bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Philosophy of Education: Cosmism in the System of Philosophical Knowledge
Authors: Berehova Halyna
Published: March 2020

In this article, the attention is concentrated exactly on cosmism and its variations, and also on its role and place in the system of philosophical knowledge which is proposed to be studied in the establishments of higher education. The questions for discussion about the role and place of cosmism in the content of higher education are put forward: Is it necessary for students to study cosmism? Should this knowledge be given in courses? How should it be given for apprehension? Philosophical knowledge is stated to be used as an instrument to form worldview orientations of the future man being able to secure the survival of civilization and mankind. Firstly, the ideas of cosmism help regard the human being as a component of the Cosmos, determine his role and place in the evolutionary processes of the Universe, discover the influence of cosmic forces upon him and the human civilization. Secondly, the ideas of cosmism in the structure of philosophical knowledge carry out humanistic and cultural functions: they complete building the world picture (as scientific, as universal) in the student’s consciousness.
Martin Buber’s Dialogical Communication: Life as an Existential Dialogue
Authors: Asakavičiūtė Vaida , Valatka Vytis
Published: March 2020

On the basis of Martin Buber’s philosophy, the article analyses the links between the dialogue and human existence. In the beginning of the first part, the definition of Buberian dialogue is analysed from the perspective of relation. This perspective shows that primary relations may be of twofold character because there is a constant fight between the two I and It. This shows that human existence is not static and undergoes a gradual development. It is also under constant evolvement and faces a choice. Consumer society and mass media are said to contribute to gradual establishment of the relation I–It, which results in a loss of direct interpersonal communication. In the second part of the article on the basis of the opposition between the dialogue and monologue, different ways of human existence are discussed. The opinion that a dialogic relation is a means for an individual to ascend from the inauthentic to authentic dimension of existence is substantiated. Thus, approaching a dialogue from the perspective of Buber’s dialogic communication, it does not have a well-defined structure or any universal models. It is the experience lived through in an intuitive and unique way. In this respect, the dialogue remains the goal and mystery of person’s existential life.
A Forgotten Philosopher Juozapas Čepėnas: Ethic Insights
Authors: Mockienė Liudmila , Tamošiūnienė Lora , Vabalaitė Rūta Marija
Published: March 2020

The article deals with ethic insights of the priest Juozapas Čepėnas (1880–1976), who published a study cycle on Nietzsche. This cycle is significant in the context of an early reception of Nietzsche’s ideas in Lithuania; however, the author himself appears to remain an undeservedly forgotten thinker of the national school of thought. The article attempts to bring back Čepėnas’ philosophical outlooks and analyse the factors that shaped his philosophical position such as his academic upbringing in German classical universities and Čepėnas’ subsequent activities overstepping the boundaries of a clerical work. The article offers a new interdisciplinary approach in reviewing Čepėnas’ dissertation thesis that earned him a Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Freiburg University. The thesis is analysed in comparison to other Čepėnas’ philosophical writings on Dostoevsky produced at the period of university studies and later during his clerical service in Lithuania. Ethical aspects of Čepėnas’ thesis continue to hold relevance until the recent period of philosophical development. Čepėnas’ writings are viewed in parallel analysis with a spectrum of the Lithuanian existential thought. Critical contemplations on ethical principles in the cycle of articles on Nietzsche’s philosophy are emphasised. The article attempts to clarify Čepėnas’ understanding of the egotism of the superhuman, the reasons and the content of supplements of Christian ethics, and the concept of the secular purpose of life.
The Dialectics of Distance and Nearness in Philosophies of G. W. Fr. Hegel and L. Feuerbach
Authors: Vidauskytė Lina
Published: March 2020

Using the method of H. Blumenberg (metaphorology) the article focuses on ‘a dialectics of distance and nearness’ in philosophy and everyday life of G. Fr. Hegel and L. Feuerbach (let us say – another two examples of the biography of ‘distance’ and ‘nearness’) and here lies the novelty of the article. These metaphors ‘distance’ and ‘‘nearness’ are not just a simple decoration of philosophical language, but rather they are indicators of the phenomenological approach to the world. Blumenberg in his work Das Lachen der Thrakerin. Eine Urgeschichte der Theorie analysed the reception of the old story about Thales and Thracian women in the philosophical tradition. The story metaphorically shows the relationship between invisible proto-theory and practical wisdom. It also projects a very significant feature of theory – the exotic behaviour of the observer (absentmindedness). The laughter of practical wisdom means the disappearance of distance and the emergence of everyday importance (nearness). Unfortunately, Blumenberg’s methodological approach is not developed further by other philosophers.
Critical Philosophy of Mind: The Transcendental Idealistic Perspective
Authors: Muss Alexander
Published: March 2020

