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Throughout this study technology and especially mobile phones was utilized in EFL classrooms in order to see whether it can influence the process of vocabulary formative assessment and consequently improve vocabulary learning of Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners or not. Two groups of pre-intermediate EFL learners participated in this study. Regarding the first group (FMA) the vocabulary learning of learners was assessed formatively during ten sessions using Socrative mobile application. The vocabulary learning of the second group (FPA) was also assessed formatively but paper and pen were the instruments used by instructor and students to take the tests. After applying quasi-experimental research design including pretest, treatment and posttest and after running independent sample t tests to posttest scores, the results showed that those pre-intermediate EFL learners attending in the group where vocabulary gain was assessed formatively using mobile application named Socrative performed significantly better in posttest than group assessed formatively based on paper and pen (Sig=0.03<0.05). The analysis of attitude questionnaire distributed among participants of the group assessed formatively using mobile phone exhibited that they possessed a positive attitude towards mobile based testing.

The current study was conducted to investigate whether test scores of Iranian English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners were equivalent across CBT and PBT modes, with 58 intermediate learners studying at a private language academy located in Behshahr city in northern Iran. Moreover, test takers' computer familiarity, attitudes, aversion, and testing mode preference were regarded as the potential issues to influence CBT test scores. Data were collected using CBT and PBT versions of Nelson Proficiency Multiple-Choice Tests and Computer Aversion, Attitudes, and Familiarity Index (CAAFI) questionnaire as well as a simple testing administration mode preference question. The participants produced similar scores across modes, although they insignificantly outperformed on the CBT version. Additionally, analysis of the overall scores on the CAAFI and mode preference question obtained from CBT testing session indicated no statistically significant correlation between computer familiarity, attitude, aversion, and mode preference variables and test takers' CBT scores. The qualitative findings of this study obtained by semi-structured interview revealed that most of the participants showed high preference and more advantages for CBT over PBT to rationalize why they preferred this mode of testing.

Advent of technology has caused growing interest in using computers to convert conventional paper and pencil-based testing (Henceforth PPT) into Computer-based testing (Henceforth CBT) in the field of education during last decades. This constant promulgation of computers to reshape the conventional tests into computerized format permeated the language assessment field in recent years. But, enjoying advantages of computers in language assessment raise the concerns of the effects that computerized mode of testing may have on CBT performance. Thus, this study investigated the score comparability of Vocabulary in Use test taken by 30 Iranian undergraduate students studying at a state university located in Chabahar region of Iran (CMU) to see whether scores from two administrations of testing mode were different. Therefore, two similar tests were administered to the male and female participants on two testing mode occasions with four weeks interval. Employing One-Way ANOVA statistical test to compare the mean scores and Pearson Correlation test to find the relationship between mode preference and performance revealed that two sets of scores were not different and gender difference was not also considered a variable that might affect performance on CBT. Based on the results, computerized version of the test can be considered a favorable alternative for the state undergraduate students in Iran.

Vocabulary acquisition is one of the largest and most important tasks in language classes. New technologies, such as computers, have helped a lot in this way. The importance of the issue led the researchers to do the present study which concerns the comparison of contextualized vocabulary learning on paper and through Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). To this end, 52 Pre-university EFL learners were randomly assigned in two groups: a paper-based group (PB ) and a computer-based (CB) group each with 26 learners. The PB group received PB contextualization of vocabulary items, while the CB group received CB contextualization of the vocabulary items thorough PowerPoint (PP) software. One pretest, posttest, along with an immediate and a delayed posttest were given to the learners. Paired samples t-test of pretest and posttest and independent samples t-test of the delayed and immediate posttest were executed by SPSS software. The results revealed that computer-based contextualization had more effects on vocabulary learning of Iranian EFL learners than paper-based contextualization of the words.

This paper underscores the effect of text cohesion on EFL reading comprehension. 160 EFL (n=80) and non-EFL (n=80) university students took two versions of a cloze test based on a passage of 750 words length, one developed with every nth word deletion and the other with cohesive word deletion. The results of analyses of variance indicated that text cohesion positively affected text comprehension. Pedagogical implications of the study are discussed.

