مطالب

Objective  The Covid-19 epidemic has caused a great deal of concern for the people, and even worse, the issue of vaccination and its dangers is still relevant today.This study aimed to mediate the role of existential anxiety and conspiracy beliefs in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and the intention to get vaccinated. Methods   The type of research is  a descriptive correlation. The statistical population of the study included Iranian adults in the age range of 20 to 65 years, from which 533 people were randomly selected and responded to the online survey. The data were analyzed by the Pearson correlation coefficient method and structural equation model. Five questionnaires including fear of COVID-19, existential anxiety, Conspiracy beliefs and Intention to get vaccinated, were distributed among the research samples. Results  The results showed that there was a positive and significant correlation between fear of Covid-19 with existential anxiety and intention to get vaccinated (P <0.01), also, there is a positive and significant correlation between existential anxiety and conspiracy beliefs (P <0.01) and a negative and significant correlation between existential anxiety and conspiracy beliefs to get vaccinated (P <0.01). Conclusion    The model analysis also showed that when there are anxiety and conspiracy theories between fear of Covid-19 and the intention to get vaccinated, people reduce their desire to get vaccinated.

The worldwide coronavirus pandemic has led to the emergence of different patterns of behavior in different contexts; one of the most important of these contexts is leisure. The aim of this study was to identify the concepts and categories of leisure during the coronavirus pandemic (emphasis on sports-related studies) and using a qualitative meta-synthesis method. For this purpose, after searching for resources related to the field of leisure (emphasis on sports-related studies) during the coronavirus pandemic, 169 primary sources were found and among them 36 sources were selected and analyzed. The results of a meta-synthesis of leisure studies during the coronavirus pandemic (emphasis on sports-related research) was classified into 7 main categories physical, cognitive (mental), emotional, sociocultural, economic, technology, and environmental conditions and a sports leisure model was presented during the coronavirus pandemic. According to the results of this study, if proper planning and monitoring by sports-related organizations and the media is considered, sports leisure time during the coronavirus pandemic can bring physical, cognitive (mental), emotional and sociocultural benefits for individuals and reduce the negative effects of coronavirus disease in communities. On the other the coronavirus pandemic has revolutionized leisure conditions, and in particular sports leisure, by revolutionizing technology, economics, and conditions environment.

The study of second language learners' engagement with language learning tasks has become an enchanting line of research since several studies in general education and second language literature have proved its significant effects on learners' ultimate educational success. However, there are several niches in the literature which have not been occupied yet. One of these niches, addressed in this study, is the examination of the effect of computer-mediated condition on second language learners' emotional and social engagement with speaking tasks. Using a repeated-measures design, 40 intermediate language learners performed computer-mediated and face-to-face speaking tasks in a counterbalanced fashion. A questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were employed to collect the required data to respond to the questions. The results showed that learners were more emotionally and socially engaged with the computer-mediated speaking tasks. It was also revealed that low-intermediate learners’ use of social engagement indicators was significantly higher in the computer-mediated condition; however, the change in the condition did not significantly affect the quantity of social engagement indicators provided by high-intermediate ones. The findings also indicated that different engagement dimensions are interconnected, and the change in one of them can affect the other ones.  

The conflict between form and meaning is not a new phenomenon, especially in the translation of sacred texts . The Quran's fusion of style and content, as well as the unparalleled quality of its structure, have made its translation an arduous task for translators. The aim of this descriptive study was to investigate the adjustments to form and meaning in three translations of Az Zariyat surah (by Arberry, Pickthall, and Shakir). The English and Arabic versions of this surah were contrasted based on the semantic and structural adjustments applied by Nida and Taber in the translation of the Bible. The results revealed that more than three-quarters of the adjustments were concerned with semantic adjustments, with lexical expansions being the most common. Furthermore, structural adjustments and reductions were made to a lesser extent compared to other modifications. Translators mostly chose to stick to the source text, describing only ambiguous or abstract words in the source text and avoiding significant reductions. This behavior can be explained by the sensitivity of the Quranic verses and the translators' willingness to remain faithful to the original text . The adjustment framework introduced in the present study may offer promising avenues for tackling the dilemmas in the way of rendering the style and content of the Quranic verses.

Language learners' test performance is affected by individual attributes that are not part of test takers’ language ability (Bachman, 1990). The identification of such factors and the study of their association/impact with/on EFL learners' test performance has been a real test validity concern for language testing researchers (Bachman, 1990, 2004). This study was designed to explore the relation of a number of cognitive and psychological attributes and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' test performance. To this end, two hundred male (100) and female (100) Iranian intermediate EFL learners selected through convenience sampling procedure took Goal-orientation Scale, Test Preparation and Test-taking Strategy Scale, and Examination Stress Scale and a sample Test of English as a Foreign Language Junior Standard (TOEFL Junior). Regression analyses of the questionnaires and the TOEFL test results demonstrated that mastery goal orientation, performance goal orientation, test-taking strategy and test anxiety all correlated with EFL learners' test performance; however, test taking strategy was the strong cognitive predictor and performance goal orientation was the strongest psychological predictor of the EFL learners' test performance. The results seem to indicate that in addition to previously identified factors like test anxiety and test taking strategies some factors like performance and mastery goal orientations which were once deemed as construct irrelevant factors in EFL learners' test performance need to be added to the battery of personal attributes that are influential factors in this regard.

Willingness to communicate is subject to the moment-by-moment fluctuations in the classroom. Therefore, teachers’ decisive role comes to the foreground as they can increase learners’ desire to communicate at a particular moment by their interventions. Online instruction, despite furnishing learners with authentic material, has failed to culminate in communication thanks to connection problems or lack of non-verbal clues. Thus, the present study aimed to explore Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions of strategies to promote willingness to communicate of learners in online classes. The mixed-methods design was employed to answer the research questions. To this end, a self-designed questionnaire was first piloted and then administered to the main sample which included thirty-seven teachers. The questionnaire subsumed five effective factors garnered from extant literature. Five teachers were interviewed as to their perceptions of pros and cons of promoting WTC in online classrooms. The results indicated that teachers’ motivational strategies were perceived to promote WTC best in online classes followed by teacher immediacy. Qualitative reports also corroborated the numerical data. Lack of non-verbal clues i.e. body language was perceived to decrease learners’ motivation and participation; however, technological resources like games were reported to increase WTC in online classes. Teachers should pay heed to their crucial role in inciting positive atmosphere and get better equipped to capitalize on online affordances to increase participation in online classes.

This study is an attempt to find the realization of visual literacy in Iranian high school English textbooks. To this purpose, the density and number of the tags in the three volumes of the senior high school English textbooks were qualitatively investigated. The results showed that Book 1 emphasizes the Affective/Perceptual aspect of the visuals, whereas Book 3 puts more emphasis on Critical/Ideological aspect of the visuals. Furthermore, it was found that as grades of the books advance, the density and number of the tags decrease. The results based on Callow’s (2005) dichotomy also indicated that as the grade of the English textbooks advances, the visual literacy moves from the receptive aspect to more productive one. It can be inferred that in developing high school English textbooks, there seems to be no association between the visuals and the corresponding tags despite the variety of the visuals.