Willingness to communicate (WTC) plays a central role in learning a second/foreign language. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of doing problem-solving task on learners’ WTC in English. To fulfill the purpose of the study, 61 pre-intermediate learners were chosen by means of administrating a placement test. Learners were pretested through three scales of WTC and its two antecedents: self-perceived communication competence (SPCC) and communication apprehension (CA). Of course, the experimental group was provided with fifteen problem-solving tasks during the course, while the control group was not. After fifteen sessions of the treatment, two groups were posttested through the same three scales. The results demonstrated that the experimental group outperformed the control group in terms of their WTC’s level. Moreover, the learners’ WTC was found to be directly related to their SPCC and indirectly related to CA. So based on the MacIntyre’s path model (1994), these both antecedents can be the best predictors of WTC. The analysis of the data was done through multivariate analysis of variances (MANOVA) statistical programs. Manuscript profile

This study was an endeavor to explore the main sources of EFL learners' writing problems through dialogic interactions. It also investigated the effect of metaphor and metonymy on EFL learners' writing achievement. To achieve this end, the researcher adopted mixed-method research with a sample of intermediate language students from both genders. In the qualitative section, 20 EFL learners were selected through purposive sampling, and in the quantitative section, 120 language students were selected through convenience sampling from a university in Gorgan. Data were gathered through Quick Oxford Placement Test (OPT), writing tests, and a semi-structured interview. After recording and transcribing the interviews, the transcripts of the interviews were formatted using the software NVIVO 11 Pro®. With the help of this software, the textual data were reduced into some statements which could reflect the main ideas of the participants’ lived experiences without any intervention from the researcher. However, the data of the tests were inserted into SPSS software and the ANCOVA test was run to indicate differences between the three groups in terms of their writing improvement. The main results suggested that metaphor and metonymy through dialogic interactions had significant effects on the participations’ writing achievement. As well as that, findings from the analysis of data revealed the four main sources of writing problems as linguistic, personal, epistemological, and ecological. Manuscript profile

Teacher autonomy and teacher personality, both affecting teaching and learning processes, were focused on in this gender-comparative study. The required data was gathered through convenience sampling by online distributing two sets of questionnaires, which were responded by 156 Iranian EFL teachers, including both males and females. Then, SPSS-26 was used to analyze the data in this quantitative correlational survey to answer the two research questions, and the results indicated that a) among the five sub-constructs of personality traits, the Extraversion construct stayed on the first place according to its correlation degree to teacher autonomy, which was assessed very strong; b) male teachers naturally felt more sense of autonomy than females did; also, they are more extraverted, open, and conscientious than female teachers. Finally, Self-Determination Theory (SDT) was applied to support the acquired results. This survey can be best suited for EFL teachers to become more sensitive about their personality constructs. Manuscript profile

Delving into the sources of foreign language writing problems is usually neglected. This necessitates more scrutiny of finding out where these problems originate from. To this end, the present study sought to follow a two-fold aim: finding the roots of the Iranian EFL learners’ writing problems, and discovering how these roots are interconnected with each other and come up with a corresponding model. In the qualitative part of the study, a phenomenological research tradition was adopted and 20 EFL learners were selected through purposive sampling. In the quantitative part, through convenience sampling 120 language learners from an English language school in Gorgan, Iran, were selected to be the participants of the study. A semi-structured interview and a researcher-developed questionnaire were used as the instruments for data collection. The results obtained from the analysis of data revealed that writing problems originate from various sources, mainly linguistic, personal, epistemological and ecological, and enjoy a model in which epistemological, linguistic and ecological sources have direct effects and personal source has indirect effect on writing problems. Recognition of epistemological and ecological sources as a novel finding can make teachers revisit their view of these less-approached issues. Manuscript profile

This survey research looked at Iranian EFL teachers’ level of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) in connection to their educational background and teaching experience. The survey included 104 Iranian EFL teachers from several branches of the Iran Language Institute (ILI). The TPACK Self-Assessment Questionnaire (Baser et al., 2016) was used to measure the participants’ scores in different TPACK Questionnaire components (TK, CK, PK, PCK, TCK, TPK, and TPCK). The results showed that among the participants at different educational levels, there was no significant difference considering their scores in TK, CK, PK, PCK, TPK, and TPCK. However, when it comes to TCK scores, the MA participants outperformed the BA ones. The findings also showed that the more experienced participants outperformed the less experienced ones in terms of their obtained scores in PK, PCK, and TPCK. However, there was no significant difference between the more experienced and less experienced participants’ TK, CK, TCK, and TPK scores. The study’s findings indicated the importance of hosting TPACK workshops for language teachers who require more training in this area. Manuscript profile

