maria shobeiry | Tehran University Faculty Of Foreign Languages And Literature (original) (raw)

Papers by maria shobeiry

Yazd University, 2024

SHAD is a commonly utilized technological platform for educational purposes among children and ad... more SHAD is a commonly utilized technological platform for educational purposes among children and adolescents in Iran. Yet, the ways to enrich it to enhance users’ psychological well-being have remained underexplored. This experimental study aimed to investigate the impacts of incorporating supportive tasks through the Telegram app into the SHAD platform on the happiness, technostress, autonomy, growth mindfulness, and resilience of 87 male intermediate English language learners aged 17 to 19 years over an academic semester. The participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group (EG) comprising 44 students and a control group (CG) consisting of 43 students who underwent pretest and posttest assessments. While the CG received standard online instruction via the SHAD platform, the EG received additional supportive tasks through the Telegram app alongside the standard instruction. A MANOVA analysis demonstrated that integrating Telegram as a supplementary tool within the SHAD platform significantly enhanced learners’ psychological well-being, increasing happiness, autonomy, growth mindfulness, and resilience while reducing technostress. These findings underscore the potential of integrating complementary technological tools to alleviate the negative repercussions, such as technostress, associated with educational technology and enhance positive psychological outcomes for learners. The implications of this study can guide the development and implementation of future educational technology initiatives, fostering a more supportive and empowering learning environment for students.

Springer, 2024

This research addressed the critical gap in understanding the procedure of professional identity ... more This research addressed the critical gap in understanding the procedure of professional identity reconstruction among university lecturers in Iran during the pandemic. Over the course of two academic semesters, this study utilized a dynamic theoretical framework to investigate the intricacies of how 41 Iranian university English teachers reconstructed their professional identities. Data were collected through a dynamic methodological framework, comprising: semi-structured interviews conducted monthly, focus group interviews held every 3 months, and participants' reflective journal entries collected every 2 weeks. Text mining techniques and content analysis, through KH Coder 3.0, were employed to explore the nuanced aspects of teachers' identity reconstruction, focusing on contextual elements, agency, and pedagogical practices. The use of KH Coder 3.0 software for word co-occurrence and word association analysis revealed that university lecturers reconstructed their professional identities in response to the challenges posed by two main factors: (1) adapting to new educational contexts and (2) overcoming difficulties in teacher-student communication caused by the abrupt shift from traditional in-person education to online schooling. Through their practical experiences, educators emerged as proactive problem solvers, receptive adapters, and confident professionals. These findings carry implications for educational institutions and teacher educators, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing pedagogical systems that encourage teachers to excel in hybrid teaching contexts, fostering proficiency in online communication and virtual teaching methods.

Teaching English as a Second Language Quarterly (TESLQ) (Formerly Journal of Teaching Language Skill, 2023

This study is a longitudinal mixed method design investigating Iranian English learners' percepti... more This study is a longitudinal mixed method design investigating Iranian English learners' perception of native-speaker English teachers (NSETS) and non-native-speaker English teachers (NNSETS) in New Zealand and Iran within the conceptual framework of Kumaravadivelu (2003), Rudolf (2018), and Benson el al. (2013). A semi-structured interview and a questionnaire (consisting of 21 Likert items and 3 open-ended questions) were used twice ten months apart in each context. An online narrative interview was employed in 2022 to supplement the data. Non-parametric data analyses were run on the Likert items. Several coding schemes were developed and a thematic analysis was employed. Findings revealed that NNSETS in New Zealand and NSETS in Iran were perceived by the learners as more effective in guiding their students toward developing a multilingual identity. This is interpreted as the "cross-actional influence of context in language learners' perception of teachers regarding L2 identity development in students" in this research. The findings also showed a shift in students' perception from NSETS to NNSETS in both contexts over time due to the better instructional strategies of NNSETS for teaching reading, listening, grammar, and their deeper understanding of the student's needs. This study informs language teachers, teacher educators, and education authorities on 1) the cross-actional influence of context on students' perception of teachers regarding L2 identity development as a normal procedure, 2) the pattern of a shift from NSETS to NNSETS due to the qualifications of NNSETS should be considered in teacher training programs to make the most proficient language teachers accordingly.

