643 research outputs found
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Foreign teachers translanguaging beliefs and practices in English-medium classrooms at a Chinese international school
Full text linkThe rise of English-medium instruction (EMI) can disadvantage students when it is limited to monolingual approaches. Translanguaging, which leverages students full linguistic repertoire, has emerged as a promising alternative. While research supports its benefits, the translanguaging practices of foreign teachers in EMI contexts remain under investigation. This case study explores foreign teachers translanguaging beliefs and practices in an international school across diverse subjects in mainland China. Focusing on a Pakistani embassy school in Beijing with a multinational student body, the study employs semi-structured interviews and classroom observations with teachers. Findings reveal mixed teacher attitudes towards translanguaging, mirroring existing research. While some embrace its potential, others demonstrate resistance, possibly due to dominant monolingual ideologies or the complex linguistic landscape. Uniquely, teachers prioritised spatial arrangements and communication strategies over students first languages (L1s) to support struggling learners. Observations and interviews suggest foreign teachers used L1s less frequently than bilingual teachers in prior studies. However, they fostered student-led translanguaging through group discussions and peer support, promoting comprehension and expression. Additionally, teachers employed various linguistic modalities during instruction yet faced inclusivity challenges due to the diverse student body. This study contributes to the under-researched area of translanguaging in EMI classrooms with foreign teachers. It highlights the varied perspectives on translanguaging and the importance of student-driven practices in such settings
Anti-vaccine COVID-19 narratives: A critical textual analysis of American and Indonesian online news
Full text linkThis study utilized Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), grounded in Van Dijks framework to investigate how online news articles from American and Indonesian outlets portrayed anti-vaccine views related to COVID-19. Through systematic online searches, the research examined the data through the lenses of macrostructure, superstructure, and microstructure. Eight articles were selected for this study: four from American sources and four from Indonesian sources. The selected articles were published during specific periods: February 2022 to February 2023 for the U.S., and January 2021 to January 2022 for Indonesia. These articles, ranging from 500 to 1500 words, focused on Anti-Vaccine COVID-19 topics. The findings revealed distinct thematic differences. The macrostructure analysis showed that American articles highlighted distrust in specific vaccines and opposition to mandates, fostering skepticism, while Indonesian articles examined a wider range of cultural, religious, and personal factors influencing vaccine hesitancy, including anti-vaccine sentiments among expatriates and athletes. The superstructure analysis indicated that American reports emphasized controversy, whereas Indonesian reports explored motivations more deeply. Additionally, linguistic choices in the microstructure influenced portrayals, with American articles using dysphemism and active voice to emphasize danger, while Indonesian articles employed strong language to convey diverse perspectives. Despite its emphasis on textual analysis, this study offered significant insights into the sophisticated discussions of anti-vaccine sentiments in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as reflected in American and Indonesian online news
Language shift in Aceh: The sociolinguistic situation of post-conflict society
Full text linkAceh is a special autonomous province of Indonesia located on the northwest tip of Sumatra Island. Aceh had been in conflict with the Indonesian government for more than 3 decades before officially declaring peace in 2005. This study aims to shed light on the sociolinguistic situation in Aceh during the conflict and following the 2005 peace accord, as well as to provide a deeper understanding of the roots of Acehs rapid language shift. Based on focus groups with young people and young parents, as well as follow-up interviews with members of an earlier generation, the study revealed that the prolonged conflict between Aceh and Indonesia failed to lead to resistance. Instead of being a colonial language, Indonesian is an integral part of national identity. Even though there was still a stated pride and high level of ideological identification with Acehnese, a gradual shift away from Acehnese began during the conflict. Since the 1970s and 1980s, an emerging phenomenon of Indonesian intergenerational transmission has emerged. This linguistic phenomenon then became more and more common among Acehnese families in the 2000s and peaked after the tsunami and peace agreement. Prestige/modernity, education, and socioeconomic factors seem to be the primary drivers of the Acehnese-to-Indonesian language shift
Why do the Acehnese migrate? A study of the Hikayat Ranto from the socio-cultural perspective of Acehnese society
