Search results for: English writing skills

Authors: Amparo Camacho

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ABET accredited programs must assess the development of student learning outcomes (SOs) in engineering programs. Different institutions implement different strategies for this assessment, and they are usually designed “in house.” This paper presents a proposal for including standardized tests to complement the ABET assessment model in an engineering college made up of six distinct engineering programs. The engineering college formulated a model of quality assurance in education to be implemented throughout the six engineering programs to regularly assess and evaluate the achievement of SOs in each program offered. The model uses diverse techniques and sources of data to assess student performance and to implement actions of improvement based on the results of this assessment. The model is called “Assessment Process Model” and it includes SOs A through K, as defined by ABET. SOs can be divided into two categories: “hard skills” and “professional skills” (soft skills). The first includes abilities, such as: applying knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering and designing and conducting experiments, as well as analyzing and interpreting data. The second category, “professional skills”, includes communicating effectively, and understanding professional and ethnical responsibility. Within the Assessment Process Model, various tools were used to assess SOs, related to both “hard” as well as “soft” skills. The assessment tools designed included: rubrics, surveys, questionnaires, and portfolios. In addition to these instruments, the Engineering College decided to use tools that systematically gather consistent quantitative data. For this reason, an in-house exam was designed and implemented, based on the curriculum of each program. Even though this exam was administered during various academic periods, it is not currently considered standardized. In 2017, the Engineering College included three standardized tests: one to assess mathematical and scientific reasoning and two more to assess reading and writing abilities. With these exams, the college hopes to obtain complementary information that can help better measure the development of both hard and soft skills of students in the different engineering programs. In the first semester of 2017, the three exams were given to three sample groups of students from the six different engineering programs. Students in the sample groups were either from the first, fifth, and tenth semester cohorts. At the time of submission of this paper, the engineering college has descriptive statistical data and is working with various statisticians to have a more in-depth and detailed analysis of the sample group of students’ achievement on the three exams. The overall objective of including standardized exams in the assessment model is to identify more precisely the least developed SOs in order to define and implement educational strategies necessary for students to achieve them in each engineering program.

Keywords: assessment, hard skills, soft skills, standardized tests

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Authors: Gaya Tridinanti

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Enhanching English vocabulary in early childhood is the main problem often faced by teachers. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the enhancement of children’s English vocabulary acquisition by using digital storytelling. This type of research was an action research. It consisted of a series of four activities done in repeated cycles: planning, implementation, observation, and reflection. The subject of the study consisted of 30 students of B group (5-6 years old) attending Happy Kids Kindergarten Palembang, Indonesia. This research was conducted in three cycles. The methods used for data collection were observation and documentation. Descriptive qualitative and quantitative methods were also used to analyse the data. The research showed that the digital storytelling learning activities could enhance the children’s English vocabulary acquisition. It is based on the data in which the enhancement in pre-cycle was 37% and 51% in Cycle I. In Cycle II it was 71% and in Cycle III it was 89.3%. The results showed an enhancement of about 14% from the pre-cycle to Cycle I, 20% from Cycle I to Cycle II, and enhancement of about 18.3% from Cycle II to Cycle III. The conclusion of this study suggests that digital storytelling learning method could enhance the English vocabulary acquisition of B group children at the Happy Kids Kindergarten Palembang. Therefore, digital storytelling can be considered as an alternative to improve English language learning in the classroom.

Keywords: acquisition, enhancing, digital storytelling, English vocabulary

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Authors: Mehrnoosh Pirhayati

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In this study, the researcher tried to propose a model of Translation Criticism (TC) regarding the phenomenon of Translation Quality Assessment (TQA). With changing the general view on re/writing as an illegal act, the researcher defined a scale for the act of translation and determined the redline of translation with other products. This research attempts to show TC as a related phenomenon to TQA. This study shows that TQA with using the rules and factors of TC as depicted in both product-oriented analysis and process-oriented analysis, determines the orientation or the level of the quality of translation. This study also depicts that TC, regarding TQA’s perspective, reveals the aim of the translation of original text and the root of ideological manipulation and re/writing. On the other hand, this study stresses the existence of a direct relationship between the linguistic materials and semiotic codes of a text or book. This study can be fruitful for translators, scholars, translation criticizers, and translation quality assessors, and also it is applicable in the area of pedagogy.

Keywords: a model of translation criticism, a model of translation quality assessment, critical discourse analysis (CDA), re/writing, translation criticism (TC), translation quality assessment (TQA)

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Authors: Javier Barraycoa, Olga Lasaga

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Work experience placements are one of the main routes to employment and acquiring professional experience for recent graduates. The effectiveness of these work experience placements is conditioned to the training in skills, especially teaching skills, of company tutors. For this reason, a manual specifically designed for training company tutors in these skills has been developed. Similarly, a pilot semi-attendance course to provide the resources that enable tutors to improve their role as instructors was carried out. The course was quantitatively and qualitatively evaluated with the aim of assessing its effectiveness, detecting shortcomings and areas to be improved, and revising the manual contents. One of the biggest achievements was the raising of awareness in the participating tutors of the importance of their work and of the need to develop teaching skills. As a result of this project, we have detected a need to design specific training supplements according to knowledge areas and sectors, to collate good practices and to create easily accessible audiovisual materials.

