The Discourse Organization of Filipino Homilies and Indian Homilies:An Intercultural Rhetoric Approach

Vol. 3 No. 1

Year: 2013

Issue: Jan-Mar

Title : The Discourse Organization of Filipino Homilies and Indian Homilies:An Intercultural Rhetoric Approach

Author Name : Ma. Melvyn P. Alamis

Synopsis :

The study examined the discourse structure of homily as a genre. It investigated homilies delivered by Filipino and Indian priests that represent varied types of Englishes in the Outer Circle. It described the organizational moves present in the two sets of homilies. The data which consisted of sixty orally delivered homilies transcribed into written forms were culled from six Filipino priests and six Indian priests from the different Roman Catholic parishes/churches in and around Manila.  The homilies were delivered in English from 2008 to 2010. Findings showed that both Filipino and Indian homilies employed the three moves which are obligatory: Introduction, Body and Conclusion and the sub-move Explanation. Based on the results of the analysis of the different moves in the homilies, the three moves were not left to be figured out by the audience.  This may show that the homilies of the Catholic clergy employ an audience/listener responsibility.

Should this be Blue Penciled or Circled Red? : A Transcultural Interdisciplinary Study on Colors

Vol. 3 No. 1

Year: 2013

Issue: Jan-Mar

Title : Should this be Blue Penciled or Circled Red? : A Transcultural Interdisciplinary Study on Colors

Author Name : Nadia Ghazanfari-Moghaddam, Mohammad Ali Mokhtari , Masoud Sharififar

Synopsis :

Color terms are one of the constituents of Chomskey's  substantive universals, and they exist in all languages. Colors usually bear cultural implications as well , since they are adopted to express intentions metaphorically. Colors may then become symbols that represent certain objects, emotions, facts, etc. of their environment. This culture-oriented facet of color terms can create complexity in language learning process and also in the practice of translation.  As languages share some basic concepts , and express them through different expressions and symbols, the interest of this study was to answer the following question: are there any shared concepts between English and Persian that are represented (symbolized) by different colors? By collecting a number of expressions which held color terms, the complexity of this territory of intercultural communication was demonstrated along with its impacts on second/foreign language learning and translation practice. Slight differences at the linguistic surface level can occasionally cause difficulties especially when the deep structure is the same in both languages and cultures. More specifically and for the purpose of this study, when the same concept is represented through different colors , this is likely to cause difficulties. Failing to communicate via appropriate surface structures is probable to lead to cultural shocks in the listener (in case of language communication) or reader ( in case of translation) ,and impedance in the interlingual communication flow.

Inverse Translation in China: a Necessary Choice or a Necessary Evil

Vol. 3 No. 1

Year: 2013

 
Issue: Jan-Mar

Title : Inverse Translation in China: a Necessary Choice or a Necessary Evil

Author Name : Jiasheng Shi

Synopsis : 

Inverse translation has long been seen in the negative light in modern translation studies, and has thus been relegated to a sort of second class endeavour. Based on a brief comparative study of English translations of Wenxin Diaolong1, a Chinese literary classic, this paper argues that inverse translation is as legitimate and feasible as direct translation in China, and that the assessment of quality of translation should be based more on the translator’s translation competence and translation strategy than on his or her language affiliation.

Free Reading: A powerful tool for acquiring a second language

Vol. 3 No. 2

Year: 2013

 
Issue: Jan-Mar

Title : Free Reading: A powerful tool for acquiring a second language

Author Name : J. Priya, Joseph Ponniah

Synopsis : 

The paper claims that free reading is a crucial ingredient in acquiring a second or foreign language. It contributes to the development of all measures of language competence which include grammar, vocabulary, spelling, syntax, fluency and style. The review supports the claim that readers acquire language subconsciously when they receive comprehensible input in a low anxiety situation. Pleasure component in free reading will lower the anxiety level of learners in the learning environment. Despite the benefits of reading, curriculum designers include more grammar study into the curriculum. Moreover, the focus is more on learning forms rather than experiencing reading in ESL classes. In fact, free reading is a powerful tool for acquiring grammar and forms and, therefore, more reading could be included in ESL curriculum.

