Sajad Shafiee

• PhD
• Professor (Assistant) at Islamic Azad University of Shahrekord

Dynamic assessment has been widely used in educational literature over the past two decades. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of using dynamic assessment on teaching the rhythm of English to Iranian EFL learners and scrutinizing their attitudes towards it. The participants of the study were 30 Iranian EFL leaners at the intermedi...

This study was primarily aimed at investigating the effects of simultaneous use of reasoning demand (resource-directing) and prior knowledge (resource-dispersing) on fluency, accuracy, and complexity of L2 oral performance. More, specifically, an attempt was made to investigate how EFL oral production could be affected by ±reasoning demand and ±pri...

Objective: This study investigated the effects of dynamic assessment (DA) on Iranian ESP university students' reading comprehension strategies and motivation. Furthermore, the views of Iranian ESP university students concerning DA were examined. Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental methodology to recruit 80 Ph.D. students as the sample...

This study examines the type of activities Cambodian ESL students engaged in outside the classroom, the length of time they spent on them, and the possible effects of teachers' interest in tracking these activities on the students' motivation. To fulfil these aims, five classes of male and female upper-intermediate ESL students (N = 71) at Australi...

Based on the tenets of the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, the purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of Fully-Immersive Teaching (FIT) vs. conventional communicative language teaching on the articulation abilities of Iranian EFL learners diagnosed with Expressive Language Disorder (ELD). Purposively choosing 36 Iranian pre...

Background: Research on the integration of Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in EFL contexts has witnessed a significant advance due to the modern changes in language education and technology over the last decades. However, the effects of CALL on vocabulary development through different interaction patterns have not been investigated by re...

Dynamic Assessment (DA) is a novel revolution in the area of integrating language testing and language instruction. The Online Dynamic Assessment, a more recent development of DA which provides learners with automatic mediations online deserves to receive more attention from the teachers and test developers. The present survey intended to inspect t...

This research sought to investigate IELTS test-takers' perceptions of obtaining scaffolded MOOC-based training. To accomplish this purpose, 50 IELTS candidates were chosen through convenient sampling and assigned to one of two groups: a MOOC-based teaching group (MG, n = 25) and a face-to-face instruction group (F2FG, n = 25). The MG test-takers we...

Based on Assistive Technology Theory (AST), this qualitative study investigated Virtual Reality (VR) as an assistive technology among EFL learners with Expressive Language Disorder (ELD) with regard to its effectiveness, feasibility, and risks. 18 Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners with mild to moderate ELD were selected and exposed to a fully-i...

The present study was carried out to find out the relationships between academic management, resources, workload, and burnout with EFL teachers' job satisfaction. To do so, 100 teachers were selected based on their availability and voluntary participation from among English teachers in Shahrekord, Iran. In the present study, the researcher used a q...

This study examined how collaborative online writing using Wikis affected Iranian intermediate EFL learners' writing complexity, accuracy, and fluency. The language proficiency of 75 EFL learners was gauged based on their performance on the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT). They were intermediate male and female EFL learners studying English at t...

This study aimed at exploring a host of objectives: it examined whether self-efficacy, learner autonomy, and critical thinking play a significant part in predicting EFL learners' language mindset. Moreover, it inspected the direct and indirect relationships among all the above-mentioned variables. To achieve these purposes, a correlational survey d...

This study was an attempt to investigate the impact of elementary learners’ L1 in consciousness-raising tasks on their L2 writing accuracy. To achieve this end, 32 male and female elementary EFL learners aged 17 to 26 participated in this study. They were assigned to two experimental groups (L1 and L2 groups) using the intact group sampling techniq...

This experimental study aimed to make comparisons among the three models of dynamic assessment; namely, Interactionist Dynamic Assessment (I-DA), Group Dynamic Assessment (G-DA), and Computerized Dynamic Assessment (C-DA), in order to see if there are any differences among them with respect to their effects on the listening comprehension ability of...

The popularity of integrating language and technology in Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and its fundamental effect on English language speaking skills have been widely acknowledged. Learners' anxiety is expected to be improved in a web-based computer-assisted language learning environment. This study examined the effects of CALL-based i...

The current study aimed to assess the effects of written corrective feedback (WCF) on Iranian EFL learners' writing at the macro (i.e., rhetorical organization, task response, cohesion, and coherence) and micro levels (i.e., lexical resource, punctuation, grammatical range, and accuracy) with a dynamic assessment approach in focus. To this end, the...

During the last decade, the issue of teachers' immunity and its relation with other affective factors has engrossed the consideration of some researchers. The present research was conducted to determine the relationship between emotional intelligence, self-efficacy, and teachers' immunity in Iranian language centers and public schools. To achieve t...

