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

Open Access Article

1 - An Adopted Framework to Evaluate ELT Supplementary Materials: The Applicability of “Top Notch” Software
Fatemeh Behjat

It is vital in every language classroom that the best pos- sible materials be chosen as they are considered to play the next most important role in learning a foreign language after the teacher. All teachers are responsible to evaluate what they intend to take to the la More

It is vital in every language classroom that the best pos- sible materials be chosen as they are considered to play the next most important role in learning a foreign language after the teacher. All teachers are responsible to evaluate what they intend to take to the language classroom. These days, language teachers have the preference to equip their classes with technology as a supplement to books, tapes, and videos. In fact, CDs are replacing any other tool for language learn- ing both in the classroom and at home. Therefore, a comprehensive set of criteria consistent with the objectives of the course as well as the principles of current language teaching methodologies is required to see if the available software is good enough to be used. The aim of the present study is, in the first place, going through some of the avail- able ELT materials evaluation schemes to come up with a synthesized, comprehensive framework specifically designed for evaluating language software, and secondly, scrutinizing one of the recent language teaching series, Top Notch, which has won to be taken in most of the language classrooms in Iran as supplementary materials, to see if it meets the criteria to have enough credibility for its present position in language classrooms Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

2 - The Instruction of Meta-Cognitive Listening Strategies and Its Impact on Listening Performance of High and Low-Test-Anxious Intermediate Learners
Mehdi Nowruzi Jaber Kamali

Although decisions or inferences we make based on test scores depend both on characteristics of test-takers and of testing sit- uations, there is just little research which has been undertaken on the effects of these characteristics on test performance (e.g., In’n More

Although decisions or inferences we make based on test scores depend both on characteristics of test-takers and of testing sit- uations, there is just little research which has been undertaken on the effects of these characteristics on test performance (e.g., In’nami, 2006). The effect of listening strategies on listening performance is also unde- niable (Vandergrift, 1997). Thus, considering these two issues is the in- tention of the present study. This study not only investigates the effect of one of the personal characteristics of test-takers, namely test anxiety on listening test performance, but also attempts to find the relation- ship between instruction of listening strategies and test performance. At last, it focuses on meta-cognitive listening strategies (Vandergrift, 1997) instruction and its impact on test-anxiety. This study was con- ducted with 98 students who were selected from Aryanpour Institute in Tehran. After the pre-test, which was also considered as a proficiency test, the participants were instructed for 4 hours. The post-test was administered and the analysis of data revealed that there is a signifi- cant relationship between test anxiety and listening performance among Iranian EFL intermediate learners and also there is a significant rela- tionship between meta-cognitive listening strategies and listening profi- ciency among Iranian EFL intermediate learners but meta-cognitive lis- tening strategies have no differential effect on high- and low-test-anxious Iranian EFL intermediate learners. It is to say that both groups of high- and low-test-anxious learners benefit the same from meta-cognitive lis- tening strategies instruction. These findings emphasize the importance of lowering test anxiety in exam sessions as well as the importance of instructing meta-cognitive listening strategies in EFL classes. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

3 - Acquiring English Language Prepositions by Iranian EFL Learners: The Effect of Proficiency and Gender
Masoumeh Mehregan

This study was an attempt to examine the relationship between Iranian EFL students’ general knowledge of English and their use of English prepositions. To discover whether there was any sig- nificant relationship between EFL university and high school students’ English More

This study was an attempt to examine the relationship between Iranian EFL students’ general knowledge of English and their use of English prepositions. To discover whether there was any sig- nificant relationship between EFL university and high school students’ English proficiency level and their performance on a preposition test, three groups of beginning, intermediate, and upper intermediate stu- dents have been selected based on their scores in the TOEFL test. In addition to investigating the relationship between the level of proficiency of the learners and their use of prepositions, the present study was also an attempt to examine the differences between the female and male participants in using the prepositions. For this purpose, 32 male and 58 female learners were selected to investigate the effect of gender. All of the participants were requested to provide answers to the preposition test developed by the researcher. The results of the correlation coeffi- cient test showed that there was a moderate and significant relationship between the learners’ proficiency level and their use of prepositions. The analysis of the second research question indicated that there were no sig- nificant differences between the gender of the participants and their use of prepositions. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

