Reflection, Resilience and Role Stress among Iranian EFL Teachers: A Mixed Methods Study

The present study is an attempt to discover the relationships among reflection, role stressors and resilience. To this end, a mixed-method approach was adopted. In the quantitative phase, 122 EFL teachers completed three questionnaires namely English Language Teaching Reflection Inventory, Teacher Role Stressors Scale and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. The results of correlation indicated that there is a significant positive relation between reflection and resilience. However, the correlation between reflection and role stressors was found to be negative. Multiple regression revealed that of the five components of reflection, metacognitive and critical reflection are significant predictors of role ambiguity while only critical reflection can predict role conflict. Metacognitive and practical reflection were also found to be significant predictors of teachers’ resilience. In the qualitative phase, fifteen face-to-face interviews were conducted with the participants who had also taken part in the first phase of the study. Data were transcribed, coded and thematically structured based on a grounded theoretical perspective. The two main themes which emerged out of the interviews confirmed that reflection leads to resilience through strengthening teachers’ professional identity while it also leads to resilience or stress through making teachers prepared and knowledgeable. The possible justifications of the obtained results as well as the implications of this study for teaching English and teacher education in EFL context are discussed

Impact of task planning on fluency, accuracy, and complexity in writing a case study on Iranian university students

This study attempted to explore the effects of task planning on young Iranian EFL learners’ writing proficiency. More specifically, the study was intended to examine such effects on the three dimensions of language proficiency, namely complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF). In this study, 30 young Iranian University students with the intermediate level of proficiency were selected from Khatam ol-Anbia University in Tehran, Iran. All the participants were randomly assigned into the control and experimental groups. The Oxford placement test was run in order to make sure that the two groups were homogeneous. Afterward, a series of writing tasks were developed to examine participants’ performance in writing. In the experimental group, the participants were supposed to do task planning based on the instruction they received from the instructor, while in the control group, participants, although instructed about the planning, were not required to do so. The results of the study indicated that task planning had positive effect on almost all the dimensions of language proficiency. This implies that EFL teachers can be very hopeful to successfully apply task planning in their classes because learners are willing to adapt themselves to this new area of language teaching. Eventually, it is believed that the results of such research will encourage EFL teachers and learners to use task planning and have more positive attitude towards it.Impacto de la planificación de tareas en la fluidez, exactitud y la complejidad al escribir: un estudio de caso en estudiantes universitarios de IránResumen:Este estudio intentó explorar los efectos de la planificación de tareas en el dominio de la escritura en inglés como lengua extranjera en universitarios de Irán. Específicamente, el estudio tenía la intención de examinar dichos efectos en las tres dimensiones del dominio del idioma, a saber, la complejidad, la precisión y la fluidez. En este estudio, 30 jóvenes estudiantes universitarios iraníes con un nivel intermedio fueron seleccionados de la Universidad Khatam ol-Anbia en Teherán, Irán. Todos los participantes fueron asignados al azar en los grupos control y experimental. Se aplicó el Oxford Placement Test para verificar que ambos grupos fueran homogéneos. Posteriormente, se desarrollaron una serie de tareas de escritura para examinar el desempeño de los participantes. En el grupo experimental, los participantes debían hacer una planificación de tareas basada en una instrucción que recibieron del instructor, mientras que en el grupo de control, los participantes, aunque recibieron instrucciones sobre la planificación, no estaban obligados a hacerlo. Los resultados del estudio indicaron que la planificación de tareas tuvo un efecto positivo en casi todas las dimensiones de la competencia lingüística. Esto implica que los profesores pueden aplicar con éxito la planificación de tareas en sus clases porque los alumnos están dispuestos a adaptarse a esta nueva área de la enseñanza de idiomas. Eventualmente, se cree que los resultados de esta investigación alentará a los maestros y aprendices a usar la planificación de tareas y tener una actitud más positiva hacia ella. 

Computer-assisted language learning in reading comprehension by using visual mnemonics A case study of Iranian EFL learners

A profitable method to address reading delays is to use computer-assisted learning, but these techniques are not always effective. In this research, the researchers evaluated a commercially available computer system, which uses visual mnemonics, in a randomised controlled trial with 78 English-speaking children (mean age 7 years) who their schools identified as needing reading support.  School based individual tutorials usually took place 2-3 times/week.  Only the experimental group received the intervention in the first 10 months, thereafter both the experimental and control groups received the intervention for 6 months. After 10 months, the experimental group had significantly higher standardised scores than the waiting list control group of decoding, phonological awareness, naming speed, phonological short-term memory and executive loaded working memory. The computer-assisted intervention was effective and this suggests that this medium can be used for reading interventions with English speaking children