درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Having active participation in today’s more universally-networked research community through publishing in valid English journals has become delicate for the most populated contemporary users of English as a foreign language known as ‘ESP writers. This challenge is typically experienced in ESP authors’ variation in employing the generic move patterns in the overall structure of the academic research articles (RAs) ‘Conclusions’ sections, probably caused by heterogeneity in ‘English’ across the authors’ discipline-specific fields of expertise. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to analyze the organizational moves/steps of the RAs ‘conclusions’ to examine any significant difference/s in the discipline-specific authors’ writing styles in terms of the ‘type’ and ‘frequency’ of the moves/steps under study. To this end, 160 randomly selected RAs conclusions (RACs) from eight academic disciplines equally representing the hard sciences and soft sciences, were comparatively analyzed based on a conflated ESP move analysis model of Yang and Allison (2003), and Moritz, Meurer and Dellagnelo (2008). The results of the study obtained from the Frequency counts, Chi-square tests and the Effect Size measure revealed statistically significant differences between the frequency of moves/steps of the RACs in both discipline-specific groups of sciences; in addition, it was found that generic move patterns of the RACs did not strictly follow the proposed model. However, Pedagogical and practical implications along with suggestions for further studies are presented.

In academic discourse across diverse fields, the cultivation of authorial competence in crafting compelling and persuasive texts is of paramount importance. Scholars in the field of linguistics, particularly those involved in discourse analysis, have been attentive to this necessity. Within the realm of academic writing, the strategic utilization of engagement markers plays a pivotal role in achieving persuasive communication and fostering reader engagement. The cultural positioning of academic writers is often reflected in the incorporation of these linguistic elements within written discourse. This study undertook an examination of 60 research articles spanning the domains of hard and soft sciences, with a focus on discerning potential disparities in the employment of engagement markers between two distinct cohorts of authors: native English speakers and non-native Iranian writers. Employing Hyland's (2005b) model of engagement markers as an analytical framework, the study sought to ascertain the frequency of these linguistic devices within academic research articles produced by the aforementioned groups. The findings of the analysis revealed significant differences in the overall and categorical distribution of engagement markers in the scholarly works of native English and non-native Iranian authors across hard and soft science disciplines. These differences may be ascribed to the cultural positioning of academic writers or the potential lack of familiarity with the established conventions of English rhetoric, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics among non-native Iranian authors. The implications of these findings are significant, as they can inform the development of pedagogical materials aimed at enhancing the academic writing proficiency of authors.

The current study adopted a mixed-method design approach to investigate the effect of the integration of the TPS strategy instruction into reading lessons on EFL students’ motivation to read. One hundred twenty Iranian intermediate EFL students (60 male and 60 female), studying English in a language institute in Iran, were selected and randomly assigned to an experimental group (N = 60) and a control group (N = 60). The experimental group received ten sessions of reading instruction based on the TPS-integrated reading strategy proposed by Baker and Westrup (2000) whereas the control groups received the same amount of instruction on the same materials based on the traditional direct instruction method. Then, the students’ reading motivations were measured using the revised version of the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ) (Wigfield & Guthrie, 1997). Besides, the students’ attitudes toward the TPS-integrated reading strategy instruction were examined by conducting a semi-structured interview. The analysis of the quantitative data showed no significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of reading motivation. It was also revealed that the integration of the TPS strategy in the reading lessons affected neither the students’ intrinsic motivation nor their extrinsic motivation. However, the findings of the interview concluded that the majority of the participants had developed positive attitudes toward the TPS. Regarding the motivation for reading, however, the findings of the interview were mixed. Finally, the study suggested some practical implications for EFL classrooms.

Reviewing the literature, there is an evident lack of appropriate research on the potential difficulties of assessing speaking skill and the urgent need of more rigorous assessment of speaking skill and its intricacies. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a collaborative local rubric for assessing Iranian high school students’ speaking skill constructed through the school-university members' collaboration. The participants of this study were 3 high school English teachers and 3 university instructors. They had at least 5 years of experience in English teaching and familiarity with rubrics and how to use and develop them.To gather data, a semi-structured interview was conducted with the participants. After coding and analyzing the data, it was revealed that the participants mentioned some similar criteria such as the importance of pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, fluency and the use of a 0-4 assessment scale. However, some contradictions arose between the participants about the scores and the strictness/flexibility of those levels. The currently-developed speaking rubric, which is a simulation of the IELTS and TOEFL speaking rubrics, intended to help high school teachers undertake a more thorough assessment resulting in students’ enhanced learning of speaking. This study proposed practical implications for teachers and instructors in particular test constructors and examiners.

