Abstract

Graduate students submit academic papers at the end of the term as part of their coursework. Such papers contain introduction moves which may be troublesome and conclusion moves which may contain sub-moves not really required. This paper is aimed at assessing what particular moves are employed in the introduction and conclusion sections of 21 graduate research papers submitted in one leading university in Manila.  Ten of these were written by MA students while 11 were written by Ph.D. students.  The study employed the framework proposed by Swales and Feak (1994) pertaining to moves in research paper introductions and Yang and Allison’s (2003) framework for analyzing the conclusion section.

Findings revealed that in the Introduction section, all MA and PhD students employed Move 1 with majority employing 2-3 sub-moves. With regard to Move 2, 10 of the 21 papers employed the sub-move Indicating a gap; three employed the sub-move Counter-claiming; the rest did not employ any sub-move at all. With respect to Move 3, results showed that the most commonly used sub-moves were Outlining purposes and Announcing present research. Finally with regard to the Conclusion section, most writers employed Moves 1, 3 and 2, in that order. However, the sub-move Evaluating methodology was not at all utilized as part of Move 2.

Abstract

This study purports to foster the understanding of profession-based academic writing in two different cultural conventions by examining the rhetorical moves employed by American and Philippine thesis introductions in Architecture using Swales’ 2004 Revised CARS move-analytic model as framework. Twenty (20) Master’s thesis introductions in Architecture published from 2003-2010 were culled randomly. Results show apparent differences between the two corpora. The Philippine corpus comprises a structured pattern that includes the following elements in order: background of the project, statement of the problem, significance of the study, scope and delimitation and definition of terms. Meanwhile, the American corpus follows a free-flowing structure with varied elements. Two predominant conclusions may be drawn from this study.  Firstly, each profession operates within a context that has its own dynamics and constraints. Another significant conclusion is the role of culture in terms of following writing conventions. Americans, having individualistic culture, tend to be more free-flowing in terms of their introduction structure.  The Filipinos, on the other hand, having collectivist orientation, follow certain formats and structure in their introductions.

Abstract

English is described as a language of modernization in the scientific era and widely used language in the Mass Media. There are several factors — linguistic, physical and psychological that affects listening, reading and writing comprehension. These influential factors were analysed in the present study by adopting the survey method in which Communicative English Requirement scale (CERS) and Constraints in communicative English check list (CCEC) tools were used to collect the relevant data from the respondents. Totally 250 samples of prospective teachers were analysed and findings predict that significant difference exists based on gender, residential locality and on branch of study.

Abstract

This is an experimental study on the relative effects of Van Patten’s Processing Instruction (PI) (1996, 2002), a “psycholinguistically-motivated” intervention in teaching second-language (L2) grammar, on young-adult Filipino learners of English. A growing body of research on this methodological alternative, which establishes form-meaning connection via processing of linguistic input leading to the L2 learner’s developing system, has shown its superiority over the precedent long-held approach to grammar teaching. Traditionally, grammar instruction is “output-oriented”, that is, students are instantly tasked to produce morpho-syntactic and/or lexical items through language drills. However, the use of the present perfect aspect in English, for one, is still a persistent error among Filipinos, even at the tertiary level, as evidenced in the results of college entrance examinations and teachers’ formative and summative assessments.  Two groups of sophomore students — a Processing Instruction (PI) group (experimental) and a traditional instruction (TI) group (control) — enrolled in a coeducational private university in Manila, Philippines, served as subjects of the study. These groups were pre-tested prior to the instructional treatment of the English present perfect: PI to the experimental group and production-based lessons to the TI group. A post test was administered, from which the scores obtained by the subjects were then statistically analyzed using Paired-Samples and Independent Samples T tests. Results reveal significant gains in post production and delayed production tests for both the TI and PI groups and in delayed interpretation for PI group only.  Furthermore, results indicate that the PI group performed better than the TI group in all the three tasks mentioned. These results suggest the superiority of PI over TI.

Abstract

Large scale tests have been considered by many scholars in the field of language testing and teaching to influence teaching and learning considerably. The present study looks at the effect of a large scale test (Konkoor) on the attitudes of teachers in high schools. Konkoor is the university entrance examination in Iran which is taken by at least one million candidates of entering Iranian universities. The data for the study comes from a questionnaire answered by high school teachers in Iran. Analyses of the results indicate that Konkoor influences teachers’ attitudes regarding different aspects of the language teaching program in Iran.

Abstract

The study substantiates that the effectiveness of Discovery Learning method in learning English Grammar for the learners at standard V.  Discovery Learning is particularly beneficial for any student learning a second language. It promotes peer interaction and development of the language and the learning of concepts with content. Reichert and Raimond (2005 ) suggest that Discovery learning is a highly student-centered and self-directed form of learning. According to Allen (2002), in an example of discovery learning in action, DaimlerChrysler uses guided discovery learning principles for teaching maintenance engineers to troubleshoot automotive electrical systems. Objectives of the study: 1.To diagnose the problems of the learners in learning English Grammar through conventional methods.2.To find out the significant difference in achievement mean score between the pre test of control group and post test of control group.3.To find out the significant difference in achievement mean score between the pre test of Experimental group and post test of Experimental group. 4.To find out the significant difference in achievement mean score between the post test of controlled group and the second post test of treatment given controlled group.5.To find out the impact of Discovery Learning Strategies in learning English Grammar. Methodology: Rotational group Experimental method was adopted in the study. Participants: Sixty students of studying in standard V from Bommanampalayam Middle School were selected as sample for the study. Instrumentation: Researcher’s self-made achievement test was used as instrumentation for the study. Procedure of the study: The following activities were designed 1.Diagnose the problems.2.Designing the Discovery learning.3.Face—to- Face interaction.4.Internet interaction.5.Team interaction.6.Team pair Table and 7.Presentation.  Findings: Discovery Learning Strategies is more effective than traditional methods in learning English Grammar for the learners at standard V. Educational implications: It can be implemented to all other the languages learning.