The University Entrance Exam (UEE) in Iran, a high-stakes test in a multiple-choice form, has a significant effect on its stakeholders. This mixed-methods study investigates how freshman TEFL pupils experienced this nation-wide type of assessment and its (dis)empowerment role-taking advantage of Messick’s framework. One-hundred freshmen university TEFL students as participants of this study were conveniently and purposefully selected from Isfahan, Shiraz, and Tehran state universities. A validated questionnaire and group interviews were utilized to collect the data of this study. The data was analyzed and described through descriptive statistical procedures. Based on the results, Freshmen TEFL students considered the UEE mainly unreliable, while they held positive views towards its validity based on the modules of Messick’s framework. The overall analysis of the results pointed to the disempowerment role of the test. Furthermore, the obtained results underscored the necessity of more performance-based modes of assessment, such as using portfolios to be included in UEE. The results of the study bear useful implications for high-stake test constructors and policymakers. Manuscript profile

The present study aimed to examine ESP teachers and students’ perceptions of using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) to identify advantages and potential challenges in using ICT in the Iranian ESP context. The sample under study was 100 undergraduate students and three TEFL teachers. An adapted questionnaire and a semi-structured interview were employed for data collection. The results showed that although most of the participants had positive perceptions of benefits of ICT integration in ESP instruction, lack of infra-structures, insufficient time, lack of syllabus consist of ICT-based materials, lack of teachers’ competence, lack of positive attitudes, and social and cultural barriers prevented them from using ICT. The results of this study have practical implications for changing from the status quo ESP teaching in Iran to ICT-based ESP teaching and for enriching ESP courses through incorporating ICT-based materials in the ESP curriculum. Manuscript profile

Pragmatic competence is an essential language pedagogy component represented in English textbooks. The paper attempts to examine the extent to which pragmatic knowledge was reflected in Iranian high school English textbooks (Vision series). Hence, Halliday’s (1973) model and Halliday, et al.’s (1964) model were used to investigate subcategories of functional knowledge and sociolinguistic knowledge. The data was described by descriptive statistics. The findings revealed the Iranian culture-deprived representation (e.g., traditional customs, and ceremonies such as Nowruz, Chaharshanbesori, and Yalda). Moreover, the results highlighted only a limited number of pragmatic components implicitly introduced in the Vision series, and attention was given to their representation and problematic distribution. Furthermore, the English sociocultural patterns were limited and attempts were made to reflect the Iranian culture and convection of daily communication. Thus, some pedagogical implications were offered to improve the Vision series, using authentic pragmatic content instead of proclaiming the fictitious prescription of its authors. Manuscript profile

Although research on clinical supervision and teachers’ critical thinking has been separately carried out by many scholars, their integration in a unified study has been demanding, particularly in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. Investigation of learners’ language achievement affected by doing clinical supervision appears to have been taken for granted. The present study was an attempt to figure out the effects of clinical supervision model proposed by Gall and Acheson (2011) on EFL teachers’ critical thinking disposition and learners’ overall language achievement. The present study constituted two sets of participants: 60 teachers and 66 learners selected through convenience sampling and were divided into two groups namely experimental. Clinical supervision was conducted for the experimental group teachers within three cycles of planning conference, classroom observation, and feedback conference. Those learners whose teachers took part in the clinical supervision constituted the experimental group while the remaining were the control group whose teachers were not provided with any teacher education program. Data were collected through the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale and learners’ pre-and post-tests. By running one-way analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) and independent samples t-tests, clinical supervision was significantly effective regarding EFL teachers’ critical thinking disposition and resulted in the learners’ significant improvement as well. Findings demand the practice of clinical supervision as an effective and awareness-raising teacher education program to help teachers reflect upon their strengths and weaknesses and self-regulate their teaching practicum. Manuscript profile

