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1 – 3 of 3Reza Biria and Abbas Mehrabi Boshrabadi
This paper aims to develop a multi-aspectual framework for evaluating locally prepared English language teaching (ELT) materials used for Iranian senior high school students. Many…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to develop a multi-aspectual framework for evaluating locally prepared English language teaching (ELT) materials used for Iranian senior high school students. Many practitioners of the field assert that the inappropriate development of ELT materials would leave an adverse effect on the potential value of the realistic ways which translate the educational beliefs on language learning into operational goals defined by local educational systems.
Design/Methodology/Approach
Using a stratified sampling method, 120 high school students along with 60 ex-students attending Isfahan (Khorasgan) University as well as 30 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers teaching English courses at high schools were selected. To measure the participants’ attitudes toward the pedagogical effectiveness of English textbooks (i.e. Right Path to English series), a 30-item questionnaire developed based on the comprehensive guidelines suggested by Nation and Macalister (2010) about materials development was used. To improve the credibility and dependability of respondents’ perceptions, a focused-group interview was further utilized as a source of triangulation.
Findings
The findings revealed that the multi-aspectual framework is a comprehensive and valid model utilized for post-use materials evaluation. The results also depicted that the target textbooks published by the Iranian Ministry of Education did not satisfy the actual needs of students.
Practical implications
The findings may offer certain benefits to teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) teachers, policy makers and materials developers engaged in locally ELT material design.
Originality/value
The present study used a comprehensive list of criteria dominating not only the curriculum development but also the principles governing the EFL classroom practices. Considering the principles as a litmus test for evaluation, the study used a principle-driven approach to evaluate the Iranian English textbooks used in senior high school level.
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Afsaneh Ghanizadeh and Safoura Jahedizadeh
The purpose of this paper is to scrutinize university students’ affective experiences in academic contexts as well as the ways to integrate affection into existing models of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to scrutinize university students’ affective experiences in academic contexts as well as the ways to integrate affection into existing models of motivation and learning. In particular, it probed 235 English as foreign language (EFL) students’ emotional exhaustion by investigating its role in their intrinsic motivation, effort regulation, and academic achievement. It also sought to examine the impact of intrinsic motivation on effort regulation and academic achievement as well as the effect of effort regulation on academic achievement among Iranian university students.
Design/methodology/approach
To do so, two distinctive questionnaires, namely; the “student version of Maslach Burnout Inventory” (Schaufeli et al., 2002) and the “Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire” (Pintrich and DeGroot, 1990) were administered to the participants. The data were analyzed via structural equation modeling (SEM).
Findings
The findings of the study yielded via SEM revealed that students’ emotional exhaustion negatively predicted students’ intrinsic motivation, effort regulation, and academic achievement. It was also found that intrinsic motivation significantly and positively predicted effort regulation and academic achievement. Finally, effort regulation was found to be a positive and significant predicator of university students’ academic achievement.
Originality/value
While a plethora of studies, thus far, strived to investigate the concept of burnout in different contexts, there is still a scant body of research attempting to delve into the most significant dimension of the syndrome (i.e. emotional exhaustion), and, to the best knowledge of the present researchers, no documented study to date has studied Iranian university EFL students’ emotional exhaustion, intrinsic motivation, and effort regulation within a single framework.
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Web-based language learning (WBLL) materials have long been favored by English language instructors because they are plentiful, easily accessible, user-friendly and, most…
Abstract
Purpose
Web-based language learning (WBLL) materials have long been favored by English language instructors because they are plentiful, easily accessible, user-friendly and, most importantly, free. This research looks into the effects of learning the simple perfect tense translation in three different English translation classes that used three different teaching methods: traditional face-to-face, integrative and web-based learning. It also aims to investigate the impact of gender on every mode of instruction and to identify the most effective method for learning translation.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is quantitative, with a pretest/posttest quasi-experimental research design. A total of 93 third-year undergraduate students (51 female and 42 male students) participated in the pretest/posttest design. Each group was exposed to one mode of instruction for nine weeks. All groups sat for a pretest in the first week of the treatment. After the treatment, the participants were provided with a posttest, and the data obtained were analyzed using the SPSS computer software program.
Findings
The findings revealed a significant difference in both tests for all modes used. All three groups improved in their gain score, but the highest gain among these groups was the integrative method, followed by web-based learning. The result of the independent sample t-tests and ANOVA exhibited that there was no significant difference in the level of students between the two groups, both were sig. two-tailed (p = 0.342). Furthermore, it was discovered that gender did not affect students' performance in the posttest (Z = −1.564, p > 0.05) when each mode of instruction was applied. Finally, the integrative method was observed to be the most effective.
Practical implications
The findings can inspire translation course designers to plan necessary policies or syllabi regarding English translation courses and may serve as a platform for improving the curriculum for training and motivating the next generation of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners.
Originality/value
The findings of this study could be used to improve English instruction in countries where English is a second or foreign language. The actual gap in knowledge is that no other studies have compared all three groups in the past few years.
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