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Chapelle (2003) proposed three general types of input enhancement that help L2 learners "acquire features of the linguistic input that they are exposed to during the course reading or listening for meaning" (p. 40): input salience, input modification, and input elaboration. In 2010, Cárdenas-Claros and Gruba argued that Chapelle's different types of input enhancement "can be and have been operationalized through help options" (p. 79) primarily utilized in the teaching of reading, listening, writing, grammar, and vocabulary such as glossed words, video/audio control features, captions, subtitles, and grammar explanations. As understood from Cárdenas-Claros and Gruba's classification of help options, input enhancement can only be accomplished through one of these processes: salience, modification, or elaboration. In this article, we argue that YouTube comments have the potential to be (1) a help option that facilitates both listening comprehension of the videos and vocabulary learning, and that (2) input enhancement accomplished by comments can be achieved by a combination of different types of input enhancement. Put another way, the aural input of a YouTube video can be salient, modified, and elaborated, thanks to the various types of comments YouTube videos often receive.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a rich repertoire of meaningful, relevant comments posted on social media sites can facilitate or increase L2 listeners' comprehension of videos. The study utilized a quasi-experimental design with an experimental group (n = 29) that watched two YouTube videos and read comments, as well as a control group (n = 31) that watched the same videos without comments. After watching each video, students in both groups wrote summaries of the video content, and only the experimental students responded to brief questionnaires assessing their perceptions of the video's comments. "T"-tests revealed that summaries written by the experimental group had significantly more, and also more informed and accurate, unit ideas. Results of the questionnaires revealed that there is a generally positive attitude toward comments as an L2 listening help option. These findings suggest that social media comments may be a useful tool to assist or enrich listening comprehension of videos. Pedagogically, when social media videos are selected for teaching or learning L2 listening, the richness, relevance, and meaningfulness of comments should be among the video's selection criteria.

الملخص: أهداف البحث: تسبب اضطرابات كثافة العظام عبئا صحيا واجتماعيا على الأفراد والمجتمعات. هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى تقدير انتشار وتحديد أنماط اضطرابات كثافة العظام بين النساء في مدينة بريدة بالمملكة العربية السعودية. طرق البحث: أجريت دراسة مقطعية بين النساء اللواتي حضرن لفحص كثافة العظام في مركز صحي الأفق ببريدة. تم تضمين ما مجموعه ٣٤٢ امرأة في الدراسة. تم استخدام جهاز قياس امتصاص الأشعة السينية ذات الطاقة المزدوجة (دكسا) لقياس كثافة العظام وتم تحديد التشخيص بناءً على معايير منظمة الصحة العالمية: طبيعي= درجة ت أكبر من -١ ، لين العظام = درجة ت بين -١ إلى -٢.٥ ، هشاشة العظام = درجة ت أقل من -٢.٥ . كما تم جمع البيانات المختلفة الاجتماعية والديموغرافية والمتغيرات المتعلقة بالصحة. النتائج: كان متوسط عمر المشاركين ٦١.٢ ± ٧.٥٤ سنة. بلغ معدل الانتشار العام لاضطرابات كثافة العظام ٧٦٪ ، بينما بلغ انتشار لين العظام و هشاشة العظام ٦٦٪ و ٣٤٪ على التوالي. تأثر العمود الفقري أكثر من عنق عظم الفخذ. الاستنتاجات: ارتفاع معدل انتشار اضطرابات كثافة العظام بين النساء في المملكة العربية السعودية يدعو إلى إنشاء وتعزيز برامج الوقاية من هشاشة العظام لضمان الشيخوخة الصحية بين النساء. هناك حاجة لدراسات مجتمعية واسعة النطاق لتقدير عبء اضطرابات كثافة المعادن بالعظام في المجتمع بدقة. Abstract: Objectives: Bone mineral density (BMD) disorders are disorders of bone mineralization in which bone density is reduced (T score −1, osteopenia = T score −2.5, and osteoporosis = T score ≤−2.5. Sociodemographic and health-related data were collected. Logistic regression was used to measure the association of various participant characteristics with BMD disorders. Results: The mean age of the participants was 61.2 ± 7.54 years. The overall prevalence of BMD disorders was 76%, of whom 42% had osteopenia, 24% had both osteoporosis and osteopenia, and 10% had osteoporosis. Body mass index, menopause, hypertension, oral hypoglycemics, and calcium supplementation were significant predictors of BMD disorders. Conclusions: The high prevalence of BMD disorders among women in KSA necessitates establishing and strengthening osteoporosis prevention programs to ensure healthy aging among women in KSA. Large-scale community-based studies are needed to accurately estimate the burden and risk factors of BMD disorders in the community.

