Empowering Speaking Skills through Speaking Assessment in the Process of ELT in Think-E Course

There are some kinds of speaking assessments, the accuracy in choosing the type of assessment determines the success of the student in speaking English. This can be seen in Think-E course, Think-E course is successful in choosing the type of assessment so that the students in Think-E course can speak English fluently. The aim of the study is to describe types of assessments used in the English language Teaching at Think-E course, and how this assessment affects the speaking skills of the students in the Think-E course. The researcher focused on macro skills speaking because the teaching-learning process in Think-E uses communicative function according to situation, participants, and goals. The method used by the researcher is qualitative. The researchers collected the data through observation. The participants of this research were the students in Bee 2 class. The finding shows that there are three types of speaking assessment used in English language Teaching at the Think-E course, they are intensive assessment, responsive assessment, and interactive assessment. In conclusion, the assessment used in Think-E course affect the students dare to speak English and the students also get used to speaking English, so that they can speak English fluently.

Features of the art communicative function in the educational and cultural environment organization

Актуальность статьи обусловлена проблемой организации воспитывающей культурно-просветительской среды, что имеет дело с реализацией коммуникативной функции искусства, а также содержанием учебного процесса, технологическими особенностями, формированием, трансформацией и взаимодействием художественных и культурных ценностей в современной образовательной среде. В статье выделены основные направления, в которых раскрываются аспекты коммуникативной функции искусства, включая подготовку музыкально-познавательных программ, активизацию эмоционально-эстетических процессов, а также интерес к освоению и расширению культурологических познаний, в целом. Авторы выделяют эффективные методы создания ситуаций эмоциональных переживаний, учебных дискуссий, мотивации познавательного интереса. Содержание статьи выстроено в опоре на научно-педагогические исследования влияния среды на развитие человека при освоении новой художественной информации, в частности, арабской музыкальной культуры. В статье показано, что организация воспитывающей культурно-просветительской среды и подготовка музыкально-познавательных программ способствуют общекультурному развитию детей и положительно влияют на развитие их художественной коммуникации, что на современном этапе обретает особую значимость в воспитании современных школьников. The relevance of the article is due to the problem of organizing an educational and cultural environment, which deals with the implementation of the art communicative function, as well as the content of the educational process, technological features, the formation, transformation and interaction of artistic and cultural values in the modern educational environment. The article highlights the main directions in which aspects of the art communicative function are revealed, including the preparation of musical and educational programs, the activation of emotional and aesthetic processes, as well as interest in the development and expansion of cultural knowledge, in general. The authors highlight effective methods for creating situations of emotional experiences, educational discussions, motivation of cognitive interest. The content of the article is built on the basis of scientific and pedagogical studies of the influence of the environment on human development in the development of new artistic information, in particular, Arab musical culture. The article shows that the organization of the educational and cultural environment and the preparation of musical and educational programs contribute to the general cultural development of children and have a positive effect on the development of their artistic communication, which at the present stage is of particular importance in the upbringing of modern students.

"The Horse on which Words Ride": Proverbial Narrative in Toyin Falola's A Mouth Sweeter than Salt

Literature and oral tradition share a symbiotic relationship. Toyin Faiola the author of A Mouth Sweeter than Salt has produced a highly engaging memoir. The text is set in Ibadan, Ode Aje and Ilorin. We find a rich and knowledgeable exploitation of oral forms which the author uses within the frame of the biographical genre. Through the use of proverbial narration, Fa­Iola presents a tale replete with magic, religion, divination, spirituality and various folklore elements. The oral forms Faiola has used in the text come from the oral character of everyday life, prose narratives, songs, proverbs and proverb-like expressions while exploring the themes of innocence, curiosity and growth. This stylistic feature of narration is common in African story telling sessions. In both the traditional and modern context, the African prov­erb fulfils its social and communicative function in various forms. Faiola pres­ents an inseparable relationship of mutual exchange between the oral and written traditions. However, our point of emphasis is to evaluate the context and usage of the proverbial narration with a restriction to proverbs which deal with animals. The qualities attributed to animals in the proverbs and sayings figuratively and metaphorically describe people's appearance, characteristics and deeds.

