ندا فاتحی راد

This Study Investigates the Impact of code-Switching on Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Learners, Specifically Examining its Influence on Willingness to Communicate (WTC) and Complexity in L2 Speaking. Employing a Quasi-Experimental Design, the Research Involved 60 Intermediate-Level TEFL Students at a Higher Education Institution in Mashhad, Iran. Participants were Divided into Control and Experimental Groups Based on a B1 Preliminary Examination Pretest. The Study Utilized Multiple Instruments, Including a Standardized Speaking task Adapted from B1-Level Tests and a Novel WTC self-Assessment Method Involving Video Playback and Likert-Scale Ratings. Results Indicated that code-Switching can Enhance Learners' Complexity in L2 Speaking. Also, a Positive Relationship was Observed Between L2 Learners’ WTC and Their Speaking Complexity. Additionally, the Findings Suggest Implications for WTC, Though Specific Details were not Provided in the Given Information. This Research Contributes to the Understanding of Linguistic Strategies Employed by L2 Learners and Highlights the need for Balanced Pedagogical Approaches that Incorporate code-Switching While Maintaining Immersion in the Target Language. The Study's Findings have Potential Implications for EFL Teaching Methodologies and Curriculum Design, Particularly in Contexts Where code-Switching is Prevalent.

Recently, the field of language teaching/learning has faced several challenges attributed to different sources including the introduction or emergence of multicultural societies wherein multicultural education is necessary. This study sought to develop a multicultural method for teaching General English in Iranian universities, using a grounded theory design. To collect the data, the themes regarding reflection of multicultural General English language teaching in the existing literature, and those related to reflection of multicultural General English language teaching in EFL teachers’ perceptions were used from Moeini et al. (2025). Data analysis was conducted through axial and selective coding using MAXQDA Software. According to the results, the following main components were extracted for a multicultural General English Language teaching in the Iranian Universities as uncovered via reviewing the literature and interviewing university EFL teachers’ perceptions: Teaching about discriminations, Teaching communication, collaboration and thinking skills, and Teaching based on diversity, fairness and differences. Moreover, a multicultural model of General English Language teaching in Iranian Universities emerged that consisted of three main components including Teaching about discriminations, Teaching communication, collaboration and thinking skills, and Teaching based on diversity, fairness and differences. Each component consisted of some sub-components. The findings have some implications for Iranian EFL teachers, learners, curriculum designers, teacher training programs, and policymakers. Keywords : General English Teaching, Multicultural Education, Multiculturalism, Multicultural Teaching

Multicultural education is a product of the impact of the globalization on education. Further, a factor with a main role in EFL teaching and learning is teacher effectiveness which has a significant place in the World educational programs. The present study sought to explore Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions of pluralistic teacher effectiveness. In line with the objective of the present study, the basic interpretive design within a qualitative paradigm. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 40 Iranian (20 males and 20 females) EFL teachers teaching in public high schools in different Iranian provinces. They were conveniently selected from among those teachers who were members of virtual groups and channels. To collect the required data, a semi-structured interview was implemented. Data analysis was done via qualitative thematic analysis. As revealed by the results, the following perceptions were extracted concerning pluralistic teacher effectiveness: Having Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication with Learners; Recognizing Differences among Students’ Learning Strategies; Having Preliminary Knowledge of Different Subjects; Taking Advantage of Different Teaching Methods; Showing Respect and Attention to all Students; Teaching Ruminatively; Having Accountability and Responsibility; Generating a Conducive Class Atmosphere; Using Technology; Using Motivational Strategies; Using Various Evaluation Methods; and Building a Fair Classroom.