This study investigated the effects of captions on the listening comprehension of vlogs. A total of 96 EFL learners watched three vlogs under one of three conditions: L2 captions, L1 captions, and no captions. Each group included low-, mid-, and high-level proficiency learners. The vlogs differed in the pictorial support of the audio, with Vlog 1 being highly supported, Vlog 2 being partially supported, and Vlog 3 being slightly supported by pictorial images. After each vlog, the participants took a multiple-choice test measuring their comprehension of details. Afterwards, participants completed a questionnaire about their perception of captions. The findings suggest that the availability of captions may not necessarily lead to better listening comprehension because students, particularly lower proficiency learners, were unable to simultaneously process the multiple modalities (images, audio, and captions) due to their limited capacities of working memory and cognitive load. High-proficiency learners achieved better comprehension than low-and mid-proficiency learners and achieved their best comprehension with L2 captions. A significant increase in comprehension of vlogs caused by high pictorial support was detected, with the inverse relationship also being true. Analysis of the questionnaire indicated that participants consider L2 captions useful. For both L2 and L1 captions, students think that their listening comprehension would decrease without captions. When considering vlogs for L2 listening, language proficiency and pictorial support are better indicators of levels of comprehension. Captions might be beneficial when learners' proficiency level is high. When visual images are highly supportive for the audio, better comprehension of vlogs is likely.

Abstract Background Migraine attacks can last for hours to days with severe pain which can affect the daily activities. Literature on quality of life of migraineurs is Saudi Arabia is scarce. This study aimed to assess the quality of life and its predictors among patients with migraine in Qassim region, Saudi Arabia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among patients with migraines in Qassim, Saudi Arabia. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed online among migraine patients that included; socio-demographic characteristics and an Arabic version of validated migraine-specific quality of life questionnaire (MSQ), version 2.1. Data analyses were performed in SPSS version 26. Results A total of 320 patients with migraines participated in the study. The most common age group was 18–25 years (36.6%) with females were dominant (60.9%). According to the results of MSQ version 2.1, the mean ± SD scores of Role Restrictive (RR), Role Preventive (RP), and Emotion Function (EF) were 67.7 ± 19.7, 68.5 ± 20.6, and 70.6 ± 22.1, respectively. Statistical tests revealed that patients who reported less frequent migraine attacks, had better scores in RR, RP, and EF, while the use of paracetamol and painkillers for the treatment of headache were associated with lower scores in RR, RP, and EF. Conclusions The quality of life among patients with migraines was generally moderate. Males demonstrated better QOL than females. Furthermore, patients who had less frequent migraine attacks exhibited better QOL than the others but working patients were likely to demonstrate poor QOL.

The main aim of this research study is to investigate the clarity and familiarity of three scoring rubrics used in a Saudi university's preparatory year program (PYP) for assessing students' writing achievement in midterm and final exams. This exploration is important in providing some evidence for the quality of scoring rubrics. To achieve that purpose, a 13-item online questionnaire was used to collect Saudi EFL PYP students' perspectives toward two quality criteria concerning rubrics; (1) clarity of the information included in the PYP rubrics, and (2) familiarity of the rubrics to students. The subjects were 281 Arabic-speaking male and female EFL Saudi students enrolled in three different academic levels in a Saudi university's PYP. The results suggest that the quality of the PYP rubrics is insufficient and the criteria set for providing evidence for the rubric qualities were not met. The results show that students tend to have a mild agreement on the clarity of the PYP rubrics, whereas they show a clear disagreement on their familiarity with the rubrics and with why and how the rubrics are used. The study implicates that administrators and teachers need to carefully consider the clarity and familiarity of rubrics in order to justify the decisions made about students' writing abilities. Rubrics that are unclear or unfamiliar can make students feel confused and frustrated, as they cannot get a clear sense of their writing scores, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of EFL learners and teachers toward vlogs as a source of aural input for L2 listening practice inside and outside of classroom. A total of 389 EFL university students drawn from 29 listening/speaking classes and their teachers participated in this study. After four weeks of exploiting vlogs in the classroom, perceptions from students and teachers were collected through questionnaires, focus group-based discussion, and interviews. The findings of this study indicate that students found vlogs engaging, interesting, up-to-date while simultaneously being a source that will ensure learning. Teachers also had positive perceptions toward the use of vlogs in their classes to improve students' listening skill and vocabulary learning, as well as other aspects of the L2.

