درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

The present study is an attempt to find if there is a relationship between silent reading speed and reading comprehension score in undergraduate students a pre-requisite study before starting a research involving factors related to metacognition and the affective domain. The sample of the study consists of twenty-four undergraduate students pursuing various foreign languages such as French, Russian, Arabic, Japanese, and German. To assess the reading comprehension of the students, two passages with multiple choice questions were selected from a book designed to check and improve reading speed and reading comprehension. The students worked in pairs, keeping a record of time taken to read for their partner. The word count of the passage was divided by the student’s speed of reading to analyze the reading speed simultaneously the students answered the multiple choice questions given after the passage which was used to assess the comprehension level. The findings of the t-test revealed that there is a significant difference between the reading speed and reading comprehension scores and the Pearson’s correlation shows that there is a positive and moderate relationship between the two variables. Secondly, it revealed that there is a significant difference between male and female students with respect to their reading comprehension scores and reading speed. In both cases the female students performed better in comparison to the male students. Finally, it reveals that there is a significant difference between the students pursuing different languages at their undergraduate level with respect to their reading comprehension and reading speed. The results indicated that the students from Japan had the highest scores, followed by those from Germany, France, Arabic, Spanish, and Russian.

This research explored the intricacies of incitement as a speech act in political discourse, particularly in the context of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Utilizing a mixed-methods design, the study combined qualitative analyses—focusing on rhetorical structures and pragmatic strategies—with quantitative evaluations of speech act frequencies. The corpus included speeches from prominent political figures delivered between February 2022 and March 2024, selected for their relevance to incitement. The analysis revealed that incitement often straddles the boundary between illocutionary and perlocutionary acts, showcasing how politicians use indirect language to maintain plausible deniability while still mobilizing action. This ambiguity complicates traditional classifications within speech act theory. Furthermore, the study highlights various persuasive strategies employed in political rhetoric, such as emotional appeals and historical analogies.The implications of this research are significant for understanding how language functions as a tool of political power, particularly in conflict situations. It provides insights into ethical considerations surrounding incitement in political communication, suggesting that awareness of linguistic strategies can help prevent escalation of tensions and promote more responsible discourse among leaders.

This study is a mixed-methods parallel design aiming at exploring the perception of 49 ESP teachers toward formative classroom assessment with regard to their language assessment literacy (LAL) in Iran within the theoretical framework of Hay and Penney (2013). The data were collected through an online semi-structured interview and a questionnaire, extracted from Shahzamani and Tahririan's (2021) questionnaire, consisting of 13 Likert items and 9 open-ended questions which were validated for this study through confirmatory factor analysis. The results of a Chi-square test on the Likert items showed a significant difference between the participant’s responses to each item which revealed an overall tendency of the ESP teachers toward employing formative assessment as an efficient way for evaluating their own teaching efficacy, the quality of the teaching materials, and their students' progress. The results also revealed that the two features of 1) ability to assess learners based on cultural-related issues in a certain context, and 2) ability to design suitable assessment methods for multilevel ESP classes should be added to the components of LAL in the existing literature. The results have implications for teacher educators to consider these two features in teacher education programs. Also, academic authorities are to notice that reliance on summative assessment and evaluation merely based on final exam scores are not appreciated by most ESP teachers.           

Individual characteristics and differences, namely strategy-use behavior have been gaining much attention among researchers due to influences that they may have on test takers’ performance on reading tests. From a language testing perspective, however, further experimental studies are needed in this regard. This study investigated the relationship between test-takers’ strategy-use behavior and their reading test performance. Five hundred and twenty Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners (both male and female) participated in this study. They were assigned to high- and the low-reading ability groups based on their scores on a teacher-made reading comprehension test. They were also required to sit for a teacher-made TOEFL-based reading comprehension test and answer the adapted version of Phakiti’s (2008) Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategy Questionnaire with 30 items immediately after the test. The reliability of both instruments was approved through Cronbach alpha and the validity was assured through content and construct evidences of validity. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) on the questionnaire indicated that three factors were identified as cognitive (comprehension, retrieval, memory) and three as metacognitive strategies (planning, monitoring, evaluation) for both ability groups. Moreover, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis showed that metacognitive strategies had a regulating function on cognitive strategies in both groups. Furthermore, the results showed that in the high ability group Comprehension (COM) and Memory (MEM) strategies and in the low-ability group, Retrieval (RET) strategies were the best predictors of reading test performance. Finally, some implications and suggestions for further research are presented.

Given that L2 engagement serves a vital role in students’ academic success, studying the predictors of this construct seems critical. Notwithstanding, factors influencing one’s engagement in an L2 context have remained unclear. To respond to this gap, the present research sought to unravel the effects of teacher support and teacher-student rapport on Iranian EFL students’ L2 engagement. To this aim, 216 Iranian students majoring in Applied Linguistics, Linguistics, English Translation, Teaching English as a Foreign Language, or English Literature were invited to cooperate in this investigation. To obtain the required data, three pre-designed scales were virtually distributed among the respondents. Then, through correlation tests, the association between teacher support, teacher-student rapport, and student L2 engagement was measured. Following that, the impact of teacher support and teacher-student rapport on Iranian students’ L2 engagement was assessed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The correlational analysis uncovered a strong, favorable association between constructs. The SEM analysis also indicated that teacher support and teacher-student rapport can strongly influence Iranian students’ engagement in EFL classes. The implications of the results are further discussed.

Despite many studies on the concept of learner autonomy and the relationship between teacher autonomy (TA) and learner autonomy, scant attention has been devoted to TA on its own. To bridge this gap, the present study used narrative accounts to discover language teachers’ autonomy in terms of self-directed professional development (PD), capacity for self-directed PD, and freedom from control over PD. To this end, eight English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers narrated their past stories regarding these three dimensions. The thematic analysis of their narratives showed that their main activities for self-directed PD included peer observation, peer coaching, making use of technology, continuing education, action research, interacting with professionals, and attending workshops. Regarding capacity for their self-directed PD, the teachers claimed they had the capacity and willingness to self-direct their teacher learning. External support, experience, motivational factors, and reading books and articles were instrumental in teachers’ capacity development. Moreover, the findings revealed that although teachers viewed financial problems, conference attendance, lack of time to do PD activities, and rules of the institutes as obstacles to their freedom over PD, they employed strategies to change them into opportunities. The findings suggest implications for teachers and teacher educators to acquaint themselves with different PD strategies and to raise teachers’ awareness about the value of PD, respectively. The findings might bear implications for institute managers as well.