Maryam Sadeghi Ordoubadi; Maryamsadat Tabatabaeian; Elmira Farkhondehfal
Abstract
Being able to communicate can play an important role in achieving the desired goals in today’s world. This study investigated the interrelationships between communication apprehension (CA), privacy preferences (Pr), L2 WTC, and foreign language achievement (FLA) of learners as an indicator of their ...
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Being able to communicate can play an important role in achieving the desired goals in today’s world. This study investigated the interrelationships between communication apprehension (CA), privacy preferences (Pr), L2 WTC, and foreign language achievement (FLA) of learners as an indicator of their communication ability. Besides, the differences between males and females regarding these variables were examined. To this end, we administered three questionnaires to 250 English learners. Pearson’s correlation, t-test, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were employed to analyze the data. The findings revealed that CA has a significant negative relationship with FLA. Considering Pr, FLA had a significant negative relationship with Anonymity. WTC and its subscales demonstrated a significant positive association with FLA. The results of the SEM denoted that CA is a negative predictor of L2 WTC, and FLA; L2 WTC positively predicted FLA; and privacy preferences neither predicted L2 WTC nor FLA. Regarding gender, the results indicated that males had a higher level of preference for Intimacy with Friends, WTW, and WTC.
Anna Bocar; Ruel Ancheta
Abstract
This study aimed to determine the effectiveness level of the communication skills of the selected participants who were non-native speakers of the English language, and examine its implications for their business skills. A descriptive method of research was utilized and a borrowed questionnaire ...
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This study aimed to determine the effectiveness level of the communication skills of the selected participants who were non-native speakers of the English language, and examine its implications for their business skills. A descriptive method of research was utilized and a borrowed questionnaire with slight modifications was administered to 145 students through purposive sampling. The results of the study showed that the majority of the participants have a moderate and high level of effectiveness in terms of their communication skills with 48% and 31% respectively. However, 21% of the participant showed a low level of communication skills effectiveness. The students who have a high level of effectiveness in their communication skills are interpreted as excellent communicators and those who have a moderate level of effectiveness in communication skills are categorized as able communicators. It implies that the participants can communicate with competence and use them in their various business skills. However, students who have low levels of communication skills need to pay attention to their communication skills so that they can be much more effective.
Sima Ziaei; Raghad Abbas Alsaedi
Abstract
Due to its easy access and ubiquity, Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) can benefit language learners with no restriction of time and place. The present study, with pre-experimental design, which was carried out on 145 Iraqi EFL learners, first studied the effect of MALL on the learners’ ...
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Due to its easy access and ubiquity, Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) can benefit language learners with no restriction of time and place. The present study, with pre-experimental design, which was carried out on 145 Iraqi EFL learners, first studied the effect of MALL on the learners’ English reading comprehension ability. Throughout the study, the EFL students were required to have reading courses via a mobile application. Applying a paired samples t-test, the study revealed a significant effect of MALL on participants’ reading comprehension ability. Secondly, to assess the degree of students’ goal orientation, the goal orientation questionnaire was given to fill out once at the beginning of the course and once at the end of the process. The results indicated that MALL can significantly affect learners’ goal orientation. Finally, the correlation between reading comprehension and goal orientation in Iraqi EFL students was significant, which indicated that students’ reading ability was also related to their level of goal orientation.
Kazuma Hatano
Abstract
The growing role of technology in society, particularly machine translation, has grown due to its enhanced accuracy. Yet, communication quality depends not only on translation precision but also on user factors. It is vital to understand communication characteristics when using machine translation for ...
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The growing role of technology in society, particularly machine translation, has grown due to its enhanced accuracy. Yet, communication quality depends not only on translation precision but also on user factors. It is vital to understand communication characteristics when using machine translation for its future application in daily life, business, and education. This study investigates these characteristics in face-to-face communication using consecutive speech machine translation technology. Participants were international students at a Japanese university who conversed using speech machine translation. Despite mistranslations, they continued to communicate, either understanding most of the message or giving up due to incomprehension. Notably, the turn-taking order was alternated mechanically, even when there was a long wait for the other person to speak. Unlike previous studies, gestures were not used to overcome communication barriers due to mistranslations; rephrasing was preferred. This study proposes the concept of “speech production load,” the burden of device operation and translation waiting time, as a determi-nant of the relationship between a speech machine translation system and user communication behavior in the context of modern technology.
Haitham Y. Adarbah; Mark. M. H. Goode
Abstract
Most businesses recognize that education and advancement opportunities are essential components of human resource development. Transfer of training is considered to be a significant problem in the process of transferring knowledge, skills, and attitudes from training to a job, even though training and ...