Chapelle (2003) proposed three general types of input enhancement that help L2 learners “acquire features of the linguistic input that they are exposed to during the course reading or listening for meaning” (p. 40): input salience, input modification, and input elaboration. In 2010, Cárdenas-Claros and Gruba argued that Chapelle’s different types of input enhancement “can be and have been operationalized through help options” primarily utilized in the teaching of reading, listening, writing, grammar, and vocabulary such as glossed words, video/audio control features, captions, subtitles, and grammar explanations (p. 79). As understood from Cárdenas-Claros and Gruba’s classification of help options, input enhancement can only be accomplished through one process: salience, modification, or elaboration. In this article, we argue that YouTube comments have the potential to be (1) a help option that facilitate both listening comprehension of the videos and vocabulary learning and that (2) input enhancement accomplished by comments can be achieved by a combination of different types of input enhancement. Put another way, the aural input of a YouTube video can be salient, modified, and elaborated, thanks to the various types of comments YouTube videos often receive.

Airports could serve as hotspots for the spread of the COVID-19 infection. We aimed to assess the awareness, attitude, and behaviors of non-Saudi travelers about COVID-19 and their satisfaction with preventive measures at Saudi airports. A cross-sectional study was conducted among non-Saudi travelers arriving in Saudi Arabia at two international airports. Data were collected using a questionnaire in Arabic, Hindi, and Urdu languages. Awareness, attitude, behavior scores, and satisfaction levels were calculated. Linear regression analyses were done to assess the predictors of awareness, attitude, and behaviors. A total of 633 participants were included in the study. The mean awareness, attitude, and behavior scores were 16.3/22, 18.3/24, and 3.2/5, respectively. Nationality, education, and income were significant predictors of awareness. Nationality was the only significant predictor of attitude, while gender and nationality were predictors of behaviors. Overall satisfaction with preventive measures was: transportation (94%), lounges and corridors (96%), counters (98%), and airport staff (97%). There was overall good awareness and attitude among travelers. Behavior scores were relatively low, which needs to change as air travel poses a threat to the spread of infectious diseases. Airport authorities need to manage passengers properly to ensure adequate distancing to prevent the potential transmission of infections.

Polymeric films composed of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with different percents of CeO2 and Cu2O were prepared using casting method to form PVA/(x) Cu2O (15-x) CeO2 composite at doping concentrations of (0, 1, 5, 7.5, 10, and 15 wt%). The addition of CeO2 and Cu2O affect the structural, morphological, vibrational, and optical properties of PVA film. The lattice parameters of the films were measured. PCC7 film with 15% Cu2O and 0% CeO2 in PVA polymer-matrix, is a suitable candidate to be utilized in UV-shielding for solar cell applications, because of its capability of blocking UV between 190 and 230 nm. The optical energy gap of films varies between 4.77 and 3.32 eV for the indirect transitions and between 4.84 and 3.83 eV for the direct transitions, hence the PCC5 with 7.5% Cu2O and 7.5% CeO2 has the lowest values of direct and indirect energy gaps, which attributed to the enhancement of electronic transitions correlated to the equal ratio of p type Cu2O and n type CeO2 doping. The average value of the refractive index nav was measured according to different approaches. Also, the nonlinear refractive index n2 was measured, it was found that PCC5 has the largest value of nav and n2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Risky behaviors are those that potentially expose people to harm, or significant risk of harm, which prevent them from reaching their potential in life and which can cause significant morbidity or mortality. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to determine the overall prevalence of risky behaviors among university students; to determine the prevalence of smoking, drifting, fast driving and physical inactivity among university students; and to determine the associations between such behavior and demographic characteristics. Materials and Methods: An observational cross-sectional study conducted in three colleges. The data were randomly collected from 340 students aged 18-30 years from February to March 2015 using a self-administered questionnaire in Arabic. The data were entered using SPSS v 22.0. Mean and standard deviation were calculated for quantitative variables, and frequency and percentages were computed for categorical variables. Chi-square or Fisher′s Exact test, as appropriate, were used to test for statistical significance. Results: The overall prevalence of risky behaviors (smoking, drifting, fast driving, and physical inactivity) among students was 47.35%. Overall, 28% of the students were smokers, 25.2% were involved in drifting, 60.9% reported driving fast, and 66.4% were physically inactive. The age between 18-20 years was significantly associated with higher rates of drifting, fast driving, and physical inactivity. Conclusion: The prevalence of risky behaviors among university students was high. Physical inactivity and fast driving were the most common identified risky behaviors. Increasing awareness of these risks in the youth may significantly decrease related morbidities, complications, and even mortalities.

