IJALEL, Vol 5, No 7 (2016) [Special Issue]

International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print) ISSN 2200-3452 (Online)

Pioneering in Language & Literature Discovery

International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature All papers on which this is printed in this book meet the minimum requirements of "Australian International Academic Centre PTY. LTD.". All papers published in this book are accessible online. Editors-in-Chief · John I. Liontas, University of South Florida, United States · Jayakaran Mukundan, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia · Zosia Golebiowski, Deakin University, Australia Managing Editor · Seyed Ali Rezvani Kalajahi, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia Journal Information ISSN Print: 2200-3592 ISSN Online: 2200-3452 ISBN: 978 -600-5361-84-1 Website: www.journals.aiac.org.au/index.php/IJALEL E-mail: [email protected] Publisher Australian International Academic Centre PTY. LTD. 11 Souter Crescent, Footscray VIC 3011, Australia Phone: +61 3 9028 6880 Website: http://www.aiac.org.au Hardcopy Providers 1. LuLu Press Inc.

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2012 – 2016 © IJALEL No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photo print, microfilm, or any other means, without written permission from the publisher.

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IALEL Editorial Team Editor(s)-in-Chief John I. Liontas, University of South Florida, United States Zosia Golebiowski, Deakin University, Australia Jayakaran Mukundan, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia Managing Editor Seyed Ali Rezvani Kalajahi, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia Senior Associate Editors Ahmad M. Al-Hassan, Bremen University, Germany Ali Al-Issa, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman Ali Miremadi, California State University, United States Biook Behnam, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran Christina Alm-Arvius, Stockholm University, Sweden Eugenio Cianflone, University of Messina, Italy Haifa Al-Buainain, Qatar University, Qatar Hossein Farhady, University of Southern California, United States John W. Schwieter, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada Juliane House, University of Hamburg, Germany Kazem Lotfipour-Saedi, Ottawa University, Canada Kimberley Brown, Portland State University, United States María-Isabel González-Cruz, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), Spain Mats Oscarson, University of Gothenburg, Sweden Meixia Li, Beijing International Studies University, China Roger Barnard, The University of Waikato, New Zealand Ruth Roux, El Colegio de Tamaulipas & Universidad Autonoma de Tamaulipas, Mexico Sebnem Toplu, EGE University, Turkey Seyyed Ali Ostovar-Namaghi, Shahrood University of Technology, Iran Simin Karimi, University of Arizona, United States Taher Badinjki, Al-Zaytounah University, Jordan Wan Roselezam Wan Yahya, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia Xitao Fu, Zhanjiang Normal University, China Yolanda Gamboa, Florida Atlantic University, United States Yuko Goto Butler, University of Pennsylvania, United States Zdenka Gadusova, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Slovakia Zia Tajeddin, Allameh Tabatabai University,Tehran, Iran Associate Editors Ahmed Gumaa Siddiek, Shaqra University, Saudi Arabia Anne Dragemark Oscarson, University of Gothenburg, Sweden Asghar Salimi Amirghayeb, Maragheh University, Iran Bahman Amani, University of Malayer, Iran Bilge Öztürk, Kocaeli University, Turkey Christopher Conlan, Curtin University, Australia Efstathios (Stathis) Selimis, Technological Education Institute of Kalamata, Greece Fan-Wei Kung, Queen’s University Belfast, UK Ferit Kilickaya, Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Turkey Javanshir Shibliyev, Eastern Mediterranean University, Cyprus Maryam Azarnoosh, IAU, Semnan, Iran Naser Nayif AlBzour, Al AlBayt University, Jordan Natasha Pourdana, Gyeongju University, South Korea Obaid Hamid, The University Of Queensland, Australia Rachel Adams Goertel, Pennsylvania State University, United States Reza Kafipour, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran Shaofeng Li, University of Auckland, New Zealand Vahid Nimehchisalem, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia

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Distinguished Advisors Brian Tomlinson, Leeds Metropolitan University, UK Charles Goodwin, University of California, Los Angeles, United States Claire Kramsch, University of California, United States Dan Douglas, Dan Douglas , Iowa State University, United States Hossein Nassaji, University of Victoria, Canada Jalal Sokhanvar, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran Roger Nunn, The Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi, UAE Susan Gass, Michigan State University, United States Advisors Ian Bruce, The University of Waikato, New Zealand Kristina Smith, Pearson Education, Turkey Oytun Sozudogru, University of York, UK Saeed Kalajahi, University of Göttingen, Germany Steve Neufeld, Middle East Technical University, Cyprus Editorial Panel Abdolvahed Zarifi, Yasouj University, Iran Ali Albashir Mohammed Al-Ha, Jazan University, Saudi Arabia Ali Asghar Yousefi Azarfam, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia Arif Ahmed Al-Ahdal, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia Aseel Zibin, Newcastle University, United Kingdom Bakhtiar Naghdipour, Eastern Mediterranean University, Cyprus Bora DEMIR, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey Cecilia Chu, Hong Kong Baptist University, China Dawn Rogier, Embassy of the United States of America, Philippines Ebrahim Samani, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia Erdem AKBAS, University of York, UK Farah Ghaderi, Urmia University, Iran Gerry Loftus, University of Buckingham, UK Isa SPAHIU, International Balkan University, Macedonia Jiaoyue Chen, University of Southampton, United Kingdom Mahdi Alizadeh Ziaei, The University of Edinburgh, UK Naemeh Nahavandi, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia Neslihan Önder Ozdemir, Uludağ University, Turkey Noelia Malla García, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain Omid Akhavan, University of Texas at Dallas, United States Orkun CANBAY, Qatar University, Qatar Reza Vaseghi, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia Ruzbeh Babaee, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia Seyyed Ali Kazemi, Islamic Azad University, Iran Shannon Kelly Hillman, University of Hawaii, Hawaii Tin T. Dang, Vietnam National University, Vietnam Yasemin Aksoyalp, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland Book Reviews Editor Marilyn Lewis, University of Auckland, New Zealand Deceased Editor Cem Alptekin, Boğaziçi University, Turkey

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Vol. 5 No. 7; December 2016 [Special Issue] Table of Contents Articles Attitudes, Motivations and Beliefs about L2 Reading in the Filipino Secondary School Classroom: A Mixed-methods Study Andrzej Cirocki, Jonel Caparoso

1-18

A Diverse Inspirational Language-Teaching Approach Omid Talebi Rezaabadi

19-29

Incidental Vocabulary Learning Through Information-Loaded and Negotiation-Oriented Tasks Roya Khoii, Somaye Ashuri

30-39

Language Motivation, Metacognitive Strategies and Language Performance: A Cause and Effect Correlation Ag. Bambang Setiyadi, - Mahpul, Muhammad Sukirlan, Bujang Rahman

40-47

Swift Strategies of Swift: An Investigation of the Concurrence of Poetic Politicality and Satiric Religiosity in the Works of Jonathon Swift Nozen SeyedehZahra

48-55

The Evolution and Popularity of Science Play with Specific Reference to Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus, Brecht’s Galileo and Frayn’s Copenhagen Khalid Ahmad Yas, Arbaayah Ali Termizi, Rosli Talif, Hardev Kaur

56-62

Performance of Indonesian EFL Learners and Thai EFL Learners on Compliment Responses in English Payung Cedar, Asep Setiadi

63-76

The Impact of Teaching Instructional and Environmental Strategies on Iranian EFL Young Learner’s Grammar Achievement Negar Sadeghi Hariri, Natasha Pourdana

77-90

The Representation of Women in Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles Sabah Abdul Hameed Shakury

91-95

Noun Countability; Count Nouns and Non-count Nouns, What are the Syntactic Differences Between them? Azhar A. Alkazwini

96-100

The Marxist Aspect in Bessie Head's A Question of Power Mohamed Fathi Helaly

101-109

Mechatronics Engineers’ Perception of Code Mixing: Philadelphia University and Hashemite University as a Case Study Mustafa Al-Khawaldeh, Nisreen Al-Khawaldeh, Baker Bani-Khair, Hussein Algwery

110-117

Technology Assisted Language Learning is a silver bullet for enhancing Language competence and performance: A Case Study Jameel Ahmad

118-131

Impact of Audio-viewing Materials on Iranian Upper-Intermediate EFL Learners’ Listening Comprehension Azadeh Ehteshami, Hadi Salehi

132-141

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Do Function Words Belong to Part of Speech? Shara Mazhitayeva, Zhanbai Kadyrov, Zhandos Smagulov, Kamshat Amanbaevna Toleubayeva, Sagila Rahimberlina

142-146

Fantasy, A Means to Propagate Ideologies: A Foucauldian Reading of Albee's The Zoo Story Bahee Hadaegh, Hamid Reza Pilehvar

147-152

Semantic Network-based Approach to Studying the Choice of Lexis in Definitions of Technical Terms Maxim Nikolayevich Latu, Aleksey Valeryevich Razduev

153-157

Marginality and Social Rejection in Amiri Baraka's Slave Ship Hamid Hammad Abed

158-162

Teaching Oral Consecutive Interpretation Roza Ayupova

163-167

Enhancing Literary Competence Through Critical Oriented Reading Strategies Atefeh Mozafari, Hamed Barjesteh

168-177

A Case Study on the Effects of Mnemonics on English Vocabulary Mohd Nazri Latiff Azmi, Muhammad Hadi Syafiq Mohd Najmi, Nurazan Mohmad Rouyan

178-185

Invited to a Beheading: A Real Individual in Search of Freedom Bahare Jalali Farahani, Javad Momeni

186-196

The Chinese and Kazakh Languages Comparative Study: Subject-Predicate Sentence Structure Nurhalyk Abdurakyn, Alina Nurzhayeva, Anar Mustafayeva, Dariga Kokeyeva, Kaldybay Kydyrbayev

197-208

Dickens's Dichotomous Formula for Social Reform In Oliver Twist Taher Badinjki

209-212

Roles of the Cited Author in Citations of the Literature Review by EFL Postgraduates Nayef Jomaa Jomaa, Siti Jamilah Bidin

213-225

A Study of the Inter-Cultural Sensitivity among the Faculty of English Language Centre of Jazan University, Saudi Arabia Saeed Ahmad, Muhammad Riaz Khan

226-232

Developing Undergraduates’ Awareness of Metacognitive Knowledge in Writing Through Problem-based Learning Muhammad Mukhtar Aliyu, Yong Mei Fung, Mardziah H. Abdullah, Tan Bee Hoon

233-240

You Are Not Logged In: Context and Interpersonal Meaning of Instructions and Links in a typical Learning Management System Hakeem Olafemi Ogunmuyiwa

241-247

Disturbance of Native Americans as Reflected in Selected Folkloric Poems of Luci Tapahonso, Joy Harjo and Simon Ortiz Widad Allawi Saddam, Wan Roselezam Wan Yahya, Hardev Kaur A/P Jujar Singh, Manimangai Mani

248-253

Revisiting the Content-Based Instruction in Language Teaching in relation with CLIL: Implementation and Outcome Abdullah Karim, Mohammad Mosiur Rahman

254-264

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International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 5 No. 7; December 2016 [Special Issue on Language and Literature] Flourishing Creativity & Literacy

Australian International Academic Centre, Australia

Attitudes, Motivations and Beliefs about L2 Reading in the Filipino Secondary School Classroom: A Mixed-methods Study Andrzej Cirocki (Corresponding author) Department of Education, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK E-mail: [email protected] Jonel Caparoso Banlag Integrated School, Banlag Valencia City, Bukidnon, 0709, Philippines E-mail: [email protected]

Received: 11-08-2016

Accepted: 02-10-2016

Advance Access Published: November 2016

Published: 10-12-2016

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.1

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.1

Abstract This study is a two-part investigation. The first part focuses on ESL learners' attitudes and motivations for reading in the target language. The second part deals with ESL teachers' beliefs about motivating L2 learners to read. The study involved 100 ESL learners (N=100) and 30 teachers (N=30) from rural schools in Mindanao, the Philippines. All the participants were recruited through convenience sampling. In other words, participants were selected based on their convenient accessibility and proximity. The current study is a mixed-methods project. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed to collect different types of data. The instruments used were: a L2 reading attitude survey, a questionnaire dealing with motivations for L2 reading, a survey on beliefs about motivating L2 learners to read in English, a semi-structured interview and a L2-reading-lesson observation. The quantitative data were statistically analysed. Whenever appropriate, the data were presented in tables and on graphs. The qualitative data were analysed through thematic coding and used to support the quantitative data. The findings show that students have both positive and negative attitudes towards various aspects of L2 reading. They also have different levels of motivation for reading in English, with female participants having higher scores than male participants. The teachers, on the other hand, hold diverse beliefs about motivating learners to read in English. No significant correlation was found between teacher beliefs and students' motivations for reading in English. After the findings have been described, implications for teacher education and instructional practice are offered. Keywords: Learner attitudes, Reading motivation, Teacher beliefs, Second language reading 1. Introduction For the last several years there has been an ongoing discussion concerning the learning and teaching of reading skills in a second language (L2). Both processes have been described as difficult tasks. Despite much headway, there are still many people in the world that struggle with L2 reading. Today, ESL (English as a Second Language) learners are expected to read large numbers of print and digital texts for different purposes. Modern reading pedagogies provide learners with tasks meant to demonstrate analytical processing skills, critical thinking skills and problem solving ability. Teachers wishing to offer interesting reading experiences in the classroom should keep in mind that learning to read is highly dependent upon student attitudes and motivations. At the same time, ESL teachers should also be aware that their own beliefs about the reading process and how it should be taught easily influence student attitudes and motivations for L2 reading. With this in mind, the current article will begin by discussing three important factors that affect L2 reading. An empirical study on attitudes, motivations and beliefs about ESL reading in the Mindanao context will then be presented. Once various methodological issues of this project have been discussed, data analysis and discussion will follow. The article will conclude with various implications for ESL teacher education and reading instruction. 2. Attitudes, Motivations and Beliefs about L2 Reading Reading in a second language is a highly complex process. The successful development of reading skills depends on a number of factors, including the choice of texts, reading ability, prior knowledge of the topics of the selected texts, reasons for reading, text organisation and comprehension strategies. This article, however, will be limited to the following three factors: learner attitudes, learner motivations and teacher beliefs. The latter construct more often than not influences the former two. Consequently, the discussion will now be divided into three sections. The first will focus on learner attitudes towards L2 reading, the second will discuss L2 learner reading motivation and the third will look at teacher beliefs about motivating learners to read in the ELT context.

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2.1 Learner Attitudes towards L2 Reading Attitude plays a vital role in a learner’s development of reading skills. Firstly, learner attitudes influence the reading performance of L2 readers (Kush, Marley, & Brookhart, 2005). For example, attitude influences the degree of a reader’s engagement in the reading process as well as the amount of practice L2 readers undertake. Secondly, poor attitude often leads to situations in which learners read less, or completely avoid reading in the second language (McKenna, Stratton, Grindler, & Jenkins, 1995). Reading attitude also plays a vital role in the learning process. Involved are affective, behavioural and cognitive components. The first is nothing less than learner feelings about L2 reading (e.g., I’m not fond of reading in English.). The behavioural component is related to how L2 readers’ attitudes influence their actions (e.g., I will avoid reading texts written in English.), whereas the cognitive component is linked to language learners’ knowledge or beliefs about L2 reading (e.g., I believe L2 reading is difficult.). To make things more complex, the literature categorises reading attitudes into subtypes according to interests. For example, there is a general attitude towards reading. There are also specific attitudes towards reading about particular topics. As a result, teachers can encounter students who are fond of reading, but may hate Agatha Christie’s texts. There is an interesting body of research on attitudes towards L2 reading. For example, McGlinn and Parrish (2002, p. 185) observed “a profound change in their [participants’] reading habits and attitudes”. The most significant changes in reading attitudes, however, as the above-mentioned researchers further pointed out, were evident in those students who improved their reading levels most. It is worth mentioning that this project involved ten ESL fourth and fifth graders. The increased attitudes towards L2 reading were documented through anecdotal records. In another study, Yamashita (2013) investigated Japanese undergraduate students’ attitudes towards reading in English as a Foreign Language (EFL). In the course of a 15-week reading programme, a number of attitudinal variables (e.g., comfort, intellectual value, anxiety, practical value) were investigated. There were no increases in comfort and intellectual value variables, but there was a decrease in anxiety. No effect on practical value was observed. Aunario (2004) and Orencia (2006) conducted two projects related to reading attitudes of students in the Philippines. The former researcher reported significant differences in reading attitudes among primary school students. These differences were observed between younger and older students, male and female participants as well as high- and lowachievers. The second study, on the other hand, focused on the effects of a literature-based reading programme on L2 young learners' reading comprehension and attitudes towards reading. The results showed that the programme had a positive effect on both constructs under investigation. Learner attitudes improved markedly due to a positive classroom climate, attractive texts, diverse and stimulating activities and systematic reading. There have been many interesting studies done on reading attitudes, but it is impossible to present them all. Six important findings from reading attitude research have been chosen to conclude this section. They are: (1) reading attitudes worsen over time (McKenna, 2001; McKenna & Stahl, 2009), (2) reading attitudes worsen more quickly for poor readers (Richards & Bear, 1986), (3) the number of reading interests declines with age (McKenna & Stahl, 2009), (4) female students seem to possess more positive reading attitudes than male students (Anastasiadou, 2009; Ünal, 2010), (5) instructional methods can positively affect reading attitudes (Cirocki, 2008) and (6) learner experience in L1 reading has an impact on learner reading attitude in L2 (Lukhele, 2013). 2.2 L2 Learner Reading Motivation As the foregoing discussion shows, reading attitudes influence the actions and behaviours of L2 learners. Thus, motivation to read is affected. In other words, learners’ motivation directs their reading activity, determining the amount of input they are exposed to, the level of engagement with the content and the quality of response to the text. Motivation is an abstract and multifaceted construct that is employed to clarify why humans think and behave as they do (Dörnyei, 2001). Motivation pertains to “the choices individuals make about which activity to do or not to do, their degree of persistence at the chosen activities, and the amount of effort they put forth to do the activity” (Wigfield, 2000, pp. 140-141). Motivation dictates why people choose to do a particular thing, how long they engage in the activity and how hard they intend to undertake it (Dörnyei, 2001). There are many theories concerning motivation (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2013). The following discussion, however, will be guided by Baker and Wigfield’s (1999) approach to reading motivation. This approach takes into account the engagement perspective and the achievement motivation theory. According to the first position, engaged L2 readers are “motivated to read for different purposes, utilize knowledge gained from previous experience to generate new understandings, and participate in meaningful social interactions around reading” (Baker & Wigfield, 1999, p. 452). The second perspective combines, among other things, efficacy beliefs (i.e., confidence about one’s capability to produce the desired level of performance), intrinsic and extrinsic types of motivation, and purposes for achievement. The last construct is essential in situations where L2 learners have to decide, for example, which of the available reading tasks to do or how much effort needs to be invested in each task (Wigfield, Eccles, & Rodriguez, 1998). Motivated readers are engaged in reading, have a positive attitude towards reading, reflect on the value and importance of reading, use numerous strategies for a broad range of reading experiences, show a preference for challenge in reading and have high self-efficacy (Berkeley, Mastropieri, & Scruggs, 2011; Gambrell, 2011; Guthrie, Van Meter, McCann, Wigfield, Bennett, Poundstone, Rice, Faibisch, Hunt, & Mitchell, 1996). As can be observed, motivation plays an important role in reading development. Reading for internal reasons dictates the amount students read and predicts reading achievement (Guthrie, 2008; Guthrie, Coddington, & Wigfield, 2009). Student interest in the material is related to the proper application of effective learning strategies, resulting in a quicker comprehension of reading materials. It is likely that readers who find their material interesting are more motivated to

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utilise the cognitive processes crucial for good comprehension (Guthrie, 2008). In this vein, since much of learning in schools requires reading, engagement in reading will reflect engagement in learning. The processes that generally boost motivation may promote favourable attitudes as well as engagement in reading (Cambria & Guthrie, 2010). Human personal cognitions and emotions are to a large extent socially constructed. It is difficult to separate the social from the personal types of motivation, crucial to L2 reading (Dörnyei, 2001). It may be said that social motivation deals with becoming productive members of society. The social type also deals with achievement at school so as to be accepted by peers and teachers. The personal type refers to satisfying personal desires and gaining knowledge. The satisfaction allows readers to fulfil their curiosity while becoming more educated (Dörnyei 2001; Urdan & Maehr, 1995). In addition, the social type of motivation is definitely influenced by a reader’s social environment. The reader’s parents, teachers, peer group and school, more often than not, make up the reader’s social environment. Reading motivation has been widely researched in the ELT context. For example, an interesting qualitative case study involving a South Korean student of English was recently conducted by Ro (2013). The researcher wanted to find out whether extensive reading can motivate an unmotivated reader. As a result, she measured motivation through three selfreported questionnaires, three interviews and observations of twenty-four extensive reading sessions over an 8-week period. The results disclosed that extensive reading had a positive effect on the participant and considerably enhanced her motivation to read in English. What contributed to the participant’s increased motivation was that it "can be done alone at any place conveniently, unlike other English studies. I can do it at any place I want such as at my favourite café. I don’t need help from other people; you just need your book and time. It’s as simple as that” (Ro, 2013, p. 226). The other two contributing factors included satisfaction and usefulness. The participant gained satisfaction every time she finished reading a book. This, in turn, encouraged her to read more and also motivated her to become a faster and better reader. She also understood that the whole reading experience was useful as it increased her overall L2 proficiency. In another study, in Pakistan, Khan (2016a) investigated the L2 reading motivation of thirty graduates. In this project, the data were collected through a questionnaire in a learning environment where students used WhatsApp for their academic development. The findings of this project revealed that the use of WhatsApp motivated the participants to read in English. The teachers and school authorities, however, disapproved of WhatsApp. They considered it ineffective and believed it to be a source of distraction in the reading classroom. Khan (2016b) also investigated the levels of instrumental and integrative motivation for L2 reading in Pakistan. He gathered his data through an adapted version of Dörnyei’s language-learning-motivation questionnaire, which he distributed among forty male pre-university students. The findings indicated that participants had high levels of instrumental motivation for reading English. Instrumental motivation was mainly used to read in English to achieve a special goal, for example, to get a degree or scholarship (Item 9). Good employment turned out to be the strongest instrumental motivation (Item 1, 2, and 4) in this cohort. Regarding the integrative motivation for L2 reading, the study revealed that the participants were motivated to read in English to deepen their knowledge about literature, the arts and culture (Items 4, 1, 10). They were also motivated to read in the target language to become part of the English-reading community (Item 2). Sani, Chik, Nik and Raslee (2011) investigated L2 reading motivation and academic reading strategies. More specifically, the study aimed to look at the relationship between reading motivation and reading strategy use among Malaysian undergraduates. Both constructs were analysed in terms of gender. The researchers concluded that female participants were more motivated L2 readers than male participants, reading motivation was “moderate” and cognitive strategies were used over metacognitive ones. The last two research projects to be described in this section were conducted in the Philippines. In the first project, Perez (2004) focused on the reading ability and motivation of secondary school students. A number of instruments were used to collect data. The findings revealed that there was a strong correlation between the five (out of six) analysed motivational factors and reading comprehension. In the second study, Mante-Estacio (2012) determined the relationship between a number of dimensions of reading motivation among Filipino bilingual students. The findings implied that the selection of reading material to be used in the classroom should take into account learner interests, preferences and familiarity with both the content and format of the reading material. The selected texts should pose a certain level of challenge to learners, yet should not lead to discouragement or L2 reading avoidance. Finally, a balance between "narrative and informational texts" should be promoted (Mante-Estacio, 2012, p. 25). The preceding discussion reveals that motivation and the right attitude are fundamental for students to develop their reading skills, derive pleasure from reading and overcome various limitations. However, it is important to remember that both attitudes and motivations for reading are more often than not influenced by teacher beliefs about reading and the teaching philosophy employed by teachers. The issue of teacher beliefs is the focus of the next section. 2.3 Teacher Beliefs about L2 Reading Teacher beliefs about teaching and learning perform a vital role in classroom processes. These beliefs underpin teacher decisions about classroom instruction concerning goals, procedures, methods, approaches, materials and management (Borg, 2008; Harste & Burke, 1977; Richards & Rodgers, 2001; Zheng, 2015). The teacher beliefs concept is not new, and has been referred to by different educators and educational philosophers in different ways. For example, Jackson (1968) used the notion of hidden curriculum, which is nothing less than understandings, premises and propositions that teachers acquire in the process of teaching. A few years later, Ainscough (1997) and Sendan and Roberts (1998) preferred to refer to teacher beliefs as private theories of teachers. More recently, teacher beliefs are used interchangeably with teacher cognitions (Borg 2008; Saito & Van Poeteren 2012), teacher perceptions (Brown, 2009; Dippold, 2009), pedagogical beliefs (Borg, 2011) and teacher thinking (Johnson, 2009).

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No matter what terminology is employed to refer to teacher beliefs, there are two aspects that need to be clarified. Firstly, systems of beliefs are rarely well-structured. Some of the beliefs in those systems tend to be more central, and thus more difficult to change. Secondly, a clear distinction must be made between the notion of beliefs and the notion of knowledge. This distinction is not sufficiently emphasised in the literature, and therefore those two notions happen to be wrongly equated. Knowledge rests on a truth condition, whereas beliefs do not depend upon it (Richardson, 2003). As Richardson (2003, p. 3) further explains, “beliefs are propositions that are accepted as true by the individual holding the belief, but they do not require epistemic warrant”. There are a number of empirical studies that deal with teacher beliefs. Some of them investigate teacher beliefs about various aspects of form-focused instruction, including grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation (Farrell & Lim, 2005; Gerami & Noordin, 2013). Others investigate teacher beliefs about teaching language skills (Graham, Santos, & Francis-Brophy, 2014; Yang & Gao, 2013). There are research projects that report strong relationships between teacher beliefs and reading instruction (Farrell & Ives, 2015; Kuzborska, 2011). There are also studies showing that there is a somewhat limited correspondence between the two (Farrell & Lim, 2005). For this reason, more research is required in this area. 3. Methodology The empirical part of this article presents a small-scale study that was conducted in Mindanao, the Philippines, with ESL secondary school students and teachers. This project investigated three research questions. The first two questions focus on ESL students: (1) What are the attitudes of Filipino ESL students towards reading in English as a second language? and (2) What different aspects of reading motivation can be identified among Filipino ESL students? The literature review emphasised that L2 learner attitudes and motivations are affected by teacher beliefs. Thus, the third research question was: What beliefs about L2 reading motivation and L2 reading instruction do Filipino ESL teachers hold? To collect reliable and extensive data to answer these three research questions, a mixed-methods approach was employed. The combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was to ensure not only a better understanding of the studied phenomena, but also to give the entire project a higher credibility. The quantitative data underwent statistical analysis, whereas the qualitative data were analysed through thematic coding. This method “identif[ies], analys[es] and report[s] patterns (themes) within data” (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p. 79). 3.1 Participants The research population consisted of Filipino ESL students (N=100) and teachers (N=30). The student group consisted of both male (n=43) and female (n=57) participants. The student-participants were 8th graders from a number of rural secondary schools in Mindanao. A considerable number of the participants came from poor indigenous families. These were families that made their living from farming and housekeeping. The parents were very often uneducated and unable to help with schoolwork. The majority of the participants were neither critical readers nor autonomous learners. In many cases, their teachers described them as struggling readers who were not keen on reading English texts. The first languages of the participants included: Cebuano, Ilonggo, Matigsalug, Ilocano and Maguindanao. In the teacher group, there were also male (n=9) and female (n=21) participants. Ages ranged from 24 to 53, with the average being 33. The participants worked full-time for Mindanao secondary schools in rural areas. The majority had been teaching English for 11 to 15 years. Their teaching qualifications were as follows: PhD (n=1), MA (n=21) and BA (n=8). Convenience sampling was used to select participants for this project. This means that the participants were chosen on the basis of availability (Weathington, Cunningham, & Pittenger, 2010). 3.2 Instruments and Procedure In the present project, five instruments were used to collect the data: a L2 reading attitude survey, a questionnaire dealing with motivations for L2 reading, a survey on beliefs about motivating learners to read in the target language, a semi-structured interview and L2-reading-lesson observation. The first three instruments were used in the quantitative part. They are briefly described below. At the outset, attitudes were measured through a survey made up of twenty statements. The participants (N=100) were asked to respond as “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree”, using the five-point Likert scale. Next, motivations for reading were estimated using a 50-item questionnaire. This instrument was a slightly modified version of the Motivations for Reading Questionnaire designed by Wigfield and Guthrie (1997). All the statements on the 5-point Likert scale were closed-ended. The statements reflected the following eleven constructs of reading motivation: reading efficacy, reading challenge, reading curiosity, reading involvement, importance of reading, reading work avoidance, competition in reading, recognition for reading, reading for grades, social reasons for reading and compliance. More specifically, reading efficacy, reading challenge and reading work avoidance were included in the Competence and Efficacy Beliefs group. Reading curiosity, reading involvement, importance of reading, competition in reading, recognition for reading and reading for grades formed the Goals for Reading group. The last group, Social Purposes of Reading, consisted of social reasons for reading and compliance. This detailed scale was used to encourage participants (N=100) to accurately describe the concept of reading motivation. The participants could then specify the intensity of the individual constructs of the concept. Finally, beliefs were measured using a 37-item survey on teacher beliefs about motivating L2 learners to read. The 5point Likert scale, slightly adapted from Quirk, Unrau, Ragusa, Rueda, Lim, Velasco, Fujii, Bowers, Nemerouf and Loera’s (2010) study, was purposely chosen since it closely correlated with the student scale on reading motivations.

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Because of the close correlation, the results of these two instruments could be easily compared. It was hoped that the comparison could be used to reveal the teachers’ and the students’ perceptions on L2 reading motivation and how these perceptions affected the teaching-learning process in the Filipino rural secondary school. The survey was completed by thirty participants (N=30). Once all the quantitative instruments had been collected, they underwent statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics were calculated and the various results between male and female groups of participants were compared using a student's ttest. A correlation analysis, using Pearson's correlation coefficient, was carried out to determine the relationship between teacher beliefs about motivating ESL learners to read and student motivations for L2 reading. The level of significance selected for this study was p 0.05) between pretest scores of EG (M = 5.30, SD = 1.59) and CG (M = 5.45, SD = 3.48), t (38) = -.17, p = .86 (two-tailed). However, comparing the two groups’ posttest scores, it was found that the p value was smaller than the alpha level (.000 < .05), and thus the difference between the EG (M = 9.90, SD = 2.17) and CG (M = 6.75, SD = 3.36) was statistically significant. This leads us to the conclusion that the instruction program provided for the EG was more effective than the one the CG was exposed to. The logic behind such finding can be related to the nature of audio viewing materials. Listening comprehension, especially when it is accompanied with visual materials, has theoretically been viewed as a dynamic procedure in which people focus on choosing parts of aural/visual information, structure significance from sections, and associate what they hear/see with existing knowledge. Understanding is identified in cognitive psychology research as information processing. Comprehension is realized through schema-directed processes (Rumelhart (1980). Schemata are like packages that contain our knowledge about world concepts: fundamental items, circumstances, and occasions, arrangements of occasions, activities and sequences of actions. Another logical reason behind such effectiveness could be attributed to the complexity of input materials that may especially be difficult to grasp, since they require a combination of parsed segments in the process of comprehension, creating extra load on short term memory which might already be replete with raw new input. The second research question was “Do factors like gender, age, and the students' access to audio viewing materials have any effect on improving EFL learners’ listening skill?” To find out the possible effects of gender, age, and students’ access to audio viewing materials on EFL learners’ listening comprehension, multiple regression analysis was conducted. Table 5. A Summary of the multiple regression model specifications Model

R

R Square

Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1

.52

.27

.21

2.86

R Square value in Table 5 shows how much of the variance in listening comprehension is explained by each of the three independent variables under investigation. The value here is .27, which means that gender, age, and learners’ access to audio viewing materials explained 27 percent of the variance in listening comprehension scores. Table 6 shows the statistical significance of this result.

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Table 6. Statistical Significance of the Results of Multiple Regression Analysis Regression Residual Total

Sum of Squares

df

Mean Square

F

Sig.

109.70 295.06 404.77

3 36 39

36.56 8.19

4.46

.009

In Table 6, Sig. equaled .009, which was smaller than the alpha level (p < 0.05), denoting a statistical significance. In other words, gender, age, and learners’ access to audio viewing materials could significantly predict listening comprehension. Now it is high time we looked at the Table 7. to see which of the independent variables contributed more to the prediction of listening comprehension. Table 7. Predictive Power of Gender, Age, and Learners’ Access to Audio Viewing Materials for Listening Comprehension

Gender Age Access

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized Coefficients

B

Std. Error

Beta

T

1.07 -.06 -3.19

1.18 1.25 .93

.16 -.009 -.50

.90 -.04 -3.4

Confidence Interval for B

Correlations

Collinearity Statistics

Sig.

