Journal of Teaching Language Skills最新文献

{"title":"The Role of Emergence Distance Education (EDE) in the Learning of English Language Skills during COVID-19 Pandemic: Voices from Iranian Undergraduate EFL Students","authors":"Ali Derakhshan","doi":"10.22099/JTLS.2021.39849.2948","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/JTLS.2021.39849.2948","url":null,"abstract":"It has been about a year since COVID-19 pandemic brought tremendous and unprecedented chaos to the higher education (HE) landscape globally, and Iran’s online education system is by no means an exception. So, faculty members and students were forced to leave their face-to-face (FTF) classes and move into emergency distance education (EDE) contexts. Due to this drastic change in the system of education, investigating the probable effects of EDE on the quality of education seems essential. As such, this study has attempted to probe the effect of EDE on the language skills of Iranian EFL students. To do so, drawing on the maximum variation sampling, the present study embarked on a qualitative descriptive research method, triangulating data through written open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to collect data from 170 EFL students from different universities in Iran. The sample included BA students majoring in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and English Literature, aged above 18. Using Thematic Analysis (TA), students’ responses were transcribed, codified, and interpreted. The findings of TA revealed that along with several disadvantages and challenges that Iranian EFL students experienced in EDE with regard to learning English language skills, EDE provided some opportunities and benefits for their learning. The analysis of students’ responses also indicated that they deemed speaking skill as the most negatively influenced language skill and listening skill as the most positively affected skill. Furthermore, the findings represented that most of the students held teachers and administrators responsible for the problems and challenges they experienced in EDE contexts. To them, in order to minimize the challenges of EDE, the responsibilities of all educational members, notably teachers and administrators, should be adapted based on online education requirements. The findings of the present study can encourage administrators, teachers, and students to prepare themselves for EDE against the possible subsequent waves.","PeriodicalId":150431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching Language Skills","volume":"63 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127026758","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Epistemic Features of Generality in Conclusions: The Case of Applied Linguistics and Power System Engineering","authors":"H. Jalali, Momene Ghadiri, MIna Zehtab","doi":"10.22099/JTLS.2021.39549.2936","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/JTLS.2021.39549.2936","url":null,"abstract":"This comparative corpus-based study was launched to analyze the use of intensifiers and indefinite pronouns indicating generality in two disciplines of applied linguistics (AL) and power system engineering (PSE). Accordingly, four corpora were considered in this study: two corpora representing English articles written by L1-English writers in applied linguistics (L1-English AL corpus) and power system engineering (L1-English PSE corpus), and two other corpora (L1-Persian AL corpus and L1-Persian PSE corpus) belonging to English articles written by L1-Persian writers in the same two disciplines. The findings revealed that the indefinite pronouns were used more frequently than intensifiers in all corpora; on the other hand, the use of qualified-generalization markers in the two L1-persian corpora exceeded that in the L1-English corpora. As for disciplinary differences, the AL conclusions contained more generalization and qualified-generalization stance markers, as compared to their PSE counterparts. The study concludes with some implications regarding the representation of authorial voice.","PeriodicalId":150431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching Language Skills","volume":"50 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125060988","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Effect of Critical Thinking-Oriented Dynamic Assessment on Iranian EFL Learners’ Learning Potential: A Study of Reading Comprehension Skill","authors":"M. Zare, Hamed Barjesteh, Reza Biria","doi":"10.22099/JTLS.2021.39475.2935","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/JTLS.2021.39475.2935","url":null,"abstract":"The present study is part of a Ph.D. program which aimed to explore the possible effect of critical thinking-oriented dynamic assessment (CT-DA) on learners’ learning potential in reading comprehension skills. 21 Iranian language learners who were homogenized in terms of their language proficiency, reading comprehension and critical thinking abilities participated in this study. Learners were divided into three groups of CT-DA, dynamic assessment (DA) and Control group. While learners in CT-DA received mediation loaded with critical thinking, learners in DA received dynamic assessment mediation, and learners in Control group did not receive any mediation. The analysis of the results revealed that DA and CT-DA significantly improve learners’ reading potential scores. Moreover, significant differences between LPS scores of DA and CT-DA groups were found denoting the better performance of participant who received critical thinking-oriented dynamic assessment. Finally, the qualitative analyses led to the detection of eleven mediational strategies which nurtured the development of reading comprehension ability of L2 learners during CT-DA. The article concludes with suggestions for further research on dynamic assessment and critical thinking in second/foreign language development.","PeriodicalId":150431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching Language Skills","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114079306","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Teachers' Rating Criteria for