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With the advent of new English textbooks, course book evaluation has become an indispensable ingredient in all English Language Teaching (ELT) contexts. Thus, the present study aimed to contribute to this area in the Iranian context by evaluating newly published junior high school (13 to 15 years old) course books (the Prospect series) and examining their weaknesses and strengths from students' points of view. In so doing, this study employed Litz's (2005) questionnaire to examine 417 junior high school students' perspectives. Also, nine students took part in follow-up interviews to elaborate their perspectives about the strengths and weaknesses of the textbooks. The results of the questionnaire showed that students believed that this series requires some modifications regarding the design and layout, authenticity in activities, diversity of registers and accents, variety of subjects and content, and cultural presentation. In addition, the students asserted in the interviews that there are some other problems with the textbooks in terms of the selected topics, accessibility and quality of the multimedia materials, organization of the content, and the learning goals that are set. Iranian EFL instruction relies on the Prospect series, and all Iranian junior high school students are taught using these books. The improvements suggested by the students in this study can facilitate development of English course books to better support learners' goals in the future.

Purpose: Given the significance of willingness to communicate and its integral role in the field of foreign/second language acquisition (F/SLA), this quantitative study intends to examine the relationship between sensory emotioncy types and teacher immediacy with second language learners' willingness to communicate (WTC). Design/methodology/approach: A total number of 280 students majoring in teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), and English Language and Literature completed three scales of Sensory Emotioncy Type (SET), Willingness to Communicate and Teacher Immediacy (TI). For data analysis, Pearson correlation coefficient, multiple regression analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) were employed. Findings: The results of SEM showed that learners' WTC was significantly predicted by emotioncy and teacher immediacy. Further, reports from correlational and regression analyses revealed a significantly positive correlation, first, between teacher immediacy and learners' WTC, secondly, between emotioncy and learners' WTC. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation of this study was that the participants were selected from one context with relatively a small sample which might restrict the generalization. Nonetheless, the present study findings might extend ancillary horizons and provided worthwhile insights into the perception of teacher immediacy and emotioncy on students' willingness to communicate. Practical implications: The significance of the current study lies in its theoretical contribution to the notion of WTC and its pedagogical implications and suggestions to the benefits of rejuvenating second language teaching and learning. Findings of this study help pre-service and in-service teachers in providing them more robust picture of learners' individual differences; and hence exert the most appropriate tasks which learners have the most degree of familiarity and better to say, emotioncy. Originality/value: In the current study notable results were obtained which would be efficacious to the present literature on the EFL teacher immediacy, emotioncy and willingness to communicate. First and foremost, the findings added to a growing body of literature on emotioncy as a relatively novel concept in academic settings and teacher immediacy , and willingness to communicate which have gained scant attention in the field.

Writing a Master of Arts (MA) thesis is a challenging task for postgraduate students. This complexity is of great significance when one is writing in his/her second language. From this perspective, genrecentered approaches help non-natives enhance their understanding of academic and scientific texts. This study is intended to comparatively investigate the rhetorical differences/similarities existing in the abstracts and introduction sections of MA theses produced by Iraqi and international students in the field of Applied Linguistics (AL). To achieve this goal, two groups of MA theses (30 theses each) were randomly selected. Hyland's (2000) proposed model and Chen and Kuo's (2012) framework were utilized in order to categorize the rhetorical structures in abstract and introduction sections, respectively. The findings showed that Iraqi university students included the steps of (a) "Research hypotheses" and (b) "Outlining thesis structures" in their abstracts while these rhetorical features were absent in their international counterparts. Iraqi students also discussed results in the abstracts more frequently than international MA students. Furthermore, although both Iraqi and international MA students utilized the moves with similar frequencies in their introduction chapters, international students utilized various steps for the realization of Move 1 and Move 3. The findings call for a genre-based approach in teaching academic writing to raise the students' awareness of these schematic organizations in MA thesis writing classes in EFL contexts.

