i-manager's Journal on English Language Teaching (JELT)


Volume 3 Issue 4 October - December 2013

Article

Humanism In The Foreign Language Classroom

Servat Shirkhani* , Ardeshir Danesh**
* Department of Foreign Languages, Khorram Abad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khorram Abad, Iran.
** Department of Foreign Languages, Borujerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Borujerd, Iran.
Shirkhani, S., and Ardeshir, D. (2013). Humanism In The Foreign Language Classroom. i-manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 3(4), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.26634/jelt.3.4.2515

Abstract

Humanistic principles emphasize the importance of the individual and specific human needs. Humanism in education has been in concern during the last few decades. However, there are controversies as whether to use its principles in foreign language classrooms or not. The present paper provides an overview of the major assumptions underlying humanism as well as different emphases of it. In general, most literature on humanism is concerned with its relation to education, this paper use the implications of the contributions of humanism to education in explaining the way humanism can contribute to foreign language teaching. In addition, areas of difficulty that are faced when trying to put humanistic values into practice in the classroom, are described. Next, an important point is given regarding criticisms against humanism in language teaching. Finally, the paper discusses whether it is better to use or not to use humanism in foreign language teaching.

Research Paper

The Language Of Entertainment News Is A Serious Business

Tatjana Marjanovic*
*Assistant Professor, Department of English, University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Marjanovic, T. (2013). The Language Of Entertainment News Is A Serious Business. i-manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 3(4), 6-11. https://doi.org/10.26634/jelt.3.4.2516

Abstract

An essentially qualitative structural and semantic analysis is performed on the text of an 'American Idol' coverage posted th on yahoo.com January 24 , 2013, constituting a micro-corpus of 2,739 words. Since such stories feature entertainment laced with a shot of drama and scandal, most of us share similar expectations as to what packaging their contents will come in: in short, we anticipate relatively informal language and simple structures. However, a preliminary analysis of the story reveals at face value, a fair amount of both phrasal and clausal complexity, with modification embedded at different levels of structures under investigation. Moreover, not only do the structures appear morphologically and syntactically complex, but their semantic representations also add to this diversity. While providing too much detail at word, phrase and clause level can easily lead to information overload. It also makes a clever tactic helping to transform a basically frivolous event into a top story of the day. It seems to be an attempt to ascribe relevance and newsworthiness to an affair that is nothing more than entertainment, but the aforementioned strategies almost make it look like a serious business.

Research Paper

Vietnamese Learners' Ability To Write English Argumentative Paragraphs: The Role Of Peer Feedback Giving

Trinh Quoc Lap* , Cao Hoang Yen**
* Language Teacher Educator, The School of Education, Can Tho University, Viet Nam.
** Faculty of English, Can Tho Vocational College, Viet Nam.
Lap, T. Q., and Yen, C. H. (2013). Vietnamese Learners' Ability To Write English Argumentative Paragraphs: The Role Of Peer Feedback Giving. i-manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 3(4),12-20. https://doi.org/10.26634/jelt.3.4.2517

Abstract

The nature of peer feedback and its impacts on writing in English has attracted much attention of researchers and educators. Recent studies have indicated various types of peer feedback and its positive effects on writing development. This paper presents the results of an investigation into the nature of peer feedback and its effects on learners' writing argumentative essays in a Vietnamese context. The study aimed to explore the types of feedback which competent and less competent learners employed when they reviewed their peers' argumentative paragraphs. The study also aimed to measure the effects of one's giving feedback on their ability to write argumentative paragraphs. The study followed a two-group experimental research design with the participation of twenty-four English learners at preintermediate level of English. Four instruments were used in the study: the worksheet for peer feedback to elicit learners' comments to peers' argumentative paragraphs, the writing tests to examine learners' ability to write argumentative paragraphs before and after the treatment, the feedback coding scheme to code learners' comments and the assessment scale to evaluate learners' argumentative paragraphs. The results showed that both competent and less competent learners generated different types of peer feedback when commenting on their peers' argumentative paragraphs. In addition, the extent to which competent and less competent learners used the types of feedback was the same. Remarkably, giving feedback enhanced the mechanics component of learners' argumentative paragraphs.