Laboratory of Psychophysiology, Faculty of Psychology, St. Petersburg State University, 6 Makarova Embankment, 199034, St. Petersburg Email albertwanderer@gmail.com Modern philosophy of mind, in collaboration with cognitive science, tries to clarify both hard and easy problems of consciousness. The analytical philosophy here provides two opportunities. On the one hand, for cognitive scientists and philosophers of mind, these problems seem to be solved, while, on the other hand, these solutions do not satisfy some other researchers. In this article, the author tries to discuss problems caused by these solutions and argues why the problems of consciousness cannot be solved without a systematic philosophical approach using some findings from the continental philosophy, especially Kantian transcendental philosophy, phenomenology and philosophical anthropology. In combination with findings from science and analytical philosophy, the examined ideas would help researchers to develop more consistent knowledge of mind and consciousness.
The Role of Mathematical Tools in Scientific Phenomenon Explanation – A Guarantee of Reliability or a Pillar of False Credibility?
Authors: Drekalović Vladimir
Published: March 2020

Ever since its beginnings, mathematics has occupied a special position among all sciences, natural, as well as social sciences and humanities. It has not only provided a role model in terms of methodology, particularly when it comes to natural sciences, but other sciences have always relied on mathematics extensively both in their development and for solving various open questions. The beginning of the 21st century foregrounded the issue of the so-called explanatory role of mathematics in science. However, the reference literature features only a few examples as illustration of this role. This paper aims at showing that those examples, even though they are used for illustrating precisely the same purpose, also illustrate various explanatory scopes which mathematical tools can reach within a scientific explanation. Some of these examples also show how mathematics, unfortunately, provides false credibility to scientific explanations.
To the question of ensuring international economic security: logics and key stages
Authors: Kovalev Andrei Andreevich
Published: March 2020

The goal of this work is to examine the history of ensuring international economic security. This goal can be achieved through the following tasks: 1) determine and explore the stages of ensuring international economic security within historical-logical aspect; 2) characterize and signify the key events of these stages; 3) assess the effectiveness of the mechanism of international legal provision of economic security within the highlighted historical periods. History of ensuring international economic security allows understanding it as the state of global economy, which drives the significant and sustainable growth of economic indexes and demonstrates efficient satisfaction of the economic interests of all nations. In this article, the provision of international economic security was examined within the historical-logical aspect, determining three stages of this process: 1) period between two world wars, when for the first time humanity set forth a task to ensure economic security as the paramount existential factor; 2) during the 1940’s – 1980’s the struggle between the global system of Socialism and Capitalist world also took place as a competition for economic efficiency of the two socioeconomic formations; 3) the third period, arriving after the collapse of the Soviet Union and global system of Socialism, is characterized as creation of unipolar world that is dominated by the United States, which initiated the globalization processes. This led to collision of civilizations, threatening to morph into a large-scale civilizational conflict. At the current stage of civilizational collision, it is difficult to reach a consensus in majority of the key issues pertaining to international economic security.
Legal substantiation of retaliatory measures of the Russian Federation to economic sanctions of the United States, European Union, and their allies
Authors: Dobrynina Larisa Yur'evna , Gubareva Anna Viktorovna
Published: March 2020

The authors examine the economic sanctions introduced nu the U.S., EU and their allies against the Russian Federation, as well as the legal mechanism of retaliatory measures taken by Russia on the nationwide scale. The changes in the international legal regulation derailed the vector of global development, which was bringing real freedom of economic activity. Establishment of the sanction regime by the aforementioned parties signifies a struggle for own influence, weakening of the positive trade and economic ties, as well as an attempt to institute a regime of protectionism within the international trade turnover exclusively for their own benefit. Based on the analysis of the normative-legal documents, an assessment is made on the legal legitimacy of the introduced discriminatory measures of the allies from the perspective of the norms of international law. This article presents the analysis of the positions of federal laws and other legislative bills of the Russian Federation, establishing gradual constraining countermeasures for foreign subjects in various spheres of activity. The authors substantiate the fact that introduction of retaliatory economic sanctions by the Russian Federation with regards to the United States, European Union, and their allies is directly related to the implementation of the principle of reciprocity, currently existing within private international law. It is noted that all these actions on protection from illegitimate sanctions are realized by Russia practically without participation of UN, WTO and other reputable international organizations in regulation of the “sanctions” issue. The extraterritorial measures introduced by the United States and the European Union justifies the movement of Russian into a new stage of evolution of legal regulation of the foreign economic activity, and in foreign trade – establishment of new markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Dataverse in the European Open Science Cloud
Authors: Wittenberg Marion , Tykhonov Vyacheslav
Published: March 2020

