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Scientific writers might not inevitably be exact, precise and explicit in expression, eschewing vulnerability to criticism and seeking acceptability form academia. The present study aimed at investigating the frequency, form and function of the multi-objective linguistic and rhetorical device of hedging in the discussion sections of 100 qualitative and quantitative research articles where appropriate expression of scientific claims is highly welcome. As such, the taxonomy proposed by Hyland (1996) was applied in order to identify and classify the various hedge words, followed by an independent-samples t-test to compare the total number of hedging devices. The results revealed a statistically significant difference between qualitative and quantitative research articles with respect to both frequency and form of the employed hedge words, bearing important implications for educational researchers and practitioners in applying appropriate hedging strategies in the academic publishing of scientific texts.

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Within the field of second language acquisition, pronunciation has received relatively little attention. This lack of research can also be seen in the general lack of systematic pedagogical materials for pronunciation training, effectively reinforcing the "marginalized" nature of pronunciation in the second language classroom (Lee, Plonsky & Saito, 2019). Accordingly, the current study investigated the use of synchronous/asynchronous computer-mediated communication as a method of L2 pronunciation instruction for the phonemic and lexical features of pronunciation. Broadly, the current study examined the effectiveness of face-toface, synchronous, and asynchronous voice computer-mediated communication on EFL learners' pronunciation achievement. In so doing, the study utilized an experimental design with 15 participants in the control group and 30 participants in two experimental groups. There were two types of tests in this study: lexical stress test, and phonemic discrimination test. The results showed the positive effect of CMCoriented instruction compared with F-F instruction on EFL learners' pronunciation development; however, not a significant difference was found between the two CMC instructional modes. The Syn group, on the other hand, tended to vary their ABOUT THE AUTHOR Majid Zeinali Nejad is a Ph.D. candidate in TEFL at Islamic Azad University, Maybod branch. His research interests are language assessment, educational linguistics, and language skills.

Research background: Digital multimodal composition has recently received paramount attention in the instruction of second language writing. Gap in knowledge: Although the merits of digital multimodal composition have widely been acknowledged by many scholars, the instruction of English writing has still remained monomodal in Iran.Purpose of the study: The present quasi-experimental study aimed to investigate the differential impacts of the two types of writing (multimodal/monomodal) on English as a Foreign language (EFL) learners’ writing ability in terms of content, communicative achievement, organization, and language across five times.Methods: To this end, two intact groups, including 59 EFL learners at a university in southeastern Iran participated in the study. The participants were assigned into two comparison groups of multimodal (n = 30) and monomodal (n = 29) compositions. The students in the multimodal group composed five digital essays, while the monomodal group used only the textual mode to produce their essays throughout the semester. Following a repeated measures design, the researchers assessed the participants’ writing ability across five times. A mixed between-within ANOVA was conducted to address the research questions.Findings: The results revealed that both groups showed significant improvement in their writing ability across time. Furthermore, the multimodal group outperformed the monomodal group in their writing ability.Value added: The findings suggest that writing instructional practices in Iran should be redefined and updated to accommodate the needs and expectations of the twenty-first century learners.