Foreign language learning is often associated with affective factors among which the constructs of anxiety and perfectionism have been recognized as important predictors of language performance. The purpose of this research was to explore the significant influence of Iranian EFL learners’ socially prescribed and self-oriented perfectionism in the prediction of Foreign Language Anxiety, via the contribution of a mediated variable of achievement goals. Additionally, the associations among these constructs as a predictor of English language achievement were examined. The participants were 400 EFL learners within the age range of 15-30 who enrolled in private language learning institutes in Iran. The participants’ proficiency fell within the range of upper-intermediate to advanced levels. For estimating perfectionism, the Multi-dimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) of Hewitt and Flett (2004) and for anxiety factor, Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) developed by Horwitz et al. (2008) was utilized. Finally, Goal-orientation was measured by using Elliot and Murayama (2008) questionnaire. The language achievement was obtained from their final exam scores. Correlation analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to investigate the data collected. The research findings revealed there exists a relationship among the participants’ perfectionism, FLCA, and English language achievement via the mediating role of performance goal-orientation. The findings have significant theoretical and practical implications for teachers, school psychologists, teacher educators, curriculum designers, and researchers. They contribute to planning learning activities and utilizing various techniques for different types of learners and learning settings to meet the program goals and objectives. تفاصيل المقالة

This study investigated the effects of corrective feedback (CF) and the Flipped Teaching Model (FTM) on English language learners’ overall and categorical grammar accuracy. The study was conducted at Payame-Nour University (PNU) of Mahabad, Iran. A total of 80 Iranian EFL learners participated in the study. The participants were randomly assigned into two flipped and two non-flipped groups of 20: one in each pair of groups receiving explicit and the other implicit CF. Data were collected across two time periods (pre-intervention and post-intervention). Two measures of Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) were conducted. The results revealed no significant differences in the effect of CF type in the flipped classes, and both led to the learners’ higher level of overall grammar accuracy. However, the explicit group outperformed the implicit one in the non-flipped classes. Explicit feedback in flipped and non-flipped classes led to the learners’ outperformance in acquiring specific grammatical structures, such as adjective/reduced adjective clauses, but not in others, like comparative/superlative adjectives, gerund/infinitive, word forms, word order, and apposition. These findings have implications for language educators seeking to enhance learners’ grammatical accuracy in both flipped and non-flipped classrooms, particularly in relation to the use of explicit feedback for certain types of grammatical structures. تفاصيل المقالة

Lexical inferencing has been recognized as an effective learning strategy in SLA. The present study investigated Iranian EFL learners’ development of reading comprehension as a result of exposure to lexical inferencing strategy instruction. To do so, 45 female participants studying in Simin Language Institute in Rasht, Iran were selected from among 60 students based on the results of a sample of Oxford quick Placement (OQP) test, who scored from 40 to 47. They were in two intact classes, assigned to one experimental (n=24) and one control group (n=21). The experimental group underwent the teaching of reading comprehension through lexical inferencing strategy to help learners infer the meaning of unknown words and promote their understanding of the text. However, the control group received the traditional instruction of reading comprehension concentrating on the translation of new words. The results of the pre- and post-tests of reading comprehension revealed the significant outperformance of the treatment group over the control group’s reading comprehension ability. It was concluded that lexical inferencing strategy teaching could develop the learners’ potential to improve their cognitive capacities in inferring the meaning of unknown words, which might be facilitative in their reading comprehension. تفاصيل المقالة

Learning a foreign language is a challenging process in which learners need motivation and encouragement through the use of modern techniques. The present paper investigates the effects digital stories may have on Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners’ listening comprehension. To this end, the researchers carried out a quasi-experimental research in a language institution in Tabriz (Iran). In total, forty, 11-14-year-old female students participated in this research. Twenty students were in the experimental group and twenty in the control group. The Preliminary English Test (PET) was administered at the beginning of the study to check whether all participants were homogeneous in terms of English language proficiency. A pre-test of listening comprehension was designed to gather initial data on the learners' listening skill prior to the treatment. The experimental group was presented with digital stories in a technology-equipped classroom. After the treatment, a post-test was administered to both groups to test the learners' progression in listening comprehension. Then, using an ANCOVA test, the performance of two groups was compared.The findings indicated that the experimental group outperformed the control group in the final test. The results raise interesting issues related to the use of technology in the context of foreign language learning, substantiating the link between technology rich environment and improved language learning. تفاصيل المقالة

