Volume 10, 2 (Themed Issue on the Socio-Psychology of Language) , July 2022
Volume 10, 2 (Themed Issue on the Socio-Psychology of Language) , July 2022
Rashid Yahiaoui
Abstract
Television, cinema, pop music, and comic books are great entertainment and educational apparatuses. However, these seemingly harmless mediums are often noxious conduits of destructive ideologies and reality distortion, as they perpetuate negative perceptions of the 'other' and are major sites for power ...
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Television, cinema, pop music, and comic books are great entertainment and educational apparatuses. However, these seemingly harmless mediums are often noxious conduits of destructive ideologies and reality distortion, as they perpetuate negative perceptions of the 'other' and are major sites for power contestation. This paper contributes to the existing works on popular culture by probing the importance of misrepresentation of racial and gender stereotypes in western popular culture and how they are perpetuated in Arabic fan subtitling. Drawing on multimodal critical discourse analysis (MCDA), compositional film analysis, as well as Roland Barthes' notion of myth, this research lays bare certain dichotomies such as Hollywood's soft power and how it moulds the opinions of its global audience. The focus is on the portrayal of Arab/Muslim men and women and how they are gendered in film and television, and more importantly, how the Arabic subtitled versions perpetuate this misrepresentation on screen.
Zia Tajeddin; Mahmoud Fereydoonfar
Abstract
Although the language pedagogies of private institutes are sharply different from those of the public curriculum, scant research has been done on the identity formation of English language learners in these institutes. To fill this niche, first, a literature-driven identity scale was developed, which ...
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Although the language pedagogies of private institutes are sharply different from those of the public curriculum, scant research has been done on the identity formation of English language learners in these institutes. To fill this niche, first, a literature-driven identity scale was developed, which consisted of the eight components of learning, belongingness, expectations, motivations, attitudes, agency, learning activities, and relationships. Next, the scale was administered to Iranian English language learners of a leading private institute. The dataset collected from 338 learners was found to be appropriate for running exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and reliability estimation. The EFA results showed that the items loaded on five factors: (a) linguistic investment, (b) belongingness, (c) expectations, (d) attitudes, and (e) agency. It was also found that the scale had a high level of internal consistency. It is concluded that the construct of English language learner identity has its distinctive context-specific conceptualization within the pedagogical frames of private institutes.
Leyla Agdasovna Mardieva Mardieva; Vashunina Irina Vladimirovna
Abstract
The current study attempted to focus on periphrases with the general meaning of a person who created/founded something. Based on the analysis of the Russian printed periodicals (2009-2020), the authors found that this semantic group of periphrases is serial (typical). The studied group of descriptive ...
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The current study attempted to focus on periphrases with the general meaning of a person who created/founded something. Based on the analysis of the Russian printed periodicals (2009-2020), the authors found that this semantic group of periphrases is serial (typical). The studied group of descriptive names of a person is built according to the genitive model. The periphrase composition includes one of the following supporting components: a creator, a father, a founding father, a godfather, a mother, or an architect. The idea of “creation” is accurately expressed without additional semantic increments by the creator lexeme; other supporting components differ in semantic, figurative, and evaluative meanings and connotations. The variable qualifying component of the considered group of periphrases complements the meaning of the descriptive nomination supporting component, indicating the sphere of social activity in which the subject named by the periphrase has manifested himself (as a rule, this is politics, business, art, sport, or science).
Reza Pishghadam; Taqi Al Abdwani; Mahtab Kolahi Ahari; Saba Hasanzadeh; Shaghayegh Shayesteh
Abstract
Drawing on the concepts of apathy, sympathy, and empathy and their correspondence with emotioncy, this paper aimed to present the concept of metapathy, as the next and highest level of concern about others. It also sought to investigate if teachers’ concern for their students depends on the students’ ...
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Drawing on the concepts of apathy, sympathy, and empathy and their correspondence with emotioncy, this paper aimed to present the concept of metapathy, as the next and highest level of concern about others. It also sought to investigate if teachers’ concern for their students depends on the students’ socioeconomic status. As the first step, the Teacher Concern for Students (TCS) scale was developed to measure teachers’ types (i.e., apathy, sympathy, empathy, and metapathy) and levels of concern for their students. Next, the construct validity of the scale was verified using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The statistical analysis of the results obtained from 716 participants revealed that teachers teaching in low and mid socioeconomic groups tend to mostly metapathize with their students by showing a high level of concern for their future. On the other hand, teachers teaching in the high socioeconomic group were found to equally metapathize, empathize, and sympathize with their students.
