This study sought to examine the effects of pre-listening tasks in promoting the listening comprehension ability of Iranian English foreign language (EFL) learners. To undertake the study, Sixty-three female EFL university students were chosen to engage three task-based activities namely, podcast, video and topic preparation tasks. They were first homogenized by a Cambridge preliminary English test (PET), and then assigned into three groups comprising 21 students in each. The first group was randomly assigned into a podcast, the second group was nominated video-based, and the last group was invited to speak out around the topic. A teacher-made test of listening comprehension was employed to gauge students’ listening performance. Each group was assigned jigsaw and filling the gap task to screen the effect of instruction. After collecting the data, one-way ANOVA and multiple regression analysis were conducted to determine the facilitative task. The results revealed that podcast-based task significantly promotes students’ listening performance ability. This finding suggests that teachers can incorporate podcast as a pre-listening task to foster students’ listening performance. The finding may help EFL teachers and materials developers put more focus on the podcast as a pre-listening task to gain better results in the teaching and learning process.

This study was carried out to investigate the roles of epistemic beliefs (EBs) and writing self-efficacy (WSE) in predicting second language writing anxiety (L2WA) among learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). To this end, three validated scales were distributed among 240 EFL students. They were asked to complete the questionnaires during their regular courses. A structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was utilized to analyze the hypothesized SEM model and the causal paths among the constructs. The direct and indirect path analyses of the hypothesized model indicated that EBs and WSE accounted for 43% of the variance in L2WA. Although both constructs (i.e., EBs and WSE) had a significant effect on L2WA, EBs turned out to be a robust predictor of increasing L2WA. Notably, it was revealed that learners’ EBs directly and significantly influenced their L2WA. Besides, the results indicated that WSE had a unique effect in reducing L2WA. More precisely, students who had a higher level of EBs seemed to have a greater L2WA, and those who had a higher level of WSE experienced less L2WA. The findings of this explanatory study suggest that L2 teachers and material developers should pay serious attention to the Students’ cognitive and affective variables as they were known to be significant factors in influencing L2WA.

Contrary to the importance of digital literacy in making English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education congruent with the recent technological advancements, a scrutiny of the pertinent literature in this regard is evident. To address this gap, this investigation seeks to investigate Iranian experienced and novice EFL teachers’ digital literacy within a comparative stance. Using a quantitative survey design, the data was collected via Digital Literacy Questionnaire.The participants taking part in this research included 200 conveniently selected EFL teachers (100 novice and 100 experienced teachers), holding all levels of academic degree in TEFL, English Language and Literature, and English Translation fields, with diverse years of teaching experience across various schools and institutions in Iran. The collected questionnaires were analyzed through one sample t-test and independent sample-test. The study found that EFL teachers demonstrated strong proficiency across a range of digital skills, such as typing, web searching, and utilizing digital learning tools. Moreover, no significant difference in digital literacy was identified between novice and experienced teachers which suggests both groups have similar levels of competence in terms of digital technologies. The findings hold important implications for a wide range of stakeholders, including EFL policymakers, teachers, teacher trainers, and researchers. They provide insights that can be used to improve educational policies and refine teaching practices.

Purpose: COVID-19’s attack on the system of education left the learning of many students in limbo. For minimizing this effect, the current study sought to probe how Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) can facilitate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ vocabulary knowledge. In so doing, a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest research design was adopted to check the effect of a newly developed application (i.e. visual vocabulary learning, hereafter VVL) in an EFL classroom.Design/methodology/approach: To complying with the objective, a number of intermediate students (N = 40) were considered to participate in the study. They were assigned into a visual learning group (VLG) and a nonvisual learning group (NVLG) comprising 20 students in each. The VLG was directed to learn vocabulary by a VVL, and the NVG, a conventional method was employed for vocabulary instruction. An independent samples t-test was run to screen the efficacy of the intervention.Findings: The finding revealed that participants in the VLG outperformed significantly in the posttest. The finding is beneficial for EFL teachers, syllabus designers, and material developers to take advantage of mobile applications in teaching vocabulary.Originality/value: This study was conducted during COVID 19 between two groups in Iran.

Understanding the beliefs held by the learners about learning a language, and the way they utilize their thoughts about knowledge and learning seem essential for planning a constructive language program. Following this line of research, this paper aims at testing a hypothetical model of the relationship between epistemic beliefs (EBs) and subscales of language-learning strategies (LLSs) through the mediating role of learners' self-efficacy (LSE). To this end, a sample of 300 Iranian high school students, taking regular courses, completed three survey questionnaires. At this stage, correlational analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) were employed to probe the interconnections, analyze the model, and outline the conceptual framework. The results revealed that the LSE framework can adequately account for the learners' LLSs. In particular, the results indicated that efforts, persistence, and imitation (i.e., the subfactors of LSE) positively and significantly influenced LLSs. However, EBs with the mediating role of LSE were known to be a significant factor in demoting the LLSs. Notably, knowledge and learning agents were the negative predictors of LLSs. This paper suggests that LSE has higher explanatory power than EBs in predicting LLSs. The findings of this study suggest that teachers and material developers should pay serious attention to the learners' self-efficacy as they were known to influence LLSs.