Washback or backwash, used similarly, has been defined as the impact of testing on curriculum design, teaching practice, and learning behaviors. Iranian PhD candidates’ performance on this exam is required to pursue PhD study; therefore, degrees of washback both at the micro and macro levels are at stake. Despite the importance of this exam for the candidates, it seems that studies on washback and specifically washback effect of EPT on Iranian PhD candidates’ learning materials has not been given adequate attention in Iran. Given this, the present study attempts to examine the washback effect of EPT on Iranian PhD candidates’ learning materials. Based on sequential design, two phases of data collection were conducted with a two-week interval. In the first phase, attitude questionnaire was administered to 200 Iranian PhD candidates at Islamic Azad University, Isfahan (Khorasgan) branch. In the second phase of the study, 20 Iranian PhD candidates were interviewed. Finally, the collected data from both the questionnaires and the interviews were analyzed via quantitative and descriptive analysis, respectively. The results of the study revealed both positive and negative washback impacts on learning materials. The findings of the study have practical implications for language teachers in general, and EFL language teachers, syllabus designers, and material developers in particular. Manuscript profile

Blended learning in Iran has provided a novel learning milieu for language learners and teachers. This study examined how blended learning writing strategies might contribute to the self-regulation of EFL learners in their writing performance. To this end, grounded theory was used as thestudy's systemic methodology. Ninety-four Iranian EFL teachers were purposively selected through Writing Strategies and e-Learning Experience questionnaires. The participants were further interviewed to provide information on the blended learning strategies which can contribute to the self-regulation of the learning process. To enrich the data, the interviews were triangulated with some document analyses, observations, and field notes. The collected data were analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding processes in grounded theory. The results included some web-based strategies that Iranian EFL learners can take into account in order to become academic writers, some web-based strategies which might put Iranian EFL learners into the self-regulated learning frame, and some web-based strategies through which Iranian EFL learners can become self-regulated academic writers. The entire analyzed data were modeled and put into a putative frame. The results revealed that blended learning helps EFL writers in becoming contributors rather than just followers in the development of their compositions, and more importantly, in developing their self-regulated writing skills. The findings can have implications for teachers and students alike. Manuscript profile

Researchers have extensively compared different L2 learning contexts, such as EFL versus study-abroad, for their impacts on oral production; however, scant attention, if any, has been paid to comparing EFL settings in terms of input factors such as textbooks, amount of contacts in L2, and teachers. Accordingly, the effects of these factors on the oral production skills were investigated in this study. To this end, in a longitudinal study that spanned nearly three months, speech samples were elicited from three groups of Persian speaking advanced learners of English (N = 72) through oral narrative tasks and were scored for complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF). A one-way MANOVA was used to compare the means. The average number of subordinate clauses per AS-unit was used to measure grammatical complexity, “D” was a measure of lexical complexity, the percentage of error-free clauses was an index of accuracy, and the number of dysfluencies was calculated to be an indicator of fluency. After a period of time, the results provided strong evidence for the significantly different rates of progress among the learners of the three EFL settings on lexical complexity, accuracy, and fluency. Evaluation of course materials, amount of learners’ contact in L2, and teachers’ self-efficacy revealed that these different rates of progress might well be attributed to the characteristics of the speaking tasks in the textbooks. One important implication is that gains in a special dimension of oral production can be produced if EFL curriculum developers provide target learners with speaking tasks bearing particular features. Manuscript profile

The present study investigated the relationship between personality traits and multiple intelligences, and learners’ reading proficiency. To this end, 384 graduate EFL students participated in the present study. Two questionnaires, namely the NEO personality inventory-revised, and McKenzie’s (1999) MI inventory as well as a sample TOFEL reading comprehension test were used to collect the data. Three regression models, backward, forward, and stepwise were used to determine prediction equations for the reading performance of EFL graduate students. Path analysis technique was employed to assess the magnitude of direct and indirect relationship of the variables. The result of the statistical analysis showed that there were only positive as well as direct relationships between interpersonal intelligence and reading proficiency, while the other intelligences such as intrapersonal, existential, naturalist, etc. would account for negative relationship with the criterion variable, reading proficiency. Agreeableness was found to be the only personality trait which had direct and negative relationship with the criterion variable. Additionally, the relationship among conscientiousness and extroversion traits as well as spatial, verbal, and mathematical intelligences with the criterion variable proved to be indirect. All the mentioned relationships between graduate EFL learners’ personality traits and multiple intelligences with their reading proficiency would lead the researchers to conclude that although various individuals have a tendency to do differently while reading in spite of the different reading preferences, readers tend to be relatively consistent in their performance. Manuscript profile

Washback has been defined as the impact of testing on curriculum design, teaching practice, and learning behaviours. The English Proficiency Test (EPT) is a high-stakes test in Iran and is prone to bring degrees of washback both at micro and macro levels. This study was an attempt to examine the washback effect of the EPT on Iranian PhD candidates’ language learning strategies. To this end, a mixed-methods approach of data collection was used to collect, analyze, and integrate quantitative and qualitative data to reach a better grasp of the research topic and enhance the validity and reliability of the information. Based on the sequential exploratory design, two phases of data collection were conducted with a two-week interval. In the first phase, the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) was administered to 200 students at Islamic Azad University, Isfahan (Khorasgan). In the second phase, 20 students who filled out the questionnaire showed their willingness to participate in the interview session and write their language learning diaries. Finally, the quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed via descriptive and thematic analysis, respectively. The results showed both positive and negative washback effects on the students’ language learning strategies. The findings of this study have practical implications for EFL language teachers, syllabus designers, and material developers. Manuscript profile