Showing 264 results for Education
Volume 0, Issue 0 (2-2024)
Abstract
The need to address reading skills in language teaching is important because it is related to the other three skills (listening, speaking and writing) and ultimately affects the main goal of language teaching, which is the ability to create effective communication. Now, given the presence of all mobile phones and laptops, questions arise, to what extent are electronic opportunities included in the educational content of the Russian language in Iran? Аanswering this question, as well as analyzing questionnaires with eleven main questions regarding the inclusion of new technologies, cultural topics, playing with proverbs and other issues raised in the teaching content of the reading lesson, as well as questions about whether such materials are included in the reading textbook or not, we came to the conclusion that there is an acute lack of new technologies and other things in the educational content of reading. Therefore, the authors of this study propose new ideas in the educational content of reading to solve existing problems and improve the educational process of teaching reading in Russian at the undergraduate level.
Volume 0, Issue 0 (2-2024)
Abstract
The optimal implementation of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in Iranian EFL higher education faces some challenges despite its incremental growth. It is, therefore, necessary to investigate the current challenges affecting university professors' and students' adoption of CALL in Iranian EFL contexts. For this purpose, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with three purposeful sampling groups of participants, both before and after the temporary shutdown of the educational sector due to COVID-19 spread. Therefore, 33 interviewees—university EFL professors, students, and Information Technology Support Engineers (IT-SE)— took part in an interview which took approximately 90 minutes for each, conducted in person or over WhatsApp and Skype platforms. All the interviews were audio recorded and transcribed for thematic analysis by the first researcher and an assistant researcher. The obtained results highlighted nine major categories of themes that indicated the obstacles and challenges of optimal CALL implementation. These challenges are related to 1) technological dimension, 2) teacher dimension 3) student dimension, 4) software and hardware dimension, 5) sanctions and filtering dimension, 6) curriculum dimension, 7) the nature of e-learning dimension, 8) socioeconomic and cultural dimension, and 9) university administrators' dimension. It was the sanctions and filtering dimension, the nature of e-learning dimension, and the socioeconomic dimension that were exclusive to this study. Each of these major themes includes a set of minor themes. The results can contribute to educational planners, curriculum and material developers, and teachers to develop education programs for optimal CALL implementation in Iranian EFL higher education by removing the challenges.
Volume 0, Issue 0 (2-2024)
Abstract
In spite of the potential merit of technology-enhanced education in offering an innovative educational game in the arena of English teaching and learning, they have not garnered much momentum in terms of practical research, particularly in ELT speaking domain and their potential role in the Covid-19 pandemic and post-pandemic eras. This constitutes a substantial gap in the extant corpus of literature, which will be addressed in the current study by exploring the short- and long-term impacts of immersive virtual reality and space team ESL games on the speaking abilities of Iranian EFL learners. To this light, 54 basic EFL students from private language institutions in Urmia were selected through convenience sampling and an intact group design. Three classes were randomly exposed to two treatments, encompassing virtual reality, space team, and a control group receiving traditional instruction. The participants were pre-tested with the IELTS speaking test before receiving the treatment, and the same instrument was utilized for post-tests and delayed post-tests. In contrast to the traditional group, the results demonstrated that both immersive virtual reality and space team games enhanced students' short- and long-term oral performance. The findings of this study could be well-regarded as an important proposal for considering game-based instruction as an integral component of ELT classrooms and a technique for promoting language proficiency in non-native contexts.In spite of the potential merit of technology-enhanced education in offering an innovative educational game in the arena of English teaching and learning, they have not garnered much momentum in terms of practical research, particularly in ELT speaking domain and their potential role in the Covid-19 pandemic and post-pandemic eras. This constitutes a substantial gap in the extant corpus of literature, which will be addressed in the current study by exploring the short- and long-term impacts of immersive virtual reality and space team ESL games on the speaking abilities of Iranian EFL learners. To this light, 54 basic EFL students from private language institutions in Urmia were selected through convenience sampling and an intact group design. Three classes were randomly exposed to two treatments, encompassing virtual reality, space team, and a control group receiving traditional instruction. The participants were pre-tested with the IELTS speaking test before receiving the treatment, and the same instrument was utilized for post-tests and delayed post-tests. In contrast to the traditional group, the results demonstrated that both immersive virtual reality and space team games enhanced students' short- and long-term oral performance. The findings of this study could be well-regarded as an important proposal for considering game-based instruction as an integral component of ELT classrooms and a technique for promoting language proficiency in non-native contexts.
