Journal of Studies in Learning and Teaching English: 1 (2)

Open Access Article

1 - The Effect of Textual Marginal Glosses on Incidental Vocabulary Retention of Iranian EFL Students
Zhaleh Moazzeni

The present study investigated the effect of marginal glosses (both L1 and L2) on incidental vocabulary learning of EFL learners. The subject pool consisted of 154 third-semester Iranian students enrolled at Azad University, Central Branch. After administering a prof More

The present study investigated the effect of marginal glosses (both L1 and L2) on incidental vocabulary learning of EFL learners. The subject pool consisted of 154 third-semester Iranian students enrolled at Azad University, Central Branch. After administering a proficiency test, 90 homogeneous students were assigned to two experimental groups (X1 & X2) and one control group. Afterwards, a 50 -item pretest was administered to verify students’ unfamiliarity with the intended target words to be learned later. Then the treatment began and X1 received L1 glosses and X2 received L2 glosses, and the control group received no glosses. Finally, a post-test, the same as the pre-test with 10 familiar items deleted, was administered to the three groups. A one-way ANOVA indicated that learners with access to L2 or L1 marginal glosses demonstrated significantly greater retention of word meanings. Additionally, a further analysis known as the Tukey test was conducted to pinpoint exactly where the differences exist in a pair-wise way. The results of this analysis showed that X2 outperformed X1 and the control group Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

2 - An In-depth Evaluation of Intermediate Top Notch
Naser Rashidi Maryam Bahrmai

After the teacher, the most important factor in foreign language classroom is the textbook. It is vital that the best possible text be chosen for each situation. Even with the development of new technologies that allow for higher quality teacher-generated materials, More

After the teacher, the most important factor in foreign language classroom is the textbook. It is vital that the best possible text be chosen for each situation. Even with the development of new technologies that allow for higher quality teacher-generated materials, demand for textbooks continues to grow, and the publishing industry responds with new series and textbooks each year. Therefore, it is absolutely essential to establish and employ a certain number of relevant and contextually appropriate criteria for the evaluation of the textbooks that are used in our language classrooms. In order to evaluate ELT textbooks, theorists and writers have offered different kinds of evaluative frameworks based on a number of principles and criteria. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a series of ELT textbook, namely intermediate Top Notch based on Littlejohn’s (1998) evaluative framework, in order to determine the strengths, weaknesses, and explicit features of the books and to see whether the books are in line with the CLT principles and the objectives set for them. Six ELT teachers helped the researcher rate the evaluative checklists. The results of the study showed that although a number of shortcomings were found in Top Notch, it stood up reasonably well to a detailed and in-depth analysis and that its positive attributes far out-weighed its shortcomings. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

3 - The Basic Assumptions on Language Acquisition from Perspectives of Cognitive, Generative- Transformational, and Structural Linguistics: An Overview
Fatemeh Behjat

Language acquisition is a varied field, and there is an ocean of approaches from which one can investigate first/second language acquisition. These approaches root in different fields, basically linguistics. As for linguistics, research in language acquisition ranges More

Language acquisition is a varied field, and there is an ocean of approaches from which one can investigate first/second language acquisition. These approaches root in different fields, basically linguistics. As for linguistics, research in language acquisition ranges from structural and generative-transformational to cognitive linguistics. While in contrast with each other in main respects theoretically, and, critically speaking, each having its own pitfalls, they have common methodological applications. This article aims at scrutinizing structural, generative-transformational, and cognitive linguistics in relation with language acquisition and providing support for such a claim that not only they are not totally mutually exclusive and in contrast with each other, but they rather share the same objectives in language acquisition path concerning innate syntactic knowledge, usage-based, and word grammar (WG). Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

4 - Analysis of Cultural Scripts of Suggestions and Rejection of Suggestions in Persian and English within Natural Semantic Metalanguage Framework
Mostafa Zamanian

Language must be studied as a social behavior and the aim of language instruction must be to facilitate learners’ acquisition of communicative competence; the ability to speak both accurately and appropriately. Rules of speaking must be included into second lan More

Language must be studied as a social behavior and the aim of language instruction must be to facilitate learners’ acquisition of communicative competence; the ability to speak both accurately and appropriately. Rules of speaking must be included into second language classroom teaching. We should teach linguistic rules along with social rules. In this study a number of social functions in Persian are analyzed using the “Natural Semantic Metalanguage” (NSM) framework. The results are then compared and contrasted with those of English. The functions in focus are suggestions, and rejection of suggestions. The results of this study indicate that: (1) the NSM is applicable to the communicative interaction routines in Persian, (2) cultural scripts can be used to develop an awareness of cultural differences in the learners, and finally (3) the model in question is suitable for cross-cultural contrastive analysis. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

5 - Good Language Learners’ Qualifications and Social -Promotion: A Case Study in the Iranian Context
Parviz Maftoon Mehrdad Amiri

Research in the area of characteristics of good language learners have been the home of choice for SLA researchers since mid 1970. In this regard, both learning and learner variables have been researched (see Griffiths, 2008). Yet, one of the features almost left int More

