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The Impact of Foreign Language Reading Anxiety and Text Feature Awareness on University Students’ Reading Comprehension ESP Texts
Farveh Nazarinasab,
Azadeh Nemati,
Mohammad Mehdi Mortahan
Issue:
Volume 2, Issue 6-1, November 2014
Pages:
1-7
Received:
28 August 2014
Accepted:
3 September 2014
Published:
17 September 2014
DOI:
10.11648/j.ijll.s.2014020601.11
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Abstract: In the present study, I sought to measure the impact of foreign language reading and text feature awareness on university students ‘reading comprehension ESP texts. This study looked to answer three research questions: 1) Does reading anxiety have any effect on reading comprehension of ESP students?; 2) Dose text feature awareness have any effect on reading comprehension of ESP students?; 3) Is the effect of interaction between reading anxiety and text feature awareness on reading comprehension of ESP students significant?. Participants were 120 students enrolled in ESP classes in four majors including 30 persons in electronic engineering, 30 chemistry engineering, 30 civil engineering and finally 30 persons in management course of Fars Science and Research University. Of all respondents only 93 students answered the questionnaires and gave back them who 46 were male and 47 were female. The students were asked to complete reading comprehension texts from ESP books consisting English for the students of Power, Electronics, Control & Communications and English for the students of Civil Engineering and English for the students of Chemistryand English for the Student of Management, as well as the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) developed by Saito, Garza and Horwitz in 1999 and Text Feature Awareness Questionnaire (TFAQ) developed by Mehrpoor in 2004. The results of the study reveal that there is significant relationship between reading anxiety and reading comprehension, correlation is negative. It means that the reading comprehension is increased with decreasing the FLRAS, but there is a positive significant relationship between reading comprehension and TFA, based on the results of the study it can be inferred that the higher the learners’ awareness of the text features, and the higher their L2 technical proficiency, the better performance on L2 reading comprehension task will be and vice versa. Finally, from the regression analysis, we infer that there was a significant relationship between the reading comprehension and the interaction of FLRAS and TFAQ. Moreover, the analysis revealed that the FLRAS had stronger effect on the reading comprehension than the TFAQ.
Abstract: In the present study, I sought to measure the impact of foreign language reading and text feature awareness on university students ‘reading comprehension ESP texts. This study looked to answer three research questions: 1) Does reading anxiety have any effect on reading comprehension of ESP students?; 2) Dose text feature awareness have any effect o...
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The Role of Intercultural Competence in Foreign Language Teaching
Azadeh Nemati,
Amir Marzban,
Ensieh Maleki
Issue:
Volume 2, Issue 6-1, November 2014
Pages:
8-12
Received:
23 September 2014
Accepted:
25 September 2014
Published:
30 September 2014
DOI:
10.11648/j.ijll.s.2014020601.12
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Abstract: In recent years there has been a growing interest in the cultural dimension of foreign language education, and teachers today are expected to promote the acquisition of intercultural competence in their learners. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the opinions and attitudes of Iranian teachers of English on intercultural competence teaching and to see how and to what extent these opinions and attitudes are reflected in their classroom application data were selected from 50 EFL teachers by mean of questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of four parts that investigate the teachers' attitudes and opinions. Date for present study, which was descriptive. Two statistics were used, if so , one sample t-test can be used, otherwise the chi-square test can applicable. The result of one sample t-test revealed that language teachers seem to be aware of the role of the culture in foreign language education though they do not often integrate culture into their teaching in order to develop intercultural competence in their learners. In overall, Iranian EFL teachers had positive attitude toward teaching culture in the classroom.
Abstract: In recent years there has been a growing interest in the cultural dimension of foreign language education, and teachers today are expected to promote the acquisition of intercultural competence in their learners. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the opinions and attitudes of Iranian teachers of English on intercultural competence teachi...
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An Investigation of Students’ Attitudes on Teachers' Nonverbal Interaction in Iranian EFL Classrooms
Fatemeh Behjat,
Samaneh Bayat,
Ali Asghar Kargar
Issue:
Volume 2, Issue 6-1, November 2014
Pages:
13-18
Received:
28 August 2014
Accepted:
4 September 2014
Published:
18 November 2014
DOI:
10.11648/j.ijll.s.2014020601.13
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Abstract: The aim of present research was to investigate the importance of nonverbal communication in EFL students’ language learning. Communication is a means of sharing ideas, feelings, and attitudes. It is separated into two types: verbal and nonverbal. In verbal communication, we use the language while nonverbal communication is the behavior that can be perceived indirectly from physical language. The nonverbal aspect of communication, which plays an extremely important role in human social interaction, has been known for a long time, but it has hardly been investigated. Ignorance of nonverbal communication will result in problems in education such as incompleteness and inefficiency of classroom teaching. This study was conducted in Shariyar, Iran. The participants were 70 Iranian students at Shahriyar Islamic Azad University. They were selected from among B.A. students majoring in English teaching. The data were gathered through a questionnaire. The results showed high positive attitudes towards teachers’ facial expressions and eye contact as two forms of nonverbal communication in Iranian students’ L2 learning.
