Amir Marzban - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Amir Marzban

Research paper thumbnail of An Investigation of Meta-linguistic Corrective Feedback in Writing Performance

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Feb 1, 2014

Debate about the value of providing corrective feedback on L2 writing has been prominent in recen... more Debate about the value of providing corrective feedback on L2 writing has been prominent in recent years. According to Chandler (2003) meta-linguistic corrective feedback operates as the provision of the correct form in the student's written texts by underlining the error and writing the target form above it and directing the written corrections at errors in a specific structure. By comparing traditional direct error feedback with meta-linguistic corrective feedback the present study attempts to find out, whether experimental group will be more accurate than the control group or not. After conducting the experiment and analyzing the results through t-test, it was revealed that the experimental group subjects who were assessed and instructed through implementing meta-linguistic code-correction outperformed the traditionally-instructed control group in their post test.

Research paper thumbnail of The Role of Intercultural Competence in Foreign Language Teaching

International Journal of Language and Linguistics, Sep 30, 2014

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the cultural dimension of foreign language e... more In recent years there has been a growing interest in the cultural dimension of foreign language education, and teachers today are expected to promote the acquisition of intercultural competence in their learners. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the opinions and attitudes of Iranian teachers of English on intercultural competence teaching and to see how and to what extent these opinions and attitudes are reflected in their classroom application data were selected from 50 EFL teachers by mean of questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of four parts that investigate the teachers' attitudes and opinions. Date for present study, which was descriptive. Two statistics were used, if so, one sample t-test can be used, otherwise the chi-square test can applicable. The result of one sample t-test revealed that language teachers seem to be aware of the role of the culture in foreign language education though they do not often integrate culture into their teaching in order to develop intercultural competence in their learners. In overall, Iranian EFL teachers had positive attitude toward teaching culture in the classroom.

Research paper thumbnail of The Relationship between Spiritual Intelligence and Efficacy among Iranian EFL Teachers

Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2018

Owing to the importance of teacher's impact on the students' motivation, achievement, and academi... more Owing to the importance of teacher's impact on the students' motivation, achievement, and academic success, this study is an attempt to explore the relationship between EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers' spiritual intelligence and their level of efficacy. To this end, two questionnaires, the Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory (SIRI-24) (King, 2008), and the ELT Teacher Efficacy Instrument (ELTEI) (Akbari& Tavassoli, 2014), were distributed among 148 male and female EFL teachers working at different contexts including university, school, and private language institute in Mashad, Quchan, Shirvan, and Qaemshahr, Iran. Pearson product-moment correlation and an independent T-test were used for analysis of the data. The findings of the study revealed that there was a positive significant relationship between teacher spiritual intelligence and teacher efficacy. Moreover, there is a significant difference between male and female teachers regarding their personal meaning production.

Research paper thumbnail of Comparing the effect of career counseling method based on social cognitive theory and calling-oriented career counseling method on academic engagement among high school students

Research paper thumbnail of The Impact of Using Figurative Speech (Metaphor & Metonymy) through Dialogic Interaction on EFL Learners’ Writing Performance

Journal of Language and Translation, Sep 2, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of The Effect of Strategic Planning Focus and Time on Writing Fluency and Accuracy

DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), May 1, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of The Effect of “Student Achieving Independent Learning” (SAIL) in Teacher-Fronted and Reciprocal-Based Classrooms on Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension

Journal of Academic and Applied Studies, Oct 1, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Investigating the Effect of Process-based Instruction of Writing on the IELTS Writing Task Two Performance of Iranian EFL Learners: Focusing on Hedging & Boosting

Cogent Education, 2021

Abstract The instruction of metadiscourse markers to L2 writers has been recommended by some scho... more Abstract The instruction of metadiscourse markers to L2 writers has been recommended by some scholars to assist them in employing a certain tone in persuading readers. Nonetheless, there is a dearth of research investigating the effect of process-based instruction on hedging and boosting devices to L2 learners. To fill this gap, the present study aimed at investigating the effect of explicit instruction of hedging and boosting devices through a process-based approach on the achievement of L2 learners in academic writing. By comparing the results obtained through teaching 115 Iranian IELTS candidates who benefitted from (a) a process-based writing instruction with its focus on hedging and boosting, (b) mere process-based writing instruction, and (c) conventional writing instruction, the researchers found that the process-based approach to teaching writing with its focus on hedging and boosting resulted in a significant effect on L2 learners’ academic writing achievement. The findings of this study may have implications for EAP teachers, syllabus designers, and decision makers in designing EAP writing courses.

