148 research outputs found
Representations of 'Hong Kong' in Hong Kong poetry in English
No full textpublished_or_final_versionEnglishMasterMaster of Philosoph
Beyond ABC : investigating current rationales and systems for the teaching of early reading to young learners of English
No full textThe premise of this thesis is that the role of the first steps in reading in courses for
Young Learners of English (YL) at the beginner stage is a neglected area, with
anomalies centred around the fact that ‘words on the page ’are often treated as if
they were facilitative from the outset for language work in areas such as speaking
while very little support is offered to children as to how to decode these words.
Chapter 1 (Introduction) traces the rapid spread of YL teaching worldwide and
considers the preparation of teachers for their roles. Materials are discussed as an
important source of support and structure for teachers and a case is made for a focus
in the main study on systems and rationales for early reading found among teachers
themselves or evidenced in published materials.
Chapter 2 (Literature Review) discusses relevant issues for systematic support for YL
in their first steps in reading English. Areas discussed are: Teacher Cognition,
Sociocultural inductions to reading, Orthographic Depth, Phonology, research on
reading development across languages and influences in the YL world of established
early reading methods for English native-speaking children.
Chapter 3 (Research Methodology) justifies the decision to investigate the area via
two main studies: (1) questionnaires and in-depth interviews with EYL professionals
and (2) close analysis of course materials. It is argued that the qualitative stance of
the former is not in conflict with the more objective and quantitative handling of
course material data since both are appropriate ways of focusing on the same issue.
A third, small-scale, study of the publishing experiences of curriculum experts and
materials writers is justified and described.
Chapter 4 (Findings) reports and integrates the findings of both main studies and
summarizes the findings from the study with curriculum experts and materials writers.
Main findings are that EYL professionals tend not to put linguistic considerations high
in their priorities for decision-making and that materials analyzed had an underlay in
the Alphabetic Principle but were dominated by ‘ABC’ ordering of Reading-Focal
items and included activities which tended not to promote pattern-seeking or other
behaviour likely to lead to ‘self-teaching’.
Chapter 5 (Discussion) discusses the significance of the findings of the two main
studies and uses the results of the third study to add balance to the materials
analysis study. Limitations of, and reflections on, the research are discussed.
Chapter 6 (Conclusions) draws implications for professional education, pedagogy
and materials illustrated by examples in the Appendices. Claims are made for the
contributions of the study that (1) it opens up discussion on an area of YL teaching
which has been neglected both in the research literature and in practical materials
creation (2) through the use of in-depth interviews it allows a voice for EYL
professionals which has not been heard before (3) the concepts of Reading-Focal
versus Vehicular language in YL course materials are claimed as new and useful,
leading directly (4) to procedures and analysis tools which can be used with any set
of YL materials. Directions for further research building on this thesis are indicated
Not at home: colonial and postcolonial Anglophone literatures of Singapore and Malaysia
No full textpublished_or_final_versionabstractEnglishDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph
Constructed meanings and contesting voices : the Opium War in archival, historical and fictional Anglophone narratives
No full textThis thesis explores the ways in which the Opium War has been represented in both non-fictional and fictional Anglophone narratives. It looks at the construction of various 19th century discourses surrounding this historical event and the different meanings it has been endowed with through such discourses. It then examines the ways in which some of those meanings have been challenged in more recent accounts. The purpose of this thesis is to show how and why certain ideas are constructed and propagated, and how these in turn can be questioned, challenged and reinterpreted, giving us a wider perspective, and thus better understanding, of the said event.
The study is divided into two parts: non-fiction and fiction. The non-fiction section includes two chapters on the discourses of the Opium War, one on translation and one on historical texts while the second section focuses on two contemporary fictional narratives of the Opium War. Chapters one and two are based on a selection of 19th century archival documents and constitute a discussion of the discourses that have been formed around the Opium War in five specific fields: political, economic, religious, medical and legal. An analysis of these discourses will show them to be part of a larger sinophobic discourse that constructed China as Britain’s cultural inferior around the time of the conflict.
To view the Opium War in terms of cultural encounter requires a discussion of translation. Chapter three investigates the role and importance of translation and translators in creating and/ or sustaining the meanings created by these various discourses. Chapter four is an analysis of two more recent historical narratives: one a history of opium, the other a history of the Opium War. These texts contribute to an expanded understanding of the 19th century conflict as they offer different and more contemporary meanings with regard to the war that partly challenge earlier ones. Because of that, they also mark a transition towards my discussion of fictional narratives where the focus is on introducing new speaking positions that contest those ideas, images and ‘truths’ propagated by narratives such as those that are part of the Opium War discourses.
