Search results for: textbook of Russian as a foreign language

Authors: Mahdi Fakheri, Mohammad Mohsen Mahdizadeh Naeini

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This paper addresses an understudied aspect of U.S. foreign aids between the years 2000 and 2020. Despite a growing body of literature on the impacts of U.S. aids, the question about how the United States uses its foreign aids to change developing countries has remained unanswered. As foreign aid is a tool of the United States' foreign policy, answering this very question can reveal the future that the U.S. prefers for developing countries and that secures its national interest. This paper will explore USAID's official dataset, which includes the data of foreign aids to the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia from 2000 to 2020. Through an empirical analysis, this paper argues that the focus of U.S. foreign aid is evenly divided between institutional and non-institutional (i.e., slight enhancement of status quo) changes. The former is induced by training and education, funding the initiatives and projects, making capacity and increasing the efficiency of human, operational, and management sectors, and enhancing the living condition of the people. Moreover, it will be demonstrated that the political, military, cultural, economic, and judicial are some of the institutions that the U.S. has planned to change in the aforementioned period and regions.

Keywords: USAID, foreign aid, development, developing countries, Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America

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Authors: Maliheh Rezaei

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As demand for learning English as the global language remains high, scholars are increasingly encouraged to explore the potential of this medium for creating hegemony and positive changes in human communities. This makes English Language teachers the potential agents of positive change who play a major role in fostering the culture of peace in their classes. The purpose of this literature review was thus evaluating the implementation of peace pedagogies by English language teachers. More specifically, it addressed a) the role and characteristics of English language teachers as peace agents and b) the pedagogies that they used to construct the culture of peace. Literature review was used, and several inclusion criteria were applied. Only papers published in English, which contained the keywords of English language teaching (ELT) and other related terms and acronyms such as teaching English to speakers of other languages, and teaching English as a second/foreign language as well as peace, peace education, and similar derivatives such ‘peacebuilding’ in their title and/or abstract were included in this review. Moreover, only papers that dealt with the actual implementation of peace education theories were investigated. Findings highlighted that most English language teachers relied on pedagogies adopted from social justice, global citizenship, and positive psychology. They specifically aimed to foster positive human traits such as resilience, empathy, and reflection that were also believed to play an important role in peacebuilding efforts. Nevertheless, the role of English language teachers in educating for peace was found to be peripheral. The main challenge to incorporate the tenets of peace education was the shortage of English language teachers who were skilled and qualified enough to incorporate and promote the culture of peace in their classes. This literature review presents the body of research that has linked peace education to ELT; therefore, it informs language teachers about the potential roles they have in creating a peaceful and sustainable future. It also presents them with more effective pedagogies and practices to successfully integrate peace-related activities in their classes.

Keywords: English language teachers, English language teaching, culture of peace, peace pedagogies

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Authors: Poonamdeep kaur

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With the increase in number of Non-Resident Indian marriages there is also increase in foreign decree divorces which inevitably causes the problem of recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in India. The Hindus in India are governed by the Hindu Marriage Act, 1956. According to the said Act the courts in India have jurisdiction to try the matrimonial dispute if the marriage is performed in India or the parties to the marriage have domicile in India irrespective of their nationality status. But, sometimes one of the parties to the marriage whose marriage is solemnized in India obtains divorce in foreign courts and prays for the recognition and enforcement of such divorce in India. In such case section 13 of the Indian Civil Procedure Code, 1908, comes into play for the recognition and enforcement of foreign divorces in India. The section makes a foreign judgment conclusive in India subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions. Even if a foreign decree divorce is given on personal connecting factors of the parties to the matrimonial dispute like domicile, such divorce may still be refused recognition in India by virtue of section 13 of the Indian Civil Procedure Code, 1908. It is a universal truth that municipal law of countries is not the same throughout the world. Comity plays an important role in recognition and enforcing a foreign judgment, but, now in India the principle is not applied mechanically as the divorce matter is dealt strictly with regard to Indian Law. So in this paper there will be deep analysis of Indian case laws relating to recognition and enforcement of foreign divorces and based on this a comparative study will be made with the laws of Canada and England on the same subject to find out whether the Indian law on recognition and Enforcement of foreign judgment are in line with the laws of Canada and England and whether in recent years the Indian courts have evolved some new principles of private international law to deal with limping marriages. At last conclusions will be drawn out from the comparative study and suggestions would be given to make the rules of recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments on divorce more certain.

Keywords: divorce, foreign decree, private international law, recognition and enforcement of foreign judgment

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Authors: Rhisan Mae Enriquez-Morales

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The primary concern of this study is to answer the question: How does the Philippine government formulate its foreign policy with respect to its territorial claims over areas in the West Philippine Sea after the Scarborough standoff in April 2012? Specifically, the study seeks to provide understanding on the political process in the formulation of foreign policy relating to the Philippine claims in the West Philippine Sea after the 2012 Scarborough Standoff, by looking into the relationship of bureaucracies and how it influences the decision-making process. Secondly, this study aims to determine the long and short term foreign policies of the Philippines with respect to its territorial claims over the West Philippine Sea. Lastly, this study seeks to determine the implication of Philippine foreign policy in settling the West Philippine Sea dispute on the country’s national security. The Bureaucratic Politics Model (BPM) in Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) is the framework utilized in this study, which focuses primarily on the relationship of bureaucracies in the formulation of foreign policy and how these agencies influence the process of foreign policy formulation. The findings of this study reveal that: first, the Philippines foreign policy in the West Philippine Sea continues to develop to address current developments in the WPS. Second, as the government requires demilitarization there is a shift from traditional to non-traditional security approach. This shift caused inconvenience from the defense sector particularly the Navy thinking that they are being deprived of their traditional roles. Lastly, the Philippine government’s greater emphasis on internal security operation implies the need to reassess its security concerns and look into territorial security.

