Papers by Zahra Shahsavar
Frontiers in Education, 2024
This study explores the potential impact of ChatGPT on the academic writing skills development of... more This study explores the potential impact of ChatGPT on the academic writing skills development of medical students enrolled in a compulsory 3-unit writing course at a medical university. The research focuses on two primary objectives, which are formulated as two research questions: Firstly, does the use of ChatGPT enhance medical students' English academic writing skills compared to conventional writing training? Secondly, how does the use of ChatGPT impact on different components of academic writing? A longitudinal intervention design was employed with 83 participants from two writing classes in the experimental and control groups. The findings demonstrated ChatGPT's significant impact on enhancing medical students' English academic writing skills, with large effect sizes. ChatGPT enhanced students' writing skills, especially content, organization, vocabulary, and mechanics in the experimental group, while its impact on language use is limited. AI tools like ChatGPT can be valuable in assisting with certain aspects of writing, but they should not be considered a one-size-fits-all solution for enhancing writing skills. The result of the study can be beneficial for educators, particularly those interested in teaching writing.
Frontiers in education , 2024
This study explores the potential impact of ChatGPT on the academic writing skills development of... more This study explores the potential impact of ChatGPT on the academic writing skills development of medical students enrolled in a compulsory 3-unit writing course at a medical university. The research focuses on two primary objectives, which are formulated as two research questions: Firstly, does the use of ChatGPT enhance medical students' English academic writing skills compared to conventional writing training? Secondly, how does the use of ChatGPT impact on different components of academic writing? A longitudinal intervention design was employed with 83 participants from two writing classes in the experimental and control groups. The findings demonstrated ChatGPT's significant impact on enhancing medical students' English academic writing skills, with large effect sizes. ChatGPT enhanced students' writing skills, especially content, organization, vocabulary, and mechanics in the experimental group, while its impact on language use is limited. AI tools like ChatGPT can be valuable in assisting with certain aspects of writing, but they should not be considered a one-size-fits-all solution for enhancing writing skills. The result of the study can be beneficial for educators, particularly those interested in teaching writing.
REFLECTIVE PRACTICE, 2024
Although reflective teaching and pragmatic competence have been
studied, their intersection in an... more Although reflective teaching and pragmatic competence have been
studied, their intersection in an EFL context remains underexplored.
This study examines the impact of reflective teaching on Iranian EFL
learners through implicit and explicit pragmatic competence
instructions. One hundred and twenty Iranian EFL learners participated
in this quasi-experimental study, facilitated by experienced
English teachers familiar with reflective teaching and pragmatic
instruction techniques. The Nelson proficiency test, a pragmatic
test, and reflective diaries were employed to assess learners’ homogeneity,
pragmatic competence, and teaching practices.
Participants were divided into two experimental groups and two
control groups. Experimental groups received reflective teaching
alongside explicit or implicit pragmatic instructions, while control
groups received only pragmatic instructions. Data were analyzed
using paired and independent sample t-tests. Results revealed that
reflective teaching, especially when combined with explicit instruction,
significantly enhanced learners’ pragmatic competence compared
to non-reflective teaching. This study has significant practical
implications for educators, including teachers, curriculum developers,
instructional coordinators, policymakers, and language practitioners,
in overcoming teaching challenges effectively. By aligning
reflective teaching with pragmatic instruction, educators can
address teaching challenges more effectively, potentially reducing
the need for extensive modifications to teaching materials and
methods..
The manuscript provides valuable information on interpreting the research data. Due to the import... more The manuscript provides valuable information on interpreting the research data. Due to the importance of the issue, this work can make a significant contribution to different fields of research. Also, the informative knowledge on how to distinguish data interpretation from other main parts of the articles, such as research findings, data analysis, and discussions, seems particularly noteworthy for researchers. I think publishing this manuscript can have an important effect on enhancing researchers' ideas in writing the methods clearly, which is very valuable for both researchers and readers.
Forum for linguistic studies, Dec 18, 2023
This research examines students' beliefs about language learning by evaluating the measur... more This research examines students' beliefs about language learning by evaluating the measurement equivalence of the beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI). The graded response model (GRM) was used to examine differential item functioning (DIF) in the BALLI across four different countries, namely: Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. The sample was drawn from 1613, including 500 males and 1113 females who completed the online version of the BALLI, comprising five subscales of beliefs about foreign language aptitude, the difficulty of language learning, the nature of language learning, learning and communication strategies, and motivations and expectations. Most BALLI items showed non-uniform DIF. This finding implies that students in different countries had different perceptions of the BALLI items. Therefore, researchers should be very cautious about using the BALLI in different countries. This cross-cultural comparison may generate new insights into revising the BALLI items or developing another scale to compare students' beliefs about language learning in different countries.
