abstract norton’s (1995) investment hypothesis in l2 learning that l2 learners who cherish and foresee a richer personality for themselves in their l2 context would thrive more diligently and consequently would both enrich their personality and achieve a higher proficiency in their new language was investigated in this study in the community of iranian efl students. the integration and mutual r...

The present study intended to propose a causal model of factors that would predict Oral Communication Apprehension (OCA) of Iranian learners of English as a foreign language. To conduct the study, 135 male and female University students majoring in English were selected. Five variables including: learners’self-esteem and introversion/extroversion(as independent variables), their gender and prof...

INTRODUCTION The vulnerability of children under 5 years old requires paying more attention to the health of this group. In the Iranian health care system, health workers are the first line of human resources for health care in rural areas. Because most health workers begin working in conditions with minimal facilities, their clinical qualifications are crucial. The aim of this study was to det...

This study examined the acquisition of prenominal and postnominal genitives by Iranian EFL learners. Two variables were considered: possessive categories and language proficiency. We considered the influence of possessive categories such as lexical modifier, semantic relationship, and weight and syntactic complexity on genitive alternations by Iranian EFL learners. Also, we examined whether the...

The 1974 Lau decision requires that U.S. public schools ensure a meaningful education for students learning English. English as a Second Language (ESL) placement is an institutional response to the linguistic needs of these students; however, its academic implications remain largely unexplored. Using nationally representative data from the Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS), the effects of ES...

Unmotivated students do not reap the full rewards of using a computer-based intelligent tutoring system. Detection of improper behavior is thus an important component of an online student model. To meet this challenge, we present a dynamic mixture model based on Item Response Theory. This model, which simultaneously estimates a student’s proficiency and changing motivation level, was tested wit...

The present study investigated the effects of a self-monitoring strategy on web-based language learning. Both students’ academic performance and their motivational beliefs were investigated. The interaction between the use of a self-monitoring strategy and the level of learners’ English proficiency was also examined. A total of 99 college students who were enrolled in classes for Freshmen Engli...

This study addressed the role of electronic pocket dictionaries as a language learning tool among university students in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The target groups included engineering and humanities students at both undergraduate and graduate level. Speed of reference was found to be the main motivator for using an electronic pocket dictionary. Next, the functionality used was found to be connect...

How do proficiency-based accountability systems affect inequality in academic achievement? This paper reconciles mixed findings in the literature by demonstrating that three factors jointly determine accountability's impact. First, by analyzing student-level data from a large urban school district, we find that when educators face accountability pressure, they focus attention on students closes...