Journal of Language and Translation
Volume:12 Issue: 2, Summer 2022

One of the biggest challenges IELTS candidates face in the speaking test session is speaking anxiety. To explore techniques to reduce this anxiety among those learners preparing to sit for the above test, the present study was carried out to compare the effect of metalinguistic and clarification request feedback on the aforesaid anxiety. To this end, 58 male and female learners who had been selected through their performance on a sample language proficiency test, were assigned to one control (N = 18) and two experimental groups (N = 20, each). The control group received different types of corrective feedback, the metalinguistic group received metalinguistic clues on the errors they made, and the clarification request group was asked to clarify their intended meaning whenever they made a mistake. Both types of corrective feedback showed a significant decrease in the speaking anxiety level of the participants in comparison to the control group. However, the metalinguistic group was found to have less anxiety after the treatment. This proves that in IELTS preparatory classes where mistakes on the part of the learners could be corrected as far as their accuracy is concerned, providing learners with metalinguistic clues seems to be more beneficial compared to the clarification request corrective feedback.

Ferdowsi, the Iranian poet from Tus, uses the device of imagery to depict circumstances, moments, behaviors, physical beauties, and different aspects of nature and life, as they are. An epic undertone is detectable in most of these images. Accordingly, this paper aims at studying the different types of metaphors in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. Certain words and expressions such as the moon, cypress, daffodil, flower, lion, panther, dust something, split the heart in half, and boil is frequently used in their metaphorical meanings. Following their place in Shahnameh, others are used less frequently, for example, the ferocious zebra, the gigantic demon, hazelnut, red date, precious corals, and debt to wisdom. This paper explains the meanings of these words and expressions and the type of metaphors in each case to further shed light on Shahnameh from different standpoints including aesthetics, imagery, eloquence, and linguistics.

The present research studied two translations of Hafez’s Ghazaliyat: one in prose by John Slater, Jeffrey Einboden, and the other in rhymed prose by Manavaz Alexandrian. House’s Translation Quality Assessment model concerning overt and covert errors was adapted in this assessment. In this regard, the commonly translated poetry of two translators (14 poems) was compared. To prepare the overt errors tables, each verse was initially understood through the interpretation of the book Sharh-e Shoq by Hamidian (2011) and then compared with the two translations to detect the errors. The study also extracted the covert errors by deeply analyzing both profiles of the source and target texts. The findings revealed that the two translations were not very different in terms of quality. Nevertheless, the first one was somehow closer to covert translation because it did not make any additional rhyme contrary to Alexandrian.

The present paper explored the Persian translation of Richard Brautigan’s Trout Fishing in America by Payam Yazdanjoo as a fictional text in order to highlight the extent of postmodernism and the main problems of translating postmodernism were assessed by the researchers. In conducting this qualitative corpus-based study, the researchers focused on eight postmodernism techniques which were presented by Sheeba (2017). The findings of the study revealed that all the techniques of postmodernism were applied by the Iranian translator. Among all, magical realism has been applied more than other techniques while reader involvement has been used less than other ones in rendering the translation. The results of the study also indicated the ability of the translator in highlighting illusory and imaginary phrases to assist the reader in understanding such imaginative items. Regarding the main problems, the translator has to omit many cultural differences which can produce the most far-reaching misunderstandings among readers. Also, in most cases, he only transferred the sentences into the target text.
 
Keywords: Fiction; Fictional translation; Postmodernism; Translation

This study aimed to evaluate the translation quality of metaphors in Khayyam’s poetry using House’s model and to identify the extent to which the source text (ST) and the target text (TT) use common conceptual metaphors. To this end, 37 metaphors were chosen out of ten quatrains based on purposive sampling. Then, the ST profile was compared to the TT profile and the metaphors were descriptively analyzed and the errors were identified. The results indicated that there were both covert and overt errors in the translation of Omar Khayyam’s quatrains by Fitzgerald. The covert errors were across the dimensions of field, mode, and tenor while the overt errors were due to the mismatches in the denotative meanings of the ST and the TT with substitution and omission being the largest group of overt errors. Moreover, the analysis of the conceptual metaphors between the two texts revealed that there were some shared conceptual metaphors between the ST and the TT. These common conceptual metaphors indicate that both speakers of Persian and English conceptualize reality in the same way despite their belonging to different cultures.

