SummaryAim: The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of supportive-expressive therapy on the hope and quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Sample and method:This was an experimental study with pre/post-test design and a control group. 32 patients selected from members of the MS Society of Tehran were selected as the sample by target sampling, and then placed into two groups of 16 (experimental and control group) through random assignment. The supportive-expressive therapy was applied to the experimental group in 12 sessions of 75 minutes each. The instruments used were Snyder et al.'s Hope Inventory and World Health Organization's Quality of Life-Brief. Results:The results showed that there was a significant difference between hope and quality of life in the experimental and control groups (p<0.01).Discussion: Supportive-expressive therapy is effective in increasing hope and quality of life in patients with MS. Conclusion:The results showed that supportive-expressive therapy, with its emphasis on providing support and helping patients face and deal with their disease-related stress, can help increases hope and quality of life in patients with MS.supportive-expressive therapy, hope, quality of life, multiple sclerosis

The present study sought to investigate the differential effect of using nativeaccent and non-native accent materials on the Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' listening comprehension. To this purpose, 60 primary EFL Iranian learners participated in the study. The participants were randomly divided into a control group (N=30) and an experimental group (N=30). First, a Quick Placement Test which consisted of vocabulary, grammar, and reading items was administered in order to ensure the homogeneity of participants. As the intervention of the study, the control group was provided with the listening materials accompanied by the use of their native-accent audio files, whereas the experimental group was exposed to the same listening tasks and materials which were pronounced by the nonnative teacher. The experimental intervention lasted for six forty-minute sessions. To collect the data, the listening component of Pearson Test of English General (PTE General) was used as the pre-test and the post-test to measure listening comprehension of the participants. The results indicated that using non-native accent listening materials was more effective than using native-accent materials in enhancing listening comprehension of the EFL learners. These findings were discussed in the light of English as an International Language (EIL) debate and the theory of inter-language speech intelligibility benefit.

Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is an instructional approach that aims to develop learners' communicative competence and focuses on the use of tasks as the main unit of instruction. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of strong and weak versions of TBLT approach over more traditional approaches in improving reading comprehension of Iranian elementary-level EFL learners. Moreover, the distinction between the strong and weak versions of this approach is taken into account in order to investigate which version is more beneficial over the other version. To achieve the objective, 90 male learners in the 15-17 age range who were studying in an institute in Rasht were selected. The findings showed that utilizing both versions of TBLT approach can provide tremendous opportunities for learners to enhance their reading comprehension compared to traditional language teaching methods. More specifically, the results of this study revealed that the use of the weak version of TBLT approach leads the learners to more proficiency in reading comprehension. It is worth pointing out that this study was conducted with Iranian male elementary-level EFL learners in the 15-17 age range studying in Soroush English Institute in Rasht, Iran. It indicates that a small size of population, a specific age range, and male gender were considered. Thus, for other researchers, more participants at different proficiency levels, with other ranges of age, and both genders may be considered in order to make broader generalization about the results.

The present study investigated the impact of learning a foreign language cooperatively on boosting self-confidence and alleviating communication anxiety among learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). One hundred and thirty-five intermediate EFL male and female language learners, homogenized via a language proficiency test, were randomly assigned into two groups of 65 (the experimental group) and 70 (the control group). Participants were then administered two questionnaires to measure levels of oral communication apprehension and self-confidence before the study. On the final session of each class, the questionnaires were re-administered as post-tests and the participants were interviewed. The findings obtained from the statistical analyses as well as the qualitative analysis of the interviews demonstrated that incorporating the principles of learning cooperatively in EFL speaking classes can significantly affect the level of self-confidence and lower the communication apprehension levels. Findings are discussed and implications for EFL classrooms are elaborated upon.   Keywords: Anxiety; communication; English; foreign language; learning cooperatively; self-confidence.