Saman Ebadi

Razi University | razi · School of Literature and Humanities

Previous studies indicate that metacognitive knowledge has a key role in learning and that collaborative learning and knowledge sharing may affect learners' metacognition. As such, the present study set out to test a structural model of teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) students' collaborative digital writing, online knowledge sharing,...

This study investigated the impact of flipped vocabulary learning on the listening achievement of EFL learners. The study participants included 60 English language learners selected based on their performance on the Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group was tau...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in the educational context, particularly chatbotics, has made significant changes in learning English. This mixed-methods study is intended to explore university students’ attitudes toward the potential role of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted mobile applications. Meanwhile, the role of social presence a...

The continuous growth of production and the development of new video games have influenced many aspects of human lives, particularly the young generation. While video games may tap on the entertainment side, primarily aiming to entertain players, they may profoundly impact multi-literacy development. This qualitative study utilizes narrative inquir...

This study investigated how Augmented Reality (AR) impacted EFL learners’ reading comprehension and attitudes toward utilizing AR. A mixed-method was used with a sample composed of 64 upper-intermediate EFL learners in a state university in Iran. Independent and paired sample t-test were used to investigate the experimental group’s reading comprehe...

This study presents the results of a mixed-methods approach in finding the effects of the WebQuest-based flipped classroom on the EFL learners’ inferential reading comprehension skills. A group of EFL learners attending an IELTS course participated in the study. T -test and one-way repeated measures ANOVA were used to analyze the quantitative data....

This study aimed to investigate the reflections of Iranian students on Ph.D. entrance exam interviews held virtually nationwide during the Pandemic. Two hundred thirty-one Ph.D. applicants were invited to fill out an anonymous online survey designed in Google Forms, 36 out of whom volunteered to participate in follow-up semi-structured interviews....

Grounded in Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of mind, dynamic assessment (DA) procedures integrate assessment and instruction into one unified activity. Mediation as the core concept of DA is defined as the assistance and the feedback offered by the mediator to the learners while engaging in the process of assessment. This study aimed at addressing...

This study reports the results of a mixed-methods approach to investigate the impact of peer online learner-driven feedback (LDF) using Google Docs and peer-editing in a face-to-face classroom on EFL learners' writing skill. As this study was conducted using a quasi-experimental design, two intact groups, each including twenty EFL learners, were se...

This study utilizing a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design explored the impact of mobile-based dynamic assessment (MDA) on EFL learners’ writing skills. Three intact classes (N = 30), including intermediate EFL learners attending a private English language school in Iran, participated in this study. They were evenly divided into two experim...

Student response systems (SRS) have been used to provide teachers with immediate feedback on learners’ performance to understand their weaknesses and strengths. This exploratory study is aimed at focusing on both distractive and facilitative aspects of using SRS in English as a foreign language (EFL) classes to assess learners’ understanding of gra...

Student response systems (SRS) have been used to provide teachers with immediate feedback on learners' performance to understand their weaknesses and strengths. This exploratory study is aimed at focusing on both distractive and facilitative aspects of using SRS in English as a foreign language (EFL) classes to assess learners' understanding of gra...

Having its roots in Vygotsky's Socio Cultural Theory of mind (SCT), Dynamic Assessment (DA) helps learners perform beyond their independent functioning abilities. This study seeks to investigate the effects of DA on Persian listening comprehension. An Iraqi university student learning Persian language was provided with listening comprehension mater...

This study investigated EFL learners' perspectives about their vocabulary learning experiences via a smartphone application. An online demographic questionnaire was used for recruiting 50 EFL learners from a language teaching channel in Telegram messenger required to use a smartphone application called Vocabulary Flashcards 2016 for a month. After...

This study reports the results of a mixed-methods investigation on the impact of a virtual reality (VR) tool on Iranian EFL learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) and oral proficiency. Twenty upper-intermediate EFL learners were divided into experimental and control groups role-playing as museum guides with and without Google Expeditions VR too...

In the academic community, predatory publishers are exploiting academic integrity and the open access publishing model. Academicians receive numerous spam e-mail messages inviting article submissions each day which deceive authors by promising fast review and publication. The content of these emails present arguments in a way to appear as legitimat...

By employing Chen and Kuo's (2012) framework, this study comparatively investigated the rhetorical differences/similarities existing in the Literature Review chapters of Master of Arts (MA) theses authored by international and Iraqi MA students in the field of applied linguistics. The results showed that almost half of the international LR chapters...

In spite of the rise of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) as an alluring field of inquiry, there seems to be a paucity of empirical studies on the actual experience of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers in the adoption of technology in their classes. In an attempt to remedy this gap, this study was designed to qualitatively exami...

