Constructive Classroom: A Cognitive Instructional Strategy In ELT

Vol.4  No.1

Year : 2014

Issue : Jan-Mar

Title : Constructive Classroom: A Cognitive Instructional Strategy In ELT

Author Name : suneetha yadav

Synopsis :

The purpose of this paper is to study, the extent of constructivist classroom characteristics that exist in ELT (English Language Teaching) Methodology. It is an attempt to explore the constructivist learning activities and evaluation strategies, whether they are useful to the students and the instructors. This paper elevates the contrast of traditional classrooms and constructivist classroom setup through the pedagogical approach. Multiple strategies for Constructivist Learning are elaborated to enhance student learning. Nevertheless, educators must meet the challenge mandated by reform efforts to produce highest quality of student learning. In order to be effective, educational reforms must be tied to the development of an enhanced curriculum that incorporates authentic assessment practices.

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Temperament And Personality: A Mute Struggle For Language Achievement

Vol.4  No.1

Year : 2014

Issue : Jan-Mar

Title : Temperament And Personality: A Mute Struggle For Language Achievement

Author Name : Fatemeh Behjat

Synopsis :

There has always been dissatisfaction by language teachers who observe different levels of achievement with students attending the same language class and taking the same instruction. This variation in attaining the desired level of proficiency can be caused by the learners' personality types. The present study was an attempt to explore the degree to which one's temperament and personality type can influence one's language achievement. To this end, Longman TOEFL Test (2005) was administered to a group of 127intermediate English learners at Marefat English Institute in Shiraz. At the same time, Black Dog Institutes' temperament and personality questionnaire wasadministered. After the instruction, which took about nine months, the remaining 76 students who passed three successive terms at the institute,took the same TOEFL test. The comparison between the students' achievement and their personality types revealed that there is a relationship between the learners' temperament and their language attainment. This implies that taking the same instruction, learners who are more irritable, anxious, personally reserved, and socially avoiding achieve less. On the other hand, learners who are more self-focused, interpersonally sensitive, perfectionist and self-criticizing enjoy a higher level of language proficiency.

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

Vol.3  No.4

Year : 2013

Issue : Oct-Dec

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

Author Name : Steve Bode Ekundayo

Synopsis :

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.

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Sociolinguistic Documentation Of Endangered Ethnography Of Communication In Yoruba Language

Vol.3  No.4

Year : 2013

Issue : Oct-Dec

Title : Sociolinguistic Documentation Of Endangered Ethnography Of Communication In Yoruba Language

Author Name : Anthony Ayodele Olaoye

Synopsis :

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.

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Investigating ESL Students' Academic Performance In Tenses

Vol.3  No.4

Year : 2013

Issue : Oct-Dec

Title : Investigating ESL Students' Academic Performance In Tenses

Author Name : Muhammad Javed, Atezaz Ahmad

Synopsis :

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.

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The Language Of Entertainment News Is A Serious Business

Vol.3  No.4

Year : 2013

Issue : Oct-Dec

Title : The Language Of Entertainment News Is A Serious Business

Author Name : Tatjana Marjanovic

Synopsis :

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.

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Humanism In The Foreign Language Classroom

Vol.3  No.4

Year : 2013

Issue : Oct-Dec

Title : Humanism In The Foreign Language Classroom

Author Name : Servat Shirkhani, Danesh Ardeshir

Synopsis :

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.

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