Learning of English collocations has been found quite demanding for many language learners in general and for the Iranian EFL learners in particular. Recent second language educators have proposed two crucial perspectives for teaching collocations: the corpus-based view and the traditional methods. This study examined the mixed effects of explicit...

This study explores the immediate and delayed impacts of songs on implicit vocabulary learning in terms of spoken-form recognition (SFR), form-meaning connection (FMC), and collocation recognition (CR) of Iranian intermediate female english as a foreign language (EFL) learners. For this purpose, a total of 150 female EFL learners, aged from 11 to 1...

The current study was set to examine whether input flooding and input enhancement of vocabulary affected the reading fluency of Iranian EFL learners. It also evaluated whether there was any substantial difference between the impacts of input flooding and input enhancement of vocabulary on the reading of Iranian EFL learners. To this end, 120 out of...

This study examined the effects of EFL teachers' behavior on intermediate L2 learners' WTC in English. To this end, a proficiency test was administered to 150 female learners, and 98 intermediate learners aged 16 to 26 were recruited as the participants. Subsequently, a WTC questionnaire was distributed among them to measure their level of WTC. Mor...

This study investigated the effect of teaching cultural materials on reading motivation and reading attitude across two genders. To fulfill this objective, 150 upper-intermediate male (n = 75) and female (n = 75) EFL learners were selected and randomly divided into three equal groups. Then, a reading motivation pretest was carried out to check the...

One of the major issues in language learning classrooms is familiarity with the cultural perspective of reading materials. Learners' insufficient knowledge of the target culture of language brings about some difficulties to understand the target reading materials. Consequently, learners' motivation to learn the new language would be diminished. Thu...

The popularity of integrating technology in language instruction and its fundamental effect on the language learning dimensions has been widely acknowledged, whereas learners' motivation and attitude are expected to be improved in a web-based computer-assisted language learning (CALL) environment. Therefore, this paper aimed to investigate the Iran...

This research examined the effects of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Iranian EFL learners' speaking complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF). To this end, the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) was administered to 130 Iranian EFL learners, of whom 60 intermediate learners were selected and assigned to an experimental group (n = 30) and a contr...

This study attempted to investigate the effects of cultural background knowledge on vocabulary learning through reading culturally oriented texts. The study was conducted with 150 upper-intermediate male (n = 75) and female (n = 75) EFL students. The participants of each gender were randomly assigned into three equal groups: group A (Target Culture...

The present study was aimed at investigating intermediate Iranian EFL learners' feedback preferences on their L2 writing and examining the possible differences between learners with entity and incremental language mindsets with respect to their feedback preferences. To this end, 150 EFL learners were recruited from several language institutes in Is...

This study examined the effects of using flipped instruction on Iranian EFL learners’ speaking complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF). To fulfill this objective, the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) was administered to 96 Iranian EFL learners and 60 of them who were at the intermediate level were selected as the target participants of this study...

The present study intended to investigate intermediate Iranian EFL learners’ language mindsets and examine the possible relationships between language mindsets and feedback preferences in L2 writing. To achieve these aims, 150 EFL volunteer learners were recruited from several language institutes in Isfahan, Iran, and their language proficiency lev...

The present study aimed to investigate the impact of teaching cultural materials on reading motivation and reading attitude across two genders. To this end, 150 upper-intermediate male (n = 75) and female (n = 75) EFL learners were selected and each gender was randomly assigned into three equal groups. Then, a reading motivation pretest was adminis...

The present study was carried out to unveil the predictive power of multiple-intelligences (MI) in accounting for different components of L2 writing. To do so, through an OPT, 120 intermediate EFL learners were selected. In one class session, the researcher gave McKenzie's (1999) MI questionnaire to the learners and asked them to fill out the quest...

The actual classroom implementation and the possible final outcomes of the genre-based approach to listening instruction have not been completely discovered yet. Therefore, this study investigated the impact(s) of genre-based teaching (GBT) on Iranian EFL learners' listening proficiency across different proficiency levels. For this aim, 84 EFL lear...

This study aimed to find out the impacts of using WhatsApp as a mobile instant messaging application on teaching vocabulary among pre-intermediate EFL learners. To this end, 60 Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners were selected from a private English Language Institute. Then, they were randomly assigned to two equal groups there were an experiment...

This study tries to investigate the impact(s) of genre-based teaching (GBT) on Iranian EFL learners� listening proficiency as well as to discover if GBT equally affects the listening proficiency of EFL learners at different proficiency levels. To fulfill this objective, 84 EFL learners were chosen. They were divided into Group A and Group B. Groups...

