LANGUAGE RELATED RESEARCH (COMPARATIVE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE RESEARCH)
Year:2020 | Volume:11 | Issue:5 (59)|Papers Count:14

Dear Language Related Research Readers, We are delighted to announce that the November and December issue of LRR is released now. As you are aware, the papers in LRR have been published in Persian for 11 years, and from this issue onward, two issues a year will be published in English and French as well. Since 2012, LRR has been indexed in Scopus, and in the latest evaluation by the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (MSRT), LRR has received an “ International” ranking. We appreciate you all for being part of this academic journey...

Capitals’ contribution to educational achievement and their role in one’ s success or failure within classrooms are paramount, which is why they have been often discussed in the realm of the sociology of education. Adding the newly-developed concept of sensory capital as a complement to the existing capitals, the present study seeks to statistically find the potential relationships these capitals may have with each other and their possible influences on educational achievement. To accomplish this, first, a questionnaire was designed and validated to quantify the amount of sensory capital. Then, along with emotional, social, cultural, and economic capital questionnaires, it was given to 410 participants whose language scores were used as an indicator of educational achievement. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was run, the results of which indicated positive relationships among all types of capital and a significant role in language achievement score, with economic capital having the highest and social capital having the lowest contribution. Therefore, capitals can be concluded to both have a significant relationship with each other and a determining role in educational achievement that should be taken into account when it comes to dealing with educational success in academic environments.

Educators in reading are cognizant of the importance of proper assessment practices in order to screen for the risk of reading disabilities, guide proper instruction, and evaluate growth. While teacher preparation programs are striving to equip future teachers with the best reading assessment practices, little is known about the actual knowledge and attitudes that these students have toward assessing English language learners (ELLs). In order to determine the attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge of pre-service teachers (PTs), a survey constructed by the researchers was administered to 105 PTs. The PTs were enrolled in an ELLs reading assessment course at a public university in Texas. Based on the descriptive statistical analyses, there was a general lack of confidence in ability and/or preparedness to assess the reading abilities of ELLs. On a more positive note, the majority of respondents indicated a positive attitude towards ELLs overall. In addition, an exploratory factor analysis using cross-tabulations was conducted to determine what factors contributed to PTs feeling prepared to assess ELLs reading. This study has implications for teacher educators to recognize the importance of teachers’ having knowledge of ELLs reading assessment practices as this knowledge could enhance teachers’ selfefficacy and confidence in reading assessment of ELLs. It is suggested that teacher educaton programs include a course dedicated to reading assessment to enhance teachers’ content knowledge of basic language constructs and also their pedagogical knowledge of ELLs literacy acquisition and assessment.

Research on the influence of affective factors in language learning has grown in recent years largely due to the recognition of the role they play in second language (L2) acquisition (Henter, 2014). This study investigates two affective factors, confidence and anxiety, and how they impact young Finnish adults when using English in different formal and informal communicative situations. A multiple case study design is employed to gather different experiences and perceptions of young Finns’ willingness to use English in different situational contexts. To explore confidence and anxiety in specific speaking scenarios, the study used photo-elicitation interviews, in which a set of photographs was used as a stimulus with regular interview questions (Harper, 2002). Findings show that young Finnish adults attribute the lack of authentic oral communication in their comprehensive English education as being partially responsible for their apprehension in speaking English, and that fear of judgment, particularly in more formal scenarios, often induces a sense of anxiety. Confidence in using English was sensed through the perception that their English was equal to or better than those around them and was also ameliorated by the familiarity and casualness of the situation. The photo-elicitation method proved fruitful for evoking more detailed and personal experiences and helped participants visualize the scenarios, providing more lucid and candid responses. The study affirms a need for more research on Finnish adults’ affective factors in their use of English and advocates for the wider application of photo-elicitation in Applied Linguistics research.

