cyber schools, and Cyber charters. It then describes the most popular instructional practices within these K-12 systems and identifies them as: Instructor-led Training (ILT), Collaborative Learning, Computer-based Training (CBT), Web-based Training (WBT), and Electronic Performance Support System (EPSS). Then the paper compares K-12 education to traditional educational systems and identifies their advantages and disadvantages. In the end it concludes that computer or mass media technology has no special powers to enhance and facilitate learning unless it is embedded with instruction that addresses social and cognitive processes of knowledge construction.

Task-based teaching is an area which has emerged from the upsurge of interest in cognitive approaches to language learning and teaching of the mid-1980s. Being a current vogue in communicative language teaching, task-based language learning contains dangers if implemented without care. In particular, it is likely to create pressure for immediate communication rather than interlanguage change and growth. In this process, it may persuade learners to use lexical modes of communication excessively and prematurely, and to fossilize some way short of native-like second language competence. This paper takes a processing-pedagogic viewpoint to review what task-based instruction is, to identify its goals, and to warn EFL/ESL teachers about the potential pitfalls of task-based language teaching. (Contains 1 figure.)

This article attempts to suggest the existence of a human computer called Quantum Human Computer (QHC) on the basis of an analogy between human beings and computers. To date, there are two types of computers: Binary and Quantum. The former operates on the basis of binary logic where an object is said to exist in either of the two states of 1 and 0. The latter, however, operates on the basis of fuzzy logic where an object can exist in more than two states simultaneously. Through analogy, it is hypothesized that human beings are superb quantum computers that operate on the basis of human logic that accepts multiple states for objects simultaneously. Moreover, and since human beings are composed of physique, mind, memory, soul, and spirit, it is also hypothesized that the QHC legalizes the existence of objects in Hilbert space. Finally, it is further suggested that, as fictitious as it may seem, human learning can be reduced into a "suggestion model" whereby information is suggested into the human computer in much the same way as a given software is assembled on a digital computer; the paper proposes a model for human learning based on its description of the quantum human computer. It is claimed that human learning can be wholesale rather than being linear, sequential and time-consuming. Sleep and hypnosis are presented as examples. (Contains 3 figures.)

Metacognition is a concept in psychology that refers to a variety of self-awareness process that help learners learn better. It grew out of the developments over the past few decades of cognitive models of learning. This paper will present a brief overview of these models and discuss their main features. It begins with a discussion of behavioristic models of learning, will go on with a discussion of cognitive learning models and will end in an elaboration of constructivist, humanistic and social interactionist models of human learning. It will then link these learning models to language learning and discuss how they can be applied to help language learners achieve language competence. ["Journal on Educational Psychology" is published by i-manager.]

This paper attempts to address the issue of language development in hearing impaired children. It argues that interpreters, teachers or peers can provide deaf children with language exposure so that they can acquire their native languages more easily. It also argues that the provision of a developmentally appropriate print-rich environments is the key to literacy success and that providing deaf students with the opportunity to respond to and ask questions in the classroom will help them acquire language. It is noted that if peers learn to sign, and if teachers teach them to sign, it will increase the opportunity for social interaction for deaf students whereby affecting their learning outcomes. It stresses the point that the presence of deaf students in a class should be a learning experience for everyone. It also discusses strategies that can be incorporate into teaching by teachers for helping children with hearing impairments achieve more. ["Journal on Educational Psychology" is published by i-manager.]

Over the past few decades life style has changed so rapidly that remote areas of the Earth are now inhabited by human beings. Technology has also developed and people can stay at home and have access to virtual schools. This has stimulated the need for K-12 Education. K-12 education has emerged from the no-child-left-behind concerns of governments for educating the young population of their countries. This paper is a critique of such an educational system. It begins with a definition of K-12 distance education, and notices the five most popular K-12 systems: Statewide supplemental programs, District-level supplemental programs, Single-district cyber schools, Multi-district cyber schools, and Cyber charters. It then describes the most popular instructional practices within these K-12 systems and identifies them as: Instructor-led Training (ILT), Collaborative Learning, Computer-based Training (CBT), Web-based Training (WBT), and Electronic Performance Support System (EPSS). Then the paper compares K-12 education to traditional educational systems and identifies their advantages and disadvantages. In the end it concludes that computer or mass media technology has no special powers to enhance and facilitate learning unless it is embedded with instruction that addresses social and cognitive processes of knowledge construction. (Contains 2 tables.)

The present paper underscores the importance of the cognitive orientation of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students in their success in writing courses. A few suggestions are made as to how EFL teachers can put their students on the right cognitive path in their writings.

This paper underscores the effect of text cohesion on EFL reading comprehension. 160 EFL (n=80) and non-EFL (n=80) university students took two versions of a cloze test based on a passage of 750 words length, one developed with every nth word deletion and the other with cohesive word deletion. The results of analyses of variance indicated that text cohesion positively affected text comprehension. Pedagogical implications of the study are discussed.

Learners of English as a foreign/Second Language (EFL/ESL) can easily learn the correct pronunciation of English words, some linguists have tried to simplify English phonology in general, and English accent in particular, over the past 50 years or so; some scholars have talked about four degrees of primary, secondary, tertiary and weak stress (e.g., Bowen, 1975); some have considered only three degrees of stress: primary, secondary and weak (e.g., Stageberg, 1964) and some have concentrated on two levels of stress: accented vs. unaccented, or stressed vs. unstressed (e.g., Chomsky and Halle, 1968). No one of these scholars, however, has adopted an orthography-based approach to their discussion of English accent. Since orthography or spelling is the most fixed and static way of representing words in English, like in almost any other language, spelling- or orthography-based rules of accent/stress placement can relieve almost any ESL/EFL learner. In this paper, four easy-to-understand spelling-based rules for stress placement are presented which can help EFL/ESL learners to master correct pronunciation of English words.