Recent language testing research investigates factors other than language proficiency that may be responsible for systematic variance in language test performance. One such factor is the test takers' cognitive styles. The present study was carried out with the aim of finding the probable effects of Iranian EFL learners' cognitive styles on their performance on communicative tests. For purposes of the present study, it was hypothesized that field (in)dependence would introduce systematic variance into Iranian EFL learners' communicative-test performance. 240 junior and senior students all majoring in English took the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT), the 1990 version of IELTS, and the Communicative Test (CT) designed for the present study. The results of the present study provided evidence that the field-dependent (FD) subjects, compared to their field independent (FI) counterparts, performed much better on the CT. It was, therefore, concluded that test takers' cognitive styles may be viewed as a source of systematic variance in performance on communicative language tests.

Developing higher-order critical thinking skills as one of the central objectives of education has been recently facilitated via software packages. Whereas one such technology as computer-aided argument mapping is reported to enhance levels of critical thinking (van Gelder 2001), its application as a pedagogical tool in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) settings has been rarely explored. In addition, the literature fails to acknowledge whether having the basic skill of representing an argument diagrammatically even with paper and pencil can lead to similar results. That being the case, this study was conducted with the aim of comparing the impact of teaching argument mapping via "Rationale"™ software versus "paper and pencil" on Iranian EFL majors' critical thinking skills development. To this end, 180 EFL participants were screened into low and high levels of reading proficiency based on their scores on a sample reading proficiency test. Next, they were randomly assigned to two experimental and one comparison groups. During 12 sessions, the experimental groups were provided with argument mapping instructions while the comparison group received a conventional reading instruction. All participants were pre- and post-tested with the California critical thinking skills test (CCTST). Results suggested that students in the software group significantly outperformed those in the paper and pencil group on overall CCTST and the sub-skills of inference and inductive reasoning. They also scored significantly higher on all tests compared to the comparison group. However, participants' level of proficiency as well as sex did not show any significant effect on their performance on overall CCTST and its sub-skills.

Many studies have emphasized the incorporation of active learning into classrooms to reinforce didactic lectures for physiology courses. This work aimed to determine if presenting classic papers during didactic lectures improves the learning of physiology among undergraduate students. Twenty-two students of health information technology were randomly divided into the following two groups: 1) didactic lecture only (control group) and 2) didactic lecture plus paper presentation breaks (DLPP group). In the control group, main topics of gastrointestinal and endocrine physiology were taught using only the didactic lecture technique. In the DLPP group, some topics were presented by the didactic lecture method (similar to the control group) and some topics were taught by the DLPP technique (first, concepts were covered briefly in a didactic format and then reinforced with presentation of a related classic paper). The combination of didactic lecture and paper breaks significantly improved learning so that students in the DLPP group showed higher scores on related topics compared with those in the control group (P < 0.001). Comparison of the scores of topics taught by only the didactic lecture and those using both the didactic lecture and paper breaks showed significant improvement only in the DLPP group (P < 0.001). Data obtained from the final exam showed that in the DLPP group, the mean score of the topics taught by the combination of didactic lecture and paper breaks was significantly higher than those taught by only didactic lecture (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the combination of paper presentation breaks and didactic lectures improves the learning of physiology.

Present-day curricular designs have to take the pupils' psychological needs in account, thus becoming melodies of mental health and happiness for the next generation. Emphasizing the findings from previous investigations using the research synthesis methodology, the present study has been conducted aiming at achieving some integrative knowledge under the inclusive title of "Mental Health Improvement-based Curricular Content." Goal-oriented homogeneous sampling method was applied in order to select 100 research papers from Iranian scholars on the subject of pupils' mental health improvement using accredited databases between 2005 and 2016. Data analysis using open subject coding encompassing three stages, namely open, axial, and selective coding, indicated that a curriculum with contents in two overall categories of mental health literacy (optimism and positive thinking; socialization; monotheistic life; happiness; self-efficacy; self-awareness and self-actualization & …) and mental health skills (emotions management, interpersonal communication, critical thinking, adaptability, tolerance, and finally & …) has to be designed in order to improve the pupils' mental health.

