Individualism and collectivism in advertising – An overview

Advertising is increasingly important in every corner of the world. It has become an indispensable part for both producers and consumers in modern society to boost the production and consumption of the products. To succeed in advertising, one component advertisers cannot ignore is cultural values because they are one of the determinants of customers’ behavior. Of the cultural dimensions, individualism and collectivism are considered the most important one. This study, therefore, sets the light on an overview of how individualism and collectivism is manifested in advertising in term of advertising themes, advertising creative tactics and linguistic advertising features in empirical studies. It then specifies what have and has not been done on the topic alike so that anyone interested in the field will find the gaps for their future research.

Tertiary Ecuadorian Students' Beliefs About Learning a Foreign Language: A Descriptive Study

This descriptive study aimed at identifying tertiary Ecuadorian students' beliefs about learning a foreign language. The sample was composed of 200 (n=200) students enrolled in the first semester of Agriculture, Nursing, Pedagogy, and Psychopedagogy in a public university in the Los Rios province, Ecuador. Among the participants, 168 were female (84%), and 32 were male (16%). The mean age was 21.49, varying from 18 to 44 years old. The data was collected using the Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory questionnaire (BALLI), and it was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results demonstrated that participants reported strong beliefs in the categories of aptitude for learning the language, motivation and expectations, and learning and communication strategies. The results of this research will unblock a new field of studies to be conducted in the country. The authors recommend doing qualitative studies to deeply understand the reason for each one of the most salient beliefs.

Potential Changes in Saudi Students’ Motivations and Attitudes towards Learning English as a Foreign Language after Immersion in an L2 Learning Environment

This study traces potential changes in the motivation of Saudi students studying English as a second language (L2) in the UK. It investigates whether the beliefs and motivations of these students have changed during their learning experience, and identifies the pedagogical implications of such change for English teaching, not only to Saudi students in the UK but also to Saudi students enrolled in Saudi higher education institutions. It aims to identify the reasons behind changes in motivation as well as the impact these may have on students’ attitudes towards learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Data from questionnaires, interviews, and observations are used through three phases of the English academic programme. The study subjects are newly arrived Saudi students (three PhD students and 29 Master’s students) studying in four different universities in the UK under the fields of Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, and Translation. The conceptual framework is based on Dörnyei’s L2 Motivational Self System Theory and Dörnyei & Ushioda’s motivation and L2 self-framework. Changes in motivation are usually accompanied by changes in students’ classroom involvement, attitudes towards the target language, and positive or negative impacts on the students’ outcomes and language competencies. Similar to other types of learning, L2 learning cannot take place in a vacuum. The present study has various contributions to the field of SLA. First, it validates earlier studies about the issue of motivation in linguistics, attitudes towards language, and changes in one’s self-identity as an outcome of language development. Second, it serves as an addition to the body of knowledge pertaining to motivation and attitude of Saudi students towards English as L2 and the important role of culture in this process. Further, it serves as an important contribution to how Saudi students’ L2 acquisition is understood using Dörnyei's L2 Motivational Self System.

Teaching Interpreting for Tourism Purposes

This article proposes a model for teaching interpreting for tourism purposes. It shows the aims of the model, interpreting materials, training strategies, training environment and assessment techniques. The model aims to train students to interpret in English with or without prior preparation or knowledge of the topic and without taking or reading form notes. The training model consists of the following exercises: (i) breathing exercises; (ii) memory training exercises; (iii) shadowing exercises; (iv) sentence paraphrasing; (v) summarizing sentences, then whole paragraphs about tourism; (vi) listening to single words, sentences, and a short paragraph about tourism and interpreting them; (vii) listening to familiar and easy tourism topics, then more difficult ones with a variety of tourism sub-topics. In a multimedia language lab, the students may listen to tourism podcasts, watch tourism documentaries or TED Talks and interpret the content from English to Arabic and vice versa. Simulations (role playing) of tourists and interpreters in teams of three or more may be conducted. Students may also visit a local tourist attraction, interpret, or give a commentary on-site. The training program objectives, types of interpreting, interpreting exercises, training materials, teaching and learning strategies and assessment techniques are described in detail.

The Role of Literature in Achieving Proficiency in Language Use: The Case of ESL

It has been observed that many users of English in Nigeria do not possess the required level of competence in the language despite its second language status, with its attendant high functional load. This paper seeks to discover the role of literature in achieving proficiency in the use of the English language. To this end, it is targeted at exploring literature in English as a veritable resource in achieving the required proficiency among Nigerian users of English as a second language. The study population consists of final year students of the Department of English language and Literature of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka in Nigeria. Questionnaires and participant observations were adopted as the instruments for data collection. It was discovered that students who have more exposure to literary works are more proficient in using the English language. It, therefore, concluded that making students read literary works, listen, dramatize, and recite them will acquaint them with the comprehensible input they need to achieve the requisite competence in the language.

