Teaching English Language
and Literature Society of Iran
(TELLSI)
Teaching English Language
2538-5488
2538-547X
1
1
2007
01
01
Who Can Guess Better? The Relationship Between Word Class and Learners’ Style
1
23
EN
Ramin
Akbari
Tarbiat Modarres University, Tehran, Iran
Reza
Gafar Samar
Tarbiat Modarres University, Tehran, Iran
Aghdas
Asadi
Tarbiat Modarres University, Tehran, Iran
The present study investigated the relationship between words’ part of speech (noun, verb, adjectives), guessing ability, and learners’ style of field independence/ dependence. One hundred thirty two subjects participated in the study. The participants were required to guess the meaning of non-sense words belonging to certain word categories. The results of the study showed that a word’s part speech will influence the ease with which its meaning is guessed. In addition, the study found that there is a positive relationship between the cognitive style of field independence and the learners’ guessing ability.
part of speech,guessing,learners’ style
http://www.teljournal.org/article_112998.html
http://www.teljournal.org/article_112998_f621dba228904d205fbf8926440e591f.pdf
Teaching English Language
and Literature Society of Iran
(TELLSI)
Teaching English Language
2538-5488
2538-547X
1
1
2007
01
01
Strategy Use and Writing Success
25
47
EN
Fahimeh
Marefat
Allameh Tabatabaii University, Tehran, Iran
With the advent of process-oriented research, the strategy studies have found their place in L2 composition pedagogy. One such issue is investigation into the impact of writing strategy use on increasing the quality of writing product. The present study investigates the potential relationship between writers’ proficiency level and strategy use, the nature of such strategies, if any, and whether any of them predicts good writing. The participants, 23 Iranian EFL graduates and undergraduates taking their essay writing course, were requested to write an essay of controlled length on a given topic. Based on their scores on a standardized test of language proficiency, the students were assigned to the elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels. Next, they attended an interview with the researcher, reading their essays and reporting what processes they underwent and what strategies they used as they produced the text. The students were provided with a strategies checklist to identify theirs, or to add new ones, if any. The think-aloud protocols were tape-recorded. Data analysis aimed to identify writing strategies as implemented by each student at the specified level. Surprisingly, lack of similarity in writing behavior among members of supposedly homogeneous and across different groups was observed. Moreover, increasing free voluntary reading and writing, decreasing writing apprehension, and of course practice were characterized as predictors of writing success.
think-aloud protocols,retrospection,revision,voluntary reading,training in articulation of strategy
http://www.teljournal.org/article_113026.html
http://www.teljournal.org/article_113026_fffe452de8a6deb42b1e60b15b7100fc.pdf
Teaching English Language
and Literature Society of Iran
(TELLSI)
Teaching English Language
2538-5488
2538-547X
1
1
2007
01
01
Cross-Linguistic Influences in Multi-Lingual Educational Systems: The Case of English Prepositions for Turkish-Persian Bilinguals
48
69
EN
Rasool
Jafarinejad
University of Isfahan, Iran
On the continuum of approaches to Teaching English as a Foreign Language, the Iranian educational system falls in the Grammar Translation extreme of the continuum rather than the Communicative extreme. Thinking in the first language forms the building blocks of language learning in Grammar Translation Method, mainly through bi-directional translation from and to the first language. Among the many questions in such educational systems is how the knowledge of the previous languages affects the subsequent languages. The question becomes more influential when the first two languages fall into different morphological and syntactic categories. This study is going to see how the Turkish- Persian bilinguals engaged in the Iranian educational system learn English. Since one difference between Persian and Turkish lies in the position of prepositions, the main focus of this study is on this aspect of learning. The hypothesis of the study is that the mother tongue (L1) is more influential in learning the subsequent languages.<br /> <strong> </strong>
first language, second language, third language,Iranian system of education,coefficient of correlation, coefficient of determination,Turkish,Persian
http://www.teljournal.org/article_113028.html
http://www.teljournal.org/article_113028_35652ce7ff2614c0dd784826bdbd982b.pdf
Teaching English Language
and Literature Society of Iran
(TELLSI)
Teaching English Language
2538-5488
2538-547X
1
1
2007
01
01
The Effects of contextual Richness on the Guessability and the Retention of Words in a Foreign Language
69
103
EN
Fatemeh
Alipanahi
Univercity of Zanjan Iran
This study tested three directional hypotheses: Compared with those receiving cue - inadequate sentences, subjects receiving cue – adequate sentences will 1) Report greater ease in word inference 2) Score higher in inferring and remembering the contextual meaning of unfamiliar words
3) The higher the score of word inference, the better the retention of the contextual meanings of the target words. With statistical significance, all these hypotheses were confirmed. An approach combining schema theory and the generative model of comprehension was used for the rational of this study and the discussion of its findings. Since adequate cues in context can relieve learners of English as a Foreign Language from the anxiety of unfamiliar words, it might follow that reasonably sufficient contextual cues should be provided in texts for foreign language learns, so that enough information can be created for them to play “psycholinguistic guessing game” (Goodman 1967) – if it is part of the interactional goal. Moreover, since adequate contextual cues can enhance inferring and remembering the meanings of unfamiliar words in context, it might follow that “more comprehensible input” (Krashen 1985) should be involved in acquiring vocabulary. To provide “more comprehensible input” means to provide more accessible frames of relevant reference according to schema theory, or, according to schema theory and carton (1971), “attributes and contexts that are familiar” to the text-receiver. To make the verbal input in the text more comprehensible, both linguistic input (i.e. the message conveyed in the language in the text), and extra linguistic input should be available, or familiar, to the text – receiver. This being the case, the learner can better acquire what is known by employing what is given, known or acquired.