Background: While vocabulary acquisition models have been widely studied, the comparative role of Laufer’s frameworks in digital environments—particularly their effects on learner engagement and perception—remains underexplored. This research addresses this gap by examining how these models mediate vocabulary learning outcomes among Iranian EFL learners. Aims: This study aimed to investigate the impact of Laufer’s Three "I" model (Input, Instruction, Involvement) and the extended Five "I" model (adding Interaction and Interpretation) on Iranian EFL learners' deliberate and incidental vocabulary learning engagement in digital contexts. Methods: The study employed a sequential mixed-methods design with 93 intermediate-level male EFL learners (aged 16–20) selected via convenience sampling from private language institutes in Tehran. After homogeneity screening using the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT), 60 participants were randomly assigned to experimental (digital-based instruction) and control (traditional face-to-face) groups. Data were collected through vocabulary tests, engagement surveys, and semi-structured interviews, analyzed using SPSS (v.26) for quantitative data (ANOVA, t-tests) and thematic analysis for qualitative responses. Results: Results indicated that the Five "I" model significantly outperformed the Three "I" model in both deliberate (p< 0.05, d= 0.85) and incidental (p< 0.05, d= 0.72) vocabulary learning. Qualitative data revealed enhanced engagement, reduced anxiety, and improved metacognitive awareness among learners using the progressive model, particularly through its Interaction and Interpretation components. Conclusion: The findings suggest that Laufer’s expanded Five "I" model offers a more effective framework for digital vocabulary instruction by integrating social-interactive and interpretive elements. Educators should prioritize structured yet interactive digital activities to maximize lexical acquisition and learner motivation in EFL contexts.

House wives hold a specific position at home, as it is known to everyone. This study aimed at investigating the effect of virtual English language teaching on Iranian house wives’ emotional regulation, anger control, and domestic violence. In so doing, a quasi-experimental pre-test post-test control group design was used. The target population of this study included all Iranian house wives. From the population, about 60 Iranian house wives from different cities of Iran were selected through available sampling. The participants were randomly divided into two groups namely, the experimental and control groups. The required data were collected through the following instruments: The Persian version of Anger Control Questionnaire, developed and validated by Buss and Perry (1992); the Domestic Violence against Women, developed and validated by Mohseni Tabrizi et al. (2011) in Persian; and the Persian version of the Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (Garnefski et al., 2003). The findings confirmed a significantly positive impact of virtual English language teaching on Iranian House wives’ emotional regulation, anger control and domestic violence. The findings have implications for top-level educational authorities, social emergency administrators, and future researchers.

There is research paucity concerning EFL learners’ self-formation, taking the role of IELTS writing skills into account. With a view to this, the present study aimed to see what a model of possible self-construction before and after training on IELTS writing skills emerges and what the psychometric properties of the emerged model are. To this end, a grounded theory approach was used. Of the IELTS candidates taking part in five IELTS preparation centers in Kerman, 90 (55 males and 35 females) candidates were selected as the participants of the present study through cluster sampling. A semi-structured interview was used to identify the possible selfof the participants. Coding procedures (i.e., open, axial, and selective coding) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were used to analyze the data. According to the results, a model of possible selfconstruction before and after training on IELTS writing skills emerged wherein before training on IELTS writing skills, feared possible selfwere more dominant than expected and responsible possible selves. Furthermore, after training on IELTS writing skills, expected and responsible possible selfwere constructed more dominantly than feared possible selves. Implications of the results for EFL curriculum planners, teachers, and learners have been discussed.

The present study aimed to explore the strategies and challenges faced by Iranian teachers in classroom management. The importance of this study lied in its potential contribution to effective approaches in classroom management, professional growth of teachers, and research knowledge. To serve that end, it utilized a qualitative research design, employing semi-structured interview and open-ended questionnaire to gather data from a sample of Iranian teachers. The findings revealed that Iranian teachers were required to use different strategies to put their knowledge resources and practices of classroom management into the real context of classroom with high effectiveness. The study also indicated several challenges faced by Iranian teachers, such as students’ misbehavior, class communication, fulfillment of learner expectations, time management, care for and attention to learners, giving and receiving feedback, interactions with students’ families, flexibility, accountability and commitment, lesson planning, group work planning, and professional ethics. It can be concluded that teachers’ classroom management literacy is fed by different knowledge resources. Moreover, classroom management literacy is not formed overnight, but it is the product of various knowledge domains. More importantly, classroom management is not an easy task for Iranian teachers. These findings have significant implications for Iranian teachers, teacher educators and curriculum planners.

