List of Articles Azizeh Chalak

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  1 - Effect of Synchronous Virtual Learning Environment on Reading Comprehension of Undergraduate EFL Students
  Javad Akbari Hossein Heidari Tabrizi Azizeh Chalak
  10.30495/jfl.2023.703270
  Virtual learning has been defined as any system of education and instruction that brings together participants who are separated by geographical distances or time. Significantly, in a virtual learning environment, interactive telecommunications systems are utilized to c More

  Virtual learning has been defined as any system of education and instruction that brings together participants who are separated by geographical distances or time. Significantly, in a virtual learning environment, interactive telecommunications systems are utilized to connect learners, resources, and instructors. As such, the present study sought to investigate the possible effect of a synchronous virtual learning environment on the reading comprehension of undergraduate EFL university students. To this end, from the population of students majoring in English translation at Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran, one control group, and one experimental group were non-probabilistically selected based on their availability. Indeed, thirty students were chosen for the control group and thirty students were nominated for the experimental group. Live interactive teaching rooms were utilized in the experimental group during the term, whereas asynchronous instructional practices were adopted in the control group within the study. According to the results of paired samples t-test, the experimental group, which was instructed by live interactive teaching rooms over the term, had better performance at the end of the period as compared to the beginning of the term. Moreover, the independent samples t-test showed that the students' scores on the post-test in the experimental group were higher than those of the control group. Evidently, the results of the present study may have practical implications for EFL teachers, online instructors, distance education programmers, materials developers, and syllabus designers. Manuscript profile
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  2 - Role of Iranian EFL Teachers' Biological Factors in Managing Learners' Misbehaviours
  Zahra Hashempour Azizeh Chalak Hossein Heidari Tabrizi
  Classroom management is a key component of teachers' professional competent for promoting learning. This study investigated teachers' classroom management strategies in responding to Iranian EFL learners' misbehaviours in terms of teachers' biological factors including More

  Classroom management is a key component of teachers' professional competent for promoting learning. This study investigated teachers' classroom management strategies in responding to Iranian EFL learners' misbehaviours in terms of teachers' biological factors including age and gender. The participants of the study were 75 (41 females and 34 males) teachers at universities and in language institutes of Fars Province, Iran. The study enjoyed a descriptive design using two sets of instruments encompassing a Five Likert-scale questionnaire and a semi-structured interview for collecting the data. The questionnaire determined teachers' classroom management strategies and the interview collected their opinions regarding classroom management. To analyze the data, one-way ANOVA and an independent sample t-test were run. The findings indicated that teachers' age and gender had significant effects on the types of strategies that they used when they faced misbehaviour. The findings also revealed that male teachers significantly used the strategies such as verbal warning, and female teachers removing the student from the class. The age groups were different in terms of using two strategies namely reward student with free time or activities and lower students' grade. The findings could have implication for curriculum designers, EFL teachers, and policymakers because it could enhance their skills in better management of learners' misbehaviours. Manuscript profile
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  3 - Impact of Online Strategies-based Instruction on Iranian Advanced EFL Learners’ Speaking Scores
  DOR: 20.1001.1.23223898.2021.9.36.2.8
  Samira Abbasi Azizeh Chalak Hossein Heidari Tabrizi
  Enhancing speaking ability is an important component of the acquirement of a language. The innovative aspect of this study is improving speaking ability through online strategy-based instruction by applying the Moodle course management system as an instructional platfor More

  Enhancing speaking ability is an important component of the acquirement of a language. The innovative aspect of this study is improving speaking ability through online strategy-based instruction by applying the Moodle course management system as an instructional platform. To this end, a group of 80 Iranian female and male students at the advanced level participated in the treatment. Participants of the study were divided into four groups of 20. The subjects in experimental groups benefited from two particular instructional focuses of this study include social and affective strategies. In order to assess the effect of the treatment pre and posttests design were utilized. Consequently, the data were analyzed through One-Way ANOVAs and t-tests. The findings revealed that strategy treatment was successful in improving the participants’ speaking ability. Therefore, the findings suggest that online strategy-based instruction can positively influence the speaking ability of Iranian advanced EFL learners. In addition, a questionnaire from Kitchakarn (2015) was employed to understand students’ perceptions and attitudes toward computer-based learning. The statistical analysis of the questionnaire revealed positive attitudes of participants toward computer-based learning.This study may have pedagogical implications for material practitioners, CALL package designers and distance learning planners to include strategy instruction in English courses. Manuscript profile
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  4 - Exploratory-cumulative vs. Disputational Talk on Cognitive Dependency of Translation Studies: Intermediate level students in focus
  Samaneh Yazdani Hossein Heidari Tabrizi Azizeh Chalak
  The present study set out to determine the effect of implementing exploratory-cumulative talk in comparison to disputational talk on cognitive (meaning development and organization of thought as well as problem solving ability) dependency of intermediate level students More

