Intelligent personal assistants as 'scaffolding on demand': Mechanisms of impact on L2 listening performance and anxiety among EFL learners.

The present study investigated the effect of metacognitive strategy instruction on the listening performance, metacognitive awareness, and listening anxiety of EFL beginner students. The participants were 65, male and female, Iranian beginner EFL students, studying English translation and teaching in University of Zabol, Iran. After screening the participants through the TOEFL’s listening section as the pre-test, 55 of them were selected and randomly divided into experimental (n=30) and control (n=25) groups. Besides the TOEFL’s listening section, the Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire (MALQ) adapted from Vandergrift, Goh, Mareschal and Tafagdodtari (2006) and Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale (FLLAS) developed by Kim (2005) were also administered to the experimental group. After a period of 8-session strategy instruction to the experimental group based on Vandergrift and Tafaghodtari (2010) model of strategy instruction, the experimental and control group’s listening performance were compared using the TOEFL’s listening section as the post-test. Moreover the MALQ and FLLAS were also administered to the experimental group at the end of the treatment in order to investigate the effectiveness of the treatment. The results revealed that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group on the post-tests and so the positive effect of the metacognitive strategy instruction on students’ listening performance, metacognitive awareness and listening anxiety were verified.

This study aimed to explore the effects of extensive listening (EL) to podcasts on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ listening anxiety, listening proficiency and attitudes towards English school lessons. Two intact classes with a total of 45 female tenth graders were assigned as the experimental and control groups of the study. At the outset of the study, the participants’ level of listening competence was measured through the Key English Test (KET) developed by Cambridge University. The “Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale” (FLLAS) and the “Scale of Attitudes towards English Courses” (SATEC) were administered subsequently to both groups. The experimental group received the treatment including 15 podcasts for EL practice. All the quantitative measurements were repeated after the treatment. Quantitative data was triangulated through semi-structured interviews with a sub-sample of 10 students. The results demonstrated that the students in the experimental group significantly improved their listening comprehension skills. The treatment reduced students’ listening anxiety while the reverse was true for the students in the control group receiving traditional second/foreign language (L2) instruction only. The findings of the study encourage L2 teachers to consider authentic input, namely podcasts, as a source of reducing students’ listening anxiety and improving listening proficiency. The fact that students’ attitudes remained stable in both groups provides guidance for future research.

Given the fact that flipped instruction especially with the aid of technology has gained momentum in second language (L2) instruction, numerous L2 researchers have explored the usefulness of flipped classroom for L2 learning. As an attempt to further this research area, the current research examined the effect of flipped listening instruction on the Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) students' listening performance and listening anxiety using a quasi-experimental research design. To this end, a total number of 44 EFL learners from two intact classes in a Chinese language school were selected as the participants of the research and they were randomly assigned as the control group (N = 21) and an experimental group (N = 23). Within a course of one semester, the control group was instructed employing traditional listening instruction, while the experimental group were taught based on the flipped mode of instruction. The data collection was carried out by administering the listening section of IELTS and Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale (FLLAS). The results of ANCOVA revealed that the flipped listening instruction significantly enhanced listening performance of the participants. Also, the flipped classroom substantially reduced listening anxiety of the EFL learners. The outcomes of this research might provide notable implications for EFL practitioners.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of listening strategy instruction on second language (L2) listening comprehension ability, listening anxiety, and listening self-efficacy of Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. To this end, a sample of 52 English major learners of two intact classes from a university in Iran was employed as the participants of the study. The intact groups were randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group ( N = 27) received the listening strategy instruction based on the framework proposed by Yeldham and Gruba, whereas the participants in the control group ( N = 25) were instructed traditionally without receiving any strategy instruction. To collect the required data, the listening section of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale (FLLAS), and Second Language Listening Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (SLLSQ) were administered to assess the listening comprehension, listening anxiety, and listening self-efficacy of the learners before and after the intervention. The findings of the study indicated that listening strategy instruction significantly improved learners’ listening comprehension ability and reduced learners’ L2 listening anxiety. However, it was revealed that listening strategy intervention failed to significantly improve L2 listening self-efficacy of the learners. In light of the gained results, the implications of this study are discussed with respect to L2 teachers, learners, and curriculum developers.