Abdelrahman Abdalla Salih; Lamis Ismail Omar
Abstract
One of the influences of globalized English in recent years on the English language teaching (ELT) practice is the rise of the significance of intercultural teaching and learning. Such a development has made teaching intercultural competence a compelling requirement. This study investigates (N = 16) ...
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One of the influences of globalized English in recent years on the English language teaching (ELT) practice is the rise of the significance of intercultural teaching and learning. Such a development has made teaching intercultural competence a compelling requirement. This study investigates (N = 16) English language teachers’ perceptions of intercultural teaching and learning and their actual classroom practices in Oman. Data were collected from a survey administered to the participants. Results showed differences in the teachers’ opinions concerning intercultural teaching. While only a small minority of teachers believed that EFL classrooms should adopt intercultural teaching, nearly half supported teaching culture in foreign language classes but cited concerns about cultural clashes that might occur. The study also revealed that the participants favored avoiding teaching culture in language classrooms, especially in contexts that lack support for interculturality. The study draws on the significance of addressing the challenges that occur in the absence of intercultural teaching.
Irina Valeryevna Erofeeva; Albert Ilgizovitch Gilyazov; Maria Alexandrovna Pilgun
Abstract
A poem, story, or play, while expressing the inner states of the author, in many cases, reflect the state of culture and society where the poet or writer has lived in and been influenced by. The study of the lexical-semantic groups of vocabulary concerning the diachronic aspect is a promising direction ...
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A poem, story, or play, while expressing the inner states of the author, in many cases, reflect the state of culture and society where the poet or writer has lived in and been influenced by. The study of the lexical-semantic groups of vocabulary concerning the diachronic aspect is a promising direction in exploring the evolution of ideas about different areas of reality. The most important concepts with which human life has an inextricable link are representations of light and darkness. The paper will present the analysis of light in philosophical, worldview, lingual, and linguistic relations. The end of an era, the development of scientific thinking, and changes in the perception of the world image with respect to religious and secular aspects determine the formation of the system of meanings of the word “light”. It should be noted that the study has foremost used the method of conceptual analysis of one of the critical concepts of culture.
Aygul Zufarovna Ibatova; Eka Demurievna Korkiya; Lyudmila N. Shcherbatykh; Mahaсh Vagabov; Elena Viktorovna Salimullina
Abstract
This research investigated the effects of teaching English cultural-oriented materials on enhancing the speaking fluency and accuracy of Russian EFL learners. To do so, 75 Russian intermediate EFL learners were chosen from 99 students at an English language institute, Moscow, Surgut Branch of IUT, Russia. ...
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This research investigated the effects of teaching English cultural-oriented materials on enhancing the speaking fluency and accuracy of Russian EFL learners. To do so, 75 Russian intermediate EFL learners were chosen from 99 students at an English language institute, Moscow, Surgut Branch of IUT, Russia. The participants were randomly divided into two experimental groups (fluency and accuracy) and a control group. The respondents of the experimental groups received the treatment (English cultural-oriented materials). The researchers selected some conversations containing topics related to the English culture to teach to the experimental groups. The subjects of the control group were taught some conversations without having any cultural-based content. After the instruction, all groups took the speaking post-test. The findings indicated that there were significant differences between the speaking post-tests of the experimental groups and the control group in favor of the experimental groups.
Haitham Y. Adarbah; Haniyeh Jajarmi
Abstract
In recent decades, content-based instruction (CBI) has been increasingly used worldwide with the aim of developing students’ English language competency, particularly in their area of specialization. However, its implementation has not been without problems, and researchers have been seeking and ...
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In recent decades, content-based instruction (CBI) has been increasingly used worldwide with the aim of developing students’ English language competency, particularly in their area of specialization. However, its implementation has not been without problems, and researchers have been seeking and suggesting ways to solve them. In this vein, this research describes the development and implementation of restructuring the teaching materials of General Foundation Programme courses (basic and applied mathematics modules) in Oman by using active learning through educational technology. The suggested restructuring of the teaching materials has two elements: 1) reorder the presentation of the course content for teaching specific learning outcomes within the context of broad conceptual themes; 2) incorporate active learning through technology and collaborative learning into every lecture. The new instructional design was assessed by a student survey and the comparison of their exam performance across three semesters in the academic years 2018-2020. The restructured courses significantly improved at-risk student engagement and satisfaction and increased academic performance.
