Iranian EFL learners

The Regulatory Focus Theory, a classic self-regulatory approach, posits that human behavior is significantly influenced by salient standards and reference points that are either situation-dependent or chronically accessible in a person's mind. This study examined the impact of regulatory focus orientations, namely prevention and promotion, on the willingness of Iranian EFL learners to communicate in an English class. We selected 48 upper-intermediate-level students via the Oxford Placement test. These students were divided into three groups: promotion-focused, prevention-focused, and control. The promotion-focused group was encouraged through positive reinforcement of their success and accomplishments when using correct linguistic features during class. Conversely, the prevention-focused group was immediately corrected when a linguistic error occurred to avoid further mistakes, and no praise was given for correct language use. The control group received no intervention. Results derived from a one-way ANOVA demonstrated a significant relationship between the regulatory focus orientation and students' willingness to communicate. EFL learners exposed to promotion techniques demonstrated a higher willingness to communicate. The paper concludes with a discussion on the theoretical implications and pedagogical applications of the study.

The current study explored the effect of storytelling and translation techniques on learning proverbs among female Iranian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners in online classes, which came into vogue after corona pandemic, and the attitudes of the learners toward proverb learning. In order to do these, participants who were 30 female high school students studying in Iranshahr whose homogeneity as pre-intermediate learners was checked via the Nelson Proficiency Test were assigned to two groups: a storytelling group, and a translation group; each group containing 15 students. Treatment lasted seven sessions and it included 50 English proverbs chosen based on the frequency of their use in Google search. In each session, the participants of experimental groups were engaged in learning seven English proverbs. The translation group were presented with L1 equivalents of the proverbs; the storytelling group were presented with a funny story about each proverb. An attitude questionnaire and a test of proverbs were applied prior to and after the treatment. The results of the paired t-test indicated that both storytelling technique and translation were effective in improving learners’ knowledge of L2 (second Language) proverbs. The results of the t-test depicted that there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in the post-test. These findings have implications for material developers, L2 instructors, and L2 learners about the importance of the use of L2 proverbs.

A long-standing concern reverberating over the minds of intercultural scholars is how best to incorporate intercultural issues in English language teaching, an issue on which there has been little research in EFL contexts. To fill this gap, this qualitative study examined the efficacy of interculturally-laden tasks in promoting Iranian learners’ intercultural competency in Anzali, Guilan province, Iran. Thus, a group of 22 Iranian intermediate EFL learners were recruited through convenience sampling from a pool of 44 according to their score on Oxford Quick Placement Test. All the participants were 12 females and 10 males aged 21-30. Then, they attended eighteen sessions of intercultural training using Mirrors and Windows: An intercultural communication textbook and completed seven intercultural tasks as a pretest and posttest. Data was collected through seven intercultural tasks and reflective worksheets. Drawing on the qualitative content analysis of intercultural tasks, the findings revealed that the tasks could help the participants increase their intercultural competence. Moreover, three themes were emerged from the analysis of the reflective worksheets as follow: (1) the participants’ evaluation of the ICC course and intercultural tasks, (2) perceptions regarding intercultural development and (3) language skills and anxiety. The implications and suggestions for further research are discussed.

This study focused on the relationship between VIA (Values in Action) character strengths and the general second language (L2) proficiency of Iranian upper-intermediate EFLlearners. The researchers aimed to investigate the reletionship between six VIA virtues (courage, justice, humanity, temperance, wisdom, and transcendence) and learners' general L2 proficiency. The study involved 300 Iranian EFL learners enrolled in five language institutes in Isfahan, Iran. The participants' proficiency level was assessed using an Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT). Language proficiency was evaluated through the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and a questionnaire was used to measure VIA characteristics. The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation. The findings showed a significant positive relationship between various subcategories of VIA characteristics and general L2 proficiency. These subcategories included wisdom, creativity, curiosity, judgment, love of learning, courage, perseverance, honesty, humanity, love, kindness, social intelligence, justice, fairness, leadership, temperance, forgiveness, humility, prudence, self-regulation, transcendence, appreciation, gratitude, hope, humor, spirituality, and L2 proficiency. These results have implications for educational practitioners, such as school counselors, instructors, educational policymakers, and researchers, as they highlight the importance of VIA character strengths in promoting language learning achievement.

