Despite the fact that virtual learning seems to have considerable potential for enhancing language learners’ communicative abilities, it has received less attention for improving pragmatic competence of learners in EFL educational settings. The present study was an attempt to investigate the impact of virtual and real classroom instruction of speech acts on the pragmatic awareness and development of Iranian EFL learners. To do so, a quasi-experimental study was designed and, through a homogeneity test, 57 EFL female language learners at the intermediate level were chosen. The participants were randomly divided into the experimental groups of virtual and real classroom learning and went through the procedure of pretest, intervention, and posttest; the pertinent data were collected by means of a PET test, a speech-act pre-test and comparable post-tests of speech acts. Both measures of independent and paired-samples t-test were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that instruction of speech acts through both virtual and real classroom techniques can be conducive to the promotion of pragmatic awareness among the EFL learners in the Iranian context; meanwhile, real classroom instruction of speech acts proved to be more fruitful and more significantly elevated the pragmatic awareness of Iranian EFL learners. We conclude the study drawing on the implications of our findings for ELT and EFL policy makers, language educators and teachers, material developers, and learners. Manuscript profile

The present Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) study aimed to explore the probable ideological manipu- lations exerted in three translations of an English political book entitled The Coup by Ervand Abraha- mian. This comparative qualitative study was conducted based on Farahzad‘s three-dimensional CDA model. The textual, paratextual, and semiotic aspects were critically scrutinized in the text of the three translations (TT1, TT2, and TT3). The findings revealed that TT1 utilized more kinds of manipulations (lexical choices, nominalization, and paratextual level) and less foreignization compared to the other two translations. Considering the amount of lexical choices, addition, and foreignization, TT3 was ranked the second; at the semiotic level, the third translator exercised greater manipulations in comparison to the first one. For TT2, however, only in terms of deletion, passivization, and covering page significant changes could be spotted. TT2‘s stance was apparently similar to that of the original author through adopting more neutral vocabulary items, passive structures, and a less neutral cover picture. As the findings of the present study illustrated, translators can achieve certain ideological goals by employing a myriad of dis- cursive strategies and structures. The findings are discussed in light of the implications of multimodal analysis of multiple translations for political translation theory and practice. Manuscript profile