This study investigates the direct and/or indirect effects of some cognitive (working memory capacity) and affective (writing anxiety and writing self-efficacy) variables on the complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) of second language (L2) learners' writings. To achieve this goal, 232 upperintermediate English learners performed an automated version of a working memory capacity task (A-OSPAN) and a timed narrative writing task in L2. Furthermore, participants were asked to complete two self-report questionnaires. The proposed path model adequately fitted the data, and results of path analyses indicated the following: All three measures of L2 writing were directly predicted by learners' writing self-efficacy; writing selfefficacy affected CAF indirectly through writing anxiety; the direct paths from writing anxiety to all measures of L2 writing were negatively significant; higher working memory spans directly predicted higher L2 writing scores regarding complexity and fluency, but negatively affected learners' accuracy scores. Based on these findings, the author discusses techniques for enhancing learners' writing self-efficacy, reducing their anxiety, and helping them make efficient use of working memory resources.

This study examined the relationship between EFL learners' attributions for success and failure in learning a foreign language and their achievement in foreign language classes. To this end, the Causal Dimension Scale (CDS-II), and the Language Achievement Attribution Scale (LAAS) were administered to 209 EFL learners studying at English language institutes in Mashhad, a city in north-eastern Iran. Six causal attributions (ability, effort, task difficulty, mood, luck, and teacher) together with four attributional properties (locus of causality, stability, personal control, and external control) were compared with learners' English language achievement. To see whether there is any significant relationship between learners' attributions and their English language achievement, Pearson product-moment correlation was applied to the data. The results showed significant correlations between LAAS as well as CDS-II subscales and learners' final scores. Results from Regression Analysis (using LAAS) revealed that effort attribution was the best predictor for achievement, indicating that students who attributed the outcome of their test to effort received higher grades on the final exam. Moreover, results from Regression Analysis (using CDS-II) indicated that only stable and personal attributions significantly predicted students' foreign language achievement. Finally, statistical results were discussed, and implications for English language teaching were suggested.

The relationship between social and cultural capital and academic achievement was explored in this study by administering the Social and Cultural Capital Questionnaire (SCCQ) to 320 undergraduate students majoring in English language, and correlating the respective subscales with the learners' university GPA. All five factors of SCCQ were found to be correlated significantly with the learners' GPA. Moreover, having conducted the regression analysis, the researchers found out that literacy and cultural competence were predictive of higher GPA. The researchers then entered parents' educational levels into the regression model. The results of this analysis indicated that, together with literacy, mother's educational level predicted 23% of the variances in learners' GPA. However, father's educational level was not a good predictor of academic achievement. The implications of the results were discussed within a foreign language context and suggestions were made for future research. Keywords: Academic achievement, Parental education, University GPA, Social and cultural capital, Foreign language context 1. Introduction One of the greatest concerns of educational sociology has been to see whether students' socio-economic backgrounds would bear any relationship to the measures of achievement. The concepts of cultural and social capital are increasingly used to explain differential academic achievement in developed as well as developing nations (e.g., Eng, 2009;Israel & Beaulieu, 2004; Merenluoto, 2009; Sandefur, Meier, & Hernandez, 1999). However, it seems that, the operationalisation of these concepts has not yet received substantial attention. It was not until recently that researchers have set about designing scales for the measurement of social and cultural capital. The first attempts were made by Pishghadam, Noghani, and Zabihi (2011) who designed and validated a 42-item questionnaire of social and cultural capital, and by Khodadady and Zabihi (In press) who have validated a revised version of the same scale comprising 35 items. There is an accord among researchers, in the area of education, on the necessity of recognizing the structure of relations among social and educational institutions by examining how individuals' different social and cultural experiences affect their educational outcomes (Eng, 2009; Kim & Schneider, 2005; Prado, 2009; Schlee, Mullis, & Shriner, 2009; Tramonte & Willms, 2010). Research in the domain of general education has shown that there is a high association between social and cultural capital and academic achievement (De Graaf, De Graaf, & Kraaykamp, 2000; Kim & Schneider, 2005; Prado, 2009). It means that those who have more access to these two types of capital are more successful in educational attainment. To our best knowledge, no study has been done to date to explore the relationship between social and cultural capital and university EFL students' academic achievement. Thus in this paper, we have examined the relationship between social and cultural capital and university G...

Since menopausal women spend almost one-third of their long life in this situation, it can be useful to recognize the causes of these disorders in women and their influences on their families. We can also increase their motivation and self-efficacy in order to improve their quality of life.

The present study was conducted to construct and validate a questionnaire of social and cultural capital in the foreign language context of Iran. To this end, a questionnaire was designed by picking up the most frequently-used indicators of social and cultural capital. The Factorability of the intercorrelation matrix was measured by two tests: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test of Sampling Adequacy (KMO) and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity. The results obtained from the two tests revealed that the factor model was appropriate. To validate the questionnaire, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was performed. The application of the Principle Component Analysis to the participants' responses resulted in 14 extracted factors accounting for 69% of the variance. The results obtained from the Scree Test indicated that a five-factor solution might provide a more parsimonious grouping of the items in the questionnaire. The rotated component matrix indicated the variables loaded on each factor so that the researchers came up with the new factors, i.e., social competence, social solidarity, literacy, cultural competence, and extraversion. Finally, statistical results were discussed and suggestions were made for future research.

The underlying assumption of recent ideas of applied ELT, life syllabus and educational language teaching is that ELT professionals should center their attention on the enhancement of learners' life skills, say, critical thinking prior to language-related skills. Despite the high premium placed on enhancing the critical thinking abilities in educational policies, and granted that English language classes have unique potentials for promoting learners' life skills such as critical thinking, it seems that ELT teachers are lacking in a true understanding of what critical thinking really means and whether or not it should be incorporated into the ELT curriculum. In the present study, EFL teachers in Iran were surveyed and interviewed regarding such a necessity. The first phase involved the collection of quantitative data via the administration of a short scale comprising Likert-style questions to Iranian EFL teachers (N = 106). Analysis of the questionnaire results revealed that EFL teachers tended to express strong support for the incorporation of critical thinking into the ELT curriculum. Follow-up face-to-face interviews were carried out with a subsample (N = 5) selected from Phase 1 participants. The interview results added more plausibility to the survey results. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed.

As a technique for discovering and evaluating information within texts, critical reading might be a panacea for those learners whose voices and choices are muted and ignored. A crucial question is thus to ask whether and to what extent popular reading textbooks meet the criteria for the development of critical reading. To this end, the present article seeks to identify and investigate the presence of those items within reading textbooks which help promote critical reading. Based on the literature on critical thinking, the cornerstone of critical reading, a checklist is provided whose items are indicator of whether a particular text promotes critical reading or not. Moreover, it is recognized that autonomy and engagement are prerequisites for enhancement of critical reading and that they can be achieved through strategy instruction and task-based instruction, respectively. Three reading textbooks (Select Readings: Upper-intermediate, Active Skills for Reading: Book 4, and Mosaic Reading 2) are leveled against three criteria: Critical thinking items, the use of appropriate tasks, and strategic instruction. The results indicate that these textbooks meet the first criterion to some extent, but seriously lack the last two ones.

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