One of the decisive factors affecting language learners’ learning is brain dominance. The present research was conducted to investigate the effect of brain dominance on task-based reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. To this aim, 50 intermediate Iranian EFL learners were selected as the study sample. The instrumentation included the ECPE test of proficiency, a hemispheric dominance questionnaire and a reading comprehension post-test. The four tasks of Problem Solving, Information Gap, Jigsaw, and Decision Making were chosen. Statistical analysis revealed that the difference in the performance of the three groups of right-, left-, and whole-brainers was insignificant on all of the presented tasks. Thus, it was found that brain dominance, as an independent variable, is not a correlate of success and achievement on task-based reading comprehension, as a dependent variable. Manuscript profile

This study investigated the different aspects of the English for Specific Purposes Needs of M.A students of Ancient Iran History studying at the Department of History in Iranian universities. The participants were selected from the universities of Iran based on convenience sampling. The Needs Analysis was designed on a qualitative and quantitative survey, using the semi-structured interviews and the questionnaires. 45 M.A students and 5 ESP instructors expressed their views through questionnaires and interviews. The results revealed that the students asked for the inclusion of the four language skills in their ESP courses. That is, a new ESP course focusing on the integration of all four skills should be developed. The instructors, however, echoed the reading skill as the predominant need for students to achieve a higher standard in academic and future careers. The interviews showed that the ESP courses were not sufficient to account for the specific needs of the students since these courses were not prepared according to the learners’ needs. The students expressed that they needed to master English because they had to use English sources during their academic studies. However, the ESP courses did not fully prepare the students to embark on their studies because it did not sufficiently take into account the learners’ needs. The students were dissatisfied with the current ESP courses of Ancient Iran History and asked for the urgent revision of ESP materials. The ESP instructors’ responses to the interviews indicated dissatisfaction with the students’ poor language skills, lack of motivation, and the insufficiency of the needs-responsive ESP coursebook. Giving more weight to English in the M.A entrance exam was suggested by instructors as one possible solution as this may increase the students’ level of motivation which may lead to the improvement of their language proficiency. The findings of this study can help researchers and ESP practitioners make particular pedagogic decisions.It presented a detailed description of the process of the Needs Analysis as a prerequisite step to design an ESP coursebook for English specific courses of the Ancient Iran History field at M. A level. Manuscript profile

This study was conducted to investigate the diverse perspectives of English for Specific Purposes Needs of M.A students of Sports Science in Iran based on their language learning needs. A total of 40 male and female students majoring in Sports Science as well as 4 subject instructors who taught ESP at the Sports Science Departments of the universities, took part in the study. The researchers employed a qualitative-quantitative research method encompassing two data-gathering tools: a questionnaire and an interview. Two sets of needs analysis questionnaires were used in this study: the students’ questionnaire and ESP instructors’ questionnaire. Prior to using students’ questionnaire and ESP instructors’ questionnaire for data collection, the questionnaires were piloted and validated. The verbal (tape-recorded) data of the semi-structured interviews were analyzed using descriptive statistics. They were thematically categorized to approve the participants’ reactions to the related items in the questionnaires. Based on what was revealed by the results, the M.A students of Sports Science often lacked the knowledge and key skills needed in their target language knowledge after graduation. They frequently discover themselves incapable of utilizing what they have learned practically. Additionally, ESP instructors expressed that they were also disappointed with the students’ poor writing ability at M.A level. The findings also demonstrated that reading and writing, followed by speaking and listening, were individually recognized as the most vital skills by the participants. Furthermore, the participants expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of translation, writing, and grammar exercises, interesting topics, and pictures in ESP materials. Manuscript profile

This study investigated the relationship between learning style preferences and the nationality background of Iranian and Iraqi University EFL students. A total number of 40 male and female participants, 20 Iraqi and 20 Iranian, majoring in EFL, took part in this study. To conduct the study, a qualitative-quantitative method was used which encompassed two kinds of data-gathering instruments: a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. The first instrument was Cohen, Oxford, and Chi's (2001) online learning style survey questionnaire which assessed the participants’ general approaches to learning, and the second instrument was a semi-structured interview that asked some other questions not covered by the questionnaire. Prior to using the learning style survey questionnaire, a pilot study was conducted to validate and refine the questionnaire. Statistical procedures such as descriptive statistics which consisted of Mean, Skewness, Kurtosis, and Standard Deviation were used. Moreover, the Chi-square, Cramer’s V, and T value were used to analyze the collected data. The obtained results revealed that the relationship between learning style preferences and nationality background was meaningful and the learning styles of students from these two nationalities were different from each other. From a quantitative standpoint, Iranian learners were more open-oriented learners, while Iraqi participants were more closure-oriented in their learning process. The results also revealed that not only the Learning Style Preferences (LSPs) were different across groups, but also were various for individuals in each group. The results of this study offer valuable insights for teachers who are working with learners from diverse nationalities. Manuscript profile