The Effect of Peer Assessment and Collaborative Assessment on Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners' Writing Ability

As an attempt to shed more light on the effectiveness of alternative assessment in second language learning, the current study sought to explore the effects of peer assessment (PA) and collaborative assessment (CA) on the Iranian intermediate EFL learners' writing ability. To fulfil the purpose of this study, 36 Iranian EFL learners studying English at Kadous English Language Institute in Rasht, Iran, were homogenized as intermediate learners based on their performance on Oxford Solutions Placement Test (OSPT). The final pool of qualified candidates was assigned to one control and two experimental groups comprising 12 learners. All the participants sat for a pretest of L2 writing so that their initial level of writing could be appraised and their homogeneity in writing could be determined. The experimental groups received treatment on English writing through utilizing PA and CA strategies. On the other hand, the control group was taught through the conventional method (i.e. teacher assessment, TA). At the end of a twelve-session experiment, a post-test measuring the effectiveness of the treatments and the participants' writing ability was administered. The results of descriptive and inferential analyses revealed a statistically significant difference among CA, PA, and TA strategies. The results also demonstrated that the CA and PA groups outperformed the control group. However, the CA group performed significantly better than the PA group. Based on the findings of this study, language teachers, materials developers, and education authorities can concentrate on employing CA as the main strategy to foster the writing ability of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. However, PA may also be utilized to teach writing where possible.

Problems of Female Preservice Kuwaiti English Language Teachers During the Practicum Course

Knowledge of pre-service teachers' difficulties and the obstacles they face during their practicum is supremely important to designing and implementing a successful field experience. Based on this, the current study explored and discussed the most frequent problems that Kuwaiti English language pre-service teachers face during their practicum course. The purpose of this research is to learn more about the challenges and obstacles that female pre-service Kuwaiti English language teachers (n = 45) may experience throughout their practicum period. To achieve the intended outcomes, the study used a qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with female pre-service English language teachers at the college of Basic Education in Kuwait. The College of Basic Education plays a key role in providing qualified female teachers to the Ministry of Education through a training program that prepares potential English instructors to fulfil the career requirements of English instructors. According to the findings of the research, different issues have been aroused by the participants as they have complained about some aspects of the practicum course, including preparing lesson plans and workload, relationship with colleagues in the department, classroom management (especially dealing with students who have special cases), and academic supervisors. Interpretations of the results and recommendations are discussed in relation to the context of the study.

Syntactic Complexity Measures as Indicators of Teaching L2 Academic English Writing

The purpose of this research is to examine the effectiveness of reforming academic English writing instruction via the perspective of the syntactic complexity of L2 learners' practice. The present study evaluates 14 measures of syntactic complexity as indicators of language growth in academic writing by 52 Chinese undergraduate students. The findings indicate that an intensive academic teaching design can be used to help students enhance their academic writing output ability. The findings of this study provide direct quantitative evidence for altering classroom instruction, textbook compilation, assessment practice, and curriculum development at the undergraduate level for academic English.

The Challenges Facing Arab Researchers in Using English References in Research

This study investigates why Arabic researchers do not employ English references and citations in their studies. Even though many colleges and universities teach English in their undergraduate and postgraduate stages, Arabic researchers face real challenges in using English language references. This is due to apparent weakness in their English language competency, and teaching, learning, and assessing at schools, colleges, and universities. As a result, graduates with poor English language skills from colleges and universities with various scientific credentials and specialties, particularly the humanistic specialization, are produced. This, in turn, has a significant impact on the quality of the research and studies they perform both before and after graduation. This weakness is also due to their independence and general ignorance of the English language, so they rely primarily on Arabic references, rarely using English language references. As a result, they miss out on a significant amount of information, valuable studies, significant research, and a vast amount of scientific areas. The study data consisted of 76 Arabic journals to determine to what extent Arabic researchers employ English references in their studies compared to Arabic ones. The findings revealed that the researchers depend on Arabic references when they do their research. Indeed, this will impact the overall quality of Arabic research and development, resulting in a frail motivation towering over the world's correspondences. Some recommendations were made to develop remedies and enhance researchers in the Arab world.

A Corpus-based Study of the Use of Pause Fillers Among British English Speakers

Many people use pause fillers such as um, erm, and er in order to signal to the other person that they have not finished speaking yet. This paper aims to investigate pause fillers and their relationship with the two sociolinguistic variables of age and gender. The data-driven analysis is based on the British National Corpus (BNC). The results show that the sociolinguistic variables of age and gender influence the use of pause fillers among British English speakers, which is proposed to be linked to the advancement of age and an improved fluency among female speakers.