@article{ author = {Abbasian, Fateme and Tahririan, Mohammad Has}, title = {The discoursal and formal analysis of e-mails: a cross disciplinary genre analysis}, abstract ={Electronic mail (e-mail) as a means of fast and effective communication which has removed the barriers of distance and time has become very commonplace and important in institutional environments. Speakers of English as a foreign language across different disciplines need to enhance their awareness of the generic and formal features of the e-mail genre in order to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of their correspondence. Following genre analysis studies such as Swales (1990), Bhatia (1993), Santos (2002), Vergaro (2004), and Samraj and Monk (2008), and in line with studies on electronic messages such as  Gains (1999), Gimenez (2000, 2006), and Jensen (2009), the present genre-based research was conducted to analyse e-mails exchanged between EFL teachers and biology professionals for the purposes of requesting and providing information at two criteria of the macro-textual and micro-levels of the two corpora to present a tentative model. The results revealed clear discrepancies between the parallel constitutive moves, strategies and formal features due to cross-disciplinary variations and the prevalence of intertextuality. The findings of this study have pedagogical implications for devising courses, preparing teaching materials and raising ESP instructors' awareness of learners' problems.  }, Keywords = {E-mail genre , ESP , Formal features , Move analysis ,}, volume = {11}, Number = {2}, pages = {1-22}, publisher = {Kharazmi University}, url = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-64-en.html}, eprint = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-64-en.pdf}, journal = {}, issn = {1735-1634}, eissn = {1735-1634}, year = {2008} } @article{ author = {AnaniSarab, Mohammad Rez}, title = {Task-as-workplan and task-as-process: reappraising the role of the teacher in task implementation}, abstract ={Task as a pedagogic and research tool has originally been used to elicit unscripted data to be used as evidence for interlanguage processes or as a basis for channelling the learners’ cognitive and linguistic resources to achieve desired learning outcomes. One of the central issues surrounding task-based instruction is the difference between what is planned as task pedagogic goals through manipulation of its design features and what ultimately emerges from the implementation process. The disparity has been attributed to the redefinition of the task by the learners to suit their learning goals (see Hosenfeld, 1976 Breen, 1989). Though this account can explain the gap from the learners’ perspective, it ignores the mediatory role of the teacher and his/her reinterpretation of the task to suit pedagogic goals which may not necessarily coincide with those of the task designer. This paper argues for a redefinition of the teacher’s role in task-based instruction using naturalistic data taken from a larger database of recorded and transcribed lessons. The paper concludes with the discussion of the implications of the suggested role redefinition for task-based syllabus design.}, Keywords = {Task-based language teaching , Teacher role , Task , Interactive grammar task , }, volume = {11}, Number = {2}, pages = {23-50}, publisher = {Kharazmi University}, url = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-65-en.html}, eprint = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-65-en.pdf}, journal = {}, issn = {1735-1634}, eissn = {1735-1634}, year = {2008} } @article{ author = {Farahani, Ali Akbar and Hadidi, Yaser}, title = {Semogenesis under scrutiny: grammatical metaphor in science and modern prose fiction}, abstract ={Scientific language, along with media and political discourse, has received adequate and ample attention in research on Grammatical Metaphor (GM) as it is a chief driving force in the discourse of those genres Modern Prose Fiction (MPF) however has seen spotty and sketchy research at best. This study, thus, aims to bring out how GM is deployed in (MPF), as opposed to such a deployment in the language of science. Drawing mostly upon the conceptualization of GM by Thompson (2004) and Halliday & Matthiessen (1999, 2004), the study shifts the spotlight onto Harry Potter series, which is most representative of MPF discoursally and generically. The works placed under analysis for scientific discourse, selected based on clear and clarified criteria, are equally representative. This study is in a qualitative exploratory mould it receives, in that spirit, three phases of compensatory sweeping analysis. The findings uncover six categories of GM in MPF and point to the category of Prepositional and Generic GM as the mainstays, underpinning all GM in the genre. The heart of the differential deployment of GM in MPF is found to lie in Semogenesis, the semiotic powerhouse of evolutionary meaning-making in language. The findings promise to broaden the understanding of GM and encourage undertaking analysis of GM in other prose genres, especially under-researched ones.