This study was designed to assess the impact of problem based learning on students’ critical thinking in science at elementary level. Major objectives of the study were to examine critical thinking’s of the students, to practice problem based learning through activities, and to evaluate critical thinking of the students after problem based activities. The study population was encompassed all students of 8th grade (20172) within District Muzaffar Garh. Sample consisted of total 50 students from within the same district. Twenty five students out of 40 were selected from Government Boys Elementary School Arshad Abad by using simple random technique as experimental group. Twenty five students out of 27 were selected from Government Boys Elementary Khara by using simple random technique as control group. The designs of study were pretest-posttest and Quasi experimental in nature. Problem based learning treatment pattern was applied. During 16-week treatment duration, the experimental group and the control group were treated with problem-based learning and taught through traditional lecture-based methods respectively. Data was collected from the control and experiment groups before and after four month problem-based learning through pre-test and posttest. After data collection, analysis of the data collected done through descriptive statistics by using mean, median, mode and standard deviation (SD) and inferential statistics by using t-test. Paired sample t-test was applied to measure significance difference value between the means of experimental and control group. T-test value is greater between experimental group and control groups in pretest than the significance value that shows there is significance statistical difference between experimental group and control group performances in pretest. Performance of experimental group is better. Value of T-test is greater between experimental and control groups in posttest than the significance value shows there is significance statistical difference in experimental and control groups performances in posttest. Experimental group performance is better. The experimental group performed better as compared to performance of control group in both pretest and posttest. But the difference in means of pretest of experimental and control group is very small than difference in means of posttest of experimental group and control groups. It depicts through problem based learning students’ critical thinking is highly improved.

Listening comprehension results are affected by various individual difference factors. This study aimed to examine the relationship between metacognitive awareness, listening anxiety, and EFL listening comprehension. To this end, data from the Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire (MALQ), Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale (FLLAS), and an English listening test were collected from 88 EFL learners at a university in China. The results showed that participants had a moderate level of metacognitive awareness and listening anxiety. Pearson correlation tests revealed that listening performance was positively associated with metacognitive awareness (r = .31) and negatively associated with listening anxiety (r = -.27). There was a strong negative correlation between learners’ metacognitive awareness and anxiety in listening (r = -.51). Regression analyses found both metacognitive awareness and listening anxiety were significant predictors of EFL listening comprehension, explaining 10% and 7% of the variance in listening performance, respectively. The study also revealed a significant difference in learners’ metacognitive awareness and anxiety between low and high listening proficiency group. Low-proficient listeners had much higher levels of listening anxiety but lower metacognitive awareness than that of high-proficient listeners. Pedagogical suggestions were provided based on the major findings of this study.

The Effectiveness of a Human Patient Simulator in the ATLS Shock Skills Station

Introduction:Bipolar Affective Disorder is cyclic swinging of mood between mania or hypomania and depression. The present study aimed to examine cognitive regulation in patients with bipolar disorder using the cyberspace-based family-centered intervention.Method:This study was a quasi-experimental research with a pretest-posttest design and a follow-up period. The statistical population of the study included patients with bipolar disorder and a family member. 30 patients with a family member were selected by convenient sampling method and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Garnefski Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) was the research tool. After administration of the questionnaires, the Miklowitz family-focused therapy was performed for the experimental group using cyberspace. At the end of the course, participants in both groups were evaluated using the research tools. Data were analyzed using SPSS22 software and mixed analysis of variance with the repeated measures.Result:The results of analysis of variance with repeated measures showed that the Miklowitz model led to a significant difference in the score of emotion regulation with an effect size of 45% in the experimental and control groups (P<0.05). In other words, the cognitive emotion regulation and its subscales have been evident in the experimental group. Conclusion:As a result, it can be said that the use of the Miklowitz model through cyberspace affects cognitive emotion regulation and subscales of self-blame, acceptance, rumination, positive refocusing, refocusing on planning, positive reappraisal, putting into perspective, catastrophizing, and other-blame.Declaration of Interest: None