There has been an increasing attention to written corrective feedback (WCF) and its potential effectiveness in recent years. This paper examines the roles of direct versus indirect WCF in fostering learners’ written and oral accuracy across language proficiency. A quasi-experimental design was adopted to conduct the study. Seventy-six pre-intermediate and upper-intermediate EFL learners were randomly assigned into six groups (four experimental and two control groups). In the experimental group, a series of pictures were used as prompts for writing tasks in the treatment sessions, and pre-, immediate, and delayed posttests were used to measure written and oral accuracy. According to the results, WCF, regardless of the type, was facilitative in developing learners’ both written and oral accuracy, which was a manifestation of implicit knowledge. The results also revealed that the proficiency level played a key role in determining which type of CF was more beneficial. While the preintermediate learners benefited more from direct CF, the upperintermediate group improved more as a result of indirect CF treatment. This study calls for more informed decisions by L2 teachers in the correction of written errors considering that it improved L2 learners’ oral accuracy.

Students’ understanding of literature is often neglected, while curriculums are usually determined by educationists whose expectations might not suit the students’ ability. To achieve a positive learning outcome in the literature classroom, the students’ perceptions and interests must be accorded much consideration. Therefore, this study aims to determine students’ perceptions of the importance of the English literature component in selected secondary schools in Terengganu, Malaysia. The study employed a descriptive survey method in which a structured questionnaire was used as a data-gathering instrument. The data were gathered from a sample of 403 students across four different public secondary schools in Terengganu: SMK Kompleks Seberang Takir, SM Sains Sultan Mahmud, SMKA Dato Haji Abbas, and SMK Kompleks Gong Badak. The study found that the students have positive perceptions of the English literature component to a large extent. The students also believe that English literature enables them to develop their cultural awareness, critical thinking skills, as well as improve their English grammar and vocabulary. The moral-philosophical approach is the most preferred approach amongst the students, followed by the information-based approach and the language-based approach. It is envisaged that the findings of this study could be especially useful in the process of curriculum development, particularly in the Malaysian context. Besides, this study could raise teachers’ awareness of their students’ level of understanding of the English literature component.

This study examined blurbs in the discipline of economics to investigate how evaluative lexico-grammatical resources are employed in the logogenetic constructions of these blurbs. The study was informed by the appraisal framework proposed by Martin and White (2005), which describes the language of our attitudes, viewpoints, and personal judgments toward people, objects, and things. All three categories of the appraisal framework, including attitude, engagement, and graduation, were thoroughly explored. Findings demonstrated that economics blurbs are densely packed with appreciation. Graduation was also found to be realized both as intensification and quantification. The study showed that blurbs can be dialogically or monologically constructed based on the presence or absence of external voices as well as engagement resources and locutions. Meanwhile, lexico-grammatical realizations were found not to be restricted to one type of grammatical structures. Various forms including adjectival qualities, nominalized qualities, and processes are employed for encoding evaluative resources. The findings of the study provide those interested in this genre insights into the practical details of blurbs’ advertising discourse and keep them informed of the curricular rules and regularities dominating promotional discourse.

The fact that many indigenous languages in Indonesia have been dying out as a result of the ineffective way of language planning. This study aims to construct critical thinking indicators and to describe the strategies used for enhancing critical thinking in language planning (LP) concerning local language maintenance, particularly Banjarese language. The qualitative method was employed in which all data were elaborated in a descriptive manner by employing an interview and documentation to collect the data. The former was performed by interviewing the two older native Banjarese persons: The one is a researcher focusing on native languages as well as on Banjarese maintenance; and the other is the main official person in charge of history and tradition maintenance of the Education and Culture Service of South Kalimantan. The latter was done by taking articles concerning Banjarese maintenance and its teaching, and policy documents issued by the government. The data were analyzed through content analysis. The result shows that there is no curriculum design to maintain Banjarese at schools. The local government’ s support in maintaining Banjarese does neither run well nor seems to be serious. The existence of local government regulation No. 7/2009 about the local language maintenance does not continue to practical procedures on how local language should be designed and taught at schools. Therefore, the issues of Banjarese should be the main indicator to map needs analysis in local language maintenance and strategies for language planning dealing with the classroom as the way of teaching Banjarese.

