English teaching
Sh. Zarinfard; M. Rahimi; A. Mohseny
Abstract
Background and ObjectiveS: The difference between students and their individual needs have been the focus of many pedagogues in recent decades. With the emergence and development of a variety of technologies and the expansion of access infrastructure to emerging technologies, the condition to access ...
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Background and ObjectiveS: The difference between students and their individual needs have been the focus of many pedagogues in recent decades. With the emergence and development of a variety of technologies and the expansion of access infrastructure to emerging technologies, the condition to access a variety of educational content has been met for a wide range of learners. The flipped classroom is one of the most ambitious ideas in education, which emerged in the last decade of the twentieth century with the aim of meeting the needs of learners and promoting learner-centered learning, using very simple technologies. The flipped class can affect the teacher's instructional practice and their interaction with students and even communication with parents. The main difference between the presentation method in the flipped classroom and the traditional classroom is that the teacher becomes a guide and facilitator of the learning process instead of the lecturer and controller of the teaching process. The flipped class gives students control over the teaching process by stopping and rewinding the teacher's teaching video. In this way, students with different levels of proficiency can listen to or see the teacher's teaching over and over again, without being accused of beingretarded by their classmates. Therefore, the students themselves take the main responsibility of planning for the lesson and learn the educational materials without any worries. This study investigated the impact of flipped classroom on the development of English reading comprehension. Methods:Two general English classes were selected based on convenience sampling and were assigned into control (n=25) and experimental (n=25) groups. The participants’ reading proficiency was assessed before and after the study by PET (Preliminary English Test). The scores of pre-test showed that the groups were homogeneous prior to the study. The experimental group received instruction based on flipped approach and the control group were taught based on conventional instruction. Findings: The result of MANOVA on post-test scores indicated that flipped classroom improved students’ reading comprehension significantly. Tests of between-subjects effects show that the groups’ means of posttest scores were significantly different in four parts of PET that focus on understanding the main idea and gist of meaning. The difference between the groups was not significant in Part 5 that assesses understanding the vocabulary and grammar in a short text. Conclusion: The results showed that the use of flipped instruction in general can improve learners' reading skills and comprehension. At the same time, this method has worked better in strengthening reading skills and comprehension of the general content and message of the texts than paying attention to smaller reading units such as vocabulary and grammar. This is logical given the theoretical underpinning of the flipped class in emphasizing higher-level cognitive skills and indicates the success of a model designed to teach GE. At the same time, it is necessary to help learners to strengthen low-level skills in the reading process by designing appropriate teaching aids and teaching learning strategies to them. Also, in order for this method to be successful in lower level cognitive activities, there is a need to continue using it and familiarizing learners with this method. In this study, due to the mediocre access of students to technology, advanced technologies (such as artificial intelligence, smart applications, etc.) were not used to prepare e-content. In addition, the flipped class was the first experience of the students participating in this study, and it is recommended to continued use of the flipped class (more than one semester) in other studies.
English teaching
R. Nejati; Z. Cheraghi; A. Nasery
Abstract
Backgrounds and Objectives:Today, all over the world and in our country, the need to speak English has increased and has caused a lot of demand for learning this language. This need is met through various means such as formal education in schools and colleges, travel to English-speaking countries, and ...
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Backgrounds and Objectives:Today, all over the world and in our country, the need to speak English has increased and has caused a lot of demand for learning this language. This need is met through various means such as formal education in schools and colleges, travel to English-speaking countries, and so on. But classroom teaching seems to be the most common opportunity for language learning; Therefore, the need for quality education and appropriate materials is inevitable. According to education experts, the textbook is a manifestation of the approved curriculum of the educational system. The textbook is one of the most important sources of learning in educational systems and is the main material of the school curriculum. Research on textbooks is necessary because it is used by many teachers and students effective in designing appropriate learning opportunities for students. Studying textbooks can reveal the connection between some of the students' learning difficulties and the curriculum and help to incorporate the concepts of the curriculum in the appropriate way in the textbooks. Authors of Prospect (1) have stated that the book was developed based on dynamic communicative language teaching approach. The present study evaluates all texts, pictures and exercises of the book in terms of communicative language teaching criteria to assess its effectiveness. The researcher attempts to investigate the application of communicative language teaching in the content of the book under study. The study addresses this question ‘to what extend the content of the book is in harmony with principles of communicative language teaching’. Methods: It is a descriptive content analysis study. The instrument entails six components of communicative language teaching and has been validated through content analysis by 5 scholars. Data collection was done by three researchers working independently. Kappa agreement statistic is greater than 0.8 indicating satisfactory inter-rater reliability. Findings:The results, analyzed through Shannon entropy revealed that group interaction (0.37), lingual communication (0.009), culture comparing (0.167), two by two communication (0.139), meaningfulness (0.079) and information gap (0.046) carried content weight. The book seems to be effective in terms of communicative language teaching principles. Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, the importance of the components of communication approach in the 7th grade English textbook is as follows: 1. Strengthening group communication, 2. Adapting to the culture of the country, 3. Strengthening two-way communication, 4. Meaningful principle, 5. Information gap, 6. Lingual communication. The most prominent feature of this book is that it adequately addresses the components of the communication approach. Attention to strengthening group communication indicates that language teaching is moving away from the traditional method, which helps the learner a lot. Paying attention to the adaptation of the educational content to the culture of the country makes the content of the courses tangible and attractive and strengthens learning.
