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

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEACHING GENRE IN L2 LISTENING CLASSROOM: IRANIAN PRE-INTERMEDIATE EFL LEARNERS IN FOCUS

This study tries to implement genre-based instruction in Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners’ L2 listening skill. Moreover, it aims to investigate if genre-based instruction impacts the listening skills of EFL learners at different skill levels equally. To achieve this goal, 60 EFL learners have been selected. These were split into groups A and B. Groups A and B, respectively, consisted of 30 and 30 members. Group A was split into experimental and control groups and administered the pre and posttest of listening skills. Findings from one-way ANCOVA showed that because of using genre-based instruction, the experimental group outperformed the control group. Group B was also classified into proficient and less-proficient classes as demonstrated by the proficiency test; each administered two pre-and posttest of listening. Nonetheless, the findings of one-way ANCOVA revealed that both classes were improved from pretest to posttest; the professional group performed remarkably better than the less skilled group. Generally speaking, the results of this study showed that GBT is a key and crucial factor in developing listening comprehension

Applications of End-Tidal Carbon Dioxide (ETCO2) Monitoring in Emergency Department; a Narrative Review

Capnograph is an indispensable tool for monitoring metabolic and respiratory function. In this study, the aim was to review the applications of end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) monitoring in emergency department, multiple databases were comprehensively searched with combination of following keywords: “ETCO2”, “emergency department monitoring”, and “critical monitoring” in PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Index Copernicus, EBSCO and Cochrane Database

An Investigation of Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners’ L2 Motivation and Attitude in a Computer-Assisted Language Learning Environment

The popularity of integrating technology in language instruction and its fundamental effect on the language learning dimensions has been widely acknowledged whereas learners’ motivation and attitude are expected to be improved in a web-based Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) environment. Therefore, this paper aimed to investigate the Iranian EFL learners’ motivation to learn English and attitude in a CALL environment. The participants of this study were 120 intermediate EFL learners from two private English language institutes in Isfahan, Iran. They were divided into two equal groups; one experimental group (EG) and one control group (CG). Then, a motivation questionnaire pretest was administered out to check the participants’ motivation at the beginning of the course. As the treatment, the EG learners were taught through CALL-based instruction and the CG learners were taught traditionally. After the treatment, a posttest of motivation and an attitude questionnaire were administered. The outcomes indicated that the CALL-based instruction promoted the participants’ motivation as checked by the Motivation Questionnaire. Moreover, as measured by a 20-item A-CALL attitude questionnaire, it was discovered that the learners in the EG had positive attitudes toward using CALL-based instruction. In light of the findings, a number of conclusions are obtained and several implications are put forward

Increasing Reliability of a Power System in Presence of Static Transfer Switch

Abstract: Long interruptions cause no compensable problems to the power systems and decrease the reliability of the system significantly. One of new technologies that decrease the fault time is Static Transfer Switch (STS) with alternative power supply. In this study an industrial plant with motor loads has been studied with and without use of STS in front of a voltage fault. The simulations have been done to demonstrate the speed of the motors during the faults. As the interruption duration is an important factor in reliability analyzing, some faults with various durations have been applied to the system to study the reliability of the system with and without STS. The results are given to verify the STS efficiency in increasing the system reliability by restoring the motors' speed drop in least time

Contribution of Multiple Intelligences to L2 Writing of EFL Learners

The present study was carried out to unveil the predictive power of multipleintelligences (MI) in accounting for different components of L2 writing. To do so, through an OPT, 120 intermediate EFL learners were selected. In one class session, the researcher gave McKenzie's (1999) MI questionnaire to the learners and asked them to fill out the questionnaire. In the subsequent session, the participants were asked to write an argumentative essay about a topic within 60 minutes. The learners' writings were scored from 1 to 4 based on each component of writing under question (i.e., content, organization, cohesion, vocabulary, grammar, spelling, and pronunciation). Finally, the learners' answers to the questionnaire were quantified and their performances on the writing test were scored by two raters (and the inter-rater reliability calculated through Pearson correlation equaled .86). Multivariate regression in AMOS (version 22) was used to analyze the data, and to show which types of MIs contributed more to different aspects of L2 writing. The results of this investigation showed that certain types of multipleintelligences affected certain components of the students’ writing. More precisely, it was unraveled that logical and musical intelligences contributed more to the relevance and adequacy of content; on the other hand, verbal, musical, and naturalistic intelligences bore effects on learners' writing organization; logical, existential, and verbal intelligences played a significant part in the learners' cohesion; logical and intrapersonal intelligences contributed more to the adequacy of vocabulary for purpose; musical, logical and intrapersonal intelligences could significantly account for the grammar of written productions; visual and kinesthetic intelligences were most effective in the punctuation components of L2 writings; finally, EFL learners' spelling was influenced by logical, musical, existential, and interpersonal intelligences. The results of the study bear significant implications for L2 writing researchers and teachers

