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The main objective of the present study is to investigate the impact of social context as well as intimacy and distance on the choice of forms of address in Persian. However, as secondary objective, variation in the use of address forms according to social characteristics of the speakers will also be studied. The hypothesis is that variations in the forms of address are related not only to age, sex, and social class characteristics of the interlocutors but also to the setting, intimacy, and social distance. The results of the data analysis indicate that the use of intimate terms of address is inversely proportional to social distance and the formality of context. That is, as social distance and degree of formality of context increase, the frequency of familiar terms of address decreases. It was also found that in informal familial situations age is more signi®cant than sex and social class in determining forms of address. However, under formal circumstances, sex is a stronger determiner in the use of address forms.

Education is one of the main sectors that has been drastically affected by COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. In this paper, after providing a brief background about the global impact of Coronavirus pandemic on different spheres of life, the effect of COVID-19 on education, in general, and higher education, in particular, will be discussed. Then, different types of online educational models will be reviewed. Next, the advantages and disadvantages of face-to-face classroom instruction versus online education will be elaborated on. Finally, a model for post-pandemic higher education will be proposed and delineated.

The sudden shift from power to solidarity in Iran in the face of the sociopolitical upheaval in the country has yielded some interesting changes in the forms of address in Persian. In general, since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, forms of address in Persian have undergone a sociolinguistic simplification. In post-revolutionary Iran plain speech and forms of address marking solidarity have gained popularity, whereas asymmetrical forms reflecting the complex social class structure of pre-revolutionary Iran have gradually declined. This article gives a sociolinguistic account of the forms of address in present-day Iranian Persian and documents the impact of the revolution on this aspect of the Persian language. (Sociopolitical change, language change, forms of address, politeness systems, Iranian Persian)

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Blended learning is a revolutionary concept that embraces traditional classroom teaching and online/offline learning. Many studies have been conducted on blended learning; however, research on its effect on motivation with reference to personality and learning styles is scarce. Therefore, the present study set out to fill this niche. To this end, 33 university students from a private university in Northern Cyprus were randomly selected to participate in this study by filling out a questionnaire on the use of blended learning. The questionnaire was analyzed and frequencies of participants’ responses were calculated. To supplement the survey with qualitative data, an interview was conducted with ten of the participants on a voluntary basis. The results of both sets of data suggest that students’ personality and learning styles play a significant role in increasing their motivation for using blended-learning. Thus, based on these findings, it is suggested that in order to increase learners’ motivation, teaching materials and methods should be tailored according to their needs. The findings of the study are interpreted to have direct implications for syllabus designers and teachers.