Reading comprehension is one of the most important skills, especially in the EFL context. One way to improve reading comprehension is through strategy use. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of question-generation strategy on learners' reading comprehension. The participants in the study were 63 intermediate students from three intact groups in Resa institute in Boukan, They were randomly assigned to two experimental and one control groups. They were given two samples of the reading section of the standardized Preliminary English Test (PET) as the pre- and post-tests. The students in the experimental group A generated text-based reading comprehension questions individually, and in the experimental group B in groups of three but the learners in the control group answered the reading comprehension questions provided in the text. The results of ANOVA revealed that the students in the experimental group B, who employed group-question generation strategy, outperformed the experimental group A, who employed individual- question generation strategy and the control group in the reading comprehension post-test. The findings can have some implications for EFL teachers and syllabus designers. تفاصيل المقالة

Mastering writing has always proved an almost insurmountable barrier to EFL learners. In an attempt to alleviate problems advanced EFL learners have with writing, this study aimed at investigating the effect of scaffolded instruction through writing frames constructed from extended prefabricated lexical bundles. 40 female advanced English students, selected out of a population of 65, were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. The participants of both groups were assigned a writing pre-test prior to any instruction, and a writing post-test following the twenty-session scaffolded instruction in both groups. The results revealed that the participants in the experimental group outperformed their counterparts in the control group as a result of the writing frames they were provided with. Overall, it is concluded that scaffolded instruction through writing frames can be a useful means of helping advanced students to improve their writing quality. تفاصيل المقالة

The learners’ identity is one of the most important key elements of learning to motivate learners to learn English. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the male and female EFL learners’ motivation and their identity with a focus on gender. The study had a descriptive correlational design. The participants of this study were 50 Iranian male and 50 female postgraduate English majors, aged between 23 and 41, who were selected through convenient sampling. Three questionnaires of motivation, hardiness, and perfectionism were distributed among the participants. The results of Pearson correlation analyses demonstrated that there was not a significant relationship between EFL learners’ motivation and their hardiness in both genders. Also, the results showed no significant relationship between EFL learners’ motivation and their perfectionism in the two groups. Moreover, the results of independent-sample t-tests failed to find any significant difference between male and female students’ motivation and their hardiness and perfectionism. تفاصيل المقالة

This study investigated the impact of interaction and output modality on vocabulary learning and retention of EFL learners. To investigate the impact of Interaction, solitary (n =69) and collaborative (n =62) groups served as experimental and No Interaction No Output (n =26) as control group. To address the effect of modality, spoken (n =39) and written (n =31) modalities served as experimental and No output modality (n =26) as control group. The study was done in 8 weeks. The groups read passages with target words highlighted. Solitary and collaborative groups reconstructed the passages individually or in dyads. The spoken and written modality groups reconstructed them in the respective modality. Then, pretest, immediate, and delayed posttests were administered. The ANOVA results showed that the collaborative group outperformed the other groups and spoken modality outperformed the written modality group focusing on interaction and modality separately. The 2×2×2 ANOVA results showed significant main effects for time, interaction, and output modality. An ‘interaction’ effect was found between time and interaction, time and modality, and modality and Interaction. The ‘interaction’ between time, Interaction, and modality was insignificant. The findings have implications for language teachers, syllabus designers, and language testing experts. تفاصيل المقالة

Reading comprehension is a fundamental language skill for many EFL learners. This study was conducted to compare Iranian male and female EFL learners' tripartite reading strategy use, Problem Solving Reading Strategies (PSRSs), Global Reading Strategies (GRSs), and Support Reading strategies (SRSs), and their relationship to their reading comprehension. To serve the purpose, 80 undergraduate EFL learners, 40 females and 40 males, majoring in English Language Teaching (ELT) and English Translation (ET) at Islamic Azad University-Tabriz were selected randomly. The research variables were measured based on the participants’ performance on the reading section of the PET test and the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategy Inventory (MARSI) (Mokhtari & Reichard, 2002). The research data were analysed through Independent Samples T-test and a Standard Multiple Regression (MR) analysis. The results revealed significant differences between male and female participants in terms of their reading comprehension and perceived use of PSRSs. It was also exhibited that for male participants, only SRSs were the statistically significant predictor of males’ reading comprehension while for females it was the PSRSs that made significant contribution to explain reading comprehension. The gender variation in reading comprehension, reading strategies and the correlational pattern between these two variables exists. Such variations have to be addressed in the process of teaching and suggestions will be made as how teacher trainers, syllabus designers, and individual university students majoring in English Language Teaching (ELT) and English Translation (ET) can apply the findings to promote their outcome. تفاصيل المقالة