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Papers by Reza Beh-Afarin
Journal of Language and Translation, 2011
This experimental study examined the effectiveness of using focused and unfocused tasks on Irania... more This experimental study examined the effectiveness of using focused and unfocused tasks on Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ performance in producing noun, adjective, and adverb clauses. In addition,the aim of this study was to explore the effects of form-focused instruction and the feedback students received from their teacher after doing focused grammar tasks. Data consisted of the scores of the pre-test and posttest as well as the data obtained through the administration of the tasks of translation to undergraduates at Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch over a period of one semester. After the administration of the Nelson proficiency test, 60 participants out of 106 were selected. Then all groups were given a sample TOEFL, which stood as pre-test and posttest to assess the clause performance of all groups. The focused and unfocused tasks were administered to the experimental groups, while the control group followed the exercises in the course book. Analysis of the data...
International Journal of Language Testing, Oct 1, 2018
Translation assessment has usually been problematic for theoreticians, curriculum developers and ... more Translation assessment has usually been problematic for theoreticians, curriculum developers and university lecturers. In this study, we propose methods for translation assessment. The authors search to elaborate assessment aspects of translation to reduce rater subjectivity in scoring and define what factors should be taken into account in assessing translated texts by developing a new model for the evaluation and scoring of translations. Accordingly, the existing methods for the assessment and evaluation of translations were reviewed and subsequently, two questionnaires were administered to a total of number of 10 translation lecturers inquiring about their methods for assessing students' translations and about 45 translation students about the way their instructors assess their translation tasks. Based on the results obtained from both questionnaires and also the existing scales of assessment, the study shows a significant difference between the views of the two groups under investigation.
Background Ensemble methods are supervised learning approaches that integrate different types of ... more Background Ensemble methods are supervised learning approaches that integrate different types of data or multiple individual classifiers. It has been shown that these methods can improve professional performance. Methods This study is an attempt to provide an in-depth review on 45 most relevant articles and aims to introduce 42 ensemble classifier (EC) machine learning methods used for the detection of 18 different types of cancer. Compared to other types of cancer, breast cancer, and the 22 ensemble methods introduced for its identification, is extensively investigated. The purpose of this study was to identify, map, and analyze the current academic discourse on EC machine learning methods in order to: 1. identify overarching themes emerging from empirical studies regarding EC methods, 2. determine their input data and decision-making strategies, and 3. evaluate relevant statistical procedures. Results By comparing various approaches, we can introduce Relevance Vector Machine (RVM)...
The study attempted to investigate the relationship between male Iranian EFL learners’ internatio... more The study attempted to investigate the relationship between male Iranian EFL learners’ international posture (IP) and willingness to communicate (WTC) across two proficiency levels. The study was carried out with 106 participants from selected universities in Tabriz and Sarab, Northwest Iran, who were divided into two groups of high and low proficiency based on a Preliminary English Test (PET). The data were collected by the administration of WTC Scale (McCroskey & Richmond, 1990) and IP questionnaire (Yashima, 2000). The collected data were analyzed through Pearson correlation and independent samples t-test. The results showed that there was positive correlation between WTC and IP in the high-proficiency group while the correlation in the low proficiency-group was not statistically significant. It was also found that high proficiency learners had higher levels of both IP and WTC compared to their lower level counterparts. The findings of the study offer pedagogical implications for...
In chapter 2 of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Alice tries to talk to a Mouse, ... more In chapter 2 of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Alice tries to talk to a Mouse, but gets no answer: “‘Perhaps it doesn‘t understand English,’ thought Alice. ‘I dare say it‘s a French mouse, come over with William the Conqueror.’”. Accordingly, Alice addresses the Mouse in French: “Où est ma chatte?”. In this short section of the text there are at least four elements that may be analysed within a framework of domestication vs. foreignization: 1) the name of the language that the Mouse does not seem to understand (which also is the language that Alice normally speaks); 2) the (foreign) nationality of the Mouse; 3) the reason why the (assumed foreign) Mouse is in the same location as Alice; 4) the linguistic form of Alice’s words to the Mouse. Russian translators of the text have solved these translation problems in different ways—for example, in Vladimir Nabokov’s translation (1923), which often is considered as a typical example of a domesticated translation, the Mou...