4 - Investigating Developmental Stages of Acquisition of Phonological Structures Among EFL Students of Eastern Mediterranean University: A Case Study
Seyyed Abdollah Razavi Mohammad Naghavi Anna Hajizade

Doing a piece of research on acquisition of second language phonetics theoretically will justify the exact stages of language trans- fer and further predicts the existence of systematicity and difficulty order (Eckman, 2008). The present research is an attempt to provid More

Doing a piece of research on acquisition of second language phonetics theoretically will justify the exact stages of language trans- fer and further predicts the existence of systematicity and difficulty order (Eckman, 2008). The present research is an attempt to provide new evidence for the efficacy of second language acquisition to devel- opmental stages of acquisition of phonological structures among EFL students of Eastern Mediterranean University. Accordingly, three Ira- nian EFL learners, including two males and a female studying at East- ern Mediterranean University are purposefully selected on the basis of their performance in the interview. In continuation, interviews were con- ducted three times within a range of four months with the interval of at least one month. Each interview was sound-recorded and lasted from 15 to 30 minutes. Next the pools were transcribed according to the latest conventions. Further, to ensure the ethical aspects of the research, the participants were informed about the fact that their interviews were be- ing sound recorded. At the end, it was concluded that it is not possible to monitor the developmental processes in the acquisition of phonolog- ical structures in a time span of four months and that determining a time scale for the acquisition stage was not possible. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

5 - Investigating Different Memory Pathways L2 Learners use: A Practical Application to the Brain Compatible Learning
Behzad Nasirpour

Memory is not a single entity. It is a gift of Mother Nature, the ability of living organisms to retain and to utilize acquired knowl- edge. Memory is precisely related to learning, in that memory in biolog- ical systems entails learning and that learning implies retent More

Memory is not a single entity. It is a gift of Mother Nature, the ability of living organisms to retain and to utilize acquired knowl- edge. Memory is precisely related to learning, in that memory in biolog- ical systems entails learning and that learning implies retention of such information. Memory can be divided into multifaceted systems. The renaissance of encephalon compatible learning applies the new brain research to teaching and learning. This revolution will change school start times and discipline, continuous assessment, teaching strategies, budget priorities, classroom ambience, use of hi-tech, and even the way we think of physical education. But before considering the practical applications of this research, it is necessary to have a useful model for deciphering it. This study investigates the memory pathways that a group of EFL learners in Iran were inclined to use, the factors af- fecting this, and conscious recollection/retrieval in learning second lan- guage. The researcher studied the individuals’ memory/learning readi- ness before going to school, investigated their memory self-efficacy, and determined which memory pathway(s) was/were preferred by L2 learn- ers. The researcher gathered data using three instruments, researcher made Self-report Measure of Memory (SRMM), Bandura’s Memory Self- Efficacy Questionnaire (MSEQ) followed by the researcher-made Self- report Memory/learning Readiness Interview (SMRI). Both descriptive statistics (mean scores, variances, standard deviations, and frequencies) and inferential statistics were run on the data. The results of the first instrument (SRMM), the interview (SMRI), and MSEQ were in agree- ment with theories, experiments, and hypotheses mentioned. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

6 - Autonomous Learning and Teaching in Foreign Language Education
Fatemeh Mollaei Mohammad Javad Riasati

Over the past 25 years, autonomy has been a popular focus for discussion and increasingly influential in foreign Language educa- tion. Most research is concentrated on learner autonomy, while teacher autonomy has been seriously neglected. Recently, however, researchers More

