Teaching English Language and Literature Society of Iran (TELLSI)Journal of new advances in English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics2676-29272220200901Increasing Iranian Learners’ Speaking Skill by Employing the Vaughan Method322354119066ENMehdiBagheriEnglish department, Esfahan Azad University, EsfahanBahramHadianEnglish department- Esfahan Azad UniversityJournal Article20200611This study was conducted to provide a comparison between the Vaughan Method and the Communicative Language Teaching in terms of developing the speaking skill. A mixed-method design was selected. In the quantitative part which included a quasi-experimental design, 8 intact classes of 75 advanced Iranian EFL learners were given IELTS speaking pretests and posttests. An ANCOVA was run because the effects of the pretest scores were considered as the covariate and the type of method was the independent variable. The ANCOVA indicated that that there were no significant differences among the performance of the two treatment groups, which showed that there was no significant difference between the Vaughan Method and the Communicative Language Teaching classes in terms of developing the learners’ speaking skill. Meanwhile, the learners’ attitudes towards the usefulness of the Vaughan method were obtained through a questionnaire and an interview. The learners’ attitudes showed that the error correction and repetition were viewed positively. Meanwhile, they considered the teacher as the prime factor in increasing their motivation which led to the improvement of their speaking skill. This study implies that although the Communicative Language Teaching is an advanced and comprehensive approach, eclectically designed methods such as the Vaughan method could be as successful in EFL contexts.https://www.jeltal.ir/article_119066_683e301081ee9a9de0732a7ac877bbc1.pdfTeaching English Language and Literature Society of Iran (TELLSI)Journal of new advances in English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics2676-29272220200901Effectiveness of Using Visual Vocabulary Application on Iranian EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Knowledge355373119067ENArashHashemifardniaDepartment of English, Faculty of Humanities, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University,
Shahrekord, IranEhsanNamaziandostPhD Candidate in TEFL, Department ofEnglish, Faculty of Humanities, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran0000-0002-8393-2537SamirAlekasirIslamic Azad University, Ahvaz Branch, Ahvaz, IranShabnamMahdizadeh KhodayariDepartment of English Language and Literature, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, IranJournal Article20200511This study examined the effectiveness of using visual vocabulary application on Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary knowledge. To this end, 42 intermediated EFL learners were selected as the participants of the study and divided into two groups of 21- experimental and control. Then, the groups took a pre-test of vocabulary. After that, the experimental group received the treatment thorough visual vocabulary application. On the other hand, the control group participants were taught vocabulary items traditionally. After teaching all vocabulary items, a vocabulary post-test was administered to the participants of both groups to measure the effect of the treatment on their vocabulary development. The results of paired samples t-test and independent samples t-test indicated that that the experimental group outperformed the control group on the post-test. The results also indicated that there was a significant difference between the post-tests of both groups in favor of the experimental group. Finally, implications arising from the findings and suggestions for further research were explained.https://www.jeltal.ir/article_119067_b5cca6fc9303e3e9e3f7a31bd7d37e82.pdfTeaching English Language and Literature Society of Iran (TELLSI)Journal of new advances in English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics2676-29272220200901Students’ Perceptions on Thinking Skills Infusion in a Tertiary Classroom374397119233ENZiguangYanCollege of Foreign Languages, Hebei University, ChinaSwee HengChanSchool of Education, Taylor's University MalaysiaJournal Article20200629Preparing students to be able to think critically and analytically is a goal of higher education and also a quality sought by employers of university graduates. Nurturing thinking skill is considered as an important variable in the process of student learning. To nurture thinking skills, effective infusion of critical thinking skills could be the first step to activate and prompt students’ thinking skills in classroom. This exploratory study seeks to investigate student perceptions of university instructors’ infusion of critical thinking skills through an evaluation questionnaire. A sample of 132 undergraduate students completed this survey. The results showed that students positively confirmed the efforts of university instructors in infusing thinking skills in their courses. However, the question arises as to the issue of balancing the infusion between LOTS and HOTS categories optimally so that university students are able to benefit from critical skill training. This could lead to a rethink on defining more refined learning outcomes according to the skill categories in accordance to Bloom’s taxonomy.https://www.jeltal.ir/article_119233_c082467331ddf83f36ec6a5cd3f8bb5b.pdfTeaching English Language and Literature Society of Iran (TELLSI)Journal of new advances in English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics2676-29272220200901Request Strategies Used by Persian Couples in Two Different Settings398423119234ENMahgolNezamiIslamic Azad University, West Tehran branchServatShirkhaniEnglish Department, Khorram Abad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khorram Abad, Iran.Journal Article20200530Performing the request speech act which has a significant position in daily conversations and interactions, needs sufficient knowledge of the request strategies. In order to have a meaningful and purposeful communication, the speaker should know about some factors, such as social power, social distance, and imposition. This study aimed at examining Iranian couples’ use of request strategies in their interactions in private mode and public mode. To achieve this goal, 30 couples were selected and their conversations with each other in the two settings were recorded. Then, to complement the gathered data, a discourse completion test (DCT) was distributed among the couples in order to elicit their answers regarding which request strategies they usually use in any situation. The data were then coded based on the Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Patterns (CCSARP) model and frequencies and percentages of the strategies used by the couples in the two settings were calculated. The results of the study revealed that Persian couples perform direct request strategies more than other types of request strategies in their loneliness. Moreover, it was indicated that Persian couples use conventional indirect requests in the presence of others. The results of the current study suggest that presence of others can influence couples’ choice of request strategies in their conversation with their spouses. The implications of this study may be useful for language teachers, syllabus designers, and curriculum developers.https://www.jeltal.ir/article_119234_14251fe597678328ba7ef61e141a64af.pdfTeaching English Language and Literature Society of Iran (TELLSI)Journal of new advances in English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics2676-29272220200901The Effect of Recognition and Comprehension Test-types on Listening Comprehension at Junior High School423456119949ENSholehPejmanELT Department, Abadan Branch, Islamic Azad University, AbaBahmanGorjianAssociate Professor, ELT Department, Abadan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Aba0000-0003-4932-5028Journal Article20200924This present study investigated the effectiveness of two specific test-types of recognition and comprehension of EFL learners at junior high school. The method of the study was quasi-experimental with pre and post-test. 90 female students were selected at the National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) Junior High- School in Ahvaz participated in this study. They were randomly divided into three equal groups. After conducting a pre-test of listening, the first experimental group received listening tasks of recognition exercises and the second experimental group received listening comprehension exercises in the treatment period. The control group worked on the regular exercises of the listening textbook. Results showed that there was a significant difference between pretest and posttest in the recognition test-type group. However, results revealed no significant difference between the comprehension test-type group and the control group. Recognition test-type enhances the listening comprehension skill of learners and maybe a suitable alternative for traditional methods of teaching listening comprehension. Implications of the study suggest that recognition test-types an exercise may boost learners' recall of listening cues. The novelty of this study might be the use of the backwash effect (Weir, 2005) of testing on teaching listening comprehension among EFL Iranian learners at junior high school.https://www.jeltal.ir/article_119949_7572df401df53c49f3f8d7bd4863e9a7.pdf