Journal of English Language and Literature (JELL)
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Satire in Swift’s Own Words: Considerations on Glossopoesis in Gulliver’s Travels
No full textJonathan Swift’s satire Gulliver’s Travels has always been subject of extensive research. However, some points are deserving of more discussion. The present essay aims to exploit those points, namely the languages invented by the author, tracing their possible origins and explaining their glosses as accurately as achievable, by researching the most relevant references available like Ehrenpreis (1948), Asimov (1980), Clark (1972) and Pons (1972), and investigating the relevant matters in his writing, hence providing a more specific study on Swift’s memorable glossopoeias, which, in turn, will also corroborate to a wider understanding of the writer’s satiric view, otherwise hidden in the author’s neologisms. While this paper does not claim to have deciphered every and any ‘artificial’ word Swift coined, it has certainly contributed an enhanced comprehension of the glossopoeias found in the texts
The Role of Children’s Literature in the Declaration of Nigeria as a Multicultural State
No full textThis paper considers the role of children’s literature in the declaration of Nigeria as a multicultural State. Nigeria is generally noted for its numerous languages, cultures and dialects. Children’s literature has always provided opportunity for cultivation of individual and group’s cultural heritage promoting its appreciation and internalization. The growth and development of children’s self-perception is impacted, resulting in transference of such to future use as well as generation unborn. This paper, therefore, proposes that given the inherent role literature plays in character molding, children’s literature should be replete with topics and ideas that promote better understanding of cultures and diversities represented within Nigeria. This will thereby make children’s literature a vital tool for promoting the declaration of Nigeria as a multicultural state.
Types of Motivation in Iranian EFL learners toward English Language Learning
No full textThis study aimed at investigating the types of motivation (integrative, instrumental, intrinsic and extrinsic) that Iranian students, studying English, have toward the learning of the English language. A modified27-item motivational survey adapted from Gardner’s (1985) Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) questionnaire was administered to 47 (male and female) who were studying English as their second language. The data was then recorded in SPSS computer software and later was calculated with the help of the descriptive data. The findings revealed that the students had high levels of integrative and instrumental motivation to learn English. Their integrative motivation was found slightly higher than their instrumental motivation. Contrary to intrinsic motivation, the learners demonstrated a relatively high extrinsic motivation. Following these findings, some pedagogical implications are discussed with their recommendations
Exploring Iranian EFL Learners’ Attitudes towards English Language Norms and Their Impacts on Ideal L2 Self, Criterion Measure, Cultural Interest, and Integrativenes
No full textThis study investigated the Iranian EFL learners’ attitudes toward English norms (standard vs. nativized). Moreover, the roles played by these attitudes in some motivational factors were examined. The study utilized a mixed-methods approach (QUAN→qual). To this end, four participants were interviewed for the QUAL part and 162 EFL learners were selected for QUAN phase from different private language institutes and universities in Mashhad and Nyshaboor, two cites in northeast of Iran. They were asked to complete a battery of two questionnaires: 1) Attitudes towards English language norms in the expanding circle questionnaire (Khatib & Rahimi, 2015) and 2) Dornyei’s L2 motivational self-system questionnaire. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that attitudes to English language norms positively and significantly predicted all the motivational components: Ideal L2 self (β= .32, t= 4.09), criterion measure (β= .29, t= 3.85), cultural interest (β= .33, t= 5.12), and integrativenes (β= .28, t= 3.33). The results of interviews were in line with those of quantitative phase. The conclusions and pedagogical implications of the investigation as well as limitations and suggestions for further research were discussed
The Realisation of the Rising Tone in Nigerian English
No full textNigerian English differs significantly from British English with the obvious disparity in the use of the rising tone and the meanings associated with it. This paper analyses the realization of the rising tone and the extent to which its use in Nigerian English differs from that in British English. Recorded utterances and spontaneous conversations were collected and analysed. A list of conversations got from O’Connor and Arnold (1987) were administered to fifty subjects whose responses were recorded and examined. The tones were analysed to show how the rising tone is used in Popular Nigerian English (PNE) to achieve pragmatic effect in communication. The result showed significant differences in how PNE and BE speakers use the rising tone, how they associate meanings to it, and how the pattern of the rising contrast
Intercultural Language Teaching: What Skills are needed to cope with a 21st Century EFL classroom?