Lower Bound

Upper Bound

Zeroorder

Partial

Part

Tolerance

.37 .96 .002

-1.33 -2.60 -5.08

3.47 2.48 -1.30

.13 -.009 -.49

.14 -.008 -.49

.12 -.07 -.48

.59 .57 .94

VIF 1.68 1.75 1.05

Values under standardized coefficients indicate the predictive power of each gender, age, and learners’ access to audio viewing materials. The largest value, irrespective of the negative signs, is belongs to learners’ access to audio viewing materials (-.50). Access to audio viewing materials thus made the strongest unique contribution to explaining listening comprehension. The relevant Beta value for gender was the second highest value out there (.16), indicating that it made less of a contribution. Age had the least predictive value so far as listening comprehension was concerned (-.009). For each of these variables, their related values under Sig. show whether the variable is making a statistically significant contribution to the equation. Among the three independent variables under investigation in this study, learners’ access to audio viewing materials was the only independent variable which had a Sig. value less than the significance level (.002 < .05); This shows that among gender, age, and learners’ access to audio viewing materials, just success to audio viewing materials could significantly predict the learners’ listening comprehension and the other two independent variables failed to have a significant influence on listening comprehension. The reason for such prediction might lie in the fact that learners in general, and L2 learners in particular appreciate the use of modern technology, especially when it comes to the application of authentic materials, no matter which age or gender they belong to. Mayer (2003) investigated the role of visual materials in second language learning among EFL learners that used pictorial stimuli corresponding with text, and discovered that using images will facilitate second language acquisition. According to De Bot, Lowie, and Verspoor (2005), students' positive attitudes towards learning affects target language learning. Mutar (2009) argued that using power points facilitate the teachers’ job in giving dynamic lectures interesting to the learners. The findings of this study are in line with those of a majority of previous ones. For instance, Feyten’s (1991) conducted a study on ninety students of French and Spanish, of whom 36 were French learners and 54 were Spanish learners. All of the students had enrolled in the summer intensive program at the University of Tennessee. The program included aspects of proficiency-oriented instruction with an emphasis on oral skills. In the pretest, participants were given the video version of WBLT, which they were required to respond to at the beginning of the program. At the end of the program, the subjects were given a Foreign Language Test consisting of an oral interview, a listening comprehension component, and written grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension items. The qualitative data of the pretest was quantified so that the pretest and posttest data were compared. The relationship between listening ability and foreign language proficiency was determined through simple bivariate correlations. The results revealed significant correlations between listening ability and overall FL proficiency. A number of second language teaching approaches have so far been proposed that emphasize the use of authentic materials. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is one of the popular teaching approaches in which practical use of language in everyday communication, and thus the use of authentic materials, is extremely emphasized. Teachers are encouraged to use different audio-visual materials, including a wide range of photographs and videos, in the CLT classes to create a motivating and authentic class atmosphere (Freeman, 2000). Direct method is another approach that emphasizes the use of various visual materials like pictures and posters in the classroom. Since in these two systems teachers are not allowed to use L1 to explain things, visual materials are the major means of instruction (Freeman, 2000). Silent method believes that learning is facilitated if the learner discovers or creates instead of remembering and repeating what is to be learned. In this method learning takes place by working with physical objects and solving

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problems about concepts to be learned. Use of visual materials facilitates both teaching and learning. Teachers use sound-color chart and color rod to show target language concepts (Richards & Rodgers, 1986). 6. Conclusion Listening abilities play an important role in learning a foreign language. In order to enhance communication skills in a foreign language, it is required that students have access to sufficient input to improve their listening comprehension. Abundant potential language learning materials are available today; audiotapes, videotapes, CD-ROMs, DVDs, educational software, and last but not least, audio and video files downloadable from the Internet have all helped to buildup a large body of learning materials for learners (Benson and Voller, 1997, as cited in Carter & Nunan, 2002). What is more important, however, is the ability to select the most appropriate input, create useful chunks of the selected material, and develop support material for learners’ self-training. The study was in fact an attempt to investigate the impact of audiovisual material on listening comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. An attempt was also made to determine if factors like gender, age, and the students' access to audio viewing materials have any impact on EFL learners’ listening skill. As mentioned previously, the findings the findings show that the application of audio viewing materials has significant impact on listening comprehension of EFL learners. It was also found that the only independent variable which could exert significant influences on the learners’ listening comprehension was their access to audio viewing materials, and that gender and age could not significantly affect the learners’ listening comprehension scores. The findings of this study can provide L2 teachers with guidelines using audio viewing materials in EFL classes to better improve listening comprehension ability of L2 learners. Using audiovisual material has become an integral part of language learning process in L2 classes, and even of services offered by authorities (Swank, 2011). Similarly for Ameh (2012), there is no doubt in the significant role of audio-visuals in assisting students to learn at their own pace, making the learning process meaningful, stimulating and stress-free. Therefore, L2 learners form the second group that can immensely take advantage of such materials in their language development. The findings are also beneficial for materials developers and syllabus designers to consider the serious inclusion of audio visual materials in the textbooks for all age and gender groups. The following areas of research can be recommended to those who are interested in pursuing the same line of research: The same variables can be investigated with learners of different proficiency levels so that the results are compared. Further studies can be carried out to investigate the mentioned variables in relation to every language skill individually. Other researchers can also apply computerized form of audio visual devices in relation to language skills and subskills. Gender and age were two individual differences utilized in this study, there are some other individual factors like field dependent/independent which could be investigated in relation to the effectiveness of audio viewing materials. References Bacon, S.M. (1992a). The relationship between gender, comprehension, processing strategies, and cognitive and affective response in foreign language listening. Modern Language Journal, 76, 160-178. Barker, L., Edwards, R., Gaines, C., Gladney, K., & Holley, F. (1980). An investigation of proportional time spent in various communication activities by college students. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 8, 101-110. Barker, L., & Brown, A.L. Metacognitive skills and reading. In D. Pearson, M. Kamil, R. Barr & P. Mosenthal (Eds.), Handbook of reading research. New York: Longman. Bruce, B. (1993). Innovation and social change. In B. Bruce, J.K. Peyton & T. Byrnes, H. (1984). The Role of Listening Comprehension: A Theoretical Base. Foreign Language Annals 17:317-29. Carrell, P. L., & Eisterhold, J. C. (1983). Schema theory and ESL reading pedagogy. TESOL Quarterly, 17, 553-573. Carter, R., Nunan, D. (2002). The Cambridge guide to teaching English to speakers of other languages. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. Chamot, A.U. & O'Malley, J.M. (1987). A cognitive academic language learning mainstream. TESOL Quarterly, 21, 227-49.

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International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 5 No. 7; December 2016 [Special Issue on Language and Literature] Flourishing Creativity & Literacy

Australian International Academic Centre, Australia

Do Function Words Belong to Part of Speech? Shara Mazhitayeva (Corresponding author) Karaganda State University, 28 University Street, Karaganda, 100028, Kazakhstan E-mail: [email protected] Zhanbai Kadyrov North Kazakhstan State University named after Manash Kozybayev, Pushkin Street 86, Petropavlovsk, 150000, Kazakhstan Zhandos Smagulov Karaganda State University, 28 University Street, Karaganda, 100028, Kazakhstan Kamshat Amanbaevna Toleubayeva Karaganda State University, 28 University Street, Karaganda, 100028, Kazakhstan Sagila Rahimberlina Karaganda State University, 28 University Street, Karaganda, 100028, Kazakhstan

Received: 14-08-2016

Accepted: 12-10-2016

Advance Access Published: November 2016

Published: 10-12-2016

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.142

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.142

Abstract The term "function words" ("auxiliary part of speech") in traditional grammars of Kazakh and Russian languages have different connotations due to its functions. In foreign linguistics function words generally are not regarded in opposition to the traditional grammatical classes of words, although sometimes stand for relatively close category of words, which include articles, prepositions (postpositions) and conjunctions. In the 60-70 years of the twentieth century the function words in Kazakh language have sufficiently been investigated, but within the development of linguistics in the Kazakh according to some scholars the function words as a complex phenomenon suggested to regard them as a separate set of words. The theoretical significance of this article is the author's attempt to reveal the linguistic characteristics of function words in Kazakh language, to show their place in language, as well as to determine their nature as a part of speech. Keywords: Function words, parts of speech, grammatical meaning, lexical meaning, auxiliary word, members of sentence 1. Introduction Parts of speech is a class of words based on the word's function, the way they work in a sentence or it is defined as a linguistic category of words sharing syntactic or morphological behaviour and semantic properties. The parts of speech are classes of words, all the members of these classes have certain characteristics in common which distinguish them from the members of other classes. The problem of word classification into parts of speech still remains one of the most controversial problems in modern linguistics. The attitude of grammarians with regard to parts of speech and the basis of their classification varied a good deal at different times. Thus, each language has various number of word classes. For example, there are ten in Kazakh, Russian and English languages, twelve in German (Table 1; Table 2). Table 1. Parts of speech in Russian and Kazakh languages (Akhmetzhanova Z.K., 1989; Mazhitayeva Sh., 2003) N

Russian language

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Noun Adjective Numeral Pronoun Verb Adverb Preposition Conjunction Function words

10

Interjections

Kazakh language Noun Adjective Numeral Pronoun Verb Adverb 7 function words: a) postpreposition b) coordinating conjunctions; c) function words 8 Interjections 9 Imitative words 10 modal words

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The special part of speech in Kazakh language is auxiliary words (function words) which is subdivided into 1) function words: а) post-preposition; b) function words; c) interjections; d) auxiliary words; e) auxiliary verbs. Table 2. Classes of words in German and English languages (S. Mazhitayeva, 2003; V. Venjavskaja, 2009) №

German

English

1

das Substantіv

the Noun

2

das Verb

the Verb

3

das Adjektіv

the Adjectіve

4

das Numerale

the Numeral

5

das Pronomen

the Pronoun

6

das Adverb

the Adverb

7

das Modalwort

8

dіe Praeposіtіon

the Preposіtіon

9

dіe Konjunktіon

the Conjunctіon

10

dіe Partіkel

11

der Artіkel

12

dіe Іnterjektіon

the Іnterjectіon

Another class of words is – interjection; Imitative words - the ninth part of speech. The last group is modal words (Kazakh language grammar, 2002. p.440). Parts of speech by prominent linguists V.V. Vinogradov, L.A.Bulakhovskye, L.V.Tsherba R.A.Budagov, A.M.Kononov, V.M.Zhirmunskye, A.Iskakov and others have been discriminated according to two criteria: lexical and grammatical groups. The classical parts of speech theory goes back to ancient times. According to the classification of the parts of speech all words were divided into 3 parts: basic, categorematic words, auxiliary words (function words) and interjections (Salakhov R. A., 1999; Chomsky N., 1965; Andrew Carnie, 2011). The development of function words and its grammatical function in modern Kazakh linguistics, is still far from being solved. However, this class of words mostly has been regarded from morphological angle in linguistic researches. In almost each grammars function words are regarded as a class of words that denote relations and connections between the notional words, and thus have no direct bearing on anything extra-linguistic, to form a new word. Some approaches to the problem of function words were suggested by A.Baitursynov, K. Zhubanov, S.Amanzholov, M.Balakayev. Later, other scientists as F.Kenjebayeva, R.Amirov, K. Amiraliyev took into account their development history, meaning and function in a sentence, classification. The main function of function words and general features have been described in the works of K.Iskakova, K. Akhanov, N.Oralbayeva. However, in their works one cannot find the information about its types as a particular field for investigation. In this regard grammatical and specific features, the appropriate usage of function words have not also been covered. The primary function is based on constructing the basic vocabulary and grammar of the language. The wealth and value of the Kazakh language enables it to fully function for describing the environment, society, natural phenomena or people's relationships with each other. In modern Kazakh language all classes of words are distinguished by semantic and morphological criteria. They are notional units and function words. The lexical meaning of notional words is predominant that serves as a basis of communication in a certain content. According to grammar rules in speech they can form another word, can serve as an independent member. There are some ways of new word formation. Notional units are words that bear lexical and grammatical meanings by adding semantic coloring. As for function words they have no formal features and should be memorized as ready-made units. One of the most specific features of the word is its indivisibility. As any other linguistic unit the word is a bilateral entity. It unites a concept and a sound image and thus has two sides – the content and expression sides: concept and sound form.

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These days there is an urgent issue to distinguish primary meaning of function words and its significance in the usage as it still requires careful study. It is one of the problems of functional grammar. Thus to systemize meanings and significance of function is very crucial. For example, function words are words that must be associated with another word or phrase to impart meaning, i.e., does not have its own lexical definition. In modern grammar function words express grammatical relationships with other words but that lack definite lexical meaning. The intensifying function of this class of words in Kazakh language has not been revealed yet. From the beginning, function words were regarded as words that bear a lexical meaning. Last researches show that within the time it had lost its initial meaning, and created a new lexical and semantic group of function words. The main evidences of their usage can be seen in ancient Turkic runic inscriptions. From inscriptions dated back V-VIII centuries one can assume that the function words formed a separate category with specific value. In particular, the process of function words formation has been determined at the time of Orkhon-Yenisey writings. The process of new words formation from function words or its initial formation can be defined as the process of function words formation. 2. Materials and methods Function words that have been found in the language of ancient Turkic writing monuments are regarded as the architypes of the function words. Traditional scientific descriptive method, contextual analysis, comparative approaches, synthesis, genetic study are of great importance in investigating the nature of function words. In ancient Turkic languages function words were carefully studied as a separate part of speech and their origin, methods of formation, specific features in development greatly contribute in revealing the history of modern Turkic languages. If to compare function words in Turkic languages with other parts of speech it can be distinguished by its own specific features that make them unique. Previously we have mentioned that the development of function words as a separate part of speech dated back to ancient Turkic monuments. 3. Results and Discussion As a categorical thing, function words have been developed since the time of ancient runic inscriptions of the OrkhonYenisey, Talas inscriptions. They went through a long process of linguistic formation as a derivative historical category. In modern Turkic languages affixes in some function words cannot be separated from the root, as it has become an integral part of the word unit. Due to transposition approach (a term from the European tradition of linguistics for the change of category without any change in meaning; syntactic information and conceptual information are represented in structures that are linked but independent) when the affix is attached to the root to form function words. Function words have been derived from nominals or verbs that bear a definite meaning. This process is known at some stages of language development. Some nouns and verbs have rarely been used in their initial lexical meaning and obtain various grammatical meanings. Function words generally have common features with those that can be found in Middles Ages, ancient and contemporary Turkic languages. Participles as verb forms by adopting some characteristics of nominals changed into function words and gradually compiled into a large group of function words that function today in contemporary grammar as a part of speech. In the second half of the nineteenth century for historical reasons different opinions and views on the nature of function words have been assumed amid scientists in the field of Turkology. However, until recently function words in runic writings have been regarded as a subject of scientific research. According to the rules of dialectics nothing exists itself. Language exists within society and it is closely connected with its all spheres. The social development and its qualitative changes greatly impact on the structure of the language, development and classification. Each part of speech has a different function in a sentence and differs from each other in its meaning, morphological features, word- formation and word-change and syntactical function. Parts of speech are characterized by specific and common features, interrelation, and the system of development. Kudaibergen Zhubanov has suggested the classification of words and it is considered to be a primary aspect in linguistic researches. All the classes of words that exist today in modern grammar have been distinguished by Kudaibergen Zhubanov. The scholar first and foremost has identified three complex primary divisions of parts of speech: the root classes: nouns, adjectives, numerals, adverbs of time, verbs, and function words classes [K. Zhubanov, 1999. p.32]. In studying the formation of the parts of speech, one must consider morphological word formation and i.e. to pay attention to the ways of word formation. The materials of the Turkic languages have been taken for analyzing function words formation and ways of development.

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In investigating the nature of function words in Orkhon-Yenisey writings a great number of scientific works of S.E. Mallov (1951), V.M. Nassilov (1960), A.N. Kononov (1980), A. Nurmakhanova (1971), R. Amirov (1982), A.M. Tsherbak (1977), N. Hadjieminoglu (1992), G. Aidarov (1971) etc. and different concepts in ancient Turk and modern Turk languages have been taken as a basis. Function words as a part of speech have appeared after a class of nominals. But it still requires to study whether this concept is typical for all languages or only for some of them. Generally a common value and its definitions in Turkic languages have been systematized in a certain extent. In particular, according to commonly accepted theoretical principles confirmed by scientists, function words are a complex class of words that still requires careful study. Initially they served as meaningful words which gradually lost their meanings and comprised a new lexical and semantic group. One piece of evidence is that one can observe a great stock of function words in ancient Turkic runic inscriptions. The features in formation of function words, ways of development made us to conclude that the study of this class of words since the time of ancient Turkic history gives an opportunity to reveal the nature of function words in modern linguistics. Gradual historical development of the parts of speech in the language can be clearly seen on the sample of function words. In Turkic languages the function words as an independent class of words have been developed later in comparison with others. They went through different changes in its formation and grammar structure as well. Thus they created a new group of words within grammar aspect due to their unique characteristics. Each part of speech bears a specific common categorical meaning. In different languages each word has its own meaning and name. Therefore lexical and grammatical groups of words are differentiated by common categorical meaning and characteristics that they share within a class of words. The word combines in its semantic structure two meanings: grammatical and lexical. For function words its grammatical meaning dominates over the lexical one. As they have no references of their own in the objective reality; function words are only used as grammatical means to form frame utterances. It is one of the primary differences of function words between other classes of words. To be independent as a categorical class it greatly depends on the forms of nominals and verbs. Through its long history of development they got lost the quality to convert a new word and turned into ‘dead’ form. By means of transposition, function words comprised a new class of words that had been derivated from various parts of speech. The study of the function words in ancient Turk runic inscriptions made by M.A. Kazem-Bek (1869; 1839), P. Melioranskye (1894), M. Terentyev (1875) gives the lexical and grammatical description, the history of formation of the class of words backed up with scientific findings. According to the scientists, auxiliary words are not made of new words. "Function words – words that bear ‘weak’ lexical meanings, thus the grammatical meanings dominate over the lexical ones". We fully agree with the view of A. Iskakov who strongly believes that this type of auxiliary words can express a variety of grammatical relations and serve for different grammatical functions as well (Iskakov A., 1991. p.126). Moreover, there is a wide range of concepts relating to function words as a separate word class. In general linguistics, like a variety of different notions, parts of speech dated back to ancient antique era. There is an opinion that parts of speech in reference to nominals and verbs were first mentioned in the ІV century BC. For example, S.Mukhtarov has noticed ‘Hindi is a language of a long history that well depicted in the work of Panini who lived in the fourth century BC’. Panini, in his work he provides a complete system of Sanskrit and for the first time distinguished parts of speech. His followers Yaska, Vavarugi, Katyayana, Patanjali accompanied with Katyaanna Patanjali. The scholars singled out four groups: “Noun (naman), Verb (akhyata), Auxiliary words (preposition - unasarga), and Function words (nipata)” (Mukhtarov S., 1999. p.6). This fact shows that function words as a separate word class was discriminated at that time. Panini built virtually the whole structure of the Sanskrit language. Starting with about 1700 basic elements, put them into classes. The scholar had many followers as we mentioned above (Yaska, Vavarugi, Katyayana, Patanjali). K.Zhubanov: ‘... they discriminated four word clases: Nominals (naman), Verbs (akhyata), Function words (unasarqa) and Particles (nipata)’. They have distinguished function words as a separate group of words (Zhubanov K., 1999. p.6). In this regard S.Issayev has noted that according to Altai descendants view “... the emergence of abstract words coincide with the era of complex words” (Issayev S., 1998. p.11) Meanwhile, M.Orazov has distinguished three stages in historical development of Kazakh language (Kaidarov A., Orazov M., 1985). The first is the ‘prehistoric time’ or ‘Altai era’ so called by N.A. Baskakov’s reflections (Baskakov N.A., 1969). In the sentence function words serve as coordinators, time and place relators , express certainty and other different emotional coloring and signal the structural relationships between words to combine sentences. According to the semantic function they are divided into particles, postpositions, conjunctions are classified into three parts. For example, a conjunction is a word which joins two words, or sentences. This is also called sentence linker or connective. Their main task is to link two or more words, clauses or sentences. There are coordinating (combine two sentences which are independent of each other), subordinating (joins two sentences which are totally dependent on each other) correlative conjunctions (a paired conjunction and it works only with pairs). Particle is mostly used for words that help to encode grammatical categories (such as negation, mood or case), or fillers or discourse markers that facilitate discourse.

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Generally in linguistics the function words is a part of speech which cannot be inflected, declined or conjugated. They must be associated with another word or phrase in order to impart a meaning. They mainly serve to express grammatical relationship between words in a sentence. In Kazakh linguistics the function words can be distinguished by these concepts. 4.Conclusion Thus, if to conclude in Kazakh linguistics function words refer to a separate part of speech that fails to bear lexical meaning. They cannot serve as principal parts of the sentence due to their ‘weak’ or zero lexical meaning. In Kazakh language the function words fail to change their grammatical form either. The function words separately or in the sentence have a subsidiary function. In addition, in Kazakh linguistics each word class to make a certain group of words must have at least several outstanding characteristics to establish: bear lexical meanings of words, to be converted to serve as a member of the sentence and etc. In Kazakh linguistics function words are a word class that has no lexical meaning or little lexical meaning or have ambiguous meaning and thus fail to serve as a member of sentence, mentioned characteristics cannot be used separately. At the same time, function words in Kazakh language might not be inflected. Function words serve to express grammatical relationships with other words within a sentence, or specify the attitude or mood of the speaker. They signal the structural relationships that words have to one another and are the bond that holds sentences together. To conclude, they serve as important elements to build the structure of sentence. Therefore, taking into account the linguistic principles of new branches in contemporary grammar of Kazakh linguistics, we may assume that function words belong to a separate word class that are recognized as auxiliary words which serve to express grammatical relationships with other words within a sentence. Definitely, function words in Kazakh language evoke a lively debate amid scholars and time will show how right we are. References Aidarov G. (1971). Language of Orkhon monuments in ancient Turkic writings ҮІІІ c. Almaty: Science of the Kazakh SSR. Akhmetzhanova Z.K. (1989). Principals of comparative fuctional research of Kazakh and Russian languages. Dissertation on obtaining academic degrees of doctor of philological sciences. Institute of linguistics Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR. Almaty, p. 52. Amirov R. (1982). The origin of disjunctive language. Almaty: Almaty Mektep. Andrew Carnie, (2011). Modern Syntax. A Coursebook. Cambridge: University Press, p. 359. Baskakov N.A. (1969). Introduction to the study of Turkic languages. Moscow: Sciences, p. 221. Chomsky N.,(1965). Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, p. 131. Hadjieminoglu N. (1992). Türk Dilinde Edatlar (Adverbs in Turkish language). Istanbul: Milli Egitim Basimevi, p. 133ar. Iskakov A. (1991). Modern Kazakh language. Morphology. Almaty: Ana tili, p. 382. Issayev S. (1998). Grammatical features of words in Modern Kazakh language. Almaty: Science, p. 152. Kaidarov A., & Orazov M. (1985). Introduction to turkology. Almaty: Almaty Mektep. Kazakh language grammar. (2002). In E.Zhanpeisov (Eds.). Astana, p. 784. Kazem –Bek М.A. (1869). Grammar of Altai language. S.-Petersburg: Publisher St. Petersburg University. Kazem –Bek М.A. (1839). Common grammar of Turkish and Tatar language. S.-Petersburg: Publisher St. Petersburg University. Kononov A.N. (1980). The grammar of Turkic languages in runical monuments (ҮІІ-ІХ cc). Leningrad: Sciences. Mallov S.E. (1951). Monuments of ancient Turkic writings. Moscow-Leningrad: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, p. 451. Mazhitayeva Sh. (2003). Comparative grammar of Kazakh and foreign languages. Karaganda: Publishing house of Karaganda SU, p. 109. Melioranskye P., (1894). A short grammar of Kazakh and Kirgiz languages. S-PetersburgЖ Book on demand. Mukhtarov S., (1999). The theory of parts of speech formation in Kazakh language linguistics. Dissertation results on obtaining academic degrees of candidates. . Institute of linguistics at Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh Republic. Almaty. 130 p. Nassilov V.M. (1960). The language of Orkhon Enissey monuments. Мoscow: Publishing house of east literature, p. 87. Nurmakhanova A.N. (1971). Comparative grammar of Turkic languages. Almaty: Gylym. Salakhov R. A., (1999). Practical grammar of German. Moscow: Metatext, p. 232. Terentyev M. (1875). Grammar of Turkish, Persian, Kirgiz and Uzbek languages. S.-Petersburg: Printing of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. Tsherbak A.M. (1977). Essays on comparative morphology of Turkic languages. Leningrad: Science. Venjavskaja V.M., (2009). Grammar of English. Rostov na Donu: Fenix, p. 319. Zhubanov K. (1999). Researches on Kazakh language. Almaty: Science, p. 362.

International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 5 No. 7; December 2016 [Special Issue on Language and Literature] Flourishing Creativity & Literacy

Australian International Academic Centre, Australia

Fantasy, A Means to Propagate Ideologies: A Foucauldian Reading of Albee's The Zoo Story Bahee Hadaegh (Corresponding author) Shiraz University, Iran E-mail: [email protected] Hamid Reza Pilehvar Shiraz University, Iran E-mail: [email protected]

Received: 18-08-2016

Accepted: 15-10-2016

Advance Access Published: November 2016

Published: 10-12-2016

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.147

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.147

Abstract Fantasy is a genre in literature which embodies wishes and desires of human beings. Due to such features, it has been turned into a means by which different discourses utilize fantasy as a way to propagate their ideologies. This happens because fantasy is capable of providing each discourse with a concrete image of their promises to their subjects. The aim of this essay is to delve into Albee’s The Zoo Story, using a Foucauldian reading, to show that American dream as a discourse is not the only existing discourse within the society of America, but there are other marginalized voices in the form of fantasies in which power circulates. Peter, the mouthpiece of American dominant discourse, has a fantasy created by that discourse which is in stark contrast to that of Jerry, the marginalized discourse existing along with the dominant one, which threatens the dominant discourse and struggles to reach the peak in the power structure. Keywords: Discourse, Power, Foucault, Fantasy, American dream, Marginalized Voices, Albee, The Zoo Story 1. Introduction Undoubtedly, Edward Albee is one of the greatest American playwrights who, alongside with Williams, O’Neill, and Miller, shoulders the burden of the causes of American contemporary drama, and it is “estimated in 1966 that 80 per cent of the submissions on American drama were about [these] four authors” (Weales 23). Even President Bill Clinton in 1996 aptly summarized Albee’s achievement by declaring to the playwright, “In your rebellion, the American theater was reborn” (qtd in Burt 293). Edward Albee tries to explore new problems of humanity in each of his plays, and each play “seems to be an experiment in form, in style (even if it is someone else’s style), and yet there is unity in his work as a whole” (Weales 24). However, James L. Roberts declares, “In Edward Albee’s plays, each character is existing in his own private ego” (11). Therefore, the similarity in much of Albee’s works is the depiction of the loneliness and emptiness of his characters’ states of feeling. Albee became well-known with his first one-act play The Zoo Story in 1958. He criticizes his contemporary society and lifestyle in this play, moreover, “[t]he target of his criticism is the dominant culture of his time for which Peter acts as a representative” (Shams and Pourgiv 2). The Zoo Story contains themes which would dominate Albee’s subsequent works, “including the shattering of complacency, the connection between love and aggression, and the relationship between fantasy and reality” (Burt 294). Albee, as a social critic, attacks the world “that makes conformism a virtue and inconformism a vice, a sickness, a kind of madness” (Sigrid 178). According to Albee, human’s truth is “not to be found in society’s platitudes or the promises of social conformity” (Saddik 37). Among the ideas of Edward Albee the questions of gender, family, power, women, and human relationships were the significant and ubiquitous ones. Albee in The Zoo Story “attacked the very foundations of American idealism” (Saddik 36). The Zoo Story is a play which best represents, in Albee’s corpus, the clash between the two kinds of fantasies. 2. Methodology: Foucauldian Notion of Discourse and Power Foucault is a philosopher who believes that all the social relations are constructed upon the struggle over power. “Foucault’s bottom-up model of power, that is his focus on the way power relations permeate all relations within a society” (Mills 34). Therefore, each individual, belonging to one specific discourse, exists in the power structure, and he is able to make alterations to this hierarchy. This type of approach toward history and society “allows an analysis which focuses on individuals as active subjects, as agents rather than as passive dupes” (ibid). Discourse in Foucault’s opinion governs and controls the production of knowledge within its domain. In Foucault’s beliefs physical objects exist out of our will, independence from the discourses, but how we apprehend and interpret these phenomena is within a discursive structure.

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The fact that every object is constituted as an object of discourse has nothing to do with whether there is a world external to thought . . . An earthquake or the falling of a brick is an event that certainly exists, in the sense that it occurs here and now, independently of my will. But whether their specificity as objects is constructed in terms of ‘natural phenomena’ or expressions of ‘the wrath of God’ depends on the structuring of a discursive field. What is denied is not that such objects exist externally to thought, but the rather different assertion that they could constitute themselves as objects outside any discursive condition of emergence. (qtd in Mills 56) Therefore, when Foucault talks about discourse, he is focusing on the constraints and restrictions. That is, one can utter infinite number of utterances, but they are all produced within a finite and narrowly confined limitations of the discourse in which one is uttering. Foucault’s main objective as a historian is to discover the marginalized voices in the history, and “to re-do the things said by traditional records of history so that the ‘interior secret’ and the other history that runs beneath those records and is more fundamental would be uncovered” (Foucault 1972:22). To identify the “interior secret” and the “initiating subjectivity” of a historical era, he attempts to “discover the law operating behind” (Foucault 1972:50) the dominant discourse of the era that “is constituted by a group of sequences of signs, in so far as they are statements, that is, in so far as they can be assigned particular modalities of existence” (ibid 106). The notion of power is of utmost importance in Foucault’s ideas. He believes that “power circulates in all directions” (Tyson 284). It is just like a chain, and it does not remain in one direction and the relation with people within a given community is complex and it is not “a set of relations between the oppressed and the oppressor” (Mills 35). In opposition to many other theorists, “he asserts that power is not the privilege of the dominant class; rather it comes from innumerable points” (Farshid & Sokhanvar 7). Therefore, the individuals are not just the subjects to power, rather they may actively play a role in resisting the power which is embodied in the form of institutions. In Foucault’s opinion, power is not located in one single specific institution, instead he believes in the existence of various forms of discourses struggling over power. Not only does Foucault believe in simultaneous existence of discourses, but he also claims that power is not necessarily a constraining factor. In History of Sexuality he says: “if power was never anything but repressive, if it never did anything but say no, do you really believe that we should manage to obey it?” (36). It is implied from this quotation that power has a constructive feature in itself as opposed to conventional Marxist and Feminist tradition which consider power as a restrictive and oppressive force. Thus, in Foucault’s ideas, no discourse is ever able to have very long validity. He believes the way in which discourses are formed “does not play the role of a figure that arrests time and freezes it for decades or centuries” (Foucault 1978:74). His reasons for this claim is as follows: there is no statement in general, no free, neutral, independent statement; but a statement always belongs to a series or a whole, always plays a role among other statements, deriving support from them and distinguishing itself from them; it is always a part of a network of statements. (Foucault 1978:99) How a discourse comes to the top of hierarchy of power is a complicated process. All the institutions within the discourse work together to exclude the statements which they categorize as false and which do not conform to their discourse. If one wants to remain in the domain of a specific discourse, one must comply with the rules of that discourse. In The Archeology of Knowledge, he states that “it is always possible one could speak the truth in a void; one would only be “in the true” however if one obeyed the rules of some discursive “police” which would have to be reactivated every time one spoke” (224). 3. Discussion Fantasy, as a literary genre, is the one which has been always present in social and literary discussions, but has been frequently denigrated by scholars and theorists. This denigration and lack of critical attention to it was owing to the fact that quite a lot of critics relegate this genre to the realm of children’s literature, consequently, unworthy of critical responses. The importance of fantasy is seriously overlooked. However, many theorists of fantasy believe that this genre possesses consistent laws which contribute to real life. This idea is further elaborated by George MacDonald in his essay titled “The Fantastic Imagination”. The elements of unreal and magic is indispensable parts of fantasy which Le Guin thinks it “[helps] readers cope with the real world by allowing them to view it in a different way. Fantasy, writes Le Guin, is a journey into the reader’s subconscious, and “it will change you.” (Patti 574). On the other hand, some critics and authors composed many defenses of fantasy, as an example, C.S. Lewis stresses that the sensations and elements found in fantasy are not at all arbitrary, but they are all preplanned for some effects. Fantasy, he sums up, gives readers “experiences [they] have never had and this, instead of ‘commenting on life,’ can add to it” (Patti 575). As mentioned above, fantasy, not even as a literary genre but as a tool in every walk of life, has its own existence separated from real life orders and laws, therefore, it has been utilized by human kind to convey and consolidate their views of everything to others. Besides, “new fantasies, for in some way or other the human imagination seems driven to fill the vacuum” (Smith 305). Although fantasy is itself a discourse, it is used in different discourses like the discourse of science, the discourse of politics, and the discourse of religion to create a dream, making the aim of that specific

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discourse as tangible as possible for the subjects. For instance, religious discourse of all kind uses fantasy to create a fixed and consolidated picture of God and the hereafter. “Heaven, with its gates of pearl and streets of gold, its ordered ranks of angels and cherubim's, and hell's yawning chasms and hierarchy of demons, were naturally fantasies in themselves” (Smith 305). In this fantastic picture of hell every detail is enumerated and depicted to create a concrete image and mental picture of the hell. Therefore, the dominant discourse or the discourse in power uses the discourse of fantasy to pave the way to its end. Besides, fantasy oscillates between the realist and the anti-realistic, or ‘the mimetic’ and ‘the marvelous’. With this feature it is able to “[threaten] to subvert (overturn, upset, undermine) rules and conventions taken to be normative” (Bechtel 144) and to create “an ellipse of uncertainty” (Bechtel 145) in the text. Hence, in this sense and from postmodern viewpoint, fantasy is equated with deconstructionism, “for it interrogates all we take for granted about language and experience, giving these no more than a shifting and provisional status” (ibid). In the case of American dream, it is also a discourse which uses fantasy as a tool to create a mental picture of its promises in the minds of its subjects. The term ‘American dream’ was introduced by the American Historian James Truslow in the period during which the United States were suffering from the Great Depression of the 30s. Truslow uses the term to describe political and social expectations, religious promises, and fortune promises. American dream, similar to many other discourses use fantasy in propagating its ideologies. The central motif in American dream is the common cliché, “the rise from rags to riches” (Lemay 23). Therefore, it fantasizes a future full of prosperity in the land of opportunities. But one must caution that American dream is not just the dream of accumulating wealth, but a dream “of the manifold possibilities that human existence can hold for the incredible variety of people of the most assorted talents and drives (Lemay 25). It is believed that American dream has its roots in the Declaration of Independence, because the basic idea embedded in it is that every individual heedless of race, family background, class, etc. is likely to reach achievements, and in this sense, American dream, on this archetypal level, embodies a universal experience” (Lemay 25). In this context, Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography is a cornerstone in giving a definitive formulation to American dream. In this book, the most important aspects of American dream like “the rise from impotence to importance, from dependence to independence, from helplessness to power” (Lemay 24) are enumerated. The fantasy of American dream is repeatedly echoed in many works of contemporary American Literature. However, most of the works depict the failure of the fantasy created by American promise of prosperity because of its overinsistence on materialism, and pinpoint the existence of other discourses alongside with it. Among a large number of works in this regard, that of Arthur Miller is outstanding. Arthur Miller clearly delineates the failure of this fantasy in his character of Willie Lowman in Death of the Salesman. The fantasy created by American dream’s discourse keeps Willie apart from reality and makes a sort of “inability to remain psychologically in the here and now” (Moseley 48). The fantasies making a false dream of success are evident throughout the whole play such as the idea of being “well-liked” embraced by Willie as a prerequisite to success. Harold Clurman (qtd in Moseley) in his influential early review on the play says: Death of a Salesman is a challenge to the American dream. Lest this be misunderstood, i hasten to add that there are two versions of the American dream. The historical American dream is the promise of a land of freedom with opportunity and equality for all. This dream needs no challenge, only fulfillment. But since the civil War, and particularly since 1900, the American dream has become distorted to the dream of business success. A distinction must be made even in this. The original premise of our dream of success—popularly represented in the original boy parables of Horatio Alger—was that enterprise, courage and hard work were the keys to success. Since the end of the First World War this too has changed. Instead of Arthur miller the ideals of hard work and courage, we have salesmanship. Salesmanship implies a certain element of fraud: the ability to put over or sell a commodity regardless of its intrinsic usefulness. The goal of salesmanship is to make a deal, to earn a profit—the accumulation of profit being an unquestioned end in itself. (52-53) In addition, Happy’s fantasy is similar to Willie’s in that it is the product of American dream, and his fantasy, like that of Willie, is in a harsh conflict with that of Biff, which is the antithesis to American dream fantasy. The fantasy of American dream discourse is in stark contrast to Biff’s fantasies which are created by, in Foucault term, “other history”. In addition, these two fantasies are in struggle with each other over reaching power. The failure of American dream is articulated when Biff says: “Will you let me go, for christ’s sake? Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?” (Miller 133). The conflict between these two fantasies are apparent in the characters of Biff and Happy, most noticeably in the Willy’s burial, which Miller called “Requiem”: Biff: He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong. Happy, almost ready to fight Biff: Don’t say that! Biff: He never knew who he was. (138) As one could witness in the work mentioned above, different discourses exist alongside with each other. Although American dream and its related ideology was the dominant discourse, other discourses were in the hierarchy of power. In other words, “there is no monolithic (single, unified, universal) spirit of an age, and there is no adequate totalizing