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Most businesses recognize that education and advancement opportunities are essential components of human resource development. Transfer of training is considered to be a significant problem in the process of transferring knowledge, skills, and attitudes from training to a job, even though training and development strive to alter the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of a trainee to bring about a positive change in the behavior of the trainee as a result. Comparatively, little attention has been paid to the vital demand factors for professional business courses (such as Computing, Accounting, Human Resources, and Marketing) and whether there are distinct segments in this marketplace. In this paper, the key variables in determining the demand for professional business courses were assessed through interviews with senior managers of professional bodies and the application of an electronic scale. Furthermore, based on the marketing theory of segmentation analysis, the key segments were tested using both summary statistics and chi-square tests. Finally, managerial and research implications of these results were discussed.
Saba Hasanzadeh; Golshan Shakeebaee
Abstract
Since business without appropriate language use is impossible and language is an inseparable part of a culture, knowing about the cultural patterns of communities can also be valuable. Considering language as an essential component of any given culture, studying linguistic expressions ...
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Since business without appropriate language use is impossible and language is an inseparable part of a culture, knowing about the cultural patterns of communities can also be valuable. Considering language as an essential component of any given culture, studying linguistic expressions can reveal a society’s hidden cultural patterns, a concept known as cultuling analysis. The current study looked at the “flattery” cultuling demonstrated in Persian and English films. To achieve this, excerpts of dialogues from 100 Persian and 100 English films were taken and analyzed by means of cultuling analysis (CLA) methodology from linguistic, cultural, and psychological angles. The result showed that flattery can happen in formal and informal situations among people from both equal and unequal status. Moreover, Iranian people’s use of flattery displayed cultural patterns of overstating, high context, power distance, low trust, and collectivism, while English people’s use of this cultuling revealed their hidden culture, including low-context, high-trust, understanding, individualism, and power distance.
Younos Dost Mohammadi
Abstract
This qualitative study explored the perceived experiences of Afghan English language teachers teaching at the Afghanistan National Army Officers Academy in terms of the student’s communication, motivation, and willingness to communicate. The study also investigated the challenges faced by language ...
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This qualitative study explored the perceived experiences of Afghan English language teachers teaching at the Afghanistan National Army Officers Academy in terms of the student’s communication, motivation, and willingness to communicate. The study also investigated the challenges faced by language teachers when teaching English communication skills to military students and the most effective instructional strategies for enhancing student communication skills and motivation levels. Data was collected through Skype interviews with five Afghan teachers and analyzed through deductive thematic analysis coding. The findings revealed the challenges faced by instructors and the most effective instructional strategies for enhancing communication skills and motivation among students. The study highlights the importance of considering the experiences and challenges faced by language teachers in enhancing the acquisition of English communication skills and motivation levels among students and the need for considering the context and challenges faced by instructors in developing effective pedagogical approaches.
Jawad Tauheed; Aumir Shabbir; Muhammad Shahid Pervez
Abstract
In the globalised world, artificial intelligence (AI) has proved to have a significant impact on digital marketing. AI has transformed the digital marketing campaign with effective planning and companies have started to adopt AI for successful digital marketing. To enrich this literature, this study ...
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In the globalised world, artificial intelligence (AI) has proved to have a significant impact on digital marketing. AI has transformed the digital marketing campaign with effective planning and companies have started to adopt AI for successful digital marketing. To enrich this literature, this study explored the role of AI in digital marketing strategies. In this study, a quantitative survey was conducted in which 115 participants were recruited through a random stratified sampling technique. Pearson product moment correlation and multiple regression analysis were used for data analysis. The results showed a strong positive relationship between AI and digital marketing strategies. AI could also account for 82.4% of the variance in digital marketing strategies. A comparison with previous literature reinforced the transformative impact of AI on digital marketing. The findings contributed to a nuanced understanding of the role of AI in shaping modern marketing strategies.
Hakimeh Davoodi; Mohsen O.Jaghi
Abstract
Despite its theoretical importance, there is a scarcity of experimental research into the effectiveness of internet-based applications in the English classroom context. The present study, using a mixed-methods design, aimed at examining whether online applications, including Adobe Connect and BigBlueButton, ...