Objectives • To assess the intensity of labor pain and outcome of labor among the control group. • To assess the effectiveness of ambulation on intensity of labor pain and outcome of labor among the experimental group. • To assess the usefulness of ambulation by opinionnaire among experimental group. • To compare the effectiveness of ambulation on the intensity of labor pain and outcome of labor among experimental and control groups. • To find an association between the intensity of labor pain with selected demographic variables. Materials and methods An experimental research approach was used for the study. Random sampling technique was used to allocate the subjects into experimental and control groups. Visual analog scale was used to assess the intensity of pain and observational check list was used to assess the outcome of labor. The study comprised of 40 primigravida mothers and they were grouped as experimental and control through randomization. One group received ambulation treatment, the other did not. The researcher then observed the groups to determine the effect of the treatment. Results The collected data was analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. The intensity of pain revealed that 40% in the experimental and 55% in the control groups experienced severe pain. The labor augmentation revealed that both oxytocin and cerviprime gel was used for 30% in the experimental and 35% in the control groups. On the mode of delivery, majority of mothers (60%) had normal vaginal delivery both in experimental and control groups. On the duration of the first stage of labor revealed that 50% in the experimental and 20% in the control groups were between 10 to 12 hours. Second stage of labor revealed that majority were between 1 and 2 hours in both the control and experimental groups. The opinion of experimental group mothers on ambulation revealed that half of the mothers (50%) agreed for recommending the ambulation for their neighbors and friends and less than half (35%) of them have agreed for comfort during first stage of labor and 40% of them have agreed for ambulation should be made as a routine in labor room. In the experimental group, mean pain score (6.8) is less than the control group (7.5). The calculated Mann-Whitney Z-value (2.045) is greater than the Z α-value of 1.960 at 0.05 level of significance. In the experimental group, the mean duration of first stage of labor score (3.95) is significantly higher than the control group mean score (3.00). The mean outcome of labor in experimental group (13.95) is greater than the control group. Conclusion There was a significant difference in the duration of first stage of labor between the experimental and control groups. But, there was no significant difference in the overall outcome of labor between experimental and control groups. There was no significant association between intensity of labor pain with selected demographic variables. This may be because of small sample size. How to cite this article Savitha V, Nayak S, Paul S. Effect of Ambulation during First Stage of Labor on Labor Pain and Outcome of Labor among the Primigravida Mothers in a Selected Hospital, Mangalore. J South Asian Feder Obst Gynae 2013;5(1):1-3.

Zmiany metylacji i oksydacji w próbkach DNA bydła bytującego w środowisku zanieczyszczonym metalami ciężkimi

Listening anxiety is an influential factor that obstructs the EFL learners’ listening comprehension. This research is conducted to find out the levels of listening anxiety of the third semester students of English department at Tarbiyah and Teachers Training faculty of Antasari State Islamic University. The research aims to answer two research questions: (1) Do the students who have sufficient and low ability in listening experience listening anxiety? And (2) which item measured in the Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale do EFL learners face the most and least anxiety? This descriptive quantitative research took 88 students as participants in this research. The researcher used questionnaire for collecting the data. The findings show that the students do experience high level of listening anxiety. The students responded to 16 items which indicted high level of listening anxiety. The item that indicated the highest level of listening anxiety was included in background knowledge component and the item that indicated the lowest level of listening anxiety was included in listening text and strategies component. However, among three themes of items, most of students responded to items indicating high level of listening anxiety were in listening text and strategies component.

