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The present study aimed to explore the metalinguistic awareness of Persian- and Persian-Baluchi-speaking students who were in the process of learning English as their second and third languages, respectively. In order to study learners’ metalinguistic awareness in error identification, correction and explanation they were asked to complete a syntactic awareness test. Findings demonstrated that Baluch respondents noted and corrected a greater proportion of grammatical errors than Persian respondents in English. Moreover, Baluch participants had a more grammar-oriented approach in correcting the errors they noted than the Persian participants, whose approaches were relatively content-oriented for some errors. As for error explanation, Baluch participants produced a greater proportion of error explanations and had a more grammar-oriented approach than did the Persian participants, however, their differences in this case were not statistically significant. These differences were observed on the dimensions that were both similar and dissimilar across the three languages (Persian, Baluchi, and English).

Shifting to a learner-oriented learning, higher education strives to make learners more International Journal of Linguistics ISSN 1948-5425 2013 www.macrothink.org/ijl 13 competent in learning process. As such, critical thinking is one of the significant concepts which can optimize learners' directing and controlling learning. The present study aimed at exploring the possible bond between learners' way of critical reasoning and their listening communication. Critical thinking scale and Interchange/Passage Objective Placement Test were administrated among seventy eight senior EFL learners. Pearson correlation and independent sample t-test were applied to analyze data. The findings denoted the meditating role of critical thinking, analyzing and reflecting, to indicate listening comprehension and interpret interlocutor's speech and communicate his intention. Results argued that there is a considerable implication to enhance language performances and learning based on critical thinking.

Word order refers to analyzing the order of languages syntactic constituent to find out the areas of their similarities and differences. In the present study, we intend to elaborate Persian and English word order mainly based on Dryer (1992) and Dabir Moghaddam (2001). Our research material includes examples driven from 26 orders. We studied these orders in order to present a clearer picture of correlations and diversities between the two languages. Research findings reveal that although Persian is an SOV language and English has the SVO order, these languages represent similarities in half of the 26 orders provided. As to differences, they are different in the application of adposition, noun and relative clause, want and verb, content verb and auxiliary, question particle and sentence, adverbial subordinator and clause, etc.

The present study aims at providing a clear picture of Julian Rotter's (1966) locus of control and learners' creative thinking. Specifically, the study seeks to determine the differences between internal and external orientation in creative writing. In this respect, 20 MA students were asked to complete the Internal Control Index questionnaire and write four writings on the provided topics. The results of the study reveal that internally perceived learners particularly opt more to contemplate and explore cases inasmuch as they believe that they have the control of their environment. However, being in direct opposition, externalizers believe that environment is not under their control and their success and failures are out of their hands. The study concludes that the higher the internal locus of control, the more creative learners are. The research findings may add to our understanding of the learners and learning concerning Attribution Theory.