Search results for: Importance of English

Authors: Yaru Meng

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The study contributes to the small but growing literature around computerized approaches to dynamic assessment (C-DA), wherein individual items are accompanied by mediating prompts. Mediation in the current computerized dynamic listening assessment (CDLA) was informed by an attribute-based mediation model (AMM) that identified the underlying L2 listening cognitive abilities and associated descriptors. The AMM served to focus mediation during C-DA on particular cognitive abilities with a goal of specifying areas of learner difficulty. 86 low-intermediate L2 English learners from a university in China completed three listening assessments, with an experimental group receiving the CLDA system and a control group a non-dynamic assessment. As an assessment, the use of the AMM in C-DA generated detailed diagnoses for each learner. In addition, both within- and between-group repeated ANOVA found greater gains at the level of specific attributes among C-DA learners over the course of a 5-week study. Directions for future research are discussed.

Keywords: computerized dynamic assessment, effectiveness, English as foreign language listening, attribute-based mediation model

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Authors: Jocelyne Kenne Kenne

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Previous works in the field of sociolinguistics have explored the various outcomes of linguistic pluralism. One of these outcomes is the creation of new languages. The presentation will focus on one of such languages, Camfranglais, a hybrid language spoken by Cameroonians. It appeared in the 1970s in the francophone area in Cameroon and developed as a result of interactions between French, English, Cameroonian Pidgin English and local Cameroonian languages, all languages spoken in Cameroon. With the migration of Cameroonians to Europe, researches have been conducted to analyze the sociolinguistic profile of Cameroonians in their new environment. The emphasis on this presentation will be on two recent studies that have been conducted to analyze the peculiarity of Camfranglais in two European countries: Germany and Italy. The research involved 59 Cameroonians living in Italy and 49 Cameroonians residing in Germany. The respondents were composed of participants from different linguistic background, students and workers, married and single. A combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods was employed. The field study was divided into three parts. The first part was focused on observing the Cameroonians interact in different places such as in canteens, in the university halls of residence, lecture theatres, at homes, at various Cameroonian meetings. Those observations were accompanied by audio-recordings of the various interactions. The aim was to study communication between Cameroonians to see whether they use Camfranglais or not; if yes, in which domains and what were the speakers’ linguistic profiles. Additionally, questionnaires of different lengths were used to collect biographical information concerning the participants and their sociolinguistic profile and finally, in-depth interviews with Cameroonians were conducted to inquire about the use, the functions and the importance of this language in the migratory context. The results of the research demonstrate how a widespread use of Camfranglais by Cameroonians in Germany and Italy reveal a longing for home on the one hand and a sign of belonging on the other. It also shows the differences that exist between the profiles of Camfranglais speakers in Europe and the speakers in Cameroon notably in terms of age and social class. Finally, it points out some differences in the use, the structure and the functions of this hybrid language in the migratory setting. This study is a contribution to existing research in the field of contact languages and can serve as a comparison for other situations of multilingualism and the creation of mixed languages. Furthermore, with globalization, the study of migrant languages and the contact of these languages with new languages are topics that might be productive for further research in the field of sociolinguistics.

Keywords: interaction, migrants language, multilingualism, mixed languages

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Authors: Alicja Zapolnik-Plachetka

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The paper examines the impact of the Members’ of the European Parliament (MEPs) language choice on the linguistic quality of their political discourse as delivered by the interpreters. The study, designed by the author, who is an EU interpreter herself, consisted of three phases. First, a number of speeches of Polish and Spanish MEPs were analyzed to determine whether the incidence of use of certain figures of speech depending on whether the speech had been delivered in English or their respective mother tongue. Then the use of figures of speech was also analyzed based on speeches by some British MEPs, in order to determine what was the incidence for the native users of English. Subsequently, the speeches were compared with their interpretations to find out whether the interpreters managed to convey accurately the means of oratory used by the MEPs. The final result shows that in case of institutional environments dependant on simultaneous interpretation the speakers’ choices can, in fact, influence the linguistic quality of the political communication.

Keywords: content accuracy, European Parliament, political discourse, simultaneous interpreting

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Authors: Hela Fathallah

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With 6,500 spoken languages all over the world but 80 percent of online content available only in 10 languages – English, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, Portuguese, German, French, Russian, and Korean – language represents a barrier to the universal access to knowledge, information and services that the internet wants to provide. Translation and its related fields of localization, interpreting, globalization, and internationalization, remove that barrier for billions of people worldwide, unlocking new markets for technology companies, mobile device makers, service providers and language vendors as well. This paper gathers different surveys conducted in different regions of the world that demonstrate a growing demand for consumption of web content with distinctive values and in languages others than the aforementioned ones. It also adds new insights to the contribution of translation in languages preservation. The idea that English is the language of internet and that, in a globalized world, everyone should learn English to cope with new technologies is no longer true. This idea has reached its limits. It collides with cultural diversity and differences around the world and generates an accelerated rate of languages extinction. Studies prove that internet exacerbates this rate and web giants such as Facebook or Google are, today, facing the impact of such a misconception of globalization. For internet and dot-com companies, localization is the solution; they are spending a significant amount of time to understand what people want and to figure out how to provide it. They are committed to making their content accessible, if not in all the languages spoken today, at least in most of them, and to adapting it to most cultures. Technology has broken down the barriers of time and space, and it will break down the language barrier as well by undertaking a process of translation and localization and through a new definition of globalization that takes into consideration these two processes.