Corpus linguistics has developed a new avenue of research in the field of language teaching. One important aspect of corpora is concordancing. Drawing on the concept of concordance, this study aimed to explore whether concordancing can effectively improve the vocabulary learning and retention of Persian EFL learners. To this end, 50 homogenous learners were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Vocabulary pre-test and post-test, and interviews were employed to collect the data. The results of this mixed method study revealed a statistically significant difference between the control and experimental groups on post-test scores; furthermore, the experimental group’s retention of these items was weaker in the delayed post-test. Finally, the results of interviews showed that this approach increased learners' enjoyment and interest in learning, led to a greater appreciation of particular uses of words in various contexts, enhanced learners' command of the target language's linguistic rules and patterns, facilitated the development of autonomy, and improved learners' language awareness.

Using Critical Digital Pedagogy (CDP) considering the recent technological advancements in the field of education as well as the prevalence of critical pedagogy (CP) in the World educational systems. This qualitative study aimed to uncover ELT experts’ and English literature teachers’ perceptions of a technology-laden CP-based EFL teacher preparation program for the context of Iran within a basic interpretive design. A total of thirty male and female ELT experts with a PhD in TEFL who were selected through convenience sampling from among experienced university professors who had relevant research expertise in the field. They were university professors with PhD in TEFL with different years of teaching experience. To collect the data, a semi-structured interview was used. Data analysis was done by the MAXQDA. The results showed that the perceptions of ELT experts and English literature teachers were both in line with the tenets of CP and the use of technology in education. Further, it was indicated that the perceptions of ELT experts and English literature teachers of a technology-laden CP-based EFL teacher preparation program for the context of Iran were significantly different. The findings have some implications for EFL teacher education administrators, curriculum planners and educators. Key Words: Critical Pedagogy (CP), Critical Digital Pedagogy (CDP), EFL Teacher Education, Technology.

This comparative study sought to explore the translation of requests between God and Prophet in Holy Quran with focus on pragmatic approach. More specifically, the study highlighted the applied techniques in the translations of Quranic verses based on Bach and Harnish's (1979) model. It further analyzed the differences between the translations and examined the translations accuracy in rendering imperatives’ pragmatics. In doing so, some Surah with the most imperative examples were selected as source text, and two English translations of Holy Quran by Ali (1989) and Arberry (1955) were selected as target text. Based on the data, three types of the techniques as "requestives", "questions", and " requirements" were employed in the most of verses with 9 cases, and "prohibition" found in 6 cases. The identified differences between two translations listed as finding the right equivalents, choosing the correct verb, finding meaning faithfully, preserving the imperative function, selecting the common words in TL, etc. The results also indicated some inaccuracies as lexical and pragmatics, finding right pronoun, transferring the illocutionary force of the source words into the TT, and emphasizing on the same theme with different syntactic form. However, most verses provided the accurate factors as word order, transferring the imperative function based on the first interpretation, adding some words to clarify the context, conveying the intended function through applying the exclamation mark, and keeping culture-specific notion. It is worth mentioning that in most cases, the translators could successfully convey the meaning of Arabic words in to the English ones.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of self-regulation training and instruction on EFL learners’ short-term andlong-term retention of English vocabulary in online classes. The design of the present study was a quasi-experimental pre-test post-test control group design. The participants of this study included 60 Iranian maleintermediate EFL learners chosen from among 68 learners studying English at a private language institute inKerman, Iran based on their PET scores. The original sample was selected through convenience sampling. Theparticipants’ ages ranged from 17 to 30. The following instruments were used in this study: a Preliminary EnglishTest (PET) and two researcher-made vocabulary tests. To analyze the data, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test,Descriptive statistics and Repeated Measures ANOVA were used and according to the results of data analysis, self-regulation training and instruction had a significant effect on EFL learners’ short-term and long-term retention ofEnglish vocabularies in online classes. The findings have some implications for EFL teachers, EFL learners, andcurriculum planners.

