Competition Model and Contrastive Lexical Competition

The Competition Model (CM) embraces lexicalist and functionalist approach to language structure and function. What is highly emphasized in this model is a lexicalist functionalism through which syntactic patterns are directed and controlled by lexical items. CM tenets resemble to that of Haliday’s systemic-Functional linguistics in that it only deals with form-meaning relations within a text and not in the real world. A new Competition Model needs to be introduced which is more pragmatic-oriented through taking formulaic sequences as forms to be mapped onto real world pragmatic functions.  CM must free itself from the mere focus on sentence processing studies and involve itself with more pragmatic manifestations of form-function relations. It is claimed that within the models in which there is an architecture that utilizes lexical categories to build “valence bridges”, L1-L2 translation equivalents facilitate crossing valence bridges which helps in discovering forthcoming elements and filling syntactic slots. &nbsp

The capacity of human memory: Is there any limit to human memory?

There exist some estimates of the capacity of human memory. Recent studies have proven the fact that Long Term Memory is subject to constant reconfigurations mostly at lower levels of neural clusters. There is no consensus on one definition for the capacity of memory. As far as retrieval of items present in memory is not the concern, it is reasonable to refrain from putting limits on capacity of human memory; otherwise, one must accept a number game which renders no fixed definite final estimation. Recently such capacity is defined as the amount of interference created by the item which must remain active in the memory

THE IMPACT OF USING AUDIO-VISUAL AIDS ON TEACHING LISTENING AMONG IRANIAN PRE-INTERMEDIATE EFL LEARNERS

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of audio-visual aids on teaching listening among Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners. In order to fulfill the objectives of the study, the researcher selected 40 homogeneous pre-intermediate students and divided them into two equal groups. The two groups were the experimental groups (n=20) and a control groups (n=20). Then a listening comprehension pre-test was administered to assess the participants' listening comprehension at the beginning of the course. After the pre-test, the researcher practiced the treatment on the experimental groups. During the treatment sessions, The EG was taught by using authentic video, while the CG used audio Compact Disc (CD) as the teaching aid most often used by ESL teachers in teaching listening. After the treatment which took 15 sessions, the researcher administered a post-test to find out the effect of audio-visual aids on teaching listening. When the data were collected, Independent and Paired Samples T-tests were run to analyze them. The results showed that the EG students taught by using authentic video achieved higher results in listening than the CG ones taught by audio compact disc (CD). The implications of the study suggest that using audio-visual aids can help EFL learners to develop their listening comprehension

THE EFFECT OF TEACHING PHONOLOGICAL RULES ON ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION AMONG IRANIAN PRE-INTERMEDIATE EFL LEARNERS

This study was intended to examine the impact of teaching phonological rules on English pronunciation among Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners. To fulfill, 50 pre-intermediate students who were studying in a private language institute in Ahvaz, Iran were selected via non-random sampling (convenience sampling). They participated in a homogeneity test (Oxford Quick Placement Test) to determine their homogeneity level. Then they were randomly divided into two groups of control (n=25) and experimental (n=25). Before starting the treatment, a validated teacher-made pronunciation test was administered to both groups as the pre-test. Then the experimental group received the treatment, which was teaching phonological rules activities and the control group received conventional instruction including examples in an implicit method. At the end of the treatment, a post-test on pronunciation was administered to evaluate the effect of phonological rules instructions to assess the participants’ pronunciation improvement. At the end of the study, the analysis of the obtained data was carried out using SPSS, version 25. The obtained results indicated that there was a significant difference between the performances of both groups. The experimental group participants were found to have a better performance than the control group. Generally, the experimental group outperformed the control group. This study suggests that teaching phonological rules can help learners to learn pronunciation more easily and effectively. Keywords: Assimilation Rules, Phonological Rules, English Pronunciatio

EFFECTS OF STRATEGIC AND UNPRESSURED WITHIN-TASK PLANNING ON IRANIAN INTERMEDIATE EFL LEARNERS’ ORAL PRODUCTION

Background/Purpose: This study is an attempt to investigate the effect of strategic planning and unpressured within-task planning on Iranian EFL learners’ oral performance.   Methodology: Following a quasi-experimental research design, 60 intermediate EFL Iranian learners were recruited as the participants of the study and they were assigned into two groups of 30. In group one, the participants were asked to perform the task under unpressured online planning condition. In group two, the learners were asked to do the task under strategic planning condition. The pre and post-tests included story-telling narratives tasks followed with a 15-minute silent movie under two planning conditions for the two groups.   Findings: The results of data analysis showed that pre-task strategic planning and within-task planning (online planning) had a positive effect on learners’ oral production; hence, planning time provided opportunity for learners to be able to produce more fluent, accurate, and complex language than no-planners. The results indicated that the participants in the strategic planning group (STPG) significantly outperformed the participants in unpressured within-task-planning (UWPG), leading us to claim that strategic planning was more effective than unpressured within-task planning in improving oral production.   Contributions: This study has numerous benefits for language teachers and specialists in content production. Teachers should incorporate strategic planning in their regular teaching programs to encourage learners to balance their level of speech. Moreover, providing learners with the ability to plan the success of a task allows them to create a more fluent and nuanced language.   Keywords: Accuracy, complexity, fluency, strategic planning, unpressured within-task planning.   Cite as: Bakhtiary, M. R., Rezvani, E., & Namaziandost, E. (2021). Effects of strategic and unpressured within-task planning on Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ oral production. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 6(2), 97-115. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol6iss2pp97-11