SMSJ, 2024
Introduction: The advent of ChatGPT as an artificial intelligence (AI) tool has changed the class... more Introduction: The advent of ChatGPT as an artificial intelligence (AI) tool has changed the classroom atmosphere among medical students leading to controversial issues in education, particularly in writing. Although some medical students exhibit strong inclination to use ChatGPT in their writing classes, most professors are still uncertain about the outcome. Methods: This study tries to assess medical students' attitudes toward using ChatGPT in their academics writing course held in the Fall semester, 2023. An intact class of medical students from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS) took part in this qualitative research. Two semi structured interviews were conducted at the beginning of the course, prior to the implication of ChatGPT in revising their essay writing, and after completing the course. Braun and Clark thematic analysis was applied to analyze the interview data. Results: Six main codes were identified about using ChatGPT (i.e., familiarity, speed, vocabulary range, structure, teacher's role, plagiarism). At first, most students, whether those who were familiar with ChatGPT or those who had only heard of it, agreed with its positive effect. But after using ChatGPT, their opinions about using ChatGPT in class were changed. Conclusion: This study may provide an insight for educators who are interested in using AI in a learning environment. However, without professors' management, using ChatGPT in higher education cannot enhance students' writing skill efficiently. To this end, both students and their professors should increase their language knowledge and general knowledge to use it in the best and most effective way in education.
Forum for linguistic Studies, 2023
This research examines students' beliefs about language learning by evaluating the measurement eq... more This research examines students' beliefs about language learning by evaluating the measurement equivalence of the beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI). The graded response model (GRM) was used to examine differential item functioning (DIF) in the BALLI across four different countries, namely: Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. The sample was drawn from 1613, including 500 males and 1113 females who completed the online version of the BALLI, comprising five subscales of beliefs about foreign language aptitude, the difficulty of language learning, the nature of language learning, learning and communication strategies, and motivations and expectations. Most BALLI items showed non-uniform DIF. This finding implies that students in different countries had different perceptions of the BALLI items. Therefore, researchers should be very cautious about using the BALLI in different countries. This cross-cultural comparison may generate new insights into revising the BALLI items or developing another scale to compare students' beliefs about language learning in different countries.
This research examines students' beliefs about language learning by evaluating the measurement eq... more This research examines students' beliefs about language learning by evaluating the measurement equivalence of the beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI). The graded response model (GRM) was used to examine differential item functioning (DIF) in the BALLI across four different countries, namely: Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. The sample was drawn from 1613, including 500 males and 1113 females who completed the online version of the BALLI, comprising five subscales of beliefs about foreign language aptitude, the difficulty of language learning, the nature of language learning, learning and communication strategies, and motivations and expectations. Most BALLI items showed non-uniform DIF. This finding implies that students in different countries had different perceptions of the BALLI items. Therefore, researchers should be very cautious about using the BALLI in different countries. This cross-cultural comparison may generate new insights into revising the BALLI items or developing another scale to compare students' beliefs about language learning in different countries.
Menopause, Jan 4, 2023
Objective Vulvovaginal symptoms are common in postmenopausal women and can affect their quality o... more Objective Vulvovaginal symptoms are common in postmenopausal women and can affect their quality of life and sexual function. Using a sample of postmenopausal Iranian women, we evaluated a Persian translation of the Vulvovaginal Symptoms Questionnaire (VSQ). Methods This study included 201 postmenopausal Iranian women referred to dermatology and gynecology clinics affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. We translated the VSQ to the Persian language using the forward-backward method. We examined the questionnaire's internal consistency using Cronbach α coefficient and evaluated its construct validity using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Results A Cronbach α coefficient of 0.763 confirmed the overall internal consistency of the Persian VSQ. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that except for three items in the symptoms subscale, others had sufficient α coefficients, although some did not load on the expected subscales. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the appropriate allocation of all but two items to the expected subscales. An intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.89 confirmed the reliability of the questionnaire. Conclusions Although some parts of the Persian VSQ were unsatisfactory, most were appropriate for assessing vulvovaginal symptoms in postmenopausal Iranian women. We recommend further cultural adaptations.