Community service learning (CSL) has been regarded as a pedagogical tool which provides students with opportunities to participate in a service activity to meet social needs and simultaneously gain benefits for themselves. There has been a tendency in the world to include CSL in higher education training programs. This study aims to investigate Vietnamese EFL teachers’ and students’ perceptions of CSL and their practices of a CSL-integrated course at a university of foreign languages in central Vietnam. The study involved 61 teachers and 201 students and employed quantitative and qualitative approaches. The findings revealed that both teachers and students showed strong support for CSL, and that the teachers, especially more experienced teachers, had more positive beliefs than the students about the five categories surveyed: perceptions of CSL, role of the school, benefits for teachers, benefits for students, and feasibility of CSL integration. Also, the participants believed that CSL was to be a tool to help students develop professionally, personally, and academically.

This action research study aims to test the feasibility of applying an intercultural language learning and teaching model (IcLLT) to teaching EFL in general education in Vietnam through teachers’ and students’ responses to two trial lessons. The IcLLT model of “ construction” , “ connection” , “ interaction” , “ reflection” , and “ extension” is developed to foster students’ intercultural competence by invoking their engagement in social interaction and critical cultural reflection. As shown in observations and students’ evaluation sheets, the intercultural language activities in IcLLT lessons could engage the students in activating prior knowledge, comparing culture, talking about cultural issues, and participating in intercultural communication. However, they were not able to reflect on their intercultural perspectives in oral interaction as much as in their writing. In parallel, the teacher agreed that the activities requiring students’ reflection were most challenging and the other three steps of “ construction” , “ connection” , “ interaction” could be conducted in relevance to three-stage Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) skill lessons of Pre-While-Post. The IcLLT is applicable to teach integrated skill CLT lessons with culture-specific input if intercultural objectives are added and relevant intercultural language activities with more focus on students’ intercultural interactions and critical reflection are conducted. Hence, IcLLT could be recommended as a supplementary approach to integrating culture into EFL teaching to build students’ intercultural communicative competence, which is considered a critical part of the new educational reform in general education in Vietnam.

Cet article envisage de montrer, à partir d’ un conte persan intitulé le "Chamelier et le serpent", que la narrativité ne peut pas se dé finir toujours comme un parcours liné aire soumis à une logique du manque et de ré paration du manque. L’ é tude du conte en question montrera bien que l’ univers du sens n’ est pas dans tous les cas un univers d’ ordre de programmation. Dans le cas qui nous inté resse, il s’ agit d’ un monde où nous avons affaire à une narrativité spirale, é tant donné que tout s’ organise autour d’ un axe principal: l’ homme et l’ animal sont des ennemis é ternels. Tout circule donc autour d’ une question d’ ordre ontologique. Le manque du dé but refait surface vers la fin et constitue le dé nouement desastreux. Tout se passe comme si la fin retrouve le dé but. Cet essai aura pour ré sultat de pré ciser que le sens, au lieu d’ ê tre le ré sultat d’ une liné arité organisé e, peut s’ obtenir sur la base d’ une transformation spirale du sens à partir d’ un retour au problè me collectif et original: l’ homme et l'animal sont des ennemis é ternels. Ce qui donne lieu à un sens circulaire.