English teaching
M. Piri; H. Sahebyar; A. Sadollahi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The present age is called the information age, because the acceleration of the evolution of science and technology in the present age is very high and significant. Every day new technologies are produced and made available to the audience. Much of the knowledge and science ...
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Background and Objectives: The present age is called the information age, because the acceleration of the evolution of science and technology in the present age is very high and significant. Every day new technologies are produced and made available to the audience. Much of the knowledge and science taught in schools and universities needs to be revisited over time due to social and technological changes. In addition, personal and professional situations increasingly depend on continuous learning. In recent decades, due to dramatic changes and the breadth of science, the need to upgrade and update human knowledge and skills, upgrading lifelong learning skills has become one of the primary goals of the education system. With the advent of information technology and the increasing development of the educational system, it has shifted its activities to the use of e-learning. The general popularity of this type of education is such that some have overlooked the benefits of traditional education and the interaction between teacher and student, and considering e-learning as the only way of education for sustainable learning at the forefront of formal education. Therefore, in terms of education, a new atmosphere has ruled the world. The large amount of information and its evolution in a short time that must be addressed in the education system; but due to limitations such as lack of time, lack of motivation to learn, update information is not compatible with the new atmosphere of the education system. This research has been conducted in an attempt to examine the effect of Flipped classroom on self-directed learning in English language classes. Method and Materials: The participants were female 10th grade students of Kaleybar in academic year 2016-2017. The research is a quasi-experimental one and is performed using the pre-test, post-test method with a control group. Participants in the study were 30 students selected by convenience sampling and randomly divided into two experimental and control groups. For data collection, the self-directed learning questionnaire was used with a reliability of.82 for the whole test and with face and content validity approved by the experts. Findings: Data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS software. The results of ANCOVA showed that Flipped Classroom influenced the self-directed variable (with the exception of self-management) in learning with the help of covariate (pre-test) (p <.05). Also, the mean scores of students at the pre and post-test in the experimental group were significantly different. The mean scores of self-directed learning for students trained through Flipped Classroom were higher. Conclusion: Findings of this study, despite methodological limitations, such as non-random selection of subjects and limited number of sessions of educational interventions, can have scientific and practical implications for the educational system. The specific proposal of this research is to this method in compiling curricula and textbooks, as well as holding in-service training courses for inverted classes for new teachers unfamiliar with this method, as well as using this method by teachers for students' academic engagement. Strengthening the necessary academic skills in this age of information explosion is suggested. Studies on the long-term effects of the flipped class, conducting the same research in different courses and grades, as well as studying it on more examples in other educational areas, are among the suggestions for future researchers.
English teaching
E.A. Salimi
Abstract
This study aims at investigating the effect of applying non-verbal communication and body gesture in the process of learning second language. Communication among individuals to share their beliefs, feelings and opinion entails both verbal and non-verbal aspects. While non-verbal communication includes ...
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This study aims at investigating the effect of applying non-verbal communication and body gesture in the process of learning second language. Communication among individuals to share their beliefs, feelings and opinion entails both verbal and non-verbal aspects. While non-verbal communication includes indirect behavior of body gesture, language is the indispensable part of Any verbal communication. A number of 60 EFL learners were recruited from a private English language institute to participate in the present study. They were, then, randomly assigned into two experimental and control groups. Each group was instructed 15 English words. The treatment lasted 6 sessions in one month. The experimental group was taught using body gesture and pictures, while control the group was instructed with the use of verbal techniques. Learners in both groups were tested orally to check their progress. The findings revealed that there is a significant difference between the two groups outperforming experimental over the control group. A Likert-scaled questionnaire was also distributed among learners. Then, the data collected were analyzed using SPSS and their mean scores revealed their positive attitudes toward using non-verbal communication in L2 teaching and learning.
English teaching
AliReza Jalilifar
Abstract
This study aimed to account for metadiscourse variations in the discussion sections of articles written in Persian and English and published in Iranian as well as international scholarly journals in English Language Teaching and Psychiatry. For this purpose, 90 research article discussions were ...
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This study aimed to account for metadiscourse variations in the discussion sections of articles written in Persian and English and published in Iranian as well as international scholarly journals in English Language Teaching and Psychiatry. For this purpose, 90 research article discussions were selected, and then hedges and boosters were identified based on the taxonomies of metadiscourse markers. The results of the quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed significant differences in frequency, type, and functions of these devices in the texts. These differences might be attributed to lack of awareness of the conventional rules of English rhetoric, limited and fragile knowledge of academic English by Persian writers, and lack of explicit instruction and exposure to pragmatic and sociolinguistic rules of English by Persian researchers. Further research in other disciplines will help to make more accurate generalizations about the role of metadiscourse markers in research articles.