<strong> </strong>
http://www.teljournal.org/article_113029.html
http://www.teljournal.org/article_113029_524ae6bbee01b78f21f67ff793b4588f.pdf
Teaching English Language
and Literature Society of Iran
(TELLSI)
Teaching English Language
2538-5488
2538-547X
1
1
2007
01
01
The miraculous power of poetry as a language teaching device in EFL classes
105
123
EN
Abbas
Moradan
Semnan University, Iran
This paper examines the how and why of using poetry in EFL classes as a language teaching device. First it identifies those features of poetry which provide educational and linguistic opportunities for teachers and learners. It then explains the difficulties that teachers and learners may encounter in using poetry in their classes. The author argues that if poetry is to be used as a source of instruction and enjoyment in classes, it must be carefully selected and presented in a way that promotes an authentic interaction between the reader and the poem. And lastly, by providing some sample pieces of poetry, the author tries to introduce a model for the beneficial incorporation of poetry in EFL classes.
communication,Interaction,pedagogical implication,language teaching device,association,literary experiment
http://www.teljournal.org/article_113030.html
http://www.teljournal.org/article_113030_b340913799b24971f4fbd189bf762644.pdf
Teaching English Language
and Literature Society of Iran
(TELLSI)
Teaching English Language
2538-5488
2538-547X
1
1
2007
01
01
Motif of Justice in The Revenger’s Tragedy A Close Study of Revenge and Justice in Cyril Tourneur’s The Revenger’s Tragedy
129
157
EN
Maryam
Beyad
University of Tehran, Iran
The genre of revenge tragedy has been an obsession with most writers throughout literature of different ages, starting from ancient Greek drama as seen in the works of three major tragedians, Aeschyus, Sophocles and Euripides and later dominant in the drama of the 16<sup>th</sup> and 17<sup>th</sup> c. England. The thematic significance of revenge became especially popular at the hands of the Jacobean dramatists. This paper endeavours to explore this ancient theme of revenge in the play <span style="text-decoration: underline;">The </span>Revenger’s Tragedy by Cyril Tourneur, a Jacobean dramatist who exposes political manipulation during the course of the play and parallel to that the ultimate destruction of the avenger – Vindice whose mission is to uproot corruption but in vain, and this notion is explicit in the very title of the play.
damnation,hell,Evil,revenge,Justice,Corruption,Power
http://www.teljournal.org/article_113040.html
http://www.teljournal.org/article_113040_e1e9a450d4615c3e85a3c61d9c3af902.pdf
Teaching English Language
and Literature Society of Iran
(TELLSI)
Teaching English Language
2538-5488
2538-547X
1
1
2007
01
01
University Students’ Test-taking Strategies and Their Language Proficiency
157
188
EN
Abbas Ali
Rezaee
University of Tehran, Iran
Test-taking strategies are of two kinds: general and specific. General strategies are applicable to any test while specific ones can be employed by test-takers in special kinds of tests. Specific cognitive test-taking strategies, in turn, are divided into various types: structure, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. Based on their level of language proficiency, test-takers may show various degrees of tendency in making use of these strategies. The present study is an attempt to investigate whether there is any significant relationship between the subjects’ proficiency level and their tendency in using various types of strategies while taking a test of language proficiency.
test-taking strategies,language proficiency,test-wiseness,multiple-choice tests,test performance,test score
http://www.teljournal.org/article_113041.html
http://www.teljournal.org/article_113041_ec10ca39b16eaca41277b03fb8191767.pdf