درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

This study investigated the effect of strategy-based methods vs. translation-based methods on General English and ESP reading comprehension of Iranian university students. 120 homogenous General English and ESP students were selected based on a Quick Placement Test. They were assigned into four groups. One experimental and one comparison group for General English and ESP students. A pretest of General English and ESP reading comprehension was administered to assess their General English and ESP reading comprehension ability. In both experimental groups, the strategy-based method, and in comparison groups, the translation-based method was used for teaching General English and ESP reading comprehension. After the post-test, the result of independent t-tests indicated that the comparison group outperformed the experimental group in the ESP course. However no statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups in General reading comprehension, it can be concluded that in ESP reading comprehension, the translation-based strategy is more effective than the strategy-based method however in General English reading comprehension, students can understand the text via both strategies. So, the strategy-based method was preferred in General English reading comprehension. These findings encourage English teachers to choose a proper strategy for teaching different materials in different contexts.

This review article examines the underpinning of the little-researched, influential elements that create linguistic injustice in the specific contexts of linguistic imperialism through standardization. To this end, with a review of critical views that includes argumentation and discussion of theoretical and empirical studies, we further aim to highlight linguistic injustice in writing for publishing. The domination of the English language as a lingua academia has not happened neutrally and can create unjust and unequal situations. In knowledge construction, the prosperity of researchers and academics is tied to international publication, and this action supports globalization, individualism, and standardization in favor of native English users. The domination of the English language in academic settings may be a hegemonic practice of native Anglophones to maintain power.  In this review, we underline the possibilities for privileged communities to pinpoint linguistic inequality and injustice.  The nature of academia should be liberal and liberating; however, in reality, academic settings are politically partisan and at the service of the powerful and wealthy. Still, there is slim hope that the system can change, and one of such profound changes may happen with equal access to resources and mentors for marginalized communities. In this case, the minorities’ voices may also be heard and respected globally.

Linguistic and semantic differences are some of the main problems of translating the Holy Qur’an into English. The present study highlights the problem of lexical gap and examines a number of terms- totally 117 in 110 verses- of the Holy Qur’an, including the referential meaning of ‘sin’ and their English translations. The researcher aimed to find the strategies applied by three translators and three machine translation systems (MSTs) and to compare them.  In this regard, five frequent and common terms – ‘اثم’, ‘جناح’, ‘سیئه’, ‘ذنب’, and ‘وزر’-were selected. The strategies proposed by Mollanazar (2009) were employed to fill the gap.  To do so, the English translations produced by three machine translation systems (MTSs), namely Google Translate, SDL Free Translation and Systranet were compared with three human translation by M.H. Shakir, A.Qaraei and T.B.Irving. The results revealed that in most verses, almost in six English translations, a generic term was used without any additional information to make the sense clearer. There was no noticeable difference between human and machine translations in applying the proposed strategies to fill the gap and make the English version more meaningful in terms of these apparently similar but contextually different terms. Thus, it seems that these differences were not focused on, while rendering these given verses to English. 

Teaching English through virtual online platforms has been practiced by language teachers during Covid-19 pandemic. The present mixed-methods study aimed to investigate EFL learners’ and teachers’ perceptions of virtual online classes and examine the potential (non)alignment between their perceptions as well. To do so, 80 learners and 30 teachers took part in the quantitative part and then, 18 learners and 12 teachers of English were selected for the qualitative part of the study. In the quantitative part, the participants responded to a self-report questionnaire on their experiences with online classes. In the qualitative part, the participants took part in online semi-structured interviews. After the questionnaire data provided a general profile of the learners’ and teachers’ opinions, analysis of the qualitative data resulted in the emergence of two major themes of 1) using online instruction as a productive device in language learning; and 2) efficient learning through communication. EFL teachers’ data revealed their belief in 1) fostering interactive classroom through online instruction; and 2) learners’ involvement and enthusiasm for classroom participation. It was also found that both learners and teachers expressed satisfaction with virtual online classes and creation of an interactive learning atmosphere through virtual classes, which indicated the existence of relative alignment between their perceptions. The findings of the study contributed to the EFL teachers’ awareness of applying online instruction in order to create an interactive learning environment for EFL learners and assist them to be enthusiastically involved in classroom communication.

Learners’ perception of culture on receptive skills more specifically on reading comprehension has been an area facing a big challenge contemporarily. The current research aimed to investigate the cultural perception of Iranian EFL learners on reading comprehension ability. To conduct the study, a mixed-methods design consisting of a questionnaire and interview study was used. Participants, 50 intermediate EFL learners (25 males, 25 females), were randomly selected using Oxford Placement Test. The participants were provided with two passages with different cultural contents (one containing Iranian culture and another containing culture of English spoken countries). Then participants were required to fill in a Likert-scale questionnaire which was distributed through Google form online platform. Also, an interview session was conducted to gather more detailed data. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded to find common themes. Analysis of interview and questionnaire data showed that learners hold similar cultural perceptions on reading comprehension ability by gender and social class has no significant impact on learners' perceptions. The results of the study specified that Iranian EFL learners held a positive attitude towards the integration of cultural materials into reading passages to better comprehend the target language. Moreover, it was seen that gender and social class did not impact significantly learners' cultural perceptions of English reading comprehension. The findings imply that ESL students with various reading levels or capabilities can learn from materials that are culturally diverse, specifically the ones at higher reading proficiency levels.

