مطالب

The petrographic analysis of ceramics can often answer a wide variety of archaeological questions, especially regarding fabrication, manufacturing processes which were despite focused on the construction and trade of pottery. However, ceramics which were collected from the same site can mostly differ in their chemistry as well as fabrics. As is applied in many cases, essential archaeological survey and documentations in a theoretical framework are key to the proper application of ceramic petrography through the archaeometrical research. This paper deals with the petrographically approach on Kura-Araxes or Early Bronze Age ceramics manufacturing processes of Sonqor Plain. It is of worth-knowing to contribute that the contact and exchange strategies between indigenous communities and several cultural-spheres during Early Bronze Age (beginning of the fourth millennium BC) in this area. Morphological data along with mineralogical composition of ceramics were applied to determine the major elements of the pottery sherds. Based on the result, one can be suggested that all of sherds are in the same group and were demonstrated mightily local productions. The ceramic manufacturing technology indicates same patterns of material interactions during the ETC or Kura-Araxes in all of the investigated sites in Sonqor Plain.

Service-Learning (SL) has been internationally gaining in popularity in the field of teacher education in higher education thanks to its benefits. However, this pedagogical method is still new in some EFL higher education settings like Vietnam. This qualitative study investigates the undergraduate students’ attitudes after their implementation of an SL-integrated teaching practicum unit at some EFL community classes. In the study, seventy-eight fourth-year students of English in the pedagogy sector at a department of English of a university of foreign languages in Central Vietnam were involved as participants. They were guided to contact community learners of English, observe classes, design lesson plans, do micro-teachings, and finally write reflections. The findings from the reflections revealed that all of the students had positive attitudes towards SL and the teaching practicum unit, which made impacts on their personal growth, classroom management skills, profession, and community-related aspects. Recommendations concerning how to make SL and SL-integrated courses more effective were put forward at the end of the research study.

The present study aimed to develop our understanding of various aspects of EFL teachers’ perceptions of professional development in Iran using mixed-methods design. After a review of current literature and questionnaires, in the qualitative phase of the study, interviews were conducted with 12 EFL teachers and teaching experts. The data obtained from the interviews was subject to content analysis and the results revealed 4 major themes. In the quantitative phase, based on the findings of the qualitative phase and the supporting literature, a 74-item questionnaire was constructed and administered to 250 participants, after pilot testing and reviewing of the items. The quantitative data was analyzed through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and a 4-factor structure was identified. After modifications in the questionnaire, the final version of the questionnaire was administered again to the participants and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) confirmed the construct validity of the EFL TPPD questionnaire and the four components. The results revealed that professional development activities, benefits, needs and barriers are the major dimensions of Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions of professional development. The proposed model can have theoretical and practical contributions to EFL teacher professional development.

The situation generated by the pandemic has caused irreversible changes in society and the educational world, manifesting a necessary change in methodology in the teaching and learning process. The purpose of this study, which is part of a doctoral thesis investigation, was to analyze the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the digital competences of teachers in the Foreign Language classroom, before and during the state of alarm provoked by the pandemic Covid-19, based on sociodemographic factors. A non-experimental, ex post facto, descriptive study was carried out using a single measuring instrument. The final sample consisted of 117 foreign language teachers from bilingual schools of Primary and Secondary Education in Andalusia (Spain), both public and semi-private. The results indicate that teachers improved their digital skills as a result of the increased frequency of ICT use during the pandemic, and men under 30 years of age felt more motivated to use and incorporate new technologies in their classes. Even so, teachers continue to express the need for greater training opportunities in the use of ICTs for both educators and students, which will pose new challenges in the acquisition and development of digital competencies and from which new needs will emerge.

The present study explored the effect of explicit Communication Strategies (CSs) instruction on Iranian EFL learners’ usage of these strategies in their educational tasks at different proficiency levels. To conduct the study, the researchers chose 20 Iranian EFL teachers and their 150 students at two universities in Tabriz, Iran. Accepting a mixed-methods design, the researchers used a questionnaire, an English language proficiency test, and a semi-structured interview to collect the required data. The findings indicated that after receiving communication strategy instruction, teachers and students had positive attitudes toward the usefulness of CSs in the language learning process. However, learners in different proficiency levels had different preferences toward CSs. While advanced learners showed their inclination to use compensation strategies, intermediate learners preferred to use metacognitive. Elementary learners favoured using cognitive CSs. These differences can be attributed to individual differences and contextual factors that suggest pedagogical implications for both teachers and students and provide tentative subjects for further studies.

The present paper synthesizes the germane studies on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ motivation and foreign language anxiety (FLA) and their role in working memory. Earlier investigations have proved that learner motivation accelerates the learning process in working memory. Literature shows that learners prioritize some typical information based on their learning motivation. Nonetheless, specific strategies can be employed in order to augment learner motivation, which per se speeds up cognitive processing. Furthermore, earlier studies indicate a negative relationship between learners’ FLA and working memory. Learners’ FLA limits the attentional control system, which negatively affects learners’ working memory. Furthermore, the study offered some implications and future directions for the individuals like EFL teachers, teacher educators, and foreign language scholars. The postulations can improve their awareness of learner motivation and FLA and their role in working memory.

In the development process, achieving a better life and increasing well-being is achieved by focusing on access to a life of health and knowledge. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of financial development on human development, including life expectancy and primary enrollment rates in developing countries by gender in the period 2016-2020. The experimental model of this research was estimated using the Generalized method of Moments (GMM) panel method and the variables of facilities granted to the private sector, the ratio of money to GDP, the degree of openness of the economy, the effect of educational expenditures and health expenditures. The results of model estimation indicate that the facilities granted to the private sector have a positive and significant effect on human capital. The effect of the ratio of money supply to GDP is negative due to the destructive effect of inflation on all models. The coefficient of degree of openness of the economy in all models (except the female registration rate) is positive and significant. Educational expenses have a positive and significant effect on the male and female registration rate as well as men's life expectancy. The effect of health expenditures is also positive and significant in most models (life expectancy of men and women as well as women's registration rate). Therefore, governments should pay attention to encouraging exports, reforming the tariff system based on encouraging the import of capital goods, currency stability, facilitating banking transactions, facilitating the conditions for opening letters of credit.