The newly demanded language learning methodologies can exhibit their maximum efficiency if they are monitored meticulously and regularly in their particular contexts of application. The prerequisite would be putting educational programs in the spotlight and identifying the decisive elements of each learning context. Accordingly, based on the solicited responses from 638 students, in this study, a scale was developed and validated to inquire into the participants’ perceptions about the extent to which classroom interaction, learner needs, learner autonomy, pedagogical scaffolding, and learner identity could regulate learning activities in Iranian academic contexts. Importing the survey results to AMOS 22, we tested and validated a hypothetical model of the addressed variables. The validated model supported the interwoven relationships of the study variables and the pivotal role of interaction in regulating, predicting, shaping, and explaining the behaviors of other variables. The results can raise awareness of the sociocultural manifestations of classroom interaction, learner needs, learner autonomy, pedagogical scaffolding, and learner identity in Iranian TEFL programs and encourage highly positive developments and generally accepted practices to improve the status quo. Decision-makers and stakeholders can also gain a detailed insight into how sociocultural variables interrelate and accordingly coordinate their social and educational policies and measures.

Existing research on learner identity stresses a need to explore how the way one perceives oneself as an EFL learner has impacts on his or her investment in the endeavor to learn English. Likewise, examining the factors that influence identity and investment in EFL learning is also essential. In the present study, data were triangulated to explore the way three Chinese college English major students negotiated and navigated identity in the process of English learning. The findings indicated that the learners displayed identity flux within and across various communities. Learner identity shaped their investment in English learning, and vice versa. Learner identity, which can be negotiated and constructed over time, is complex and dynamic, involving at least four factors, which include learners’ cognitive awareness/ideology; perceptions of affordances in English learning community; learners’ sense of agency; and mismatches between the practiced community and the imagined community. Pedagogical implications and areas for ongoing research are discussed.

The problem of personal identity among others may stem from the following question—what does be the person that you are, from one day to the next, necessarily consist of? The diachronic problem of personal identity raises question on the necessary and sufficient conditions for the identity of the person over time. The synchronic problem is grounded in the question of what features or traits characterize a given person at one time. To answer these questions, John Locke discarded the soul and the body as necessary and sufficient substances for personal identity over time. He accepted consciousness as the only criterion for personal identity; the only thing capable of remaining the same and preserving personal identity through change. Though Locke’s argument is somewhat clear and coherent but what remains vague and incoherent is embedded in the question—what exactly is consciousness? How and why should it be the basis or criterion for the determination of personal identity? Using the method of critical analysis, I argue that Locke’s choice of consciousness as the determinant of personal identity, though quite novel, is incoherent and vague. Secondly, Locke had already presumed and anticipated clearly though fallaciously the very thing he wishes to substantiate. I therefore conclude that Locke’s argument is just another way of trying to escape but inadvertently prolonging the difficulty of apparently articulating a distinction between the psychological approach and physiological approach to the problem of personal identity. However, in my submission, I propose the concept of the “other” as alternative approach— a sort of an extrinsic-intrinsic approach to the problem of personal identity.

The current research was conducted with the aim of the effect of attachment style on emotion regulation with the mediating role of identity style. The research method was descriptive and structural equation analysis. The statistical population of the research was all second year high school students of Kashan city in the academic year of 1400-1401, of which 500 people were selected by random cluster method. Data were collected based on three questionnaires: Gross & Jan (2003) Emotional Regulation Inventory, Identity Style Scale (6G-ISI) and Collins and Reid (1990) Attachment Style Questionnaire. The data are obtained by structural equation modeling and using Laserl 8.8 and 26 spss software. analyzed. Based on the results, secure attachment style at a significance level of 0.01, avoidant attachment style at a significance level of 0.05, and ambivalent attachment style at a significance level of 0.01 directly predicted emotion regulation. Among the three attachments, secure attachment style predicted emotion regulation at a significant level of 0.01, with the mediation of identity styles. Informational identity style at a significance level of 0.01, confused identity style at a significance level of 0.05 directly predicted emotion regulation. Among the three attachments, only the secure attachment style at a significance level of 0.01 had a significant role in predicting the normative identity style. According to the results of this study, emotion regulation is one of the most important constructs of educational psychology and an important factor in determining mental health and successful performance. It is in education that the factors affecting emotion regulation and its antecedents should be identified. Planning for training and holding educational workshops in this field in schools is suggested for students.

Vygotsky’s cognitive development theory which is reputed as socio-cultural development theory is one of the constructivism theories that emphasizes considerable mutual act between learner and his/her social environment in cognition development. On the other hand, learner- centered method, which is fundamentally based on Vygotsky’s theory, is known as the most important teaching method relied on constructivism theories.This paper reviewed present social field work in Iran followed by studying constructivism theory and learner- centered teaching method. And then a new model is provided for social work students in field work environment with stress on pragmatic aspects of Vygotsky’s theory and learner-centered method. This model shows how to use problem learning based learning, self-regulating, cognitive apprenticeship and performance based assessment in social field work.Suggested model explains teaching-learning process of social workers based on Gage and Berliner (1988) general teaching model. The most important issues are studied in this model are as follows: initial assessment (determining learners input, selection and setting teaching goals) determining teaching methods and skills, selecting educational sources and materials, determining learning activities and assignments and determining evaluation methods and skills.

The purpose of the present study was to assess the movement towards LSP testing and the usability of IELTS academic reading tests at the university level in Iran. The research question addressed was: Do learner variables such as levels of proficiency, background knowledge, and sex affect the performance of the participants on ESP reading comprehension tests? 245 university students, both male and female majoring in English literature, economics, medicine, electronics and chemical engineering from the universities ofIsfahan and Medical Sciences were selected to participate in the project. In three consecutive administrations, they were exposed to three different elicitation procedures: (a) locally constructed teacher-made EST reading tests, (b) a version ofIEL TS academic reading test, and (c) a version of the TOEFL test. The obtained data were, then, subjected to different statistical analyses (analysis of variance, two- and three-way ANOVA, and the post-hoc Scheffe tests). Filling these statistical procedures, three rather different results emerged: First, except for some minor cases, the gender of the participants was not related to the test performance. Second, levels of proficiency (high and low) affected the test performance of the participants on EST and IEL TS reading tests. Third, background, or (content area) knowledge did relate to the participants test performance on EST and IELTS reading tests, that is, the hypothesized interaction between students major fields of study and test content was confirmed. What can thus be implied from the results of the present research and their related interpretations is that language testers should take into account background knowledge when defining the construct of EAP reading comprehension tests. And to successfully perform on LSP tests, the subject area knowledge is surely regarded as a necessary factor ifnot a sufficient one. Finally, in this study IEL TS academic reading module, that was regarded as a distinguished example of the specific purpose proficiency testing, proved to be applicable at the university level in Iran.