The current paper examines the ways David Foster Wallace’s (1962-2008) encyclopedic and all-encompassing novel The Infinite Jest, can be considered a piece of art in which the central features of post-postmodernism can be traced. Furthermore, the paper tries to investigate the nature of human identity during a time when programs, applications, and virtual products such as WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have made it incomprehensibly conceivable to create a sense of communication and the ability to share between those who used to be painful, fragmented, separated, and alienated in the previous era of postmodernism. Alternatively, each painful, separated, fragmented, and alienated person is thought to be a dynamic operator, communicator, and lastly, a maker as opposed to a sole inactive watcher, peruser, and one-route communicator portrayed in postmodern narratives. Employing post-postmodern criticism as the theoretical framework and utilizing the ideas of post-postmodern critics such as Fredric Jameson, Alan Kirby, and Charles Reginald Nixon, the current study unravels that humans living in the post-postmodern era have been able to successfully receive such a new personality and identity thereby making a new chance to express it to have the capacity to leave the postmodern inactiveness, passivity, and detachment.

Blended learning in Iran has provided a novel learning milieu for language learners and teachers. This study examined how blended learning writing strategies might contribute to the self-regulation of EFL learners in their writing performance. To this end, grounded theory was used as the study's systemic methodology. Ninety-four Iranian EFL teachers were purposively selected through Writing Strategies and e-Learning Experience questionnaires. The participants were further interviewed to provide information on the blended learning strategies which can contribute to the self-regulation of the learning process. To enrich the data, the interviews were triangulated with some document analyses, observations, and field notes. The collected data were analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding processes in grounded theory. The results included some web-based strategies that Iranian EFL learners can take into account in order to become academic writers, some web-based strategies which might put Iranian EFL learners into the self-regulated learning frame, and some web-based strategies through which Iranian EFL learners can become self-regulated academic writers. The entire analyzed data were modeled and put into a putative frame. The results revealed that blended learning helps EFL writers in becoming contributors rather than just followers in the development of their compositions, and more importantly, in developing their self-regulated writing skills. The findings can have implications for teachers and students alike.

Trying to motivate language learners is one of the most demanding yet vital challenges faced by L2 teachers. Dealing with Dörnyei’s motivational theory, the current research was an attempt to ponder the ideal-self, ought-to-self, and L2 experience orientations of Iranian EFL high-school students. Moreover, this study examined whether there was any relationship among three L2 motivational variables across gender and residential background. To this end, 200 male and 184 female junior-high-school students were selected through cluster sampling. The newly designed L2 motivational self-system questionnaire consisted of three main variables, in which 13 items were related to Ideal L2 Self, 12 with ought-to L2 Self, and the other nine with L2 Learning Experience. The findings revealed no significant difference between male and female students in L2 motivational orientation for English learning, and female learners’ L2 motivation in English language learning was affected by L2 motivation compared to male learners. Furthermore, there was a significant difference between female and male students’ scores in ought-to L2 self. Moreover, it was found that there was no significant difference between female and male learners’ L2 experience. Regarding residential background, there was a significant difference among the mean ranks of the city participants at three L2 Motivational Orientations but there was no significant difference among the mean ranks of the rural participants at three L2 Motivational Orientations.Keywords: Educational transition; Gender; Residential background; Second language (L2) motivation; Second language (L2) selvesTrying to motivate language learners is one of the most demanding yet vital challenges faced by L2 teachers. Dealing with Dörnyei’s motivational theory, the current research was an attempt to ponder the ideal-self, ought-to-self, and L2 experience orientations of Iranian EFL high-school students. Moreover, this study examined whether there was any relationship among three L2 motivational variables across gender and residential background. To this end, 200 male and 184 female junior-high-school students were selected through cluster sampling. The newly designed L2 motivational self-system questionnaire consisted of three main variables, in which 13 items were related to Ideal L2 Self, 12 with ought-to L2 Self, and the other nine with L2 Learning Experience. The findings revealed no significant difference between male and female students in L2 motivational orientation for English learning, and female learners’ L2 motivation in English language learning was affected by L2 motivation compared to male learners. Furthermore, there was a significant difference between female and male students’ scores in ought-to L2 self. Moreover, it was found that there was no significant difference between female and male learners’ L2 experience. Regarding residential background, there was a significant difference among the mean ranks of the city participants at three L2 Motivational Orientations but there was no significant difference among the mean ranks of the rural participants at three L2 Motivational Orientations.