این مطالعه به بررسی تأثیر فاصله گذاری بر توسعه واژگانی با تمرکز بر سطح مهارت زبان آموزان ایرانی پرداخته است. شرکت کنندگان 120 زبان آموز انگلیسی 22 تا 26 ساله بودند که در چندین موسسه انگلیسی در اصفهان مشغول به تحصیل بودند. برای جمع آوری داده های مورد نیاز از سه آزمون استفاده شد. ابتدا از OQPT برای قرار دادن زبان آموزان با توانایی های زبانی مشابه در یک گروه آزمایش و یک گروه کنترل استفاده شد. بر اساس نتایج OQPT، هر گروه به دو زیر گروه شامل 30 یادگیرنده با مهارت بالا و 30 زبان‌آموز با مهارت پایین تقسیم شدند. سپس پیش آزمونی برای ارزیابی دانش واژگان زبان آموزان EFL انجام شد. فراگیران در هر دو گروه کنترل و آزمایش واژگان یکسان اما به روش های متفاوت دریافت کردند. به گروه‌های آزمایشی کلمات جدید از طریق آموزش فاصله داده شد، در حالی که گروه‌های کنترل از طریق آموزش انبوه دریافت کردند. کلاس های فاصله گذاری هفته ای یک بار در هفت هفته و کلاس های انبوه در یک جلسه در هفته هشتم برگزار می شد. در طول پس آزمون، محقق یک آزمون پیشرفت طراحی کرد و پس از درمان آن را اجرا کرد. نتایج به منظور تعیین میزان بهبود واژگان شرکت کنندگان مقایسه و تجزیه و تحلیل شد. یافته‌های این پژوهش نشان داد که استفاده از آموزش‌های فاصله‌دار باعث می‌شود که فراگیران با مهارت بالا به‌طور معنی‌داری بر زبان‌آموزان کم‌تسلط برتری داشته باشند. از آنجایی که فاصله گذاری به طور گسترده ای به عنوان تأثیر مثبت بر یادگیری و حافظه بلند مدت شناخته شده است (Cepeda et al., 2006)، بنابراین می توان آن را برای توسعه دهندگان برنامه درسی و طراحان برنامه درسی در تصمیم گیری برای قرار دادن واژگان جدید در یک دوره مفید یافت. یا یک کتاب Manuscript profile

This mixed-methods design study has been conducted to gain insights into the developing interactive tasks in Iranian EFL students in terms of self-monitoring, self-regulation, and willingness to communicate within the educational system. The study collected data using the questionnaires measuring self-monitoring scale (SMS), self-regulated language learning scale (SRLLS), and willingness to communicate (WTC) to compute the differences in interactive scores of 40 students in an experimental group with the interactive scores of 40 students in a control group. The study adopted a qualitative interview-based methodology with EFL learners who took part in the investigation and the extent to which they could achieve and receive the instruction with significant findings. Accordingly, the study as personality assessment developed the semi-structured interviews with 40 students in an experimental group and 40 students in a control group to explore students’ motivational beliefs and their attitudes towards interactive tasks influencing their performance in learning and assisting them to communicate successfully. As the results of the study, using the independent sample t-test, the interactive tasks could facilitate suitable training and professional development. The major finding of the study was related to the influence of interactive activities in improving positive attitudes towards interactive tasks and was beneficial to language learning. Based on the attitudinal analysis as the results of this study, using the Transcribed Interview Sample with coding (an extract) clearly identified that students with interactive tasks mainly outperformed those with regular instruction. Furthermore, the findings of the research indicated that students’ achievement was improved in terms of their motivation, autonomy, and empowerment as contributed to their learning. However, this study revealed that teachers could increase the academically collaborative talk as well as social-emotional behavior of students in their teaching and learning environments to share feeling safe, taking risks, and enjoy constructive effects. Manuscript profile

This study was an attempt to find out the impact of Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) on EFL learners' writing achievement and critical thinking. To fulfill the purpose of this study, 60 EFL learners of institute in Shahinshahr were selected from among a total number of 100 learners based on their performance on the Preliminary English Test (PET). After homogenizing, they filled out the critical questionnaire developed by Honey (2000) and then they were non-randomly divided into two groups, experimental and control, each consisting of thirty EFL learners. Experimental group members were instructed based on NLP and their instruction was based on five senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste). The control group members had a routine teaching process in which no NLP methods was imposed in this group. Both groups were female and their age range was between 15-20 years old. After 16 sessions, writing posttest and critical thinking questionnaire were given to two groups to evaluate whether there is any significant difference between these two groups or not. The design of the current study was quasi-experimental posttest only design. The obtained data were analyzed both descriptively and inferentially. For descriptive statistics, mean and standard deviation were obtained and the type of the test applied for this study was independent sample t-test. The statistical analyses revealed that there was significant statistical difference between the two groups’ mean scores on the writing posttest, while there was no significant statistical difference between the two groups’ mean scores on the critical thinking posttest. As a result, it can be argued that NLP had significant impact on learners’ writing skill, but NLP had no significant impact on learners’ critical thinking level. Manuscript profile