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explanation of history (an explanation that provides a single key to all aspects of a given culture)” (Tyson 285). In short, In Miller’s Salesman, Biff embodies a fantasy as opposed to American dream fantasy. Similarly in The Zoo Story, Albee depicts the clash between two individuals, Peter and Jerry, the former has assimilated into the power structure and hierarchy, and has been living in his self-built private territory, and the latter, who is unprivileged within the same society, disrupts the societal norms and “tries to shake Peter out of his role and resists the unjust system that victimized both him and Peter” (Shams and Pourgiv 2). This struggle and clash between Peter and Jerry symbolizes the clash between two existing discourses over power both of which contain fantasies; Peter has the fantasy of American dream, and Jerry has a fantasy of marginalized groups. Peter is immersed in materialism and is doing very well in his role in this materialistic atmosphere: An Upper East Side house, wife, children, TV, eighteen thousands a year. What Peter is doing in his life is to maintain his routine no matter what happens. This is evident from the fact that every Sunday he goes to the park to read the newspaper. All in all, his fantasy is limited to a material form which tries to exclude the other opposing fantasies. However, Jerry’s fantasy is totally of a different kind. He has a fantasy in which everyman is released of his own barred existence, that is why he tries to establish some communications. “It probably wasn’t a fair test, what with everyone separated by bars from everyone else, the animals for the most part from each other, and always the people from the animals” (Albee 20). The desire which Jerry is perusing is that he “wants to learn to love, but what he has learned about himself and love is unacceptable” (Heldreth 26) through the lens of American dream fantasy. Of course, Albee is the one who takes side with the fantasy existing along with but opposed to American dream fantasy, since he has Jerry criticize Peter’s way of living affected by American dream discourse. He acknowledges in his Preface to The American Dream, “[the play is] an attack on the substitution of artificial for real values in our society” (qtd in Weales 27). This idea can be extended to The Zoo Story in which Peter’s lifestyle is completely criticized. The attack Albee goes on “is implicit in the depiction of Peter in The Zoo Story” (Weales 27). Albee makes Peter the subject of satire owing to the fact that “[Peter] has surrendered himself to his role” (Stenz 8). But as mentioned above, Jerry’s fantasy is not at all materialistic, or more precise to say they are out of the dominant discourse. This is the very explanation why Peter and Jerry cannot understand each other. “It is difficult, if not impossible, to think and express oneself outside these discursive constraints because, in doing so, one would be considered to be mad or incomprehensible by others” (Mills 57). Although Fantasy exists embedded in Jerry’s discourse, it does not have any power to go up within the power structure. He himself acknowledges in the play that “it’s necessary to go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly” (Albee 8). Jerry is an individual who has defied the social norms; as a result, he has “become a recluse” (Shams and Pourgiv 3). Like Peter, Jerry cannot have a family, wife, a good house in a good district, children, etc. The dominant discourse, American dream, uses all the other discourses, including Jerry’s discourse and discourse of fantasy, to maintain its power, but Jerry’s fantasy can exert a threat to and resist the dominant discourse: “discourses wield power for those in charge, but they also stimulate opposition to that power” (Tyson 285). Jerry expresses his hatred of the west side of the park, and when Peter threatens to call a police man, Jerry replies “they are all over on the west side of the park chasing fairies” (Albee 22). The interesting point is that Jerry also lives on the west part of the park, therefore, he is trying to “[associate] himself with the West” (Heldreth 25). But this abhorrence might be because his repression of homosexuality in his adolescence is done in the West. As mentioned earlier, Jerry is living in a society whose discourse does not agree with his fantasy. Due to this harsh reality, Jerry recalls the past when he was having a relationship with the park superintendent’s son. That is because his present situation cannot satisfy his needs and fantasies, and he wants to recapture the delightful and ecstatic experiences from the past. Jerry says adults “use real experience as a substitute for the fantasy” (Albee 11). This sentence “criticizes a world that cannot live up to his fantasy expectations and indicates a desire for another relationship as valid as that with the Greek boy” (Heldreth 23). The struggle between the fantasies, those of Peter and Jerry, starts with the fight over the possession of the bench in the park through which “[Jerry] he can overthrow the structure of power, which has excluded him from social life” (Shams and Pourgiv 3). Jerry has a tendency to destroy Peter’s fantasy and illusion of being in a stable life using violence and he “attempts to awaken Peter from his dependence on material things to teach him the destructiveness of his illusions” (Aliakbari 19). And Jerry is doing this by beginning the conversation with hypnotic effects on Peter, which includes his actions and gestures. PETER. [Laughing faintly] You’re ... you’re full of stories, aren’t you? JERRY. You don’t have to listen. Nobody is holding you here; remember that. Keep that in your mind. PETER. [Irritably] I know that. JERRY. You do? Good. [The following long speech, it seems to me, should be done with a great deal of action, to achieve a hypnotic effect on Peter… the director and the actor playing JERRY might best work it out for themselves.]. (Albee 13) When there is no reconciliation between the two fantasies, the nature of power entails a harsh struggle, as Edward Albee and Thomas P. Adler (1973) assert that “if love does fail then one must be willing to hurt the other person in order to reach him” (67). After talking fails, Jerry resorts to violence over possession of the bench. JERRY. … I went to the zoo to find out more about the way people exist with animals, and the way animals exist with each other, and with people too. It probably wasn’t a fair test, what with everyone separated by bars

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from everyone else, the animals for the most part from each other, and always the people from the animals. But, if it’s a zoo, that’s the way it is. [He pokes Peter on the arm.] Move over. PETER. [Friendly] I’m sorry, haven’t you enough room? [He shifts a little.]. (Albee 20) Jerry further intrudes the privacy of Peter by inquiring into the decision of having no more children. PETER: [A bit distantly] No. No more. [Then back, and irksome] Why did you say that? How would you know about that? JERRY: The way you cross your legs, perhaps; something in the voice. Or maybe I’m just guessing. Is it your wife? PETER: [Furious] That’s none of your business! [A silence.] Do you understand? [JERRY nods. PETER is quiet now.] Well, you’re right. We’ll have no more children. (Albee 5) The further probing into Peter’s private life causes Peter to admit his disillusionment with his life, saying: “we’ll have no more children” (Albee 5). Nonetheless, Peter’s representative family “is as or even more dangerous than individual alienation because it serves to mask alienation without remedying it” (qtd in Aliakbari 15). And exactly at this moment, one can witness how power is circulating among the existing discourses. The once-dominant discourse of American dream is run over by another discourse again in a form of fantasy. Thus, finally, because of this lack of compromise and reconciliation between the two discourses, the dominant discourse is struggling against any resistance and tries remain in the position of power; this is evident in the play when “Peter, the conformist in The Zoo Story, is provoked into killing Jerry, the individualist” (Roberts 11). At the end, although Jerry is dead, this does not mean that he is finished. He still remains in Peter’s memory for good, and as Jerry himself acknowledges to Peter: “And now you know what you'll see in your TV, and the face I told you about ... you remember ... the face I told you about ... my face, the face you see right now.” (Albee 26). Besides, Albee himself acknowledges that “by dying Jerry passes on an awareness of life to Peter” (Stenz 11), and in that suicidal act, “Jerry becomes a scapegoat who gives his own life so that Peter will be knocked out of his complacency and learn to live, or LIVE” (Weales 29). Thus, by acknowledging this Albee has set the play free from the accusations of being nihilistic and pessimistic. By the same token, one can say that the fantasies related to American dream are challenged by the later existing fantasies because “[a]fter his death, Jerry will be talked of and seen, and this is exactly what he aims to achieve” (Shams & Pourgiv 3). Jerry sacrifices himself to show Peter that the life Peter is leading is a shallow type which is all an illusion. In this sense: “[Jerry] is a Christ figure or a prophet. In so far as there is teaching and sacrifice, and the implication of salvation for Peter through awareness, on the symbolic level Jerry may be identified with Christ” (Stenz 6). Acting like Christ, and sacrificing himself is the only last alternative through which Jerry “can make Peter shed his bourgeois self-indulgence and experience some kind of communication” (Aliakbari 20). 4. Conclusion Discourses shape the worldview of the individuals within a given society. According to Foucault, there is not a single discourse existing in a specific era, but there are several ones existing simultaneously. There is always a struggle over power among all the discourses, therefore, all of the marginalized discourses can play roles in the hierarchy of power. Hence, power does not remain in one specific institution. The fact is that, all these discourses contain elements of fantasy and use the discourse of fantasy for elucidating their ends. Hence as was argued throughout the paper, they are fantasies which are struggling with each other over power. When The Zoo Story was acted in 1958, the dominant discourse of American society was the discourse of American dream which, in many authors’ view, was a failure. It was argued throughout the paper how Edward Albee, as a social critic, tries to depict the existence of other discourses simultaneous with American dream discourse, and how all the discourses struggle to go up in the power structure. At the end of the paly when Jerry impales himself on the knife, the final assault of the fantasy of marginalized discourse on the fantasy of dominant discourse is clear, and has a long-lasting effect on the fantasy of Peter or American dream. References Albee, Edward. The Zoo Story. New York: Samuel French, 1959. Print. Albee, Edward & Adler, T. P. “Albee’s who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf? A long night’s Journey into Day”. Educational Theatre Journal. 25, 66-70, 1973. Pdf. Aliakbari Harehdasht, Hossein and et al. “Illusion and Reality in Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story”. Studies in Literature and Language. Vol. 10, No. 6, 2015, pp. 15-21. Pdf. Bechtel, Greg. “There and Back Again”: Progress in the Discourse of Todorovian, Tolkienian and Mystic Fantasy Theory”. ESC 30.4 (December 2004): 139-166. Pdf. Burt, Daniel S. The Drama 100. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2008. Pdf. Farshid, Sima & Sokhanvar, Jalal. “A Foucauldian Reading of Morrison’s Novels”. International Journal of Arts and Sciences. 3(10): 295 – 311. Pdf.

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Foucault, Michel. The Archeology of Knowledge. New York: Tavistock Publishing, 1972. Pdf. ----. The History of Sexuality, Vol. I: An Introduction, (trans. Robert Hurley), Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1978. Pdf. Heldreth, Leonard G. “From Reality to Fantasy: Displacement and Death in Albee’s Zoo Story”. Ed. Langford, Michele K. Contours of the Fantastic. CT: Greenwood Press, 1990: pp. 19-28. Pdf. Lemay, J.A. Leo. “Franklin’s Autobiography and the American Dream”. Bloom’s Literary Themes: The American Dream. Ed. Bloom, Harold. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009: pp. 21-36. Pdf. Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman: Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts and A Requiem. New York: Viking, 1949. Print. Mills, Sara. Michel Foucault. New York: Routledge, 2003. Pdf. Moseley, Merritt. “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman”. Bloom’s Literary Themes: The American Dream. Ed. Bloom, Harold. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009: pp. 47-55. Pdf. Patti, J. Kurtz. “Understanding and Appreciating Fantasy Literature”. Choice, 40 (04), 2007: pp. 571-580. Pdf. Roberts, L. James. CliffsNotes™ Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. New York: Hungry Minds, 1979. Pdf. Shams, Parisa & Pourgiv, Farideh. “Power Struggle in The Zoo Story: A Performance of Subjectivity”. Fe Dergi 5, no.1 (2013): pp. 1-11. Pdf. Sigrid, P. M. “The Two Opposing Forces in Albee’s The Zoo Story”. Journal of Language, Linguistics, and Literature, vol. 2, No. 1, 2016: pp.178-194. Smith, Harrison. “The Rise of Fantasy in Literature”. The American Scholar, Vol. 17, No. 3 (SUMMER 1948): pp. 305312. Pdf. Stenz, M. Anita. Edward Albee: The Poet of Loss. New York, Mouton Publisher, 1987. Print. Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print. Weales, Gerald. “Edward Albee: Don’t Make Waves”. Modern American Drama. Ed. Bloom, Harold. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 2005: pp. 21-44. Pdf.

International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 5 No. 7; December 2016 [Special Issue on Language and Literature] Flourishing Creativity & Literacy

Australian International Academic Centre, Australia

Semantic Network-based Approach to Studying the Choice of Lexis in Definitions of Technical Terms Maxim Nikolayevich Latu (Corresponding author) Western European Languages and Cultures Department, Pyatigorsk State University, Russia E-mail: [email protected] Aleksey Valeryevich Razduev Western European Languages and Cultures Department, Institute of Translation Studies and Multilingualism, Pyatigorsk State University, Russia

Received: 02-08-2016

Accepted: 20-10-2016

Advance Access Published: November 2016

Published: 10-12-2016

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.153

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.153

Abstract This paper is devoted to the study of vocabulary units that are used in definitions of technical terms with the help of semantic network analysis. Since a semantic network represents a model of a definite system of knowledge it is claimed that it may reveal what predetermines the choice of adjacent technical terms as well as words of general vocabulary in definitions of technical terms denoting academic concepts that belong to different categories. The research demonstrates how some prototypic semantic schemes that consist of semantic relations of definite type between the adjacent technical terms of certain categories are reflected in definitions. The examples are mainly drawn from the actively developing terminologies of nanotechnology and space research as well as physics when necessary. Keywords: technical term, category, semantic relation, concept, terminology 1. Introduction As the scientific and technological progress keeps changing the world, new fields of knowledge and new concepts appear very fast and in large numbers. These are expressed by a bulk of new technical terms that form terminologies and need to be properly defined. Such topical scientific fields as nanotechnology and space research contribute largely to the process with some of the technical terms being used beyond the borders of academic discourse and recognizable by an audience of non-specialists. Still, specialist lexis remains the determining factor of a specialist language (Wessels 2010: 200) and allows professionals to communicate on a highly technical level (Staicu 2010: 175). As it is known, a definition of a technical term outlines the scope of the concept as it is opposed to similar and adjacent concepts in the terminology system. In a very general sense definitions tell what words people use under what conditions (Hayakawa 1990: 88). Quite often dictionaries and other specialized sources offer definitions of one and the same concept that do not coincide at least in the vocabulary used, to say nothing of length, correctness and fullness when one definition may complement another. Semantic networks model the organization of naïve and academic knowledge (Latu 2013), and the sphere of their application today is becoming wider ranging from attempts to develop a semantic web to the construction of terminological ontologies, electronic dictionaries, etc. These may be based on different principles, for example, synsets and hyponymy relations as in the case of WordNet (Fellbaum 1998) or links that demonstrate derivative processes when one term occurs in another forming networks of natural hierarchies (Lande 2014). Technical terms represent academic concepts of a particular scientific field as opposed to the words of general vocabulary. Semantic network of a terminology system reflects the organization of technical terms belonging to different categories linked up by a set of semantic relations (Latu 2016, 116). Applying it to the study of technical term definitions may shed light on what systematically adjacent technical terms appear in definitions to specify some or other technical term and which of them do not as well as the peculiarities of general and specialized vocabulary interaction. 2. Method The research relies on general principles of semantic networks building that are reflected in the works by S. Khabarov, M. Steyvers, J.B. Tenenbaum. At the same time we put emphasis on technical terms each of which refers to a predefined category of mental constructs (scientific concepts). Their referents may be material (of natural origin: Object of natural environment, natural Substance, Locus and man-made: Instrument, Mechanism, man-made Material, manmade Locus/Construction) or non-material (Process, Characteristic, Ideal phenomenon, Situation and Actor). We see these categories as types of vertices of the semantic network. Similarly, we used the types of arcs that are typical and common semantic relations between the technical terms of the same and different categories in a terminology: AKO – “a kind of” (the relation between the generic term and its direct hyponyms), ISA – “is a” (the relation expressing concurrence or inclusion into some aggregate that is not the direct generic term), PO – “part of” (the relationship of meronymy, links the referents that are considered to be a part of another referent), At – “attribute” (the relation with

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characteristics and properties), Ag – “agent” (the relation linking the process with the doer), Obj – “object” (the relation between the process and the object under influence), Loc – “locus” (the relation pointing at the location), Sr – “source” (pointing at the initial position of the referent), Rec – “recipient” (links the referent with the concept expressing the final position), Inst – “instrument” (a relation with the referent that is seen as an intermediary or an instrument to attain some aim), R – “result” (the relation linking the referents seen as the reason and the result). These semantic relations demonstrate the organization of technical terms within a terminology as well as the adjacent concept that they express. In this study we focus mainly on astrophysics, nanotechnology as well as physics that correlate with both of them and their terminologies from which most of the examples are drawn. Primarily technical terms and their definitions from various specialized sources including dictionaries were collected. As we faced the fact that definitions of one and the same concept could be incomplete, differ by structure and in content in different sources, we selected no less than three definitions of each technical term. The overall selection comprised 370 technical terms and 1,314 definitions. As it was confirmed that in many cases some important information may be omitted in one definition and be expressed in another definition, all of them were analyzed to get a full picture of the whole set of the defining features. Throughout the study it was taken into account that some definitions of technical terms (especially of ad hoc concepts) may be aimed at scholars and specialists only, while those of popular, socially significant or widely known concepts may be aimed at non-specialists. Then the vocabulary used in the definitions was classified according to lexical strata. Technical terms used in the definition were selected and counted. It was consequently analyzed what pieces of knowledge are expressed by technical terms and what by vocabulary of general use, as well as what predetermines the choice. Then, they were systemized according to the essence and nature of the referents they express and, consequently, subdivided into the predefined categories that constitute the set of vertices types. The next step was the identification of the semantic relations that link the defined technical term with those mentioned in its definitions and the conceptually adjacent technical terms that appear in specialized texts. Based on these constituent elements, the semantic network was built. A semantic relation of a certain type linking up two vertices of certain types (Latu 2016, 115) (such as a Process and a Natural object linked up by “result” semantic relation or a Natural object and a Substance linked up by “part of” relation) we consider a semantic scheme of concept interaction. Then, some prototypic schemes that appear or potentially may appear in definitions and those that do not were considered. 3. Results and discussion What technical terms appear in the definition largely depends on the concept itself. First of all, an important factor is surely the field of knowledge it refers to. All other technical terms of the scientific sphere that are used in the definition, clearly demonstrate the systemacy of concepts. Secondly, the exact technical terms as well as the words of the general vocabulary used in the definition depend on the scope of concept and the specific features that define it as a separate concept as compared to other concepts referring to the same generic term. It is quite expectable that not all the features that have the potential to characterize the referent appear in the definition but only those that are important to define it as a concept of the field from a specialist’s point of view. Concepts of a particular field of knowledge do not originate all of a sudden out of the blue, but always are a result of some research and time-consuming analysis that is grounded on the ideas that have been expressed and proved earlier. So the concept under discussion when it is incorporated into the sphere of knowledge is always related to some adjacent concepts expressed by technical terms of the respective field. The fact is again based on the systematic character of the scientific vocabulary. However a concept cannot be equally linked with all the concepts that constitute the given scientific field, but can only with a limited set of adjacent concepts. For example, the technical term cryovolcanism (Process) is adjacent to the technical terms planet (Natural object), natural satellite (Natural object) but has no evident relation with the technical terms luminosity (Characteristic) or elliptic orbit (Locus) or space station (Construction). Finally, a significant factor that to some extent determines the peculiarities of technical terms use within the scope of a definition is the category of mental constructs to which the interpreted concept refers. Thus, many referents of material nature that constitute the categories Instrument, Mechanism, Natural object, when incorporated into a classification based on hyponymy (the so called “a kind of” arc that links the hyponyms with generic concepts in a semantic network), have generic concepts expressed by other technical terms. For example, a single-walled nanotube and a multiwalled nanotube is a kind of a carbon nanotube which is in turn a kind of nanotube together with other kinds of noncarbon nanotubes. Similarly, nanotubes are a member of a whole cluster of 1-D nanoobjects a kind of nanoobjects, etc. As a rule, the information based on this important taxonomic semantic relation is represented in definition following Aristotle’s conception of definition construction. This is the principle when you keep abstracting and go up the abstraction ladder (Hayakawa, 1990, 86). Technical terms that refer to such categories of mental constructs as Actor, Process or Characteristic do not normally form multileveled hierarchical classifications based on this semantic relation and may not have a generic concept that is expressed by a technical term of the same field of knowledge. Thus, such a generic concept may be represented by a technical term that belongs to another terminology, be expressed by an interdisciplinary technical term or simply a word of general vocabulary. For example, the technical term cosmic radiation does not have the direct generic concept represented by a technical term of the terminology of space research. The underlying form makes clear that it is a form of radiation which is an interdisciplinary technical term originally from physics but also used in medicine, IT, etc. However radiation is not the direct generic concept. The definition reveals that it is electromagnetic or corpuscular

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radiation that has an extraterrestrial source. The technical term electromagnetic radiation is a term of physics and is a hyponym of radiation. The technical term radiation does not have a direct generic concept expressed by a technical term and is defined with the words of general vocabulary such as “process”, “act”, “flow”. Sometimes when the generic concept is reflected in the underlying (inner) form of the defined technical term it is occasionally omitted in its definition. For example, “electromagnetic radiation is the flow of energy at the universal speed of light through free space or through a material medium in the form of the electric and magnetic fields that make up electromagnetic waves such as radio waves, visible light, and gamma rays (Encyclopedia Britannica) where the technical term is directly defined by means of a word of general vocabulary “flow”. The same is true for the technical term thermal conductivity that is a characteristic of many objects but at the same time is a distinctive feature (valuable and significant for scientific knowledge development) of certain objects including nanotubes in nanotechnology sphere. It may be linked to a very general concept expressed by a word combination “physical properties” but some definitions either have no reference to the concept considered to be generic or represent it by means of words of general vocabulary: thermal conductivity – the amount of heat per unit time per unit area that can be conducted through a plate of unit thickness of a given material (Dictionary.com), property of a material to conduct heat (Your Dictionary). It is worth noting that a defined concept may also appear to be a generic concept for other concepts that are its hyponyms as it has been demonstrated in some of the previous examples. Apart from that it may have hyponyms that refer to more than one classification based on different distinctive features, for example various classifications of stars. The AKO relation with the hyponyms of the defined concept and the technical terms that express these hyponyms are much rarely used in technical terms definitions. For example, cosmic rays are subdivided into primary cosmic rays and secondary cosmic rays, but this information is not mentioned in its definition. It is obvious that the semantic network of a terminology system may reveal far more semantic relations between various concepts expressed by technical terms than represented in a definition. For example, a concept of the category Characteristic may characterize a number of different referents with no specific technical term for the whole group. For example, thermal conductivity is a feature of nanowires, nanotubes, graphite, polymer-nanotube composites, fluorographane, etc. only within the nanotechnology terminology (Razduev 2015), so in the above definition all these are united under a word of general vocabulary “material”. Similarly, there may be many concepts that are considered to be the sources of a process. For example, black holes, neutron stars, pulsars, supernovae, active galactic nuclei, quasars, the Big Bang are considered to be the sources of primary cosmic rays and are related to this technical term by a corresponding arc in the semantic network. All these are united under a word combination “astrophysical source” with a very broad sense: “primary cosmic rays are stable charged particles that have been accelerated to enormous energies by astrophysical sources” (The cosmic connection). Nevertheless some processes may be associated with very specific concepts represented by technical terms that are considered to be the sources, constituent parts, loci, etc. that appear in the definition because they serve as the defining features. Thus, stellar wind is defined as “the radial outflow of ionized gas from a star” (Dictionary.com), linking the process with the concept that is considered to be its source and is expressed by a technical term – star. Similarly, thermonuclear fusion is related to stars by means of “locus” arc because that is the exact place where it occurs in astrophysics with the fact mentioned in its definition. This brings us to the problem of studying the prototypic schemes of technical terms interaction that belong to different categories. Thus, a technical term of the category Characteristic can be related to the technical terms (if any) that represent the generic concept and hyponyms by means of AKO (“a kind of”) relationship. It can also be related to a concept of various categories it characterizes by means of At (“attribute”) relation, to concepts (such as Mechanism or Ideal phenomenon to which various units of measurement refer) that are used to measure this Characteristic by means of Inst (“instrument”) relation. Schemes vary for different categories of mental constructs and not necessarily all of them are present in definitions. Still they represent the potential relations that a technical term of a given category may set up. These also link it with conceptually adjacent technical terms. For example, the technical term electric tension/voltage characterizes electric current by means of At relation and is connected to the technical terms volt (Ideal phenomenon) and voltmeter (Mechanism) by means of Inst relation. According to the Oxforddictionaries.com, electric tension is “The property by virtue of which an electric current tends to flow; a difference of electric potential” (Oxforddictionaries.com). This definition mentions the technical term electric current the characteristic is associated with, but doesn’t include the Inst relation. In Collins Cobuild Dictionary we find “the voltage of an electrical current is its force measured in volts” (Collins Cobuild Dictionary) where this information is included. Both definitions do not involve information about the voltmeter. It is worth noting that the definitions of the technical terms that belong to the Characteristic category as a rule do not include this information. Concepts that belong to other categories may have other semantic relations some of which may be reflected in definitions, for example, a PO relation that links up Natural object and Natural substance (any substance of natural origin), Instrument and Material (any man-made material or substance), etc. Similarly, Processes may have Ag (“agent”), Obj (“object”), R (“result”) relations with a number of categories such as Mechanisms, Instruments, Materials, etc. They may occur in places that are a specific Locus or Natural object technical terms, depending on the concept. So it is quite clear that not all semantic relations and the adjacent concepts appear in definitions. The scope of a definition is limited by the exact goal to contrast and define the differences with the adjacent concepts of the same category. Still the other adjacent concepts that are linked up with the defined concept may well appear in an encyclopedic article or specialized literature. For example, micromorphology is a characteristic which is a set of form

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and structural features of a whole class of nanoobjects that is studied by means of optical microscopy or electron microscopy (all this information is reflected in its definition). Among the nanoobjects are nanoparticles that are also linked to the micromorphology according to the inheritance principle. This fact is reflected in some definitions of micromorphology but does not appear in the definitions of nanoparticles. What technical terms actually do are dimension and nanometer: “between 1 and 100 nanometers in size”. This interval is also expressed by a single term nanoscale that does not appear in the definitions but potentially could be used instead of the whole phrase. The technical term nanoparticle is linked up with a variety of processes among which are different activities for their production such as disintegration. This relation however is not reflected in the definitions, for there are many processes related to nanoparticles as well as other products of disintegration and there is no necessity to specify all of them. The mechanism disintegrator is related to both nanoparticle by means of Inst relation since it acts as a means to produce these nanoscale objects and disintegration by means of Ag relation because it is the agent of the process. Its definitions describe the process of disintegration but do not mention the technical term itself. Nanoparticles or nanostructured materials (Rusnano.com) are mentioned in some definitions when its functions are described. 4. Conclusion The analysis has demonstrated that semantic network is an effective means to study the content of definitions as well as organization of adjacent concepts. The academic knowledge represented in technical term definitions is expressed by the lexis that refers to different strata. Their choice is to some extent predetermined by a number of factors. On the one hand, these are technical terms that predominantly belong to the same terminology (thus clearly illustrating the systematic character of its units) or certain adjacent terminologies when two fields of knowledge have a common area where they overlap. On the other hand, these are words of general vocabulary that express the information that cannot be or have no necessity to be expressed by the technical terms of the terminology. At the same time we have to notice that the ratio between the two may vary depending on several factors. Definitions of the technical terms that express socially significant or popular concepts that travelled beyond the borders of academic discourse and are aimed at nonspecialists may contain no technical terms at all, explaining the idea in simple words of general vocabulary. Definitions aimed at specialists as a rule contain at least one technical term with their number depending upon the fullness of the definition, the number of adjacent concepts that mark the specificity of the defined concept and the category of mental constructs the concept belongs to. Both definitions aimed at specialists and non-specialists may differ in length and in content. What technical terms are used also depends on several factors. It is the specificity of the field of science the concept refers to as well as its volume. A significant influence is exerted by the category of the mental constructs the defined concept refers to and the schemes of interaction based on the set of semantic relations with the adjacent concepts of the system that mark the specificity of the defined concept. A semantic network helps to identify the adjacent concepts and the semantic relations between them. Each category has a specific set of prototypic schemes that link up the defined term with the adjacent terms of other categories. However only those technical terms appear in the definition that are seen as marking the specificity and uniqueness of it among those having similar properties. Human factor also has its influence because dictionaries as well as other specialized sources offer definitions that may differ from one another in fullness and correctness. Identifying the schemes that are typically represented in definitions of technical terms that belong to different categories and providing explanation why this happens have been beyond the scope of this research. However it represents a fundamental objective for further studies because it may shed light on what structural fragments of academic knowledge organization are expressed when technical terms of different categories are defined. Acknowledgements The authors express their gratitude to the Ministry of education and science of the Russian Federation (project No. 14.Z56.16.4913-МK “The integrated cognitive study and development of prototypic technical term definition model based on frame and semantic network analysis”) and Russian Scientific Fund (project No. 15-18-10006 “The research of anthropocentric nature of language in the cognitive context”) that financially supported the study. References Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary. (2008). New digital edition. HarperCollins Publishers. Dictionary.com. Retrieved June 15, 2016 from http://www.dictionary.com. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved June 15, 2016 from https://global.britannica.com/science/electromagnetic-radiation Fellbaum, С. (1998). WordNet: An electronic lexical database. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 423. Hayakawa, S. I. (1990). Language in thought and action. San Diego: Harcourt, pp. 196. Khabarov, S. P. (n. d.). Semantic networks. Retrieved June 15, 2016 from http://www.habarov.spb.ru/bz/bz05.htm Lande, D. V. (2014). Building of networks of natural hierarchies of terms based on analysis of texts corpora. E-preprint arXiv 1405.6068. Latu, M. N. (2013). Mirroring of cognitive bonds and its reflection in the language. Middle East Journal of Scientific Research, 16 (12), 1681-1685.

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Latu, M. N. (2016). Towards the possibility of defining prototype schemes of technical terms relations in semantic networks. The Strategies of Modern Science Development: Proceedings of the IX International scientific-practical conference. North Charleston, SC, USA, 12-13 April 2016. North Charleston: CreateSpace. 115-118. Oxforddictionaries.com Language matters. Retrieved June http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/electric-tension?q=electric+tension

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International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 5 No. 7; December 2016 [Special Issue on Language and Literature] Flourishing Creativity & Literacy

Australian International Academic Centre, Australia

Marginality and Social Rejection in Amiri Baraka's Slave Ship Hamid Hammad Abed College of Education for Women University of Anbar, Iraq E-mail: [email protected]

Received: 06-08-2016

Accepted: 10-10-2016

Advance Access Published: November 2016

Published: 10-12-2016

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.158

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.158

Abstract Marginality and social rejection are the most influential matters exploited by Baraka to intentionally criticize the American society. More often than not, these two matters have become the scenes of major or minor acts of humiliation and dehumanization that threaten to violate the ethical rules of living. This paper aims at investigating the impact of marginality and social rejection on a number of black characters in Baraka's Slave Ship who are brought to America to be sold as commodities. It is divided into two sections and conclusion. Section one deals with Amiri Baraka’s dramatic thought and experience of marginality within the American society. The textual analysis of Slave Ship is investigated in section two. The significance of the study lies in its textual exploration of the impact of marginality and social rejection in subverting the American dream of democracy, freedom, and equality in Baraka’s Slave Ship. Keywords: marginality, Baraka, rejection, slave ship, black 1. Amiri Baraka: The Playwright Amiri Baraka (1934-2014), is one of the most important and articulate writers of the Black Arts movement. He is the genuine representative figure of Black Arts, and he asserts that "the black artist's role in America is to aid in the destruction of America as he knows it"(Gray 2004: 665). After Malcolm X's death, Baraka became a black nationalist, and in 1968 he became a Muslim, a conversion that resulted in the changing of his name. In fact, Baraka has been influenced by Malcolm X, a fiery young ex-convict who was traveling the country preaching a philosophy of black pride, self-help, self-defense, and separation from white people (Simanga 2015: 9). After the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965, Baraka's ideas changed intensely. Accordingly, Baraka realizes that racial harmony in America is somehow impossible and he starts to urge the blacks to prove their true existence and belonging. Thus, his works are characterized by an angry voice that frequently calls for violence as a means to achieve liberation for blacks. From this point on, Baraka becomes not only an artist and creative voice but also a political leader since he sets "about organizing what would become a highly effective political organization in Newark and eventually nationally" (Simanga 2015:34). His controversial and radical politics have granted him a significant position in the black community, and he has been effective in developing the relationship between black Americans and black Africans. For Baraka, art is a vehicle for political change, for the liberation and freedom of blacks in particular. This idea has motivated his thinking as he observes that the black man is deliberately marginalized and dehumanized. William Cosgrove (1973: 120) asserts that "the black man is not an integral part of America, that he has no cultural identity, that he is, in a word, invisible". Black power and black culture are inseparable as Baraka argues. Therefore, the transformation of theatre into a medium that advocates the death of the white authority seems a logical step. In his views, the whites are devils and responsible for the humiliation and marginality endured by all blacks. Consequently, Baraka induces blacks to seize control of their lives by expelling all relics of white society and culture from their countries (Houchin 2003: 184). Moreover, Baraka insists that the blacks should join him in becoming a nation of confident warriors to show their pride in their race and expect the future with more dignity, self-respect, and purpose. Most of Baraka's plays including Slave Ship, are concerned with the relations between black and white people. They are viewed as revolutionary works that display Baraka's awareness of himself "as a leader of a black arts movement that seeks to use drama as a weapon against American racism"(Gray 2004: 666). The term Racism has a long history in western culture, and sometimes the racial naming looks as a stigma in that culture. This stigma is used to marginalize others via uttering the words 'Negro' and 'Black' which are usually heard in American society. When the individuals are referred to as white or black, the implied meaning signifies that the blacks lack many things the whites may possess. Indeed, the racial route is concerned with specific social context that expresses unequal relationship from the authority viewpoint. However, it causes a sense of inequality that is relied on prejudice, bias, poverty, and marginality (Howarth 2006: 443).

