In an attempt to develop a metacognitive writing questionnaire, Farahian (2015) conducted a study which was based on the results obtained from a semi-structured interview (Maftoon, Birjandi & Farahian, 2014). After running various exploratory factor analyses (EFA) to validate the questionnaire two general scales of knowledge and regulation of cognition emerged; however, regarding the subscales of knowledge ...
The role of EFL lecturers’ first language (L1) in the EFL courses has been an ongoing debate. A monolingual approach to EFL suggests that the use of the target language solely in foreign language (FL) classroom improves learning of the target language. Accordingly, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the attitude of Iranian lecturers and EFL learners towards using L1 as a scaffolding tool in reading comprehension. As su...
Types of teachers’ questions play an important role in teaching since they affect students’ participation in the process of negotiation of meaning. Therefore, in the present study, an English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher’s questions along with the students’ responses to his questions were classified. A structured interview was also employed in the study. It was found that the number of coded/display and yes/no questions exceeded open/referential questions. Although the use o...
The present study seeks to investigate the role of portfolios in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) writers’ metacognition as well as their writing skill. Therefore, the participants were assigned to two groups (experimental and control). The students in both groups received a writing test, a researcher-made Metacognitive Writing Questionnaire (MWQ), and a students’ attitude questionnaire for pre- and post-test. The experiment group was provided with specific guidelines and reflecti...
The present study sought the differences between more and less proficient EFL (English as a Foreign Language) writers regarding their metacognitive awareness of writing (MAW). We also examined the relationship between MAW and EFL writing success. We used a validated MAW questionnaire for a comprehensive evaluation of the writers ’ metacognitive awareness. The results demonstrated that skillful EFL writers benefit from higher metacognitive awareness. Furthermore, we found that metacogn...
There have been plenty of research studies which have demonstrated the efficacy of focus on form (FonF) approach in language teaching. However, processing instruction as a kind of FonF approach has not been given due attention. As such, the present study is an attempt to shed more lights upon the effects of the processing instruction (PI) on EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners’ acquisition of passive voice by comparing PI to dictogloss and an output instruction. The participant...
Background: Quality of education plays a key role in the development of education. Having this perspective in mind, the researchers explored the quality of English for specific purpose (ESP) courses from ESP instructors’ point of views and investigated the role of quality of education of ESP courses in information-seeking behavior of the students. They also probed the possible relationship between ESP instructors’ reflective practice and quality of ESP courses. Methods: Seventy-nine ESP i...
The present study explored Iranian EFL (English as Foreign Language) learners’ reflective writing and the inhibitors which are a deterrent to write reflectively. The participants consisted of both students and teachers. A researcher-made questionnaire probed the EFL learners’ reflection in writing. The essays produced by the learners were also evaluated to consolidate the findings of the survey. In the second phase of the study, we examined both students’ and teachers’ perceptio...
Nigeria’s Technical Aid Corps (TAC) is one of the major planks of the Nigerian foreign policy constructed to complement the nation’s traditional diplomacy. Under its platform, Nigerian educational and cultural talents have been showcased to the world particularly in the African, Caribbean and the Pacific regions. The chapter falls in love with The Gambia of the West African sub-region due to the under representation of this aspect in the historical narrative of the bilateral relations bet...
The Gambia christened the “smiling coast of Africa” is home of hospitality and religious tolerance. Arising from decades of peace its ethnic and religious elements enjoyed the country has continued to attract foreigners as tourist state. The concern of this paper is not so much with aquatic status of The Gambia as a tourist state, but how its’ Christian and Muslim groups has been able to maintain peace. The emphasis of the paper is on Christianity and Islam, because African Tradition...
Since the advent of the Internet, university students have had access to countless books and articles which had been a great asset for both students and research communities around the world. However, due to various factors, plagiarism which means, according to Cambridge Dictionary, using another person’s ideas or work and pretending that it is your own has been a widespread problem in academic writing since then. In this regard, many scholars in many different countries investigate...
Research on metacognition in English as a foreign language (EFL) writing is heavily dependent on a valid measure to assess metacognitive ability. Since there is no report of a validated domain -specific measure of metacognitive awareness of foreign language (FL) writing this study made an attempt to develop and validate a metacognitive awareness writing questionnaire (MAWQ). In order to construct the questionnaire, an interview with 59 EFL learners was conducted. Based on the content anal...
Challenges facing rural primary school teachers in Zimbabwe towards the implementation of the new curriculum.
The difference in performance between rural primary schools and urban primary schools in the national examination.
Comparing and Contrasting the two main research approaches with special focus on their differences.