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Writing is considered a very complicated task for many EFL students and Iranian EFL learners have many problems in this regard. Present study through a mixed method design, attempted to investigate the effect of Structured Collaborative (SC) pre-writing task versus Unstructured Collaborative (USC) pre-writing task on the writing ability of Iranian EFL students. Among a population of 300 freshmen learners of English language translation of Islamic Azad University, 169 students were selected based on criterion sampling. The criteria for selecting the sample were English language proficiency of the learners, age of the participants and major of their study. On the other hand, 30 teachers were selected based on convenience sampling for the interview part of the study. Then the students were assigned to Unstructured Collaborative (USC), and Structured Collaborative (SC) pre-writing groups. These two clusters were considered as experimental group and as control group. The study was implemented over a period of 16 weeks and involved pre and post-tests. Results of the quantitative data analysis shows that students’ writing proficiency in both groups were improved. However, the outcomes of the study reveals that the (USC) group outperformed the (SC) group. The qualitative data analysis through classroom observation and teachers interview reveals that teachers of (IAU) practiced the collaborative tasks at the three stages of writing in their classes and they also favored and applied the five components of Cooperative Learning (CL). In this study, the researchers took the initiative to make a distinction between structured and unstructured collaborative pre-writing tasks. Consequently, the results of the current study are of benefit for several groups of people, namely language practitioners, university students and educational administrators.

Nowadays in most of the educational systems all over the world many curriculum designers as well as administrators in the ministry of education of different countries recommended a very well-known approach of language teaching and learning namely Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in the English classes. In such a circumstance that CLT has been widely adopted by textbook designers and material writers all over the world, especially in ESL countries, different researches which have been conducted in the ESL/EFL countries shows that still in many cases teachers and students have different challenges and problems in order to apply CLT in their schools. In this study researchers attempted to investigate how CLT understood and implemented in Malaysian secondary schools from the students' point of view. In order to get a clear picture of students' understanding, perceptions and the way that they incorporate CLT in the secondary schools a semi-structured interview was conducted among 30 ESL Malaysian students in Malaysian secondary schools. Results of the study showed different contextual and cultural problems regarding implementation of CLT from the students' viewpoint. There were some mismatches between what is going on in Malaysian secondary schools English classes and what has been assigned to do by the curriculum of the ministry of education of this country. At the end of the study some pedagogical implications have been proposed by the researchers which can help decision makers in the language teaching and learning of this country.

In the world we live in, education is praised as a base for training and nurturing future generations and teaching is considered as a valuable profession through which future generations are flourished. The main components of each educational system must work well in order to create a successful system and achieve the desired results. Teachers are considered as one of the key determinant factors and active decision-makers of any educational system. Learners are also taken into account as one of the main elements of the system who are instructed to reach some educational goals. Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), with high potential for English teaching and learning, is regarded as a supplementary technique which helps the teachers to develop outstanding skills like critical thinking, self-efficacy, and rapport which are necessary to bring on success and achievement to the education and to support learners to achieve excellence in their performance. The article first presents a brief history and definition of NLP. Then it is followed by some information about the main pillars of neuro-linguistic programming. The discussion then turns to understanding some of the implications of NLP for English language teachers and learners and its potential for educational success.

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