Teachers’ assessment literacy plays a crucial role in the assessment quality and student achievement. To shed more light on this issue, this mixed- methods study intended to measure and describe the assessment literacy level of 80 randomly selected Iranian EFL and FIELD specialist ESP university teachers who sat for an assessment literacy questionnaire and 10 of them for a semi-structured interview.Analyses of the data showed that: first, members of neither group possessed an acceptable level of assessment literacy; and second, there were significant differences among them on the nine sub-scales of assessment literacy. Though the EFL university teachers showed higher assessment literacy level than the FIELD specialist ESP counterparts, both groups suffered significant deficiencies which not only indicate weaknesses in EFL teacher education programs in terms of language testing and assessment but also are persuasive enough to render specific assessment education for each group involved in foreign language teaching programs necessary.

High-stakes tests are often used as agents for change, but attempts to introduce change in the classroom are not as effective as their designers wished they would be (Wall, 1997). The English for specific purpose (ESP) tests in Iran are such a case. The primary function of ESP tests in Iran is to select candidates for institutions of higher education (master and doctoral degrees). They are also designed specifically to promote changes in teaching ESP/ English for academic purposes at Iranian universities. This study was set out to examine washback effects of these tests on teaching ESP at Iranian universities. In doing so, data were collected through a questionnaire and classroom observations. The questionnaire was administered to 45 subject SPECIALISTS teaching at Iranian universities. 10 other ESP teachers were also observed. The data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. Surprisingly enough, the results indicate that the ESP tests have fallen short of the goal. That is, these tests do not lead to innovation in teaching ESP, not do they influence teachers' teaching activities and ESP contents.

Teaching English for Specific Purposes (TESP) has been a controversial issue among EFL teachers and others. The question raised by many is whether the English language instructor or the subject-matter specialist should teach ESP courses. The main purpose of the present study was to re-address this issue. To this end, 60 second-year students majoring in Feqh and Islamic Law at Islamic Azad University, South Tehran Branch were randomly selected. Then, they were divided into two classes with 30 members in each. The classes were taught by two lecturers – an EFL instructor and a subject-matter specialist – for an entire semester. At the end of the course, two types of measures were used: an achievement test and an attitude questionnaire. Analysis of the results represented that the EFL instructor's class scored higher than the subject-matter specialist’s class on the achievement test, and that they expressed greater satisfaction with their classes on the attitude questionnaire. Implications of the findings are discussed, accordingly.

The knowledge related to the methodology of the FIELD trial study as a type of intervention studies, yet for many of our researchers is not fully understood. The aim of the current study was a better understanding of conducting this type of research. FIELD trial studies are done on healthy individuals and aim to prevent. These types of studies such as clinical trials are performed on both individual and collective levels. One type of these studies is Community Intervention Trial which is usually done on a large scale population. FIELD trial study should be carried out in stages, such as the formulation of hypotheses, selection of the population (reference population, study population, and sampling), measuring the baseline variables (before conducting preventive intervention), random allocation of subjects to intervention and control groups, doing interventions and measuring outcome. The methodology of FIELD trial studies is very similar to clinical trials. The difference is that FIELD trials are conducted on healthy individuals and aim to prevent and also the sample size required to this type of study is relatively more, and these studies are usually time consuming and costly.

The purpose of this study was to find the congruence between the academic language skills imperative for the post-graduate students in their academic disciplines and the language skills measured by the General English section of the National Iranian PhD Entrance Exam. The data were collected from FIELD-specialist informants, language-specialist informants and post-graduate students. Both informants stated that all four language skills are crucial for academic success; however, reading and writing are more prominent. Moreover, both groups of informants asserted that there is no congruity between the language skills measured by the exam and those of the academic context. The post-graduate students mentioned the need for reading skill to read books and articles, the writing skill to write articles and e-mails, listening skill to understand lectures and the speaking skill to present in international conferences. From the viewpoint of post-graduate students, the reading section of the exam did not match the academic need of half of the participants. The writing section, which was not included in the exam, should be included.