Keywords: bureaucratic politics model, foreign policy analysis, security, West Philippine sea

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Authors: Sherri Franklin-Guy

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The emergence of language in young children has been well-documented and play-based activities that support its continued development have been utilized in the clinic-based setting. Speech-language pathologists have long used such activities to stimulate the production of language in children with speech and language disorders via modeling and elicitation tasks. This presentation will examine the importance of play in the development of language in young children, including social and pragmatic communication. Implications for clinicians and educators will be discussed.

Keywords: language development, language stimulation, play-based activities, symbolic play

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Authors: Djelloul Nedjai

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The issue of cultural awareness triggers many controversies, especially in a context where individuals do not share the same cultural backgrounds and characteristics. The Algerian context is no exception. It has been widely documented by the literature that culture remains essential in many domains. In higher education, for instance, culture plays a pivotal role in shaping individuals’ perceptions and attitudes. Henceforth, the current paper attempts to look at the perceptions of the British culture held by students engaged in learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at the department of English at Banta 2 University, Algeria. It also inquires into EFL students’ perceptions of British culture. To address the aforementioned research queries, a descriptive study has been carried out wherein a questionnaire of fifteen (15) items has been deployed to collect students’ attitudes and perceptions toward British culture. Results showcase that, indeed, EFL students of the department of English at Banta 2 University hold both positive and negative perceptions towards British culture at different levels. The explanation could relate to the student's lack of acquaintance with and awareness of British culture. Consequently, this paper is an attempt to address the issue of cultural awareness from the perspective of EFL students.

Keywords: British culture, cultural awareness, EFL students’ perceptions, higher education

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Authors: Sozan H. Omar, Luluah A. Al Jabr

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The current study aimed to identify critical thinking skills and its level of inclusion in all the activities (44) listed in 11th grade chemistry textbooks. The researcher used a descriptive analytical method by using the content analyzing design. An instrument was created for this purpose and tested for validity and reliability. Results showed that, all activities included critical thinking skills with different ratios as follow: conclusion skill was (87.72%), induction skill was (80.90%), interpretation skill was (77. 72%), discussion of evaluation skill was (68.64%), and assumption skill was (50.45%). Also, the study results indicated that, the level of inclusion of critical thinking skills in the scientific activities was more explicit than implicit with same order as the level of inclusions. In the light of the study's results, the researcher provided some recommendations including the need to provide and redistribute critical thinking skills in the activities listed the chemistry textbook, as well as the need to pay attention to the inclusion level of these skills more implicitly in the activities.

Keywords: critical thinking skills, chemistry textbooks, scientific activities

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Authors: Zhai Yuan, Wu Xueqing

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This article statistics the technology which used by Chinese and foreign excellent players in the game, including types and serves areas,receive technology and effect and utilization ratio receiving and losing points. The sample is che videos which is world's top matches of excellent badminton athletes of che single, including Chinese players’ 43 games and foreign players’ 38 games. Conclusion: For the serving, Chinese and foreign single players are to give priority to forehand short-low serve and the long-high serve. And Chinese and foreign players in using forehand short-low serve and drive server exist significant differences; For the serves areas, Chinese and foreign players serve area is concentrated in area 1,5,6. Area 6 has the highest rate of all the district areas, following by the area 1and area 5. Among the 2ed serve area Sino-foreign player, there exist significant differences; In the receiver, when returning the frontcourt shutter, players is given priority to net lift and push. When returning the backcourt shutter, receiver's the best ball is smash, followed by clear and drop shot. Foreign players have higher utilization rate in smash than Chinese players in the backcourt; In the receiver result, Chinese players give priority to actively and equally situation than foreign players, but in negatively receiving is just opposite.

Keywords: badminton, woman’s singles, technique and tactics, comparative analysis

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Authors: Nhac Thanh Huong

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New teaching methods have led to the changes in the teachers’ roles in an English class, in which teachers’ error correction is an integral part. Language error and corrective feedback have been the interest of many researchers in foreign language teaching. However, the techniques and the effectiveness of teachers’ feedback have been a question of much controversy. This present case study has been carried out with a view to finding out the patterns of teachers’ corrective feedback and their impact on students’ uptake in English speaking lessons of legal English major students at Hanoi Law University. In order to achieve those aims, the study makes use of classroom observations as the main method of data collection to seeks answers to the two following questions: 1. What patterns of corrective feedback occur in English speaking lessons for second- year legal English major students in Hanoi Law University?; 2. To what extent does that corrective feedback lead to students’ uptake? The study provided some important findings, among which was a close relationship between corrective feedback and uptake. In particular, recast was the most commonly used feedback type, yet it was the least effective in terms of students’ uptake and repair, while the most successful feedback, namely meta-linguistic feedback, clarification requests and elicitation, which led to students’ generated repair, was used at a much lower rate by teachers. Furthermore, it revealed that different types of errors needed different types of feedback. Also, the use of feedback depended on the students’ English proficiency level. In the light of findings, a number of pedagogical implications have been drawn in the hope of enhancing the effectiveness of teachers’ corrective feedback to students’ uptake in foreign language acquisition process.

