scholarly journals The Strange Case of Teaching English Through the Gothic Novel

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 103-116
Author(s):  
Simona Maggi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Literature ◽  
Huge Amount ◽  
Gothic Novel ◽  
Gothic Fiction ◽  
Foreign Language Acquisition ◽  
Reading Materials ◽  
Self Knowledge ◽  
Intensive Reading

In this article I endeavour to encourage teachers of Secondary Education to use English literature in their English language lessons. Indeed, literature provides a huge amount of authentic reading materials, making the students practise extensive as well as intensive reading, which is crucial for the foreign language acquisition. Moreover, it is an enormous source of motivation, allowing students to give free rein to their imagination and enjoy their English lessons. The election of gothic fiction is linked to this latter purpose: the 19th gothic genre is generally well accepted by adolescents as it represents a way to reflect on themselves through a journey to “self-revelation”. The double personality/identity-theme of R. L. Stevenson’s novel The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde fits well into their interests and their quest for self-knowledge. It offers them the chance to process what they are going through in this often unstable stage of their journey into adulthood by trying to figure out their place in the world.   Keywords: Reading skill, Literature in ELT, Gothic fiction, R. L. Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Double identity

Exploring Foreign Language Communication Apprehension among the English Language University Students in the English Language Classroom Setting

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-39
Author(s):  
Draženka Molnar ◽  
Gabrijela Crnjak
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communication Apprehension ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
General View ◽  
Total Level ◽  
Foreign Language Acquisition ◽  
The Social ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Language Communication

Abstract Over the past few decades the interest in communication apprehension has increased among researchers and teachers in the field of second/foreign language acquisition (SLA/FLA).The present paper is set between the macro perspective of the social-psychological period - by giving a general view of communication apprehension (CA) - and the situation-specific period - by taking into consideration the immediate educational context.The paper focuses on the phenomenon of communication apprehension among the Croatian university level students in a foreign language classroom setting.In particular, it investigates if there is a difference in the total level of communication apprehension between undergraduate and graduate students of English Language and Literature.Furthermore, it explores whether there is a relationship between different aspects of communication apprehension and the total level of communication apprehension and which background factor is the best predictor of communication apprehension among the students.The first part of the paper brings a theoretical background of the main concepts in this research, whereas the second part of the paper reports on the research itself.Two sets of instruments, questionnaires completed by the students and in-depth interviews conducted among the teachers, were used for the purpose of this study.The results show that the year of study is not a significant predictor of the communication apprehension level which students experience.Among all variables included in the analysis, the only significant predictors of communication apprehension are evaluations.

Use of Smartphones for Self-Regulated Foreign Language Learning Activities

2020 ◽  
pp. 204-223
Author(s):  
Violeta Jurkovič
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
English Language ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Mobile Assisted Language Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Acquisition

Smartphones can significantly affect the development of foreign languages in two distinct ways. Firstly, online informal learning of languages may result in naturalistic foreign language acquisition while mobile assisted language learning implies the use of smartphones following a conscious decision to engage in language learning activities that would result in the improvement of one's language competence. Based on quantitative and qualitative methodology applied on a sample of undergraduate students in Slovenia, the main objective of this chapter is to explore the use of smartphones for self-regulated English language learning activities beyond the language classroom.

scholarly journals The Relationship betwen Second Language Acquisition Process and English Language Teaching in Indonesia

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pritz Hutabarat
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Foreign Language Acquisition ◽  
Teachers And Students

<p>English as a global language is learned worldwide and a plethora of methods and approaches have been developed and practiced in English classrooms by dedicated teachers and students. Understanding the underlying theories of second and foreign language acquisition and learning will help both teachers and students in learning and teaching a target language. There has not been many research conducted in the area, especially within Indonesian context. This research therefore attempts to fill in gaps in a way that it provides sufficient discussion of the theories and practice in English Language Teaching (ELT) in Indonesia in its conjunction with the second and foreign language acquisition theories. Twenty eight students specializing in teacher training participated in the research and two distinguished data collection methods were utilized; survey and interview. The results show that the students are not consistent with their opinions concerning the theories of second or foreign language acquisition and learning in relation to the mastery of English as a foreign language in Indonesia.</p><p> </p><p>Keywords: language learning, language acquisition, ELT</p>

scholarly journals Teaching the Big Three: Making Sense of Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 44-53
Author(s):  
Edward R. Raupp
Keyword(s):  
William Shakespeare ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Geoffrey Chaucer ◽  
John Milton ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Literature ◽  
Master's Level ◽  
Level Of Education ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Language And Literature

