Papers by Hamideh Marefat
Studia Linguistica, 2005
Across two tasks, the sensitivity of Persian learners of English as a Foreign Language (PLEFL) to... more Across two tasks, the sensitivity of Persian learners of English as a Foreign Language (PLEFL) to the impact of discourse factors on the dative alternation is tested. In Task 1, elicited production data from both native speakers of English and the PLEFL at different levels of proficiency shows that neither group's responses are affected by the discourse factors. The native speakersÕ performance can only be meaningfully interpreted when individual verbs are brought into consideration; the Persian learners, excluding the elementary ones, who consistently produce prepositional datives, echo the construction in the question. In Task 2, data from acceptability judgements show that the native speakers, advanced and high-intermediate subjects prefer the responses with a Given-New order. The incongruity between the two tasks is attributed to the nature of the tasks. Additionally, evidence is provided for the existence of a very specific developmental sequence in the acquisition of the interaction between discourse factors and dative alternation. The consequences of the findings of this study for perspectives on interlanguage are discussed.
For more than a decade focus-on-form coupled with meaning-focused instruction has been placed hig... more For more than a decade focus-on-form coupled with meaning-focused instruction has been placed high on the agenda of SLA research. Planning time and feedback are two methodological procedures that hold some promise for meeting such a concern in EFL/ESL classrooms. The present study addressed the first procedure, i.e., planning time, and investigated its effects on the fluency, complexity, and accuracy of L2 output across modalities. Thirty seven Iranian English majors produced three narratives for different episodes of a silent cartoon under three conditions: 1) oral reproduction with a 10-minute strategic planning, 2) oral reproduction without any pre-planning, and 3) writing a narrative with on-line planning. The results showed that strategic planning and modality have marked effects on fluency and accuracy of L2 output whilst neither improved output complexity. Strategic planning and written mode of task accomplishment are proposed as effective methodological procedures in task-based instructions in EFL classrooms.
... 56, Special Issue, English, Spring 2010, pp. 49-67 49 The Long-Term Effect of Selective Writt... more ... 56, Special Issue, English, Spring 2010, pp. 49-67 49 The Long-Term Effect of Selective Written Grammar Feedback on EFL Learners' Acquisition of Articles Ahsan Pashazadeh * MA Student, English Department, University of Tehran, IR Iran Hamideh Marefat ** ...
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 09588221 2014 889712, Mar 13, 2014
ABSTRACT
Applied Research on English Language, Jul 15, 2013
works on genre analysis, studies on different sections of Research Articles (RAs) in various lang... more works on genre analysis, studies on different sections of Research Articles (RAs) in various languages and fields abound; however, only scant attention has been directed toward abstracts written in Persian, and in the field of literature. Moreover, claims made by regarding the correspondence of two types of abstracts with different models, and by Martin concerning the influence of sociocultural factors on the way writers write needed evaluation. To fill this gap, 90 English and Persian abstracts written in the field of literature, by English and Persian native speakers, were analyzed based on the IMRD (Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion) and CARS (Create A Research Space) models. The results demonstrated that literature RA writers generally focus on Introduction and Results, neglect Method and Discussion, and do not mention the niche in previous related work; secondly, although none of the models were efficient, literature abstracts generally matched CARS more than IMRD; and thirdly, abstracts written by Persian native speakers had minor deviations from both the Persian and the international norms, and exhibited a standard of their own. The present study also discusses steps which the models fail to predict. In addition, it offers a number of pedagogical implications for TEFL, especially for the writing skill.
