درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

هدف این مطالعه بررسی تاثیر تفاوت های فردی بر توانایی های کاربردشناسی متغیر در فراگیران زبان انگلیسی می باشد. 48 فراگیرزبان انگلیسی ژاپنی از یک دانشگاه انگلیسی زبان در ژاپن در این تحقیق شرکت کردند. این فراگیران در یک آزمون کاربردشناسی شفاهی که توانایی آن ها را در مورد تولید دو عمل گفتارِ درخواست کردن و نظر دادن در دو موقعیت با تحمیل کم و زیاد می سنجید، شرکت کردند. سه عامل (مهارت کلی، گرایش به سمت مطالعات انگلیسی و مهارت دسترسی واژگانی) اندازه گیری شد و تاثیر آن بردو عامل تناسب و روانی کلام درعمل گفتار تولید شده سنجیده شد. نتایج نشان می دهد که عوامل فردی تاثیر بسزایی بر تغییرات کاربردشناسی می گذارد، اما این تاثیرات در دو عامل تناسب و روانی کلام متفاوت بود.

Most of the studies on the key word method of second/foreign language vocabulary learning have been based on the evidence from laboratory experiments and have primarily involved the use of English key words to learn the vocabularies of other languages. Furthermore, comparatively quite limited number of such studies is done in authentic classroom contexts. The present study inquired into the effect of using mnemonic key word method of vocabulary instruction on the learning and retention of vocabulary over long term in a normal EFL classroom context.Fifty5th grade primary school students were selected and randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received vocabulary instruction using mnemonic key word method and the control group received classic memorization based instruction of the same vocabulary items. The two groups took three posttests a day, two weeks, and a month after the last treatment session. A MANOVA analysis was run on the data and the results indicated that subjects in the key word group outperformed the memorization group at a significant level in both their learning and retention of the newly learnt vocabularies. The results of the study underscore the efficacy of the establishment of mental links and images for the vocabulary learning and retention of novice and beginning level EFL learners. It further implies that mnemonic devices like key word method should be given prompt attention by both EFL material developers and practitioners as a potentially effective strategy for vocabulary teaching, learning and long term retention at the early stages of second or foreign language development.

This study aimed at providing learners with an opportunity not only to bring together their core and disciplinary knowledge to acquire major skills of learning English as a foreign language (EFL), and the intellectual challenge of these issues at the interface of media, language and religion, but also help the materials generators to produce suitable types of content to be delivered through the medium of mobile technology. Therefore, it sought to examine the new way of teaching EFL in the form of correspondence with respect to Iranian learners' native culture and language. For the purposes of this study, English was the target language for 680 Iranian students with pre-intermediate level of language proficiency whose native languages were Persian, Arabic, Georgian, and Turkish. This study took as its point of departure the existence of important differences between the two learning materials (off the shelf vs. Islamic culture) types; thus, applying the Qur'ānic criteria of intelligence, knowledge and virtue parallel with the digital representation of common textbook materials, materials delivery was adapted to the cellphone screen to be accessed by learners' in 18 virtual sessions. Learners took part in two summative and 18 formative components included in the assessment design of this study. Also, they all answered a questionnaire which yielded information concerning their attitude towards the target language, and learning through the wireless technology. Learners' short texting correspondence as well as their performance in battery and their answers to items of questionnaires formed the reference for analyzing the results. The gains from English Islamic materials were outweighed by the effects of obtaining materials which involved more categorized cases.

Veryfew attempts have been made in the past to develop instruments to measure pragmatic knowledge of second language (L2) learners. The absence of such instruments in the literature of English language teaching (ELT) underscores the need for the researchers to develop new tests that are specifically designed to assess this crucial but less explored aspect of language learners’ (LLs) knowledge. In line with this objective, the present study was conducted to develop and validate four tests of pragmatic knowledge that measured LLs’ knowledge of speech acts. The following steps were taken in this study to develop the written discourse completion tests (WDCTs) and the multiple-choice discourse completion tests (MCDCTs) that respectively measured the test takers’ ability to produce and comprehend request speech act. During the “prototype step” the researchers identified the content and the number of items for each designated test battery. At the “test construction step” the sociolinguistic variables of power (P), social distance (D), and absolute rank of imposition (R) were inserted into the content of the test items. Finally, at the “validation step” the reliability of the tests was examined. The finding of the study showed that the constructed test batteries were sufficiently reliable and valid for measuring pragmatic knowledge of L2 learners.

در این تحقیق ابتدا حافظه ی کاری و مدل پیشنهادی آن توصیف می گردد. سپس طرزساخت یک تست حافظه ی کاری به همراه تشریح کامل آزمایش هایی که روی آن صورت گرفته ارائه می گردد. به طور دقیق تر، این تست شامل 64 جمله فارسی می باشد که با ویژگی های خاصی توسط یک کارشناس زبان فارسی تهیه و سپس بر روی سه دسته زبان آموزکه جمعا 74 نفر بودند امتحان شد و نواقص آن طی این سه مرحله بر طرف شد. این تست نهایتا در یک تحقیق بزرگ، جهت اندازه گیری ظرفیت حافظه ی 140 نفر زبان آموز به کار گرفته شد. نتایج تحلیل عناصر تست، پایایی 840 0/ و 7900/ را نشان داد. این بدان مفهوم است که تست ساخته شده قابل اعتماد بوده و می تواند در تحقیقات دیگر مورد استفاده قرار گیرد. همچنین محققان زبانهای دیگر می توانند از فرایند طی شده در این تحقیق جهت تهیه تست حافظه در زبان خود پیروی کنند.

Many textbooks include semantically related words and sometimes teachers add synonyms, antonyms, etc. to the words in order to present new vocabulary items without questioning the possible effects. This study sought to investigate the effect of teaching vocabulary through synonym, semantically unrelated, and hyponym sets based on Higa’s (1963) proposed continuum. A total of 120 Iranian intermediate EFL adults were selected and classified into two high and low language proficient learners based on their PET (2003) scores. They learned the vocabulary items based on the three above-mentioned methods. Learners’ vocabulary achievement was measured using Paribakht and Wesche’s (1993) Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) in order to assess both the quantitative (number of learnt vocabulary [NLV]) and the qualitative knowledge of vocabulary (depth of learnt vocabulary [DLV]) by administering the same test twice with a two-week interval for obtaining ST and LT results. To address research questions, two independent two-way ANOVAs and two mixed design two-way ANOVAs were conducted. The results revealed that the learners from synonym sets group gained better ST vocabulary achievement quantitatively and language proficiency level proved not to play any significant role in the learners’ vocabulary accomplishment based on belonging to any given group. It was also revealed that quantitatively hyponym, semantically unrelated, and synonym set groups were respectively the most effective methods of clustering that lead to less forgetting in LT which supports Higa’s proposition.