Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies
Volume:1 Issue: 4, Autumn 2014

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of three techniques of cooperative learning (Jigsaw, Student Teams Achievement Divisions, and Group Investigation) on EFL learners‟ comprehension and production of English idioms. To this end, four classes of BA level Iranian EFL learners were selected. Each group was instructed in one of the above-mentioned cooperative techniques, and there was a comparison group, which received conventional non-cooperative treatment. Two one-way ANOVA procedures were used to analyze the data. The results showed statistically significant differences between cooperative and traditional teaching methods. All the three cooperative techniques turned out to be more effective in both comprehension and production of English idioms than individual learning. The findings can have implications for textbook designers, teachers, and learners.

According to Heshmat (2000), as many as 70 percent of all professionals have experienced the feeling of being a fraud in relation to their work or personal lives while those people who suffer from the imposter phenomenon are usually highachievers. Regarding this important point, the objectives of the present study are three-folded: First, the study aimed at investigating the relationship between the Imposter Phenomenon (IP) and Language Proficiency (LP) among the Iranian nonmajor MA candidates. Second, the study intended to check the effect of age, gender, and also major on both the imposter phenomena and language proficiency. Finally, the present study tended to investigate which of the above-mentioned variables predict the language proficiency or imposter phenomena. Participants were 146 Shiraz University Non-English major students who first took a language proficiency test, devised by the experts in the field of TEFL at Shiraz University, and then filled out a questionnaire on imposter phenomenon (Harvey, 1982). The obtained data was then analyzed by both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that there is no significant relationship between IP and LP. Also among the variables of the study namely, age, gender, and major, age and major were the factors which could predict the language proficiency of the language learners.

This study was conducted to probe the predictive power of syntactic knowledge, vocabulary breadth, and metacognitive awareness of reading strategies in reading comprehension in self-regulated vs. non self-regulated EFL readers. A sample of Iranian EFL learners (N = 149) served as the participants who were divided into an experimental (self-regulated) group and a control (non-self-regulated) group. The experimental group received direct teaching of self-regulation strategies in reading accompanied by task-based instruction in ten sessions. We taught self-regulation strategies to the learners in the experimental group directly before the students performed the tasks that were designed based on self-regulation strategies proposed by Zimmerman (1989). The control group did not receive any treatment on self-regulation neither directly nor indirectly through tasks. Control group classes were conducted in traditional way, in a sense that they were only required to read the reading texts and do the follow-up activities of the book without any reference to self-regulation strategies. Regression analysis results showed the superiority of syntactic knowledge over vocabulary breadth, and metacognitive awareness of reading strategies in both groups. However, the findings illustrated that syntactic knowledge was a better predictor of reading comprehension in self-regulated group. Moreover, congruent with the interactive model of reading, the results suggest that both linguistic (lower-level) and non linguistic (higher-level) processes contributed significantly to reading comprehension. This investigation may offer useful perspectives on L2 reading comprehension, test score predictability, and test content validation.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of two types of semantic mapping strategies (teacher-student interactive semantic mapping strategy and teacher-initiated semantic mapping strategy) on reading comprehension of Iranian intermediate EFL students. The participants of this study were 144 female students at Qazvin Kish-Mehr Language Institute. The instruments used in this study were a Nelson test and a teacher-made reading comprehension test. The latter was utilized in this study at pre-test and post-test phases. The materials consisted of four reading passages. Having established the homogeneity of the students in terms of general language proficiency, 90 students were selected and divided into three groups: one comparison and two experimental groups. During the four instructional sessions, one experimental group received teacher-student interactive semantic mapping strategy instruction, while the other experimental group received teacher-initiated semantic mapping strategy instruction. In the comparison group, however, students were not instructed to use any semantic mapping strategy. Rather, they were instructed to read intensively. At the end of the experiment, the post-test was administered to all groups in the study. In order to carry out the statistical analyses of the study the following techniques were used. To ensure the homogeneity of the groups, a one way ANOVA was used. To investigate the effects of the strategies, another one way ANOVA was run. The results indicated that semantic mapping has a significant impact on the improvement of reading comprehension ability of Iranian intermediate EFL students. The findings of this study may encourage syllabus designers and textbook writers to embody sections related to semantic maps into the materials they develop.

This paper strives to examine the short term/long term retention of abstract versus concrete vocabulary; and intends to investigate the effectiveness of teaching abstract and concrete vocabulary incidentally through marginal glosses presented in L1 and L2. 72 EFL learners at Imam Khomeini International University participated in this study. Their proficiency level was determined by a Proficiency Test. 10 participants were excluded from the study, and the remaining 62 were mostly at upper-intermediate level. The participants read two reading comprehension passages of approximately the same length and difficulty and answered six comprehension questions following each passage. In each passage, the difficult vocabulary items were glossed marginally so that the participants would incidentally notice them to gain a better understanding of the passage. In one passage, marginal glosses were provided in L1 while in the other the glosses were in L2. Then, the participants were tested for their recall of 15 abstract and concrete words in each passage. After a two week interval, they were requested to demonstrate their understanding of the glossed words in the passages. The paper presents a detailed analysis of the results and concludes with findings and implications.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) entails the ability to adopt accurate reasoning about emotions and the ability to use emotions and emotional knowledge to improve thought. Regarding the importance of EI and its effect on different dimensions of education, the present study is aimed at investigating the relationship between EI, test taking strategies (TTSs), and language proficiency of Iranian EFL learners. It also tried to examine which EI subcomponents are the best predictors of TTSs and language proficiency. For the purpose of the study, 175 male and female Iranian EFL learners from Shiraz and Ahvaz Universities took part in the study. EI was measured through the short form of Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (Bar-On EQ-i) in the participants’ first language, Farsi. The knowledge of the participants’ TTSs was investigated through a TTSs questionnaire which was developed by the researchers. A TOEFL test was further administered to measure the participants’ language proficiency. Pearson Correlation analyses revealed that among the EI sub-components, problem solving and optimism had positive relationship with TTSs, with large and medium effect sizes, respectively. Moreover, EI and its related subcomponents had no significant relationship with language proficiency. The results of the multiple regression analyses also showed that self-regard, impulse control, and problem solving were weak predictors of language proficiency. Finally, it was revealed that problem solving was the best predictor of TTSs.