Exploring the mindsets of ESP students in the light of locus of control

People act according to their beliefs and conceptions. Being aware of these conceptualizations can help us make sound educational decisions. Metaphor analysis is one of the ways in which we can uncover individuals' hidden beliefs. This study aims at investigating the metaphors for language teachers and learners used by students of humanities and students of engineering and the sciences. It attempts to account for the variation in choice of metaphors in terms of variation in locus of control (LOC). One hundred and forty four university students who were taking their ESP courses participated in this study. The metaphors were classified based on the taxonomy developed by the scholars in the field. The results showed that there is a marked difference between the choice of metaphors by the two groups of students and that LOC can explain this difference. The pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed.Keywords: beliefs, humanities, non-humanities, metaphor analysis, locus of control, internalizers, externalizer

Evaluation of Iranian Scientists Productions in Biotechnology and Applied Microbiology based on ISI through 2000 to 2008

In most countries, internationally indexed scientific publications provide the possibility for the scientometric experts to study their scientific progress. In Iran, the number of scientific productions indexed in ISI was 323 in 1993 and rose to 14832 in 2008 showing about 46 manifolds. The main aim of this research is to illustrate the dynamic structure of scientific productions of Iranian biotechnologists and applied microbiologists in WOS database during 2000–2008. The data was gathered through searching WOS database of ISI. The field of search was country (CU=IRAN). 681 scientific products were reported to be indexed in ISI. Iranians' international collaboration has been mainly with Canadian, Swedish and Australian coauthors. Compared to other Iranian universities, University of Tehran, Tarbiat Modares University and Tehran University of Medical Sciences have contributed mostly to ISI. Iranian biotechnologists’ and microbiologists’ intercontinental collaboration is generally in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Engineering and chemical and Biochemical research. There has been an increase in the fundamental research activities in Biotechnology and Applied Microbiology research projects which have triggered motivation for higher contribution to ISI

Exploring learner autonomy: language learning locus of control in multilinguals

By using data from an online language learning beliefs survey (n = 841), defining language learning experience in terms of participants’ multilingualism, and using a domain-specific language learning locus of control (LLLOC) instrument, this article examines whether more experienced language learners can also be seen as more autonomous language learners. Statistical analyses revealed small but significant positive correlations between the three multilingualism measures used and LLLOC scores, with higher scores indicating a more internal LLLOC. Participants with a higher linguistic repertoire size and overall language proficiency, who used their languages more frequently, had higher LLLOC scores than those with less languages at lower levels of proficiency and frequency of use. These findings suggest that more experienced language learners might indeed be more autonomous learners, as they subscribe to language learning beliefs that are indicative of a more internal LLLOC