Classroom Oral interviews as Influenced by their First Languages and Educational Backgrounds","authors":"A. Sayyadi, S. M. Alavi, Hossein Karami","doi":"10.22099/JTLS.2021.39747.2942","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/JTLS.2021.39747.2942","url":null,"abstract":"The current study attempted qualitatively to explore and compare the qualities that native and Iranian English teachers (with and without related educational backgrounds) attend to while rating their students' oral productions in the classroom context. In doing so, the perceptions of 19 native English teachers (9 graduates in TEFL and 10 graduates in other majors) along with 18 Iranian English teachers (10 graduates in TEFL and 8 graduates in other majors) were sought through semi-structured interviews. The data were collected after the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease in 2020, which gave the researchers no choice but to look for haphazard cases with specific features in social networks. The recorded interviews were analyzed attentively through content analysis. The findings indicated that although all native and non-native respondents focused intensively on the structural features of language in general while rating oral interviews, they had notably different views regarding some sub-features within each category. Further results showed that the native and non-native TEFL-graduate teachers, unlike their peers with unrelated educational backgrounds, also gave credits to several message-based and pragmatic aspects of oral production. The findings have practical implications for researchers, pre-service and in-service teachers, and teacher educators.","PeriodicalId":150431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching Language Skills","volume":"20 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125273790","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating Global EFL Coursebooks in the Iranian Context: A Multiliteracies Approach","authors":"Amirali Mohammadkhani, Manoochehr Jafarigohar, M. Atai, Hassan Soleimani","doi":"10.22099/JTLS.2021.39269.2925","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/JTLS.2021.39269.2925","url":null,"abstract":"Global EFL coursebooks are used in numerous educational contexts throughout the world based on the assumption that they are the optimal source of English educational input. Their widespread use calls for a systematic analysis of these coursebooks using a framework that can reveal their defining characteristics. One such framework is the knowledge process framework, which is based on the multiliteracies pedagogy. The present study deployed this framework in an attempt to analyze seven widely taught coursebooks in the Iranian context. The findings revealed that knowledge processes of \"analyzing functionally\" and \"applying appropriately\" were more frequent in the analyzed coursebooks and the other knowledge processes were present in lower numbers. Based on the findings of the study, EFL teachers in the Iranian context are encouraged to include more activities with the knowledge processes of \"analyzing critically\" and \"applying creatively\" to address the absence of these knowledge processes while teaching the global coursebooks.","PeriodicalId":150431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching Language Skills","volume":"25 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134161869","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An Investigation into Perfectionism, Self-Efficacy, Metacognitive Strategy Use, and Second Language Listening Comprehension: A Path Analysis Approach","authors":"Mohammad Hasan Razmi, A. Jabbari, Saeed Zare","doi":"10.22099/JTLS.2021.40272.2977","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/JTLS.2021.40272.2977","url":null,"abstract":"Individual differences in personality traits can influence students' ability to learn a new language. Among the important personality traits, perfectionism has recently been the topic of investigation in second language acquisition research. Following this line of research, the current study aims at examining a path model linking dimensions of perfectionism to second language (L2) listening comprehension through mediating effects of subscales of self-efficacy along with the use of metacognitive listening strategy (MLS). A sample of 230 English as a foreign language (EFL) participants majoring in Translation studies and English Literature completed the perfectionism, general self-efficacy, and MLS questionnaires and took an IELTS listening comprehension test. The sample included 112 juniors (48.7 %), and 118 seniors (51.3 %) selected through convenience nonrandom sampling. Cluster analysis was used to identify three perfectionistic clusters: adaptive, maladaptive, and non-perfectionists. The results of a path analysis revealed that perfectionism and MLS use were the most significant variables in the proposed conceptual model. While correlational analyses in this study revealed significant relationships among self-efficacy components and listening comprehension, the overall total effects were not significant. Adaptive perfectionism significantly contributed to the MLS use and listening ability (LA). Perfectionism also contributed significantly to the effort and persistence self-efficacy components. In contrast, perfectionism did not significantly influence the initiative self-efficacy subscale. Implications of this study are discussed.","PeriodicalId":150431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching Language Skills","volume":"31 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121977634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Examining 'Assessment Literacy in Practice' in an Iranian Context: Does it Differ for Instructors and Learners?","authors":"Zahra Homayounzadeh, S. A. Razmjoo","doi":"10.22099/JTLS.2021.40269.2978","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/JTLS.2021.40269.2978","url":null,"abstract":"The study reported here is survey research that aims to examine the assessment literacy (AL) of the instructors (N=12) as well as graduate and postgraduate students (N=46) in the Department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics at Shiraz University. To this end, interview questions were designed using Pastore and Andrade's (2019) three-dimensional AL framework. The questions, having been field-tested and their validity having been approved by three experts, were used to interview the participants. The interviews were transcribed and idea units in them were specified and coded according to a coding scheme designed based on Pastore and Andrade (2019).  