Purpose: This paper explores the challenges of conducting qualitative research from ELT (English Language Teaching) Ph.D. candidates' perspectives. Design/methodology/approach: The participants of the study consisted of 30 Iranian Ph.D. students majoring in ELT. The semi-structured interview was employed to investigate the heart of experiences, issues and concerns of participants with regard to conducting qualitative research (QLR) challenges. To analyze the collected data, the recorded interviews were transcribed, and then the grounded theory approach was employed (Charmaz, 2006). Findings: The results revealed that the major challenges of the participants consist of the credibility of QLR in ELT contexts, hermeneutic and fuzzy nature of QLR, qualitative data analysis and interpretation, publishing qualitative findings and the system of measuring professors' productivity. Originality/value: The findings may help professors, mainly EFL ones, in research mentoring and developing research syllabi for graduate students. In addition, it may motivate Ph.D. candidates to employ QLR methods in their research studies. The pedagogical and theoretical implications of the study are discussed at the end of the paper.

This study examined the influence of mobile-assisted critical writing instructions on EFL learners' writing skill in language institutes. Ninety EFL learners who were studying English at three branches of a language institute in Iran took part in this research. Two equal groups as control and experimental were formed. As the pretest, a writing task was assigned to the groups which required them to write an argumentative report. The reports were the participants' personal analyses of the contents they had viewed on TV about an important political issue. After the pretest, the control group received instructions for critical writing in class without using Instagram. The treatment lasted for 12 weeks. During the treatment, the control group were asked to watch some TV channels devoted to news. The experimental group received instructions for critical writing in class and via Instagram. The treatment lasted for 12 weeks. The experimental group, who were all Instagram users, were asked to view some Instagram accounts belonging to famous news agencies. Additionally, an Instagram account was created by the teacher and they were asked to follow it for receiving instructions there. When the treatments ended, the posttest was administered. The control group were required to watch the TV channels and the experimental group were required to view the Instagram accounts to write an argumentative report about an important political issue. The reports were the participants' personal analyses of the contents they had viewed. Despite having nearly the same mean scores on the pretest, the two groups' mean scores on the posttest were different and the experimental group scored higher than the control group. Finally, 15 members of the experimental group were interviewed. The focus of the interview was on the participants' suggestions and criticisms of the study. Overall, the experimental group had positive perceptions of the treatment. This study may have implications for teacher trainers, supervisors, teachers, and textbook writers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing demands on faculty members and students to conduct research might result in domination in supervisor-student relations across cultural contexts. This study aimed to explore how students' research relationships with their supervisors are manifested within TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) postgraduate curriculum in Iran's higher education. In so doing, 17 MA and PhD students, drawing upon phenomenological research, were recruited to participate in the study. The findings, analyzed through thematic analysis, suggest that university professors, by building low-quality, hierarchical relationships in terms of professional and interpersonal relations concerning research engagement, sustain their power relations which might be construed as accepted norms within Iran's higher education setting. The study brings ethical behavior into focus to humanize research practice and improve supervision processes/outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advent of numerous newly-published English course books, textbook evaluation has turned into a very critical area in English Language Teaching (ELT). This paper aims to evaluate the English textbooks being taught in Iranian Junior high school ("Prospect" series). In so doing, an evaluation questionnaire was distributed among 27 female and 42 male junior high school teachers. Having collected the survey data, in order to obtain a richer understanding of teachers' opinions, follow-up interviews were conducted with 11 teachers. The results indicate that although "Prospect" series can be considered a breakthrough in comparison to the previous English textbooks, they suffer from some critical shortcomings in terms of activities, methodology, topics, design, and insufficiency of teaching hours. Overall, the findings suggested that the textbooks fell short of Iranian teachers' expectations and need critical improvements to reach their bests. Results of the present study have implications both for English material developers and curriculum planners.