English, particularly regarding a foreign language teachers' professional development, has been studied in depth. However, it is not known how Iranian English as a foreign language teachers perceive continuing professional development. This study explored the perceptions of Iranian English as a foreign language teachers of continuing professional development and identified their main professional development activities. For the study, a phenomenological research design was applied. Twenty English teachers were interviewed. The data were content analyzed in line with the Randor model. The results showed that the participants perceived continuing professional development to entail skills development, continuous learning, keeping up to date, learning for interest, and professional revitalization. Additionally, they developed professionally through work, formal education, and attending and presenting at continuing professional development events.

Despite the recent growth of attention to English for research publication purposes, little is known about how researchers view the role of peer review in their success of publication. In light of this gap, the present study investigated Iranian surgeons' attitudes towards peer review and the challenges they face in getting their papers published. To this end, 26 Iranian surgeons were interviewed, and the transcribed data were analyzed through thematic analysis. The results revealed that firstly the surgeons attested to the positive and negative contributions of peer review in terms of changing or unchanging their attitudes, respectively. Secondly, the authors faced a myriad of challenges related to editors, reviewers, and socio-political-linguistic factors in getting their papers published. Moreover, they associated these challenges with positive and negative effects in being connected to their career-stage development and motivating them to conduct and submit more papers. The study concludes with implications for research and practice in how researchers can craft more quality papers to enhance their chance of publication in high-quality journals.

Over the last few years, technology has offered new ways of teaching and learning. Accordingly, educational systems are adopting what technology has purveyed to education. The abrupt upsurge of the COVID-19 pandemic also expedited this employment and impelled educational systems to shift to online teaching and learning. Consequently, the offline and paper-based mode of testing has been being replaced with the online and remote mode. Whether the testing mode itself, in its nature, affects the use of reading comprehension strategies and whether learners follow the same patterns of strategies during offline and online reading comprehension tests have not been paid enough attention by scholars, and the findings of few studies in this regard in the literature are also disparate. Thus, the present paper investigated and compared the use of strategies and their patterns of use in offline and online reading comprehension testing. The quantitative analysis of the data revealed that learners apply reading comprehension strategies more in the offline testing mode although they employ the same patterns of strategies in offline and online reading comprehension testing. The qualitative phase of the study uncovered the reasons. That is learners' perception, shaped by their experience and familiarization with the mode of testing; individual differences; washback and reverse washback effects; and affective and emotional factors, yields this difference. Implications and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Nearly all multidimensional models of communication competence have pragmatic competence at their core. Proper assessment of second language (L2) pragmatics makes many demands on L2 teachers, both in terms of understanding the construct and in language test development. Therefore, being assessment literate helps teachers in developing effective tests geared toward educational outcomes. Despite the importance of assessment literacy (AL) for pragmatics, the field is still under-researched. Mindful of this fact and the significance of pragmatics in L2 learning and assessment, this study adopted the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) model of pragmatic competence to examine Iranian L2 teachers' AL for L2 pragmatics and linked the results to the Sociocultural Theory (SCT) for formulating theory-informed answers to the problems in the teachers' assessment of L2 pragmatics. Group interviews were run with 67 participants and then qualitative and quantitative content analyses were performed. The paper discusses the identified problems in the assessment of L2 pragmatics and offers recommendations for raising L2 teachers' AL for L2 pragmatics.

