A Study of L2 Composing Task: An Analysis of Conceptual and Linguistic Activities and Text Quality

AbstractThis study aimed to investigate the proportion of L1 and L2 use while writing in L2 and also the way the language use is related to conceptual and linguistic activities. Furthermore, it focused on the effects of the language use and conceptual and linguistic activities on L2 text quality. To carry out the research, twelve Iranian L2 (English) learners were instructed to write an argumentative composition under think aloud condition. The results indicated that L1 is used quite frequently and predominantly for performing conceptual activities rather than linguistic ones. It was also concluded that L1 use and conceptual activities contribute to the better text quality

INVESTIGATING AGE–BASED COMPLIMENTS IN PERSIAN

The present study was an attempt to investigate differences in the use of compliments in Persian across age as a social variable. Data was gathered through a Discourse Completion Task (DCT) with imaginary situations in which 200 native Persian speakers were asked to put themselves in those situations and give compliments. The results indicated that the most frequently used compliment strategies by Persian native speakers were explicit unbound semantic formula and non-compliment strategies. However, the participants used 'other' strategies, future reference, contrast, and request strategies the least. The results also suggested the effect of age on the distribution of compliments. While the younger participants preferred non-compliment strategies the most, the older participants preferred explicit unbound semantic formula strategies the most. However, despite minor differences, all age-groups rarely tended to use future reference, contrast, request, and 'other' strategies. The results cashed light on the cultural and socio-cultural factors affecting the way people offer compliments.Keywords: Pragmatic competence, Speech acts, Compliments, Discourse Completion Task (DCT), Social variable

Does It Make a Difference? L2 Vocabulary Learning via Mobile and Conventional Mode

The present study investigated the significance of mobile learning (m-learning) of English vocabulary items through a traditional contrasted with a blended method of content representation. To achieve the goals, sixty semi-illiterate adults were evaluated for their knowledge of the English alphabet and then randomly placed in two groups: traditional (G1) and the blended group (G2). Next, they were presented thirty new English vocabulary items through the two methods. Also, the vocabulary items were taught with and without pictorial annotations. Upon the completion of teaching, the participants took the paper-and-pencil-based English Vocabulary Recognition and Recall (EVRR) test. The test results were subjected to the appropriate statistical analyses. The analysis demonstrated the supremacy of blended group's performance over the traditional group in vocabulary learning. Furthermore, the obtained results confirmed that pictorial annotations enhanced the learning of L2 vocabulary compared with non-annotated items. The results can provide some practical and theoretical implications for both teachers and learners

A Social Quest for Language and Cultural Capital: Exploring Iranian English Language Majors’ Habitus

This research study was conducted to investigate the most representative characteristics of the habitus developed by academically successful Iranian English majors. Learning a second or foreign language, like many sociocultural practices, from a Bourdieusian perspective, is informed by the interrelation between habitus, field, and cultural capital (CC). Within an exploratory qualitative design, utilizing the Biographical Narrative Interpretive Method of both semi-structured and unstructured one-on-one interviews, seven academically successful BA students majoring in English language studies were studied in an attempt to explore their CC and habitus. Each participant was interviewed in 3 separate sessions. The constructivist grounded theory method was adopted to analyze the collected data. Constructed on 75 initial codes, 22 focused codes, 10 categories, and 4 themes, two major themes were most relevantly indicative of theoretical associations with the research problem. The findings suggest that the habitus developed by the English majors in this study was representative of their accumulation of certain forms of CC. Their habitus seemed to have been developed under the influence of their interaction with the mediatory field of learning and majoring in a foreign language. In an exigency-driven social quest for certain forms of cultural capital, the participants’ habitus were majorly characterized and influenced by their strategic accumulation of institutional and social capital, their field-oriented social identities, and their strategic administration of CC in the field. The knowledge developed by the findings of this study can provide useful sociocultural insights into academic achievements of English language majors

L2 Learners’ Lexical Inferencing: Perceptual Learning Style Preferences, Strategy Use, Density of Text, and Parts of Speech as Possible Predictors

This study was intended first to categorize the L2 learners in terms of their learning style preferences and second to investigate if their learning preferences are related to lexical inferencing. Moreover, strategies used for lexical inferencing and text related issues of text density and parts of speech were studied to determine their moderating effects and the best predictors of lexical inferencing. To this end, a posttest group design with 142 students studying engineering was adopted for the study. Perceptual style preferences questionnaire was administered to identify the students’ major learning styles, followed by strategy training for deriving the meaning of unknown words. Finally, lexical inferencing texts were given to the students to study and extract the meaning of unknown words and concurrently determine the type of strategy used for lexical inferencing. The results indicated that a great proportion of students belonged to the kinesthetic category of styles while the predominant treatments in the class were audio-visually structured. The analysis also revealed that tactile, kinesthetic, and group categories of style preferences are meaningfully related. Moreover, it was found that learning style preferences lead to statistically different lexical ineferncing. As for the strategies, the ‘syntactic knowledge analysis’ showed the highest correlation with ‘auditory learners’. Lexical density and parts of speech were also shown to moderate the effect of perceptual style preferences on lexical ability. On the whole, strategy and perceptual style preferences were found to be the two best predictors of successful lexical inferencing

Mediational role of perceptual styles in L2 lexical inferencing and the associated strategy use

