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Evaluating research designs plays a pivotal role in promoting principled Mixed Methods Research (MMR). Although the quality of mixed methods designs has been among the most debated topics, scant attention has been drawn to the investigation of Applied Linguistics (AL) Islamic World Science Citation Center (ISC) journals. Informed by this gap, the present exploratory sequential mixed methods study aimed at analyzing the research designs, tools of data collection, and purposes of 303 MMR articles published in 12 leading ISC journals. This involved a qualitative content analysis using a code sheet based on established MMR typologies, followed by a quantitative frequency analysis to determine the prevalence of these coded categories. The findings indicated that sequential designs were more frequently used in the corpus. Moreover, as regards the tools of data collection, questionnaires and interviews were the most commonly utilized ones. Finally, exploration purpose was the prime purpose opted for by the researchers in the study corpus. The study highlights the importance of conducting principled MMR through the reconceptualization of designs from method to methodology level. It further argues for a systemic view of MMR in which there is a cyclic interaction among fully integrated stages of an MMR design. The implications of the findings are discussed throughout the paper.

To identify the effectiveness of online observation for teaching, this study explored teachers’ conceptions of online classroom observation, focusing on the key components, instructional design considerations, and delivery strategies in virtual teaching environments. More particularly, in this multi-method qualitative research design study, the researchers did document analysis of a number of available classroom observation sheets to derive some themes and sub-themes regarding the components of online classroom observation. Subsequently, based on the derived themes, semi-structured interview items were composed. Through purposive sampling, eight Iranian experienced online classroom observers were selected to be interviewed. Using MAXQDA to do content and thematic analysis, the researchers found the eight components of instructional design and delivery, technology integration, student engagement and interaction, professional development and support, feedback provision, assessment of students’ learning and achievement, inclusive practices, and instructor presence and support in the data. Moreover, it was found that the integration of technology was highlighted to optimize observation experiences, student engagement, and instructional support. These findings have implications for professional development programs, re-evaluation of assessment practices, instructor presence, and technology integration in online learning contexts, all of which are crucial for equipping EFL instructors with the skills and knowledge necessary for effective online teaching.

Political apologies serve as high-stakes communicative acts, addressing collective wrongdoing while seeking to repair damaged relationships between governments and affected groups. This study explored the evolution of political apologies in the 21st century, analyzing their role as public speech acts that respond to shifting societal and political norms. Despite their increasing prevalence in global politics, limited research has examined how these apologies have adapted linguistically and structurally over time to meet evolving public expectations. This research bridged this gap by employing a diachronic pragmatic approach. A corpus of 222 state-level political apologies, spanning two decades, was analyzed using the Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Project (CCSARP) framework, augmented with emerging pragmatic elements. Categorized into five sociopolitical periods, these apologies were coded and analyzed with Atlas.ti to identify shifts in their structural and linguistic components. The findings revealed a consistent use of Illocutionary Force Indicating Devices (IFIDs), alongside a growing emphasis on Explanation or Account and META (Reaffirmation). Novel elements, such as Commemorative Apologies and Forward-Looking Statements, demonstrated how political apologies are increasingly tailored to address systemic injustices and public demands for accountability and reconciliation. Theoretically, the study could enrich pragmatic frameworks by identifying new components of political apologies. Practically, it offers insights for crafting effective apologies that resonate with diverse audiences. This research underscored the adaptability of political apologies, positioning them as tools for fostering societal healing and advancing justice in a rapidly changing world.

The present study is an attempt to examine the impact of flipped language learning (FLL) on vocabulary learning and retention, focusing both on concrete and abstract words. In addition, the learners’ attitudes towards implementing FLL were surveyed. To this end, drawing on the mixed-methods design, a group of 40 intermediate language learners (n=20 for each gender), within the age range of 12 to 16, was selected through convenience sampling from Parseh English Institute in Zanjan, Iran. In line with the quantitative strand, the results of the pre-knowledge test and learning test for experimental and control groups were compared to evaluate their achievement. After a two-week interval, the participants’ scores were compared with the scores obtained in the retention test. After applying the treatment, a questionnaire about learners’ attitudes considering FLL was distributed to the experimental group. A semi-structured interview was also conducted to triangulate the survey results. The data were analyzed using a paired samples t-test, ANCOVA, and descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that FLL improved the performance of the experimental group in learning and retention of concrete and abstract words. The results of the analysis, nevertheless, do not substantiate the role of gender as a moderating variable. The analysis of the questionnaire and the interview also suggested learners’ favorable views regarding this kind of learning. Finally, it was concluded that FLL was efficiently applicable in English vocabulary didactics.

