JournalTOCs

Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics
Number of Followers: 1

This is an Open Access Journal

Open Access journal
ISSN (Online) 2707-756X
Published by Al-Kindi Center for Research and Development

[14 journals]

A Review of Doing a Master’s Dissertation in TESOL and Applied
Linguistics
- Authors: Xu Yang; Honggang Liu
  Abstract: This review begins with a brief introduction of the organization and main content of the book under review-Doing a Master’s Dissertation in TESOL and Applied Linguistics, followed by the analysis of the contributions and limitations. On the whole, this book is practical and valuable for Master’s students and supervisors who are looking for a holistic guide in TESOL and Applied Linguistics.
  PubDate: Fri, 30 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +000
War, Sin and Justice in the Novel “The Quiet American”
- Authors: Liridonë Bislimi
  Abstract: This research paper focuses on one of the literature works of 20th century. A work of one of the most famous English novelists, Graham Greene, “The Quiet American’’. In this novel, the writer mirrored the war in Vietnam. The key features of this novel are touching and frightening, seen only from the narrator’s point of view during the Vietnam War. The major characters are tangled in a love triangle that leads to death and sorrow.
  PubDate: Fri, 30 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +000
Towards Achieving Organisational Objectives: The Role of Effective
Communication
- Authors: Edward Owusu; Mahdi Mardani
  Abstract: This paper investigated communication as a tool for achieving organisational objectives. Again, the paper explored the influence that communication has on the operations of organisations. The study adopted descriptive survey design. A simple random sampling technique was used in sampling a sample size of 35 staff from the staff of Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Suame-Maakro, Branch, Kumasi, Ghana. The main instrument used for collecting data was questionnaire. The findings showed that spoken or oral communication is the dominant channel of communication that is often used at that workplace. The findings also revealed that the views of employees need to be considered when choosing the right channel of communication. Again, it was realized that poor leadership prevents organisations from achieving their objectives. Effective channel of communication was seen to have a positive influence on the performance of workers. Consequently, managers should be proactive when they are choosing communication channels. The study recommended that the management of GRA, Suame-Maakro Branch should employ measures that would enhance the effective use of spoken or oral communication.
  PubDate: Fri, 30 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +000
From Reading to Writing Argumentative Texts: Strategies as a Bridge
- Authors: Maha Dallagi
  Abstract: Reading and Writing differ in accordance with the position of the learner and depend on the process of retrieving ideas from the text or formulating ideas into a written text. Reading process becomes a writing process when it turns from a receptive skill into a productive one. Wittrock (1989, p. 347) explains that “These well-known differences are summarized best by the commonly accepted belief that writing is the process of putting meaning on written pages, whereas reading is the process of getting meaning from the written pages”. Nevertheless, and despite the different aspects of the two skills, a large and growing body of the literature has investigated and highlighted the existence of common points and the conversion from Reading to Writing. This paper investigated the conversion of Receptive strategies into productive strategies in the writing of argumentative essays by 147 Tunisian University students. Results revealed the strong connection of the two sets of strategies and recommends teachers to raise students’ awareness of the latter to enhance their proficiency level. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship and connection between Reading and Writing in English as a Foreign Language context, and more particularly in the Tunisian University Setting. This study argues in favor of focusing on that connection while teaching Reading and Writing argumentative texts to non-native speakers.
  PubDate: Fri, 30 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +000
Sentential Negation in English and Izon Languages
- Authors: Richard Oliseyenum Maledo ; Simeon Igbomene
  Abstract: This paper is a contrastive study of Sentential Negation in English and Izon languages. Contact language situations have given rise not only to the influences of one language over the other but also to the differences between the structures of the two languages in contact and the likely learning difficulties which an L1 learner of a second language may likely encounter in learning the structure of the L2. Thus, the data for this study were sourced from competent native speakers of the Ogbe-Ijo dialect of the Izon language and a contrastive approach was adopted using the Chomskyan’s Government and Binding theory as a theoretical framework with a view to identifying the structural variations, hierarchy of difficulties and the likely learning problems an Izon learner of English as a second language may encounter at the level of Negation. It discovers that there were obvious parametric variations between the English and Izon languages at the levels of do insertion and the negative particle not among others. It then recommends that conscious efforts should be made by teachers and Izon learners / speakers of English as a second language at the level of realisation of negation in English as a second language.
  PubDate: Fri, 30 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +000
Exploring Wordless Feedback Mechanisms in an EAP course in an
English-medium University: An Ethnographically-oriented Approach
- Authors: Osei Yaw Akoto; Benjamin Amoakohene
