Mona Tabatabaee-Yazdi

This study aimed to propose a new method for scoring C-Tests as measures of general language proficiency. In this approach, the unit of analysis is sentences rather than gaps or passages. That is, the gaps correctly reformulated in each sentence were aggregated as sentence score, and then each sentence was entered into the analysis as a polytomous item. Rasch partial credit model was applied to analyze the test. To investigate the effectiveness of the new method, the results of this new strategy were compared with those derived from passage and gap levels as well as combining locally dependent items using the dichotomous Rasch model, the rating scale model, and the partial credit model. The obtained scores from the administration of a C-Test comprising four English passages, each containing 25 gaps, to 160 participants were subjected to dichotomous and polytomous Rasch model analyses. The models were compared regarding individual item fit, person/item separation and reliability, global fit (e.g., deviance), unidimensionality, local item dependence, and person parameters. Results showed the effectiveness of the new scoring method. The suggested strategy increases the number of items compared to the super-item approach, provides information at the sentence level, and reduces the impact of local independence.

Introduction: The rapid evolution of technology and the increasing use of e-learning in educational settings make mobile affordances an important consideration. However, some individuals may experience technophobia, fear, or anxiety towards technology, while others may feel technophilia, a positive attraction and enthusiasm towards it. The present research attempted to investigate the interrelationship between the Iranian EFL learners’ mobile affordances and their sense of technophobia and technophilia. Besides, it was aimed to determine any significant difference between Iranian EFL learners’ sense of technophobia and technophilia regarding their gender. Methodology: The study utilized a quantitative correlational research design. A total of 200 EFL learners participated in the study using the convenience sampling method. The data were collected using technophobia and technophilia questionnaire and mobile affordances inventory. A Pearson correlation test and two independent samples t-tests were performed to analyze the data collected. Results: The results of the Pearson correlation coefficient indicated an inverse and negative correlation between EFL learners’ mobile affordances and their sense of technophobia, while a relatively positive correlation between Iranian EFL learners’ mobile affordances perceptions and their sense of technophilia was found. Moreover, the findings revealed that gender was not a significant factor in explaining differences in technophilia and technophobia among EFL learners. Conclusion: The results indicated an inverse and negative correlation between EFL learners’ mobile affordances and their sense of technophobia. This suggests that as learners perceive more mobile affordances, their technophobia decreases. Additionally, this implies that as learners perceive more mobile affordances, their technophilia increases. The findings suggest that mobile affordances play a significant role in reducing technophobia and increasing technophilia among EFL learners. This highlights the importance of incorporating mobile technology in educational settings to promote positive attitudes toward technology.

In recent years, integrating mobile devices and network technologies has been a critical issue in the teaching and learning process, especially within the scope of English teaching and learning. The importance of technology integration in the learning and teaching process by teachers can only be deemed effective if users can realize the intended affordances in the teaching. Teachers’ affordances, accordingly, can be defined as the relationship between the properties of an educational intervention and the characteristics of the learner that enable particular kinds of learning by individuals. On the other hand, one of the critical core barriers that EFL teachers encounter in their job is the issue of burnout. Thus, because of the increased attention to the capabilities and affordances of mobile usage among teachers, this study intended to examine the relationship between EFL teachers’ mobile affordances and their burnout as its main focus. The study also aimed at determining whether gender differences influence the teachers` mobile affordances and their burnout. To this aim, 228 EFL teachers were invited to participate in this study. Data were gathered using Mobile Teaching Affordances and Maslach Burnout Inventory, and processed, analyzed, and reported using Pearson product-moment correlations and independent samples t-test. Findings proposed teachers` perceptions of mobile affordances and their burnout had significantly and negatively correlated. Furthermore, the results indicated that there was not a significant difference between males' and females` mobile affordances, however, there was a significant difference between males and females in burnout scores favoring males.

In the era of Covid-19 and right after the announcement of it as a pandemic and threat to humanity by the World Health Organization, most educational activities were globally forced to shut down their traditional teaching/learning activities. This is one of the biggest and most vital changes of educational settings which have led to migration to online educational platforms. This paper can be considered as one of the few first studies that aimed to investigate the Iranian EFL online learners’ learning performances (individual vs. interactive classroom tasks through quizzes, presentations, assignments, feedback and discussion) during the 2020–2021 educational year. DCM package (Diagnostic Classification Modeling) using R was used to classify the learning performances of 397 Iranian EFL BA students based on their learning behavior in online classes, and to find out to what extent their learning profiles related to their achievement. The results showed that interactive learning, performed through interaction and collaborative activities among students, is more challenging for the learners though for the majority of them mastering both individual and interactive learning is required to successfully pass the course. These findings can have important significance for all the practitioners in the field of Education.

