درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

This study investigates the syntactic differences between texts authored by native (NES) and non-native English-speaking (NNES) professional architects on ArchDaily, the world's most visited architecture website. We focused on established indices of syntactic complexity hypothesized to differentiate between first-language (L1) and second-language (L2) writing. The corpus consisted of randomly selected texts on residential architecture by Iranian and British architects. Data analysis was conducted using Coh-Metrix Core Desktop Beta (2023), with results processed in SPSS. Preliminary MANOVA analysis revealed significant differences in the mean scores of the two groups, and follow-up analyses indicated that syntactic complexity indices, including left-embeddedness, minimal edit distance for words, and the number of modifiers per noun phrase, exhibited medium to large effect sizes in distinguishing the texts. Additionally, among the syntactic density indices, agentless passive voice, negation, gerund, and noun phrase density were most effective in differentiating native from non-native compositions. The findings revealed that while both NES and NNES architects demonstrate sophisticated writing skills, they exhibit distinct patterns of syntactic complexity in their professional discourse. NES architects tend towards richer modification and a more cohesive flow, while NNES architects lean towards longer, denser sentences. These differences, influenced by both linguistic proficiency and discourse-specific conventions, highlight the need for continued attention to clarity and readability in architectural communication and underscore the importance of considering both linguistic proficiency and discourse-semantic motivations when analyzing syntactic complexity in professional writing.

Language learners find it hard to change a text’s wording and present it differently while maintaining the original meaning in the text. This research, therefore, examined the effect of concept mapping instruction on summarizing short stories for EFL learners. Two intact grade-eight classes were assigned to experimental (n = 20) and control (n = 18) groups randomly. They summarized a starter-level short story, Drive into danger, using a maximum of 450 words as a pretest. Next, the experimental group experienced concept-mapping instruction, whereas the latter group received the traditional way of teaching summarization, for six consecutive weeks. Both groups summarized the same story again, based on their instruction, into a 450-word text at a maximum as a posttest. Pretest and posttest summaries were assessed in terms of content, organization, vocabulary, and language use. The experimental group positively improved on overall performance, content, and organization, marginally improved on vocabulary, but did not improve on language use. Furthermore, the participants’ feedback on the instructional treatment supports the statistical results. The findings offer several instructional implications.

riting assessment literacy (WAL) for second or foreign language (L2) teachers, which refers to teachers’ knowledge, conceptions, and practice of writing assessment in L2 contexts, has lately received attention from scholars. Although there has been significant debate about the impact of contextual and conceptual factors on teachers’ assessment literacy, studies focusing on how such factors influence teachers’ WAL are lacking. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the way Iranian English writing teachers' conception of assessment, and macro, meso, and micro contextual variables, impact their writing assessment practice. It also looked at how writing teachers make assessment decisions in order to negotiate and find a compromise when their assessment views and beliefs diverge from the assessment policies in their local contexts. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with ten in-service L2 writing teachers in Iran. The findings show that participants had positive conceptions about formative writing assessments, but they stated that they mostly used summative assessments in writing classes. Macro-level contextual factors turned out to mostly impact teachers’ writing assessment practices and conceptions. The results underscored the role of school and work experience in shaping and changing writing assessment conceptions. The findings of this study contribute to our current understanding of WAL development and the provision of more efficient assessment training for language teachers in teacher education programs.

As a trigger to communication, motivation still includes undiscovered aspects which require further investigation. Hence, considering the newly proposed dual continuum model of motivation, this study investigated the relationships among willingness to communicate (WTC), active/passive motivation, and foreign language achievement (FLA) among 216 high school English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. The modified version of the active/passive motivation scale (APMS) was revalidated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed significant relationships among active/passive motivation, L2WTC, and FLA. Additionally, six models were proposed for the prediction of learners’ L2WTC and FLA. The findings indicated that socio-cultural and sensory-perceptual active motivation as well as cognitive and sensory-perceptual passive motivation significantly predict learners’ L2WTC, while only cognitive active motivation predicts FLA. Furthermore, passive motivation predicts FLA in all sub-constructs. Finally, active motivation is a negative predictor of FLA if mediated by L2WTC. Overall, the study highlights the importance of passive as well as active motivation in promoting WTC and improving FLA among EFL learners.

English Medium Instruction (EMI) is increasingly adopted in higher education worldwide, yet its application in music education within non-English-speaking contexts remains underexplored. The application of EMI plays a crucial role in improving learners' English skills and subject matter, which can also affect learners' achievement. The most important predictor of learners' performance and success is self-efficacy, which is also a relevant concept in the area of music performance. This Review investigates the role of self-efficacy in shaping music students' academic achievement in EMI settings, where language and performance intersect. The study aims to identify how learners' self-efficacy in their musical and linguistic abilities influences their success and motivation. It contributes to EMI literature by highlighting self-efficacy as a mediating factor between language proficiency and academic performance in music education. The findings offer practical implications for curriculum design, instructional strategies, and learner support. Specifically, the study emphasizes the need to integrate self-efficacy-building practices—such as performance feedback, peer collaboration, and goal-setting—into EMI-based music instruction to enhance both linguistic and artistic development.