This study compared the impacts of input-based instruction and output instruction on intermediate EFL learners' speaking skill. To this end, 54 EFL learners were selected as the participants of this research. Afterwards, both classes took a researcher-made speaking post-test. Then, one class received the instruction through output instruction and t...

This study tries to implement genre-based instruction in Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners' L2 listening skill. Moreover, it aims to investigate if genre-based instruction impacts the listening skills of EFL learners at different skill levels equally. To achieve this goal, 60 EFL learners have been selected. These were split into groups A and B...

Due to the rapid and new revolutions in language software, the use of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) has increased considerably in the field of education in recent years. However, in Iran CALL is not extensively applied in the field of foreign language learning. With regard to excessive enthusiasm in the utilization of CALL, this study...

Abstract The present study aimed to investigate the comparative impacts of input-based and output-based activities on vocabulary knowledge of Iranian EFL learners. To fulfil this objective, 54 intermediate EFL students out of 70 from a private language institute were chosen through administering the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT). The selected...

The present study attempted to explore the effects of employing shadowing and tracking on Iranian EFL learners' speaking fluency. From among 112 intermediate Iranian EFL learners at Jahad Danesheshgahi Language Institute in Isfahan, Iran, 60 were selected in the wake of administering the Preliminary English Test and divided into four groups: shadow...

Regarding the vital role of lexical competence as an important requisite for the attainment of full mastery of the four language skills, this study tried to investigate the relationship between Iranian EFL learners' contrastive lexical competence and their use of vocabulary learning strategies. To fulfil this objective, 60 Iranian upper-intermediat...

This study was an attempt to compare the effects of using opinion-gap, reasoning-gap, and information-gap tasks on Iranian EFL learners’ speaking fluency. To fulfill this objective, 140 intermediate EFL learners were selected and subsequently divided into three experimental groups including opinion-gap group, reasoning-gap group, and information-ga...

This study was intended to investigate the relationship between working memory, anxiety and Iranian EFL learners’ listening comprehension. For the purpose of this study, 60 Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners were selected among 80 students at a private language institute in Hamadan, Iran. They participated in a homogeneity test (Oxford Quick Pla...

Every item of language has a paradigmatic relationship with every other item which can be substituted for it (such as cat with dog), and a syntagmatic relationship with items which occur within the same construction (for example, in The cat sat on the mat, cat with the and sat on the mat). The relationships are like axes. The aim of the current stu...

This study investigated the effect of implementing flipped classrooms on Iranian junior high school students' reading comprehension. To this end, 50 Iranian pre-intermediate students were choosen and randomly assigned into two equal groups; one experimental group (flipped classroom) and one control group (traditional classroom). After that, both gr...

Intercultural communication competence (ICC) is assumed to be necessary subcomponent of the overall L2 competence inasmuch as intercultural communication is opt to failure or even adverse consequences in case misunderstanding arises between the culturally-heterogeneous interlocutors. Taking the preponderant role of the ICC into account, the current...

Dynamic assessment has been widely used in educational literature over the past two decades. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of using dynamic assessment on teaching the rhythm of English to Iranian EFL learners and scrutinizing their attitudes towards it. The participants of the study were 30 Iranian EFL leaners at the intermedi...

This study examined the effects of cooperative learning techniques (CLT) on vocabulary achievement of reflective/impulsive Iranian EFL Learners. From among 130 students at Fajr institute in Dehdasht, Kohkiloyeh and Boyer Ahmad Province, Iran, 90 participants were selected based on their performance on the Oxford Placement Test (OPT). The participan...

Pronunciation is an integrated part of spoken language and no one denies its significance. A learner who consistently mispronounces a range of phonemes is certainly very hard to understand. This is particularly frustrating for a learner whose command of English grammar and lexis is good, but has difficulty understanding and being understood by the...

The present research was conducted in order to investigate if there was any significant difference between abstracts written by native (N) English speakers and abstracts written by Iranian nonnative (NN) speakers of English based on Swales' (1990) IMRC model. Investigating the possible differences between abstracts written by male vs. female N and...

This study investigated the lexical inferencing made by Iranian EFL students at IAU, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch when they encountered unfamiliar words in English texts. The researchers examined the effect of learners’ level of reading competence on their lexical inferencing with respect to the knowledge sources and types of contextual cues they use...

This study examined the effects of two vocabulary exercises on facilitating learning vocabulary meaning, form, and use. The participants of this study, who were selected through availability sampling, consisted of 50 EFL learners, and were classified into two groups of triple blank filling group (TBFG) and summary writing group (SWG). The intervent...