  The present study set out to determine the effect of implementing exploratory-cumulative talk in comparison to disputational talk on cognitive (meaning development and organization of thought as well as problem solving ability) dependency of intermediate level students in translation studies. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, a quasi-experimental-pretest-posttest-statistical study was conducted in which 63 linguistically homogeneous B.A students in translation studies at the IAU-Shahreza branch, in experimental and control groups were the participants. Administering cognitive dependency questionnaire before and after implementing the treatment, exploratory-cumulative talk, helps the researcher to find out the possible effect of it against the control group, disputational talk, in translator training courses. The results of the data analysis indicate that the difference between the posttest mean scores of the experimental and control groups do not reach statistical significance. However, by conventional criteria, the difference between the pretest and posttest scores of the experimental group was considered statistically significant by large effect size. The application of the present study findings in translator training courses may pave the way for translation teachers and translation students to follow more fruitful approaches. Manuscript profile
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  5 - English Needs Analysis in the Workplace: The Case of Engineers in Esfahan Steel Company
  Mahdokht Nilforoush Azizeh Chalak
  Nowadays, English language plays an important role in the job of engineers and it is necessary to become familiar with engineers’ objectives, attitudes, and expectations in order to have an appropriate course design. The purpose of this study was to explore the ne More

  Nowadays, English language plays an important role in the job of engineers and it is necessary to become familiar with engineers’ objectives, attitudes, and expectations in order to have an appropriate course design. The purpose of this study was to explore the needs analysis of English learning of engineers in Esfahan Steel Company (ESCO). This study aimed at investigating the required level of language skills in performing their jobs effectively, the employees’ attitude towards their English professional courses, their professional needs, their language skills and tasks, and the difficulties they face while studying a language. A questionnaire consisting of 25 items was distributed among the engineers working at ten sections of ESCO. In addition, interviews and observations were done in order to increase the reliability of the research. Time, financial resources, and worker expectations ask for more reliable methods to provide a better situation in the workplace. Based on the findings obtained from this study, it can be concluded that receptive skills were perceived as a bit more important than the productive skills to perform the job effectively and the revision of the current professional training programs seems to be necessary to offer appropriate ESP course curriculum. Manuscript profile
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  6 - A Logogenetic Delve into Attitudinal Meanings in Native vs. Non-Native Discussion Section of Research Articles
  DOR: 20.1001.1.23223898.2021.9.37.4.2
  Mona Bahmani Azizeh Chalak Hossein Heidari Tabrizi
  10.52547/JFL.9.37.65
  Using evaluative language has been considered as the significant predictor of academic writing success in second and foreign language research. Such an importance paved the way for the current study to investigate the use of the APPRAISAL tool, namely ATTITUDE resources More

  Using evaluative language has been considered as the significant predictor of academic writing success in second and foreign language research. Such an importance paved the way for the current study to investigate the use of the APPRAISAL tool, namely ATTITUDE resources, in the research articles (RAs) written by native (N) and non-native (NN) writers, focusing on the discussion sections. A qualitative corpus selection resulted in choosing 30 RAs written by American writers and 30 authored by Iranian writers. Two coding schemes were used: one for discussion boundaries based on Kanoksilapatham’s (2005) discussion move structure, and the modified version of APPRAISAL theory (Xu, 2017) for identifying attitudinal resources. The corpus analysis revealed that academic writers preferred to use a great number of inscribed ATTITUDE resources, that is, APPRECIATION tools compared to JUDGMENT. There was also a significant difference between N and NN sub-corpora in using attitudinal resources, highlighting that the language of N RAs contained more authorial stance of ATTITUDE compared to NN sub-corpus. However, the use of idioms as evoked ATTITUDE was found to be frequently applied by NN authors. The findings of the study contributed to the significance of using evaluative language in academic writing through which the writers can make a dialogic interaction with readers and enhance their critical stance by involving them in the argument. Manuscript profile
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  7 - Integration of Serious Games in Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Iranian Children
  Azizeh Chalak Behzad Ahmadi
  Nowadays computers are increasingly being incorporated into school curriculums and serious games are occupying the educational games markets. This article addressed the integration of serious games as tools for learning and teaching English in Iranian schools to zero-be More

