Design, Construction, and Validation of a Critical Pedagogy Attitude Questionnaire in Iran

The application of the principles of critical pedagogy to the field of ELT in the last few decades has contributed to the immergence of critical perspectives toward ELT industry and the role of English in the world. These views known as the critical standpoint acknowledges the existence of non-neutral hidden aspects in ELT and regards English as a tool to promote selected ideologies and to pursue hidden goals. Despite the rapid spread of English in Iran and the relevance of the issues addressed by the critical standpoint in ELT to this specific context, few studies have been conducted to survey Iranian EFL teachers' critical attitude towards ELT industry and the lack of an instrument to measure their critical attitude was highly remarkable. The present study, therefore, aimed at developing a Critical Pedagogy Attitude Questionnaire that could be used to evaluate Iranian ELT community’s critical attitude towards ELT industry. The newly developed questionnaire was validated by administering it among 100 English professors and institute teachers in 21 cities of Iran. This study investigated the internal consistency and the construct validity of the newly-developed instrument which both indicated acceptable results

Design, Construction, and Validation of a Critical Pedagogy Attitude Questionnaire in Iran

The application of the principles of critical pedagogy to the field of ELT in the last few decades has contributed to the immergence of critical perspectives toward ELT industry and the role of English in the world. These views known as the critical standpoint acknowledges the existence of non-neutral hidden aspects in ELT and regards English as a tool to promote selected ideologies and to pursue hidden goals. Despite the rapid spread of English in Iran and the relevance of the issues addressed by the critical standpoint in ELT to this specific context, few studies have been conducted to survey Iranian EFL teachers' critical attitude towards ELT industry and the lack of an instrument to measure their critical attitude was highly remarkable. The present study, therefore, aimed at developing a Critical Pedagogy Attitude Questionnaire that could be used to evaluate Iranian ELT community’s critical attitude towards ELT industry. The newly developed questionnaire was validated by administering it among 100 English professors and institute teachers in 21 cities of Iran. This study investigated the internal consistency and the construct validity of the newly-developed instrument which both indicated acceptable results

Design, Construction, and Validation of a Critical Pedagogy Attitude Questionnaire in Iran

The application of the principles of critical pedagogy to the field of ELT in the last few decades has contributed to the immergence of critical perspectives toward ELT industry and the role of English in the world. These views known as the critical standpoint acknowledges the existence of non-neutral hidden aspects in ELT and regards English as a tool to promote selected ideologies and to pursue hidden goals. Despite the rapid spread of English in Iran and the relevance of the issues addressed by the critical standpoint in ELT to this specific context, few studies have been conducted to survey Iranian EFL teachers' critical attitude towards ELT industry and the lack of an instrument to measure their critical attitude was highly remarkable. The present study, therefore, aimed at developing a Critical Pedagogy Attitude Questionnaire that could be used to evaluate Iranian ELT community’s critical attitude towards ELT industry. The newly developed questionnaire was validated by administering it among 100 English professors and institute teachers in 21 cities of Iran. This study investigated the internal consistency and the construct validity of the newly-developed instrument which both indicated acceptable results

Investigating Two Aspects of Teachers' Contribution to Classroom Discourse across Proficiency Levels: Corrective Feedback and Use of L1

In EFL contexts where the language learners' input, output, and interactions are primarily provided within the four walls of the classroom, the success of learning depends to a large extent on the righteousness and adequacy of classroom discourse to which the teachers' contribution has a decisive role. Drawing upon this assumption, the present study aimed at investigating teachers' contribution to classroom discourse at two levels of proficiency, namely low intermediate and high intermediate levels, based on two of the five categories proposed by Ellis (2008). In so doing, the discourse of eight English classes at the aforementioned levels taught by four male and female teachers (two classes per teacher, one low intermediate and one high intermediate) was audio-recorded, transcribed, and then analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively to determine whether the teachers intentionally and professionally modified their contributions to classroom discourse according to the learners' proficiency levels. The analysis of the results revealed that there was no marked and intentional adjustment on the part of participating teachers to the classroom discourse when interacting with the learners at those levels. At the end, the implications of the present study for classroom teachers, teacher trainers, supervisors, and observers were discussed

Relationship between Willingness to Communicate and Iranian EFL Learner’s Speaking Fluency and Accuracy