Coming
The Use of Picture Word Inductive Model Focusing on Chinese Culture to Promote Young Learners’ English Vocabulary Acquisition
Authors: Zhao Meilin , Lornklang Thanachart
Published: March 2020

As the foundation of English, the vocabulary difficulty should be removed first with effective instructions to develop learners’ English ability in order to meet the request of Thailand’s national curriculum. In addition, because English is used as a medium of intercultural communication and one component of language learning, diverse cultural contents should be combined with English teaching. Therefore the purpose of this study is to examine the effects of using picture word inductive model (PWIM) focusing on Chinese culture to promote young learners’ English vocabulary acquisition. This pre-experimental study with a pre-test and post-test design was conducted on grade six students for six weeks at private schools, Muang District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province in Thailand. The instruments in this study were lesson plans based on picture word inductive model using Chinese culture and English vocabulary acquisition test. After analyzing the data using mean (x̄), standard deviation (S.D.) and t-test, the findings showed that the post-test mean score of English vocabulary acquisition of grade six students who had learned English through picture word inductive model focusing on Chinese culture was significantly higher than the pre-test one at the.05 level. The study indicates that using picture word inductive model focusing on Chinese culture is an effective instruction in promoting young learners’ vocabulary acquisition as it provides learners attractive visual support to widen and deepen the application of the vocabulary and cultural knowledge.
An Investigation of the Relation between Neuroticism and English Language Listening Anxiety
Authors: Babakhouya Youssef , Elkhadiri Younnes
Published: March 2020

The objective of this study was to examine whether overall Neuroticism, as a factor of the Big Five, or Neuroticism facets had stronger significant correlations and predictions of English language listening Anxiety (ELLA). The participants (n=328) came from non-English majors and were recruited from Mohammed V University in Morocco. Data were gathered through two instruments: the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) (Costa & McCrae, 1992a), and Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale (FLLAS) (Kim, 2000). The findings reported that two facets (Anxiety and Depression) showed stronger significant correlations with ELLA than overall Neuroticism. Moreover, stepwise multiple regression analyses (stepwise MRA) indicated that three facets (Anxiety, Depression, and Anger) showed a stronger significant prediction of ELLA than overall Neuroticism. Thus, teachers of English language can rely more on Neuroticism facets than on overall Neuroticism as the former give a broader and more accurate prediction of students who may experience ELLA.
Migration of a Cultural Concept: Arabian Knighthood and Saladin as a Model
Authors: Khaleel Al-Khalili Raja , Al-Maqableh Maen Ali
Published: March 2020

This article is a cross-cultural approach that examines the historical and literary significance of the concept of Arabian knighthood during the Crusades (1095-1292 A.D.) and especially during the period of the Islamic leader Saladin who was famous in the West for his bravery and chivalry. The concept of Arabian knighthood for Saladin embodied characteristics of bravery, chivalry, and altruism which were present in Arabic poetry. As for the West, there was a distinct definition of knighthood; however, it changed after the Crusades and the physical encounter of western fighters with the legendary Saladin. The role of knightly values that Saladin embodied in changing the Western perception of knighthood is illustrated in both the historical and literary narratives of both Islamic and Western origins.
The Challenges of Implementing Content Language Integrated Learning in Tertiary Education in Thailand: A Review and Implication of Materials
Authors: Charunsri Kamonwan
Published: March 2020

The trends of globalization and intercultural communication influence education in most countries of the world. The implementation of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) is a big challenge for Thai content teachers and professional development programs. It is not easy for both teachers and learners who are non-native speakers of English. In Thailand, English is used as a foreign language, so teachers try to find out the most appropriate teaching approach to develop learners’ English skills in order to serve the trends of globalization. This article expresses the idea of CLIL in Thailand, including challenges of implementing CLIL in Thai context, CLIL materials, and steps to successful material development in the Thai context. Additionally, it explains the problems of using CLIL among Thai teachers and learners. The goal is to understand principles that should be considered when adapting or designing CLIL materials for teaching in classrooms. Consecutive steps to implement materials to CLIL class are alternative for teachers to create the successful teaching. It can incorporate elements of the learner’s first language and culture effectively. Furthermore, appropriate materials can be used in the classroom to help motivate learners.
Students’ Perception towards Literature Integration in the English Language Departments at Duhok and Zakho Universities
Authors: Mohammed Hasan Aveen , Hasan Zaiton Fareeq
Published: March 2020

