This study aimed at identifying the most frequent test-taking strategies used by successful Iranian male and female university entrance exam EFL applicants. To this end, 150 English major male and female freshman students who got admission to three reputable state universities of Isfahan, Shiraz, and Tehran were selected conveniently and purposively. The model used in this study was developed by Barati (2005) consisting of planning, monitoring, evaluation, and test-wiseness strategies. After selecting the participants, the modified questionnaire developed based on Barati’s test-taking strategy taxonomy was distributed among the participants. Based on the analysis of results, it was revealed that the EFL learners made frequent use of planning, monitoring, evaluation, and test-wiseness strategies, but only the level of use of planning and monitoring strategies reached statistical significance. Moreover, male and female EFL learners were only significantly different in their use of evaluation strategies, but in terms of using planning, monitoring, and test-wiseness strategies, males and females were not significantly different from one another. The findings of the study bear useful implications for EFL learners, teachers, materials designers, and test constructors. پرونده مقاله

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. پرونده مقاله

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. پرونده مقاله