This study sought to examine the efficacy of contemplative and transformative instruction methods for teaching second language speaking skills. In distinct ways, these techniques depart from customary teaching approaches by placing learners at the focus of education. For this study, 41 EFL students were subjected to each pedagogical technique, and their speaking progress was examined before and after the relevant activities with the Preliminary English Test (PET). In addition, the participants were interviewed so that they could have more knowledge of the efficacy of both techniques. The contemplative group performed practices such as journaling, attitude communication, and vision setting while the transformative group completed activities such as directing real-life role-plays, miscellaneous situations, and drama, to name a few. Both statistical and interview studies revealed that the transformative approach was more effective than the traditional technique in improving learners' post-test speaking scores. The contemplative method, on the other hand, could not be proven to be statistically effective. These results will provide important suggestions for all educators in terms of oral language development and will be examined in greater detail below.

Language learners continuously use Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) skills in EFL and ESL contexts but they have various personality traits and intercultural contacts (IC). This study attempted to investigate the relationships among learners’ personality traits, IC, and ICC. To this end, the researchers administered three questionnaires of self-reported Big Five Inventory (BFI), IC, and ICC among 200 male and female Iranian EFL learners from various language schools in Tabriz, Iran. Structural equation modeling (SEM) measured the relationship among variables through SmartPLS3 software. The results demonstrated positive relationships among extraversion, openness, and agreeableness with direct and indirect IC. Their relationships with ICC were also significant and positive. Furthermore, the relationships between direct IC and indirect IC with ICC were significantly positive. However, the relationships between neuroticism and direct IC, indirect IC, and ICC were significantly negative. Moreover, although the relationships between conscientiousness and direct IC and indirect IC were significantly positive, its relation with ICC was insignificant. This study also clarifies the implication of the extracted pathways for ELT and presents some suggestions for future studies.

Regarding the significance of writing in English language learning and the importance of figurative language in writing, the present paper sought to determine whether using metaphoric language can have any positive effects on writing improvement through dialogic interactions. A total of 60 female intermediate learners from a university in Gorgan, Iran, were selected through convenience sampling. The participants were divided into three groups each one consisting of 20 learners. The Quick Oxford Placement Test and Writing Test developed by the authors of the current study were used to collect data. First, the data normality of the K-S test was run. Second, an ANOVA was run to see whether there would be any difference between the three groups in terms of their writing improvement at the pretest level. Then the same ANOVA was run between the posttests of these three groups. This study showed that metaphor and metonymy through dialogic interactions had significant effects on the participations’ writing. The present research suggests the practice of more dialogical interactions and calls for using group work and figurative language in writing training programs.

This study aimed at evaluating the impact of Grammarly® software as a new technology-based immediate corrective feedback on improving EFL learners’ writing achievements. To this end, 40 sophomore Iranian EFL students from Islamic Azad University, Kerman Branch, were selected. Before initiating the 15-session treatment, a pretest including 20 questions based on four different variables such as definite and indefinite articles, punctuations, passive voice, and correct spelling was administered. The participants were randomly divided into control and experimental groups. At the end of the treatment and based on the principles of noticing hypothesis, a posttest was administered to evaluate the impact of each intervention on the final writing skill in each group. Employing the independent samples t-test, the data analysis revealed that there was a significant relationship between the use of Grammarly® software and learners’ writing achievement in each of the four writing skills variables. The experimental group outperformed the control group. In addition, the results indicated that utilizing Grammarly® software had a positive effect on EFL learners’ attitudes. The pedagogical implications of this study are that both teachers and students should learn to employ different technology-based applications to improve language learning.