There has been a fierce controversy for decades over which approach is more effective in order to achieve the best reading instruction and there is no clear answer until today. This study mainly compared the effectiveness of Whole Language, phonics, and balanced approach to develop the EFL learners’ reading in the light of spelling and pronunciation development over time. Thirty Iranian elementary EFL learners were selected from an English Language Institute in Isfahan, Iran. The participants were randomly divided into three different instructional groups, Whole Language group, phonics group, and balanced group (phonics group integrated with Whole Language group), with 10 students in each group. The students in the Whole Language group were exposed only to Whole Language method with the book Family and Friends (Starter), while those who were in the phonics group only received phonics instruction with the book Let’s Go Phonics 1. The students in the balanced group were taught through both phonics and Whole Language methods with the books Let’s Go Phonics 1 and Family and Friends (Starter). All three classes were held twice a week for 12 weeks and each class lasted 1 hour. A series of tests were designed by the researchers used to assess the participants’ word pronunciation and spelling. A series of ANOVA tests were also carried out to compare pretest and posttest scores of three instructional groups in reading spelling and pronunciation. Meanwhile, two weeks after the immediate posttest, the students were tested again in reading spelling and pronunciation. The findings suggested that for the three groups of Whole Language, phonics, and balanced methods, there were improvements on both pronunciation and spelling from pretest to immediate posttest and delayed posttest. There were also no significant differences among them on the immediate posttest, but for the delayed posttest, both phonics and balanced methods were seen to be more effective than the Whole Language method, with the slight differences between phonics and balanced groups. To sum up, this study lends its support to the synthetic phonics integrated and balanced judiciously with Whole Language approach, neither phonics nor Whole Language can be considered strong enough programs to stand alone. Manuscript profile

This study aims to report on the literature related to the barriers to ICT (Information Communications Technology) integration into ESP (English for Specific Purposes) instruction that hinder promoting ESP instruction through this integration. The literature review has also shed light upon ways of addressing these barriers. To meet this end, the paper begins with discussing a review of some of the important Iranian and international studies on barriers to ICT integration in ESP instruction and then the paper highlights a number of first-order, second-order barriers, and ways of addressing them to help in promoting and changing traditional ESP instruction and materials. It is suggested that this review could be useful for those who make decisions about the ESP courses, for ESP material developers, and for ESP teachers to change from traditional ESP instruction, which is teacher-centered and text-based, to a new ESP instruction through ICT integration. This review has also implications for practice. Change is mostly challenging; reporting a review of previous studies on barriers to ICT integration at the tertiary level and proposing ways of addressing them may help defeat the barriers and may enhance acceptance of new ESP teaching and learning methods. Manuscript profile

Textbooks are considered as the common features of the classrooms and are important means to make contributions to curricula. Therefore, their contents are very essential to develop the adequate curriculum planning. A textbook analysis is a means by which different features of the textbooks can be analyzed and hence their effectiveness is validated. This study set out to evaluate the content of Vision 1, the textbook of Senior High School, grade 1, in order to investigate in which six levels of cognition in Bloom’s (2001) Revised Taxonomy of Cognitive Domain the activities of the four skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing would be graded. Thus, the activities of the textbook were codified based on the coding levels in Bloom's Revised Taxonomy of Cognitive Domain. Then, the data were analyzed and the frequencies and percentages of occurrence of various codes related to the cognition levels in Bloom’s Taxonomy were calculated. The results of the study did not detect any evidence for the presence of higher levels of the cognition and thinking process in the textbook activities related to the four skills. In other words, all activities in the domain of Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing were classified in low levels of cognition, namely Remembering, Understanding, and Applying and failed to nurture the students for high levels of thinking skills. The findings provided some supports for supplying complementary materials by the teachers in order to train the learners for higher levels of the cognition. Manuscript profile

