Hossein Vahid Dastjerdi
English Department, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran
[ 1 ] - Greeting Speech Act Forms in Iranian Junior High School Textbooks: Prospect Series vs Four Corners Series
The present study is an attempt to compare the use of different forms of greeting speech acts presented in Iranian junior high school textbooks, i.e. Prospect series (I, II, III) and Four Corners series (1, 2, 3 and 4) which are quite popular in Iranian high schools and institutions. To this end, greeting forms in the language function and conversation sections of these two series were analyzed...
[ 2 ] - Cultural Elements in the Translation of Children's Literature: Persian translation of Roald Dahl’s Matilda in focus
Translation can have long-term effects on all languages and cultures. It is not a mere linguistic act, but mostly a cultural act, since language is by nature one of the major carriers of cultural elements. Thus, the translator’s job is not just transferring the meaning of words and sentences from the source text to the target text. Culture-specific items often cause translation problems. Identi...
[ 3 ] - A Stylistic Approach to Translation: Figurative language devices in the Persian renderings of Alcott's Little Women
The present study aimed firstly at investigating the impact of translators' style on figurative language translation from English into Persian. Secondly, it intended to find which strategies were most frequently adopted by Persian translators to translate figures of speech into Persian. Lastly, the study sought to check the extent of transference of figurative features of literary texts in Engl...
[ 4 ] - The Impact of Weblog Task Assessment on Iranian EFL Learners’ Reading Ability
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of weblog task assessment on Iranian EFL learners’ reading ability. To this purpose, a group of 30 English language students (both male and female) in Rozaneh Language Institute in Najafabad were selected based on their performance on the OPT. The researchers tried to select a homogeneous sample in terms of age factor and proficiency level...
[ 5 ] - Impact of Dynamic Assessment on Iranian EFL Learners' Picture-cued Writing
Abstract In Iran, most English teachers’ method of teaching writing is merely to have students do some writing exercises or simply to give them writing tests without any instruction, but writing is not an easy task for students, and teachers should be able to do more to facilitate their students’ writing. One of the ways to aid writing is dynamic assessment via graduated prompt. The graduated p...
[ 6 ] - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Translation: Semantic Accuracy and Time Span in Focus
Abstract Translation is a process which needs concentration and a relaxed mind. Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder which causes the patients to repeat something continuously so that it is done in the best way. As both translation and OCD are mental processes, this study has investigated the relation between these two mental processes. For this purpose, at first Oxford Plac...
[ 7 ] - Voice Analysis in English and Persian Persuasive Texts: Pedagogical implications in focus
The main purpose of this study is to investigate how voice is realized by Iranian EFL learners in persuasive English and Persian text types. This discourse-related notion is a required criterion for writing acceptable English. However, L2 learners from cultures other than English might face problems in realizing it, or even ignore it all through their writing. In this connection, the present st...
[ 8 ] - Washback Effect of General English Test of Ph.D. Entrance Exam on Science and Humanities Students: Perceptions and Practices
Testing holds an important place in the Iranian test-oriented context where the entrance examinations have serious educational and occupational outcomes. This study aimed to explore the potential washback effects of the General English Language Test of the Ph.D. (GELTP) as part of the Ph.D. University Entrance Examination (PUEE) on the humanities and science students’ perceptions and practices....
[ 9 ] - Critical Perspectives on Contrastive Rhetoric: A Report From Iranians' EFL Reading Textbooks
The efficacy of genre-based approach to teaching writing has been regarded as an influential practice in L2 writing pedagogy (Hyland, 2007). However, there is still gap between actual structures found in reading materials recommended as textbooks and discourse patterns recommended for L2 writing in EFL contexts, the gap which would highlight the problems of genre and rhetorical patterns for tea...
[ 10 ] - The Impact of Explicit Instruction of Metadiscourse Markers on EFL Learners' Writing Performance
The current study is an attempt to investigate the impact of explicit instruction of metadiscourse markers on advanced, intermediate, and elementary EFL learners’ writing performance. The participants of the study were 94 undergraduate students majoring in English Literature at the University of Isfahan. To elicit the relevant data, participants were given a pretest of writing ability to check ...
[ 11 ] - Impact of Density and Distribution of Unfamiliar Lexical Items on Iranian EFL Learners’ Successful Reading Comprehension Achievement
Density and distribution of Unfamiliar Lexical Items (ULIs) appear to influence learners’ Reading Comprehension Achievement (RCA). This study concerns the impact of these two variables on Iranian EFL learners’ RCA. For this, two groups of students timetabled for the experiments designed to assess learners’ RCA. To determine the participants’ levels of proficiency a Quick Proficiency Test was fi...
