Journal of English Language and Literature (JELL)
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The Romantic Quest for Identity: Re-reading the First Part of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
No full textThis paper proposes a re-reading of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poetic masterpiece, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, in an attempt to deepen the critical discussion about one of the major themes explored in the poem, that is the search for identity. In particular, this attempt will consist of a close reading of the first section of the ballad, inasmuch as it contains the fundamental pattern of the whole text. The conceptual framework underlying this analysis is based on Coleridge’s key principle of “the coincidence of opposites”, which the Author develops in his critical work Biographia Literaria. Indeed, the whole of Coleridge’s oeuvre is permeated by the idea of a dialectical tension between contrary forces, which struggle against each other so as to be joined, at last, in the dynamic unity of a superior harmony. In the light of this conception, the Romantic quest for identity takes the form of a struggle between two opposing forces: the impact of otherness with its confounding effects on the one side, and the irrepressible aspiration towards a unified self on the other. Such a conflicting dynamics appears to structure the entire ballad, starting from the incipit of the poem and involving all the characters – especially the two opposite figures of the ancient Mariner and the Wedding Guest
Imagination and Faith as Survival Tactics: A Psychoanalytical Study of All But My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein
No full textGerda Weissmann Klein, the survivor of the Nazi’s genocide, in her autobiography All But My Life narrated how imagination and faith acted as coping mechanisms for survival and how this empowered her mind and body and helped her to live as an immortal spiritual being. She never thought of giving up her hopes and walked ahead through hardships with determination. Thus she survived the torments in Nazi concentration camp, unlike her fellow companions. This paper also focussed attention on major psychological responses shown by individuals when adjusting to loss, ten commonalities of suicide, ‘Coping Skills’ and ‘Applied Relaxation’ techniques, soothing power of music and day dreaming over emotional thoughts. This paper also included the main theoretical aspects suggested by Sigmund Freud, Timothy Williamson, Roy Eugene Davis, Jacques Lacan, Wilfred Bion, Immanuel Kant, Donald Robertson, James Bernard, Arthur Schopenhaur, Erin Buckels, Delroy Paulhus and Daniel Jones, and mentioned briefly the life stories of Napolean Bonaparte, Ethel Muvany and viktor Frankle, similar to that of Gerda’s real life story
The 'Idol' of Prophet Muhammad in Greene’s Alphonsus
No full textThe image of Prophet Muhammad (570-632) is entirely inaccurate in Early Modern Drama. A ridiculous form of the name of the Prophet, 'Mahomet', was an artifact of abuse, distortion and misrepresentation placed at the focus of Western prejudgment of Islam. It is worth exploring the way myth works in relation to Greene’s Alphonsus, in order to understand better Renaissance views of Prophet Muhammad. His only prejudice seems to be against Prophet Muhammad in representing his image in a speaking brazen head. The Mediaeval tradition maintained its dislike of the Prophet himself as a dreadful deity who had established his doctrines by his resolution and his arms, but whose faith subsequently became more generous of error than he would have adored. Greene presented a striking antipathy to the Prophet and Islam. It is a heathenish image to tarnish the Turkish theology. Greene's Amurack essentially represents Islam for the Elizabethan audience in which he was defeated in front of the Christian hero Alphonsus. Greene’s play influences the political and ideological conflicts between the Turks and the Christendom
ESL Learners’ English Pronunciation Errors: A Systematic Error rather than Accidental
No full textESL learners of English language encounter problems in producing correct pronunciation of the English words. This study determined the pronunciation errors on English vowel, consonant and digraph sounds among BS Psychology students. This study employed face – to – face oral pronunciation test. Mispronunciation was looked into as a result of the interference of L1 pronunciation. L1 phonological sounds have fossilized in the phonological knowledge of the ESL learners. Lastly, the spelling structure of the words gives confusion to the learners to pronounce the words. This concluded that pronunciation errors are systematic. This also led to a recommendation that teaching pronunciation should be given an intensive focus for enhancing the pronunciation errors and difficulty of the ESL learners
Egyptian Arab Spring in CNN's Online News Reports… Supporting Peoples or Authorities is a Matter of Policy
No full textThis study aimed to explore Arab spring consequences that prevailed in Egypt after 2010-2011 as reflected by CNN in its online news article released in its website 2013. The main concern of the study is to unveil CNN's hidden ideologies towards Arab spring upheaval in Egypt investigating its discoursal ''Self'' and ''Other'' representations. To achieve this goal, the researcher utilized the following theories: 1) van Dijk's theory of Semantic Macrostructure (1980); to examine macro and micro structures of CNN's online news articles, 2) van Dijk's theory of Ideological Square (1998c); to examine CNN's ideologies embedded within its online news articles and 3) Wodak's Discourse- Historical Approach; to endorse linguistic and ideological analysis of CNN's online news article. Fairclough's three-dimensional Approach was utilized to organize the process of analysis. Within the linguistic analysis, macro and micro structures of CNN's online news articles were analyzed. At the macro level, the semantic macrostructure of CNN's text was outlined to determine its global meaning. At the micro level, the syntactic, lexical and rhetorical structures of CNN's text were examined to determine their local meaning. Within the ideological analysis, the CNN's online news text was analyzed to determine its ideological positive ''Self'' (in-group) and negative ''Other'' (out-group) presentations. The findings revealed that CNN's ideological orientations towards its positive "Self" and negative "Other" were varied as far as Egyptian conflict is concerned. Thus, it presented the Egyptian new authority as the positive identities while Muslim Brotherhood as the negative "Other'' identities