The application of English as an international language has been well known in any field of life. Four skills of this language are divided into two categories, productive skills (speaking and writing) and receptive skills (listening and reading). According to the practicality of the English language nowadays, most of people try to learn English. It is observable that majority of learners step in this way just to learn how to converse and participate in discussions. In other words, they aim to improve their speaking skill. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate possible relationship between willingness to communicate and Iranian EFL learners' speaking fluency and accuracy. In this way, OPT, WTC test, fluency and accuracy test were employed. Afterwards, statistical analysis was accomplished. Consequently, the analysis indicated acceptable results. The results contain positive relationship between willingness to communicate and speaking fluency. It can be concluded that both trainers and trainees can employ willingness to communicate as one of the tools to increase fluency and accuracy level of learners speaking

Cytotoxic activity of the genus Ferula (Apiaceae) and its bioactive constituents

Objective: The genus Ferula L. includes perennial flowering plants belonging to the Apiaceae family. This genus is a rich source of biologically active phytochemicals such as sulfur-containing derivatives, coumarins, sesquiterpenes, sesquiterpene lactones, sesquiterpene coumarins, glucuronic acid, galactose, arabinose, rhamnose, and daucane esters. Over the last decade, considerable attention has been paid to biological activities of these compounds; it is assumed that the most prominent biological features of the genus Ferula are their cytotoxic effects. This article discusses cytotoxic activity of the genus Ferula and their important compounds. Methods: In this mini-review article, papers published from 1990 to April 2016 were included and the following information was discussed; cytotoxic activity of the genus Ferula and their important compounds, the type of cell line used in vitro, concentrations of the extracts/active compound that were used, and the underlying mechanisms of action through which Ferula-related chemicals induced cytotoxicity. In addition, we explained different mechanisms of action through which the active constituents isolated from Ferula, could decrease cellular growth. Conclusion: It is highly recommended that potent and effective compounds that were isolated from Ferula plants and found to be appropriate as adjuvant therapy for certain diseases, should be identified. Also, the versatile biological activities of sesquiterpene coumarins suggest them as promising agents with a broad range of biological applications to be used in the future

Altered Regulation of Aquaporin Gene Expression in Allergen and IL-13-Induced Mouse Models of Asthma

IL-13 is known to affect many processes that contribute to an asthmatic phenotype, including inflammation, fibrosis, and mucus production. Members of the aquaporin (AQP) family of transmembrane water channels are targets of regulation in models of lung injury and inflammation. Therefore, we examined AQP mRNA and protein expression in allergen and IL-13-induced mouse models of asthma. Lungs from ovalbumin sensitized and ovalbumin challenged (OVA/OVA) and IL-13 treated mice showed airway thickening, increased mucus production, and pulmonary eosinophilia. Pulmonary function tests showed a significant increase in methacholine-induced airway hyperreactivity in OVA/OVA and IL-13-treated mice as compared with controls. Quantitative PCR analysis revealed differential regulation of AQPs in these two models. AQP1 and AQP4 mRNA expression was downregulated in the OVA/OVA model, but not in the IL-13 model. AQP5 mRNA was reduced in both models, whereas AQP3 was upregulated only in the IL-13 model. Western analysis showed that diminished expression of an apically localized aquaporin, (AQP5), and concomitant upregulation of a basolateral aquaporin (AQP3 or AQP4) are characteristic features of both inducible asthma models. These results demonstrate that aquaporins are common targets of gene expression in both allergen and IL-13 induced mouse models of asthma

ORegAnno 3.0: A community-driven resource for curated regulatory annotation

The Open Regulatory Annotation database (ORegAnno) is a resource for curated regulatory annotation. It contains information about regulatory regions, transcription factor binding sites, RNA binding sites, regulatory variants, haplotypes, and other regulatory elements. ORegAnno differentiates itself from other regulatory resources by facilitating crowd-sourced interpretation and annotation of regulatory observations from the literature and highly curated resources. It contains a comprehensive annotation scheme that aims to describe both the elements and outcomes of regulatory events. Moreover, ORegAnno assembles these disparate data sources and annotations into a single, high quality catalogue of curated regulatory information. The current release is an update of the database previously featured in the NAR Database Issue, and now contains 1 948 307 records, across 18 species, with a combined coverage of 334 215 080 bp. Complete records, annotation, and other associated data are available for browsing and download at http://www.oreganno.org/