The present study aimed to develop and validate a model of Iranian EFL teacher classroom fairness using a sequential exploratory mixed methods design (QUAL + quan). The participants consisted of two groups. The first group consisted of 250 Iranian EFL teachers who were selected through available sampling through virtual groups in social networks. The second group of participants included 150 Iranian EFL learners at the intermediate level from different private language institutes in Iran were selected through available sampling from different virtual groups in WhatsApp or Telegram. The following instruments used for data collection in the present study: A Demographic information scale and a closed-ended questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted through thematic analysis by MAXQDA software and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis through SPSS and AMOS 24 software. Finally, the reliability of the developed model of Iranian EFL teacher classroom fairness was estimated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. According to the results, a model of Iranian EFL teacher classroom fairness developed in four main components, including teaching fairness, evaluation fairness, classroom management fairness, and classroom communication fairness. Finally, the proposed model of Iranian EFL teacher classroom fairness found to be valid and reliable. The findings have some implications for policymakers, teacher educators, teacher education administrators, and curriculum developers

The present study aimed to explore the strategies and challenges faced by Iranian teachers in classroom management. The importance of this study lied in its potential contribution to effective approaches in classroom management, professional growth of teachers, and research knowledge. To serve that end, it utilized a qualitative research design, employing semi-structured interview and open-ended questionnaire to gather data from a sample of Iranian teachers. The findings revealed that Iranian teachers were required to use different strategies to put their knowledge resources and practices of classroom management into the real context of classroom with high effectiveness. The study also indicated several challenges faced by Iranian teachers, such as students’ misbehavior, class communication, fulfillment of learner expectations, time management, care for and attention to learners, giving and receiving feedback, interactions with students’ families, flexibility, accountability and commitment, lesson planning, group work planning, and professional ethics. It can be concluded that teachers’ classroom management literacy is fed by different knowledge resources. Moreover, classroom management literacy is not formed overnight, but it is the product of various knowledge domains. More importantly, classroom management is not an easy task for Iranian teachers. These findings have significant implications for Iranian teachers, teacher educators and curriculum planners.

This study aimed at exploring Iranian thesis supervisors’ views on examiners’ fair in examining M.A. Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL )thesis in Iran. In so doing, a phenomenological design was used. 20 M.A. thesis supervisors participated in the study who were selected through purposeful sampling. To collect the data, a semi-structured interview was used. Data analysis was conducted via manual thematic analysis. According to the results, the following views were among those extracted for M.A. theses supervisors about examiners’ fair: Examiners’ unfair in Examining Theses; Inattention to the Standards of Thesis Writing; Judgment Based on Personal Mood; Examiners’ Personal Problems with Supervisors; and Examiners’ Relation with Students. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that according to the perceptions of Iranian TEFL thesis supervisors, examiners are not just and fair in examining theses. They pay attention to the issues such as previous relations, personal problems, practicing power and such matters which are non-relevant to thesis itself. It can also be concluded that Iranian TEFL thesis examiners, at least according to thesis supervisors' views, are illiterate or unknowledgeable in terms of statistics and some research topics. This is a reason for their unfair in examining theses. The results have some implications for M.A. thesis examiners, students, higher education administrators, and researchers.