What does the title of the radio program lead to? On the question of the communicative function of the title

The title of the radio program is considered in the aspect of its perception by the addressee. The research material is fragments of the hyperradiotext of the program "Equals among the Firsts", including the title, annotation, announcements of the radio program, as well as comments from Internet users and survey data. The research was carried out in the following stages: searching for associations related to the name of the radio program; establishing a connection between the title and the topic of the program; identifying the actualization of the program title in the announcements of specific issues; analyzing the perception of the title of the radio program by the addressee. The author's communicative strategy of naming a radio program is defined in the case when the name does not have an informative function and hinders cognitive forecasting. A technique is proposed that allows the addressee to realize the connection of the title of the radio program with its subject matter. A certain type of title is considered, which serves as an impulse that allows the addressee, using a number of associative actions, to unravel all the meanings laid down by the author and read them.

Lexical Bundles in the Corpus of Slovak Judicial Decisions

The paper follows the tradition of research in legal linguistics and into formulaic language, specifically into lexical bundles. The aim of the paper is to describe lexical bundles in samples from the corpus of Slovak judicial decisions OD-JUSTICE by means of quantitative characteristics of the identified bundles and by their comparison with bundles found in two other specialized corpora: the corpus of Slovak legal regulations and the corpus of annual reports by Slovak public institutions. For the identification of bundles, the concept of the h-point was used. Identified bundles are described with respect to their maximal, minimal, average, median and mode values, distributions and ratios. The aim of the paper is to outline an interpretation of these bundle characteristics with regard to communicative function(s) of compared document genres.

Language as a Means of Communication with God

The communicative function of the language of translation, as can be seen from the examples of God's names contained in the oldest Slavic translations of a biblical nature, is an important component of understanding a whole range of liturgical texts and part of the Christian cultural identity of the believer. The need to translate biblical and liturgical texts therefore stems from the needs of believers. One desires to understand as best and as accurately as possible not only the text of the Bible but also the liturgical process itself. The liturgical process contains a number of symbols, actions, gestures and scenes reminiscent of the Divine Performance in the cosmos. In the Bible and in the Divine Liturgy, individual biblical events are constantly present. The understanding of the biblical and liturgical texts is therefore based not only on the correct use of terms but also on a reliable description of the realities. This principle is one of the starting points on which the holy Thessalonian brothers built their translation work.

Redressing the roles of anthocyanin pigments in vegetative and reproductive organs

