EVALUATING GENDER-BIAS IN THE IRANIAN PRE-UNIVERSITY ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS

Abstract: Textbooks can affect learners’ attitudes, viewpoints, and their choice of language in second/foreign language (L2) communication. The various ways in which the people are displayed in communication may affect students’ viewpoints. This study was an attempt to examine several potential areas of gender-bias in the representation of women and men in the pre-university English textbook, an English language teaching (ELT) textbook with two volumes taught in the high schools of Iran. To evaluate this textbook, content analysis was done in terms of gender-bias, gender-neutral, male-generics, and the firstness in the reading texts, instructions, exercises and illustrations. The frequency and percentages of names, nouns, pronouns and pictures attributed to each gender (i.e., males and females) were obtained and chi-square tests were carried out. In general, names, nouns and pictures pertinent to males outnumbered those attributed to females. Besides, there was a statistically significant difference between males and females in the two volumes of the pre-university textbook in terms of the above features. Also, male-oriented terms came first more frequently. However, there was not a statistically significant difference between male and female pronouns between the two volumes, though the percentage of male pronouns was higher. Moreover, the textbook included many gender-neutral nouns and pronouns not having any gender orientations. Findings indicated that the Iranian pre-university English textbook was somehow male-oriented and gender-biased as regards names, nouns, firstness and pictures associated with them though great efforts were made to avoid specific gender orientations

Sources of Self-Efficacy as Predictors of EFL Learners’ Course Performance

It is generally believed that self-efficacy as a psychological construct contributes to learning process and academic performance. The present study attempted to investigate the possible differences among self-efficacy sources as predictors of EFL learners’ academic achievement in educational settings. To this end, a questionnaire of EFL self-efficacy sources together with Nelson English Proficiency Test were administered among 219 senior EFL learners. The collected data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. The results indicated that of the four sources of self-efficacy, only enactive mastery experience accounted for a statistically significant portion of the variance with course performance and, therefore, was a positive predictor of students’ course performance. The results of the present study imply that when learners continue to develop self-efficacy, they will have better English performance scores. It is also concluded that what an educational system needs to consider, in addition to general teaching and learning process, is focusing on personality features of learners. The findings of this study can, therefore, provide implications for researchers, teachers, materials developers, and syllabus designers

Metabolic Dependencies in Pancreatic Cancer.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a highly lethal cancer with a long-term survival rate under 10%. Available cytotoxic chemotherapies have significant side effects, and only marginal therapeutic efficacy. FDA approved drugs currently used against PDA target DNA metabolism and DNA integrity. However, alternative metabolic targets beyond DNA may prove to be much more effective. PDA cells are forced to live within a particularly severe microenvironment characterized by relative hypovascularity, hypoxia, and nutrient deprivation. Thus, PDA cells must possess biochemical flexibility in order to adapt to austere conditions. A better understanding of the metabolic dependencies required by PDA to survive and thrive within a harsh metabolic milieu could reveal specific metabolic vulnerabilities. These molecular requirements can then be targeted therapeutically, and would likely be associated with a clinically significant therapeutic window since the normal tissue is so well-perfused with an abundant nutrient supply. Recent work has uncovered a number of promising therapeutic targets in the metabolic domain, and clinicians are already translating some of these discoveries to the clinic. In this review, we highlight mitochondria metabolism, non-canonical nutrient acquisition pathways (macropinocytosis and use of pancreatic stellate cell-derived alanine), and redox homeostasis as compelling therapeutic opportunities in the metabolic domain