Iranian Journal of Applied Language Studies, 2020
For years, effective classroom management and the constraints which affect teachers’ classroom ma... more For years, effective classroom management and the constraints which affect teachers’ classroom management have been of much concern to both teachers and teacher educators. Despite such paramount importance, this issue has been far less explored in general and the Iranian EFL context in particular. Therefore, the current study employed a phenomenological inquiry to delve into the constraints which set hurdles in the way of effective classroom management. To that end, 20 Iranian EFL teachers from different branches of the same English Language Institute were selected through purposive sampling and interviewed in person to extract thick and in-depth data. The interviews then were transcribed verbatim and their content was inductively analyzed to let frequent themes emerge. Results of the analysis indicated that four major themes, namely ‘institute-related’, ‘learner-related’, ‘teacher-related’, and ‘social-cultural differences’ frequently manifested. It should be noted that each main t...
Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Nov 1, 2011
The rapid developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) have created new oppor... more The rapid developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) have created new opportunities to enhance the reach and quality of education. Mobile phones are new addition to the ICT for learning. This study attempts comprehensively to investigate the effect of Short Message Service (SMS) on the retention of collocations among Iranian lower intermediate EFL learners. To this end, forty university students were assigned into experimental and control group. The participants received English collocations as well as definitions and example sentences either on paper or through SMS messages in a scheduled pattern of delivery two times a week during five weeks. After the third and the sixth session of treatment, students received two quizzes either on paper or via SMS in order to show whether the students progress during the treatment or not. Students were compared at the end of the study. The results revealed the fact that participants in SMS group could significantly outperform the ones in conventional group.
Journal of Language and Translation, 2011
This experimental study examined the effectiveness of using focused and unfocused tasks on Irania... more This experimental study examined the effectiveness of using focused and unfocused tasks on Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ performance in producing noun, adjective, and adverb clauses. In addition,the aim of this study was to explore the effects of form-focused instruction and the feedback students received from their teacher after doing focused grammar tasks. Data consisted of the scores of the pre-test and posttest as well as the data obtained through the administration of the tasks of translation to undergraduates at Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch over a period of one semester. After the administration of the Nelson proficiency test, 60 participants out of 106 were selected. Then all groups were given a sample TOEFL, which stood as pre-test and posttest to assess the clause performance of all groups. The focused and unfocused tasks were administered to the experimental groups, while the control group followed the exercises in the course book. Analysis of the data...
International Journal of Language Testing, Oct 1, 2018
Translation assessment has usually been problematic for theoreticians, curriculum developers and ... more Translation assessment has usually been problematic for theoreticians, curriculum developers and university lecturers. In this study, we propose methods for translation assessment. The authors search to elaborate assessment aspects of translation to reduce rater subjectivity in scoring and define what factors should be taken into account in assessing translated texts by developing a new model for the evaluation and scoring of translations. Accordingly, the existing methods for the assessment and evaluation of translations were reviewed and subsequently, two questionnaires were administered to a total of number of 10 translation lecturers inquiring about their methods for assessing students' translations and about 45 translation students about the way their instructors assess their translation tasks. Based on the results obtained from both questionnaires and also the existing scales of assessment, the study shows a significant difference between the views of the two groups under investigation.