Research paper thumbnail of The Effect of Freewriting on Developing Punctuation Marks in Paragraph Writings of Iranian EFL Intermediate Learners

Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2018

Freewriting is writing whatever one knows or thinks for a certain length of time without stopping... more Freewriting is writing whatever one knows or thinks for a certain length of time without stopping and editing till the time finishes. It's an easy and useful way of writing for generating ideas but it is sometimes full of errors. The current study examined a new area of freewriting which aimed to explore the effect of freewriting on development of learners' correct use of punctuation marks in their paragraph writings. The participants were 36 female intermediate students with Persian as their first language, enrolled in a six-week intensive English writing class. To homogenize the respondents they were given a version of Oxford Quick Placement Test (OPT) in order to assess the participants' proficiency level. As a pretest and posttest students were supposed to write about a topic which were scored according to a standard rubric. In order to test the inter-rater reliability of the scores given by the two raters, intra-class correlation coefficient was calculated. Mann Whitney test was used to compare the experimental and control group's OPT scores and Wilcoxon test was used to compare the pretest and posttest scores of each group separately and the results showed that the treatment affected the learners in experimental group significantly.

Research paper thumbnail of The Impact of Personal Life Experiences on the Recall and Retention of Vocabulary in Reading Comprehension of Upper- intermediate EFL Iranian Learners

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2013

The present study is an attempt to investigate the impact of personal life experiences on the rec... more The present study is an attempt to investigate the impact of personal life experiences on the recall and retention of vocabulary in reading comprehension. The participants were 69 Iranian upper-intermediate EFL learners in Alborz English language institute of Noor in Mazandaran, Iran. In order to be certain that they are at upper-intermediate was instructed through a personal life experience treatment in the process of vocabulary recall and retention during one semester (18 sessions). Another group was instructed through a traditional method (dictionary-based). Data analysis showed that the group instructed through personal life experiences had a better performance, followed by the group instructed through dictionary-based use.

Research paper thumbnail of The Effect of Written Corrective Feedback on Iranian EFL Students’ Writing

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Jul 1, 2013

First, this study investigated the effect of dynamic written corrective feedback (DWCF) on writin... more First, this study investigated the effect of dynamic written corrective feedback (DWCF) on writing abilities such as accuracy, fluency and complexity. Second, it investigated the effect of DWCF on grammar instruction. The core component of the treatment included having students write a paragraph for 10 minutes each session of treatment. Then the instructor provided students with coded feedback on their daily writing, and encouraged them to apply what they had learned in subsequent writing. After the treatment, the same pre-tests were given to the participants in order to measure the effectiveness of the instructional approaches in each group. In order to answer the research questions, independent t-tests were run and it indicated that the effect of DWCF on writing accuracy and grammar instruction was much greater than its effect on fluency and complexity. The results of this study are considered to be useful in methodological issues related to writing ability, grammar instruction and error correction techniques. Selection and peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Hafize Keser.

Research paper thumbnail of The Effect of Jigsaw Task on Reading Ability of Iranian Intermediate High School EFL Learners

Journal of Academic and Applied Studies, Feb 1, 2014

Reading comprehension is a major component of language learning and finding an appropriate and ef... more Reading comprehension is a major component of language learning and finding an appropriate and effective way for teaching it, was considered by many researchers. However, one effective way for achieving this goal can be using different activities. The purpose of the researcher is to show the effectiveness of cooperative learning, more specifically jigsaw task on reading ability of Iranian intermediate high school EFL learners. In order to check general language proficiency of the students, 120 female students were randomly selected and Nelson Proficiency Test was given to these students. Sixty students were selected from among 120 female students and they were assigned in two different classes. After selecting 60 students, they were divided in two groups, one of them as the experimental group (G1) , and the other as the control group (G2). Each group consisted of 30 students. Their ages ranged from fifteen to nineteen. First session both groups received pretest. After that the experimental group received treatment in jigsaw task during six sessions and control group received traditional method. Last session both groups received posttest in order to check reading ability. Statistical results revealed that the experimental group did much better than control group and consequently jigsaw task was effective on reading ability of Iranian intermediate high school EFL learners.