The research is very interesting. However, I believe they should include some updated research in... more The research is very interesting. However, I believe they should include some updated research in the introduction since the most recent ones are from 2013, which is already a decade ago. On the other hand, the conclusions are quite repetitive, very similar to the last paragraphs of the first section of the manuscript. They should focus more on the reflections derived from the proposed research. Finally, regarding the citation format, it is not very clear if they are following APA 7 style. If so, in the body of the text, for a work with two authors, they should separate their names with an ampersand (&) in a parenthetical citation or with "and" in a narrative citation. If, on the contrary, it has three or more authors, they should include the last name of the first author, followed by "et al.," which means and others.
Sociolinguistics acknowledges the distinct varieties of “Englishes” and posits that Standard Engl... more Sociolinguistics acknowledges the distinct varieties of “Englishes” and posits that Standard English is just one of them. In language teaching contexts, however, errors tend to be stigmatized as “wrong” grammar or non-standard English and not variations or diversities in utterances. This paper derives from the written discourse of second language learners to examine the distinct ways by which they construct texts and their error patterns. It uses the interlanguage continuum—which progresses from random errors, emergent, systematic, to stabilized stages—as a framework for the text and test item analysis of the language produced by university students. Interlanguage recognizes that errors ought to be viewed from a sociocultural perspective, focusing on items that will help these advanced learners improve in academic writing. Keywords: Sociolinguistics, Language Learning, Interlanguage, World Englishes, Multi-competence
This study tries to examine gender differences in students' attitude towards blogs. In this study... more This study tries to examine gender differences in students' attitude towards blogs. In this study, we applied the graded response model (GRM) to assess differential item functioning (DIF) in the Persian blog attitude questionnaire (P-BAQ) across male and female Iranian students. The participants were 565 tertiary-level students who took part voluntarily in completing the P-BAQ comprising three subscales: affective, behavioral, and perseverance-confidence. Our findings revealed that male and female students responded differently only to two out of twenty-five items in the P-BAQ. These uniform-DIF items were found in the affective and perseverance-confidence subscales. To ascertain whether the difference between male and female students in responding to these items is affected by their perception of the items, we applied retaining and removing strategies. A significant change was found in results after removing item twenty-eight in the perseverance-confidence subscale. The results indicated that in affective and behavior subscales, the P-BAQ items are comparable between male and female students since both groups had the same perception of these items. However, we should be cautious of using the perseverance-confidence subscale. Examining gender differences can help researchers and educators to improve educational outcomes. The DIF analysis method can be applied to evaluate measurement equivalence of the other instruments accurately.
Background: Recently, extensive research has been reported the higher rate of depression and anxi... more Background: Recently, extensive research has been reported the higher rate of depression and anxiety among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) as compared to the general population. However, no single study has been carried out to investigate whether this disparity is a real difference or it happens due to lack of measurement invariance. This study aims to assess the measurement invariance of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and 10-item Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10) questionnaires across PLWHAs and healthy individuals. Methods: One hundred and fifty PLWHAs and 500 healthy individuals filled out the Persian version of the BAI and CESD-10 questionnaires. Multi-group multiple-indicators multiple-causes model (MG-MIMIC) was used to assess measurement invariance across PLWHAs and healthy people. Results: Our findings revealed that PLWHAs and healthy individuals perceived the meaning of all the items in the BAI and CESD-10 questionnaires similarly. In addition, although depression scores were significantly higher in PLWHAs as opposed to the healthy individuals, no significant difference was observed in anxiety scores of these two groups. Conclusions: The current study suggests that the BAI and CESD-10 are invariant measures across PLWHAs and healthy people which can be used for meaningful cross-group comparison. Therefore, in comparison to healthy individuals, higher depression score of PLWHAs is a real difference. It is highly recommended that health professionals develop therapeutic interventions and psychological supports to promote the mental health of PLWHAs which alleviate their depressive symptoms.
