Papers by Mohammad Bagher Shabani
Using the Internet to access "authentic language material" is one of the ways that help students ... more Using the Internet to access "authentic language material" is one of the ways that help students learn English, particularly English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students who may not have other ways to access this type of material. Since the evolution of networks, computers have been offering (EFL) learners more than drills: "they can be a medium of real communication in the target language, including composing and exchanging messages with other students in the classroom or around the world" (Oxford, 1990, p.79). No matter what target languages the learners study, most studies have found some positive attitudes towards text chat rooms for language learning, and confirmed that chat room can be a favorable environment for language practice especially for learners who do not live in target language -speaking areas . To evaluate the possible effects of chat on vocabulary retention of pre-university students studying in Ghasre-Shirin Pre-University centres, the researcher randomly selected 60 students-30 male and 30 female, from among 200 students. The design used for the research was Post test only control group. The students, who had been assigned to two groups (control and experimental), answered 28 multiple choice items test with varying levels of difficulty for posttest. While experimental group was taught vocabulary retention by means of chat, control group was taught according to common traditional vocabulary-teaching methods. The treatment was followed for roughly six months. The results of the t-test showed that teaching vocabulary by means of chat had a significant effect on vocabulary retention of pre-university students than traditional ways of teaching vocabulary. Significant difference between t-values of easy, average, and difficult questions is a good indicator of this fact. Since the present study has been done with regard to Pre-university students, and their book is authentic regarding the texts introduced ( the texts have been adapted from internet sources) such a significant effect of teaching vocabulary through chat might not be replicable with regard to other sources of text being artificially designed (based on structures) in EFL contexts.
William Shakespeare's renowned tragedy Hamlet has ascertained itself as a touchstone for students... more William Shakespeare's renowned tragedy Hamlet has ascertained itself as a touchstone for students and scholars of English literature. Extrapolating on this play, T.S. Eliot once remarked that, it is the Mona Lisa of Renaissance literature. Like Da Vinci's painting, Hamlet (the play or the man) is a faulty or flawed work of art. Foregrounding such a literary hypothesis in mind, the present article attempts to clarify that the play's fault, as claimed by Eliot, is not uprooted in the modern rules of decorum, construction or a reproach against image of a psychic or unaesthetic antagonist, but it is, we believe, in the postmodern concept of Différance which has been so influential in the assessment of literature and its values -simply articulated as the dualistic chemistry of objectifying a subjective emotion. The term Différance as a pre-postmodern quality implanted in this play, now seem to have been anachronic for the literary context of the second half of the Renaissance period. However this provides a background for Derridian term Différance which calls upon the innovative perception that differs the common perception about Hamlet.
The current study aims to investigate Iranian learners' beliefs about learning English and the st... more The current study aims to investigate Iranian learners' beliefs about learning English and the stability of these beliefs over time. 50 learners, males and females, studying English as a foreign language in different English institutes in Isfahan were selected. Horwitz (1987) Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI), a 34-item survey instrument, was used to collect data twice with the interval of three months. After data analysis was done, the results indicated that generally, learners recognized the existence of foreign language aptitude and placed strong emphasis on excellent pronunciation, vocabulary acquisition, and the benefits of practice. Most of them reported of being highly motivated and interested to learn English. The findings also revealed that with the exception of slight change to two items on language learning difficulty, two items on nature of language learning, and five items on learning and communication strategies, most of their beliefs were stable over time.
Speaking is a fundamental and yet demanding skill to be mastered by learners of English as a fore... more Speaking is a fundamental and yet demanding skill to be mastered by learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). Compared to other language skills, speaking has been given less attention in second language acquisition, research, teaching, and assessment. The present study explored the effect of background knowledge or topic familiarity on speaking ability of Iranian students. In so doing, the study carried on a Pre-university class including 10 students. Since there was just one class available, a Quasi-experimental design was employed. First, in two successive class meetings, the subjects were required to talk on the spur of time about topics they were not familiar with. The researcher evaluated their performance as pretests. Then, they were given three topics for the following sessions to work on before attending the class. They could get information about the selected topics through the Internet, magazines, newspapers, books, and the like. In this way, they became familiar with the topics and their background knowledge was activated. Consequently, could talk more easily and for longer periods of time on the familiar topics compared to those topics they were not familiar with. Their performance was regarded as posttests. A statistical analysis of the results obtained from Paired-Samples t test provided some evidence in support of the positive effect of background knowledge on speaking ability of Iranian EFL learners.
Anxiety, as an important affective variable, has been found to be a significant factor adversely ... more Anxiety, as an important affective variable, has been found to be a significant factor adversely affecting language learning (Aydin 2008). Many studies have explored sources and causes of anxiety among learners Williams& Andrade, 2008). However, to date little, if any, studies have examined levels and sources of anxiety and its relationship with fear of negative evaluation. To this end, the present study has been conducted in Iranian context. Data were gathered through administering two scales. Foreign language anxiety classroom scale (FLACS) and fear of negative evaluation (FNE) scale were administered to a sample of 61 EFL learners. To analyze data, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, i.e. independent sample t-test, were run. Descriptive analysis indicated that participants suffer from language anxiety and fear of negative evaluation. The result of independent sample t-test showed there was no significant difference between males and females in the levels of anxiety. The computation of means and standard deviations of statements in questionnaires revealed that the prime sources of language anxiety and fear of negative evaluation are fear of failing class and fear of leaving unfavorable impression on others, respectively. Furthermore, Pearson correlation analysis indicated there is a significant correlation between foreign language anxiety and fear of negative evaluation. The present study will examine the causes of anxiety of students through the various types of anxiety that the students encounter in relation to learning English in a foreign land. Specifically, the research will look into foreign language classroom anxiety and fear of negative evaluation, as well as to determine the relationship between the two.
Critical pedagogy (CP) brings a new sociopolitical concept of linguistics and language teaching t... more Critical pedagogy (CP) brings a new sociopolitical concept of linguistics and language teaching that is beginning to influence the teaching of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). Having this in mind and in line with previous studies done on this field, the present study investigated the possible relationship between EFL teachers' critical pedagogical views and their professional success evaluated by students. In so doing, the Farsi version of Yilmaz Critical Pedagogy questionnaire was used to obtain the measures of the critical pedagogical views of 76 Iranian EFL teachers (Yilmaz 2009). Additionally students were to estimate teachers' professional success through the Successful Iranian EFL Teacher Questionnaire (SIETQ) (Pishghadam&Moafian, 2009). A statistically significant relationship between the two sets of measures was demonstrated through the Pearson product-moment correlation analysis (r = 0.6, p≤ 0.05).In addition by scrutinizing the details it was concluded that two of the three aspects of critical pedagogy sub-dimensions as defined by Yilmaz (2009) namely 'function of schools' and 'emancipator school', are significantly positively correlated with SIET scores using the multiple regression analysis. Implications of the study are further discussed.
This study examined the relationship between musical intelligence and foreign language learning. ... more This study examined the relationship between musical intelligence and foreign language learning. First, it will focus on the relationship between music and language and potential advantages of inclusion of music in teaching and learning a foreign language. Second, it will present the result of the study of Persian learners of English by the age of 15 to 18. The result of study suggests that musical intelligence significantly correlates with learning foreign language and it may facilitate learning of foreign languages.
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Papers by Mohammad Bagher Shabani