Keywords: globalization, internet, localization, translation

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Authors: I. Sonia d’Apolito, Bianca Sisinni, Mirko Grimaldi, Barbara Gili Fivela

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The American English contrast /ɑ-ʌ/ (cop-cup) is difficult to be produced by Italian learners since they realize L2-/ɑ-ʌ/ as L1-/ɔ-a/ respectively, due to differences in phonetic-phonological systems and also in grapheme-to-phoneme conversion rules. In this paper, we try to answer the following research questions: Can a short training improve the production of English /ɑ-ʌ/ by Italian learners? Is a perceptual training better than an articulatory (ultrasound - US) training? Thus, we compare a perceptual training with an US articulatory one to observe: 1) the effects of short trainings on L2-/ɑ-ʌ/ productions; 2) if the US articulatory training improves the pronunciation better than the perceptual training. In this pilot study, 9 Salento-Italian monolingual adults participated: 3 subjects performed a 1-hour perceptual training (ES-P); 3 subjects performed a 1-hour US training (ES-US); and 3 control subjects did not receive any training (CS). Verbal instructions about the phonetic properties of L2-/ɑ-ʌ/ and L1-/ɔ-a/ and their differences (representation on F1-F2 plane) were provided during both trainings. After these instructions, the ES-P group performed an identification training based on the High Variability Phonetic Training procedure, while the ES-US group performed the articulatory training, by means of US video of tongue gestures in L2-/ɑ-ʌ/ production and dynamic view of their own tongue movements and position using a probe under their chin. The acoustic data were analyzed and the first three formants were calculated. Independent t-tests were run to compare: 1) /ɑ-ʌ/ in pre- vs. post-test respectively; /ɑ-ʌ/ in pre- and post-test vs. L1-/a-ɔ/ respectively. Results show that in the pre-test all speakers realize L2-/ɑ-ʌ/ as L1-/ɔ-a/ respectively. Contrary to CS and ES-P groups, the ES-US group in the post-test differentiates the L2 vowels from those produced in the pre-test as well as from the L1 vowels, although only one ES-US subject produces both L2 vowels accurately. The articulatory training seems more effective than the perceptual one since it favors the production of vowels in the correct direction of L2 vowels and differently from the similar L1 vowels.

Keywords: L2 vowel production, perceptual training, articulatory training, ultrasound

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Authors: Ladan Surajo

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Nigeria as a third world country is full of people who cannot read and write, thereby constituting a stumbling block to the modern way of communication. It is a well known fact that Nigeria is a heterogeneous country with an estimated 450 or more ethnic groups communicating in divergent languages. Despite this scenario, English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba languages are predominantly used in the country. Apart from English language, Hausa has a wider coverage of usage among the indigenous languages in Nigeria, thereby using it in the area of social mobilization and conflict management cannot be overemphasized. Hausa Oral Singers are depicting their artistic and God endowed talents through singing to mobilize and sensitize the local communities about government programmes and the ills of other social problems of the society. It is the belief of this researcher that if used properly, the Hausa Oral Singers will assist immensely in reducing to the barest minimum some social ills of the society in Nigeria. More so that music is the food of the heart and has a resounding impact in changing the behaviour of individuals and groups.

Keywords: oral, singers, praise, social mobilization, conflict management

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Authors: Christine Demaecker

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Many researchers have underlined the importance of metaphors in specialised language. Their use of specific domains helps us understand the conceptualisations used to communicate new ideas or difficult topics. Within the wide area of specialised discourse, wine tasting is a very specific example because it is almost exclusively metaphoric. Wine tasting metaphors express various conceptualisations. They are not linguistic but rather conceptual, as defined by Lakoff & Johnson. They correspond to the linguistic expression of a mental projection from a well-known or more concrete source domain onto the target domain, which is the taste of wine. But unlike most specialised terminologies, the vocabulary is never clearly defined. When metaphorical terms are listed in dictionaries, their definitions remain vague, unclear, and circular. They cannot be replaced by literal linguistic expressions. This makes it impossible to transfer them into another language with the traditional linguistic translation methods. Qualitative research investigates whether wine tasting metaphors could rather be translated with the cognitive translation process, as well described by Nili Mandelblit (1995). The research is based on a corpus compiled from two high-profile wine guides; the Parker’s Wine Buyer’s Guide and its translation into French and the Guide Hachette des Vins and its translation into English. In this small corpus with a total of 68,826 words, 170 metaphoric expressions have been identified in the original English text and 180 in the original French text. They have been selected with the MIPVU Metaphor Identification Procedure developed at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The selection demonstrates that both languages use the same set of conceptualisations, which are often combined in wine tasting notes, creating conceptual integrations or blends. The comparison of expressions in the source and target texts also demonstrates the use of the cognitive translation approach. In accordance with the principle of relevance, the translation always uses target language conceptualisations, but compared to the original, the highlighting of the projection is often different. Also, when original metaphors are complex with a combination of conceptualisations, at least one element of the original metaphor underlies the target expression. This approach perfectly integrates into Lederer’s interpretative model of translation (2006). In this triangular model, the transfer of conceptualisation could be included at the level of ‘deverbalisation/reverbalisation’, the crucial stage of the model, where the extraction of meaning combines with the encyclopedic background to generate the target text.

Keywords: cognitive translation, conceptual integration, conceptual metaphor, interpretative model of translation, wine tasting metaphor

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Authors: Aticha Kwaengsopha, Kevin Wongleedee

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Destination image can cause an increase and decrease in the growth rate of international tourists visiting Thailand. This paper drew upon data collected from an international tourist survey conducted in Bangkok, Thailand during January to March of 2014. The survey was structured primarily to obtain international tourists’ opinions towards the importance of destination image factors that they encountered during their trip in Thailand. A total of 200 respondents were elicited as data input for mean, SD, and t-test. The findings revealed that the overall level of importance of these factors was not very high. The findings also revealed the three most important factors as tourist experience, interesting place, and pleasing destination. In addition, the result for t-test revealed that there was not much effect from gender differences in opinions of the level concerning importance for destination image factors.