Keywords: company tutors, employability, teaching skills, work experience

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Authors: Youmen Chaaban

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The study examined the influence of a situated professional development program (PD) aimed at enhancing English language teachers’ knowledge and skills and improving their instructional practices. The PD model under examination was developed upon sound theoretical underpinnings, taking into consideration research-based principles of effective PD. However, the implementation of the PD model within several school contexts required further investigation from the perspectives of the teachers, who were receiving the PD activities, and the instructional coaches, who were providing them. The paper, thus, presents the results of a qualitative study examining the perceptions of seventeen English language teachers and nineteen instructional coaches about the strengths of the PD program, the challenges they faced in the implementation of the program, and their suggestions for the improvement of the program’s implementation and outcomes. Comparisons were further made between the two groups of participants to uncover agreements and contradictions in their perceptions. Data were collected from the teachers through in-depth interviews and observations, while the data collected from the instructional coaches were open-ended surveys followed by focus group interviews. The findings of the study confirm the necessity of structuring PD activities around sound theoretical underpinnings. However, practical considerations specific to the contexts where the PD activities take place should be considered when evaluating the PD’s effectiveness. Finally, the study provides several recommendations for maximizing the influence of the PD program on teachers’ practices and beliefs.

Keywords: English language teachers, situated professional development, teacher beliefs, teacher practices

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Authors: May Ziade

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Postgraduate studies in English language and literature at the University of Sydney provided opportunity for research into one of the most significant singer/songwriters of our time, Bob Dylan, and his masterpiece from the mid-1960s, ‘Desolation Row’. With a title alluding to Jack Kerouac’s Desolation Angels as well as John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row, ‘Desolation Row’ is Bob Dylan’s magnum opus. Recorded on August 4 1965, it takes pride of place as the last track on the revolutionary 1965 album of rock poetics, Highway 61 Revisited. From its inception, its epic proportions (ten long verses) and rich and baffling imagery got our attention - it amused, fascinated and beguiled. The song’s surreal and dreamlike landscape and its cast of characters, drawn from history, fiction, mythology, theology, and popular culture, lured us in and begged interpretation. What were they doing there? Where is Desolation Row? Do they want to escape from or go to ‘Desolation Row’? What was Dylan writing about and what were his influences? Through literary analysis and historical research, this paper will examine the song’s lyrics, the mid-60s context and Dylan’s vast influences to make sense, offer explanations and make connections. In particular, research findings place the Beat poets and oeuvre as a significant literary influence but it is a rich, multilayered text that straddles traditions and emerges as a paradox – a paradox that has endured and endeared itself to many. As it turns 50 this year, what better way to acknowledge this momentous occasion than at an international English language conference.

Keywords: analysis, Bob Dylan, beat context, desolation row

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Authors: Sweta Sinha

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Rapid evolution of technology has changed language pedagogy as well as perspectives on language use, leading to strategic changes in discourse studies. We are now firmly embedded in a time when digital technologies have become an integral part of our daily lives. This has led to generalized approaches to English Language Teaching (ELT) which has raised two-pronged concerns in linguistically diverse settings: a) the diverse linguistic background of the learner might interfere/ intervene with the learning process and b) the differential level of already acquired knowledge of target language might make the classroom practices too easy or too difficult for the target group of learners. ELT needs a more systematic and differential pedagogical approach for greater efficiency and accuracy. The present research analyses the need of identifying learner groups based on different levels of target language proficiency based on a longitudinal study done on 150 undergraduate students. The learners were divided into five groups based on their performance on a twenty point scale in Listening Speaking Reading and Writing (LSRW). The groups were then subjected to varying durations of technology aided language learning sessions and their performance was recorded again on the same scale. Identifying groups and introducing differential teaching and learning strategies led to better results compared to generalized teaching strategies. Language teaching includes different aspects: the organizational, the technological, the sociological, the psychological, the pedagogical and the linguistic. And a facilitator must account for all these aspects in a carefully devised differential approach meeting the challenge of learner diversity. Apart from the justification of the formation of differential groups the paper attempts to devise framework to account for all these aspects in order to make ELT in multilingual setting much more effective.

Keywords: differential groups, English language teaching, language pedagogy, multilingualism, technology aided language learning

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Authors: Monika Haanpää

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Well-functioning workplaces are often characterized by good co-operation, adequate flow of information, open interaction between workers and a supportive work environment. The workplace is a mosaic of human personalities and the influx of people, who speak different languages and who are from different cultural backgrounds, may bring about new challenges and enrich this environment. However, this influx of people could also pose a problem as the adaptation of immigrant people to new terms of work may depend heavily on the level of language skills, the stage of culture shock, professional identity, and personality. Migration is not a rare phenomenon in Finland anymore; nobody is surprised to see people from different countries and different backgrounds in the schools, on the streets or in shops. However, this does not mean that immigration is an easy process for people coming from other countries. The experience of workers, with diverse language and backgrounds, has rarely been researched, particularly from the superior's point of view. In addition, the vast majority of researchers have paid more attention to multicultural kindergartens in terms of immigrant children and their families. Hence, there is a need to show the problem which exists in the recruitment of the increasing number of workers who come from different countries. Opinions about kindergartens, as multicultural workplaces, have been gathered through interviews with immigrant workers responsible for education. In addition, a questionnaire for native Finnish workers and superiors in kindergartens was carried out. The collected material has been analyzed qualitatively, focusing on topics such as: the kindergarten as a multicultural workplace, factors influencing career success of workers with diverse language and cultural backgrounds, the social relations in the multicultural workplaces and teachers’ changing professional identity. The results of the research provided a novel aspect of the multicultural workplace and emphasized a dependency of immigrant workers’ on language skills in Finnish; affecting professional success. In addition, they showed the good relations between other native Finnish co-workers and superiors. The results also illustrate why writing skills in Finnish are so important in kindergartens. Part of the investigation also questions some results of the research i.e. which is more important in the kindergarten as a multicultural workplace: personality, good professional skills or good language skills.

