Issues that were touched upon in this issue include the revisited strategies of politeness translation in 'The Simpsons' Sitcom; teachers’ understanding-check practices and learners’ following orientations in EFL classroom interaction; assessment of training needs for teaching at the elementary schools in Saudi Arabia; a ‘Thick Description’ genre analysis of death announcement notices; fiscal decentralization and economic growth; national mechanisms for ensuring social rights and socio-cultural constraints of girls’ access to education in Tanzania.

The Journal is published four times a year in English.

The open-access electronic version of the journal can be found on: www.jhss-khazar.org.