  Abstract: Feedback is considered an integral part of the writing process. It has thus engendered the attention of scholars in discourse analysis, applied linguistics, language education, composition and rhetoric studies, and English for Specific Purposes. This attention, however, is heavily tilted towards worded feedback, at the expense of wordless feedback. Thus, this study explored the use of wordless feedback mechanisms in an EAP course in an English-medium university in Ghana. Thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine scripts of students’ essays, and interviews with academics and students constituted the datasets for the study. By doing a qualitative content analysis, we extracted wordless feedback codes from the scripts. The study yielded that teachers used tick, ring, vertical lines, arrows, question marks, carets, and underline as feedback mechanisms. The responses from the teachers and students on the use of these codes indicated that there were variations at three levels: inter-teacher, inter-student and teacher-student, which resulted to miscommunication in the feedback system. The study calls for a standardized feedback code, and education of teachers and students on this system of feedback for effective teaching and learning.
  PubDate: Fri, 30 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +000
Teaching English to Adult Learners: A Practical Remedial Method
- Authors: Hamza Ethelb; Mahfouz Shalabi, Ishraq Sasi
  Abstract: This study explores the particularities of teaching English to adult learners. It looks at whether adult learners’ comprehension of lessons is slowed down by factors of teaching style or classroom settings. The study uses a questionnaire to collect views of adult learners from the Libyan context. The questionnaire that contains 37 statements measures different aspects of teaching English. It was delivered online using Google Forms. Those aspects include teaching style, preferences of correcting mistakes, willingness of cooperation among adult learners, self-dependence and self-confidence of learners, and preferred techniques to learning grammar and vocabulary. This study also offers a remedial method that is inferred from the experience of the researchers and supported by the results of the data. The results show that adult learners have different perception towards acquiring a foreign language. They agree that they need to better their learning input. The suggested remedial process could be an answer to their needs.
  PubDate: Fri, 30 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +000
Analyse des compétences de l’écriture des apprenants Kenyans du FLE à
travers les textes injonctifs
- Authors: Veronica Akoth Odiala; Rose Auma, Isidore Muteba Kazadi
  Abstract: Cette étude à caractère descriptive s’est intéressé aux compétences des apprenants kenyans du FLE à travers leurs productions écrites, sous forme de textes injonctifs-recettes et programmes. Étant donnée l’apprentissage tardif du FLE longtemps après l’acquisition et/ou apprentissage de la langue maternelle, de l’anglais (langue officielle) et du Kiswahili (langue nationale), ainsi que la durée insuffisante de l’apprentissage de 308 heures (sur à peu près 5000 heures pour les quatre ans d’étude secondaire), nous nous sommes demandés si les apprenants sont capables de produire des textes injonctif-instructionnels. L’étude a eu pour objectif de/d’ : évaluer la capacité des élèves de FLE à produire des écrits sous forme de textes injonctif-instructionnels, établir leurs compétences en production écrite et illustrer les erreurs commises par ceux-ci dans leurs textes. L’étude était fondée sur la Théorie de l'Interlangue. Afin de recueillir des informations sur notre objet de recherche, nous avons demandé aux sujets venant de 7 écoles publiques secondaires au centre-ville de Kisumu, de rédiger chacun, deux textes injonctif-instructionnels: une recette de cuisine et un programme. Nous avons fait recours à la grille d’évaluation de la production écrite (CAMPUS) et à une analyse de contenu - type classique. L’étude a confirmé que la compétence linguistique et la compétence générale d’écriture ne sont pas maîtrisées. Ce qui montre que l’apprenant de FLE a encore quelques faiblesses en production écrite des textes injonctif-instructionnels.
  PubDate: Fri, 30 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +000
Wikis in Language Learning: Merits and Limitations
- Authors: Abeer Shujaa Alharbi
  Abstract: This study comprehensively reviews the literature associated with the implementation of wikis in an educational context, primarily concerning learning and teaching languages. The study proceeds by presenting wikis and their main theoretical background in a brief overview. After that, a discussion of the most recent empirical studies is presented, followed by an exploration of the merits and the limitations of using wikis in an educational setting. The paper concludes that wikis have a positive impact when it comes to improving learners’ knowledge of various aspects of language, enhancing their autonomy, learning perceptions, and motivation to learn. As a beneficial digital tool, wikis can effectively improve students’ language learning, which is achieved via critical thinking, negotiation of meaning, and collaborative learning, to name a few aspects. Having said this, limitations exist, all of which should be taken seriously by both administrators and teachers alike to maximise wikis’ benefits. Yet, it is increasingly evident that, in this context, wikis’ positives far outweigh their minuses. A number of practical recommendations are offered at the end of this paper to guide teachers, educators, and researchers.
  PubDate: Fri, 30 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +000
An Analysis of Engagement Resources in Courtroom Closing Arguments: A Case
Study of Jodi Arias Case
- Authors: Songman Liang
  Abstract: Closing arguments are the last chance for prosecutors and defense lawyers to persuade a judge or jury during the trial, and they play an important role in the court trial, and engagement resources can help enhance the objectivity and persuasiveness of closing arguments. Therefore, this paper adopts engagement system to make a comparative analysis in the closing arguments of the prosecutor and the defense lawyer in Jodi Arias case and to explore the effects of engagement resources in arguments. The study found that dialogic contraction resources help compress the rebuttal space of the opposed views and that dialogic expansion resources help enhance the persuasiveness and objectivity of the arguments. Lawyers on both sides often use dialogic contraction resources, while the defense lawyer uses disclamation resources more frequently and the prosecutor uses proclamation resources more frequently.
  PubDate: Fri, 30 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +000