International Journal Online of Humanities
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Mangrove the Head of an Intricate Joint Family
No full textA study of Mangrove is one of the wondrous experiences of man. Mangroves are one of the unique systems of vegetation in Nature; they live in symbiotic relationship with all creatures in and around its zone. It has not only its bounty but it protects humans and other creatures including the environment from external violence from Nature and other where.
It is one of the most familiar forms of vegetation occurring in the intertidal zones along coasts and river banks in the coastal areas in tropical and subtropical countries of the world. Mangrove forests are highly productive ecosystems and are a natural, renewable resource. They provide essential goods and services and play a very important role in the lives of men; coastal communities and others living in their surroundings.
Indonesia has the largest total area of mangrove forest while the Sundarbans swamp region in Bangladesh and India is the largest single chunk of mangrove forest in the world. Sundarbans is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Conservation and development of such natural systems benefit man and his environment. It is man’s duty to preserve, protect and develop such a great creation of Nature
Investigating Reading Comprehension Problems Encountered by Sudanese Secondary School Students: Teachers Perspective
Get PDFThis study aimed to investigate reading comprehension problems encountered by Sudanese EFL secondary school students. To achieve the purpose of the study, the researcher used an analytical descriptive method and a questionnaire as a tool. The sample of the study consisted of 30 teachers who were randomly selected from Kenana secondary schools in White Nile State, and responded to the items of the questionnaire. The findings of the study showed that Sudanese Secondary School students face problems in reading and answering comprehension questions. The main causes of these problems were attributed to students’ lack of vocabulary and motivation. English language curriculum and lack of teachers’ training were also considered as causes of this difficulty. The researcher suggested some recommendations for both teachers and syllabus designers. As a recommendation for both sides; teachers and students, the researcher recommended that English language teachers should be trained to improve students’ levels in reading comprehension. Teachers should also motivate their students to have more interest in learning English language. In addition to that, they should encourage their students to read extensively so as to improve their level of comprehension, and syllabus designers should provide good reading material with adequate exercises besides English language literature
Experiences of the Marginalized Women in America: Re-reading Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings(1970)
Get PDFThe aim of this article is to discover unnoted experiences of African-American women by taking Angelou’s novel in focus. Experiences of marginalized women in African American haven’t got sufficient attention. Their literature hasn’t accorded the level it deserves. Specifically, autobiographies of black women have been ignored more severely than those of Americans. Maya Angelou, who won Pulitzer Prize for her first volume of autobiography-I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, is one of the significant authors who wrote in addressing American subalterns’life. This article applies text based analysis and Black feminist literary theory. As a theoretical framework, it enables one to interrogate the relationships between self and selves of black women in America. Hence, race, gender and class issues were the general brands of black women’s oppression. Racial prejudices against black women and the response to the injustices have been discussed based on the nature of resistance from helpless anger to outright protest. In addition, sexual abuse and segregation followed by ignorance and maternity have been analyzed as interlocked oppressions of black feminism. Although different kinds of oppression such as race, gender and class are discussed, the article argues that Angelou’s feminist portrayals are optimist. Thoughtful and kind as depictions show that the triple form of oppression of racism, sexism and classism can be resisted
The Subaltern Would Speak: Palimpsestic Identities in Nuruddin Farah’s ‘Blood in the Sun’ Trilogy
Get PDFNuruddin Farah’s ‘Blood in the Sun’ trilogy is a socio-political voyage into the Somali life and consciousness. It is a serious attempt to explore the changes that befell the Somali society and converted into a poor, failure and famine struck state in the present though it was a powerful and rich state in the past. The trilogy is a documentation of the history of Somalia from a philosophical standpoint; it delves into clan and ethnic traditions and, at the same time, expounds the adverse consequences of colonisation that have been invoked by the first wave of the ‘Rush to Africa’ in the nineteenth century. The article is an endeavour to underline the complex status of subalternity of the Somalis whose palimpsestic historical and political situation forced a palimpsestic identity. Farah’s ‘Blood in the Sun’ trilogy enfolds three novels; i.e. Maps (1986), Gifts (1993), and Secrets (1998) which are reflective of the current failure social and political situation which negatively influences the identity of the natives. The article hopes to be the kernel of further studies handling the complex postcolonial identity of the Somalis from a historical-political perspective
Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Omani EFL Foundation Programme: Constraints and Possibilities