Learners’ motivation has been widely accepted as a key factor which influences the rate, success, and failure of second/foreign language learning. On the other hand, demotivation is regarded as a flip side of motivation which has negative effects on language learning processes and outcomes. This study intended to examine what factors may demotivate...

This study reports the results of a mixed methods approach to investigate the impact of instructor feedback in mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) on the grammatical development of English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. The participants of this quasi-experimental study included 40 female EFL learners randomly selected from the English l...

There is not a widespread agreement on the operational definition of the construct of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) autonomy in reading comprehension (RC) because there is not an established tool to quantitatively describe its proportion. Therefore, the current investigation intends to design a learner autonomy questionnaire in reading compre...

This mixed-method study endeavored to solicit the perspectives of Iranian collegiate students passing the obligatory course of medical English through NAVID Learning Management System and its acceptance during COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing Technology Acceptance Model, this study also sought to examine the possible effect gender, academic degree, ins...

Theoretically grounded in Vygotsky`s sociocultural theory of mind, Dynamic Assessment (DA) provides researchers with the opportunity to investigate different aspects of learners` developmental trajectory, including the ways they overcome their errors. As a qualitative inquiry into the nature of errors reflecting learners` development in academic wr...

Dynamic Assessment (DA) is theoretically derived from Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). This study seeks to investigate the effect of Computerized Dynamic Assessment (C-DA) on assisting learners to realize their latent potential in learning reading comprehension. A group of 32 adult EFL students studying English as their BA major in a...

Introduction: Although much individual variability exists, most persons with Down Syndrome (DS) experience marked expressive language delays and challenges with speech production, hearing, and verbal memory that may negatively affect literacy development. There is a paucity of research regarding intervention literacy programs in their first languag...

Theoretically emerged from Vygotsky`s sociocultural theory of mind (SCT), Dynamic Assessment (DA) highlights the notions of mediation and reciprocity as the dynamics of learners` progress toward independent functioning. As a qualitative inquiry into the nature of Iranian EFL learners` development in DA based academic writing courses, this study exa...

Drawing on Vygotskian sociocultural theory of mind and social constructivism, and adopting a sequential exploratory mixed-methods approach, this study explored the impact of online dynamic assessment (DA) on EFL learners’ academic writing skills through one-on-one individual and online synchronous DA sessions over Google Docs. It also investigated...

Writing a Master of Arts (MA) thesis is a challenging task for postgraduate students. This complexity is of great significance when one is writing in his/her second language. From this perspective, genre-centered approaches help non-natives enhance their understanding of academic and scientific texts. This study is intended to comparatively investi...

The present study investigated the possible contribution of Voice Thread (VT) website to the Iranian EFL learners' speaking accuracy in terms of using correct form of hypothetical conditional sentences. Moreover, the language learners' perception of the website was also explored. To this end, 18 English literature freshmen from a state university i...

This study aimed to investigate the application of Group Dynamic Assessment (GDA) to writing accuracy of EFL learners and explore whether secondary interactants could benefit from interactions between mediator and primary interactants. The idea of implementing DA (Dynamic Assessment) in dyads seems unworkable since teachers are required to teach th...

This study explored the effects of noticing and computerized dynamic assessment on the learning of Persian vocabulary through reading. In this quasiexperimental study, 75 intermediate learners of Persian as a Foreign Language (PFL) were assigned to three equal-sized groups. In the Noticing and Computerized Dynamic Assessment (CDA) groups, the learn...

Grit as an interesting and significant topic in psychology has been associated with better study habits and higher grades through perseverance and passion for long term goals. The only available measurement instrument of grit (Duckworth et al. in J Personal Soc Psychol 92:1087–1101, 2007) is general both in terms of its subject matter and context....

A rising number of university faculty and students in Iran are falling prey to predatory publishers, that is, publishing academic low-quality and unethical research papers. There are increasing demands on researchers and students from both local and national authorities to publish widely. Because of the increasing pressure put on students and their...

Lexical diversity as an aspect of linguistic complexity is the representation of active lexicon. The current study, setting a twofold goal, attempted to see whether the preemptive focus on form (FonF) under either planned or unplanned conditions could contribute to increasing lexical diversity in written narratives and, second, to find whether ther...

The present study explored the impact of WebQuest-based classroom on EFL learners’ critical thinking and academic writing skills by collecting and analysing the data through a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach. Two intact classes, each with ten EFL learners, attending an IELTS course at a language institute in Sanandaj, Iran, took part...

