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There is a dearth of research on hope in studies of second or foreign (L2) language learning. Therefore, the present research contributes conceptually to a deep understanding of hope for learning English as a foreign language and the ways it may be developed. To do so, an exploratory mixed-methods design was employed. Using in-depth interviews, qualitative data was collected from the advanced-level adult Iranian EFL learners. Grounded-based analysis of the data led to the emergence of forty-seven items tied to seven main components as well as inter-relationships between them. In the quantitative phase, a 47-item questionnaire of hope for learning EFL was designed and then piloted. Next, to test the validity of the piloting phase findings, the refined 46-item questionnaire of hope for learning EFL was administered to a convenience sample of EFL learners (n=330). Statistical analyses of the testing data confirmed that forty-six items are linked to seven broad underlying components of hope for learning EFL. The main factors building the construct of hope for learning EFL were confirmed. Moreover, core factor, interconnections between the identified components were developed and validated. The findings can provide invaluable clues as to the development of educational interventionist programs in the future.

Anticipatory completions can be a potential place in which the second speaker expresses disagreement with the first speaker. 'Doing disagreement' is a significant feature of group work interaction, and resolving such disagreements can pose an interactional challenge for students in classroom contexts (Sharma 2012). Examining disagreement episodes can help teachers and students to understand the practices that participants employ to maintain their stances, contest their interlocutors' standpoints, and close disagreements. This study sets out to discover the interactional patterns advanced EFL participants use in disagreement episodes in post-completion sequences that do and do not bring disagreements to a close. We draw on Conversation Analysis to describe 50 hours of interactions, a total of 20 video-recorded English discussion task sessions collected over 10 weeks from 15 Farsi-speaking advanced EFL students assigned to work in groups of three. The results show that acts to close the disagreement sequence include: relinquishing a position by accepting the position maintained by another, or acknowledging the repair performed by another party. Disagreements are not resolved when the partners fail to accept the possibility of two or more positions or when the less knowledgeable speaker is oriented to disagreement. We conclude with implications for pedagogic practice.

This study was an attempt to evaluate practicum courses at Farhangian University. Since practicum is a significant component of teacher education which links theory to practice and prepares student-teachers for their work, this study was intended to explore the extent to which (1) the practicum objectives stated in the 'Curriculum Document of TEFL' at Farhangian University were actualized, (2) the students' language teaching profession needs were fulfilled, and (3) the participants were satisfied with the courses. To this end, based on the data gathered from interview, focus-group discussion and the University documents, a questionnaire was developed and administered to 144 student-teachers and mentors. Findings revealed that although the courses were relevant to the student-teachers' occupational needs, and improved participants' motivation, self-confidence, and class management skills, they failed to fulfill a number of their needs and course objectives to a considerable degree. Findings also indicated that the way courses implemented in practice was not satisfactory. The findings are discussed and some implications are provided for student-teachers, EFL teacher educators, and syllabus designers.

To determine the issue of whether there were any significant differences between the groups including Iran ISI, Iran non- ISI, and native authors in binary comparisons as for employing interactional markers, the present study was conducted. To collect the data, 90 "method sections" of English medical research articles within Iranian ISI, Iranian non-ISI, and native ISI journals written by Iranian and native authors published between 2005 and 2010, were examined. As the model of analysis, Hyland's (2005) taxonomy of metadiscourse markers was used. After performing quantitative and qualitative analyses of the interactional markers, Chi- Square tests were run. The results of the study at p= 0.05 revealed significant differences in binary comparisons made up of native / Iran ISI, native / Iran non- ISI, and Iran ISI/ Iran non-ISI as for employing self-mentions. The findings also demonstrated a significant difference between Native and Iran ISI groups for using boosters. These differences may be influenced by the writers' mother tongue, culture and also by their lack or limited awareness of the rhetorical conventions of English medical academic research writing which are needed to be taken into consideration.

Today, Lesson Study (LS) is a prerequisite to the professional development of teachers in high school settings. The present study aims to figure out how Iranian language teachers' attitudes towards LS can motivate their engagement or denial of joining LS projects. The study is also driven by the desire to discover the obstacles to achieving LS from the perspective of language teachers in Iran. A research design on explanatory sequential mixed methods was used. The instruments used to collect the data consisted of questionnaires at the quantitative stage along with language teachers' reflection notes and semi-structured interviews during the qualitative phase of the study. A total of 206 senior high school language teachers participated in the first phase of the study, of which 14 participated in the interview, and 20 wrote reflection notes for the second phase of the research. The instrument used to analyze the data in the quantitative phase was SPSS software and, at the qualitative step, MAXQDA software. The result of both quantitative and qualitative findings draws attention to the importance of mentoring high school EFL teachers to be able to complete LS and puts emphasis on the beneficial role of Lesson Study. These findings can have implications for EFL teachers, school officials, EFL teacher educators, curriculum designers, and policymakers to pave the way for attaching importance to LS as a teachers' development approach. In terms of the limitations of this study, follow-up studies can mitigate the limitations of this research by replicating it using a larger sample of teachers teaching different levels of students in different classes for a much longer duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was an attempt to evaluate the undergraduate TEFL program at Farhangian University. The university specializes in educating prospective teachers and the program is important since it is expected to equip the student teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary for qualified teachers. Hence, in this study, measures were taken to investigate the merits and demerits of the implemented TEFL program and explore the domains in which the program needs to be improved. The study assessed the program from the perspectives of 220 student teachers, 32 teacher educators, and 12 heads of departments and experts including the university deans, deputies, and research and teaching staff, through using three instruments, i.e. questionnaires, interviews, and observations in a mixed methods design .The findings indicated that the TEFL program did not address some educational and administrative needs as the participants believed that they were not enriched with the necessary skills, the practice of the learned theories, problem solving, critical thinking, flexibility, and innovation. Furthermore, this study demonstrated several theory- practice gaps in the curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]