Porta Linguarum Revista Internacional De Didactica De Las Lenguas Extranjeras, 2009
Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, Oct 1, 2009
Due to their structural complexity, English relative clauses (RCs) are difficult to acquire for E... more Due to their structural complexity, English relative clauses (RCs) are difficult to acquire for EFL learners. This study tested the predictions of seven major hypotheses proposed on the difficulty order of SS, SO, OO, and OS RCs for Persian EFL learners with different levels of English proficiency. Data was collected from 39 university students aged between 18 and 22 who performed a sentence comprehension task which consisted of 20 items involving reversible animate head nouns, with 5 items representing each of the SS, SO, OO, and OS RCs. Results showed that the determining factor in the difficulty order of the RCs for Persian EFL learners is the role of the head noun in the RC rather than the position of relativization, as some hypotheses predict. Moreover, Persian EFL learners opt for a linear parsing strategy in processing RC structures. Besides, Proficiency level did not bring about a drastic change in the difficulty order of the RCs.
Reading Matrix an International Online Journalreading Matrix an International Online Journal, 2003
This study examined the effect of teaching direct learning strategies (memory, cognitive, and com... more This study examined the effect of teaching direct learning strategies (memory, cognitive, and compensation) and their subcategories on the vocabulary retention--short term and long term--of EFL learners. Participants of the study were 60 Iranian female English Language Learners between the ages of 15 and 17. Before the treatment phase of the study, a questionnaire was given to the participants to see if they already use these strategies even before receiving any instruction, and also to raise their consciousness on the use of them. After the treatment, the participants took two equivalent tests with an interval of two weeks to find out the difference between their short term and long term retention of vocabulary. The results indicated that learners' strategy use in short-term retention far outweighs that in long-term retention. The results also portrayed the superiority of memory strategy use both in short and long term retention. The next most frequently used strategies were cognitive and compensation strategies respectively. The implications of the findings for incorporating these strategies in teaching will be discussed in detail.
Journal of Cognitive Science, 2008
Journal of Child Language, 2013
European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 2011
Computer Assisted Language Learning, 2014
ABSTRACT
Pazhuhesh-e Zabanha-ye Khareji, 2006
For more than a decade focus-on-form coupled with meaning-focused instruction has been placed hig... more For more than a decade focus-on-form coupled with meaning-focused instruction has been placed high on the agenda of SLA research. Planning time and feedback are two methodological procedures that hold some promise for meeting such a concern in EFL/ ...
Reading, 2003
This study examined the effect of teaching direct learning strategies (memory, cognitive, and com... more This study examined the effect of teaching direct learning strategies (memory, cognitive, and compensation) and their subcategories on the vocabulary retention--short term and long term--of EFL learners. Participants of the study were 60 Iranian female English Language Learners between the ages of 15 and 17. Before the treatment phase of the study, a questionnaire was given to the participants to see if they already use these strategies even before receiving any instruction, and also to raise their consciousness on the use of them. After the treatment, the participants took two equivalent tests with an interval of two weeks to find out the difference between their short term and long term retention of vocabulary. The results indicated that learners' strategy use in short-term retention far outweighs that in long-term retention. The results also portrayed the superiority of memory strategy use both in short and long term retention. The next most frequently used strategies were cognitive and compensation strategies respectively. The implications of the findings for incorporating these strategies in teaching will be discussed in detail.
This study aimed at investigating L2 attrition of vocabulary in adult Iranian learners of English... more This study aimed at investigating L2 attrition of vocabulary in adult Iranian learners of English at four different proficiency levels. A 40-item vocabulary test measured their productive and receptive vocabulary in and out of context for concrete and abstract nouns with different frequencies. After an interval of 3 months, subjects took the same test. The results revealed that there is no significant difference between the attrition rate of concrete and abstract nouns across different proficiency levels. Moreover, advanced learners who did not participate in classes and had no exposure to English throughout the 3 months interval demonstrated a significant amount of attrition in noncontextualized nouns. Besides, those learners who continued participating in English classes demonstrated attrition in receptive vocabulary but advanced non-continuing learners underwent attrition in productive vocabulary. Additionally, both continuing and noncontinuing learners except advanced ones underwent attrition in low-frequency nouns. These findings suggest that certain words are more vulnerable to attrition and that even learners who are still in the process of learning English are susceptible to it.
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Papers by Hamideh Marefat