La ré alisation d’ un mé moire est considé ré e comme la tâ che finale des é tudiants en master, à la fin de leur cursus afin de mé riter un diplô me universitaire. Or, cette activité cause divers types de difficulté s notamment aux é tudiants allophones. Cette é tude a pour but d’ analyser les problè mes auxquels se trouvent confronté s les é tudiants iraniens en master de didactique du FLE lors de la pré paration et de la ré daction de cet é crit acadé mique. Pour atteindre l’ objectif assigné , 3 dispositifs de recueil de donné es ont é té combiné s: les commentaires de 4 professeurs sur 7 textes de mé moire, un entretien semi-directif effectué auprè s de 12 é tudiants et un questionnaire rempli par 33 é tudiants. 3 dispositifs d’ analyse de donné es ont alors é té exploité s: une grille d’ é valuation basé e sur les compé tences né cessaires à la ré daction d’ un mé moire, une grille d’ analyse des entretiens ainsi que le logiciel SPSS. Les ré sultats de notre é tude montrent que selon les é tudiants, les problè mes engendré s lors de la pré paration du mé moire sont significativement plus é levé s par rapport à ceux causé s lors de la ré daction du mé moire. Par ailleurs, les problè mes d’ ordre linguistique pour ré diger un texte acadé mique sont ré currents. A cette complication se greffent les difficulté s d’ ordre scientifique/mé thodologique (pratiques de citations, choix et mise en place des mé thodes de recherche ainsi que des dispositifs d’ analyse des donné es). D’ autre part, les obstacles sur le plan spatio-temporel peuvent ê tre considé ré s comme un malaise auquel se heurtent les é tudiants iraniens lors de la ré alisation de l’ é tude de terrain. Le manque d’ accè s à des ressources diversifié es pour é laborer le cadre thé orique ainsi que la non-maî trise des logiciels de traitement de texte comptent é galement parmi les problè mes des é tudiants.

Dans la pré sente recherche, notre objectif est de savoir comment l’ emploi de la langue maternelle en cours de FLE, peut simplifier et influencer l’ apprentissage du franç ais chez les apprenants iraniens, dans les université s et dans les instituts de langue. Selon les observations qui ont é té faites dans les instituts de langues é trangè res, l’ utilisation de la langue maternelle dans l’ enseignement du franç ais, est considé ré e comme sé vè rement nuisible et à bannir, tandis que les professeurs d’ université s se montrent en gé né ral plus tolé rants. La nouveauté de cette é tude consiste à é tudier les besoins pé dagogiques des apprenants iraniens du FLE, en ce qui concerne l’ emploi de la langue maternelle en classe de langue. À cet é gard, nous avons é laboré un questionnaire contenant quinze questions, en tenant compte des é lé ments diffé rents comme le sexe, la situation maritale, l’ â ge et le niveau d’ é tudes des apprenants, qui a é té soumis à 61 é tudiants en franç ais. Aprè s avoir analysé les ré ponses, à partir du test de Kolmogorov-Smirnov et du test T, l’ importance de la langue maternelle en classe de FLE, a é té validé e, autrement dit, l’ emploi de la langue maternelle en classe de FLE, a é té reconnu comme un é lé ment accé lé rateur et simplifiant pour les apprenants iraniens.

La pandé mie Covid-19 qui sé vit autour de nous depuis un an impacte nos vies. Elle a remis en question beaucoup de nos acquis. La vie quotidienne s’ est transformé e d’ une maniè re que nous n’ aurions jamais envisagé e. Nous avons dû rapidement changer nos habitudes et nos comportements afin de pré server notre santé , celle de nos proches, de nos voisins et du reste du monde. Face à cette situation « iné dite », il y a des termes qui reviennent sans cesse pour dé crire la crise sanitaire et ses consé quences. Cette pandé mie plané taire a bouleversé é galement les comportements humains. Dans cet article, nous examinons comment le mot Covid-19, vé ritable moteur du changement de nos existences, est aussi moteur du changement dans la langue et dans nos comportements. En effet, au sein du parcours gé né ratif de la signification tel qu'il a é té envisagé par la sé miotique, Covid-19 est un actant qui traverse les diffé rents stades d’ un parcours, allant de la dé nomination jusqu’ au discours. L’ effervescence discursive du Covid-19 est d’ ordre narratif. Il apparaî t comme le prototype de l’ anti-sujet. Incarnation parfaite et absolue du mal. Un seul et unique programme narratif le motive: la propagation. Nous voyons é galement que Covid-19 n’ est plus seulement l’ anti-sujet de notre ré cit. Il devient vé ritablement l’ anti-Destinateur, menant dans l’ ombre une armé e de malfaisants capables de se ré inventer à loisir. C’ est un exemple spectaculaire de cumul actantiel.