Research paper thumbnail of The Interrelationship among L1 Writing Skills, L2 Writing Skills, and L2 Proficiency of Iranian EFL Learners at Different Proficiency Levels

Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Jul 1, 2016

This research aimed to investigate the interrelationship among L1 writing skills, L2 writing skil... more This research aimed to investigate the interrelationship among L1 writing skills, L2 writing skills, and L2 proficiency of Iranian English language learners at different proficiency levels. To this aim, two groups of advanced and lower-intermediate participants consisting of twenty learners were asked to write on the same topic in Persian and English in one week interval. Subsequently, the compositions were evaluated based on Jacob Composition Profile (1981). Then, the Pearson product-moment correlation was calculated to examine the correlation between the compositions' overall scores in Persian and English in both groups. To determine which variables, L1 writing skills or L2 proficiency, is a more significant predictor of L2 writing at these different proficiency levels, and investigate the difference between them, multiple regression analysis was calculated. The results displayed large correlation between compositions' overall scores in advanced group, but not in lower-intermediate group. Also, L1 writing was a more significant predictor at advanced level; however, at lower-intermediate level, L2 proficiency was a more significant predictor of L2 writing. These findings entail some pedagogical implications for effective language teaching in L2 writing classes.

Research paper thumbnail of An Analysis of Teachers’ Self-reflection on Classroom Management

Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Jan 19, 2016

This research is an analysis of teachers' self-reflection on classroom management; a comparative ... more This research is an analysis of teachers' self-reflection on classroom management; a comparative case study of University EFL male and female teachers. The study was conducted with four novice and experienced English teachers in four different universities in Mazandaran province, Iran in winter of 2015. Data were collected through two questionnaires of all participants and the diaries of two teachers. The questionnaires administered to teachers showed teachers' awareness of self-reflection on classroom management. Both questionnaires consisted of frequency Likert scale items. The diaries provided insight into teachers' feelings, experiences, and practices concerning teachers' self-reflection on classroom management. Summative content analysis (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005) were used. The results revealed that Iranian University EFL teachers have high awareness of self-reflection. When the cases were compared, the female novice and experienced teachers were found to relatively differ in their self-reflection on classroom management, but not in self-reflection itself.

Research paper thumbnail of Teacher Autonomy and Teaching Styles: A Gender-Comparative Study of Iranian EFL Academics

The education norms are influenced by teacher autonomy as well as learner autonomy. In this gende... more The education norms are influenced by teacher autonomy as well as learner autonomy. In this gender-comparative study, we followed the debate concerning the link between EFL academics autonomy sense and their styles of teaching. The data was gathered through convenience sampling by online distributing two sets of questionnaires namely Pearson and Moomaw's Teacher Autonomy Scale and Grasha's Teaching Style Inventory which was completed by 156 Iranian EFL teachers (both male and female) to respond to the two research questions. Then, SPSS (version 26) was used to analyze the data obtained from our three sample groups: males only, females only, and mixed. The analysis showed the female participants' autonomy sense was significantly lower than the males'. However, females gained stronger correlations between their autonomy and the teaching style subconstructs. Moreover, the following results could be inferred from our statistical results: a) Males naturally feel more sense of autonomy than females do. b) As teacher autonomy increases, its correlation to different teaching styles becomes weaker. c) As a teacher's sense of autonomy decreases, his/her tendency increases to use the formal authority style which does not need much expertise and qualifications. d) The high tendency to use the facilitator style by our participants in this study can be related to the fact that about 70 % of the participants of each group have got a teaching degree.

Research paper thumbnail of Discovery Listening and Explicit Strategy-Based-Instruction Models’ Effect on the Iranian Intermediate EFL Listening Comprehension

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2012

The study aims to compare the effect of Discovery Listening (DisL) with explicit Strategy-Based I... more The study aims to compare the effect of Discovery Listening (DisL) with explicit Strategy-Based Instruction (SBI) on the Iranian EFL listening comprehension (LC). The participants were 79 students at a university in northern Iran. The main instruments included LC Strategy Table, the related lesson plans, listening Strategy Checklist for SBI and task paper for DisL Group. Results show that there is no significant difference between SBI and DisL methods.