<p>Anthocyanin pigments are common in both reproductive and vegetative organs in plants, yet their functional significance is not entirely understood. While communicative functions have received considerable attention in reproductive organs and the role of anthocyanic colouration in frugivore and pollinator attraction is well understood, it has also been suggested that anthocyanins provide a communicative function in vegetative organs i.e. it may be that anthocyanic colouration in leaves deters herbivores by signalling a plant’s defensive investment. Conversely, there is evidence that anthocyanins in vegetative organs perform a number of physiological functions such as photoprotection and mitigation of various environmental stressors. While these physiological roles have received considerable attention in leaves, little is known about the applicability of these functions to anthocyanins in reproductive organs. There is evidently a gap in anthocyanin research; no study has provided unequivocal support for a communicative function for anthocyanins in vegetative organs and no study has shown that anthocyanins perform a physiological function in the reproductive organs in any species other than domesticated crop plants. To address this imbalance in anthocyanin research my thesis tested for a signalling role in vegetative organs, and then investigated a physiological role for anthocyanins in reproductive organs. In chapter two, I hypothesised that for Pseudowintera colorata, red (anthocyanic) leaf margins reduce leaf herbivory by signalling to herbivorous insects the presence of increased chemical defences. Using a natural population of P. colorata, I showed that leaves with the wider red margins contained higher concentrations of anthocyanins and polygodial, a sesquiterpene dialdehyde with known anti-feedant properties, and incurred less natural herbivory. Additionally, laboratory feeding trials involving a natural P. colorata herbivore, Ctenopseustis obliquana larvae, showed a preference for green-margined leaves over red, but only when feeding trials were conducted under light regimes which allowed discrimination of leaf colour. Collectively, my data show that red leaf margins provide a reliable and effective visual signal of chemical defence in P. colorata. Moreover, C. obliquana larvae apparently perceive and respond to the colour of leaf margins, rather than to olfactory cues. My study is therefore the first to provide direct support for a communicative function for anthocyanins in vegetative organs. In peduncles, rays and pedicels, the sterile components of an inflorescence, anthocyanin accumulation has exclusively been considered an adaptation to promote frugivore visitation; however, anthocyanins may instead be produced to mitigate light stress. In chapter three, I tested the requirements of a physiological function, that anthocyanins provide photoprotection for Sambucus nigra peduncles which turn red prior to fruit maturation. I found that accumulation of red pigmentation required exposure to full sunlight and that anthocyanins significantly reduced the quantity of green light that would normally reach chlorenchyma in the peduncle. Under saturating white light, red peduncles maintained higher quantum efficiencies of photosystem II compared to green peduncles, and red portions of peduncle recovered from photoinactivation more quickly than did green portions. My data are, therefore, the first to show that anthocyanins perform a physiological function in the reproductive organs of a naturalised species. In chapter four, I hypothesised that anthocyanin accumulation in senescing Sambucus canadensis peduncles prolongs senescence and enhances nitrogen resorption. Red peduncles possessed several traits indicative of a prolonged senescence; their rates of chlorophyll and xanthophyll decline were lower, while tensile strength and elasticity were higher than for green peduncles. Red peduncles were also less susceptible to photoinactivation than the green ones at the later stages of senescence. However, manipulating green peduncles with light filters possessing transmittance properties comparable to an anthocyanic tissue layer did not increase peduncle longevity or nitrogen resorption. I concluded that like senescing leaves, red peduncles display many characteristics indicative of a prolonged senescence, but I am unable to attribute this benefit to the presence of anthocyanins. This thesis provides a significant contribution to our understanding of the role of anthocyanins in plants in two ways: it is the first to directly demonstrate that anthocyanins perform a communicative function in vegetative organs, and is the first to show for a naturalised (non-cultivar) species, that anthocyanins perform a physiological function in reproductive organs.</p>

Redressing the roles of anthocyanin pigments in vegetative and reproductive organs

