Journal of English Language and Literature (JELL)
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Dressing Wounds: Considerations on Trauma Theory and Life Writing in Vera Brittain’s Testament of Youth
No full textThis paper aims at analyzing how the trauma inflicted by the First World War is described by Vera Brittain in her autobiographical novel Testament of Youth (1933). The author, who shares many features in common with Virginia Woolf – regarding witnessing and writing about trauma – also lost her loved ones to the War: her fiancé, Roland Leighton, her brother, Edward Brittain, and her friend, Victor Richardson.For Vera Brittain and some of her contemporaries, nursing became a woman‟s experience of taking part in the male-dominated realm of the First War. From treating wounds to listening to injured soldiers‟ talks, First War nurses grasped the geographies of men‟s bodies and minds, something regarded as “improper” by most parents whose daughters were born between the late Victorian and early Edwardian ages. Nursing was the closest a woman could get to the battleground in those days; in Brittain‟s case, for instance, the only safe way to see Roland again. V.A.D. nursing also allowed many women to evolve from tactile experience to the subjective activity of writing about the War, and Brittain‟s Testament of Youth may be regarded as one of its best examples.What may account for the title Testament of Youth is the thought Brittain kept that writing about the distress she and her contemporaries felt due to war would probably have an impact on coming generations. She leaves a “testament” of a terrible incident that would more likely recede; yet, she acknowledges that, whatever may happen, it would never surpass the impact that the First War had on her generation of young women, who were deprived of the innocence of their youth
“One of Us” in Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim: Fact or Myth?
No full textThis paper attempts to analyse the term ‘one of us’ in Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim from a range of viewpoints. Marlow consistently regards Jim as ‘one of us’ and many hidden meanings tag along. We have to ponder over the fact that what Marlow’s actual intention is especially when he utters those three words. Consequently, the phrase, ‘one of us’ has turned into a tricky puzzle before us. Let us find out what is concealed behind these words. However, it goes without saying that this paper will concentrate especially on racism, behaviour, optimism, honour, sympathy, shameful secrets, homosexuality, trustworthiness, manliness and courage and universality in order to detect the factual meanings of the term in question
On the effect of Language Proficiency on Learners’ Autonomy and Motivation
No full textThe present study aimed at investigating the effect of Iranian EFL learners’ proficiency level on their motivation and autonomy. To this end, 141 English major participants, both male and female, at Imam Khomeini International University and Kar non-profit university in Qazvin, Iran were asked to fill in two questionnaires on motivation and learner autonomy. Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) and an autonomy questionnaire developed by Zhang and Li (2004) were used to assess these variables. Also, the participants’ proficiency level was checked using their scores on the Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency (MTELP). The collected data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis procedure, and the findings revealed that the students’ language proficiency did not influence their motivation and autonomy. In other words, language proficiency was not an influential factor in students’ motivation and autonomy. The results of the present study may be helpful for teachers, learners and syllabus designers. A clear understanding of the nature of the relationship between language proficiency and traits like motivation and autonomy can help those involved in language teaching and learning to make more informed decisions about the steps to take to improve the above-mentioned traits
A Focus On Caricature In Chukwuemeka IKE’s Our Children Are Coming
No full textThe study commenced with conceptual clarification in order to properly define the focus and state the purpose of the study which is to study caricature in Ike’s Our Children Are Coming and point out its communicative function. The researcher carried out a review of some critical works on Ike’s novels to establish a lacuna that this study intended to fill. The researcher observed that caricature as an aspect of Ike’s style had not been investigated. In the novel, Our Children Are Coming caricature is a device employed by Ike to ridicule characters, titles, and commissions of inquiry in Nigeria in order to bring about a positive change. A number of passages were extracted from the novel and analysed. Some of the findings of the study are: caricature enhances an understanding and interpretation of the novel; it has both entertainment and communicative functions; it is a way of expressing the author’s disgust for some people,their idea, and the institution they represent
African Nationalism: Two Different Intellectual Perspectives
No full textAfrican Nationalism was a multifaceted political movement that has had different origins, developments and outgoings considering the complexity of cultures, religions, natural environments and ethnicities of this immense continent. It’s of course inappropiate to talk about “African Nationalism”, as an identical and common phenomenon that brought to the independence from Colonialism in each state. As for Nationalism in Europe, it had its own specificity in at least the main big areas of North, West, East and South of Africa
On the State of L1 and L2 Knowledge in FL Learners: A Review of Issues
