zahra amirian

This study aimed at examining the effects of the feedback types designed based on the regulatory focus theory (i.e., prevention vs. promotion) and reference of comparison (i.e., normative vs. self-referential) on achievement emotions and achievement goals. One hundred intermediate English language learners were assigned to four experimental groups, promotion, prevention, self-referential, normative, and one control group (N= 20 for each). The participants in the experimental groups received feedback based on their assignment for 16 sessions, and their achievement emotions and achievement goals were assessed before and after the intervention. ANCOVA analyses revealed that significant differences existed between the four experimental groups and the control group regarding achievement emotions and achievement goals. Self-referential feedback and promotion feedback increased positive emotions and led students to mastery-approach and mastery-avoidance goal adoption, while normative feedback and prevention feedback increased negative emotions. Furthermore, normative feedback positively affected performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals. Prevention-focused feedback had a positive effect on mastery-avoidance goals. The researchers recommended that teachers use feedback emphasizing learners’ growth and improvement as a means for progress check.

The first objective of the present study was to develop an inventory assessing EFL teachers’ professional identity perception (PIP) of technology-enhanced instructions (TEIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the findings of a semi-structured interview administered with three teachers following their actual implementation of TEIs, a 55-item EFL teachers’ PIP inventory of TEIs was developed. The second objective was to investigate the construct validity and reliability of teachers’ PIP inventory of TEIs by gathering data from 157 Iranian EFL teachers. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity verified the suitability of the data for factor analysis. The results of Exploratory Factor Analysis indicated a nine-factor solution for the inventory items. Moreover, the PIP inventory of TEIs enjoyed a reliability of 0.77 suggesting a high reliability. Regarding teachers’ perceptions, various personal, professional, situational, and contextual aspects of professional identity were specified in relation to the implementation of TEIs in Iranian higher education. Some distinctive findings of this study comprised the society’s perception toward TEIs and the role of teachers’ pedagogical beliefs in the implementation of TEIs. This study has some implications for stakeholders to devote due attention to all aspects of teachers’ professional identity in the implementation of TEIs during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adaptive teaching addresses students’ diversity and their immediate learning needs. Particularly, in the high-interactive context of English teaching, fostering adaptive teaching in teacher professional development programs not only stimulates teacher change at the micro level, but also facilitates implementing the organizational and curricular innovations imposed by authorities at the macro level. The current English teaching literature lacks a measure for evaluating and fostering adaptive teaching within higher education. Hence, within the present study, the Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth (IMTPG) was adapted and validated as a measure for evaluating and fostering teacher adaptability for 183 international English teachers in higher education. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was employed for validating two different enactment and reflection links in the original IMTPG, and the final adapted IMTPG for adaptive teaching (At-IMTPG) was proposed. The AT-IMTPG can be applied for evaluating how adaptive English teachers are, seeking to resolve the problem of implementing educational innovations by English teachers in higher education. It can also be used to design teacher professional growth programs for fostering adaptive teaching within English teaching higher education. Such a change in the classroom level is hoped to be translated into an educational change in English teaching higher education.

Using literary texts in teaching Persian to non-Persian speakers has always been the focus of material developers. Due to the metaphorical nature of the Persian language and the use of idioms and proverbs in both spoken and written forms of the Persian language by Persian speakers, mastering these idioms and cultural concepts by non-Persian speakers seems to be essential. Regarding language education, one of the important issues is paying attention to improving language skills. The four language skills i.e. listening, speaking, reading and writing play significant role in the learning process. In language education, to deal with these skills, the need for appropriate, relevant and purposeful educational materials is felt to be essential. In this research, the researches attempted has to provide a resource for teaching Persian language to non-Persian speakers through literary texts with an emphasis on improving reading skills. In this research, the method for compiling and developing these texts is simplifying the Persian texts and then developing exercises based on the task-based approach. To this end, some stories from Kalila and Demna by Mahdi Azarizdi (Scorpion Sting, Bear and Impatient Pigeon Friendship) have been selected and prepared for intermediate Persian learners. Accordingly, first original stories were presented, then their narrative elements were explained. In the next step, lexical simplification was conducted according to LEXenstein’s lexical simplification framework. Finally, syntactic simplification was conducted according to Maxwell's ideas. To ensure the appropriateness of the texts for the intermediate level, these texts were given to three teachers with three years of experience teaching Persian to non-Persian speakers. In the end, by using the basics of the task-based approach which currently has found a significant place among other approaches, the pre, during, and post-reading activities have been designed.