Background Ensemble methods are supervised learning approaches that integrate different types of ... more Background Ensemble methods are supervised learning approaches that integrate different types of data or multiple individual classifiers. It has been shown that these methods can improve professional performance. Methods This study is an attempt to provide an in-depth review on 45 most relevant articles and aims to introduce 42 ensemble classifier (EC) machine learning methods used for the detection of 18 different types of cancer. Compared to other types of cancer, breast cancer, and the 22 ensemble methods introduced for its identification, is extensively investigated. The purpose of this study was to identify, map, and analyze the current academic discourse on EC machine learning methods in order to: 1. identify overarching themes emerging from empirical studies regarding EC methods, 2. determine their input data and decision-making strategies, and 3. evaluate relevant statistical procedures. Results By comparing various approaches, we can introduce Relevance Vector Machine (RVM)...
The study attempted to investigate the relationship between male Iranian EFL learners’ internatio... more The study attempted to investigate the relationship between male Iranian EFL learners’ international posture (IP) and willingness to communicate (WTC) across two proficiency levels. The study was carried out with 106 participants from selected universities in Tabriz and Sarab, Northwest Iran, who were divided into two groups of high and low proficiency based on a Preliminary English Test (PET). The data were collected by the administration of WTC Scale (McCroskey & Richmond, 1990) and IP questionnaire (Yashima, 2000). The collected data were analyzed through Pearson correlation and independent samples t-test. The results showed that there was positive correlation between WTC and IP in the high-proficiency group while the correlation in the low proficiency-group was not statistically significant. It was also found that high proficiency learners had higher levels of both IP and WTC compared to their lower level counterparts. The findings of the study offer pedagogical implications for...
In chapter 2 of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Alice tries to talk to a Mouse, ... more In chapter 2 of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Alice tries to talk to a Mouse, but gets no answer: “‘Perhaps it doesn‘t understand English,’ thought Alice. ‘I dare say it‘s a French mouse, come over with William the Conqueror.’”. Accordingly, Alice addresses the Mouse in French: “Où est ma chatte?”. In this short section of the text there are at least four elements that may be analysed within a framework of domestication vs. foreignization: 1) the name of the language that the Mouse does not seem to understand (which also is the language that Alice normally speaks); 2) the (foreign) nationality of the Mouse; 3) the reason why the (assumed foreign) Mouse is in the same location as Alice; 4) the linguistic form of Alice’s words to the Mouse. Russian translators of the text have solved these translation problems in different ways—for example, in Vladimir Nabokov’s translation (1923), which often is considered as a typical example of a domesticated translation, the Mou...
Iranian Journal of Applied Language Studies, 2020
For years, effective classroom management and the constraints which affect teachers’ classroom ma... more For years, effective classroom management and the constraints which affect teachers’ classroom management have been of much concern to both teachers and teacher educators. Despite such paramount importance, this issue has been far less explored in general and the Iranian EFL context in particular. Therefore, the current study employed a phenomenological inquiry to delve into the constraints which set hurdles in the way of effective classroom management. To that end, 20 Iranian EFL teachers from different branches of the same English Language Institute were selected through purposive sampling and interviewed in person to extract thick and in-depth data. The interviews then were transcribed verbatim and their content was inductively analyzed to let frequent themes emerge. Results of the analysis indicated that four major themes, namely ‘institute-related’, ‘learner-related’, ‘teacher-related’, and ‘social-cultural differences’ frequently manifested. It should be noted that each main t...
Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Nov 1, 2011
The rapid developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) have created new oppor... more The rapid developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) have created new opportunities to enhance the reach and quality of education. Mobile phones are new addition to the ICT for learning. This study attempts comprehensively to investigate the effect of Short Message Service (SMS) on the retention of collocations among Iranian lower intermediate EFL learners. To this end, forty university students were assigned into experimental and control group. The participants received English collocations as well as definitions and example sentences either on paper or through SMS messages in a scheduled pattern of delivery two times a week during five weeks. After the third and the sixth session of treatment, students received two quizzes either on paper or via SMS in order to show whether the students progress during the treatment or not. Students were compared at the end of the study. The results revealed the fact that participants in SMS group could significantly outperform the ones in conventional group.