It goes without saying that the title of a book has always played a seminal role in its sale, as the first factor that draws the attention of potential readers is the title. This research aims to analyze 70 book titles by Agatha Christie that have been translated into Persian based on Vinay and Darbelnet’s model (1994, 2004). After reviewing the selected titles from Agatha Christie's novels, it was revealed that the most common procedure used by translators is the literal translation, adopted in the case of 35 titles and 50% of data. Modulation with 18 titles and 26% of the data holds the second rank. Equivalence and transposition, each with 5 titles and 7% of the data, took the third and fourth ranks. Next, adaptation and calque were used equally in the case of 3 titles comprising 4% of the total data. The least common translation process used by the translators to render the titles was “borrowing”, with only one title translated in this way which made up 2% of the cases. This study would raise the awareness of the translators to choose more communicative and creative titles for literary translation tasks at hand, including novels and other literary works.

Over the past few centuries, the function of translation has become wider and in addition to linguistic aspects, ideological, economic, cultural, and political factors have dominated the process of translation. Since translation is not merely a linguistic and neutral task and for too long, it assisted superpowers in colonizing weaker nations, the relationship between the original text and the translation requires considerable investigation under the postcolonial approach. It is proven that there is a special relationship between ‘postcolonialism’ and ‘translation’ and many postcolonial translators and authors transmitted their own cultures in their works; therefore, this paper is focused on the postcolonial analysis of the English translations of five Persian poems translated by the postcolonial orientalist, Arthur John Arberry to see whether he has made any attempts to replace Western concepts with Eastern ones or not. Accordingly, the intended English translations have been selected from Persian Poetry: An Anthology of Verse Translations (2008) edited by A. J. Arberry and corresponding Persian poems have been collected from various books. The results of the analysis of the data obtained from the corpus revealed that in transferring some specific concepts in the Persian poems, the translator ignored Persian-Eastern identity, thus making the poems westernized for the readers.

This study aimed to inquire about EFL reading sessions across Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) and Individual Reading (IR) among young EFL learners. In essence, the researcher’s goal was to investigate how reading sessions using CSR and reading aloud across individual and collaborative activities promote EFL learners’ reading comprehension skills. To this end, 2 Iranian EFL teachers from a primary school in Tehran, and 16 Iranian second-graders studying at a primary school in Tehran, were randomly selected as participants. Then, using teachers' reflective journals, participants' observations, and face-to-face interviews with teachers, the needed data were elicited and descriptively analyzed. The obtained results showed that reading sessions using CSR and reading aloud strategy across individual and collaborative activities promote learners' reading comprehension skills more than IR reading sessions. Moreover, teacher-student interactions (TSI) and student-student interactions (SSI) proved beneficial in improving the participants' reading comprehension skills.

This research aimed to investigate English and Persian abstracts of TEFL theses. To achieve the study's objective, 120 English thesis abstracts and their Persian translations of Iranian TEFL students at the MA level at different universities in Iran were collected and then analyzed. The sampling method used was purposive sampling. First, two raters' qualitative content analysis was done based on Swales’ (2004) model. Then, the frequencies and percentages of different moves were calculated in the English and Persian corpora. Finally, Chi-square tests were run to check the significance of the difference between the frequencies of different English and Persian corpora moves. The results showed the occurrence of various moves in the English corpus. The results also confirmed that other moves were present in the Persian corpus. Finally, the results demonstrated that there was a significant difference between the frequencies of different moves in the two corpora, except Move 1 Step 2 Making topic generalizations, Move 2 Step 1B indicating gap, Move 2 Step 1C Question raising, and Move 3 step 6 (PISF) Stating the value of the present research.

This study investigated the possible relationships between Linguistic Intelligence and Grammar Performance of English as a Foreign Language Learners. To this aim, 139 homogenous undergraduate male and female English language learners between 22 and 32 years old participated in this study. Participants had been studying English language programs at the University of Kohdasht. The instruments utilized in this study were the Multiple Intelligence Questionnaire (MIDAS) designed by Shearer in 1996 to value linguistic intelligence, and a grammar TOEFL test to measure the grammar performance of the learners. Descriptive statistics and correlation indicated a statistically significant relationship between the linguistic intelligence of the learners and their performance in grammar. The results of regression analysis revealed that linguistic intelligence was the best predictor of learners’ performance in grammar. The independent sample t-test also showed no significant differences between males and females concerning the linguistic intelligence of learners and their performance in grammar. The findings propose professional English teachers investigate the function of individual differences such as linguistic intelligence in different steps of teaching and learning grammar in classes and provide more effective activities to help language learners improve their performance in grammar.