No abstract

A prevalent goal of education in schools is reading comprehension enhancement. Therefore, a critical issue in   educational psychology is investigating the factors contributing to increase the reading achievement including both classroom climate and self-determination. This study explored the relationships of Iranian High School students’ self-determination and classroom climate with their reading achievement.  150 Iranian (male and female) students from Sama and Fazele high schools in Mashhad were selected through convenience sampling. The instruments were IOWA self-determination, Classroom Climate Questionnaires, and a validated researcher-made test. It was a type of quantitative and correlational research. Results revealed a significant and positive relationship between self-determination and reading ability. They also showed that among the six subscales of the self-determination, financial management had a significant relationship with the reading achievement scores of students. However, the emotional independence of peers had a negative correlation with the reading achievement scores of students. The results showed that teachers’ skill in orienting tasks can enhance reading achievement score and make the classroom climate more motivating. This study has potentially helpful implications for English language teachers, English institutes, and students. Teachers can enhance student’s self-determination by providing a friendly classroom environment and indirectly boost the students’ reading score.

very EFL classroom can possibly become entrenched in the dynamics of the teachers, vulnerable students, and classroom climate. Qualities such as empathy can be forgotten by teachers as stereotypes, prejudices, and preconceptions emerge. Therefore, the development of empathetic strategies and positive attitudes towards language learning among students can be improved by teachers with empathic abilities in the classroom, where the classroom climate plays an important role. Enhancing the strategies related to empathy development among novice teachers may help to create better conditions for care and higher academic expectations. In addition, empathy is a necessary skill for teachers to effectively manage their classrooms. Research supports empathy's importance in English language teaching as it promotes positive outcomes in the classroom both intellectually and emotioally . It also foments a culturally sensitive class environment. As teaching with empathy can enhance teacher effectiveness, this review paper introduces some necceaary empathy related guidelines for novice teachers to apply so that they can develop their effectiveness in teaching. The results are discussed in the light of guidelines for beginner teachers.

The current emphasis on questioning techniques has inspired many EFL teachers to explore the impact of applying different pedagogical teaching strategies on the enhancement of thinking skills. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the influence of using higher order questioning technique on the listening comprehension achievement and critical thinking ability of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. To reach this end, 40 participants in 4 intact classes in Kish Air Language institute in Mashhad were selected and divided in two groups to be assigned into experimental and control group. The experimental group received higher order questions based on Bloom’s Taxonomy classification for 12 sessions. A pretest and a posttest of English listening comprehension test of TOEFL (TOEFL PBT) and California Critical Thinking Skill Test (CCTST) were administrated in both groups. 2 Independent sample t-tests were utilized to examine the data. Sample t-tests were run to compare the experimental and the control group means on the pretest and posttest of listening comprehension and critical thinking tests. The results surmised that there was a statistically significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores regarding listening comprehension and critical thinking in the experimental group. The results imply that using higher order questions as an instructional technique can enhance learners’ listening comprehension achievement and critical thinking ability.

This study discusses the professional issues concerning Iranian EFL teachers’ grit level, self-efficacy, and continuing professional development. Teacher Continuing Professional Development is an essential factor in enhancing teaching practice from Initial Teacher Education right through to headship. However, there has been less previous evidence for the relationships between teachers' self-efficacy and Grit level with their continuing professional development (CPD). The researcher proposed a new model of interrelationships among Iranian EFL teachers using AMOS software to illuminate this uncharted area. 204 EFL teachers (111 males and 93 females) teaching in different private language institutes in Mashhad, Iran, were the population selected through convenience sampling. The research instruments used include Short Grit Scale, Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Scale, and teachers’ Continuing Professional Development questionnaire. The results of structural equational modeling revealed that teachers’ grit and self-efficacy are significant positive predictors of CPD. Moreover, the study results revealed that teacher grit was predicted only by self-efficacy. Pearson correlation analysis showed the highest correlation between self-efficacy and CPD and the lowest correlation between grit and CPD. Along the line, various pedagogical implications arose from the research results for teachers, administrators, and the ministry of education.