The current study attempted to investigate the impact of topic interest and L2 proficiency on Iranian EFL learners’ incidental vocabulary learning in terms of their gender. There were 107 (F = 56, M = 51) EFL learners of English at the pre-intermediate and intermediate levels of linguistic proficiency, selected through convenience sampling in this quasi-experimental study. The participants were divided into four experimental groups based on their proficiency level and gender, that is, Male Intermediate High-Interest Topics (MIHIT), Male Pre-Intermediate Low-Interest Topics (MPILIT), Female Intermediate High-Interest Topics (FIHIT), and Female Pre-Intermediate Low-Interest Topics (FPILIT) groups. The adapted version of the Topic interest survey by Ebbers (2011) was utilized to determine the participants’ interests. Also, reading passages were taken from British Council’s texts, and two vocabulary tests were given as a pretest and a posttest. The independent samples t-tests and paired samples t-tests run on the four groups revealed a statistically significant difference. Results suggested that topic interest had a statistically significant effect on the incidental vocabulary learning of Iranian EFL male and female learners. Besides, unlike the male group, there was a statistically significant difference in female posttest scores, indicating that L2 proficiency had an effect on their EFL incidental vocabulary learning. Manuscript profile

این مطالعه با استفاده از یک پرسشنامه نیازسنجی و ارزیابی ، با هدف یافتن نیازهای زبان انگلیسی دانشجویان مهندسی در هفت رشته مکانیک ، برق ، کامپیوتر ، نقشه برداری ، معماری ، تاسیسات و مهندسی عمران در دانشگاه های آزاد اسلامی استان مازندران انجام شد. هدف از این تحقیق یافتن نیازهای مشترک دانشجویان مهندسی بدون توجه به رشته های آنها بود. بر اساس تجزیه و تحلیل داده های حاصله از نیازهای انجام شده ، یک دوره درس انگلیسی برای اهداف عمومی دانشگاهی قبل از درس زبان تخصصی روی یک گروه آزمایشی طراحی و تدریس شد. تدریس با استفاده از پیام رسان واتساپ صورت گرفت. استفاده از واتساپ به دانشجویان این فرصت را داد که در محیطی که با آن آشنا بودند زبان انگلیسی را بیاموزند. در واقع مزیت استفاده از واتساپ این است که یک فضای آموزشی مناسب را فراهم میکند که همیشه در دسترس دانشجویان میباشد و امکان ارتباط آسان با استاد را نیز فراهم میسازد. بعد از دوره زبان تخصصی ، میانگین نمره گروه مشاهده با گروه کنترل مقایسه شد. نتیجه آزمون تی مستقل از نمونه ها نشان داد که از نظر آماری اختلاف معنی داری بین دو گروه وجود دارد. Manuscript profile

Formulaic language is one of the important areas in language education. In recent years, research about some language aspects and elements such as formulaic language and chunks have become one of the more impressive and operative parts of applied linguistics and second language learning/teaching. In writing skill, the lack of proper use of FL in real or display writing simply distinguishes non-native from natives. Therefore, we applied formulaic language in individualistic and collaborative writing classrooms. The results revealed that the instruction of formulaic language has statistically significant effect (F (2, 56) = 12.341, p < 0.05, η2 = .306). However, the difference between the experimental groups was not statistically significant. This study is helpful for writing teachers who want to increase the performance of their language learners. Also, the result of this study may be helpful for textbook developers, curriculum designers, and policy makers.Also, the result of this study may be helpful for textbook developers, curriculum designers, and policy makers. Manuscript profile

Regarding the significance of writing in English language learning and the importance of figurative language in writing, the present paper sought to determine whether using metaphoric language can have any positive effects on writing improvement through dialogic interactions. A total of 60 female intermediate learners from a university in Gorgan, Iran, were selected through convenience sampling. The participants were divided into three groups each one consisting of 20 learners. The Quick Oxford Placement Test and Writing Test developed by the authors of the current study were used to collect data. First, the data normality of the K-S test was run. Second, an ANOVA was run to see whether there would be any difference between the three groups in terms of their writing improvement at the pretest level. Then the same ANOVA was run between the posttests of these three groups. This study showed that metaphor and metonymy through dialogic interactions had significant effects on the participations’ writing. The present research suggests the practice of more dialogical interactions and calls for using group work and figurative language in writing training programs. Manuscript profile

Regarding the significance of writing in today’s English learning and figurative language, the present paper seeks to determine whether using metaphoric language can have any positive effects on writing improvement through dialogic interactions. A total of 60 female students at intermediate proficiency level from a university in Gorgan, Iran, were selected through convenience sampling. The participants were divided into three groups each one consisting of 20 learners. Quick Oxford Placement Test and Writing Test developed by the current study authors were used to collect data. First, the data normality of K-S test was run. Second, an ANOVA was run to see whether there would be any difference between the three groups in terms of their writing improvement in the pre-test. Then the same ANOVA was run between the post-tests of these three groups. This study showed that metaphor and metonymy through dialogic interactions had significant effects on the participations’ writing. All in all, as pedagogical implications, the present research addresses EFL teachers to practice more dialogical interactions and calls for using group work and figurative language in writing training programs which have not been employed in foreign language courses. Manuscript profile