The Trouble With The Curve: An Argument For The Abolishment Of Norm-Referenced Evaluation

Vol. 3 No. 1

Year: 2013

Issue: Jan-Mar

Title : The Trouble With The Curve: An Argument For The Abolishment Of Norm-Referenced Evaluation

Author Name : Gregory Raymond

Synopsis :

The norm-referenced evaluation system has been used to grade students, from elementary through to post-secondary, for decades. However, the system itself is inherently flawed. Looking at the history of the norm-referenced system and its most famous tool, the Bell Curve, and taking examples from the author’s own teaching experience, this paper examines the erroneous logic that makes the system, as a whole, invalid for grading at any level, particular for college or university. The paper goes on to propose alternatives to the norm-referenced system. Examining first a self-referenced system, and ultimately finding it, too, lacking, the paper turns to criterion-referenced evaluation. Criterion-referenced evaluation is shown to be not only the best choice for evaluation at a post-secondary level, but also proves to be the only viably fair system available to teachers in today’s, grade-emphasised education system.

Dictogloss or Dicto-Phrase: Which Works Better for Listening Comprehension?

Vol. 3 No. 1

Year: 2013
 
Issue: Jan-Mar

Title : Dictogloss or Dicto-Phrase: Which Works Better for Listening Comprehension?  

Author Name : Hamid Marashi, Mojgan Khaksar 

Synopsis :

This research compared the effect of using dictogloss and dicto-phrase tasks on EFL learners’ listening comprehension. To fulfill the purpose of the study, a piloted sample Key English Test (KET) was administered to a total number of 90 Iranian female teenage EFL learners at Kish Language School, Tehran, and then 60 were selected based on their performance. The selected participants were then assigned into two experimental groups: dictogloss and dicto-phrase group. In one group, the dictogloss tasks and in the other dicto-phrase tasks were practiced through 10 sessions and at the end of the course, all the participants were given the listening section of another piloted sample KET as a posttest to measure their listening comprehension. Subsequently, the mean scores of both groups on the posttest were compared through an independent samples t-test which led to the rejection of the null hypothesis demonstrating that the learners in the dictogloss group outperformed the dicto-phrase group significantly in terms of listening comprehension. In other words, the dictogloss task was more effective on students’ listening comprehension compared to the dicto-phrase task.

Multimedia Modular Approach for Augmenting the Speaking Skill of the Student-Teachers

Vol. 2 No. 4

Year: 2012

Issue: Oct-Dec

Title: Multimedia Modular Approach for Augmenting the Speaking Skill of the Student-Teachers 

Author Name: G. Rexlin Jose, B. William Dharma Raja 

Synopsis: 

Language is the most important instrument for communication. It enables and facilitates both the speaker and the listener to exchange their thoughts and feelings. It is the basis for social, cultural, aesthetic, spiritual and economic development and growth of every human being. Unless the spoken language is free from errors and barriers, it can never be recognized and comprehended properly. Broadly speaking, the usage of contextual vocabulary, correct pronunciation, stress, intonation and other elements is essential for cultivating the speaking skill.  Skill of speaking is very vital as it plays a pivotal role in each and every field, especially in education. This skill of speaking must be developed among the student community, particularly the student-teachers. Schools and colleges for years together follow various techniques and   approaches  in teaching English, but students in large number struggle to communicate in English as their of regional vernacular interrupts or throttles their flow of the alien language. Why is this problem? Who are responsible for it? How can it be rectified? What are the solutions to it?  This research paper throws lights on these interrogations and finds answers for them. It also highlights the importance and effectiveness of multimedia in offering practice to develop the speaking skill of the student-teachers who are going to be the teachers in the future and carving their wards in developing this skill. The investigators have employed experimental method using Pre-test — Post-test Equivalent Group Design. The selection of 70 student-teachers from one of the colleges of education of Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, has served both the sample groups. They have used two tools namely S. Jalota’s Test of Intelligence for College Education Adults (JTICEA) and ReWi’s Achievement Test in English Language Skills (RATELS) for the experiment. The multimedia module consisted of 30 units was prepared. The collected data were analysed by employing t-tests for dependent and independent variable and ANCOVA. It proves that the Multimedia Modular Approach is statistically more effective than the traditional method in developing speaking skill.