Arguably, the three most important early writers in the English language – indeed, one might say the founders of the language – are Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400), William Shakespeare (1564-1616), and John Milton (1608-1674).  Yet our experience at the higher level of education is that students have had little exposure to the life and times of these writers or of their work.  Our study shows that, while some Georgian school leavers have been exposed briefly to a bit of Shakespeare, few have chanced to encounter Chaucer and none to Milton.  Moreover, while teaching what we might call “The Big Three” of English language and literature, much the same might be said at the master’s level: a bit of Shakespeare, little of Chaucer, and none of Milton.  To the extent that students of English as a foreign language encounter any literature at all, they tend to be offered little other than literal translation.  “Retell the text.”  They miss the nuances of the English language as they would encounter them through the greatest of writers.  It is, therefore, essential that those who teach any or all of these great writers develop a strategy to fit the needs of the students while meeting the objectives of the course.  The key to making sense of Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton is to make connections to what students already know, to their own experiences, to make these greatest of all English writers relevant to the lives of the students in ways they can understand. Keywords: English literature, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton

scholarly journals Foreign language learning and education in minority circumstances. Problems and possible solutions

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-41
Author(s):  
Szilvia Batyi
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Education ◽  
The State ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Foreign Language Acquisition

Some form of bi- and multilingualism means the naturallingual condition for more than the half of the population of the Earth. It is a substantial linguistic aim of the Transcarpathian Hungarian community that beside preservation of their mother tongue (the Hungarian), acquire the state language (the Ukrainian language) and the basis of at least one world language. But this aim is hindered by a lot of things in Transcarpathia. The goal of the study isto shed light on these problems and to find possible solutions based on two researches. The first research, which was carried out in the Tanscarpathian Hungarian schools, was to reveal the conditions and problems of foreign language education. The research threwlight on numerous problems that approve the low level of foreign language knowledge of the Tanscarpathian Hungarian youth. Attitudes and stereotypes influence the success of foreign language acquisition. For this reason in the second part of the study I would like to show, what kind of stereotypes and attitudes can be discovered in the parents (who are lay linguistically and language pedagogically) concerning foreign languages, and within this especially concerning the English language. It appears from the interviews, that nor the attitudes of the state towards foreign languages that was inherited from the soviet system, neither the impassiveness of the parents improves the positive attitudes in the Transcarpathian Hungarian students towards foreign languages, and nor the state, neither the parents approve the motivation of foreign language acquisition.

scholarly journals ANALYSIS OF A YOUTH SLENG PECULIARITIES IN THE PROCESS OF STUDYING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (ENGLISH) AT THE UNIVERSITY

2021 ◽  
pp. 64-69
Author(s):  
Юлія Загребнюк ◽  
Людмила Веремюк
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
English Language ◽  
Huge Amount ◽  
Internet Resources ◽  
The Media ◽  
Tv Shows ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The University ◽  
Watching Tv

This article is about studying the features of using youth slang in the process of studying English at the university. The analysis of the usage of slang expressions among the younger generation is identified. It is found that the definition of slang is beginning to attract the attention of modern philologists. There are now quite a number of slang definitions that are often contradictory. It is investigated that Ukrainian slang has a huge amount of English borrowing. This article is about analyzing the concept of youth slang in modern English. The relevance of our research is that youth slang is in constant development. It has also been determined that modern slang in the English language, being an integral part of the language, is one of the most relevant and controversial problems of modern lexicology. Thus, the reasons for the increase in the slang share in the modern teenager's speech include social factors; the importance of a language for communication with peers; the influence of the media (reading newspapers and magazines, watching TV shows), Internet resources. The main characteristic of youth slang is the constant emotionality, expressiveness, appreciation, and imagery of youth speech. This contributes to the overall dynamics of the Ukrainian literary language. The results of the investigation prove the assumption of the wide use of Anglicism; in most cases, a youth slang represents English borrowing or phonetic associations; it is necessary to pay attention to the attraction of foreign words especially when the process is so fast. This study helps to solve the problem of determination, the nature, and the main features of the phenomenon under study.

scholarly journals From Preschool to Elementary 4th Grade: The Follow-up Study of the Effect of Life-focused Foreign Language Acquisition Program

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 273
Author(s):  
Banu Uslu
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Preschool Education ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Foreign Language Acquisition ◽  
Experimental Group

The present study examines the longitudinal effects of the Life-Focused Foreign Language Acquisition Program (LFFLAP) on children who were attending public preschool education. The sample of the study consists of two groups of students studying in a public school in the Selçuklu district of Konya.  During the follow-up period, the experimental group children did not receive any other English language education until the 2nd grade. The control group children, who never had any foreign language education, started to learn English in 2nd grade for the first time via the Ministry of National Education Program. The Life-Focused Foreign Language Acquisition Scale was used to assess the level of English language acquisition of students. Non-parametric statistical techniques were used to analyze the data. According to the results of the study, the meaningful differences between the control and experimental group students in the beginning disappeared gradually by the time they reached 4th grade. Based on the findings and results of this research elementary school foreign language classes can be increased from two hours a week to five hours a week (as in one hour a day) and the foreign language teachers can use the target language in their classes instead of the native one.

scholarly journals Investigating Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Among Yemeni International Students in Malaysian Universities