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Despite its theoretical importance, there is a scarcity of experimental research into the effectiveness of internet-based applications in the English classroom context. The present study, using a mixed-methods design, aimed at examining whether online applications, including Adobe Connect and BigBlueButton, could improve writing. In doing so, a pool of 34 pre-intermediate students participated in the study based on convenience sampling, and a pool of six students participated in the qualitative phase of the study based on purposive sampling. IELTS task 2 band descriptor and semi-structured interviews were used to gather the data. One-way ANCOVA, theme-based categorization, and inter-coder reliability were conducted to analyze the data. The results confirmed that there was a statistically significant difference between the two experimental groups; the Adobe Connect group showed higher scores than the BigBlueButton group with respect to written communication skills. Following inter-coder reliability, ten common themes were elicited from the interviews, including innovative, fruitful in learning collocations, challenging, useful for distance learning, colorful, and bad internet connection. Ultimately, practical implications were provided for students and teachers.
Elham Naji Meidani; Hossein Makiabadi; Mohammad Zabetipour; Hannaneh Abbasnejad; Aida Firoozian Pooresfehani; Shaghayegh Shayesteh
Abstract
The evolutionary definition of intelligence has made it a multifaceted concept. Emo-sensory intelligence (ESQ), as integration of emotional intelligence (EQ) and sensory intelligence (SQ) is the sensitivity to the emotions evoked by sensory inputs. It puts emphasis on individuals’ ...
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The evolutionary definition of intelligence has made it a multifaceted concept. Emo-sensory intelligence (ESQ), as integration of emotional intelligence (EQ) and sensory intelligence (SQ) is the sensitivity to the emotions evoked by sensory inputs. It puts emphasis on individuals’ ability to recognize, label, monitor, and manage sense-induced emotions to guide one’s behavior and establish emo-sensory communication. Among the studies done on different types of intelligence and effective communication, gender differences have been a recurring theme. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of gender in emo-sensory intelligence and emo-sensory communication. To this aim, the emo-sensory intelligence scale (ESIS) was distributed to 1500 participants. The results revealed significant differences between the two genders in ESQ for visual, olfactory, and tactile senses, demonstrating the superiority of females over males. Moreover, a significant difference was found between the two genders in their ability to identify the basic emotions triggered by their senses, and use them in their communications, with females being better than males.
John Demuyakor; De-Love Anobah Opare; Rachel Naa Kwarkor Quartey
Abstract
The communication skills of politicians determine the attitudes of electorates towards the outcomes of national elections. However, media news framing of presidential elections affects and shapes the electorate’s perceived attitudes toward elections. This study employed a comparative experimental ...
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The communication skills of politicians determine the attitudes of electorates towards the outcomes of national elections. However, media news framing of presidential elections affects and shapes the electorate’s perceived attitudes toward elections. This study employed a comparative experimental design to test the hypotheses by varying the valence and types of frames (i.e., positives vs. negative frames × thematic vs. episodic frames) to evaluate how these news frames affected the perceived attitudes of Ghanaian electorates towards the 2020 presidential election in Ghana. Stratified sampling approach was used to enroll 2,702 participants for this study from nine regions. The findings showed that the framing effects were few, weak, and not robust among the electorates in the nine regions. The findings further indicated that the perceived attitudes of electorates toward the elections were not consistent. The perceived attitudes towards the election were influenced by a single news frame and the effects of the news frames were not determined by a single news frame. Finally, the perceived attitudes of Ghanaian electorates toward the 2020 elections were found not to be determined by a particular news frame.
Hajar Mohammadzadeh; Sepideh Rahimpour
Abstract
The present study, following a sequential mixed-methods design, aimed at examining whether internet-based applications, including Big-BlueButton and Skype online instruction differ in terms of communication anxiety and oral communication skills for EFL learners. A pool of 32 Iranian pre-intermediate ...
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The present study, following a sequential mixed-methods design, aimed at examining whether internet-based applications, including Big-BlueButton and Skype online instruction differ in terms of communication anxiety and oral communication skills for EFL learners. A pool of 32 Iranian pre-intermediate EFL students participated in the quantitative phase of the study based on convenience sampling and a pool of nine students participated in the qualitative phase of the study based on purposive sampling. The results of one-way ANCOVA confirmed that there was a significant difference between the Skype group and the BigBlueBottom group in terms of communication anxiety and oral communication skills. Following inter-coder reliability, the most common themes (i.e., novel, challenging, motivating, less stressful, helpful, low internet speed, lack of equipment, and time-consuming) emerged from the students’ responses to the interview questions regarding the role of online learning on oral communication skills. Finally, some practical impli-cations were offered for EFL students and teachers, and some suggestions were made for conducting further studies.
