مطالب

Purpose: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common liver disorder associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance. It is often characterized by elevated liver enzymes, such as AST, ALT, and ALP, which are biomarkers of liver injury. Exercise, particularly high-intensity interval training (HIIT), has been shown to improve liver function by reducing these enzyme levels. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a 6-week HIIT protocol on liver enzyme levels (AST, ALT, and ALP) in obese individuals with NAFLD. Method: This quasi-experimental study involved 20 obese participants diagnosed with NAFLD. They were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n=10) and a control group (n=10). The experimental group participated in a HIIT protocol for 6 weeks, while the control group maintained their usual lifestyle. Blood samples were taken before and after the intervention to measure serum AST, ALT, and ALP levels. Data analysis was conducted using paired t-tests and independent t-tests to compare pre- and post-intervention values within and between groups, respectively. Results: The experimental group showed a significant reduction in AST (p = 0.01), ALT (p = 0.03), and ALP (p = 0.04) after the intervention. In contrast, no significant changes were observed in the control group for any of the enzymes (p > 0.05). Between-group comparisons revealed significant differences in enzyme levels post-intervention (p = 0.03 for AST, p = 0.04 for ALT, and p = 0.05 for ALP). Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that HIIT may be an effective non-pharmacological intervention for improving liver function in obese individuals with NAFLD. Further studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods are needed to confirm the long-term effects of exercise on liver enzymes in this population.

Classroom-based assessment (CBA) as one of the constructs of formative assessment has been considered highly significant in recent years. Consequently, various tools have been designed to investigate teachers` CBA needs and deficiencies ignoring different levels of teachers` CBA literacy. Thus, the present study researchers developed and validated a classroom-based assessment literacy questionnaire (CALQ) to determine teachers` levels of CBAL. To do so, an inclusive review of the literature was accomplished to retrieve major themes and components of CBAL, and then a series of interviews were conducted with five assessment experts and 13 experienced EFL teachers in accordance with Pill and Harding’s (2013) Model of LAL, Hill and McNamara’s (2012) scope and dimensions of CBA in addition to teachers’ assessment literacy beliefs. Accordingly, a questionnaire (CALQ) including 41 items was developed. To inquire the reliability and validity of the CALQ, 318 EFL teachers were selected through non-probability convenience sampling and asked to answer the questionnaire. The outcomes of the Cronbach’s alpha demonstrated a proper reliability index, and factor analysis products clarified that items loaded on six factors named as illiteracy (6 items); nominal literacy (11 items); functional literacy (6 items); procedural and conceptual literacy (6 items); multidimensional literacy (6 items); and assessment literacy beliefs (6 items). Besides, CALQ is considered advantageous in assessing teachers’ CBAL and facilitating materials preparation to design instructional courses and develop EFL teachers’ CBAL, based on the conclusions of structural equation modeling (SEM), which proved that the Model enjoyed good psychometric features.

This study delves into the attitudes of Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners toward the classroom practices of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). It endeavors to present a comprehensive understanding of the current state of CLT in Iran, the associated challenges, and potential avenues for enhancing CLT classroom practices. The existing literature review highlights a scarcity of research concerning learners’ perspectives on CLT, with many studies primarily relying on questionnaires or surveys, failing to capture learners’ nuanced attitudes and experiences. In response to this gap, our qualitative research explores the attitudes of 31 Iranian EFL learners using a grounded theory approach. Grounded theory, known for its capacity to unearth insights into social processes and their underlying factors, is particularly suited to this endeavor. The research findings uncover seven key themes that constitute the dimensions of CLT practices in the EFL classroom. These themes include interactive learning, speaking-auditory communication, learners’ participation in class activities, learners’ ability, teacher empowerment, learning needs assessment, and communicative language training. This study offers valuable insights into Iranian EFL learners’ attitudes toward CLT classroom practices. Findings also contribute to the ongoing dialogue on language teaching methodologies, providing educators and policymakers with a deeper understanding of learner perspectives and paving the way for more effective CLT implementation in EFL classrooms in Iran.

Among different factors affecting writing assessment, rater and rating scale are two influential variables that determine the outcome of assessment. In fact, the way raters interact with rating scales considerably affects the validity of their assessment. Taking this into account, this study attempted to identify and classify the raters’ behaviors in the Iranian EFL context when using analytic and holistic rating scales. To this end, a group of nine expert raters were asked to verbalize their thoughts when rating student essays. They were also asked to do their rating using the analytic scale of ESL Composition Profile and IELTS holistic scale. Upon the qualitative analysis of think-aloud protocols (TAPs), two themes emerged which showed the raters’ behaviors when applying the rating scales. The findings further showed that when using the holistic scale, the raters read the text first to get an overall impression. Then they assessed the text based on their own criteria. Next, they referred to the scale for scoring and in the last stage they provided evidence for their scoring. On the other hand, when applying analytic rating scales, the raters first scanned the text for surface features. Then they read the text for their initial impression. Next, they read each scale component and its descriptor for scoring and finally, they attempted to provide evidence for their scoring. In addition to identifying the raters’ behaviors, the raters’ behaviors were classified to shed light on the process of rating. The findings imply that the diagnosis of the rater-rating scale interactions can unveil the strengths and weaknesses of the EFL rating process. This, in turn, can provide more quality training for the raters and in this way enhance the scoring validity of their judgements. In the long run, this would improve the professional development of the raters involved in the writing assessment.

Having active participation in today’s more universally-networked research community through publishing in valid English journals has become delicate for the most populated contemporary users of English as a foreign language known as ‘ESP writers. This challenge is typically experienced in ESP authors’ variation in employing the generic move patterns in the overall structure of the academic research articles (RAs) ‘Conclusions’ sections, probably caused by heterogeneity in ‘English’ across the authors’ discipline-specific fields of expertise. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to analyze the organizational moves/steps of the RAs ‘conclusions’ to examine any significant difference/s in the discipline-specific authors’ writing styles in terms of the ‘type’ and ‘frequency’ of the moves/steps under study. To this end, 160 randomly selected RAs conclusions (RACs) from eight academic disciplines equally representing the hard sciences and soft sciences, were comparatively analyzed based on a conflated ESP move analysis model of Yang and Allison (2003), and Moritz, Meurer and Dellagnelo (2008). The results of the study obtained from the Frequency counts, Chi-square tests and the Effect Size measure revealed statistically significant differences between the frequency of moves/steps of the RACs in both discipline-specific groups of sciences; in addition, it was found that generic move patterns of the RACs did not strictly follow the proposed model. However, Pedagogical and practical implications along with suggestions for further studies are presented.