}, Keywords = {Grammatical Metaphor (GM) , Semiotic , Semogenesis , Scientific discourse , Modern Prose Fiction (MPF) , Prepositional GM (PGM) , Generic GM , }, volume = {11}, Number = {2}, pages = {51-85}, publisher = {Kharazmi University}, url = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-66-en.html}, eprint = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-66-en.pdf}, journal = {}, issn = {1735-1634}, eissn = {1735-1634}, year = {2008} } @article{ author = {Habibi, Pejm}, title = {Genre analysis of research article introductions across ESP, psycholinguistics, and sociolinguistics}, abstract ={Research Article (RA), in particular, its structure, social construction and historical evolution, has been focused upon through a large number of studies on academic writing over the past 20 years. This paper reports an analysis of research article introductions from three related fields, English for Specific Purposes (ESP), Psycholinguistics, and Sociolinguistics, using Swales’ CARS model. The corpus consisted of 90 RAs drawn from a wide range of refereed journals in the corresponding disciplines. The results of the analysis, although revealing marked differences across the disciplines regarding Move 2/step 1B, indicate no marked differences in research article introductions across the disciplines in terms of Move 1 and 3 along with their constituent steps. Furthermore, no marked differences are found in terms of the extent of concordance between the CARS model and the move structure of the RAs analyzed. The results also underline the need for further research into the CARS model and provision of a more flexible and open-ended structure, one which is pattern-seeking rather than pattern-imposing and provides the writer/researcher with the necessary options for the inclusion of further steps, one in which free-standing steps are not assigned rigid functions and positions in the overall structure but are multi-functional or multi-purpose and can be shuffled in the overall structure.  }, Keywords = {Genre analysis , Moves , Sub-moves , CARS model , Research article , Introduction in applied linguistics , }, volume = {11}, Number = {2}, pages = {87-114}, publisher = {Kharazmi University}, url = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-67-en.html}, eprint = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-67-en.pdf}, journal = {}, issn = {1735-1634}, eissn = {1735-1634}, year = {2008} } @article{ author = {Sadeghi, Karim}, title = {Measuring reading comprehension: the judgmental validity of cloze procedure}, abstract ={Cloze tests have been widely used for measuring reading comprehension, readability and language proficiency. There is still much controversy on what it really is that cloze measures. The result of much correlational research is contradictory and very unsatisfactory. Thus, with a qualitative orientation, this study attempts to look at the judgmental validity of cloze as a test of reading comprehension. To this end, a group of 32 native and non-native speakers of English sat a standard cloze test. The participants were expected to complete most of the blanks correctly if cloze measured reading comprehension properly, because the text had been intended for undergraduates while cloze-takers were all either PhD students or members of academic staff with a PhD. Surprisingly, the results indicated that none of the participants reached the minimum native speaker performance criterion of 70%. Invited to reflect on what they thought they were doing when reading the blanked text, most cloze-takers felt that the text they read was a puzzle or a guessing game. Provided with the deleted words and asked to re-read the text, they confessed that cloze reading was very different from the second reading. Further findings and implications for future research are discussed in the paper.}, Keywords = {Cloze procedure , reading comprehension , EFL ESL testing , Validation , Correlational studies , Judgmental validity , }, volume = {11}, Number = {2}, pages = {115-132}, publisher = {Kharazmi University}, url = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-68-en.html}, eprint = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-68-en.pdf}, journal = {}, issn = {1735-1634}, eissn = {1735-1634}, year = {2008} } @article{ author = {Zarei, Abbas Ali and Dadebiglo, Mehdi}, title = {The viability of computer-mediated interaction and face-to-face oral interaction in vocabulary recognition and production}, abstract ={The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of computer-mediated interaction and face-to-face oral interaction on the recognition and production of vocabulary by Iranian learners of English. To this end, 128 male and female high and low proficiency level learners of English participated in the study. Recognition and production of target words were assessed by receptive and productive, oral and written measures. Four independent two-way ANOVA procedures were used to analyse the data. Results showed that the computer-mediated interaction group at both levels (advanced & elementary) outperformed the face-to-face oral interaction group on both written and oral vocabulary recognition and production tests.  