2024-03-28T20:34:38Z
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/?_action=export&rf=summon&issue=3071
Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research
IJLTR
2322-1291
2322-1291
2015
3
1
Editorial
Karim
Sadeghi
2015
01
01
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20321_c4036589c3b16d821873ab135953e986.pdf
Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research
IJLTR
2322-1291
2322-1291
2015
3
1
Suggestions toward Some Discourse-analytic Approaches to Text Difficulty: With Special Reference to ‘T-unit Configuration’ in the Textual Unfolding
Kazem
Lotfipour-Saedi
This paper represents some suggestions towards discourse-analytic approaches for ESL/EFL education, with the focus on identifying the textual forms which can contribute to the textual difficulty. Textual difficulty / comprehensibility, rather than being purely text-based or reader-dependent, is certainly a matter of interaction between text and reader. The paper will look at some of the textual factors which can be argued to make a text more or less readable for the same reader. The main focus here will be on academic texts. The high cognitive load and low readability of the expository texts in various academic disciplines will be argued to belong to certain textual strategies as well as variations in the configurations of the T-units as the prime scaffolding for the textualization process. Different categories of these variations to be discussed here will be exemplified from a few academic and expository registers. More extensive textual analyses will, of course, be necessary in order to be able to make evidential suggestions for possible correlations between certain types and clusters of T-unit configurations on the one hand, and cognitive load and readability indices on the other, across various academic registers, genres and disciplines.
discourse-analysis
expository texts
T-unit configuration
textual forms
textual difficulty
contextual factors
register
2015
01
01
1
18
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20399_ef6e0ad97d48abd42f89970308a31eed.pdf
Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research
IJLTR
2322-1291
2322-1291
2015
3
1
An Empirical Examination of the Association Between Multiple Intelligences and Language Learning Self-efficacy among TEFL University Students
Fatemeh
Moafian
Mohammad Reza
Ebrahimi
The current study investigated the association between multiple intelligences and language learning efficacy expectations among TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) university students. To fulfill the aim of the study, 108 junior and senior TEFL students were asked to complete the "Multiple Intelligence Developmental Assessment Scales" (MIDAS) (Shearer, 1996) and the "Learners' Sense of Efficacy Survey" (Gahungu, 2009). Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and regression analysis were employed to analyze the data. The findings of correlation analysis indicated that, among the different types of intelligences, Linguistic and Intrapersonal intelligences had strong positive correlations with learners' self-efficacy beliefs. The results of regression analysis showed that Linguistic and Intrapersonal intelligences were positive predictors of learners’ efficacy beliefs, whereas Mathematical intelligence was the negative predictor of students’ self-efficacy beliefs. All in all, the findings of the present study contribute to the understanding of the interplay between students’ multiple intelligences and their language learning self-efficacy beliefs; furthermore, they convey some implications for university teachers, material and curriculum developers and language testers.
intrapersonal intelligence
linguistics intelligence
multiple intelligences
self-efficacy
TEFL students
2015
01
01
19
36
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20400_ff0b3c925f43de59e8fca6eb141564d0.pdf
Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research
IJLTR
2322-1291
2322-1291
2015
3
1
A Comparative Analysis of Interactional Metadiscourse Markers in the Introduction and Conclusion Sections of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Research Papers
Masoomeh
Estaji
Roya
Vafaeimehr
Academic writing, particularly writing research articles, is an indispensable part of every major in higher education. Hyland (2004) argued that a valuable means of exploring academic writing, and comparing the rhetorical features and preferences of different discourse communities, is through the metadiscourse analysis of the text. The present study examines the differences in the use, type, and frequency of interactional metadiscourse markers in the introduction and conclusion sections of research papers across the two disciplines of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. To this end, 42 research articles (21 Mechanical and 21 Electrical Engineering) written by English native speakers were randomly selected from two major international journals. The current study made use of Hyland’s (2005) model for analyzing the interactional metadiscourse markers used in the selected corpus, consisting of 41484 words. To analyze the data, the frequency, patterns of use, and type of interactional metadiscourse markers were elicited both through a manual corpus analysis and concordance package. Furthermore, to examine whether there is any significant difference in the use of metadiscourse markers in the introduction and conclusion sections of these papers, a Chi-square analysis was run. The results of the quantitative analysis revealed that although there were some minor differences in the frequency and type of these metadiscourse markers, there was no statistically significant difference across the disciplines, which can be attributed to the close nature of these fields. The findings of this study may render some pedagogical implications for ESP courses and especially writing research papers.
metadiscourse markers
interactional features
research papers
academic writing
mechanical engineering
electrical engineering
2015
01
01
37
56
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20401_f17959a2bb2d8df6a1b9741e837f02a0.pdf
Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research
IJLTR
2322-1291
2322-1291
2015
3
1
The Role of Teachers’ Classroom Discipline in Their Teaching Effectiveness and Students’ Language Learning Motivation and Achievement: A Path Method
Mehrak
Rahimi
Fatemeh
Hosseini Karkami
This study investigated the role of EFL teachers’ classroom discipline strategies in their teaching effectiveness and their students’ motivation and achievement in learning English as a foreign language. 1408 junior high-school students expressed their perceptions of the strategies their English teachers used (punishment, recognition/reward, discussion, involvement, and aggression) to discipline the classroom. The students evaluated their teachers’ teaching effectiveness by completing effective Iranian EFL teacher questionnaire (Moafian, & Pishghadam, 2009). They also filled in Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (GhorbanDordinejad & ImamJomeh, 2011) that assessed their motivation towards learning English as a foreign language. Achievement in English was established based on formal grades students received at the end of the academic year. The results showed that EFL teachers reward and praise students for good behavior and they are not very authoritarian. Further, teaching effectiveness, motivation and achievement in learning English were all found to be related to discipline strategies. The results of path analysis showed that those teachers who used involvement and recognition strategies more frequently were perceived to be more effective teachers; however, students perceived teachers who used punitive strategies as being less effective in their teaching. It was also revealed that in classes where teachers managed disruptive behaviors by using punitive strategies, students had problems in learning as punitive strategies lowered students’ motivation. Teaching effectiveness was found to mediate the effect of punishment on motivation while motivation mediated the effect of punitive strategies on achievement. Motivation was found to have the strongest effect on achievement.
