The current paper examines the instructional implications of Vygotsky's (1978) seminal notion of Zone of Proximal Development, originally developed to account for the learning potential of children, and investigates ZPD applications to the concept of teacher professional development. Specific attempt has been made to see how a number of assets at the teacher's disposal namely diary writing, peer and mentor collaboration, action research, practicum and TESOL discourse can serve as scaffolders to affect the progression of ZPD in language teachers. The contributions of ZPD to the concepts of scaffolding and dynamic assessment (DA) are explored extensively and the controversial issues are addressed. There is a consensus that the notion of the zone of proximal development and socio-cultural theory of mind based on Vygotsky's ideas are at the heart of the notion of scaffolding .This study highlights the limitations of the metaphor of scaffolding in interpreting the zone of proximal development. The concept of ZPD, as seen through the approach of DA, offers an operational view of the learners' actual level of development and a measure of emerging and imminent development. Utilizing the concept of ZPD, DA unites traditional assessment, instruction, intervention, and remediation. Though the concept of ZPD provides an attractive metaphor for designing instruction and analyzing learning, it poses a real challenge when put into practice. The present research highlights a procedure to provide a more tangible account of ZPD, but research on this area is scanty and further explorations and investigations are needed to reflect the implications of ZPD in instructional context.

According to many research findings, the presence of discourse markers (DMs) enhances readers' comprehension of the texts they read. However, there is a paucity of research on the relationship between knowledge of DMs and reading comprehension (RC) and the present study explores the relationship between them. Knowledge of DMs is measured through examining the subjects' recognition of DMs. To carry out the research, 86 Iranian sophomores majoring in English took a test of DMs alongside a RC test. The correlation between their scores on the two tests was calculated using the software SPSS. The analysis revealed that there is high correlation between the students' knowledge of DMs (i.e., their correct recognition of discourse markers) and their reading comprehension (rxy = .71). Moreover, high correlation carries a strong regression power and scores on a test of DMs could be a good indicator of the test takers' reading ability.

Abstract-The present study investigated the effect of controlling speech rate on listening comprehension of Iranian students majoring in English. It was somehow the application of Krashen's 'input hypothesis '(1985). There were two homogeneous groups each comprising 40 students taking 'Oral Translation 3'. In the experimental group there were 28 females and 12 males, in the control group there were 30 females and 10 males. The age of the subjects ranged from 22-28.The selected materials was authentic American English spoken by fluent native speakers in the programs such as 'Opera' and 'Dr. Phill'. The students were worked with in a well equipped language laboratory. The experimental group had the advantage of modified speech through Ulead software version 11. The control group just enjoyed the possibility of a five time repetition for each individual sentence. At the end two reliable and valid M.C. listening comprehension and cloze tests were prepared from the covered materials and administered to them. The cloze test was based on the exact word version (Chaudron, 1986). Based on the results of this study it was concluded that there were no significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental and control groups on the multiple choice and cloze tests at .05 level of significance. This implies that first, the experimental group did not do any better than the control group and second, the students were not able to apply the benefits of slowing down the speech to authentic texts and for speeches delivered at a normal rate.

approach to the translations of the meaning of the Quran into. Find all books from M. M. Khatib-The Bounteous Koran: A Translation of Meaning and Commentary. At find-more-books.com you can find used, antique and The Bounteous Koran: A Translation of Meaning and Commentary. Shop for The Bounteous Koran by M. M. Khatib including information and reviews. The Bounteous Koran: A Translation of Meaning and Commentary. The Bounteous Koran A Translation of Meaning and Commentary. The translation presented by Arthur J.Arberry in 1955, entitled The Koran and most recent translation is presented by M.M. Khatib entitled The Bounteous Koran,. Therefore, how can this work be a translation of meaning and commentary