Keywords: kindergarten, multicultural workplace, social relations at work, work satisfaction

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Authors: Boon Yih Mah

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Web-based Cognitive Writing Instruction (WeCWI) is a hybrid e-framework that consolidates instructional design and language development towards the development of a web-based instruction (WBI). WeCWI divides instructional design into macro and micro perspectives. In macro perspective, a 21st century educator is encouraged to disseminate knowledge and share ideas with in-class and global learners. By leveraging the virtue of technology, WeCWI aims to transform the educator into an aggregator, curator, publisher, social networker and finally, a web-based instructor. Since the most notable contribution of integrating technology is being a tool of teaching as well as a stimulus for learning, WeCWI focuses on the use of contemporary web tools based on the multiple roles played by the 21st century educator. The micro perspective draws attention to the pedagogical approaches focussing on three main aspects: reading, discussion, and writing. With the effective use of pedagogical approaches, technology adds new dimensions and expands the bounds of learning capacity. Lastly, WeCWI also imparts the fundamental theoretical concepts for web-based instructors’ awareness such as interactionism, e-learning interactional-based model, computer-mediated communication (CMC), cognitive theories, and learning style model.

Keywords: web-based cognitive writing instruction, WeCWI, instructional design, e-framework, web-based instructor

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Authors: Akumeyam Elvis Akum, Njanjo Thecla Anyongo Mukete, Fonkeng George Epah

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Globally, the goal of higher education is to enhance graduate employability skills. Paradoxically, Cameroon’s graduate employability rate is far below the graduation rate. This worrisome situation caused the researcher to hypothesize that the teaching and learning experiences account for this increasing disparity. The study sought to investigate the effect on graduate employability of the teaching of organizational, problem-solving, innovation, and risk management skills on graduate employability. The study adopted a descriptive survey design with a quantitative approach. Data was collected by quantitative techniques from a random sample of 385 graduates using closed-ended structured questionnaire. Generally, findings revealed that entrepreneurship education does not sufficiently enhance graduate employability in the University of Buea. Specifically, the teaching of organizational skills does not significantly enhance their employability, as an average of 55% of graduates indicated that the course did not sufficiently help them develop skills for planning, management of limited resources, collaboration, and the setting of priorities. Also, 60% of the respondents indicated that the teaching of problem-solving skills does not significantly enhance graduate employability at the University of Buea. Contrarily, 57% of the respondents agreed that through their experiences in entrepreneurship education, their innovation skills were improved. The study recommended that a practical approach to teaching should be adopted, with attention to societal needs. A framework to ensure the teaching of entrepreneurship to students at the undergraduate level is recommended, such that those who do not continue with university studies after their Bachelor’s degree would have acquired the needed skills for employability.

Keywords: employability, entrepreneurship education, graduate, innovative skills, organizational skills, problem-solving skills, risk management skills

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Authors: Nick Toossi, Joseph Hartland

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Background: Malawi is an example of a low resource setting which faces a chronic shortage of doctors and other medical staff. This shortfall is made up for by clinical officers (COs), who are para-medicals trained for 4 years. The literature suggests to improve outcomes surgical skills training specifically should be promoted for COs in district and mission hospitals. Accordingly, the primary author was tasked with developing a basic surgical skills teaching package for COs of Mulanje Mission Hospital (MMH), Malawi, as part of a 4th year medical student External Student Selected Component field trip. MMH is a hospital based in the South of Malawi near the base of Mulanje Mountain and works in an extremely isolated environment with some of the poorest communities in the country. Traveling to Malawi the medical student author performed an educational needs assessment to develop and deliver a bespoke basic surgical skills teaching package. Methodology: An initial needs assessment identified the following domains: basic surgical skills (instrument naming & handling, knot tying, suturing principles and suturing techniques) and perineal repair. Five COs took part in a teaching package involving an interactive group simulation session, overseen by senior clinical officers and surgical trainees from the UK. Non-organic and animal models were used for simulation practice. This included the use of surgical skills boards to practice knot tying and ox tongue to simulate perineal repair. All participants spoke and read English. The impact of the session was analysed in two different ways. The first was via a pre and post Single Best Answer test and the second a questionnaire including likert’s scales and free text response questions. Results: There was a positive trend in pre and post test scores on competition of the course. There was increase in the mean confidence of learners before and after the delivery of teaching in basic surgical skills and simulated perineal repair, especially in ‘instrument naming and handling’. Whilst positively received it was discovered that learners desire more frequent surgical skills teaching sessions in order to improve and revise skills. Feedback suggests that the learners were not confident in retaining the skills without regular input. Discussion: Skills and confidence were improved as a result of the teaching provided. Learner's written feedback suggested there was an overall appetite for regular surgical skills teaching in the clinical environment and further opportunities to allow for deliberate self-practice. Surgical mentorship schemes facilitating supervised theatre time among trainees and lead surgeons along with improving access to surgical models/textbooks were some of the simple suggestions to improve surgical skills and confidence among COs. Although, this study is limited by population size it is reflective of the small, isolated and low resource environment in which this healthcare is delivered. This project does suggest that current surgical skills packages used in the UK could be adapted for employment in low resource settings, but it is consistency and sustainability that staff seek above all in their on-going education.