Lexical inferencing has not led to substantial vocabulary gains. In previous studies, the learners were not obliged by design to notice the unfamiliar words and static approaches to assessment were adopted. In this quasi-experimental study, we adopted dynamic assessment (DA) approach and took measures to ensure noticing of the new words. Through pu...

Th is study investigates the effects of blended learning strategy in enhancing vocabulary on Iranian students through asynchronous using of Memerise Application outside the scheduled class time. To this end, 40 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners were randomly divided into two groups. The control group learned vocabulary items through the...

Dynamic assessment (DA), having its theoretical base in Vygotskyan Sociocultural theory of mind, is a newly developed classroom assessment through which learners are helped to perform beyond their current ability. Drawing upon the theoretical aspect of DA, the present study explored the impact of DA on the development of speaking skills. To this en...

Objectives: This case study highlights the applicability of Dynamic Assessment (DA) in exploring the cognitive development and intellectual functioning of a schizophrenic foreign language learner. Methods: The general analytical framework of study to unmask the changes in the learner's competence is Microgenesis. Results: Analysis of the findings n...

Objectives: This case study highlights the applicability of Dynamic Assessment (DA) in exploring the cognitive development and intellectual functioning of a schizophrenic foreign language learner. Methods: The general analytical framework of study to unmask the changes in the learner’s competence is Microgenesis. Results: Analysis of the findings n...

هدف: هدف این پژوهش بررسی انگیزش زبان دوم دانشجویان مقطع کارشناسی رشته‌های غیر زبان‌های خارجی از دیدگاه نظریه «نظام خود انگیزشی زبان دوم» است. روش: برای شناسایی عوامل انگیزشی از رویکرد کیفی شامل مصاحبه و یادداشت روزانه در گردآوری داده‌ها استفاده‌ شده است. پس از بررسی پیشینه پژوهش، نظریات گروهی از کارشناسان دریافت و سؤالات مصاحبه که از نوع نیمه‌ سازم...

Recent technological developments have penetrated deeply into education and have mediated learning processes in language learning. Also, according to human agency theories, it is vital to identify learners' attitudes and implement computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in a specific context. In so doing, this study intended to explore the attit...

Recent technological developments have penetrated deeply into education and have mediated learning processes in language learning. Also, according to human agency theories, it is vital to identify learners' attitudes and implement computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in a specific context. In so doing, this study intended to explore the attit...

This article reports the results of a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach to explore the impact of online peer-editing using Google Docs and peer-editing in a face-to-face classroom on EFL learners’ academic writing skills. As the study adopted a quasi-experimental design, two intact classes, each with ten EFL learners, attending an IELTS...

This study seeks to provide insights into the process of vocabulary learning and promoting vocabulary knowledge by tracking its development in dynamic assessment (DA) procedures through thematic and microgenetic analysis. In order to meet the aim of this study, three male and three female EFL learners were chosen non-randomly based on their availab...

The present study reports the results of a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach to explore the impacts of online peer-editing using Google Docs on EFL learners’ academic writing skills. To this end, two intact classes, each with ten learners majoring in English as a foreign language (EFL), attending an IELTS course at a private language in...

The present study reports the results of a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach to explore the impact of WebQuest-based flipped classroom on EFL learners’ critical thinking and academic writing skills. Two intact classes, each with ten EFL learners, attending an IELTS course were selected as the participants of the study. California Critic...

This qualitative study investigates the process of learning verbs, as one of the fundamental aspects of learning Persian language, by PSL (Persian as a second language) Learners through dynamic assessment and using new technologies which are in contradiction with the traditional approaches of teaching and assessment. In so doing, two Iraqi students...

Recent technological developments have penetrated deeply into education and have mediated learning processes in language learning. Also, according to human agency theories, it is vital to identify learners' attitudes and implement computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in a specific context. In so doing, this study intended to explore the attit...

This study, framed within Vygotskyan sociocultural approaches to teacher education, aimed at reconceptualizing the thinking and subsequent recontextualizing of the classroom practice of a participating teacher. An Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher with pseudonym -Sara- was the participant of the study. Sara’s conceptions of teachi...

Dynamic Assessment (DA) originated from Vygotsky's (1978) theory of the mediated mind. It offers learners assistance as necessary during the performance of the assessment task through collaborative dialogue This study intended to address the possibility of applying DA to the Web 2.0 technologies in Synchronous Computer Mediated Communication (SCMC)...

Genuine Criticism (GC) is an evaluative expression of annoyance with an attribute in the interlocutor, whose realization may threaten the positive image of both interlocutors. The current study investigates facework and politeness in performing GCsin different contexts and for interlocutors with low social distance and high status in terms of GC re...