This study investigated the crucial role of teaching in society and the inquiry into effective teaching qualities. It underscored the prominence of mindfulness in teaching, as well as the ongoing process of reflective practice within the realm of EFL educators. The research aimed to create a model illuminating the relationships between EFL teachers' reflective practice, teacher mindfulness, and professional development. It also delved into the mediating role of teacher mindfulness in this context. To attain this research objective, a convenience sampling method was utilized, leading to the selection of 150 EFL teachers from private language institutions across different provinces in Iran. Employing a quantitative methodology three distinct questionnaires were utilized to gather data. Subsequently, the information was examined through the application of Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The structural model evaluation indicated significant path coefficients reinforcing all research hypotheses, with mindfulness functioning as a significant mediator between reflective practice and professional development. It is implied that there is a conspicuous emphasis on integrating mindfulness and reflective practices into educational policies and curricula to cultivate continuous growth and development among teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was aimed at exploring English teacher trainers' and pre-service and in-service English teachers' attitudes toward English as a lingua franca (ELF) in the Iranian education system. To amass the data, 68 pre-service and 118 in-service English teachers and 21 teacher trainers filled out an adapted ELF questionnaire and sat semi-structured interviews. The results of the study revealed that the participants expressed diverse attitudes to different aspects of ELF. However, generally, they showed further inclination toward native speakerism although some traces of flexibility were observed in their attitudes toward the mainstream English language teaching (ELT). Further, the results of one-way ANOVA showed that overall there was no significant difference between the three groups' attitudes toward ELF. Moreover, the results of Kruskal-Wallis Test also demonstrated no significant difference between the three groups' attitudes to each aspect of ELF. The findings of the study imply that the practitioners' fixed mindsets cannot change unless a significant change occurs in the education system of the country in general and teacher training programs in particular.

This study examines the listening and speaking activities of ELT textbooks adopted in Iranian junior and senior high schools, namely the Prospect and Vision series, with reference to English as a lingua franca (ELF) features. To do so, the researchers analysed the textbooks' activities against ELF criteria adopted from Caleffi's study (2016). The results of the critical content analysis revealed that the textbooks do not provide sufficient exposure to a variety of situational contexts, characters, and cultural elements, and do not provide sufficient opportunities for English teachers to implement the socio-linguistic and socio-cultural realities of the English language in their English classes. This seems to have resulted in unrealistic and unauthentic presentations of English in the textbook series. The findings can encourage national and international ELT textbook designers to eschew a fixed and monolithic approach to the English language and make more extensive use of ELF-informed materials in ELT textbooks.

Grit as an interesting and significant topic in psychology has been associated with better study habits and higher grades through perseverance and passion for long term goals. The only available measurement instrument of grit (Duckworth et al. in "J Personal Soc Psychol" 92:1087-1101, 2007) is general both in terms of its subject matter and context. Thus, this study aims to develop and validate an English as a foreign language (EFL) grit instrument whose items are specific to EFL context to obtain a more detailed view of its components for Iranian EFL learners, and to tap on other grit related factors in the EFL context. A four component model of EFL grit was developed through reviewing the existing literature and exploring EFL experts' perspectives. This tentative theoretical model of EFL grit encompasses overarching construct of effort including the following main components: Trying hard to learn English (THLE) having interest in learning English (ILE) practicing a lot in order to learn English (PLE) and having goal for learning English (HGLE). The model was then cross checked against the results of the interviews, and evolved into a scenario-based, 5 point Likert-scale EFL grit instrument. It was later operationalized by an instrument consisting of 26 items, i.e. 6 items for each component plus 2 items for themes 1 and 3. The piloting and testing of the tentative model through exploratory and confirmatory data analyses on a sample of 306 EFL learners indicated the reliability of 0.833 and an acceptable validity. The findings called for a more meaningful interpretation of the concept of grit in relation to Iranian EFL context and offered new insights for higher education administrators considering student academic performance.

