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The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of connectivism instructional method in comparison with grammar-translation method on academic engagement among students in EFL. The current study was a 2 (instructional methods)*2 (gender) quasi-experimental design with pre-post-test. Statistical population included all the high school students in grade 3 from Ramhormoz city in Iran. Participants included students in four classes that were selected by available sampling method and then completed the Academic Engagement Questionnaire (2013). The results showed the connectivism instructional method was significantly more effective than grammartranslation method. Based on the results of this research, it is concluded that connectivism instructional method provide unique opportunities for engaging of students by managing of available khowledge and pay attention to the diversity. Accordingly, this research suggests the application of connectivism instructional method in order to increase English academic engagement as a foreign language for the students.

George Siemens and Stephen Downes developed a theory for the digital age, called connectivism, denouncing boundaries of behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Connectivism is the thesis that knowledge is distributed across a network of connections, and therefore that learning consists of the ability to construct and traverse those networks. An account of connectivism is therefore necessarily preceded by an account of networks. Current developments with technology and social software are significantly altering: (a) how learners access information and knowledge, and (b) how learners dialogue with the instructor and each other. Both of these domains (access and interaction) have previously been largely under the control of the teacher or instructor. Since half of what is known today was not known 10 years ago, there should be more researches about the use, benefits and drawbacks of connectivism in the cotext of formal and informal lerning. Although there is not a large amount of research currently available on the application of connectivism in education, some possible applications, such as: social networking, personal learning environments and open courseware are explained.

What is meant by the words perfectionism? Perfectionism is not necessarily about being perfect. It is the relentless striving for extremely high standards that are personally demanding. Perfectionists are divided into two types, adaptive and maladaptive. It has been found that both adaptive and maladaptive perfectionists have high personal standards, but failing to meet those standards is more stressful for the latter than for the former. Perfectionism is often mistaken for being perfect or doing something perfectly. This review defines perfectionism and identifies both the helpful and the unhelpful aspects of being a perfectionist, and determines in what ways you might be a perfectionist.

The importance of elf-efficacy is in its effect on many human functions. Numerous studies have shown that by teaching different communication skills, self-efficacy can be improved. Assertiveness is one of these skills. Accordingly, the purpose of the current research was to investigate the effectiveness of assertiveness training program on increasing the self-efficacy of students. Method: This study was a semi-experimental research with pretest-posttest control group design. The population included all the 7 th grade students of Shiraz in the academic year 2016-2017. A random sample of 80 students (40 boys and 40 girls) was selected by multi-stage clustering sampling. Then 20 students of each sex were randomly selected and assigned to either the experimental or the control group. In such a way that at the end 4 groups were formed (i.e. 20 girls in the experimental group, 20 girls in the control group, 20 boys in the experimental group, and 20 boys in the control group). The experimental groups underwent eight 90-min sessions of intervention (assertiveness training). Data were collected by General Self-Efficacy Scale (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995) and Assertion Inventory (Gambrill & Richey, 1975). ANCOVA was used for analyzing the data. Results: Findings showed that assertiveness training was effective in increasing the self-efficacy (F=9, P <0.004) and assertiveness (F=50.02, P <0.0001) of the experimental group. No significant difference was found between the girls and the boys in terms of self-efficacy and assertiveness. Conclusion: The present research showed that the cognitive changes caused by assertiveness training and the exercise of "saying no" can improve students' self-efficacy and assertiveness. Research implications for the educational systems to increase the student's capabilities are discussed in this paper.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of connectivism instructional method in comparison with communicative language teaching method on academic self-efficacy and task value among students in EFL. The current study was a 2 (instructional methods)*2 (genders) factorial design with pre-post-test. Statistical population included all high school students in grade 3 from Ramhormoz city in Iran. Participants included students in four classes that were selected by available sampling method and then completed the motivational beliefs subscale of MSLQ (1991). The results showed the connectivism instructional method was significantly more effective than communicative language teaching method. Based on the results of this research, it is concluded that connectivism instructional method provide unique opportunities for increasing the self-efficacy and task value of students by increasing social intractions and diversity for choosing tasks. Accordingly, this research suggests the application of connectivism instructional method in order to increase academic self-efficacy and task value in EFL classrooms for the students.