This study investigates the students’ perceptions towards literature integration in language learning in the English Language Departments (henceforth ELD) at Duhok and Zakho universities. Knowledge about students’ perceptions will influence their interest and language learning development. Literature is an important part of the syllabus at most ELDs in the Kurdish universities. Although studies have shown the importance of the learners’ perception, no studies have examined the students’ perceptions towards their literature modules in the ELDs at the Kurdish universities. The study is based on the responses of 268 undergraduate students to a questionnaire consisting of close-ended, multiple choices (quantitative data) and open-ended questions (qualitative data). The quantitative data is analyzed using the statistical analysis software (SPSS) and the qualitative using thematic analysis. The majority of the students have positive perceptions towards literature integration in their study program. They show that it contributes to the their language development in general and their vocabulary, speaking and reading skills in particular and novel is selected as the most beneficial literary genre for language development. Additionally, literature contributes to develop the learners’ cultural awareness in general and helps to identify the similarities and differences between the English culture and the learners’ own culture. The study also shows the contribution of literature to the learners’ personal growth in terms of active participation in class activities, increasing their critical thinking and analytical skills and helps them to understand theirs and other people’s experiences. The students are satisfied with the selected literary texts and topics and to some extent with the teaching methods which are mostly teacher led, but they suggest more students’ involvement. However, students face some difficulties, mostly language difficulty, that need to be taken into consideration. Thus, it is recommended that literature should be kept in the ELDs curriculum and teachers and administrators should make students aware of the value of the literature, understand the students needs and work to overcome the problems they encounter in literature study. Generally, knowing the students’ perceptions towards literature classes will be helpful for the researchers, educational policy makers and the language teachers to determine English language learners’ genuine needs, motivation or challenges and issues in relation to the use of literary texts as teaching materials and to develop a suitable teaching approach to use the literary texts.
CLIL and Productive Vocabulary Acquisition in the Czech Context
Authors: Reynaert Barbora
Published: March 2020

This paper sheds light on productive vocabulary development in classes of CLIL (content and language integrated learning). Participants in the study were pupils of lower-secondary school (aged 11-15) in the Czech Republic having experienced CLIL instruction in History or Civics. The investigation was aimed at measuring vocabulary acquisition gained during a year of CLIL. Half of the pupils in the experimental group already had one year of CLIL experience prior to the experiment; the second half of the pupils started with CLIL at the time of the experiment. Both of these groups were compared to one another as well as to a control group with no CLIL instruction. Data collection instruments were created on the basis of standardized Laufer & Nation’s vocabulary levels tests (Laufer & Nation, 1999). As it turned out, previous experience with CLIL as well as the role of the teacher were significant factors. The study points out differences in productive vocabulary development in CLIL in terms of a one-to-two-year time frame. The role of the teacher appeared to have an undeniable importance as well. These factors are discussed in terms of language education improvement.
The Politics of Code Switching and Code Mixing: A critical Study of Arundhati Roy’s Novel the Ministry of Utmost Happiness in the Postcolonial Discourse Perspective
Authors: Ahmad Iesar
Published: March 2020

This study is an attempt to investigate the code-switching and code mixing (CS and CM) strategies deployed by Arundhati Roy (Roy) in the novel, ‘The Ministry of Utmost Happiness’ (MOUH) in terms of the linguistic hybridity and cultural syncreticity as an vantage site to contest and mediate the presumptive purity, representation, authenticity and universality of the western discourses and its discursive norms. In addition, it explores how such linguistic and literary practices deconstruct and decolonize the binary opposition like “speech/writing” “self/Other”” “Presence/Absence’ in the postcolonial disruptive discourse perspective. The core aim of the study is also to investigate the authenticity of the CS and CM strategies employed by the postcolonial writers like Roy consciously or unconsciously to foreground the difference and ambivalence in their counter discourse perspective. The study has also a great significance in terms of the pedagogical, theoretical, and analytical perspective in the postcolonial settings of Anglophone south Asia, western Africa, West Indies as well as in the settler colonies. The research design focuses on the analysis and interpretation of the selected and identified texts specifically from the novel MOUH and generally from other postcolonial discourses in the context of the interpretative epistemology, deconstructivity and postcolonial discourse perspective. The study concludes that such textual practices of code mixing and code switching are also authentic and pragmatic; which simultaneously also reflect an alternative vantage site to address the metonymic gaps in terms of difference, identity, hybridity and representation of the ex-colonized and marginalized nations in the context of overwhelming globalization and neo-colonialism. The study also affirms and recommends that in this age of melting zones, widespread migration and globalization; linguistic variations and cultural diversities must be celebrated as a privileged site of difference and plurality. It also suggests that the creative English writers like Arundhati Roy and their narratives may be encouraged and disseminated in order to demystify the misrepresentation, misperception, misconception, and mistrust between the Anglo-American’s Discourse shaper and mover, and the peripheral counter discourses in terms of the mediation and constant engaging contest and conflict across the globe.
Reading and Listening Comprehension Subskills: The Match between Theory, Coursebooks, and Language Proficiency Tests
Authors: Ismayilli Karakoc Aynur
Published: March 2020