No full textThere has been extensive research into how L1 affects L2, commonly known as ‘negative influence’, but a lot less about the opposite direction, commonly known as ‘Reverse or Backward’ transfer. As well as the first language influences the second, the second language influences the first. The present study, therefore, attempts to examine and critically review pertinent research into the question of bidirectional influence between languages. First, it traces the conceptual framework of the notion L1→L2 effect. Second, it attempts to demonstrate how an emerging new language (L2) affects the existing L1. Third, it examines the pedagogical aspects of both directions, as manifested in L2 classroom. Special focus will be given to how the concept of “multicompetence” sees the goal of L2 learning and how language teaching should reflect such a goal. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of using learners’ first language in L2 classroom will be highlighted and specific methodological recommendations will be made
True Love as a Boundary Breaker of Culture in Chetan Bhgat’s 2 States: The Story of My Life
No full textThis article tries to demonstrate the power of spiritual love in Chetan Bhagat’s autobiographical novel 2 States: The Story of My Life. Love is universal. It is a force for making the unity among people. The eternal power of love assimilates different cultures, castes, classes and traditions, and creates a harmony among them. This novel recounts the experiences and emotions of people in different states of India. This is a story about a girl and a boy from different states with the different cultures and caste system. They fall in love but have to face hardships in convincing their parents to support their marriage. In Indian culture, they cannot defy their parents' consent. A boy and a girl named Krish and Ananya want to change their love into marriage but it is as a Herculean task for them because of the cultural differences between two societies. Finally, they get success to change their dream into reality only through the true love, as it is the facilitator of interpersonal relationships. Indeed, love keeps human beings together against threats, breaks the barriers and harmonizes their dissimilarities. Based on this line, this article discusses Bhagat’s 2 States and proves the love as a boundary breaker of dissimilar cultures
The Impact of Existentialism in Shakespeare’s Hamlet
No full textThis article attempts to treat Shakespeare as existentialism’s prolific precursor, as a writer who focuses on existentialist ideas in his own distinctive theatrical and poetic terms long before they were fully developed in the philosophical and literary terms of the 20th century. The plays of Shakespeare and existentialist philosophy are equally fascinated by issues such as authenticity and in-authenticity, freedom of thought, being and nothingness, authenticity, freedom, and self-becoming. In recent years, Shakespearean criticism has shied away from these fundamental existentialist concerns as reflected in his play, Hamlet, preferring to investigate the historical and cultural conditioning of human subjectivity. It aims to provide a sketch of existentialist thought and survey the influence of existentialism on readings of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It also suggests that Shakespeare and modern existentialist philosophers and thinkers share a deep interest in the creative fusion of fiction and philosophy as the most faithful means of articulating the existentialist immediacy of experience and the philosophical quandaries. My attempt is to offer the critical viewpoints of Shakespearean critics, scholars, and some well-reputed existentialist philosophers and thinkers with a view to signifying existentialist readings of Shakespeare’s Hamlet
The importance of Metacognitive Strategies to Enhance Reading Comprehension Skills of Learners: A Self-directed Learning Approach
No full textThis article “The importance of Metacognitive Strategies to Enhance Reading Comprehension Skills of Learners: A Self-directed Learning Approach” deals with an in-depth study and implementation of Metacognitive strategies. This study investigates as to what extent the teaching of metacognition is feasible in the classroom and how students could get the maximum from applying metacognitive strategies and styles. This research aims at emphasizing the use of metacognitive strategies as a useful resource to enhance reading comprehension of students. The purpose of the literature review in this study is to more elaborate this topic to get the profound insights into the actual framework of metacognition so that implementations could be made as much as possible. Furthermore, to explore literature review is an authentic source to know as how much research has been conducted so far. It will be identified also that what is missing that needs to be addressed. The themes that would be explored in the review of literature are as following: Theoretical Framework, Motivation and Performance, Metacognitive strategies, Metacognitive instruction; and Empirical evidence of teaching metacognition
Age and Second Language Development: A Critical Study
No full textThis paper focuses on the critical analysis of theoretical and the basic empirical findings dealing with the question of Age and Second Language Development (L2D). Both behavioral and brain-based results are shown in the contexts of background and terminology, age of acquisition, critical period hypothesis, age effects, native attainment, evidence of non-nativelikeness, age and nativelikenss in the brain-based results, the aging brain, cognitive considerations, affective considerations, brain volume, and dopamine mechanism among children and adults. Suggesting beyond the classical judgments of “deficient” L2 development, we comment on the complimentary issues of learner potential in post-adolescent L2D