Research paper thumbnail of The Effect of Explicit Versus Implicit Teaching of Shift as One of Translation Procedures on Efl Students' Translation Ability

Asian journal of social sciences and humanities, Nov 1, 2012

It is understood that translation plays a crucial role in human communications. In the process of... more It is understood that translation plays a crucial role in human communications. In the process of transferring the sense form the source language (SL) to the target language (TL), translator plays a pivotal role. One of the most important issues regarding translation is shift in translation. Teachers of translation can employ two methods in order to teach shifts as one of the procedures in translation, explicit and implicit teaching. In this study, the researcher is intended to find out whether explicit and/or implicit instruction of shifts as a procedure of translation can be effective on translation ability or not. Two classes were chosen, one as the experimental group and the other as the comparison group. In the experimental group, the teacher made use of explicit teaching procedures and in the comparison group the teacher utilized implicit teaching procedures. After the treatment and obtainment of the scores, the researcher tested the following null hypotheses: There is no effect of explicit instruction of shifts as one of translation procedures on students' translation ability. There is no effect of implicit instruction of shifts as one of translation procedures on students' translation ability. There is no significant difference between explicit and implicit instruction of shifts as one of translation procedures on students' translation ability. All null hypotheses were rejected and it was concluded that both explicit and implicit instructions were effective for teaching shifts. In addition, it was concluded that an explicit instruction could yield a better result than an implicit instruction.

Research paper thumbnail of The Effect of Cooperative Learning on Reading Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Feb 1, 2014

While the advantages of cooperative learning activities have been extensively acknowledged in L2 ... more While the advantages of cooperative learning activities have been extensively acknowledged in L2 literature, this type of pedagogy has not received due attention in the Iranian EFL context. Indeed, the traditional reading method still dominates in most Iranian EFL university classes even though it fails to meet its main objective which is training competent EFL readers. In an attempt to address this challenge, the current case study incorporated cooperative learning pedagogy into two EFL reading comprehension classes in a medium size university in Iran and sought learners' behaviors and reflections toward the student-centered activities they engaged in during an academic semester. To serve that end, two volunteer cohorts of learners (less and more experienced) from two EFL reading comprehension classes were recruited. Class observation field notes along with focus group interviews comprised the data collection instruments of the study. While the learners' behaviors and activities were recorded in observation field notes throughout the semester, the two focus groups were interviewed right after the course had finished. Data analyses indicated that the learners expressed favorable attitudes toward the new approach they were involved in, even though some issues were raised by the interviewees. Some pedagogical implications and recommendations are proposed for efficient incorporation of cooperative learning activities in EFL reading comprehension classes which have traditionally been dominated by teachers based on the findings of the current study.

Research paper thumbnail of On the Relationship between Critical Thinking Ability, Language Learning Strategies, and Reading Comprehension of Male and Female Intermediate EFL University Students

Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Jun 7, 2016

This study was going to investigate the relationship between critical thinking ability, language ... more This study was going to investigate the relationship between critical thinking ability, language learning strategies, and reading comprehension of male and female Iranian intermediate EFL university students majoring in English translation and English teaching at Tehran Azad University, South Branch. The participants chosen were 100 EFL learners that after homogenizing 79 remained. This study was a correlational one. For the purpose of this study, California Critical Thinking Skill Test (CCTST), Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL), and reading section of the TOEFL test were administered. Data were analyzed based on the questionnaires and they were submitted to the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 for analysis. The Pearson-product moment correlation proved that there was a significant positive relationship between critical thinking ability and reading comprehension, as well as a positive relationship between language learning strategies and reading comprehension was found. Reading comprehension was considered as dependent variable. Finally, in order to find whether there was any difference between males and females in terms of critical thinking ability and their language learning strategy use an independent sample t-test was run. The findings revealed that there was not any significant difference between the performances of male and female participants in terms of critical thinking and their language learning strategy use. The findings of this study will be helpful for material developers, syllabus designers and EFL teachers.

Research paper thumbnail of A New Look at Comprehension in EFL/ESL Reading Classes

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Feb 1, 2014

Reading is one of the greatest pleasures we experience in our lives. It helps us to be entertaine... more Reading is one of the greatest pleasures we experience in our lives. It helps us to be entertained and educated. However, some people find it boring and struggling experience, especially when it comes to reading in a second or foreign language. (Farrel, 2009).The purpose of this article is to review a set of previously published articles in regard to reading comprehension. Having reviewed the related literature, the current problem in reading comprehension is stated and consequently, the findings of this study contribute to a new insight into reading comprehension .Finally a summary of findings is made.