Different theoretical and empirical taxonomies of reading and listening comprehension (RC, LC) are available in the literature. Most of language tests and tasks in English as foreign or second language (EFL/ESL) coursebooks are based on the classifications of reading and listening subskills (micro-skills) offered in theory. However, these taxonomies have not cross-checked whether the theoretical subskills are practiced in ESL/EFL coursebooks and assessed in proficiency tests. Nor have they listed the shared and exclusive RC and LC subskills in a unified fashion. For this purpose, theoretical subskills offered in Applied Linguistics literature, nine internationally popular EFL/ESL proficiency tests and 25 widely used coursebook tasks were collected, cross-compared, repetitions were eliminated, and a final inclusive list of common and exclusive subskills was prepared. The findings suggested ten common reading and listening subskills. The subskills exclusive to reading were seven, and exclusive to listening were four. This list is hoped to be helpful for teachers in developing their own tests, and the coursebook developers in preparing the content materials.
When two Horses Become Minji na Ndengũ (Peas and Green Grams): A Cognitive Integration Analysis of Blended Idioms of Political Campaign in Kenyan Newspapers
Authors: Ouma Ogal George , Gatambuki Gathigia Moses , Nyehita Maitaria Joseph
Published: March 2020

Political campaigns are emotive activities that rely on language to attract the attention of the public. In fact, electioneering periods in Kenya are heavily laced with idiomatic expressions such that one would be required to use the interrelatedness between language and cognition to understand the utterances of a speaker. It is against this backdrop that the present study analyzes the cognitive processes of the idiom minji na ndengũ (peas and green grams) vis-à-vis the canonized form. The idiom minji na ndengũ (peas and green grams) drew a lot of attention during the Kenyan official electioneering period (May and October, 2017) and was extensively used in both the print and social media platforms. The study is anchored in three objectives: to categorize the idiom minji na ndengũ (peas and green grams) in terms of compositionality; to establish the vital relation between the blended idiom and the canonical form; and to interpret the blend using the Conceptual Integration Theory. The study employed the descriptive research design. The study purposively sampled the blended idiom minji na ndengũ (peas and green grams) which is a blended form of the idiom two horse race. Using content analysis, the study classifies and presents a diagrammatic conceptual interpretation of new knowledge based on metaphorical mappings to illustrate the emergent structure. A general finding of this study is that political campaigns create new meanings using deliberately blended idioms of war to improve figurative competencies. Further, one needs to immerse themselves in pragmatic inference in order to reveal the meaning of a blended idiomatic expression. The findings of this study imply that whenever the provisions of grammar prove deficient in unpacking certain messages, cognitive linguists, idiom theorists and researchers should apply the postulates of Cognitive Linguistics. The study concludes that blended idioms of political campaigns achieve creativity and novelty. Further, the comprehension of blended expressions requires the understanding of pragmatic inferences of the local context. The study recommends that for a better understanding of blended idiomatic expressions, one should consider the local contexts expressed in language.
Students’ Learning Styles, Self-efficacy and its Correlation with their Social Interaction
Authors: Mahmoud Hawa Hala , Tılfarlıoğlu Fılız Yalçın
Published: March 2020

This cross-sectional study has been prepared to investigate the self-efficacy levels and preferred learning styles of EFL learners at Gaziantep University School of Foreign Languages GUSFL along with revealing the relationship between these two variables and the learners’ social interaction. The present study was conducted in March of 2017-2018 academic year. The participants are students, who are learning English as a foreign language. The total number of participants is 312 from different nationalities, but mainly Turkish and Syrian, male and female. Before start applying the questionnaire, the tool’s three variables were checked and proved their reliability (Learning Styles =, 732; Social Interactions =, 799; Self-Efficacy =, 900). The next step was conducting the questionnaire. It’s worth mentioning that elements such as gender, nationality, proficiency level and age were taken into consideration while collecting and analyzing the data. The results indicated that learners use various learning styles and don’t rely on a particular one. However, the logical learning style registered the highest score (20,416) whereas, the lowest learning style was the reading and writing learning style (16,737). As for the student’s self-efficacy level, the participants showed a high level of self-efficacy (30,096 with a standard deviation of 6,498) especially the male participants where the results indicated a statistically significant difference in favour for men (p>, 05). Furthermore, as the study is concerned with uncovering any possible relationship between these three variables, the analyzed data has shown that there is a positive relationship between the learners’ preferred learning styles, their self-efficacy, and their social interaction. The article highlights how these variables are correlated with each other. Additionally, the results showed a major difference between Turkish and non-Turkish participants in terms of their social interaction.
Using Emoji to Improve Female Students' Coherence in Writing at Qassim University
Authors: Al Qunayeer Huda Suleiman , Eltom RahmtAllah Enas Abdelwahab
Published: March 2020

