Listening has long been recognized as a challenging skill for teachers, students, and researchers working within the English as a Second Language (ESL)/English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. Moreover, up until the recent past, it was the least researched of the four language skills in second language acquisition studies. One of the issues regarding the skill that has not been sufficiently investigated is EFL teachers’ views on listening difficulties their students face. This study, therefore, investigates 208 teachers’ views on listening difficulties among Iranian EFL learners. A mixed-methods approach, integrating a questionnaire and an interview, was employed. Results from the questionnaire suggested that the top 10 identified difficulties ranged from practical issues such as poor-quality audio materials to content-based impediments such as unfamiliar topics. Furthermore, analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests revealed that there was no significant relationship between either the teachers’ educational or professional background and the gravity of the difficulties they reported. Among different components of the questionnaire, the input and process components were highly correlated, indicating that learners’ problems with input perception could lead to problems in listening comprehension. Moreover, based on the results of the interviews, it was concluded that the teachers believed that the learners’ listening difficulties belonged to three categories, namely, pronunciation-based, individual characteristics–based, and content-based difficulties. This study suggests that overcoming listening difficulties without listening strategies, though not impossible, seems to be much more time consuming. Therefore, there are many benefits to both students and teachers if some class time is dedicated to acquaint learners with the strategies.

Learning a second language (L2) is analogous to a journey replete with setbacks and discouragements. Given the pivotal role of communication in L2 learning, researchers have set out to identify factors that may influence L2 learners’ willingness to communicate (L2 WTC). To this end, the present comparative study attempts to investigate the role of the L2 motivational self-system and grit in learners’ L2 WTC in two different educational settings: public schools and private language institutes. L2 motivational self-system includes ideal L2 self (ILS) and ought-to L2self (OLS). Grit also comprises two lower-order constructs: perseverance of effort (POE) and consistency of interest (COI), which are examined separately in this study. The data collected through an online survey from 308 participants were analyzed using the Mann Whitney u-test, Spearman’s rho, and multiple regression analysis. The results revealed a stronger ILS, POE, and a higher level of WTC among language institute learners. In contrast, public school students showed stronger OLS and lower levels of WTC. Moreover, unlike its counterpart, COI did not display a significant correlation or predictive power with/over L2 WTC in either context. The findings suggest that low levels of ILS and lack of POE can lead to lower levels of L2 WTC.

Plagiarism has been on the rise amongst university students in recent decades. This study puts university teachers in the spotlight and investigates their role in raising students' awareness about plagiarism. To that end, plagiarism policies in 207 Iranian university TEFL teachers' syllabuses were analyzed. The researchers analyzed the syllabuses to find out if they contain a plagiarism policy, and if so, how the term is defined; whether they approach the issue of plagiarism directly; if they offer students any guidelines on how to avoid plagiarism; and if the consequences of committing plagiarism are specified. The results indicated that the majority of the syllabuses (83. 6%) lacked a plagiarism policy and those that did include a policy were often vague in their definition of the phenomenon. However, when there was a plagiarism policy in the syllabuses, the teachers tried to address the issue directly half of the time and offered students brief guidelines on how to avoid plagiaristic behavior, which was a small step in the right direction. It is recommended that other higher education institutions make it obligatory for their academic staff to include a plagiarism policy in their syllabuses if they wish to cultivate academic integrity in students.

This study investigates the characteristics of an effective university professor based on the evaluations made by students in different majors at a state university in Iran. Two-hundred forty BA, MA, and Ph.D. students’ evaluations of their teachers were selected via purposive sampling. The evaluations were then content analyzed to determine which characteristics build the profile of an effective teacher in the students’ eyes. The results confirmed the findings of many previous studies that a good university professor needs to possess certain essential qualities. However, the profile of an effective university professor, at least the importance of the qualities that make up this profile, was rather different. More specifically, the most important criterion for evaluating the teachers was their assessment policies and practices. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the characteristics of an effective professor are dynamic and open to contextual, cultural and temporal influences. In light of the results of this study, it is recommended that higher education institutions put in place programs that educate teachers about a more learner-centered pedagogy to maximize not only their own teaching efficacy but also their students’ motivation and learning.

In this interview Professor Farzad Sharifian, a pioneer of Cultural Linguistics, gives a concise history of this relatively new field, which he introduces as a multidisciplinary area of research that examines the intricate relationship between language and cultural conceptualizations. Prof. Sharifian asserts this flourishing field of research can be applied in areas such as intercultural communication, cross-cultural pragmatics, language and politics, and World Englishes. He believes Cultural Linguistics has important implications for the practice of English Language Teaching (ELT) too, especially for Teaching English as an International Language (TEIL). Professor Sharifian also touches on the notion of "metacultural competence" and how new communication technology can help language learners develop that competence. He concludes by saying that the English as an International Language and World Englishes paradigms require us to revisit how we define and assess language proficiency and that intercultural communication skills should constitute the heart of the new definitions and assessment procedures.