This study investigated the impact of teacher and peer scaffolding on the speaking performance of Iranian EFL learners. Utilizing a quasi-experimental design, 60 intermediate-level female learners were selected from a population of 75, divided into three groups: teacher scaffolding, peer scaffolding, and a control group. The study employed the Preliminary English Test (PET) and speaking pretest and posttest to ensure homogeneity and measure the participants’ progress in speaking proficiency. The results of a One-way ANOVA indicated significant improvements in speaking performance for both scaffolding groups compared to the control group. However, no significant difference was found between the effects of teacher and peer scaffolding. These findings suggest that both types of scaffolding are equally effective in enhancing L2 speaking skills, supporting the theoretical framework of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The study underscores the importance of incorporating scaffolding into language instruction to foster better speaking outcomes.

Intercultural communication is a widespread matter in today’s world with the advent of globalization and social media. Thus, this study focused on exploring the role of cultural knowledge and linguistic knowledge in the formation of intercultural competence. The researchers selected 150 Iranian learners through a purposeful sampling procedure in a qualitative design. By using interviews, observation, and reflective journals the required data was collected. The researchers used inductive analysis and thematic analysis to analyze the collected data. The results revealed that cultural knowledge and linguistic knowledge are both equally important in the formation of intercultural competence of Iranian learners. Also, it is shown that Iranian learners make use of both linguistic knowledge and cultural knowledge to have effective communication, build trust and rapport, conflict resolution, and avoid linguistic and cultural misunderstandings. This study is important for language teachers, book writers, and curriculum developers in that they should pay more attention to both linguistic knowledge and cultural knowledge in their teaching, book writing, and curriculum development respectively.

The current inquiry aimed at examining the effect of first language by Iranian learners as Foreign Language (EFL) in task preparation on their speaking accuracy, fluency and complexity. For this purpose, 40 Iranian EFL learners with intermediate level were selected based on a placement test, and divided into two equal groups. Then, the speaking fluency, accuracy, and complexity test was administered as the pretest. The treatment lasted for five sessions of 60 minutes. In these sessions, the learners did oral opinion tasks. In the first group, participants were supposed to spend 10 minutes to cooperate with a partner to read a proposed problem, discuss their solutions, and jot down by in a planning sheet. Within 10 minutes, they prepared for the task using only their L1 (Persian) for improving both speaking and writing skills. Following that, the participants were separated in various rooms, and were given two minutes to plan the task in English prior to doing the task. In contrast, the second group completed the planning sheet and prepared the task in English as their second/foreign language. The instruction lasted five sessions. At the final session, the speaking fluency, accuracy, and complexity posttest was conducted. The effects of the task planning conditions were analyzed and compared during and after the task performance. The data were analyzed via ANCOVA. The findings indicated that using L1 by Iranian EFL learners in task preparation significantly affected speaking accuracy, fluency and complexity. Finally, the pedagogical and theoretical implications of the study are provided.

This study investigates the effect of corrective feedback on Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ interlanguage pragmatic (ILP) development in the context of invitation acceptance and declination. Three intact experimental groups were selected via convenience sampling from an English institute in Tehran: a recast group (N = 13), a metalinguistic group (N = 17), and a clarification request group (N = 12). Prior to the treatment, the groups participated in a dialogic extended discourse pretest. The dialogues for invitation acceptance and declination were drawn from Top Notch, American English File, English Result, and Four Corners. Learners’ performance was assessed using two checklists—one for pragmalinguistic and the other for sociopragmatic knowledge—based on a five-item Likert scale ranging from inappropriate to most appropriate. Treatment sessions were conducted three times per week, each lasting 60 minutes, over a period of one month. The findings reveal that corrective feedback significantly enhanced ILP development. Notably, the metalinguistic group outperformed the recast and clarification request groups. Consequently, metalinguistic corrective feedback proved more effective than recast and clarification feedback in fostering Iranian EFL learners’ ILP development concerning invitation acceptance and declination.

This study was conducted to probe the effect of the observer ring technique on the participants’ writing achievement. In so doing, the researchers utilized a quasi-experimental design with 20 participants in the control group and 18 in the experimental group. Instrumentation included a writing handout, an Oxford Placement Test (standard proficiency test), and a rating scale of writing. As a treatment, the participants in the experimental group were asked to write at home and bring their papers to the class to be corrected by their classmates and the teacher was the supervisor. In the control group, the papers were corrected by the teacher. The results of the pre-test indicated that the participants of the two groups were homogeneous with regard to proficiency level as well as their writing ability. The results of the post-test revealed that the writing ability of the participants in the experimental group had improved during the study. Moreover, the observer ring technique had a positive and significant effect on the participants' writing ability. The findings may promise implications for incorporating this new interactive feedback model into EFL writing classes.