Writing is considered a very important learning tool for all content areas. There is no doubt that writing skill is essential for any kind of learning either at the school or the university level. Therefore, the present study attempted to explore the possibility of improving university students’ one of writing sub-skills, known as coherence through emoji. Coherence in the students’ writing was measured according to the students ability to a) use repetition to link ideas, sentences, and paragraphs, b)use transitional expressions to link ideas, sentences, and paragraphs, c) use pronouns to link sentences, d)use synonyms to link ideas and create variety, e) use parallel structures to link ideas, sentences, and paragraphs. The sample of this study was randomly selected from the Third Level female students joining the Department of English at one Saudi public university. The selected subjects were assigned randomly into control group and experimental group. After administrating the pretest for the two groups, the experimental group was given a six-week treatment of emoji meant for improving the writing sub-skill, while the control group was taught writing without using emoji. One week after the treatment, a posttest was administered to the two groups. Results revealed significant difference between the students’ scores in writing in favor of using emoji to improve students’ writing skills. Thus, the findings show the effectiveness of using emoji in improving students’ coherence in writing. The results were used to draw some conclusions and to suggest some recommendations for teaching writing using emoji. The results also recommend further researches to be done on using emoji to improve other language skills and sub-skills.
Exploring Language Learning Strategies of Saudi EFL learners at Shaqra University, Saudi Arabia
Authors: Ayed Al-Khaza’le Bilal
Published: March 2020

Among the effective learning tools that enhance the L2 learning process, learning strategies are considered the most vital and essential techniques could be used by the learners for improving their L2 achievement. The current study explored the preferred language learning strategies for group of Saudi EFL learners in Shaqra University, Saudi Arabia. The sample of the study included 60 male undergraduate students enrolled in English department in 2019 academic session. The sample responded to the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) questionnaire by Oxford. Results were analyzed using SPSS program. Findings showed that the sample used almost all strategies in an average level. The findings showed that social strategy was used most frequently by this group of students followed by metacogntive strategy. Both strategy categories used with high range according to Oxford scale. While the rest of the strategies fell in the average range, compensation, cognitive, affective, except for the memory strategy which was used with low range. Based on the findings of the study, it is implied that training programs are suggested in this case to explain to the students the importance of using all LLSs as much as possible without focusing on one particular strategies and neglecting the others.
Age, Gender, Attitudes and Motivation as Predictors of Willingness to Listen in L2
Authors: Akdemir Ahmet Selçuk
Published: March 2020

The aim of the current research is to investigate the relationship between the attitudes and motivation of EFL learners and their willingness to listen (WTL); possible effects of age and gender on EFL learners’ WTL, attitude and motivation. A quantitative study was designed in which 239 participants, intermediate level EFL learners at a public university, took a set of instruments, namely a reduced version of the AMTB, mini-AMTB, and WTL scale in Likert type. The participants were also asked to specify their gender and age during data collection procedure. Data was analysed using SPSS 24.0. Percentage and frequency analyses, independent samples t-test, Kruskal Wallis H test, Pearson correlation analysis and simple linear regression analysis were employed in data analysis phase. The results of the study showed that gender affects EFL learners’ attitudes and motivation while age has no effect on attitudes and motivation; also it was found that there is a positive and meaningful relationship between mini-AMTB and WTL scores of the participants. According to the findings of the current study the predictive power of mini-AMTB of WTL has been found statistically meaningful. The findings have revealed that there is a positive and meaningful relationship between mini-AMTB and WTL scores of the participants. Gender affects EFL learners’ attitudes and motivation as female participants’ mini-AMTB scores were found higher than those of male participants. Also a meaningful relationship between mini-AMTB and WTL has been found according to regression analysis. The paper concludes with implications for further research to investigate the WTL in various contexts with other personal variables.
Thematic Analysis in Translating English and Arabic Scientific Texts
Authors: Ethelb Hamza
Published: March 2020

