Iranian Journal of Learning and Memory

Abstract Objectives: Task-based speaking courses have gained prominence in language education as an effective approach to enhancing communication skills and learner engagement. By focusing on tasks and interactions, these courses not only promote language proficiency but also foster collaboration among students. The present study was to find whether motivation and anxiety predicted the Iranian EFL learners’ progress in task-based speaking courses.
Methods: A total number of 120 intermediate Iranian EFL learners of Safir-e-Andisheh Language Institute in Isfahan, Iran, were selected by convenience sampling following the administration of the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT). Afterward, a ten-session task-based speaking training was conducted using the speaking tasks presented in American English File-Book 2. The data were collected using the Motivation in Foreign-Language Learning Questionnaire, the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale, and a speaking test. A speaking assessment rubric, comprising vocabulary, grammar, intonation, pronunciation, and fluency, was used to assess speaking on a scale of 1-10. The obtained data were analyzed by standard multiple regression.
Results: The findings revealed that interest in foreign languages, pragmatic benefits, and English for professional reputation predicted the speaking progress of EFL learners; furthermore, communication apprehension and fear of negative evaluation significantly predicted the speaking progress of EFL learners.
Conclusion: In conclusion, the study highlights the significant role of both motivation and anxiety in predicting the progress of Iranian EFL learners in task-based speaking courses. By understanding these factors, educators can better design programs that enhance learner engagement and improve speaking proficiency.

Abstract Objective: The aim of the present study was to introduce and validate a tool for measuring students' individual agency.
Method: The research was descriptive-correlational. The statistical population included 1364 student-teachers at Farhangian University, Kurdistan Province. A sample of 271 students was selected using systematic random sampling. Data was collected using the Individual Resources subscale of the Student Agency Scale (Jääskelä et al., 2017). The subscale has 28 items spread across four dimensions: participation activity, interest and motivation, self-efficacy, and competence beliefs. The questionnaire was translated into Persian, and semantic consistency with the original version was confirmed using the back-translation method. Subsequently, the face validity of tool was verified based on expert evaluations. Data analysis involved first- and second-order confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validity, Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability, and a one-sample t-test. Data analysis software included SPSS19 and Amos23.
Results: The first-order factor analysis results indicated that the questionnaire items (after removing three items) could appropriately describe the latent variables. The second-order factor analysis results also revealed that the questionnaire items could be reduced to four components: activity engagement, interest and motivation, self-efficacy, and competence beliefs (RMSEA: .047; CFI: .93). The average variance extracted was 0.55, confirming convergent validity. The overall Cronbach's alpha was 0.87, and the Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the subscales ranged from 0.64 to 0.82. The composite reliability was 0.82. Results also indicated a high level of individual agency among student-teachers at Farhangian University (p < .05).

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated a rapid shift to online learning, making the community of inquiry (COI) framework increasingly relevant for creating meaningful and effective online learning experiences. However, the impact of COI presences (i.e., teaching, social, and cognitive presence) on students' learning outcomes has been inconsistent in the literature, and a recent meta-analysis has identified a publication bias in this relationship suggesting the need for further investigation. This study aimed to enhance our understanding of how the COI presence influences college students' learning outcomes and whether it has a mediating role in the effect of self-efficacy and motivation on e-learner’s academic achievement. In this cross-sectional study, using a correlational research design, among all graduate students studying in online courses, a total of 269 graduate students were selected from online programs in seven public universities in Iran between April 2022 and June 2023, to be the sample of the study. The data were obtained from the answers to the community of inquiry (COI) scale, self- efficacy scale, academic motivation scale and students’ last semester grade point average. To examine the questions of the study, a path analysis was applied whose results showed that motivation and self-efficacy affected the community of inquiry positively (p<0.000). Also, the community of inquiry affected learning performance positively (p<0.000). The outcomes can provide significant theoretical and practical contributions to the key stakeholders to design a satisfying and successful online curriculum for the post-COVID-19 era and offer valuable insights into the design of productive online learning communities.