Volume 0, Issue 0 (2-2024)
Abstract
The current research aims to investigate the universality of the language by examining the perception of Persian learners in recognition of subject position according to the theory of input processing and the principle of the first noun from this theory. The first noun principle indicates that language learners consider the noun or pronoun that comes at the beginning of the sentence as the subject of the sentence.The participants in this research are 70 Persian language learners at elementary (23 participants), intermediate (23 participants) and advanced (24 participants) levels in the Persian language learning center of Al-Zahra University. Using Friedman et al.'s (2004) executive method, this study has examined the principle of the first noun as a predictable path in the education of Persian learners. In this direction, a test has been designed on Google Forms, and Persian learners have participated in two different implementations of this test in a time interval of 5 months. In both of its implementations, this test included 15 sentences that the language learners had to connect to the related pictures after hearing the sentences. In order to characterize the perception of the participants from the position of the subject, 8 sentences in the second sentence were put into the passive form. The results of this study have shown that the change of sentences in the second implementation of the test caused an increase in errors in the response rate of language learners and this was reported higher in elementary language learners than in other groups.
Volume 0, Issue 0 (2-2024)
Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the fundamentals of Wittgenstein's theory of language games and its role in overcoming false preconceptions and biases. This qualitative research utilized a conceptual analysis and inductive method to review the related literature. In the findings section, by examining the theoretical foundations of Wittgenstein's linguistic games, we first critique the shortcomings of early philosophy such as the absoluteness of affairs, a purely analytical approach and ostensive definition, and then, the characteristics of language such as sociality, variability and discussion of its use and instrumental role were mentioned. Also, while expressing the mission of Wittgenstein's philosophy, the position and cause of the centrality of language in his philosophy was revealed and finally, due to the new perspectives on the theory of language games, and based on it, as well as Wittgenstein's way of working in later philosophy, a set of strategies was proposed to overcome biases. Overcoming the sense of essentialism, perspicuous representation, self-imposed exile, experiencing different occupations and professions, emphasis on differences, and eventually designing appropriate questions are among these strategies. As a result, it can be acknowledged that many false beliefs and preconceptions are passed on through language to future generations, and therefore many issues have survived throughout history. Therefore, incorrect concepts and ideas should be identified in the language and their repetition should be avoided by removing them.
Volume 0, Issue 0 (2-2024)
Abstract
Despite the ever-growing demand for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) provision within universities around the globe and the impressive growth EAP has experienced throughout the last decades, very little attention has been paid to EAP teacher education and professional development. The present study is part of a research project that examined the existing requirement for a teacher education program for English for Medical Purposes (EMP) within the Iranian higher education system and developed a program, titled Teaching English for Medical Purposes (TEMP), and its accompanying curriculum drawing on a systematic process through a four-round Delphi study using the collective opinion of a panel of 22 EAP and EMP experts. In so doing, it employed a written interview, three questionnaires, and a comprehensive data analysis approach, incorporating a combination of inductive thematic analysis based on Braun and Clarke’s (2022) model, descriptive statistics, paired samples T-test, and Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance. The current paper focuses on the modalities and structure of the program developed. At the final round of the study, the panelists came to the consensus that a flexible pre-service graduate program can be the best alternative for EMP teacher education. This program is modular and hybrid in nature and offers benefits such as flexibility, cost-effectiveness, access to resources, targeted education, in-depth knowledge, and practical experience. Short-natured in-service instruction in the form of seminars or workshops was also recommended for ongoing professional development of the EMP teachers to stay updated with the latest research trends.