The optimal implementation of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in Iranian EFL higher education faces some challenges despite its incremental growth. It is, therefore, necessary to investigate the current challenges affecting university professors' and students' adoption of CALL in Iranian EFL contexts. For this purpose, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with three purposeful sampling groups of participants, both before and after the temporary shutdown of the educational sector due to COVID-19 spread. Therefore, 33 interviewees—university EFL professors, students, and Information Technology Support Engineers (IT-SE)— took part in an interview which took approximately 90 minutes for each, conducted in person or over WhatsApp and Skype platforms. All the interviews were audio recorded and transcribed for thematic analysis by the first researcher and an assistant researcher. The obtained results highlighted nine major categories of themes that indicated the obstacles and challenges of optimal CALL implementation. These challenges are related to 1) technological dimension, 2) teacher dimension 3) student dimension, 4) software and hardware dimension, 5) sanctions and filtering dimension, 6) curriculum dimension, 7) the nature of e-learning dimension, 8) socioeconomic and cultural dimension, and 9) university administrators' dimension. It was the sanctions and filtering dimension, the nature of e-learning dimension, and the socioeconomic dimension that were exclusive to this study. Each of these major themes includes a set of minor themes. The results can contribute to educational planners, curriculum and material developers, and teachers to develop education programs for optimal CALL implementation in Iranian EFL higher education by removing the challenges.

Modality is a linguistic device used to express concepts such as necessity, obligation, probability, commitment, and assumption in language. To fully describe events, situations, or people's attitudes, the use of verbs or noun phrases alone is not sufficient. Modality serves as an essential tool in all human languages for accurately conveying meaning. This study provides a theoretical analysis of modality in Laki, focusing on the modal functions of the element [maw] within Palmer’s (2001) framework. In addition to its role in forming compound verbs in Laki, [maw] also has a modal function. The analysis demonstrates that this element conveys the modal meanings of possibility and permission. It is a commuting term that takes on different meanings in various contexts. It also appears once in a sentence before the lexical verb and is not inflected. Based on these four criteria, [maw] can be considered a modal auxiliary verb. This element represents event modality of permissive deontic in the Laki language. 

Recent years have witnessed extensive research on motivation in second/foreign language (L2) contexts. Attempts have been made to develop motivation-based techniques and methods to boost learners’ learning outcomes in L2 programs. Yet, studies that have targeted L2 learners’ perceptions about the effectiveness of such programs in online classes remain scarce. This study addressed this gap and delved into L2 learners’ perceptions of two motivation-oriented instructions, namely the ARCS-based (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction) and L2MSS vision-inspired (Second Language Motivational Self System) instructions, in an online English course. To this end, 41 learners of English were assigned to two groups. One group was instructed based on the ARCS motivation framework, and the other was instructed based on the L2MSS framework. Then, 10 volunteer participants from each group participated in focus group interviews. Thematic analysis of the data revealed 19 subthemes and 7 main themes, including 4 themes of attention-related pedagogy, relevance-oriented content, confidence-building elements, and sense of contentment/discontentment regarding the ARCS group, and 3 themes of ideal self-orientations, ought-to self-orientations, and situated learning/teaching experiences regarding the L2MSS group. The engaging content and appealing learning environment in the ARCS group and the future perspective enhancement and goal setting in the L2MSS group were motivating factors, creating positive perceptions of the two programs. The findings suggest utilizing attention-catching and vision-building strategies to motivate learners and enhance their L2 learning outcomes in online classes.