Keywords: destination image, international tourists, Thailand, revisit

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Authors: Deborah Idowu

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This research delves into the effectiveness of explicitly teaching productive non-cognate French suffixes to English beginner learners of the French language. It is widely accepted that cognates, especially orthographic ones, can be inferred by learners from their first language (in this case, English). The same is the case for derived French words with cognate suffixes, provided the learner is familiar with the lemma, which can either be cognate or non-cognate. However, the same cannot be said for derived French words with non-cognate suffixes. These suffixes often pose challenges to learners, even when the base word is familiar to them. The primary goal of this research is to enhance the vocabulary comprehension and expansion of English-speaking beginners in French by focusing on the recognition of derived French words that may not align with their L1 knowledge. The methodology employed in this study of derivational morphology involves an experimental group receiving explicit instruction on productive non-cognate suffixes, while a control group does not. By utilizing confidence ratings and other analytical tools, the analysis aims to measure the impact of this targeted instruction on the learners' ability to understand and incorporate non-cognate suffixes into their French vocabulary. Through this experimental approach, the research seeks to provide valuable insights into how explicit instruction on non-cognate suffixes can benefit beginner French learners, ultimately aiding them in navigating the intricacies of French derivational morphology. The objectives of this research are as follows: i. to investigate the impact of explicitly teaching productive non-cognate suffixes on the vocabulary comprehension and expansion of beginner learners of the French language; ii. to assess the effectiveness of targeted instruction on non-cognate suffixes in aiding English-speaking learners in recognizing and understanding derived French words that may not align with their native language knowledge, iii. to compare the vocabulary acquisition and retention of beginner French learners who receive explicit instruction on non-cognate suffixes with those who do not to determine the effectiveness of this instructional approach, iv. to analyze the confidence ratings and other analytical methods to gauge the learners' ability to integrate non-cognate suffixes into their French vocabulary and comprehend the meaning of derived words more effectively, v. to contribute insights into how explicit instruction on non-cognate suffixes can enhance the overall language learning experience for beginner learners of French, particularly in the area of French derivational morphology.

Keywords: suffixes, derivational morphology, non-cognates, vocabulary acquisition, French language learners

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Authors: Preeti Gacche

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A considerable part of undergraduate level English Examination papers is devoted to grammar. Hence the grammar questions in the question papers are evaluated and the opinions of both students and teachers about them are obtained and analyzed. A grammar test of 100 marks is administered to 43 students to check their performance. The question papers have been evaluated by 10 different teachers and their scores compared. The analysis of 38 University question papers reveals that on an average 20 percent marks are allotted to grammar. Almost all the grammar topics are tested. Abundant use of grammatical terminology is observed in the questions. Decontextualization, repetition, possibility of multiple correct answers and grammatical errors in framing the questions have been observed. Opinions of teachers and students about grammar questions vary in many respects. The students responses are analyzed medium-wise and sex-wise. The Medium at the School level and the sex of the students are found to play no role as far as interest in the study of grammar is concerned. English medium students solve grammar questions intuitively whereas non-English medium students are required to recollect the rules of grammar. Prepositions, Verbs, Articles and Model auxiliaries are found to be easy topics for most students whereas the use of conjunctions is the most difficult topic. Out of context items of grammar are difficult to answer in comparison with contextualized items of grammar. Hence contextualized texts to test grammar items are desirable. No formal training in setting questions is imparted to teachers by the competent authorities like the University. They need to be trained in testing. Statistically there is no significant change of score with the change in the rater in testing of grammar items. There is scope of future improvement. The question papers need to be evaluated and feedback needs to be obtained from students and teachers for future improvement.

Keywords: context, evaluation, grammar, tests

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Authors: Łukasz Bis

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The author is going to discuss virtual reality and its importance for new didactic methods. It has been known for years that experience-based education gives much better results in terms of long-term memory than theoretical study. However, practice is expensive - virtual reality allows the use of an empirical approach to learning, with minimized production costs. The author defines what makes a given VR experience appropriate (adequate) for the didactic and cognitive process. The article is a kind of a list of guidelines and their importance for the VR experience under development.

Keywords: virtual reality, education, universal design, guideline

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Authors: Omar Shakra

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This paper contains a huge number of benefits that we can use it in several places and times in fire safety protection in the Middle East especially in Egypt . People here in Egypt did not consider the safety and fire protection as important as it is. But on the other hand, its very important for them to contain the fire systems and safety in every facility, the companies , hospitals , police stations , and even the super markets must use the fire system. It makes the facility safe to the visitors while they are using it.From my point of view as the owner Fire Safety Company called Deluge Egypt , i can say that not all of the companies use the fire system protection according to the high cost they prefer to build their company without the protection, and this is make the building totally unsafe to be used from the visitors or client.So, i am looking for new methods and technology to invest in Egypt, and this is through attending this Conference and let the audiences know more about the services i provide and [to let them know about the importance of the Fire Safety in Egypt. The Objectives of my research 1- The system that i used in my Company. 2- The benefits of the Fire System Protection. 3-The importance of the Fire System and safety. 4-The use of the new Technologies. 5-The hardships that i found while having new deals with new clients.