Due to the critical role that perceptual learning styles as indicators of individual differences play in L2 learners' activities and thus their academic achievement, the present investigation was aimed to study the role of L2 learners' perceptual styles in lexical inferencing and also the strategies used for lexical inferences in the Iranian context of English language learning. To this end, 134 participants majoring in different engineering fields took part in the study. They received strategy training on how to infer the meanings of unfamiliar words. They then answered a perceptual styles preferences questionnaire and were tested on the selected texts for lexical inferencing. They were asked to extract the meaning of unfamiliar words and simultaneously identify the relevant strategy employed for lexical inferencing by marking it on the strategy questionnaire. The analysis identified the biggest number of participants as being kinesthetic despite the fact that classes were mainly held through audio-visual activities. The findings also showed a meaningful difference between group categories of styles preferences and their lexical inferencing ability (F=4.57, p<.05). As for the modifying effect of perceptual styles on the strategies used by various groups of learners, 'visual learners' were found to have the highest correlation with ‘syntactic knowledge analysis’ (r=.70, p=.01). The results of the study point to the importance of individual differences in the perception of and interaction with the learning environment

The Effect of Using Translation on Learning Grammatical Structures: A Case Study of Iranian Junior High School Students

Abstract The role of L1 in second/foreign language learning has been the subject of much debate and controversy. This article reports on a piece of research carried out in a junior high school in Isfahan, Iran. This study was conducted to examine the effect of using translation from L1 to L2 on the improvement of EFL learners' language accuracy. To fulfill the purpose of the study, 62 students in grade three of junior high school were chosen by means of administering an experimental made pre-test. The participants were divided into a control group and an experimental group. The experimental group received grammar exercises in translating some phrases and sentences from Persian into English related to the intended grammatical structures during the study period while the control group just did their textbook exercises. At the end, a post-test was given to the students and the mean scores of the two groups were identified. T-test revealed that the treatment had a considerable effect on students' language accuracy

INVESTIGATING AGE–BASED COMPLIMENTS IN PERSIAN

The present study was an attempt to investigate differences in the use of compliments in Persian across age as a social variable. Data was gathered through a Discourse Completion Task (DCT) with imaginary situations in which 200 native Persian speakers were asked to put themselves in those situations and give compliments. The results indicated that the most frequently used compliment strategies by Persian native speakers were explicit unbound semantic formula and non-compliment strategies. However, the participants used 'other' strategies, future reference, contrast, and request strategies the least. The results also suggested the effect of age on the distribution of compliments. While the younger participants preferred non-compliment strategies the most, the older participants preferred explicit unbound semantic formula strategies the most. However, despite minor differences, all age-groups rarely tended to use future reference, contrast, request, and 'other' strategies. The results cashed light on the cultural and socio-cultural factors affecting the way people offer compliments

Investigating the Use of Compliments and Compliment Responses in Persian: Effect of Educational Background

The present study aimed at investigating the effect of the social variable of education on the use of compliments and compliment responses in Persian. To this end, a Discourse Completion Task (DCT) was administered to 200 native Persian speakers from different educational backgrounds. In general, the results revealed that participants tended to use explicit unbound semantic formula as well as non-compliment strategies to give compliments the most. However, they used future reference, contrast, request, and 'other' strategies the least. Furthermore, they followed accept, reject, and evade trend when replying to compliments. Surprisingly, the most common subcategory of compliment response strategy used by participants was downgrade. Return and appreciation tokens were the second and third most frequently used strategies. However, they never used reassignment and topic shift to respond to compliments. In particular, the results suggested the effect of education on determining compliments and compliment responses patterns. While lower educated people preferred non-compliment strategies, higher educated people preferred explicit semantic formula strategies to give compliments the most. In replying to compliments, downgrade occurred most frequently across different educational levels except PhD/MD level. PhD/MD holders used appreciation token the most. The second most frequently used compliment response strategy by all educational levels was return. However, despite minor differences, no marked difference was found among educational levels regarding the least frequent compliments and compliment responses. The findings can provide valuable insight into the cultural and socio-cultural factors affecting the way people compliment, perceive the compliments, and respond to the compliments made on them.

Investigation of Low-Pressure Ultraviolet Radiation on Inactivation of Rhabitidae Nematode from Water

Background: Rhabditidae is a family of free-living nematodes. Free living nematodes due to their active movement and resistance to chlorination, do not remove in conventional water treatment processes thus can be entered to distribution systems and cause adverse health effects. Ultraviolet radiation (UV) can be used as a method of inactivating for these organisms. This cross sectional study was done to investigate the efficiency of ultraviolet lamp in the inactivation of free living nematode in water.Methods: The effects of radation time, turbidity, pH and temperature were invistigated in this study. Ultraviolet lamp used in this study was a 11 W lamp and intensity of this lamp was 24 µw / cm2.Results: Radiation time required to achieve 100% efficiency for larvae nematode and adults was 9 and 10 minutes respectively. There was a significant correlation between the increase in radiation time, temperature rise and turbidity reduction with inactivation efficiency of lamp (P<0.001). Increase of turbidity up 25 NTU decreased inactivation efficiency of larvae and adult nematodes from 100% to 66% and 100% to 64% respectively. Change in pH range from 6 to 9 did not affect the efficiency of inactivation. With increasing temperature inactivation rate increased. Also the effect of the lamp on inactivation of larvae nematod was mor than adults.Conclusions: It seems that with requiring the favorable conditions low-pressure ultraviolet radiation systems can be used for disinfection of water containing Rhabitidae nematode