Journal of English Language Pedagogy and Practice
Volume:16 Issue: 32, Spring - Summer 2023

A long-standing concern reverberating over the minds of intercultural scholars is how best to incorporate intercultural issues in English language teaching, an issue on which there has been little research in EFL contexts. To fill this gap, this qualitative study examined the efficacy of interculturally-laden tasks in promoting Iranian learners’ intercultural competency in Anzali, Guilan province, Iran. Thus, a group of 22 Iranian intermediate EFL learners were recruited through convenience sampling from a pool of 44 according to their score on Oxford Quick Placement Test. All the participants were 12 females and 10 males aged 21-30. Then, they attended eighteen sessions of intercultural training using Mirrors and Windows: An intercultural communication textbook and completed seven intercultural tasks as a pretest and posttest. The data was collected through seven intercultural tasks and reflective worksheets. Drawing on the qualitative content analysis of intercultural tasks, the findings revealed that the tasks could help the participants increase their intercultural competence. Moreover, three themes were emerged from the analysis of the reflective worksheets as follow: (1) the participants’ evaluation of the ICC course and intercultural tasks, (2) perceptions regarding intercultural development and (3) language skills and anxiety. The implications and suggestions for further research are discussed.

Writing skill is a challenging and frequently-used activity in academic circles. This study investigated the effects of reflective writing on EFL learners’ writing performance. The participants were 61 Iranian EFL learners from two intact university classes randomly assigned to the non-reflective (n=31) and reflective (n=30) groups. Over sixteen sessions of instructions over eight weeks, the non-reflective group was taught using the traditional writing method; however, the reflective group was exposed to reflective writing instruction under Kolb’s Model. The data were collected through reflective writing compositions and the content analysis of think-aloud protocols. The quantitative data analysis revealed that the reflective group significantly outperformed the non-reflective group in writing compositions. The thematic analysis of think-aloud protocols substantiated the quantitative data findings, indicating that all participants went through the cognitive psychological processes of ‘planning, drafting, pausing and thinking, reading and reproducing, reviewing, editing and revising’ as they were engaged in reflective writing via Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle. The results offer significant implications for language instructors, curriculum planners, and course designers.

Given the role of lexical knowledge in language learning, strategies for vocabulary learning should be paid more attention in the literature. This study investigated the effects of visualization, drawing, and memorization on Iranian EFL learners' recall and retention of second language vocabulary using a quasi-experimental comparison design. To that end, three intact classes, incorporating sixty students in total, were randomly selected as the experimental groups of this study. Nation’s (2006) vocabulary size test was administered to them to homogenize them in terms of English lexical knowledge. The results of one-way ANOVA demonstrated that there were no significant differences among the three groups in terms of vocabulary knowledge. A piloted researcher-made vocabulary test was administered to the participants as the pretest and post-tests. The one-way ANOVA results showed that there were no significant between-group differences among the groups' performances on the immediate and delayed posttests. However, the results of a repeated-measures ANOVA indicated that the three strategies had a significant within-group effect on the three groups' vocabulary recall, while their vocabulary retention was found to have dropped significantly from immediate to the delayed posttest. All the same, the drawing group had the best performance from the pretest to the immediate posttest, and the control group was the weakest on delayed posttest. Finally, the findings are discussed, and implications are offered for EFL teachers and learners.

This cross-sectional mixed methods sequential explanatory research aimed at finding out the effects of enriching WTC using oral-visual role-play on EFL responses from comparing the responses of 117 pre-intermediate EFL learners to this instrument before and after the enriching act. The quantitative results indicated no statistically significant effect in average score of the responses, and a decrease in reliability from original to the enriched one, but individual and item internal changes. Then, it followed up with 12 purposefully recruited typical respondents to explore those quantitative results in verbal protocol after each administration of original and enriched WTC questionnaire that detected source of variability due to purpose, place, visualization, age, gender, and personality of the interlocutors in the role-plays. Quantitative and qualitative results are discussed with reference to the prior research. Finally, implications for EFL instructors, supervisors, and language assessors are provided.

