در هنگام جستجو کلمه در قسمت عنوان میتوانید کلمات مورد جستجو را با کاراکتر (-) جدا کنید.
کاربرد نوع شرط:
- جایگاه : پژوهشی
- مجله: Teaching English Language
- نوع مقاله: Journal Article
- کلمات کلیدی: English teacher education,in-service teacher education,pedagogic content knowledge,support knowledge
- چکیده:
- چکیده انگلیسی: Among the prevailing channels for L2 teachers to develop professionally, in-service teacher education programs (INSTEPs), or "continuing professional development" (Johnson, 2004, p. 652), are echoed in the literature. The present study probed Iranian L2 teachers’ perceptions regarding the advantages and disadvantages of the current INSTEPs held by the Ministry of Education. More specifically, the researchers examined various aspects of English teacher development, including the teachers’ appraisal of the current teacher evaluation scheme and the alternatives adopted by the teachers in order to update their pedagogic content and support knowledge. Data were collected through a questionnaire developed for the purposes of this study and administered to a representative sample of Iranian L2 teachers (n = 1234) who participated in some formal teacher development events in Iran. The results indicated that self-reliance was practiced by the teachers and they highlighted the pressing need for improving their own general English proficiency. Further, the teachers voiced their dissatisfaction with the existing teacher evaluation system and worked for some alternatives. The findings may promise implications for planning and practice of the current Iranian INSTEPs and provide clues for further research directions.
- انتشار مقاله: 22-11-1392
- نویسندگان: Mahmood Reza Atai,Seyyed Asadollah Asadi
- مشاهده
- جایگاه : پژوهشی
- مجله: Teaching English Language
- نوع مقاله: Journal Article
- کلمات کلیدی: instructed SLA,explicit/implicit FFI,type of language form,explicit/implicit knowledge
- چکیده:
- چکیده انگلیسی: This study investigated the relative effects of explicit and implicit form-focused instruction (FFI) on the acquisition of four simple and difficult morphosyntactic features as assessed by explicit and implicit outcome measures. Four tests were utilized to assess L2 learners' acquisition: elicited oral imitation, timed and untimed grammaticality judgment, and metalinguistic knowledge tests. A pretest and two posttests were administered to 120 low pre-intermediate learners immediately and three weeks after the instructional treatments. Durable effects of FFI were found for simple and difficult language forms on both measures of explicit and implicit L2 knowledge. More specifically, the present study indicated that explicit FFI was significantly more beneficial for simple language features chosen according to their degree of difficulty based on the explicit knowledge criteria and implicit FFI was significantly more beneficial for simple language features selected according to their degree of difficulty based on the implicit knowledge criteria. The findings may promise implications for our understanding of the efficacy of explicit and implicit FFI on L2 learners’ controlled and spontaneous use of simple and difficult forms at early stages of L2 acquisition.
- انتشار مقاله: 06-11-1390
- نویسندگان: Majid Ghorbani,Mahmood Reza Atai
- مشاهده
- جایگاه : پژوهشی
- مجله: Teaching English Language
- نوع مقاله: Journal Article
- کلمات کلیدی: Curriculum Implementation,ELT planning,ELT practice,planning practice gap
- چکیده:
- چکیده انگلیسی: The purpose of this study was to investigate some core issues of ELT curriculum implementation in Iran undertaken by policymakers in practice, i.e. teachers. The core issues include: the efficiency of communication channels between ELT planners and implementers, the extent to which ELT textbooks are believed to meet students’ cognitive and affective needs, the criteria English teachers are evaluated with and by whom, the extent teachers follow officially-approved teaching and testing practices, how ongoing professional support is provided to the teachers, and if context-based feedback of implementers is processed by planners. To collect data, structured interviews were conducted with 22 head teachers and open-ended questionnaires were administered to 672 teachers in 13 provinces. Results indicate that problems pertaining to evaluation policy, methods and techniques policy, in service training policy, and communication policy at practice level widen the gap between ELT planners’ rhetoric and implementers’ practice. It is argued that as long as curriculum implementers are not involved in setting ELT policies, the distance between these two groups will keep on growing.
