Collaborative content learning (CCL) has recently gained prominence in the research literature as a process of learning that contributes to effective learning of the content of the courses in EFL contexts. This quantitative ex-post facto research was conducted among TEFL students at the MA level selected based on purposive and convenience sampling. It was an attempt to investigate the attitudes of TEFL students toward the contribution of CCL to collective efficacy (CE). To this end, sixty male and female participants in the master's program participated in the study. The participants have already been exposed to implementing CCL based on its principles and have been familiar with the underlying assumptions of CCL. Statistical analysis of students' responses to the CE questionnaire revealed that most learners believe that CE in CCL is important in EFL teaching and learning context, and learners have positive attitudes towards working collaboratively on the content. They stated that working collaboratively on the content positively changes their group members' learning and leads to successful learning because it encourages them when a similar group successfully conducts a task. The study's findings suggest the beneficial role of CCL in raising students' awareness of skillful collaboration for maximum learning of the content and for their CE. Manuscript profile

Possible selves of teachers are not formed overnight, but it is a continuous process on which different factors such as teaching experience may have a significant impact. This study aimed at investigating EFL teachers’ defining their possible selves in the future with a focus on their teaching experience. In so doing, a survey design was used. ََA total number of 180 (90 males and 90 females) English language teachers from high schools (N=90) in North West area of Iran participated in the study through available sampling. To collect the data, the Expected Self-goals Questionnaire, and The Selves I Fear Questionnaire were used. The results showed that prospective teachers of public schools feared that they seem uninspired and were more task-focused than quality-focused; new teachers feared that they cannot control classes and were more task-focused than quality-focused; and experienced teachers of public schools sought to reach professional development and were more quality-focused than task-focused. Further, it was shown that three categories of teachers’ expected selves were significantly different. Moreover, three categories of teachers’ expected selves were different significantly concerning both expected quality-focused and expected task-oriented dimensions. More specifically, prospective teachers reported lower levels of expected professionalism and higher levels of expected learning to teach than the two other categories of teachers. The results of the current study may shed light on our knowledge of EFL teachers’ possible selves as well as the effect of teaching experience on the construction/reconstruction of EFL teachers’ possible selves. Manuscript profile

Intercultural contact (IC) among students has received a great prominence in EFL and ESL contexts in recent years; therefore, this study was an attempt to modify and validate a questionnaire as an instrument to elicit the resources from which Iranian EFL students obtain their IC information. To reach this aim, a modified version of Peng and Wu’s questionnaire with 26 items and five factors was administered among 200 male and female Iranian EFL students from different language institutes in Tabriz, Iran. To determine the reliability and validity of the modified questionnaire, the statistical analyses of the model and fitness of the questionnaire were conducted by SmartPLS3 software. The results of reliability analyses using three measures of Cronbach’s alpha, combined reliability (CR) and average variance extraction (AVE) demonstrated that the questionnaire has a good reliability. Moreover, the results of construct crossvalidated communality (Q²) proved the construct validity of the questionnaire. Additionally, the results of correlation coefficient matrix and p value for all the latent variables demonstrated that all the paths and relationships in the model are significant and the model is a good fit. This study also clarifies the implication of such a questionnaire for ELT and presents some suggestions for future studies. Manuscript profile

This quasi-experimental study investigated the effects of input-enhancement and production of sentences, containing the target structures, on learning grammar by Iranian Intermediate EFL learners. Sixty male students in three input, output, and control groups participated in the study. After checking the homogeneity of the participants with a proficiency test, the researchers administered a pretest. Input-based group received input enhancement within reading texts in which the target structures were highlighted with different techniques such as bolding and underlying. The output-based group were required to produce some sentences including target structures based on reading texts. The control group received traditional grammar instruction. The results of ANCOVA revealed that both experimental groups learned the target structures better than the control group; however, the input-based group outperformed output-based group in learning target grammatical structures. The findings of the study suggest the widespread use of input-enhancement, as one of the techniques of focus on form, plays a significant role in enhancing grammatical accuracy. Manuscript profile

