This study examined the oral communication strategies (OCS) employed by Iranian intermediate English as a foreign language (EFL) learners and the relationship between the use of these strategies and the learners’ self-efficacy beliefs and anxiety level. To this end, 160 participants were selected through convenience sampling. Next, three questionnaires were employed to determine the strategies the participants employ for coping with speaking and listening problems, their anxiety level, and their general self-efficacy. The results indicated that the most and the least frequently used strategies were “accuracy-oriented” and “massage abandonment” strategies when facing speaking problems and “word-oriented” and “fluency-oriented” strategies when confronting speaking problems. In addition, the results showed a significant positive relationship between OCSs and self-efficacy beliefs of the learners and a significant negative relationship between OCSs and their anxiety level. The findings imply that OCSs are helpful in both increasing EFL learners’ self-efficacy beliefs and reducing their anxiety level. Further implications of the results are discussed in the study. پرونده مقاله

The significant role of technology in improving second language skills and components has been recently addressed extensively. In the same vein, this quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design study aimed to compare the effects of synchronous and asynchronous social networks in teaching vocabulary to improve English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' reading comprehension. For this purpose, 61 EFL learners were chosen using the convenience sampling method and were randomly assigned to two experimental groups. Before the treatment, a researcher-made reading comprehension test was run as the pretest. Then WhatsApp was employed as the synchronous network for teaching vocabulary for the first group and Instagram as the asynchronous network for the second. The first group had to be online at a specific time, but the second group was given two days to see the posts. The strategies for teaching vocabulary were the same in both groups. After the treatment, another reading comprehension test was administered as the posttest. The statistical analysis indicated significant effects for both networks and a significant difference between the two experimental groups, showing that the asynchronous social network was significantly more effective in enhancing learners' reading comprehension than the synchronous one. The results imply that teachers can benefit from synchronous and asynchronous social networks as good platforms for teaching new words and improving learners' reading comprehension. پرونده مقاله

This study compared the efficacy of explicit and implicit instruction of requestive strategies on upper-intermediate female English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ email writing development. Sixty-two participants in four intact classes were randomly assigned to two explicit and implicit groups. In this quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design study two email evaluation tests and two written discourse completion tests (WDCT) were used to collect the data. In the pretest phase, an email evaluation test and a WDCT were administered to the participants in two sessions. Next, the two groups were provided with ten treatment sessions. The explicit group received direct instruction and metapragmatic explanation on the use of appropriate requestive strategies in writing emails. The implicit group, however, received instruction on writing requestive emails without any explicit explanation about the requestive strategies in emailing. Then, the participants took the posttest of email evaluation test and WDCT in two successive sessions. The results indicated that both modes of instruction exerted significant effects on the learners’ production of requestive strategies in English. The comparison of the two modes of instruction, nonetheless, indicated that the participants who underwent explicit instruction significantly surpassed those in the implicit group. The findings have implications for materials developers and instructors. پرونده مقاله

This study attempted to compare corrected linguistic errors in foreign language classrooms and all errors occurring in these classes to see which types of errors are more attended to by teachers in relation to their occurrence in classes. For this purpose, 69 hours of the classes of 34 teachers teaching in different language schools were recorded and the errors corrected by these teachers were identified and categorized into phonological, lexical, and grammatical types. The results of the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests indicated that the number of phonological errors being corrected was significantly higher than that of lexical errors. However, the results of similar analyses for the proportions of treated errors to occurring errors revealed that the differences among the three proportions were not significant, indicating that the three error types were addressed in accordance with the frequency with which they occurred in the classrooms. The findings can justify the differences in the findings of the studies on the comparison of error types being noticed by teachers and can have implications for future studies on the comparison of corrective feedback targets. پرونده مقاله

Willingness to communicate (WTC) and ambiguity tolerance (AT) are two crucial concepts discussed as factors affecting second language learning. Due to the importance of these two factors, the present study explored levels of WTC and AT in Iranian high school students, the relationship between these two variables among the students, and whether AT can be a significant predictor of their WTC. In so doing, 60 female students from a high school in Khorramabad were selected through convenience sampling. The students’ WTC was measured through MacIntyre et al.’s (2001) WTC questionnaire and their AT level was examined using the Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale (SLTAS) developed by Ely (1995). The results of descriptive statistics for WTC scores and two one sample t-tests revealed that the students had an average level of WTC both inside and outside the classroom. Moreover, the results of a paired samples t-test to compare the Inside/Outside WTC of the students showed no significant difference between their inside and outside WTC levels. The analyses for AT scores and a one sample t-test indicated a significantly lower than average AT level for the participating students. Finally, the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient indicated a significant negative relationship between the students’ WTC and AT and the linear regression results showed that AT could significantly predict EFL learners’ Inside/Outside WTC. The implications of the study for language teachers are discussed in light of the significance of individual differences in language education. پرونده مقاله