Keywords: corrective feedback, error, uptake, speaking English lesson

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Authors: Leei Wong

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Changes in globalized contexts precipitate changing perceptions concerning linguistic politeness practices. Within these changing contexts, misunderstanding or stereotypification of politeness norms may lead to negative consequences such as hostility or even communication breakdown. With China’s rising influence, the country is offering a vast potential market for global economic development and diplomatic relations and opportunities for intercultural interaction, and many outside China are subsequently learning Chinese. These trends bring both opportunities and pitfalls for intercultural communication, including within the important field of politeness awareness. One internationally recognized benchmark for the study and classification of languages – the updated 2018 CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Language) Companion Volume New Descriptors (CEFR/CV) – classifies politeness as a B1 (or intermediate) level descriptor on the scale of Politeness Conventions. This provides some indication of the relevance of politeness awareness within new globalized contexts for fostering better intercultural communication. This study specifically examines Bald on record politeness strategies presented in current beginner TCAL textbooks used in Australian tertiary education through content-analysis. The investigation in this study involves the purposive sampling of commercial textbooks published in America and China followed by interpretive content analysis. The philosophical position of this study is therefore located within an interpretivist ontology, with a subjectivist epistemological perspective. It sets out with the aim to illuminate the characteristics of Chinese Bald on record strategies that are deemed significant in the present-world context through Chinese textbook writers and curriculum designers. The data reveals significant findings concerning politeness strategies in beginner stage curriculum, and also opens the way for further research on politeness strategies in intermediate and advanced level textbooks for additional language learners. This study will be useful for language teachers, and language teachers-in-training, by generating awareness and providing insights and advice into the teaching and learning of Bald on record politeness strategies. Authors of textbooks may also benefit from the findings of this study, as awareness is raised of the need to include reference to understanding politeness in language, and how this might be approached.

Keywords: linguistic politeness, higher education, Chinese language, additional language

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Authors: Raheel Asif, Michael Frommel

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This paper focuses on analyzing the exchange rate exposure of exporting & domestic firms in (the so far rarely addressed) largest Eastern European transition economies, i.e., Russia and the three EU accession countries, Poland, Hungary, and Czech Republic (CEEC-3). It also controls for possible effects of different exchange rate regimes, Great Financial crisis (2007-08), Russian Financial crisis (2014-15), the formation of EU & turn of year effect. Substantially improving the results from the existing literature on these transition economies, we find for more than 51% of our sample firms in CEEC-3 countries and 29% in Russia shows a significant exchange rate exposure. However, the magnitude and direction of firms’ exposure depends on the particular bilateral exchange rate and differs between CEEC-3 and Russia. We find that share price increases with an appreciation of the domestic currency against the EURO and US Dollar (USD) in CEEC-3; however, the effect is more pronounced for EURO as expected. Whereas, for Russian firms share price increases with a depreciation of the domestic currency against the USD only. Those differences may result from a differing dominance of exposure channels in the respective economies, such as the country-specific export structure, competitiveness channels, and dependence on foreign debt. Finally, the switch from a pegged to a flexible exchange rate regime appears to have a less pronounced effect for the exchange rate exposure of firms in all countries except for USD in Poland and Russia.

Keywords: exchange rate exposure, transition economies, central and eastern Europe, international finance

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Authors: Violetta Cataldo, Renata Savy, Simona Sbranna

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Background: Foreign Language Learning (FLL) is characterised by prosodic transfer phenomena regarding pitch accents placement, intonation patterns, and pitch range excursion from the learners’ mother tongue to their Foreign Language (FL) which suggests that the gradual development of general linguistic competence in FL does not imply an equally correspondent improvement of the prosodic competence. Topic: The present study aims to monitor the development of prosodic competence of learners of Italian and German throughout the FLL process. The primary object of this study is to investigate the intonational features and the f₀ range excursion of Italian and German from a cross-linguistic perspective; analyses of native speakers’ productions point out the differences between this pair of languages and provide models for the Target Language (TL). A following crosscheck compares the L2 productions in Italian and German by non-native speakers to the Target Language models, in order to verify the occurrence of prosodic interference phenomena, i.e., type, degree, and modalities. Methodology: The subjects of the research are university students belonging to two groups: Italian native speakers learning German as FL and German native speakers learning Italian as FL. Both of them have been divided into three subgroups according to the FL proficiency level (beginners, intermediate, advanced). The dataset consists of wh-questions placed in situational contexts uttered in both speakers’ L1 and FL. Using a phonetic approach, analyses have considered three domains of intonational contours (Initial Profile, Nuclear Accent, and Terminal Contour) and two dimensions of the f₀ range parameter (span and level), which provide a basis for comparison between L1 and L2 productions. Findings: Results highlight a strong presence of prosodic transfer phenomena affecting L2 productions in the majority of both Italian and German learners, irrespective of their FL proficiency level; the transfer concerns all the three domains of the contour taken into account, although with different modalities and characteristics. Currently, L2 productions of German learners show a pitch span compression on the domain of the Terminal Contour compared to their L1 towards the TL; furthermore, German learners tend to use lower pitch range values in deviation from their L1 when improving their general linguistic competence in Italian FL proficiency level. Results regarding pitch range span and level in L2 productions by Italian learners are still in progress. At present, they show a similar tendency to expand the pitch span and to raise the pitch level, which also reveals a deviation from the L1 possibly in the direction of German TL. Conclusion: Intonational features seem to be 'resistant' parameters to which learners appear not to be particularly sensitive. By contrast, they show a certain sensitiveness to FL pitch range dimensions. Making clear which the most resistant and the most sensitive parameters are when learning FL prosody could lay groundwork for the development of prosodic trainings thanks to which learners could finally acquire a clear and natural pronunciation and intonation.