Keywords: fire, system, protection, fire hydrants, security, alarms

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Authors: Saeed Musaid H. Alzahrani

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The role of middle leaders, especially in primary schools, is a multi-faced role that has been subject to changes in nature over recent decades, with claims for more distributed leadership practices. This research examines the way 18 middle leaders in Saudi and English primary schools conceptualise their roles and responsibilities, and different factors influencing those roles and responsibilities. It begins from the premise that both the power of the role and the values of middle leaders are grounded in cultural and political bases, a belief held by the researcher as an 'insider' within the Saudi educational leadership context. The study consisted of a comparative analysis of the role and the responsibilities of middle leaders in Saudi primary schools and their equivalents in English primary schools. A purely qualitative methodological stance was adopted, using in-depth face-to-face semi-structured interviews, observations and document analysis. Middle leaders were asked to reflect deeply on their perceptions and understanding of their roles and explain what they thought influenced their daily practices and responsibilities. The findings suggest that the concept of middle leadership has been influenced by power imposed from above by political authority, via internal and external hierarchical structures, which shapes the nature of the role of the middle leaders and forces them to comply. Middle leaders seem to believe they have the power to make decisions and promote change, but these findings suggest that this is illusory. The power that keeps middle leaders performing is the power of their cultural and religious values. Those values are the resource to which they turn in their search for more energy when they lack support and are short of time taken. Middle leaders in Saudi, just like their equivalents in English schools must comply with the requirements of their role. However, Saudi middle leaders are given no leeway to make decisions or implement change, neither do they have the culture of collegiality that seems to give middle leaders in England more power over their resources and decisions. However, in neither educational setting have middle leaders been given the power to lead, so they remain managers rather than leaders. The findings of this research suggest that there are more similarities between the educational settings of Saudi and England than differences; and in the light of different factors identified in the study, suggest the establishment of a framework for middle leadership, in the hope of enhancing the way the role is practiced.

Keywords: middle leader, primary school, power, educational leadership, value, culture, model, Saudi Arabia, England

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Authors: Hanan Al-Jabri

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Simultaneous interpreting is deemed to be the most challenging mode of interpreting by many scholars. The special constraints involved in this task including time constraints, different linguistic systems, and stress pose a great challenge to most interpreters. These constraints are likely to maximise when the interpreting task is done live on TV. The TV interpreter is exposed to a wide variety of audiences with different backgrounds and needs and is mostly asked to interpret high profile tasks which raise his/her levels of stress, which further complicate the task. Under these constraints, which require fast and efficient performance, TV interpreters of four TV channels were asked to render Trump's victory speech into Arabic. However, they had also to deal with the burden of rendering English emotive overtones employed by the speaker into a whole different linguistic system. The current study aims at investigating the way TV interpreters, who worked in the simultaneous mode, handled this task; it aims at exploring and evaluating the TV interpreters’ linguistic choices and whether the original emotive effect was maintained, upgraded, downgraded or abandoned in their renditions. It also aims at exploring the possible difficulties and challenges that emerged during this process and might have influenced the interpreters’ linguistic choices. To achieve its aims, the study analysed Trump’s victory speech delivered on November 6, 2016, along with four Arabic simultaneous interpretations produced by four TV channels: Al-Jazeera, RT, CBC News, and France 24. The analysis of the study relied on two frameworks: a macro and a micro framework. The former presents an overview of the wider context of the English speech as well as an overview of the speaker and his political background to help understand the linguistic choices he made in the speech, and the latter framework investigates the linguistic tools which were employed by the speaker to stir people’s emotions. These tools were investigated based on Shamaa’s (1978) classification of emotive meaning according to their linguistic level: phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic and lexical levels. Moreover, this level investigates the patterns of rendition which were detected in the Arabic deliveries. The results of the study identified different rendition patterns in the Arabic deliveries, including parallel rendition, approximation, condensation, elaboration, transformation, expansion, generalisation, explicitation, paraphrase, and omission. The emerging patterns, as suggested by the analysis, were influenced by factors such as speedy and continuous delivery of some stretches, and highly-dense segments among other factors. The study aims to contribute to a better understanding of TV simultaneous interpreting between English and Arabic, as well as the practices of TV interpreters when rendering emotiveness especially that little is known about interpreting practices in the field of TV, particularly between Arabic and English.

Keywords: emotive overtones, interpreting strategies, political speeches, TV interpreting

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Authors: Masood Monjezi

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The English teachers’ pedagogical identity construction is the way teachers go through the process of becoming teachers and how they maintain their teaching selves. The pedagogical identity of teachers is influenced by several factors within the individual and the society. The purpose of this study was to compare the imagined social world of the pre-service teachers with the real experiences the in-service teachers had in the context of Iran to see how prepared the pre-service teachers are with a view to their identity being. This study used a qualitative approach to collection and analysis of the data. Structured and semi-structured interviews, focus groups and process logs were used to collect the data. Then, using open coding, the data were analyzed. The findings showed that the imagined world of the pre-service teachers partly corresponded with the real world experiences of the in-service teachers leaving the pre-service teachers unprepared for their real world teaching profession. The findings suggest that the current approaches to English teacher training are in need of modification to better prepare the pre-service teachers for the future that expects them.

Keywords: imagined professional world, in-service teachers, pre-service teachers, real experiences, community of practice, identity

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Authors: Soumia Hebbri

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English language has become a major medium for communication across borders. Nowadays, it is seen as a communicative medium not only for business but also for academic purposes. Some scientists describe English language as a way to enjoy an admired position in many countries. It is neither a national nor an official language in North Africa; it is considered as the most widely taught foreign language at the educational system. In order to achieve mastery of a foreign language, learners must develop the four principal language skills: Reading, writing, listening and speaking. However, being able to interact orally with others, using effectively the target language, is nowadays very important. People who cannot speak a foreign language cannot be considered effective language users, even if they can read and understand it. The teachers’ role in promoting foreign language acquisition is very important, as they are responsible for providing students appropriate contexts to foster communicative situations that allow students to express themselves and interact in the target language. So, we should understand the student’s reasons of their reluctance in oral participation when dealing with oral communicative tasks, in order to get insights about the possible motivating factors that may improve their involvement and participation in the classroom.

