درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Task-based language assessment (TBLA) is a framework for language testing that takes the task as the fundamental unit for assessment and testing. This study was designed to investigate the impact of TBLA on Iranian Male and Female EFL learners’ idiomatic knowledge. To fulfill the objective, 40 learners ranging from 18 to 25 in age and studying at Bayan English Institute in Rasht, Iran, were selected from among 100 participants based on their performance on quick placement test (QPT). The study employed a true-experimental design in which the participants were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and two control groups. First, a pretest of idioms was administered. Then, the experimental groups received a sixteen-session treatment that was the treatment of Task-Based Assessment. Meanwhile, the control groups received a sixteen-session placebo. A posttest of idioms was then administered to all the participants. The use of UNIANOVA revealed that the experimental groups outperformed the control groups in learning idioms. Based on the findings of the present study, all stakeholders, particularly material developers and teachers are proposed to include idioms in language teaching so that remarkable opportunities for improving idiomatic knowledge among learners would be provided.

This study aimed to compare the effects of Automated Writing Evaluation Feedback (AWEF) and Peer Feedback (PF) on the development of self-regulation in writing among Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. The participants consisted of 58 intermediate-level Persian-speaking English learners, aged 25 to 30, enrolled in two intact IELTS preparation classes at a private language institute in Tehran. The learners were assigned into two experimental groups: one group (n = 30) received peer feedback, while the other (n = 28) received automated feedback through ProWritingAid. To assess the impact of these interventions, data were collected using the Writing Strategies for Self-Regulated Learning Questionnaire (WSSRLQ), semi-structured interviews, and classroom observations. Quantitative analysis using independent samples t-tests revealed significant improvements in self-regulation scores for both groups post-intervention, with the AWEF group showing a significantly greater increase. Qualitative analysis of interview and observation data further supported these findings, indicating that AWEF participants engaged in more structured and proactive revision practices, while PF participants developed greater reflective awareness and emotional resilience through collaborative interaction. Triangulated results confirmed that both feedback types positively influenced self-regulated writing behaviors, with AWEF demonstrating a stronger overall impact.

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) education has gained prominence as a specialized field designed to address the distinct linguistic needs of learners. Although AI-enhanced instruction has been investigated within general English language learning, its implementation in ESP contexts particularly concerning vocabulary recall and retention has remained insufficiently explored. This study sought to evaluate the impact of AI-supported instruction on vocabulary recall and retention among Iranian ESP learners. Based on non-random convenience sampling, a total of 48 undergraduate students in an ESP course from a university in a southeastern province in Iran participated in the present quasi-experimental study. The participants were non-randomly assigned into two different groups: an experimental group (n=24) receiving AI-powered vocabulary instruction through Diffit, and a control group (n=24) receiving traditional print-based vocabulary instruction. Data were collected during a twelve-week intervention through AI-powered instruction of ESP vocabulary. To address the research questions, a univariate repeated measures analysis of covariate (ANCOVA) was employed. Findings revealed that AI-enhanced instruction significantly improved vocabulary recall and retention among ESP learners. The results offer robust evidence supporting the efficacy of AI-based instructional approaches in enhancing vocabulary learning outcomes within ESP settings.

This study examined the effects of peer and teacher technology-enhanced scaffolding through process approach on Iranian EFL learners’ collocational knowledge with regard to impulsivity and reflectivity. The participants included 132 EFL learners at the intermediate level selected from an initial number of 204 learners based on their scores on Preliminary English Test (PET). The 132 learners were divided into three groups and given a collocation pretest and the reflectivity/impulsivity questionnaire. The three groups of the study were the peer scaffolding (N=48), the teacher scaffolding (N=43), and the control group (N=41). In each of the three groups, there were both reflective and impulsive learners. The first experimental group received peer scaffolding via Telegram while the second experimental group was exposed to teacher scaffolding. As for the control group, no teacher or peer scaffolding was provided and the learners were taught collocations in a conventional way. After the treatment, the posttest of collocations was given to the three groups. The results revealed that both peer and teacher scaffolding significantly affected collocation learning. However, there was no significant difference between peer and teacher scaffolding in terms of their effects on collocation learning. The results also indicated that the main effect of treatment on collocation learning was significant; however, there was not a statistically significant interaction between peer and teacher scaffolding through the process approach in a technology-enhanced environment and reflectivity vs. impulsivity on EFL learners’ collocation learning. Based on the results, EFL teachers can employ both peer and teacher scaffolding in a technology-enhanced environment to improve EFL learners’ collocational knowledge irrespective of learners’ impulsivity and reflectivity.