Books by Is'haaq Akbarian
Lexical availability studies have a great potential to explore and contribute to a better underst... more Lexical availability studies have a great potential to explore and contribute to a better understanding of productive vocabulary knowledge in a second or foreign language. The present study compared the lexical availability output of two groups of EFL learners in order to ascertain whether the different prompts used in the lexical availability task or the different amount of English exposure had any quantitative or qualitative effect on learners' lexical availability output. The study also aimed at determining if there was a relationship between receptive vocabulary knowledge and lexical availability output. A sample of 85 EFL learners, distributed into incoming and outgoing groups, completed a lexical availability task and the New Vocabulary Levels Test (NVLT). Results showed that the prompt and the amount of English instruction influenced the number and quality of learners' word responses. There was also a positive, although moderate, correlation between the scores on lexical availability task and NVLT, predicting vocabulary level to some extent.
Papers by Is'haaq Akbarian
Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2023
This study compares flipped approach with self-regulated flipped approach on EFL learners' colloc... more This study compares flipped approach with self-regulated flipped approach on EFL learners' collocational knowledge. Thirty available EFL students were randomly assigned to two equal experimental groups: flipped and self-regulated flipped. For six weeks, both groups received learning contents outside of class time, and class time was used for interactive activities. However, self-regulating strategies (goal-setting and self-evaluation) were employed to the self-regulated flipped participants to help them schedule their out-of-class time to effectively work on the content before class to interact collaboratively with their peers and teachers in class activities. Three collocation videos were sent to their different WhatsApp groups. A researcher-made test on Adjective + Noun and Verb + Noun collocations served as the pre-and post-test. The time spent on watching collocations was collected through a 'study log'. The results of a mixed between-within subjects analysis of variance revealed that integrating self-regulation into flipped approach enhanced the students' collocational knowledge; their planning strategies and using study time also improved. The study has implications for EFL teachers and material developers.
Language Related Research
The present study compares the effects of the second language (L2) reading and listening on incid... more The present study compares the effects of the second language (L2) reading and listening on incidental vocabulary learning and retention of three dimensions of word knowledge (i.e., part of speech, syntagmatic association, and form-meaning connection) among EFL learners. The relationship between word exposure frequency and vocabulary learning is also examined in reading versus listening. Sixty-three pre-intermediate EFL learners in four intact classes were randomly assigned to four experimental groups based on the number of target word (TW) exposures (i.e., 1, 3, 5, and 7 exposures) they received in treatment texts. The experimental groups read and listened to four texts with 36 TWs. The scores on the immediate and three-week delayed posttests revealed that reading contributed to a greater amount of vocabulary learning and retention in the three dimensions of word knowledge. The results further revealed that an increase in the word exposure frequency had a significant effect on acquiring form-meaning connection through reading, and on three dimensions through listening. Moreover, frequency improved retention gains in both input sources.
Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 2016
Recently, SAMT (the public organization for researching and publishing academic textbooks in huma... more Recently, SAMT (the public organization for researching and publishing academic textbooks in humanities) has witnessed a revival in publishing high-quality books, related to language teaching, under the supervision of Professor Mahmoud-Reza Atai, Kharazmi University, Iran. An instance is Understanding Research in Applied Linguistics. As a primer intended mainly for undergraduates in the field, the volume includes five parts with respective chapters. Besides the necessary content, the chapters also include relevant material in the boxes: 'tasks' and 'exhibits' with further materials from other sources, and 'moment of reflection' with quotes and anecdotes to engage and motivate the readers. These useful accessories, within boxes, provide interesting, funny, illuminating, and relevant materials to the readers. Part I, Introduction and Background, contains four chapters that intend to introduce some basic concepts, or "a general background" (p. 5), Chapter 1, Science and Research, briefly discusses key issues and assumptions of scientific inquiry, clarifies the concept of research, and highlights ethical considerations. Chapter 2, The Research Process, touches upon the steps in conducting a study, e.g., choosing a topic, developing questions, data collection, etc. Chapter 3, Applied Linguistics Research, does not seem to fit in Part I or in any part of the book, however, since it addresses the scope of the field of applied linguistics, rather than a concept in research. The chapter introduces the readers to the different areas of the field in other courses, within which they can find suitable topics for research. Therefore, it should be removed in the following editions.
System, 2020
Lexical availability studies have a great potential to explore and contribute to a better underst... more Lexical availability studies have a great potential to explore and contribute to a better understanding of productive vocabulary knowledge in a second or foreign language. The present study compared the lexical availability output of two groups of EFL learners in order to ascertain whether the different prompts used in the lexical availability task or the different amount of English exposure had any quantitative or qualitative effect on learners’ lexical availability output. The study also aimed at determining if there was a relationship between receptive vocabulary knowledge and lexical availability output. A sample of 85 EFL learners, distributed into incoming and outgoing groups, completed a lexical availability task and the New Vocabulary Levels Test (NVLT). Results showed that the prompt and the amount of English instruction influenced the number and quality of learners’ word responses. There was also a positive, although moderate, correlation between the scores on lexical avai...