Language Policy and Planning (LPP) for English in Malaysian Education System in the 21st Century
No full textLanguage policy and planning (LPP) is defined as large-scale national planning, usually undertaken by governments, meant to influence, if not change, ways of speaking or literacy practices within a society (Baldauf, 2006 [5]). As a multilingual society, Malaysia is determined to preserve its linguistic diversity through its LPP. So far, Malaysia is still struggling to draw up a policy that encompasses the demands of all its linguistic groups across the country, which is shown by its constant policy revisions. Therefore, this paper aims to trace the development of LPP for English in Malaysian education, and it examines the reasons as well as the impacts of language planning and language policy to the competency and proficiency of English among Malaysians. The study is conducted based on secondary research, whereby materials such as journals, books and dissertations are used as references. Apart from gaining an insight of the implemented language policies in Malaysia, the findings reveal the social reality of contrasting LPP initiatives in Malaysia, in which English proficiency levels among students are experiencing a sharp decline, contrary to the amassing significance of the English language in the global arena. Indeed, the effects of LPP, such as the strengthening of nationalist ethos as well as the increasing burden of teaching staff, should be taken into consideration while drafting up and revising LPP to ensure the sustainability of a just and fair society
Poetry Diaspora
No full textPoetry dialog on a black female ideas about love, loss, pain, regret and hope in American culture
An Exploration of the Effects of Electronic Dictionaries on Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension
No full textThis research examined the L2 learners’ use of electronic dictionaries compared to printed dictionaries. Nowadays, with the advancement and growth of technology, there has been a shift of trend from traditional paper dictionaries to online and electronic dictionaries. In this study the learners’ questionnaire, a reading textbook, a paper dictionary, an electronic dictionary, a reading comprehension test, and the semi-structured interviews were employed as instruments. At first, two questionnaires and the semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify the attitudes and beliefs of EFL learners in relation to the effectiveness of paper and electronic dictionaries on Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ reading comprehension. TOEFL Reading Flash: The Quick Way to Build Reading Power by Milada Broukal (1997) was used as the reading textbook. The Seventh edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary authored by Hornby (2005) was chosen as the paper dictionary. The other dictionary used in this study was an equivalent electronic version of Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary on a CD-ROM as the electronic dictionary. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, 20) was used in order to analyze required statistics. A series of paired-sample t tests were run to examine the learners' reading comprehension scores. In addition, a series of chi-square tests were run to analyze the questionnaires. As results showed, electronic dictionary use has positive effect on learners’ reading comprehension skills and also electronic dictionaries help learners’ vocabulary learning. The implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions are made for future research
Iranian EFL Teachers’ Cognitions of Language Learners: Oral Communication Classrooms in Focus
No full textThe current study aimed to investigate whether a group of Iranian EFL teachers revealed to have cognitions about their language learners in respect to language learners’ self-confidence, desire for feedback and desire for instruction. For this purpose, the cognitions of five English teachers in the oral communication classrooms were investigated. The teachers were required to fill out a questionnaire in order to obtain their cognitions about their language learners. The findings revealed that there was an intricate relationship between language teachers’ experience and their cognitions about the techniques they applied in classrooms. Implications and suggestions for further researcher were also discussed
Code-Switching as a Strategy in Conducting Public Affairs: A Case Study of Rural Namibians
No full textOutapi is a rural town in the northern part of Namibia. Its residents are exposed to a variety of languages. Speakers whose English proficiency is limited, but who are able to communicate in Oshiwambo, use Oshiwambo to communicate. The problem arises when communication is in English, as the majority are English second or third language speakers and thus unable to express themselves very well. This study sought to understand the role of code switching between English and Oshiwambo by Outapi residents and public officials when conducting public affairs in the bank, the clinic and the post office. A qualitative research approach based on a case study research design was applied to determine the pertinence of code switching in the multilingual community. Findings from observations and interviews revealed that code switching facilitated communication in Outapi for speakers to attain their communication goals. Although the study indicated how code switching enriches Oshiwambo in terms of vocabulary, it also indicates a contribution to the language death of local languages