Journal of Language and Translation Studies
Year:2018 | Volume:51 | Issue:2 (36) |Papers Count:6

"Capital" is an important sociological concept, which shows how the objective structures of any given society (social rules, norms, roles, institutions, and cultural instruments) can influence the mental structures of individuals and their social behaviors. The most important capitals are economic, cultural, social, and natural capitals that can influence the learners’ motivation, attention, behavior, attitudes, and beliefs. Since the senses can be considered as a gateway to understanding the linguistic community and due to a close connection between them and the level of learner's emotions, the present study aimed to introduce emo-sensory capital and investigate its relationship with other forms of capitals in successful language learning. The results showed that using social, cultural, and natural capitals will increase the emo-sensory-capital in learners, which consequently leads to inter-subjectivity and facilitates learning. Therefore, instructors can use such capitals to engage the learners’ senses more deeply and increase their positive emotions, attention, and motivation. It is assumed that in this way, the content will be internalized and the learner will be more inclined to be more engaged in an active communication.

The international circulation of translation has a core-periphery structure, where literary texts travel mostly from the core to the periphery. The unequal literary translation flows between linguistic groups result from the position a linguisitc group occupies at world level. While various studies have attempted to examine this unequal flow of translation from the central languages to the peripheral ones, few have dealt with the flows in the opposite direction. This study aimed to examine the literary translation flow from Persian to Russian as a semi-central language with a time series approach. This approach is sophisticated enough to reveal hidden patterns in a timed series of data. The data which were derived from the Index Translationum produced by UNESCO, were related to a time span of 30 years, starting in 1979 and ending in 2010. The total number of books translated from Persian to Russian was about 210. Time series analysis revealed a general downward trend in the number of books translated from Persian to Russian over the time span. Another downward trend was found in 1990s, and a cyclical component emerged between 2003 and 2009. A decline in the cultural relations between two countries as a result of the Iranian Revolution and adopting an anti-imperialism view towards Russia, the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 with its socioeconomic consequences, the revival of the Russian literary tradition, and having access to the Western literary movements could be responsible for the downward trends in the data. The cyclical pattern can be attributed to Russia’ s Eurasian perspective in the late 1990s and also the constructive diplomatic relations with other states during the presidency of Khatami.

This study investigated the relationship between the Iranian EFL learners’ performance in the reading subsection of TOEFL and their awareness of metacognitive reading strategies and test-taking strategies. Sixty-two students majoring in teaching English and English literature were randomly selected from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Hakim Sabzevari University, and Imam Reza International University. To collect data, the following instruments were employed: Nelson English proficiency test (form 300D), the reading subsection of a TOEFL form 0401, the metacognitive awareness of reading strategy inventory (MARSI), and a test-taking strategy questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and independent sample t test utilizing SPSS (version 19). The results showed a negative correlation between test-taking strategies and the students’ scores in the reading subsection of TOEFL (r =-0. 13), and a low correlation between MARSI and the reading subsection of TOEFL (r = 0. 17). However, the correlation between Nelson proficiency test and the students’ scores in the reading subsection of TOEFL was significant (r = 0. 74, p < 0. 001). Moreover, the results showed that in test-taking strategies questionnaire, the students employed Reasoning subskill, Strategies for Vocabulary subskill, Guessing subskill, and Personal Knowledge and Experience subskill in order. Also, the results revealed that from the MARSI subskills, the students had used Problem-solving strategies first, and secondly, Global and Support strategies. The role of test-taking strategies is somewhat downgraded indicating that most of its subskills should not be emphasized. Conversely, awareness of metacognitive reading strategies should be considered in teaching. The suggestions and implications are discussed.

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between a number of cognitive abilities (auditory/visual attention, processing speed, and fluid intelligence) and listening comprehension. A total of 97 undergraduate EFL students participated in the study. Tests of auditory and visual attention, processing speed, verbal and nonverbal fluid intelligence, overall English language proficiency, and listening comprehension were administered to the participants. The results indicated that the measure of English proficiency had the highest correlation with the listening test followed by measures of attention and processing speed. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that 17% of the variance in listening comprehension was explained by the cognitive factors. The addition of second language proficiency to the regression model in the second step added another 25% to the total variance explained. That is, foreign language proficiency, after controlling for cognitive abilities, can explain 25% of the variance in listening comprehension. These findings suggest that understanding when listening in L2 involves cognitive information processing skills in addition to proficiency in that language. Although correlations are not indicative of causality, future research should investigate the impact of targeted interventions on listening comprehension. Interventions that focus on supporting attention, reasoning, and processing speed may be essential to minimize the adverse consequences of poor cognitive abilities on listening comprehension. Likewise, effective teaching techniques for reducing cognitive loads in listening activities, like simplifying complex tasks by reducing speech rate and repeating tasks, may also help learners overcome their cognitive failures. In addition, teaching and facilitating learners’ use of listening strategies can mitigate the adverse consequences of cognitive failure in listening comprehension.

Anna Gavalda is a contemporary French author whose works have been translated into multiple languages. The protagonists of her novels are mainly women, and the main theme of her works is structured around the events happening within the family and society. The novels enjoy a clear and vivid writing style. Therefore, readers can understand them without any substantial literary knowledge. Chloé who is the protagonist of Someone I Loved (Gavalda, 2008) is an introvert. Gavalda illustrates the status of women in her society through the image and reflection of Chloé . An understating of the goddess archetype of Chloé — as the heroine of the story— could unearth the causes of her behaviors and attempts in life. This study attempts to examine the goddesses ruling Chloé ’ s psyche and the dominant types and forms in the society enforcing particular roles and behaviors on the women. The other aim of the research is to advance our understating of how some of Chloé ’ s behaviors are promoted and some other behaviors are repressed, of what effects the social factors have on Chloé ’ s behaviors, of whether the changes in goddess archetypes and Chloé ’ s behaviors are influenced by the collective unconscious mind. Jung’ s theories and the goddess archetypes and their influences upon the female characters of the story helped us to uncover what made each character react differently under certain conditions of life. This also offered insights as to how the society and culture contributed to forming and shaping the characters’ fate.

Trying to investigate the reasons for demotivation among some Iranian ELT student teachers, the researchers used a mixed methods approach in this study. Initially, qualitative grounded theory approach was used and 17 male and female students were interviewed. The results indicated factors such as lack of initial interest, unfamiliarity with the ELT course prior to selecting the major, demotivating atmosphere, lack of job security, practicum and university characteristics such as lack of facilities and restricting regulations, and professors’ strictness were among the possible demotivating factors. Then, based on the findings of the qualitative phase, a questionnaire was developed and after being validated, the questionnaire was administered to all ELT student teachers at Farhangian University of Mashhad. Results of the quantitative phase also confirmed the qualitative findings and indicated that special attention needs to be given to creating motivational atmospheres for student teachers in Farhangian University.