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2. Marginality and Social Rejection in Slave Ship To be celebrated and recognized, the play should have significance to a contemporary viewer and reader; furthermore, the author should be a conspicuous one of his or her time. These two elements are criteria for modern literary works and drama in particular. Through exhibiting his dramas, Baraka proves that he is able to activate his audience toward thinking of themselves as the righteous violator instead of the violated. For him, the theatre has to serve in transforming a society. Most of Baraka's plays represent his revolutionary ideas by calling for the unity to achieve a black liberation. It seems appropriate to state that Baraka's Slave Ship reflects certain history of slavery and "its repercussions, beginning with roundup up men, women, and children in Africa to be brought to America for sale"(Abbotson 2003: 93). The black slaves in this play are viewed as socially rejected individuals. Dehumanizing and marginalizing certain individuals will cause hatred, rejection, and violent acts. The social rejection leads to inability of social positive talents such as; thinking, moral reasoning, and empathic sensitivity within passive people (Twenge et al 2007: 56). Accordingly, a socially rejected individual decreases his contact with a group and simultaneously increases his desire to avoid communication as it is so hard to cope with others. He has the feeling of inadequacy and inferiority which leads to improper interpretations for interpersonal behaviours (Luterck et al 2004: 92). In Slave Ship, most of the characters are nameless to emphasize that they have been treated as animals. This play presents the exploitation and victimization of blacks in America. Baraka strives to assault the moderate views of most middle-class blacks and advocate violence as a means of solving racial conflict. Baraka's play starts with clear signs of humiliation done by the white American against the African slaves. The blacks are treated as animals though they are named as black gold, "Ok, let's go! A good cargo of black gold. Let's go! We head west! We head west"(133). In fact, the racial stigma contains discrimination, and this can be shown via personal or institutional prejudice. This type of racial stigma results in seeing the stigmatized individuals as strangers in their society. Sometimes the racial stigma is built upon incorrect assumptions, for instance the individual is seen according to the physical appearance, the colour of the skin, colour of eyes and hair. Such characteristics are used to identify specific race (Fernando 2006: 26). Since the black slaves are humiliated and rejected, they are less satisfied with their social lives. They have no means to defend themselves because they are chained when they have been thrown on the ship; therefore, one of them invokes God “Black God? Help me. I be a strong warrior, and no woman. And I strain against these chains! But you must help me, Orisha. Obstalal"(134). The warrior figure in this episode stands for Baraka's declaration that it is a suitable time for the African Americans to recognize their life force and potential for power to become heroes rather than slaves(Abbotson 2003: 94). In advising his black people to confirm their existence, Baraka anticipates that the slaves' sense of community may last long. The contemporary history has witnessed many violent acts through the culture of hatred, rejection, revenge, and marginality. Concealing hatred and rejection for others is offered in different forms; ethnic, race, religious discrimination, besides genocide. Such a type of hatred cannot be erased since it is the source of the social disturbances and the bloody struggles. A symbolic slave ship is fashioned in the middle of the large playing area. The hold of the ship, where slave bodies are piled in cramped quarters, is eye level with the audience, magnifying the inhuman conditions on board (Felner& Orenstein 2006: 30). Being weak to offer their children's needs, the black women deliberately killed themselves and their own children: MAN 1: God, she's killed herself and the child. Oh, God. Oh, God. WOMAN 1: She strangled herself with the chain. Choked the child. Oh, Shango! Help us, Lord. Oh, please. WOMAN 2: Why you leave us, Lord? MAN 1: Dademi, Dademi … she dead, she dead…Dademi… Dademi, Dademi! (136). Slavery is both disturbing and ironic, taking place in a land supposedly built on liberty and freedom. Baraka argues that "the exploitation and betrayals have not ended, largely because whites still refuse to accept culpability for what was done, which is one reason he omits any references to emancipation"(Abbotson 2003: 94). For the black slaves, the threat of destitution, marginality and social eviction is very real and inescapable. No doubt, the social marginality and rejection create many psychological problems, such as; powerlessness, meaninglessness, normlessness, isolation, and self-estrangement (Coser1965:143). Obviously, when the self-respect or dignity of any human being is threatened, he immediately starts to defend himself. Baraka intends to present the black slaves as revolutionary individuals to assert their existence and identity. The conflict between the white Americans and the African slaves on the ship is turned to achieve self- actualization. One of the unnamed black men confirms that he is able to kill the whites though he is bounded by chains. He says" I kill you, devils, I break these chains. I tear your face off. Crush your throat. Devils. Devils"(137). Baraka shows the latent power that comes with an African American ancestral identity and solidarity, the power to cast aside forever the yoke of slavery (Abbotson 2003: 95). This shows Baraka's message for the slaves that the way of black liberation is through killing the whites. Since he arouses the spirit of revolt, tremendous influence on a generation of young African American writers is prepared by Baraka during this period. To expose the amount of agony, suffering, and exploitation, Baraka follows different styles. Revolutionary ideas and anger are not approaches adopted by Baraka in Slave Ship only, "even in the more purely nationalist writings of the 1960s and 1970s. His work is also punctuated by cries for help above all, by respect for the energy of black

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people"(Gray 2004: 668). Theatre for him as for his ancestors is a means to provoke the Americans' false claim of democracy and liberty. Theatre history has always relied upon subjective memory, biography, and reviews. Compared to the mountains theatre archives of whites, early African American records are often scare and sometimes contradictory (Hill& Hatch 2013: xvi). Baraka's plays are best known for probing social and psychological concerns, including the various manifestations of evil done by the white Americans. Having a penetrating insight enabled Baraka to create a strong black character who strives to get his rights without marginality and humiliation. For this reason, Baraka stands trial before white jury and is found guilty of revolutionizing the blacks against the whites. Thus, he is sentenced to the New Jersey State prison "to serve a term not less than 2 years and 6 months and ordered to pay $ 1000; however, [Baraka] [appeals] the decision and, in time, the conviction [is] overturned during a retrial"(Hudson 1973: 29-31). In Slave Ship, Baraka succeeds in creating a contrasted image through the ceaseless moaning of the slave women to become the symbolic representation of the life of the black people, whereas the whites are defined by their ugly and sarcastic laughter. Marginality and social rejection paralyze one's self-confidence as a member of interrelated human society and stop one's belonging to his group as a real individual. The agony that the act of marginality engraves in the minds and hearts of those who are marginalized is irrecoverable. There is of course no need to deny the uniqueness of Baraka's work. He is often described as a self-conscious critic of the American life that appears in his plays. He asserts that there is a sort of confrontation between the whites and blacks as if they desired to exchange their roles in life. Robyn Weigman (1995: 99) argues that the fascination of white men with the bodies of "black men issues not only from a desire to destroy the humanity and masculinity of black men, but from a desire to possess that ultra-masculinity for themselves". The different accusations are recorded in this play: WHITE VOICE: I kill you, niggahs. You black savages. BLACK VOICE: White Beasts. Devil from hell (140). In fact, many individuals who have the social authoritative trends believe that good and desirable things for instance; position, wealth, power, food, and care are specified to them only. Whereas other things such as; dangerous works, spite, prison, and death are allotted to an inactive group. Usually, Baraka's plays are not less delicate in their accusation of Anglo- American patriarchal values, and are highly praised for their honesty, exposing the African American identity as a mask, a performance that covers up hatred and anger. However, these plays are also criticized for accepting violence and for their reductive character portrayals and simplification of complex issues (Saddik 2007: 74). Slave Ship uses a historical framework to obviously call for and predict the death of white power in America. Not only in this play, most of Baraka's words and cultural politics inspired his own desire to use drama as a means to social ends(Krasner 2005: 320). The difference between his earlier plays and this historical concept, is important as it clarifies a shift from works concerned with the individual to material centered on mass collaboration and unity. Besides, Baraka produces what is perhaps his most innovative and challenging drama, Slave Ship is viewed as a moving example of "environmental or living theatre, during this phase of his development" (Andrews et al 2001: 27). To demonstrate that the blacks could not be easily separated from their roots, Baraka has presented one of his characters as a conspirator or betrayer who plans to escape the brutality and viciousness of the whites but at the expense of the black slaves. The old Tom slave reflects Baraka's image of black integration as white in black face, who murders black consciousness by affirming white as righteous. Tom or the preacher talks as if he was authorized by the black slaves to make an agreement with the whites to be nonviolent. This figure bows and stoops to mollify the oppressors and endear himself (Abbotson 2003: 94). Accordingly, he says: "please, boss, please…I do anything for you… you know that, boss… please… please… (144). By turning slave against slave, the whites dominate all the more easily by fracturing the slaves' sense of unity. The Reverend Turner tries to lead a revolution, but the whites are given advance warning from the betrayer, Tom, and the Reverend is hanged and the rebellion failed. Baraka's Slave Ship visualizes the African American community as the "protagonist braving the abyss, making the tragic journey, and overcoming not only the external onslaughts but also the betrayal and divisions within the community"(Kumar 2009: 49). Implicitly or explicitly, Baraka is ingenious enough in using drama to bring attention to specific concerns of marginality and social rejection in American culture. Viewing or tracing Slave Ship creates a sense of curiosity of the whites to recognize if they are able to achieve a homogenous life with the blacks. John H. Houchin (2003:185) asserts that on one occasion, a woman honestly wants to know if there is anything whites could do to help. Baraka answers: "you can help by dying, you are a cancer. You can help the world's people with your death". Occasionally, Baraka searches opportunity to insult the white Americans as he never forgets the whites' humiliation and marginality for the blacks. Once, he states: I came from working-class black people who migrated from the south to Detroit to find work and to escape the violence and humiliation of southern segregation like hundreds of the thousands of black people (Simanga 2015: 34). Treating the black men as slaves and as second class citizens after slavery relies upon depriving them of that element of existence they perceived as manhood. In slavery times, the slave master could make it with any black woman he could get to. The black man is powerless and helpless to keep his wife and children with him. R.H. Brown (2005:41)

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emphasizes that the social marginality of the black Americans from African roots is almost widely seen in the United States of America. He realizes that there is a strong positive relation between social marginality and social hostility. This type of marginality obstructs the African American individuals to develop their talents to be positive citizens in their society. A climate of marginality and social rejection emerges to dominate the entire action of this play from its outset. Indeed, social rejection and marginality are widespread phenomena in many societies that have cultural, racial, and ethnic variances. Baraka repeatedly asserts that the black man is not a vital part of America, and that he has no cultural identity of his own. White America is viewed in Baraka's plays and poetry as a subversive force not only for the blacks but for other ethnics. With this in mind, Baraka deliberately shows the celebrating victory of African American over the white oppressive power, but proposes that "African Americans will continue to be on a slave ship until they break out of this prison of history by revolutionary action"(Kumar 2009: 46). Slave Ship ends with triumph to this tragic voyage as the people sing "Rise, Rise, Rise, Cut these ties, Black man Rise, We gon' be the thing we are…"(143). After killing the white voice and the black traitor, the black slaves engage in a victorious dance to express their delight. More importantly, killing the traitor, Tom, drives the slaves to unity, action, and may be to survival. In doing so, the slaves would symbolically break the chains of bondage, ensuring their freedom. In essence, Slave Ship is able to unify and induce the black audience to stand firmly as a representation of the possibility for collective black commitment outside the theatre. Enmity and threat among individuals never come as a result of materialistic and conditional circumstances, but competition and enmity among them emerge because of the historical developmental rules towards the individual's position in the social order. However, acceptance of diversity among individuals may erase or at least decrease the threat among them (Surda 2013: 13). This notion cannot be fed through speech only but by an actual living without prejudice among the blacks and whites. Though Baraka is a leading voice in the ritual theatre movement, he also "explores the ways that religious consciousness and ritual structure could trap the unsuspecting"(Krasner 2005: 272). Like other modern American dramatists, Baraka never gives an adequate solution for the problem he tackles, on the contrary, he stings the audience thinking and attitudes. In a way, Slave Ship is open-ended since its conclusion remains consequent upon audience participation in the sacrificial ritual (Kumar, 2009, 50). Morally more than physically, the slaves have been injured since the first hour of their voyage to America. They have been exposed as deprived human beings to enhance the sense of isolation and marginality. The social marginality can be viewed as the individual's feeling of exclusion from perfection and from other aspects of social life. To display the threat of this phenomenon, S. J. Charlesworth (2000: 60) stresses that the social marginality is a great problem that undermines the humanity spirit. Moreover, the marginalized and rejected individual finds himself inactive to control and run his life properly to the extent that he loses the positive care, his present, and future life. However, the relative deprivation causes hostility and hatred among individuals when they lose the motive of achieving valuable subject they aspire to gain whereas it is effortlessly done by other individuals (Bernstein &Crosby 1980: 444). 3. Conclusion To conclude, the idea that America is a melted pot and the state of democracy and freedom is not true as it is seen by Baraka. Seemingly, America is the state of nonviolence and all its people regardless their colour are equal, but in fact, the blacks are dehumanized and socially marginalized and rejected. Eventually, Baraka's play is a scream against the capitalist America, and he desires to find an adequate social fairness for the oppressed and troubled black people. According to Baraka's personal vision, the American society is lacking love, friendship, intimacy, and mercy, therefore the antagonism and tension among the blacks and whites would gnaw the society's fabric, and silently overthrow the human relationships. In many ways, Baraka has depicted the realistic description to let the viewers to both feel and see the action with their own eyes. More immediately and more importantly, it means that he has experienced the oppression and marginality, with all the extra suffering that each involved. Creating a genuine climate of justice, nonviolence, equality, and transparency in America may stimulate Baraka to reconsider his views of repulsion and antagonism. The sense of convergence between the blacks and whites will be possible if they essentially go forward to end the inherent racial conflict. However, this conflict results in several acts of marginality and rejection which vary in their magnitude and nature of impact. Undeniably, Baraka has successfully used "drama to bring attention to the specific concerns of racial identity and social reform in American culture" (Saddik 2007: 11). Subsequently, he has not realized how to warn against the occurrence of such nasty acts which abolish the individual's identity and, indirectly, society’s unity and existence. Yet, he has inflamed the enthusiasm of the blacks to be proud of their African roots and to fight against the threat of inferiority and marginality. Though violent and problematic in his writings, Baraka has been considered as one of the literary pioneers who presents a bunch of individuals capable of celebrating the ecstasy of freedom and triumph through dancing and singing despite their pain and agony. Baraka ends his play no probability of reconciliation between the blacks and whites because they are not ready to hear one another as equivalent citizens. References Abbotson, S. C. W. (2003). Thematic Guide to Modern Drama. London: Greenwood Press. Andrews, W.L. & et al. (2001). The Concise Oxford Companion To African American Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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Baraka, A. (1978). The Motion of History and Other Plays. New York: William Marrow &Company. All quotations are from the same edition. Bernstein, M., and Crosby, F. (1980). An Empirical Examination of Relative Deprivation Theory. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 16, 442-456. Brown, R. H. (2005). Culture, Capitalism, and Democracy in the New America. New York: Yale University Press. Charlesworth, S. J. (2000). A Phenomenology of Working Class Experience. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Coser, R. (1965). Sociology Theory. New York: Macmillan Co. Cosgrove, W. (1973). Modern Black Writers: The Divided Self!. Negro American Literature Forum, 7(4). Felner, M., and Claudia, O. (2006). The World of Theatre Tradition and Innovation. Boston: Allyn &Bacon. Fernando, S.(2006). Stigma Racism and Power, Aotearoa Ethnic. Net Work Journal, 1(1). Gray, R. (2004). A History of American Literature. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Hill, E. G., and James, V. H. (2013). A History of African American Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Houchin, J. H.(2003). Censorship of the American Theatre in the Twentieth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Howarth, C. (2006). Race as Stigma: Positioning the Stigmatized as Agents, not Objects. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 6(16). Hudson, T. R. (1973). From LeRoi Jones to Amiri Baraka: The Literary Works. Durham: Duke University Press. Krasner, David ed.(2005). A Companion To Twentieth Century American Drama. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Kumar, Nita N.(January 2009). "Form as a Site of Contest: Yoruba Tragedy Turns Revolutionary in Amiri Baraka's Slave Ship." IRWLE. 5(1), 45-52. Luterck, Jane & et al. (2004). Interpersonal Rejection Sensitivity in Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 19(1). Saddik, Annette J. (2007). Contemporary American Drama. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, Ltd. Simanga, Michael. (2015). Amiri Baraka and the Congress of African People: History and Memory. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Surda, L. (2013). Stigma Consciousness in The Case of Romanian Rome Activities. Identity and Migration Studies 7(2). Twenge, J., & et al. (2007).Social Exclusion Decreases Prosocial Behaviour". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 11(9). Weigman, R. (1995). American Anatomies: Theorizing Race and Gender. Durham: Duke University Press.

International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 5 No. 7; December 2016 [Special Issue on Language and Literature] Flourishing Creativity & Literacy

Australian International Academic Centre, Australia

Teaching Oral Consecutive Interpretation Roza Ayupova (Corresponding author) Kazan Federal University Russian Federation E-mail: [email protected]

Received: 13-08-2016

Accepted: 17-10-2016

Advance Access Published: November 2016

Published: 10-12-2016

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.163

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.163

Abstract The paper describes the research conducted in interpreter-training based on the experience of teaching oral consecutive interpretation in two groups of undergraduate students approximately of the same level of linguistic and translation skills. In one of the groups key informants metacognitive approach was applied to have the would-be interpreters conscious of what they are expected to be successful interpreters. As many scholars in this field claim, metacognitive competence developed in the process of education is believed to form the ability to meet the challenges an interpreter can face executing oral consecutive interpretation. Since attentiveness and memory are viewed as important mechanisms of psychological base of the type of interpretation under consideration, special sets of exercises directed to developing these properties in interpreters-to be elaborated by contemporary scholars according to special methodology were given in this group. The next group focus group was also provided with the same educational technologies and other facilities as the group of key informants, but metacognitive approach and aforementioned sets of exercises were not used in it. Long-term memory tests held at the beginning and at the end of the semester in both the groups demonstrate that metacognitive approach in combination with special sets of exercises lead to much better results in long-term memory developing. Keywords: interpreter-training, oral consecutive interpretation, metacognitive approach, psychological base, long-term memory, learning curve 1. Introduction Increased competition in labour-market, active scientific and business collaborations between companies of different countries require high level of competence of specialists in translation nearly in any field of human activity. Therefore researches into methodology of translator and interpreter-training are becoming more and more up-to date. Consecutive interpretation being one of the most widely used types of translation attracts the attention of many scholars; however a number of issues still remaining in the field evidence for the timeliness of the suggested research. The main objective of the current paper is to distinguish the major tasks of consecutive interpreter training and quest for effective ways of solving them. The research is based on the experience of consecutive interpreter training classes with undergraduate students in the Institute of Philology and Intercultural Communication of Kazan federal University. In two groups of approximately the same level the work in classes of oral consecutive translation was organized differently and the learning curve of the students was checked and registered at the beginning and at the end of the course. And the results were compared. Achieving the main goal requires delving into the essence of translation itself, which is known as a process of transforming a text in the source language into one in the target language. Viewing from this angle an interpreter should have excellent linguistic competences in both the languages. Translation is proved intercultural mediated communication, so a would-be translator should acquire deep knowledge in the culture and history of the people speaking both (foreign and native) languages. Moreover, translation / interpretation process demands being informed about various spheres. The whole of interpreter-training program should be based on awareness of the fact that translation presupposes equivalence to meaning and sense of separate linguistic units, to the messa cultural encyclopedic information from as many fields as possible is seen as integral part of translation process. As it was mentioned above equivalence is one of the essential requirements of translation. E. Nida (Nida, 2001 p.104) points out that "concepts are the units that form the basis for finding equivalent expressions in the receptor language. "The notion of 'concept' is used by Jorge Lui metacognitive intercultural communicative competence in the education of students of interpreting: general theoretical/ he super-objective of interpreter-training a complex, integrating, psychological, socio-linguo-cognitive and communicative construction as well as a mode of action that can only be developed first of all in-class focusing on the attempted ¨visualization¨ of the interpreter´s mental process during the phases of comprehension, reformulation and re(Morell, 2011).

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2. Main text 2.1. Methods Almost all authors (V. Komissarov, 1990; E. Nida, 2001; E. Breus, 2000; D. Danilchenko, 2010 etc.) in translation admit the fact of translation /interpretation process being inter-linguistic, therefore translation problems are discussed at any level of the language: lexical, phraseological, structural, contextual. A review of the works on translation theory and interpreter-training methodology suggests that nearly all scholars recognize translation not only as inter-linguistic, but as intercultural communication in which at least two languages are involved (Hymes, 1972; Morell, 2011 etc.). In accord to this developing intercultural communicative competence is seen through linguistic competence, sociolinguistic competence, pragmatic or discourse competence and strategic competence (J. Morell, 2011). Sociolinguistic approach to interpretation, as one of the up-to-date views on it, mostly studies the relations: society interpretation and individual interpretation. Th "Issues of Translation Research in the Inferential Paradigm of Communication" by E. Gutt (Gutt, 2000) etc. consider the society as the environment for realization of the language, communication and interpretation; individual as a means of refracting the language when using it. Any text intended be translated is marked by some traits of individual personal culture of its original sender, which are to be identified and retained in translation. At the same time a translator-to be should be taught to remain objective and impartial to what s/he is translating. Pretranslation text analysis is offered as the way to identify national, ethnic, social and individual markers in a source text and decide how each of them should be retained in translation (Ayupova 2014). Translation process deals with bilingual discourses. As one of their basic categories S. Gural and E. Tikhonova (Gural & Tikhonova, 2013) distinguish implicature part of the meaning expressed implicitly whose comprehension requires some intellectual abilities. Accordingly this aspect of translation is also to be given necessary attention by interpretertraining educational programs. Problems of comprehending the two layers of information explicature and implicature Wilson, 1986). The authors tie this problem with abilities and intentions of an individual in language use. confidence-building strategies to improve the students divided into three phases, the Warm-Up Phase; the Intermediate Phase; the Advanced Phase. Consecutive interpretation as such is included by the author into the second phase as the second stage of study following after liaison interpreting. Oral consecutive interpretation has become the focus of attention of quite many works; the authors study this type of translation / interpretation as a complex psychological activity of human mind (Sdobnikov, 2006; Alikina, 2012; Baddeley, 2003 etc.). Accordingly, this type of interpretation consists of various aspects, each of them are given special attention of scholars. the intended meaning and discourse in the source language and cultural polysystem, reformulation (in fact, an invisible mental process, extremely difficult to make visual before students in class, at least in the undergraduate teaching-learning process) and reexpression, or the always somewhat synthesized, (for time and memory saving purposes) re-utterance of the core information in the target language and cultural polysystem, aimed at being satisfactorily understood by the audiences the interpreter addres comprehension will be aural perception of the original text which requires special linguistic competence. Reformulation stage is characterized by its own specificities related to the necessity of remembering each chunk of the source language text. Difficulties of the stage of re-utterance or re-expression are connected with the time limit and oral character of interpretation. Consequently, interpreter-training process is directed to solving all the problems arising on each of the three stages of oral consecutive translation. In the current paper we try to consider the results of the researches mentioned above and apply the following methods: observation methods (as controlled, so natural ones) to observe the learning curves of the students in the classes of oral consecutive translation; descriptive method describe linguistic and communicative competences development in the students; statistic methods to register the results of the process of developing necessary competences. 2.2. Metacognition in learning interpretation. Developing attentiveness in interpreter-training classes The importance of visualizing all the cognitive processes, taking place in the mind of an interpreter very often in a matter of seconds, during oral consecutive interpretation was already mentioned. For this at the very first class we demonstrate the process of interpretation involving the languages active in the groups making up the informants of the research. After which the group analyze the demonstrated interpretation process highlighting the competences necessary for an interpreter. Some essential theoretical knowledge about oral consecutive interpretation is communicated to the stud consciousness of what they are expected at the end of the course and the all the mental operations they perform could be self-reflective and self-controlling. Metacognitive competence in interpreter-training process was described by theoreticians (J. Morell, 2011; Ch. Jung,

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of the learning process and the ability to adapt to challenges that occur during this process through effective strategies, The first competence pointed out by the students (sometimes with the help of the teacher) is listening and comprehension. No doubt that the work on developing this competence has been started from the first days of their study in the faculty of foreign philology, but the work should be unceasing, as the type of translation under consideration demands high level of competences. Listening for oral consecutive interpretation is an intelligent listening process, because an interpreter is not only to comprehend what s/he has heard, but also to process the information and differentiate the core information from the secondary part, which could add some complementary details. One should admit that this is a complicated activity for which an interpreter must be prepared purposefully. The most responsible vity is re-expressing the core information retained in her /his mind in the target language. Therefore listening process here is bound to one ability or quality attentiveness, better to say remaining attentive during all period of work, listening. Leaving even one word may result in failure of understanding the core information. Eliciting psychological base of interpretation is one of the most important premises of realizing the essence of interpretation (Sdobnikov, 2006) V.Sdobnikov singles out the following the most active psychological mechanisms of oral consecutive interpretation: attentiveness, perception, probabilistic forecasting, memory and thought (Morell 2008). So in our classes we try to develop all the necessary skills and competences of our students, but in this paper we describe our work on developing their attentiveness and long-term memory. One of the preconditions leading to high degree of attentiveness is appropriately organized exercises. I.Alekseeva (Alekseeva, 2001) suggests that they should consist of short texts of 160 170 words on various topics. As the author claims, working with long texts on the same topic makes the process of work monotonous, which in its turn leads to weakened attentiveness. Considering this, in the group of key informants we gave exercises with short texts (160 170 words) on different topics: medicine, sport, business, economics, politics, culture, travelling, nutrition etc. In the other group, we called it focus group, the exercise for the whole class consisted of only one text (naturally on one and the same topic). One more piece of advice from the distinguished scholar I.Alekseeva for developing attentiveness of interpreters-to be is systematically altering the direction of interpretation: native > foreign, foreign > native. Following this recommendation students were asked to interpret from English into Russian, from Russian into English and so on. These exercises also work as a means of developing the ability of an interpreter-to be to refocus her / his attention. Even during the class one could observe that at the beginning of each text, which was not only on a different topic, but also in a different language than the previous one, students demonstrated higher level of attentiveness, which could be seen from their facial expression, look when listening; and more accurate interpretation at the beginning of each text than at their end. However, assessing the ability of a student to remain attentive can be only done together with assessing the volume of his memory, because it is attentiveness that enables her / him to keep in the mind larger chunks of a text with more details. 2.3. Developing long-term memory Bilingual consecutive interpretation as one of the oral variants of translation is based on an intensive work of memory. When working with small chunks of speech consecutive interpreter uses mid-term memory, as usual it is interpretation of close interaction of interlocutors. In general oral consecutive interpreter resorts to use long-term memory when weeks or even years later (Zhong, 2001). For this quality of it, long-term memory is used in learning process. The necessity of long-term memory use in consecutive interpretation is accounted for some circumstances under which this type of interpretation occurs. Usually it is official texts communicating complex idea expressed in long compound sentences that are interpreted. Therefore it is inconvenient to interrupt the speech until a unit of idea or at least a part of it is not expressed. Then it is not permissible from aesthetic viewpoint to interrupt a speech before the utterance is completed. Thus it is vitally important for an interpreter to have highly developed mid-term and long-term memory. Following recommendations of S. Haddad, we organize interpreter-training classes in the key informants group dividing consecutive interpretation. In stage I students are given interviews where contributions of each interlocutor are recorded in both the languages English and Russian. The work of this stage is aimed at training mid-term memory, because interviews with quite short utterances are selected here. In stage II would-be interpreters are first provided with the first variant of the text, which is recorded in short segments; then with the second variant of the same text, recorded in longer segments. The text is accompanied by its translation that is listened to by the students for checking the quality of their translation (Haddad, 2008). S. Haddad suggests that the memory-training phase should precede even the warm-up phase, unfortunately, the limited number of classes given to consecutive interpretation in our educational program do not allow us to have a separate phase for it. So we decided to do memory-training exercises at the beginning of each class. These exercises are done in four steps: in step I, texts are provided in the mother tongue, after listening to which students try to recall them in the same language with as many details as possible; in step II the same work is done with texts in the foreign language; in step III, students are expected to listen to English texts and to recall as much as they can in the native language; in step IV the suggested texts are in the native language which are to be recalled in the foreign language (Haddad, 2008).

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At the first class of oral consecutive interpretation long-term memory of students was checked as in the group of key informants so in the focus group. Each interpreter-to be listened to a chain of words consisting of 35 units. When asked to recall what they have listened to they showed the following results: Table 1. Long-term memory check at the beginning of the semester Key informants group Students

Number of words remembered

Focus group Students

A

7

A

Number of words remembered 9

B

6

B

5

C

7

C

5

D E

10 8

D E

8 6

F

8

F

10

G H I J

7 10 8 9

G H I J

9 7 7 9

The same test at the end of the semester when the classes of oral consecutive interpretation were coming to their end demonstrated the following results. Table 2. Long-term memory check at the end of the semester Key informants group Students

Number of words remembered

Focus group Students

A

12

A

Number of words remembered 12

B C

10 12

B C

7 8

D E F G

16 14 15 13

D E F G

10 9 13 13

H I

17 15

H I

10 10

J

16

J

12

3. Conclusions The review of theoretical works on consecutive interpretation witnesses that as one of the most complicated types of interpretation it is a complex psychological activity. As the major tasks of oral consecutive interpreter training we distinguish the following: developing attentiveness (ability to refocus and disperse the attention), the ability to comprehend and to process the received information, the ability to retain the information in the mind (mid-term, longterm memory), note taking skills, the ability to select appropriate lexical units and structures in the target language. The current paper is aimed at revealing the process of work on developing attentiveness and long-term memory of would-be oral consecutive interpreters. The research was conducted on the experience of work with two groups of students: a group of key informants and a focus group. Metacognitive approach applied to the first group proved to be effective due to self-controlling and self-reflecting aroused in the group at the very beginning of the course. Juxtaposition of the learning curve of the students in both the groups at the beginning and at the end of the courses demonstrate that in the first group, where metacognitive approach was applied, the worst result was improved by 66,6% (6 > 10) while as in the second group this improvement is 40% (5

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> 7); improvement of the best result in the first group is improved by 87% (10 > 17), in the second group the improvement of the best result is 30% (10 > 13). However the success of the group of key informants cannot be attributed only to applying metacognitive approach. We think that mostly the use of special exercises directed to heightening attentiveness of would-be interpreters and developing their long-term memory played much bigger role in achieving the success. References Alekseeva I. S. (2001). Professionalny trening perevodchika: Uchebnoe posobie po ustnomu i pismennomu perevodu dlya perevodchikov i prepodavateley. S.Alikina, E. (2012). Psikhologicheskaya model ustnogo posledovatelnogo perevoda. Pedagogicheskie nauki, 6(1), 124132. Ayupova, R. (2014). Pretranslation text analysis as a part of translation process. Social and Behavioral Sciences, 3(1), 213-216. Baddeley, A. D., Thomson, N, & Buchanan, M. (1975). Word length and the structure of short-term memory. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 14, 575-589. Breus, E.V. (2000). Osnovy teorii i praktiki perevoda s russkogo yazyka na angliiskii: Textbook. 2nd edition. Moscow: Publishing House URAO. Quality of Interpreting a Binding or a Liberating Factor? In Ann Beylard-Ozeroff, Jana Králová Barbara & Moser-Mercer (Eds.) Translators' Strategies and Creativity (pp.163-170). Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Danilchenko, D. (2010). K voprosu o kachestve ustnogo posledovatelnogo perevoda i parametrah ego otsenivania. Vestnik Khmelnitskogo Natsionalnogo Universiteta, 896(1), 169-175. Gural, S. and Tikhonova, E. (2013). Organizatsia protsessa obuchenia ustnomu posledovatelnomu perevodu v svete sinergeticheskoy teorii. Yazyk i kultura. 4(24), 77-82. Gutt, E. (2000). Issues of Translation Research in the Inferential Paradigm of Communication. In Maeve Olohan (Ed.) Intercultural Faultiness: Research Models in Translation Studies I Textual and Cognitive Aspects (pp.161-180). Manchester: St. Jerome. Haddad, S. (2008). Training Interpreters: No Easy Task. Damascus University Journal, 24(1-2), 31-46. Hymes, D. H. (1972). On communicative competence. In Pride, J.B. and Holmes, J. (Eds.) (First published in 1971). Sociolinguistics: Selected readings (pp. 269-293). Harmondsworth: Penguin. Jung Yoon Choi. (2006). Metacognitive Evaluation Method in Consecutive Interpretation for Novice Learners. Translators' Journal, 51(2), 273-283. Komissarov, V. N. (1990). Teoriya Perevoda (lingvisticheskie aspecty): Textbook for students of faculties of foreign languages. Moskow: Vysshaya shkola. Morell, R. (2008). How to improve professional memory in bilingual consecutive interpreting. [Online] Available: file:///C:/Users/LENOVO/Downloads/how-to-improve-professional-memory-in-bilingual-consecutive-interpreting1%20(2).pdf. Morell, R. (2011). Toward the development of a metacognitive intercultural communicative competence in the education of students of interpreting: general theoretical/ pragmatic foundation. International Journal for Translation & Interpreting Research. 3(1), 106-118. Nida, Eugene A. (2001). Contexts in Translating. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Sdobnikov, V. & Petrova, O. (2006). Teoriya perevoda: Uchebnik dlya studentov lingvisticheskih vuzov i fakultetov inostrannyh yazykov. Moscow: AST: Vostok-Zapad. Sperber, D. & Wilson, D. (1986). Relevance: Communication and Cognition. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Zhong, W. (2001). Simultaneous Interpreting: Principles and Training. China Translators' Journal, 22, 39-43.

International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 5 No. 7; December 2016 [Special Issue on Language and Literature] Australian International Academic Centre, Australia

Flourishing Creativity & Literacy

Enhancing Literary Competence Through Critical Oriented Reading Strategies Atefeh Mozafari Department of English Language and Literature, Islamic Azad University, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Iran Hamed Barjesteh (Corresponding author) Department of English Language and Literature, Islamic Azad University, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Iran E-mail: [email protected]

Received: 04-08-2016

Accepted: 19-10-2016

Advance Access Published: November 2016

Published: 10-12-2016

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.168

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.168

Abstract This study investigates the impact of critical oriented reading strategies on Iranian EFL male and female students’ literary competence (LC). In so doing, 109 homogenized male and female college students of English Literature were screened out of 160 participants due to administering Oxford Placement Test (OPT) among them. The selected participants were randomly assigned into critical (experimental) and non-critical (control) group. They were subsequently divided into male and female groups. All groups were given a novel, Jane Eyre, to read. Then the subjects were given the same pre-post test in the form of LC questionnaire aimed to determine their level of LC before and after the intervention. During the intervention, participants in the critical group were taught and encouraged to use critical reading strategies (CRSs). However, the non-critical group was taught the conventional method of reading. The results indicated a significant difference between learners’ LC before and after the intervention. However the LC difference was not statistically significant in term of gender. This study provides more evidence for the importance of CRSs that apparently empower students to know, explain, analyze and answer the questions that arise in a text which leads eventually to a progress in LC of the learners. Keywords: Critical Reading Strategies, EFL Learners, Literary Competence, Reading Comprehension, Gender 1. Introduction The In the realm of teaching English language, conventional methods based on noncritical approaches encourage learners’ passivity and adoption to the knowledge transmitted to them by instructors. (Abednia, 2015). Likewise, reading classes mostly focus on the literal comprehension of lexical items that is directly stated in the text, while the conceptual perception of the content are often neglected. (Burns, Roe, & Ross, 1999). In fact, reading which should be a wisely procedure and described as an active process of conception, is converted to just a flow of collecting raw entries from the text (Talebinejad & Matou, 2012). Neranjani (2011) believes that literal reading is frustrating for students and cannot be a kind of challenging reading which makes them use their creativity in order to find subtle ideas hidden through the lines. That would lead to a desperate situation in which students encountered only with a plenty of vague, ambiguous and scattered items that are vital to be clarified for comprehending a literary work. The reason behind is that they suffer from lack of LC which is resulted from a lack of in depth reading comprehension which differs from simple understanding of a content. Similarly Khabiri and Pakzad (2012) mention that literature reading courses often make students find out just about literal meaning and form-based items while focusing on the surface reading. They maintain that it takes away students creativity and talents and just inhibit thinking and critical reading. Recent studies lead to a growing focus on critical reading ability that apparently empower students to know, explain, analyze and answer the questions that arise in text (Waters, 2000 as cited in Fahim, Barjesteh & Vaseghi, 2012). This in turn results in a comprehensive perception of a work proceeding by an upward jump for students in the field of LC (Paesani, 2005). Akin, Koray and Tavukcu (2015, p.2445) assert that “an individual’s ability to keep what he has read in his mind for a long time can only be possible with critical reading which requires a process of active communication where comments and evaluation on the text are conducted”. They argue that in critical reading, the context being read, forms the foundation for other readings and even if the reading process finishes, the meaning transmission of the text will be still in progress. In critical approaches, learners are encouraged to involve texts in a questioning method, receive challenging knowledge and reconstruct the issue in a way that is consistent with their past experiences (Abednia, 2015). In adition Mozafari and Barjesteh (2016) maintained that CRS can pave the ground for the learners to foster their literal, personal, social development and self-awareness. They provided empirical support for the positive effect of CRSs on enabling learners to recognize, make clear, compare and solve ambiguities in the texts.

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Considering Iranian EFL curriculum, it is found out that almost all of the literature reading courses are suffering from the same problem of form-based instruction of literary text all through the course. Actually, what is happening in Iranian EFL literature courses is merely the act of reading, not comprehending, which mostly deals with the language form rather than content (Ghahremani-Ghajar & Mirhosseini, 2005). Likewise, Ebrahimi and Rahimi (2013) come to the conclusion that EFL learners take up a submissive condition when dealing with texts. It shows that there is a gap between the teaching process and objectives and the abilities the students have acquired. The study of literature seeks critical reading procedure on the part of learners which leads to encourage imagination and creativity in them. In this way, they can discover and apprehend the underlying and deep literary concepts of the texts and finally increase their level of LC which is one of the major needs in successful literary courses (Neranjani, 2011). Due to the inefficiency of traditional methods of reading courses in second language training, which leads to the gap between reading class targets and its impact on the promotion of students’ LC, this study is an attempt to seek a helpful strategy to enable Iranian EFL learners to overcome the difficult task of comprehending a literary text and to raise their LC. The main purpose of this research is to explore the impact of critical oriented reading strategies (CRS) on Iranian EFL students’ LC. In other words, it investigates whether incorporating CRS to a novel text help students develop their LC and also examine its differential impact on male and female separately. To fulfill the purpose of the research the following questions were developed: Q 1. Does critical reading of literary texts improve LC of Iranian EFL students? Q 2. Does the effect of CRS on LC differ between male and female learners? 2. Method A total number of 109 participants, 41 male and 68 female, comprised the subject pool of the study. They were students of English language and Literature of Azad University of Tehran North Branch which were selected from an upper intermediate level. They were all native speakers of Persian language with one to five years of English language learning before taking up the English literature. They were aged between 22 and 30, but the average age was 25. 2.1 Instruments To fulfill the purposes of this research the following tools were used: (a) An Oxford Placement Test (OPT) and (b) LC questionnaire (pre-test and post-test). 2.2 Oxford Placement Test (OPT) To check the students’ proficiency level an Oxford Placement Test (OPT) would be administered among them. The OPT was a reliable and efficient means of grading and placing students into classes and measures practically the following aspects of students’ English proficiency: (a) grammar; (b) vocabulary; and (c) sentence recognition. The test was comprised of 60 multiple choice items for measuring the knowledge of students’ grammar, vocabulary and sentence recognition. Those who scored one standard deviation above or below the mean would be considered the subject of the research. 2.3 LC Questionnaire The second instrument was a LC questionnaire adopted from Neranjani (2011). It was utilized as a pre-test to discover the subjects’ level of LC prior to the intervention programme. The same questionnaire also was utilized as a post-test to determine developmental levels of learners in terms of their LC after the treatment. The LC questionnaire comprised six subsections which practically measure the six levels of LC as followed: (a) understanding implicit and explicit meanings of words in the text; (b) demonstrating genre of the text through quotations; (c) relating the text to the historical and social factors; (d) recognizing the theme of the text; (e) realizing values and attitudes conveyed in the text; (f) mentioning point of view of the text. 2.4 Procedure In order to explore whether critical reading of literacy text can improve Iranian EFL learners'LC, students were exposed to the novel of Jane Eyre. To tap their proficiency level, an OPT was administered among the subject pool. Those who scored one standard deviation above or below the mean were considered as the subject of the present research. Next, they were randomly divided into two sections: critical and non-critical. Both groups were administered the same kind of novel as the literary text. The novel for both groups was the same- in terms of content. More precisely, the research was divided into three phases. At first, all students in critical and non-critical group were given a pre test of an LC questionnaire developed by Neranjani (2011). It was aimed to determine the subjects’ level of LC prior to the intervention programe. It was developed to assess six levels of LC of students. In the second part, all learners in critical group received their treatment in the form of different kinds of CRS listed as: previewing, questioning, contextualizing, summarizing and outlining, assessing a topic, and surveying similar reading. Next, the corresponding CRS was proposed to the critical group. It was accompanied by a detailed description about each strategy and how to apply them to a text in order to have a critical reading of the text. The students in non-critical group then were given the traditional instruction of reading comprehension as the treatment, entailing reading the text, decoding and understanding each word separately without linking them together into meaningful ideas (McNamara, 2007) and guessing the meaning of new words.