Abstract: The aim of present research was to investigate the importance of nonverbal communication in EFL students’ language learning. Communication is a means of sharing ideas, feelings, and attitudes. It is separated into two types: verbal and nonverbal. In verbal communication, we use the language while nonverbal communication is the behavior that can be ...
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Investigating the Relationship between Iranian High School Female Students’ Spiritual Intelligence, Language Proficiency and Self-Esteem
Hajar Aghaei,
Fatemeh Behjat,
Mohammad Rostampour
Issue:
Volume 2, Issue 6-1, November 2014
Pages:
19-27
Received:
8 September 2014
Accepted:
12 September 2014
Published:
18 November 2014
DOI:
10.11648/j.ijll.s.2014020601.14
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Abstract: Spiritual intelligent refers to people's capacity to express and represent spiritual resources, values, and properties to improve and advance everyday performance. Language proficiency refers to a system which is suitable to communicate. Self-esteem is a construct of within the field of psychology and it refers to individual’s behaviors and thoughts. This study was conducted to find the relationship between Iranian female students’ spiritual intelligence, language proficiency, and self-esteem. The participants of this study were 60 female high school students from Hazrate Masome High School in Farrashband, Iran and were studying in Grade Three. They filled two questionnaires of spiritual intelligence and self-esteem, and a language proficiency test which was taken from the U.S Language Proficiency Examination. The analyses of data revealed that there is a relationship between language proficiency and self-esteem. Moreover, the results of correlation and independent sample t-test showed that there was a significant correlation between spiritual intelligence and language proficiency. Finally, the results showed the relationship between these three variables. The results also showed that the higher the level of spiritual intelligence, the higher language proficiency and self-esteem will be.
Abstract: Spiritual intelligent refers to people's capacity to express and represent spiritual resources, values, and properties to improve and advance everyday performance. Language proficiency refers to a system which is suitable to communicate. Self-esteem is a construct of within the field of psychology and it refers to individual’s behaviors and though...
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The Relationship between the Grammar of Persian / Turkish as the First Language and the Grammar of English for Iranian Female High School Students
Maryam Dorosti,
Fatemeh Behjat,
Seyed Jamal Abdolrahim Zadeh
Issue:
Volume 2, Issue 6-1, November 2014
Pages:
28-34
Received:
10 September 2014
Accepted:
12 September 2014
Published:
18 November 2014
DOI:
10.11648/j.ijll.s.2014020601.15
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Abstract: Relationship between first and second language effects the learning of the second language. The more the target language is similar to the first language, the better language achievement can be observed. The present study was an attempt to investigate the relationship between the grammar of Persian/Turkish as the first language and the grammar of English for Iranian female high school students. To this end, in the present study 6o high school female students from Marvdasht were selected as the participants. Out of 60, 30 students had Persian as their first language (Group A) and 30 students had Turkish as their first language (Group B). Regarding the aims of the study, Persian students took part in Persian grammar test, the Turkish students took part in Turkish grammar test, and both groups participated in an English grammar test which was a standard achievement test based on students’ high school English text book. In this study, statistical techniques as mean, standard deviation, Pearson correlation were used. The result of the correlational analysis indicated that the grammar of Turkish and Persian are related to the grammar of English, but there is positively more relationship between the grammar of Turkish and English.
Abstract: Relationship between first and second language effects the learning of the second language. The more the target language is similar to the first language, the better language achievement can be observed. The present study was an attempt to investigate the relationship between the grammar of Persian/Turkish as the first language and the grammar of E...