The evaluation of students' writings and the allocation of scores are traditionally time-intensive and inherently subjective, often resulting in inconsistencies among human raters. Automated essay scoring systems were introduced to address these issues; however, their development has historically been resource-intensive, restricting their application to standardized tests such as TOEFL and IELTS. Consequently, these systems were not readily accessible to educators and learners. Recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have expanded the potential of automated scoring systems, enabling them to analyze written texts and assign scores with increased efficiency and versatility. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of an AI-based scoring system, DeepAI, with human evaluators. A quantitative approach, grounded in Corder's (1974) Error Analysis framework, was used to analyze approximately 200 essays written by Persian-speaking EFL learners. Paired sample t-tests and Pearson correlation coefficients were employed to assess the congruence between errors identified and scores assigned by the two methods. The findings revealed a moderate correlation between human and AI scores, with AI diagnosing a greater number of errors than human raters. These results underscore the potential of AI in augmenting writing assessment practices while highlighting its pedagogical implications for language instructors and learners, particularly in evaluating the essays of EFL students.

This study explores teachers’ readiness to implement generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in their teaching and learning processes, alongside the benefits and challenges related to its utilizations in the Omani context. The data analysis process involved analyzing responses from the 5-point Likert scale questionnaire using descriptive statistics. A sample of 61 teachers with different qualifications from different educational institutions in the Sultanate of Oman participated in the study. The findings revealed that teachers had a positive level of readiness to implement GenAI, highlighting a spectrum of readiness levels, such as attending training sessions about GenAI, and a significant willingness of utilizing GenAI tools in their classes. On the other hand, teachers reported a positive benefit and experience in improving their teaching, stating that GenAI enables them to save their time, improves their teaching experience and job satisfaction, and offers them adaptive learning and instant feedback. However, findings revealed number of challenges for teachers such as a lack of awareness about policies and ethics in implementing GenAI tools, and their cost. Moreover, teachers indicated a moderate concern regarding the challenges of integrating GenAI tools into their teaching practices. Based on the findings, the study provides significant insight for teachers, policymakers, and syllabi designers, stressing the significant importance of preparing teachers to efficiently integrate GenAI in their pedagogical duties to make the most educational potential while mitigating related risks.

Cet article examine l’approche de la mise en œuvre des compétences de compréhension de l’écrit dans les cours de langue française en Iran. Les données étudiées dans cette recherche ont été recueillies par le biais de questionnaires, d’entretiens et d’observations en classe. Les objectifs de cette étude sont de comprendre les perspectives et les opinions des apprenants et des enseignants concernant les compétences de compréhension de l’écrit, d’examiner les approches pédagogiques utilisées et d’identifier les obstacles existants dans ce domaine. En conséquence, des suggestions spécifiques pour améliorer l’approche pédagogique de la compréhension de l’écrit sont fournies. Les résultats de cette étude indiquent que les apprenants ont des compréhensions différentes de divers éléments liés à la compréhension de l’écrit, y compris la nécessité de lire rapidement pour accomplir les exercices, de passer du temps pour une compréhension approfondie des textes, etc. De plus, les réponses des enseignants soulignent l’importance de la flexibilité, de l’utilisation de ressources diversifiées et de l’implication active des apprenants. Les résultats obtenus de ces conclusions sont discutés pour l’enseignement de la langue française, mettant en évidence la nécessité de sensibiliser les apprenants et les enseignants à l’importance de la mise en œuvre de stratégies efficaces de compréhension de l’écrit.

This article delved into the realm of EFL assessment in Iraq by investigating the beliefs of Iraqi EFL teachers about assessment practices they employed in their classroom and determining whether there was any congruency between their beliefs and actual assessment practices. For this purpose, 140 experienced Iraqi EFL teachers were selected by convenience sampling and the data were collected by the Teachers’ Assessment Practices Belief Questionnaire and the Teachers’ Assessment Practices Questionnaire. The findings of Pearson correlation and descriptive analysis revealed that the cognitive level of assessments (e.g., reasoning and application), types of assessments (e.g., portfolios and concept mapping), and evaluation criteria (e.g., improvement and student effort) were highly valued by the teachers. Regarding assessment practices in the classroom, the participants reported obtaining, elucidating, and responding to learning evidence and assisting students to acquire a positive orientation of learning (making learning explicit). Promoting learning autonomy (an expanded opportunity to assume increased autonomy in defining their learning goals and evaluating both their work and that of their peers) was also found in the teachers’ reports. Besides, an interest in assisting students adhere to performance goals stipulated by the curriculum using careful questioning and assessed by scores and grades (performance orientation). Implications and suggestions of the study are discussed in the article.