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In the third phase of the research, the same LC questionnaire was delivered to critical and non-critical group as the posttest. The questionnaire was aimed to determine the levels of students LC development after training. The data were collected and subjected to analysis as what follow. 3. Results To check the students’ proficiency level, an OPT was administered among 160 students from Azad university TehranNorth branch. Table 1 shows the result of OPT. Table 1. The Descriptive Statistics of the OPT N

Minimum

Maximum

Mean

Std. Deviation

Opt

160

17.00

56.00

35.15

8.82

Valid N (listwise)

160

In order to select the sample, all given scores were analyzed. More precisely, those who scored one standard deviation above or below the mean were considered the subject of the present research. Of the total participants, 109 learners were considered the subject pool of the present study. Table 2 presents the descriptive statistics of the target subject. Table 2. The Descriptive Statistics of Sample Selection N

Minimum

Maximum

Mean

Std. Deviation

Opt

109

27.00

44.00

34.70

4.62

Age

109

22.00

30.00

23.59

1.69

Valid N (listwise)

109

Next, out of 109 students, 54 students were randomly assigned to the critical group including 20 male and 34 female and 55 students were assigned to the non-critical group including 21 male and 34 female. Table 3 illustrates the descriptive statistics of male/female groups. Table 3. The Descriptive Statistics of male/female groups Gender

Group Total

Total

male

Female

Critical

20

34

54

non-critical

21

34

55

41

68

109

Then, the students were asked to read the Jane Eyre novel written by Charlotte Bronte, prior to a pre-test administration on it. The process of reading was monitored periodically in the sense that, during 5 sessions each of which comprise 22 students came and summarized assigned chapters for other learners to make sure that they were really involved in the process of reading. After that, they sat for the LC pre-test based on Jane Eyre. Next, both critical and non-critical groups received their related treatment for 6 sessions which lasted for 3 weeks. After the period of treatment both groups took the same LC post-test. To estimate the reliability of the LC test Cronbach alpha coefficient was run. The results indicated that LC test enjoyed the reliability of 0.77. Table 4 shows the general descriptive statistics for students’ scores obtained through pre and also post test. The minimum score of 109 learners in pre-test was found to be 5 and the maximum was 13 with the range of 8 between the least and the last score. Generally the mean for 109 students in pre-test was 9.6 and the standard deviation was 1.9. Accordingly, in post-test the lowest score was 7 and the highest one was discovered to be 20 with the range of 13. The mean for all students in the post-test was 13.2 and the standard deviation was 3.6. Table 4. Descriptive Statistics of Scores in Pre-test and Post-test Pretest Posttest Valid N (listwise)

N 109 109 109

Range 8.00 13.00

Minimum 5.00 7.00

Maximum 13.00 20.00

Mean 9.64 13.29

Std. Deviation 1.93 3.61

Variance 3.73 13.08

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Furthermore, the table 5 displays the statistical results of pre-test and post-test of critical and non-critical groups descriptively. For the critical group the scores in the pre-test started from 5 as the lowest score to 13 as the highest score with the range of 8 while in the post-test the minimum score was 14 and the maximum was 20 with the range of 6. The mean and the standard deviation in same group in pre-test were 9.6 and 1.9 while the mentioned scores in the post-test were 16.4 and 1.7. Accordingly, for the non-critical group the scores in the pre-test initiates from 5 as the lowest score and proceeded to 13 as the highest one with the range of 8 whereas in the post-test, scores were distributed along the continuum of 7 as the minimum score till 14 as the maximum with the range of 7. Also, the mean and the standard deviation in the same group in pre-test were 9.6 and 1.9 while the mentioned scores in the post-test were 10.1 and 1.7. Table 5. Descriptives Statistics of Scores in Pre and Post-test Based on Groups M

V

Std. D

Min

Max

R

Std. E

9.62

3.74

1.93

5.00

13.00

8.00

0.26

Non-critical Group9.65

3.78

1.94

5.00

13.00

8.00

0.26

16.48 3.04

1.74

14.00

20.00

6.00

0.23

Non-critical Group10.16 3.02

1.74

7.00

14.00

7.00

0.23

Critical Group Pre-test

Critical Group Post-test

M=Mean V=Variance Std. =Standard Deviation Min=Minimum Max=Maximum R=Range Std.E=Standard Error

To answer the first null hypothesis stating that critical reading of literary texts doesn’t improve LC of Iranian EFL learners, a paired-sample t-test was administered. The raw scores which were gained from the pre and post-test were analyzed by SPSS. The mean, standard deviation and differences of means were also calculated for all groups. Significance of difference between the mean scores of the critical group was examined by applying paired sample t-test. Table 6 illustrates the descriptive statistic administered to compare the mean scores of critical group in pre and post-test. Table 6. Descriptive Statistics of Mean Scores for Critical Group in Pre and Post-test Paired Samples Statistics

Pair 1

Mean

N

Std. Deviation

Std. Error Mean

pretest

9.62

54

1.93

.26

posttest

16.48

54

1.74

.23

In order to examine the significant difference between pre and post-test in critical group, paired-sample t-test was performed. The result which is presented in table 7 indicates a significant difference between pre and post-test of the critical group. The significance level was less than the significant value which is 0.05 (t= -21.7, Sig= 000). Thus, the first null hypothesis was disapproved. Table 7. Paired Sample t-test for Pre-test and Post-test Difference in Critical Group Paired Differences 95% Confidence Mean

Pair1

6.85

Std.

Std.

Deviation

Error Mean

2.31

.31

Interval Difference

of

Lower

Upper

-7.48

-6.21

the

T

df

Sig.

-21.72

53

000

To answer the second null hypothesis stating that there is not any significant difference between male and female learners’ LC, a covariance analysis was performed. The analysis which was used to answer this question was a two-way ANCOVA was run. In son doing a number of assumption should be met. The first assumption was the internal consistency of covariate (LC pre-test) which was necessary to be in an accepted range. The result of Cronbach alpha ,0.77, indicates the test is within an eligible domain. The second assumption was that of linearity of the research parametric data. As figure 1 illustrates, it can be seen a linear relationship between the dependent variable and the covariate throughout all groups. Therefore, the second vital assumption was also met.

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Figure 1. Linear relationship between dependent variable and covariate The last presumption needed was the homogeneity of regression slopes. As table 8 shows, the significance for interaction effect (group*gender) is greater than 0.05 (f= 0.988, sig= 0.09). Therefore, there is no significance difference between participants and all of them are homogeneous so that they are basically the same. Table 8. Tests of Between-Subjects Effects for the Homogeneity of Regression Slopes Dependent Variable: posttest Type III Sum of Source Squares df Corrected Model 1215.46a 3 Intercept 315.55 1 Group 147.89 1 Gender 92.44 1 group * gender 33.77 1 Error 197.14 105 Total 20675.00 109 Corrected Total 1412.60 108 a. R Squared = .86 (Adjusted R Squared = .85)

Mean Square 405.15 315.55 147.89 92.44 3.77 1.87

F 215.79 168.06 78.76 49.23 .98

Sig. .00 .00 .00 .00 .09

The following table firstly indicates descriptive statistics of post-test for both groups as far as the gender are concerned. Totally, the amount of mean which is computed to be 13 is the same for both males and females. Table 9. Descriptive Statistics of Scores for Critical and Non-Critical Group Based on Gender Dependent Variable: posttest Group gender critical group male female Total non-critical group male female Total Total male female Total

Mean 16.45 16.50 16.48 10.42 10.00 10.16 13.36 13.25 13.29

Std. Deviation 1.66 1.81 1.74 1.88 1.65 1.74 3.51 3.69 3.61

N 20 34 54 21 34 55 41 68 109

Then, as indicated in table 10 the results were subjected to analysis of two-way ANCOVA to probe the second rerserach question. Regarding the sig. value, it is a significant main effect for “group” (f= 456.2, sig= 0.000), but the main effect for “gender” is not significant (f= 0.023, sig= 0.879). It means that there is a meaningful and significant difference among critical group and non-critical group but there is not meaningful difference among male and female learners. Moreover, there is no significant interrelation between group and gender which means that critical reading strategy has the same effect upon male and female LC and there is not meaningful difference between male and female learners’ LC (f= 0.589, sig= 0.445). Hence, the second null hypothesis is confirmed which means that the impact of CRS does not differ between male and female learners’ LC.

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Table 10. Tests of Between-Subjects Effects for the Post-test Dependent Variable: posttest Source

Type III Sum of Squares df

Mean Square

F

Sig.

Partial Squared

Corrected Model

1183.05a

4

295.76

133.99

.00

.83

Intercept

309.38

1

309.38

140.16

.00

.57

Pre

93.03

1

93.03

42.15

.00

.28

Group

1006.55

1

1006.55

456.02

.00

.81

Gender

.05

1

.052

.02

.87

.00

group * gender

1.30

1

1.30

.58

.44

.00

Error

229.55

104

2.20

Total

20675.00

109

Corrected Total

1412.60

108

Eta

a. R Squared = .83 (Adjusted R Squared = .83) 4. Discussion The first research question aimed to probe whether critical reading of literary texts improve Iranian EFL learners LC. Throughout the course, all students in critical group were instructed and encouraged to incorporate a number of strategies while learners in non-critical group were taught the traditional methods. By applying statistical analysis, the first null hypothesis was rejected that is critical reading of literary texts improve LC of Iranian EFL students. The second research question was an attempt to investigate whether there is any significant difference among male and female students’ LC. By conducting an analysis of covariance and also by studying the gain scores of two groups regarding males and females, it was discovered that there was not no remarkable difference among male and female LC of learners. It is noteworthy that the findings of this research were supported by many studies, some of which are outlined below, whereas there are also opposing ideas which are in contrast with the results of this research. For instance the result of this study is harmonized with Johnson (2002) believes that critical approaches provide the person with the possibility to reach the most comprehensive understanding of literary resources. Yudkin (2006, p. 101) also, while emphasizing on the importance of critical reading, states that “when we read critically, we are always alert, always on the look out for hidden clues, never reliant on the infallibility of the author” which eventually leads students toward activating their LC. Similarly the present result is supported by Kennedy, Fisher and Ennis (1991) who find out that learners of all mental capability levels and language background can derive benefit from critical reading education and so as from LC as the quick result of it. The finding also is in line with Lewis and Smith (1993) who state that critical reading abilities include everybody to learn and apply them to different genres of reading specifically literary works to explore what the underlying layers and facts building up the whole story. Likewise, Shokrpour, Sadeghi and Seddigh (2013) discuss that utilizing CRS has a positive effect on teaching reading comprehension while practiced by Iranian EFL students. Additionally, the research finding is in line with Icmez (2009) exploring different methods in which CRS would be adjusted to prevalent EFL reading courses in order to expand learners’ awareness to apply literary comprehension techniques. Koupaee, Rahimi, and Shams (2010) investigate the developmental level of critical reading skills of Iranian EFL learners after instructing CRSs applied to literature. Their findings reveal that ninety percent of learners’ critical language knowledge was increased and their motivation also was sarcastically enhanced after being acquainted with critical reading techniques. According to Bosely (2008) some of university instructors believe that the graduates can read critically, while many researches suggest that CRS should be taught explicitly and also reinforced by the help of practice. The result of the study is also harmonized with Danaye Tous, Tahriri and Haghighi (2015) state that it is not significant difference among men and women EFL students’ perception of critical reading instruction. But the study result is against with King, Mines and Wood (1990) suggest that the developmental rate of critical reading differ for men and women. The findings also are in line with Barjesteh, Nasrollahi, and Esmaili (2016) in that CL approach to EFL/ESP classroom can foster the quality of students' language skills. Their dialogue journals were examined qualitatively to explore the possible changes in their modes of writing. The results uncovered that dialogue journals help learners could go beyond a descriptive and personal writing. 5. Conclusion This paper examined CRS to enable Iranian EFL learners both comprehend and uncover the underlying message of a text. By applying CRS to the students engaged in reading a novel text, it became evident that their LC status enhanced, while there was no remarkable difference between male and female in the promotion of LC. The pedagogical implications in this research correspond with the following studies. Burns, Roe and Ross, (1999) criticized most literature reading classes which only focus on the literal comprehension of lexical items which is directly stated in the

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text. Waters (2000) stated that recent trends have led to an increasing emphasis on the role of critical reading technique that supposedly enables students to identify, clarify, evaluate and solve perplexities that arise in reading. Neranjani (2011) believed in Critical reading which can be considered as a tool in the process of analyzing literary works in order to achieve the abstract ideas conveyed throughout the text which leads to a progress in LC of learners. Khabiri and Pakzad (2012) encouraged Integrating reading courses with influential CRS and Abednia (2015) claimed that critical approaches highlight the learners’ consciousness and emphasis on self-seeking. Next studies can focus on other components of language skill strategies other than reading, like writing, speaking, and listening which are used daily throughout EFL/ESL classes as an appropriate and accessible tool, toward LC improvement References Abednia, A. (2015). Practicing critical literacy in second language reading. International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, (6)2, 77-94. Aghagolzadeh, F., & Tajabadi, F. (2012). A debate on literature as a teaching material in FLT. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, (3)1, 205-210. Akin, F., Koray, O., & Tavukcu, K. (2015). How effective is critical reading in the understanding of scientific texts. Procedia – Social and Behavioral, 174, 2444- 2451. Aksan, N., & Kisac, B. (2009). A descriptive study: reading comprehension and cognitive awareness skills. ProcediaSocial and Behvioral Science, (1)1, 834-837.doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2009.01.149 Alden, K. C., Lindquist, J. M., & Lubkeman, C. A. (2003). Using literature to increase reading motivation. Chicago, IL: Saint Xavier University and Sky light Professional Development Field-Based Master’s Program. Alexander, J. E., & Filler, R. C. (1976). Attitudes and reading. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association. Alptekin, C. (2006). Cultural familiarity in inferential and literal comprehension in L2 reading. System, 34(4). 494-508. doi:10.1016/j.system.2006.05.003 Amer, A. A. (2012). Using literature in reading English as Second/Foreign Language. Tanta, Tanta University Egypt. Barjesteh, H. Nasrololahi, A., Esmaili, M. R. (2016). Incorporating Principles of CP in an ESP writing classroom: Exploring writing Quality and Learners' Attitudes. Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods, 6(7)17-23. Bedel, O. (2011). Literature circles in EFL. The 46th Annual International IATEFL Conference, 1-13. Bosely, L. (2008). I don’t teach reading: Critical reading instruction in composition course. Literacy Research and Instruction, 47, 280-308. Bronte, C. (1847). Jane Eyre. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Brumfit, C. J. (1986). Literature and language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Brumfit, C. J. (2001). Individual freedom in language teaching: Helping learners to develop a dialect of their own. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Brumfit, C. J., & Carter, R. A. (2000). Literature and language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University press. Burbules, N. C., & Berk, R. (1999). Critical thinking and critical pedagogy: Relations, Critical Theories in Education.

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International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 5 No. 7; December 2016 [Special Issue on Language and Literature] Flourishing Creativity & Literacy

Australian International Academic Centre, Australia

A Case Study on the Effects of Mnemonics on English Vocabulary Mohd Nazri Latiff Azmi (Corresponding author) Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Gong Badak Campus, 21300 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia E-mail: [email protected] Muhammad Hadi Syafiq Mohd Najmi Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Gong Badak Campus, 21300 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia E-mail: [email protected] Nurazan Mohmad Rouyan Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Gong Badak Campus, 21300 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia E-mail: [email protected]

Received: 15-08-2016

Accepted: 11-10-2016

Advance Access Published: November 2016

Published: 10-12-2016

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.178

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.178

Abstract This case study examines the effectiveness of using mnemonic techniques in learning English vocabularies. This study looks into students’ perspectives and point of view of the mnemonic technique in teaching and learning English vocabularies. The selected respondents are students who are currently learning English subject in a primary school. Their English teachers will teach the students about English vocabulary with and without using the mnemonic technique. A set of questionnaire will be given to the students. The result received from the questionnaire will be used to help in obtaining the data for the research. The aim of this study is to know the effectiveness of using mnemonic techniques in learning English vocabularies as well as the students’ response towards the technique. This research will help to recommend future English teachers with guidance and thoughts that should be taken into consideration when teaching English vocabularies to their students. Keywords: mnemonics, vocabulary, second language learning 1. Introduction The importance of the vocabulary teaching is recognized by English teachers in generally speaking. The acquisition of vocabulary has been an ignored section in second language acquisition (Nunan, 1991; Meara, 1996). This situation continues until that kind of interest is reawakened during the recent decade (Chan, 2000). Hence, researchers have an interest in vocabulary improvement which leads them to review possible learning strategies aiming at identifying beneficial language strategies (Wenden & Rubin, 1987; O'Malley & Chamot, 1990; Oxford, 1990; Brown & Perry, 1991; Gu & Johnson, 1996; Hatch & Brown, 1995). An attempt has been made to capitalize on strategies that may bring about desirable vocabulary gains to second language learners (Chan, 2000) where researchers categorizing and comparing good language learners and unsuccessful learners. This can be connected with the experience of Hauptmann (2004) when he stated that adults who failed foreign language will blame the teachers, and teachers will blame the learners on their lack of hard work and way of learning. Thus, this kind of problem can be solved if the precaution steps are taken from the level of primary school. This experience is supported by observation from Benge and Robbins (2009) when their students cannot maintain the vocabulary taught by “the dictionary method”. The students rarely can maintain their knowledge of the word even if the students learn the definition long enough to do well on the weekly test unless provided long-term support (Allen, 1999; Beck et al., 2013). Based on these two points, we know that one of the most basic elements of conquering the English language is vocabulary. We cannot express anything in English, not to say write a good article or talk with foreigners in English without vocabulary. Therefore, a new technique should be introduced so that students can find it easier to memorize new vocabulary, and the adult problem in mastering foreigner language can be solved from the primary school level. Another problem is students need a certain amount of vocabulary to be mastered before they can move on to language proficiency and a lot of laboratory researches are done in order to get the result. Still, students are struggling to achieve the expected results (Zhang Guiping, 1996; Ma, 2009). The problem of mastering a large vocabulary expansion by the second language learners who reach the intermediate stage are referred as the main reason of giving up their effort (Winitz, 1978). This also affects the students to be not able to expand the ability to integrate the link between past information with the new item (Craik & Lockhart, 1972). Therefore the mnemonic technique is chosen to test the

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objective of this study whether teachers can guide students as an alternative way to make the learning session to be more joyful, efficient, and effective (Deconinck et al., 2010; Kelly & Li, 2005). A mnemonic is explained by Hayes (2009) that it is a formulate design to support memory and students can encode better data by using the mnemonic order, so that it is easier to remember later on. Learners can be helped by mnemonic devices to recall bigger pieces of info especially in the form of list like characteristics, steps, stages, parts, etc. (Congos, 2011). Students who need help understanding the concept will benefit from instruction in comprehensive strategies. A mnemonic device becomes an instrument to construct threads from new to old ideas for students with memory challenges and processing disorders (DeLashmutt, 2007). Congos (2011) believed mnemonic techniques help learners to remember larger pieces of information, especially in the form of lists like characteristics, steps, stages, parts, phases, etc. He found that mnemonic can increase recalls, as the students who usually use the mnemonic technique have increased their test marks up to 77% (Miller, 1993). Students nowadays mostly have problem with memorizing English words especially the jargons. This is due to they are not using the English language in daily life communication even in the English class. This situation has caused the level of their English command is lower compared to the students who use a lot of English language even after the English class at their school. Therefore, the researchers carried out this research to see how effective the mnemonic technique in helping the students memorizing the English vocabulary, since their English level is not so good compared to the students who practice English even outside of the school compound. Thus, there is a technique which is called mnemonic. As stated by Hayes (2009), students will get tools given mnemonic instructions to better information encoding, so that it is easier to recall later on. However, the mnemonic techniques are not the replacements for studying. It just assists in recalling information with the condition that the data are already being in memory somewhere (Spackman, 2009). This mnemonic appears to be an effective strategy for increasing student’s comprehension test scores which made mnemonics become important (DeLashmutt, 2007). Based on the belief that mastery of a reasonably rich vocabulary in the target language not only would benefit the learners with competence in understanding and manipulating instructional materials written in the target language across the school curriculum. But also with competence in the target language itself, a number of studies (Pressley et al., 1982; Brown & Perry, 1991; Joe, 1998) have been conducted on various methods of second language vocabulary learning. Hence, the mnemonic will be used in this research in order to find out its effectiveness in learning English vocabulary among the primary school students. The main research objective of this study is to identify the impacts of using mnemonics in learning English vocabulary among primary school students. 2. Literature Review According to a study conducted by Benge and Robbins (2009), they carried out a research on the effect of mnemonic to their students to close the performance gap between the students who are able readers and students who are struggling readers in learning the English vocabulary. Thus, in order to achieve their objectives, they have tested their students whether they can recall back the English vocabulary that they have learned so far with and without the picture review which provided by them. The result is really impressive as the average retention rate of the students have increased from 73.6% to 82.5% after they get the fifteen minutes review from the pictures provided for each word. It believes that a firm link can be developed with the help of mnemonic or the keyword method between the new vocabulary items. It means that it enables learners to retrieve the appropriate word better at the right moment. The learners can love the autonomy of employing either the imagery or the sentence, whichever snaps into mind and seems to be the most ordinary way of creating the association (Chan, 2000). Since the overview of the mnemonic method by Atkinson (1975) and his colleagues as an effective supplementary method for foreign vocabulary learning, several studies have stated that the mnemonic method is great for vocabulary learning to other traditional methods like the context method (Thompson, 1987). Lorayne and Lucas (1974) claim that occasionally refreshing the image by retrieving it helps reinforcing the memory such that it can be recalled for as long as necessary. It is also necessary for the mnemonic instruction to be important because it is a good way to increase the student comprehension test scores (Spackman, 2009). Scruggs and Mastropieri (2000) recommend that the reason comprehension scores are higher for students by using mnemonic strategies is that the strategies improve their ability to remember the factual information required to answer comprehension question. Finally, it says that a strategy that gives a visual or verbal prompt for students who may have difficulty recalling information is the reason why educators should care about mnemonic instruction. Another past research that shows the performance increase among students is the research by DeLashmutt (2007) entitled “A Study of the Role of Mnemonics in Learning Mathematics”. It is about the usage of mnemonic techniques for the students to learn mathematics in effective way. It is stated that the reason mnemonic instruction is important because it appears to be an effective approach for improving student comprehension test scores. It is also suggested that the students who use mnemonic techniques will get higher comprehension scores because the strategies improve their ability to memorise the factual information needed to answer comprehension question. Anjomafrouzi and Tajalli (2012) have done a research on “Effects of Using Mnemonic Associations on Vocabulary Recall of Iranian EFL Learners over Time”. It is to study the effects of using mnemonic associations on vocabulary recall of Iranian EFL in two separate experiments with adolescents and adults. The students are divided into two groups

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of experimental (mnemonics) and control (note). The data shows that a better performance of adult students is created with the use of mnemonic associations compared to the external control (rote group) and internal control group (when students used no association in mnemonics group) (Anjomafrouzi & Tajalli, 2012). The higher performance of mnemonic groups who regularly reported using initial relations shows that initial associations have a significant part at vocabulary recall of students. The vocabulary recall of adult students is also affected by mnemonic methods for both receptive and productive learning. The introduction of mnemonic techniques to the students made them realize that it can strengthen their memory. A strong memory means that students can store and transfer information from Short Term Memory (STM) into Long Term Memory (LTM). According to the study made by Sarcoban and Basibek (2012), mnemonic methods specifically promotes vocabulary retention of the elementary level of EFL. Thus, they concluded that mnemonic techniques are suitable for leading the memory to longer term retention of the vocabulary items of elementary and true beginner language learners. Mnemonic strategies are considered as an effective approach where there are forms of effective acoustic-imaginal-link can be created in the middle of stimulus and response. Encoding and retrieving mnemonically learned information that related to different information-processing demands as suggested by documentation of response latencies, differential serial position effects (Erten, 2008) and strategy reports (Scruggs & Mastropieri, 2000). 3. Methodology This applied science research was conducted in a primary school in Malaysia where the researchers wanted to investigate the effectiveness and impacts of using mnemonic techniques in learning English vocabulary among primary school students, and the opinion of students regarding this learning technique. This means that the researchers would be using the facts and information that are already available in the books, journal and the internet as the guidelines to analyze the findings. The researchers also used several opinions from other researchers as main reference. This research is a mix-mode research triangulation which uses numerical value, words and sentences as the method of analysis. The researcher uses a questionnaire which has been designed by Chan (2000) as the main reference to modify it, so that it can be used to achieve the research objective as the method of collecting the data. The data collected by questionnaire were coded and analyzed by using Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) software, while the open ended questions were analyzed by using open coding. Furthermore, the researchers had made an observation to record the reaction of the students while learning through mnemonic and during answering the questionnaire. The data were presented and analyzed through a descriptive and statistical presentation for the questionnaire and an explanation for the qualitative data. A total of 33 respondents were chosen from a class of Standard Five students to be the samplings of the test. The researchers also asked the help of the English teachers to teach English vocabulary by using common way and mnemonic devices. The students were given a set of prepared questionnaires after each of the teaching and learning session was finished. The researchers also made observations during the learning and activity session. 4. Data analysis and findings The important and relevant findings are tabled and discussed in the tables below. Table 1. Students who have Problems in Memorizing English Words Valid

Frequency

Percent

Valid percent

Cumulative percent

Strongly disagree

2

6.1

6.1

6.1

Disagree

6

18.2

18.2

24.2

Neither agree nor disagree

18

54.5

54.5

78.8

Agree

6

18.2

18.2

97.0

Strongly agree

1

3.0

3.0

100.0

Total

33

100.0

100.0

Table 1 shows the percentage of the respondents’ answers whether they have problems in memorizing English words. Based on the data analyzed, about 18.2% of the respondents disagree that they have problems in memorizing English words, and even 6.1% of them strongly disagree with this matter. Besides that, there are 18.2% of the respondents agree and 3% of the respondents strongly agree that they have some problems in memorizing English words. However, the majority of the students with the amount of 54.5% neither agrees nor disagree that they have some problems in memorizing English words. This shows that the majorities of the students neither agree nor disagree on having some problems in memorizing English words.

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Table 2. Students Know what Mnemonic is and its Function

Valid

Frequency

Percent

Valid percent

Cumulative percent

Disagree

4

12.1

12.1

12.1

Neither agree nor disagree

6

18.2

18.2

30.3

Agree

12

36.4

36.4

66.7

Strongly agree

11

33.3

33.3

100.0

Total

33

100.0

100.0

The next statement is to check whether the students know what mnemonic is and its function. The highest percentage of the respondents’ answer is to agree with the statement which represents the 36.4% of the answer and another 33.3% of respondents are strongly agreed with the statement. However, about 18.2% of the respondents choose neither agree nor disagree for this statement and the lowest percentage is 12.1% of respondents which disagree that they know about mnemonic and its function. This means that most of the Standard Five students do know about what is mnemonic and its function, and only a few of the respondents do not know about mnemonic and its function. Table 3. When Having Difficulties in English for the First Time Students Guess the Word Valid

Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree Total

Frequency 3 5 12 9 4 33

Percent 9.1 15.2 36.4 27.3 12.1 100.0

Valid percent 9.1 15.2 36.4 27.3 12.1 100.0

Cumulative percent 9.1 24.2 60.6 87.9 100.0

Furthermore, the next statement is to identify whether the respondents guess the word whenever they encounter new or difficult words in English for the first time. The highest percentage is 36.4% which most of respondents neither agree nor disagree with the statement. However, there are 27.3% of the respondents choose to agree with guessing the words whenever they encounter new or difficult English words for the first time, and 12.1% of the respondents even strongly agree about this. There are 15.2% of the respondents choose to disagree, and another 9.1% choose strongly disagree in guessing the word whenever they encounter with new or difficult English words for the first time. Clearly, when encountered with new or difficult English words for the first time, most of the respondents do guess the meaning of the word. Table 4. When Having Difficulties in English Words for the First Time Students Use Dictionary to Find its Meaning Valid

Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree Total

Frequency 1 21 4 7 33

Percent 3.0 63.6 12.1 21.2 100.0

Valid percent 3.0 63.6 12.1 21.2 100.0

Cumulative percent 3.0 66.7 78.8 100.0

Statement 5 is to analyze whether the respondents choose to use a dictionary to find the words’ meaning whenever they encounter new or difficult English words for the first time. The highest percentage is 63.6%, which most of the respondents choose neither agree nor disagree that they will use a dictionary to find the meaning of new or difficult English words. About 21.2% of the respondents are strongly agree, and 12.1% of the respondents agree that they will use a dictionary to find the meaning of new or difficult English words encountered for the first time. However, only 3% of the respondents choose to disagree with the statement. This shows that most of the Standard Five students neither agree nor disagree with using the dictionary whenever they encounter new or difficult English words for the first time. Table 5. Students Love the Mnemonics Techniques More Compared to the Normal Teaching Technique Valid

Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree Total

Frequency 2 9 22 33

Percent 6.1 27.3 66.7 100.0

Valid percent 6.1 27.3 66.7 100.0

Cumulative percent 6.1 33.3 100.0

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Section B consists of questions made to identify the impacts of mnemonic technique in learning English vocabulary. The first statement in this section is to identify whether the respondents love the mnemonic techniques more compared to the normal teaching technique. About 66.7% of the respondents strongly agree that they love the mnemonic techniques more compared to the normal teaching techniques, and 27.3% of the respondents also choose to agree with this statement. However, there are still 6.1% of the respondents who neither agree nor disagree with the statement. Thus, it is clearly shown that the majority of the respondents love the mnemonic techniques more compared to the normal teaching techniques. Table 6. Students can Memorize More English Words with the Mnemonic Frequency Valid

Percent

Valid percent

Cumulative percent

Disagree

2

6.1

6.1

6.1

Neither agree nor disagree

9

27.3

27.3

33.3

Agree

10

30.3

30.3

63.6

Strongly agree

12

36.4

36.4

100.0

Total

33

100.0

100.0

The next statement is about whether the respondents can remember more English words with the mnemonic. The highest percentage for this statement is 36.4% of the respondents strongly agree that they can memorize more English words with the mnemonic. About 30.3% of the respondents agree with this matter, while 27.3% of the respondents neither agree nor disagree that they can memorize more English words with the mnemonic. However, there are also 6.1% of the respondents who disagree that they can memorize more English words with mnemonic which is the lowest among all of the respondents. This suggests that most of the respondents agree and strongly agree that they can memorize more English words with the mnemonic. Table 7. Students can Memorize English Words Faster with Mnemonic Valid

Frequency

Percent

Valid percent

Cumulative percent

Neither agree nor disagree

6

18.2

18.2

18.2

Agree

16

48.5

48.5

66.7

Strongly agree

11

33.3

33.3

100.0

Total

33

100.0

100.0

In the next statement, it says that students can memorize English word faster with mnemonic. About 48.5% of the respondents agree that they can memorize English words faster with mnemonic which is also the highest percentage among all of the respondents. Next are 33.3% of the respondents add up with their choice of strongly agree which they can memorize English words faster with mnemonic. The lowest percentage of the respondents is 18.2%, where the respondents neither agree nor disagree with the statement. These findings point out the fact that the majority of the respondents does agree and strongly agree that they can memorize English words faster with mnemonic. Table 8. Students Understanding towards English Words Increased After Being Introduced to Mnemonic Technique Valid

Frequency

Percent

Valid percent

Cumulative percent

Neither agree nor disagree

4

12.1

12.1

12.1

Agree

16

48.5

48.5

60.6

Strongly agree

13

39.4

39.4

100.0

Total

33

100.0

100.0

Furthermore, the highest percentage of answers for the next statement is 48.5% of the respondents agree that their understanding towards English words has increased after being introduced to mnemonic technique. The lowest percentage of answers for this statement is 12.1% where the respondents neither agree nor disagree about this matter. The rest of them choose to strongly agree with the statement in the percentage of 39.4% among all of the respondents. This shows that most of the respondents realized that their understanding towards English words has increased after being introduced to mnemonic technique. Based on the researcher’s observation during the two teaching and learning sessions made by the English teacher for the students, there are some differences happened to the students noticed by the researcher.

