scholarly journals The effects of dynamic assessment and gender on EFL learners' oral narrative task performance

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Leila Ahmadpour ◽  
Hassan Asadollahfam
Keyword(s):  
Language Production ◽  
Dynamic Assessment ◽  
Oral Narrative ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Oral Production ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Narrative Language

The present study is an endeavor to explore the potential of dynamic assessment (DA) as a way of scaffolding English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ oral production. Although the literature on dynamic assessment is rich with studies focused on language components and skills such as vocabulary, reading, and writing, very few studies have attempted to examine the role of dynamic assessment in fostering real-time oral production. It is assumed that assessment of learners’ oral production need not focus solely on evaluation; rather, learners need to determine their weaknesses and try to compensate for them with the help of a more knowledgeable peer. Therefore, the present study also focused on evaluating the role of DA in Iranian EFL learners’ oral narrative task performances in the classroom. Furthermore, an attempt was made to explore the role of gender in the production of mediated narratives. For this purpose, a total of 60 students from two private universities were assigned to two intact classes: One class served as the experimental group, which was exposed to teachers’ mediation in learners’ narrative productions, and the other group functioned as the control group and received no such mediation for their oral narrative language production. The overall speech quality of learners’ production from each narrative over the treatment period provided the required data. The results were analyzed through independent samples t-tests, which revealed significant effects of both group and gender differences. The experimental learners, as expected, were able to progress and cultivate their oral production abilities after having been exposed to DA. Regarding gender, male participants were more successful in terms of enhanced second language oral production. The study has significant implications for the integration of DA into learners’ oral production, suggesting that EFL narrative production is a skill that is highly anxiety-provoking for learners.

scholarly journals Concurrent Group-dynamic Assessment of Intermediate EFL Learners’ Receptive and Productive Vocabulary Size

2021 ◽  
pp. 119-137
Author(s):  
Mostafa Azari Noghabi ◽  
Seyed Mohammad Reza Amirian ◽  
Gholamreza Zareian
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Dynamic Assessment ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Group Dynamic ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Experimental Group

Although research studies on dynamic assessment (DA) yielded promising results to the field of language teaching, scant research attention has been paid to examining the effectiveness of group dynamic assessment (G-DA) in relation to vocabulary development. To this effect, the present mixed-methods study was designed to inspect the potential of concurrent G-DA in enlarging receptive and productive vocabulary size of 56 Iranian intermediate EFL learners. The study used two modalities: the control group, which was taught the selected lexical items through traditional procedures such as using word lists; and the experimental group, which was offered group-based supportive prompts for doing vocabulary exercises within the G-DA framework. The results of a series of independent-samples t-tests indicated the significant effect of G-DA in enhancing receptive and productive vocabulary size of EFL learners. The qualitative data underscored the role of group mediation in increasing learners’ motivation to increase vocabulary uptake within the G-DA framework and maintaining their positive attitude toward G-DA.

Variations in Mineral/heavy metals profiling and preventive role of trichomes in Peach Fruits treated with CaC2

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Irfan ◽  
Safdar Abbas ◽  
Beenish Jehan Azhar ◽  
Shakeel Ahmad ◽  
Hafsa Muhammad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Nutritional Value ◽  
Fine Powder ◽  
Calcium Carbide ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Tandem Accelerator ◽  
Health Promoting ◽  
Elemental Profiling

Background: Phytonutrients in peach fruits have health promoting antioxidants against various chronic diseases. However, there is no extensive data to show the nutritional values of Local peach cultivars after post-harvest treatments. Objective: Mainly this study was objective to determine the effect of calcium carbide on nutritional value and quality of fruits of Pakistani peach cultivars. Methods: The peach fruits were collected from three different peach orchids of KPK and the fruits were divided into 4 groups while 5th group was collected from local fruit shop. Each experimental group was treated with different concentration of calcium carbide whereas control group was not treated. The peel and pulp samples were oven dried and ground to fine powder separately. The elemental compositions were determined using Particle Induced X-ray emission and Pelletron Tandem Accelerator. Result: Sixteen elements were identified in peach fruits and the elements were Al, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, and Se. In peel, concentration of some elements increased or decreased after treatment with CaC2 while in pulp the conc. of nearly all detected elements was increased in treated samples. We found significantly high amount of heavy metals traces including As, Se, Co, Si, and P in peach fruits treated with CaC2. Interestingly, the presence of trichomes in peach skin prevents the transfer of these heavy metals deep into the pulp which was also verified by the elemental profiling of nectarines. Conclusion: Conclusively, the artificial ripening with CaC2 changed the nutritional value of peach fruits that has higher health risks if consume with the peel. According to our best knowledge, this is the first report that highlights the effects of CaC2 which deteriorate the nutritional value of peach fruits in Pakistan.

scholarly journals Quality of life in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A