همایش بین المللی یافته های نوین در علوم انسانی در سال 1401, 2022

Investment is defined as language learners' commitment to their language learning which is the re... more Investment is defined as language learners' commitment to their language learning which is the result of an interplay among social capital, dominant ideologies, and learners' identity (Darvin &Norton, 2015). In three focus group interview sessions, 24 ESL learners in Auckland -New Zealand unanimously complained about language learners' investment fluctuations. To explore whether this fluctuation was statistically significant, the classrooms of193 Iranian language learners in Auckland were observed in ten month. A semi-structured interview with the participants was conducted to support the observation data. A Likert scale and a scoring system were developed for classroom observations. Two independent observers completed the Likert scales and coded the data to increase the validity of the results. A thematic analysis (Clarke & Braun, 2013) revealed that1) participating in classroom activities, 2) being focused,3)note-taking and summarizing, and 4)proactively interacting with peers were considered by the ESL teachers as the visible signs of investment. Non-parametric data analysis revealed a U-shaped pattern of investment in the language learners. A proposed methodological framework for future studies to discover the reasons of investment fluctuation includes: 1) observing the visible signs of investment, 2) collecting short-story narratives of ESL learners (Barkhuizen, 2016), and 3) thematic analysis (Clarke &Braun, 2013).

ACLL2013 Official Conference Proceedings, Jul 1, 2013

From Among many characteristics of teachers, this study aimed to examine the relationship between... more From Among many characteristics of teachers, this study aimed to examine the relationship between the self-efficacy (SE) and self-awareness (SA) of language teachers (77female, 70 male) and their students' achievement at intermediate and advanced levels. The participants answered a 29-item SE and SA questionnaire. The instrument consisted of four constructs, i.e. self-awareness, classroom management, instructional strategy, and student engagement. The result showed: (1) positive and moderate correlation coefficients between the constructs of the instrument, (2) no significant difference between the SE and SA of male and female teachers, (3) a significant difference between the learners' achievement with different levels of language ability and their teachers' self-awareness, instructional strategy and student engagement, and (4) self-efficacy is a better prediction ability of self-awareness on learners achievement. In the light of the findings of this study, teacher educators are suggested to make language teachers familiar with the issues related to SA and SE.

Revista on line de Política e Gestão Educacional

This study is a basic qualitative research design in which 48 primary school teachers voluntarily... more This study is a basic qualitative research design in which 48 primary school teachers voluntarily attended a guided focus-group interview in Google Meet platform in April 2021. To design an effective focus group 4 interviews were made with 12 teachers in each. The whole interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and coded based on the needs and issues mentioned by the teachers. Five problems were highlighted: 1) unfit teaching materials for online schooling, 2) communication issues with their students from the distance, 3) the need for teacher training courses on various aspects of online assessment methods, 4) the need for teacher training courses on various teaching methods in the e-learning platforms, and 5) long hours of preparation for their online classes. The results point the need of preparation of prospective and practice for teachers on online schooling system, abording various aspects of e-learning instructional strategies, classroom management, and assessment methods.

Revista EntreLinguas

This study explores the influence of IELTS examiners' New Zealand accent (aka, Kiwi accent) o... more This study explores the influence of IELTS examiners' New Zealand accent (aka, Kiwi accent) on the speaking performance of 45 men and women Iranian IELTS candidates within the framework of communication accommodation theory (CAT) from the post-structuralism perspective in which identity is considered to be a dynamic approach. This is a mixed-method explanatory sequential design in which the candidates' speaking scores on a real IELTS test were compared to their scores on a mock test through employing a paired-samples t-test for each group of language proficiency (B2, C1, and C2). A semi-structured interview was also conducted to extract information about participants' feelings when facing the Kiwi examiners. The results revealed that 1) the candidates' self-identification and 2) their level of proficiency indicated how their performance was influenced by the Kiwi examiners' accent. Participants with B2 (band score 5.5-6.5) and C1 (band score 7-8) proficiency, Kiw...

