Journal Of English Language and Literature Teaching

Teachers' and students’ perceptions play a crucial role in textbook evaluation. This paper examines English teachers' and students' perception of sociolinguistic features of Vision text books at senior high schools in Iran. To do so 5 male English teachers from various provinces of Iran, namely: Ilam, Lorestan, Kermanshah and Khouzestan, with an age range between 25 and 44, with 4 to 20 years experience and with a variety of academic degrees (1 PhD, 2 masters, 2 bachelors) were chosen to participate in the study, along with 5 high school students (1 grade 10, 2 grade 11 and 2 grade 12). The semi-structured interview consisted of 7 items, used to obtain participants' perceptions regarding textbook sociolinguistic features. An inductive and deductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The target culture, gender and religion were represented in the deductive phase of analysis, and new themes emerged from the data in the inductive phase, including representation of races and ethnicities, dress codes, and traditions and customs. According to the findings, the majority of teachers and students believe that newly published EFL textbooks do not provide opportunities for students to improve their communicative competence and cultural awareness in the target language. Furthermore, they believed that male characters dominated the Vision series' texts and illustrations and Islamic ideology was dominant in the Vision series. Teachers, students, and ELT administrators, as well as textbook designers and materials creators, may benefit from the results of this study.

Online learning is one of the educational channels that learners and educational centers have recently turned to. However, there are still concerns about its effectiveness. The aim of the study was to explain learners' perspectives on the effectiveness of online learning. The present study was a qualitative study using content analysis method that was conducted in 1402. The participants were 38 female (n=22) and male (n=16) language learners from Tehran Language School who had experience in online learning and were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected and analyzed through interviews. The overall analysis of the interviews indicates that 63% of learners (n=24) rated the method as weak, 20% (n=8) rated the method as average, and 17% (n=6) rated the method as good. 29 percent (n=11) believed that the method was effective in improving their knowledge, and 23 percent (n=9) considered the method effective in improving speaking skills. 15 percent (n=6) are willing to participate in online learning again and 83 percent (n=31) believed that the most important problem of online learning is the lack of necessary infrastructure and 83.6 percent (n=32) of the participants believe that the best learning method to improve English language skills is face-to-face learning. The findings indicate that online learning is not a suitable method for improving English language knowledge and skills compared to face-to-face education and if it is necessary to learn English online, it is necessary to provide infrastructure.

Incorporating technology into the process of writing in an EFL setting can aid educators to create an engaging learning environment and learners to explore various strategies of developing their writing skills. This study was set up to investigate the experiences of 28 pre-service EFL teachers in an MS Word integrated writing course at Farhangian University. Participants were selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews administered upon completing the course, and triangulated via focused group discussions moderated by an expert in academic writing. Content analysis of the interviews revealed that students expressed favoring an MS Word integrated approach with regard to writing skills improvement (through features such as spell check, grammar suggestions, thesaurus tools, etc.) as well as utilizing feedback mechanisms in the Review menu (via track changes feature and editing facilities, proofing, and comments), and the References menu (via Manage sources and Insert citation features). Participants also expressed preferring the on-screen editing activities performed in the classroom compared with their previously held conventional writing sessions. Implications regarding how MS Word can be incorporated into teacher education curricula to improve both their academic writing skills and teaching writing through technology-based instruction are discussed.

The rise of international education and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has created new demands for teacher education and the development of pedagogical content knowledge. This exploratory qualitative study investigated teachers’ conceptualizations of pedagogical content knowledge in an English-medium, international, Content-and-Language Integrated Learning context, addressing instructional challenges, contextual influences on teaching practices, and the role of English proficiency in Pedagogical content knowledge development. Using a case-study approach, data were collected through classroom observations and in-depth interviews with eight participants selected via convenience sampling from an international school in Mashhad, Iran. The interview transcripts were analyzed using MAXQDA 12 and conducting open, axial, and selective coding procedures. Findings revealed six core pedagogical content knowledge domains, with knowledge of technology, culture, context, and language emerging as critical additions to traditional pedagogical content knowledge frameworks. The study highlights how technological advancements necessitate digital competence; internationalization of education demands intercultural competence; and English-medium instruction requires linguistic awareness or advanced language proficiency in the context. The results underscore the evolving nature of pedagogical content knowledge in a Content-and-Language Integrated Learning environment, emphasizing the role of Englishization and multiculturalism in shaping pedagogy. This study may serve as an effort in teacher education, advocating for more investigations in search of a more comprehensive model of pedagogical content knowledge within the context of international education.