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Besides that, the result of the mini quiz after the teaching and learning session also has improved after the students are provided with a picture for each word. This time, about 12 of the students get full marks, four of them collect 29 marks, five get 28 marks, one student obtains 27 marks, two of them score 26 marks with the last five get the 25 marks. This shows that the total number of students who score above 25 has increased from 14 to 29 students. All of these results are improved due to the use of visual mnemonic in teaching and learning the English vocabulary. The researcher provides some observation report during the teaching and learning session which is made especially for this research objective. The researcher explains on the students’ behavior while learning the English vocabulary and how they do in the mini quiz provided after each learning session, which one of it involves mnemonic technique and the other is just by using the normal way of teaching. 5. Conclusion It is shown from the past researches that mnemonic techniques have a positive effect in the application of learning the English vocabulary. Some of the positive effects are developing a firm link between the new vocabulary item and its meaning, expanding the vocabulary of a speaker, increasing the performance of a student and many more. The main objective of this research is to identify the impacts of using mnemonic techniques in learning English vocabulary among the primary school students of Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Udang (SKSU). The researcher has gained several types of impact by using mnemonic techniques in learning English vocabulary. The impacts are explained by the findings of the researcher that gets from the questionnaire after the two sessions of teaching English vocabulary are conducted. According to the result collected from the questionnaire on the section “impact of the mnemonic technique in learning English vocabulary”, most of the respondents agree that they love the mnemonic techniques more compared to the normal teaching technique. This result may come based on a few reasons. As stated by Chan (2000), it believes that the autonomy of employing either imagery or the sentence can be enjoyed by the learners, which ever snaps into the mind and appears to be the most regular way of creating the association. It means that the learner may enjoy the learning process by using the mnemonic technique. Besides that, it has been reported by a few studies that the mnemonic method is superior for vocabulary learning to other traditional methods like the context method since the introduction of the mnemonic method by Atkinson (1975) and his colleagues as an effective supplementary technique for foreign vocabulary learning (Mastropieri, 1990). It can also supported with the study done by Anjomafrouzi and Tajalli (2012) where the data shows that a better performance of adult students is created with the use of mnemonic associations compared to the external control (rote group) and internal control group (when students used no association in mnemonics group). Furthermore, most of the respondents also agree that they can memorize more of English words with the mnemonic. This is the after effect which they get from learning the English vocabulary by using the mnemonic technique. The result is the same as what Lorayne and Lucas (1974) and Spackman (2009) claim that retrieving the image can help strengthen the memory such that it can be remembered for as long as necessary by refreshing the image occasionally. This kind of aid is in line with DeLashmutt (2007) opinion in her research when it is suggested the factor comprehension scores were higher for students who used mnemonic strategies because the strategy raised their ability to retrieve the factual information needed to answer a typical comprehension question. Next, the majority of the respondents agree that mnemonic techniques can widen students’ English vocabularies. There are a few researchers that also agree with this finding as they claim that in expanding the vocabulary of English native speakers, mnemonic technique can also be effective (Amiryousefi, 2011).). This opinion also can be used for the students who are not native speaker because they also learn the new words in the same kind of language. The other finding of the questionnaire on the impact of using mnemonic techniques in learning English vocabulary is the majority of the respondents decide that they can memorize English words faster when using mnemonic techniques in learning English vocabularies. This result can be supported by Chan (2000) learning that takes place at a quicker rate when the catalysts are pictures rather than when they are words. It also believes that the mnemonic or keyword method will assist to grow a firm link between the new vocabulary item and its meaning, which enables learners to better regain the appropriate word at the accurate moment. Other than that, the researcher has found that most of the respondents accept that they only need to remember the simple clue to memorize the English words. This majority answer is related to Spackman (2009) opinion, where it says that mental images are not limited to the keyword method because most visually-oriented mnemonic systems use them. Moreover, it also claims that the original word and its meaning can be recalled by recalling the keyword (Spackman, 2009). Thus, it is shown from other researchers that mnemonic technique can make primary school students to only memorize a simple clue in order to memorize the English vocabulary. The last finding which the researcher obtains from the questionnaire is most of the respondents can remember the English words for longer time after they have been introduced to the mnemonic technique. In order to support this finding, there are some statements from other researchers such as Benge and Robbin (2009) where researchers have discovered the value of mnemonics with a variety of groups, examining both immediate and long-term retention, and with mnemonic materials developed by teachers, students and experts. Baleghizadeh (2010) and Spackman (2009) also explain that occasionally refreshing the image by retrieving it helps strengthen the memory such that it can be remembered for as necessary. According to the study made by Sarcoban and Basibek (2012), mnemonic methods

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specifically promotes vocabulary retention of the elementary level of EFL. Thus, mnemonic techniques are suitable for leading the memory to longer term retention of the vocabulary items of elementary and true beginner language learners. Based on the observation and questionnaire given to the respondents, the researcher has made a few conclusions about the effectiveness of using mnemonic techniques in learning English vocabulary among primary school students. The first objective is to identify the impact of using mnemonic techniques in learning English vocabulary. The first impact of using mnemonic techniques in learning English vocabulary is the students love the mnemonic techniques more compared to the normal teaching technique. The differences can be seen from the interest of students in answering the mnemonic exercise on those two days. Next is the student can memorize more English words with the mnemonic. This conclusion is created when the respondents got a higher score in doing the exercise by using mnemonic techniques compared to the regular way of teaching the English vocabulary. Another impact is the English vocabulary of the students also can be widened by using the mnemonic technique. This is due to the students learning new words as they are entering a new chapter for their English syllabus. Thus, the mnemonic technique will help them in remembering those new words that they will learn in each new chapter. Besides that, the rate of time taken to memorizing the English words by using the mnemonic technique also increased after they have done the two sessions of memorizing the set of English vocabularies. This result is obtained when some of the respondents tend to answer the questions faster on the second day as they are taught to memorize the English vocabulary by using the mnemonic technique; which are the words are brought together with a picture on top of them. The next impact is students only need to remember the simple clue to memorize the English words. This is due to the researchers’ technique, the students are asked to memorize the English vocabulary together with the picture provided for each word in the mnemonic teaching and learning session. Thus, they only need to remember the image of the word in order to memorize the new English vocabulary. Lastly, most of the students agree that they can memorize the English words in longer time. References Allen, J. (1999). Words, words, words: Teaching vocabulary in grades 4-12. Stenhouse Publishers. Amiryousefi, M., & Ketabi, S. (2011). Mnemonic instruction: A way to boost vocabulary learning and recall. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2(1), 178-182. Baleghizadeh, S., & Ashoori, A. (2010). The effect of keyword and word-list methods on immediate vocabulary retention of EFL learners. Pakistan Journal of social sciences (PJSS), 30(2), 251-261. Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2013). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. Guilford Press. Benge, C., & Robbins, M. E. (2009). Using keyword mnemonics to develop secondary students’ vocabularies: A teacher’s action research. Journal of Language and Literacy Education, 6(1), 93-104. Brown, T. S., & Perry, F. L. (1991). A comparison of three learning strategies for ESL vocabulary acquisition. Tesol Quarterly, 25(4), 655-670. Chan, L. P. (2000). An investigation of the effectiveness of the mnemonic technique in theacquisition and retrieval of vocabulary by Chinese-speaking Form Onestudents. 香港大學學位論文, 1-0. Congos, D. (2005) 9 Types of Mnemonics for Better Memory. Retrieved on November 11, 2013, from www.learningassistance.com/2006/january/mnemonics.html. Craik, F. I., & Lockhart, R. S. (1972). Levels of processing: A framework for memory research. Journal of verbal learning and verbal behavior, 11(6), 671-684. Deconinck, J., Boers, F., & Eyckmans, J. (2010). Helping learners engage with L2 words: The form–meaning fit. Aila Review, 23(1), 95-114. DeLashmutt, K. (2007). A study of the role of mnemonics in learning mathematics. (Unpublished master thesis), University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Erten, İ. H., & Tekin, M. (2008). Effects on vocabulary acquisition of presenting new words in semantic sets versus semantically unrelated sets. System, 36(3), 407-422. Gu, Y., & Johnson, R. K. (1996). Vocabulary learning strategies and language learning outcomes. Language learning, 46(4), 643-679. Hatch, E., & Brown, C. (1995). Vocabulary, Semantics, and Language Education. Cambridge University Press. Hauptmann, J. (2004). The effect of the integrated keyword method on vocabulary retention and motivation (Doctoral dissertation, Education). Hayes, O. C. (2009). The Use of Melodic and Rhythmic Mnemonics to Improve Memory and Recall in Elementary Students in the Content Areas. Online Submission. Joe, A. (1998). What effects does text-based task promoting generation have on incidental vocabulary acquisition? Applied Linguistics, 19(3), 357-377.

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Kelly, P., & Li, X. H. (2005). A new approach to learning English vocabulary: more efficient, more effective, and more enjoyable. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. Lorayne, H., & Lucas, J. (1974). The memory book. New York: Stein and Day Ma, Q. (2009). Second language vocabulary acquisition. Bern: Peter Lang. Mastropieri, M. A., Scruggs, T. E., & Fulk, B. J. M. (1990). Teaching abstract vocabulary with the keyword method: Effects on recall and comprehension. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 23(2), 92-96. Meara, PM. (1996), The dimensions of lexical competence. In: G Brown, K Malmkjaer and J Williams (Eds.) Competence and Performance in Language Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Miller, G.A and Wakefield, P.C. (1993) Commentary on Anglin's analysis of vocabulary growth. In Anglin: 167-175. [7.2] Nunan, D. (1991). Language teaching methodology. London: Prentice-Hall. O’Malley, J.M. and A. Chamot. (1990). Strategies used by Second Language Learners Cambridge: CUP. Oxford, R.L., (1990), Language Learning Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know. Boston: Heinle & Heinle Presslry, M., Levin, J. R., & Delaney, H. D.(1982). The mnemonic keyword method. Review of Educational Research, 52, 61-91. Raugh, M. R., & Atkinson, R. C. (1975). A Mnemonic Method for Learning a Second-Language Vocabulary. Journal of Educational Psychology, 67(1), 1. Sariçoban, A., & Basibek, N. (2012). Mnemonics technique versus context method in teaching vocabulary at upperintermediate level. Egitim ve Bilim, 37(164), 251. Scruggs, T. E., & Mastropieri, M. A. (2000). The effectiveness of mnemonic instruction for students with learning and behavior problems: An update and research synthesis. Journal of Behavioral Education, 10(2-3), 163-173. Spackman, C. L. (2009). Mnemonics and Research on Using the Keyword Method in the Classroom. Thompson, I. (1987). Memory in language learning. In A. Wenden, & J. Rubin (Eds), Learner strategies in language learning (pp. 43-56). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Wenden, A. & Rubin, J. (eds). (1987). Learner Strategies in Language Learning Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall International Winitz, H. (1978). Comprehension and language learning. In C.H. Blatchford & J. Schachter (Eds). On TESOL ‟78: EFL policies, programs, practices, (pp. 49-56). Washington, DC: TESOL Zhang, G.P. (1996). Improving vocabulary teaching in intensive reading. Teaching English in China, 27, 42-43.

International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 5 No. 7; December 2016 [Special Issue on Language and Literature] Flourishing Creativity & Literacy

Australian International Academic Centre, Australia

Invited to a Beheading: A Real Individual in Search of Freedom Bahare Jalali Farahani Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran Email: [email protected] Javad Momeni (Corresponding author) Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran E-mail: [email protected]

Received: 08-08-2016

Accepted: 21-10-2016

Advance Access Published: November 2016

Published: 10-12-2016

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.186

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.186

Abstract Among the most prominent political novels of the twentieth century, Invitation to a Beheading is the acme of Nabokov’s art in that it was embellished by the finest Nabokovian techniques, and was enriched by thought- provoking ideas. This study is aimed to offer a narratological reading of this novel in search of what its implied author has pictured as the meaning of genuine freedom intended by Nabokov. By analyzing the story and discourse levels of this narrative, we are going to discuss, first, the concepts of ‘reality’ and ‘individuality’ in Invitation to a Beheading as the pillars on which the author constructed the ultimate concept of freedom. After discussing the contribution of these two notions, in the last section of this article, dedicated to the questions of ideology and rhetoric, we place the ultimate concept of freedom in the period in which the novel was composed. We discuss how the final picture is in accordance with the peculiarities of the modern world that went through two World Wars and witnessed the outcome of totalitarian systems. Keywords: freedom, individual, reality, narrative, implied author, totalitarian, space, time 1. Introduction Many Russian Formalists, and, following them, many narratologists attempted to distinguish between the events distinctly organized in the work- sjuzhet- and what is the outline of those events in the work- fabula. Victor Shklovsky, who endeavored to refine and expand the classical boundaries of the two terms, defined fabula as “the events in the novel” and regarded sjuzhet “as an act of formation that meant a defamiliarizing deformation of the fabula”. In this definition sjuzhet is considered as a rhythmic form and fabula is termed as nothing but the material for forming sjuzhet (Schmid, Narratology 176-7). Later on, narratologists drew on this formalist discussion, and using their own terminology, called fabula story and termed sjuzhet as discourse; the former being the report of what happened in the text and the latter as what acquaintance readers have with what happens in the work (Schmid, Narratology 186). There was Propp as well, who brought on stage his 31 actants as raw materials of fabula, and classified all parts of narratives based on those 31 stages of the hero’s actions. Noteworthy is the fact that modern narrative theorists believe the distinction between the two terms is rather gratuitous, since story is nothing without its unique way of unfolding in the text. Whereas structuralist narratologists commonly focused on chronological differences between fabula and sjuzhet, their poststructuralist generation attacked this notion (Grishakova 118). This argument can be applied to Nabokov’s novels in which the ordering of sjuzhet follows the sequence of fabula in most cases because the focus of the works is hugely dedicated to one and only one character, his mind setting and his actions, and not to the ordering of the plot (Boyd 34). Brian Boyd argues that almost all of this Russian born, American author’s works deal with the “hero’s obsessive quest after a goal” (34), and therefore, the fabula- sjuzhet order, less strictly than in formalist manner, can be applied to Invitation to a Beheading too. Thus, based on Kafalenos’s five stages of fabula, there is a hero, Cincinnatus C., who was in the state of ‘equilibrium’ before being accused of gnostic turpitude, and is now in the state of ‘disruption’ after being sentenced to death. He is in ‘search of a goal’, gaining his freedom, and goes on to ‘alleviate’ his misery by boosting his power of mind and imagination. At the end he succeeds, leaves the scaffold freely, and starts the state of a ‘new equilibrium’. The outcome of this novel, however, violates the expectations of readers because it changes from a tragedy to a fairy-like finale that takes place at the end. The key point in this discussion is how Cincinnatus made it; how he could manage to escape the fate determined for him at the end. These are points that the sjuzhet of the novel reveals to the reader through the distinct literary techniques Nabokov ornamented his work with. Bryan Boyd discerns three recurring moves in Nabokov’s works that he terms as myths; those of return, arrive, and surprise of the ending (36), of which the third one, as discussed above, is easily recognizable in Invitation to a Beheading. The myth of surprising end, meaning the outcome at the end of the story that violates what the reader and the hero expected to happen, can be seen as a “crack in the solid surface of the work’s world” (Boyd 36), and that is

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exactly recognizable in what happens at the end of Invitation to a Beheading, when Cincinnatus writes in his diary: “I have discovered it. I have discovered the little crack in life…something genuinely alive, important and vast” (Nabokov 158). After focusing on the different parts of the fabula in this novel, we come to the importance of sjuzhet. As has been discussed, it is in fact the discourse that constructs meaning and conveys the impression to the audience, and for scrutinizing the sjuzhet, we are going to start by analyzing diverse aspects of the novel, as each constructs a part of the concept of freedom the implied author creates for us. In narrative theory, the source of all impressions transmitted to the audience is the work’s implied author. For a great deal of narrative theorists, implied author is the construction of each and every reader (Schmid, “Implied Author” 1). Booth, the father of such a controversial concept, believed that readers’ sense of the implied author is perceived by not only the receivable meaning, but also by all the emotional and moral implications of characters’ actions and experiences. Furthermore, it should be noted that Nabokov, regarded by critics, for long, as a mere parodist, experimenting with irony and genre techniques, is in fact a theoretician who is not only an original creator that resists generalities, but also the author of self- reflexive fiction who has an eye on the conventions of metafiction and fantastic realism (Grishakova 51). As a result, our analysis of the discourse in this novel is inclusive of all the symbols and techniques utilized by the author. Being a theoretician, Nabokov intertwines his own philosophy of life, freedom, and the literary work with his unique way of unfolding his narratives. He cherished freedom, in life, in his literary creation and even in the sentence level so deeply that his free imagination, observable in all aspects of his work, looks for freer horizon, free of all space, time or self-prisons (Boyd 47). 2. The Crack in the Wall: an Aperture to the ‘Real Life’ Of the conspicuous peculiarities of Invitation to a Beheading is its treatment of ‘reality’ that stands in prime significance for understanding what freedom means in this work. From the very beginning of the reading process, one recognizes that the author has played with the conventions of Realism; the setting of the story is curiously theatre-like, time passes indifferently to the laws of our time in reality, the boundaries between spaces are violated blatantly, and there exists an ‘other world’ that is at odds with what is considered as ‘our real world’. Grishakova propounds the same proposition and discusses the existence of ‘other worlds’ in Nabokov’s works, and readable signs and hidden meanings configured for observers especially by the help of symbols (94). Thus, the very first thing that should be scrutinized in this novel is the nature of the imprisoning world Cincinnatus lives in, and the picture of ‘real world’ he dreams of. In regard to the question of reality, then, first the world of Invitation will be analyzed in terms of its nature, its eccentricity, and its importance for defining freedom. In the second part, peculiar time and space of the work and their narratological significance, contributing to the strangeness of the world, and to the construction of the concept of freedom, are analyzed. Finally, the spiritual world of ultimate freedom is discussed. 3. Theatricality of the Prison of Mind The prison in which Cincinnatus is kept is curiously at odds with what one conceives of a jail. For instance, it is written that the guards wear uniform masks that they take off to wipe out their makeups from their faces at nights (Nabokov 17). This is what Connolly calls “the most striking attribute” of Cincinnatus’s society that demonstrates theatrical characteristics now and then throughout the story (“Violin” 9). Ample evidence exists in the text for calling the readers’ attention to the fact that the work is far too away from a real prison. As another instance, Cincinnatus moves the table in his cell to locate it under the high window in order to climb it up and watch outside of the fortress, while in the very following page readers learn that the table “had been bolted down for ages” (Nabokov 25) and therefore impossible to be moved, no matter how hard the poor man tries to move it. As one goes on reading other examples are found; from the less clear-cut ones like the waltz that Rodrig and Cincinnatus take part in, in the first night of his imprisonment (Nabokov 13), or the ‘performed’ summer thunderstorm (100), up to the blatant parts like M’sieur Pierre’s coming out of a dug whole in the wall of Cincinnatus’s cell, wearing special costumes and makeup (122), or Cincinnatus yelling at his mother “play your role…don’t let it degenerate into farce. Remember this is a drama. A little comedy is alright,…” (102). It seems that, in its best, the whole society in the narrative is a theatre stage. Meyer brings evidence from the part in which Cincinnatus’s family members bring complete furniture, for a brief visit, to the prison, quite like stage decoration (127). What such scenes pose is definitely the artificiality of this lawless society that infringes all that is expected as real and believable. The peculiar percept conveyed here is beyond just the theatricality of the feigned reality in the novel; it hints, delicately, to a system in which there is no law, no rule, and no right for anticipating and expecting consequences; in a word, a totalitarian system that sets the scenes and the events taking place in each act. Cincinnatus complains about this totalitarian control of each and every action, and the transitory nature of rules that are manipulated, strangely interpreted, or broken. He complains “is there in the so-called order of so-called things of which your socalled world consists even one thing that might be considered an assurance that you will keep a promise?” (Nabokov 54). Another ostentatious element in the text that we interpret as an indicator of the invented reality that the political system designs as make-believe for its subjects in order to control even what they perceive as real is nonnon. This curious object is what Cincinnatus’s mother introduces to him as a shapeless, absurd item that is accompanied by a crooked mirror that distorts the ordinary objects placed in front of it. None of the two in itself demonstrated anything comprehensible, yet when the mirror was kept in front of the nonnons, they started to make sense in the way that the very same absurd objects made sensible images in the mirror; flowers, people, and landscapes. Robert Alter in “Invitation to a Beheading: Nabokov and the Art of Politics” writes about two opposite possibilities in interpreting the function of nonnons in the novel. He posits that mirror plays both “good and bad” role in this narrative. Assuming a positive role for it, nonnons are our formless reality that the alchemy of imagination -mirror- can turn it into all beauty

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and order. In this way, nonnon stands for Nabokov’s art and imagination that gives meaning to the created world. Nevertheless, Alter also writes of the teasing doubt that remains as readers try to make inference about the whatness of this object that may have a negative connotation in the text (56-57). Going for the second interpretation, we take nonnons as the stage devices and objects that are meaningless in themselves when they are apart from the scenes for which they have been prepared for, and the mirror is that stage or in fact stage directions and scripts that give sense to the whole constructed reality of the system. That is why the features of the prison and its rules are unbelievably and abnormally senseless to the eyes of the readers and even the main character in the novel, yet they are completely normal and in order for other characters who have been dissolved in the artificial world, naturalizing everything that has been written on the stage directions for them. What he comprehends during his 19-day-stay in the prison can sum this section up; Cincinnatus realizes, at the end, that what he cares about most, his wife and his life in the society that never accepted him as its citizen, are not real, but a “crudely” yet “cleverly made” sham (Rutledge 184). In addition to taking life as a theatre stage, the multiplex ordering of the novel indicates the possibility of considering life as art too. Quite similar to many other aspects of Invitation to a Beheading, here lies another binary opposition of genuine versus mechanical, spiritless art. What the implied author renders is a mere imitation of an authentic life beyond the borders of its copy. In contrast, what Cincinnatus feels inside of him and attempts at rendering in his diary is the envisagement of the real life. For Nabokov, whose literary techniques are always at the service of aggrandizing thematic aspects of his creation, even the words combined to picture the world that imprisons the protagonist stand in contrast to the way Cincinnatus dreams of a better world - “…I allow my thoughts for a free journey from fact to fantasy…much besides, but lack of writing skill, haste, excitement, weakness…I know something…but expression of it comes so hard” (70). In this respect, his imagining Tamara Gardens, as the only natural scene he loved to spend his time in is described in order to emphasize the binary opposition between genuineness and artificiality. As Alter puts it “while Cincinnatus dreams of, and at certain moments his creator pointedly exercises, a beautifully patterned art, the most essential quality of the world that imprisons him is cheap, false, meretricious, mechanical art” (Alter 57). It is not just the holistic theme of the narrative that conveys this opposition between genuine and fake art, rather this dualism demonstrates itself in terms of photohoroscope of M’sieur Pierre, considering himself as an artist on the one side, and Cincinnatus’s interest in writing on the other side. The executioner is fond of ‘photohoroscope’, a kind of montaging different photos from different people in order to produce a life book for a person. This crazy treatment of people’s photos is the culmination of bad art in this society that has already proved its interest in the art of photography (the day Cincinnatus enters his cell, two newspapers with big color pictures of his house are brought to him; also the night before the beheading, Pierre and Cincinnatus are photographed by flashbulb light). As Grishakova puts it, photography signifies the real nature turned into “the dead, fix, immobile, ‘surrogate’ object”, and in this novel represents the materialistic, banal art that is supported by the system and is practiced by the representatives of it like M’sieur Pierre (210-211). This so-called artist provides his prey with an example of his art, a chronological album of Emmie’s life, from her childhood till death, by means of some photographic tricks that changes her childish face into the face of a young, then mature, and finally a dead woman. Noticeable is Pierre’s attempt to define his creation which resembles reality yet is totally fake as a work of art that has imitated natural life in its essence. The outcome is lifeless pictures that were designed to look like real changes in face of a person getting old, yet “conveying something very bizarre to the expert, as a chance steering of a tree’s branches may coincide with a sign gesture comprehensible to a deaf-mute” (Nabokov 131). On the other side of the continuum, there is Cincinnatus who is the master of imagination, and tries to write about what he dreams of, what he imagines to be the real life. In other words, photography in this novel is the imitation of a fake reality, and therefore, is itself artificially constructed by the system. Indeed, writing which deals with imagination and which is able of subverting the fake reality around it functions as the symbol of genuine art - at the end of the novel, Cincinnatus, writing the word ‘death’ and then crossing it out, indicates his escape from the determined beheading. Detectable in many of his works, the recurrent theme of life as art and text is observable in Nabokov’s Ultima Thule, in which the protagonist believes that everything he feels and sees in the world- happiness, life, April- is only a “muddled preface”, while the main text is somewhere beyond (Connolly, “Many Faces” 2). Here lies the socio-political facet of the dictatorship as an “aesthetic category, as the tyranny of false art” (Davydov 190) that reveals yet another layer of significance; the political background of all these scenes that conveys the moral aspect of the novel. A totalitarian regime, favoring the mere representation of the fake reality done by photography cannot withstand the perfect art, full of imagination and enriched by individual’s perception that pictures a better world. 4. The Escape from the Prison of Time and Space Of prime importance to narratological reading of literary texts is the analysis of time and space in the works. Similar to other aspects of narrative theory, there are classical and postclassical considerations of the two factors, and we are going to utilize both in our reading of Invitation to a Beheading. In classical narratology, time and space have ideological implications in the way that usually they contain sort of dualism in their heart. For instance, the opposition between dark and light, or between open versus closed (Luc Herman and Vervaeck, “Ideology” 220). On the other side, in her narratological reading of Nabokov, Grishakova illustrates that the classical approach takes narratives as representing their events in time and space, and therefore, considers the two as ‘containers’, while Grishakova, as a modern narratologist employing new perspectives has an eye on the cultural factors, and authors’ personal perceptions. Time and space, in this perspective lead to a particular construction of reality in the texts. Absorbed by scientific and aesthetic aspects of these two elements, Nabokov was always concerned with different possibilities for representing time- social

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and subjective; eternity and reversibility- and creating space- objective, subjective, mental and physical (Grishakova 280). In this section, we are going to start with time and then we will move to the question of space in the novel. In most of Nabokov’s novels, narratives are unfolded in a chronological order. This is true about Invitation to a Beheading in which readers start reading from the first day of Cincinnatus’s imprisonment and learn about his assumptions, feelings, and experiences till his nineteenth day in the prison that is his execution day. What makes time unique in this work, however, is the impression it generates in readers. From the idiosyncrasies observable in the passage of time, to the sense of captivity time conveys in the novel, the curiosity of time can be comprehended as one confronts the peculiarities of it throughout the reading process. As discussed in previous parts, the body of the individual’s experiences in the created world of the narrative is the central object of focus for Nabokov. He believed that art provides the chance of exploring “the individual aberration” of time and space. Thus, it is the observer’s subjectivity that determines the temporal ordering, and in this sense, the time in fiction becomes inevitably indeterminate (Grishakova 44, 69). What should be regarded as the ultimate key for interpreting the role time plays in Invitation to a Beheading, hence, is Cincinnatus’s perception of time. On the surface, time passes day after day in accordance with the conventions of normal time in reality, yet from the very beginning one feels the artificiality of the passage of time in the depicted society. At his first night in the prison, Cincinnatus, who tries to go to sleep, can hear the clock striking eleven times, thinking for a moment, and striking once more (Nabokov 19), or in another example, he tells his mother about how time is controlled by a watchman who washes off the old hands and dubs new ones-“that’s how we live, by tarbrush time, and the ringing is the work of the watchman, which is why he is called a ‘watch’ man” (104). The prisoner gets used to such irregularities in the passage of time, which itself contributes to the construction of the fact that there is no reality in the text but a mere stage whose time, like its other characteristics, is based on what is written in the script. This is one of the peculiarities of Nabokov’s fictions that what he pictures as linear chronology is in fact not comparable to standard time and calendar date (Grishakova 76). Soon Cincinnatus realizes that like many other things in the prison, and in the larger scope, the whole society he lives in, even time, is determined based on the desires of the system, signifying not the exact date or hour, but what is considered as appropriate by it. What M’sieur Pierre’s photohoroscope of Emmie’s supposed life album pictures for us is first the falsehood of all which is considered as realthe fake reality in the novel- and the sovereignty that system imposes on its citizens, determining each and every step of their lives. As an instance, it is written that the prison director announces, falsely, that tomorrow will be the execution day, which is proved wrong, and then he calls calendar “cute, a work of art” (Nabokov 55). It is crucial to understand why the date of execution is not shared with Cincinnatus. To illustrate the point, we refer to the above mentioned point that time is not standard to Nabokov; it is what each individual constructs, and therefore, can be altered, and even determined based on the person’s will. Cincinnatus writes, in his diary, of a world in which “time takes shape according to one’s pleasure…” (Nabokov 73). He wishes to escape this prison of time that confines him and his dreams, and it becomes obvious at the end of the novel that the execution day can be any time Cincinnatus feels ready for it, because it is he who can take control of the stage around him as his comprehension of the artificiality of the world he inhabits in becomes more evident to him. It is detected by Grishakova that Nabokov’s philosophy is entangled with the assumption of time as prison, and with a dream about a timeless world (126). The notion of metamorphosis is one of the possible interpretations of what takes place at the end of the novel when the real Cincinnatus leaves his crust and escapes the scaffold which is considered as linked to the fact that Nabokov attempts to escape the “spherical prison of time” (Grishakova 96). Like their author, characters like Cincinnatus, lonely in the sham world of the lies seek to find an exit in the fabric of time and space, and it is their creative consciousness that helps them find the crack in the prison of artificial and set dates and hours (Kuzmanovich 23-24). Space in Invitation to a Beheading can be analyzed from three interrelated aspects; its fake nature, its inclusive sense of confinement, and finally its association with the question of spirituality in this novel. Already mentioned in the above sections, the setting in this text is theatre-like, reminding us of stage configurations from the very beginning of the novel. The most conspicuous example can be made from the ending part, where the word “performance” (Nabokov 156) is used instead of “execution”, as if it is a scene in a play. Another instance is when M’sieur Pierre tries to adjust the appropriate lightening of the scaffold scene; “the light is a bit harsh…perhaps you could…there, that’s fine. Thank you. Perhaps just a wee bit more…Excellent!” (171). This theatricality contributes to the recognition of readers that the whole setting is unreal and fake, constructed for the purpose of confusing its prisoner and deterring him by its maze-like nature (“Cincinnatus realized that the bends in the corridor had not been leading him away anywhere, but rather formed a great polyhedron” [61]) from realizing its dummy nature. The second main significance of space in this novel is its specific modeling that transfers some sense of confinement to the reader; everywhere is a prison. The eye-catching occasion that first evokes such a feeling in readers is when they are informed that Cincinnatus is the only prisoner in the huge fortress he is kept inside (Nabokov 13). The border of such an enormous prison is ever expanded five pages later, when in a dream-like scene Cincinnatus passes some corridors, after leaving his cell at night, and enters his beloved Tamara Gardens. There, he remembers his feeling of loneliness and opacity against the bound between other citizen and their transparency for each other. Many had already realized his difference before being caught, and he felt as unsafe outside of the prison as inside of it; even outside the fortress was a prison to him. The only shelter Cincinnatus has, inside of which he feels secure, is his free, imaginative mind. All the system attempts at is building a prison for the mind of its citizens so as to make them accept the sham reality as true, the meaningless rules as legal and reasonable, and to force them to yield to its false hegemony. It should be noted that the pervasiveness of this prison of mind that borders between the prison and the city outside is broken in the Tamara garden scene. At last comes the ‘other’ space that exists in the novel, the world that Cincinnatus dreams about and develops stronger

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faith in its existence as he realizes the awkward imitation of his society from the real world of freedom, “…surely there must be an original of the clumsy copy” (Nabokov 73). The final scene in the novel can be interpreted in different ways, however, regardless of judging it as metamorphosis, death and rebirth, or simple escape from demise, it is indisputable that Cincinnatus enters the realm of ultimate freedom where “those akin to him lived” (172). It cannot be answered with certainty whether the implied author signals a kind of hereafter or not, but for sure this last scene confirms Cincinnatus’s belief in a kind of spiritual world of pure freedom that he considers as a kind of Platonic real realm of idea. Grishakova asserts the same by considering the diegetic world of the novel as “extremely artificial; “space of theatre or circus”, while taking the extradiegetic world that Cincinnatus finds himself in as the fourth dimension (239). This spiritual aspect of Invitation to a Beheading is further discussed in the following part. 5. The Other World of Freedom Addressing the issue of spirituality in this narrative, one should notice the two totally distinguished kinds of supernatural elements in the narrative. On the one hand, there are the spider and the acorn that are both proved to be only fake versions of the real creatures, yet masterfully copied like all the other parts of Cincinnatus’s prison. On the other hand, there are the spark in the eye of the prisoner’s mother talking about her son’s mysterious father who was “different” like him, and Cincinnatus’s strong vision of another kind of world, real and transcendental, that belongs to a realm beyond the sham, totalitarian society of the novel. The dualism between the two lies in their different sources and indications; the first comes from the totalitarian system, signaling the artificiality of its nature and the salvation it brings about, while the second, subtle as its origin, indicates the real freedom. Since it is through the distinction between these two supernatural elements that one can comprehend the ultimate spiritual notion of the novel, we are going to start our analysis with the first group. As discussed in the previous parts, everything in the world of Invitation to a Beheading resembles the real version, yet proves to be a mere duplicate, and it is this recognition that allows Cincinnatus to think of the possibility of a real, transcendental world- the source of the copy. The spider which is fed and taken care of by the jailor, and seems to serve as the symbol of entrapment for Cincinnatus is an excellent instance of such dualism. This spider that spins its web day after day is there in order to remind the prisoner of his being caught, and that he is not going to find redemption, since, symbolically, the web becomes tighter and more complete every day. Nevertheless, Cincinnatus, who gains awareness that nothing is what it seems to be, is not impressed by this spider after a while. Contrary to this fake existence is the big, beautiful moth that appears in Cincinnatus’s cell toward the end of the narrative. The jailor tries to hunt it for his spider, yet it escapes him and vanishes, implying the possibility of ultimate redemption. Cincinnatus realizes, at the end of the novel, that the spider was just a plastic one, another masterfully imitated particle, as unreal as everything else around him, quite contrary to the moth, an insect as real as life itself. What links the spider to the moth is the fact that they both belong to somewhere beyond the fortress; the former is a supernatural creation of the totalitarian system, inanimate, yet able to feign animation, and fulfill the mission of frustrating Cincinnatus, while the latter is a messenger from the “real” world, so ennobled and spiritualized that reminds Cincinnatus of the artificiality and lifelessness of the surrounding world, and encourages him to keep his faith in ultimate freedom. It is also observed in “Invitation to a Beheading: Nabokov’s Violin in a Void” that the spider, resembling Marthe, not only in its movement, but also in its entrapping efforts, stands in opposite to the mesmerizing moth that promises an escape from destruction (Connolly 15-16). The same can be applied to the acorn that falls on Cincinnatus’s bed as he finishes reading a book, Quercus. As he reads this voluminous novel, regarded as the best literary production of his age, about an oak that observes its surrounding for around three hundred years, he gets more and more bored with this unimaginative work. Finishing this “best example” of pseudo-art of the society he lives in, Cincinnatus asks for help, “will no one save me?” (125), and in reply to his question, perhaps, an acorn falls on his bed. Neither Cincinnatus nor the readers can easily interpret this line; is it a sign of help, or is it another sham? The answer, we believe, lies in the next chapter of the novel where Cincinnatus calls imagination as the only savior he has. In this very same chapter, M’sieur Pierre comes out of a whole in the wall of Cincinnatus’s cell, playing the role of the savior that Cincinnatus had longed for from the first night he heard someone digging a hole in the wall. Pierre pokes fun at poor Cincinnatus and proves, once more, that there comes no freedom from this artificial world. Also regarded by Barton Johnson as another example for this world/ that world dichotomy (85), considering the acorn as a sign of help proved wrong when, as an answer to his request, Pierre showed up; another fake salvation from a fake friend. Connolly considers the adjective ‘dummy’ used for acorn, which literally means stage property in Russian as well as sham, as another reason why it should be regarded as belonging to theatrical world of the prison (“Struggle” 170) . All this shows that the supernatural acorn, promising fake salvation is of no power in comparison to imagination which is a supernatural help from the other world and brings real salvation for Cincinnatus at the end. The nature of “the other world” that Cincinnatus terms it, sometimes, the “real” has been a controversial question for critics. Many of Nabokov’s heroes attempt to literally leap into another world, overcoming the gravity that pulls them down from reaching other worlds (Wyllie 62). The protagonist of this novel, like Martin Edelweiss and Hugh Person, feels the existence of a transcendental world beyond that motivates him to resist all the suppression. Cincinnatus feels a spark inside and detects the same in his mother’s eyes for a moment, and this leads him to believe in “something beyond his horrible life” (Rutledge 127). The centrality of hereafter or beyond in Nabokov’s works has been neglected for long by his scholars, yet as his widow testifies, many of his works deal with this mysterious theme. Such metaphysical notion, linked firmly to his ethics and aesthetics, can be best described as a faith in or as an intuition of a timeless and transcendental world above that engenders the sense of immortality. This obviously negates all the claims of diverse