English teaching
I. Malaz; M. Rabiee; S. Ketabi
Abstract
This study investigates the request strategies used by Persian learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), aimed at exploring the pragmatic instruction effects on their noticing constrained by different types of treatment tasks. The subsequent effect of the learners’ noticing on their learning ...
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This study investigates the request strategies used by Persian learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), aimed at exploring the pragmatic instruction effects on their noticing constrained by different types of treatment tasks. The subsequent effect of the learners’ noticing on their learning outcomes is taken into account as well. Thirty learners were divided into two instructional (treatment) conditions: a form-comparison condition and a form-search condition. Discourse completion tests were used to generate data related to the request strategies used by each group in pre- and posttests. The treatment data were examined regarding the extent to which the learners had noticed the appropriate manner of request realization in English and were further compared with the posttest. The findings revealed that during the treatment, the amount of learners’ noticing the target request forms in the form-comparison condition was greater than the form-search condition. Furthermore, learners’ higher awareness of the target request forms in the form-comparison condition could lead them to have a better performance in their posttest.
English teaching
J. Nikoopour; Mohammad Amini Farsani; Maryam Nasiri
Abstract
This study investigates the relationship between critical thinking and the use of direct and indirect language learning strategies by Iranian learners. To this end, two survey instruments, the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL), and a questionnaire of Critical Thinking, were administered ...
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This study investigates the relationship between critical thinking and the use of direct and indirect language learning strategies by Iranian learners. To this end, two survey instruments, the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL), and a questionnaire of Critical Thinking, were administered among 100 college students majoring in English translation at Karaj University. The findings reveals a statistically significant relationship between specific direct and indirect language learning strategies such as cognitive, metacognitive, and social with critical thinking, while memory, compensation, and affective strategies appeared to have no relationship with critical thinking.
English teaching
M. Rahimi; H. Azhegh
Abstract
While there is an expanding literature on the challenges and practicalities of implementing Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) in East Asian educational setting, there is a dearth of research with regard to its effectiveness in foreign language settings and West Asian classes. The purpose of this ...
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While there is an expanding literature on the challenges and practicalities of implementing Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) in East Asian educational setting, there is a dearth of research with regard to its effectiveness in foreign language settings and West Asian classes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of TBLT on Iranian university students’ reading comprehension ability and English achievement in an English-for-Specific-Purposes (ESP) course. Two intact groups of university students majoring in Mechanical Engineering (Production and Manufacturing) participated in the experiment. The control group received instruction in grammar-translation method through presentation, practice and production procedure with focus on teaching reading, grammar, vocabulary and translation. The experimental group experienced strong version of TBLT through pre-task, task, and post-task procedure. The experiment lasted for one semester. Students’ reading comprehension ability and achievement in ESP were assessed at the end of the experience. The results revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in both assessed variables, confirming the fact that TBLT is an effective way of teaching English to Iranian ESP students.
English teaching
R. Nejati
Abstract
A key issue in assessing the learning styles of English as foreign language (EFL) students is the development of a valid and reliable instrument. This paper reports and discusses the results of administering one learning styles questionnaire, which is a further development of Wintergerst , DeCapua (2002) ...
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A key issue in assessing the learning styles of English as foreign language (EFL) students is the development of a valid and reliable instrument. This paper reports and discusses the results of administering one learning styles questionnaire, which is a further development of Wintergerst , DeCapua (2002) Learning Styles Indicator (LSI) originally developed for the ESL learners. The questionnaire has three constructs, namely, group activity orientation (GAO), individual activity orientation (IAO), and project orientation (PO). The new questionnaire has two more constructs, namely, induction (INDUC) and deduction (DEDUC). Five hundred Iranian students were given the questionnaire. However, three hundred sixty three questionnaires were returned. The results, investigated through confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha, revealed that the questionnaire would be a valid and reliable measure of the learning styles of the Iranian students of English.
English teaching
M. Rahimi; Z. Nabilou
Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between globalization and the necessity for EFL curriculum reform in Iran. It also analyzed challenges and opportunities created for curriculum and syllabus designers in this process. The qualitative analysis of the Perspective of Islamic Republic of Iran in 1404, ...
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This study investigated the relationship between globalization and the necessity for EFL curriculum reform in Iran. It also analyzed challenges and opportunities created for curriculum and syllabus designers in this process. The qualitative analysis of the Perspective of Islamic Republic of Iran in 1404, and Development Plans 4 and 5 was done in order to find out the country’s policy toward globalization. The status of EFL program in Iran was described by carrying out two further analyses: (1) a comparative study of Iranian and Middle Eastern examinees’ TOEFL scores from 2002 to 2007, and (2) a review study of problems of teaching and learning English in Iranian high schools. The results of the analyses showed that: (1) Iran has taken an active role in facing globalization by appreciating its Iranian-Islamic values; (2) EFL program in Iran has serious problems, and (3) EFL curriculum reform in Iran is essential and inevitable in the process of globalization
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