Research Paper

Investigating ESL Students' Academic Performance In Tenses

Muhammad Javed* , Atezaz Ahmad**
* Doctoral Candidate, School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
** Department of Education, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
Javed, M., and Ahmad, A. (2013). Investigating ESL Students' Academic Performance In Tenses. i-manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 3(4), 21-26. https://doi.org/10.26634/jelt.3.4.2518

Abstract

The present study intends to assess the ESL students' performance in tenses at secondary school level. Grade 10 students were the target population of the study. A sample of 396 students (255 male and 141 female) was selected through convenience sampling technique from the District of Bahawalnagar, Pakistan. A test focusing on five different types of tenses namely present indefinite tense, future indefinite tense, past perfect tense, present perfect tense, and past indefinite tense was developed carefully. SPSS version XX was used to analyze the data. Students' overall performance was computed. T-value was calculated to compare the mean scores of male and female, public and private, and urban and rural students. The findings of the study revealed that the overall mean score of the students was relatively better in present indefinite tense, future indefinite tense, and past indefinite tense as compared to the mean scores of past perfect tense, and present perfect tense. The analysis, based on t-value, revealed a significant difference between the mean scores of male and female students and public and private school students. Contrarily, no significant difference between the mean scores of rural and urban school students was found. The students were recommended improving their competence in weaker areas.

Research Paper

Some Formulas And Methods For The Effective Teaching Of Verbal Concord (In Nonnative English Settings)

Steve Bode Ekundayo*
*Department of English and Literature, University of Benin, Nigeria.
Ekundayo, S. B. (2013). Some Formulas And Methods For The Effective Teaching Of Verbal Concord (In Non-Native English Settings). i-manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 3(4), 27-41. https://doi.org/10.26634/jelt.3.4.2519

Abstract

This paper examines the incidence of verbal concord rule violation in educated Nigeria ESL against the conceptual framework of interference and 'intraference'. Intraference is a coinage for the 'overgeneralization of linguistic material and semantic features' or 'intralingual interference . The paper is basically intuitively theoretical and descriptive. Library research, the Internet, observation and recording of some linguistic events by educated Nigerians were used as sources of data collection. To achieve the effective teaching, learning, and use of verbal concord in ESL and EFL, formula N+s/S+s =V-s or N-s/S-s = V+s is proposed and illustrated with graded steps. The three major steps of the formula are (i) the explanation and application of the formula symbols, (ii) categorized teaching and learning of English plurality and (iii) explanation with illustration of the structural dynamics of English that constrain nonnative users to produce verbal concord errors. This formula may be used to correct concord errors and enhance concord teaching and learning.

Research Paper

Sociolinguistic Documentation Of Endangered Ethnography Of Communication In Yoruba Language

Anthony Ayodele Olaoye*
* Department of English Language and Literature, Nigerian Turkish Nile University, Abuja.
Olaoye, A. A. (2013). Sociolinguistic Documentation Of Endangered Ethnography Of Communication In Yoruba Language. i-manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 3(4), 42-48. https://doi.org/10.26634/jelt.3.4.2520

Abstract

The ethnography of communication, particularly of greetings, among speakers of some Yoruba dialects is the major concern of this paper. The author observed that the much-cherished, rich culture of greetings, among Yoruba, which the author grew up to know, by linguistic globalization and modernization is being eroded fast. The study and documentation of the sociolinguistic structure of greetings is both anthropological and ethnographic because greetings, as part of Speech Act, belong to the domain of language and culture. Describing language behavior observed daily in different cultures is the purview of an ethnographer. A detailed comparison of greetings among speakers of three Yoruba dialects (Igbomina, Ijesa, Ijebu) can no longer be regarded as a compulsive desideratum, because documentary linguistics is now seen as a salvage work. Therefore, our work is therefore that of data collection, organization, transcription, translation, and interpretation of the morph-syntax and semantics of greetings in the three dialects. The rationale for the study is based on our belief that since language is rooted in a speech community, in its history and culture, each language or dialect is unlike any other language, hence no data can be regarded as the same. By the same token, linguistic data are not easily replicable. Because data from extinct dialects are not easily replaceable, documenting greetings in these dialects will make them accessible to others, thus saving them from gradual extinction.