Investigating EFL learners’ knowledge of vocabulary and idiomatic expressions in a culture-based instructional environment

This study attempted to investigate the influences of cultural background knowledge on improving Iranian pre-intermediate EFL students’ vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. To reach this purpose, the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) was performed on 100 English as a foreign language (EFL) learners and 60 of them were selected. The selected respondents were then randomly divided into three groups: group A (Target Culture=TC), group B (Iranian Culture = IC), and group C (Culture-Free=CF). Afterwards, a vocabulary- idiomatic expressions pre-test was given to all groups. Then, the respondents of the three groups received three different treatments. Regarding the treatment, 10 texts pertinent to the customs and the culture of Iran were taught to the IC group, meanwhile, 10 texts with the new vocabulary and idiomatic expressions relevant to the target culture were taught to the TC group, and 10 culture-free texts including some new words and idiomatic expressions were trained to the CF group. After the instruction which took 10 sessions of 60 minutes each, the data were analyzed by using one-way ANOVA and paired sample t-test. The results depicted that the TC and the IC groups outflanked the CF group. This study has numerous implications for learners, teachers, and curriculum designers

FORMULAIC LANGUAGE OF TOURISM IN ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSE (EAP) COURSE BOOK: A CORPUS-DRIVEN APPROACH

One approach to taking advantage of corpora in language teaching would be adding to a textbook through enriching it through employing corpus-based research. When it comes to using English for Academic Purposes (EAP) materials, the inclusion of corpora in teaching language becomes even more urgent. In the current study, the authors did their best to investigate and describe the presence of formulaic language in an EAP textbooks titled: English for international tourism: Pre-intermediate students’ book written by Dubicka and O’keeffe (2003) through a case study, and corpus-driven method as a research methodology. Therefore, this study aims to investigate to what extent the EAP course book designed for tourism titled English for international tourism (EIT) is compatible with a corpus-driven formulaic approach. Findings show that this EAP textbook falls fairly short of presenting the necessary formulas as frequently employed in tourism English. Supplementing such materials with corpora and the formulaic they provide may boost the quality of EAP education and practice

The Effects of Topic Interest and L2 Proficiency on Writing Skill among Iranian EFL Learners

This study investigated the effect of topic interest and l2 proficiency on Iranian EFL learners’ writing skill. To fulfil this objective, 60 (30 pre-intermediate and 30 intermediate) learners from two high schools in Zarindasht, Fars, Iran were selected based on administering an Oxford Quick Placement Test. The selected participants were then non-randomly divided into two equal experimental groups; namely Pre-Intermediate High-Interest Topics group (PHIT group) and Intermediate Low-Interest Topics group (ILIT group). After that, the topic interest questionnaire was given to the students to assess their interest level in each topic. When the students’ level of interest was specified, the PHIT group received five high-interest topics and five low-interest topics were given to the ILIT group. Then, the researcher measured the participants’ English writing skill by administering a researcher-made writing pre-test. In both groups’ classroom, the interested topics were taught to learners in 12 sessions and learners wrote on each topic. After the instruction, a writing post-test was administered to the both groups and finally the data were analyzed by using paired and independent samples t-tests. The obtained results indicated that there was a significant difference between the post-tests of PHIT and ILIT groups. The findings indicated that the PHIT group significantly outperformed the ILIT group (p < .05) on the post-test. The implications of this study can make the teachers aware that topic interest plays an important role in improving writing skill

Using Mobile Instant Messaging in Teaching Vocabulary to Pre-intermediate EFL Learners: The Case of WhatsApp

Smartphones are becoming an increasingly common part of our daily lives. Applications used in these systems are extremely varied due to their extraordinary efficiency. With respect to language teaching, the use of these technologies has opened up new doors, changing innovatively the way teachers teach and students learn. Accordingly, this study aimed to find out the impacts of using WhatsApp as a mobile instant messaging application on teaching vocabulary among pre-intermediate EFL learners. To this end, 60 Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners were selected from a private English Language Institute. Then, they were randomly assigned to two equal groups- an experimental group and a control group. They were pre-tested by a researcher-made vocabulary test.  Then, the treatment was applied to both groups. As the treatment, the control group was taught with traditional activities whereas the experimental group was taught with the use of mobile application (WhatsApp). At the end of the instruction, a researcher-made vocabulary post-test was administered. The results of independent samples t-test and one-way ANCOVA indicated that the experimental group had better performance on the post-test compared to control group revealing the usefulness of the mobile application utilized in this study on learning vocabulary

EVALUATING ORAL PROFICIENCY SKILL THROUGH ANALYTICS AND HOLISTIC WAYS OF SCORING

Purpose: Evaluating speaking skill is an exceedingly difficult and intricate subject. Two methods of testing oral proficiency are usually used: holistic and analytic scoring. To this end, this study aimed to compare analytic and holistic techniques for scoring in evaluating oral proficiency skills. Methodology: The participants of this study were 70 second-grade university EFL students who were studying English Language Teaching at a university in Iran. The participants in this research were both male (n=40) and female (n=30) with the age range from24 to 25. Main Findings: The results showed a statistically considerable diversity between analytic and holistic methods of evaluation considering that the p-value was estimated at 0.002 (P &lt; 0.05). Applications: The findings confirmed that employing these two scoring techniques in the procedure of evaluation may be considered proper as they seem to complement each other, one augments the other and lead to more inclusive evaluation. Novelty/Originality: This study is new since it is the first time in an Iranian university context; oral proficiency skill was evaluated through holistic and analytic scoring