Involving the global issues as listed in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in education is necessarily done in the education process, especially in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning. Exposure to global issues is known to improve students' understanding, awareness, and ability to solve urgent issues faced by global society. This paper aims to find out the trend of research on the coverage of SDGs in students' learning process. This systematic literature analysis was done by applying Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Method. A total of 25 studies were recognized through a systematic search by using Sustainability, SDGs, and EFL as keywords. The result shows that the trend of associating SDGs with EFL settings was done mostly in Indonesia. In the recent year 2022, it reached the highest number of studies in the particular matter with 7 total of research. It was also found that the study involving SDGs on EFL learning was mostly done in the tertiary setting, compared with K-12, junior high school, secondary, high school, and other educational institutions. It was also discovered that the specific area of study enhances EFL students' learning achievement, environmental awareness, global citizen values, as well as students' levels of self-norms, beliefs, and self-value.

We conceptually replicated Kemp (2010), who investigated the effect of keeping a listening log, a journal or learner diary, on ESL students' motivation toward autonomous learning. Her research suggested that keeping a listening log can aid ESL listeners to self-monitor their performance and reflect on their listening process independently. Besides, it was found that it would raise their metacognitive awareness of the listening process and motivate them toward autonomous listening. Her study deserves replication due to its theoretical motivation, which is the explicit teaching of a group of listening skills and strategies and the success of the listening skills module designed for study-abroad ESL students. However, almost no previous studies replicated the related research with a phenomenological perspective to examine its robustness and transferability, particularly in an EFL context. Thus, our conceptual replication used Kemp's (2010) materials and procedures to highlight the possible effects of keeping a listening log on EFL learners' motivation to become autonomous listeners in an EFL context. To serve this purpose, 30 freshmen Iranian TEFL students participated in this study. The data were collected through students' listening logs in eight sessions. Results suggested that keeping a listening log can motivate and encourage EFL learners to engage with and reflect on their listening experiences in potential learning situations, thus assisting them with becoming good listeners in real-life situations. Further discussions and pedagogical implications are provided in the paper.

Over the past decade, the number of advertised tenure-track faculty positions in higher education institutions in the United States and abroad has steadily declined while the competition for these positions has become fierce. This situation has caused some scholars to seek perspectives into the factors that influence the tenure-track faculty selection process. This study investigates the elements that impact higher education graduate programme faculty searches. A total of 39 programme coordinators, department heads and deans who had previously participated in higher education programme searches were surveyed to explore their experiences and perceptions regarding the selection process. The findings indicate that the search committee's faculty votes within the higher education hiring programme are more influential in selection decisions than the votes of either a programme chair or dean. Additionally, participants identified a candidate's academic accomplishments, interview performance and presentation skills as the determining characteristics influencing their selection. These findings provide useful information to tenure-track job seekers who seek faculty positions at higher education graduate programmes in the United States and around the world.

My PhD study explored the experiences of a cohort of Iranian doctoral candidates in New Zealand. This paper presents my response to the unexpected challenge I faced as I collected data and formed my theoretical framework. I found that Western interpretations of non-Western international students largely ignored social-cultural specificities. I navigated this challenge by drawing from the postcolonial concepts of ambivalence, uncertainty and cultural hybridity to make sense of the way Iranian doctoral candidates' experiences in a Western university were analysed and understood. First, I conceptualised the knowledge journey of the research participants as a Hijrat -- an Islamic and Persian cultural metaphor that refers to the experience of departure from one's homeland. Second, I drew from postcolonial theory to manage the West/non-West binary. This paper offers non-Western doctoral candidates and their Western supervisors an example of how cultural congruence can be understood when completing a PhD study in the West. In a general sense, it is important to acknowledge and critically explore the impacts of past socio-political experiences and practices (e.g., colonisation) and historical knowledge traditions (e.g., Islamic) on present thinking and practices.

