Peijun Jiang’s research while affiliated with Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and other places

With the emergence and dissemination of the COVID-19 pandemic and the transformation of education to online classes, it is important to explore the effects of online learning on EFL learners' psychological factors in the Iranian EFL learners. Hence, this study aims to explore the effects of online learning on EFL learners' motivation, anxiety, and attitude. For this purpose, using a convenience sampling method, a total of 293 upper-intermediate EFL learners at Iran Language Institute in Ahvaz, Iran, took the Oxford Quick Placement Test, and 200 EFL learners whose scores fell around the mean were selected and assigned randomly to an experimental group and a control group. The participants' motivation, anxiety, and attitudes were measured before and after the treatments (lasting 10 one-hour sessions held once a week) using validated questionnaires. The collected data were analyzed through a one-way MANOVA test and a one-sample t-test. The findings evidenced that online learning positively affected the participants' motivation, anxiety, and attitudes. That is, due to the online learning, their motivation increased, their anxiety lowered, and positive attitudes were shaped toward L2 learning. Finally, based on the findings, some implications are proposed.

Although a range of studies has explored the effects of the content and language integrated learning (CLIL) approach on students’ achievement, its impact on improving university students’ transversal skills (TSs) has remained largely unexplored in Iran. Thus, the present study has a two-fold purpose. First, it aims to investigate the role of the CLIL approach in improving Iranian university students’ TSs. Second, it purports to explore the mediating role of emotional intelligence (EI) in the relationship between the CLIL approach and TSs. For this purpose, a survey design was used wherein a research-made questionnaire was distributed among 123 university students to gather the required data. Findings disclosed that the CLIL approach had a positive role in developing the university students’ TSs. Further, the results indicated that EI positively affected the development of TSs in university students. Moreover, the findings evidenced that EI significantly mediated the relationship between the CLIL approach and the development of the university students’ TSs. The study concludes that applying the CLIL approach involves an entirely new paradigm, offering valuable implications for relevant stakeholders.