Exploring the relationship between learners gender differences and communication apprehension considering the class participation in Iranian EFL context

The ability to communicate effectively is the optimum goal of learning English. Class participation plays a pivotal role in improving oral communication. Some obstacles prevent students from reaching class participation which may halt student' potent communication. Oral communication apprehension has been found to be the most important factor affecting the class participation. With all the differences separating males and females, it is no surprise that communication apprehension would be affected by gender differences. The goal of this study is to investigate the relationship between learners' gender differences and oral communication apprehension with respect to class participation. To achieve this goal, 140 undergraduate students including 70 males and 70 females majoring in English literature, translation and teaching from Sheik-Bahai University were selected. This sample was chosen by means of simple random sampling procedure. A questionnaire was utilized as the instrument to examine the relationships between learners' gender differences and oral communication apprehension. The data accumulated by means of the questionnaire were analyzed to ascertain the answers to the research question. In general, the findings showed that female students tend to be more apprehensive than men regarding the class participation

Analyses of verb tense and voice of research article abstracts in engineering journals

This paper seeks to analyze the research article abstracts among native English speakers and non-native (Iranian) speakers in the field of Electronic engineering. The analysis mainly focuses on the rhetorical structure, i.e. the constituent Moves/Sub-Moves. In addition, Verb choices and the voice and tense of the verbs in Move 2 and Move 4 respectively were examined. To this end, 25 published abstracts from each field (a total of 50 abstracts), all appearing in established, ISI journals, were selected. The model proposed by Santos (1996), composed of 5 moves along AntMover software was employed as a general guideline in order to identify Moves/SubMoves. The results compared and contrasted the dominant move patterns of each field, their unique Move/SubMoves, and the typical voice and tense of verbs employed in Move 4. It was also found that there were some variations between the abstracts written by native English speakers and nonnative speakers of English. It is hoped that with detailed analyses of abstracts, the results of this study may serve as a complement to the guidelines for novice writers to construct a proper research article abstract in electronic engineering

Investigation of the degree of perceived face threat in low, medium, and high face threat situations regarding politeness theory in Iranian EFL contexts

The goal of this study was to investigate the degree of perceived face threat in three different situations namely low, medium, and high face threat situations with respect to politeness theory in Iranian EFL Contexts. To obtain this purpose, 140 undergraduate students including 70 males and 70 females majoring in English literature, translation and teaching from Sheik-Bahai University were selected. This sample was chosen by means of stratified random sampling procedure. A questionnaire was utilized as the instrument to examine the degree of perceived face threat in three aforementioned situations. The data gathered by means of the questionnaire were analyzed to find out the answer to the research question. In general, the findings revealed that there was a statistically significant difference among students' performance in perceived face threat scenarios

A cultural study of social disagreement strategies by Iranian EFL male and female learners

The speech act of disagreement is one of the neglected areas of research in the Iranian context. This study seeks to investigate the ways in which this act is expressed by young male and female Persian speakers. To collect the data 100 participants (50 males, 50 females,) were selected randomly from among undergraduate and graduate students of University of Isfahan and Islamic Azad University (Najafabad branch). The focus of this study was the role that gender and power might play in the employment of strategies to mitigate the threat of the act of disagreement. Students were asked to complete a discourse completion test (DCT) designed by the researcher. They were supposed to read nine situations, and react to them via making disagreements. Respondents were expected to disagree with three interlocutors with higher status, three peers and three with lower status. In order to analyze the utterances of disagreement, Muntigl and Turnbull’s taxonomy (1998) was employed. The results revealed that although both males and females were concerned about the power status of interlocutors and try to apply the appropriate strategies while expressing their disagreements, females were more cautious

Effects of pedagogical movie Persian subtitles on vocabulary improvement: the case of Iranian EFL learners

Throughout the history of language teaching, using subtitles has had their particular advocates in teaching English as a second language. This study was conducted to investigate the impacts of Persian subtitled movies on vocabulary knowledge improvement of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. To achieve this goal, out of 35 participants, 20 female learners from a language institute in Isfahan, took part in the study. Their ages were between 12 to 16 years old and they were randomly divided into two homogenous groups (controllable and uncontrollable subtitle groups) based on Oxford Placement Test (OPT). As the pretest of the study, a content specific vocabulary test was administered which consisted of 30 multiple-choice items and was developed by the present researchers. Instructional materials included 10 parts of a movie, titled "Tangled" (produced in 2010). During 10 sessions of treatment, vocabularies were instructed to the participants. Experimental group was instructed watching a controllable subtitled movie (English dialogues with repeated Persian subtitles) while control group was instructed using the same audiovisual materials but without any repetition; watching an uncontrollable subtitled movie (English dialogues with unrepeated Persian subtitles). After treatment, as the posttest, the two groups were administered a test similar to the pretest and under the same conditions. Based on the findings of analysis of covariance on the pretest and posttest vocabulary test scores, the results indicated that the group using controllable Persian subtitles outperformed than the other group. Material designers and instructors can use the findings of this investigation to include movies with Persian subtitles for learners to learn more vocabulary due to the fact that these learners have learnt to appreciate the importance and the value of vocabulary, including its effectiveness in communicative tasks

Gender-based study of interactive and interactional metadiscourse markers in conclusion sections of english master theses

