Journal of Language, Culture, and Translation: 1 (1)

Open Access Article

1 - Contrastive Rhetorical Analysis of Argumentation Techniques in the Argumentative Essays of English and Persian Writers
رضا بیریا معصومه یخابی

The present study intended to compare and contrast the techniques used by English and Persian writers to develop argumentative essays. To this end, 20 argumentative essays (10 in English and 10 in Persian) were selected from among the available online argumentative essa More

The present study intended to compare and contrast the techniques used by English and Persian writers to develop argumentative essays. To this end, 20 argumentative essays (10 in English and 10 in Persian) were selected from among the available online argumentative essays with the same length and topic. These essays were analyzed with focus on the frequency of the four argumentation techniques of refutation, rhetorical questions, statistics, and appeal to authority. The results of the study revealed that while the writers in both languages made use of all these four techniques, they significantly differed regarding the frequency of refutation and rhetorical questions. While English argumentative writers preferred direct, explicit techniques, Persian writerswere mainly in favor of indirect techniques. The findings also suggested that in EFL contexts, cultural differences and their influence on rhetoric and formal writing can make it difficult for Persian learners of English to write logical argumentative essays in the new medium. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

2 - Understanding the Misunderstood: An Insight into the ESL Student
زهره اسلامی راسخ تریشیا کر

English is now considered a global language used for communication in diverse settings and between interlocutors with different linguistic and cultural background (Eslami, 2013). As a result, there are increasingly more culturally and linguistically diverse students lea More

English is now considered a global language used for communication in diverse settings and between interlocutors with different linguistic and cultural background (Eslami, 2013). As a result, there are increasingly more culturally and linguistically diverse students learning English for social, economic, and educational purposes. This diversity can be overwhelming to teachers, particularly those that have not had meaningful interactions with people different from themselves and for those ill prepared to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse learners (CLDLs) (Arias & Poyner, 2001). The lack of teacher preparation for second language student requires further investigation and examination if we are to create institutions of learning that are equitable and fair for all. This paper addresses the challenges that English as a Second Language (ESL) students face in English dominant countries such as the United States. We also provide research-based instructional suggestions for teachers to address the needs of CLDLs. To this end, the tenets of culturally responsive teaching are also discussed. The review has implications worldwide for teaching English to the culturally and linguistically diverse while validating the students’ first language and culture. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

3 - The Effect of Songs and Movies on High School Students’ Language Achievement
حمید رضا حق وردی صغری عبد پور

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of song and movie on the language achievement of high school students. To conduct the study, 60 high school male and female students were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group in a learning Englis More

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of song and movie on the language achievement of high school students. To conduct the study, 60 high school male and female students were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group in a learning English at Saee English Language Institute in Dehdasht. The data were collected through two instruments: a pre/post achievement test, and a questionnaire, which were both designed by the researcher. The data obtained from the administration of the test and the questionnaire were analyzed using independent samples t-tests and paired samples t-tests and the findings were compared to examine the effect of songs and movies on student's learning . The result of this study showed that the implementation of song and movie used in the study had a significant effect on student's language achievement in their listening, reading, vocabulary and grammar. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

4 - The Emotional Value of the Phrase ‘I love you’ for Iranian Bilinguals
علی جهانگرد شری هولدرید

Misunderstanding the emotionality of a word or an emotion-laden word used inaccurately or inappropriately might lead to pragmatically unwanted and embarrassing effects. The present study’s objective was to analyze the perception and use of the phrase ‘I love More

Misunderstanding the emotionality of a word or an emotion-laden word used inaccurately or inappropriately might lead to pragmatically unwanted and embarrassing effects. The present study’s objective was to analyze the perception and use of the phrase ‘I love you’ in Iranian bi/multilingual’s different languages. The aim was to identify if variables of sociobiographical, learning history, and social and linguistic context of L2 use affect the perceivedweight and use of this phrase. The research was conducted using both quantitative (statistical correlation) analysis and qualitative (open-ended questions) to investigate the research question. Twenty Iranian bi/multilingual participants answered an emotional language valuation questionnaire derived from a subsection of the Bilingualism and Emotion Questionnaire (BEQ) database. Our research found that there was no statistical association with the variables except language dominance. Furthermore, seventy percent of the participants reported feeling that ‘I love you’ had the greatest weight in their L1regardless of their age, gender, education level, whether they learned the L2 in a natural, instructed or mixed environment, the onset age of learning, even if they had a high degree of socialization and an extensive network of interlocutors in their L2. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

5 - Does Communicative Language Teaching Really Work? A Critical Appraisal
زهرا معصوم پناه محمد رضا طالبی نژاد

When asked to identify the methodology they employ in their classrooms, most teachers claim to use “Communicative Language Teaching” (CLT). Even with the shift of attention from insistence on methods toward post method condition, CLT has not lost its dominan More