Prosody is a fundamental aspect of speech communication through which (un)truthfulness and (in)sincerity of speech can be identified. The focus of the study is on the prosodic features of (in)sincere compliments among EFL learners. Twenty male and female EFL learners were selected through Oxford Quick Placement Test. The participants did role-plays based on situations on compliment topics and their voices were recorded in a recording studio. The produced compliments were transferred to Praat software for acoustic analysis. Also, two native speakers (one male and one female) were requested to read the produced compliments both in a sincere and insincere manner. Their voices were transferred to Praat software for acoustic analysis to establish the baseline of the study. The prosodic features of the participants’ voices were compared with those of native speakers to determine the (in)sincerity of the compliments on a 5-point scale. Results showed that sincere compliments are produced with a higher pitch. Concerning the gender of the participants, males were sincerer than females. Regarding the proficiency level of the participants, there was no significant prosodic feature in determining the sincerity of their compliments. Both intermediate and advanced groups were similar to native speakers in giving sincere compliments. The results of the study open up new horizons for the importance of vocal cues in evaluating sincerity in speech acts.

A large body of research has investigated the role of motivational strategy use in EFL learners’ language achievement, teachers’ work engagement, and creativity.  However, there have been very few studies on EFL teachers’ status quo of these variables and the correlation among them. This study was an attempt to investigate the Iranian EFL teachers’ status quo regarding these variables and to explore the correlation among them. To this end, 100 Iranian EFL teachers of both genders were selected. To explore the objectives of this study, the Motivational Strategy Use Questionnaire, Creativity Style Questionnaire, and Work Engagement Scale Questionnaire were employed. Data were analyzed through t-tests and multiple regression. Results revealed that EFL teachers have acceptable levels of motivational strategies usage, work engagement, and creativity. The results of Multiple regression analysis proved a statistically significant relationship between motivational strategy use and creativity in the classroom and no significant relationship was found between motivational strategy use and teachers’ work engagement. Teachers’ gender was found to have no contribution to teachers’ work engagement, creativity, and motivational strategies usage. This study has theoretical and practical implications for teachers.

Cloze tests are gap-filling tests designed to measure overall language ability and reading comprehension in a second language. Due to their ease of construction and scoring, cloze tests are widely used in the context of second and foreign language testing. Previous research over the past decades has shown the reliability and validity of cloze tests in different contexts. However, due to the interdependent structure of cloze test items, item response theory models have not been applied to analyze cloze tests. In this research, we apply a method to circumvent the problem of local dependence for analyzing cloze tests with the Rasch model. Using this method, we applied the Rasch model to a cloze test composed of eight passages each containing 8-15 gaps. Findings showed that the Rasch model fits the data and thus it is possible to scale persons and cloze passages on an interval unidimensional scale. The test had a high reliability and was well-targeted to the examinees. Implications of the study are discussed.

Online discussion forums (ODFs) offer students and teachers the opportunity to harness the endless power of the internet for educational purposes. This study investigates the impact of Edmodo as an asynchronous ODF on six of the most recurring reading comprehension skills in the TOEFL iBT test among Iranian learners. Online and offline treatments were given to 26 students in the experimental group and only offline treatments to 33 students in the control group. The statistical analysis of the data represents a large effect size (Partial η2=.234; r=.826; Partial η2=.397; r=.661) for identifying factual information, making inferences, guessing vocabulary from context, and inserting texts in the passage skills respectively, a moderate effect size (r=.363) for the understanding the rhetorical purpose of the passage, and a weak effect size (r=.156) for the identifying referential relationships between the words in the passage skills. The results tell us that Edmodo is effective in teaching reading comprehension skills by overcoming the usual time constraints and offering students autonomy in going online at the most convenient time and place. Finally, the findings are valuable for educational policymakers, curriculum designers, materials developers, language instructors, and language learners.

Limiting the scope of Maritime English (ME) courses to nautical subject matters, due to the conventional views who define ME as the global language used at sea, may not be based on a real needs analysis of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses in ports and maritime related organizations. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, this study aimed to challenge this traditional perception through conducting an ESP needs analysis in Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) of Iran. All the 17 departments’ managers and/or their delegates were interviewed, then a researcher-made questionnaire which was developed according to the interviews was distributed among the experts (70 respondents). The deductive content analysis was used for analyzing the qualitative part, and the quantitative data were analyzed through descriptive statistics. It was revealed that the overall needs of PMO in terms of ESP does not concord with conventional nautical-based Maritime English courses, and it in fact encompasses a much wider variety of content areas such as “port economic, marketing and investment, legal, tariffs, agreements and contracts, education, research, strategic port administration, logistics” etc.