Ghazaaleh Homayouni; Masood Khoshsaligheh
Abstract
Audio description (AD) technology, as a means of audiovisual translation (AVT), provides media accessibility (MA) for blind and partially sighted audiences. Through this innovative technology, the audio describer engages in real-time communication and gives a running commentary on the visual elements ...
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Audio description (AD) technology, as a means of audiovisual translation (AVT), provides media accessibility (MA) for blind and partially sighted audiences. Through this innovative technology, the audio describer engages in real-time communication and gives a running commentary on the visual elements that are seen on the screen. The intersection of communication and technology in translation as reflected in how culture-bound elements are addressed in AVT has lately gained increasing attention. This phenomenological research aims to describe the solutions audio describers resort to for the rendition of culture-bound elements in Anglophone films into Persian. The audio descriptions of four Persian-dubbed English-language films were purposively selected as the sample corpus. The findings revealed that communication-centric strategies of specification, naming, and retention are, respectively, the most applied in the process of communicating the English culture-bound elements across the target culture by the audio describers. The implications of the findings for practice and theory are discussed.
Amir Alreisi; Raziyeh Moghaddas
Abstract
Digital spirometry, which is used to monitor and diagnose both acute and chronic lung diseases, has been the subject of research for many years. This research undertakes the initiative to build a novel mobile-based digital spirometry application helpful in diagnosing diseases such as asthma and Chronic ...
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Digital spirometry, which is used to monitor and diagnose both acute and chronic lung diseases, has been the subject of research for many years. This research undertakes the initiative to build a novel mobile-based digital spirometry application helpful in diagnosing diseases such as asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). As part of the application’s design, it consists of hardware and software components, including a pipe in which the user can breathe into, a pressure sensor that helps to collect patients’ breaths, an Arduino board that is be responsible for processing patients’ breaths received form the pressure sensor and convert the signal to the MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) message readable by the mobile application, and finally a spirometry application developed using android studio, JAVA programming language, as a user interface. Furthermore, the database applied in this project is SQLite which utilizes cloud-based storage technology rather than server-based models which might be costly. All parts work as a circuit unit that is capable of monitoring the user’s breathing system, and processing to provide an appropriate report of its performance. According to the findings, digital spirometry based on mobile application and MIDI protocol is practical and offers all the fundamental metrics that are supported by conventional spirometers.
Folakemi Oladoja; Dubamo Tomere
Abstract
Gender is a social construct that finds expression in cultural and ideological communicative practices. This research focuses on gendered voices and ideological communications, drawing insights from the film industry in Nigeria. The study adopts the triangulation of critical discourse analysis, polyphony, ...
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Gender is a social construct that finds expression in cultural and ideological communicative practices. This research focuses on gendered voices and ideological communications, drawing insights from the film industry in Nigeria. The study adopts the triangulation of critical discourse analysis, polyphony, and construction grammar to appraise the instances of gendered voices in Tunde Kelani’s Narrow Path, in order to tease out the underlying ideologies in the emotioncy-driven communicative contexts. Two opposing ideologies, namely, the patriarchalist and womanist dominate the interactions of the characters. While the former was characterized by the macho, parental, institutional, and communal voices, the latter was orchestrated by the solidaristic and institutional voices. The patriachalist ideals were both concretized through the same-gender and other-gender personae, the womanist ideology was basically enacted through same-gender persona. These were established through gendered constructions propelled by: presupposition, assertion, topic, and focus. High context society like the Yoruba should provide equal space for both genders to express their thoughts and partake in building a gender-unbiased society.
Faeze Pouria; Tahereh Zamani Behabadi
Abstract
The current study, following a mixed-methods design, aimed at: 1) investigating whether internet-based applications including Adobe Connect and Shaad for online teaching could improve communication and vocabulary knowledge for pre-intermediate EFL learners, 2) examining if the difference varies with ...
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The current study, following a mixed-methods design, aimed at: 1) investigating whether internet-based applications including Adobe Connect and Shaad for online teaching could improve communication and vocabulary knowledge for pre-intermediate EFL learners, 2) examining if the difference varies with respect to the learners’gender and 3) detecting learners’ reactions to the role of online learning in improving their vocabulary knowledge. In doing so, 34 Iranian pre-intermediate EFL students were selected to take part in the study. The results of one-way ANCOVA confirmed that the Adobe Connect group outperformed the Shaad group with respect to vocabulary knowledge. As for gender, the results of the t-test confirmed that there was statistically no significant difference in students’ scores. The commonalities from the interviews indicated that it was a novel experience and a challenging task to learn new words. Finally, practical implications were offered for EFL students and teachers.