Rawan Emad Al-Sallal; Madani Othman Ahmed
Abstract
This study intends to investigate the role of culture in the acquisition of pragmatic competence by EFL learners. It investigated the refusal of requests and offers used by Bahraini and Indian learners of English compared to those employed by native speakers of English. It also explored the similarities ...
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This study intends to investigate the role of culture in the acquisition of pragmatic competence by EFL learners. It investigated the refusal of requests and offers used by Bahraini and Indian learners of English compared to those employed by native speakers of English. It also explored the similarities and differences between refusal strategies used by Bahraini and Indian L2 learners on the one hand and native speakers of English on the other. The participants included 20 Bahraini and 20 Indian learners of English (ILE) and 12 British and American native speakers of English (NE). Two instruments were used to collect the data: a discourse completion test (DCT) and open-ended Role Plays. The data were classified using widely used refusal strategies classifications and were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings indicated that there were differences between the two EFL groups and the NE control group in the frequency and number of pragmatic strategies.
Negmeldin Alsheikh; Maha Al Habbash; Najah Al Mohammedi; Xu Liu; Safa Al Othali; Ghada AI Kilani
Abstract
This case study elucidates culture-based narrative texts based on the interpretation of Arabic, Chinese, and English native speakers. A maximum variation technique of purposeful sampling was used to capture the experience of the participants. The study employed a collective case study and adopted schema ...
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This case study elucidates culture-based narrative texts based on the interpretation of Arabic, Chinese, and English native speakers. A maximum variation technique of purposeful sampling was used to capture the experience of the participants. The study employed a collective case study and adopted schema analysis, analyzing metaphors and interviewing participants. The study explored metaphors, including probing time, elaboration, content recall, and distortion generated by the participants while reading English text-based in a foreign context. The results revealed that culturally familiar texts stimulated readers’ cultural schemata and enhanced their reading interpretation. The distortion and confusion that occurred while reading the unfamiliar texts could hamper readers’ curiosity to instigate and build new cultural schemata. Furthermore, there was a reciprocal interweaving between cultural schema and linguistic competence, regardless of the nature of the cultural text and its familiarity or unfamiliarity. The study recommends further investigation about using English for cultural purposes.
Ainal Gani; Siti Zulaikhah
Abstract
The need for concept mastery ability is known to be important in Islamic education. This is because besides understanding these concepts, students should also be able to apply them in life. Hence, this research aims to determine the differences in the results of the concept mastery ability, which are ...
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The need for concept mastery ability is known to be important in Islamic education. This is because besides understanding these concepts, students should also be able to apply them in life. Hence, this research aims to determine the differences in the results of the concept mastery ability, which are provided by the application of the Team Assisted Individualization (TAI) learning model, using the sociodrama and conventional methods. This was a quasi-research, which used a pre-post tests control design. The data collection technique used was a test instrument, with the independent and dependent variables found to be learning models and concept mastery, respectively. Moreover, the hypothetical testing also used the One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test. Based on the results obtained, it was concluded that there were differences in the increase of students' concept mastery ability between each application of the learning model. Finally, it was observed that the TAI model using the sociodrama was more effective compared to the conventional method.
Petra Ivenz; Blanka Klimova
Abstract
One of the long-term goals of the European Union is to incorporate intercultural communication into the lessons of foreign languages. The new concepts present that the linguistic part of foreign language education should be equal to the intercultural part of foreign language education. Nowadays, teachers ...
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One of the long-term goals of the European Union is to incorporate intercultural communication into the lessons of foreign languages. The new concepts present that the linguistic part of foreign language education should be equal to the intercultural part of foreign language education. Nowadays, teachers believe in the importance of developing the intercultural communicative competence of their students. However, studies have shown that teachers of foreign languages do not have sufficient knowledge of how to include intercultural communication (IC) in their lessons. This review provides an overview of activities that are aimed at developing the intercultural communicative competence of the students. The research was conducted in two databases, Scopus and Web of Science, where specific research studies were found based on the previously set criteria. The results provide the following techniques and activities, such as a flipped classroom method, role-plays, telecollaboration, computer-mediated communication, viewing-listening-speaking method, 360-degree video technology, an online ICC training model, authentic materials, and a scavenger hunt, which can develop the ICC.