Although there is an increasing amount of research examining the efficacy of Witten Corrective Feedback (WCF) in enhancing the grammatical accuracy of EFL learners, only a few studies have explored the perspectives of EFL teachers regarding Formulaic-oriented Witten Corrective Feedback (FWCF) in EFL settings. Using a mixed-method approach, this interpretive exploratory study sought to understand the attitudes of Iranian EFL teachers toward FWCF. The analyses were based on quantitative data from a 13-item anonymous bespoke online survey, qualitative data from semi-structured interviews, and an open-ended question at the end of the survey. EFL teachers (n =137) responded to the online survey, and 7 participants participated in semi-structured interviews. The findings indicated that female teachers' favorable opinions about the effectiveness of WCF for improving EFL learners' writing performance resulted from their belief that the learners' capacity to use more formal and courteous language in their writing assignments was positively impacted by using these formulaic sequences. Moreover, the findings demonstrated that EFL teachers preferred direct WCF methods over indirect tactics. The most essential component that affected teachers' practices in the classroom was training designed to change their perspective of the valuelessness of WCF. The teachers' lack of satisfactory understanding of formulaic sequences stemmed from their lack of information. In addition, teachers' hesitancy to use them in the lower proficiency levels emanated from their misconceptions of their uselessness in the language learners' writing tasks.

Focusing on the intersection of translation and activism, the current study aimed to address the issue of publishers’ activist agency in the socio-political context of post-revolutionary Iran. In so doing, it mainly drew on Tymoczko’s (2010a) conceptualization of political and ideological agency and activism as engagement and her classification of its different forms. The data came from a body of publishers’ notes, written on Persian translations of six English books selected through criterion sampling from the works that apparently enjoyed a level of prestige among the international readers , and reflected the Other’s views on religious, philosophical, political, and socio-cultural issues, which considering the fundamental values of the Islamic Republic of Iran that the post-revolutionary State tries to keep, could make them a possible site of translational activism. The results showed that in their notes the publishers had encoded their engagement by using a combination of different forms of engagement, i.e., publicizing, witnessing, rousing, inspiring, and mobilizing; they also revealed their interest in introducing the unfamiliar territory of the foreign to the Persian-speaking readers, and in increasing their understanding of the Other’s culture. They emphasized the importance of tolerance, pluralism, openness, and mutual respect in cultural exchanges but introduced the source Islamic culture and its set of moral values as criteria for determining the validity of the Other’s presented ideas and beliefs and rejecting what did not meet such criteria.

Translation has played a crucial role in easing communication between human beings at all times throughout history, so without translation, the complex, interwoven social structures in human life might never have been achieved. It has also made accessing texts of high significance easy and comfortable. The purpose of this study is to ascertain the methods translators used in translating certain cultural contents from the Holy Quran, as well as the degree to which they applied the concepts of domestication and foreignization to their translations of these cultural aspects. The theoretical framework for this research is Baker's method (1992), which offers strategies that translators use when dealing with concepts that lack equivalents at the vocabulary level or higher counterparts. The majority of the Qur’an-specific cultural items have been translated using the first strategy of "translation by a more general word," with a total percentage of 48.85. The second most common strategy is "translation by paraphrase using a related word" (21. 71%).Given that the majority of strategies employed by all translators fall under the category of domestication strategies, it can be concluded that the translators adopted a target-oriented approach rather than a source-oriented approach when translating Qur’an-specific cultural items.