Radical orientation in the feminist movement evoked numerous criticisms calling for a more neutral and non-political paradigm toward women. The urge for visibility is a long-established intersection between gender and translation. Paratexts, as elements outside the text proper, have created a promising avenue for redirecting translators’ visibility outside the textual background. This study sets out to investigate how male and female fiction translators employ their prefaces as an opportunity to elaborate on themselves as translators and their profession as a delicate and serious task. One hundred translators’ prefaces in the fictions translated from English into Persian were analyzed using thematic analysis. The contents of translation- and translator-oriented themes reflected female translators' preference for speaking in the first person and asserting more personal accounts, whereas men preferred the third-person point of view and focused mostly on introducing the original authors and their works. The overall results of this study showed that female and male translators were mostly reluctant to talk about their translation process and its possible challenges or delicacies.

This study was an attempt to examine the intercultural experience of Iranian university students studying abroad and explore variables influencing their success or failure in intercultural interactions. A qualitative method involving semi-structured interviews and retrospective narratives were employed in order to achieve an in-depth understanding of intercultural competence of the international university students which came to light from their reflections and interactions. The findings provided insights into three major components of intercultural communicative competence, i.e. attitude, knowledge and skill featured vigorously on students’ reflections. Most significantly, investigation of the data-set revealed several facilitating and debilitating factors contributing to intercultural encounters.

With the advent of technology, blended learning (also known as hybrid learning), as an approach to learning has become a common feature of education across the world. Considering the importance of learners' attitudes toward learning environments, in this study, an attempt was made to investigate the impact of the blended learning model on Iraqi students' achievement in an English literature course as well as their attitudes toward blended learning. In doing so, a total number of 50 English Literature BA participants took part in the study. The participants were subjected to a pre-test and a post-test after their homogeneity was confirmed using the Oxford Placement Test. In the next step, the students were interviewed to help the researchers gain a deeper understanding of the learners' perspectives on blended learning. The results of the repeated measures analysis suggested that blended learning could improve EFL learners' literary knowledge, especially in the genres of short fiction and drama. Moreover, it was found that the learners had a positive attitude toward this learning method since they considered it a new form of learning that could heighten their motivation, improve their participation, and provide the chance to be autonomous learners. These findings are discussed and conclusions obtained from the results are put forward.

This study aimed at investigating the interrelationships between EFL teachers' mindsets, self-efficacy, and emotional experiences and Iranian EFL learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) and L2 motivational self system (L2MSS). The participants of this study were 100 Iranian teachers and 501 students of the same EFL teachers, both male and female randomly selected from high schools. To fulfill the purpose of the study, teachers were asked to complete four questionnaires to measure their implicit theories of intelligence, efficacy, and emotional experiences including their burnout symptoms. Learners were required to complete two questionnaires to measure their willingness to communicate and L2 motivational self system. The results of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) revealed a significant structural relationship among all variables. Results also indicated that motivation was the strongest direct predictor of willingness to communicate. WTC was also indirectly correlated with teachers' implicit theories, efficacy, and emotional experiences through the mediating effect of L2MSS.