It also turned out that although the low-proficiency level learners' written vocabulary recognition was affected by computer-mediated interaction more than that of the high-proficiency level learners, the latter experienced greater gains in written vocabulary production. The findings show that Computer-mediated interaction can be advantageous to vocabulary teaching and learning. }, Keywords = {Computer-mediated interaction , Face-to-face oral interaction , Vocabulary recognition , Vocabulary production , }, volume = {11}, Number = {2}, pages = {133-164}, publisher = {Kharazmi University}, url = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-69-en.html}, eprint = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-69-en.pdf}, journal = {}, issn = {1735-1634}, eissn = {1735-1634}, year = {2008} } @article{ author = {Akbari, Ramin and Kiany, Gholam Reza and ImaniNaeeni, Mohsen Imani Naeeni and KarimiAllvar, Nabi}, title = {Teachers’ teaching styles, sense of efficacy and reflectivity as correlates of students’ achievement outcomes}, abstract ={There is nowadays a burgeoning research base, mostly in mainstream education, acknowledging that teachers have the most important impact on students' achievement outcomes. This line of research, however, has not yet found its way into second language pedagogy and little, if any, empirical evidence exists on which set of EFL teacher characteristics promotes positive student learning outcomes. In line with this argument, the present study investigated three important teacher-related variables, i.e. teaching styles, teachers’ sense of efficacy, and teacher reflectivity to see how they relate to student achievement gains in ELT. 30 EFL teachers teaching in Ilam (Iran) high schools participated in this study. The final exam score of the participants' students served as the dependent variable of the study. The results of multiple regression analysis (R=.91) showed that the three variables investigated can significantly predict student achievement outcomes. Besides the R value, the results showed individual correlations between each pair of the variables which reveal interesting relationships. }, Keywords = {Teacher efficacy , Teaching style , EFL students , Achievement outcomes , }, volume = {11}, Number = {1}, pages = {1-28}, publisher = {Kharazmi University}, url = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-70-en.html}, eprint = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-70-en.pdf}, journal = {}, issn = {1735-1634}, eissn = {1735-1634}, year = {2008} } @article{ author = {Arabmofrad, Ali and Marefat, Hamideh}, title = {Relative clause attachment ambiguity resolution in Persian}, abstract ={The present study seeks to find the way Persian native speakers resolve relative clause attachment ambiguities in sentences containing a complex NP of the type NP of NP followed by a relative clause (RC). Previous off-line studies have found a preference for high attachment in the present study, an on-line technique was used to help identify the nature of this process. Persian speakers were presented with sentences that were semantically consistent with either high or low attachment resolution. Results of the analysis of reaction times from 32 participants by the use of RSVP technique revealed that high attachment is the strategy used by Persian native speakers for this type of ambiguity. The results are in harmony with the previous findings in the literature showing a high attachment preference by Persian native speakers. However, the findings are inconsistent with constrained based-models and suggest that native speaker use purely structure-based parsing strategies. }, Keywords = {Structural ambiguity , Persian ambiguous relative clauses , Attachment ambiguity , Parsing strategies , }, volume = {11}, Number = {1}, pages = {29-49}, publisher = {Kharazmi University}, url = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-71-en.html}, eprint = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-71-en.pdf}, journal = {}, issn = {1735-1634}, eissn = {1735-1634}, year = {2008} } @article{ author = {BaghaiiMoghadam, Pourya and Pishghadam, Rez}, title = {The effects of the violation of local independence assumption on the person measures under the Rasch model}, abstract ={Local independence of test items is an assumption in all Item Response Theory (IRT) models. That is, the items in a test should not be related to each other. Sharing a common passage, which is prevalent in reading comprehension tests, cloze tests and C-Tests, can be a potential source of local item dependence (LID). It is argued in the literature that LID results in biased parameter estimation and affects the unidimensionality of the test. In this study the effects of the violation of the local independence assumption on the person measures in a C-Test are studied. A C-Test battery comprising four passages, each containing 25 blanks, was analysed twice. Firstly, each gap was treated as an independent item and Rasch’s (1960) dichotomous model was employed. In the second analysis, each passage was treated as a super item and Andrich’s (1978) rating scale model was used. For each person, two ability measures were estimated, one on the basis of the dichotomous analysis and one on the basis of the polytomous analysis. The differences between the two measures, after being brought onto the same scale, are compared and the implications are discussed.