Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz
Journal of Research in Applied Linguistics
2345-3303
2588-3887
6
2
2015
09
01
Next or Beyond Next: Effect of Contrastive Phrase-Based Treatment on Stage Gain Across Self-Paced and More Time-Constrained Tasks
3
20
EN
Manoochehr
Jafarigohar
0000-0001-6892-3248
Payame Noor University
jafarigohar2007@yahoo.com
Afsar
Rouhi
Payame Noor University
afsar.rouhi@gmail.com
Hassan
Soleimani
Payame Noor University
arshia.soleimani@gmail.com
Majid
Ghelichi
Payame Noor University
majid200954@yahoo.com
10.22055/rals.2015.11334
<span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">This study explored the effect of contrastive phrase resynthesis instruction on<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">gaining the teachability hypothesis stages in self-paced versus time-constrained oral<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">production and recognition. Three groups (i.e., 23 learners) of high beginner female<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">learners in an English language institute were randomly selected from a cohort of<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">learners. One group received contrastive metalinguistic instruction on the concept<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">and structure of English phrases. The second group received the same instruction<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">only in English. The third group served as a comparison group. Self-Paced Picture<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">Differences Tests and Time-Constrained Oral and GJTs were used for collecting the<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">data. Chi-square analyses through Fisher’s Exact Test showed that the treatment,<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">especially in its contrastive form, significantly contributed to gaining <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;"><em>next</em><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">, <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;"><em>next </em><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">+ 1,<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">and <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;"><em>next </em><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">+ 2 stages in spontaneous oral production, but only to <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;"><em>next </em><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">+ 1 and + 2<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">stages in self-paced oral production and time-constrained recognition. The<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
Phrase-Based Treatment,Contrastive Teaching,Self-Paced Task,TimeConstrained Task,Stage Gain
https://rals.scu.ac.ir/article_11334.html
https://rals.scu.ac.ir/article_11334_3325ac7aca1f30d1d58edb3ae66a4ebc.pdf
Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz
Journal of Research in Applied Linguistics
2345-3303
2588-3887
6
2
2015
09
01
Cultural Orientations of Iranian English Translation Students: Do Gender and Translation Quality Matter?
21
35
EN
Fatemeh
Salemi
Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
yeganehsalemi@yahoo.com
Masood
Khoshsaligheh
0000-0002-6508-1986
Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
khoshsaligheh@um.ac.ir
Mohammad Reza
Hashemi
Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
hashemi@um.ac.ir
10.22055/rals.2015.11335
<span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">The present exploratory study aimed to construct and apply a localized questionnaire<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">to investigate the cultural orientations of Iranian English translation students. It also<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">examined the relationship between cultural orientations of Iranian English<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">translation students, their gender, and translation quality. This mixed-methods study,<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">in the first phase, used focus group interviews to form a pool of cultural orientations<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">to provide for the first draft of the questionnaire items. Initial draft of the<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">questionnaire was subjected to the revision by experts and potential participants to<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">determine the face and content validity of the data to collect. Eventually, a 53-item<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">questionnaire was finalized, and the responses of a cluster sample of 473 Iranian<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">English translations at undergraduate and graduate levels were obtained. In the<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">second phase, the data collected using the revised questionnaire were analyzed<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">through a number of inferential statistical procedures. National identity, cultural<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">heritage, local traditionalism, collectivism, and social attachment were the revealed<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">categories of the cultural orientations of the participants. Findings did not indicate<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">any significant relationship between the Iranian English translation students’ cultural<br /><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">orientations, their gender, and translation quality.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" /></span>
Cultural Orientations,Iranian English Translation Students,Gender,Translation Quality
https://rals.scu.ac.ir/article_11335.html
https://rals.scu.ac.ir/article_11335_4f966b3ba96ee7502201501788b782ec.pdf
Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz
Journal of Research in Applied Linguistics
2345-3303
2588-3887
6
2
2015
09
01
Relationship Between Iranian University EFL Students’ Language Learning Aptitude and Language Learning Strategy Use
36
60
EN
Zainab
Abolfazli Khonbi
Urmia University
z.abolfazli1986@gmail.com
Karim
Sadeghi
Urmia University
k.sadeghi@urmia.ac.ir
10.22055/rals.2015.11336
This study investigated the relationship between language learning aptitude (LLA) and the use of language learning strategies (LLSs) among a cohort of Iranian EFL students at Urmia University, Iran. The adapted versions of the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT; Carrol & Sapon, 1983) and Oxford’s (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) were distributed among the participants (i.e., 6 males and 32 females). A strong positive relationship was found between aptitude and the use of all the categories of LLSs. Pearson product-moment correlation also indicated a strong positive relationship among components/categories within MLAT and SILL. Furthermore,the application of<em> t</em> test showed no significant differences between the males and females on their overall LLA test scores, but a one-way ANOVA indicated significant differences between the two genders regarding the cognitive and metacognitive strategies in favor of the males. One-way ANOVA also revealed significant differences between high versus low-aptitude students on LLSs use in favor of the former group.