Keywords: foreign language learning, German, Italian, L2 prosody, pitch range, transfer

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Authors: Alina Gilmanova

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China’s dependency on coal for energy is causing pollution in China and abroad. To supply the increasing energy demand and being under the pressure from international society to reduce the emissions, China was pushed to develop renewable energy. The increasing subsidies in Renewable energy sources (RES) led not only to the price-cutting but also affecting the international trade in green technology sector. In order to evaluate the role of RES in foreign policy of China, I am going to give an (i) overview of RES development in China and examine the cooperation between China and (ii) developed, (ii) developing and emerging countries. The conclusive remarks are intended to address the question of how the present Chinese renewable energy development is impacting its foreign policy and international society.

Keywords: renewable energy, China, foreign affairs, brics, cooperation

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Authors: Oublal Ali

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Due scholarly attention given to Ludwig Wittgenstein since the appearance of Tractatus is resulted from revolutionary shift he has made in the conception of language. True, his first and foremost concern was to solve the issue of language philosophers failed to recognize. Not only Tracturain’s approach to language that argues for philosophers failure of understanding the logic of language, but also his later conception which is developed in philosophical investigations and the reminder of all his remarks. On such a basis, it is claimed that Wittgenstein’s theory of language should not be confined to the language within philosophical streams with this premise we therefore propose to analytically read one of the literary propositions in the sympathizer as linguistic corpus. Our investigation of the literary proposition weaves us into claiming that Wittgenstein’s language games -later philosophy- is apposite to the analysis of literary works thanks to the shift Wittgenstein has made from demarcated use of language to the multiplicity and non-uniformity of its use.

Keywords: language, context, use, language games, literary propositions

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Authors: Marian Lissett Olaya

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This article examined the factors associated with incorporating peer assessment into English language classes in a public university in Colombia. This is done in the context of writing English class for 4th-semester students. The research instruments consisted of peer assessment questionnaires, student diaries, and interviews. Findings showed that among the factors, motivation, frustration, anxiety, and lack of confidence appeared. Data revealed that peer assessment enables students to write competencies through training, teachers' guidance, and the provision of a collaborative environment.

Keywords: writing skills, peer assessment, formative assessment, language acquisition

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Authors: Yessica A. Aguilera

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English is currently the only foreign language included in the national educational curriculum in Chile. The English curriculum establishes that once completed secondary education, students are expected to reach B1 level according to the Common European Reference Framework (CEFR) scale. However, the objective has not been achieved, and to the author’s best knowledge, there is still a severe lack of English language skills among students who have completed their secondary education studies. In order to deal with the fact that students do not manage English as expected, team-based learning (TBL) was introduced in English language lessons at the Universidad Federico Santa María (USM). TBL is a collaborative teaching-learning method which enhances active learning by combining individual and team work. This approach seeks to help students achieve course objectives while learning how to function in teams. The purpose of the research was to assess the implementation and effectiveness of TBL in English language classes at USM technical training education. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from teachers and students about their experience through TBL. Research findings show that both teachers and students are satisfied with the method and that students’ engagement and participation in class is higher. Additionally, students score higher on examinations improving academic outcomes. The findings of the research have the potential to guide how TBL could be included in future English language courses.

Keywords: collaborative learning, college education, English language learning, team-based learning

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Authors: Farid Habibi Tanha, Hawati Janor, Mojtaba Jahanbazi

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The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of asymmetric information on the composition of capital inflows. This study uses the stock market microstructure to capture the asymmetric information. Such an approach allows one to capture the level and extent of the asymmetric information from a firm’s perspective. This study focuses on the two-dimensional measure of the market microstructure in capturing asymmetric information. The composition of capital inflows is measured by running six models simultaneously. By employing the panel data technique, the main finding of this research shows an increase in the asymmetric information of the stock market, in any of the two dimensions of width and depth. This leads to the reduction of foreign investments in both forms of foreign portfolio investment (FPI) and foreign direct investment (FDI), while the reduction in FPI is higher than that of the FDI. The significant effect of asymmetric information on capital inflows implicitly suggests for policymakers to control the changes of foreign capital inflows through transparency in the level of the market.

Keywords: capital flows composition, asymmetric information, stock market microstructure, foreign portfolio investment, foreign direct investment

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Authors: Yibo Shao, Jiajie Liu

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This article uncovers the practice of pragmatism of Singaporean foreign policy by analyzing its foreign diplomatic behavior. It also points out the Singapore’s hedging strategy on the relations between China and American and how to balance these two greater powers in Southeast Asian. This paper used qualitative approach by reviewing literature and policy documents intensively to find out the responses to our research questions.

Keywords: hedging, pragmatism, Sino-Singapore relations, South China Sea

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Authors: Mehtab Alam

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Sustainable tourism practices require to improve the decreased performance levels in phases of change management for image branding. This paper addresses the innovative approach of using sustainable tourism for image branding as a contemporary tool of foreign policy. The sustainable tourism-based foreign policy promotes cultural values, green tourism, economy, and image management for the avoidance of rising global conflict. The mixed-method approach (quantitative 382 surveys, qualitative 11 interviews at saturation point) implied for the data analysis. The research finding provides the potential of using sustainable tourism by implying skills and knowledge, capacity, and personal factors of change management in improving tourism-based performance levels. It includes the valuable tourism performance role for the success of a foreign policy through sustainable tourism. Change management in tourism-based foreign policy provides the destination readiness for international engagement and curbing of climate issues through green tourism. The research recommends the impact of change management in improving the tourism-based performance levels of image branding for a coercive foreign policy. The paper’s future direction for the immediate implementation of tourism-based foreign policy is to overcome the contemporary issues of travel marketing management, green infrastructure, and cross-border regulation.