As conceptual models of language learning, use, and processing mature, it is both natural and necessary for the statistical models we apply to follow suit. One statistical approach with great potential in the field of Applied Linguistics and L2 studies is structural equation modeling (SEM). SEM is introduced in this review paper as a powerful and highly flexible family of analyses. In doing so, the paper outlines (a) the types of variables and possible modeled relationships that SEM is equipped to address and (b) statistical considerations for applying SEM in L2 research, and (c) a number of additional and key considerations for those interested in delving deeper into SEM (e.g., goodness of fit indices, model modification procedures, etc.). This paper also describes the potential of SEM to contribute to construct validation (e.g., convergent and discriminant validity). Throughout the paper, a plethora of examples pertaining to applications of SEM in L2 research are provided.

This study focused on the importance of Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLSs) in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and how Iranian EAP students learn academic vocabulary. The study used an explanatory mixed method approach by gathering data from undergraduate EAP students of Islamic Azad University in East Azerbaijan. A total of 238 students majoring in engineering and medical sciences responded online self-report VLS questionnaires, analyzed using SPSS-26. Twenty (20) students participated in semi-structured interviews until the point of saturation was reached. The qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis methods. Quantitative data analysis revealed that participants frequently used strategies for incorporating new vocabulary into their repertoire. Additionally, teacher-related, student-related, and material-related themes emerged through coding the participants’ attitudes toward VLSs. The results indicated that raising learners’ consciousness of VLSs, training teachers, providing tasks for all language skills, using technology, materials revision, and developing autonomous and independent learning can help with vocabulary learning and lead to increased motivation, enhanced learning outcomes, and supportive environment for EAP students.

Researchers’ thorough familiarity with the related literature together with the appropriate implementation of previous studies in academic publications is of crucial importance. Simply put, scientific studies need to address the related literature in a proper manner to get published. The main objective of the current study was to delineate citation patterns in applied linguistics. To come up with a citation framework/typology for applied linguistics, the researchers employed constructivist Grounded Theory. In order to present a comprehensive picture of citation practices, the researchers decided to investigate a corpus of five international and two local journals published between 2015 and 2020. Initial results revealed 20 themes which were then further categorized into five major themes. The results revealed considerable discrepancies between the local and international studies in employing various citation forms which can be attributed to journal polices, target audience and researchers’ expertise level. Furthermore, differences were detected in quantitative and qualitative studies in using various citation techniques which can be associated with the nature of such studies. Ideally speaking, the results of the currents dissertation can have manifold implications. To begin with, the findings can divulge journal policies about citations. Simply put, the emerged themes can be quite beneficial in detecting citation norms across various journals and disciplines ultimately leading to researchers’ more thorough comprehension of the citation norms and patterns.

This study sought to investigate the effects of recast and prompt as two types of corrective feedback on the learning and retention of English past tense by Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners. This study followed quasi- experimental design including pre-test, treatment, an immediate post-test, and a delayed post-test procedure. Initially, the pretest data from learners' performance on the Oral Performance Test (OPT) and the Untimed Grammatical Judgment Test (UGJT) was collected. After administering the pretest, the researchers gave the treatment to two experimental groups. Recast corrective feedback was supplied to the first experimental group, prompt corrective feedback was provided to the second experimental group, and no specific corrective feedback was given to the control group. After the completion of the treatment, the immediate post-test and three weeks later the delayed post-test were given. The findings showed that when it came to their explicit and implicit knowledge of past tense, students who received prompt or recast corrective feedback outperformed those who received no particular corrective feedback. The results also showed that in this area, students in the group receiving prompt corrective feedback still did significantly much better than those in the recast group. The findings of this study may be beneficial for all stakeholders in the field of education but particularly for language teachers and students. They would benefit language teachers, teacher trainers, and material developers interested in employing task-based approach with feedback in their pedagogical activities.

Writing by which students can be assessed plays an important function in the education process. Hence, investigating the impact of graphic organizer strategy on improving Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ writing complexity was the main goal of this study. Forty female intermediate EFL learners were selected as the participants of the study based on convenience sampling and the results of the Preliminary English Test. After that, they were randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. To assess the initial writing complexity of the participants, both groups were given a pre-test prior to the treatment. After employing traditional method in the control group and the graphic organizer strategies in the experimental group, both groups received a post-test to examine the effect of the treatment. The design of the present research was quasi-experimental. To analyze the obtained data, the researchers conducted an independent samples t-test, and to examine the progression in the experimental group, a paired samples t- test was employed. The findings of the study indicated that graphic organizer strategies improved the learners’ writing complexity. The results have some implications for EFL/ESL teachers, students, test and materials developers, and syllabus designers.