Research paper thumbnail of An Investigation of Meta-linguistic Corrective Feedback in Writing Performance

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Feb 1, 2014

Debate about the value of providing corrective feedback on L2 writing has been prominent in recen... more Debate about the value of providing corrective feedback on L2 writing has been prominent in recent years. According to Chandler (2003) meta-linguistic corrective feedback operates as the provision of the correct form in the student's written texts by underlining the error and writing the target form above it and directing the written corrections at errors in a specific structure. By comparing traditional direct error feedback with meta-linguistic corrective feedback the present study attempts to find out, whether experimental group will be more accurate than the control group or not. After conducting the experiment and analyzing the results through t-test, it was revealed that the experimental group subjects who were assessed and instructed through implementing meta-linguistic code-correction outperformed the traditionally-instructed control group in their post test.

Research paper thumbnail of The Role of Intercultural Competence in Foreign Language Teaching

International Journal of Language and Linguistics, Sep 30, 2014

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the cultural dimension of foreign language e... more In recent years there has been a growing interest in the cultural dimension of foreign language education, and teachers today are expected to promote the acquisition of intercultural competence in their learners. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the opinions and attitudes of Iranian teachers of English on intercultural competence teaching and to see how and to what extent these opinions and attitudes are reflected in their classroom application data were selected from 50 EFL teachers by mean of questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of four parts that investigate the teachers' attitudes and opinions. Date for present study, which was descriptive. Two statistics were used, if so, one sample t-test can be used, otherwise the chi-square test can applicable. The result of one sample t-test revealed that language teachers seem to be aware of the role of the culture in foreign language education though they do not often integrate culture into their teaching in order to develop intercultural competence in their learners. In overall, Iranian EFL teachers had positive attitude toward teaching culture in the classroom.

Research paper thumbnail of The Relationship between Spiritual Intelligence and Efficacy among Iranian EFL Teachers

Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2018

Owing to the importance of teacher's impact on the students' motivation, achievement, and academi... more Owing to the importance of teacher's impact on the students' motivation, achievement, and academic success, this study is an attempt to explore the relationship between EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers' spiritual intelligence and their level of efficacy. To this end, two questionnaires, the Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory (SIRI-24) (King, 2008), and the ELT Teacher Efficacy Instrument (ELTEI) (Akbari& Tavassoli, 2014), were distributed among 148 male and female EFL teachers working at different contexts including university, school, and private language institute in Mashad, Quchan, Shirvan, and Qaemshahr, Iran. Pearson product-moment correlation and an independent T-test were used for analysis of the data. The findings of the study revealed that there was a positive significant relationship between teacher spiritual intelligence and teacher efficacy. Moreover, there is a significant difference between male and female teachers regarding their personal meaning production.

Research paper thumbnail of Comparing the effect of career counseling method based on social cognitive theory and calling-oriented career counseling method on academic engagement among high school students

Research paper thumbnail of The Impact of Using Figurative Speech (Metaphor & Metonymy) through Dialogic Interaction on EFL Learners’ Writing Performance

Journal of Language and Translation, Sep 2, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of The Effect of Strategic Planning Focus and Time on Writing Fluency and Accuracy

DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), May 1, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of The Effect of “Student Achieving Independent Learning” (SAIL) in Teacher-Fronted and Reciprocal-Based Classrooms on Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension

Journal of Academic and Applied Studies, Oct 1, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Investigating the Effect of Process-based Instruction of Writing on the IELTS Writing Task Two Performance of Iranian EFL Learners: Focusing on Hedging & Boosting

Cogent Education, 2021

Abstract The instruction of metadiscourse markers to L2 writers has been recommended by some scho... more Abstract The instruction of metadiscourse markers to L2 writers has been recommended by some scholars to assist them in employing a certain tone in persuading readers. Nonetheless, there is a dearth of research investigating the effect of process-based instruction on hedging and boosting devices to L2 learners. To fill this gap, the present study aimed at investigating the effect of explicit instruction of hedging and boosting devices through a process-based approach on the achievement of L2 learners in academic writing. By comparing the results obtained through teaching 115 Iranian IELTS candidates who benefitted from (a) a process-based writing instruction with its focus on hedging and boosting, (b) mere process-based writing instruction, and (c) conventional writing instruction, the researchers found that the process-based approach to teaching writing with its focus on hedging and boosting resulted in a significant effect on L2 learners’ academic writing achievement. The findings of this study may have implications for EAP teachers, syllabus designers, and decision makers in designing EAP writing courses.