This study investigated the comparative effect of collaborative strategic reading (CSR) and metacognitive reading strategy (MRS) on the reading comprehension of Iranian extrovert and introvert EFL learners. To achieve the purpose of this study, a sample IELTS was administered to 325 students studying at Marefat Language Academy in Tehran from whom 225 were selected based on their performance on that test. Next, the above students sat for Eysenck Personality Inventory questionnaire to determine their level of extroversion and introversion. As a result, a total of 150 learners (75 extroverts and 75 introverts) were selected as four experimental groups and two control groups. The four experimental groups, comprised of 1) 25 extroverts undergoing CSR, 2) 25 extroverts receiving MRS, 3) 25 introverts undergoing CSR, 4) 25 introverts undergoing MRS while the two control groups, with 25 extroverts and 25 introverts, the learners experienced the conventional procedure of teaching reading comprehension in the language school. Ancova and two-way Ancova were conducted which revealed introvert learners with MRS outperformed the extrovert with MRS, introvert and extrovert with CSR, and control groups, suggesting a decisive role for personality traits in reading comprehension classes with different reading strategies instruction. Manuscript profile

This study explored both teachers’ and learners’ perceptions of teachers’ pedagogic strategies which may engender willingness to communicate (WTC) in an English as a foreign language class and the difference between their perceptions to detect how convergent or possibly how divergent these are. The project used a convenience sample of 300 students taking an intermediate English course and their teachers (N=60) in several English Language Institutes in Tabriz, Iran. The instruments included a Likert scale questionnaire on teachers’ pedagogic strategies and learners’ WTC completed by both teachers and learners. Based on the data collected from the questionnaires, it was revealed that the teachers and learners agreed on the role of teachers’ wait time in learners’ WTC but not on the other strategies such as motivating strategies, error correction strategies, and teachers’ congruence. The findings of the study have important implications for teachers in terms of reconsidering their pedagogic strategies to play their facilitating roles in engendering students’ WTC in the class. The results also have the implications for EFL teacher education in the new era of communication. Manuscript profile

این تحقیق به منظور بررسی عملکرد زبان آموزان ایرانی در آزمون‌های خواندن و درک مطلب دارای ساختارهای متنی و روش‌های پاسخ‌دهی متفاوت انجام گرفته است. شرکت‌کنندگان این تحقیق ۲۲۸ نفر از دانشجویان زبان بودند که شامل ۸ گروه و بر اساس آزمون مهارت زبانی پت انتخاب شدند. چهار نوع ساختار متنی ترتیب زمانی،توصیفی، علیت و حل مسئله انتخاب و بر اساس این متون،دو نوع آزمون با شیوه پاسخ‌دهی چهارجوابی و چهارجوابی کلوز تهیه و به دانشجویان داده شد. نتایج بدست آمده نشان داد که در هر دو روش پاسخ‌دهی عملکرد دانشجویان در متون دارای انسجام متنی ساده (ترتیب زمانی و توصیفی) بهتر از عملکرد آنان در متون دارای انسجام متنی پیچیده (علیت و حل مسئله) است. علاوه بر این،عملکرد دانشجویان در روش پاسخ دهی چهارجوابی بطور معنی‌دار بهتر از عملکرد آنها در روش پاسخ‌دهی چهارجوابی کلوز در تمامی چهار نوع ساختار متنی بود. در پایان چنین نتیجه‌گیری شد که دانشجویان در ساختارهای متنی ترتیب زمانی و توصیفی عملکرد بهتری نسبت به ساختارهای متنی علیت و حل مسئله در هر دو روش پاسخ‌دهی دارند و همچنین در روش پاسخ دهی چهارجوابی بهتر از روش پاسخ‌دهی چهارجوابی کلوز در هر چهار نوع ساختار متنی هستند. معلمان می‌توانند با بهره‌گیری از نتایج این تحقیق و از طریق انتخاب بهترین روش پاسخ‌دهی برای متون دارای ساختار متنی متفاوت عملکرد دانشجویان خود را در خواندن و درک مطلب بهبود بخشند Manuscript profile