Mainstream trends of English language teaching (ELT) are predominantly constructed within the epistemological boundaries shaped by the traditional conceptions of linguistics, learning, and teaching as well as positivist research methodology. What tends to be overshadowed by such conceptions is the underlying foundational belief structure of ELT theory, research, and practice. Such beliefs may be named in various ways, including under the rubric of "ideology." Despite the forbidding stigmas attached to the word ideology, rooted in the Marxist tradition, this study adopts a more tangible conception of the term as "the most fundamental assumptions underlying any social practice," to explore ideologies of ELT in Iran. We examine the ideological assumptions detectable in the mainstream research scene of the country reflected in presentations at major national applied linguistics conferences within the past decade, as well as the ideological assumptions of a thread of alternative qualitative-critical ELT research in a few Iranian universities during the same period. The study uncovers a pentagonal dominant ideology as well as a struggling alternative ideological orientation. On this basis, the ideological landscape of the Iranian ELT arena is problematized and discussed along with probable extended messages for other contexts around the world.

The present study investigates environmental education (EE) before and after Iran's Islamic Revolution. The research method is case study, and among the case study methods, historical analysis has been used in this research. A wide array of sources were employed, from government performance reports to documents, records, books, and articles published by Iranians. Environmental education in Iran was initiated with the establishment of a specific office for EE in the Department of Environment in 1972. During the years 1997-2005, the Islamic Republic of Iran enjoyed an era of unprecedented economic, social, and political advancement and growth. This fundamentally renovated EE in Iran. Today, observing EE's evolution in the Islamic Republic of Iran is quite informative. The paper examines the overall situation, major projects, and policies.

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of an educational intervention based on the transtheoretical model aimed at increasing physical activity (PA) participation among female employees in Bandar Abbas city (Iran) healthcare centers in December 2017 and August 2018. Using a semi-experimental interventional study design with a randomized and multi-stage method, 100 participants were included in both the intervention (n = 50) and control groups (n = 50). Data collection involved questionnaires assessing demographic information (age, gender, marital status and education), stages of change in PA behavior, Perceived Benefits, Barriers and Self-efficacy. The data were analyzed using SPSS-16, employing both descriptive (mean, SD, frequency, percentage) and inferential statistics (t-tests, chi-squared tests, etc.). Prior to the educational intervention, 19 participants (0.38%) in the intervention group engaged consistently in PA (stages 4-5). After 3 and 6 months of intervention, these numbers increased to 29 (0.58%) and 25 (0.50%), respectively. This improvement was statistically significant compared to the pre-intervention stage (P < 0.001). The findings highlight the importance of theory-based behavior change models and health education programs in promoting PA and combating sedentary lifestyles. Although focused on a specific population in Bandar Abbas, the intervention can serve as a model for similar programs targeting diverse social classes and populations.

In this paper, six mathematics curriculum changes in Iran will be reviewed, spanning from 1900 until the present time. At first, change forces, barriers, and the main features of each curriculum reform will be represented. The first five curriculum changes are described briefly and the sixth and most recent curriculum reform will be elaborated. In this paper, we call the last reform as contemporary school mathematics curriculum change. This recent (contemporary) curriculum reform will be explained in more detail, followed by a discussion of the effect of globalization and research finding in the field of mathematics and mathematics education (in the Iranian mathematics curriculum). In total, three key ideas are distinguished as an effect of globalization which is "New Math", "International Comparative Studies", and "Computational Thinking". Finally, the paper comments on the necessity of paying more attention to information and communication technology as part of globalization; in particular, recall policy-makers to consider "Computational Thinking" as an important component of future curriculum design.

In this paper, six mathematics curriculum changes in Iran are reviewed, spanning from 1900 to 2021. Change of forces, barriers, and the main features of each reform are represented. Specifically, the first five curriculum changes are described briefly and the sixth and most recent one is elaborated upon, with more detail as contemporary school mathematics curriculum change. This recent curriculum reform will be then analyzed using an application and modeling approach, followed by reflections from five teachers of mathematics' voices about how they implemented recent curriculum reform after passing modelling course in their master's program. These teachers shared their professional beliefs about the role of the modelling course in shaping their classroom practices. We believe that the practical aspects of this paper can have enormous implications for other mathematics teachers in developing countries.