Over the past 25 years, autonomy has been a popular focus for discussion and increasingly influential in foreign Language educa- tion. Most research is concentrated on learner autonomy, while teacher autonomy has been seriously neglected. Recently, however, researchers and experts have realized that to enhance learner autonomy, we must enhance teacher autonomy (e.g., Benson 2000; Little 1995; Little, Ridley & Ushioda 2003; McGrath 2000; Thavenius 1999). Teacher autonomy is now recognized as an important factor that affects the development of learner autonomy in foreign language education. However, it is very dif- ficult for teachers to develop autonomy in the classroom especially when learners are used to traditional methods and techniques that teachers play the main role. The concepts of teacher autonomy and learner au- tonomy have been introduced and widely discussed as the learning re- sponsibility of learners has been paid more attention to so as to improve the learning autonomy in SLA. Therefore, a comprehensive discussion of teacher autonomy and learner autonomy is of utmost importance to foster a better understanding and application of learning autonomy. Au- tonomy becomes a need for language learners and a must for language teachers who play a key role in developing learners’ autonomy. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

7 - An Investigation into the Relationship Among Self-Efficacy, Self-Esteem, Test Anxiety and Final Achievement of English Literature Students
Maryam Bahmani Fard

The purpose of this study was to investigate the rela- tionship among self-efficacy, self-esteem, test anxiety and EFL learners’ final achievement scores. A number of 72 students majoring in English Literature at Shiraz University participated in this study. Three More

The purpose of this study was to investigate the rela- tionship among self-efficacy, self-esteem, test anxiety and EFL learners’ final achievement scores. A number of 72 students majoring in English Literature at Shiraz University participated in this study. Three ques- tionnaires, General Perceived Self-Efficacy (GPSE) Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and Test Anxiety Questionnaire (TAQ), to- gether with a final achievement score were used. Correlational analyses were run to determine the relationship among the variables. The ob- tained results revealed that self-esteem had a positive correlation with self-efficacy, while the relationship between self-esteem and test anxi- ety was seen to be non-significant. The same was true about the rela- tionship between self-efficacy and test anxiety. Moreover, a moderate, positive, relation was observed between self-efficacy and students’ final scores. There was a positive correlation between self-esteem and stu- dents’ final scores. However, test anxiety and students’ final scores were negatively correlated. A linear regression analysis was also employed which showed that self-efficacy was the best predictor of students’ final achievement scores. The findings of Pearson Product-Moment Corre- lation revealed that, regarding the relationship among the variables, there was a difference between male and female students. Finally, an independent samples t-test was run to show the effect of gender on the performance of the participants. Male and female students did not significantly differ from each other in terms of self-efficacy, self-esteem, test anxiety, and final achievement scores Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

8 - The Application of Ellis’s Principles for Effective Instructed Foreign Language Learning in Iranian Language Institutes and High Schools
Mohammad Sadegh Bagheri Marzieh Mehrnoush

This study attempts to investigate Iranian EFL teachers’ perception of the application of Ellis’s (2005) principles for successful instructed language learning in their language classes. To this end, a group of EFL teachers comprising high school and private More

This study attempts to investigate Iranian EFL teachers’ perception of the application of Ellis’s (2005) principles for successful instructed language learning in their language classes. To this end, a group of EFL teachers comprising high school and private language institute teachers took part in the study. The required data were gath- ered through a self-completion questionnaire developed by Howard and Millar (2009). Qualitative analysis of data revealed the teachers’ per- ception of the principles, as well as the principles they perceived to be most important to them, and the challenges they faced in implement- ing the principles in their language classes. These constraints included lack of time, the context of learning, the large number of students in classes, the testing system of the educational system, and the nature and structure of the language books. Results of independent samples t-test also indicated that those teachers who taught in the private lan- guage institute had a higher perception of the principles and were thus more successful than high school teachers in implementing them in their language classes. Based on the findings of the study, a number of peda- gogical implications for language teachers and syllabus and curriculum developers are stated. Manuscript profile

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