Revista EntreLínguas, 2022

This study explores the influence of IELTS examiners' New Zealand accent (aka, Kiwi accent) on th... more This study explores the influence of IELTS examiners' New Zealand accent
(aka, Kiwi accent) on the speaking performance of 45 men and women Iranian IELTS candidates within the framework of communication accommodation theory (CAT) from the post-structuralism perspective in which identity is considered to be a dynamic approach. This is a mixed-method explanatory sequential design in which the candidates' speaking scores on a real IELTS test were compared to their scores on a mock test through employing a paired-samples t-test for each group of language proficiency (B2, C1, and C2). A semi-structured interview was also conducted to extract information about participants' feelings when facing
the Kiwi examiners. The results revealed that 1) the candidates' self-identification and 2) their level of proficiency indicated how their performance was influenced by the Kiwi examiners' accent. Participants with B2 (band score 5.5-6.5) and C1 (band score 7-8) proficiency, Kiwi
accent accentuated the differences of ethnicity and identity. They also attended to L1 cultural issues as a barrier. None of these issues were found in C2 participants (band score 8.5-9).IELTS instructors are to consider the candidates' identity features and cover all the main
accents of English native speakers in their preparation programs.

Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, Feb 6, 2021

This study revealed the effect of gender on distribution of forms and frequency of using two miti... more This study revealed the effect of gender on distribution of forms and frequency of using two mitigating devices of hedges and ritual politeness "Taarof" in Persian refusals and elaborates on "Taarof" as an external pragmatic modifier of refusals according to the classification of Blum-Kulka, House, and Kasper (1989) within the framework of Brown and Levinson's (1987) politeness theory. 62 hours of naturally occurring conversations of adult Persian native speakers were audio recorded, transcribed, and analysed with regard to the social distance and social status of the speakers. 236 refusals were found in the data of which 127 were made by women and 109 by men. A mixed method of quantitative and qualitative analysis is employed to analyse the data. The results revealed that: 1) there is no lexical difference between men and women speakers in employing various structures of Taarof or hedges in refusals. 2) men showed sensitivity to the social status of the addressees by talking less certain with higher status women and employing more other exalting forms of "Taarof" with speakers of higher status. 3) men did not display sensitivity to the social distance of their addressees. 4)Women did not attend to the social status of the addressees in their intimate same-gender interactions. 5) women cared about the social distance of the addressees in their same-gender and cross-gender socially distant interactions. Three categories of expressions of self-degradation, expressions of causing trouble, and expressions of embarrassment were found to be added to the classification of Blum-Kulka et al. (1989).

This study investigated the personalized learning reliability of Tell Me More (TMM) (i.e. the ext... more This study investigated the personalized learning reliability of Tell Me More (TMM) (i.e. the extent to which two hypothetical identical learners receive the same level of instructional and learning support while using a courseware) within the dynamic framework of Tetzlaff, Schmiedek, and Brod (2020) in which personalized learning is considered to be the most reliable and effective when learners' characteristics are dynamically assessed during the learning procedure and the instructions are provided to them accordingly. The lessons, workshops, and activities of TMM's Dynamic mode were qualitatively analyzed and the results revealed that in order for TMM to provide a reliable personalized learning, it should be equipped with a placement test at the beginning of the course and a constant dynamic assessment technology throughout the learning process. Relying on adaptive activities chosen unsystematically by the learners themselves is not reliable in that most learners are neith...

Revista on line de Política e Gestão Educacional, 2022

This study investigated the effect of dynamic assessment (DA) on reading comprehension developmen... more This study investigated the effect of dynamic assessment (DA) on reading comprehension development and metacognitive awareness for reading strategies of Iranian IELTS students within the framework of Poehner (2008) who advocated the integration of assessment and instruction in promoting learners' abilities. It was a pretest-treatment-posttest quasi-experimental design in which 71 men and women advanced EFL learners participated. The experimental group (n=35) received DA interventions for the period of 10 weeks (40 hours in total) and the control group (n=36) went through regular teaching methods and static assessment. Two academic IELTS reading comprehension equivalent tests were employed as the pretest and posttest. Also, the metacognitive awareness for reading strategy questionnaire of Mokhtari and Richard (2002) was administered twice (once at the outset and once at the end of the study). The results of an ANCOVA analysis showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in reading comprehension development. Moreover, a statistically significant difference was found between the metacognitive awareness for reading strategies of the experimental group and that of the control group through the repeated measure AVONA test. Regarding the results, this study recommends teachers and IELTS instructors to consider DA in their test preparation programs.