The present paper underscores the importance of the cognitive orientation of EFL students in their success in writing courses. A few suggestions are made as to how EFL teachers can put their students on the right cognitive path in their writings.

This paper underscores the effect of text cohesion on EFL reading comprehension. 160 EFL (n = 80) and non-EFL (n = 80) university students took two versions of a cloze test based on a passage of 750 words length one developed with every nth word deletion and the other with cohesive word deletion. The results of analyses of variance indicated that text cohesion positively affected text comprehension. Pedagogical implications of the study are discussed.

In a study conducted to see which method of error treatment was more effective in EFL writing classes, 288 Iranian EFL learners took the TOEFL test to be grouped in two homogeneous classes. Each student in each group wrote a paragraph on a general topic which was proofread for mistakes/errors by three experienced EFL writing teachers (i.e., Pretest). One group received Red Pen treatment (RPM) and the other Remedial Instruction treatment (RIM). After a two-week interval, both groups repeated the same writing assignment proofread by the same teachers (Post-test). A Mixed Between-Within Subjects Analysis of Variance (SPANOVA) was conducted to analyze the effect of two different types of treatment (i.e., RPM, and RIM). Results, after analysis of the data, indicated that the main effect was significant for time but not for group. It was further noticed that the interaction effect was also significant. The RPM method, although not statistically significant, was slightly more effective in enhancing EFL written performance than the RIM method.

In this study it was hypothesized that field dependence or independence would introduce systematic variance into Iranian EFL learners' overall and task-specific performance on task-based reading comprehension tests. One thousand, seven hundred, forty-three freshman, sophomore, junior and senior students, all majoring in English at various Iranian universities and colleges, took the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT). The resulting 582 field-independent (FI) and 707 field-dependent (FD) students then took the 1990 version of IELTS. Using SPSS commands for collapsing continuous variables into groups and participants' IELTS scores (based on the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles), four proficiency groups were identified for each cognitive style. From each proficiency group, 36 FD and 36 FI individuals were selected through a matching process. The resulting sample of 288 participants took the Task-Based Reading Test (TBRT) designed for the study. Data analysis revealed that individuals' cognitive styles resulted in a significant difference in their overall test performance in the proficient, semiproficient, and fairly proficient groups, but not in the low-proficient group. The findings also indicated that cognitive style resulted in a significant difference in the participants' performance on true-false, sentence completion, outlining, scanning, and elicitation tasks in all proficiency groups.

Learners of English as a foreign/Second Language (EFL/ESL) can easily learn the correct pronunciation of English words. Linguists have tried to simplify English phonology in general, and English accent in particular, over the past 50 years or so; some scholars have talked about four degrees of primary, secondary, tertiary and weak stress (e.g., Bowen, 1975); some have considered only three degrees of stress: primary, secondary and weak (e.g., Stageberg, 1964) and some have concentrated on two levels of stress: accented vs. unaccented, or stressed vs. unstressed (e.g., Chomsky and Halle, 1968). No one of these scholars, however, has adopted an orthography-based approach to their discussion of English accent. Since orthography or spelling is the most fixed and static way of representing words in English, like in almost any other language, spelling-or orthography-based rules of accent/stress placement can relieve almost any ESL/EFL learner. In this paper, four easy-to-understand spelling-based rules for stress placement are presented which can help EFL/ESL learners to master correct pronunciation of English words. Appended are: (1) Basic Anglo-Saxon; and (2) Most Frequent Latinate Prefixes. (Contains 6 tables.)

In a study conducted to see which method of error treatment was more effective in EFL writing classes, 288 Iranian EFL learners took the TOEFL test to be grouped in two homogeneous classes. Each student in each group wrote a paragraph on a general topic which was proofread for mistakes/errors by three experienced EFL writing teachers (i.e., Pretest). One group received Red Pen treatment (RPM) and the other Remedial Instruction treatment (RIM). After a two-week interval, both groups repeated the same writing assignment proofread by the same teachers (Post-test). A Mixed Between-Within Subjects Analysis of Variance (SPANOVA) was conducted to analyze the effect of two different types of treatment (i.e., RPM, and RIM). Results, after analysis of the data, indicated that the main effect was significant for time but not for group. It was further noticed that the interaction effect was also significant. The RPM method, although not statistically significant, was slightly more effective in enhancing EFL written performance than the RIM method. (Contains 1 figure and 6 tables.)

The present paper underscores the importance of the cognitive orientation of EFL students in their success in writing courses. A few suggestions are made as to how EFL teachers can put their students on the right cognitive path in their writings.

Recent language testing research investigates factors other than language proficiency that may be responsible for systematic variance in language test performance. One such factor is the test takers' cognitive styles. The present study was carried out with the aim of finding the probable effects of Iranian EFL learners' cognitive styles on their performance on communicative tests. For purposes of the present study, it was hypothesized that field (in)dependence would introduce systematic variance into Iranian EFL learners' communicative-test performance. 240 junior and senior students all majoring in English took the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT), the 1990 version of IELTS, and the Communicative Test (CT) designed for the present study. The results of the present study provided evidence that the field-dependent (FD) subjects, compared to their field independent (FI) counterparts, performed much better on the CT. It was, therefore, concluded that test takers' cognitive styles may be viewed as a source of systematic variance in performance on communicative language tests.