No abstract

No abstract

Abstract-The role of feedback on writing involves complex issues and needs to be considered within the total context in which the feedback is given. The reason studies examining feedback effects are so inconsistent may be a function of the fact that these studies consider feedback issue from a single perspective. To deal with this problem, feedback is first defined from different perspectives, then different aspects of feedback are discussed and after that a discussion of the factors that affect the influence of feedback on second language writing follows and finally a model where all the factors interact to influence feedback practices in second langue writing is presented.

It is already known that for being effective readers we need explicit strategy training and it is generally agreed that well-developed reading comprehension ability is the key to students' academic success .This comprehension ability is not a passive state which one possesses, but it is an active mental process which needs to be nurtured and improved. The study aims to explore the effectiveness of using summarization strategies makes any significant difference in EFL learners' level of comprehending English texts. It also aims to examine whether using summarization strategies at undergraduate level affect significantly the performance of male and female students' comprehension of texts. The data for this study were collected through two comprehension tests and a personal questionnaire from 40 English students who study at one of Payam Noor University branches in Isfahan. The data were analyzed descriptively and also inferentially. The overall findings of the study which enjoys pretest-posttest design indicated that after receiving summarization strategies training participants outperformed in posttest and there was not a significant difference between performance of female and male participants. The findings of the present study would help teachers and teacher trainers to construct and implement summarization strategies in EFL classes more effectively.

English for specific purposes (ESP), the popular catchphrase of presently English language teaching programs, has been investigated from different perspectives. However, there have been occasional forays in to the role of ESP practitioner as one of the most distinctive features in the literature. In addition to fulfilling the usual role of a language teacher, ESP practitioner may be required to deal with administrative, personnel, cross-cultural, interdisciplinary, curricular, and pedagogical issues that may be unfamiliar to general English teachers (Hutchinson & Waters 1990; Koh 1988; Robinson 1991; Waters 1994). Consequently, those practitioners who have passed the thorny way of professionalization would be great assets for the teachers who are new to the ESP programs. Moreover, lack of an independent disciplinary status for ESP worsens the issue. Drawing on the interview data and observational evidence, present study investigates the route of professionalization of two Iranian ESP teachers in the particular context of Petroleum University of Technology (PUT) in Ahwaz. What they say are critically analyzed in the context and emerging guidelines are categorized accordingly. It is hoped that findings grounded minimally in this particular ESP context will act as broad guidelines that bestow a more academic image to the general English teacher-ESP teacher change in the present ‘no man land’ of Iranian ESP teaching programs.