Volume 0, Issue 0 (2-2024)
Abstract
This study employs graph theory to analyze the semantic network of Persian verbs among bilingual speakers. Situated within the frameworks of cognitive linguistics, lexical semantics (cognitive semantics), and computational linguistics, the research involves administering a questionnaire comprising 50 basic Persian verbs to participants, asking them to map the conceptual and intra-linguistic relationships between these verbs.The primary objective is to identify the most robust and frequent conceptual and intra-linguistic links among these verbs and to provide a detailed description of the graph structure constructed by bilingual speakers. The study seeks to address the question: What typology of conceptual and intra-linguistic relations is reflected in the graph patterns of non-Persian-speaking Iranians? The working hypothesis posits that semantic relations such as synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy, and collocation will manifest in this network.The methodology is field-based, and the instrument used is a localized questionnaire. Participants were instructed to diagrammatically represent any semantic relationships among the verbs provided.The findings demonstrate that the semantic graph constructed by Iranian bilinguals exhibits semantic relations such as synonymy (6.45%), reverse antonymy (34.94%), polysemy (7.79%), entailment (11.01%) (comprising "type-of" relations at 8.60% and "part-of" relations at 2.41%), as well as intra-linguistic collocation (28.22%). Among these, collocation, entailment, and antonymy were the most frequent relations, respectively.
Volume 0, Issue 0 (2-2024)
Abstract
In this study, Virtual Reality (VR) was employed in an English course intended to promote oral presentation skills in Iranian academia, and the possible impact of the course on learners’ self-efficacy regarding presenting, Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA), and speaking skills was investigated. Eight participants attended a 6-session course, and practiced academic oral presentation in a virtually simulated environment. Prior to the course, semi-structured interviews were administered; in addition, participants’ weekly reflection notes and self-assessments were gathered throughout the course. Moreover, post-course semi-structured interviews and written follow-up interviews were conducted afterward. The findings revealed that the learners reported higher levels of self-efficacy regarding presenting after the course, due to a perceived improvement in their presenting style, as well as their presentation content and slides. Additionally, the course had contributed to lowering the learners’ FLA due to presence in the Immersive Learning Environment (ILE), ample practice opportunities, and collaborative avatar interactions. Moreover, the learners mentioned that the course had helped them to improve their speaking skills due to academic vocabulary expansion, pronunciation enhancement, fluency upgrade, and grammatical adjustment. The findings can provide insights for language educators with regard to the use of virtual reality for simultaneously fostering language and academic skills, as well as facilitating internationalization in higher education.
Volume 0, Issue 0 (2-2024)
Abstract
The aim of this research was to identify the challenges and requirements of teaching English in the curriculum system of Iran. The research questions focused on English language education in upstream national documents, the current state of English language teaching, the challenges facing learning, and the requirements for teaching English in schools. The study area was the city of Sarayan in the academic year 2022-2023. To conduct the research, document analysis, surveys, phenomenology, comparative studies, and focused discussion group were used. To examine the experiences of subject experts and English language teachers and students from interviews and to benefit from the experiences of other countries, the teaching methodology and learning outcomes of the four countries were meticulously examined. Changing the teaching method, increasing the teaching time, teaching from a younger age, retraining teachers, reviewing assessment techniques, redesigning the physical space, and revising the content and methods of retraining and empowering teachers are among the requirements set for effective English language teaching in the official curriculum.