Keywords: decrease performance levels, change management, sustainable tourism, image branding, foreign policy

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Authors: Erfan Abdeldaim Mohamed Ahmed Abdalla

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The era of the knowledge explosion in which we live requires us to develop educational curricula quantitatively and qualitatively to adapt to the twenty-first-century skills of critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, cooperation, creativity, and innovation. The process of developing the curriculum is as significant as building it; in fact, the development of curricula may be more difficult than building them. And curriculum development includes analyzing needs, setting goals, designing the content and educational materials, creating language programs, developing teachers, applying for programmes in schools, monitoring and feedback, and then evaluating the language programme resulting from these processes. When we look back at the history of language teaching during the twentieth century, we find that developing the delivery method is the most crucial aspect of change in language teaching doctrines. The concept of delivery method in teaching is a systematic set of teaching practices based on a specific theory of language acquisition. This is a key consideration, as the process of development must include all the curriculum elements in its comprehensive sense: linguistically and non-linguistically. The various Arabic curricula provide the student with a set of units, each unit consisting of a set of linguistic elements. These elements are often not logically arranged, and more importantly, they neglect essential points and highlight other less important ones. Moreover, the educational curricula entail a great deal of monotony in the presentation of content, which makes it hard for the teacher to select adequate content; so that the teacher often navigates among diverse references to prepare a lesson and hardly finds the suitable one. Similarly, the student often gets bored when learning the Arabic language and fails to fulfill considerable progress in it. Therefore, the problem is not related to the lack of curricula, but the problem is the development of the curriculum with all its linguistic and non-linguistic elements in accordance with contemporary challenges and standards for teaching foreign languages. The Arabic library suffers from a lack of references for curriculum development. In this paper, the researcher investigates the elements of development, such as the teacher, content, methods, objectives, evaluation, and activities. Hence, a set of general guidelines in the field of educational development were reached. The paper highlights the need to identify weaknesses in educational curricula, decide the twenty-first-century skills that must be employed in Arabic education curricula, and the employment of foreign language teaching standards in current Arabic Curricula. The researcher assumes that the series of teaching Arabic to speakers of other languages in regular schools do not address the skills of the twenty-first century, which is what the researcher tries to apply in the proposed unit. The experimental method is the method of this study. It is based on two groups: experimental and control. The development of an educational unit will help build suitable educational series for students of the Arabic language in regular schools, in which twenty-first-century skills and standards for teaching foreign languages will be addressed and be more useful and attractive to students.

Keywords: curriculum, development, Arabic language, non-native, skills

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Authors: Mohammed Kamal Alhassan

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The closeness of Turkey to Greece has often been a cause of many disagreements between the people of the two countries. This is against the backdrop of the fact that they have many things in common. In the past, the two countries have had unhealthy relations, which threatened to cut diplomatic ties between them. The 1996 Imia/ Kardak incident and the Öcalan crisis, for instance, nearly resulted in war between them. There were events that also brought the two countries together, for instance, the 1999 earthquake. This was because many lives were lost during the disaster. It is important to note that these events were duly covered by the media in the two countries. First of all, the study intends to look at the role of the media in the formulation of foreign policy in Turkey-Greece relations. It examines the role of the media in the formulation of foreign policy with particular emphasis on agenda-setting and positioning theories of the media as the theoretical framework. Also, the study will discuss the media landscapes in Turkey and Greece, the ownership pattern of the media sector and the relationship between media organizations and the government in the two countries. Moreover, the core foreign policy objectives of the countries will be delved into. Finally, the study employs a qualitative method to critically analyze the role of the media in the formulation of foreign policy in Turkey-Greece relations. It uses the invitation of the Former Prime Minister of Greece, George Andreas Papandreou, to the Ambassadors Conference in Turkey as a case study. In the end, the analysis will prove that, indeed, the media in Greece was effective in the formulation of foreign policy in its relations with Turkey.

Keywords: media organizations, foreign policy, government, diplomacy

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Authors: Cheng Shuk Ling

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This paper examines the English syntactic errors and their patterns in the written assignments of a General Education course at City University of Hong Kong. Subjects are 60 local and non-local (exchange) undergraduate students who are all EFL learners and L2 users with diversified education and disciplinary background (i.e. their major of study), which are unrelated to English language studies. The objective of this paper brings to the foreground a broad discussion of EFL/L2 undergraduate learners’ average syntactic ability in terms of written assessment. This paper is an attempt in classifying the patterns and categories of syntactic errors committed by students who were brought up and educated in non-native English-speaking countries. Thus, pedagogical recommendations are offered for both EFL/L2 learners and educators in tertiary education settings in such ways as to calibrate how and in what manner English language as the medium of instruction can lead to more enduring effects in learners within non-native English-speaking countries.