Research paper thumbnail of The Effect of Freewriting on Developing Punctuation Marks in Paragraph Writings of Iranian EFL Intermediate Learners

Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2018

Freewriting is writing whatever one knows or thinks for a certain length of time without stopping... more Freewriting is writing whatever one knows or thinks for a certain length of time without stopping and editing till the time finishes. It's an easy and useful way of writing for generating ideas but it is sometimes full of errors. The current study examined a new area of freewriting which aimed to explore the effect of freewriting on development of learners' correct use of punctuation marks in their paragraph writings. The participants were 36 female intermediate students with Persian as their first language, enrolled in a six-week intensive English writing class. To homogenize the respondents they were given a version of Oxford Quick Placement Test (OPT) in order to assess the participants' proficiency level. As a pretest and posttest students were supposed to write about a topic which were scored according to a standard rubric. In order to test the inter-rater reliability of the scores given by the two raters, intra-class correlation coefficient was calculated. Mann Whitney test was used to compare the experimental and control group's OPT scores and Wilcoxon test was used to compare the pretest and posttest scores of each group separately and the results showed that the treatment affected the learners in experimental group significantly.

Research paper thumbnail of The Impact of Personal Life Experiences on the Recall and Retention of Vocabulary in Reading Comprehension of Upper- intermediate EFL Iranian Learners

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2013

The present study is an attempt to investigate the impact of personal life experiences on the rec... more The present study is an attempt to investigate the impact of personal life experiences on the recall and retention of vocabulary in reading comprehension. The participants were 69 Iranian upper-intermediate EFL learners in Alborz English language institute of Noor in Mazandaran, Iran. In order to be certain that they are at upper-intermediate was instructed through a personal life experience treatment in the process of vocabulary recall and retention during one semester (18 sessions). Another group was instructed through a traditional method (dictionary-based). Data analysis showed that the group instructed through personal life experiences had a better performance, followed by the group instructed through dictionary-based use.

Research paper thumbnail of The Effect of Written Corrective Feedback on Iranian EFL Students’ Writing

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Jul 1, 2013

First, this study investigated the effect of dynamic written corrective feedback (DWCF) on writin... more First, this study investigated the effect of dynamic written corrective feedback (DWCF) on writing abilities such as accuracy, fluency and complexity. Second, it investigated the effect of DWCF on grammar instruction. The core component of the treatment included having students write a paragraph for 10 minutes each session of treatment. Then the instructor provided students with coded feedback on their daily writing, and encouraged them to apply what they had learned in subsequent writing. After the treatment, the same pre-tests were given to the participants in order to measure the effectiveness of the instructional approaches in each group. In order to answer the research questions, independent t-tests were run and it indicated that the effect of DWCF on writing accuracy and grammar instruction was much greater than its effect on fluency and complexity. The results of this study are considered to be useful in methodological issues related to writing ability, grammar instruction and error correction techniques. Selection and peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Hafize Keser.

Research paper thumbnail of The Effect of Jigsaw Task on Reading Ability of Iranian Intermediate High School EFL Learners

Journal of Academic and Applied Studies, Feb 1, 2014

Reading comprehension is a major component of language learning and finding an appropriate and ef... more Reading comprehension is a major component of language learning and finding an appropriate and effective way for teaching it, was considered by many researchers. However, one effective way for achieving this goal can be using different activities. The purpose of the researcher is to show the effectiveness of cooperative learning, more specifically jigsaw task on reading ability of Iranian intermediate high school EFL learners. In order to check general language proficiency of the students, 120 female students were randomly selected and Nelson Proficiency Test was given to these students. Sixty students were selected from among 120 female students and they were assigned in two different classes. After selecting 60 students, they were divided in two groups, one of them as the experimental group (G1) , and the other as the control group (G2). Each group consisted of 30 students. Their ages ranged from fifteen to nineteen. First session both groups received pretest. After that the experimental group received treatment in jigsaw task during six sessions and control group received traditional method. Last session both groups received posttest in order to check reading ability. Statistical results revealed that the experimental group did much better than control group and consequently jigsaw task was effective on reading ability of Iranian intermediate high school EFL learners.

Research paper thumbnail of The Interrelationship among L1 Writing Skills, L2 Writing Skills, and L2 Proficiency of Iranian EFL Learners at Different Proficiency Levels

Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Jul 1, 2016

This research aimed to investigate the interrelationship among L1 writing skills, L2 writing skil... more This research aimed to investigate the interrelationship among L1 writing skills, L2 writing skills, and L2 proficiency of Iranian English language learners at different proficiency levels. To this aim, two groups of advanced and lower-intermediate participants consisting of twenty learners were asked to write on the same topic in Persian and English in one week interval. Subsequently, the compositions were evaluated based on Jacob Composition Profile (1981). Then, the Pearson product-moment correlation was calculated to examine the correlation between the compositions' overall scores in Persian and English in both groups. To determine which variables, L1 writing skills or L2 proficiency, is a more significant predictor of L2 writing at these different proficiency levels, and investigate the difference between them, multiple regression analysis was calculated. The results displayed large correlation between compositions' overall scores in advanced group, but not in lower-intermediate group. Also, L1 writing was a more significant predictor at advanced level; however, at lower-intermediate level, L2 proficiency was a more significant predictor of L2 writing. These findings entail some pedagogical implications for effective language teaching in L2 writing classes.

Research paper thumbnail of An Analysis of Teachers’ Self-reflection on Classroom Management

Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Jan 19, 2016

This research is an analysis of teachers' self-reflection on classroom management; a comparative ... more This research is an analysis of teachers' self-reflection on classroom management; a comparative case study of University EFL male and female teachers. The study was conducted with four novice and experienced English teachers in four different universities in Mazandaran province, Iran in winter of 2015. Data were collected through two questionnaires of all participants and the diaries of two teachers. The questionnaires administered to teachers showed teachers' awareness of self-reflection on classroom management. Both questionnaires consisted of frequency Likert scale items. The diaries provided insight into teachers' feelings, experiences, and practices concerning teachers' self-reflection on classroom management. Summative content analysis (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005) were used. The results revealed that Iranian University EFL teachers have high awareness of self-reflection. When the cases were compared, the female novice and experienced teachers were found to relatively differ in their self-reflection on classroom management, but not in self-reflection itself.

Research paper thumbnail of Teacher Autonomy and Teaching Styles: A Gender-Comparative Study of Iranian EFL Academics

The education norms are influenced by teacher autonomy as well as learner autonomy. In this gende... more The education norms are influenced by teacher autonomy as well as learner autonomy. In this gender-comparative study, we followed the debate concerning the link between EFL academics autonomy sense and their styles of teaching. The data was gathered through convenience sampling by online distributing two sets of questionnaires namely Pearson and Moomaw's Teacher Autonomy Scale and Grasha's Teaching Style Inventory which was completed by 156 Iranian EFL teachers (both male and female) to respond to the two research questions. Then, SPSS (version 26) was used to analyze the data obtained from our three sample groups: males only, females only, and mixed. The analysis showed the female participants' autonomy sense was significantly lower than the males'. However, females gained stronger correlations between their autonomy and the teaching style subconstructs. Moreover, the following results could be inferred from our statistical results: a) Males naturally feel more sense of autonomy than females do. b) As teacher autonomy increases, its correlation to different teaching styles becomes weaker. c) As a teacher's sense of autonomy decreases, his/her tendency increases to use the formal authority style which does not need much expertise and qualifications. d) The high tendency to use the facilitator style by our participants in this study can be related to the fact that about 70 % of the participants of each group have got a teaching degree.

Research paper thumbnail of Discovery Listening and Explicit Strategy-Based-Instruction Models’ Effect on the Iranian Intermediate EFL Listening Comprehension

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2012

The study aims to compare the effect of Discovery Listening (DisL) with explicit Strategy-Based I... more The study aims to compare the effect of Discovery Listening (DisL) with explicit Strategy-Based Instruction (SBI) on the Iranian EFL listening comprehension (LC). The participants were 79 students at a university in northern Iran. The main instruments included LC Strategy Table, the related lesson plans, listening Strategy Checklist for SBI and task paper for DisL Group. Results show that there is no significant difference between SBI and DisL methods.