This case study reports on critical consciousness development of a female school graduate in a reading comprehension course. Critical pedagogy (CP) principles were adopted in the course during which the participant was encouraged to read a set of passages critically and write critical journals. In addition, after reading each passage, she participated in a relevant critical discussion with the tutor. Thematic analysis was adopted to trace the participant's critical consciousness development. The results showed that even though she developed critical consciousness to a great extent, this could not modify her ideology about an issue affecting her life directly. Furthermore, thematic analysis of an unstructured interview revealed that the participant was satisfied with the implementation of CP principles in teaching reading skills. The findings suggest that teachers need to give further weight to students' critical consciousness and teacher training programs need to raise teachers' awareness of its impact on students' social life.

This study examined the relationships among English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' reflective practices, self-efficacy, and research practice. Data were collected from a survey of 150 EFL teachers engaging both with (i.e. through reading) and in (i.e. through doing) research in English language teaching (ELT). The results of multiple correlation analyses indicated significant and positive associations among reflective practice, self-efficacy, and research practice. These analyses also indicated that all subscales of reflective practice significantly and positively correlated with research practice and self-efficacy. In addition, all subscales of self-efficacy significantly and positively correlated with research practice and reflective practice. The results from multiple regression analyses indicated that reflective practice and self-efficacy strongly predicted the participants' research practice, with the former being a stronger predictor. Multiple regression findings further showed that among the subscales of reflective practice, cognitive and critical reflections strongly predicted research practice, and practical and cognitive reflections strongly predicted self-efficacy. Additionally, among the subscales of self-efficacy, efficacy for instructional strategies and efficacy for classroom management strongly predicted research practice and efficacy for instructional strategies, and efficacy for student engagement strongly predicted reflective practice. Moreover, results from one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that among EFL teachers who were actively, moderately, and rarely engaged in research, EFL teachers who were actively engaged in research did more reflective practice and were more self-efficacious.

Lexical inferencing has not led to substantial vocabulary gains. In previous studies, the learners were not obliged by design to notice the unfamiliar words and static approaches to assessment were adopted. In this quasi-experimental study, we adopted dynamic assessment (DA) approach and took measures to ensure noticing of the new words. Through purposive sampling, 80 intermediate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students were selected as participants. They were randomly assigned to computerized dynamic assessment (CDA) and static assessment (SA) groups. Participants read five texts, one per week, and inferred the meaning of highlighted unfamiliar words. In CDA group, through a software program, struggling learners received graduated mediational hints for each target word which helped them to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words. No mediational assistance was provided to the participants of SA group. Acquisition and retention post-tests were administered to both groups one day and four weeks after reading each text, respectively. Results showed that vocabulary gains in CDA group were significantly higher than those in the control group. The findings suggest that the noticing of unfamiliar words and the adoption of DA approach could enhance vocabulary gains from lexical inferencing.

Although there has been surge of interest in teacher research practice in English language teaching (ELT) context, few research studies seem to have shown the attitudes and perceptions of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers towards the impact of research practice on professional teaching practice. Adopting a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach, the present study explored the current status of EFL teachers' research practice and the impact of research practice on the professional teaching practice of EFL teachers who were actively engaged with (i.e. through reading) and in (i.e. through doing) research. To this end, 150 EFL teachers filled out English Language Teacher Research Practice questionnaire in order to check their current status in research practice in the ELT setting. The participants' responses to the questionnaire indicated that they were engaged both with and in research to some extent. Based on the responses to the questionnaire, 31 EFL teachers who were actively engaged with and in research were selected to explore their attitudes and perceptions towards the impact of their research practice on their professional teaching practice through a semi-structured interview. Thematic analysis, used to analyse the qualitative data, uncovered nine themes that addressed the positive attitudes and perceptions of EFL teachers towards the impact of research practice on professional teaching practice. In line with the findings, implications for developing EFL teachers' research practice in their own professional ELT context are suggested.