Volume 0, Issue 0 (2-2024)
Abstract
This study investigates the potential of interactive English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning tools powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance digital competence among higher education students. The primary aim is to detail the learning process in several aspects: Interactive EFL Learning Based on AI, its impact and implications, and Students' Digital Competence. The research employs a qualitative approach, utilizing qualitative interviews and classroom observation. A sample of 80 students from three different universities participated in using AI-powered EFL tools (ChatGPT) over a semester. The study employed intervention assessments to measure changes in digital competence and English writing proficiency. Additionally, student feedback was collected through structured interviews and observation to explore their experiences and perceptions. The collected data were processed and analyzed using manual coding techniques by compiling every response and organizing the summary.The results indicate that AI-based EFL tools significantly improve students' digital competence, including their ability to use technology effectively for writing tasks. Students demonstrated enhanced engagement, better language skills, and increased confidence in using digital tools for academic purposes. However, challenges such as technological anxiety and varying levels of tool effectiveness were also identified. This study highlights AI's efficacy in enhancing digital competence within the EFL environment, adding to the expanding corpus of research on the topic. The results offer important insights for educators and policymakers aiming to improve English language education using innovative AI-based approaches.
Volume 0, Issue 0 (2-2024)
Abstract
With the increasing prevalence of online education, the significance of students’ self-regulation skills has never been more pronounced. Yet, many students struggle to develop and apply these skills (Bylieva et al., 2021). This transcendental phenomenological study investigates the self-regulation strategies employed by highly self-regulated university students in fully online learning environments. Participants were recruited online based on purposive and criterion sampling procedures. Data were collected through guided journals and semi-structured in-depth interviews, transcribed with Voxtab, and analyzed using Peoples' (2020) phenomenological framework and NVivo 10 software. The result revealed four major themes: meta-affective and affective practices, metacognitive and cognitive practices, socio-affective features, and tech-enhanced learning strategies. The study's trustworthiness was ensured through member checks, purposeful sampling, inter-rater agreement, and debriefing. The findings offer profound insights into students' experiences with online self-regulation. They present students with practical and effective online self-regulation strategies and provide educators with insights into course designs fostering self-regulation.
Volume 0, Issue 0 (1-2024)
Abstract
This study shows the integration of e-commerce and advanced algorithm-based learning to establish a sustainable economic system and foster cultural education. The research also investigates the impact of rural aging on the utilization of several different land types, including arable land, forest land, and transportation land. The incorporation of e-commerce platforms offers advantages such as resource consumption reduction and efficient supply chain management, enabling broader market access and sustainable production and consumption. However, challenges related to data privacy, algorithm bias, and the digital divide need to be addressed for inclusive access. An artificial neural network (ANN) was constructed to analyze the impact of resource consumption and cultural exploration on market access, ethical practices, and data privacy. The ANN predictions showed that cultural exploration is most prominent with restricted market access, while data privacy is inversely related to ethical practices and market access. Regardless of consumption levels, resource consumption leads to increased data privacy. The study also found that rural aging has a significant negative impact on urban, industrial, and transportation land, but no significant impact on arable, forest, and garden land. The impact varies between towns and townships, with rural aging reducing urban and industrial land in towns but promoting the expansion of forest and grassland in townships. The results show the promising avenues for sustainable economic development and cultural education through the integration of e-commerce and advanced algorithm-based learning, while emphasizing the need to address key challenges and the implications of rural aging on land use for sustainable development.
Volume 0, Issue 0 (1-2024)
Abstract
Drastically concerned about no longer continuation of instructors to use the computerized learning management system (CLMS) in the post COVID-19, the ministerial and academic authorities in Iran are inclined to figure out about the determinants of instructors’ continuation of making use of the CLMS and how to incorporate the CLMS into the face-to-face education. Therefore, the research aimed to analyze drivers of agricultural instructors’ continuation of Using CLMS. Called instructors’ learning patterns as a knowledge gap, the present causal study surveyed 102 faculty members of two universities in Northwest Iran. To establish a theoretical framework, theory of planned behavior (TPB), technology acceptance model (TAM), and the Vermunt’s theory of learning model (VTLS) were used, the items of the questionnaire were designed accordingly. The results make known that the model has a good fit with the data set, the perceived usefulness (PU) of the CLMS has an impact on the attitude towards the CLMS and intention to continue using the CLMS (BI). The application-oriented learning pattern (AOLP) affects PBC positively. Other predictor variables that directly impinge upon instructors’ behavioral intention (BI) to continue applying the CLMS include attitude, PU, AOLP, and perceived student readiness (PSR). The estimated multiple correlation coefficients for the PBC, attitude, and BI were 0.17, 0.51, and 0.46, respectively. The results of the research can be useful and effective for agricultural higher education decision makers in using and replacing CLMS in specific situations instead of face-to-face education.
