درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Textbooks are considered as the common features of the classrooms and are important means to make contributions to curricula. Therefore, their contents are very essential to develop the adequate curriculum planning. A textbook analysis is a means by which different features of the textbooks can be analyzed and hence their effectiveness is validated. This study set out to evaluate the content of Vision 1, the textbook of Senior High School, grade 1, in order to investigate in which six levels of cognition in Bloom’s (2001) Revised Taxonomy of Cognitive Domain the activities of the four skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing would be graded. Thus, the activities of the textbook were codified based on the coding levels in Bloom's Revised Taxonomy of Cognitive Domain. Then, the data were analyzed and the frequencies and percentages of occurrence of various codes related to the cognition levels in Bloom’s Taxonomy were calculated. The results of the study did not detect any evidence for the presence of higher levels of the cognition and thinking process in the textbook activities related to the four skills. In other words, all activities in the domain of Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing were classified in low levels of cognition, namely Remembering, Understanding, and Applying and failed to nurture the students for high levels of thinking skills. The findings provided some supports for supplying complementary materials by the teachers in order to train the learners for higher levels of the cognition.

There have been some observed studies and developed applications (apps), with a concentration on Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL), and no consideration of communicative needs of the learners; besides, these studies focused on either the theoretical aspects or the utilization of the available apps in the market (Burston & Athanasiou, 2020). Hence, Vocabulary Guru (VG), a custom-made mobile application, was developed based on a critical framework and an agile approach to fill out the gap. To tackle the issue, after carrying out a qualitative needs analysis via interviews, the first version of the app was developed and released to the target intermediate EFL university students. The next iterations were developed interactively and creatively, in congruence with the feedback received from the target learners. This cycle of incrementing and re-coding of the app continued until the attractor basins superseded. In the current paper, to shed light on how dynamically the interaction between learners and developers can yield in applications, which are more user-friendly and appropriate for a unique pedagogical setting, the life cycle of VG has been discussed. The agile app development processes of the current study may be useful for vocabulary specialists, teachers, educators, app developers, and pedagogical foundations involved in or considering the design and development of mobile apps by critically analyzing the unique needs of the target population in an interactive dynamic, agile life cycle. The developed app (i.e., VG) may also be utilized by EFL learners who would like to learn academic vocabulary in an educational context.

As a special tourism and cultural product,Red Tourism has distinct Chinese characteristics and cultural features. Translation, as an important carrier of Red culture, needs a high degree of cultural awareness which is one of the theoretical achievements of sociology. Only when we are fully aware of our own culture and are full of confidence can we better spread the Red culture. Based on the current research of Zhejiang Red Tourism translation, this paper analyzes the translation problems and causes of these problems from the perspective of cultural awareness. The findings suggest that the translation of Red Tourism should be based on the self-awakening, self-reflection and self-creation of Red culture. This study aims to put forward some strategies to interpret and translate cultural terms and translate without damaging the spirit of Red culture. The proposed strategies can promote the overseas communication of Chinese Red culture, especially Zhejiang Red culture.

While the use of apps specifically designed for language learning has witnessed a surge over the past decade, research on the productivity of these apps for language learning purposes along with their essential design and content features from students’ lens remains scant. The present paper illustrates an attempt to explore the way using language learning apps throughout an academic semester develops university level students’ semi-technical English language knowledge and the features and qualities they find essential in these educational apps. Drawing on empirical data obtained from pre- and post-tests and App Feature Interview form, it was observed that students who used language learning apps had a significantly better performance in a semi-technical English language post-test compared to the students who did not use language learning apps of their choice. Following content analysis, participants’ responses to an interview question were explored to determine the qualities they found crucial for language learning apps. Students highlighted 18 qualities, which were categorized under three main themes: smartphone, pedagogical content, and design features, as required for effective language learning apps. The findings of this study provide insights for educational app designers and educators on what works better in these apps from users’ perspective.