Full text linkThis qualitative research focuses on linguistic texts as the subject of investigation, the Hikayat Ranto, written by Leube Isa and translated by Ramli Harun. The Acehnese people are renowned for their successful migration. In almost every region, within and outside Indonesia, one can find traces of Acehnese migrants. This article examines Acehnese societys social and cultural aspects as successful migrants who have explored various regions. Two fundamental questions addressed are (1) Why do Acehnese people choose to migrate? (2) What are the social characteristics of Acehnese people who migrate versus those who stay in their hometowns? These questions shed light on the culture of Acehnese society from a social and religious perspective. The data source for this study is the Hikayat Ranto. This earliest literary work narrates the tradition of migration in Acehnese society. Text analysis is conducted using coding methods with a hermeneutical approach. The study reveals that this hikayat (1) is one of the earliest literary texts that portray the social-religious aspects of Acehnese society concerning the facets of migration, which has become a tradition, (2) shows that migration tradition in Acehnese society occurs due to reasons related to family, education, and religion, and (3) demonstrates the social-religious characteristics of Acehnese society concerning the tradition of migration depict human-to-human and human-to-God relationships. These findings highlight how migration in Acehnese society is deeply rooted in both social bonds and unworldly devotion, reflecting their communal and cultural characteristics as both social beings and religious individuals
Ceremonial language and social cohesion: An analysis of Seumapa in Acehnese wedding traditions
Full text linkThe Seumapa ceremony, a rhyming exchange ritual performed by a Syekh (reciter) representing both the brides (darabar) and the bridegrooms (lintbar) parties during Acehnese wedding ceremonies before the groom is allowed into the house of Acehnese society in Indonesia, stands as a testament to the role of cultural rituals in capturing and spreading societal values and norms. This study attempts to analyze this ceremony to reveal the social community, practice, and symbolic language within the Acehnese wedding context. It is to further understand how they shape the social cohesion and identity of the Acehnese community. By employing observations on three wedding ceremonies, and interviews with three elders of the community, the analysis of Seumapas cultural values reveals the ceremonys emphasis on etiquette, respect, social and religious identity, customary knowledge, and educational significance. Ritualistic greetings and gift exchanges portray communal harmony, while symbolic acts symbolic acts like lifting the curtain and presenting hantaran (ceremonial gifts) from the groom to the bride and vice versa represent social identity and mutual responsibility. The integration of religious knowledge depicts the communitys prioritization of spiritual preparedness, and the use of symbolic and metaphorical language reflects societal values and aspirations, signifying the importance of wisdom, respect, and communal bonds in preserving Acehnese cultural identity
Interactive Response Systems (IRS) in online English classes: Voices of foreign university teachers in Thailand
Full text linkTechnological advances have introduced English instructors to various ways of delivering successful online classes. Using an Interactive Response System (IRS) as a supporting tool is one of them. This qualitative study investigates the perceptions of foreign English language teachers in Thai universities regarding the use of IRS in online classes. The study involved 10 non-native English university teachers, 7 females and 3 males, aged 27 to 35, with 3 to 6 years of teaching experience in Thailand. They are affiliated with three different Thai universities. Data were gathered through multiple online interviews and observations via Zoom or Google Meet, tailored to each participants convenience. The data analysis was conducted using a robust content analysis approach. The findings of this study showed that educators integrated IRS tools to boost engagement, benefiting both students and instructors. Additionally, peer influence encouraged IRS adoption and enhanced teaching methods. IRS tools served various roles, ranging from assessment to promoting motivation and enhancing comprehension. The advantages of IRS tools included increased interactivity, competition, and engagement. They aided in monitoring student attentiveness and comprehension while fostering independent learning. Challenges such as unequal internet access, device limitations, technology literacy, fees, workload, and language barriers existed, along with concerns about potential cheating during IRS activities
Subversion of neo-imperialist hegemony: A postcolonial study of Red Birds by Mohammed Hanif
Full text linkAlthough the erstwhile colonies in the Third World are free from the colonial occupation, the imperialist hegemony continues, to be resisted in the societies. For, such enterprise has provided the pretext for the concepts of Self and Other followed by occupation, a reign of violence and terror loosened upon the natives. This paper aims to study Red Birds (2018) a novel by Mohammed Hanif to highlight the plight of the Other with their aggressive vitality and fervor of resistance to counter the imperialist agenda-hegemony. As qualitative research, it employs the postcolonial method, while seeking theoretical insights from the arguments of Orientalism by Edward Said, and the theory of hegemony by Antonio Gramsci to be interpretive in nature to analyze the text. It explores how the text, gleaned selectively from the novel offered, like Orientalism a fabric of textual analyses that is highly critical of the Eurocentric notions and hegemony of the Western world. It underlines the ways and practices sketched by the novel through the troubling encounter of the characters from the East to the West to offer a subversive narrative to the failure of the efforts and narratives of the West. For better analyses of the text to underline the American neo-imperialism and the native dreams of subversion, it takes to the tone of Gramscian precepts to conclude that the powerful subjugates through hegemonythe geo-political method used to gain indirect imperial dominance which is maintained mainly through ideology instead of using means like economic force, or coercive strategies
