en jalali 1386 12 1 gregorian 2008 3 1 11 1 online 1 fulltext

fa Teachers’ teaching styles, sense of efficacy and reflectivity as correlates of students’ achievement outcomes 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.  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.  Teacher efficacy , Teaching style , EFL students , Achievement outcomes , Teacher efficacy , Teaching style , EFL students , Achievement outcomes , 1 28 http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-3-5&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Ramin Akbari Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran رامین اکبری Akbari_r@modares.ac.ir 00319475328460020 00319475328460020 No دانشگاه تربیت مدرس تهران Gholam Reza Kiany Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran غلامرضا کیانی 00319475328460021 00319475328460021 Yes دانشگاه تربیت مدرس تهران Mohsen Imani Naeeni Imani Naeeni Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran محسن ایمانی نایینی 00319475328460022 00319475328460022 No دانشگاه تربیت مدرس تهران Nabi Karimi Allvar Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran نبی کریمی الوار 00319475328460023 00319475328460023 No دانشگاه تربیت مدرس تهران

fa Relative clause attachment ambiguity resolution in Persian 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.  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.  Structural ambiguity , Persian ambiguous relative clauses , Attachment ambiguity , Parsing strategies , Structural ambiguity , Persian ambiguous relative clauses , Attachment ambiguity , Parsing strategies , 29 49 http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-3-27&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Ali Arabmofrad University of Tehran علی عرب منفرد 00319475328460060 00319475328460060 No دانشگاه تهران Hamideh Marefat University of Tehran حمیده معرفت 00319475328460061 00319475328460061 No دانشگاه تهران

fa The effects of the violation of local independence assumption on the person measures under the Rasch model 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.   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. C-Test , local item dependence , Rasch model , rating scale model , separation , C-Test , local item dependence , Rasch model , rating scale model , separation , 51 67 http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-3-35&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Pourya Baghaii Moghadam Islamic Azad University of Mashhad پوریا بقایی مقدم 00319475328460075 00319475328460075 No دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی مشهد Reza Pishghadam Ferdowsi University of Mashhad رضا پیش قدم rpishghadam@yahoo.com 00319475328460076 00319475328460076 No دانشگاه فردوسی مشهد

fa Aggression and oral proficiency: a correlational study 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. 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. aggression , Oral proficiency , Iranian EFL learners , aggression , Oral proficiency , Iranian EFL learners , 69 95 http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-3-46&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Reza Ghafar Samar Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran رضا غفارثمر rgsamar@modares.ac.ir 00319475328460099 00319475328460099 No دانشگاه تربیت مدرس تهران Mansooreh Amiri Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran منصوره امیری 003194753284600100 003194753284600100 No دانشگاه تربیت مدرس تهران

fa The relationship between Iranian EFL learners’ gender and reading comprehension of three different types of text 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. 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. gender , reading comprehension , Text types , Iranian EFL learners , gender , reading comprehension , Text types , Iranian EFL learners , 97 114 http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-3-63&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Mohammad Hossein Keshavarz Kharazmi University of Tehran محمد حسین کشاورز 003194753284600137 003194753284600137 No دانشگاه خوارزمی تهران Soroor Ashtarian Kharazmi University of Tehran سرور اشتریان 003194753284600138 003194753284600138 No دانشگاه خوارزمی تهران

fa A discursive representation of the winner and loser: the case of sports reports 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.   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. Critical Discourse Analysis , Sports reports , Language ideology , Soccer , Critical Discourse Analysis , Sports reports , Language ideology , Soccer , 115 142 http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-3-76&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Mohammad Rahimi Shiraz University محمد رحیمی 003194753284600162 003194753284600162 No دانشگاه شیراز Ehya Amal Saleh SUMS, Shiraz احیا عمل صالح 003194753284600163 003194753284600163 No دانشگاه علوم پزشکی شیراز Mahbubeh Saadat Shiraz University محبوبه سعادت 003194753284600164 003194753284600164 No دانشگاه شیراز