When asked to identify the methodology they employ in their classrooms, most teachers claim to use “Communicative Language Teaching” (CLT). Even with the shift of attention from insistence on methods toward post method condition, CLT has not lost its dominance in ELT. However, most teachers neither stop such a claim nor think critically why they do so. Therefore, this paper is an attempt to go through a critical appraisal of Communicative Language Teaching. This is done first by going through a brief review on the basic claims, tenets, barriers and problems of implementing CLT especially in EFL contexts. Then, a framework is proposed touching upon the shortcomings of the available models and theories for criticizing language teaching methods. Finally, it looks at how the design is implemented in practice by focusing on CLT and examines the framework based on the claims and tenets of CLT, with particular reference to research findings and available literature. It is argued that CLT helps learners in building automaticity and self-confidence; empowering meaningful learning; developing intrinsic motivation; employing multiplicity of strategies; and fending for learners’ language ego. Culture, sociopolitical consciousness and interlanguage stages of development are important to CLT. It allows for the initiative of the learner and is most probable to be informed by a mediation rather than medium view. However, there are several problems with CLT. The most important one is in regard with the practicality, unilaterality, and non reflexivity of method. Moreover, it assumes teachers as helpless victims of ideological imposition and disregards their agency in the teaching / learning process. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

6 - Teaching English Polysemous Words to Iranian EFL Learners: Underlying Meaning Approach and Sense Selection in Comparison
ناصر رشیدی

The primary goal of this experimental research was to replicate Nakahara's (2005) experiment on Iranian learners' acquisition of polysemous words, and to see whether the underlying meaning approach is an effective strategy to teach polysemous words to low proficiency le More

The primary goal of this experimental research was to replicate Nakahara's (2005) experiment on Iranian learners' acquisition of polysemous words, and to see whether the underlying meaning approach is an effective strategy to teach polysemous words to low proficiency learners or not. The participants were 46 female first grade students with the age range of 14 to 15 studying in two intact classes of the same high school instructed by the same teacher (researcher). To achieve the research objective, the participants were taught 40 polysemous words using two distinct approaches: one traditional sense selection approach, and the other more modern reference specification approach through the presentation of the underlying meaning. To analyze the collected data, t- test was used. Results of the analysis indicated that the application of underlying meaning approach was more beneficial to Iranian learners than the traditional alternative; that is sense selection approach. The study ends with the pedagogical implications of this principled approach for teaching polysemous words that both EFL teachers in teaching and learners in learning have difficulty with. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

7 - The Impact of Individual Age Differences on the Use of EFL Vocabulary Learning Strategies
زهرا شوشتری سمیرا حیاتی سامیان سعید خزایی

The present study intended to identify Iranian EFL learners' vocabulary learning strategy use and to find out any relationship between the learners' age and their vocabulary learning strategy use or vocabulary test performance. To that end, 60intermediate Iranian EFL le More

The present study intended to identify Iranian EFL learners' vocabulary learning strategy use and to find out any relationship between the learners' age and their vocabulary learning strategy use or vocabulary test performance. To that end, 60intermediate Iranian EFL learners, 25 males and 35 females, studying English at a well-known language institute were selected according to their performance on the Oxford Placement Test (OPT). Then, they were divided into 2 groups according to their age: teenagers and adults. Four instruments were used to collect the needed data, namely OPT, a vocabulary learning strategy questionnaire, a vocabulary test, and an interview. The vocabulary learning strategy questionnaire and the vocabulary test were administered in two consecutive sessions. The results indicated that both groups of learners used rote learning (RL) strategies more frequently than other categories of memory strategy, but there were some differences in their ordering of other subcategories of memory strategy. While there was a negative relationship between the teenagers' age and their vocabulary test performance, no relationship was found between the adults' age and their vocabulary test scores. Overall, the findings imply the need for classroom pedagogy to integrate strategy instruction for students of different age and proficiency levels. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

8 - Undergraduate Argumentative Writing in English as a Foreign Language: a Gendered Perspective
عباس زارعی شینا کوار

Determining whether gender-related differences exist in the linguistic characteristics of writing in formal contexts is one of the concerns of recent research on gender in second language writing. This study aimed to explore gender differences in undergraduate argumenta More

Determining whether gender-related differences exist in the linguistic characteristics of writing in formal contexts is one of the concerns of recent research on gender in second language writing. This study aimed to explore gender differences in undergraduate argumentative writing in English as a foreign language (EFL) in terms of lexical and discoursal features. Around 100 Persian-speaking male and female EFL learners with insignificant differences in English proficiency at the time of the study and with similar background literacy experiences performed an opinion-based writing task under exam conditions. Combined corpus analysis and discourse analysis techniques were used to describe and compare their texts in terms of writing quality, lexical properties, and rhetorical organization. Results showed that a) male learners received significantly higher mean scores in the content and organization of their argumentative writing (t= 2.03 and 2.08 respectively, p≤ 0.04); b) female EFL learners wrote less assertively and expressed positions more obscurely as shown in the analysis of their topic sentences; and c) While male learners used both inductive and deductive overall organizations for their texts, most female learners (74.4%) wrote more deductively. Results of concordance and keyword analyses through Wordsmith Tools also illustrated that learners’ social and ideological contexts of gender contributes to their approach to academic writing in English. Manuscript profile

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