There is growing interest in integrating scaffolding in educational decisions everywhere including Iran. Drawing on sociocultural theory, this quasi-experimental study was aimed to determine the effect of technology-, motivational-, and metacognitive-based scaffolding on improving Iranian adult advanced EFL learners’ speaking. A sample of 90 advanced EFL learners was selected non-randomly based on their performance on Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) from two language institutes in Tehran, Iran during the summer and autumn semesters of 2019. The selected participants were randomly assigned to three equal groups. IELTS was used to compare their language proficiency at the beginning and the end of the study. Scaffolding provided conditions for learners to highly engage in speaking activities. The results of paired-sample t-tests revealed a significant improvement in the speaking scores of the three study groups. The results of the one-way ANOVA and Scheffe post-hoc tests indicated that motivational-based scaffolding was more conducive to enhance Iranian EFL learners’ speaking. The results of this study showed the positive impacts of integrating scaffolding into different language learning strategies, and this may carry pedagogical implications for both language teachers and learners. Manuscript profile

This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of metacognitive strategy instruction intervention on reducing language listening anxiety of Iranian EFL learners in the light of 2 listening metacognitive strategy instruction models of Integrated Experiential Learning Task (IELT) (Goh, 2010) and Metacognitive pedagogical Sequence (MPS) (Vandergrift, 2004). Participants were 63 B1 level learners who were chosen through random sampling and were randomly assigned to 2 experimental and 2 control groups. Before and after the intervention, Kim’s (2000) Foreign Language Listening Anxiety scale (FLLAS) and the listening section of Preliminary English Test (PET) were administered to all groups as pre and post tests. All four groups were taught by the same researcher and the listening comprehension material was constant over the groups. The first experimental group received IELT intervention, the second experimental group received MPS intervention, and both control groups received traditional product-based listening comprehension instruction while the active control group also received explicit instruction of the metacognitive strategies. ANCOVA results proved that although both IELT and MPS were effective in lowering anxiety level, the performance of MPS was of a large effect size, and it was a better model to lower learners’ anxiety. Both models significantly improved learners’ listening comprehension. Manuscript profile

This study embarked on investigating the effectiveness of teaching ESP vocabulary via flipped classroom on improving Iranian students’ vocabulary learning. In addition, the attitudes of ESP learners towards the use of flipped classroom were investigated. In this study, a quantitative procedure was followed to collect and analyze data . In so doing, 60 ESP participants studying English in Payame Noor University were selected non-randomly based on their performance on Oxford quick placement test. All the participants were divided into two equal groups consisting of 30 participants and a pretest was administered. The participants of the experimental group received instruction through flipped classroom. The control group received vocabulary instruction through the conventional method that was popular in the university. A posttest was given to the participants of both groups in order to check the students’ vocabulary learning. To investigate the students’ attitudes towards using flipped classroom, a 10-item questionnaire was distributed among the participants after the treatment phase of the study. The results of one-way MANOVA showed that implementing flipped classrooms has significant effects on Iranian students' vocabulary learning in ESP courses. Furthermore, the participants of the experimental group acknowledged that implementing flipped classrooms has positive effect on their attitude in ESP courses. The findings regarding the effectiveness of flipped classroom and its prospected implications in developing vocabulary learning can pave the way for better communication in an ESP context and community. Manuscript profile

Achievements of either CALL or TBLT methods especially in ESP courses in a globalized world demand TELL-based TBLT and online tasks to be appropriately designed and applied to ESP programs. Thus, 87 ESP learners were assigned as the control (ESP+TBLT) and experimental (ESP+TELL+TBLT) groups in this investigation. A metacognitive reading strategies questionnaire was modified and translated by the researchers. Moreover, a Computer Attitude questionnaire was employed to check the experimental participants’ interest in learning via technology. Data analysis was conducted via SPSS 24. Their metacognitive reading comprehension strategies were analyzed via a set of mixed between-within subjects’ analysis of variance (SPANOVA). Results revealed that there was a significant interaction between treatment method and time, i.e., both groups revealed a change in metacognitive reading strategies score across time, though the control group performed negatively, showing a slight decrease. The findings also indicated that while a mean difference was mathematically observed between the control and experimental groups in terms of metacognitive reading strategies, such a difference was not considered statistically significant. That is, there was no significant difference in the strategies for both groups, yet the experimental group revealed an increase in the mean scores. The experimental participants did not reach any significantly different level for metacognitive reading strategies compared to their control-group counterparts. Nonetheless, since SAMT material was instructed to learners during one academic semester, this study implied a single academic semester was not adequate time to work on and improve the learners’ metacognitive reading comprehension strategies. Manuscript profile

This study aimed at evaluating listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities of Iranian senior high school English textbook, Vision 2, based on Bloom’s revised version of cognitive domain. The study was actually conducted to determine the levels of cognition in Bloom’s revised framework concerning the four language skills activities in this textbook. Furthermore, it aimed to investigate the teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards such activities through researcher-made questioners. For the first purpose, the activities in the textbook and the workbook were located, tabulated and codified on the basis of the codifications in Bloom’s revised version. Then, the frequencies and percentages of the codes were calculated. For the second purpose, 130 users of the textbook, 30 teachers and 100 male and female high school students were selected through convenient sampling and questionnaires were distributed among them. They were asked to respond to questionnaires anonymously during the class sessions. The collected data from questionnaires were analyzed manually. The obtained results demonstrated that the identified codes were mainly classified under the lower-level categories in Bloom’s taxonomy, indicating that the activities were not beneficial for the students actively involved in the higher levels of thinking process. Moreover, the result of the Chi-square test showed that the relationship between two groups of low-level and high-level codes was not statistically significant and the obtained codes did not show a regular pattern. As for the responses to questionnaires, the activities, particularly listening and speaking activities, failed to be much responsible for the students’ deep learning. Manuscript profile

Scaffolding as an instructional strategy significantly contributes to learning development. However, there is a lack of studies assessing the comparative effects of various scaffolding strategies. The present study intended to evaluate the effects of motivational, metacognitive, and computer-based scaffolding on Iranian intermediate EFL learners' writing according to Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. In this quasi-experimental study, sixty male and female intermediate EFL learners in the age range of 14 to 23 were chosen by convenience sampling from the Jahad language center in Tehran, Iran. They were enrolled according to their performance on Preliminary English Test (PET) in the 2020 spring English courses and were randomly assigned to three equal groups. The IELTS writing test was used as a pretest and posttest. Learners received a scaffolding instruction package on writing. A statistically significant improvement in the participants’ posttest writing scores was observed in all groups, and motivational scaffolding was the most effective strategy in developing the writing skill of EFL learners. The results could have implications by providing insights helpful for language teachers, learners, and syllabus designers. Manuscript profile