The instructional-educational process in learning to swim plays a crucial role in children's development. Approaching methods and use in training practices of all ages and performance levels have been the subject of ever deeper research, so that the effectiveness of training in this area is increasingly visible. The issue of motivation in sports is a topical issue because it is essential for athletes' involvement and performance. Although material stimulation can be considered an important factor in motivating athletes, it is not necessarily enough to commit them to an extremely difficult and risky path, such as that of performance sports. Athletes' motivation stems from a complex combination of factors, including passion for sport, the desire to demonstrate their skills and talents, the aspiration to achieve personal and collective goals, and the desire to achieve recognition and satisfaction through sporting success. The purpose of the research is to identify the level of motivation for swimming and performance of children aged 9-10 years. Research method: the test Motivation for swimming of children aged 9-10 years (adaptation after N. Luskanova) The test was applied by the researcher in October 2022 to a number of 30 children aged 9-10 who practice swimming in the Tirgoviște Swimming Complex and CSȘ Tirgoviște Swimming Pool. Depending on age, we have, within the experimental group, 7 children aged 9 and 8 children aged 10. Within the control group, we identify 6 children aged 9 years and 9 children aged 10 years. We observe that the two groups are homogeneous, referring to the age variable. Regarding the gender of the subjects who are part of the group subjected to the experiment, we observe homogeneity in terms of gender, in each group there are 5 girls and 10 boys. The distribution according to the residential environment from which they come is as follows: from the experimental group 3 subjects come from the rural environment and 12 from the urban environment, and in the control group 1 subject comes from the rural environment and 14 from the urban environment The test results can be seen in Table 1. The difference between the values obtained between the experimental and control groups is not significant from a statistical point of view, since the values of the statistical indicators are close, we observe small differences between them.Table 1. Distribution of results on the Motivation for swimming test of children aged 9-10 years (adaptation according to N. Luskanova), experimental group and control group (n=20 boys)tabelThe differences between the two groups in the statistical indicators are variable, the difference between the averages is small, 0.6 points, in the standard deviation the difference between the groups is 0.77 points, the minimums recorded are equal to 15 points, and the difference between the maximums of the groups is 1 point. These results show homogeneity regarding the level of motivation between the experimental group and that of the control group. Table 2. Analysis of the level of motivation for swimming in the experimental and control groups, boystabelWe find that the level of motivation for swimming of the interviewed subjects is good. On the first level are ranked 2 subjects from the experimental group SC with 26 points and CR with 25 points, and from the control group subject MR with 25 points. These subjects have a very good motivation to practice swimming. On the second level, a number of 3 subjects from experimental group II are ranked with 24 points, AN with 23 points, AT with 20 points and six control subjects BM with 24 points, NA and RN with 23 points each, CI, AI and VE with 21 points each. The motivation of these subjects is characterized as good. Level III, respectively of relatively good motivation, has 5 subjects from the experimental group in the ranking: DF with 19 points, MG with 18 points, BL and IA with 17 points, GI with 15 points. In the control group, three subjects were registered on this level: BG with 19 points, RO with 18 points and DC with 15 points. None of the subjects was ranked on level IV-weak motivation and on level 5-very weak motivation. Overall, the motivation of 9-10 year olds for swimming is good and relatively good. In the following we will analyze the results recorded by the girls' teams. Table 3. Distribution of results on the Motivation for swimming test of children aged 9-10 years (adaptation according to N. Luskanova), experimental group and control group, (n= 5 girls)tabelThe difference between the values obtained between the experimental and control groups is not statistically significant as the values of the statistical indicators are close in value. The difference between the averages of the two groups is 1.04 points, the standard deviation being 2.82 points in the case of the experimental group and 1.49 in the case of the control group. The difference between the minimum values is 1 point, and between the maximum values is 4 points in favor of the experimental group. The results obtained by the girls from the two groups subjected to the experiment, in the Motivation for swimming test of children aged 9-10 years, are as follows: on the first level, with a very good motivation, only GM ranked with 26 points, from the experimental group , on level II, with good motivation, the subjects AF with 22 points and BM with 20 points from the experimental group and DV with 22 points, AN and IF with 20 points each from the control group are highlighted. On level III, relatively good motivation, there are EL with 19 points and MT with 18 points from the experimental group and BP and NO with 18 points each from the control group. Table 4 Analysis of the level of motivation for swimming in the experimental and control groups, girlstabelConclusions The analysis of the obtained data shows us that both groups subjected to the experiment, both in the case of boys and girls, have a good motivation for swimming, but there is a need to increase the level of motivation to maintain interest in this sport and to register performance, through specific activities. We believe that an increased level of motivation among children between the ages of 9 and 10 in swimming practice can have a significant impact on their development both in sports and personally. In correlation with the research results, we propose the following recommendations: - For each group of children, by age level, a psychological training program targeting the motivational component will be developed, which will be integrated into the training process. This program will be adapted to the specific needs of the group and will aim to adapt motivation and, implicitly, sports performance. - The psychological training program will include strategies and techniques to support the development of children's motivation for swimming, promoting commitment, the desire to excel and perseverance in training and competitions. This could include, among other things, visualization sessions, stability of personal goals, working with thoughts and emotions to maintain a positive mindset and focus on success.