EFL learners’ low motivation and lack of sufficient prior knowledge can be regarded as the barriers that impede their success in presentation of high quality writing pieces. To solve the mentioned problems, some researchers suggest the application of inventive technology-enhanced instructions in teaching the writing skill. In this regard, WebQuest as a computer-based instructional model providing the already-selected website links can be proposed as an appropriate candidate. Hence, the very aim of the present experimental pre-test/post-test study was to address the effect of WebQuest-based instruction on Iranian undergraduate EFL learners’ achievements in their overall essay writing ability as well as their writing ability concerning the elaboration, focus, conventions, vocabulary, and organization sub-skills. To do so, 50 participants in the experimental group and 49 participants in the control group performed the WebQuest-based and the alternative tasks without access to the web links, respectively. To analyze the obtained data, six ANCOVAs were run. The results revealed a significant improvement in EFL learners’ overall writing performance as well as their outperformance in the organization, focus, elaboration, and vocabulary subskills, but not the conventions sub-skill. The findings of this study indicated optimistic implications about the potential applicability of novel educational technologies in Iranian higher education context. EFL learners’ improved writing performance and vocabulary acquisition as well as their increased motivation and collaboration in WebQuest-based writing classes can be regarded as a valuable clue for teachers, administrators, and designers to pave the way for further integration of innovative technologies in EFL settings.

The start of oral nutrition after colorectal surgery has always been an issue of debate. There is a long-standing practice of beginning oral feeding 4-5 days after surgery. However, in recent years a number of surgeons have questioned this method and in fact, have begun ordering immediate oral nutrition for their postoperative patients. The current article presents the findings of a clinical trial study, which compared the early and delayed start of oral feeding after colorectal surgery.

The present clinical trial recruited 52 patients undergoing colorectal anastomosis and divided these subjects into two groups. In the control group, oral feeding started 4-5 days after the operation. In contrast, the study group commenced oral nutrition soon after surgery. The outcomes for both groups were measured in terms of demographic data, anastomotic leakage rate, nausea and vomiting, the start of bowel movements, and complications.

The two patient groups did not differ in their rates of ileus and diet intolerance (p=1). As for the factors of nausea and vomiting, there were no observed statistically significant differences between the study and control groups (p=0.1). The most critical outcome of the early and late start feeding groups was anastomotic leakage, for which there was no significant difference to report. The length of hospital stay was significantly shorter in the early feeding study group (3.56 days) than in the delayed feeding control group (7.36 days) (p<0.001). Defecation among patients receiving early oral nutrition was 2.8 days on the average, but 4.91 days among the control group patients, a statistically important difference (p<0.004).

While the early start of oral nutrition after colorectal surgery resection and anastomosis does not raise postoperative risks and mortality; it does reduce postoperative complications, the length of hospital stay, and final health care costs. As a result, early feeding after surgery can be considered as a viable alternative to delayed feeding.

Gastric diverticulum in newborn infants is the rarest (0.04%) of gastrointestinal diverticula. Most of them especially in this age group are asymptomatic or cannot be diagnosed based on examinations and symptoms. However, if it becomes symptomatic, the symptoms can range from vague abdominal pain to bleeding, perforation or torsion. The present case report discusses a preterm newborn with a perforated gastric diverticulum.

Since the laparoscopic cholecystectomy was introduced first in 1990, the 4-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy was the gold standard. The 4-port (lateral) is used to hold gallbladder fundus and observe Calot's triangle. It is discussed that the 4-port technique is not required in many patients. Therefore, this study aimed to make a comparison between 3-port and 4-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy methods in the treatment of gallstone disease.

A double-blind clinical trial was performed on patients admitted to Imam Reza Hospital, Birjand, Iran. The patients with gallstone disease (n=60) were randomly assigned into the case (3-port) and control (4-port) groups using balanced block randomization and underwent 3- or 4-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Postoperative pain was measured by a visual analog scale four h after surgery. The amount of pain-killer, duration of surgery, as well as length of stay and scars were measured in this study. Data were analyzed statistically in SPSS software (version 18) through the Chi-square test and t-test. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The groups were compared in terms of demographic characteristics. There were 24 females (80%) and 6 males (20%) in the control group and 25 females (83.4%) and 5 males (16.7%) in the case group (P=0.739). Moreover, the mean ages of the control and case groups were 59.823±7.8 and 61.10±4.7, respectively, and there was no significant difference between the groups in this regard (P=0.348). Furthermore, length of operation (P=0.001) and analgesic consumption (P=0.001) in the 3-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy group were lower than those in the 4-port group; however, the hospital stay (P=0.896) was the same in both groups.