2013 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 392-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana B. Taniguchi ◽  
Valeria M.C. Elui ◽  
Flavia L. Osorio ◽  
Jaime E.C. Hallak ◽  
Jose A.S. Crippa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Life Questionnaire ◽  
Charcot Marie Tooth ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Charcot Marie Tooth Disease ◽  
Sf 36 ◽  
And Gender

We assessed the functional impairment in Charcot-Marie-Tooth resulting from 17p11.2-p12 duplication (CMT1A) patients using the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), which is a quality of life questionnaire. Twenty-five patients of both genders aged ≥10 years with a positive molecular diagnosis of CMT1A were selected. Age- and gender-matched Control Group (without family history of neuropathy), and the sociodemographic and professional conditions similar to the patients' group were selected to compare the SF-36 results between them. The results showed that the majority quality of life impairments in CMT1A patients occurred in the social and emotional domains. Functional capacity also tended to be significantly affected; other indicators of physical impairment were preserved. In conclusion, social and emotional aspects are mostly neglected in the assistance provided to CMT1A Brazilian patients, and they should be better understood in order to offer global health assistance with adequate quality of life as a result.

scholarly journals A Comparison of Efficiency in Teacher Correction Strategies in Iranian EFL Learners’ Speaking Improvement

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 183
Author(s):  
Roya Keshavarz ◽  
Amin Marzban
Keyword(s):  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Teaching Methodology ◽  
Moderator Variable ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Feedback Type ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
And Control

<p>The present study was an attempt to investigate the effect two types of corrective feedback (i.e., recast and metalinguistic) in order to find out which one is more effective on EFL learners’ speaking improvement and also to see if gender could play a role in the relative impact of the two types of corrective feedback on learners’ speaking ability. To this end, 65 EFL learners of intermediate level in one of language institutes in Shiraz, Iran were selected and divided into three groups including two experimental groups and one control. The instruments used to collect the data included IELTS test as the pre and post tests and Oxford Placement Test (OPT) in order to obtain the homogeneity in participants’ English proficiency. The collected data were codified and entered into SPSS Software (Version 22) and were analysed using descriptive statistics, t-test, and Tukey test. The results indicated that although applying these two types of corrective feedback could have made improvement in EFL learners’ speaking ability, there was not observed any significant difference between impacts of recast and metalinguistic on EFL learners’ production. The test results also indicated that there was not any significant difference regarding gender within the three groups. This homogeneity further shows that in this study, the gender variable did not have any effect on the role of corrective feedback and it can be concluded that the observed difference between metalinguistic group, recast group, and control group is just the result of the provided corrective feedback type which has acted as the intervening variable and the moderator variable such as gender did not prove to have any effect in the outcome of this study. The findings can contribute to syllabus design and teaching methodology areas.</p>

scholarly journals Enhancing learning potential score in EFL listening comprehension and self-regulation through self-regulated dynamic assessment procedures

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Parisa Abdolrezapour ◽  
Nasim Ghanbari
Keyword(s):  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Comparison Group ◽  
Dynamic Assessment ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Assessment Procedure ◽  
Learning Potential ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Assessment Procedures

AbstractThis study aimed to integrate self-regulation strategies into dynamic assessment procedures of listening comprehension in an EFL setting and examine the possibility of raising EFL students’ listening comprehension and self-regulation skills. In addition, it explored the possibility of enhancing EFL learners’ potential scores in listening comprehension and self-regulation through applying self-regulation activities as a tool for motivating learners while being assessed. The assessment procedure was based on Vygotsky’s notion of the zone of proximal development and self-regulated intervention. The participants were 49 Iranian EFL learners in three groups: a control group, which received the institute’s regular instructional activities; a comparison group, which received dynamic assessment (DA); and an experimental group which received self-regulated dynamic assessment (SR-DA) procedures, in the form of an intervention focusing on cognitive, emotional, and behavioral self-regulation states of learners. Results of the study pointed to the potential of SR-DA for enhancing the students’ learning potential over and beyond that which is available from the DA (as offered to the comparison group) and the static testing (as offered to the control group). The results have important implications for a theoretical understanding of the mechanisms through which EFL learners develop necessary self-regulation skills in the EFL context.

scholarly journals Nutritional role of amniotic fluid: clues from infants with congenital obstruction of the digestive tract

2018 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. F199-F201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel J Hall ◽  
Melanie Drewett ◽  
David Burge
Keyword(s):  
Amniotic Fluid ◽  
Digestive Tract ◽  
Gestational Age ◽  
Significant Negative Correlation ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Z Score ◽  
Term Infants ◽  
Z Scores ◽  
And Gender

