Abstract-The present study investigates the the relationship between metacognition and critical thinking in language learning. 102 intermediate students from 2 language institutions in Rasht were selected. Data were gathered by means of two questionnaires and were analyzed using Pearson Correlation procedures. Results indicated that there was a positive correlation between metacognition and critical thinking. In other words, the more metacognitive strategies increase in students, the more critical thinking enhances as well. A comparison of gender differences was done too. The mean scores of male and female participants' critical thinking and metacognitive strategies were investigated. The mean score of male participants' critical thinking and metacognitive strategies was more from the mean score of the female participants.

Abstract-Despite the important role the genre-based instruction as a novice approach to teaching at tertiary level, little research has been done on its application in ESP learners' reading comprehension. Furthermore, the actual implementation of this approach and its outcomes on enhancing learners' reading comprehension have not yet been fully explored, this study aimed to investigate the effects of genre-based instruction on ESP learners' reading comprehension. The participants of the study included 116 junior and senior B.S students (both males and females) at Islamic Azad University of Kurdistan, majoring in biology. Participants were randomly assigned into 2 groups of control and experimental. The instructors taught the experimental group (genre-group) based on the genre and the control group (non-genre-group) based on the traditional method of teaching ESP, prevailing in Iranian universities. To meet the aim of the study, the instructors administered one 30-item proficiency test of English and two 30-item standard tests of English reading comprehension to the participants. The results of the reading comprehension test, analyzed through a t-test and independent samples test suggested teaching based on genre had a significant role in enhancing ESP learners' reading comprehension ability and the descriptive and inferential statistics showed learners improved significantly in reading comprehension compared with that of non-genre-group.

Teachers' self-efficacy is of critical significance for both female and male teachers, and it can affect their job life. In spite of the fact that some scholars have investigated self-efficacy, there are no studies regarding teachers' gender and their subscales of self-efficacy (i.e. student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management). Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the relationship between gender and subscales of self-efficacy of Iranian EFL teachers. So, 34 EFL teachers who were teaching in private English language institutes in Karaj were asked to complete Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) questionnaire. After analyzing the data, it was revealed that males and females did not differ as far as classroom management was considered. However, they differed in terms of student engagement and instructional strategies; male teachers were better at student engagement, while female teachers were better at instructional strategies.

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