Keywords: EL, EFL, ET, TEFL, communication

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Authors: Tien Nguyen

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The relationship between mentors and mentees in teaching practicum has received the attention of researchers and been widely investigated. Mentors’ authority and power have captured a large and growing body of the literature in the field of teaching practicum. This article revisits mentor-mentee relationship and shifts the focus to mentees’ agency in planning and delivering lessons, an area which has been under-researched. Drawing on Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development and Harré’s Positioning Theory, this qualitative study examines how mentees responded to mentors’ instructions in practicum. Interviews and classroom observations were conducted with 20 participants including both mentors and mentees across two English language teacher education programs in two different geographical locations in Vietnam. The result indicates that regardless of the similarities and/or differences of the programs, mentees’ agency varied in accordance with their identities in specific contexts. Specifically, mentees follow or resist to mentors’ feedback and instruction in revising their lesson plans and delivery these lessons, depending on their professional identities and institutional conditions. This study contributes to the importance of supporting the agency of mentees in teacher education.

Keywords: mentors, mentees, relationship, agency, professional identity, teacher education

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Authors: Yusuke Sugaya

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Our research conducts a cross-linguistic experimental investigation into the cognitive processes involved in distance judgment necessary for selecting demonstratives in deictic usage. Speakers may consider the addressee's judgment or apply certain criteria for distance judgment when they produce demonstratives. While it can be assumed that there are language and cultural differences, it remains unclear how these differences manifest across languages. This research conducted online experiments involving speakers of six languages—Japanese, Spanish, Irish, English, Italian, and French—in which a wide variety of drawings were presented on a screen, varying conditions from three perspectives: addressee, comparisons, and standard. The results of the experiments revealed various distinct features associated with demonstratives in each language, highlighting differences from a comparative standpoint. For one thing, there was an influence of a specific reference point (i.e., Standard) on the selection in Japanese and Spanish, whereas there was relatively an influence of competitors in English and Italian.

Keywords: demonstratives, cross-linguistic experiment, distance judgment, social cognition

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Authors: Lexi Li, Vanessa H. K. Pang

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This study aims to demonstrate how native and learner corpora can be used to enhance modal verb treatment in EFL textbooks in mainland China. It contributes to a corpus-informed and learner-centered design of grammar presentation in EFL textbooks that enhances the authenticity and appropriateness of textbook language for target learners. The linguistic focus is will, would, can, could, may, might, shall, should, must. The native corpus is the spoken component of BNC2014 (hereafter BNCS2014). The spoken part is chosen because pedagogical purpose of the textbooks is communication-oriented. Using the standard query option of CQPweb, 5% of each of the nine modals was sampled from BNCS2014. The learner corpus is the POS-tagged Ten-thousand English Compositions of Chinese Learners (TECCL). All the essays under the 'secondary school' section were selected. A series of five secondary coursebooks comprise the textbook corpus. All the data in both the learner and the textbook corpora are retrieved through the concordance functions of WordSmith Tools (version, 5.0). Data analysis was divided into two parts. The first part compared the patterns of modal verbs in the textbook corpus and BNC2014 with respect to distributional features, semantic functions, and co-occurring constructions to examine whether the textbooks reflect the authentic use of English. Secondly, the learner corpus was analyzed in terms of the use (distributional features, semantic functions, and co-occurring constructions) and the misuse (syntactic errors, e.g., she can sings*.) of the nine modal verbs to uncover potential difficulties that confront learners. The analysis of distribution indicates several discrepancies between the textbook corpus and BNCS2014. The first four most frequent modal verbs in BNCS2014 are can, would, will, could, while can, will, should, could are the top four in the textbooks. Most strikingly, there is an unusually high proportion of can (41.1%) in the textbooks. The results on different meanings shows that will, would and must are the most problematic. For example, for will, the textbooks contain 20% more occurrences of 'volition' and 20% less of 'prediction' than those in BNCS2014. Regarding co-occurring structures, the textbooks over-represented the structure 'modal +do' across the nine modal verbs. Another major finding is that the structure of 'modal +have done' that frequently co-occur with could, would, should, and must is underused in textbooks. Besides, these four modal verbs are the most difficult for learners, as the error analysis shows. This study demonstrates how the synergy of native and learner corpora can be harnessed to improve EFL textbook presentation of modal verbs in a way that textbooks can provide not only authentic language used in natural discourse but also appropriate design tailed for the needs of target learners.

Keywords: English as Foreign Language, EFL textbooks, learner corpus, modal verbs, native corpus

