Teachers’ Politeness Markers in Request in Classroom Interactions

This study is an attempt to examine politeness markers employed by Indonesian English teachers in classroom interactions. Purposefully chosen English teachers were observed, audio-recorded, and analyzed by using the politeness principle and Gricean cooperative principle. The conversation analysis revealed that to mitigate the illocutionary act of request, aside from using internal modifiers at most (consultative device, politeness markers, hesitators, hedges, play-downs, committers, down-toners, understaters), the teachers also used external devices as an adjunct to the head acts (grounder, sweetener, and disarmer). Besides, teachers intentionally violated the maxim for the sake of extending the talk. Further research needs to include more participants and instruments in a wider area of analysis.

Language Education and Systemic Functional Linguistics

The purpose of the present paper is to offer a state-of-the-art review on the topic of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and its theoretical and practical implications on the field of language education, being the former widely recognized due to its potentiality to encourage both reflection and action for the participants involved. Recent empirical studies were located and thoroughly reviewed, which shed light on the three most researched areas including text analysis and literacy intervention, classroom discourse, and the language teaching and learning processes. As a final remark and taking into account the literature analysis, some prospective studies are briefly proposed.

Gricean Maxim Violation(s) in the Murder Case of Jamal Khashoggi

The murder of Jamal Khashoggi in the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Turkey is still controversial. The judgment relies on valid and reliable evidence. This study is vital due to investigating a murder case based on pragmatic meanings as language evidence broadcasted in media. This research employs Grice’s conversational implicature to investigate the murder of Jamal Khashoggi by analyzing the exposed recorded tapes of Jamal Khashoggi and the accused inside the consulate, the utterances of Khadija Changiz, the fiancée of Jamal Khashoggi, and Adel al Jubeir’s statements, the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia as a representative of the Saudi Arabian. The design of this research is a case study, and content analysis is used to analyze the data based on Mayring’s (2000) qualitative content analysis. Based on the findings of the study, the recorded tapes of Jamal Khashoggi and the accused are outlined as ambiguous language. Saudi Arabia denied the murder by saving face, misleading the hearer, and skipping the questions, but later on, affirmed the murder and promised to bring justice. Hence, the results of this study will affect the verdict on the judicial decree, and the accusations will be prosecuted, and justice will be served to Jamal Khashoggi.

Corpus-Based Research in Vocabulary Learning

n the university, corpus-based research is commonly done for writing a thesis. However, corpus-based research can also be introduced for the first year of EFL students to build their critical thinking and vocabulary mastery. Less research discusses the practice of corpus-based research for the first year EFL student. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the benefit and the challenges of corpus-based research in the Indonesian EFL Setting. This study aims to examine the benefits and the challenges of corpus-based research in the Indonesian EFL Setting. Students did corpus-based research in English for the Islamic Studies course. Students tried to structure an English glossary from online Islamic articles, Islamic journals, and Islamic blogs. Forty-four students were chosen as the subject of the research. The survey was done to the students to gather the data about the benefits and the challenges of corpus-based research. The results showed that corpus-based research benefits increase vocabulary, increase students' understanding of research, improve students' accuracy in writing, develop critical thinking, and develop collaboration. Students faced several challenges in implementing corpus-based research. The finding shows students have difficulties in understanding new vocabulary. Besides, they have problems classifying data into specific topics, allocating time, and writing their reports.

English Language Exposure of Students in Visayas State University

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of language exposure toward the learning of the English language of the students in the Visayas State University. A learners’ exposure to the target language does have impact in language learning. Adapting a language exposure questionnaire, the researcher identified the activities that exposed students to the target language. With a scoring guideline, the researcher revealed the level of students’ exposure to the English language. Results of the study showed that more than half of the respondents have a moderate level of language exposure. Students were exposed most to the English language when they are at school or with the use of different media compared to when they are at home or communicating with friends. This result can be utilized both by teachers and students in engaging to appropriate activities both inside and outside the classroom that can help increase the learning of the English language.

The Subaltern's Failure of Recognition in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (1599)

This study seeks to find the struggle of self-recognition from the subaltern group by using the postcolonial psychoanalysis perspective. Shylock and Prince Morocco, considered to be inferior, are dealing with the recognition to make themselves as superior as the dominant class. From the analysis, supported by Fanon’s Black Skin White Mask (1952), recognition is one of the ways for the Other to enter western society. In doing this study, close reading is applied to analyze the following discussion: (1) the racial issue portrayed in The Merchant of Venice; 2) the struggle of the marginalized to gain the recognition; 3) The failure of recognition. Throughout the analysis, both Shylock and Prince Morocco fail to obtain recognition as a way to cross in western society. The constructed society based on western domination does not enable the subaltern to gain their recognition.