Representations of public caning in Serambi Indonesia: A linguistic approach to news framing analysis
Full text linkWith its distinctive autonomy in implementing Sharia, Aceh allows public caning as a form of corporal punishment not seen in other parts of Indonesia. This article examines how a prominent local newspaper, Serambi Indonesia, portrayed the implementation of public caning in Aceh over the past decade. This study combined transivity analysis and Gamson and Modiglianis (1989) four framing devices: metaphors, exemplars, catchphrases, and depictions. The analysis focused on 45 articles related to public caning in Aceh published between January 2012 and December 2020 in Serambi Indonesia. The findings reveal that caning is a key theme in these news stories, signalling its execution for Sharia violators in Aceh. The findings also found an ambivalent representation of public caning. Depictions of paramedics, audiences, and public support, along with the use of exemplars, highlight a positive portrayal of the current practice of public caning in Aceh. The punishment is depicted as a way of educating offenders and a means to deter similar offenses in the future, which overshadows the severity of the punishment. The media also conveys a message that Acehs caning punishment differs from practices in the Middle East and suggests a lighter interpretation of Sharia. However, the coverage raises concerns about the effectiveness of caning as a deterrent and the fair implementation of the punishment. Therefore, the representations of public caning in Serambi Indonesia reflects ongoing controversy surrounding the event within Acehnese society
Investigating English textbooks used in Taiwanese senior high schools from an ELF perspective
Full text linkEnglish textbooks are the major learning resources for Taiwanese students to gain access to the target language. This study examines the English textbooks used in senior high schools (Grade 10 to Grade 12) in Taiwan from the perspective of English as a lingua franca (ELF). To prepare students to use English for international communication, it is worthwhile to examine how English textbooks incorporate an ELF orientation. Through textbook analysis, I investigated the following questions: (1) how the English textbooks used in senior high schools in Taiwan integrate an ELF perspective, and (2) how ELF attributes are manifested in the textbooks through various subject matter, exercises, and activities. The study finds that the examined textbooks partially incorporated an ELF orientation, and the ELF attributes were manifested to different extents. The main ELF attributes in the textbooks were helping learners understand the use of ELF and encouraging English use in relation to learners experiences and localities. Additionally, the study reveals that the ELF attributes were displayed in various types of activities and exercises, while the subject matter of the textbook units covered a wide range of topics. In light of the findings, I make suggestions for the development of ELF-oriented textbooks at the senior high school level, such as helping English learners to understand the use of ELF by introducing English varieties, encouraging the use of intercultural communication strategies, taking into account of learners experience in learning English, and promoting learners awareness of ELF
Teachers made writing assessment instrument: Pedagogical insight from process to product
Full text linkDespite the urgency of assessment instruments in teaching foreign language writing, evidence regarding how teachers develop assessment instruments and maintain their quality, particularly for comparison and contrast essay writing based on a genre-based approach to teachers classroom practices, is scantily reported. To address this empirical need, this article showcases how a set of teacher-made assessment instruments for a comparison and contrast essay based on a genre-based approach in a writing essay course at a public university in East Java was carefully and deliberately developed. To attain the research objective, this research enacted design-based research (DBR) inspired by Cavallaro and Sembiante (2021). In addition to content validity, face validity and inter-rater reliability were ensured by involving ten students, three fellow writing teachers, and two trained raters. This assessment instrument development project produces a set of valid formative assessment instruments, comprising a writing prompt and scoring rubric. The inter-rater reliability shows a high degree of positive correlation with a reliability coefficient of 0.862 from a correlational analysis based on Pearson correlation coefficient. This in-practice assessment instrument development can be used as a reference, contributing to the teachers assessment literacy development. It also serves as a valuable model for future researchers to develop and expand nested classroom assessment scholarship. A well-structured validity and reliability process of assessment instrument development will practically enhance the teaching practices in the essay writing course in particular and EFL teaching in general