No full textThe purpose of this article is to enrich EFL teachers’ understanding of the re-considerations involved in the nature of language learning with respect to the increasing process of global economic, political, linguistic and cultural integration. Needless to say, the globalization process tends to blur national boundaries, and this has already started with the European Union. What is more, the use of computer-assisted learning devices and other ICT tools, which have reduced the world into a village-like planet, have tremendously affected the field of foreign language pedagogy. All this, virtually creates a need for greater cross-cultural knowledge. The language learning communicative ends of the 70s and 80s have been re-moulded on intercultural grounds to give birth to a new concept: inter/cross-cultural competence. This intercultural scheme, one might argue, ensures the link between teaching language and learning culture, hence the intercultural language teaching or ‘teaching-and-learning language-and-culture’ approach (hereafter written TLLC), a term coined by Byram et al. (1994)
Merlin the Political, Spiritual and Romantic Shape-Shifter in Robert de Boron’s, Joseph of Arimathea, Merlin, Perceval: The Trilogy of Prose Romances and Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene
No full textMerlin as an allegorical character has been dwelling in caves and forests casting spells and operating as a political, spiritual and romantic shape-shifter within our minds for centuries. Merlin’s shape-shifting and clairvoyance dates back to Greek mythology with Tiresias who shape-shifts gender and sees all as a blind seer. Much like Merlin our early seer sees the future as it is happening and offers truthful forecasts of fate (Schutz 277). An examination of the Trilogy and The Faerie Queene shall reveal that Merlin whether rooted in Christian scripture or Christian Cabalistic Imperialistic white magic has remained throughout the centuries as a truly omnipresent shape-shifter through his props and has created a legend of spiritual, political and romantic transcendence. Robert and Spenser utilized Merlin for different purposes, Robert to foster Christianity and Spenser to foster the strength of the monarchy. Ultimately, both writers created a humanistic character that would change the course of events
Developing Group Investigation Based Student Worksheets
No full textThe purposes of this research are to describe the development of Group Investigation Based Student Worksheets on Similarity and Congruence for the 9th Grade Students, as well as to find out the quality of Student Worksheets developed based on the aspects of validity and practicality. It is a Research and Development (R&D), with the findings as follows; (1) the validation conducted by the material experts obtained the percentage of feasibility of 82%, (2) the validation conducted by the design experts obtained the percentage of feasibility of 77,9%, (3) the validation conducted by the media experts obtained the percentage of feasibility is 94,29%, (4) the students’ responses on the individual test obtained the percentage of feasibility of 95,03%, which is categorized very feasible, (5) the students’ responses on the small-group test obtained the percentage of feasibility of 79,2%, which is categorized very feasible, (6) the students’ responses on the large-group test obtained the percentage of feasibility of 79,2%. Based on the data analysis obtained from the assessment on the Student Worksheets conducted by some experts (material, design, and media) and based on the data of students’ response obtained from the product testing, it can be concluded that the developed Student Worksheets meet the validity and practicality criteria
Collocational Restrictions of English Phrasal Verbs
No full textIdioms and phrasal verbs constitute a highly considerable portion of the English vocabulary and their mastery is often indicated as a native like competence. They pose many difficulties to foreign learners because of their syntactic and semantic abnormalities. On semantic terms phrasal verbs, and idiomatic ones in particular, are viewed as phrases which do not correspond to their literal meanings. Syntactically they could be recognized by their idiosyncratic behavior which often defies the usual syntactic operations. The view of idioms and phrasal verbs as bits of frozen units provides only little possibility of syntactic and sematic flexibility. This paper attempts to trace the flexibility of the structure of phrasal verbs with reference to the collocational restrictions that govern their structures
Temporal notion metaphorically used for love in English and Vietnamese
No full textLove – an abstract concept becomes more concrete and easier to understand in temporal language including chronological and kairotic terms. In the light of the conceptual metaphor theory launched by Lakoff and Johnson (1980), eight source domains for love are found underlying 204 temporal expressions (80 English and 124 Vietnamese). All the conceptual metaphors and many of the metaphorical expressions are the same in the two languages. These resemblances may be shed light on by the universality of metaphor and the objectiveness of time. However, language is a cultural factor; it develops in the relationship with the culture. Hence, coming from two different cultures, the temporal terms employed to relate love are not completely similar between English and Vietnamese