Objective To investigate the effects of probiotics on the survival of sepsis mice and their mechanism. Methods A total of 60 male C57BL6 mice were randomly divided into 3 groups, respectively, the sham operation group (n = 20), the control group (n = 20) and the experimental group (n = 20). After feeding 2 d, mice in the experimental group were given 200 μL probiotics solution daily; mice in the control and sham operation groups were given 200 μL NaCl solution, with continuous intragastric administration for 4 weeks. Cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) was performed on the mice in the experimental and control groups, while mice in the sham operation group were performed with the same procedures of CLP except for cecal puncture. Ten mice in each group were used to observe their activity and survival of 7 d, and the blood and colon tissues were taken in the other 10 mice in each group after 24 hours. The expression levels of serum inflammatory factor interleukin 22 (IL-22), IL-2 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, the colon tissues were measured by the hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining method, and the expression of colonic mucosa (Occludin) in each group was observed by the immunohistochemical method. Results Mice in the sham operation group grew well, mice in the control group curled up in a corner of the cage and trembled, and mice in the experimental group were more active than the experimental group, without obvious tremor. At 7 d, there were still 3 survived mice in the experimental group which were given euthanasia; the 7 d survival was significantly higher than that of the control group (P = 0.020). At 7 d, 10 mice in the sham operation group all survived and were given euthanasia. The expressions of serum IL-22 [(103 ± 23) ng/L vs. (27 ± 9) ng/L, t = 7.590, P < 0.001], IL-2 [(328 ± 27) ng/L vs. (77 ± 21) ng/L, t = 21.368, P < 0.001] and TNF-α [(94 ± 22) ng/L vs. (56 ± 9) ng/L, t = 4.734, P < 0.001] in the control group were significantly different as compared to the sham operation group. Meanwhile, the expressions of serum IL-22 [(75 ± 33) ng/L vs. (27 ± 9) ng/L, t = 3.755, P = 0.001], IL-2 [(217 ± 30) ng/L vs. (77 ± 21) ng/L, t = 10.850, P < 0.001] and TNF-α [(107 ± 20) ng/L vs. (56 ± 9) ng/L, t = 5.956, P < 0.001] in the experimental and sham operation groups all showed statistically significant differences. Compared with the control group, the expressions of serum IL-22 [(103 ± 23) ng/L vs. (75 ± 33) ng/L, t = 2.185, P = 0.042] and IL-2 [(328 ± 27) ng/L vs. (217 ± 30) ng/L, t = 8.371, P < 0.001] in the experimental group were significantly different, while the TNF-α [(94 ± 22) ng/L vs. (107 ± 20) ng/L, t = 1.363, P = 0.188] expression showed no statistically significant difference. In the sham operation group, the colonic mucosa was intact and the glands were regularly arranged with little or no inflammatory cell infiltration. However, mice in the control group appeared derangement, deformation and lack of colonic mucosal epithelial glands, fuzzy connected structures of enterocytes, and extensive infiltration of inflammatory cells some of which had crypt abscess. The colonic epithelia of mice in the experimental group were basically complete without erosion and loss, glands were normally arranged, and the infiltration of inflammatory cells decreased more as compared to the control group. The results of immunohistochemistry showed that mice in the sham operation group had complete acinar structures of colonic epithelial cells and more Occludin proteins. The acinar structures of colonic epithelial cells in the control group were destructed and disappeared, and there were infiltration of inflammatory cells and less Occludin proteins. The acinar structures of colonic epithelial cells in the experimental group were complete with widened interacinar gaps, and the expression of Occludin protein increased as compared to the control group. Conclusion Probiotics can inhibit the reduction of Occludin of intestinal epithelial cells and stabilize barrier structures of intestinal mucosas, thus effectively improving the survival of septic mice. Key words: Probiotics; Sepsis; Occludin

This randomized-controlled trial demonstrates that an exercise consultation, based on the transtheoretic model of exercise behavior change, significantly improves short-term adherence to exercise.

Despite the existence of several emotion regulation studies using neurofeedback, interactions among a small number of regions were evaluated, and therefore, further investigation is needed to understand the interactions of the brain regions involved in emotion regulation. We implemented electroencephalography (EEG) neurofeedback with simultaneous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) using a modified happiness-inducing task through autobiographical memories to upregulate positive emotion. Then, an explorative analysis of whole brain regions was done to understand the effect of neurofeedback on brain activity and the interaction of whole brain regions involved in emotion regulation. The participants in the control and experimental groups were asked to do emotion regulation while viewing positive images of autobiographical memories and getting sham or real (based on alpha asymmetry) EEG neurofeedback, respectively. The proposed multimodal approach quantified the effects of EEG neurofeedback in changing EEG alpha power, fMRI blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) activity of prefrontal, occipital, parietal, and limbic regions (up to 1.9% increase), and functional connectivity in/between prefrontal, parietal, limbic system, and insula in the experimental group. New connectivity links were identified by comparing the brain functional connectivity between experimental conditions (Upregulation and View blocks) and also by comparing the brain connectivity of the experimental and control groups. Psychometric assessments confirmed significant changes in positive and negative mood states in the experimental group by neurofeedback. Based on the exploratory analysis of activity and connectivity among all brain regions involved in emotion regions, we found significant BOLD and functional connectivity increases due to EEG neurofeedback in the experimental group, but no learning effect was observed in the control group. The results reveal several new connections among brain regions as a result of EEG neurofeedback which can be justified according to emotion regulation models and the role of those regions in emotion regulation and recalling positive autobiographical memories.