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Authors: Muna Shafiq

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Growth in international immigration is a reflection of increased migration patterns in Canada and in other parts of the world. Canada continues to promote itself as a bilingual country, yet the bilingual French and English population numbers do not reflect this platform. Each province’s integration policies focus only on second language learning of either English or French. Moreover, since English Canadians outnumber French Canadians, maintaining, much less increasing, English-French bilingualism appears unrealistic. One solution to increasing Canadian bilingualism requires creating intercultural communication initiatives between youth in Quebec and the rest of Canada. Specifically, the focus is on active, experiential learning, where intercultural competencies develop outside traditional classroom settings. The target groups are Generation Y Millennials and Generation Z Linksters, the next generations in the career and parenthood lines. Today, Canada’s education system, like many others, must continually renegotiate lines between programs it offers its immigrant and native communities. While some purists or right-wing nationalists would disagree, the survival of bilingualism in Canada has little to do with reducing immigration. Children and youth immigrants play a valuable role in increasing Canada’s French and English speaking communities. For instance, a focus on more immersion, over core French education programs for immigrant children and youth would not only increase bilingual rates; it would develop meaningful intercultural attachments between Canadians. Moreover, a vigilant increase of funding in French immersion programs is critical, as are new initiatives that focus on experiential language learning for students in French and English language programs. A favorable argument supports the premise that other than French-speaking students in Québec and elsewhere in Canada, second and third generation immigrant students are excellent ambassadors to promote bilingualism in Canada. Most already speak another language at home and understand the value of speaking more than one language in their adopted communities. Their dialogue and participation in experiential language exchange workshops are necessary. If the proposed exchanges take place inter-provincially, the momentum to increase collective regional voices increases. This regional collectivity can unite Canadians differently than nation-targeted initiatives. The results from an experiential youth exchange organized in 2017 between students at the crossroads of Generation Y and Generation Z in Vancouver and Quebec City respectively offer a promising starting point in assessing the strength of bringing together different regional voices to promote bilingualism. Code-switching between standard, international French Vancouver students, learn in the classroom versus more regional forms of Quebec French spoken locally created regional connectivity between students. The exchange was equally rewarding for both groups. Increasing their appreciation for each other’s regional differences allowed them to contribute actively to their social and emotional development. Within a sociolinguistic frame, this proposed model of experiential learning does not focus on hands-on work experience. However, the benefits of such exchanges are as valuable as work experience initiatives developed in experiential education. Students who actively code switch between French and English in real, not simulated contexts appreciate bilingualism more meaningfully and experience its value in concrete terms.

Keywords: experiential learning, intercultural communication, social and emotional learning, sociolinguistic code-switching

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Authors: Susanna Asatryan

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The author will introduce a single module related to English teaching methodology for master course students getting specialization “A Foreign Language Teacher of High Schools And Professional Educational Institutions” of Yerevan Brusov State University of Languages and Social Sciences. The overall aim of the presentation is to introduce learning and teaching strategies within EXE Computer program for Mastery student-teachers of the University. The author will display the advantages of the use of this program. The learners interact with the teacher in the classroom as well as they are provided an opportunity for virtual domain to carry out their learning procedures in association with assessment and self-assessment. So they get integrated into blended learning. As this strategy is in its piloting stage, the author has elaborated a single module, embracing 3 main sections: -Teaching English vocabulary at high school, -Teaching English grammar at high school, and -Teaching English pronunciation at high school. The author will present the above mentioned topics with corresponding sections and subsections. The strong point is that preparing this module we have planned to display it on the blended learning landscape. So for this account working with EXE program is highly effective. As it allows the users to operate several tools for self-learning and self-testing/assessment. The author elaborated 3 single EXE files for each topic. Each file starts with the section’s subject-specific description: - Objectives and Pre-knowledge, followed by the theoretical part. The author associated and flavored her observations with appropriate samples of charts, drawings, diagrams, recordings, video-clips, photos, pictures, etc. to make learning process more effective and enjoyable. Before or after the article the author has downloaded a video clip, related to the current topic. EXE offers a wide range of tools to work out or prepare different activities and exercises for the learners: 'Interactive/non-interactive' and 'Textual/non-textual'. So with the use of these tools Multi-Select, Multi-Choice, Cloze, Drop-Down, Case Study, Gap-Filling, Matching and different other types of activities have been elaborated and submitted to the appropriate sections. The learners task is to prepare themselves for the coming module or seminar, related to teaching methodology of English vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. The point is that the teacher has an opportunity for face to face communication, as well as to connect with the learners through the Moodle, or as a single EXE file offer it to the learners for their self-study and self-assessment. As for the students’ feedback –EXE environment also makes it available.

Keywords: blended learning, EXE program, learning/teaching strategies, self-study/assessment, virtual domain,

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Authors: Marilyn Maksoud

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This article discusses the heritage of the Orthodox Church, additionally it describes the origins, composition, and characteristics of the Orthodox Christian cultural identity in Syria and the liturgical traditions of the Church in the literature. Also, the eight tunes and their original use, the historical and anthropological importance of the most important Orthodox churches in Syria, were discussed. Finally, the role and works of the composer Nuri Iskandar in reviving Christian music were mentioned. "Cultural dialogue" methodology based on the recognition of equal cultures, practical and bibliographic sources of books and articles in many languages German, French, Arabic, and English, in addition to my practical experience in chanting the Syriac Aramaic language in some churches in Syria and Russia. This study concluded that the roots of the characteristics of Orthodox Christian culture in Syria go back to the original eight Syriac melodies. Additionally, The originality of Major and Minor scales were tracked as an extension of Syriac Christian melodies originated thousands of years ago in Syrian land.

Keywords: church culture in Syria, Syriac orthodox music, Syriac orthodox church, Aramaic semitic language, Syriac, Syrian church melodies

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Authors: Hsiaoping Wu

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With the wide use of Internet, learners are exposed to the wider world. This exposure permits learners to discover new information and combine a variety of media in order to reach in-depth and broader understanding of their literacy and the world. Many paper-based teaching, learning and assessment modalities can be transferred to a digital platform. This study examines the use of e-portfolios for ESL (English as a second language) pre-service teacher. The data were collected by reviewing 100 E-portfolio from 2013 to 2015 in order to synthesize meaningful information about e-portfolios for ESL pre-service teachers. Participants were generalists, bilingual and ESL pre-service teachers. The studies were coded into two main categories: learning gains, including assessment, and technical skills. The findings showed that using e-portfolios enhanced and developed ESL pre-service teachers’ teaching and assessment skills. Also, the E-portfolio also developed the pre-service teachers’ technical stills to prepare a comprehensible portfolio to present who they are. Finally, the study and presentation suggested e-portfolios for ecological issues and educational purposes.