Volume 1, Issue 1 (3-2013)
Abstract
Aims: Adolescence is one the most precarious periods of life, concerning the drug abuse. The social cost of the drug abuse and injury among adolescents is extraordinary and requires intervention. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) is perhaps the most influential theory for prediction of social and health behaviors including drug abuse. This study aimed at designing and implementing a curriculum based on the TPB for preventing adolescents from drug abuse. Methods and Materials: This quasi-experimental study was conducted in Hamadan, west Iran. We recruited 140 male high school students from randomly selected schools: they were divided into experimental group, n = 70 and control group, n = 70. The experimental group received 20 hours educational program based on the TPB. The control group receives no intervention. Findings: Compared to the control group, experimental group have significantly elevated post test scores for attitude (19.07 vs. 15.28, p < .001), subjective norm (18.08 vs. 16.45, p < .001), perceived behavioral control (51.67 vs. 54.82, p < .001); and their intention to use drug significantly decreased(p = 0.082) Conclusions: The TPB-based educational program may be effective in prevention of substance abuse among adolescents.
Volume 1, Issue 1 (3-2013)
Abstract
Aims: Diabetes as the most common diseases caused by metabolic disorders is an important global challenge. This is a disease that requires lifelong self-care; because the self-care and improvement of the life quality is cost effective .The aim of this study is to determine the effects of the self-Efficacy education program on reducing blood sugar levels among the type 2 diabetic patients. It was conducted in Zahedan. Methods and Materials: 138 diabetic type 2 patients were selected in Zahedan Diabetic Center and divided randomly into control groups (n=69) and test group (n=69); and special checklist and health belief model questionnaire were applied as data collection instruments. Reliability and validity of the questionnaire was evaluated and confirmed. The data collected before intervention was analyzed, then educational design method executed 3 and 6 months after intervention and the collected data was analyzed using SPSS software. Findings: According to the results, there is a significant statistical difference in average number of models before and after educational intervention (pConclusions: Self-efficacy training in striation improves knowledge, attitude and self-care behaviours performance of the subjects and the related average of HbA1c and FB. The training seems to increase the learners' active participation in caring themselves, because they have experienced the results of the training program and they are motivated to enhance their better self-care behaviours.
Volume 1, Issue 1 (3-2013)
Abstract
Aims: Drug users form the main HIV-affected group in Iran. About two-third of all the individuals affected by HIV in Iran are those who use drug through injection. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of health belief model (HBM) on prevention of HIV transmission among the opiate-dependent population in Zarandieh. Methods and Materials: This is a quasi-experimental intervention study carried out on 49 addicted men in Zarandieh. was collected using a questionnaire, based on HBM and the group completed the questionnaire. According to the pre-test, the educational intervention was designed and implemented. Three months after the intervention, the post-test was performed and analyzed using the primary questionnaire and χ2, T-test. Findings: The findings indicated that the mean scores of HBM Model constructs (self-efficacy, susceptibility, severity and benefit) increased significantly after intervention and the perceived barriers decreased (p< 0.001). Also, the history of HIV testing reported 8%before intervention, while the rate increased to 48.6% after intervention. Conclusions: This finding provides initial support for designing and implementation of health education program, based on the HBM on Preventing HIV transmission among Opiate-dependent population.