The widespread integration of technology into education has led to significant reliance on online assessment. Despite its prevalence, concerns about the fairness of online assessment persist. While this issue has attracted considerable attention, empirical investigations, particularly those exploring teachers' perceptions of fairness in online assessment, remain scarce. Additionally, existing frameworks for assessing fairness in an online context seem inadequate. To address these concerns, the current study investigated Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' perceptions of fairness in online assessment. Moreover, the study aimed to develop a valid scale to measure the fairness of assessment practices in the online context. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the study conducted a structured interview with 20 EFL teachers, and the resulting data were transcribed and analyzed qualitatively. Ten major codes or themes derived from the data were access, knowledge, personal factors, clear criteria, item quality, safety, policies, teaching quality, assessment type, and administration. The codes were subsequently classified into three overarching categories: student level, teacher level, and organizational level. Then, based on the interview findings and the existing literature, an online assessment fairness questionnaire was developed and administered to a sample of 100 EFL teachers, whose results verified five core factors of online assessment fairness. The study's findings offer a novel understanding of teachers' perspectives on the fairness of online assessment and the factors that contribute to its fairness or unfairness.

Translation Studies seems to in establishing itself as an area of inquiry for scholars. Patterns of flourishing this discipline with its diverse audience are not well studied, though. The present study employed scientometric and bibliometric analyses to identify and assess topics and trends of Translation Studies as evidence of evolution over the course of time. Documents (from 1931 to 2021) were extracted from Scopus to examine relevant indicators, including document types, top journals, authors’ networks, institutes/universities, organizational support, countries and interdisciplinary contributions. In addition, VOSviewer, network and cluster density visualization and word co-occurrences were utilized to analyze and evaluate the development of the field. The analyses revealed that over a 90-year time span (1931-2021), 13916 documents were published by 21509 authors from 16323 institutes/universities that contributed to the scientific development of Translation Studies. Authors’ cooperation from 124 countries emerged in four clusters led by the US, the UK, Spain and China. In its course of development, Translation Studies witnessed a remarkable proliferation of documents since the 2000s. Relevant topics were demonstrated by keywords analysis, and interrelationships of Translation Studies with other disciplines were explored. The findings offer analyses of trends and topics in Translation Studies, as evidence of scientific evolution, attested by the interdisciplinary contributions and bibliometric findings.

Given the pivotal role that social and psychological factors play in the field of teaching English as a foreign language, the present study focused on exploring the relationship among collegiality, identity, and emo-educational divorce. However, the nature of this relationship, i.e., the direction and level of this connection have not been explored, yet. To address this need, a total of 227 Iranian English language teachers of universities, schools, and language institutes filled out collegiality scale along with identity, and emo-educational divorce questionnaires. Then, analyses indicated that emo-educational divorce was negatively correlated with teacher identity and teacher collegiality, whereas identity and collegiality were positively correlated; moreover, the subconstructs of emo-educational divorce showed different predictive behaviors with regard to teacher collegiality and teacher identity. Finally, the findings were discussed and implications were reviewed to pay close attention to the role of the combination of social and psychological elements in EFL teaching contexts.

Critical Incidents (CIs) have become central to language teacher development by promoting reflective practice, a key element of teacher education. This study examines critical incidents (CIs) in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes in public high schools. Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 teachers and 15 students across 7 public schools, analyzing narratives using thematic analysis within a complexity theory framework. Three themes emerged: Teaching high and lows, classroom management issues, and language proficiency. Teachers felt challenged by the frequent number of CIs, associating their management skills and immunity with their response to these events, and viewed Iranian public schools as particularly susceptible. Similarly, students highlighted both the negative and positive aspects of CIs and noted cultural diversity and language skills as key factors. The study's findings align with complexity theory by highlighting the dynamic, interconnected, and adaptive nature of teaching and learning in public schools. The emergent patterns of emotional responses, classroom management strategies, and language proficiency interactions reflect the principles of sensitivity to initial conditions, self-organization, and co-evolution.

Although reflective teaching and well-being have been promoted as a means to promote teaching quality, there is little empirical evidence to illustrate their impact on enhancing professional development. To fill this existing gap, this study adopts a mixed-methods approach to examine the contribution of reflection and psychological well-being as predictors of professional development. In so doing, 350 English language teachers participated in a survey and follow-up interviews. The correlational analysis confirmed the positive relationship among these three constructs, and a structural equation modelling indicated that both reflection and well-being significantly predicted professional development; however, well-being was a stronger predictor compared to reflection. The qualitative analysis of data revealed four main themes contributing to professional development among teachers. The pedagogical implications are also elaborated and discussed.

Cet article examine le rôle de l’intelligence artificielle (IA) dans l’amélioration de la compétence orale chez les apprenants de français langue étrangère (FLE) en Iran. Il s’interroge sur la manière dont l’IA peut contribuer, de manière efficace et contextualisée, au développement de cette compétence dans un environnement culturellement spécifique. L’étude repose sur une enquête menée auprès de 20 apprenants de FLE en Iran. La collecte de données s’est effectuée à travers un questionnaire ciblant leurs compétences orales, leur expérience d’usage de l’IA et leur perception de l’adéquation culturelle des contenus générés. L’analyse des données mobilise une approche mixte (quantitative via SPSS et qualitative) et un cadre théorique pluridisciplinaire. Ce cadre s’appuie sur la théorie de la compétence communicative de Dell Hymes, la théorie de l’adaptation culturelle de Kim et Hall, les approches discursives-pragmatiques de John Searle et surtout sur la théorie du carré tensif de Fontanille. Les résultats indiquent que l’IA permet d’améliorer la prononciation et la fluidité, encourage l’usage des expressions idiomatiques françaises et développe la souplesse linguistique. Par la création d’environnements vérisimilitudinaires (contextes d’interaction réalistes et culturellement cohérents) et des retours personnalisés en temps réel, l’IA favorise un apprentissage actif et individualisé. Toutefois, certaines limites subsistent : la difficulté à reproduire les dimensions émotionnelles, gestuelles et implicites des interactions humaines, ainsi qu’à intégrer la diversité dialectale régionale.