The 3-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a safe, reliable, and cost-effective method in patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Lipomas are the most common benign tumors of connective tissue which can be found in different parts of the human body. In rare cases, their size may be so giant which could be an indication for surgery. Here, we present a case of congenital multiple asymmetrical giant lipomas of the back in a young female. She presented with a chief complaint of physical discomfort due to the giant size and weight of the lipomas. Apart from that, she was in total health. She was born with 5 small lipomas in the back and flank region which had become giant lipomas with estimated weigh around 16 kg in total by the age of 24. The patient underwent seven operations to remove or debulk the mass over a 24-year period since the recurrence of the growths was inevitable.Considering the size of the mass and differential diagnosis, such as liposarcoma, and since no risk factor or underlying etiology was detected for the patient`s condition, surgical excision was the preferred technique for this case.

Although the existing research has advanced our understating of sociological issues such as translators’ prefaces, a paucity of studies into languages of limited diffusion, including Persian is strongly felt. To partly fill this gap, this study aims to explore Iranian fiction translators’ (in)visibility from the perspective of paratexts. Paratextual elements, especially prefaces, are among the most privileged translators' commentaries that provide opportunities for translators to have a direct contact with readers and foreground their presence and status in their profession. Drawing on a convenience sampling technique, the corpus of the study comprised the prefaces of 300 Persian translated works of fiction from English. The corpus under investigation encompassed a wide spectrum of English writers and Persian translators. The prefaces of the translations were analyzed in accordance with the “thematic analysis” procedure, where the prefaces were examined multiple times, and meaningful patterns were extracted and grouped under several headings sharing the same content. The results showed that a large proportion of the extracted themes from translators’ prefaces elaborated on introducing the original authors and their source texts. Consequently, these commentaries, even under the translators' name, did not significantly contribute to highlighting the visibility of translators within their work. This study may provide implications for novice translators regarding their stance and voice in their translations. Keywords: Preface, Paratext, Theme, Translators, (In)visibility.

Current advances in Web-based technology and the pervasive application of electronic communication in professional or educational settings raise the demand for meticulous examination of how these new advancements can be manipulated most effectively by EFL practitioners and learners for educational purposes. In order to facilitate the process of writing hypertextual research articles using Swales’ genre analysis model (1990/2004), this study attempted to see whether the hyperlinks of hypertextual articles occur at the places of move boundaries. For this purpose, the introduction and discussion sections of 30 Applied Linguistics hypertextual research articles were examined in terms of moves and hyperlinks. The results revealed that hypertextual research articles followed the same models proposed by Swales for their introduction and discussion sections. However, there were no relationship between the segmentations of texts at the hyperlinks and the places of move boundaries. In other words, hyperlinks did not occur at the places of move boundaries. This study may have implications for integrating technology with genre-based approaches to teaching academic writing.

Keeping portfolio opens a window on the way teachers try to assess students' writing improvement and learning capacity. Implementing this curricular innovation, the present study was an attempt to grow tutor-student dynamic involvement in giving/receiving written corrective feedback (WCF). To this end, two intact classes of EFL university students participated, each experiencing a distinct portfolio-keeping model (working vs. showcase) while receiving WCF from triadic sources (self, peer, & tutor) and varying tutor feedback types (indirect-unfocused vs. direct-focused).  Students' performance on "TOEFL Test of Written English"andtheir grades in the previous writing course, namely "Advanced Grammar and Sentence Writing"were averaged out for both groups (Working Portfolio Group/WPG and Showcase Portfolio Group/ SPG) to assign them as low-, medium- and high-proficiency L2 writers. Written products kept in their portfolios were examined to see how differently the participants benefited from WCF sources/types. The findings revealed that WPG participants were more responsive to the working portfolio model than those in SPG who received delayed tutor evaluation in showcase portfolio approach. The article concludes with some pedagogical implications on how to use feedback to improve the quality of revised written texts and to support learning through writing.