achievement
classroom discipline
motivation
teaching effectiveness
teachers
2015
01
01
57
82
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20402_1b11a3faa0a88323e15f58adac4c46f9.pdf
Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research
IJLTR
2322-1291
2322-1291
2015
3
1
English Teachers’ Research Engagement: Level of Engagement and Motivation
Mehdi
Mehrani
The gap between research and practice has been an endemic feature of the Iranian English language teaching profession. This concern has recently received major attention by the call for empirical investigationsto be conducted in order to improve the relationship between research and practice. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the extent to which Iranian English teachers engage in doing and reading research. The study also aimed at exploring the motivations that can promote teachers’ research engagement. Data were collected through conducting qualitative interviews with 24 teachers with various teaching backgrounds. Analysis of the data revealed moderate level of research engagement. The results also showed a wide range of motivations, including teachers’ professional development, instrumental incentives, institutional expectations and pedagogical concerns that can promote teachers’ research engagement. Further analyses demonstrated that teachers’ professional development and pedagogical concerns remain their main motivations for research engagement. Instrumental incentives and organizational expectations comprise other potential motivations that can be profitably used to encourage teachers’ research engagement. However, this is not likely to happen unless working conditions in Iranian schools and policy conditions in national education system are altered.
educational research
professional development
research engagement
research-practice gap
teachers’ motivations
2015
01
01
83
97
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20403_b5133992108283cb044fbe5207948884.pdf
Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research
IJLTR
2322-1291
2322-1291
2015
3
1
Using Convergent and Divergent Tasks to Improve Writing and Language Learning Motivation
Hamid
Marashi
Parissa
Tahan-Shizari
This study was an attempt to investigate the comparative impact of convergent and divergent condition tasks on EFL learners’ writing and motivation. Sixty female intermediate EFL learners were selected from among a total number of 90 through their performance on a sample piloted PET and further homogenized in terms of their writing and motivation. Based on the results, the students were randomly assigned to two experimental groups with 30 participants in each. Both groups underwent the same amount of teaching time during 18 sessions of treatment which included using divergent tasks for the first group and convergent tasks for the second. A posttest (the writing section of another sample PET) and Gardener’s Attitude and Motivation Test Battery (used also earlier for the homogenization) were administered at the end of the treatment to both groups and their mean scores on the test were compared through independent samples t-tests. The results led to the rejection of the first null hypothesis, thereby demonstrating that the learners in the convergent group benefited significantly more than those in the divergent group in terms of improving their writing. The second null hypothesis was not rejected, however, meaning that the two treatments were not significantly different in terms of improving the learners’ motivation.
convergent/divergent tasks
writing
motivation
2015
01
01
99
117
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20404_5f2be3a17df61c31c5133c3f147d3af1.pdf
Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research
IJLTR
2322-1291
2322-1291
2015
3
1
On the Accessibility of Phonological, Orthographic, and Semantic Aspects of Second Language Vocabulary Learning and Their Relationship with Spatial and Linguistic Intelligences
Abbas Ali
Zarei
Maryam
Aleali
The present study was an attempt to investigate the differences in the accessibility of phonological, semantic, and orthographic aspects of words in L2 vocabulary learning. For this purpose, a sample of 119 Iranian intermediate level EFL students in a private language institute in Karaj was selected. All of the participants received the same instructional treatment. At the end of the experimental period, three tests were administered based on the previously-taught words. A subset of Gardner’s’ (1983) Multiple Intelligences questionnaire was also used for data collection. A repeated measures one-way ANOVA procedure was used to analyze the obtained data. The results showed significant differences in the accessibility of phonological, semantic, and orthographic aspects of words in second language vocabulary learning. Moreover, to investigate the relationships between spatial and linguistic intelligences and the afore-mentioned aspects of lexical knowledge, a correlational analysis was used. No significant relationships were found between spatial and linguistic intelligences and the three aspects of lexical knowledge. These findings may have theoretical and pedagogical implications for researchers, teachers, and learners.
linguistic intelligence
orthography
phonology
semantics
spatial intelligence
vocabulary learning
2015
01
01
119
135
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20405_1c12de17703f00c67e2e43dca33d894d.pdf
Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research
IJLTR
2322-1291
2322-1291
2015
3
1
BOOK REVIEW: Exploring Language Assessment and Testing
Bahareh
Farzizadeh
2015
01
01
137
139
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20406_7a12de0083f9d8198ebcc13e44fcacb3.pdf
Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research
IJLTR
2322-1291
2322-1291
2015
3
1
BOOK REVIEW: Language Education and Applied Linguistics: Bridging the Two Fields
Karim
Sadeghi
Maryam
Soleimani
2015
01
01
141
143
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20407_6f5f2c93abbcd75fec016e291c858009.pdf
Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research
IJLTR
2322-1291
2322-1291
2015
3
1
BOOK REVIEW: Translingual Practice: Global Englishes and Cosmopolitan Relations
Shizhou
Yang
2015
01
01
145
147
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20408_a064348bb83c7ffde0810e100b04f34e.pdf
Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research
IJLTR
2322-1291
2322-1291
2015
3
1
Abstracts in Persian
2015
01
01
149
154
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20409_cc9604363f5e6da371e81f1ef30ac353.pdf