- انتشار مقاله: 12-12-1390
- نویسندگان: Mahmood Reza Atai,Esmat Babaii,Farhad Mazlum
- مشاهده
- جایگاه : پژوهشی
- مجله: Teaching English Language
- نوع مقاله: Journal Article
- کلمات کلیدی: Applied Linguistics,qualitative,quantitative,mixed methods research,mixed-method designs
- چکیده:
- چکیده انگلیسی: Over the past decade, mixed methods research has gained particular attention in social and behavioral research as a considerable number of studies investigated theoretical and methodological aspects of conducting mixed methods research. In applied linguistics, however, mixed methods research is a new approach and little research exists on theoretical and methodological issues related to mixed-method designs. The present study has explored the research designs in which qualitative and quantitative components were combined in the field of applied linguistics. A qualitative analysis of 205 research articles published in seven peer reviewed applied linguistics journals over a period of 14 years revealed that two major categories of mixed-method designs were used in the studies (i.e., sequential and concurrent). Also, subcategories similar to those used in social research emerged in a good number of studies (i.e., triangulation, embedded designs, exploratory designs, explanatory designs). However, the findings further indicated that applied linguistics researchers did not draw on the previously known designs from social research and adopted a pragmatic approach to integrating qualitative and quantitative strands. The findings of this study may help us develop an enhanced understanding of how mixing can be systematically utilized in applied linguistics research.
- انتشار مقاله: 21-06-1390
- نویسندگان: Esmat Babaii,Mahmood Reza Atai,Seyyed Mohammad Reza Hashemi
- مشاهده
- جایگاه : پژوهشی
- مجله: Teaching English Language
- نوع مقاله: Journal Article
- کلمات کلیدی: Generic Structure,Genre-based Instruction,News,portfolio assessment,EFL listening comprehension,genre knowledge
- چکیده:
- چکیده انگلیسی: This study was conducted to examine whether raising the awareness of EFL listeners about the generic structure of news through portfolio approach may significantly enhance the subjects’ listening comprehension performance. To this end, around 97 advanced Iranian EFL learners participated in this study. The first experimental group received explicit teaching of generic structures of the genre of news. The participants in the second experimental group (i.e. portfolio assessment group) were helped to develop their awareness of the genre of news through completing their portfolios. The subjects in the control group listened to the news and completed some conventional activities. Instrumentation included a listening comprehension test and an attitude questionnaire. The results showed that explicit teaching of the generic structures of the genre of news as well as the application of portfolio assessment did not have any significant effect on listening comprehension performance of EFL listeners. It is concludes that only skilled listeners may benefit from genre-based pedagogy and portfolio assessment.
- انتشار مقاله: 19-08-1390
- نویسندگان: Mahmood Reza Atai,Saeedeh Ghotbeldin
- مشاهده
- جایگاه : پژوهشی
- مجله: Teaching English Language
- نوع مقاله: Journal Article
- کلمات کلیدی: Writing,EFL Learners,depth of vocabulary knowledge,semantic set,vocabulary use,Word Association Test (WAT)
- چکیده: بررسی نقش
- چکیده انگلیسی: The role of depth of vocabulary knowledge in EFL writing performance has remained an under-researched issue. The present study was designed to investigate the role of depth of vocabulary knowledge and semantic set in making appropriate word choices in EFL learners’ writing performance. Participants were 70 lower-intermediate and upper-intermediate EFL learners. Instrumentation included Oxford Quick Placement Test, Word Association Test (WAT), and two writing tests. The results of MANOVA and independent t-tests revealed that: a) depth of vocabulary knowledge played a fundamental role in appropriate use of words in a semantic set in lower-intermediate level but not in upper-intermediate level, b) depth of vocabulary knowledge had a significant role in overall writing performance only in upper-intermediate level, c) using words appropriately in a semantic set played a significant role in writing performance of the lower-intermediate participants, while the opposite was found for the upper-intermediate group. The results may promise implications for vocabulary and writing curriculum development and instruction.
- انتشار مقاله: 29-10-1388
- نویسندگان: Mahmood Reza Atai,Ali Dabbagh
- مشاهده
- جایگاه : پژوهشی
- مجله: Journal of Teaching Language Skills
- نوع مقاله: Journal Article
- کلمات کلیدی: EFL Teachers,Intercultural Communicative Competence,Critical cultural awareness,questionnaire development
- چکیده:
- چکیده انگلیسی: Critical cultural awareness as a component of intercultural competence (Byram, 1997, 2012) has received the extensive attention of scholars in the fields of language teaching, cultural studies, ethnic studies, gender studies, communication studies, etc. in the recent decades. However, no instrument has ever been developed to assess this construct among Iranian EFL teachers. To fill this gap, in the first phase of the present study a theoretical framework for critical cultural awareness and its components was developed through reviewing the literature and conducting interviews with ELT experts. In the second phase, a questionnaire was developed and piloted with 370 participants who were available and willing to participate in the study. More specifically, the 37 items of the newly-developed ‘CCA' scale were subjected to principal component analysis which revealed the presence of three components. These phases led to the development of a questionnaire with three components and 37 items: (1) ‘CCA in ELT Programs' including 20 items, (2) ‘CCA in ELT Textbooks and Materials' including 13 items, and (3) ‘CCA in General Terms' including four items. The findings of this study may shed some light on this fuzzy subject and help researchers assess Iranian EFL teachers' critical cultural awareness.
