“THANK YOU, IT REALLY MAKES MY DAY”: COMPLIMENT RESPONSES REVISITED

Complimenting is a typical speaking act and the method in which it is responded to can vary based on the culture of the speakers as well as the influence of other circumstances. The purpose of this study was to provide a more in-depth knowledge of compliment response research based on how it is used by university students learning EFL in everyday life. Furthermore, this study also aims at finding out if exposure to another culture affects university students learning English as a second language while responding to compliments. The data were garnered using data elicitation method by complimenting the participants’ look, possession, character, or aptitude. The finding found that the participants used ten types of responses; listed from the most frequently used type of compliment responses to the least used type of compliment responses: Comment Acceptance (8), Appreciation Token (2), Comment History (2), Question (2), Praise Upgrade (1), Reassignment (1), Return (1), Scale Down (1), Disagreement (1), and Qualification (1). According to the data, the majority of students in an international English literature class at Brawijaya University are likely to accept the compliments. Students tend to take compliments by thanking them and then making related comments. English-speaking countries consider a simple "thank you" to be an adequate response to a praise. This present study also confirms that short term encounterance with foreign culture exposure slightly affect EFL learners’ way of responding to compliments. This shows that the students learn the English language culture in terms of compliment.

Perspectives of Test Examiners of the Localized Speaking Assessment Framework: A Case Study in Vietnam

The present study explores the test examiners'' perspectives on the role and qualitative aspects of the current localized speaking assessment framework used in Vietnam. A case study with two experienced test examiner-cum-English lecturers was conducted. Inductive content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data findings obtained from individual semi-structured interviews. Drawbacks, merits, and standardization issues of the current localized speaking assessment frameworks, i.e., the Vietnamese Standardized Test of English Proficiency (VSTEP), were also discussed, especially in comparison to internationally recognized examinations and frameworks such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) as well as the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The study informed both English educators and policymakers to improve localized speaking assessment to suit the local teaching needs while still meeting the requirements of widely accepted international proficiency tests.

Re-creating the hybrid text: postcolonial Indian writings and the European scene

For a language with a wealth of great literature such as English, globaliza-tion has been a mixed blessing. The International English of Mc World is a poor descendant of the language of Shakespeare and Dickens. On the other hand, English literature has been tremendously enriched by writings from the former colonies of the British Empire, creating their own ‘norms’ of English – ‘a new English’, as Chinua Achebe famously put it, “still in full communion with its ancestral home, but altered to suit its new surroundings ”. In the postcolonial literary scene, such ‘hybrid’ texts – or ‘métissés ’– are now a familiar feature, but a complicated one for translators working into other European languages. This essay concentrates on India, and looking at writings by Sethu (Pandavapuram in English translation) and Arundhati Roy (The God of Small Things in English and in German translation), it investigates the striking features of hybrid source texts and the cultural and linguistic problems involved in re-creating them for a European target culture.

Correlations Between IELTS and TOEIC Scores

This study investigated correlations between scores on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test and the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) in an attempt to determine the practicality of substituting TOEIC scores for IELTS scores as a language requirement for English-medium universities. Eighty-four university students took part in the study, and their IELTS and TOEIC scores were analyzed. Significant correlations were found between scores for the same skill on the two tests (r between .50 and .69). When different skill scores were added together, the correlations between the combined scores were even higher (r between .77 and .81). In light of these results, I argue for using the TOEIC as a proxy for the IELTS test. 本研究では、英語で授業が行われる大学への入学条件として、Test of English for International Communication（TOEIC）の得点をInternational English Language Testing System （IELTS）の得点で代替することの実用性を探るため、IELTSとTOEICの得点間の相関を調べた。84名の大学生が本研究に参加し、彼らのIELTSとTOEICの得点を分析した。両テストの同じ技能スコア間には有意な相関があった（相関係数.50～.69）。異なる技能スコアが加算されると、合計得点間の相関は更に高かった（相関係数.77～.81）。これらの結果に基づき、TOEICをIELTSの代替として使うことに関して賛成の立場から論ずる。

A corpus-based study of LGBT-related news discourse in Thailand’s and international English-language newspapers

The present study examines how LGBT is represented discursively in the Bangkok Post, a major English-language newspaper in Thailand, using corpus linguistic methods. A corpus of news reports on LGBT-related matters in the Bangkok Post was compiled. Statistically significant collocates of each word that makes up the acronym were extracted and analyzed in comparison with those found from two international newspaper corpora: COCA and SiBol. It was found that collocations that point to “political movement”, “crime” and “HIV” are shared by the three corpora, suggesting the press’s common stance on the newsworthiness of these issues and at the same time its contribution to the construction and circulation of these discourses related to LGBT. However, the Bangkok Post is marked off from the reference corpora by beauty contest discourse and the absence of issues about the disclosure of homosexual identities and LGBT representation in entertainment. This suggests socio-cultural influence in the way LGBT is represented in Thailand’s English-language newspaper.

Research on the Innovation of College English Reading Education based on the Analysis of Language and Cultural Differences

With the development of global economy, communication based on linguistic and cultural differences has become a part of people's daily life. instruction English reading based on linguistic and cultural differences is an important way to cultivate high-level and international English professionals. In the process of implementing English reading instruction based on linguistic and cultural differences, we should eliminate the prejudices in terms of traditional thinking and cultural views, continuously improve teachers' instruction ability, and reasonably select instruction materials. Moreover, we should design instruction tasks according to students' receptive abilities, and promote high-quality development of reading instruction based on linguistic and cultural differences through exploratory, open and discursive instruction practices.

Assessment of the reporting quality of randomised controlled trials of massage

Objective To assess the reporting quality of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of massage, particularly whether necessary elements related to massage interventions were adequately reported. Methods A total of 8 electronic databases were systematically searched for massage RCTs published in English and Chinese from the date of their inception to June 22, 2020. Quality assessment was performed using three instruments, namely the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) 2010 Checklist (37 items), the CONSORT Extension for NPT (Nonpharmacologic Treatments) 2017 checklist (18 items), and a self-designed massage-specific checklist (16 items) which included massage rationale, intervention and control group details. Descriptive statistics were additionally used to analyse the baseline characteristics of included trials. Results A total of 2,447 massage RCTs were identified, of which most (96.8%) were distributed in China. For the completeness of CONSORT, NPT Extension, and massage-specific checklists, the average reporting percentages were 50%, 10% and 45%, respectively. Of 68 assessed items in total (exclusion of 3 repeated items on intervention), 42 were poorly presented, including 18 CONSORT items, 15 NPT items, and 9 massage-specific items. Although the overall quality of reporting showed slightly improvement in articles published after 2010, the international (English) journals presented a higher score of the CONSORT and NPT items, while the Chinese journals were associated with the increased score of massage-specific items. Conclusion The quality of reporting of published massage RCTs is variable and in need of improvement. Reporting guideline “CONSORT extension for massage” should be developed.