[ 12 ] - Semantic Adequacy in Translation: Strategies employed in the English renderings of Sa'di's wittical remarks of The Rose Garden (Golistan)
Translating literary works is a difficult task, especially when it comes to cultural elements. It gets more difficult when words have ambiguities and multiple layers of meaning. The present study sought to examine the adequacy of witticism in the English renderings of Sa'di's clever remarks in Golistan (The Rose Garden). To this purpose, the researchers selected three English translations of Go...
[ 13 ] - Semantic Adequacy in Translation: Strategies employed in the English renderings of Sa'di's wittical remarks of The Rose Garden (Golistan)
Translating literary works is a difficult task, especially when it comes to cultural elements. It gets more difficult when words have ambiguities and multiple layers of meaning. The present study sought to examine the adequacy of witticism in the English renderings of Sa'di's clever remarks in Golistan (The Rose Garden). To this purpose, the researchers selected three English translations of Go...
[ 14 ] - Impact of Density and Distribution of Unfamiliar Lexical Items on Iranian EFL Learners’ Successful Reading Comprehension Achievement
Density and distribution of Unfamiliar Lexical Items (ULIs) appear to influence learners’ Reading Comprehension Achievement (RCA). This study concerns the impact of these two variables on Iranian EFL learners’ RCA. For this, two groups of students timetabled for the experiments designed to assess learners’ RCA. To determine the participants’ levels of proficiency a Quick Proficiency Test was fi...
[ 15 ] - Greeting Speech Act Forms in Iranian Junior High School Textbooks: Prospect Series vs Four Corners Series
The present study is an attempt to compare the use of different forms of greeting speech acts presented in Iranian junior high school textbooks, i.e. Prospect series (I, II, III) and Four Corners series (1, 2, 3 and 4) which are quite popular in Iranian high schools and institutions. To this end, greeting forms in the language function and conversation sections of these two series were analyzed...
[ 16 ] - Cultural Elements in the Translation of Children's Literature: Persian translation of Roald Dahl’s Matilda in focus
Translation can have long-term effects on all languages and cultures. It is not a mere linguistic act, but mostly a cultural act, since language is by nature one of the major carriers of cultural elements. Thus, the translator’s job is not just transferring the meaning of words and sentences from the source text to the target text. Culture-specific items often cause translation problems. Identi...
[ 17 ] - A Stylistic Approach to Translation: Figurative language devices in the Persian renderings of Alcott's Little Women
The present study aimed firstly at investigating the impact of translators' style on figurative language translation from English into Persian. Secondly, it intended to find which strategies were most frequently adopted by Persian translators to translate figures of speech into Persian. Lastly, the study sought to check the extent of transference of figurative features of literary texts in Engl...
[ 18 ] - The Impact of Weblog Task Assessment on Iranian EFL Learners’ Reading Ability
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of weblog task assessment on Iranian EFL learners’ reading ability. To this purpose, a group of 30 English language students (both male and female) in Rozaneh Language Institute in Najafabad were selected based on their performance on the OPT. The researchers tried to select a homogeneous sample in terms of age factor and proficiency level...
[ 19 ] - Impact of Dynamic Assessment on Iranian EFL Learners' Picture-cued Writing
Abstract In Iran, most English teachers’ method of teaching writing is merely to have students do some writing exercises or simply to give them writing tests without any instruction, but writing is not an easy task for students, and teachers should be able to do more to facilitate their students’ writing. One of the ways to aid writing is dynamic assessment via graduated prompt. The graduated p...
[ 20 ] - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Translation: Semantic Accuracy and Time Span in Focus
Abstract Translation is a process which needs concentration and a relaxed mind. Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder which causes the patients to repeat something continuously so that it is done in the best way. As both translation and OCD are mental processes, this study has investigated the relation between these two mental processes. For this purpose, at first Oxford Plac...
[ 21 ] - Voice Analysis in English and Persian Persuasive Texts: Pedagogical implications in focus
The main purpose of this study is to investigate how voice is realized by Iranian EFL learners in persuasive English and Persian text types. This discourse-related notion is a required criterion for writing acceptable English. However, L2 learners from cultures other than English might face problems in realizing it, or even ignore it all through their writing. In this connection, the present st...
[ 22 ] - Cohesive Readability of Expository Texts and Reading Comprehension Performance: Iranian EFL students of Different Proficiency Levels in Focus
Abstract The present study is an attempt to investigate the relationship between cohesive readability of expository texts and reading comprehension in EFL students with different proficiency levels. One hundred students formed the participant of this study. They were undergraduate students majoring in English at University of Isfahan. To collect the relevant data, participants were divide...
[ 23 ] - Translation of Psychology Book Titles: A Skopos theory perspective
The focus of current research is the translation of psychology book titles. There are numerous studies in the field of titles translation, but they are restricted in Persian context. The aim of this study is thus to investigate the translation strategies used by Persian translators when transferring English psychology book titles into Persian. To achieve this objective, 245 titles of translated...