The Effectiveness of Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) on ESL Listening Skill

Using mobile technology in English learning and teaching has been on the rise all over the world over the past few decades and hence, has received considerable attention and importance from academics in recent years. As a result, several experimental studies have been carried out about the use and effectiveness of mobile phones in the teaching/learning process. However, there have been only a few studies on mobile-assisted listening comprehension. This study aims to explore whether Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) is effective in teaching/learning listening skills to the students of university-level English language programs and could better enhance students’ listening ability. It also endeavors to assess why some MALL strategies/techniques are more effective than others. This study uses a qualitative research method. It exclusively uses the relevant secondary materials available on the broader topic- the use and efficacy of mobile phones in teaching/learning listening skills. The results indicated that the MALL is meaningfully efficacious in teaching/learning ESL/EFL listening skills. Therefore, using appropriate strategies could positively contribute to bringing about better learning. Besides outlining a brief overview of MALL, the study also recommends some practical and useful stratagems that ESL/EFL educators can use while designing MALL listening tasks/activities.

An Investigation of Macrostructure, Superstructure, and Microstructure on Online News Text

This study aimed to analyze the structure of the text in the news texts of tempo.com entitled “Tolak Relokasi Ibu Kota,” published in 2019, in which it highlighted the government’s plan to relocate the capital city of Indonesia. The descriptive qualitative model was used by adapting van Dijk’s approach. The data were analyzed only in terms of the structure of text on online media tempo.com and with the orientation of the descriptive-analytic method. The data of this study were presented qualitatively. The results showed that the journalists of tempo.com media built public opinion in the news negatively. The journalists utilized selected diction, cause-effect organization, and selected speaker’s indirect quotations to produce news texts. Besides, the news was considered in harmony with its mission of providing a multimedia product independent and free from all pressures. The readers were led to a negative image of the government on tempo.com as an active and existent media in voicing justice.

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies: A Reconsideration

This paper reconsiders William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Allegorical writings can illustrate ethical, social or psychological and moral issues using the manipulation of images that have stipulated meanings other than their meanings as imitations of the actual world. Allegory has been used widely throughout history in all forms of art, and comprehensible for the reader, conveys hidden meanings through symbolic figures. Lord of the Flies had been written in relation to historical circumstances of the twentieth-century and to the personal experience of William Golding. Also, it has provided a critical analysis of the novel that treated the prominent perspective and elements in it. The novel is a parallel of life in the late twentieth century, while it looks like society a stage of enhancement in technology whereas, human morality is not completely mature yet. “Lord of the Flies is an allegorical microcosm of the world. The destruction of World War II because of the dictators who initiated this war has a profound impact on William Golding himself”. In the beginning, the paper gives an introduction to Golding’s point of view on humanity with the title of how to draw attention to me through allegory and fable, two forms of imaginative literature that encouraged the reader and listener to look for hidden meanings. Then it deals with William Golding’s Lord of the Flies from the cultural approaches of that time, who is one of the most prominent literary men of postmodernism that was famous for utilizing symbolism within the novel; “he used different kinds of symbols, characters, objects, animals, colors and setting to convey his message about his main theme”, in the last section we analyzed the postmodern features in Lord of the Flies and how they are used to depict Golding’s view. The way Golding uses allegory strengthens the symbolism of his novel. Finally, it tackles the educational value through his experiences in teaching along with critical analysis of Golding’s technique.

Grotesque Character as A Criticism to Racism in Flannery O' Connor's "The Geranium"

Grotesque character commonly refers to Southern Black or Black character who represents “misfit” and “freak” and bad things. Grotesque character is often used in Flannery O’Connor’s short stories to criticize the issues in society. In the short story “The Geranium,” she criticizes the Black racial issue in White society at that time. This paper aims at showing how a White character, Old Dudley, who is considered as having high status, is placed as a grotesque character in the form of a “freak” person with dislocations and hallucination. This paper also intends to show how O’Connor represents Southern, and Northern Black characters legitimated as grotesque or evil in White society indeed have good sides. This study finds out that grotesque is used to address a criticism toward White supremacy on Black subordination and that grotesque is indeed a bad part of the dual quality (good and bad) of all human characters in the short story.