This study aims to investigate cultural schemas and sociocultural norms underlying politeness conceptualization in Persian through a 14-item Likert-scale questionnaire which was completed by 150 Persian Native Speaker participants. The questionnaire also included three open-ended questions, which surveyed participants' conceptualization of politene...

The structure of the conclusion sections in Research Articles (RAs) is of significance in academic writing. The conclusion section does not only provide an outline of the study, but also other important elements, such as recommendations, implications and statements of possible lines of future research. This paper reports on an analysis of the concl...

The structure of the conclusion sections in Research Papers (RPs) is of significance in academic writing. The conclusion section in spite of providing an outline of the article, states other essential components, such as recommendations, implications and statements of possible lines of future research. This paper analyses the conclusion parts of Pe...

Derived from Vygotsky's works, dynamic assessment (DA) enables learners to move beyond their current level of functioning through offering needs-sensitized mediation. This study aimed at exploring the learners' development in novel and increasingly more challenging situations called transcendence (TR) in an L2 context focusing on reading comprehens...

This paper investigated the ways Iranian B.A and M.A students of English language and their professors represent themselves linguistically in their e-mails in general, and the ways they construct and negotiate power with regard to social and cultural norms in particular. It examined 84 e-mail messages students and professors exchanged in 2012-2013...

Dynamic assessment (DA) as an alternative to psychometric-based testing focuses on the collaborative dialogue between the learners and the mediator to move the learners from their current capabilities. This study represents a web-based qualitative inquiry in online DA which aims at addressing the inadequacy of the diagnostic feedback of the web-bas...

Dynamic Assessment (DA) is a postmodern notion in testing which sees instruction and assessment as inextricably mingled contending that learners will progress if provided with dynamic interactions. The main purpose of the study is to see if the scores generated by the computerized dynamic assessment (C-DA) which is grounded in Vygotsky's theoretica...

Dynamic Assessment (DA) is theoretically framed within Vygotsky " s Socio-Cultural Theory (SCT) and relies on reunification of assessment and instruction. This process-oriented study of reading comprehension aims at investigating the impacts of applying computerized dynamic assessment (C-DA) which is an ongoing strand of DA on promoting at-risk adv...

This study attempts to investigate how the participants’ social class affects types and frequency of EFL language learners’ compliment responses (CR).Data were collected from 60 Persian EFL Learners by using a DCT on various real life situations. The data were categorized and analyzed based onthe adapted version of CR categorization developed by He...

Many learners may not be aware of socially and culturally appropriate forms of the second language. Therefore, students must be provided with language teaching materials that present authentic-like examples of speech act strategies to develop their pragmatic competence. Hence, the present study investigates the types and the percentages of speech a...

Persian language learners invest a proportion of their time on acquiring Persian vocabulary. To afford a high investment return to these learners, the curriculum should include high frequency words drawn from a Persian general service wordlist. To develop a general service wordlist for Persian, we need to adopt a definition for the term "word" in a...

English language teaching textbooks in general and English for Specific purposes (ESP) ones in particular are among the most central elements in any educational system. The present paper is an attempt to evaluate a newly developed ESP textbook_ Oxford English for Careers: medicine taught at Alborz university of medical sciences in Iran_ and to disc...

Language learners make sense of new words as a major index of overall language proficiency by applying vocabulary learning strategies. The current study explores the ways in which a commercial course book, American English File, deals with planning repetition, resource use and recording as the three key vocabulary learning strategies. The study dre...

A letter of recommendation (LR) is one in which the writer assesses the capabilities, characteristics, and qualities of the person being recommended in terms of that individual's ability to perform a particular task or function. This study aims to compare and contrast letters of recommendation in Persian and English in terms of textual features, st...

A letter of recommendation (LR) is one in which the writer assesses the capabilities, characteristics, and qualities of the person being recommended in terms of that individual's ability to perform a particular task or function. This study aims to compare and contrast letters of recommendation in Persian and English in terms of textual features, st...

Regarding the important role of vocabulary in the process of language learning and teaching, this study seeks to explore participants' perceptions with regard to learning vocabulary through Dynamic Assessment (DA) procedures. In order to meet the aim of this study, three male and three female EFL learners were chosen non-randomly based on their ava...

In recent years the mass media have played an important role in shaping people's view of the world. The debate on the interaction between the mass media and the governments has been of interest among some researchers. The aim of this study is to present and analyze samples of text obtained from the mass media which represent the effect of interacti...