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


Volume 5 Issue 2 April - June 2015

Article

Six Easy and Beneficial Strategies for an Interculturally Responsive (IR) Classroom

Kathryn Jones* , Jason R. Mixon**
* Clinical Instructor/Academic Advisor, Center for Doctoral Studies in Educational Leadership, Lamar University.
** Associate Professor, Chair/Educational Leadership Department, Director of Doctoral Programs in Educational Leadership, Center for Doctoral Studies in Educational Leadership, Lamar University.
Jones, K., and Mixon, R. J. (2015). Six Easy and Beneficial Strategies for an Interculturally Responsive (IR) Classroom. i-manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 5(2), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.26634/jelt.5.2.3397

Abstract

This scenario is a reflection of many classrooms throughout the United States. This heterogeneous population of students is Linguistically, Culturally, and Educationally Diverse. Some are Native Born, and others have immigrated for various reasons. These reasons include new Employment Opportunities, a United States Education, Political Refuge, and Family Relocation to name a few. Our schools must learn to respond to this diversity by providing an Interculturally Responsive (IR) Classroom (Jones, 2013) and Linguistically appropriate methods for Language Learners. The following strategies will assist in creating an Inter culturally Responsive Classroom and they are (a) provide side-by-side dual language opportunities, (b) assist with language transfer, (c) loosen up dialogues, (d) make language learning interesting, (e) Utilize Graphic Organizers, and (f) Doodle. The aforementioned six strategies are easy and beneficial for any teacher to utilize and these strategies will assist the language learning situations in the classroom.

Article

Acquisition of Vocabulary by dint of Unique Strategies: Indispensible for Fostering English Language Skills

Rexlin Jose*
*Assistant Professor, Department of Education (DD & CE), Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli.
Jose, G. R. (2015). Acquisition of Vocabulary by dint of Unique Strategies: Indispensible for Fostering English Language Skills. i-manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 5(2), 7-18. https://doi.org/10.26634/jelt.5.2.3398

Abstract

Vocabulary is the gateway to knowledge that unlocks the doors of sublime ideas to the readers. The competency on the lexical items of language plays a significant role in learning a new concept. Any learner who has excellent command over the use of vocabulary excels in his/her study of different subjects. Vocabulary learning is one of the important features of language learning and language use. In fact, it is what makes the essence of a language.

Learning vocabulary is a natural and lifelong phenomenon. Throughout the life span, individuals develop their vocabulary effectively and almost effortlessly as long as they see words in meaningful contexts. Children in school will encounter plethora of words in their reading. In schools they may continue to learn vocabulary without much direct and explicit help from Teachers. For the most part, vocabulary growth in school occurs informally and incidentally rather than formally and intentionally. Students should be helped to understand the meaning of each word both contextually and non-contextually. The teachers teaching second language must follow varieties of effective strategies for teaching vocabulary. As the strategies are very easy, interesting and effective, learning of any word retains in the memory of the students for a long-term. Only innovative strategies will enable the students enrich their power of vocabulary. This article highlights unique strategies for learning vocabulary in the ambiance of Indian English classrooms.

Research Paper

Indranath and Giribala - The young adult dystopian characters in The Moth Eaten Howdah of the Tusker

Malavika Sharma*
*Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities, Pillai's Institute of Information Technology, New Panvel, Navi Mumbai.
Sharma, M. (2015). Indranath and Giribala - The young adult dystopian characters in The Moth Eaten Howdah of the Tusker. i-manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 5(2), 19-27. https://doi.org/10.26634/jelt.5.2.3399

Abstract

Indian women have always been viewed as the object of desire. In the advent of Technological Advancement women are still thought of as inferior to men. Though there is an increase in the literacy rate of the girl child, it does not imply the emancipation of the girl child. Women are bound by the social customs and traditions. In this sense women are not empowered. The word empowerment is misrepresented as the increase in working women. In such a scenario Indian women writers in English have portrayed the challenges women confront at home, in the workplace as well as in their social interactions. Indira Goswami in her Novel The Moth Eaten Howdah of the Tusker boldly describes the plight of the women especially the widows and hopes to instill change in the minds of the society. The present paper aims to analyse the characters of Indranath and Giribala from the perspective of Young Adult Dystopian protagonist.

Research Paper

Students’ attitudes towards the use of poetry in second language classrooms

Ardeshir Danesh* , Servat Shirkhani**
* Faculty of Foreign Languages, Boroujerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Boroujerd, Iran.
** Faculty of Foreign Languages, Khorram Abad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khoram Abad, Iran.
Danesh, A., and Shirkhani, S. (2015). Students’ attitudes towards the use of poetry in second language classrooms. i-manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 5(2), 28-33. https://doi.org/10.26634/jelt.5.2.3406

Abstract

This study investigates learners' attitudes towards poetry in foreign language learning. 63 Engineering Students at Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch attended the study. The instrument used in the study was a questionnaire designed by the researchers for the purpose of this study. The questionnaire consisted of 12 questions regarding the subjects' attitudes towards poetry. The analysis of the data revealed that while the students are mostly interested in Persian poetry, only about one third are interested in English poetry. Therefore, their lack of interest in English poetry can be due to their problem in reading English poetry which has been confirmed by the analysis of their answers to a related item on the questionnaire. Based on the results of the study, the subjects do not strongly relate their inability in understanding English poetry to any of the reasons referred to in the questionnaire, i.e. containing a lot of new words, being based on a different culture, and not understanding Persian poetry. Despite their lack of interest and understanding in English poetry, a considerable percent of the students believe that English poetry helps the development of various aspects of the foreign language.

Research Paper

Unleashing Creativity in Linguistic Discourses through Advertising Skills

Y. Suneetha*
*Professor & Head of the Department, JNTU, Rajeev Gandhi Memorial College Engineering and Technology, Nandyal, India.
Suneetha, Y. (2015). Unleashing Creativity in Linguistic Discourses through Advertising Skills. i-manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 5(2), 34-38. https://doi.org/10.26634/jelt.5.2.3407

Abstract

Creative fluency is positively correlated with the quantity and quality of talk as well. The fluency gives an indication of the learner's ability to cope with real-time communication. This paper makes a correlative study on nurturing narrative tasks through advertising skills. English advertising exploits from the high adaptability of the English language. English enables the creators of advertisements to use word puns, figurative language, and to mix individual styles and types of texts. The aim of this paper is to explore what is linguistically creative in everyday interactions by analyzing advertising language. The present study has been done by comparing 100 advertising slogans of Indian Brands and International Brands to analyze language of advertising from linguistic aspects. Further, it provides examples to describe the most commonly used linguistic devices and figures of speech in advertising as a base for creative discourses.