Investigating supervision comments, as a form of interaction between the teacher and the learner, is an area of research that has received little attention so far in spite of being crucial in creating an atmosphere of friendship and confidence-building. Previous research in this area has emphasized the role of affect in supervision comments in distance learning, however, this issue has not been investigated with regard to native versus non-native supervisors' comments in face-to-face supervision settings. To address this, an attempt was made, in this study, to examine the use of affective markers in the supervision comments provided by native/non-native supervisors on MA TESOL/TEFL Iranian students. To do so, the written comments of the supervisors on the students' theses were analysed using a framework called Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project (CSARP) Coding Manual. The results indicated that the non-native supervisors tended to rely entirely on "bold on record" strategies for providing written comments on their students' theses and this was in contrast to the native supervisors' tendency to use "redressive moves" with affective markers rather than non-redressive or direct moves. The percentage of application of internal and external "redressive moves" was another finding of the present study.

This study attempts to examine Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test in the light of the ideas of Michel Foucault, specifically the notions of normalization, institutions, and surveillance that tackle the relationships among power, institutions, and literature. The analysis posits that, in the context of the 1960s, the American government took advantage of all the institutions which were supposed to guarantee the freedom of individuals to curtail their freedom. Seeking to create a normal, ordinary, and homogeneous society, these administrations have employed the police, law, prison, and other overlapping institutions that work in tandem to create circuits of institutions which guarantee to reduce human beings to simpletons who are docile, meek, and ready to fit in place properly. The normality and ordinariness favored by the authorities are also implemented since the novel starts by depicting free individuals whose identities hinge on their being abnormal while it ends when their movement is shattered, and the protagonist is seen as a simpleton serving the forced labor sentence of the judges of both the government and normality. Freedom emerges as a mirage than truth as there seems to be no outside through which individuals can live outside the domination of controlling apparatuses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The realm of foreign language acquisition emphasizes the affective dimension of learning rather than only cognitive. This affective turn has focused on how EFL students' emotions affect learning a new language and culture, as well as identity development. This survey article examines the kinds of emotions students experience, the causes of emotions and their potential effects on learning, based on the emotioncy model. Ten students majoring in English participated in cognitive interviews and they were asked to elaborate on the tensions they might have encountered or are currently encountering. Based on the interview results, emotioncy management is one of the instructors' abilities that plays a significant role in the process of foreign identity development. Further, in order to facilitate successful learning, emotioncy should be materialized to the practical level to be an apropos signifier in meeting students' emotional needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted with the purpose of investigating the use of humour by EFL teachers in a private language institute in the context of Iran. In so doing, the study made an attempt to identify the forms of humour EFL teachers opt to use more frequently in relation to the students' teaching in the classroom through observing their classroom teachings. Moreover, an interview was held with the EFL teachers to seek their perceptions with regard to the functions humorous language can serve in the process of language teaching and learning and their suggestions as to the implementation of humour in the classroom. The findings of the study demonstrate that Iranian EFL teachers show the inclination to use jokes, physical humour and riddles more frequently than other forms of humour. Moreover, the results of the interview reveal that EFL teachers assign some more commonly functions to the humorous language in the classroom such as creating a cheerful and friendly atmosphere, acting as a relaxing, comforting, and tension reducing device, increasing student interest and enjoyment, increasing learners' concentration and motivation, and finally improving the quality of learning. Finally, the suggestions for appropriate use of humour and implications of the study are discussed in the result and conclusion sections, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic violence (DV) is a widespread social phenomenon, adversely impacting public mental and physical health. The abatement of such issue necessitates a priori social awareness and a posteriori social support. With that in mind, the present study aimed at disclosing dominant discursive constructions of DV among Iranian Instagram users. Driven by Fairclough's (1992) notion of "moments of crisis," critical discourse analysis was employed as the theoretical framework to elucidate the results obtained from 1,028 comments on nine DV-related posts. Our primary objective was to uncover Iranian Instagram commentators' perception of the causes and consequences of DV as well as the perpetrator and victim's roles through probing into the embedded social values and assumptions