The Journal of International Social Research, 2021

This study aimed at investigating various pragmatic functions of formulaic expressions of embarra... more This study aimed at investigating various pragmatic functions of formulaic expressions of embarrassment (EOE) "Šarmandegy" (being embarrassment) as a form of ritual politeness (Taarof) in Persian refusals within the framework of Brown and Levinson's (1987) politeness theory and face constituting theory of Arundale (2010).76 hours of naturally occurring conversations of Persian native speakers were transcribed, coded, and qualitatively analyzed considering social status and social distance of the speakers. 280 refusals were extracted of which 94 refusals (33.5%) included various variants of EOE. Qualitative analysis revealed that six sematic categories of formulaic structures of Taarof were employed by Persian speakers as mitigating strategies in refusals among which EOE had the highest frequency. Four pragmatic functions of preparator, disarmer, sweetener, and apology were found for EOE among which the EOE with functions of sweetener and preparator were used in formal conversations with addressees of a higher social status. However, the EOE with pragmatic functions of apology and disarmer were found to be used in formal and informal interactions with addressees of different social status and social intimacy.

International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 2022

This study is a mixed-methods parallel design aiming at exploring the perception of 49 ESP teache... more This study is a mixed-methods parallel design aiming at exploring the perception of 49 ESP teachers toward formative classroom assessment with regard to their language assessment literacy (LAL) in Iran within the theoretical framework of Hay and Penney (2013). The data were collected through an online semi-structured interview and a questionnaire, extracted from Shahzamani and Tahririan's (2021) questionnaire, consisting of 13 Likert items and 9 open-ended questions which were validated for this study through confirmatory factor analysis. The results of a Chi-square test on the Likert items showed a significant difference between the participant’s responses to each item which revealed an overall tendency of the ESP teachers toward employing formative assessment as an efficient way for evaluating their own teaching efficacy, the quality of the teaching materials, and their students' progress. The results also revealed that the two features of 1) ability to assess learners based on cultural-related issues in a certain context, and 2) ability to design suitable assessment methods for multilevel ESP classes should be added to the components of LAL in the existing literature. The results have implications for teacher educators to consider these two features in teacher education programs. Also, academic authorities are to notice that reliance on summative assessment and evaluation merely based on final exam scores are not appreciated by most ESP teachers.

From Among many characteristics of teachers, this study aimed to examine the relationship between... more From Among many characteristics of teachers, this study aimed to examine the relationship between the self‐efficacy (SE) and self‐awareness (SA) of language teachers (77female, 70 male) and their students' achievement at intermediate and advanced levels. The participants answered a 29-item SE and SA questionnaire. The instrument consisted of four constructs, i.e. self ‐awareness, classroom management, instructional strategy, and student engagement. The result showed: (1) positive and moderate correlation coefficients between the constructs of the instrument, (2) no significant difference between the SE and SA of male and female teachers, (3) a significant difference between the learners' achievement with different levels of language ability and their teachers’ self ‐awareness, instructional strategy and student engagement, and (4) self-efficacy is a better prediction ability of self-awareness on learners achievement. In the light of the findings of this study, teacher educat...

This study investigated the main motives of using WhatsApp and the potential educational value of... more This study investigated the main motives of using WhatsApp and the potential educational value of it in the Iranian EFL contexts in comparison with institutional e-learning platforms, Big Blue Button, and Google Meet since there was no studies in the literature of Iranian EFL contexts to investigate the various motives of WhatsApp in general and its diverse educational value in particular. A total of 301 male and female advanced EFL learners answered a questionnaire which was a combination of Sheldon's (2008) and Jong, Lai, Hsia, Lin, and Liao's (2014) questionnaires. Several one-way ANOVA and Post Hoc Test performed on the respondents' ranking scores revealed that WhatsApp was the first preferred platform for the facilities of a) being immediately informed on the educational materials b) educational online group discussion, and c) convenience of sharing and reviewing educational materials. The institutional e-learning platform was the second favorite and Google Meet and...