The thematic and information structure of scientific and technical texts are arguably different among languages. This study examines the thematic structure of scientific texts in English and Arabic to see the differences in the hierarchical organization at different thematic levels. It adopts Halliday’s functional model of theme-rheme and applies it to English and Arabic scientific texts. The paper mainly investigates the three levels of theme: textual, interpersonal and experiential with the intention of discussing their translations into Arabic. It uses a corpus data of two scientific texts. The syntactic and textual elements of those texts were compared and contrasted and professional translations were provided to study the Arabic thematic structure. The data provides English and Arabic versions which allow for a comparable analysis of structure, convention and style. The study reveals that the most frequent type of themes and thematic progression is the experiential theme. It shows that those experiential themes are almost always occupying initial positions. The structure of themes has the tendency to be reproduced in the translation. However, the findings of this investigation indicate that position of themes may change as a result of translation, or changed from experiential into textual.
The Impact of Blended Learning on Medical Students’ Reading Performance in a Saudi University
Authors: Al Roomy Muhammad , Althewini Abdulaziz
Published: March 2020

This study examined the effect of an extensive reading online program implemented in a blended learning format to increase students’ reading comprehension. The participants were Saudi freshmen students in a medical university, and the data were collected from two sources: pre- and post-test scores and an open-ended questionnaire. The results indicated students’ significant progress in reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge in the post-test stage. Similarly, students had positive attitudes and experiences after the intervention toward learning reading. Students reported that the extensive reading online program helped them to read more efficiently with maximum comprehension and work at their pace to develop their learning skills. It also was found that extensive reading created a motivating environment for learning. Students changed their views of reading as solely as an academic activity into seeing it as a personal interest and a lifelong learning activity. Finally, the study offered some pedagogical implications and recommendations for further research that will help teachers attempting to improve students’ reading comprehension via blended learning modes.
Teacher Constructed Corrective Feedback Enhancing Students Writing Skills in EFL Classroom
Authors: Vadakalur Elumalai Kesavan
Published: March 2020

The present study states in the field of teaching EFL students in the process of writing correct feedback in the classroom, the study was conducted to explore the influence of feedback on the students’ writing skill and language abilities in grammar. 30 student participants enrolled in “Advanced Writing” classes were administered to write a short paragraph of their interested topics for 15 weeks they were given separate note books to write essay, letter and a short paragraph of any instant situation and were also asked to write eight essays throughout the semester. At the beginning semester, students were taken pre-test open-ended questionnaire and at end of the semester were taken post- test, both test involves the students’ method of writing and its benefits of feedback. The obtained data showed that the students’ language abilities significantly improved especially in the grammar and vocabulary. The students also reported their satisfaction in the free-writing method which allowed them to learn more on self-expression and organization of ideas.
Forces of Development: Globalisation, Civil Societies, and NGOs in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Narratives
Authors: Rita Gola Nfon
Published: March 2020

This paper looks at globalization, civil societies and their extensions, NGOs, as forces of development within the contemporary global era through the prism of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun, The Thing Around Your Neck and Americanah. In these texts, the above forces have eroded both ideological and geopolitical boundaries for the betterment of humanity. The centrality of the state, with regards to state development, has been questioned by civil society activism. Civil society agencies, especially, NGOs, the paper posits, have become players in governance−an activity generally reserved for the state. The paper views the flux in state and civil society borders as a part of the shifts in the borders of most of the once outstanding binary pairs−the west and the non-west, the whites and the blacks, as well as the rich and the poor. These are positive shifts that are integral to the present mix in which humanity now exists. The works I analyze market this blend in that Adichie’s characters, no matter where they find themselves, move away from fixed ways of doing things and get connected with the supposed others for humanistic purposes. Globalization theory is used to underline the extent to which the ‘self’ and ‘other’ concepts disappear when it comes to development issues in the postcolony. The paper seeks to answer two basic questions, namely; is the proliferation of civil societies, especially NGOs, the result of the globalization phenomenon or the cause of the globalization process? How has globalization, civil societies and NGOs developed Nigeria, in particular, and Africa in general? It premises the civil society as a trajectory of the globalisation process with a positive outcome from the perspective that its various forms have encouraged and facilitated the spread of humanitarian considerations for the purpose of development.
Discrimination in “the City”: Race, Class, and Gender in Toni Morrison’s Jazz
Authors: Rabbani Golam
Published: March 2020