Due to the major political and economical changes in the world, international relations have expanded significantly, and English is widely recognized as a global language by many countries. Hence, in order to succeed in international relations, the non-native writers should be proficient in using English in different types of discourses including their letter writings. The purpose of this study was to analyze features of complaint letters written by native English speakers and explore the politeness strategies of those letters which learners of English may fail using appropriately. For this purpose, thirty authentic letters were chosen from the book “How to write better letters” edited by Chappell (2006). Through Halliday’s notion of lexical density, Cook’s expressed features of genre identification and Brown and Levinson’s model of politeness strategies, the collected data were analyzed. The analysis of the results showed that the native complaint letter writers mostly relied on ‘personal references’, ‘conjunction cohesion’, ‘repetition’, ‘substitution cohesion’, and ‘indirect negative politeness strategies’ in their writings. Language teachers and syllabus designers can use these results to make the foreign learners of English learn about social aspects of language and direct them to use the pragmatic elements in their letters.

This study examines the effectiveness of the cyclic group work method in enhancing reading comprehension among Iranian high school EFL learners, grounded in the principles of micro-teaching (Allen, 1967). By dividing texts into manageable sections, the method structures a 90-minute dynamic classroom session where students engage in collaborative learning, peer questioning, and critical discussion under teacher supervision. The research employs a qualitative-analytical framework to evaluate how this seven-stage approach—incorporating homogeneous and heterogeneous grouping, iterative questioning, and collective feedback—aligns with micro-teaching’s core tenets: initiating behaviors, material presentation, consolidation, monitoring, and evaluation. Findings reveal that the method fosters exceptional student participation, as learners subconsciously strive to contribute within and across groups, internalizing material through active dialogue. The teacher’s dual role as facilitator and supervisor ensures mental and physical engagement, enabling sustained practice in reading and reasoned text analysis. The study bridges gaps in EFL research by adapting cyclic group strategies to Iran’s teacher-centered, resource-constrained context, demonstrating improved comprehension outcomes.

This study was an attempt to enlighten the wave of teaching English reading comprehension in Iranian EFL classrooms. Thus, the current study aimed to explore the effect of using the mapping note-taking method on the reading comprehension ability of Iranian intermediate EFL learners, as well as gender differences. To do so, a quantitative design was tested in a quasi-experimental study. To collect data, two intact classes consisting of 15 learners in each class of a language institute in Shiraz were selected through convenience sampling. The instruments used to collect data were two parallel tests: a pre-test and a post-test. The data collection procedures lasted approximately three months, comprising 22 sessions. Besides, the data were analyzed through the use of the 26th version of SPSS software, and by running descriptive statistics, tests of homogeneity of variances (Levene’s test), tests of normality, and T-tests (Independent Samples T-test and Paired-Sample T-test). The results revealed that the learners who were exposed to the mapping note-taking method (experimental group) differed significantly from the control group who were taught through the conventional method, taking notes just in the learners’ own way, and writing the words and their meaning without using any specific method of note-taking. In other words, the learners who were in the experimental group outperformed those in the control group concerning their reading comprehension ability, but the learners’ gender made no difference.

Given the transformative potential of technology-enhanced methods in language education, this study investigated the effect of AI-scaffolded learning-oriented assessment (LOA) on Iranian EFL learners' vocabulary acquisition. A quasi-experimental design was employed, with 40 male intermediate-level learners non-randomly assigned to an experimental group (AI-supported Nearpod platform with adaptive scaffolding) and a control group. The Oxford Placement Test ensured homogeneity, while the Vocabulary Knowledge Scale measured vocabulary gains. The experimental group received AI-driven scaffolding, including real-time adaptive feedback, tiered support, and interactive peer-review tasks aligned with LOA principles. Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference in post-VKS scores (M = 130.05) for the experimental group compared to the control group (M = 99.85), with a large effect size (t = 39.38, p < .001, d = 1.96). These results demonstrate that AI-scaffolding, when integrated with LOA, substantially enhances vocabulary learning by personalizing feedback and promoting active engagement. The study highlights the efficacy of AI tools like Nearpod in EFL contexts while underscoring the importance of pedagogical design, such as balancing automation with teacher guidance, to maximize learning outcomes. These findings advocate for the strategic adoption of AI-scaffolded LOA in language curricula, though challenges like digital literacy and equitable access warrant further exploration.