Classroom-based assessment (CBA) as one of the constructs of formative assessment has been considered highly significant in recent years. Consequently, various tools have been designed to investigate teachers` CBA needs and deficiencies ignoring different levels of teachers` CBA literacy. Thus, the present study researchers developed and validated a classroom-based assessment literacy questionnaire (CALQ) to determine teachers` levels of CBAL. To do so, an inclusive review of the literature was accomplished to retrieve major themes and components of CBAL, and then a series of interviews were conducted with five assessment experts and 13 experienced EFL teachers in accordance with Pill and Harding’s (2013) Model of LAL, Hill and McNamara’s (2012) scope and dimensions of CBA in addition to teachers’ assessment literacy beliefs. Accordingly, a questionnaire (CALQ) including 41 items was developed. To inquire the reliability and validity of the CALQ, 318 EFL teachers were selected through non-probability convenience sampling and asked to answer the questionnaire. The outcomes of the Cronbach’s alpha demonstrated a proper reliability index, and factor analysis products clarified that items loaded on six factors named as illiteracy (6 items); nominal literacy (11 items); functional literacy (6 items); procedural and conceptual literacy (6 items); multidimensional literacy (6 items); and assessment literacy beliefs (6 items). Besides, CALQ is considered advantageous in assessing teachers’ CBAL and facilitating materials preparation to design instructional courses and develop EFL teachers’ CBAL, based on the conclusions of structural equation modeling (SEM), which proved that the Model enjoyed good psychometric features.

Concern about the Iranian EFL learners’ dissatisfaction with their learning achievement motivated this qualitative study. While the importance of teacher feedback in English as a foreign language (EFL) and its correlation with self-directed learning (SDL) of EFL learners is recognized in the literature, there seems to be a gap specifically regarding the role of Iranian EFL teachers' productive feedback features in fostering EFL learners' SDL. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the teachers' self-reported productive feedback perception and practices in support of Iranian EFL learners’ SDL to fill in the gap. For this aim, fourteen Iranian EFL teachers were interviewed, and the data obtained from the semi-structured individual interviews were analysed through content analysis. According to the findings, the participating EFL teachers unanimously comprehended the benefits of productive feedback in the classroom in support of learners’ SDL. These benefits, emerging from the analyzed data based on teachers’ insights, may contribute to learners’ self-awareness, freedom, effective learning, and a stress-free learning environment. However, the presence of lack of time, teachers’ shortage of knowledge, and the top-down approach to the education system of Iran prevented Iranian EFL teachers from actually implementing these productive feedback features supporting learners’ SDL.

This study employs Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to interrogate the discourse of native-speakerism prevalent in English Language Teaching (ELT). It analyzes a research article that advocates for the superiority of Native English-Speaking Teachers (NESTs) over Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers (NNESTs). By applying Fairclough and Fairclough's (2012) practical reasoning framework, the research reconstructs the article's argumentative structure and critically examines its underlying assumptions and values. The analysis reveals that the article's promotion of NESTs is underpinned by a pervasive native-speakerism ideology. This ideology constructs a hierarchical relationship between native and non-native speakers, privileging Western culture and language over others. The article's discourse naturalizes this hierarchy, obscuring its socially constructed nature and its role in perpetuating linguistic inequality. By focusing on the supposed innate superiority of NESTs, the article overlooks the complex interplay of factors influencing effective teaching, including pedagogical expertise, cultural competence, and learner needs. The research concludes by emphasizing the detrimental impact of native-speakerism on ELT. It underscores the need to challenge and dismantle this ideology in favor of a more inclusive and equitable approach to teacher education and professional development. By recognizing the linguistic diversity of the world and valuing the expertise of NNESTs, the field can move towards a more just and effective practice.

This study investigated the effect of CAALL on Iranian EFL learners’ self-efficacy and reading skill development. A convenience sampling was run for the selection of the participants. A sample of 220 advanced EFL learners from four private English language institutes in Iran, participated in this study. Three instruments were used including quick placement test, self-efficacy questionnaire, and reading test. The learners’ self-efficacy questionnaire and reading test were administered to all the participants. CAAL practice was implemented by autonomous and non-autonomous teachers separately for 110 participants (an experimental group and a control group). The experimental group members received CAALL in virtual mode. They were trained by two teachers on how to be autonomous in their reading performance. For the control group members, the reading practice was executed virtually. But they did not receive the practice of CAALL. They have followed the conventional teaching of reading. The practice was presented through WhatsApp Messenger. The treatment of the study was followed for 16 ninety-minute sessions. After the instructional phase, learners’ self-efficacy questionnaire and reading test were administered to all the participants again. This study has some pedagogical contributions for EFL teachers, learners, Language teaching syllabus designers, and language teaching curriculum developers.