This study was designed to see whether electronic feedback positively affects medical students' academic writing performance. Two groups of medical university students were randomly selected and participated in this study. In order to see whether the provision of electronic feedback for the compulsory academic writing course for medical students is effective, the researchers divided 50 medical students to the traditional (n=25) and intervention groups (n=25). Pre-test and post-test were conducted at the beginning and at the end of the semester. Electronic feedback was given to the medical students in the intervention group, while the medical students in the traditional group received the traditional pen and paper feedback. By comparing the scores of two written assignments at the beginning and the end of the semester, regarding the application of electronic feedback, the results showed that not only medical students' overall writing performance improved after providing them electronic feedback, but every single writing component was also enhanced after the intervention. There was a significant difference in the post-test academic writing scores between the traditional and intervention groups (P < 0.001). This difference was not significant in our control group who was given pen-and-paper feedback. In terms of specific writing components, the most affected components in this approach were content followed by organization, language use, vocabulary, and sentence mechanics, respectively. Although this study focused on medical students' academic writing ability and reported the effect of electronic feedback on medical students' writing performance, electronic feedback can be equally beneficial for enhancing student-practitioners' practical clinical skills.

The importance of psychological factors is manifested in the ability of students to acquire knowledge, gaining skills, perception of educational information, attitude to others, mutual understanding with people around. Taking this into consideration, the purpose of the academic paper is to study the basic aspects of the development of teachers' professional competence in the context of transformational processes in education. Such methods as: theoretical analysis, description, comparison, synthesis, grouping, measurement, observation and experiment, have been used in order to achieve the purpose and objectives outlined in the academic paper. It has been established that the motivation of students to carry out educational and professional activities is a set of psychological factors, through the influence of which the interconnection between the motivation and desire of the student to study is conducted. In the course of the investigation, it has been found that the influence of psychological factors is quite effective in the case of motivating students to study. It has been proven that increasing the motivation of students to study is possible through: a common learning environment in the students' collective; students' participation in discussions, conferences, competitions; work in groups; application of innovative technological methods of studying educational material.

The various possibilities that social media offers to language learners and teachers have long been recognized by researchers within the field of language instruction, and many studies have been carried out in an attempt to address and unpack its potential contributions. This paper aims to review such research on the use of mainstream social media in language teaching and learning published in "Computer Assisted Language Learning," a top tier (i.e., Q1) journal indexed in major citation index systems (e.g., Arts & Humanities Citation Index, the Social Sciences Citation Index and Scopus), between the years 2016-2020 inclusive. For the purposes of the study, a total of 23 articles that meet the selection criteria is reviewed and presented in five sections. The first section deals with the majority of the articles, which are found to be on the use of social networking in language teaching and learning. In the following sections, studies on the use of videoconferencing, wikis, blogging and forums are discussed. Collectively, the studies reviewed in this paper outline a critical role for the use of social media in language instruction and the study aims to provide valuable insights for researchers, teachers and learners.

This paper aims to identify the factors affecting the quality of the e-learning of physical education students. The statistical population of the paper consisted of undergraduate students at the University of Isfahan in the field of physical education who passed their theoretical and practical courses virtually in two semesters. The sample size was estimated to be 210 individuals based on the Krejcie and Morgan table. Then, a researcher-made questionnaire was employed to collect the required data. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the factors affecting the quality of e-learning and confirmatory factor analysis was used to confirm the identified factors. According to the results, the factors affecting the e-learning quality of theoretical and practical courses are teachers' characteristics, technical characteristics of the educational system, content, student characteristics, and evaluation and feedback.