- انتشار مقاله: 11-12-1395
- نویسندگان: Mahmood Reza Atai,Esmat Babaii,Davood Taghipour Bazargani
- مشاهده
- جایگاه : پژوهشی
- مجله: Journal of Teaching Language Skills
- نوع مقاله: Journal Article
- کلمات کلیدی: race,Social Actors,visual and verbal modes,compositional metafunctions,stereotyping
- چکیده:
- چکیده انگلیسی: This study drew upon Kress and Van Leeuwen’s (2006, [1996]) visual grammar and Van Leeuwen’s (2008) social semiotic model to interrogate ways through which social actors of different races are visually and textually represented in four award-winning English-learning software packages. The analysis was based on narrative actional/reactional processes at the ideational level; mood, perspective, social distance, and modality at the interpersonal level; and salience, framing, and vector at the compositional level. The findings revealed that although contemporary multimodal texts have tried to be unbiased and neutral in the verbal mode, there are still traces of discrimination, bias, and stereotyping in the visual mode. The results of this research can be of potential help and use for researchers, pedagogues, material developers, software designers, teachers , and students to become visually literate and get aware of the hidden messages that can be communicated by images in textbooks and multimedia.
- انتشار مقاله: 24-04-1395
- نویسندگان: Esmat Babaii,Mahmood Reza Atai,Masoumeh Kafshgarsouteh
- مشاهده
- جایگاه : پژوهشی
- مجله: Journal of Teaching Language Skills
- نوع مقاله: Journal Article
- کلمات کلیدی: multiple intelligences,Higher-order thinking skills,portfolio assessment,dialogic-based portfolio assessment,Dialogic learning
- چکیده:
- چکیده انگلیسی: Abstract
Controversy has not been yet resolved among L2 researchers as how to enhance higher-order thinking skills (HOTSs) in EFL contexts. Responding to the growing need to foster thinking skills, many L2 educators have recently attempted to investigate the effect of diverse teaching strategies on HOTS. Yet, few studies have focused on the infusion of Gardner’s (1999) theory of multiple intelligences (MI), dialogic teaching, and portfolio assessment in improving HOTSs. Thus, the present study aimed to explore the impact of MI-oriented dialogic-based portfolio assessment on the higher-order thinking skills of 42 Iranian advanced EFL learners studying at Jehad Daneshgahi Institute, Karaj Branch. The participants in 2 intact classes were assigned to a control or dialogic-based portfolio assessment (DBPA) group and an experimental or MI-oriented dialogic-based portfolio assessment (MIDBPA) group. In the experimental group, the participants’ MI was initially measured through Christison’s (1998) MI checklist to group the participants with the same strong intelligence in 1 group. The MANOVA indicated the superiority of the MIDBPA group over the control group in the use of HOTSs. The findings highlight the virtue of taking participants’ dominant intelligences as a criterion for task selection, even in dialogic-based learning environments, as an instructional technique for the enhancement of HOTSs. Pedagogical implications are discussed, and recommendations for further research are suggested.- انتشار مقاله: 04-05-1393
- نویسندگان: Akram Faravani,Mahmood Reza Atai
- مشاهده
- جایگاه : پژوهشی
- مجله: Journal of Teaching Language Skills
- نوع مقاله: Journal Article
- کلمات کلیدی: Academic Literacy,beliefs,Graduate Students,Academic Reading,Metacognitive knowledge
- چکیده:
- چکیده انگلیسی: Although the importance of reading in higher education as an index of success has been highlighted, the metacognitive knowledge or beliefs of graduate students have remained under-researched. This qualitative study reports on a study that, first, examines how graduate students of applied linguistics conceive of academic reading and academic readers in their graduate programs; second, what factors they believe can contribute to the development of those self-conceptions; and, third, if there was the possibility of adding a course on academic reading to their MA programs, how they would judge the advantages and disadvantages of such a course. In so doing, in-depth interviews were conducted with 31 graduate students at eight different universities. The findings revealed considerable changes in the participants' conceptions as the result of taking part in their graduate programs. They attributed those self-conceptions to their efforts and struggles as well as their teachers' help and guidance. Their perceptions of an academic reading course were positive. Pedagogical implications are discussed.
- انتشار مقاله: 16-10-1397
- نویسندگان: Mahmood Reza Atai,Mohammad R. Hashemi,Hassan Nejadghanbar
- مشاهده