Volume 1, Issue 1 (5-2011)
Abstract
Remarkable progresses of science and extensive development of modern technologies have led academic ability to become one of the tools of power. Accordingly, governments are trying to promote their higher education system in such a way that their position would improve on the basis of its performance. One of the most effective ways is to develop a comprehensive and integrated model for evaluation and ranking of universities and higher education institutions. Reaching such a model needs identifying factors and criteria that are related to evaluating the universities performance, choosing compatible factors with Iran’s higher education system, classification of the criteria and finally, representing them in a model. In this research, according to the literature review and expert’s point of view, eight factors were presented as the basic parts of the model as follows: educational, research, cultural, student, management and human resource, information technology, quality assurance and educational and research space factors. By using factor analysis, the extracted criteria were classified according to these eight factors and the final model was presented. The use of this model will cause integrating the system of performance evaluation of universities and higher education institutions. It will further help them to pursue their competition in such a way that consequently help the country to reach the desired scientific capability.
Volume 1, Issue 1 (4-2013)
Abstract
One of the important subjects in Sohrab Sepehri’s poems is the philosophy of education and his attention to the basic aspect of human existence. This subject is important because Sepehri had a great shift in his literary and practical life since 1340’s.
The goal of research: This research shows that Sohrab Sepehri was under the influence of phenomenological educational approaches and there are great similarities between Fromm’s and Sepehri’s views in the poetical works like Shargh-e-Andooh (East of Sadness), Seday-e-Pay-e-ab(The Sound of Water’s Foot), Mosafer (Traveler), Hajm-e-Sabz (Green Space), and Ma Hich Ma Negah (We Nothing, We Look). According to this research, like Fromm, childhood has a philosophical concept for Sepehri. Childhood equals intuition and direct understanding of phenomena, gaining personal experience and freedom. Satisfying the human instincts is the first stage of gaining individuality, and maturity is the time of overcoming instincts, thinking dependence, escaping from imitation. Fighting with habits, opposition to imposed education, admiration of loneliness and acceptance of death show great similarities between Sohrab Sepehri and Erich Fromm’s views.
Volume 1, Issue 1 (10-2011)
Abstract
The promotion of aesthetical skills and artistic perception improvement are considered as significant and strategic issues for architecture to deal with. However, a vast range of influential methods are employed by architecture advisors, professors and academies for developing architectural accomplishments; meanwhile, the significant role of secondary school trainings in promoting such conceptions are definitely underestimated. Hence, Ministry of Education plays an increasingly important role for preparing the schedules in the field of aesthetic skills and basic learning. Undoubtedly, the proposed framework will provide newly training artists with cultivated experiences and creative minds due to initially fundamental trainings. Accordingly, this paper intends to study the discontinuous learning methods in high schools and practical continuous training ways in technical schools of Iran. Meanwhile it compares them with each other, and discusses whether high school trainings are effective in improvement of aesthetic skills and abilities of architecture students.The research methodology is logical argumentation and used techniques are comparative methods, meanwhile the paper tends to employ a qualitative approach. Ultimately, the result shows that continuous trainings in technical schools are superior due to practical educating, although definite conclusion requires further investigations. Moreover, the paper makes a suggestion to the authorities to pay more heed to the targeted and continuous architectural educations in high schools.
Volume 1, Issue 1 (5-2020)
Abstract
Today, it is quite clear to all societies that the development of new businesses through entrepreneurship directly affects economic growth and prosperity, and Education in entrepreneurial skills is essential to start and continue entrepreneurial activities. This research aims to review the study conducted in sports entrepreneurship education, especially practised in the last five years (2018-2022). The research method section conducted searches in national and international databases and search engines. In this research, 15 articles were examined according to the study's purpose. The results showed that one of the most important reasons for the failure of entrepreneurs is the lack of practical skills needed to score activities. Therefore, sports entrepreneurship Education programs in universities should be directed towards creativity and innovation and move from knowledge-based universities to entrepreneurial universities by combining theoretical and practical knowledge related to sports entrepreneurship.