At the conceptual dimension, the results suggested that most of the participants in both groups believed in the learning potential of assessment, and most of the instructors used multiple tasks throughout the term to gather on the students' learning, especially at the MA and Ph.D. levels. At the praxiological dimension that concerned the integration of assessment with instruction, the students mentioned using the results of summative assessment to alter their studying approach, while only a few instructors used assessment results to modify their teaching practices. At the socio-emotional dimension, discrepancies existed among the instructors and between instructors and learners in how ethical issues should be observed in assessment. The results are discussed, and implications are provided for designing teacher education programs and for future research.","PeriodicalId":150431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching Language Skills","volume":"145 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129456814","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessment and Development of Iranian EFL Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)","authors":"Rana Najjari, G. Abbasian, Massood Yazdanimoghaddam","doi":"10.22099/JTLS.2021.39038.2914","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/JTLS.2021.39038.2914","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.","PeriodicalId":150431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching Language Skills","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-02-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125449372","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Applying Cooperative and Individual Offline Planning in Speaking Classes: A Comparison of Impulsive and Reflective EFL Learners","authors":"H. Marashi, Mina Gholami","doi":"10.22099/JTLS.2021.38593.2894","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/JTLS.2021.38593.2894","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigated the effect of two different types of offline planning, namely cooperative and individual, on the oral proficiency of impulsive and reflective EFL learners. Accordingly, 114 intermediate learners studying at a private language school in Tehran were chosen nonrandomly through their performance on a Preliminary English Test (PET). The participants also filled out the Eysenck and Eysenck’s (1991) Impulsiveness Questionnaire (EIQ) through which they were categorized into two subgroups within each offline planning setting consisting of impulsive and reflective learners. All in all, there were four subgroups: 28 impulsive and 28 reflective learners undergoing the cooperative offline planning treatment, and 32 impulsive and 26 reflective learners experiencing the individual offline planning treatment. Following the 14-session treatment, the mean scores of all four groups on the speaking posttest were computed and a two-way ANOVA was run to test all the four hypotheses raised in the study. The results revealed that the effect of offline planning to a great degree depends on the cognitive learning style of the learners: while impulsive learners benefit more from cooperative offline planning, reflective ones prefer to perform the task individually.","PeriodicalId":150431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching Language Skills","volume":"68 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123447009","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Effect of Blended Online Automated Feedback and Teacher Feedback on EFL Learners’ Essay Writing Ability and Perception","authors":"Masumeh Salavatizadeh, Abdorreza Tahriri","doi":"10.22099/JTLS.2021.38753.2899","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/JTLS.2021.38753.2899","url":null,"abstract":"Applying both teacher- and computer-generated feedback to foster EFL learners’ writing remains a less explored issue. The purpose of this study was two-fold. Firstly, it examined whether blending both online automated feedback (OAF) and teacher feedback had a significant effect on EFL learners’ writing ability or not. Secondly, it explored their perceptions on the use of the blended OAF and teacher feedback. To this end,this study employed a mixed-method design using essay writing, questionnaire, and interview to investigate the impact of blended OAF and teacher feedback on EFL learners’ writing ability in an essay writing course. Thirty intermediate EFL learners participated in the study; they were given the first writing pre-test, and then were assigned into experimental and control groups randomly. The experimental group was given access to the integrated OAF and teacher feedback on their two-paragraph problem-solution essay writing during the treatment phase while the control group received teacher-only feedback. The results of the independent samples t-test and RM ANOVA showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in terms of the overall score for the two final essay writings, and also demonstrated a significant improvement in writing scores across four essays during the treatment. The qualitative data also revealed the participants’ positive perception towards the effectiveness of the blended OAF and teacher feedback on their writing. Overall, the findings of this study can contribute to a better understanding of the impact of the blended feedback in enhancing EFL learners’ writing ability.","PeriodicalId":150431,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Teaching Language Skills","volume":"60 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129902773","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}