Translation plays a vital role in the global spread of academic knowledge. In non-English disciplines, university professors are increasingly asked to translate English texts for teaching, research, and administrative tasks. Recognizing the potential challenges faced by academic members in non-English fields is crucial. Therefore, this qualitative study, with an exploratory approach, aimed to identify the challenges faced by faculty members at Farhangian University in non-English disciplines in translating English texts. Participants included faculty members in non-English disciplines at Farhangian University in the provinces of Hamedan, Ilam, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, and Lorestan (located in the West of Iran), with 21 selected through a purposive criterion-based sampling method. Data were collected via semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Data analysis was performed using thematic analysis, resulting in one main theme, five organizing themes, and 26 basic themes. The findings identified eight major challenges facing faculty members during translation, including differences in sentence structure between source and target languages, issues with equivalence and transfer of concepts, semantic diversity of words, maintaining faithfulness to the original text, challenges with colloquial and non-specialized texts, lack of English proficiency, the transfer of cultural and indigenous concepts, and the time-consuming nature of translation. These results will benefit stakeholders of English language teaching in higher education as well as translation educators and workshop instructors.

Although pair work interaction gained substantial attention in recent decades, little is known about the best method to enhance its effectiveness. This study investigated the impact of peer modelling demonstration of collaborative writing tasks as a pedagogical intervention on Language-Related Episodes (LREs) and pair dynamics. Using a one-group pretest-posttest design with a delayed posttest, twenty intermediate learners were randomly paired up to complete three tasks (information-gap, story reconstruction, and jigsaw), which also involved a paragraph-level writing over a three-week period. Each session, the participants were required to work on one task while recording their voices. In the second session of the study, the pairs were provided with the peer modelling video to explore its contribution to their performances. The pairs' audio-recorded performances (about 15 hours) were carefully transcribed and later analyzed for a) the frequency, types, and resolution of LREs and b) pair dynamics. Results of Negative Binomial Regression revealed that peer modelling had a significant positive effect on pair performance, in a way that, after the provision of peer modelling, the pairs produced a significantly greater number of LREs and correctly resolved the majority of the conflicts. Additionally, analysis of McNemar's test revealed that the pairs demonstrated more collaborative pair dynamics subsequent to peer modelling. The findings are pedagogically important as they support peer modelling as a valuable pedagogical technique to be integrated into language learning classes to ensure L2 development and foster qualities of pair work.

Cette étude voudrait examiner l'impact des textes médiateurs sur la compréhension orale chez les apprenants du français langue étrangère. Deux groupes d'apprenants ont été comparés à travers une série d'exercices de compréhension orale. L'étude vise à évaluer l'effet des textes médiateurs sur l'optimisation de la charge cognitive et l'accès au contenu global. Cet article met l'accent sur le rôle crucial de la médiation cognitive en tant que stratégie clé pour renforcer la compréhension orale et facilite la réception du contenu du document entendu en orientant l'attention vers une compréhension plus approfondie. La cognition, impliquant la mémoire et l'attention, est au cœur de notre approche, en se servant des textes médiateurs préparant cognitivement à l'écoute. La méthodologie comprend une étude sur le terrain avec les groupes expérimental et témoin, et l’analyse de leurs performances. Les résultats révèlent une certaine amélioration chez le groupe expérimental, confirmant que les textes médiateurs optimisent la charge cognitive et facilitent l'accès au contenu. Nous pouvons constater que le nombre croissant de bonnes réponses lors des exercices d’écoute aussi bien que les réponses données au questionnaire illustrent ces améliorations, le tout affirme ainsi le succès des textes médiateurs comme outil de préparation cognitive.