Keywords: clinical officers, education, Malawi, surgical skills

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Authors: Mikako Nobuhara

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This study explores the effective methods of nurturing elementary students’ cross-cultural understanding. The delivery lecture was conducted in a private elementary school class for understanding cross-cultural differences through the film E.T. (1982). Interviews of care supporters and students were conducted, as well as student discussions were held after the class. The results were carefully observed and analyzed. Suitable findings were obtained, for instance, students’ listening skills improved; further, they deeply thought about the main character’s feelings after watching the movie. Moreover, their interest in studying English as a foreign language increased. In conclusion, more classes where students can express their opinions in front of the class need to be offered; this would enable the students to nurture their critical thinking abilities and build a sense of accomplishment when they are in elementary school. Utilizing films is one of the best ways to provide students good opportunities to engage in discussions on a specific theme. This is particularly true for elementary school students.

Keywords: cross-cultural understanding, English education, elementary schools, films

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Authors: Xu Zhang

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This article unveils an indicator of language contact between English and Cantonese in one of the Outer Circle Englishes, Hong Kong (HK) English, through an empirical investigation into 1000 tokens from the Global Web-based English (GloWbE) corpus, employing frequency analysis and logistic regression analysis. It is perceived that Cantonese and general Chinese are contextually marked by an integral underlying thinking pattern. Chinese speakers exhibit a reliance on semantic context over syntactic rules and lexical forms. This linguistic trait carries over to their use of English, affording greater flexibility to formal elements in constructing English sentences. The study focuses on the syntactic positioning of the focusing subjunct ‘also’, a linguistic element used to add new or contrasting prominence to specific sentence constituents. The English language generally allows flexibility in the relative position of 'also’, while there is a preference for close marking relationships. This article shifts attention to Hong Kong, where Cantonese and English converge, and 'also' finds counterparts in Cantonese ‘jaa’ and Mandarin ‘ye’. Employing a corpus-based data-driven method, we investigate the syntactic position of 'also' in both HK and GB English. The study aims to ascertain whether HK English exhibits a greater 'syntactic freedom,' allowing for a more distant marking relationship with 'also' compared to GB English. The analysis involves a random extraction of 500 samples from both HK and GB English from the GloWbE corpus, forming a dataset (N=1000). Exclusions are made for cases where 'also' functions as an additive conjunct or serves as a copulative adverb, as well as sentences lacking sufficient indication that 'also' functions as a focusing particle. The final dataset comprises 820 tokens, with 416 for GB and 404 for HK, annotated according to the focused constituent and the relative position of ‘also’. Frequency analysis reveals significant differences in the relative position of 'also' and marking relationships between HK and GB English. Regression analysis indicates a preference in HK English for a distant marking relationship between 'also' and its focused constituent. Notably, the subject and other constituents emerge as significant predictors of a distant position for 'also.' Together, these findings underscore the nuanced linguistic dynamics in HK English and contribute to our understanding of language contact. It suggests that future pedagogical practice should consider incorporating the syntactic variation within English varieties, facilitating leaners’ effective communication in diverse English-speaking environments and enhancing their intercultural communication competence.

Keywords: also, Cantonese, English, focus marker, frequency analysis, language contact, logistic regression analysis

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Authors: Tosin Samson Olagunju

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This study is a contrastive study of affixation in Ipe and Yoruba Languages with the aim of looking at the implications for English pedagogy. This study, with the use of Hocket's Theory of Item and Arrangement and Word and Paradigm (as expatiated by Crystal), examines the aspect of affixation in Ipe and Yoruba Languages with the help of contrastive analysis which provides a basis for contrasting the morphological patterns of two different indigenous languages. It examines four affixes: prefix, infix, interfix, and suffix with numerous examples in the languages under investigation. The study is corpus based as it depends primarily on the words available in the lexicon of the languages under examination. Data were elicited from both monolingual and bilingual native-speakers of Ipe Language and Yoruba Language in Ipe-Akoko and Oyo respectively. Ibadan 400-wordlist was utilised as a tool for collecting data from informants who are between age fifty and seventy through audio recording as it is believed that they are the custodians of culture and tradition. Consequently, the study reveals that Ipe and Yoruba morphology have affixation such as prefix, interfix, and suffix. It also finds out that 'infix' is an unproductive aspect in English, Ipe, and Yoruba; although a few examples are in English. Interfix is very productive in Ipe and Yoruba but not in English at all. Phonologically, it is discovered that Ipe language has the two dental fricative consonants just like the English language, i.e., /Ɵ/ and /ð/. This is rare among the indigenous languages in Nigeria. This research believes that in the teaching of English consonants to the people of Ipe-Akoko, such areas will be taught with ease. The study concludes that morphological processes of Nigerian indigenous languages are studied the more so that they will not face endangerment which can lead to extinction.