}, Keywords = {C-Test , local item dependence , Rasch model , rating scale model , separation , }, volume = {11}, Number = {1}, pages = {51-67}, publisher = {Kharazmi University}, url = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-72-en.html}, eprint = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-72-en.pdf}, journal = {}, issn = {1735-1634}, eissn = {1735-1634}, year = {2008} } @article{ author = {GhafarSamar, Reza and Amiri, Mansooreh}, title = {Aggression and Oral Proficiency: A Correlational Study}, abstract ={In order to investigate the relationship between aggressiveness and oral proficiency of Iranian EFL learners, first a TOEFL test was given to 100 EFL students in order to homogenize the sample. Out of this, 71 participants whose scores fell one standard deviation above and below the mean were regarded as intermediate and, therefore, interviewed. They were then asked to complete the Persian version of a validated aggression questionnaire. All the tape-recorded interviews were rated by two raters. Based on their scores on aggression questionnaire, the subjects were divided into two groups of aggressives and non-aggressives and the means of their scores in oral interviews were compared using t-test. Results of the t-test showed that, aggressive and non aggressive groups are different in their oral proficiency. Finally, the correlations between the two main variables and also between four subscales of aggression and all the components of oral proficiency were estimated to see exactly what the nature of the relationships is. Overall, the results of these calculations showed that aggression negatively affects oral proficiency of L2 learners. Moreover, verbal aggression and anger as different subscales of aggressiveness were found to have negative effect on the components of oral proficiency.}, Keywords = {aggression , Oral proficiency , Iranian EFL learners ,}, volume = {11}, Number = {1}, pages = {69-95}, publisher = {Kharazmi University}, url = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-73-en.html}, eprint = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-73-en.pdf}, journal = {}, issn = {1735-1634}, eissn = {1735-1634}, year = {2008} } @article{ author = {Keshavarz, Mohammad Hossein and Ashtarian, Soroor}, title = {The relationship between Iranian EFL learners’ gender and reading comprehension of three different types of text}, abstract ={The present study investigated the relationship between the reading comprehension of three types of text and the gender of Iranian EFL learners. To this end, several reading passages with the same length and readability were selected based on which a reading comprehension test was constructed on three different text types namely essay, history, and short story. After determining the validity and reliability of the reading comprehension test, it was administered to 62 male and female students who were at the same level of language proficiency based on their scores on the TOEFL Test. A one-way ANOVA was used to analyze the data, the results of which indicated that male and female EFL learners differ in their reading comprehension ability with females being better comprehenders of English passages. The results of a two-way ANOVA also showed that both males and females are better at comprehending essays followed by history and short story, i.e. different types of text are understood differently regardless of the gender of the subjects. The findings are interpreted to have direct implications for EFL teachers and instructors as well as syllabus designers and test developers.}, Keywords = {gender , reading comprehension , Text types , Iranian EFL learners , }, volume = {11}, Number = {1}, pages = {97-114}, publisher = {Kharazmi University}, url = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-74-en.html}, eprint = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-74-en.pdf}, journal = {}, issn = {1735-1634}, eissn = {1735-1634}, year = {2008} } @article{ author = {Rahimi, Mohammad and AmalSaleh, Ehya and Saadat, Mahbubeh}, title = {A discursive representation of the winner and loser: the case of sports reports}, abstract ={Communicating ideas/news is the primary function of language. However, language does not usually fulfill this as it is expected to. To Dellinger (1995, p. 3) language, “can never appear by itself-it always appears as the representative of a system of linguistic terms, which themselves realize discursive and ideological system.” The present study, analyzing sports articles, aims at investigating the nature and importance of discourse in representing the desired players/ or teams. In other words, it is to examine the ways in which different teams are discursively constructed. More specifically, it shows how ‘our’ team versus ‘other’ (rival) team is shaped discursively. To do this, Hodge and Kress' (1996) model for Critical Discourse Analysis provides the framework with which the following texts have been approached. Four sport extracts, selected from two different issues of two different sport editorials, comprised the corpus of the study. The texts are analyzed with regard to three important properties of texts, i.e., grammar (with regard to two properties: syntagmatic models and transformations), vocabulary (functioning as adjectives, adverbs, and verbs, with their ideological significance), and modality (the degree of authority and certainty of an utterance). The study has revealed how the reporters, while apparently providing the readers with the information about the matches and important events, represent ‘ours’ and ‘others’ in the selected texts  the way they like and, thereby, influence the ideology of the reader.}, Keywords = {Critical Discourse Analysis , Sports reports , Language ideology , Soccer , }, volume = {11}, Number = {1}, pages = {115-142}, publisher = {Kharazmi University}, url = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-75-en.html}, eprint = {http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-75-en.pdf}, journal = {}, issn = {1735-1634}, eissn = {1735-1634}, year = {2008} }