Cognates are the words celebrating their similarities from phonetic, orthographic, and semantic points of view across two or more languages. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of cognate-based instruction strategy on vocabulary learning among Iranian EFL learners. To achieve the goal of the study, 80 EFL learners (15-27 years old) took part in the study; all of them were learning English at language institutes of Lorestan and Isfahan provinces in Iran. Half of the participants who were native speakers of Laki language were assigned to experimental group and the remaining 40 who were from Isfahan and not familiar with Laki language were assigned to control group. Oxford Placement Test (OPT) was administered to make sure that the participants were homogeneous. The participants in both groups were taught target words (42 English-Laki cognate words), by the researcher, during six sessions. A pretest was administered for both groups before the treatment and a posttest was managed after the treatment for both groups. Three weeks after the treatment, a delayed posttest was administered for experimental group, only. One sample t test for pre and posttest, and paired sample t test for delayed posttest were run. Findings of the study showed that participants in the experimental group outperformed the participants in the control group, resulting in null hypothesis rejection. In addition, the results indicated similar performance of experimental group in both posttest and delayed posttest, confirming that new cognate words were not forgotten over a period of time. Manuscript profile

Web-quests are internet-based technology applications in which groups of students follow a specific set of steps toward the completion of a final project on a specific subject or a multi-disciplinary subject. The present study aimed to investigate the impacts of using web-quests on learning vocabulary by Iranian pre-university students. The sample of the study consisted of 72 students assigned into two groups. One of the groups represented the control group, and included 23 students; the other group represented the experimental group and comprised 49 students. The two groups were chosen from a population of pre-university students in Chadegan, Isfahan, Iran. The web-quest strategy was used in teaching the experimental group, while the traditional method was used with the control group in the second term of the school year 2015-2016. An Oxford Placement Test (OPT), a vocabulary pretest, a vocabulary posttest, and an attitude questionnaire were the data elicitation tools employed in this study. The collected data were analyzed using independent-samples t test, which was used to determine the existence of possible significant differences between the groups both before and after the instruction. The results indicated that there were statistically significant differences between both groups in favor of the experimental group. The conclusion, thus, could be that the students in the experimental group, who used the web-quest resources for learning vocabulary, performed significantly better than the students in the control group, who learnt vocabulary through traditional method of learning vocabulary. Finally, questionnaire data analyzed via one-sample t test indicated that the experimental group learners had a positive attitude towards the treatment they experienced in the experiment. Manuscript profile

In spite of the importance of teacher's motivation only a limited number of studies have been conducted on teacher's demotivation in Iran. This study was an attempt to investigate demotivating factors among Iranian EFL language institute teachers in terms of years of teaching experience. To this end, the researchers tried to utilize a questionnaire as a research method. To collect data, a validated questionnaire was administered to a sample of 77 English teachers who were teaching in Iranian language institutes in Najafabad, Isfahan, Iran. A convenience sampling was used in this study. The data were classified and analyzed based upon the relevant research questions. The one-way between-groups ANOVA conducted on demotivating factors showed that there was a significant difference between professional development and other domains of demotivating factors among the groups of English teachers. Moreover, it was uncovered that insufficient income was among the most crucial factors providing dissatisfaction for Iranian EFL teachers in the field of teaching process. Therefore, it is important for educational institution to improve teachers’ perceptions of their job through improving job environment and condition or payments to manage language learner institutes better than before. Manuscript profile

Abstract Genre-based approach has been the focus of interest in the teaching of language since the mid1980s. Genre is defined in terms of the use of language in conventionalized communicative settings. The present study made an attempt to scrutinize the effects of genre-based pedagogy on Iranian Pre-intermediate EFL leaners' reading comprehension as well as the interaction between their reading comprehension achievement and their general English proficiency. To examine the formulated hypothesis, a sample of 80 Pre-intermediate EFL learners attending a language institute was selected. Then, the participants were divided into an experimental group and a control group. The instructional procedures went on six sessions before the posttest was administered. The results of an independent samples t test revealed that genre-based pedagogy had a significant effect on Iranian Pre-intermediate EFL learners' reading comprehension. Implications of the study can include, among other things, the incorporation of genre-based pedagogy in the EFL language teaching curriculum in Iran. Manuscript profile