Research in the area of characteristics of good language learners have been the home of choice for SLA researchers since mid 1970. In this regard, both learning and learner variables have been researched (see Griffiths, 2008). Yet, one of the features almost left intact in this scope is the relationship between the characteristics of good language learners and the promotional feedback they receive through their social achievements. The present qualitative study has focused on two successful language learners achieving moderate social and professional promotions. These subjects had received almost high scores in the IELTS academic module. They were interviewed to see which strategies they usually pick up in their language learning development. Since the researcher was familiar with the participants for years the previous observations also were taken into consideration. The subjects also were asked to write down about what has made them successful language learners and the significant points in this regard. The interviews, observations and writings cited above were organized and analyzed. The results presented the researcher with a tentative perspective about the characteristics of these two language learners. Then these characteristics were compared with the ones cited in the good language learners’ literature (Griffiths, 2008) to see their novelty or commonality. The results revealed good language learners make use of similar strategies already cited in the related literature. The only new factor which the language learners of the case study presented was that the job promotion, social achievement, and even educational development of these cases were highly bound to and affected by their second language development and their self- initiating strategies in L2 learning. Since this factor might be highly related to instrumental or situational motivation, it can be concluded that some good language learners are highly potential to make use of their second language development to find better jobs and achieve more privileged social achievements Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

6 - Investigating the Relationship Between Gender and Different Strategies of Expressing Complaint in English and Persian Films
Zahra Mehrabani

The main objective of the present study is to elaborate the contrasts between males and females in their use of different strategies of complaint in English and Persian and ascertain the degree to which independent variables like gender and language affect the applic More

The main objective of the present study is to elaborate the contrasts between males and females in their use of different strategies of complaint in English and Persian and ascertain the degree to which independent variables like gender and language affect the application of these strategies during informal communication. Furthermore, it offers comparable corpora which provide a good basis for cross-linguistic comparison of distribution of these functional strategies within the context of Persian and English movies. Therefore, the focus of this study is on the implementation of different strategies of ‘complaint’ by English and Persian males and females in accordance with Schaefer’s classification of strategies of complaint (1982). This research targets at figuring out differences between English and Persian males and females in relation to the application of the previously-mentioned strategies. In addition, in order to gather the most authentic data, four English and four Persian films, dealing with family and social theme, are analyzed with great care. Concerning gender dyads, both in English and Persian, some significant differences are detected. It is of significance to note that with regard to strategies of complaint, cross-language, Persian males and females implement complaining strategies more than English ones, while cross-gender, both in English and Persian, males use these strategies more. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

7 - Web-Based Writing Lessons in EFL Contexts: Instruction on Coherent Writing
Seyyedeh Susan Marandi Fatemeh Nami

In Iranian language learning contexts, writing in English is an important challenge for learners, since it is usually treated as a secondary skill and is led to the periphery of language classes, due to its time-consuming nature. Computer technology and namely the fr More

In Iranian language learning contexts, writing in English is an important challenge for learners, since it is usually treated as a secondary skill and is led to the periphery of language classes, due to its time-consuming nature. Computer technology and namely the free online environments available in the World Wide Web (WWW) offer possibilities for moving beyond such confinements. Asynchronous discussion forums and web-based materials, for instance, can facilitate e-writing in addition to being motivational and engaging. Such environments can compensate for the time limitations which restrict language classes, and also offer equal learning opportunities to all learners. The present experimental research investigates how implementing technology i.e., web- based writing lessons can enhance the degree of coherence in participants’ English essays. The data consists of the results of the pre- and post-treatment TOEFL-like writing exams, which were scored according to the degree of coherence they demonstrated. The participants included forty female Iranian students studying English as a foreign language in a private institute in Tehran. They were randomly divided into comparison and experimental groups. The experimental group used an educational website entitled “Writing Snapshot: Web-Based Writing Lessons for EFL Learners,” specifically designed for this purpose; and their classes were held in the computer lab of the institute. The comparison group received a conventional book-based treatment. The results revealed that the essays of the participants in the experimental group working with web-based lessons demonstrated a statistically significantly higher frequency and diversity of indicators of coherence. It would seem, therefore, that introducing new technologies into language classes can open new horizons for EFL writing practice. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

8 - The Use of Supplementary Materials by Iranian EFL Teachers at High Schools for Talented Students
Masoomeh Salehi Mostafa Zamanian

One of the main concerns of teachers in modern learner-centered approaches is whether published teaching materials can meet the needs of students at a particular leaning situation or the teachers ought to prepare their own materials. This dilemma gets worse when the More

One of the main concerns of teachers in modern learner-centered approaches is whether published teaching materials can meet the needs of students at a particular leaning situation or the teachers ought to prepare their own materials. This dilemma gets worse when the teaching situation includes a textbook prescribed by an authority such as the Ministry of Education. In such cases, the teacher has to compensate for the deficiencies of the textbook by providing the students with supplementary materials. The aim of this study is to see whether Iranian EFL teachers are aware of and cater for the needs of their students by providing them with supplementary materials. In this study, teachers teaching at high schools for talented students were chosen because their students have definitely different needs from others. Forty teachers at 23 high schools for talented students in different parts of Iran were interviewed in person or through the telephone. The teachers who taught at other schools too (21 teachers) were also asked whether they used the same supplementary materials at other schools. Moreover, the teachers who used supplementary materials were also asked about the types of materials they used. The results showed that 33 (82.5%) teachers used supplementary materials at schools for talented students. Out of 21 teachers who taught at other schools, 14 (66.66%) teachers used no or different supplementary materials at other schools. It indicates that teachers adjust supplementary materials to the needs and abilities of their students. Considering the types of materials, teachers used different types of materials at different grades of high school, indicating their awareness of different needs of students at different grades. Manuscript profile

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