Virtual learning, in particular, has been defined as any system of education and instruction that brings together participants who are separated by geographical distances or time. Notably, in virtual learning environment interactive telecommunications systems are utilized to connect learners, resources, and instructors. Accordingly, the present study sought to investigate the significant effect of virtual teaching on improving reading comprehension of undergraduate EFL university students. To this end, from the population of students majoring in English translation, at Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran, one control group, one virtual class, and one blended group were selected, each consisting of thirty participants. Subsequently, the virtual group was exposed to web-based technologies throughout the entire term while the students in the control group were taught through traditional method. Moreover, the instructor in the blended group used both traditional and innovative methods. The results of the t-test revealed that the group which was taught through web-based technologies during the term progressed substantially in comparison with the other two groups. Moreover, there appeared to be a significant difference between the pretest and posttest in the virtual group. Evidently, the results of the present study may have practical implications for EFL teachers, online instructors, distance education programmers, materials developers, and syllable designers.

The activity of speaking is conducted spontaneously and there is not much time devoted to preplanning and arranging the utterances the speaker intends to deliver. Briefly defined, gambits and routines refer to the words and phrases that facilitate the flow of conversations. As such, one way to help learners acquire oral proficiency is to teach gambits that support the social skills emphasized. The present study aimed to investigate the speaking fluency of Iranian intermediate EFL learners through conversational gambits and routines. To this end, the subjects of the present study consisted of an experimental group and a control group each containing 30 students who attended listening and speaking classes. To count the frequency of gambit tokens and identify their functions, the recorded data were analyzed utilizing Keller and Warner's classification of conversational gambits. The results of the t-test revealed that the experimental group possessed better speaking fluency based on the occurrences of gambit categories. There was a positive correlation between the number of gambits and the scores of fluency test. Evidently, the findings of the present study may have implications for EFL teachers and syllabus designers.

The power of praise in changing student behavior is that it both indicates teacher approval and informs the student about how the praised academic performance or behavior conforms to teacher expectations. Notably, praise plays a significant role in the rate and success of learning process in general, and in language learning classroom in particular. Accordingly, the present study sought to investigate the significant influence of praise on the growing trend of university students with different majors, namely, Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and linguistics. To this end, from the population of students majoring in English, at the Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran, two classes of sophomore students were selected, each containing thirty participants. Subsequently, the experimental group was exposed to a wide variety of distinguishing instructor praise expressions throughout the entire term while the students in the control group were not praised and encouraged. The results of the t-test revealed that the group which was praised by the instructor during the term progressed substantially in comparison with the other group. Moreover, there appeared to be a positive correlation between instructor praise and learner progress. Evidently, the results of the present study may have practical implications for EFL teachers, materials developers, and syllable designers.