Zeynep Daşer
Abstract
Fuelled by the advent of process-oriented approaches to writing instruction, written corrective feedback (WCF) has garnered popularity, as a written communication skill, in second and foreign language writing research. Despite the prior reviews on WCF so far, no attempt has been made to synthesize existing ...
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Fuelled by the advent of process-oriented approaches to writing instruction, written corrective feedback (WCF) has garnered popularity, as a written communication skill, in second and foreign language writing research. Despite the prior reviews on WCF so far, no attempt has been made to synthesize existing research evidence on students’ communication preferences for it. Driven by the gap, the present study seeks to systematically review empirical research on learners’ WCF preferences published between 2013 and 2023 to examine their trends and major findings. The review was conducted according to the PRISMA 2020 Statement Guidelines, and three electronic databases including Web of Science, ERIC, and Scopus were searched. Thirty studies were evaluated based on their relevance and quality. Content analysis indicated that the majority of these primary articles were mixed-method studies, using mostly questionnaires to gather data. Three major groups of research foci were identified. The publications mostly recruited adult, intermediate-level, EFL university students. Students expressed a strong preference for teacher-initiated, direct, comprehensive WCF, targeting grammar errors, and were provided with a red pen.
Hoda Hamidi; Sepideh Rahimpour
Abstract
The appropriate use of new technologies and educational applications is undoubtedly very important in facilitating English language learners’ communicative competence. One of these technological devices used in education is the smartbook. Accordingly, the present study has tried to investigate ...
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The appropriate use of new technologies and educational applications is undoubtedly very important in facilitating English language learners’ communicative competence. One of these technological devices used in education is the smartbook. Accordingly, the present study has tried to investigate the effectiveness of the use of smartbooks in the process of teaching English to learners and, consequently, the improvement of their communicative ability. In order to collect data for the study, 40 high school students learning English, including one experimental group and one control group, participated in this study. A pre-post test and teacher-made tests were designed for the learners. The One-way ANCOVA results indicated that the learners participating in the experimental group were more successful than those participating in the control group. This shows that the use of smartbooks has a significant effect on improving the oral communicative ability of English language learners. Implications for L2 researchers and practitioners were finally discussed.
Farzaneh Soudkhah Mohammadi
Abstract
In light of the rapid technological advancements and their undeniable role in professional and business communication, Peter Hartley, Helena Knapton, and Susie Marriott took a step towards developing the third edition of ‘Professional and Business Communication’, encompassing 16 chapters ...
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In light of the rapid technological advancements and their undeniable role in professional and business communication, Peter Hartley, Helena Knapton, and Susie Marriott took a step towards developing the third edition of ‘Professional and Business Communication’, encompassing 16 chapters on the complexities of professional communication with a focus on adapting to external influences in the constantly-changing business world. Its main themes revolve around communication in organizational settings, the impact of technology, different modes of communication, dealing with workplace change, and planning for professional development in the future. While the book may have minor imperfections, an analysis of its content proves how perfectly it fulfills its intended aims with regard to learning applicability and practicality for its target audience. The overall multifaceted approach towards communication, considering its dynamic nature, is the next issue highlighted in the present review.
Bekan Kitaw Mekonen
Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 18 December 2024
Abstract
Effective communication through digital platforms often faces issues like misspellings and inefficient typing. A next-word prediction system that suggests probable words can significantly enhance sentence construction, especially for Afaan Oromo - a Cushitic language spoken by over 41.7 million people ...
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Effective communication through digital platforms often faces issues like misspellings and inefficient typing. A next-word prediction system that suggests probable words can significantly enhance sentence construction, especially for Afaan Oromo - a Cushitic language spoken by over 41.7 million people in Ethiopia. Despite its importance as the official language of Oromia and its complex linguistic features, Afaan Oromo lacks advanced digital tools. This study evaluates various deep learning models, including Long Short Term Memory (LSTM), Attention-based LSTM, Bidirectional LSTM (Bi-LSTM), Attention-based Bi-LSTM, and Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), to determine the most accurate model for Afaan Oromo next word generation. Our methodology involves developing and benchmarking these models using a comprehensive dataset of 201,538 words sourced from various media, academic literature, and religious texts. The Attention-driven Bi-LSTM model emerged as the most effective, achieving an accuracy of 95.0% and a low loss value of 0.27. These findings highlight the potential of the Attention-driven Bi-LSTM model to improve the next word generation for Afaan Oromo texts. This advancement addresses specific linguistic challenges and enhances the overall digital interaction experience for Afaan Oromo speakers.