Iranian EFL Students,Language Learning Aptitude (LLA),Language Learning Strategies (LLSs),strategy training
https://rals.scu.ac.ir/article_11336.html
https://rals.scu.ac.ir/article_11336_c6399d8bc748684e8469386487930d9d.pdf
Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz
Journal of Research in Applied Linguistics
2345-3303
2588-3887
6
2
2015
09
01
Impact of Metacognitive Awareness on Self-Assessment Skills of Lower-Intermediate Level EFL Students
61
80
EN
Fatemeh
Hemmati
Payame Noor University
fatemehhemmati2002@yahoo.co.uk
Amirali
Mohammadkhani
Payame Noor University
aa.m.khani@gmail.com
10.22055/rals.2015.11337
This study focuses on the relationship between lower-intermediate level EFL learners’ metacognitive awareness and accuracy in self-assessment of a speaking test. We tried to raise the learners’ metacognitive awareness through practice in goal-setting and planning. To do so, 103 lower-intermediate level students took a pretest of speaking, completed a metacognitive awareness questionnaire, and had an immediate recall interview. Next, they were divided into 2 groups and attended a course in which the students in 1 group received goal-setting and planning treatments. After administration of the posttests, the findings revealed that the goal-setting and planning treatment led the learners to gain higher levels of metacognitive awareness, <em>t</em>(101) = 2.45, <em>p</em> =. 019, and this increased awareness could increase their accuracy in self-assessment. Such findings indicate that presenting the objectives of different tasks to learners and goal-setting can be applied in language learning classes to enhance their awareness and improve their self-assessment skills.
Self-Assessment,Metacognitive Awareness,Planning,Goal-Setting
https://rals.scu.ac.ir/article_11337.html
https://rals.scu.ac.ir/article_11337_fd66e18ff65428db1e535c8695e28f6b.pdf
Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz
Journal of Research in Applied Linguistics
2345-3303
2588-3887
6
2
2015
09
01
Gender and Computer-Mediated Communication: Emoticons in a Digital Forum in Persian
81
93
EN
Nooshin
Malekizadeh
Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz
nooshin.malekizadeh@yahoo.com
Alireza
Khoram
Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz
arkhoram@yahoo.com
10.22055/rals.2015.11338
This study aimed to gain an insight into whether computer-mediated communication (CMC) in the form of a digital forum can reflect gendered discursive practices. A great deal of research has now established that computer-mediated interactions embody gendered differences in the use of emoticons, but few studies have examined the potential effect of the gender of the emoticon-receiver on the frequency and type of the emoticons. Drawing on a corpus of 386 posts from 26 interlocutors—both male and female participants—we explored how men and women receive emoticons, not just how they send emoticons. Our analysis of the transcripts focused on coding emoticons by type and frequency of occurrence. Each instance of emoticon use was initially coded based on our own interpretation of emoticons’ potential meaning in their particular surrounding texts. Findings revealed that the male participants displayed more emoticons than the females. Moreover, gendered differences were found in terms of the gender of the addressee: Both the males and females used significantly more emoticons when interacting with interlocutors from the opposite gender.
Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC),Digital Forum,Emoticon,Gendered Discourse
https://rals.scu.ac.ir/article_11338.html
https://rals.scu.ac.ir/article_11338_92831805ca4134ed07b96d9fd35533c2.pdf
Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz
Journal of Research in Applied Linguistics
2345-3303
2588-3887
6
2
2015
09
01
Investigating Iranian Language Learners’ Use of Circumlocution for Culture-Specific Referents
94
113
EN
Nadia
Mayahi
0000-0003-4945-5279
Sama Technical and Vocational Training College, Islamic Azad University, Mahshahr Branch
nadiamayahi@yahoo.com
Maryam
Alirezaee
Islamic Azad University, Khuzestan Science and Research Branch, Ahvaz
m.alirezaei18@yahoo.com
10.22055/rals.2015.11339
This study investigated Iranian English language learners’ use of circumlocution for culture-specific referents. A discourse completion test (DCT) was designed in English and Persian, consisting of items dealing with Iranian culture-specific notions and distributed among 3 groups. The Persian language group received the Persian version, whereas the English language learners, divided into high and low, received the English version of the DCT. Data were analyzed according to Salazar’s (2006) categorization of circumlocution, namely description, function, superordination, location, and combination. Results revealed that the high group had a stronger tendency to use circumlocution, in general, and in terms of its categories of description, function, and combination, in particular, as compared to the low group. Furthermore, cross-linguistic analysis suggested signs of linguistic transfer with regard to circumlocution. Our findings revealed that it is not so much the familiarity of learners with cultural concepts as it is their knowledge of linguistic and communicative strategies that enables them to overcome communicative problems. Finally, this study points to the facilitative role of compensatory strategies, particularly circumlocution, as a tool to cope with communication breakdowns in an L2.
Communication Strategies,Compensatory Strategies,Circumlocution,Culture-Specific Notions
https://rals.scu.ac.ir/article_11339.html
https://rals.scu.ac.ir/article_11339_77ef648f8d3fb2d3c5efcfbf36ebc879.pdf
Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz
Journal of Research in Applied Linguistics
2345-3303
2588-3887
6
2
2015
09
01
Unhomeliness and Hybridity in V. S. Naipaul’s Half a Life and Magic Seeds
114
129
EN
Taraneh
Borbor
University of Tehran
taranehborbor@gmail.com
10.22055/rals.2015.11340
In this study, the notions of homelessness and unhomeliness are studied in 2 novels by Naipaul: <em>Half a Life</em> (2001) and <em>Magic Seeds </em>(2004). Naipaul has been viewed by many postcolonial critics as an imperially complicit writer, for his controversial views of places and societies, particularly his disdain for non-Western societies. This study examines whether the imperatives of the postcolonial context, where boundaries and idealistic vision of place are unsettled, have influenced Naipaul’s view of places and ways of belonging to them. It is argued that his recent novels accept that the reality of homelessness renders the quest for home futile and approves of cultural exchange and hybridity as possible ways of belonging. However, the 2 novels show possibility as only tenable in certain Western societies (like England) and refuses to accept the possibility of hybridity and cultural exchange in postcolonial societies.
Naipaul,Half a Life,Magic Seeds,Hybridity,Homelessness,Unhomeliness,Postcolonial Studies
https://rals.scu.ac.ir/article_11340.html
https://rals.scu.ac.ir/article_11340_84f2fc37ece3f88f0bb9f9b69bc69ec6.pdf