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literary critics who considered Nabokov as a mere “stylist and gamesman” (Alexandrov 569) observable in this novel as well (Alexandrov 566-68). In his contribution to The Garland Companion to Nabokov, Davydov discusses the Gnosticism that exists in the novel, referring to the fact that in this school of spiritual beliefs, which places material world in opposite to the realm of spirituality, our flesh and material world are considered as prison for our soul (192). Cincinnatus is a prisoner, in this respect, in a Godless world (Davydov 198) who gains awareness, during his metaphoric imprisonment in a fortress, about the ecclesiastic realm of divinity, and therefore, reaches salvation. All in all, as Connolly puts forth, any reductionist reading of this narrative is sort of a misreading that disables us from grasping the rich possibilities of diverse interpretations (“Russian” 142). The vital point that should be also addressed in the discussion of spirituality in Invitation to a Beheading is the hereafter Cincinnatus may have reached after his possible death. No one can state with certainty whether he is beheaded at the end or escapes death, but what matters is that to Nabokov death is merely a physical finish, not the end of the essence of real life (Rutledge 80). Thus, the real world of freedom may be taken as the life after death. We conclude this part by Rutledge who believes that a structural analysis of Nabokov’s works ends up in a metaphysical optimism for those who have an intuition of real life (184). The question, now, is who can have such an imaginative perception, and we believe Nabokov has answered this question in this very novel as well, as we are going to explore it in the next part of this article. 6. The One Alive: An Individualist in Search of Freedom Insistent an individualist as Nabokov was (Wyllie 60), freedom to him, in the real sense of the word, meant pure autonomy for each and every person in the society and nothing less. Of prime significance in conceiving the concept of liberty in Invitation to a Beheading is the role an individual plays in achieving this gift. It has been already mentioned in the previous section that the focus of Nabokov’s narratives is mainly on a single character and what he experiences and feels, rather than on the plot or specific events. This is due to his cherishing each individual’s experiences, concentrating on the isolation of his heroes’ consciousness. The conflict between the individual and his society, easily detectable in this novel is a common theme in this author’s works (Boyd 32). This focus on individuality in Invitation to a Beheading has reached the extreme point of depicting a society whose only real citizen is Cincinnatus; others are all caricatures whose every aspect of their characterization testifies to their “arbitrariness” and “illegitimacy” (Davydov 189). Surprising as it seems, this is an inseparable element in constructing the whatness of freedom, and a person deserving freedom in this narrative. As an instance, while Rodrig, Roman, Rodion and even M’sieur Pierre wear masks and makeups, and in the court the defense counsel and persecutor wore similar masks, the minute details of Cincinnatus’s appearance are described in the very first pages of the narrative. In the story that all characters are described by the appearance of their masks-“doglike or of cloth”- thorough explanation of the gold of Cincinnatus’s moustache, or the description of his small scale makes him look real, and places him in obvious contrast to those caricatures surrounding him. The importance of such detailed description becomes more important when the narrator starts confusing other characters with each other. Readers are perplexed while reading chapter three: Cincinnatus, Rodion, Rodrig and Roman go for a tour on the top of the prison’s tower, in the beginning the lawyer’s back is “soiled with chalk” (Nabokov, 35), while on the way back it was the director’s frock marked with chalk. Furthermore, it is noticeable that during a conversation, Rodrig (the director) and Rodion’s (the jailor) speeches are mixed as Rodrig says “Listen to him…he has to know everything. How do you like that Roman Vissarionovich?” the lawyer approves, and then the former says: “yes sir. You ought to be more cooperative, mister”, while he gives his keys a rattle.” The ‘latter’ should supposedly refer to Rodrig, yet he just rattles the keys and the lawyer’s comment: “that’s right Rodion” (33) signals that the speech belongs to the jailor while it had to be articulated by the director. This blatant resemblance in the beginning part of the novel becomes a crystal clear oneness in the end of the narrative. It is when the theatrical setting of the execution scene starts to fall apart, and we read “Roman, who was now many times smaller and who was at the same time Rodrig...” (172). This unique characterization is also addressed by Connolly in his “Nabokov’s Violin in a Void”, “…the creatures depicted in the novel…are not unique individuals, but stock, interchangeable characters (or caricatures of characters)” (12). Technically, what matters is the reason behind such curious depiction of those peopling the narrative. We believe that what gives Cincinnatus personality, and more exact, reality is the fact that he is a nonconformist who maintains his difference, termed ‘opacity’ in the novel, in worldview and behavior. It is stated that the reason why he is to be executed is his “impenetrability, opacity” (Nabokov 57). In the society where all people are virtually the same, they are transparent to each other, they all belong to one system of beliefs, and they obey what is determined for them, therefore ,being different- an individualist- is definitely an unforgivable sin- some kind of a gnostic turpitude. “ For thirty years I have lived among specters that appear solid to the touch, concealing from them the fact that I am alive and real- (our emphasis) but now that I have been caught, there’s no reason to be constrained with you” (Nabokov 55). This individuality that bestows genuine life on Cincinnatus is the reason for both his imprisonment in the artificial scene set by the system for his mind, and his redemption and freedom in real life. Defining ‘opacity’ as privacy and uniqueness, Invitation to a Beheading is evidently an example of an anti-totalitarian literature (Grishakova 89). The crucial point not to be underestimated in the question of individuality is that although Cincinnatus was different from others since his childhood, gaining this awareness, and accepting this difference as a merit are what helped him annihilate his prison of mind and become free. As another peculiarity of this novel, Cincinnatus’s development from a naïve to a mature individual is rendered for readers in the most idiosyncratic way imaginable. There exist two Cincinnatuses, to whom the narrator referred from time to time, usually in parenthesis. For instance, “Cincinnatus said, “I obey you, specters, werewolves, parodies…. However, I demand- yes, demand” (and the other (our emphasis)

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Cincinnatus began to stamp his feet hysterically, losing his slippers)…” (Nabokov 33). Another example is when Cincinnatus says “as you wish…I am powerless anyway.” (The other Cincinnatus…a little smaller, was crying, all curled up in a ball.)” (54). What distinguishes the two as the story goes on is that the real Cincinnatus, the one who gains his emancipation at the end, is the braver and the wiser one who derides the rules and strives for finding out the truth. Even in the very examples we have mentioned above, one can detect this difference between the two. These nonidentical Cincinnatuses, however, point to the fact that every individual needs to set their mind free to grasp the artificiality of prisons and to become independent of all what entraps them inside of the vicious circle. The same is discussed from another angle in “Struggle for Autonomy” that suggests the limitation that the system imposes on Cincinnatus lasts as long as he maintains his role as a prisoner, and therefore, the autonomous vision he develops in himself helps him to gain freedom (Connolly 167-8). Thus, when he is finally to be executed, the real Cincinnatus is calm, and as “fear was dragging” the second one “into a system that was perilous to him” (Nabokov 164), he banishes this crust, this weak part of his being and leaves the scaffold. It can be said, in this way, that the protagonist, or at least the real one, was not beheaded and escaped death, entering the realm of real freedom by destroying the scene set for him as a prison. Furthermore, we can accept this interpretation that his flesh was indeed executed; what reached freedom was his soul that, as discussed in the previous section, entered hereafter like a sage. This flesh versus soul dualism can be found in some parts of the text, “…the subject will now be the precious quality of Cincinnatus; his fleshy incompleteness; the fact that the greater part of him was in quite different place, while only an insignificant portion of it was wandering perplexed…a poor, vague Cincinnatus…” (Nabokov 94). What is precious in an individual, no matter to be taken as the soul or as the mentality, roots inside and has to be discovered by each person in order to generate the power to trespass the limits. This is best pictured for readers in the part that Cincinnatus starts taking off, first, his clothes- his dressing gown and slippers- and then his body organs- his heap and legs and arms- till “what was left of him dissolved into the air and began freely and happily to… “(Nabokov 28), and here readers are left to comprehend what happens to the residue of the protagonist; the answer, of course, is provided at the end of the narrative. “I am taking off layer after layer, until at last…I do not know how to describe it, but I know this: through the process of gradual divestment I reach the final,…, radiant point, and this point says: I am!” (Nabokov 69). The individual, deserving ultimate freedom, is the one who does not obey without choosing, is not a conformist and is therefore a real person who belongs to the real life. 7. An Individualist Character Overcoming the Unreliable Narrator Discussing how Cincinnatus, the only real person in the world of caricatures, annihilates all the barriers that prevent him from reaching freedom is entangled, strictly, with the matter of genre. Although the last part of this article contains a central part dedicated to the discussion of genre, there are two critical points related to the question of individuality that we discuss right in this part. What freedom means in this novel is greatly dependent on the distinctive literary techniques utilized in it. Understanding all the peculiarities of Invitation to a Beheading like its unreliable narrator created by the anti-totalitarian author, and the protagonist’s use of language, all aid readers in reconstructing the unique concept of freedom the implied author has pictured. Reading the first few pages of the novel, readers are presented with scenes violating all the conventions of plausibility. The matter of concern here does not lie in extraordinary events such as the director’s dissolving in the room and then entering it once more, or the desk being moved by the protagonist, yet in the next chapter being presented as bolted down to the ground for ages; what matters is the way these scenes are handled by the narrator. Addressing the same issue, Connolly refers to the fact that readers are perplexed when confronting narrator’s explanations about Rodrig’s face enlivened by “two, and only two bulging eyes” (Nabokov 15). Another instance is Roman’s coat being soiled with chalk, and in a page later, reading the same narrated about Rodrig’s coat (35-6). This scholar believes that readers cannot regard all these as author’s slip-up, though the reason for them is not clear to him (“Violin” 4, 12). We believe these examples invite us to assume unreliability in the narrator of the work. Regarding this, Booth explains that the omniscient narrator- the kind of narrator readers deal with in this novel- is responsible for controlling readers’ expectations, leading their hopes and forebodings for characters (173). The same is supposed to happen in the very beginning of the novel when the obtrusive narrator predicts the inevitable death of Cincinnatus at the end of the work“So we are nearing the end…” (Nabokov 12), or further, he describes the pencil given to Cincinnatus, and associates it with the premature end of his life (Connolly, “Struggle” 172), yet it becomes obvious at the end that the protagonist manages to escape death. This false prophecy coupled with all the lack of explanations about the bizarre events in the narrative remind us of another characteristic of the unreliable narrator, that knowing the world created by the author is blocked by this kind of narrator, because usually comments by the author are taken as “trustworthy companion” of readers in the course of passing through the text (Booth 214), and when they are proven wrong or when the narrator neglects those parts in desperate need of explanation, the unreliability of the narrator manifests itself most. In regard with Grishakova’s claim, who brings evidence from modern scholars like Francesco Casetti, that focalization and narration, regarded by classical narratologists like Genette as distinguished parties, are inseparable (148), then another witness for the unreliability of our narrator is the violation of what is expected from an external focalizer in this narrative. While it is supposed to resolve the dubious parts of the story (Luc Herman and Vervaeck, “Ideology” 225), the focalizer of Invitation to a Beheading leaves readers baffled by all the left ambiguities. It is noticeable how the bizarre events of the story are narrated with neutral and solemn voice by the narrator, whereas all them are addressed and contemplated upon by Cincinnatus in his diary. In discussing the reason behind choosing an unreliable narrator for this novel, and the role it plays in developing the question of an individual gaining freedom, we start with a noteworthy point by Nünning who reminds us that detecting an unreliable narrator is the result of tracing a dichotomy between what

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the personalized narrator shares with the reader and those the audience perceives from the implied author (100). The emancipatory message of the implied author, picturing a unique vision of freedom for readers is tried to be blurred by the unreliable narrator who is at the service of the author as the representative of a totalitarian system. To shed light on this curious point, we refer to the fact that many of Nabokov’s works contain the image of “evil artist- creator” based on early Symbolist notions (Grishakova 94). There are scholars like Karen Jacobs who link an auctorial, omniscient, realist narrator with “institutions of supervision” (Grishakova 159) as it is observable in many parts of the story that the narrator, scientifically and much realistically talks about Cincinnatus as if he is an object of observation for him. Attributing totalitarianism to the author is masterfully conveyed to readers through the protagonist’s deriding the author of the Quercus who seems to be seated on the branches of the oak with a camera, observing everything, or as Cincinnatus puts it “spying out and catching his prey” (Nabokov 94). Despite the fact that Nabokov negated the possibility of his characters gaining control of their destiny in the narrative, at the end of Invitation to a Beheading, Cincinnatus, the one real individual destroys all that is determined for him by his author (Pifer 3). The unreliable narrator who shows off his authority in the course of the story by his intrusions (when he comments on the short life of the protagonist (Nabokov 12), or when he calls him as “my poor little Cincinnatus” (54), or when suddenly he starts describing his taste about people’s hands in parenthesis, completely irrelevant to the scene [78]) is confined, however, when it comes to Cincinnatus’s writings that provide readers with all the intact perceptions and viewpoints of him, without the intrusions of the narrator. This happens specifically towards the end of the narrative that the protagonist gains more and more awareness, and as a result, more autonomy. The Narrator’s voice is heard as soon as the guards appear and stop Cincinnatus from writing, since they all belong to the same totalitarian system. Connolly states that sometimes it becomes difficult to make distinction between Cincinnatus and the extradiegetic narrator (“Struggle” 181). For instance, as observed in “Reading and Rupture in Nabokov's Invitation to a Beheading”, one cannot distinguish between the narrator’s telling of Cincinnatus’s biography, and Cincinnatus’s envisaging and picturing his life in past (Blackwell 41). As we have already discussed in the previous part, the protagonist’s free imagination is his true power and it demonstrates itself in overcoming the narrator’s voice, first as he imagines his past life, or Tamara Gardens, where the voice of his imagination overshadows that of the narrator as explained above, and then as he writes about his understanding of the theatricality of the set scene around him. The accumulation of his power is demonstrated at the end of the story, when he leaves the scaffold, contrary to the prediction of the unreliable narrator, and moves to the other world. To Nabokov, the master of language and style, all literary techniques are at the service of meaning construction, and this feature coupled with the importance language has to narratological readings of the texts brings the specific usage of language in this novel into analytical attention. Notable is the passive form of the verbs used for Cincinnatus by the narrator. Instances are ample in the initial part of the text; from the very first sentence of the novel “in accordance to the law the death sentence was announced (our emphasis) to Cincinnatus C.” (Nabokov 12), up to his residence in the prison, “he had to be supported” (12), or “the prisoner was brought in” (13) (our emphasis). This excessive use of passive structure for the protagonist is taken by Connolly as the translator’s attempt to generate the same impression that the original Russian transitive verbs, making Cincinnatus the object- direct or indirect, produce; he is subordinate to all that is performed on him (“Struggle” 167). This convention, however, is broken in the course of the story as Cincinnatus gains more autonomy; toward the end, for example, there is no use of passive verb for him, and he rejects any help or force in doing things, “by myself, by myself” (Nabokov 171) he repeats. Then he starts asking himself why he should be there, and by realizing how easily, only by his will, he can step out of that sham world, everything starts to collapse in front of his eyes. This gaining control manifests itself not only in his voice overcoming that of the narrator in the diary, but also in the world he tries to create in his writings. Initially, his sentences were incoherent and incomplete, but gradually they started to improve into long, meaningful sentences. Then, he realizes the shortcomings of the language in conveying what he feels inside; he strives to express through words his thoughts (Rutledge 104). Nevertheless, he comprehends the inability of language in helping people express genuine, unconventional ideas, as it is impotent in helping individuals communicating with others. What he writes as his final entry in the diary is just one word crossed out: death. As language proved unfruitful in communication with Marthe or his lawyer or even his mother (the only moment he felt truly in connection with her was in silence, when he found in his mother’s eyes the same spark he had in his heart), it could not help him picture the kind of life that was real and transcendental. Connolly has rightly observed that Cincinnatus built a “visionary discourse” to resist the oppression of the “banal formulas” that the representatives of the totalitarian system imposed to him (“Struggle” 174). Like a true artist he always wanted to be, Cincinnatus gave up explaining things via language; he simply envisaged emancipation, and he was free. That is what readers experience in Invitation to a Beheading; no superfluous commentary or explanation, rather excessive language play in order to demonstrate the unreliability of this perplexing medium. In an authentic work of art everything should not be crystal clear to the last degree, but it should be suggestive and multidimensional, and this specific characteristic of Nabokovian art is what Cincinnatus realizes after gaining awareness of the fact that in his sham world, like the script of a simplistic, one-dimensional play, everything has already been written (Connolly, “Struggle” 177). Through writing down his ideas, Cincinnatus develops a firm identity for himself because in this way he boosts what the implied author conveys to the readers as the most essential characteristic of a person deserving freedom; a free mind. It is through his free imagination that the prisoner envisages a better world, comprehends the artificiality of other characters, and transgresses the scenario determined for him by the totalitarian system. 8. Genuine Freedom as Pictured by the Implied Author Every reading brings about an aesthetic judgment, or interpretation on the side of the reader. That interpretation is

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formed by variety of factors, including the very name of the author (and what that name is associated with), the literary techniques utilized in it, and primarily by the clues the implied author of the text has provided readers with. It is approved by many modern narratologists, such as Phelan, that texts are designed in order to affect readers, and the created impression is conveyed to them through words, structure, and intertextuality, and should be critically analyzed by considering how crucial the impression readers receive is (“Rhetoric”209). In narrative theory, the source of all impressions conveyed to the audience is the work’s implied author. For many of narrative theorists, implied author is the construction of each and every reader (Schmid, “Implied Author” 1). Booth’s concept of implied author in his The Rhetoric of Fiction, evaluates both the audiences’ responses and the implied ideology of the texts. Booth asserted that authors invite our critical joining, consciously or unconsciously, by the creation of the implied author; writers’ creation in the process of composing, different from the implied authors of their other works. No matter how hard an author tries to be impersonal, readers inevitably build a picture of a writer who is not indifferent toward values (71, 74). One can conclude that the message of the implied author is the reader’s intuition of the main value in the artistic whole, no matter to what party the true author belongs. This is applicable to modern novels whose authors have done their best not to fill them with moral implications so as to refrain from turning them into “treatise”. It should be noted that metaphysics and ethics are inseparable parts of all narratives (Booth 73, 79). In postclassical narratology, ideological interpretation of the texts is considered as a rhetorical factor that should be understood as the communication between the author, as the sender, and the reader, as the receiver (Luc Herman and Vervaeck, “Narrative Fiction”). Thus, it can be inferred that discussing the message of the implied author is to a great extent dependent on each and every reader’s comprehension. In our narratological reading of Invitation to a Beheading, we scrutinized diverse parts of the novel so as to here, at the end, complete the puzzle in reference to what we comprehend from the implied author’s picture of genuine freedom in our modern times, having an eye on all the thematic and stylistic aspects through which its emancipatory message is transmitted. Being centered on prison and execution for a vague, arbitrary crime is not the only reason for taking the world of Invitation to a Beheading as an example of a totalitarian system. The fact that all citizens are supposed to think and perceive like each other, and that force and threatening are inextricable part of people’s everyday life (shown through the coercive friendship of M’sieur Pierre who imposed himself on Cincinnatus, or by using the fake spider to demoralize him), and that ever-present control of each and every minute part of people’s lives (conveyed through the reference to the peephole through which Cincinnatus is observed by the jailor all the time) confirm this interpretation. Striking is the blatant violation of all realistic conventions in this modern work, while the very same message could be conveyed through a realistic story quite well. Narratologically speaking, the text of the novel can be taken as contrastive particles that both maintain and undermine the “social message”, as Adorno puts it. This “negative aesthetics”, a peculiarity of modern fictions gives life to the matter of ‘otherness’ or the utter subjectivity of the objective world (Grishakova 250), something clearly evident in Invitation to a Beheading. The artificiality that the unrealistic setting of the novel brings about serves to highlight the contrast between the world a totalitarian system creates for its subjects, deprived of any right for free imagination or self-expression, and the other world of” real” life that provides its inhabitants with ultimate joy and emancipation. This world of no time and no definite place seems to be a part of the Soviet Union, specifically due to the Russian names of its characters. There are scholars who put the gnostic nature of Cincinnatus’s crime, and his belief in a transcendental world above in opposition to the materialistic system in a communist society, concluding that “the novel’s large commitment is to refute the metaphysically materialist and epistemologically realist world view which became the official ideology of the Soviet state” (Dragunoiu 54). However, it should be noted that German language plays a role in this novel as well. For instance, Rodion brings Cincinnatus’s fruehstuck which means breakfast in German (Nabokov 96), or it is written that the director’s wife has special German accent (129). These tempt us to situate the work more and more into its historical context and take it as a reference to the rise of Nazism and its severe dictatorship. There have been some critical analyses, especially the early ones that detect the same warning about the totalitarian systems of Soviet Union and Germany in this work (Connolly, “Violin” 5). Yet, we believe one should not limit this warning of dictatorship to these two states, since taking languages into consideration, the French name of the executioner, M’sieur Pierre, and some French words used in the narrative suggest, strongly, the concern that can be felt about the pervasive mind control that modern political systems, in wish of spreading duplication, or to put it in Nabokovian terminology, transparency, attempt at. The author admitted that his concerns have been reflected in Invitation to a Beheading, calling the Twentieth century as one of the most turbulent ages that made him direct his contemplations about his forebodings toward the contemporary events in his own peculiar way (Dragunoiu 3). In deciphering this Nabokov’s novel, we go back to our discussion of the modern techniques transgressing the realistic standards in the beginning of this section. It is exactly the verisimilitude of realistic novels, invigorating the current system that the individualistic style of this Modernist novel aims at undermining, so as to signal the one possible way out of this totalitarianism: pure individualism that helps people escape from the prison of mind that the modern dictatorship imposes on them. Such emancipatory belief being reflected in this narrative is totally expectable from an extreme individualist like Nabokov who also believed in traditional Liberalism his father was committed to and died for (Nicol 625, 627). As for the envoi, we end our discussion by addressing the strange smallness of the protagonist. Cincinnatus is peculiarly small and fragile, naturally incapable of heroic showdowns expected from cliché rebels. What this unfitness for fighting reveals is that it is not physical combats but the power of the mind that can overcome the prison imposed on the minds of people in modern times. Rebels like Cincinnatus, are symbolically small in front of the system and its extensive authority, yet gaining awareness as the first step in fighting the arbitrary rules help them to grow. “…the greater part of

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him was in a quite different place, while only an insignificant portion of it was wandering, perplexed, here…a comparatively stupid Cincinnatus…foolish as people are in their sleep” (Nabokov 93); the ignorance imposed on people being referred to as ‘sleep’. The simple, everyday person Cincinnatus is, ultimate freedom becomes him, an individualist, who stood above others because of his free mind, capable of imagining a better world. His changing the determined scene of his execution and gaining freedom make him, metaphorically, greater than all the caricatures that were all the same, Cincinnatus slowly descended from the platform and walked off through the shifting debris. He was overtaken by Roman, who was now many times smaller and who was at the same time Rodrig: “what are you doing!” he croaked…“everything was ready, everything was finished”…little was left of the square. The platform has long since collapsed…Cincinnatus made his way in that direction where, to judge by the voices, stood beings akin to him (172). 9. Conclusion In this article, the researchers have attempted to offer a narratological reading of Invitation to a Beheading in search of what its implied author has pictured as the meaning of genuine freedom. By analyzing the story and discourse levels of this narrative, we have discussed, first, the concepts of ‘reality’ and ‘individuality’ presented in the novel as the pillars on which the author constructed the ultimate concept of freedom. In regard with reality, Nabokov puts the hereafter in contrast to the materialist life we live, giving privilege to the former which he considers as ‘the real’. This notion is merely understood by the ones who have developed a strong sense of individuality in themselves. As with Cincinnatus ,through writing down his ideas, he cements a firm individuality for himself because in this way he strengthens what the implied author conveys to the readers as the most essential characteristic of a person deserving freedom; a free mind. It is through his free imagination that the prisoner envisions a better world, comprehends the artificiality of other characters, and transgresses the scenario determined for him by the totalitarian system. After discussing the contribution of these two notions, in the last part of this article, we’ve placed the ultimate concept of freedom in the period the novel was written by focusing on the questions of ideology and rhetoric. What we have inferred from the implied author is that genuine freedom is the freedom of mind and only those who have been endowed with a great sense of individuality can achieve it. This freedom leads us to plumb the depth of the sham of the totalitarianisms. References Alexandrov, Vladimir E. "The Otherworld." The Garland Companion to Vladimir Nabokov. Ed. Vladimir E. Alexandrov. New York: Rutledge, 1995. 566-70. Web. Alter, Robert. “Nabokov's Invitation: Nabokov and the Art of Politics.” Nabokov's Invitation to a Beheading a Critical Companion. Ed. Julian W. Connolly. Evanston: Northwestern UP, 1997. 47-66. Print. Blackwell, Stephen. "Reading and Rupture in Nabokov's Invitation to a Beheading." The Slavic and East European Journal 39.1 (1995): 38-53. Web. 30 Aug. 2015. Booth, Wayne C. The Rhetoric of Fiction. 2nd ed. Chicago: U of Chicago, 1963. Web. ---. "Resurrection of the Implied Author: Why Bother?" A Companion to Narrative Theory. Ed. James Phelan and Peter J. Rabinowitz. Malden: Blackwell, 2005. 75-88. Web. Boyd, Brian. "Nabokov as Storyteller." The Cambridge Companion to Nabokov. Ed. Julian W. Connolly. New York: Cambridge UP, 2005. 31-48. Web. Connolly, Julian. "Introduction: The Many Faces of Vladimir Nabokov.". The Cambridge Companion to Nabokov. Ed. Julian W. Connolly. New York: Cambridge UP, 2005. 1-10. Web. ---. “Invitation to a Beheading: Nabokov's Violin in a Void.” Nabokov's Invitation to a Beheading a Critical Companion. Ed. Julian W. Connolly. Evanston: Northwestern UP, 1997. 3-46. Print. ---. “The Major Russian Novels.” The Cambridge Companion to Nabokov. Ed. Julian Connolly. New York: Cambridge UP, 2005. 135-150. Web. ---. “The Struggle for Autonomy.” Nabokov's Early Fiction. Ed. Julian W. Connolly. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1992. 161-84. Web. Davydov, Sergej. "Invitation to a Beheading." The Garland Companion to Vladimir Nabokov. Ed. Vladimir E. Alexandrov. New York: Rutledge, 1995. 188-202. Web. Dragunoiu, Dana. "Vladimir Nabokov's Invitation to a Beheading and the Russian Radical Tradition." Journal of Modern Literature 25.1 (2001): 53-69. Web. 30 Aug. 2015. Grishakova, Marina. The Models of Space, Time and Vision in V. Nabokov's Fiction: Narrative Strategies and Cultural Frames. Tartu: Tartu UP, 2006. Web. Herman, Luc, and Bart Vervaeck. “Ideology.” The Cambridge Companion to Narrative. Ed. David Herman. New York: Cambridge UP, 2007. 217-30. Print. --,--. "Ideology and Narrative Fiction." Handbook of Narratology (2013): n. pag. Web.

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Johnson, D. Barton. "Spatial Modeling and Deixis: Nabokov's Invitation to a Beheading." Poetics Today 3.1 (1982): 8198. Web. 30 Aug. 2015. Kuzmanovich, Zoran. "Strong Opinions and Nerve Points: Nabokov's Art and Life." The Cambridge Companion to Nabokov. Ed. Julian W. Connolly. New York: Cambridge UP, 2005. 11-30. Web. Meyer, Priscilla. "Nabokov's Short Fiction." The Cambridge Companion to Nabokov. Ed. Julian W. Connolly. New York: Cambridge UP, 2005. 119-34. Web. Nabokov, Vladimir Vladimirovich. Invitation to a Beheading. Trans. Dmitri Nabokov. New York: Vintage, 1989. Ebook. Nicol, Charles. "Politics." The Garland Companion to Vladimir Nabokov. Ed. Vladimir E. Alexandrov. New York: Rutledge, 1995. 625-28. Web. Nünning, Ansgar F. "Reconceptualizing Unreliable Narration: Synthesizing Cognitive and Rhetorical Approaches." A Companion to Narrative Theory. Ed. James Phelan and Peter J. Rabinowitz. Malden: Blackwell, 2005. 89-107. Web. Pifer, Ellen I. "Nabokov's "Invitation to a Beheading": The Parody of a Tradition." Pacific Coast Philology 5 (1970): 4653. Web. 30 Aug. 2015. Rutledge, David S. Nabokov's Permanent Mystery: The Expression of Metaphysics in His Work. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2011. Web. Schmid, Wolf. "Implied Author." The Living Handbook of Narratology. N.p., 16 May 2014. Web. 20 Aug. 2015. ---. Narratology: An Introduction. New York: Walter De Gruyter, 2010. Web. Wyllie, Barbara. Vladimir Nabokov. London: Reaktion, 2010. Web.

International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 5 No. 7; December 2016 [Special Issue on Language and Literature] Flourishing Creativity & Literacy

Australian International Academic Centre, Australia

The Chinese and Kazakh Languages Comparative Study: Subject-Predicate Sentence Structure Nurhalyk Abdurakyn Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan Alina Nurzhayeva Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan Anar Mustafayeva (Corresponding author) Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan E-mail: [email protected] Dariga Kokeyeva Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan Kaldybay Kydyrbayev Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan

Received: 14-08-2016

Accepted: 17-10-2016

Advance Access Published: November 2016

Published: 10-12-2016

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.197

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.197

Abstract This article compares subject-predicate sentence and subject-predicate-object sentence forms with extended sentence of the Kazakh language. It compares Chinese and Kazakh sentences with subject-predicate sentence structure and studies differences of verb-predicate sentences word order. Detailed comparative study of Chinese and Kazakh language differences and characteristics. Morphology structure of Chinese language belongs to radical language, and Kazakh language belongs to the type of adhesive language, syntax of Chinese and Kazakh Languages in the same syntactic structure often used in different ways, the morphological role in Chinese and Kazakh language is also not the same, and even the same kind of grammatical means in Chinese and Kazakh languages are various. According to the analysis of languages, the different positions of word order, the function of words and grammatical word order are different too. The same syntax is very considerable, and lead to different syntactic structures. Chinese thinking reflects the realities as follows: subject - action- object. It is reflected in the grammatical structure: Subject - predicate - object. Kazakh thinking reflects the realities as follows: subject - object - action. It is reflected in the grammatical structure: Subject object - predicate. Chinese and Kazakh predicate and object places in a sentence are different, but their dominance relationship is the same. Keywords: Chinese, Kazakh, word order, predicate sentence, predicate-object sentence, nominative, non-nominative 1. Introduction This article studies the grammatical structures of two different languages Chinese and Kazakh, namely a predicate sentence. Chinese as SVO (Subject - verb - object) language has the subject before predicate, adverb, and then the object and complement. The word order: (attributive) - subject - [adverb] - predicate - verb - (attributive) - object (complement), namely SVO. For example: 咱们 (subject) -顺便 (adverb) - 问候 (verb) - 一下 (complement) - 她 (adjective) - 吧! - Let’s regard her! (subject-adverb-verb-complement-adjective). In SOV(Subject - object – verb) type Kazakh language the subject can be looming, the main person and number can be hidden and represented by a verb suffix after. Word order: (attributive) - subject - (attributive) - object - [adverb] - verbal predicate, namely SOV. For example: Мен (subject)-белімді (adjective)-белбеумен (adverb)-тартып (adverb)-буындым (verb). – I have tightened my belt. (subject-adjective-adverb-adverb-verb). The examples above show us clearly the differences of two languages word order. The article continues to indicate different points: the name of the same grammatical unit or the actual content is different in the two exactly the same sentences of the languages their expressions and grammatical function also makes a difference. Subject-predicate sentence in Kazakh Nominal Predicate Sentence have nominative and non-nominative distinction, the Chinese do not have this distinction. A single word in the Kazakh nominative sentence has equivalent in the most Chinese verb-object – verb-predicate sentence. Adjective-predicate sentence of Subject-predicate sentence includes only the words that form adjective-predicate, adverbial – adjective-predicate, adjective-predicate – compound and complement – adjectivepredicate sentences. Adjective has no "class" changes. If to represent the different levels, the front overlapping degree of adverbial – adjective or adjective can be used. The Kazakh adjectives have "class" changes. The adjective and

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complement phrase of Chinese complement – adjective-predicate sentence of adjective-predicate sentence is a predicate sentence. Because there is no complement in Kazakh language, so-called adjective-predicate – complement sentence confined in Chinese. Chinese complement of complement – adjective-adverbial sentence is generally equivalent to Kazakh adverb. Verbal-predicate sentence of Subject-predicate sentence includes nominal – verb-predicate, verb-object – verbpredicate, adjective – verb-predicate, verb-predicate – compound, verb-predicate – complement, verb-predicate – combined, in Kazakh the subject is generally has persons, number, tenses morphological changes, while Chinese verbpredicate sentence has no morphological changes. Chinese and Kazakh related in habit of expression and speech. Chinese monosyllabic transitive verb in a sentence generally used with object, if not to add an object, then complement or adverb should be added. Furthermore, Kazakh verb has voice changes, the Chinese do not. The same point in both languages is to master the predicate sentence one should be interested and should develop the skills: according to hierarchy Chinese and Kazakh simple sentence can be the subject- and non-subject – verb-predicate sentence. If to compare the Chinese and Kazakh predicate sentences we will find out that generally the subject is placed in front and the predicate behind, which is common with Chinese and Kazakh sentence, is also essential foundation. Chinese and Kazakh Language predicate sentence can be summarized as Nominal – predicate sentence, adjective- and verb-predicate sentence. Chinese Kazakh non-predicate sentence can be summarized as noun, adjective, verbal and sigh sentence. That shows that the Chinese and Kazakh Language Systems are common. The words of Chinese and Kazakh Language subjectpredicate sentence of nominal sentence correspond to each other. Kazakh nominative single-verb-word sentence is equivalent to Chinese verb-object – verb-predicate sentence. This proves that the predicate sentence of the two languages have the same points as well as different points on the structure and word order. 2. Method This article compares Modern Chinese and Kazakh languages predicate sentence structure, mainly using the "two triangle" theory, comparative linguistics theory of Three Levels, full description and summary of the similarities and differences between the two languages, and analyzes their causes. Comparative analysis and systematic analysis of similarities and differences between the two languages - Chinese and Kazakh. We hope that the article will help Chinese-Kazakh bilingual learners and researchers to provide references for further more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of modern Chinese and Kazak subject – verb-predicate sentence structure, and foreign language teaching. 3. Results Kazakh language has SVO-type word order. Its syntactic structure is subject, object, adverb and the other parts of sentence are before the predicate verb sentence, the syntactic structure of subject, object, adverb, and other components of syntactic predicate to form multicomponent identity of word order, so to distinguish between the different components of syntax you need to rely on function words and symbols (signs). Various syntactic elements have relatively fixed mark, so the word order is more flexible. Regardless of how word order changes the subject and predicate position will not change. The subject of Kazakh passive sentences as well as Chinese is the recipient, but the doer generally does not appear, the verb is dynamic. The doer must appear with a special particle and case. Different ethnic languages have different ways of conceptualizing. Kazakh verb conceptualization is more complex, rich, and has relatively simple expression syntax. Chinese verb conceptualization distinctive personality, conceptualization of an action is relatively simple, does not consider the direction, location, results and other factors, so when there is a need to express direction, location, results, etc. in a sentence it is needed the help of other words meaning the concept of supplements, grammar expressions and unlike Kazakh language is much more complex. Chinese and Kazakh subject-predicate structure comparative study discusses every aspect of the subject-predicate sentence. Grammarians have certain criteria to determine the scope of subject-predicate sentence ranges: Sentence statistical and teaching factors research. Non-verb-object sentence Verb (1)Simple Simple object sentence Subject -predicate verb Double object sentence -predicate sentence -predicate sentence sentence Simple Adjective ‘是’ sentence -predicate - predicate ‘ 把’ sentence sentence sentence ‘被’ sentence Noun-predicate sentence Subject -predicate sentence Non-subject -predicate sentence

Existential sentence Non-subject sentence Single-word sentence

2) Special verb-predicate sentence

Serial-verb Construction General part structure ‘是......的’sentence

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Huang Borong, Liao Xudong in his book "Xiandai Hanyu" 2004 updated third edition (Huazhong shifn daxue chuban) argues that the subject-predicate sentence is made of two parts the subject and predicate. (Subject-verb phrase is the basic element of the sentence). For example: He came. Depending on the predicate sentences, subject-verb sentences can be divided into noun-predicate and verb-predicate sentences (including serial-verb, general-part, double object sentences, ‘把’ sentence, ‘被’ sentence, existential sentence) predicate adjective sentence, predicate sentence. According to the structure relation of sentences: ‘ 把’ sentence Subject