Choosing the right method for teaching is an important step in learning. Corporate trainers have always been interested in finding new ways to achieve effective learning. The present study seeks to improve language learning by measuring, comparing and prioritizing the effectiveness of three methods: traditional, blended and flipped method. In terms of purpose and nature, the present study was experimental and with respect to method it was quasi-experimental including a pre-test and a post-test designed with an equivalent control group. The participants consisted of 66 employees in an Iranian organization who were required to attend English language courses. The participants were sampled in accordance with training needs analysis results in the organization. Moreover, data were analyzed by means of descriptive and inferential statistics including mean analysis, standard deviation, F-way ANOVA, and Scheffe post hoc test using SPSS software version 25. The findings of the study indicate a significant difference between the three groups and the ranking of methods in terms of learning effectiveness from the highest to the lowest level includes; 1)Flipped 2) Blended 3) Traditional, respectively. The results showed that in spite of the high effectiveness of the flipped classroom to the other methods, some cultural differences such as family preference, feasts,  training customs and also resistance to new methods of learning hindered the allocation of sufficient time for practicing the lesson at home. In addition, such hindrances partially trace back to ancient Iranian culture. In conclusion, some suggestions were proposed to modify technology acceptance and other related weaknesses.   

Critical thinking has been a significant issue in the realm of EFL teaching and learning. This study aimed at investigating the contribution of paper-based and web-assisted feedback on Iranian EFL learners’ level of criticality in acquiring the writing skill. Besides, it was endeavoured to explore the extent of feedback contributions to the five constituents of critical thinking. Accordingly, a non-randomized control group pre/post-test design was taken into consideration, accounting for the two experimental treatments along with one control group. The levels of critical thinking of 61 EFL learners were initially rated prior to the 11-session treatments, and finally were re-appraised at the termination of the semester at University of Hormozgan. The out-turns of the one-way between-groups ANOVA set forth a statistically significant difference between the critical thinking scores of the four groups with respect to the type of feedback they received. Moreover, the outcomes of paired samples t-test revealed a statistically significant increase in all the four within-group criticality scores from pretest to posttest. Furthermore, the results of MANOVA illuminated a significant feedback contribution to the argument level of critical thinking, substantially due to the web-assisted type. So, web-assisted feedback was concluded to play a crucial role in facilitating EFL learners' journey towards becoming more critical writers. Finally, some pedagogical implications were conveyed parenthetically.

This study explores the relationship between the story and the author’s personal life encounters. Specifically, it aims to construe the linguistic choices in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper , which highlights the discriminatory factors that worsen the woman’s plights and struggles specifically shown by masculine dominance, feminine poor role positioning, oppression, and marginalization. Considering these issues, the current study aims to describe the author’s experience of the world, what’s inside her, and around her. Results show that the text has 629 transitivity processes, with relational as the dominant process type by the inanimate characters which effectively describes the kind of environment which shapes a clear conflict against her milieu.  Among the participant roles and circumstances, carrier, and location show their dominance, respectively.  An in-depth analysis using the transitivity system unveils the author’s connectivity to her own life presented through literary metaphors.  The paper further proves that literature can be taught using linguistic approaches. 

This study compared the efficacy of explicit and implicit instruction of requestive strategies on upper-intermediate female English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ email writing development. Sixty-two participants in four intact classes were randomly assigned to two explicit and implicit groups. In this quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design study two email evaluation tests and two written discourse completion tests (WDCT) were used to collect the data. In the pretest phase, an email evaluation test and a WDCT were administered to the participants in two sessions. Next, the two groups were provided with ten treatment sessions. The explicit group received direct instruction and metapragmatic explanation on the use of appropriate requestive strategies in writing emails. The implicit group, however, received instruction on writing requestive emails without any explicit explanation about the requestive strategies in emailing. Then, the participants took the posttest of email evaluation test and WDCT in two successive sessions. The results indicated that both modes of instruction exerted significant effects on the learners’ production of requestive strategies in English. The comparison of the two modes of instruction, nonetheless, indicated that the participants who underwent explicit instruction significantly surpassed those in the implicit group. The findings have implications for materials developers and instructors.