Abstract-The purpose of this study was to determine if field-dependence/ independence (FD\I) cognitive style was related to the performance of Iranian EFL learners on listening comprehension sub-skills. More specifically, the study attempted to focus on three listening comprehension sub-skills, namely listening for main idea, listening for specifics, and making inference. The choice of these sub-skills was based on Weir' (1993) taxonomy. The study also tried to investigate the effect of FD\I on listening comprehension in general. In the first stage of the study eighty freshmen students majoring in English literature in Isfahan University took the First Certificate of English (FCE) test, the listening section. A homogenized group of fifty two students were selected as the sample group for the study. To determine the degree of FD\I, the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) was run and based on the results of this test the subjects were divided into two groups, FD and FI. The results of the t-tests showed that there was no difference in the performance of FD and FI students on general listening comprehension; furthermore, no difference was observed in the performance of the two groups, FD vs. FI, considering the listening comprehension sub-skills which were the focus of this study.Index Terms-field-dependence, field-independence, listening comprehension sub-skills, listening for specifics, listening for main idea, making inference
High quality teaching, student learning, and students achievement is dependent on the skills teachers use and the existence of professional expertise such as teachers reflectivity. The purpose of this study was to see whether there was any relationship between Iranian EFL teachers reflectivity and their students' language achievement and whether there was any difference between teachers reflectivity, considering their teaching experience and level of education. For the study, 83 EFL teachers from nine language institutes in Isfahan, Iran, were randomly selected. Larrivee's (2008) reflectivity questionnaire, which classifies reflectivity into four levels: pre-reflection, surface reflection, pedagogical reflection, and critical reflection, was used for data collection; furthermore, an observation checklist, based on the questionnaire, was also used. Data analysis revealed that the more experienced the teachers, the more reflective they were; moreover, teachers with higher degrees were more reflective. In addition, there was a positive relationship between teachers reflectivity and students achievement.
The present interdisciplinary research investigates the differential emotional expression between Persian monolinguals and Persian-English bilinguals. In other words, the article was an attempt to answer the questions whether bilinguals and monolinguals differ in the expression of positive and negative emotions elicited through sad and happy autobiographies and measured through UWIST Mood Adjective Checklist. The result of this pioneering work indicated no significant difference between Persian monolinguals and Persian-English bilinguals in expressing happy memories while differences were observed on sad memories. Bilinguals expressed more negative emotions in their L2 than L1. This outcome support the dominant claim that second language is the preferred language for the expression of sad emotions since it is the language of emotional detachment and distance. Further analysis on the number of words bilinguals and monolinguals used to express both sad and happy autobiographies indicated that bilinguals used more words in expressing both sad and happy autobiographies.
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