Issues in Language Teaching

Abstract Although prior research has discursively examined the inclusion of intercultural pragmatic content in EFL contexts, there has been little focus on how teachers perceive and implement intercultural pragmatic competence within the classroom. To fill this gap, we tried to develop a theoretically informed instrument to assess intercultural pragmatic competence and administer it to a representative sample of 376 EFL teachers. Using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), we investigated the factor structure underlying the scale. The results indicate six distinct factors: sociocultural awareness, empathetic engagement, adaptive communication, inference, pragmatic motivation, and strategic competence. The Cronbach's alpha values demonstrated that each factor reflected conceptual coherence and internal consistency. The findings revealed that intercultural pragmatic ability comprises several dimensions, and correspondingly highlight the significance of these characteristics within the framework of EFL instruction. The validated instrument can provide researchers, teacher educators, and curriculum designers with a significant resource for assessing and improving intercultural pragmatics in language education.

Abstract The present study investigated the challenges English student teachers encountered compared to non-English student teachers at Farhangian University in an online-learning environment. The data from focus groups, reflections, and interviews were analyzed using content analysis. The identified challenges were: (1) the primary challenges pertaining to attending online learning conditions, and (2) secondary challenges including the adaptation and adjustments that had to be made to have a more effective online learning experience. Group comparisons revealed different learning pathways for the two groups. It was found that the female student teachers suffered from gender inequity, especially the ones imposed by social or traditional values and their familial roles. Furthermore, the findings also revealed that these two social groups faced distinct challenges resulting from different sources. That is, while attaining rudimentary conditions was the major source of challenges for the student teachers of non-English majors, overcoming the barriers preventing their effective learning and academic achievement was the main challenge for the students majoring in English. It was concluded that the two social groups go through two distinct pathways. Possible ways to safeguard social justice in terms of gender and social group equity in online teacher education based on the concept of “digital divide” are put forward.

Abstract The timing and distribution of instructional input play a critical role in shaping language learning outcomes. This study examined the effects of input spacing on second language (L2) grammar learning by comparing massed and distributed presentation formats. Twenty Persian-speaking pre-intermediate learners at a private language institute in Mashhad, Iran, participated in the study. The participants were taught four unfamiliar grammatical rules across two instructional sessions. Each learner encountered two rules under a massed input condition (two sessions separated by a two-day interval) and two rules under a distributed input condition (two sessions separated by a nine-day interval), allowing for a within-subjects comparison. A delayed posttest was administered four weeks after the final instructional session to assess long-term retention. The results of the t-test revealed a significant advantage (M = 6.95, SD = 1.98) for the distributed input condition (9-day interval) over the massed condition (M = 5.70, SD = 2.17), t(19) = 2.190, p < .05, suggesting that increasing the lag between instructional encounters can enhance long-term retention of L2 grammatical knowledge. These findings support the spacing effect in L2 acquisition and offer pedagogical insights into how input scheduling can influence the retention of grammatical knowledge in foreign language instruction. The study contributes to the growing body of research advocating for the strategic timing of instructional input to maximize long-term learning outcomes in L2 education.

Abstract This study investigates silence as a discursive strategy in educational English conversations from a pragmatic, Conversation Analysis (CA) perspective. Drawing on 15 hours of naturally occurring classroom interaction from fourth-year undergraduate English as a foreign language (EFL) seminars at the University of Al-Qadisiyah (27 students, ages 21–22), we examine how silence is positioned and oriented toward within three key sequential environments: post-question gaps, pre-dispreferred responses, and repair spaces. Video and audio recordings were transcribed using Ten Have’s (2007) conventions with fine-grained timing and multimodal notes (e.g., gaze, gesture). Analyses show that post-question gaps, when coupled with withheld evaluation or minimal continuers, are treated as invitations to elaborate, redistributing epistemic work to learners. Brief delays before disagreement operate as face-management buffers, licensing hedging and reason-giving that render stance shifts pedagogically productive. Silences surrounding trouble in hearing or understanding function as repair slots and search spaces, supporting concise teacher repetitions and learner recognition/uptake that secure intersubjectivity with minimal disruption. Across environments, the pragmatic import of silence is evidenced through next-turn proof in participants’ subsequent actions. We argue that silence in these classrooms is not an absence but a recipient-designed resource that coordinates knowledge, face, and progressivity. Implications include micro-pedagogical practices and CA-informed materials that normalize repair and elaboration.