Get PDFEducational institutions across the globe unanimously acknowledge the importance of incorporating critical thinking skills in their curricula, yet this objective has not always been met adequately or consistently across the board. In EFL settings, the obstacles to teaching critical thinking are not only genuine but also multifaceted, ranging from teachers’ and students’ training and attitudes, cultural influence and degree of support from the various stakeholders, which often results in a general perception that it is difficult to teach efficaciously. This article will report on the procedures and satisfactory outcomes of an action research that I have conducted with intermediate EFL foundation programme students at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman, using a mixed method approach. The scope of the study is to investigate the constraints to teaching critical thinking skills in this context (quite similar to other non-western ones, e.g. Asian cultures) and ultimately pilot a flexible middle-way approach that enables teachers to work around these restrictions to foster critical thinking skills in their students, without detracting from course content or sacrificing test scores. The trialled approach consists of adapting and extending activities from assigned English language course books/materials to build in more critical thinking awareness and practice, all within a learner-centred social constructivist environment, without the need for extra time or supplementary materials. In their post-course evaluation, most of the students have reported tangible improvement in information literacy, critical thinking abilities and even language proficiency. The article will close by providing practical guidelines on materials and methodology for teaching critical thinking skills in EFL contexts
Students’ Attitudes towards Vocabulary Learning and Their Learning Strategies
Get PDFThis study aims at investigating (a) students’ attitudes towards vocabulary learning and (b) vocabulary studying strategies they use. The study was directed to First Year Students who were specialized in English Language(2019-2020), in Nahda College; Sudan. Twenty six male and female students were involved in the study. A questionnaire consisted of vocabulary learning awareness and vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) was distributed to the participants. A modified Likert Scale (agree, neutral, disagree) was used to collect data. The tables containing figures and percentages were utilized to describe results. The results findings are: Students had noticeable attitudes towards vocabulary importance. The learners used all five (VLS) categories; cognitive, determination, memory, metacognitive, and social strategies frequently, but unequally. The most strategy used is the “Cognitive Strategy” and the least one is the “Social Strategy”
The Plague by Albert Camus Plague Epidemic and Corona Pandemic: A Study
Get PDFOn 31 December, 2019 China’s Wuhan district recorded the first novel Corona virus disease (COVID-19) case. Its origin was from a wet market though it has been held by the scientific communities in many countries that it evolved at and leaked out of the research laboratory of The Wuhan Institute of Virology. Zoonotic diseases have ever been increasing in numbers due to indiscriminate use of animals for food. But so far no evidence has been established that Corona virus as it has affected the humans has any direct link with any animal. It created havoc throughout the world killing millions and devastating the social life, economy, relationship among humans and countries. Its effect has been unprecedented in human history
Lexical Semantic Richness in Poe’s Essays and Short Stories: Comparing Corpora with Word Smith Tools and Range
Get PDFEdgar Allan Poe’s Essays and Short Stories have been widely analyzed throughout the decades. Previous research confirms an ample use of varied vocabulary in his short stories. Nevertheless, little emphasis has been put on some of his not-so-famous works: his essays. Thus, the main aim of this paper is twofold: on the one hand, we aim at comparing the lexical semantic richness in Poe’s essays and in his short stories; on the other hand, we intend to test the effectiveness of two different analytical tools to check this semantic variation, i.e. WordSmith Tools and Range. In order to achieve these aims, three short stories and two essays by Poe were selected and combined to create two main corpora: one of short stories and one of essays. After separating the corpora intro fragments of 2000 tokens, lexical semantic richness was assessed using the two aforementioned tools. Results show that i) lexical semantic richness is higher in short stories than it is in essays, and ii) both tools have proven to be effective. These results are further discussed and pedagogical applications for language teaching are put forward. 
Mending The Broken Bridges: An Analysis of Familyhood in Zakes Mda’s Ways of Dying (1995)
Get PDFThis paper examines South African literature’s paradigm shift through Zakes Mda’s disruption of the dominant trope of apartheid by his focusing on black ordinary lives in Ways of Dying. The novel foregrounds the broken bridges of love and unity that used to link families before colonisation. Mda demonstrates how the rise of the city engendered the demise of the village where blacks lived as a unified community before migrating to the city whence they sink into individualism. The discussion focuses on family units during the period of death and dying to reveal broken links that happen to have a bearing to black familyhood. The focus of the argument is on how Mda depicts and mends the lost spirit of oneness among the blacks during the final stages of the anti-apartheid struggle and the transition to a democratic South Africa. The discussion highlights a new traditional African community built on forgiveness, care and unity
The Effect of Grammar Teaching Methods on Students’ Writing Skill
Get PDFThis study investigates the effect of grammar teaching methods on students’ writing skill in secondary level. The study was based on action research, carried out in the academic year 2017 in one of Sudanese secondary schools. The participants were in second year. They studied English for the same number of years (6 years).The study followed two different methods of grammar teaching: 1) grammar in \u27context\u27 and 2) in \u27isolation\u27 to assess which method is more beneficial for English learners to write grammatical error-free composition. Students were divided into two groups: control and experimental groups.For the purpose of high measurement, participants in the two groups sat for apre English test on writing. The results showed that P-value of T-test (0.567) was greater than significant level (0.05) which means there was no statistical difference between experimental and control groups in the pre-test. Then the experiment was run; teaching the two groups using different methods.The control group was taught grammarin isolation method; where experimental group was taught grammar in context.Instructions lasted for two months and the two groups had the same writing test. The results indicated that P-value of T-test (0.000) was less than significant level (0.05) which means there was statistical difference between experimental and control in post-test. Finding showed that: teaching grammar ‘in context’ helps students to produce better writing than teaching grammar ‘in isolation’