The Effects of Professional Development Initiatives on EFL Teachers’ Degree of Self Efficacy

Despite the importance of teacher efficacy, there has been little research on the effects of interventions intended to increase it. Thus, the present study considered the potential of Professional Development (PD) in enhancing teachers’ beliefs about their teaching ability. The study was quantitative in nature and utilized the reliable survey instrument known as “Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale”. Two groups of English as a Foreign language EFL teachers (an experimental group and a convenience sample of control teachers) were surveyed in the study in a Pre-test Post-test (and delayed Post-test) Control Group Design. After administering a Pre-test on self-efficacy which indicated no significant difference between the two groups, the treatment teachers received three 16-session courses during which they were provided with opportunities for PD using five PD models including In-service Training, Fellow Observation/Assessment, Development/Improvement Process, Mentoring, and Study Groups. The two groups were then compared on the post- and delayed post-tests which showed that the treatment teachers obtained significantly higher efficacy scores than the control group of teachers

Communication Strategies in the Written Medium: The Effect of Language Proficiency

Although much has been written on 'communication strategies' (CS), in the sense of potentially conscious plans for solving problems encountered in reaching particular communicative goals, there still remain large gaps in our knowledge in this respect. One area worthy of attention, and not totally clarified, is whether these strategies are applied and workable in writing as frequently as they are in speaking tasks. Accordingly, the present study aimed at pitting the use of CS against language proficiency level in argumentative writing of Iranian university students. The results of the Chi-Square tests run for the purpose of investigating the hypotheses showed that language proficiency was highly related with the use of more Reconceptualization Strategies which are thought to be psycho linguistically more demanding compared with Substitution Strategies

Iranian EFL Teachers\u27 Perceptions of Dynamic Assessment: Exploring the Role of Education and Length of Service

The present study reports on the thematic analysis of Iranian EFL teachers\u27 perceptions of dynamic assessment in relation to their academic degree and length of service. To this end, 42 Iranian EFL teachers participated in the study. Of these teachers, 22 held BA and 20 held MA degrees in ELT-related subjects, with varying lengths of service. Semi-structured interviews were used to inquire into the teachers\u27 perceptions of dynamic assessment. The four major themes which emerged from the content analysis of the audiotaped interviews revealed significant variations in participants\u27 patterns of perceptions and concerns towards dynamic assessment. The major themes comprised of teachers\u27 understanding of dynamic assessment as a classroom practice, viewing their own agency in application of dynamic assessment, the place of learners in this practice, and their awareness about contextual constraints affecting application of dynamic assessment. Suggestions for further research as well as limitations of the study are also discussed

The Congruity/Incongruity of EFL Teachers’ Beliefs about Listening Instruction and their Listening Instructional Practices

While research on EFL teachers’ beliefs and the realization of these beliefs in their classroom practices has recently gained momentum in the field of applied linguistics, the study of teachers’ beliefs as they relate to listening has received insufficient attention in the literature. This study was conducted to investigate Iranian EFL teachers’ beliefs about listening and their beliefs-driven instructional practices. To this end, a listening beliefs questionnaire was administered to a total of 85 teachers (BA= 49, MA= 36), followed by classroom observation of 12 teachers (6 teachers per group) who were given an audio to teach. The results revealed that there was no significant difference between BA and MA teachers regarding their listening beliefs and beliefs-driven practices. The results of the Phi coefficient of correlation indicated that there was no significant relationship between teachers’ beliefs about listening instruction and their listening instructional practices. Furthermore, the results of the interview showed that time, besides other impediments, was the major obstacle for teachers to actualize their listening beliefs. The implications of the study for teacher education are discussed

The Impact of Morphological Awareness on Iranian Pre-University Students’ Listening Transcription

Morphological Awareness (henceforth: MA), defined as the ability to understand the morphemic structure of the words, has been reported to affect various aspects of second language performance including reading comprehension ability, spelling performance, etc. Yet, the concept has been far less treated with reference to l2 listening transcription. Thus, against this background, this study aims to investigate the link between MA and listening transcription ability of Iranian pre-university students. To this aim, 40 pre-university students participated in the study, and were assigned to two control and experimental groups. Both groups were first given three short listening passages to transcribe as the pre-tests. The results of the independent-samples t-test revealed no significant difference between the two groups. The experimental group, then, received five one-hour sessions briefing them on the morphological realization of English words. The two groups were then given three short listening passages to transcribe as their post-tests. The results of the independent-samples t-tests attested to the significant difference between the two groups, thus, supporting the relationship between MA and listening transcription ability. The study concludes with some suggestions as to the incorporation of MA into L2 learning programs

Quantitative measurement of toxic metals and assessment of health risk in agricultural products food from Markazi Province of Iran

Abstract The current study aims to investigate the levels of the toxic metal in agricultural products (legumes, wheat, and potato) collected in Markazi province, Iran, and human health risk by using inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The levels of arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) in all samples were lower than the limit of detection (LOD), while the level of Cd in potato samples was lower than the maximum permisible level (MPL) of the European commission (EC). The non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk assessment by direct ingestion of agricultural products was calculated using the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) method. The highest mean of toxic metals was observed for lead (Pb) in legume samples (562.17 μg kg− 1). Mercury (Hg) and Pb levels in all samples were higher than LOD, while Pb level in wheat samples were lower than of EC. The rank order of Hg and Pb levels in all samples based on target hazard quotient (THQ) value was wheat> potato>legume. The THQ index of Hg and Pb by the deterministic method in wheat was 1.37 and 0.454; in potato 0.139 and 0.104; in legume 0.092 and 0.41, respectively. The carcinogenic risk index was at an acceptable range. The high hazard index values were estimated and the THQ index for Hg in wheat suggests a non-negligible health risk

Thyme Oil Nanoemulsion Enhanced Cellular Antioxidant and Suppressed Inflammation in Mice Challenged by Cadmium-Induced Oxidative Stress

Cadmium is a poisonous trace element which induces oxidative stress and pollutes the environment. Nanoemulsions are recognized as a new drug delivery system with enhanced therapeutic efficacy. In the present study, nanoemulsion of Thymus vulgaris essential oil was prepared and characterized. The effects of the essential oil on body weight gain, liver mineral content, histopathology, lipid peroxidation, antioxidant- and inflammatory-related gene expressions were also investigated in mice challenged by cadmium-induced oxidative stress. Characterization of nanoemulsion (e.g., polydispersity index, particle size, and ζ-potential) indicated a good stability degree of T. vulgaris essential oil. Phytochemical analysis by GC–MS also demonstrated T. vulgaris essential oil contained phenolic compounds i.e., thymol, p-cymene, ɣ-teripinene, carvacrol, caryophyllene and linalool. The treatment of mice with T. vulgaris essential oil significantly (p < 0.05) improved body weight changes, reduced cadmium deposition in the liver and decreased lipid peroxidation compared to control group. Also, the antioxidative potential was enhanced whereas inflammation in the tissues were suppressed. The GPx gene was up regulated whereas iNOS genes were significantly (p < 0.05) downregulated in kidney, liver and brain tissues. Our findings suggest T.vulgaris essential oil can be a promising protective agent against cadmium-induced oxidative stress