This study investigates the effect of four types of oral corrective feedback, namely, explicit elicitation, implicit elicitation, explicit recast and implicit recast on the most commonly mispronounced phonological features among Iranian EFL learners through immediate uptake and retention. Five classes were randomly categorized into four experimental groups and one control group, each with 18 intermediate-level male learners. The treatment was conducted in the form of a retelling task in nine sessions. During the feedback sessions, the learners’ uptake was recorded. The learners’ retention was also perused in one immediate and one delayed post-test. The results revealed that those learners who received explicit recast obtained the highest score in terms of correct uptake, and that the groups performed differently across different time periods. The learners’ scores enhanced over time; however, the increase then leveled off and even dropped in the delayed post-test in all the experimental groups except for the group which received explicit elicitation, apparently leading to more retention of the target phonological features. The study offers insights to teachers regarding the effect of recast and elicitation in their explicit and implicit form on L2 pronunciation. Manuscript profile

The present study set out to develop a willingness to communicate (WTC) questionnaire addressingteachers’ socio-affective strategies. It also aimed at exploring learners’ perceptions toward thesestrategies affecting their WTC. Participants of the study, who were selected by a non-probabilityconvenience sampling method, were 153 English as a foreign language learner in three popular EnglishInstitutes in Iran. A questionnaire including 45 items was designed by referring to a previouslyconducted focus group interview of Iranian EFL teachers and the review of the literature. Afterthe questionnaire was administered to and completed by the learners, an exploratory factor analysis(EFA) was performed. The analysis yielded 37 items and six factors: (a) creating a positive interaction(8 items), (b) teachers’ enthusiasm (6 items), (c) teachers’ fairness (5 items), (d) teachers’ presence (6items), (e) teachers’ immediacy (6 items), and (f) teaching skills and participation in group activities(6 items). The reliability measures were also examined and the results were satisfactory. The sixfactors were compared against each other and teachers’ enthusiasm and fairness were found to be themost important factor in promoting learners’ WTC. Implications for teacher trainers and teachers arediscussed and suggestions for further research are offered. Manuscript profile

To cultivate effective reading, all teaching practices must develop higher-order processing, which involves enhancing reading comprehension and its components of vocabulary, grammar, and text structure. This quasi-experimental research aimed at implementing problem-based learning (PBL) with hard scaffolds in a general English course in the Iranian EFL context to investigate its impact on the participants’ reading comprehension. Two intact groups of elementary students, one as the experimental group (N = 40) and one as the control group (N =40) whose homogeneity in language proficiency was checked through the Key English Test (KET) were selected. The experimental group underwent the PBL method with hard scaffolds and the control group received a mainstream reading instruction method. The two groups completed pre-and posttests of reading comprehension. The results of the study, based on multivariate analysis of covariance, indicated that the PBL group with hard scaffolds outperformed the control group in reading comprehension, including its components of vocabulary, grammar, and text structure. The results of the study suggest that practitioners could pay special attention to the PBL method in EFL educational contexts to enhance students’ higher order processing, vocabulary and grammar learning, and text structure knowledge. Manuscript profile

Language learners continuously use Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) skills in EFL and ESL contexts but they have various personality traits and intercultural contacts (IC). This study attempted to investigate the relationships among learners’ personality traits, IC, and ICC. To this end, the researchers administered three questionnaires of self-reported Big Five Inventory (BFI), IC, and ICC among 200 male and female Iranian EFL learners from various language schools in Tabriz, Iran. Structural equation modeling (SEM) measured the relationship among variables through SmartPLS3 software. The results demonstrated positive relationships among extraversion, openness, and agreeableness with direct and indirect IC. Their relationships with ICC were also significant and positive. Furthermore, the relationships between direct IC and indirect IC with ICC were significantly positive. However, the relationships between neuroticism and direct IC, indirect IC, and ICC were significantly negative. Moreover, although the relationships between conscientiousness and direct IC and indirect IC were significantly positive, its relation with ICC was insignificant. This study also clarifies the implication of the extracted pathways for ELT and presents some suggestions for future studies. Manuscript profile