Chapter five investigates how Timothy Mo’s An Insular Possession goes against an important aspect of such discourses, that of hierarchy, by emphasizing cultural incommensurability and cross-cultural miscommunication between the British and the Chinese while refusing to stratify the two into cultural and civilizational hierarchies. Chapter six examines the ways in which Amitav Ghosh invents a new narrative of the Opium War in the first two parts of an intended trilogy: Sea of Poppies and River of Smoke. This last chapter looks at how, by focusing on the silenced Indian aspect of the Opium War and the unexplored Sino-Indian side of the conflict, Ghosh transforms the war from an exclusively Sino-British to a more global event.published_or_final_versionEnglishDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph
The Japanese occupation of Malaya and Singapore (1941-1945) : narrating trauma and memory in 21st century Malaysian novels in English
No full textThis study focuses on four 21st Century Malaysian novels about the Japanese Occupation, written in English, and explores the representations of trauma, narrative and memory in these novels in relation to trauma theory and Malaysian Literature in English. Trauma studies take as its point of departure the idea that an overpowering event, powerful enough to break the shield of consciousness, can return as symptoms of compulsive and/or repetitive behaviours after a period of latency that brings the traumatized victim back to the event. However, trauma is seen not as, or as the result of a single, isolated event, but as a condition that repeats itself across different temporalities. This argument is taken up in the analysis of four novels that use the Japanese Occupation as a theme and/ or setting, which examines the attempts of reconstructing the traumatic events of the Occupation in narrative, as well as the narrative strategies that display the breakdown of temporality in trauma.
This thesis consists of 5 chapters. The introduction of this thesis, which forms the first chapter, establishes the groundwork for the rest of the dissertation, and situates the study in its historical, literary and theoretical contexts. It provides the background of earlier scholarship on Malaysian Literature in English, the historical scholarship on the Japanese Occupation and its relation to this analysis, and the theoretical background that informs the argument of this study.
Chapter Two explores Tan Twan Eng‟s The Gift of Rain, and discusses the significance of using the first-person, autobiographical style when writing about trauma, as well as the role that narrative features such as flashbacks play to show a sense of the dual temporality of trauma. It also examines the need for the presence of a listener-as-witness when narrating trauma, in relation to the novel as a survivor narrative.
Chapter Three focuses on the relationship between history and memory, as well as remembering and forgetting, in relation to Tan‟s second novel, The Garden of Evening Mists. It explores how trauma can fragment the self and collective identities of traumatized subjects. It also explores the difficulty of incorporating trauma into a meaningful life-narrative.
Chapter Four analyzes Vyvyanne Loh‟s Breaking the Tongue, and explores the significance of using the second-person narrative when narrating trauma, which can be seen as a strategy to represent the dissociation that comes with trauma. It also analyzes the significance of the delay in the temporal structure in the narratives of traumatized subjects, and explores the importance of dreams and nightmares in these novels. This chapter also examines the crisis of witnessing that the characters are confronted with in the face of trauma.
Chapter Five explores Rani Manicka‟s The Rice Mother, a family saga. This chapter examines the notion of transgenerational trauma and postmemory, and how trauma can be transmitted through silences from one generation to the next. It pays close attention to the different forms of media used in the transmission of trauma, and also discusses the issue of replacement children who are born after traumatic loss.published_or_final_versionEnglishMasterMaster of Philosoph
Sosialisasi English for Young Learners (EYL) bagi Guru Sekolah Dasar di Gugus II Kecamatan Ciamis
No full textPerubahan Kurikulum membuat mata pelajaran Bahasa Inggris di Sekolah Dasar berubah dari muatan lokal menjadi program ektrakurikuler. Berdasarkan data pra-observasi, di Kecamatan Ciamis pengajaran Bahasa Inggris mengalami beberapa kendala seperti kualifikasi guru yang bukan Sarjana Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, pengunaan teknik serta metode mengajar Bahasa Inggris yang monoton dan menjenuhkan, kurangnya sumber ajar, serta tidak adanya pelatihan dan pembinaan pengajaran Bahasa Inggris bagi pembelajar anak. Melihat berbagai permasalahan tersebut maka penulis melakukan pengabdian kepada masyarakat dengan memberikan pelatihan pengajaran Bahasa Inggris dan Forum Group Discussion (FGD) bagi guru-guru Sekolah Dasar di Kecamatan Ciamis. Hasil pengabdian ini menunjukan bahwa guru memiliki motivasi yang baik dalam meningkatkan kompetensi mereka dalam pengajaran Bahasa Inggris, pemahaman mereka terhadap karakteristik pembelajar anak juga meningkat, serta adanya peningkatan kemampuan guru untuk menciptakan pengajaran yang bermakna dan menyenangkan.Kata kunci: Pengajaran, Bahasa Inggris, Sekolah Dasar Socialization of English for Young Learners (EYL) for Elementary School Teachers in Cluster II Ciamis Kecamatan District ABSTRACTThe change of curriculum makes English subjects in Elementary School move from local content to the extracurricular program. Based on pre-observation data, there are some obstacles face by the teacher in teaching English to young learners in Ciamis. Those are the unqualified English teachers, the monotonous of teaching techniques and methods, the lack of using teaching sources, and the unavailable of EYL workshops. Therefore, to solve those problems the author conducted a community service in the form of the EYL workshop and FGD.  The community service makes the teachers' motivation to improve their competency in English language teaching increase. Besides, their understanding of the characteristics of children and their ability to create meaningful and interesting teaching also increase.Keywords: Teaching, English, Elemntary Schoo
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