Masoumeh received her MSc In English Language Teaching as a Foreign language (TEFL) from Sharif University of Technology in Iran. Her thesis focused on cross-cultural perceptions of impoliteness by native English speakers and EFL learners with the focus on apology speech act. She received her BA in English translation studies from Azad University in Iran. Her research interests include cross-cultural pragmatics, cognitive pragmatics, pragmatic instruction and assessment, politeness and impoliteness in second language teaching, and second language acquisition.