AimsTo investigate the role played by amniotic fluid in late fetal nutrition by analysis of infants born with digestive tract atresia.MethodsBirth weight (BW), gestational age and gender of infants born with oesophageal (OA), duodenal (DA), jejunal (JA) and ileal atresia (IA) were recorded and BW Z-scores compared. Infants with incomplete obstruction (stenosis), chromosomal or syndromic conditions and multiple congenital malformations were excluded. Term infants admitted with suspected postnatal intestinal obstruction in whom no congenital malformation was found were used as a control group.ResultsA total of 584 infants were identified comprising 148 OA, 60 DA, 26 JA and 57 IA with 293 in the control group. Infants with OA and DA had statistically significantly lower BW Z-score than controls. However, BW Z-score for infants with more distal atresia (JA and IA) was similar to controls. When compared with infants with OA, BW Z-score for infants with more distal atresia was higher than that for OA. BW Z-score in infants with OA was significantly lower in those born at term compared with those born preterm (mean±SD −0.92±1.0 vs −0.48±0.87; p=0.01) with a significant negative correlation between BW Z-score and increasing gestational age (R2=0.12; p<0.0001). This effect of gestational age was not seen in other atresias.ConclusionThese observations support the concept that reduced enteral absorption of amniotic fluid due to high digestive tract obstruction in utero reduces fetal growth. The effect is greater when the obstruction is more proximal and with advancing gestation.

Exploring the learning potential of models with secondary school EFL learners

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-184
Author(s):  
Félix Montealegre Ramón
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Learning Potential ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Stage 1 ◽  
Model Texts ◽  
Writing Task

Abstract The role of Corrective Feedback (CF) in the process of acquiring a second language (L2) has been deemed an issue of controversy among theorists and researchers alike. In this empirical study, the objective is to investigate the quality of EFL learners’ processing of feedback employing models and different types of noticing (perfunctory or substantive [Qi & Lapkin, 2001]). The study was carried out with 13- and 14-year-old learners placed in two groups and engaged in a three-stage writing task that included composing a picture-based story (Stage 1), comparing their texts with a model (Stage 2), and rewriting the story (Stage 3). The groups differed in the way they were prompted to process the model text. The findings indicate that there are no differences between the two feedback groups within stages. All the participants increased the number of features reported across stages regardless of the feedback condition. The employment of a model text provided the students with alternative features related to lexis, form, and ideas. The potential effects of model texts and types of noticing on L2 learners’ language development are discussed.

Disrupting the right pars opercularis with electrical stimulation frees the song: case report

2015 ◽  
Vol 123 (6) ◽  
pp. 1401-1404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Herbet ◽  
Gilles Lafargue ◽  
Fabien Almairac ◽  
Sylvie Moritz-Gasser ◽  
François Bonnetblanc ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Production ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Awake Surgery ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Speech Impairment ◽  
First Case ◽  
Pars Opercularis ◽  
The Right

The authors report the first case of a strikingly unusual speech impairment evoked by intraoperative electrostimulation in a 36-year-old right-handed patient, a well-trained singer, who underwent awake surgery for a right fronto-temporo-insular low-grade glioma. Functionally disrupting the pars opercularis of the right inferior frontal gyrus led the patient to automatically switch from a speaking to a singing mode of language production. Given the central role of the right pars opercularis in the inhibitory control network, the authors propose that this finding may be interpreted as possible evidence for a competitive and independent neurocognitive subnetwork devoted to the melodically intoned articulation of words (normal language-based vs singing-based) in subjects with high expertise. From a more clinical perspective, such data may have implications for awake neurosurgery, especially to preserve the quality of life for singers.

scholarly journals Quality of Life in Children with Disorders of Sex Development

2017 ◽  
Vol 88 (5) ◽  
pp. 324-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nalini M Selveindran ◽  
Syed Zulkifli Syed Zakaria ◽  
Muhammad Yazid Jalaludin ◽  
Rahmah Rasat
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Disorders Of Sex Development ◽  
School Functioning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Evidence Based Treatment ◽  
Sex Development ◽  
Longitudinal Outcome ◽  
And Gender

Background/Aims: Disorders of sex development (DSD) are a heterogeneous group of rare conditions. Evidence-based treatment is challenged by a lack of clinical longitudinal outcome studies. We sought to investigate the quality of life of children with DSD other than congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Methods: The participants (aged 6–18 years) were 23 patients raised as males and 7 patients raised as females. Control data were obtained from representatives of the patients’ siblings matched for age and gender. The Pediatric Quality of Life InventoryTM Version 4.0 (PedsQL) Generic Core Scales were used as the study tool. Results: In comparison with the reference data, the patient group had significantly lower overall PedsQL (p < 0.01) and school functioning (p < 0.01) scores. Also, the total PedsQL score was significantly lower in patients with DSD who were of female social sex as compared to the controls who were females. Family income, surgical procedures, degree of virilization, and mode of puberty did not influence the PedsQL scores. Conclusion: This study revealed a poorer quality of life for patients with DSD as compared to the age-matched control group. This highlights the need for a skilled multidisciplinary team to manage this group of patients.

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