Effects of English and Persian Subtitles on Oral Fluency and Accuracy of Intermediate Iranian EFL Learners

The present study attempted to explore the effects of employing English and Persian subtitles on the Iranian EFL learners' oral fluency and accuracy. From among 100 intermediate Iranian EFL learners in Donyaye Sokhan Language Institute in Isfahan, Iran, 60 were selected in the wake of administering the PET (Preliminary English Test) as the participants of the study, and were randomly divided into two experimental groups and one control group. The control group was exposed to movies without any subtitles, while one of the experimental groups watched movies with English subtitles and the other watched movies with Persian subtitles. The format of pretest and posttest was semi-structured interview in which students answered several questions. Fluency scores were derived out of the formula suggested by Yuan and Ellis (2003), while accuracy was quantified through Foster and Skehan’s (1996) procedure. The analysis of the obtained data via SPSS indicated that (a) the successful performance of the participants in the experimental groups was shown to be attributable to using subtitles as a method for improving oral fluency and accuracy, (b) there were no significant differences between the two experimental groups, and (c) oral fluency and accuracy of the control group did not ameliorate significantly in the course of this experiment.

The Impacts of Level of Education and Economic Status on the Choice of Address Terms by Young Couples

This study aimed to investigate the effects of economic status and level of education on the choice of address terms by Iranian couples in Shahrekord, Iran. To this end, 50 couples were selected, based on their educational and economic statuses, and were studied in terms of their choice of address terms. A discourse completion task was used as the data elicitation technique and Chi-square was conducted to analyze the data. The results of this study unveiled the patterns of realizations of terms of address among the couples in different situations. It was found that level of education (though not economic status) was an important factor in the choice of address terms among couples. Unsurprisingly, the more educated the participants, the more formal address terms they used. Indeed, level of education brought about significant differences among the low, mid, and high level of education couples in the address termed they chose to use. It was also divulged that there was no significant difference in using terms of address for couples with low and high economic status

Exploring the association among working memory, anxiety and Iranian EFL learners’ listening comprehension

Abstract This study was intended to investigate the relationship between working memory, anxiety and Iranian EFL learners’ listening comprehension. For the purpose of this study, 60 Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners were selected among 80 students at a private language institute in Hamadan, Iran. They participated in a homogeneity test (Oxford Quick Placement Test) to determine their homogeneity level. At first, two working memory span tests was administered to participants. Moreover, foreign language listening anxiety questionnaire and listening comprehension tests were applied as another data gathering instruments. Pearson’s Product moment correlation and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. It was revealed that there was a strong, negative relationship between FL listening comprehension and listening anxiety. The study showed that a large number of the students experience high level of anxiety. Consequently, they were poor in their listening comprehension test implementation. Also, regarding working memory, it was found that working memory is an efficient and paramount prophesier for EFL listening comprehension. Learners with larger working memory capacity more likely have better abilities in listening. In addition, this study provides some pedagogical implications on EFL teaching

Contribution of Multiple Intelligences to L2 Writing of EFL Learners

  The present study was carried out to unveil the predictive power of multiple-intelligences (MI) in accounting for different components of L2 writing.  To do so, through an OPT, 120 intermediate EFL learners were selected. In one class session, the researcher gave McKenzie's (1999) MI questionnaire to the learners and asked them to fill out the questionnaire. In the subsequent session, the participants were asked to write an argumentative essay about a topic within 60 minutes. The learners' writings were scored from 1 to 4 based on each component of writing under question (i.e., content, organization, cohesion, vocabulary, grammar, spelling, and pronunciation). Finally, the learners' answers to the questionnaire were quantified and their performances on the writing test were scored by two raters (and the inter-rater reliability calculated through Pearson correlation equaled .86). Multivariate regression in AMOS (version 22) was used to analyze the data, and to show which types of MIs contributed more to different aspects of L2 writing. The results of this investigation showed that certain types of multiple-intelligences affected certain components of the students’ writing. More precisely, it was unraveled that logical and musical intelligences contributed more to the relevance and adequacy of content; on the other hand, verbal, musical, and naturalistic intelligences  bore effects on learners' writing organization; logical, existential, and verbal intelligences played a significant part in the learners' cohesion; logical and intrapersonal intelligences contributed more to the adequacy of vocabulary for purpose; musical, logical and intrapersonal intelligences could significantly account for the grammar of written productions; visual and kinesthetic intelligences were most effective in the punctuation components of L2 writings; finally, EFL learners' spelling was influenced by logical, musical, existential, and interpersonal intelligences. The results of the study bear significant implications for L2 writing researchers and teachers