Revista EntreLinguas, 2021

Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, 2021

Revista Tempos e Espaços em Educação

This study aimed at investigating the effect of employing intensive reading (IR) authentic tasks ... more This study aimed at investigating the effect of employing intensive reading (IR) authentic tasks as supplementary materials on reading comprehension development of Academic IELTS test takers within the framework of schema theory and three instructional models of reading strategies suggested by Pearson and Duke (2009). Participants of this study consist of 81 individuals comprising 41 male and 40 female language learners at pre-advanced level of English proficiency with the age range of 25 to 37 among which 42 were categorized as the experimental group which received IR treatment and the rest of 39 ,who are considered as control group, that did not receive IR treatment. The experimental group was further divided into two subgroups which each received the same IR authentic tasks with different instructional methods to teaching reading strategies. The results of an ANCOVA analysis illustrated a significant positive influence of authentic IR treatments on the development of participan...

Yazd University, 2024

Springer, 2024

Teaching English as a Second Language Quarterly (TESLQ) (Formerly Journal of Teaching Language Skill, 2023

همایش بین المللی یافته های نوین در علوم انسانی در سال 1401, 2022

ACLL2013 Official Conference Proceedings, Jul 1, 2013

Revista on line de Política e Gestão Educacional

Revista EntreLinguas

Revista EntreLínguas, 2022

Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, Feb 6, 2021

Revista on line de Política e Gestão Educacional, 2022

The Journal of International Social Research, 2021

International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 2022

From Among many characteristics of teachers, this study aimed to examine the relationship between... more From Among many characteristics of teachers, this study aimed to examine the relationship between the self‐efficacy (SE) and self‐awareness (SA) of language teachers (77female, 70 male) and their students' achievement at intermediate and advanced levels. The participants answered a 29-item SE and SA questionnaire. The instrument consisted of four constructs, i.e. self ‐awareness, classroom management, instructional strategy, and student engagement. The result showed: (1) positive and moderate correlation coefficients between the constructs of the instrument, (2) no significant difference between the SE and SA of male and female teachers, (3) a significant difference between the learners' achievement with different levels of language ability and their teachers’ self ‐awareness, instructional strategy and student engagement, and (4) self-efficacy is a better prediction ability of self-awareness on learners achievement. In the light of the findings of this study, teacher educat...

Revista EntreLinguas, 2021

Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, 2021

Revista Tempos e Espaços em Educação

ACLL conference proceeding , 2013

جهاد دانشگاهی تهران , 2024

مدل آموزشی پایپ یک نوآوری در سیستم های آموزش زبان می باشد که توسط ماریا شبیری طراحی شده است. این ... more مدل آموزشی پایپ یک نوآوری در سیستم های آموزش زبان می باشد که توسط ماریا شبیری طراحی شده است. این کتاب با شرح مدل پایپ به ارائه یک شیوه آموزشی جامع برای تدریس پراگمتیک در کلیه زبانها می پردازد. زبان آموزان کلیه زبانها در هر گروه سنی میتوانند از این شیوه آموزشی بهره گیرند.

Rira, 2024

"Unlock the power of identity in the captivating journey of language learning with this book. In ... more "Unlock the power of identity in the captivating journey of language learning with this book. In this thought-provoking exploration, Dr. Maria Shobeiry, PhD in TESOL, delves into the profound connection between the identity of Iranian learners of English in New Zealand and their investment in mastering the target language. As the author skillfully weaves together concepts that resonate with the very essence of identity, readers are invited to reflect on the complex issues impacting the process of language learning. Whether you're a language enthusiast, educator, or curious explorer, the current book offers a unique lens into the intricate dance of identity within the context of language acquisition. Join us on a compelling voyage where identity and language converge, revealing the keys to unlocking a richer, more profound language-learning experience."