<p>Anthocyanin pigments are common in both reproductive and vegetative organs in plants, yet their functional significance is not entirely understood. While communicative functions have received considerable attention in reproductive organs and the role of anthocyanic colouration in frugivore and pollinator attraction is well understood, it has also been suggested that anthocyanins provide a communicative function in vegetative organs i.e. it may be that anthocyanic colouration in leaves deters herbivores by signalling a plant’s defensive investment. Conversely, there is evidence that anthocyanins in vegetative organs perform a number of physiological functions such as photoprotection and mitigation of various environmental stressors. While these physiological roles have received considerable attention in leaves, little is known about the applicability of these functions to anthocyanins in reproductive organs. There is evidently a gap in anthocyanin research; no study has provided unequivocal support for a communicative function for anthocyanins in vegetative organs and no study has shown that anthocyanins perform a physiological function in the reproductive organs in any species other than domesticated crop plants. To address this imbalance in anthocyanin research my thesis tested for a signalling role in vegetative organs, and then investigated a physiological role for anthocyanins in reproductive organs. In chapter two, I hypothesised that for Pseudowintera colorata, red (anthocyanic) leaf margins reduce leaf herbivory by signalling to herbivorous insects the presence of increased chemical defences. Using a natural population of P. colorata, I showed that leaves with the wider red margins contained higher concentrations of anthocyanins and polygodial, a sesquiterpene dialdehyde with known anti-feedant properties, and incurred less natural herbivory. Additionally, laboratory feeding trials involving a natural P. colorata herbivore, Ctenopseustis obliquana larvae, showed a preference for green-margined leaves over red, but only when feeding trials were conducted under light regimes which allowed discrimination of leaf colour. Collectively, my data show that red leaf margins provide a reliable and effective visual signal of chemical defence in P. colorata. Moreover, C. obliquana larvae apparently perceive and respond to the colour of leaf margins, rather than to olfactory cues. My study is therefore the first to provide direct support for a communicative function for anthocyanins in vegetative organs. In peduncles, rays and pedicels, the sterile components of an inflorescence, anthocyanin accumulation has exclusively been considered an adaptation to promote frugivore visitation; however, anthocyanins may instead be produced to mitigate light stress. In chapter three, I tested the requirements of a physiological function, that anthocyanins provide photoprotection for Sambucus nigra peduncles which turn red prior to fruit maturation. I found that accumulation of red pigmentation required exposure to full sunlight and that anthocyanins significantly reduced the quantity of green light that would normally reach chlorenchyma in the peduncle. Under saturating white light, red peduncles maintained higher quantum efficiencies of photosystem II compared to green peduncles, and red portions of peduncle recovered from photoinactivation more quickly than did green portions. My data are, therefore, the first to show that anthocyanins perform a physiological function in the reproductive organs of a naturalised species. In chapter four, I hypothesised that anthocyanin accumulation in senescing Sambucus canadensis peduncles prolongs senescence and enhances nitrogen resorption. Red peduncles possessed several traits indicative of a prolonged senescence; their rates of chlorophyll and xanthophyll decline were lower, while tensile strength and elasticity were higher than for green peduncles. Red peduncles were also less susceptible to photoinactivation than the green ones at the later stages of senescence. However, manipulating green peduncles with light filters possessing transmittance properties comparable to an anthocyanic tissue layer did not increase peduncle longevity or nitrogen resorption. I concluded that like senescing leaves, red peduncles display many characteristics indicative of a prolonged senescence, but I am unable to attribute this benefit to the presence of anthocyanins. This thesis provides a significant contribution to our understanding of the role of anthocyanins in plants in two ways: it is the first to directly demonstrate that anthocyanins perform a communicative function in vegetative organs, and is the first to show for a naturalised (non-cultivar) species, that anthocyanins perform a physiological function in reproductive organs.</p>

Workplace email communication in New Zealand and Malaysia: Three case studies

<p>This thesis is an analysis of authentic communication between professionals at work in three workplaces (Company NZ1, NZ2 and M). The research involves a contrastive study of internal emails in two different countries (New Zealand and Malaysia) with very distinct cultures. In addition to the email corpus comprising 1745 emails, the analysis is supported by data collected using a mixed-methods approach: fieldwork observations, a questionnaire and interviews. The analysis suggests that workplace culture influences people’s linguistic and non-linguistic behaviours. A Community of Practice (CofP) approach provided insights into characteristics of workplace culture such as the participants' behaviours, language, values and beliefs. This approach also facilitated analysis of how these behaviours were negotiated among the staff members, and how practices were established to signify membership of communities of practice. Using an adapted version of Speech Act Theory, the email messages were coded initially for their main communicative function. The next layer of analysis involved exploring the interpersonal and power dimensions of the communicative function of making requests. To this end, Spencer-Oatey's Rapport Theory was applied as the primary theoretical framework and Halliday's three metafunctions were also used to interpret the emails. The analysis indicated that all three workplaces use email for the same communicative functions, but the proportions of usage differed. In the New Zealand workplaces, providing information is the predominant function, followed by making requests. By contrast, making requests dominates the use of email in the Malaysian workplace. The analysis demonstrates that rapport is managed differently in the three communities of practice. The greater use of informal greetings and closings and various linguistic strategies such as modalised interrogatives and mitigating devices in one New Zealand workplace suggests that participants are attending to rapport, and that they are aware of the importance of maintaining harmonious collegial relationships when making requests of their work colleagues. On the other hand, a greater use of formal greetings and closings, bare imperatives and boosting devices in the Malaysian workplace suggests the converse. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that rapport is managed quite differently even when participants are from the same country (New Zealand) which practises an egalitarian culture. The analysis also demonstrates how superiors and subordinates 'do' power and construct authority through the use of various linguistic strategies, such as imperative mood, use of the personal pronoun ‘I’, and boosting devices. The greater use of these linguistic strategies in the other New Zealand workplace and the Malaysian workplace suggests that more importance was placed on getting the job done than on maintaining rapport. In addition, the analysis identifies different attitudes towards the manifestation of power. In New Zealand where egalitarianism is highly valued, an overt display of power could damage work relationships. By contrast, in Malaysia, inequality in power is accepted as normal. People do not question superiors' authority, rights and entitlement to privileges. Recognising such culturally different values proved important in interpreting the data. To conclude, this research illustrates how the use of a rapport management framework can provide new insights in relation to online workplace communication. Email not only 'does' power and performs transactional work, it also accomplishes relational work. Furthermore, the CofP approach provides insights concerning how each workplace establishes different linguistic and non-linguistic practices which form the basis of a distinct workplace culture. Finally, the analysis makes a contribution to the field of email communication from a cross-cultural perspective.</p>