This essay undertakes a critical investigation of Wang Anyi’s short story, The Destination , employing Erich Fromm’s humanist psychoanalysis to elucidate the complex interplay between societal transformation, the erosion of authentic love, and the resulting existential anxieties within the context of contemporary Chinese modernity. The analysis focuses on the protagonist, Chen Xin, and his return to a radically transformed Shanghai, a disorienting architectural and bureaucratic maze that disrupts historical continuity. This spatial disorientation, the essay argues, mirrors Chen Xin’s strained familial ties, which exemplify Fromm’s notion of alienated pseudo-love, wherein genuine emotional intimacy is replaced by commodified social exchanges operating under the pressures of a state-capitalist regime. Fromm’s contrast between a way of life focused on owning and controlling things, versus one that emphasizes being present, growing as a person, and forming meaningful relationships, reveals a subjectivity caught between the pressure of inherited ideologies and the basic human need for love, care, and real emotional connection in a globalized and increasingly commodified society.

Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) systems are used to evaluate measurable characteristics of written texts, thereby creating a scoring model based on a compilation of essays. While considerable research has focused on the feedback provided by AWE systems, there is a conspicuous absence of studies examining these tools specifically in the Iranian context. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate the consistency of scores obtained from automated systems and human raters. Furthermore, it sought to explore the perceptions of EFL learners regarding the application of AWE in their writing practices. To facilitate this investigation, 30 male and female IELTS students participated, each writing two essays: one selected from topics provided by the AWE system and the other derived from Cambridge Official IELTS past papers. The essays were assessed by both My Access and three human raters. For the topics designated for the AWE system, a significant and robust positive correlation was identified between the ratings assigned by human raters and the machine. A similar significant and strong positive correlation was also found for the second essay, which did not utilize pre-defined topics. The results of two linear regression analyses demonstrated that the scores produced by the machine could significantly predict human scores for both pre-defined and non-pre-defined topics. Additionally, the findings indicated that My Access Home Edition is perceived to significantly enhance students' accuracy and autonomy, although it does not contribute to improved interaction. This study presents important implications for writing instructors and the field of second language education.

The present study aimed to examine the Iranian high school teachers’ perceptions towards the new English textbook named Vision 1 and tried to find the level of these textbooks' communicative aspects based on the teachers' perceptions. To do so, one hundred participants were selected based on convenience random sampling, including 65 male and 35 female Iranian EFL teachers. To collect teachers' perspectives on Vision 1 , a questionnaire, adapted from a similar previous study (Razmjoo, 2010), was used. To gain more valid data and to triangulate the data, a semi-structured interview was also conducted with 25 teachers. The results indicated that Vision 1 was considered poor in terms of vocabulary, writing, and critical discourse analysis components by most teachers, but they rated it appropriate in terms of structure, reading, listening, and speaking tasks. The general methodological considerations of Vision 1 were perceived to be good, but some believed that they were poor. The findings of the interview revealed that the participants agreed that Vision 1 is based on the approach of CLT. Notwithstanding, they argued that this method has not been properly operationalized in the content of the book. The teachers pointed out that Vision 1 has some features like conversations and pronunciation practices, which are beneficial for developing the communicative competence of the students. The results have implications for teachers and materials writers as well as the policy makers.

Although a wealth of research has been conducted in the field of English language teaching, the studies related to the effects of digital story telling (DST) instruction as an innovative technique for language learning have been fairly insufficient. The present research made an effort to examine the effect of using DST on Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension and their motivation. To address the study objectives, 40 female learners from Marefat Language Institute were recruited based on the results of an OPT as a standard test to homogenize. The participants (20 in each group) were randomly assigned into an experimental group and a control one. To measure learners’ motivation, the Motivation Questionnaire by Dörnyei and Németh (2006) and Taguchi et al. (2009) was applied. The experimental group received DST instruction based on Robin’s model (2008) and the control group received the conventional method designed by the institute. The analysis of the groups’ performance in the pre-test and post-test through an independent samples t-tests revealed that the DST group significantly outperformed the control group in both reading comprehension and motivation. This study has several implications for language teachers and syllabus designers in the classroom context.