The present study investigated the effects of using flipped classroom techniques on Iranian ESP students’ critical thinking and engagement. The flipped classroom model flips the traditional relationship between class time and homework. Students learn at home via online coursework and lectures, and teachers use class time for teacherguided practice or projects. Participants were 60 ESP students studying in Payam-e Noor University, who were divided into 2 equal groups with 30 students each. Participants’ language proficiency was checked through a language proficiency test. The participants of experimental group received vocabulary instruction through flipped classroom techniques. A specialist group of EFL/ESP professors who were the researcher's colleagues produced 10 videos, and each video lecture was accompanied by a lecturer's avatar, which used his or her true voice and audiovisual materials representations. The control group received conventional vocabulary instruction. Results of the statistical analyses showed that there was a positive influence of flipped classroom over the participants’ task engagement. Also, it was found that t h e flip p e d classroom had a significant effect on the Iranian students' critical thinking in ESP courses. Flipped classrooms enable ESP students to become more independent, which necessitates more critical thinkers. As a result, flipped classrooms can provide a platform for L2 students' potential critical thinking abilities to blossom and develop.

Objective: The current study presented the criteria for measuring the content of specialized books. Methodology: Current study used a library method as well as the perspectives of experts from large universities to gather needed data. It is categorized as a descriptive-survey research in terms of how data is collected. The statistical population of the present study is 2449 experts in the FIELDs of humanities and behavioral sciences of the country's major universities. The gathered data was analyzed through a questionnaire using SPSS software. Descriptive indicators (frequency, frequency and mean) and inferential tests (Friedman) were used to analyze the data. Findings: The present study indicated that from the point of view of experts in the FIELD of humanities in top universities, publishing and publisher criteria, creator, translator, authored content, translated content, structure and appearance in evaluating and ranking specialized books in the FIELD of humanities have an important and fundamental role. Because experts in comprehensive universities across the country have considered the component of "translation content" to be more important than other components, experts have valued the content of translation books more than any other, and it has been important for them to have the necessary criteria for evaluation. Translation content should be used in the ranking of specialized books. This could be due to translation problems in specialized books in the FIELDs of humanities and behavioral sciences, which, dESPite the increasing quantity of these translations in the country, do not show much acceptable quality. Conclusion: The result of the present study is to provide evaluation criteria that can be very important for both professionals and librarians to collect resources, resource ranking criteria can be useful for publishers to produce quality resources. Using the views of experts in the present study, it is possible to qualitatively rank the works by prioritizing the criteria by the experts in each FIELD of knowledge. These rankings can help readers and researchers find higher quality resources, and librarians can help select and purchase higher quality resources if a large organization has ranked them. With the use of new tools, the speed of access to information may have improved, but the problem of finding reliable and quality resources remains strong, and ranking resources can play a role in solving this problem. Resource ranking criteria can also be useful for publishers to produce quality resources. These criteria can help readers and researchers to find better quality resources and help librarians to select and purchase better quality resources. Therefore, it is suggested that the organization that uses these criteria, in order to use each of the criteria in accordance with the policies of its organization, conduct a survey of relevant experts and adapt the criteria. It is suggested that the criteria be evaluated annually or in different courses by experts in the FIELD or FIELD. Finally, it is suggested that a study be conducted to identify the priorities of specialized books in engineering and experimental technical FIELDs and the results of that research be compared with the present study.

Background: Teaching professional English is a FIELD that began in the 1960s simultaneously with the worldwide recognition of English as a common scientific language among scientists and researchers. Learners’ language needs and expectations have received much attention during the last decade. Likewise, within the scope of medical English, understanding the expectations of students is of the utmost importance. This study was designed to investigate the expectations of medical students regarding English language learning and application. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined the expectations of 362 medical students in three program groups (medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy) in learning professional English during their coursework. A reliable and valid questionnaire was distributed among students who had a specific professional English course in various semesters in the faculty of medicine. Descriptive statistics and inferential analyses were conducted using SPSS software version 16. 0 Results: In this study, the most frequent expectation from medical students was for their teachers to translate texts into the Persian language and help them to comprehend medical texts and final examinations, including translating from Persian to English as well. The results also found a difference between the expectations of male and female students, with female students having higher expectations than male students. There was no significant difference among the students of the three program groups (medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy) for total expectations or evaluation. However, there was a significant difference between the medical and pharmacy students. Conclusion: Measuring student expectations is a critical factor in addressing English language learning, including professors’ knowledge and interest, of students’ various abilities in English for specific purposes (ESP).