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The Relationship between Language Learning Anxiety and Language Learning Motivation among Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners
Elaheh Tahernezhad,
Fatemeh Behjat,
Ali Asghar Kargar
Issue:
Volume 2, Issue 6-1, November 2014
Pages:
35-48
Received:
10 September 2014
Accepted:
12 September 2014
Published:
18 November 2014
DOI:
10.11648/j.ijll.s.2014020601.16
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Abstract: The present study was an attempt to investigate the degree of anxiety among Iranian intermediate EFL learners and its relation to their motivation. To this end, a total number of 80 EFL learners (35 males and 45 females) were selected through cluster random sampling from two language classes at Islamic Azad University, Sardasht Branch, Hormozgan Province, Iran as the participants in this study. The instruments used to collect the data from the participants were the Foreign Language Learning Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and Gardner’s (1985) Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB). The results indicated that the majority of the participants experienced a mid to high level of language learning anxiety. Besides, it was found that the participants with lower levels of the language learning anxiety were more motivated to learn English while those with higher levels of the language learning anxiety were less motivated to learn English. However, there was no significant difference between the anxiety level of male and female participants. Similarly, there was no significant difference between the motivation level of male and female participants in this study. Finally, the findings indicated that there was no significant difference between the male and female participants concerning their language learning anxiety and motivation to learn English, indicating that gender did not play a determining role in these two variables.
Abstract: The present study was an attempt to investigate the degree of anxiety among Iranian intermediate EFL learners and its relation to their motivation. To this end, a total number of 80 EFL learners (35 males and 45 females) were selected through cluster random sampling from two language classes at Islamic Azad University, Sardasht Branch, Hormozgan Pr...
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Interactive White Boards and Iranian Male High School Students’ Vocabulary Breadth
Hajar Hassani,
Fatemeh Behjat,
Seyed Jamal Abdorahim Zadeh
Issue:
Volume 2, Issue 6-1, November 2014
Pages:
49-53
Received:
17 September 2014
Accepted:
22 September 2014
Published:
19 November 2014
DOI:
10.11648/j.ijll.s.2014020601.17
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Abstract: Using technology in education is very common nowadays. Interactive white boards are considered one of the product of this technology. The purpose of this research study was to determine the impact of the interactive whiteboards as an instructional tool on Iranian first-grade high school male students’ vocabulary achievement. Fifty first-grade high school male students participated in this study and were divided into two separate groups: one experimental group who were taught through the interactive whiteboards and the control group taught through traditional whiteboard. A vocabulary test used to asses students’ vocabulary achievement. The study was based on eight ninety-minute-long sessions(one session each week). Four units including vocabularies were taught during this two-month period. While teaching vocabulary, at first the teacher played the CD that pronounced each new word 3 times and asked students to repeat the words after listening to them. Then, the pronounced word appeared on the screen. Next, if the word was concrete, its picture was displayed on the interactive whiteboard, and finally the new words were used in sentences. The result of pre and post-test indicated that using interactive white boards as a treatment did not have a significant impact on Iranian high school male students’ vocabulary achievement when compared to traditional board.
Abstract: Using technology in education is very common nowadays. Interactive white boards are considered one of the product of this technology. The purpose of this research study was to determine the impact of the interactive whiteboards as an instructional tool on Iranian first-grade high school male students’ vocabulary achievement. Fifty first-grade high ...
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Effect of Metalinguistic Teacher Corrective Feedback on Writing Performance of Iranian EFL Learners
Mahnaz Azizi,
Fatemeh Behjat,
Mohammad Amin Sorahi
Issue:
Volume 2, Issue 6-1, November 2014
Pages:
54-63
Received:
10 September 2014
Accepted:
12 September 2014
Published:
25 November 2014
DOI:
10.11648/j.ijll.s.2014020601.18
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Abstract: This study was set out within the process-oriented framework to identify the extent to which the metalinguistic corrective feedback contributed to writing performance of the Iranian EFL learners better, and also to compare the effectiveness of two types of metalinguistic feedback, error codes feedback and description feedback on students’ writing improvement. The participants were 69 female students at a high school in Eghlid, Iran. At the beginning of the course, students were randomly assigned to the control, no-feedback, group and two experimental groups, one receiving error code feedback and one receiving description feedback. During the course, the teacher provided different forms of corrective feedback (explanation, error code, no feedback) on students’ writings. All the writings produced throughout the term were scored using the Writing Rating Scale developed by Gassner et al. (2007). The first writing assignments were used as the pretest and the last writing assignments were used as the posttest, which were then compared through three paired t-tests. Then, to see if the mean difference is significant, ANOVA and a post-hoc Sheffe test were run. An independent t-test was also performed between the posttests of the description and error code groups to determine which mode of metalinguistic feedback is more effective. Results showed that the metalinguistic TCF, especially description mode, had a positive influence on the writing improvement of the Iranian EFL students.
Abstract: This study was set out within the process-oriented framework to identify the extent to which the metalinguistic corrective feedback contributed to writing performance of the Iranian EFL learners better, and also to compare the effectiveness of two types of metalinguistic feedback, error codes feedback and description feedback on students’ writing i...
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