Keywords: assessment, e-portfolio, pre-service teacher, reflection

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Authors: Olufemi Olupe

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Within linguistics, various approaches have been adopted to the study of language. One of such approaches is the syntax. The syntax is an aspect of the grammar of the language which deals with how words are put together to form phrases and sentences and how such structures are interpreted in language. Ambiguity, which is also germane in this discourse is about the uncertainty of meaning as a result of the possibility of a phrase or sentence being understood and interpreted in more than one way. In the light of the above, this paper attempts a syntactic study of syntactic ambiguities in The English Language, using the Transformational Generative Grammar (TGG) Approach. In doing this, phrases and sentences were raised with each description followed by relevant analysis. Finding in the work reveals that ambiguity cannot always be disambiguated by the means of syntactic analysis alone without recourse to semantic interpretation. The further finding shows that some syntactical ambiguities structures cannot be analysed on two surface structures in spite of the fact that there are more than one deep structures. The paper concludes that in as much as ambiguity remains in language; it will continue to pose a problem of understanding to a second language learner. Users of English as a second language, must, however, make a conscious effort to avoid its usage to achieve effective communication.

Keywords: language, syntax, semantics, morphology, ambiguity

Procedia PDF Downloads 385

Authors: Hina Javed

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This study investigated the different strategies used by Pakistani students learning English as a second language at secondary level school. The basic premise of the study is that ESL students face tremendous difficulty while they are reading a text in English. It also purports to dig into the different causes of their slow reading. They might range from word reading accuracy, mental translation, lexical density, cultural gaps, complex syntactic constructions, and back skipping. Sixty Grade 7 students from two secondary mainstream schools in Lahore were selected for the study, thirty being boys and thirty girls. They were administered reading-related and reading speed pre and post-tests. The purpose of the tests was to gauge their performance on different reading tasks so as to be able to see how they used strategies, if any, and also to ascertain the causes hampering their performance on those tests. In the pretests, they were given simple texts with considerable lexical density and moderately complex sentential layout. In the post-tests, the reading tasks contained comic strips, texts with visuals, texts with controlled vocabulary, and an evenly distributed varied range of simple, compound, and complex sentences. Both the tests were timed. The results gleaned through the data gathered corroborated the researchers’ basic hunch that they performed significantly better than pretests. The findings suggest that the morphological structure of words and lexical density are the main sources of reading comprehension difficulties in poor ESL readers. It is also confirmed that if the texts are accompanied by pictorial visuals, it greatly facilitates students’ reading speed and comprehension. There is no substantial evidence that ESL readers adopt any specific strategy while reading in English.

Keywords: slow ESL reading speed, mental translation, complex syntactic constructions, back skipping

Procedia PDF Downloads 67

Authors: Ani Kojoyan

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Linguistic studies have been investigating a connection between gender and linguistic development since 1970s. Scholars claim that gender differences in first and second language learning are socially constructed. Recent studies to language learning and gender reveal that second language acquisition is also a social phenomenon directly influencing one’s gender identity. Those responsible for designing language learning-teaching materials should be encouraged to understand the importance of and address the gender sensitivity accurately in textbooks. Writing or compiling a textbook is not an easy task; it requires strong academic abilities, patience, and experience. For a long period of time Armenia has been involved in the compilation process of a number of foreign language textbooks. However, there have been very few discussions or evaluations of those textbooks which will allow specialists to theorize that practice. The present paper focuses on the analysis of gender sensitivity issues and policy aspects involved in an EFL textbook. For the research the following material has been considered – “A Basic English Grammar: Morphology”, first printed in 2011. The selection of the material is not accidental. First, the mentioned textbook has been widely used in university teaching over years. Secondly, in Armenia “A Basic English Grammar: Morphology” has considered one of the most successful English grammar textbooks in a university teaching environment and served a source-book for other authors to compile and design their textbooks. The present paper aims to find out whether an EFL textbook is gendered in the Armenian teaching environment, and whether the textbook compilers are aware of gendered messages while compiling educational materials. It also aims at investigating students’ attitude toward the gendered messages in those materials. And finally, it also aims at increasing the gender sensitivity among book compilers and educators in various educational settings. For this study qualitative and quantitative research methods of analyses have been applied, the quantitative – in terms of carrying out surveys among students (45 university students, 18-25 age group), and the qualitative one – by discourse analysis of the material and conducting in-depth and semi-structured interviews with the Armenian compilers of the textbook (interviews with 3 authors). The study is based on passive and active observations and teaching experience done in a university classroom environment in 2014-2015, 2015-2016. The findings suggest that the discussed and analyzed teaching materials (145 extracts and examples) include traditional examples of intensive use of language and role-modelling, particularly, men are mostly portrayed as active, progressive, aggressive, whereas women are often depicted as passive and weak. These modeled often serve as a ‘reliable basis’ for reinforcing the traditional roles that have been projected on female and male students. The survey results also show that such materials contribute directly to shaping learners’ social attitudes and expectations around issues of gender. The applied techniques and discussed issues can be generalized and applied to other foreign language textbook compilation processes, since those principles, regardless of a language, are mostly the same.

