The present study aimed to examine the relationship found between shyness, foreign language classroom anxiety, willingness to communicate, gender, and EFL proficiency. To this end, sixty EFL undergraduates (40 females and 20 males) majoring in English Translation were selected through simple random sampling. Stanford Shyness Inventory by Zimbardo (1977), Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale by Horwitz et al. (1986), and Willingness to Communicate Scale by McCroskey and Richmond (1987) were used to measure students' shyness, FLCA, and WTC respectively. Moreover, students' average score in their specialized courses were taken as a measure of their EFL proficiency. Analysis of the results showed that there is no significant relationship between shyness, foreign language classroom anxiety, willingness to communicate, gender, and EFL proficiency. The results have beneficial implications for teaching methodology and syllabus design.

The present study aimed to explore how tolerant of ambiguity Iranian EFL learners at university level are and if gender plays a role in this regard. To this end , upon filling in the revised SLTAS scale of ambiguity tolerance 194 male and female Iranian teacher trainees  were assigned to three ambiguity tolerance groups; namely, high, moderate and low. Cluster analysis of the SLTAS scores indicated that Iranian EFL learners were mostly moderate as far as tolerance of ambiguity was concerned. Examining the gender differences through an independent sample t-test manifested that female participants were less tolerant of ambiguity than their male peers. Also, the differences between the expected and observed number of participants categorized in the three AT groups were non-significant undermining the role of gender as a moderator variable in assigning participants to AT groups and further approving of SLTAS validity. Implications for classroom practice are presented in the light of findings. The results are helpful in syllabus design and teaching methodology.

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The present study primarily aimed at investigating the effect of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) on development of the Iranian EFL learners' ESP Reading Comprehension Skills. Moreover, it was aimed at investigating the probable difference between the TBLT-instructed students of Law and Mechanical Engineering with respect to their ESP reading skills, on the one hand, and the probable difference between TBLT-instructed males and females, on the other. In so doing, four groups of 25 participants (including two experimental groups and two control ones) were selected through cluster random sampling from among ESP students majoring in Law and Mechanical Engineering. After a four-week instruction treatment, the post-test was conducted to the participants. The results of the data analysis revealed that the experimental groups significantly performed better than the control groups in the post-test with respect to their reading comprehension scores. Furthermore, the results of independent samples t-test indicated that TBLT has been more effective on the Mechanical Engineering students than the Law students. Finally, the findings of the study were indicative of the fact that TBLT was more effective on females' reading comprehension rather than on males'. Consequently, it can be concluded that TBLT can have a positive effect on students' ESP reading ability. The findings of this study can be employed in different areas of second/foreign language teaching and learning to facilitate and improve the process of language learning.

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