Purpose: Considering the role that students' diverse identifications play in education, this paper aims to contribute to the developing discourse on multicultural education concerning the status of ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity in Iranian upstream educational documents (UEDs). Design/methodology/approach: This paper explores the status of ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity in Iranian UEDs through quantitative and qualitative content analysis. Findings: Findings show that three continuous patterns are repeated throughout the documents: (1) The so-called diversity: although there are promising and positive statements about diversity in the documents, they are indirect, and this level of attention is very superficial and limited; (2) Affirming assimilation: the documents are covered by presenting the Islamic-Iranian identity, and somehow almost all the issues raised in the documents end up in this pattern; and (3) Pattern of contradictions: content analysis shows that the content of documents does not have intellectual and logical coherence. Practical implications: This research paper points to the need for a systematic analysis of ignoring diversity operating in UEDs in Iran. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper broadens the document analysis as one of the first research to critically explore the depiction of diversity in important UEDs in Iran.

This paper is based on the results of an ethnography conducted in the context of several junior high schools in the host community of Iran. It draws on the data collected via observations and forty sessions of in-depth semi-structured interviews with school staff, domestic (Iranian) and refugee (Afghan) students, and their parents. The paper aims to explore the probable impacts of some particular elements on the absorption of refugee students in the host community. These elements included interactions between refugee and domestic students, the role of their parents, and the role of multicultural aspects of pedagogy.

This paper addresses peace education focusing on how place-based experiences and collective memories stimulate local mobilisation for refugees fleeing from war. The Arctic Migration Route, located above 69th degree north, became an alternative to dangerous boat trips on the Mediterranean Sea, for people seeking safety and protection in the fall of 2015. During a few months, over 5,500 people from 35 nations, mostly from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran came to a municipality in north Norway with 10,000 inhabitants. The paper demonstrates how global conflicts far away, have important local consequences across borders and huge distances. Interviews with local authorities, teachers, voluntary workers constitute the main empirical material. By combining theories of place-based experiences and collective memories with phenomenology of practice, geographical location, collective and cultural memories across generations, are analysed as important driving forces for the local mobilization to help refugees. This approach opens for a wider perspective on learning, showing how climate, culture and history have important role as material and sociocultural education in this arctic border region in the north of Norway. Based on empirical data from a small local school, the paper will document how a local community can find solutions to globally produced problems.

This study investigates how sensitizing graduate L2 students about source-text use might affect their citation practices. Two summary writing tasks involving two similar published articles, one irrelevant and one pertinent to source-text use, were assigned individually to 16 graduate English language teaching students from Iran. After completing the tasks, the students participated in retrospective interviews about their source-text use. Recursive thematic data analysis indicated that while they were inclined towards more direct source-text use in the first summary, they opted for more indirect and academic source-text use that involved their contribution and interpretation in the sensitizing task. The paper discusses the significance of sensitizing students to source-text use.

Recent advancement in educational systems have fostered the significance of language teachers' responsibilities to improve their qualities and competences since students' development is directly related to teachers' qualities and profession. The current study aims at finding the interrelationships between TEFL graduates vs. Non TEFL graduates EFL teachers' Teaching Experience, Sense of Creativity, Sense of Mindfulness, and their Instructional Competency. 318 EFL teachers were selected through convenience sampling from different institutes. Participants filled three questionnaires of Teaching Creativity Quotient, Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, and Instructional Competency Questionnaire by using both paper-based and online methods. To analyze the data, two models for interrelationships among the variables of the study for the two groups of TEFL and Non- TEFL graduates were proposed and tested using path analysis. The findings showed that the proposed model in TEFL group perfectly fit with the data. In non-TEFL group the goodness of fit indices was not within the acceptable range. Moreover, there was a significant difference between the two groups (TEFL and Non-TEFL teachers) regarding instructional competency. This study can be beneficial for teachers, learners, and supervisors.

