Teaching is a job marked by high levels of burnout. Teacher burnout has been extinsively studied in connection with other important psychological qualities, such as perceived self-efficacy. However, little research has examined this relationship among teachers in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context. In this light, this mixed-method study was intended to a) investigate the relationship between the degree of perceived self-efficacy by Iranian EFL teachers and their professional burnout level, and b) see whether gender could make a significant difference in the teachers’ burnout level. To these ends, 80 male and female Iranian EFL teachers from several high schools in Isfahan, selected through convenience sampling, participated in the study and responded to the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educator’s Survey (MBI-ES) and a modified version of Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES). To triangulate the data, a semi-structured interview was also conducted with 15 teachers. Correlational and t-test data analysis showed that there was a strong significant correlation between the participants’ perceived self-efficacy and their burnout level in a negative direction. The gender variable also had a modifying effect on the teachers’ burnout. Female teachers, in fact, had a lower burnout level. The follow-up interview further confirmed the relationship and revealed the three main themes of mental fatigue, contact avoidance, and stress in explaining teacher burnout. The implications for school administrators and teacher educators are discussed.

The bulk of L2 research on figures of speech boils down to the comprehension domain. By contrast, little work has been conducted on the investigation of the discourse goals for the speaker or the writer's figurative production. This study, going beyond the customary metalinguistic approaches to figurative investigation, aimed at shedding light into a number of different discourse goals as they were identified by Iranian EFL undergraduates in sentences containing figurative language based on 4 independent variables: Figure Type, Tenor Concreteness, Context, and Modality. The participants were given a number of sentences, containing both metaphors and similes, and were asked to choose as many 12 discourse goals as possible which they considered to be the reasons for triggering the utterances. The results indicated that the discourse goal of Compare Similarities was more frequently selected for similes than for metaphors by the participants. The Context variable turned out to have significant interaction with the choice of the discourse goals of Provoke Thought, Get Attention, Clarify, and Contrast Differences, whereas the factor of Modality influenced only Add Emphasis. Also, 3 goals, Add Interest, Clarify, and Show Positive Emotion significantly affected Tenor Concreteness. Comparatively, some marked differences were noticed between Iranian L2 learners and native speakers. L2 teachers are, therefore, advised to more emphasize the correct attributions of discourse goals for metaphors and similes.

Abstract-The present study aimed to investigate the question of availability of universal grammar (UG) to Afghan learners of English in terms of Subjacency Condition. To achieve this goal, two groups of Afghan learners of English were classified as high and low in line with a General Proficiency Test (GPT). The participants were then tested on Subjacency Condition in English. The performance of the high group was much better than that of the low group. However, compared with the performance of the native speakers of English, the high group was ranked lower. Considering the level of Subjacency availability, the cards are stacked in favor of a partial access to UG by English foreign language (EFL) learners.