The Hierarchical Diagnostic Classification Model (HDCM) reflects on the sequences of the presentation of the essential materials and attributes to answer the items of a test correctly. In this study, a foreign language reading comprehension test was analyzed employing HDCM and the generalized deterministic-input, noisy and gate (G-DINA) model to determine and compare respondents’ mastery profiles in the test’s predefined skills and to illustrate the relationships among the attributes involved in the test to capture the influence of sequential teaching of materials on increasing the probability of getting an item a correct answer. Furthermore, Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analysis was applied to detect whether the test functions as a reason for the gender gap in participants’ achievement. Finally, classification consistency and accuracy indices are studied. The results showed that the G-DINA and one of the HDCMs fit the data well. However, although the results of HDCM showed the existence of attribute dependencies in the reading comprehension test, the relative fit indices highlight a significant difference between the G-DINA and HDCM, favoring G-DINA. Moreover, results indicate that there is a significant difference between males and females in six items in favor of females. Besides, classification consistency and accuracy indices specify that the Iranian University Entrance Examination holds a 71% chance of categorizing a randomly selected test taker consistently on two distinct test settings and a 78% likelihood of accurately classifying any randomly selected student into the true latent classes. As a result, it can be concluded that the Iranian University Entrance Examination can be considered as a valid and reliable test.

Throughout the past decade, evaluating teachers’ success has become a crucial issue due to the increased motivation on teacher accountability. In view of that the purpose of the present study is to determine EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers’ success in the Iranian institutional context based on students’ perspectives. More specifically, the present study surveyed any significant correlation between teachers’ practices of continuing professional development (CPD) strategies and teachers’ success. For this purpose, a CPD model was suggested and verified using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), to examine CPD factors contributing to EFL teachers’ success. A total of 316 English-major institutional teachers in Iran completed the CPD questionnaire. Besides, about 30% of their students, 828 students, are asked to fill in teachers’ success questionnaire, which intended to check students’ opinions on how successful they measured their teachers in teaching. Findings specified that practice of CPD strategies had a strong direct predicting power on EFL teachers’ success. It was illustrated that “updating” construct strongly affects both “collaborating” and “reflecting.” Moreover, “reflecting” moderately influence “collaborating” and “collaborating” intensely affects “decision making.” The results, specifically, highlight the fact that one to be a successful teacher in the field of EFL should be a good decision maker in the field too.

Baddeley’s grammatical reasoning test is a quick and efficient measure of fluid reasoning which is commonly used in research on cognitive abilities and the impact of stresses and environmental factors on cognitive performance. The test, however, is verbal and can only be used with native speakers of English. In this study, we adapted the test for application in the Persian language using a different pair of verbs and geometrical shapes instead of English letters. The adapted test had high internal consistency and retest reliability estimates. It also had an excellent fit to a one-factor confirmatory factor model and correlated acceptably with other measures of fluid intelligence and participants’ grade point average (GPA).

The general purpose of the current study was to clarify the role and estimate the correlation of specific cognitive abilities with Second Language (L2) reading achievement of English Foreign Language (EFL) university students. Since there are not ample available studies about the cognitive correlates of reading comprehension in a second language, we put our attention on the role of cognitive abilities of individuals to investigate second language reading comprehension’s nature. To this aim, the relationship between fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence, and speed of processing with second language reading comprehension as three different kinds of tests was examined to predict participants’ reading achievement. The results revealed a significant correlation of fluid intelligence with second language reading comprehension.

Crystallized intelligence is a pivotal broad ability factor in the major theories of intelligence including the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model, the three-stratum model, and the extended Gf-Gc (fluid intelligence-crystallized intelligence) model and is usually measured by means of vocabulary tests and other verbal tasks. In this paper the C-Test, a text completion test originally proposed as a test of general proficiency in a foreign language, is introduced as an integrative measure of crystallized intelligence. Based on the existing evidence in the literature, it is argued that the construct underlying the C-Test closely matches the abilities underlying the language component of crystallized intelligence, as defined in the well-established theories of intelligence. It is also suggested that by carefully selecting texts from pertinent knowledge domains, the factual knowledge component of crystallized intelligence could also be measured by the C-Test.