This study aimed at investigating the relationship between Willingness to Communicate and EFL learners’ Communication Apprehension, Self-perceived Communicative Competence, Self-regulation, Need for Closure, Tolerance of Ambiguity as well as Aggression. The participants of this study were 300 (197 female and 103 male) Iranian EFL learners of English language institutes in Isfahan. To fulfill the purpose of the study, participants were asked to answer seven questionnaires on Willingness to Communicate (WTC), Communication Apprehension (CA), Self-perceived Communicative Competence (SPCC), Self-regulation (SR), Need for Closure (NFC), Tolerance of Ambiguity (TA) and Aggression (Agg). The results of Structural Equation Modeling confirmed previous studies on the relationship between EFL learners’ WTC and SPCC as well as CA asserting that WTC was positively correlated with SPCC and negatively with CA. It was also found that WTC positively correlated with TA. However, the findings revealed no relationship between WTC and SR, NFC and Agg. This study had implications for EFL learners and teachers regarding the factors influencing WTC in language classrooms.

As a new shift in the ELT field, critical pedagogy (CP) originated from Freirean philosophy. It aims at raising both teachers and learners’ awareness towards the instrumental view of ELT and its superficial neutrality. Despite the recent growth of CP in Iran, it is unknown whether or not CP is supported and practiced in the teacher development process of Iranian universities. Moreover, to the best of the researchers’ knowledge, an appropriate questionnaire dealing with such a concept has not been developed yet. The present study, therefore, aimed at developing and validating a CP-oriented scale to be used in ELT education system in Iran. To validate this instrument, 150 EFL teachers and students from three universities of Iran were selected through convenience sampling. The researchers employed exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The results indicated an acceptable level of internal consistency and satisfactory construct validity. This measure can be helpful for those who support practicalizing CP tenets in the field of ELT, in general and in teacher development process, in particular.

This study investigated the relationship between classroom environment and teacher behavior, and EFL (English as a foreign language) learners’ engagement and state motivation. To do so, 110 intermediate Iranian EFL learners with an average age of 18.37 were asked to complete What is Happening Inside the Classroom scale (WIHIC), Questionnaire for Teacher Interaction (QTI), Student Engagement Instrument (SEI), and Student State Motivation scale (SMS). The results of statistical analysis showed that there was a moderate relationship between all aspects of classroom environment (student cohesiveness, teacher support, equity, involvement, cooperation, and task orientation) and learners’ engagement (emotional and cognitive engagement). Moreover, there was a relationship between some aspects of classroom environment (student cohesiveness, task orientation, cooperation, and involvement) and state motivation. However, there was no relationship between teacher behavior, learners’ engagement, and state motivation. Implications are discussed and avenues for future research are outlined.

This study reports the findings of the research conducted on the effects of Interest-Based Language Teaching (IBLT) on Persian students’ interest in L2 learning, and their achievement in reading comprehension. With the aim of improving L2 learning in the university level, the study investigated whether selecting instructional materials based on learners’ interest areas could impact their interest in language learning. Furthermore, it examined whether selecting instructional materials based on interest would have any influence on learners’ performance in L2 reading. It also examined any significant differences between the learners with high and low L2 reading levels in terms of interest. The participants were sixty first-year nursing students in a nursing college. Both questionnaires and tests were employed to collect the data. The collected data were closely examined and analyzed using independent-samples t-test. The results revealed that (1) personalizing the materials could make a significant contribution to the development and enhancement of students' interest level in L2 learning; (2) selecting the instructional materials based on learners’ interest areas could improve their performance in L2 reading comprehension; and (3) in using IBLT, there was no significant difference between learners with different levels of reading proficiency in learning the course materials.

Recent studies have reported a relationship between vitamin D and atopic diseases such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis, which is due to the recently discovered vitamin D receptors on many immune system cells. Among all atopic diseases, asthma has been studied the most in this regard. However, the role of vitamin D in other atopic diseases such as allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis is a matter of controversy. In this paper, we review the literature on the association between atopic diseases and vitamin D level with a focus on the childhood period. As of today, the role of vitamin D in atopic march is not clear and studies show controversial results. Therefore, further studies with adequate sample sizes and correction for perplexing factors are needed since this could be an innovative treatment in atopic children. It is also advisable to examine high-risk groups of children for vitamin D deficiency.
According to the extracted data, vitamin D has a protecting effect against atopic diseases. At the same time, no evidence was found for such an association in some studies, thus, further studies are needed to clarify this issue.