The aim of this study is to seek two types of interpersonal model of Hyland (2005) used in conclusion sections of 30 Master Theses of English Teaching, English Literature, and English Translation written by male and female graduate students. These conclusion sections were categorized into two groups of male and female writers: 15 conclusion sections belonged to male writers and other 15 conclusion sections belonged to female writers. The interactive and interactional metadiscourse markers were counted and analyzed to find if male or female writers utilize these metadiscourse markers differently or similarly in conclusion sections of English disciplines (Translation, Teaching, and Literature). These metadiscourse markers were analyzed descriptively and referentially. The descriptive analysis show that both male and female writers in Translation, Teaching and Literature applied more interactional markers than interactive ones. In Translation and Teaching, female writers used more interactional resources comparing to male writers. But, in Literature, male writers employed more interactional markers than female writers. The referential statistics indicate that in English Translation and English Literature, there are significant differences between male and female writers concerning use of Interactive and Interactional metadiscourse Markers, while in English Teaching, there are not any significant differences between male and female writers regarding use of these metadiscourse Markers

The study of disagreement strategies to suggestions used by Iranian male and female learners

This study seeks to investigate the ways in which the speech act of disagreement is expressed by young male and female Persian speakers. To collect the data 100 participants (50 males, 50 females,) were selected randomly from among undergraduate and graduate students of University of Isfahan and Islamic Azad University (Najafabad branch). The focus of this study was on the role that gender and power might play in the employment of strategies to mitigate the threat of disagreement. Students were asked to complete a discourse completion test (DCT) designed by the researcher. They were supposed to read nine suggestions situations, and react to them via making disagreements. Respondents were expected to disagree with three interlocutors with higher status, three peers and three with lower status. In order to analyze the utterances of disagreement, Muntigl and Turnbull’s taxonomy (1998) was employed. The results revealed that although both males and females were concerned about the power status of interlocutors and try to apply the appropriate strategies while expressing their disagreements, females were more cautious and used different strategies from those of males

The Role of Internet in ESP Contexts The Role of Internet in ESP Contexts

Abstract As we enter a new millennium, the ability and the need to understand and communicate with each other has become increasingly important, at times even urgent. An international exchange of ideasfrom environmental issues such as thinning ozone layer to medical topics such as genetic engineering, to political crises-is essential. To meet these communication needs, more and more individuals have highly specific academic and professional reasons for seeking to improve their language skills: for these students, courses that fall under the heading English for Special Purposes (ESP) hold particular appeal. Nowadays, Computers have become indispensable in the contemporary world as the powerful means for communication and education. Learners' interest to learning languages has been enforced by the availability of the Internet, which provides easy access to every possible kind of information and serves as an effective tool to facilitate learning. The concept of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been associated with the use of the Internet and implies the interactive use of the World Wide Web for education. The Internet presents a reliable and continuously updated source both of general and specific interest materials that are invaluable to learners. This increasing emphasis and promotion of autonomous learning of foreign languages and the widening role of online technologies have lately become the major features in language teaching in tertiary institution. Therefore, in order to make the language learning process a more motivating experience instructors need to put a great deal of thought into developing programs which maintain student interest and have obtainable short term goals. Key Words: ESP, Internet, Information and Communication Technology(ICT) Overview As we enter a new millennium, the ability and the need to understand and communicate with each other has become increasingly important, at times even urgent. An international exchange of ideasfrom environmental issues such as the thinning ozone layer and the warming of the planet, to medical topics such as genetic engineering, to political crises-is essential. To meet these communication needs, more and more individuals have highly specific academic and professional reasons for seeking to improve their language skills: for these students, usually adults

The Structure of the Past Tense Verbs in "Velati" and "Isfahan Jewish" Dialects: A Comparison

Velati (Velayati) is a dialect used to be spoken all over Varnosfaderan, a region located in Khomeini Shahr, Isfahan Province in Iran. Unfortunately, like many other dialects, affected by miscellaneous factors, this dialect has been considerably wiped out and its usage is currently restricted to Bavalgan, one of the five regions of Varnosfaderan. In a research by Esmaeili (1379), the internal classification of the central Iranian dialects and common grouping of Velati and Isfahan Jewish dialects were mentioned. As no documented evidence regarding the linguistic comparison of the two dialects was available, the present study aimed at examining the structure of the past tense verbs in the two dialects in order to shed light on their similarities and differences. The results of the study indicated striking resemblances between Velati and Isfahan Jewish dialects at the phonetic, phonologic and morphologic levels. Moreover, it was found that transitive and intransitive past tense verbs involve distinct structures in both dialects which may point to the existence of the ergative structure. In sum, the similarities of the past-tense verb structures in the two dialects were so remarkable that they confirmed the hypothesis that they are of a common historical origin

The effect of Hugo point pressure on postpartum pain in multiparous women

Background. In midwifery, Hugo point pressure is one of several effective, non-pharmacological approaches to decreasing pain. Objectives. The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of Hugo point on postpartum pain in multiparous women. Material and methods. This study was a randomized controlled trial conducted on 62 pregnant women in two groups: 31 women in the case-study (Hugo point pressure) and 31 women in the control-group (non-Hugo point pressure) groups. The block random sampling method was used. Data were collected by way of a questionnaire requesting information of delivery process, as well as a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for measuring pain intensity. In the postpartum ward and at least 2–24 hrs after the delivery, pain intensity and duration was measured before and 2, 4, 6 and 8 hours after intervention. Data was analyzed through independent t-test and RMANOWA tests. Results. The intensity of pain for both groups in the first two hours after delivery was significant (p = 0.005), but 4, 6 and 8 hours post- -delivery, despite a pain reduction in the intervention group more than in the control group, the difference was not significant. Moreover, no significant difference was observed between the two groups at 2, 4, 6 and 8 hours after delivery in terms of pain duration. Via the chi-square test, the frequency of painkiller use showed no significant difference statistically between the two groups. Conclusions. Hugo point pressure is a simple and cost-effective, harmless and easily applicable analgesic method for after-pain reduction – especially in the early hours of the postpartum period