Keywords: syntactic errors, english as a foreign language, second language users, pedagogy

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Authors: Amira Benabdelkader

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Communication presents the channel by which humankind create and maintain their relationship with others, express themselves, exchange information, learn and teach etc. The context of communication plays a distinctive role in deciding about the language to be used. The term context is mainly used to refer to the interlocutors, their cultures, languages, relationship, physical surrounding that is the communication setting, type of the information to be transmitted, the topic etc. Cultures, on one hand, impose on humans certain behaviours, attitudes, gestures and beliefs. On the other hand, the focus on language is inevitable as it is with its verbal and non-verbal components, a key tool in and for communication. Moreover, each language has its particularity in how people voice, address and express their thoughts, feelings and beliefs. Being in the same setting with people from different cultures and languages and having conversations with them would call upon the intercultural communicative competence. This latter would promote the success of their conversations. Additionally, this competence could manifest in several ways during their interactions, to the extent that no one can predict when and how the interlocutors would use it. The only thing probably that could be confirmed is that the setting and culture would in a way or another intervene and often shape the flow of their communication, if not the whole communication. Therefore, this paper will look at the intercultural communicative competence of language learners when introducing their cultures to each other in an online language tandem (henceforth OLT) using their second and/or foreign language with the L1 language speakers. The participants of this study are Algerian (use L2: French, FL: English), British (L1: English, L2/FL: French). In other words, this current paper will provide a qualitative analysis of the OLT experiment by emphasising how language learners can overcome the cultural differences in an intercultural setting while communicating online using Skype (video conversations) with people from different countries, cultures and L1. The non-verbal cues will have the lion share in the analysis by focusing on how they have been used to maintain this intercultural communication or hinder it through the misinterpretation of gestures, head movements, grimaces etc.

Keywords: intercultural communicative competence, non-verbal cues, online language tandem, Skype

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Authors: Joonha Park

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This essay examines the Soviet Artist Pavel Korin’s artistic pursuit towards his life-long project, “Requiem/Passing of the Rus,” framing the funeral of Tikhon, the last great defender of the Russian orthodox Church during the Great purge, as the final moment of “Rus,” which is the identity of the Russian people that built up in the 1000 year of history behind Russian Orthodoxy. Korin’s project remains in the form of a series of 29 man-sized portraits and a monumental blank canvas. Born in a family dedicated to iconography, Korin witnessed the historic drama during Stalin’s terror; therefore, he tried to convey the nation’s mourning for the disappearance of “Rus” and disapproval of the Soviet notion of atheism. Yet, due to Korin’s success as a state artist, many believed that the political pressure led Korin to give up his belief and controversy arose over the fact that Korin left the canvas blank. The empty 40-square-meter canvas, which remains untouched in his studio since 1930, supports this theory to an extent. However, resources such as Korin’s notes, primary accounts from his fellow Soviet Artists, and testimonies from his wife suggested that this assumption is incorrect. Moreover, Korin’s uninterrupted relationship with the church and the religious attributes in his commissioned works were brought up as evidence of Korin’s continued belief. The empty canvas not only represents Korin’s discontentment towards the repression and the hardships that the Orthodox Church experienced, but also depicts the identity that coexisted with the Church in order to bequeath this idea to future generations. The faultless canvas surrounded by the striking 29 portraits is a symbol of the highest spirit, similar to that of the iconography paintings placed in every Russian house that unites the Russian people till this day, therefore one can deduce that the legacy of “Requiem” is still relevant to the Russian people even under freedom of religious expression. Consequently, “Requiem” was on display at the Tretyakov Gallery for the first time in public in 2013 even though Korin started creating this piece in 1925, extolling Korin not only as an artist but also as a historian; by recording the turmoil of the Great Oppression, Korin exhibited the social responsibility universal to artists across time and space. In this essay, the legacy Korin left behind, both to his contemporaries and his posterity is reevaluated through the lens of his works, unfinished as they were.

Keywords: Pavel Korin, Art History, Art, Russia, Soviet Union, Requiem, Russian orthodox church, Treytyakov gallery, contemporary art, socialist realism, Maxim Gorky

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Authors: Alireza Saviz, Sedigheh Zarei

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Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is an integral part of an open and effective international economic system and a major catalyst to development. Developing countries, emerging economies and countries in transition have come increasingly to see FDI as a source of economic development modernization, income growth and employment. FDI is an important vehicle for the transfer of technology, contributing relatively more to growth than domestic investment. Exploratory research is being conducted here. The data for the study is collected from secondary sources like research papers, journals, websites and reports. This paper aim was to generate knowledge on Iran’s situation through these factors after lifting sanction in comparison to Turkey. Although the most important factors that influence foreign investor decisions vary depending on the countries, sectors, years, and the objective of investor, nowadays governments should pay more attention to human resources education, marketing, infrastructure and administrative process in order to attracting foreign investors. A proper understanding of these findings will help governments to create appropriate policies in order to encourage more foreign investors

Keywords: foreign direct investment, host country, competitive advantage, FDI

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Authors: Zylfi Shehu, Shpetim Madani, Bashkim Delia