The increasing impact of audiovisual media and film industry in particular has led researchers to think of audiovisual translation strategies. Huge investments in film industry need global markets. Hence, there is a need for qualified translations and systematic studies dedicated to this area are in great demand. This study aims to investigate translation strategies adopted in the translation of two awards-winning dramas. The selection criterion is based on winning international awards or compliments received in the target community. Although some may argue that these successes are rooted in the selected movies’ ideologies, the role of an accurate translation in transferring such elements is undeniable. The present study analyzes the translation strategies employed in the subtitled version of the following films: A Separation and I Daniel Blake. The theoretical framework of the current study is based on Gottlieb’s (1992) Classification of Interlingual Subtitling. The obtained results depicted that except dislocation and transcription, all Gottlieb’s strategies were applicable. The results also showed that the film’s genre plays an influential role in translators’ decisions. As these films were warmly welcomed by the target audiences, the frequent translation strategies will be useful and practical for the future of audiovisual translation industry.

This study aims to examine the cross-cultural similarities and differences in the use of rapport management strategies (rapport enhancement, rapport maintenance, rapport neglect, and rapport challenge) in the complaints during service encounters based on Spencer Oatey’s (2008) model. To this end, 90 participants (30 Persian native speakers, 30 Iranian EFL (English as a foreign language) learners, and 30 English speakers) were asked to complete a role-play Discourse Completion Task in four different situations. The study argues that: (1) the use of rapport management strategies is universal; all the groups used all kinds of rapport management strategies; (2) the use of rapport management strategies is culture-specific; the participants in each group differently used the intended strategies; and (3) the socio-pragmatic competence of EFL learners is sometimes different from that of the native speakers of English; it goes through developmental stages and is influenced by L1 norms. The study concludes that teachers should condition the communicative tasks used inside the class with factors such as the relationship among the interlocutors to help EFL learners develop a pragmatic competence comparable to that of the native speakers. Teachers can also resort to modern technologies to provide EFL learners with the opportunity to communicate with native speakers and receive feedback with regard to the cultural appropriacy of the forms produced.

This study was an attempt to examine the levels of teacher activity and reflection phases Iranian prospective language teachers go through in a way to put into practice the concepts and theories explored on campus within their workplace. To this end, Core Reflection Model was practiced by drawing on reflective journals, focus group discussions, and field notes collected over a four month period. The findings indicated that reflections on all six levels of the core reflection model took place mostly being on the level of convictions or beliefs, followed by competencies, behavior, environment, identity, and mission. Moreover, through the movement of reflection among the five phases, a shift from the second phase, looking back at action, to the third one, awareness of essential aspects, was observed and held on to the last phase; the reason could be the lack of mentorship and supervisory interventions for promoting guided reflection practice for prospective teachers in English language teacher education in Iran. In general, utilizing core reflection model in language teacher education for prospective teachers seems to be successful, because the model fostered the reflection of language teachers on all levels and phases and could empower them in their practice.

Interest plays a key role in education and language learning. This study investigated if selecting and using interest-based instructional materials could impact learners' performance in L2 reading. It also examined whether there were meaningful differences between male and female learners' performance, concerning the use of interest-based materials. Sixty first-grade university students participated in the study. To answer the research questions, a quantitative method using the 'interest survey questionnaire' and the 'achievement test,' was employed. The collected data were compared and analyzed using t-test, and through SPSS. The results revealed that the use of Interest-Based Language Teaching (IBLT) made a significant contribution to the improvement of learners' performance in L2 reading. They also revealed some interaction of interest and gender, not at significant level though, with respect to the learners' performance in learning. Thus, language teaching researchers, teachers, and particularly material developers are suggested to notice the use and importance of applying interest-based materials in L2 teaching. They should be aware that such materials can lead to better performance in L2 learning.