Abstract The acquisition of prepositions has been notoriously challenging for those who are learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Meanwhile, it has been suggested that applying extensive reading can be a beneficial approach since such instructional strategy draws learners’ attention to the target forms through incidental learning. The current study attempted to investigate the comparative effects of different extensive reading enhancement modalities on the incidental acquisition of simple prepositions. Sixty-six Iranian adolescent EFL students divided into three groups of digitally-enhanced extensive reading, print-enhanced extensive reading, and control were recruited. Over a nine-week period, the experimental groups participated in an engineered extensive reading program during the last thirty minutes of their classes (two sessions per week). They completed two graded readers from the Oxford Bookworms series and during each session, orally summarized four pages to encourage meaningful use of the target prepositions, thereby consolidating their contextualized exposure during reading. The control group received no such intervention. An immediate and a delayed post-test were administered following the intervention, revealing that the print-enhanced group outperformed the control group on both the immediate and delayed post-tests. However, the differences between the digitally enhanced group and the other two groups did not turn out significant. The experiment showed that the physical medium of extensive reading can be a considerable variable for the incidental acquisition of prepositions as low-salience grammatical features, with findings indicating the superiority of print materials enhanced by strategic typography.

Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform education by making learning more personalized, interactive, and effective. In the current study, we aimed to propose an AI-oriented English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher education model based on the Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate (ADDIE) instructional design model. We employed descriptive narrative design and the ADDIE model to propose this framework. While trying to construct the qualitative model, we identified six core themes for an AI-oriented EFL teacher education model based on ADDIE: (a) identifying the professional, psychological, and technological needs of teachers; (b) equipping EFL teachers with AI literacy and pedagogical strategies for teaching in the AI era; (c) addressing professional and financial opportunities and challenges in AI-oriented teacher education for effective implementation; (d) addressing educational and social opportunities and challenges in AI-oriented teacher education for effective implementation; (e) implementing AI-oriented teacher education with AI support for effective training; and (f) evaluating the impact of AI-oriented EFL teacher education on teaching practices. We conclude that a systematic AI-oriented EFL teacher education program needs to address both a priori and a posteriori tasks to be effective, encompassing the phases of ADDIE.

Abstract Reflective teaching is one of the most important teacher-related variables in English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching contexts. However, intervention-based studies examining the influence of teacher-education courses on self-reported reflective teaching are almost non-existent. Accordingly, this study explored the effects of two teacher education courses: one encompassing the four stages of philosophy, principles, theory, and practice, and another constituting critical reflection on EFL teachers’ reflective teaching. The participants comprised 98 EFL teachers who were selected based on a convenience sampling procedure and divided into two experimental groups and a control one. The three groups were given a reflective teaching questionnaire (RTQ) as pretest. The first experimental group received intervention in line with the four stages of reflection and the second group was exposed to critical reflection, while the control group did not receive any specific treatment in relation to reflective teaching. However, the control group partook in eight teacher meetings in which the general principles of teaching language skills and components were reviewed. After the intervention, the three groups took the RTQ as posttest. The results of one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) indicated that both intervention types significantly impacted EFL teachers' reflective teaching with the critical reflection being significantly more effective than the intervention based on the four stages. Based on the findings, teacher education programs designed to enhance reflective practices among teachers need to emphasize and systematically integrate the critical reflection initiatives into their core framework.

Abstract Vocabulary knowledge is a central component of language competence, yet the aural dimension of vocabulary and its psychological correlates remain underexplored in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. Addressing this gap, this study examined whether Iranian EFL learners’ second language (L2) motivation, foreign language enjoyment (FLE), and self-regulatory capacity in vocabulary learning predict their Aural Vocabulary Knowledge (AVK). A total of 122 undergraduate EFL students at Hakim Sabzevari University as a specific EFL context completed four instruments: the Motivation Questionnaire (Taguchi et al., 2009), the Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014), the Self-Regulation Scale (Tseng et al., 2006), and the AVK test (Taguchi & Kaya, 2019). Multiple regression and path analyses were conducted using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, Version 25). The results showed that enjoyment and self-regulation were significantly correlated with AVK, whereas L2 motivation was not. In the regression model, only self-regulation significantly predicted AVK, highlighting the pivotal role of learners’ self-regulatory capacity in aural vocabulary development. Path analysis further revealed a significant indirect effect of enjoyment on AVK through self-regulation, indicating that enjoyment facilitates AVK primarily by enhancing learners’ self-regulatory behaviors. These findings suggest that pedagogical interventions aimed at improving EFL learners' AVK should explicitly foster self-regulatory capacity (e.g., through strategy training in goal-setting and metacognitive monitoring) and incorporate enjoyable, engaging listening activities designed to promote positive emotional experiences, thereby supporting aural vocabulary development and overall listening proficiency.

