Abstract-The present study aimed at exploring the effects of top-down/bottom-up processing and field-dependent/field-independent cognitive style on Iranian EFL learners' reading comprehension. That is, it was attempted to find firstly, whether FI learners would perform better when taught through top-down or bottom-up reading instruction model; secondly, whether FD learners would perform better when taught through top-down or bottom-up reading instruction model. Two intact classes including 40 Iranian freshmen EFL students with the same level of reading proficiency tested through reading section of TOEFL test participated in this study. One class was randomly assigned to top-down reading instruction model and the other to bottom-up approach. The study consisted of three stages. At first stage, Group Embedded Figure Test (GEFT) was administered to determine the distribution of subjects along the spectrum of FD/ FI in each group. Then, the treatment was run and finally, both groups received a reading comprehension posttest. The data were analyzed using two independent samples t-tests. The results revealed that FI learners outperform their FD counterparts in bottom-up group. Moreover, the results showed that FD learners were more successful than FI ones when taught through top-down reading instruction model. In light of these findings, the researchers offered recommendations for further research and for EFL reading educators.Index Terms-field-independent, field-dependent, top-down/bottom-up instructional model, reading comprehension

Abstract-The present study was set up to detect any possible relationship among learners' emotional intelligence (EI), tolerance of ambiguity, and willingness to communicate inside the classroom. For this purpose, 64 undergraduate EFL university students were chosen. The instruments utilized in this study were a) Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-I) to measure learners' emotional intelligence, b) Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale (SLTAS) to identify participants' tolerance of ambiguity, and c) willingness to communicate questionnaire to evaluate learners' willingness to initiate and take part in the interpersonal communication inside the classroom. The gathered data were analyzed using Pearson Correlation Product Moment test. The results showed that although the relationship between emotional intelligence and tolerance of ambiguity was not statistically meaningful, the two variables were positively correlated with learners' willingness to communicate.Index Terms-emotional intelligence, tolerance of ambiguity, willingness to communicate, EFL learners

The present study aimed at investigating gender identity through the expression of interpersonal metadiscourse stance marking. The current study investigated male and female authors' pattern of stance markers utilization, focusing on totally 60 English and Persian articles, and English articles written by Persian speakers. Based on Xu and Longs' (2008) classification, five categories of stance markers (textual, epistemic, attitudinal, deontic and causation) were identified and the frequencies of their occurrences were computed. The differences in each group were investigated separately through running chi-square tests. Regarding English articles, it was found that both male and female writers used the same pattern of stance taking except the epistemic markers. Another finding of this study was that both male and female writers followed the same pattern of stance taking in Persian articles except the deontic ones. In English articles written by Persian speakers, female writers used the same pattern as their native counterparts, while male ones were affected mostly by their native language. Attending to stance taking patterns, this article provides an informative picture which illustrates the common preferences of disciplinary community especially between male and female writers. Hence, the implications of this study can be helpful in academic writing, in assessment, and textbooks.

The present study intended to investigate the possible effects of two different types of implicit and explicit corrective feedback (recast and metalinguistic corrective feedback) and two types of grammar instruction, that is Processing Instruction (PI) as an input-based approach and Meaningful Output-Based Instruction (MOBI) with output orientation on learners' acquisition of comparative and superlative adjectives. To this end, 120 participants selected out of 140 Iranian freshman EFL learners, who had taken the pre-university English course, took part in the study. They were assigned into two main instructional groups (PI/ MOBI), each divided into two subgroups, one exposed to metalinguistc corrective feedback