The purpose of this cross-sectional observational study is to show how the perception of returnees' L2 can be changed in the digital era and how the massive spread of technology, among other factors, has eased an Arab (Saudi) returnee child's maintenance of English as an L2. The study discusses how technology allowed the returnee to continue to receive abundant L2 input, use the L2 daily, and interact with native speakers. The child was 9 months old when his family moved to the United States and was 6.2 years old when returned to Saudi Arabia. The study took place 5.4 years after their return when his age was 11.6 years old. A free conversation with the child, observation of online gaming, and an interview with parents were conducted to observe the child's L2 maintenance. The child demonstrated an intermediate level of fluency and produced non-verbal communication in free conversation and online gaming. The parents held positive attitudes toward bilingualism and English which was believed to have a great influence on the child's L2 maintenance. The study concludes that technology, parental attitudes, and personality and motivation have all contributed to the child's successful L2 maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim/Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of pre-listening activities on Arabic-speaking EFL learners' comprehension of spoken texts. Background This study aims to contribute to the current research and to increase our understanding about the effectiveness of pre-listening activities. Specifically, this study seeks to clarify some of the research in this area that seems to be incongruent. Methodology The study investigates two widely implemented activities in second language (L2) classrooms: vocabulary preteaching and content previewing. Ninety-three native-Arabic speaking EFL learners, whose proficiently levels were beginner, intermediate, or advanced, were randomly assigned to a control group or one of three experimental groups: the vocabulary-only (VO) group, content-only (CO) group, or vocabulary + content (VC) group. Each of the experimental groups received one of the treatments to determine which pre-listening activity was more effective and whether additional pre-listening activities yield additional comprehension. Listening comprehension of the aural text was measured by a test comprising 13 multiple-choice and true-false questions. Contribution The present study provided additional explanations regarding the long-standing contradicting results about vocabulary preteaching and content previewing. Findings The results showed that pre-listening activities had a positive impact on Arabicspeaking EFL learners' listening comprehension, with the VO group significantly increasing their scores on the posttest compared to those of the control or other groups. Vocabulary preteaching was particularly beneficial for more advanced learners. With regard to which pre-listening activity contributed the most to better listening comprehension, vocabulary preteaching was the most effective. Content previewing did not increase comprehension for the CO group and had no additional benefit for the VC group. Recommendations for Practitioners The results of this study suggest that providing L2 students with instruction on single words, multi-words, and idioms in the upcoming aural input has a positive impact on listening comprehension. The study provides positive evidence that vocabulary knowledge and word recognition play a major role in understanding L2 aural texts. It also provides support for the practice of vocabulary teaching in L2 listening classes. Recommendations for Researchers This paper recommends that researchers explore new pre-listening activities that have never studied. Future research should be extended to include other nations and contextual situations to extend our knowledge about the effect of pre-listening activities. As far as listening comprehension can only be achieved when listeners are attentive and engaged, the listening text should be interesting and the lexical coverage of the listening text should be appropriate for all participants. Future Research The results are to be interpreted carefully because they are limited by the students' L2 proficiency, demographic, and cultural backgrounds (i.e., first language (L1) proficiency, age, gender, Middle Eastern culture). Results might be quite different if the study was conducted with different populations who have different life and language learning experiences (Vandergrift & Baker, 2015). Therefore, the results of this study indicate there is much room for improvement and a need for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]