This study aimed to investigate the syntactic errors that the Iranian deaf and hearing-impaired (DHI) make in their L2 writings. To this purpose, 60 male and female Iranian DHI students with different social status were selected, through convenience sampling procedure, as participants from among the students of a deaf community in Bandar Abbas, Iran. Their general writing performance was assessed through a proficiency test (pre-test) before they received a six-week writing instruction, in which they were provided with model written utterances and common syntactic points such as sentence order, word order, subject/verb agreement, etc. At the end of the treatment, they were given two topics and asked to write short paragraphs (post-test). Then, different syntactic errors were spotted, analyzed and categorized based on Keshavarz’s linguistic taxonomy of errors. The obtained results indicated that the writing quality of the participants improved from pre-test to post-test. It was also found that majority of the participants committed more syntactic omission errors than syntactic addition errors and syntactic substitution errors. It was further found that syntactic errors in written language were not affected by the gender and social class of the participants. The findings of this study provide empirical evidence for teaching syntactic order to deaf and hearing-impaired students in order to enhance their L2 writing performance. Manuscript profile

The current study aimed to find the relationship between personality traits and learning styles of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) students across high, intermediate, and low levels of reading proficiency in online courses. To this purpose, 50 male and 50 female BA students were selected through convenient sampling from the executive management department at Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran. Their age range was 20 to 26 years. They were divided into three groups of high, intermediate, and low reading proficiency based on a simulated TOEFL CBT reading test. Their learning style and personality type were assessed through Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)-Form M and the Learning Style Inventory-3 (LSI3), respectively. Upon collecting the data from the MBTI, the LSI3, and the reading tests, the researchers coded the scores and used path analysis. The results showed that there were significant relationships among a number of the variables under investigation; especially extroversion was found to be an important personality trait affecting online reading proficiency and other variables. The results also showed that the extroversion trait had a positive significant relationship with high reading proficiency, while the thinking dimension resulted in low reading proficiency. Moreover, The participants who had the objective experience trait possessed a high ability in reading, and those who had the reflective observation trait were less proficient in reading. Manuscript profile

This qualitative study aimed at critically analyzing the curricular materials for the teaching of English in Iran. The objective was to evaluate the adequacy of the content and ideological assumptions of EFL textbooks, focusing on the conceptual metaphors related to the concept of success. The study was conducted within the frameworks of Critical Pedagogy and Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA). The spirit of these two approaches lies in their rejection of all forms of domination, establishment of a theoretical discourse that enables social action, and detection of the hidden relationships between language, power and ideology through metaphorical encodings. To achieve the objective of the study, the analytical tools proposed by Chartres-Black were employed. The results of material analysis revealed that preparation and imposition of cultural materials may create situations in which identity conflict and violence are inevitable, and that the avoidance of such situations requires educators to intervene, with a mentality that education is liberating practice. Manuscript profile

Preparing proper activities in classroom setting and providing learners with them will lead to their success particularly in listening and speaking skills. This study aimed at exploring the learners’ perceptions of applying Multiple Intelligence-Based Activities (MIBAs) to improve these two skills. To this end, 30 Iranian intermediate EFL learners were selected and they were taught using some appropriate activities based on the definition of eight types of Gardner’s intelligence. The treatment period lasted for 10 weeks, three sessions of 60 minutes per week. After the treatment, two English perception questionnaires for speaking and listening with the same content based on the MIBAs were developed, validated, and administered. The data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, item mean scores, and one-sample t test to get the learners’ perceptions of using these activities in their classes and their effects on improving listening and speaking skills. A semi-structured interview was also conducted to gain and support the data obtained from the participants. It could thus be concluded that all respondents had positive perceptions about the application of MIBAs for the purpose of L2 listening and speaking; moreover, this positivity was confirmed via the results of semi structured interviews. The findings may offer some implications for the fields of teaching, material preparation, and curriculum designing. Additionally, the findings can make optimal changes for assessment methods. Manuscript profile

The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of cooperative error detection in an online context on ESP students' writing accuracy and their attitudes towards cooperative error correction. To achieve this aim, the researchers selected 60 ESP students after homogenization. The Barratt Impulsivity Scale (Barratt, 1995) was administered to the participants. The researcher randomly assigned the participants to two groups: the experimental group (n=30, reflective=13, impulsive=17) and the control group (n=30, reflective=13, impulsive=17). The experimental group received the intervention for ten sessions. Skype was used in this group. The participants in this group were divided into six groups of 5 members each. Then, in each session, the students were given a descriptive topic and they were supposed to write and share their writing in their groups. Other members of each group had to check each member's writing and, in case of a problem, underline the mistakes and share them with the group. Finally, they sent the revised writing to the teacher. In the control group, the participants had to write about the same descriptive topic. They wrote and gave their writing to the teacher who corrected it. The results showed that the participants in the experimental group performed significantly better than those in the control group. In terms of learning style, both reflective and impulsive ESP students benefited equally from the intervention. In addition, participants in the experimental group who received the treatment had a positive attitude towards cooperative error detection, seeing it as something positive and fun. Manuscript profile