Abstract Regardless of the current buzz, there is still a great deal to uncover when it comes to the promises of artificial intelligence (AI) in language instruction, especially in under-resourced contexts. The present mixed-methods study compared the effects of AI-powered chatbots and Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (SCMC) on Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ oral proficiency and self-efficacy. For this purpose, 60 EFL learners were conveniently sampled and the speaking section of the international English language testing system (IELTS) as well as the Questionnaire of English Self-Efficacy were administered as pretest and posttest with six weeks of treatment. The experimental group used Pi as speaking partner, whereas the other group spent a comparable amount of time engaging in SCMC with the instructor. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) revealed that AI significantly enhanced oral self-efficacy in the experimental group (p = 0.001). As for oral proficiency, although a positive impact was suggested, the difference was only marginally significant (p = 0.082). Qualitative findings mostly suggested positive attitudes, particularly toward the “increased practice opportunities” while a number of concerns, especially about “limitations in natural interaction,” were voiced. It is argued that AI has the potential to compensate for some of the limitations in under-resourced teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) contexts and push language education to more equitable and sustainable standards around the globe.

Abstract Drawing on affective and sociocultural perspectives, this study investigates university language instructors’ psychological stress, emotional safety, and coping strategies in sustained online teaching. Psychological stress is conceptualized as instructors’ perceived emotional and cognitive strain, emotional safety as their sense of emotional security and professional autonomy in virtual classrooms, and coping mechanisms as the strategies used to regulate stress and maintain instructional effectiveness. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), the study explores how instructors make sense of these affective experiences within their institutional and cultural contexts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 university language instructors (seven from Iran and six from Germany) who had at least five years of experience in both online and face-to-face teaching. Interview data were systematically analyzed using MAXQDA (Version 2022), resulting in 724 coded segments organized into six interrelated themes: (1) psychological stress and workload, (2) emotional safety, (3) virtual classroom conditions, (4) emotional reactions to online teaching, (5) comparisons with face-to-face instruction, and (6) coping strategies. The findings indicate that sustained online teaching intensified instructors’ stress due to reduced affective feedback, technical instability, and increased emotional labor, while simultaneously enabling new forms of psychological safety, particularly for more anxious or less engaged learners. To manage these pressures, instructors reported using adaptive pedagogical practices, emotional self-regulation, and peer support, with patterns varying across the two national contexts. Overall, the study highlights the complex emotional ecology of normalized online language teaching and underscores the need for culturally sensitive, emotionally responsive, and institutionally supported approaches to sustainable digital language education.

Abstract This study investigated diachronic changes of linguistic markers of stance in language testing journals. To this end, 2100 research articles published from 1985 to 2025 in four top-tier journals were scrutinized. To explore diachronic changes, the time frame was divided into four periods (1985–1995; 1996–2005; 2006–2015; 2016–2025). For each decade, 525 articles were randomly selected from the pool of eligible publications meeting the study’s inclusion criteria. Hyland (2005a) was used to identify stance markers. Wordsmith Tools (Version 6) assisted the researchers in analyzing the markers. All concordance-line matches were subsequently checked manually to confirm that each lexical item functioned as a stance marker in its specific context before being counted. It was found that hedges were used more often than other categories of stance markers, suggesting that academic writers tend to present their findings with caution. Moreover, because of the objective nature of academic discourse (especially in the past), attitude markers were used less frequently than in other categories. The analysis demonstrated that stance-marker use increased overall, with hedges declining in relative dominance while self-mentions increased disproportionately over time. This study has implications for researchers seeking to become familiar with common stance markers used by professional English as a foreign language (EFL) authors and teachers, for learners to be acquainted with the stance markers identified in this study, and for materials developers to design instructional materials on the standard writing of research articles.

Abstract Although digital learning (DL) and self-regulated learning (SRL) have been widely examined independently, their interrelationship, moderating influences, and combined effects on second language (L2) learning remain underexplored. This meta-synthesis addressed this lacuna by analyzing 56 high-quality empirical studies (N = 12,753) identified through a systematic search of Journal Citation Reports (JCR) and Scopus-indexed journals. Using thematic analysis in NVivo (Version 12) and Sandelowski and Barroso’s synthesis framework, we synthesized the findings into five overarching themes. First, DL environments frequently enhanced SRL by supporting autonomy, monitoring, attention, and learner responsibility. Second, self-regulated learning–digital learning (SRL–DL) interactions were shaped by learner-related factors (motivation, self-efficacy, digital literacy, attitudes) and educational conditions (scaffolding, interaction, engagement, and facilitating conditions). Third, technology-supported SRL commonly involved goal-setting, self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and time/resource management, whereas social strategies were least used. Fourth, technology-based self-regulated learning (TBSRL) consistently improved language learning outcomes, particularly in vocabulary and writing, with several interventions showing sustained achievement gains. Finally, DL offered benefits such as increased motivation, personalization, and reduced anxiety, while concerns included overreliance on artificial intelligence (AI), academic integrity, and the need for human mediation. This synthesis provides important implications for theory and practice by proposing an integrated model of TBSRL in which digital affordances influence L2 outcomes through SRL processes moderated by learner and educational factors. The findings further highlight that effective AI- and technology-mediated language learning depends on access to digital tools, sustained pedagogical scaffolding, and support for collaborative regulation.