The study reported was primarily aimed at investigating the relationship between willingness to communicate and Iranian intermediate EFL learners` oral performance i.e., complexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF) under strategic planning condition. In particular, the study is divided into two phases. Initially the effect of pre-task planning on CAF was...

Cross-cultural communication involves drawing on different linguistic and cultural resources. The choice of terms of address in different cultures is one area of sociolinguistic research which reflects cultural differences. The current study intends to investigate the choice of address terms in two different cultures, namely, Iranian and American....

The present study attempted to explore the effects of employing English and Persian subtitles on the Iranian EFL learners' oral fluency and accuracy. From among 100 intermediate Iranian EFL learners in Donyaye Sokhan Language Institute in Isfahan, Iran, 60 were selected in the wake of administering the PET (Preliminary English Test) as the particip...

A multitude of factors are involved in learning a second language, among which knowing ample vocabulary plays a crucial role. Despite many efforts for vocabulary learning, one of the first problems of foreign language learners, especially Iranian EFL learners, is how to commit lots of foreign words to memory. The present study aimed to compare thre...

The objectives of the present study were twofold. First, this study investigated gender differences regarding complex structure use in group discussions. Participants included 15 females and 15 males, aged from 18 to 35, who studied the same book with the same teacher in a language institute in Shahreza, Iran. These learners, who had been screened...

This study aimed to investigate the effects of economic status and level of education on the choice of address terms by Iranian couples in Shahrekord, Iran. To this end, 50 couples were selected, based on their educational and economic statuses, and were studied in terms of their choice of address terms. A discourse completion task was used as the...

The present study aimed at identifying native English speakers', native Persian speakers', and Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' persuasion strategies and any possible pragmatic transfer from the EFL learners' mother tongue (Persian) to their L2. The participants of the study included 10 native English speakers, 30 learners of E...

The present study aimed at exploring teachersʼ and learnersʼ beliefs about grammar teaching and learning in language institutes in Isfahan. To this end, two questionnaires were adapted and used to elicit teachersʼ and learnersʼ beliefs about grammar teaching and learning. Thirty-five English language teachers and 200 learners of English who were ra...

This study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of three various types of clustering (i.e., semantic, thematic, and haphazard clustering) in the vocabulary acquisition and recall of English as a foreign language (EFL) students as well as the putative role of gender in this regard. To achieve these aims, 50 Iranian native speakers of Persian, in...

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between EFL learner’s multiple intelligence (MI) scores, their gender, and their vocabulary knowledge. That is, an attempt was made to determine which of the intelligences (naturalist intelligence, musical intelligence, logical mathematical intelligence, existential intelligence, interpersonal...

This study sought to explore the effect of teaching prewriting strategies through different methods of input delivery (i.e. conventional, web-based, and hybrid) on EFL learners’ writing quantity. In its quasi-experimental study, the researchersrecruited 98 available sophomores, and assigned them to three experimental groups (conventional, web-based...

The present study investigated the awareness, beliefs, and instructional practices of Iranian EFL teachers in language schools with respect to vocabulary learning/teaching strategies based on their individual learning experiences, and further examined the correlation between teachers' beliefs and their teaching practices. Those who participated in...

Intercultural communication is concerned with communication across cultures. Since cultures as well as languages differ from one another in significant ways, speakers conceptualize the world around them in different ways. These cultural conceptualizations form part of the collective cognition of a speech community or cultural group. This paper is a...

Second language writing, not unlike other language skills, is an area of practice requiring due attention and meticulously planned instruction. With a prevalent shift of paradigm from product-oriented to process-oriented approaches to writing instruction, such learner variables as language learning strategies came to the forefront. Among second lan...

This study sought to investigate how different types of in-text glosses (i.e. synonym, translation, and definition glosses) affect reading comprehension of Iranian high school students. For this purpose, seventy-eight students from a high school in Isfahan were randomly chosen to serve as the participants of the study. They were then randomly divid...

The purpose of this research is to investigate which type of questions, textually explicit (TE) or inferential (IF) questions, would best facilitate text comprehension by Iranian EFL learners at three proficiency levels (i.e. low, intermediate, and high). In the study, six classes of Iranian high school students (N=108) were classified into three p...

This study reports on an experimental investigation that examines the backward transfer of reading comprehension strategies from English language learners' second language to their mother tongue, i.e. Persian. The study was carried out at Islamic Azad University of Shahrekord, where 63 English majors took their advanced reading comprehension course...