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norizan Abdul Razak ◽  
Amr Abdullatif Yassin ◽  
Marwan Saeed Saif Moqbel
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
English Language ◽  
Moderate Level ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Intercultural Learning ◽  
Learning Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Reading ◽  
Reading Anxiety ◽  
Reading Materials

The study aimed at identifying the level and sources of foreign language reading anxiety among Yemeni students in Malaysian universities. Besides, it aimed at finding out whether there are statistically significant differences in the means of responses of Yemeni students in Malaysian universities according to the variable &lsquo;Level of study&rsquo; (Bachelor&rsquo;s, Master&rsquo;s and PhD). The study is quantitative as it used Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) to answer the study questions. FLRAS was distributed to general groups of Yemeni students in Malaysia in the form of an online survey. The number of participants who responded to the survey is 100 Yemen students who are preparing their bachelor&rsquo;s, master&rsquo;s and PhD degrees in different majors in Malaysia. The results of the study showed that the level of foreign language reading anxiety among Yemeni students in Malaysian universities is of moderate level across the three groups. More importantly, the result of the analysis showed that there are no statistically significant differences in the means of responses of Yemeni students in Malaysian universities according to the variable &lsquo;Level of study&rsquo; (Bachelor&rsquo;s, Master&rsquo;s and PhD). The findings of the study highlighted an important point in the investigation of foreign language reading anxiety which is the environment. Thus, studies on intercultural learning stated that the host culture is a source of learning anxiety; however, the moderate level of reading anxiety across the three groups in this study might be attributed to the fact that the medium of instruction and reading materials in Malaysian universities are in English language. Therefore, this finding makes a crystal-clear difference between reading anxiety and general intercultural learning anxiety in the host cultures where English is the medium of instruction. Students, instructors and researchers in this area might benefit from the findings of this study.

scholarly journals Gothic beetle: a comment on one of Pushkin’s allusions

2020 ◽  
pp. 66-79
Author(s):  
V. V. Maroshi ◽  
Keyword(s):  
English Literature ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Gothic Novel ◽  
Gothic Fiction ◽  
Gothic Novels ◽  
Literary Allusion ◽  
Eugene Onegin ◽  
A Chain ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Minor Character

The paper deals with the beetle as a minor character of the seventh chapter of the novel “Eugene Onegin” and a literary allusion. It is syntactically and rhythmically highlighted in the text of the stanza. V. V. Nabokov was the first to try to set the origin of the character from English literature. The closest meaning of the allusion was a reference to V. A. Zhukovsky, with his surname associated with the beetle by its etymology and the appearance of a “buzzing beetle” in his translation of T. Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.” The landscape of the 15th stanza of the novel is represented within the genres of elegy, pastoral, and ballad. We expand the field of Pushkin’s allusion to the Gothic novels of A. Radcliffe and Gothic fiction in general. Mentioning the beetle launches a chain of reminiscences from Gothic novels during Tatiana’s walk and her visit to Onegin’s empty “castle.” The quotations from Shakespeare and Collins in Radcliffe’s novels are of great significance. Shakespeare’s beetle, a Hecate’s messenger, is involved in creating an atmosphere of night fears and mystery surrounding the scene in Onegin’s castle. A collection of Radcliffe’s novels in Pushkin’s library suggests the poet was somewhat familiar with the paratext of the novel “The Romance of the Forest”. Moreover, the beetle as a parody character for a ballad and a Gothic novel appeared in the unfinished poem “Vasily Khrabrov” by the poet’s uncle, V. L. Pushkin.

scholarly journals Musicians Outperform Non-Musicians In English Language Vocabulary Uptake And Listening Comprehension Tasks

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 296
Author(s):  
Nataliia Vyspinska
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
English Language ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Theoretical Data ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Acquisition ◽  
Lexical Competence

Numerous possibilities, that have arisen in the result of globalization and cultural integration, require modern specialists, and musicians in particular, to speak English language fluently. Thus, methods of teaching professionally directed foreign language should develop and heed special abilities of learners to meet their academic and professional needs. Foreign language acquisition is influenced by numerous factors such as deciphering and processing of speech sounds, words segmentation, pronunciation, memory, attention, the ability to associate the sound of the word with its meaning. It is considered that musical abilities have positive impact on these factors. The influence of musical training on foreign language acquisition has been in scope of many scholarly works worldwide. It is considered that music expertise facilitates the development of phonological, listening and vocabulary skills in foreign language learning. Moreover, musicians have abilities to detect subtle pitch deviations in music and language, segment continuous speech, as well as superior auditory abilities, which enable them to hear better even in noise. Therefore, we hypothesize, that listening can be an effective tool in teaching English professionally directed lexical competence to future musicians. In this study we analyse theoretical data relevant to the current research and seek to compare performance of musicians and non-musicians in various vocabulary and listening tasks when learning English lexical competence through listening. Our findings prove that musical expertise enhances listening comprehension skills; listening leads to vocabulary uptake and can be an effective source of English professionally directed lexical competence development in musicians.

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