Research paper thumbnail of The Effect of Explicit Versus Implicit Teaching of Shift as One of Translation Procedures on Efl Students' Translation Ability

Asian journal of social sciences and humanities, Nov 1, 2012

It is understood that translation plays a crucial role in human communications. In the process of... more It is understood that translation plays a crucial role in human communications. In the process of transferring the sense form the source language (SL) to the target language (TL), translator plays a pivotal role. One of the most important issues regarding translation is shift in translation. Teachers of translation can employ two methods in order to teach shifts as one of the procedures in translation, explicit and implicit teaching. In this study, the researcher is intended to find out whether explicit and/or implicit instruction of shifts as a procedure of translation can be effective on translation ability or not. Two classes were chosen, one as the experimental group and the other as the comparison group. In the experimental group, the teacher made use of explicit teaching procedures and in the comparison group the teacher utilized implicit teaching procedures. After the treatment and obtainment of the scores, the researcher tested the following null hypotheses: There is no effect of explicit instruction of shifts as one of translation procedures on students' translation ability. There is no effect of implicit instruction of shifts as one of translation procedures on students' translation ability. There is no significant difference between explicit and implicit instruction of shifts as one of translation procedures on students' translation ability. All null hypotheses were rejected and it was concluded that both explicit and implicit instructions were effective for teaching shifts. In addition, it was concluded that an explicit instruction could yield a better result than an implicit instruction.

Research paper thumbnail of The Effect of Cooperative Learning on Reading Comprehension of Iranian EFL Learners

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Feb 1, 2014

While the advantages of cooperative learning activities have been extensively acknowledged in L2 ... more While the advantages of cooperative learning activities have been extensively acknowledged in L2 literature, this type of pedagogy has not received due attention in the Iranian EFL context. Indeed, the traditional reading method still dominates in most Iranian EFL university classes even though it fails to meet its main objective which is training competent EFL readers. In an attempt to address this challenge, the current case study incorporated cooperative learning pedagogy into two EFL reading comprehension classes in a medium size university in Iran and sought learners' behaviors and reflections toward the student-centered activities they engaged in during an academic semester. To serve that end, two volunteer cohorts of learners (less and more experienced) from two EFL reading comprehension classes were recruited. Class observation field notes along with focus group interviews comprised the data collection instruments of the study. While the learners' behaviors and activities were recorded in observation field notes throughout the semester, the two focus groups were interviewed right after the course had finished. Data analyses indicated that the learners expressed favorable attitudes toward the new approach they were involved in, even though some issues were raised by the interviewees. Some pedagogical implications and recommendations are proposed for efficient incorporation of cooperative learning activities in EFL reading comprehension classes which have traditionally been dominated by teachers based on the findings of the current study.

Research paper thumbnail of On the Relationship between Critical Thinking Ability, Language Learning Strategies, and Reading Comprehension of Male and Female Intermediate EFL University Students

Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Jun 7, 2016

This study was going to investigate the relationship between critical thinking ability, language ... more This study was going to investigate the relationship between critical thinking ability, language learning strategies, and reading comprehension of male and female Iranian intermediate EFL university students majoring in English translation and English teaching at Tehran Azad University, South Branch. The participants chosen were 100 EFL learners that after homogenizing 79 remained. This study was a correlational one. For the purpose of this study, California Critical Thinking Skill Test (CCTST), Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL), and reading section of the TOEFL test were administered. Data were analyzed based on the questionnaires and they were submitted to the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 for analysis. The Pearson-product moment correlation proved that there was a significant positive relationship between critical thinking ability and reading comprehension, as well as a positive relationship between language learning strategies and reading comprehension was found. Reading comprehension was considered as dependent variable. Finally, in order to find whether there was any difference between males and females in terms of critical thinking ability and their language learning strategy use an independent sample t-test was run. The findings revealed that there was not any significant difference between the performances of male and female participants in terms of critical thinking and their language learning strategy use. The findings of this study will be helpful for material developers, syllabus designers and EFL teachers.

Research paper thumbnail of A New Look at Comprehension in EFL/ESL Reading Classes

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Feb 1, 2014

Reading is one of the greatest pleasures we experience in our lives. It helps us to be entertaine... more Reading is one of the greatest pleasures we experience in our lives. It helps us to be entertained and educated. However, some people find it boring and struggling experience, especially when it comes to reading in a second or foreign language. (Farrel, 2009).The purpose of this article is to review a set of previously published articles in regard to reading comprehension. Having reviewed the related literature, the current problem in reading comprehension is stated and consequently, the findings of this study contribute to a new insight into reading comprehension .Finally a summary of findings is made.