Background: Recently, extensive research has been reported the higher rate of depression and anxi... more Background: Recently, extensive research has been reported the higher rate of depression and anxiety among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) as compared to the general population. However, no single study has been carried out to investigate whether this disparity is a real difference or it happens due to lack of measurement invariance. This study aims to assess the measurement invariance of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and 10-item Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10) questionnaires across PLWHAs and healthy individuals. Methods: One hundred and fifty PLWHAs and 500 healthy individuals filled out the Persian version of the BAI and CESD-10 questionnaires. Multi-group multiple-indicators multiple-causes model (MG-MIMIC) was used to assess measurement invariance across PLWHAs and healthy people. Results: Our findings revealed that PLWHAs and healthy individuals perceived the meaning of all the items in the BAI and CESD-10 questionnaires similarly. In addition, although depression scores were significantly higher in PLWHAs as opposed to the healthy individuals, no significant difference was observed in anxiety scores of these two groups. Conclusions: The current study suggests that the BAI and CESD-10 are invariant measures across PLWHAs and healthy people which can be used for meaningful cross-group comparison. Therefore, in comparison to healthy individuals, higher depression score of PLWHAs is a real difference. It is highly recommended that health professionals develop therapeutic interventions and psychological supports to promote the mental health of PLWHAs which alleviate their depressive symptoms.
Regardless of the extraction method, optimized RNA extraction of tissues and cell lines are carri... more Regardless of the extraction method, optimized RNA extraction of tissues and cell lines are carried out in four stages: 1) homogenization, 2) effective denaturation of proteins from RNA, 3) ribonuclease inactivation, and 4) removal of contamination from DNA, proteins, and carbohydrates. However, it is very laborious to maintain the integrity of RNA when there are high levels of RNase in the tissue. Spontaneous autolysis makes it very difficult to extract RNA from pancreatic tissue without damaging it. Thus, a practical RNA extraction method is needed to maintain the integrity of pancreatic tissues during the extraction process. An experimental and comparative study of existing protocols was carried out by obtaining 20-30 mg of rat pancreatic tissues in less than 2 minutes and extracting the RNA. The results were assessed by electrophoresis. The experiments were carried out three times for generalization of the results. Immersing pancreatic tissue in RNA stabilization reagent at-80 °C for 24 h yielded high integrity RNA, when the RNA extraction reagent was used as the reagent. The results obtained were comparable to the results obtained from commercial kits with spin column bindings.
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Papers by Zahra Shahsavar
studied, their intersection in an EFL context remains underexplored.
This study examines the impact of reflective teaching on Iranian EFL
learners through implicit and explicit pragmatic competence
instructions. One hundred and twenty Iranian EFL learners participated
in this quasi-experimental study, facilitated by experienced
English teachers familiar with reflective teaching and pragmatic
instruction techniques. The Nelson proficiency test, a pragmatic
test, and reflective diaries were employed to assess learners’ homogeneity,
pragmatic competence, and teaching practices.
Participants were divided into two experimental groups and two
control groups. Experimental groups received reflective teaching
alongside explicit or implicit pragmatic instructions, while control
groups received only pragmatic instructions. Data were analyzed
using paired and independent sample t-tests. Results revealed that
reflective teaching, especially when combined with explicit instruction,
significantly enhanced learners’ pragmatic competence compared
to non-reflective teaching. This study has significant practical
implications for educators, including teachers, curriculum developers,
instructional coordinators, policymakers, and language practitioners,
in overcoming teaching challenges effectively. By aligning
reflective teaching with pragmatic instruction, educators can
address teaching challenges more effectively, potentially reducing
the need for extensive modifications to teaching materials and
methods..
studied, their intersection in an EFL context remains underexplored.
This study examines the impact of reflective teaching on Iranian EFL
learners through implicit and explicit pragmatic competence
instructions. One hundred and twenty Iranian EFL learners participated
in this quasi-experimental study, facilitated by experienced
English teachers familiar with reflective teaching and pragmatic
instruction techniques. The Nelson proficiency test, a pragmatic
test, and reflective diaries were employed to assess learners’ homogeneity,
pragmatic competence, and teaching practices.
Participants were divided into two experimental groups and two
control groups. Experimental groups received reflective teaching
alongside explicit or implicit pragmatic instructions, while control
groups received only pragmatic instructions. Data were analyzed
using paired and independent sample t-tests. Results revealed that
reflective teaching, especially when combined with explicit instruction,
significantly enhanced learners’ pragmatic competence compared
to non-reflective teaching. This study has significant practical
implications for educators, including teachers, curriculum developers,
instructional coordinators, policymakers, and language practitioners,
in overcoming teaching challenges effectively. By aligning
reflective teaching with pragmatic instruction, educators can
address teaching challenges more effectively, potentially reducing
the need for extensive modifications to teaching materials and
methods..