Keywords: affixation, contrastive study, Ipe, morphology, pedagogy, Yoruba

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Authors: Hazel P. Atilano

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Contrastive rhetoricians working on L2 writing are often unfamiliar with the theories and research of scholars in translation studies. Publications on translation studies give little or no attention to describing the translation strategies of translators, with a focus on the influence of their L1 on the language they produce. This descriptive qualitative study anchored on Eugene Nida’s Translation Theory employed stylistic, lexico-semantic, and grammatical analyses of the stylistic devices employed by poets across nine language cultures to reveal the translation strategies employed by translators and to establish the type of equivalence manifested in the translated texts. The corpus consists of 27 poems written in Bahasa Indonesia, Hiligaynon, Tagalog (Malayo-Polynesian languages), French, Italian, Spanish (Romance languages), German, Icelandic, and Norwegian (Germanic Languages), translated into English. Stylistic analysis reveals that both original texts and English translations share the same stylistic devices, suggesting that stylistic devices do not get lost in translation. Lexico-semantic and grammatical analyses showed that translators of Malayo-Polynesian languages employed idiomatic translation as a compensatory strategy, producing English translations that manifest Dynamic Equivalence or transparency; translators of Romance languages resorted to synonymous substitution or literal translation, suggesting Formal Equivalence or fidelity; and translators of Germanic languages used a combination of idiomatic and literal translation strategies, with noticeable preference for Dynamic Equivalence, evidenced by the prevalence of metaphorical translations as compensatory strategy. Implications on the intricate relationship between culture and language in the translation process were drawn based on the findings.

Keywords: translation strategy, dynamic equivalence, formal equivalence, translation theory, transparency, fidelity

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Authors: Mette Pedersen

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This paper outlines the criteria that assessment specialists use when they design the 'Persuasive Essay' task for the four Advanced Placement World Language and Culture Exams (AP French, German, Italian, and Spanish). The 'Persuasive Essay' is a free-response, source-based, standardized measure of presentational writing. Each 'Persuasive Essay' item consists of three sources (an article, a chart, and an audio) and a prompt, which is a statement of the topic phrased as an interrogative sentence. Due to its richness of source materials and due to the amount of time that test takers are given to prepare for and write their responses (a total of 55 minutes), the 'Persuasive Essay' is the free-response task on the AP World Language and Culture Exams that goes to the greatest lengths to unleash the test takers' proficiency potential. The author focuses on the work that goes into designing the 'Persuasive Essay' task, outlining best practices for the selection of topics and sources, the interplay that needs to be present among the sources and the thinking behind the articulation of prompts for the 'Persuasive Essay' task. Using released 'Persuasive Essay' items from the AP World Language and Culture Exams and accompanying data on test taker performance, the author shows how different passages, and features of passages, have succeeded (and sometimes not succeeded) in eliciting writing proficiency among test takers over time. Data from approximately 215.000 test takers per year from 2014 to 2017 and approximately 35.000 test takers per year from 2012 to 2013 form the basis of this analysis. The conclusion of the study is that test taker performance improves significantly when the sources that test takers are presented with express directly opposing viewpoints. Test taker performance also improves when the interrogative prompt that the test takers respond to is phrased as a yes/no question. Finally, an analysis of linguistic difficulty and complexity levels of the printed sources reveals that test taker performance does not decrease when the complexity level of the article of the 'Persuasive Essay' increases. This last text complexity analysis is performed with the help of the 'ETS TextEvaluator' tool and the 'Complexity Scale for Information Texts (Scale)', two tools, which, in combination, provide a rubric and a fully-automated technology for evaluating nonfiction and informational texts in English translation.

Keywords: advanced placement world language and culture exams, designing presentational writing assessments, large-scale standardized assessments of written language proficiency, source-based language testing

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Authors: Farina Yasmin

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Motivation is an important issue in an EFL setting where very little exposure to English in everyday life is clearly evident. In Bangladesh, English is taught as a foreign language. Language teachers cannot effectively teach a language if they do not understand the relationship between motivation and its effect on foreign language learning. The main purpose of this research is to explore the fact why HSC students are less motivated towards English language learning, what factors are affecting motivation, how to motivate them and the role of motivation in their success. The research questions were (a) what are the reasons of lack of motivation? and (b) what are the impacts of motivation on English language learning? The study was both qualitative and quantitative in nature. The data was collected via pretest - posttest, interviews, and a questionnaire on the five point Likert scale. Triangulation of the data was made for the validity of the research. The population of this research consisted of 50 HSC level students from Jatir Janak Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Government College, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The data was analyzed with means, comparison and t-test. The results showed that there is a strong relation between motivation and success in foreign language learning. Finally, some pedagogical implications and suggestions were presented to arouse the students’ motivation to learn English.