Task-based language Teaching (TBLT) has been formed as an approach wherein learners are allowed to communicate language use through tasks due to the limitations of the traditional PPP (Presentation, Practice, and Performance) approach. Among different kinds of tasks, according to Ellis (2008), convergent/divergent tasks can be mentioned which have been originated from concepts of knowledge formation. At a broader level, tasks are divided into input-based tasks and output-based tasks. This study aimed at investigating the effect of output-based and input-based divergent and convergent tasks on learning English idioms among Iranian EFL intermediate-level learners. In so doing, this study used a quantitative quasi-experimental pre-test post-test control group design. The participants of the study consisted of 75 male intermediate EFL learners studying English at a private language institute in Zahedan, Iran, who were selected through convenience sampling. To collect the data, Oxford Placement Test (OPT) and two researcher-made idiom tests were used. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were run. The results showed that output-based and input-based divergent and convergent tasks had a significant effect on learning English idioms among Iranian EFL intermediate-level learners. The findings have some implications for EFL teachers, learners, and curriculum planners.

Using Critical Digital Pedagogy (CDP) acknowledges the recent advancements in technology in the field of education. As teachers should effectively deal with the needs of students with the help of educational technologies to increase their critical awareness, the level of digital literacy of Iranian teachers is not desirable and naturally teacher training in Iran should be in line with the latest changes in the world, this qualitative study aimed to find out how ELT experts perceive the CP technology-based EFL teacher preparation program in the Iranian context as part of a basic interpretative project. Thirty ELT experts with a Ph.D. in TEFL were selected through convenience sampling among experienced university professors who had relevant research expertise in the field. Consulting the related literature, the researcher developed a semi-structured interview in approximately three open-ended questions. The results analyzed by MAXQDA showed that perceptions of ELT experts were consistent with CP assumptions and the use of technology in education. The interpretation of the findings indicates a reconciliation between CP principles and technology. Participants perceived the valuable concepts of CP in light of technology used to shape a technology-based CP curriculum. Findings have implications for EFL teacher education administrators, curriculum planners, and educators. 

This study seeks to explore the effectiveness of flipped instruction on the Iranian intermediate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners reading comprehension and grammar learning. As the participants of the study, 60 Iranian intermediate EFL learners from a language institute in Kerman, Iran, were recruited based on convenience sampling in the form of two intact classes. Then, to conduct randomization, the two classes were randomly assigned to two groups namely, flipping group and control group. Next, the two groups were exposed to 14 treatment sessions in which reading comprehension and grammar were taught to the flipping group through explicit flipped instruction and to the control group through non-flipped mainstream instruction used in the institute. Data collection tools employed in the study included the Quick Placement Test (QPT), Michigan test of grammar, Michigan test of reading, and SPSS 21 software. The results revealed the significant effectiveness of flipped instruction on the Iranian intermediate EFL learners' reading comprehension and grammar learning. Accordingly, it is suggested that EFL teachers use flipped instruction if they seek to enhance EFL learners' reading comprehension and grammatical knowledge.

Purpose: This study endeavored to find out the possible relationship between reflectivity and impulsivity as cognitive learning styles and vocabulary/ grammar development as sub-skills among EFL learners.  Methodology: Two intact classes of the third-grade students were selected by the researchers and Oxford Placement Test was run for homogenizing them. After that, Barrat’s (2005) Impulsive/ Reflective questionnaire was given to the participants and they had to respond the translated items in a limited time. Regarding the score scale provided by the questionnaire, the participants were labeled as reflective and impulsive ones. Next, a standard grammar/vocabulary test, extracted from their book, administered to them and the scores were recorded by the researchers. Then, the scores of the questionnaires and tests sent to SPSS software for analyzing and interpreting the data. In inferential statistics, the researchers used correlation test to examine the possible relationship between the students' learning styles and their sub-skills development.  Findings: Results of the study indicated a positive relationship between the students' sub-skills achievements (vocabulary/ grammar) and their learning styles (reflectivity/ impulsivity). In other words, reflectivity and impulsivity had effect on the students' performance in sub-skills, as the reflective students presented better performance and made fewer errors than the impulsive ones in vocabulary and grammar tests.  Conclusion: According to the results, it can be concluded that the higher the reflectivity of the learners is, the more successful they tend to be in such tests. It is expected that the findings of the research indicate the importance of learning styles in educational environment.