Keywords: EFL textbooks, gender policy, gender sensitivity, qualitative and quantitative research methods

Procedia PDF Downloads 191

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

Procedia PDF Downloads 158

Authors: Yen-Hui Lu

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In the past two decades, in order to increase university visibility and internationalization, English as a medium of instruction (EMI) has become one of the main language policies in higher education institutions where English is not a dominant language. However, given the complex, discipline-embedded nature of academic communication, academic literacy does not come with students’ everyday language experience, and it is a challenge for all students. Particularly, to engage students in the effective learning process of discipline concepts in the EMI classrooms, teachers need to provide explicit academic language instruction to assist students in deep understanding of discipline concepts. To bridge the gap between academic language development and discipline learning in the EMI classrooms, the researcher incorporates academic language strategies and key elements of project-based learning (PBL) into an Academic Language Strategy driven PBL (ALS-PBL) model. With clear steps and strategies, the model helps EMI teachers to scaffold students’ academic language development in the EMI classrooms. ALS-PBL model includes three major stages: preparation, implementation, and assessment. First, in the preparation stage, ALS-PBL teachers need to identify learning goals for both content and language learning and to design PBL topics for investigation. Second, during the implementation stage, ALS-PBL teachers use the model as a guideline to create a lesson structure and class routine. There are five important elements in the implementation stage: (1) academic language preparation, (2) connecting background knowledge, (3) comprehensible input, (4) academic language reinforcement, and (5) sustained inquiry and project presentation. Finally, ALS-PBL teachers use formative assessments such as student learning logs, teachers’ feedback, and peer evaluation to collect detailed information that demonstrates students’ academic language development in the learning process. In this study, ALS-PBL model was implemented in an interdisciplinary course entitled “Science is Everywhere”, which was co-taught by five professors from different discipline backgrounds, English education, civil engineering, business administration, international business, and chemical engineering. The purpose of the course was to cultivate students’ interdisciplinary knowledge as well as English competency in disciplinary areas. This study used a case-study design to systematically investigate students’ learning experiences in the class using ALS-PBL model. The participants of the study were 22 college students with different majors. This course was one of the elective EMI courses in this focal university. The students enrolled in this EMI course to fulfill the school language policy, which requires the students to complete two EMI courses before their graduation. For the credibility, this study used multiple methods to collect data, including classroom observation, teachers’ feedback, peer assessment, student learning log, and student focus-group interviews. Research findings show four major successful aspects of implementing ALS-PBL model in the EMI classroom: (1) clear focus on both content and language learning, (2) meaningful practice in authentic communication, (3) reflective learning in academic language strategies, and (4) collaborative support in content knowledge.This study will be of value to teachers involved in delivering English as well as content lessons to language learners by providing a theoretically-sound practical model for application in the classroom.

Keywords: academic language development, content and language integrated learning, english as a medium of instruction, project-based learning

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Authors: Raja Lahiani

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'Locksley Hall' is a poem that Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) published in 1842. It is believed to be his first attempt to face as a poet some of the most painful of his experiences, as it is a study of his rising out of sickness into health, conquering his selfish sorrow by faith and hope. So far, in Victorian scholarship as in modern criticism, 'Locksley Hall' has been studied and approached as a canonical Victorian English poem. The aim of this project is to prove that some strategies of translation were used in this poem in such a way as to guarantee its assimilation into the English canon and hence efface to a large extent its Arabic roots. In its relationship with its source text, 'Locksley Hall' is at the same time mimetic and imitative. As part of the terminology used in translation studies, ‘imitation’ means almost the exact opposite of what it means in ordinary English. By adopting an imitative procedure, a translator would do something totally different from the original author, wandering far and freely from the words and sense of the original text. An imitation is thus aimed at an audience which wants the work of the particular translator rather than the work of the original poet. Hallam Tennyson, the poet’s biographer, asserts that 'Locksley Hall' is a simple invention of place, incidents, and people, though he notes that he remembers the poet claiming that Sir William Jones’ prose translation of the Mu‘allaqat (pre-Islamic poems) gave him the idea of the poem. A comparative work would prove that 'Locksley Hall' mirrors a great deal of Tennyson’s biography and hence is not a simple invention of details as asserted by his biographer. It would be challenging to prove that 'Locksley Hall' shares so many details with the Mu‘allaqat, as declared by Tennyson himself, that it needs to be studied as an imitation of the Mu‘allaqat of Imru’ al-Qays and ‘Antara in addition to its being a poem in its own right. Thus, the main aim of this work is to unveil the imitative and mimetic strategies used by Tennyson in his composition of 'Locksley Hall.' It is equally important that this project researches the acculturating assimilative tools used by the poet to root his poem in its Victorian English literary, cultural and spatiotemporal settings. This work adopts a comparative methodology. Comparison is done at different levels. The poem will be contextualized in its Victorian English literary framework. Alien details related to structure, socio-spatial setting, imagery and sound effects shall be compared to Arabic poems from the Mu‘allaqat collection. This would determine whether the poem is a translation, an adaption, an imitation or a genuine work. The ultimate objective of the project is to unveil in this canonical poem a new dimension that has for long been either marginalized or ignored. By proving that 'Locksley Hall' is an imitation of classical Arabic poetry, the project aspires to consolidate its literary value and open up new gates of accessing it.

Keywords: comparative literature, imitation, Locksley Hall, Lord Alfred Tennyson, translation, Victorian poetry

Procedia PDF Downloads 192

Authors: Wala A. Bagunaid, Maram Meccawy, Arwa Allinjawi, Zilal Meccawy

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Continuous self-assessment becomes crucial in self-paced online learning environments. Students often depend on themselves to assess their progress; which is considered an essential requirement for any successful learning process. Today’s education institutions face major problems around student motivation and engagement. Thus, personalized e-learning systems aim to help and guide the students. Gamification provides an opportunity to help students for self-assessment and social comparison with other students through attempting to harness the motivational power of games and apply it to the learning environment. Furthermore, Open Social Student Modeling (OSSM) as considered as the latest user modeling technologies is believed to improve students’ self-assessment and to allow them to social comparison with other students. This research integrates OSSM approach and gamification concepts in order to provide self-assessment for English language learners at King Abdulaziz University (KAU). This is achieved through an interactive visual representation of their learning progress.

Keywords: e-learning system, gamification, motivation, social comparison, visualization

Procedia PDF Downloads 146