Toni Morrison, the African American Nobel laureate author, explores the realities where African American women face multiple discriminations in her novel Jazz (1992). This article, following the qualitative method on the bibliographic study, examines the discriminations entailing race, class, and gender and presents Harlem as a discriminatory space in the novel. Jazz narrates the struggles of African American women who settled in Harlem in the early twentieth-century. Haunted by the memories of slavery, the female African American characters in the novel find themselves subjugated in the society dominated by white Americans and also experience oppression within their black community. Harlem, denoted as “the City” in the novel, identifies itself as the relational space where black women experience the intersecting subjugation and alienation from their race, class, and gender positions.
Language in Media: A Tool for Expressing Political Views
Authors: Ghassemi Rouhollah , Hemmatgosha Zahra
Published: March 2020

In any society there is a link between social-intellectual (ideological) views and discursive structures in media. Therefore, it is possible to discover this relationship by clarifying appropriate discursive remedies in text analysis and eventually determining how it is and its application. Some journalists are very skillful in literature, their discussion talent and their ability to manipulate the language result in complexity in language form and also in semantic features. Many fundamental factors are involved in production and comprehension of the press texts. The main objective of the current study is to investigate some of these factors such as powers relations in the society and also political and ideological institutions in press texts. Applying a discourse analysis approach and considering news theories, this study tries to analyze French press texts and explore the ways information is transferred to the addressees through word selection. The findings of this study indicate that mass media (and newspapers) are tools for expanding the ideology in the society because, facing the same issue, they take different positions according to their interests. The investigation of how this information is transferred is possible through discourse analysis. We try to show how French express media manipulate public opinion by using different vocabularies.
Ontological Concept for the Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century
Authors: Arung Fernandes , Rafli Zainal , Deawanti Ratna
Published: March 2020

This review aims to discuss a new substantive theory generated from a Grounded research that we conducted in 2018 as a concept of ‘getting real way’ in the learning of the foreign languages in the 21st century and the forth. The preferent learning theory, as labelled then, covers three important concepts namely free-will-whim, individual and collective independence, and discursive. The three concepts are substantively based on the sense of liking within one’s learning as the domain of affective; it is not based on the cognitive domain and the motivation. The implication is that the learning of foreign languages should be based on the sense of liking; both in the past and current liking, that enable foreign language learners to have their learning preference.
The Impact of Lexical Chunks Instruction in Developing Iraqi Students’ Writing Fluency
Authors: Kareem Al-Khazaali Husam Mohammed
Published: March 2020

The aim of the present study is to examine experimentally the influence of using lexical chunks on the achievement of second-year-university students of English in the writing fluency. Lexical chunks, as the composites of form, meaning and function, stored and retrieved as a whole in brain, can release the language processing burden and improve the fluency and idiomaticity of language output. To accomplish this aim, the current study attempts to provide a reply for the following question: does drawing students’ attention to the lexical chunks frequently used in different positions help in better success in EFL descriptive essay writing lessons as contrasting to the presently applied method of teaching? Also two null hypotheses are planned. The first states that there will not be a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental group and those of the control group in the writing performance pretest. While the second one is that there will not be a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental group and those of the control group in the descriptive essay writing achievement posttest. The two groups pre-test post-test experimental design was adopted. After four weeks of instruction, the findings show that there is a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test on the side of the experimental group. Accordingly, the main findings authenticated the first hypothesis of the study, but cancelled the second one. The control group gets the mean score 71.89 while the experimental group gets 76.53. This certainly implies that the use of lexical chunks as a language learning strategy gets better in students’ performance in writing fluency.
A Qualitative Analysis of the Poem “The Waste Land” to Investigate Spiritual Sterility, Moral Degradation of the Post-war Modern People and the Path of Salvation
Authors: Haque Nazmul , Pervin Fahmida
Published: March 2020

This paper’s overriding concern is to analyze the moral degradation, spiritual sterility, fragmentation, damaged psyche of humanity, the disillusionment of early twentieth-century post-war modern Europe and of course the path of salvation that are enormously manifest in the Thomas Stearns Eliot’s poem ‘The Waste Land’. In the question of regeneration or salvation, Eliot in this poem instructs the morally and spiritually sterile modern man to follow the Indian philosophy, Vedas and Upanishads, the storehouse of knowledge, relief, and source of spiritualism, redemption and salvation. And also he concludes the poem with the sense that if they practise them in their life as instructed, there will be nothing but Shantih, shantih, shantih (peace and tranquility) in their life. This paper thus attempts to dissect how the poem develops exerting the acute sense of spiritual infertility, moral degradation, sexual perversion, meaninglessness in the human relationship of the post-war-devastated and dysfunctional world and concludes with the instruction of the path of salvation.