  Nowadays computers are increasingly being incorporated into school curriculums and serious games are occupying the educational games markets. This article addressed the integration of serious games as tools for learning and teaching English in Iranian schools to zero-beginner students. An experiment was concluded using Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) to investigate the effectiveness of using serious games; namely, Mingoville English as an educational aid and also to examine parents, students and instructors’ attitudes towards using serious games. To this end, 60 female students were chosen and divided into two groups. The control group was taught in the conventional way and the experimental group received the educational aiding material Mingoville, a web-based serious game program, as the treatment. The results of the analyses revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group as the method of teaching was changed. The study also showed the willingness of children, their parents, and teachers toward using such games. It can be concluded that using serious games such as Mingoville can be regarded as an effective tool in teaching English to Iranian EFL children at schools and language institutes. The study can benefit teachers and heads of institutes to add serious games as aiding instructional materials to their English classes. Manuscript profile
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  8 - English Needs Analysis of Iran Air Airport Services Personnel at Isfahan Airport
  Reza Barkhordari azizeh chalak
  Although English language plays an important role in the job of aviation personnel, language needs of these employees have been taken for granted. This study aimed at investigating the extent to which English is used by the employees at Iran Air airport services at Isfa More

  Although English language plays an important role in the job of aviation personnel, language needs of these employees have been taken for granted. This study aimed at investigating the extent to which English is used by the employees at Iran Air airport services at Isfahan Airport, the required level of basic language skills in performing their jobs effectively, and the employees’ attitude towards their English professional courses. A questionnaire consisting of 24 items was constructed and distributed among all the employees working at three sections of Iran Air airport services (Ramp Control, Customer Services, and Baggage Services). Besides, Observation was done by the researcher at the airport to find out the basic language problems of the aviation personnel, and interviews were done with the head of each sections. The findings proved that English language is highly used in the employees’ jobs and they are not satisfied with their training courses. Also, the Ramp Control and Baggage Services employees considered speaking as the most important skill, while Baggage Services employees considered reading and writing as the important ones. Finally, it can be concluded that revision of the current professional training programs seems to be necessary to offer appropriate ESP course curriculum. Manuscript profile
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  9 - Implementation of Hybrid and Pure Problem-based Learning in EFL Context: The case of speaking skill and self-confidence of Iranian undergraduate participants
  Jamal Montafej Ahmadreza Lotfi Azizeh Chalak
  Problem-based Learning (PBL) as one of the newest teaching methods in the area of language teaching in second and foreign contexts, has been used by teachers in the last two decades in different institutes. In the current study, attempts were made to find out the effect More

  Problem-based Learning (PBL) as one of the newest teaching methods in the area of language teaching in second and foreign contexts, has been used by teachers in the last two decades in different institutes. In the current study, attempts were made to find out the effect of the two PBL subcategories, i.e. Hybrid Problem-based Learning (H-PBL) and Pure Problem-based Learning (PPBL) in comparison to a traditional lecture-based method, on Iranian EFL university learners’ speaking skill and their self-confidence, by implementing these two methods in the EFL classroom using eight teacher-made real-world problems. To this purpose, 56 undergraduate participants of Payam Noor university (PNU) in Abadan, Iran, were randomly selected, divided into a control group and two treatment HPBL and PPBL groups. The statistical analysis of the obtained results of the participants’ pretest-posttest scores, through one-way ANCOVA and Man-Whitney U test, revealed that the treatment groups outperformed the control group in speaking skill and self-confidence The findings of the study might bear implications for teachers and university curriculum designers to take more proper approaches towards the instructing university participants. Manuscript profile
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  10 - The Influence of Autonomy on Iranian EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Podcasting Tasks, Gain and Retention
  Atefeh Elekaei Hossein Heidari Tabrizi azizeh chalak
  The use of podcasts in learning has been supported by distance education theories that deal with the role of interaction as well as communication in improving teaching and learning. New technologies such as podcasts can have influential learner support in distance educa More

  The use of podcasts in learning has been supported by distance education theories that deal with the role of interaction as well as communication in improving teaching and learning. New technologies such as podcasts can have influential learner support in distance education and address learner cognitive requirements by incorporating communication within study resources. The present study investigated the effects of learners’ autonomy on their vocabulary podcasting tasks, gain and retention in an E-learning context. Two separate one-way multivariate analysis of variance (one-way MANOVA) were run in order to answer the questions. The results revealed that autonomy levels significantly affected Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary gain and retention. The participants who had higher autonomy levels had higher levels of vocabulary gain as well as retention applying audio podcasts plus still pictures and audio podcasts plus animated pictures. As the effects of attitude and autonomy on language learning are unquestionable, the present study can help teachers and learners have better considerations of attitude and autonomy in an E-learning context. Manuscript profile