Passing University Entrance Exams (UEE) successfully has long been the main anxiety for Iranian high school students. The reason for this mixed-methods ponder was to look at how Freshmen TEFL students experienced portfolio assessment for fostering their empowerment and also how assessment (dis)empowerment manifests itself in the English section of university Entrance Exams. The members of this consider were 100 freshmen university TEFL students who were helpfully and deliberately chosen from Shiraz, Tehran, and Isfahan universities. Not only a valid questionnaire but also group interviews were used to gather the required information. To analyze and portray the data, the researchers used descriptive statistical methods. The findings revealed TEFL pupils regarded the portfolio program valuable for fostering their empowerment. Moreover, the TEFL students had an agreement about the disempowerment of the English section of the University Entrance Exam. Besides, the result underscored the need for more executive modes of evaluation consisting of using portfolios in UEE. By regarding the results, there are valuable suggestions for policymakers as well as constructors of the high-stake test. Manuscript profile

Passing University Entrance Exams (UEE) successfully has long been the main anxiety for Iranian high school students. The reason for this mixed-methods ponder was to look at how freshman TEFL students experienced portfolio assessment for fostering their empowerment and also how assessment (dis)empowerment manifests itself in the English section of university Entrance Exams. The members were 100 freshmen university TEFL students who were helpfully and deliberately chosen from Shiraz, Tehran, and Isfahan universities. Not only a valid questionnaire but also group interviews were used to gather the required information. To analyze and portray the data, the researchers used descriptive statistical methods. The findings revealed TEFL pupils regarded the portfolio program as valuable for fostering their empowerment. Moreover, the TEFL students had an agreement about the disempowerment of the English section of the University Entrance Exam. Besides, the result underscored the need for more executive modes of evaluation consisting of using portfolios in UEE. Regarding the results, there are valuable suggestions for policymakers as well as constructors of the high-stake test. Manuscript profile

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Gardner’s multiple intelligence-based activities (MIBAs) to improve the oral performance of male and female EFL learners. To this end, 60 Iranian intermediate EFL learners were selected out of 120 learners based on their scores on a sample Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) and divided into two equal groups of experimental (n=30) and control (n=30). The IELTS speaking test was administered as a pretest. The experimental group was taught through some appropriate activities based on the definition of eight types of Gardner’s intelligences. At the same time, a method including conventional speaking activities such as repetition drills, memorization, reading texts, and answering some knowledge questions was employed for the control group. The treatment period lasted for 10 weeks. After the treatment, the oral posttest, the same as the pretest, was administered to investigate the impact of the teaching process on the learners' oral performance. The participants’ oral proficiency was evaluated using both the IELTS speaking band scores and a researcher-made evaluation sheet including eight speaking components. The findings revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group. The use of MIBAs significantly affected EFL learners’ oral performance and improvement regardless of their gender. The findings may offer some implications for the fields of teaching, material preparation, and curriculum designing. Additionally, the findings can make optimal changes for assessment methods. Manuscript profile

This content analysis study aimed to investigate whether communicative strategies (CSs) have been incorporated into Iranian high school English textbooks (Vision Series). To this aim, the strategic components highlighted in Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) principles were selected to uncover its role in such textbooks. Moreover, Dornyei’s communication strategy classification was used to scrutinize the extent to which the strategic competence was represented in high school EFL textbooks. The analysis of the results revealed that the textbook did not benefit from different kinds of CSs. The authors’ claims were not met in the large portion of the textbook’s content. Therefore, Vision series need to be modified so that CSs are more appropriately included. The central philosophy of incorporating explicit CSs into the Vision series was not to accomplish as many CSs as possible, but rather to draw the students’ attention to special CSs, which could help them overcome the barriers faced in language communication. Manuscript profile