Keywords: EFL, HSC, motivation, success

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Authors: Hatane Semuel, Foedjiawati, Michelle Sunur

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This study took the research object of fifteen legal travel agencies in Surabaya. The respondents are taken through purposive sampling of a number of 100 employees out of Fifteen travel agencies which are varied in its division. Service orientation is constructed based on several dimensions; such as, service leadership practices, service encounter practices, human resources management practices, and service system practices. Service skills are constructed with dimensions; namely: technical skills, interpersonal skills, and problem-solving skill. While employee performance is constructed with dimensions; namely: quantity of work, quality of work, timeliness of work and organization of work. The results show that there is a direct positive influence on employee performance service orientation. Additionally, service orientation influences indirectly positive on employee performance through the service skills. Therefore, the total effect of service orientation on employee performance is proven stronger.

Keywords: employee performance, service orientation, service skills, travel agencies

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Authors: L. J. de Jager

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In the South African English school curriculum, one of the aims is to achieve communicative competence, the knowledge of using language competently and appropriately in a speech community. Communicatively competent speakers should not only produce grammatically correct sentences but also produce contextually appropriate sentences for various purposes and in different situations. As most speakers of English are non-native speakers, achieving communicative competence remains a complex challenge. Moreover, the changing needs of society necessitate not merely language proficiency, but also technological proficiency. One of the burning issues in the South African educational landscape is the replacement of the standardised literacy model by the pedagogy of multiliteracies that incorporate, by default, the exploration of technological text forms that are part of learners’ everyday lives. It foresees learners as decoders, encoders, and manufacturers of their own futures by exploiting technological possibilities to constantly create and recreate meaning. As such, 21st century learners will feel comfortable working with multimodal texts that are intrinsically part of their lives and by doing so, become authors of their own learning experiences while teachers may become agents supporting learners to discover their capacity to acquire new digital skills for the century of multiliteracies. The aim is transformed practice where learners use their skills, ideas, and knowledge in new contexts. This paper reports on a research project on the integration of technology for language learning, based on the technological pedagogical content knowledge framework, conceptually founded in the theory of multiliteracies, and which aims to achieve communicative competence. The qualitative study uses the community of inquiry framework to answer the research question: How does the integration of technology transform language teaching of preservice teachers? Pre-service teachers in the Postgraduate Certificate of Education Programme with English as methodology were purposively selected to source and evaluate apps for teaching and learning English. The participants collaborated online in a dedicated Blackboard module, using discussion threads to sift through applicable apps and develop interactive lessons using the Apps. The selected apps were entered on to a predesigned Qualtrics form. Data from the online discussions, focus group interviews, and reflective journals were thematically and inductively analysed to determine the participants’ perceptions and experiences when integrating technology in lesson design and the extent to which communicative competence was achieved when using these apps. Findings indicate transformed practice among participants and research team members alike with a better than average technology acceptance and integration. Participants found value in online collaboration to develop and improve their own teaching practice by experiencing directly the benefits of integrating e-learning into the teaching of languages. It could not, however, be clearly determined whether communicative competence was improved. The findings of the project may potentially inform future e-learning activities, thus supporting student learning and development in follow-up cycles of the project.

Keywords: apps, communicative competence, English teaching, technology integration, technological pedagogical content knowledge

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Authors: Nouzha Yasmina Soulimane-Benhabib

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Language is a medium of communication and a means of expression that is why today the learning of foreign languages especially the English language has become a basic necessity for every student who is ambitious. It is known that culture and language are inseparable and complementary, however, in the process of teaching a foreign language, teachers used to focus mainly on preparing adequate syllabi for ESP students, yet, some parameters should be considered. For instance; the culture of the target language may play an important role since students attitudes towards a foreign language enhance their learning or vice versa. The aim of this study is to analyse how culture could influence the teaching of a foreign language, we have taken the example of the English language as it is considered as the second foreign language in Algeria after French. The study is conducted at the Preparatory School of Sciences and Techniques, Tlemcen where twenty-five students participated in this research. The reasons behind learning the English language are various, and since English is the most widely-spoken language in the world, it is the language of research and education and it is used in many other fields, we have to take into consideration one important factor which is the social distance between the culture of the Algerian learner and the culture of the target language, this gap may lead to a culture shock. Two steps are followed in this research: The first one is to collect data from those students who are studying at the Preparatory School under the form of questionnaire and an interview is submitted to six of them in order to reinforce our research and get effective and precise results, and the second step is to analyse these data taking into consideration the diversity of the learners within this institution. The results obtained show that learners’ attitudes towards the English community and culture are mixed and it may influence their curiosity and attention to learn. Despite of big variance between Algerian and European cultures, some of the students focused mainly on the benefits of the English language since they need it in their studies, research and a future carrier, however, the others manifest their reluctance towards this language and this is mainly due to the profound impact of the English culture which is different from the Algerian one.

Keywords: Algeria, culture, English, impact

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Authors: Sophie Whittle

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Prior to present day, English syntax historically exhibited an inconsistent verb-second (V2) rule, which saw the verb move to the second position in the sentence following the fronting of a type of phrase. There was a high amount of variation throughout the history of English with regard to the ordering of subject and verb, and many explanations attempting to account for this variation have been documented in previous literature. However, these attempts have been contradictory, with many accounts positing the effect of previous syntactic changes as the main motivations behind the decline of V2. For instance, morphosyntactic changes, such as the loss of clitics and the loss of empty expletives, have been loosely connected to changes in frequency for the loss of V2. The questions surrounding the development of non-V2 in English have, therefore, yet to be answered. The current paper aims to bring together a number of explanations from different linguistic fields to determine the factors driving the changes in English V2. Using historical corpus-based methods, the study analyses both quantitatively and qualitatively the changes in frequency for the history of V2 in the Old, Middle, and Modern English periods to account for the variation in a range of sentential environments. These methods delve into the study of information structure, prosody and language contact to explain variation within different contexts. The analysis concludes that these factors, in addition to changes within the syntax, are responsible for the position of verb movement. The loss of V2 serves as an exemplar study within the field of historical linguistics, which combines a number of factors in explaining language change in general.

