Curriculum Research

This study investigated the impact of newly developed English for Specific Purposes (ESP) materials on enhancing Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) and cultural awareness among Iranian undergraduate psychology students. Addressing the need for culturally responsive communication and limitations of conventional materials, researchers designed a 5-unit coursebook based on Byram’s (1997) ICC framework and the ICC materials development framework proposed by Mishan and Kiss (2024). Employing a mixed-methods design over a 10-week semester, 60 homogeneous students were equally assigned into two groups: an experimental group received newly developed ESP materials that integrated cross-cultural case studies, dialogic activities, and culturally diverse psychological modules, while the control group used traditional textbooks. Quantitative data from ICC questionnaires revealed a significant increase in ICC within the experimental group. Qualitative analysis of student reflections and interviews indicated enhanced intercultural attitudes, knowledge, skills, and cultural awareness, reflecting meaningful shifts in perspectives for the experimental group. These findings underscore the effectiveness of ICC-focused ESP materials in preparing psychology students for culturally sensitive practice. The study contributes to the development of ESP materials by advocating for the intentional integration of intercultural competence to cultivate globally competent practitioners.

Social identity plays a significant role in the professional life of teachers; however, the social identity of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers is an under-investigated research area in general and in the context of Iran in particular. This study aimed to explore Iranian primary-level EFL teachers’ perceptions toward social identity. To this end, phenomenological design was adopted. Participants included 15 teachers (7 males and 8 females) from private language schools of Tehran and Tabriz who were selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Based on the results of the thematic analysis, five main themes were identified: social communication skills, professional development experiences, using collaboration, group activities, and negotiation strategies to understand students’ social identity, effect of social identity on teaching profession, and effect of social identity on teacher interactions. This study has some implications for primary-level EFL teacher educators and primary-level EFL teachers. Primary-level EFL teacher educators should use the findings to train pre-service teachers on the construction and reconstruction of their social identity. Besides, primary-level EFL teacher teachers should be attentive to the reconstruction of their social identity based on the insights taken from this study.

This study explored the association between Iranian EFL teachers’ professional competencies in digital teaching contexts, their level of creativity, and their preparedness for online instruction. A correlational research design was adopted to address the study’s objectives. A total of 306 English language teachers from Iranian high schools were selected through convenience sampling to participate in the investigation. The research utilized standardized and validated instruments to measure teachers' online professional competencies, creativity, and online teaching readiness. Findings from the Pearson correlation analysis indicated statistically significant relationships among the study’s core variables. Moreover, the dimensions of online professional competencies were found to be important predictors of teachers’ readiness to engage in virtual instruction. The findings underscore the importance of adopting a holistic and cohesive approach to professional training, curriculum planning, and instructional design tailored to the needs of Iranian EFL educators operating in online learning environments such as the need to enhance the technological proficiency of EFL teachers.

Dynamic Assessment (DA) is the integration of assessment and training into a single, continuous activity. This combination enhances linguistic skills by providing targeted mediation to students' needs and abilities. This mixed-methods study aimed to investigate the contribution of the two approaches of DA, namely interactionist and interventionist, to vocabulary learning among Iranian EFL learners with diverse cultural backgrounds, with a focus on learners’ attitudes. To meet the objectives, 90 male and female students aged 15-18, at the intermediate level from two language schools in Sarab, Iran, were recruited through convenience sampling. Oxford Quick Placement Test, Vocabulary Knowledge Scale, Vocabulary Test, Cultural Dimension Questionnaire, and recorded instructional sessions were used to gather the required data. The analysis of the quantitative data revealed that students in the interactionist individualism/collectivism group scored significantly higher on the vocabulary posttest than students with other cultural orientations within the same group and students in the interventionist group. Inductive thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed that the influences of both approaches differed in terms of the degree of negotiated mediations, the development of different learning strategies, and the promotion of different preparation orientations. The findings of the study have some pedagogical implications.

For non-native researchers, grammatical accuracy is essential for successful communication with the Academic community. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the types of errors found in the academic writings of Iranian researchers and their distribution. To this end, 50 abstracts were randomly selected from two Iranian academic journals to identify the possible grammatical errors. A qualitative descriptive approach was utilized to analyze these abstracts. To achieve this, Surface Strategy Taxonomy was used to detect and categorize errors into four groups: omission, addition, misformation, and misordering. As a result, 120 errors were identified in 10 abstracts out of the 50. The results showed that the most prevalent errors in academic writings were omissions, whereas additions were the least common. These findings demonstrated the importance of the Surface Strategy Taxonomy for analyzing error patterns in academic writing and highlighted the most frequent grammatical errors in several published articles. Researchers and journal editors can benefit from these results to enhance the linguistic quality of English-language abstracts.

This paper explores how the application of desirable difficulties—spacing, interleaving, retrieval, and generative learning—affects long‑term retention and productive performance among Iranian learners of German as a Foreign Language (GFL). Building on a cognitive framework that distinguishes the durability of stored knowledge from its momentary accessibility, the study adopted a mixed‑methods design with A1‑level learners from Tehran. A total of twenty participants (N = 20) were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 10) receiving instruction based on desirable difficulties and a control group (n = 10) following massed‑practice routines. Quantitative analysis showed that the experimental group had significantly higher retention and production skills scores in the delayed post-tests, and the results were statistically significant (p < 0.01). Qualitative data derived from semi‑structured interviews with six volunteer learners from the experimental group indicated that participants associated increased cognitive challenge with deeper understanding and enhanced motivation. The results show that including challenging but beneficial activities helps make language knowledge more lasting and easier to use in different situations. This offers support for the idea of using spaced retrieval and interleaved practice in teaching foreign languages in a structured way to help learners develop strong and long-term language skills.