Most EFL teachers emphasize vocabulary size at the expense of vocabulary depth, thus neglecting l... more Most EFL teachers emphasize vocabulary size at the expense of vocabulary depth, thus neglecting lexical relations such as collocation, etc. Therefore, the current research intends to study the relationship between collocational competence and general language proficiency along with testing the go-togetherness of quantitative and qualitative aspects of lexical knowledge. To that end, 30 senior EFL students were selected from two Iranian universities through a tailored TOEFL test. They received an MC test of lexical (n + v) collocations. The results showed a relationship between the scores on TOEFL and the collocation test, and between the scores on the collocation test and the vocabulary section of the TOEFL. Therefore, collocational competence is much related to general proficiency and that the learners’ qualitative knowledge accompanies their quantitative knowledge, implying that collocation must be attended to properly at the right time through direct teaching or consciousness-rai...
English for Specific Purposes, 2013
International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2020
International Journal of English Studies, 2015
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2012
All the languages in the world contain a large number of prefabricated or fixed expressions that ... more All the languages in the world contain a large number of prefabricated or fixed expressions that have to be learned and used as they are. They do not often allow any deletion, substitution, or addition of any individual constituent word. One such expression is a proverb that contrarily allows variability to some degree. It carries truth, collective wisdom, and morals concerning everyday experience from generation to generation. This experience is common and the same across the languages. Therefore, a similar counterpart might normally exist for a proverb in translating from one language into another or in compiling proverbs in two languages. However, translators or dictionary compilers seem to ignore the characteristic features making the proverbs distinct from other expressions, suggesting some non-corresponding equivalents in translating or compiling dictionaries in the two languages as far as these features are concerned. Thus, in this study, the researcher considers a sample English-Persian dictionary of proverbs in which the compiler does not observe the characteristic features of proverbs in compiling the English entries, meaning that both proverbs and idioms are collected in a single dictionary on proverbs. Ironically however, very few Persian idioms are provided as equivalents for English proverbs. Based on the findings of the present study, the researcher suggest s that taking the characteristic features of proverbs and idioms into account could have both lexicographic and pedagogical implications.
System, 2012
This study aims to examine a) whether vocabulary knowledge, captured in the Vocabulary Levels Tes... more This study aims to examine a) whether vocabulary knowledge, captured in the Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT), is related to the performance on the five types of reading comprehension items tested in TOEFL, i.e., Guessing Vocabulary, Main Idea, Inference, Reference, and Stated Detail; and b) whether EFL learners with different levels of vocabulary knowledge (low, middle, and high) differ in their performance on these items. 213 participants were tested in this study and their scores were analyzed using stepwise multiple regression tests. Results show that performance in three of the TOEFL test items (Guessing Vocabulary, Stated Detail, and Main Idea) correlate to the overall performance in VLT. For participants at the highest proficiency level, only one test item (Guessing Vocabulary) was found to correlate with their performance in VLT. No correlation was found for low level and middle level groups. This study showed that the performance in the type of test items used is influenced by vocabulary knowledge and vocabulary proficiency level. It suggests that an indiscriminate inclusion of different types of vocabulary tasks in any given lesson irrespective of their vocabulary knowledge level, might not work effectively for learners.
System, 2010
Vocabulary knowledge occupies an important position in language learning. This study investigates... more Vocabulary knowledge occupies an important position in language learning. This study investigates the relationship between vocabulary size and depth for Iranian learners of English for specific/academic purposes (ESP/EAP). The participants include 112 ESP graduate students at a university in Iran. The findings from linear regression analyses show that, overall, VLT (size test) and WAT (depth test) have a great deal of common shared variance for these participants (R 2 ¼ .746). However, when they were divided into low and high proficiency groups, based on whether the participants mastered the most frequent 2000 words in VLT, a substantial amount of shared variance was shown for the low group (R 2 ¼ .464) and a much higher one for the high group (R 2 ¼ .804). The findings suggest that vocabulary size and depth might be accounted for by the same factors, especially as the learners' proficiency increases.
International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2011
Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 2013
Learners differ in the manner of understanding, organizing, and retaining information or experien... more Learners differ in the manner of understanding, organizing, and retaining information or experience. Therefore, this study investigates the relationship between perceptual learning style preferences and depth of vocabulary knowledge of 235 tertiary EFL learners (male = 89, female = 146) from two Iranian universities. The learners' responses on Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire (Reid, 1984) showed that kinesthetic, auditory, visual, and tactile modalities were found to be the major categories while individual and group styles appeared to be minor. Fur
The Canadian Modern Language Review / La revue canadienne des langues vivantes, 2006
© 2006 The Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue canadienne des langues vivantes, 62, 4 (June/... more © 2006 The Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue canadienne des langues vivantes, 62, 4 (June/juin) one focuses on shortcomings in the research. Specifically, and like learning styles, learning strategies have not been well defined. In the final section of this chapter, Dörnyei speaks to this issue by turning to educational psychology, where the term ‘self-regulation’ has replaced ‘learning strategies.’ There are no specific conclusions, only the anticipation that self-regulation research will make great advances in the future. Chapter 7 deals with an amalgam of learner characteristics such as anxiety, creativity, willingness to communicate, self-esteem, and learner beliefs. Dörnyei provides brief summaries of the theory and research related to each topic and suggestions for future research directions. Conclusions and some general thoughts are presented in chapter 8. I recommend that SLA researchers make this book part of their libraries. Chapters 4 and 7 may be of particular interest to Canadian SLA researchers, as a substantial part of the research discussed takes place in the Canadian context. The book is not a literature review but, rather, a clarification of concepts related to individual difference variables. Nevertheless, it is a useful reference tool for providing greater theoretical coherence to future SLA research.
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Books by Is'haaq Akbarian
Papers by Is'haaq Akbarian