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Context: The study focuses on the interest and engagement of high school students in Tirana, Albania, in physical activity, sports, and foreign languages. It acknowledges the numerous physiological benefits of physical activity, such as cardiovascular health and improved mood. It also recognizes the importance of physical activity in childhood and adolescence for proper skeletal development and long-term health. Research Aim: The main purpose of the study is to investigate and analyze the preferences and interests of male and female high school students in Tirana regarding their functional development, physical activity, sports participation, and choice of foreign languages. The aim is to provide insights for the students and teachers to guide future objectives and improve the quality of physical education. Methodology: The study employed a survey-based approach, targeting both male and female students in public high schools in Tirana. A total of 410 students aged 15 to 19 years old, participated in the study. The data collected from the survey were processed using Excel and presented through tables and graphs. Findings: The results revealed that team sports were more favored by the students, with football being the preferred choice among males, while basketball and volleyball were more popular among females. Additionally, English was found to be the most preferred foreign language, selected by a higher percentage of females (38.57%) compared to males (16.90%). German followed as the second preferred language. Theoretical Importance: This study contributes to the understanding of students' interests in physical activity, sports, and foreign languages in Tirana's high schools. The findings highlight the need to focus on specific sports and languages to cater to students' preferences and guide future educational objectives. It also emphasizes the importance of physical education in promoting students' overall well-being and highlights potential areas for policy and program improvement. Data Collection and Analysis Procedures: The study collected data through surveys administered to high school students in Tirana. The survey responses were processed and analyzed using Excel, and the findings were presented through tables and graphs. The data analysis allowed for the identification of preferences and trends among male and female students, providing valuable insights for future decision-making. Question Addressed: The study aimed to address the question of high school students' interest in physical activity, sports, and foreign languages. It sought to understand the preferences and choices made by students in Tirana and investigate factors such as gender, family income, and accessibility to extracurricular sports activities. Conclusion: The study revealed that high school students in Tirana show a preference for team sports, with football being the most favored among males and basketball and volleyball among females. English was found to be the most preferred foreign language. The findings provide important insights for educators and policymakers to enhance physical education programs and consider students' preferences and interests to foster a more effective learning environment. The study also emphasizes the importance of physical activity and sports in promoting students' physical and mental well-being.

Keywords: female, male, foreign languages, sports, physical education, high school students

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Authors: Ning Chia

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Each of the three different language texts (Manchu, Russian, and Latin) of the 1689 Treaty of Nerchinsk bore official seals from Imperial Russia and Qing China. These seals have received no academic attention, yet they can reveal a site of a layered and shared material, cultural, political, and diplomatic world of the time in Eastern Eurasia. The very different seal selections from both empires while ratifying the Treaty of Beijing in 1860 have obtained no scholarly advertency either; they can also explicate a tremendously changed relationship with visual and material manifestation. Exploring primary sources in Manchu, Russian, and Chinese languages as well as the images of the visual seals, this study investigates the reasons and purposes of utilizing official seals for the treaty agreement. A refreshed understanding of Russian-Qing diplomacy will be developed by pursuing the following aspects: (i) Analyzing the iconographic meanings of each seal insignia and unearthing a competitive, yet symbols-delivered and seal-generated, 'dialogue' between the two empires (ii) Contextualizing treaty seals within the historical seal cultures, and discovering how domestic seal system in each empire’s political institution developed into treaty-defined bilateral relations (iii) Expounding the seal confiding in each empire’s daily governing routines, and annotating the trust in the seal as a quested promise from the opponent negotiator to fulfill the treaty terms (iv) Contrasting the two seal traditions along two civilization-lines, Eastern vs. Western, and dissecting how the two styles of seal emblems affected the cross-cultural understanding or misunderstanding between the two empires (v) Comprehending the history-making events from the substantial resources such as the treaty seals, and grasping why the seals for the two treaties, so different in both visual design and symbolic value, were chosen in the two relationship eras (vi) Correlating the materialized seal 'expression' and the imperial worldviews based on each empire’s national/or power identity, and probing the seal-represented 'rule under the Heaven' assumption of China and Russian rising role in 'European-American imperialism … centered on East Asia' (Victor Shmagin, 2020). In conclusion, the impact of official seals on diplomatic treaties needs profound knowledge in seal history, insignia culture, and emblem belief to be able to comprehend. The official seals in both Imperial Russia and Qing China belonged to a particular statecraft art in a specific material and visual form. Once utilized in diplomatic treaties, the meticulously decorated and politically institutionalized seals were transformed from the determinant means for domestic administration and social control into the markers of an empire’s sovereign authority. Overlooked in historical practice, the insignia seal created a wire of 'visual contest' between the two rival powers. Through this material lens, the scholarly knowledge of the Russian-Qing diplomatic relationship will be significantly upgraded. Connecting Russian studies, Qing/Chinese studies, and Eurasian studies, this study also ties material culture, political culture, and diplomatic culture together. It promotes the study of official seals and emblem symbols in worldwide diplomatic history.

Keywords: Russia-Qing diplomatic relation, Treaty of Beijing (1860), Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689), Treaty seals

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Authors: Peter Ecke

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This research presents insights from a questionnaire study and autobiographic narrative analyses about the language and cultural backgrounds, challenges, interests, and needs, as well as perceptions about bilingualism and language learning of undergraduate students at a Public University in the southwestern United States. Participants were 650 students, enrolled in college-level general education courses, entitled “Becoming multilingual: Learning and maintaining two or more languages” between 2020 and 2024. Data were collected via pre- and post-course questionnaires administered online through the Qualtrix XM platform and complemented with analyses of excerpts from autobiographical narratives that students produced as part of the course assignments. Findings, for example, show that course participants have diverse linguistic backgrounds. The five most frequently reported L1s were English (about 50% of course participants), Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, and Korean (in that order). The five most frequently reported L2s were English, Spanish, French, ASL, Japanese, German, and Mandarin (in that order). Participants also reported on their L2, L3, L4, and L5 if applicable. Most participants (over 60%) rated themselves bilingual or multilingual whereas 40% considered themselves to be monolingual or foreign language learners. Only about half of the participants reported feeling very or somewhat comfortable with their language skills, but these reports changed somewhat from the pre- to the post-course survey. About half of participants were mostly interested in learning how to effectively learn a foreign language. The other half of participants reported being most curious about learning about themselves as bi/multilinguals, (re)learning a language used in childhood, learning how to bring up a child as a bi/multilingual or learning about people who speak multiple languages (distributed about evenly). Participants’ comments about advantages and disadvantages of being bilingual remained relatively stable but their agreement with common myths about bilingualism and language learning changed from the pre- to the post-course survey. Students’ reflections in the autobiographical narratives and comments in (institutionally administered) anonymous course evaluations provided additional data on students’ concerns about their current language skills and uses as well as their perceptions about learning outcomes and the usefulness of the general education course for their current and future lives. It is hoped that the presented findings and discussion will spark interest among colleagues in offering similar courses as a resource for college students (and possibly other audiences), including those from migrant, indigenous, multilingual, and multicultural communities to contribute to a more harmonious bilingualism and well-being of college students who are or inspire to become bi-or multilingual.