Abstract The aim of the research was the effect of educational digital games on creativity, motivation and academic progress in the mathematics lesson of the first elementary school students. The research method is a semi-experimental type of pre-test-post-test with control group, And the statistical population included all the students of the first grade of elementary school in Islam-Shahr city. The sample size consisted of 72 people (36 people in the experimental group and 36 people in the control group) who were selected by the available method. The measurement tools included the Torrance Form A creativity test, the mathematical motivation questionnaire, and tests to measure knowledge, attitude and mathematical skills. The reliability of each tool was obtained as 0.80, 0.709, 0.82, 0.94 and 0.85 respectively. The experimental variable was implemented in three steps "group game", "exploration" and "individual game" in 12 sessions for the experimental group.Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics such as Kolmogorov-Smironov, Levin and Box test and multivariate covariance analysis were used for data analysis. The results showed; Education using digital educational games has been effective on creativity (fluidity component), mathematical motivation (desire, avoidance) and academic progress (knowledge, attitude and skill) of students. And there was a significant relationship between these variables; However, no significant difference was observed between the two experimental and control groups in the components of expansion, flexibility and innovation related to the variable of creativity.

Abstract The present study aimed to investigate the association between academic self-actualization, self-regulation, and classroom socio-psychological climate with students' academic motivation with the mediation of achievement emotions in high school students. The statistical population of this cross-sectional correlational study consisted of all high school students in Tehran in 2019, with 485 students selected using multistage cluster sampling. The research instruments included the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS), Self-Actualization Scale (SAS), Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), Classroom Socio-psychological climate, and Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ). Data were analyzed by structural equation modeling (SEM) in SPSS and Lisrel software. The results showed that academic self-actualization, achievement emotions, and classroom socio-psychological climate had a positive association with academic motivation in the high school students (p<0.01). Moreover, there was a significant association between self-regulation and academic motivation among the students (p<0.01). The findings indicated that academic self-actualization, self-regulation, and classroom socio-psychological climate had an effect on students' academic motivation, with achievement emotions acting as a mediator (p<0.01).

Abstract Affective considerations in language testing have occupied an outstanding place in education (Shohamy, 1982). Despite the importance of this issue, it appears that the test-takers' perceptions regarding motivation, self-efficacy beliefs and feelings in addition to their possible relationships have not been investigated in much detail.  To narrow the gap, the primary aims of this paper were to explore Iranian non-English PhD students’ perceptions about motivation, self-efficacy beliefs and feelings. This paper also sought to investigate the association between motivation and self-efficacy beliefs, motivation and feelings, as well as self-efficacy beliefs and feelings. To collect the data, a Persian researcher-made questionnaire entitled "psychological consequences questionnaire" constructed and validated by Rezaeian, Seyyedrezaei, Barani, and Seyyedrezaei, (2020) was utilized. To ensure reliability, a pilot study was conducted on 60 participants; subsequently, the questionnaire was distributed among 252 students throughout Iran by online administration. The results of descriptive statistics using SPSS displayed that participants were intrinsically motivated to be prepared for this English Proficiency Test (EPT). Furthermore, participants showed the low level of self-efficacy beliefs towards their achievement in the test with high level of motivation. The results also illustrated a high amount of stress, test anxiety, hopeless, nervousness, families' stress or tension, amotivation as well as university dropout rate among participants. Spearman results confirmed that there was a significant correlation between motivation and self-efficacy beliefs, motivation and feelings, in addition to self-efficacy beliefs and feelings. Finally, the results were discussed and implications of the study were presented.

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of using motivation strategies on EFL teachers’ motivation and reflective teaching.  In order to do this, 30 Iranian female EFL teachers who were the researcher’s colleagues and expressed their willingness to participate in this study were selected. The group filled out a reflective teaching questionnaire by Akbari, Behzadpour, and Dadvand (2010) and motivation strategies questionnairre by Chastain (1988) as the pretest at the outset of the study and subsequently sat for a workshop where the researcher introduced motivation strategies and techniques to them. Following the end of the workshop, the teachers went back to their routine teaching program for 15 sessions and the researcher administered the reflectivity questionnaire and motivation strategies questionnaire as the posttest to the 30 teachers after those 15 sessions. In order to test the null hypotheses, that is to check any significant difference in the degree of the reflective teaching and motivation of the group prior to and after the treatment, a paired samples t-test was conducted in this research. The results revealed that there was a significant difference between the participants’ scores on the motivation pretest and posttest; favoring the posttest. Also, there was a significant difference between the participants’ scores on the reflective teaching pretest and posttest, favoring the posttest. Therefore, the results showed that motivation strategies significantly affect the teachers’ motivation and reflective teaching.