Keywords: corpora, English, language change, mixed-methods, syntax, verb-second

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Authors: Lalitchandra J. Shah, Katarzyna Bialek, Melinda L. Clarke, Jessica L. Jansson

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Handwriting is essential to academic success; however, the current literature is limited in the identification of pre-handwriting skills. The purpose of this study was to identify the pre-handwriting skills, which occupational therapy practitioners deem important to handwriting success, as well as those which aid in intervention planning. The online survey instrument consisted of 33 questions that assessed various skills related to the development of handwriting, as well as captured demographic information. Both occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants were included in the survey study. The survey found that the respondents were in agreement that purposeful scribbling, the ability of a child to copy (vertical/horizontal lines, circle, squares, and triangles), imitating an oblique cross, cognitive skills (attention, praxis, self-regulation, sequencing), grasp patterns, hand dominance, in hand manipulation skills (shift, translation, rotation), bilateral integration, stabilization of paper, crossing midline, and visual perception were important indicators of handwriting readiness. The results of the survey support existing research regarding the skills necessary for the successful development of handwriting in children.

Keywords: development, handwriting, occupational therapy, visual perceptual skills

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Authors: Miranda Enesi, Helena Grillo Mukli

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The English word-stock is extremely rich in synonyms which can be largely accounted for by the abundant borrowing. Translation problems encountered by translators in general are usually ‘transfer problems’. They face more difficulties in the interpretation of meaning from the source language text than lexical differences between languages. The aim of the study is to inspect the various strategies used in translating from English into Albanian specific words in the ‘A Farwell to arms’ novel. For this purpose, examples translated from English into Albanian were examined. The Albanian equivalents have shown that various strategies were used in order to overcome the problem of rendering words and expressions into the target language. Employed strategies were synonymy, modulation, transposition, calque and word for word translation. In addition, this paper shows that the strategy of translating using synonymy is mostly used. In this paper, an attempt is made to examine the nature of contextual synonymy in order to investigate its problematic nature regarding translation. Types of synonymy are analyzed and then examples from English and Albanian versions are provided to examine the overlap between them.

Keywords: equivalence, literal translation, paraphrasing, transfer problems, synonymy

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Authors: Zohreh Ghorbani Madavani, Masoumeh Mikaeili

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Social media, as one of the main tools in today’s world, imposes deep impacts on human life, particularly in various cultural and literary areas. By providing platforms for direct communication between writers and audiences, these spaces have made great changes in the styles of literary works, writing, and publishing. The impacts of digital communication are very visible not only in the content of literary works but also in narrative structures, writing styles, and interaction of writers with audiences. Applying an analytical- descriptive approach, the present study investigates the impacts of internet communications and social media on the literary works of the Arab world and describes some instances of such impacts on the works of one of the most reputed contemporary Arab novelists, Ahlam Mosteghanemi. In this study, we specifically emphasize the changes in themes, narrative techniques, and writing styles of Mosteghanemi and investigate how she leverages digital environment facilities and potentials in creating works suited to her audiences’ needs and expectations. This study indicates that social media has significantly helped the democratization of authorship and diversity in contemporary Arabic literature and has enabled writers to have more direct and interactive relationships.

Keywords: social media, digital impacts, narrative changes, writing style, contemporary literature, Ahlam Mosteghanemi

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Authors: Imran Ullah Imran

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Language contact is a familiar concept in the present global world. Across the globe, languages get mixed up at different levels. Borrowing, code-switching are some of the means through which languages interact. This study examines Pashto-English contact at word and syllable levels. By recording the speech of 30 Pashto native speakers, selected via 'social network' sampling, the study located a number of Pashto-English compound words, which is a unique contact of its kind. In data analysis, tokens were categorized on the basis of their pattern and morphological structure. The study shows that Pashto-English Bilingual Compound words (BCWs) are very prevalent in the Pashto language. The study also found that the BCWs in Pashto are completely productive and have their own meanings. It also shows that the dominant pattern of hybrid words in Pashto is the conjugation of an independent English root word followed by a Pashto inflectional morpheme, which contributes to the core semantic content of the construction. The BCWs construction shows that how both the languages are closer to each other. Pashto-English contact results into bilingual compound and hybrid words, which forms a considerable number of tokens in the present-day spoken Pashto. On the basis of these findings, the study assumes that the same phenomenon may increase with the passage of time that would, in turn, result in the formation of more bilingual compound or hybrid words.