Keywords: autobiographic narratives, general education university course, harmonious bilingualism and well-being, multilingualism, questionnaire study

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Authors: Gloria Chen

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When offering conventional level-appropriate ESL classes for adults is not feasible, a multilevel adult ESL class can be formed to benefit those who need to learn English for daily function. This paper examines the rationale, the process, the contents, and the outcomes of a multilevel ESL class for adults. The action research discusses a variety of assessments, lesson plans, teaching strategies that facilitate lifelong language learning. In small towns where adult ESL learners are only a handful, often advanced students and inexperienced students have to be placed in one class. Such class might not be viewed as desirable, but with on-going assessments, careful lesson plans, and purposeful strategies, a multilevel ESL class for adults can overcome the obstacles and help learners to reach a higher level of English proficiency. This research explores some hand-on strategies, such as group rotating, cooperative learning, and modifying textbook contents for practical purpose, and evaluate their effectiveness. The data collected in this research include Needs Assessment (beginning of class term), Mid-term Self-Assessment (5 months into class term), End-of-term Student Reflection (10 months into class), and End-of-term Assessment from the Instructor (10 months into class). A descriptive analysis of the data explains the practice of this particular learning community, and reveal the areas for improvement and enrichment. This research answers the following questions: (1) How do the assessments positively help both learners and instructors? (2) How do the learning strategies prepare students to become independent, life-long English learners? (3) How do materials, grouping, and class schedule enhance the learning? The result of the research contributes to the field of teaching and learning in language, not limited in English, by (a) examining strategies of conducting a multilevel adult class, (b) involving adult language learners with various backgrounds and learning styles for reflection and feedback, and (c) improving teaching and learning strategies upon research methods and results. One unique feature of this research is how students can work together with the instructor to form a learning community, seeking and exploring resources available to them, to become lifelong language learners.

Keywords: adult language learning, assessment, multilevel, teaching strategies

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Authors: Valentina Tereshkova

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The paper shows how the relationship between international law and national sovereignty is viewed through the implementation of European Court of Human Right judgments. Methodology: Сonclusions are based on a survey of representatives of the legislative authorities and judges of the Krasnoyarsk region, the Rostov region, Sverdlovsk region and Tver region. The paper assesses the activities of the Russian Constitutional Court from 1998 to 2015 related to the establishment of the implementation mechanism and the Russian Constitutional Court judgments of 14.07.2015, № 21-P and of 19.04.2016, № 12-P where the Constitutional Court stated the impossibility of executing ECtHR judgments. I. Implementation of ECHR judgments by courts and other authorities. Despite the publication of the report of the RF Ministry of Justice on the implementation, we could not find any formal information on the Russian policy of the ECtHR judgment implementation. Using the results of the survey, the paper shows the effect of ECtHR judgments on law and legal practice in Russia. II. Implementation of ECHR judgments by Russian Constitutional Court. Russian Constitutional Court had implemented the ECtHR judgments. However, the Court determined on July, 14, 2015 its competence to consider the question of implementation of ECHR judgments. Then, it stated that the execution of the judgment [Anchugov and Gladkov case] was impossible because the Russian Constitution has the highest legal force on April, 19, 2016. Recently the CE Committee of Ministers asked Russia to provide ‘without further delay’ a compensation plan for the Yukos case. On November 11, 2016, Constitutional Court accepted a request from the Ministry of Justice to consider the possibility of execution of the ECtHR judgment in the Yukos case. Such a request has been made possible due to a lack of implementation mechanism. Conclusion: ECtHR judgments are as an effective tool to solve the structural problems of a legal system. However, Russian experts consider the ECHR as a tool of protection of individual rights. The paper shows link between the survey results and the absence of the implementation mechanism. New Article 104 par. 2 and Article 106 par. 2 of the Federal Law of the Constitutional Court are in conflict with international obligations of the Convention on the Law on Treaties 1969 and Article 46 ECHR. Nevertheless, a dialogue may be possible between Constitutional Court and the ECtHR. In its judgment [19.04.2016] the Constitutional Court determined that the general measures to ensure fairness, proportionality and differentiation of the restrictions of voting rights were possible in judicial practice. It also stated the federal legislator had the power ‘to optimize the system of Russian criminal penalties’. Despite the fact that the Constitutional Court presented the Görgülü case [Görgülü v Germany] as an example of non-execution of the ECtHR judgment, the paper proposes to draw on the experience of German Constitutional Court, which in the Görgülü case, on the one hand, stressed national sovereignty and, on the other hand, took advantage of this sovereignty, to resolve the issue in accordance with the ECHR.

Keywords: implementation of ECtHR judgments, sovereignty, supranational jurisdictions, principle of subsidiarity

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