The distance between language learners' culture and the culture of the target language community is considered to play a crucial role in determining the level of pragmatic comprehension. In this respect, a study was conducted over 30 German students, perceived as culturally close to the British, and 30 South Korean students, perceived as culturally distant from the British, studying English as a Foreign Language at a university in their home countries. Pragmatic comprehension ability was assessed through a 24-item multiple choice pragmatic comprehension test. The findings suggested the crucial role of cultural distance in pragmatic comprehension ability, that is, a shorter distance from the culture of the target language community led to a higher level of pragmatic comprehension. The pedagogical implications of the findings suggested the provision of opportunities for the students of English as a Foreign Language to be exposed to the culture of the target language community through cultural instruction, educational sojourn, or telecollaborative partnership.

The present study aimed at exploring the effect of a Strategies-Based Instruction (SBI) on improving male and female students' reading comprehension ability in an ESP context. The main assumption was that SBI would be more successful in developing reading comprehension of females compared to male students through using effective strategies and skills delivered in SBI method. The participants, within the age range of 18-22, included 24 male and 26 female students who were an intact experimental group. Following a pretest, treatment (15 weeks, 2 sessions per week), and a posttest, the obtained data was analyzed using ANOVA to examine the effects of the independent variables, namely, method of instruction and gender. The results of the analysis showed that although the teaching intervention had a significant effect on students' reading comprehension, gender’s effect was not significant. The findings are discussed in relation to effective reading comprehension instruction through the use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies in ESP teaching contexts.

Language learners' awareness of target language pragmatic features is influenced by individual difference variables, the least explored one being emotional intelligence. To investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and pragmatic awareness, the current study was conducted over 120 Iranian senior undergraduates of English as a Foreign Language at a university in Iran. Pragmatic awareness was measured through a 12-scenario contextualized pragmatic judgment task. Emotional intelligence was also measured through the EQ-i. The results of the Pearson correlation revealed a strong positive relationship between emotional intelligence and pragmatic awareness. The pedagogical implications of the findings suggested incorporation of emotion-driven authentic materials in English language classes to invoke emotional intelligence in language learners.

This study intended to explore the the effect of a learning-centered reading instruction on improving undergraduate students' reading comprehension ability in university context of Iran. Based on a pedagogical framework driven from Hutchinson and Waters' learning-centered approach, some useful techniques were applied to develop a specific English reading instruction. The participants, within the age range of 18-22, included 50 students who were an intact experimental group. Following a pretest, treatment (15 weeks, 2 sessions per week), and a posttest, the obtained data was analyzed using t-test to examine the effect of the independent variable, namely, method of instruction. The results of the analysis showed that the teaching intervention had a significant effect on students' reading comprehension. The findings are discussed in relation to effective reading comprehension instruction through the use of necessary techniques in English teaching contexts.