Drawing on duoethnography, the teacher researchers in the present study interacted with the relevant literature, engaged in dialogs, and shared artifacts to examine their knowledge, beliefs, and practices regarding fairness and justice considerations in technology-enhanced language classroom assessment. Under the domain of knowledge, they conceptualized fairness and justice and identified their components. Within beliefs, the difference between high-stakes and low-stakes assessments, the significance of students' perceptions, and the role of computer literacy in relation to fairness and justice in technology-enhanced classroom assessment were debated. To operationalize their knowledge and beliefs, the researchers inspected their assessment practices during and following COVID-19. They agreed that fairness was distinct from justice in that the former pertained to test internal characteristics and its administration procedures while the latter referred to test external consequences at a broader social level. They believed that fairness and justice were equally important in high-stakes and low-stakes assessments, and students' perceptions were valuable sources of feedback regarding fair and just classroom assessments. Moreover, the teachers argued that computer literacy cannot yet be considered an aspect of language ability. Finally, it was revealed that although their practice regarding fairness and justice was affected by the pandemic, they learned valuable lessons (e.g., combining online and paper assessment modalities and giving oral exams) in this respect for the future. The findings imply that language teachers should theoretically adopt a clear conception of fairness and justice while being practically prepared for future developments (e.g., technological advances) and unexpected circumstances (e.g., a pandemic).

A large body of research has been carried out on integrating picture dictionaries in EFL classes globally; however, a gap in the literature has been noticed on their effects at the tertiary level in the Iraq context. To address this issue, this paper, for the first time in the literature, focuses on the effects of the Oxford Picture Dictionary on 50 students' vocabulary expansion at a private university in Erbil, Iraq. Participants were determined through a simple random sampling method. A mixed methods research design was employed to collect data via a questionnaire, two vocabulary exams, and an interview. SPSS 26 and NVivo applications were used to analyze and categorize data accordingly. Quantitative data, via independent and paired samples t-test, revealed that experimental group students increased their marks significantly regarding vocabulary enhancement, while the progress was insignificant in the control group. Likewise, via content analysis, qualitative data unleashed that picture dictionary-enriched instruction sharpened learners' pronunciation, spelling, listening, reading, and speaking skills and drove them to learn more ambitiously. The outcomes indicated that picture dictionaries can be used effectively to reap their benefits in various aspects as supplementary material in main course lessons.

This paper examines the impact of employing an assistive humanoid robot in acquiring and retaining grammar among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. To this end, forty-eight Iranian young male students (between 11 to 15 years old) were equally divided into three groups: RALL (Robot-Assisted Language Learning), GBLL (Game-based Language Learning), and the control group. While the teacher, the textbook, and teaching materials were identical in all groups, a set of similar games were played only in the RALL (with the participation of the NAO H21 robot) and GBLL groups. A 20-item grammar pre-test was taken at the beginning of the classes. Overall, a total of ten intervention sessions (each lasting for 60 minutes), 15 (each lasting for 90 minutes), and 15 (each lasting for 120 minutes) were respectively administered for the RALL, GBLL, and control groups. At the end of the treatments, the acquisition and retention of grammar were evaluated through immediate (at the end of class) and delayed post-tests (two weeks later), correspondingly. The results of descriptive statistics and ANOVA indicated that the RALL group outperformed the two groups in the immediate and delayed post-tests. The students in the RALL group had a very positive attitude toward robot presence in the class and scored higher on the post-test. This study suggests that RALL can be very beneficial in assisting teaching EFL classes. The results of the current innovative study can equally yield important implications for language education and social robotics fields and further contribute to providing clear evidence of the impacts of RALL on Iranian young learners' English grammar acquisition.

As a result of the advent of the COVID-19 outbreak, online assessments are being implemented in universities and schools worldwide. Nevertheless, regardless of the extensive use of online assessments, many researchers have proposed several barriers to the effective application of this form of examination in different language learning contexts. A combined qualitative and quantitative methodological approach was used to investigate 154 Iranian English language learners' opinions of the relative benefits of online examinations in terms of pedagogy, validity, reliability, affective factors, practicality, and security during the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, an electronic questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were employed. This study identified online assessment as having significant benefits over traditional, paper-based examinations, comprising accessibility, using cutting-edge technology, providing immediate feedback, automated grading, creating a question bank, and long-term efficiency in terms of time, effort, and costs. Nevertheless, many challenges have been identified by students while successfully implementing online exams regarding validity and reliability, emotional and security issues.