underpinning such discursive constructions represented within comments. Meticulous inspection of the data yielded six major themes, namely, (a) blaming the responsible, (b) offering solutions to the victims, (c) portraying the male perpetrators, (d) overgeneralizing the transgression, (e) disregarding men's rights, and (f) portraying the female perpetrators. The results indicated that female and male commentators held dissimilar perspectives with regard to DV and that though the conceptualizations of DV were not destitute of prejudice, both perpetrators and victims were encouraged to take requisite steps to minimize the adverse impact of DV on their families and relations as well as on social and public health. The discursive themes identified in the current work may serve as the stepping stone toward the mitigation of DV within society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims at investigating the impact of gender and being native and non-native on the use of hedging devices in the discussion part of Applied Linguistics research papers written by native English/non-native (Iranian) male and female research writers. To this end, 60 Applied Linguistic research papers (15 for each group of research writers) were investigated based on Salager-Meyer, Françoise. 1994. Hedges and textual communicative function in medical English written discourse. English for Specific Purposes 13(2). 149–170 taxonomy. The results of Chi-square analyses indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between male and female research writers in terms of the frequency of use of hedging devices adopted in the discussion part of the research papers in the realm of Applied Linguistics. Moreover, the results of the study showed that the discussion parts of Applied Linguistics research papers written by male and female native English research writers were more hedged than those written by their Iranian counterparts. The pedagogical and implications of the findings are dealt with in the discussion and conclusion sections of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lexical inferencing has not led to substantial vocabulary gains. In previous studies, the learners were not obliged by design to notice the unfamiliar words and static approaches to assessment were adopted. In this quasi-experimental study, we adopted dynamic assessment (DA) approach and took measures to ensure noticing of the new words. Through purposive sampling, 80 intermediate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students were selected as participants. They were randomly assigned to computerized dynamic assessment (CDA) and static assessment (SA) groups. Participants read five texts, one per week, and inferred the meaning of highlighted unfamiliar words. In CDA group, through a software program, struggling learners received graduated mediational hints for each target word which helped them to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words. No mediational assistance was provided to the participants of SA group. Acquisition and retention post-tests were administered to both groups one day and four weeks after reading each text, respectively. Results showed that vocabulary gains in CDA group were significantly higher than those in the control group. The findings suggest that the noticing of unfamiliar words and the adoption of DA approach could enhance vocabulary gains from lexical inferencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lexical inferencing has not led to substantial vocabulary gains. In previous studies, the learners were not obliged by design to notice the unfamiliar words and static approaches to assessment were adopted. In this quasi-experimental study, we adopted dynamic assessment (DA) approach and took measures to ensure noticing of the new words. Through purposive sampling, 80 intermediate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students were selected as participants. They were randomly assigned to computerized dynamic assessment (CDA) and static assessment (SA) groups. Participants read five texts, one per week, and inferred the meaning of highlighted unfamiliar words. In CDA group, through a software program, struggling learners received graduated mediational hints for each target word which helped them to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words. No mediational assistance was provided to the participants of SA group. Acquisition and retention post-tests were administered to both groups one day and four weeks after reading each text, respectively. Results showed that vocabulary gains in CDA group were significantly higher than those in the control group. The findings suggest that the noticing of unfamiliar words and the adoption of DA approach could enhance vocabulary gains from lexical inferencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cognitive taxonomy of educational objectives incorporates six levels from the simple recognition or recall of information, as the lowest level, to the highest level which is classified as evaluation and creation. The aim of this paper is to make an analogy between the development of the cognitive processes from remembering to creating based on Anderson and Krathwohl's cognitive taxonomy of educational objectives and the history of the atomic theory, first proposed by John Dalton in 1803 followed by Thompson, Rutherford, Niels Bohr and finally the quantum theory which builds upon the previous atomic theories. This comparison gives a profound picture of the thinking processes including both lower and higher-order thinking processes learners deal with in education. The goal behind the cognitive taxonomy is to equip learners to be able to transfer the knowledge and skills they have learned to new contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]