Keywords: code-mixing, bilingual compound words, pashto-english contact, hybrid words, inflectional lexical morpheme

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Authors: A. Kalizhanova, T. Shelestova

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Teacher professional development (TPD) in Kazakhstan has followed a fairly standard format for centuries, with teachers learning new information from a lecturer and being tested using multiple-choice questions. In the online world, self-access courses have become increasingly popular. Due to their extensive multimedia content, peer-reviewed assignments, adaptable class times, and instruction from top university faculty from across the world, massive open online courses (MOOCs) have found a home in Kazakhstan's system for lifelong learning. Recent studies indicate the limited use of connectivism-based tools such as discussion forums by Kazakhstani pre-service and in-service English teachers, whose professional interests are limited to obtaining certificates rather than enhancing their teaching abilities and exchanging knowledge with colleagues. This paper highlights the significance of connectivism-based tools and instruments, such as MOOCs, for the continuous professional development of pre- and in-service English teachers, facilitators' roles, and their strategies for enhancing trainees' conceptual knowledge within the MOOCs' curriculum and online learning skills. Reviewing the most pertinent papers on Connectivism Theory, facilitators' function in TPD, and connectivism-based tools, such as MOOCs, a code extraction method was utilized. Three experts, former active participants in a series of projects initiated across Kazakhstan to improve the efficacy of MOOCs, evaluated the excerpts and selected the most appropriate ones to propose the matrix of teacher professional competencies that can be acquired through MOOCs. In this paper, we'll look at some of the strategies employed by course instructors to boost their students' English skills and knowledge of course material, both inside and outside of the MOOC platform. Participants' interactive learning contributed to their language and subject conceptual knowledge and prepared them for peer-reviewed assignments in the MOOCs, and this approach of small group interaction was given to highlight the outcomes of participants' interactive learning. Both formal and informal continuing education institutions can use the findings of this study to support teachers in gaining experience with MOOCs and creating their own online courses.

Keywords: connectivism-based tools, teacher professional development, massive open online courses, facilitators, Kazakhstani context

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Authors: Imene Medfouni

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In the context of postcolonial Algeria, language policy, language planning as well as language attitudes have recently stirred up contested debates in higher education system. This linguistic and politically-oriented conflict have constantly created a complex environment for learning. In the light of this observation, English language situates itself at the core of this debate with respects to its international status and potential influences. This presentation is based on ongoing research that aims to gain a better understanding of the introduction of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in a postcolonial context, marked by multilingualism and language conflict. This research offers interesting insights to critically explore EMI from different perspectives: policy, practices, and attitudes. By means of methodological triangulation, this research integrates a mixed approach, whereby the sources of data triangulation will be elicited from the following methods: classroom observations, document analysis, focus groups, questionnaires and interviews. Preliminary findings suggest that English language might not replace French status in Algerian universities because of the latter strong presence and diffusion within Algerian linguistic landscape.

Keywords: English as a lingua franca, English as a medium of instruction, language policy and planning, multilingualism, postcolonial contexts, World Englishes

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Authors: Crystal Jewell

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Substantial evidence suggests a link exists between trait or dispositional mindfulness and creativity. While most studies on the mindfulness-creativity link focus on measures of divergent thinking, no study to date has explored the link through the lens of poetry writing. Thus, the present study sought to examine the relation between mindfulness and poetry through various linguistic elements, including word count, references to the self versus references to the collective, and frequency of past-, present-, and future-tense verb usage. Following a questionnaire on demographics, university undergraduates at a United States college completed a survey measuring trait mindfulness, then engaged in a two-part associated poetry-writing task intended to mimic writing tasks used to counter writer’s block. Results indicated no significant relations among any measures of poetry linguistic elements and trait mindfulness, as well as the facets of trait mindfulness. Limitations and future directions call for replication of results and further examination of different poetry linguistic elements.

Keywords: mindfulness, poetry, linguistics, psychology

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Authors: R. Vidhya

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Nigeria, the seat of canonical literature in Africa, though widely acclaimed as the literary capital of the continent, it failed to produce women writers in its literary arena till the 1960s. Only after 1966, with the publication of the first novel by a women writer, Nigeria saw the emergence of women’s writing through which the world witnessed an upsurge in the sensitization of women’s issues in Africa. The Nigerian Igbo women’s writing threw light on gender discrimination in postcolonial Africa. Their works were instrumental in bringing a remarkable change in the perception of gender in a male dominated society. The social mindscape of the land which strongly believed that feminist ideologies could be highly detrimental to its patriarchal setup is slowly changed through the changing perspectives of gender. This paper aims to analyse the select works of Flora Nwapa, Buchi Emecheta and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to deconstruct the dialectics of gender, which has been realised in the works of these women writers.

Keywords: gender discrimination, Igbo women's writings, postcolonial Africa, changing perspective

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Authors: Yigal Rosen, Garrett Jaeger, Michelle Newstadt, Ilia Rushkin, Sara Bakken

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All children are capable of advancing their creative thinking skills and engaging in creative play. Creative play puts children in charge of exploring ideas, relationships, spaces and problems. Supported by The LEGO Foundation, the creative thinking formative assessment is designed to provide valid, reliable and informative measurement to support the development of creative skills while children are engaged in Learning through Play. In this paper we provide an overview of the assessment framework underpinned the assessment of creative thinking and report the results from the 2022 pilot study demonstrating promising evidence on the ability to measure creative skills in a conceptually and ecologically valid way to inform the development of creative skills.

Keywords: creativity, creative thinking, assessment, learning through play, creative play, learning progressions

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