Demotivation is a relatively new topic in the field of second or foreign language acquisition which is in need of more rigorous research. In this regard, the present study was an attempt to investigate demotivating factors in learning English as a foreign language in an Iranian context. To this end, 382 Persian learners of English were selected through stratified clustering sampling procedure to participate in this mixed method study. The Data was collected through a 40-item Likert type questionnaire. The Factor analysis of the data extracted seven factors including a) inadequate facilities, b) reduced self-confidence, c) class characteristics, d) lack of purpose to study English, e) teaching methods, f) teachers and teaching styles, and g) negative attitudes toward English and the culture of English-speaking countries as demotivators. The Students’ perceptions of these seven factors were compared based on their general English proficiency levels. The Results revealed that low proficient learners perceived reduced self-confidence and negative attitudes more demotivating than their counterparts at other levels of proficiency.

Speaking proficiency is a crucial skill for Iranian EFL learners, yet it remains one of the most challenging aspects of language acquisition due to traditional, teacher-centered instruction and a lack of communicative practice. This study examines the effects of Differentiated Instruction (DI) and Gamification (G) on the Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency (CAF) of Iranian EFL learners’ speaking skills. A quasi-experimental design was employed, involving 108 B2-level learners from Safir Language Institute, Iran. Participants were divided into three groups: one receiving DI-based instruction, another engaging in Gamification-based tasks, and a control group following conventional teaching methods. The study utilized pre- and post-tests of speaking performance, evaluated through CAF metrics, alongside qualitative interviews to explore learners’ perceptions. Statistical analyses revealed significant improvements in all three dimensions of speaking in the experimental groups, with DI showing greater gains in accuracy and complexity, while G was more effective in enhancing fluency. Qualitative findings indicated that both approaches increased learner engagement, motivation, and confidence. These results suggest that DI and Gamification are effective pedagogical strategies for improving speaking proficiency and should be integrated into EFL curricula to optimize learning outcomes.

This study investigated the impact of teacher and peer scaffolding on the speaking performance of Iranian EFL learners. Utilizing a quasi-experimental design, 60 intermediate-level female learners were selected from a population of 75, divided into three groups: teacher scaffolding, peer scaffolding, and a control group. The study employed the Preliminary English Test (PET) and speaking pretest and posttest to ensure homogeneity and measure the participants’ progress in speaking proficiency. The results of a One-way ANOVA indicated significant improvements in speaking performance for both scaffolding groups compared to the control group. However, no significant difference was found between the effects of teacher and peer scaffolding. These findings suggest that both types of scaffolding are equally effective in enhancing L2 speaking skills, supporting the theoretical framework of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The study underscores the importance of incorporating scaffolding into language instruction to foster better speaking outcomes.

The present explanatory mixed methods study was designed to investigate the difference between the effects of using the pyramid model of Willingness to Communicate (WTC) and Communicative Tasks (CTs) on reducing Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' speaking barriers. The participants were 57 Iranian EFL learners selected based on convenience sampling from a language institute in Tehran. The Preliminary English Test (PET) results verified their homogeneity. To foster a stronger spirit of cooperation among the participants, they were placed in three different classes based on their tendencies; hence, the researchers could consider them as three groups: the Pyramid Model Group (PMG), the Communicative Tasks Group (CTsG), and the Conventional Approach Group (CAG) each including 19 participants. The PMG received instructions pertaining to the six levels of PM in willingness to communicate (WTC), while the CTsG received instructions based on information gap, reasoning gap, and opinion gap activities. The CAG relied on the Audio-Lingual Method (ALM), which the institute regularly followed. Accordingly, the three groups went through pretesting, intervention, and post-testing. The participants completed a speaking barriers survey as pre- and post-tests. Then, ten participants from the three groups were randomly selected and interviewed about the impact of the methods they had experienced on their speaking barriers. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed the priority of the pyramid model of WTC over communicative tasks and conventional teaching in reducing learners' speaking barriers. The interview results also confirmed the quantitative findings indicating that anxiety, learners' low self-confidence, along with linguistic and instructional barriers could be reduced through being exposed to the pyramid model instructions. The results can be helpful for ELT professionals, EFL teachers and learners, and other stakeholders to hold more thriving L2 speaking classes.