Sources of Self-Efficacy as Predictors of EFL Learners’ Course Performance

It is generally believed that self-efficacy as a psychological construct contributes to learning process and academic performance. The present study attempted to investigate the possible differences among self-efficacy sources as predictors of EFL learners’ academic achievement in educational settings. To this end, a questionnaire of EFL self-efficacy sources together with Nelson English Proficiency Test were administered among 219 senior EFL learners. The collected data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. The results indicated that of the four sources of self-efficacy, only enactive mastery experience accounted for a statistically significant portion of the variance with course performance and, therefore, was a positive predictor of students’ course performance. The results of the present study imply that when learners continue to develop self-efficacy, they will have better English performance scores. It is also concluded that what an educational system needs to consider, in addition to general teaching and learning process, is focusing on personality features of learners. The findings of this study can, therefore, provide implications for researchers, teachers, materials developers, and syllabus designers

Cooperative and competitive teaching techniques affecting iranian EFL learners’ autonomy level

This study investigated the effects of competitive and cooperative teaching techniques on Iranian adult EFL learners’ autonomy. To this end, a sample of 88 non-English major university students at Sohrevardi Nonprofit College in Qazvin were assigned to two groups, and each group received instruction under one of the treatment conditions including cooperative and competitive teaching techniques. To collect data, the Persian translation of an autonomy questionnaire was administered before and after the treatment. The obtained data were analyzed using an Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) procedure. The result of data analysis showed that competitive and cooperative teaching techniques affected the level of autonomy in EFL learners. The learners in the cooperative group were more autonomous. The findings of the present study may have implications for learners, teachers, and syllabus designers

La eficacia de las estrategias de andamiaje y la orientación de tareas sobre el conocimiento receptivo y productivo de las colocaciones léxicas

The present study aimed at investigating the effects of scaffolding strategies using input and output-oriented tasks on Iranian EFL learners' receptive and productive knowledge of lexical collocations. For this purpose, 540 adult intermediate-level EFL learners- both male and female- were selected and divided into six experimental groups; three input-oriented and three output-oriented tasks. Each experimental group received treatment under one of the three scaffolding strategies of direct corrective feedback, cooperative group technique, and visual cues. After the treatment period, a 40-item multiple-choice test and a 40-item fill-in-the-blanks test were administered to assess the participants' receptive and productive collocations knowledge. To analyze the data, two separate two-way ANOVA procedures were used. The results indicated that visual cues were the most effective scaffolding strategy in teaching lexical collocations. Moreover, the cooperative group technique had a significant positive impact on learning collocations compared to direct corrective feedback. The results also showed that the participants in the output-oriented tasks group significantly outperformed those in the input-oriented tasks group. These findings can have practical implications for language learners, teachers, and materials developers, and theoretical implications for researchers.El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar los efectos de las estrategias de andamiaje que utilizan tareas orientadas a insumos y resultados en el conocimiento receptivo y productivo de las colocaciones léxicas de los estudiantes iraníes de inglés como lengua extranjera. Para este propósito, 540 aprendices adultos en nivel intermedio, tanto hombres como mujeres fueron seleccionados y divididos en seis grupos experimentales; tres en la categoría de insumos y tres en la categoría de resultados. Cada grupo experimental recibió un tratamiento bajo una de tres estrategias de andamiaje, tales como:  retroalimentación directa correctiva, técnica grupal cooperativa y señales visuales. Después del periodo de tratamiento, se administró una prueba de 40 preguntas de múltiple respuesta y una prueba de 40 preguntas de llenar espacios para evaluar el conocimiento de las colocaciones receptivas y productivas de los participantes. Para analizar los datos, se utilizaron dos procedimientos ANOVA bidireccionales separados. Los resultados indicaron que las señales visuales fueron la estrategia más efectiva en la enseñanza de colocaciones léxicas. Además, la técnica de cooperación grupal tuvo un impacto significativo en el aprendizaje de colocaciones comparado con la retroalimentación directa correctiva. Los resultados también mostraron que los participantes en el grupo de tareas orientadas a resultados superaron significativamente a los del grupo de tareas orientadas a insumos. Estos hallazgos pueden tener implicaciones prácticas para los aprendices de lengua, docentes, desarrolladores de materiales e implicaciones teoréticas para los investigadores