Workplace email communication in New Zealand and Malaysia: Three case studies

<p>This thesis is an analysis of authentic communication between professionals at work in three workplaces (Company NZ1, NZ2 and M). The research involves a contrastive study of internal emails in two different countries (New Zealand and Malaysia) with very distinct cultures. In addition to the email corpus comprising 1745 emails, the analysis is supported by data collected using a mixed-methods approach: fieldwork observations, a questionnaire and interviews. The analysis suggests that workplace culture influences people’s linguistic and non-linguistic behaviours. A Community of Practice (CofP) approach provided insights into characteristics of workplace culture such as the participants' behaviours, language, values and beliefs. This approach also facilitated analysis of how these behaviours were negotiated among the staff members, and how practices were established to signify membership of communities of practice. Using an adapted version of Speech Act Theory, the email messages were coded initially for their main communicative function. The next layer of analysis involved exploring the interpersonal and power dimensions of the communicative function of making requests. To this end, Spencer-Oatey's Rapport Theory was applied as the primary theoretical framework and Halliday's three metafunctions were also used to interpret the emails. The analysis indicated that all three workplaces use email for the same communicative functions, but the proportions of usage differed. In the New Zealand workplaces, providing information is the predominant function, followed by making requests. By contrast, making requests dominates the use of email in the Malaysian workplace. The analysis demonstrates that rapport is managed differently in the three communities of practice. The greater use of informal greetings and closings and various linguistic strategies such as modalised interrogatives and mitigating devices in one New Zealand workplace suggests that participants are attending to rapport, and that they are aware of the importance of maintaining harmonious collegial relationships when making requests of their work colleagues. On the other hand, a greater use of formal greetings and closings, bare imperatives and boosting devices in the Malaysian workplace suggests the converse. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that rapport is managed quite differently even when participants are from the same country (New Zealand) which practises an egalitarian culture. The analysis also demonstrates how superiors and subordinates 'do' power and construct authority through the use of various linguistic strategies, such as imperative mood, use of the personal pronoun ‘I’, and boosting devices. The greater use of these linguistic strategies in the other New Zealand workplace and the Malaysian workplace suggests that more importance was placed on getting the job done than on maintaining rapport. In addition, the analysis identifies different attitudes towards the manifestation of power. In New Zealand where egalitarianism is highly valued, an overt display of power could damage work relationships. By contrast, in Malaysia, inequality in power is accepted as normal. People do not question superiors' authority, rights and entitlement to privileges. Recognising such culturally different values proved important in interpreting the data. To conclude, this research illustrates how the use of a rapport management framework can provide new insights in relation to online workplace communication. Email not only 'does' power and performs transactional work, it also accomplishes relational work. Furthermore, the CofP approach provides insights concerning how each workplace establishes different linguistic and non-linguistic practices which form the basis of a distinct workplace culture. Finally, the analysis makes a contribution to the field of email communication from a cross-cultural perspective.</p>