Verb-predicate

‘被’ sentence

- predicate sentence

sentence

Serial-verb

Noun-predicate sentence

sentence

Adjective-predicate

General part structure

sentence

Double object sentence Existential sentence

Non-subject- predicate

Nominal

sentence

Non-subject-predicate sentence

Composed sentence Sentence

Simple sentence

Verbal Non-subject-predicate sentence

Subordinate Complex sentence

connection

Adjective

components

Non-subject-predicate

sentence

sentence Imitative sentence

4. Discussion Kazakh language is a part of Altai Turkic language family, Chinese language belong to the Sino-Tibetan language family. Chinese grammar is invisible, Kazakh syntax is visible. Chinese grammar is inseparable from semantics, but Kazakh-based form. Parsing can be completely out of the semantic relationships. Structure figured out, figured out the meaning of a sentence. Its analysis is the process of "structure - semantics"; and each component of Chinese no morphological markers, should only start from the semantic segmentation, sentence structure is the result of semantic analysis. Its analysis is the process of "semantic - structure." Analysis of the verb that statement is also true. As previously mentioned, Kazakh verb suffix plus various additional components can express person, number, type, time, body etc. grammatical meaning. Word phrases and sentences boundaries at a glance. For example: Бар - (go) is this word; Мектепке бару (go to school) is a phrase; Мектепке бардым. (I went to school.) Is a sentence. "Бар" in phrases and sentences in both morphological changes. The Chinese "go" no change, only by semantic and other sentence elements to determine its structural relationship. So in Chinese "means of synthesis" are important, and in Kazakh "form of synthesis" are important. Han ethnic important thinking "parataxis" important thought Kazak "perception". When expressed in Chinese often give listeners and readers to leave room for his insight, and Kazakh must be clearly represented. Kazak people to learn Chinese language between Chinese and Kazakh languages psychological differences bringing difficulties. 4.1 Chinese and Kazakh language subject-predicate sentence structure comparative study 4.1.1 Comparison of Chinese and Kazakh subject-predicate sentence Kazakh language is a part of Altai Turkic language family, Chinese language belongs to the Sino-Tibetan language family. Chinese grammar is invisible, Kazakh grammar is visible. Chinese grammar is inseparable from semantics, and Kazakh is based on form. Parsing can be completely out of the semantic relationships. If the structure is figured out, than the meaning of a sentence is also figured out. Its analysis the process of "structure - semantics"; and each component of Chinese has no morphological markers, it should be only started from the semantic segmentation, and sentence structure is the result of semantic analysis. Its analysis the process of "semantic - structure." Analysis of the verb should be made the same way. As previously mentioned, Kazakh verb suffix plus various additional components

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can express person, number, type, time, body etc. grammatical meaning. Phrases and sentences boundary can be noticed at a glance. For example: Бар - (go) is a word; Мектепке бару (去学校/go to school) is a phrase; Мектепке бардым. (我去学校了/I went to school) is a sentence. "Бар" has morphological changes in both phrases and sentences. The Chinese "去" (go) has no changes, only by semantic and other sentence elements its structural relationship can be determined. So the important criteria in Chinese is "identity of the meaning", and in Kazakh is "identity of the form." Thus for Han ethnic important is "parataxis", for Kazakhs - "perception". In Chinese listeners and readers are often given a chance to understand the expression by themselves, and in Kazakh they must clearly understand it. Psychological differences between Chinese and Kazakh languages bring greater difficulties to Kazakhs who learn Chinese. 4.1.2 The same points of Chinese - Kazakh subject-predicative sentence Chinese and Kazakh languages belong to two different types of language, in the structure type Chinese and Kazakh have their own characteristics. Morphological structure of Chinese belongs to the radical language, and of Kazakh language belongs to the adhesive type o language on, therefore, Chinese and Kazakh languages grammar tools often are used differently in the same syntactic structure, Chinese emphasis on the use of words and word order function, such as grammatical tools, the Kazakh tools mostly use forms. The same grammatical role in Chinese and Kazakh language tools also of different sizes, and even the same kind of grammatical tools specific manifestations in Chinese and Kazakh languages are not the same. In the analysis of the language, the role of word order is very important, appearing in different locations each grammatical unit will lead to different syntactic structures. In the form of well-developed language, various syntactic relationship depends mainly on word to represent morphological changes, the role of word order is different. Because of different ethnic cultures, their points of view and reactions are varying considerably. Therefore, the nation-specific plays a big role in thinking and reflecting on the reality. Han ethnic sequence element reflecting: subject - behavior - guest. It is reflected in the grammatical structure: Subject - predicate - object. Kazakh thinking reaction sequence elements of reality is: subject - object - behavior. It is reflected in the grammatical structure: subject - object - predicate. Chinese and Kazakh verb and object word orders are different, but their dominance relationship is the same. Therefore it remains to be the same structure as the comparison. Chinese and Kazakh language simple sentence structure has roughly the same classification, the simple sentence formed by the main component that is the basic sentence; in Kazakh it is called an Non-extended sentence. In addition except the main component there is also other minor component of a simple sentence that is extended sentence and in Kazakh language it also called extended sentence. A sentence include subject variable, and only when the predicate variable is able to confirm the subject it is called the indefinite-personal sentence. There is no exact Person Subject, the person cannot be seen from the Personal predicate form, or, though logical subject, and the predicate does not complex with personal sentence, but with impersonal sentence. The subject of this sentence is difficult to find. Complete sentence: the complete sentence includes all the related to each other components making a sentence, the sentence doesn’t divide into primary and secondary sentence components. Sentence elements compose complete sentences. Incomplete sentence: the incomplete sentence does not include all the related components, but there is a sentence with omitted component. Sentence elements compose incomplete sentences. This sentence contains the command, calling, complementary fragments and sigh fragments. (1) Chinese and Kazakh Simple Sentence with its main structural levels can be described as subject-predicate sentence and Non-Predication Sentence. If to compare the Chinese and Kazakh language subject-predicate sentence some peculiarities can be found out, such as subject stays before predicate which is common in Chinese and Kazakh sentence and is very essential as well. (2) Chinese and Kazakh language subject-predicate sentence are nominal-predicate sentence, adjective-predicate sentence and verb-predicate sentence. (3) Chinese and Kazakh language non-predication sentence are noun sentence, adjective sentence, verb sentence and exclamation sentence. These constitute the common points in Chinese and Kazakh Language Systems. (4) Chinese and Kazakh Language the One – Word/ Phrase nominal-predicate sentence of the subject-predicate sentence are mostly correspond to each other. Kazakh nominative form of The One – Word/ Phrase nominal-predicate sentence is equal to Chinese verb-object-verb-predicate sentence. For example: 他父亲是医生。Оның әкесі дәрігер．His father is a doctor. 知识就是力量。Білім——күш. Knowledge is power. 安全第一，劳动第二。Амандық бірінші, жұмыс екінші. Safety first, then labor. 团结就是力量。Ынтымақ -күші. Unity is strength. 他妈妈是老师。Оның мамасы мұғалым. His mother is a teacher. 生命在于运动。Мықты денсаулық дене шынықтыруда. Life is movement. 友谊第一，比赛第二。Достық бірінші,жарыс екінші. Friendship first, competition second. (5) Chinese and Kazakh Language subject-predicate sentence and other Chinese and Kazakh sentences correspond basically.

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For example: 哈萨克的前途光明。Қазақтың болашағы нұрлы．Bright future of Kazakhs. 他的口才比我好。Оның сөйлеу қабілеті менен мықты．His speaking is better then mine. 现代青年的前途光明而美好。Қазіргі жастардың болашағы нұрлы әрі көркем．Modern youth has bright and beautiful future. 大学生的前景一片美好。Студеніттерінің болашағы нұрлы. The future of students is bright. 他的身高比我高。Ол менен бійік. He's taller than me. 他的衣服很漂亮。Оның кимі өте әдемі. His clothes are beautiful. 老师的工作很辛苦。Мұғалімның жұмысы өте жапалы.Teachers work is very hard. 妈妈的工资高。Маманың жалақысы жоғары. Mother’s salary is high. (6) The verb-predicate sentences in Chinese and Kazakh Language subject-predicate sentences basically are the same. Where Chinese and Kazakh Language single word verb predicate sentence, combined predicate sentence, and other Chinese and Kazakh sentences are corresponded basically. For example: 柳条动了。Талдар қозғалды．Trees on the move. 刮风了。Жел тұрды．The wind blew 我看电影了。Мен кино көрдім．I have seen the movie. 她姓赵。Оның фамиласы Жау．Her surname is Zhao. 老赵晒太阳。Лау Жау күнге қақталуда．Lao Zhao is basking in the sun. 下雨了。Жаңбыр жауды. It rains. 我踢足球了。Мен доп тептім. I played football. 小明写作业。Шиау мин тапсырма орындады. Xiaoming have done the homework. 天晴了。Күн ашылды. It’s sunny. 他回家了。Ол үйіне қайтты. He went home. (7) Chinese and Kazakh language non-predication sentences are the same not only in sentence form, format, definition, and concept, but also in classification of terms. For example: Noun sentence：谁?Кім? Who? 谢天谢地! Аллаға шүкір! Thanks God! 请吧! Мархемет! Excuse me! 一路顺 风！Жол болсын! Bon Voyage! Adjective sentence：糟糕! Нас басты! That’s terrible! 太棒了! Тамаша！Wonderful! 太好看了。Әдемі. Very beautiful! 太美了。Қандай әдемі. That’s beautiful! 真棒！ Өте жақсы. Very good! 好帅啊！Қандай айбатты жігіт. What a handsome boy! 多么高啊! Неткен биік! That’s high! Verb sentence：谢谢! рахмет! Thanks! 万岁! Мың жаса! Long live! 祝你一路平安!Ақ жол тілеймін! Take care! Exclamation sentence：唉!Ай! Alas! 哎呀呀!Ойпырай! Oops! 呵!Пақ! Oh! 哈哈！Ха ха! Ha-ha! 我的天！Ойбай! Oh my God! (8) The classification of meaning of Chinese and Kazakh simple sentence is basically the same, Chinese and Kazakh sentence is divided according to the meaning and tone of the sentence into declarative, imperative sentences, exclamatory and interrogative, and all these sentences correspond to each other. Among them the right-wrong question, special question, elective question, positive-negative question (rhetorical) and other types of questions that correspond to each other. Difference between Chinese and Kazakh subject-predicate sentences Chinese and Kazakh grammar rules are different, Chinese grammar uses structural words and word orders, and Kazakh grammar uses morphology more. The grammatical role of the means that are used in Chinese and Kazakh languages also are different, and even the same kind of grammatical means of Chinese and Kazakh languages are not the same. In the analysis of the language, the role of word order is very important, each grammatical unit is appearing in different locations, and it will lead to different syntactic structures. In the form of well-developed language, various syntactic relationships depends mainly on word to represent morphological changes, the role of word order is unlikely. The word order of Chinese and Kazakh verb and object is different, but their dominance relationship is the same. For example: 1. 他//正在干家务活儿。 “Ол үй шаруасын істеуде. He was doing housework. Direct translation: 他//家务活儿干”。 He//housework//doing. The example shows us that: location of Kazakh and Chinese predicate simply not the same, so one should give the example to the non-native speakers of Chinese and Kazakh students, when they translate sentences wrong. Comparative study on the subject of two languages at the beginning should be so, therefore, because the two types of languages Chinese and Kazakh are different, so the same definitions of grammatical unit of two languages or the actual content of a sentence is not exactly the same, its manifestations and grammatical functions have difference. If we compare the way of study and structural interpretation, we can explain the common specific differences that were mentioned above. (1) The subject-predicate sentence of Kazakh nominal predicate sentence has nominative and non-nominative case difference, but Chinese sentence does not have such difference. Kazakh nominative forms of independent body of predicate sentences are most equal to Chinese verb-object-verb-predicate sentence. For example: Оның шешесі мұғалім. 他的母亲是老师。 His mother is a teacher.

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Ынтымақ—күш．团结就是力量。Unity is strength. Оның әкесі сақшы.他的爸爸是警察。His father is a policeman. Достық жасасын.友谊万岁。 Friendship forever! Kazakh non-nominative The One – Word/ Phrase nominal predicate sentence generally is equal to Chinese verbpredicate sentence. For example: Сенің кітабің менде.你的书在我这儿。I have your book. Ол Астаналық.他是阿斯塔纳人。He is from Astana Менің кимім үйде.我的衣服在家里。My clothes are at home. Ол шетелдік.他是外国人。He is a foreigner. Сенің кілтің үстел үстінде.你的钥匙在桌子上。Your keys are on the table The predicate of Kazakh non-nominative The One – Word/ Phrase nominal predicate sentence is the Chinese equivalent of the verb-object-verb-predicate sentence, if it is with the word genitive noun or pronoun. For example: Бұл менің кітабім．这本书是我的。This book is mine.Бұл доп оныкы.这个球是他的。The ball is his. Бұл үй менікі.这个房子是我的。This house is mine. Бұл ит оныкы.这个狗是她的。This is her dog. If the predicate of non-nominative the One – Word/ Phrase nominal predicate sentence the word with time and from, it is the equivalent of Chinese verb-object-verb-predicate sentence. For example: Ол мектепте．他在学校。

He is at school. Ол үйде.他在家。He is at home.

Ол кітапханада.他在图书馆。 Ол алаңда.他在操场。

He is in library. Ол әмбебап дүкенінде.他在超市。He is at supermarket.

Hi is on the playground

Ол аудиторяда.他在教室。Hi is in classroom.

(2) The adjective predicate sentence of subject-predicate sentence includes the One – Word/ Phrase adjective predicate sentence, adverbial-verb adjective predicate sentence, conjunctive-adjective predicate sentence and Supplement adjective predicate sentence. Adjective in Chinese has no "class" changes. If the indication degree is different, adjective can be set before the reduplication degree or adverb degree before adjective. The Kazakh adjectives The "level" changes. For example: 他写的好一些。 He wrote better. Оның жазуы жақсырақ. 那条路笔直笔直的。Ана жол түп-түзу．That road is very straight. 他踢的好一点。Ол допты жақсы тебеді. He play football well. 这个苹果圆圆的。Бұл алма дөп дөңгелек. The apple is round. 他跑的快一点。Ол тезірек жүгіреді. He run faster. 那座山高高的。Ол биік тау. The mountain is high. 他长得漂亮些. Ол әдемірек. He looks prettier. Most of adverbial clauses of Chinese adverbial-verb adjective predicate sentence play role of adverb, followed by a prepositional phrase and particle; Most of adverbial clauses of Kazakh adverbial-verb adjective predicate sentence play role of non-nominative nouns, followed by adverbs and postposition phrases. Therefore, the Kazakh non-nominative adverbial-verb adjective predicate sentence is generally equal to the Chinese verb-predicate sentence. For example: Ол қырықтың мол ішінде．他有 40 多岁。He is over 40 years old Үйде жан пенде жоқ. 屋子里没有一个人。There is no one in house. Ол көмекке зару．他需要帮助。He needs help. Аудиторяда адам көп.教室里好多人。There is a lot of people in the classroom. Ол жас.他是年轻人。He is a young man. Оған демалу керек.他需要休息。He needs a rest. Оған ақша керек.他需要一笔钱。 He needs money. The attribute or adverb of Kazakh sentences above can equal to the Chinese subject, Kazakh subject is equivalent to the Chinese object. Such sentences of Chinese and Kazakh have a great difference, which is related to the nature of the predicate, because Kazakh predicate can play role of adjective only with adverb, while Chinese predicate is a verb only with object. For example: Шымкент Атыраудан үлкен．石姆肯图市比阿特劳市大。Shymkent is bigger than Atyrau Бүгінгі ауарай кешегіден жақсы. 今天的天气比昨天好。Today the weather is better than yesterday. Сенің күшің менен көп.你的力气比我的大。Your strength is bigger than mine. Оның бойы менен биік.他的个子比我高。He is taller than me. Астана Алматыдан алыс.阿斯塔纳比阿拉木图远。Astana farther than Almaty.

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(3)Chinese Supplement adjective predicate sentence of subject-predicate sentences is a sentence with adjectival supplement phrase as a predicate. Because Kazakh Supplement adjective predicate sentence has no complement, one can meet complement only in Chinese. Chinese complement of Supplement adjective predicate sentence is generally equivalent to Kazakh adverb. For example: 病情严重极了。Оның ауыруы асқынды．He is very ill. 场地上静得很．Алаң тып-тыныш. It is very quiet outside 生活糟糕透了。Тұрмыс өте нашар. Life is terrible 心情美极了。Көңіл күйі өте жақсы. In a good mood 市区远极了。Қала орталығы өте алыс. City centre is very far from here 天气冷的很。Күн қатты суық. It’s extremely cold 风大的很。 Жел қатты. It’s very windy (4) The predicate-verb sentence of subject-predicate sentence includes nominal predicate-verb sentence, verb-objectverb-predicate sentence, adverbial-verb verb-predicate sentence, conjunctive verb-predicate sentence, supplement verbpredicate sentence, verb-predicate sentence with verbs in series, pivotal verb-predicate sentence. The subject of a Kazakh verb predicate sentence generally has several morphological changes, (person, time and form), while Chinese verb predicate sentence has no morphological changes. Kazakh and Chinese Correspondence relationship is related with Chinese expression habits and parts of speech. Chinese monosyllabic transitive verb in a sentence generally used along with object, if to not use object, then one should add complement or adverb. Furthermore, Kazakh verb has voice changes, the Chinese has no such changes. For example: 哈 瑟木穿衣服了/Hasse wear wooden clothes. Chinese and Kazakh languages both have verb-object-verb-predicate sentence, but the word order in such a Chinese with Kazakh sentence is different, in Chinese sentence the verb should be set before object; and in Kazakh contrary, object stays the first, and then the verb. For example: 我们能战胜任何困难。Біз кез-келген қиыншылықты жеңеміз. we can overcome any difficulty. 我们能超越自己。Біз бәрін жеңеміз. We will be victorious 他恳求走慢点。Ол ақырын жүруді талап етті. She demanded to go slowly. 他建议公司改革。Ол компаняны өзгертуге ұсыныс берді. He suggested the company to hold some reforms 他命令部队前进。Ол қосынға ілгерлеу бұйрығын берді. He ordered the bureau to make progress. For comparison we can see, the Chinese verb-object relationship reflects by means of word order: So the nominal which stays after predicate usually play role of object. The Kazakh object generally has morphological marks of objective case "на \ ни, да \ ди, та \ ти, н" verb-object relationship which can be embodied by morphology. Kazakh verb-object-verbpredicate sentence relationship is clear at a glance, subject generally is the actor, object is recipient (of action) of Even sentence and has no object mark, actor-recipient relation is still very clear. This is the difference of Chinese from Kazakh. For example: Мен кино көрдім．我看电影了。I watched a movie Ол хат жазды．他写信了。He wrote a letter Ол ұйықтады. 他睡觉了。He slept. Ол тамақ жеді. 她吃饭了。 She had a dinner. Ол үйге қайтты. 我回家了。I went home. Досым емханада жатыр. 朋友住院了。My friend is in the hospital Әкем жұмысқа шықты. 爸爸上班了。My father went to wok (6) Chinese and Kazakh adverbial-verb verb-predicate sentence in the syntactic structure of sentences has similarities and differences. The similarity is that Kazakh and Chinese both has adverb in the beginning of a sentence, and the adverb generally is time, place and location. The difference is that Kazakh word order of verb-object structure is different from Chinese, the position of the adverb also has differences. For example: Today we visited the industry exhibition. 我们今天参观了工业展览。

(adverb 一 subject 一 predicate 一 object)

Біз бүгін өнер кәсіпті тамашаладық. (subject 一 object 一 adverb 一 predicate) Yesterday we watched the videos. 我们昨天观看了宣传片。Біз кеше үгіт филімін көрдік. They will enjoy a concert tomorrow. 他们明天欣赏音乐会。Олар ертен музикадан лазат алады. They played football the last month. 他们上个月踢足球赛了。Олар алдынғы айда доп тепті. “不、没、别”adverbial words serve as Chinese adverb in the negative adverbial-verb verb-predicate sentence, and modify the verb in the sentence. The Kazakh negative meaning entirely rely on verb stem decorated with negative words. For example:

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我不去。Мен бармаймын. I will not go. 他们没有来。Олар келмеді．They did not come. 你别回家。Сен үйге қайтпа. Do not go home. 我不看电影。Мен кино көрмеймін. I do not watch movies 你没看书吧。Сен кітап оқып жүрген жоқсың. You did not read a book. 你别动。Қозғалма. Do not move. (7) There is no complement in Kazakh, therefore Chinese Supplement verb-predicate sentence is equivalent to Kazakh adverbial-verb verb-predicate sentence. For example: 他生于 1981 年。Ол 1981жылы туылған．He was born in 1981. 他们合作得非常好。Олардың келісімі өте тамаша． They cooperate very well. 他们争吵的很激烈。Олардың соғысы өте қиан-кескі. They quarrel very intense. 我们过得很快乐。Біз көңілдіміз. We are very happy. Some Chinese complements of Supplement verb-predicate sentence are equivalent to Kazakh nominal expression meaning, for example: 努尔江的衣服已经破烂了。Нұржанның кимі тозып кеткен．Nurzhan’s clothes are worn out 他们是能想出好办法的。Олар жақсы амал ойлап табады．They find the best way 沙吾列的耳环丢了。Сауленің сырғасы жоғалып кетті. Saule's earrings have been lost 他们会解决这个问题的。Олар бұл мәселені шешеді. They will solve this problem. 我的衣服掉色了。Біздің киімнің өңі түсіп кетті. Our clothes lost colors 我们可以成功的。Біз табысқа жетеміз. We will succeed (8) Chinese has Sentence with verbs in series, Kazakh has no such sentence. Kazakh every simple sentence has verb with personal predicate. This verb is the predicate of the sentence. If there is some other verb in the sentence, it doesn’t change forms, but gerund, participle and cover all are impersonal verbs. Although this parts and the subject have a direct relationship, because there is no reflected in the form, the predicate form can’t be structured, therefore is not a predicate of a sentence, and Kazakh simple sentence generally has only one verbal predicate. The Chinese has no morphological marks, the verb is often set in a raw form, and thus a simple sentence often has several verbal predicates. Chinese verb-predicate Sentence with verbs in series is generally equivalent to Kazakh adverbial-verb verb-predicate sentence. For example: 群众听了很满意。Көпшілік естіп риза болды. People satisfied with what they heard 我们坐车去。Біз машинамен барамыз.We will go by car. 孩子们忍不住哭了起来。Балалар шыдай алмай жылап жіберді.The children started to cry. 我激动的哭了。Мен тебіреніп жылап жібердім. I started to cry. 我们跑步回。Біз үйге жүгіріп келдік. We run back home. 工人看了很高兴。Жұмысшылар көріп өте қуанды. Workers looked and became very happy. 我们走着去。Біз жаяу барамыз. We will go by foot (9) The Chinese have Pivotal verb-predicate sentences with Pivotal phrases as predicate. Kazakh language has no Pivotal verb-predicate sentences. But that Chinese sentence can be indicated in Kazakh with different types of sentences. For example, Chinese Pivotal verb-predicate sentences can be equal to Kazakh adverbial-verb verb-predicate sentence: 请你带我去车站办事处好吗? Сіз мені вагзалдың іс басқармасына ертіп баршы. Please take me to the station office, okay? 他的话叫我想起了过去。Оның сөзі маған өткен күндерді есіме салды. His words reminded me of the past. 请你帮我带回家好吗？Үйге ала кетсен болама? Please help me get back home, okay? 他的歌让我幻想起未来。Оның әні болашақты елестетті. His songs make me imagine the future. Chinese Pivotal sentences equal to Kazakh verb-predicate sentence. For example: 这事叫人担心。Бұл іс адамды алаңдатады．This thing makes one worrying. 你不要再让我们受怕了。Сен бізді ендгіары қорқытпа．Do not threaten us anymore. 你们不要再让我笑了。Мені күлдіре бермендер. 这事叫人震惊。Бұл іс адамды шошытады. This thing is shocking 你不要再让老师说了。Сен мұғалімді тағы мазалама. Do not bother the teacher anymore

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(10) Kazakh tethered verb-predicate sentence immediately constituents to a tethered component, and the other is formulating component, structure order is generally as follows: formulating component set before tethered component. Kazakh tethered component act as copula linking verb "еді, екен, емес, бол, кел" and etc. Chinese has no tethered verb-predicate sentence. Most of Kazakh tethered verb-predicate sentence equals to Chinese verb-object verb-predicate sentence. For example: Сіз кім боласыз?你是谁? Who are you? Бұл тас бес кило шығады．这块石头有五公斤。The stone is about five kilograms. Бүгін күн суық емес．It is not cold today. 今天不冷。 Кеңседе жан баласы жоқ．办公室里一个人也没有。 明天不热。It will not be hot tomorrow.

There is no one in the office. Ертен ыстық болмайды.

There are some Kazakh tethered verb-predicate sentence equals to Chinese adjective-predicate sentence. For example: Асқардың үйренуі жақсы．阿斯哈尔的学习好。Askhar is studying well. Сұрет өте тұнық. 照片很清晰。Photo is very clear. Қақардын дені сау. 哈哈尔身体好。Hakhar has a good health. Дыбысы керемет. 歌声很动听。One is singing very well Тұрмыс өте тамаша. 日子很红火。Life is wonderful (11) The predicate of a sentence with a subject-predicate phrase as predicate is generally has four types of phrases, such as substantive, adjective, verbal and subject-predicative phrases. The Kazakh Predicate predicate of a sentence with a subject-predicate phrase as predicate is generally has three types of phrases, such as substantive, adjective and verbal phrases. Chinese predicate Kazakh is equivalent to verb-object verb-predicate sentence. For example: Менің айтып отырғаным сөз бір құлақ екі. 我所强调的是好话只说一遍。 I have to emphasize that only good things to say again. Менін ақылым, адам көп болса күш көп болады. 我所建议的是人多力量大。My model is strength in numbers. Менін қолдайтыным ортаны қорғау . 我所倡导的是保护环境。I advocate is to protect the environment. Chinese adjective predicate Kazakh is equivalent to adjective-predicate sentence. For example: Менің денсаулығым жақсы. 本人身体健康。I am healthy. Оның түрің басқаша.他的长相出众。He looks different Chinese verbal predicate Kazakh is equivalent to verb-object-verb-predicate sentence. For example: 集体的事大家抢着干。Көпшіліктің ісін адамдар таласа тармаса істеді. Everyone vie with each other for the social business . (12) The head driven phrase of Kazakh Non-Predication Sentence according to the nature of can be divided into noun sentence, adjective sentence, verb sentence and exclamation sentence. The main difference between two types of sentences is: attribute of Chinese noun and adjective sentences should be used with "的", and Kazakh language beside speech means grammar, generally has the head driven phrase changes, using morphological means. For example: 在你的国家。Сіздің еліңізде．In your country. 谢谢您的盛情。Ілтипатыңызға рахмет．Thank you for your kindness. 谢谢你的好意。Сіздің ықыласыңызға рахмет. Thank you for your intentions 在我的故乡。Менің туған жерімде. In my hometown. 感谢你的邀请。Шақырғаныңа рахмет. Thank you for your invitation. The ways of constructing phrases in both languages are different: (verb-predicate sentence as subject) Overall, the position of core predicate in the two languages is different. Their word order as follows: subject - predicate - object. Kazakh: subject - object - predicate. 4.1.3 Chinese and Kazakh word order in verbal predicate sentence. The main difference between Chinese and Kazakh word order in verbal predicate sentence (1) The general word order in verbal predicate sentence Chinese is a SVO-type of language, its morphological markers system is relatively simple, mainly by means of analytical represent various grammatical categories. The subject and adverb are set before predicate, the object and complement - after predicate. The basic components of the sentence is clear due to the word order, there is no need in a special tag to represent their semantic roles: (Attribute) - subject - [adverb] - verbal predicate - (attribute) -object -(complement), = SVO. For example: 咱们一顺便一问候一一下一她一吧! (subject-adverb-verb-complement-object)

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Let us question her! Kazakh is a SOV-type language, there are more complex forms of the marking system. It is marked by a variety of means to form grammatical category. The parts related to verbal predicate are set before the verb. The suffix with grammatical meaning of verb. Sometimes when a topic is needed to be changed, object might be set before subject, it will not cause misunderstanding. Because accusative marker has demonstrated its semantic roles. Subject can be hidden by person and number, and can be set after verbal suffix: (attribute) - subject - (attribute) - object -[adverb] - verbal predicate = SOV. For example: Мен-белімді-белбеумен-тартып-буындым. (subject-object-adverb-adverb-verb) I tied up the belt (2) A special word order in verbal predicate sentence When a speaker wants to achieve a certain effect of expression, often makes changes in word order, or omits certain components of them. There are several changes in the case of word order: 1. Omission: Omission occurs in provincial dialogue context. Omission requires language to be understandable; otherwise it will cause the wrong sentence. Chinese and Kazakh omission of predicate, object, attribute, adverb is basically the same. But the omission of the subject varies. Because of the absence of it in Chinese, statement cannot omit the subject; and Kazakh verb-predicate sentence can be omitted from the first and second person pronouns serving as the subject. For example: 我明天去阿斯塔纳。——*明天去阿斯塔纳。 Мен ертең Астанаға кетемін．—— Ертең Астана жаққа кетемін． 我明天阿斯塔纳我去—— 明天阿斯塔纳我去 I will go to Astana tomorrow - Tomorrow to Astana I will go 你明天去阿斯塔纳。——*明天去阿斯塔纳。 Сен ертең Астанаға кетесін．—— Ертең Астана жаққа кетесің． 你明天阿斯塔纳你去。——

明天阿斯塔纳你去

You will go to Astana tomorrow - Tomorrow to Astana you will go 您高寿了?——*高寿了? Сіз қанша жасқа келдіңіз—— Қанша жасқа келдіңіз? 您多少岁到 —— 多少岁您到 How old are you? - How many years you come to? 我们一定要把你们的经验带回去。——*一定要把你们的经验带回去。 Біз сіздердің тәжирбиелеріңізді алып бара жатырмыз. 我们你们的 把经验 ——

向我们自己地方拿回去

We will use your experience - We your experience will take with us Kazakh is an agglutinative language. Such additional components as person, number, body, state, or time can be added after the verb, and the person, the number is consistent with the subject. First, when the second person pronoun serves as subject verbal suffix is set after verbal predicate, thus verb serves as subject-person. Therefore, even if there is no adverbial modifier, it can be indicated with verbal predicate suffix. When the third person pronoun serves as subject, though it may also be indicated with verbal suffix, but in the case of the absence of the prefix and ending, the omission of the third person subject can cause misunderstanding. Therefore, the third person subject cannot be omitted. Chinese verb predicate has no morphological changes, cannot clearly show an action of the main body, thus in the case of the absence of the prefix and ending, the omission of the subject is impossible. For example: 叶尔咩克看见一个人从对面走过来了。 Ермек қарсы алдынан бір кісінің келе жатқанын көрді． Ermek saw a man coming up from the opposite. 叶尔咩克从对面 一个人的 把正走过来看见。 *Қарсы алдында бір кісінің келе жатқанын көрдім. 从对面一个人的 把正走过来 看见 From the opposite a man coming up I saw 2. Inversion: Inversion is inverting the original word order to enhance heightened effect, with strong tone and pause added in the middle. (1) The subject-predicate inversion: predicate is placed before subject. Both Chinese and Kazakh have this form, and generally correspond. For example: 真苦啊，这个。 Ашты екен，мынау．

This is really bitter

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苦这个起来，饥寒交迫的奴隶。Қозғал ашта жалаңаш құлдар. Slaves suffering from hunger Кет, сен! 走你走开，你! Get away, you! Мен барам， мен． 我去我去了，我。I will go, I will go! (2) The predicative object inversion: object is placed before predicate verb. Because the basic word order in two languages is different, so when verb and object invert in Kazakh, in Chinese it is a common sentence. For example: Тарт қолыңды! 拿开把你的手/拿开你的手/把你的手拿开! Don’ touch me! Лақтырып таста, андағыны．扔掉/把那个扔掉那玩意儿!／把那玩意儿扔掉! Throw it away! When the Chinese object is set before verbal predicate, sentence changes to subject-predicate predication sentence. Kazakh changes to common subject-predicate sentence. For example: Example 1 你拿我的书了吗?——我的书你拿了吗? Кітабымды алдың ба? Did you take my book? 把我的书你拿了吗? Book took you? Example 2 他烧掉了落叶。——他把落叶烧掉了， Ол жерге түскен жапырақтарды күйдіріп жіберді. He burned fallen leaves 他 落下的 把叶子烧. He fallen leaves burned 他脱掉了鞋子。--------他把鞋子脱掉了。 Ол Аяқ киімін шешті. He put off his shoes 他鞋脱了 He shoes put off 你回家了吗?------家你回了吗？ Сен үйге қайттың ба? Are you going back home? 你家回了吗？You home back? "My book" in Example 1 and "leaves" in Example 2 in the sentence are recipients (of action). But if they were before verb they wouldn’t be object, but subject or adverb: in Example 1 sentence has changed on a subject-predicate predication sentence, and to “把”sentence in Example 2. (3) The adverb-predicate inversion: Both Chinese and Kazakh adverb stays before verbal predicate. Adverbs of time may appear before the subject. Sometimes because of the emphasis of predicate action adverb can be placed after the predicate. Both Chinese and Kazakh have this expression, and mostly they are corresponding. For example: Мен бардым кеше．我去了昨天。/我去了，昨天。I went yesterday Оның жазуы түзеліп қалар бірте-бірте．他的字 被改正慢慢地。/ 他的字写得顺溜儿了，慢慢地。His writings are corrected slowly. From the comparison shown above it is clear that Chinese is a SVO language, by analysis has been determined the specific lack of morphological characteristics in the verb-predicate sentences, with the basic word order: "accompanying feature + head driven predicate + resulting adverb". Kazakh SOV type has the typical features of the language, its syntactic structure is subject, object, adverb and other parts of sentences are set before verbal predicate, thus forming a variety of word order structures, and therefore rely on the particle and clause to distinguish the various syntactic elements. Due to various syntactic elements have relatively fixed mark, it has relatively more flexible word order. However, the relationship between subject and predicate any time is the same. In general, because of different ethnic cultures, their points of view and reactions are varying considerably. Therefore, the nation-specific plays a big role in thinking and reflecting on the reality. Han ethnic sequence element reflecting: subject - behavior - guest. It is reflected in the grammatical structure: Subject - predicate - object. Kazakh thinking reaction sequence elements of reality is: subject - object - behavior. It is reflected in the grammatical structure: subject object - predicate. Therefore, due to the interference of mother tongue, Kazakh students who lean Chinese have problems with using Chinese subject-predicate sentences. 5. Conclusion Xiang Lin Mei (1990) and Fu Huijun (2004) think that the subject-predicate sentence can be divided into noun-, verb-, adjective- and subjects-predicate sentences. According to the sentence characteristic, there are a lot of special sentences. For example: ‘把’ sentence，‘被’ sentence，‘ 是’ sentence，existential sentence, etc。Lufu Bo (2001) supposes that: modal verbs belong to a special category of sentences. Xu Shao Jian (2003): subject-verb sentence can be divided into noun-, verb- (including serial-verb construction, general part structure, double object sentence, ‘把’ sentence，‘被’ sentence) adjective-, subject-predicate, and existential sentence. Fan Xiao (Beijing Commercial Press, 2009) in his book divides Chinese sentences into subject- predicate, verb-predicate, adjective-predicate, noun-predicate, subject -

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predicate sentences. Huang Borong, Liao Xudong are editors of "Modern Chinese" 2004 third edition (Higher Education Press). This book argues that subject-predicate sentence consists of two parts the subject and predicate. (The basic component of subject-verb phrase of the sentence is subject-predicate sentence). For example: Ол келді. - He came. According to the difference of predicate sentences, the subject-verb predicate sentence can be divided into noun-, verb- (including serial-verb construction, general part sentence, double object sentence, ‘把’sentence, ‘被’ sentence, existential sentence) adjective-predicate sentence. Xing Fuyi, Wu Zhenguo consider in “Yuyan xue gailun” 2005 that subject- predicate sentence is double part of this sentence which meets in any languages. The subject - verb predicative sentence can be divided and nominal sentence. According to the presence or absence of the object the sentence can be divided into three categories and the number of non-object sentence, single object sentence, double object sentence. Characteristics of some sentences structure have specifics. For example: subject-verb-predicate sentence, ‘把’ sentence, ‘被’ sentence, existential sentences, etc. Xing Fuyi (2011) write about predicate: the predicative verb-predicate is very common, the verb as predicate is more common. For example: subject-predicate phrase, general phrases, double object phrase, verb-object phrases, etc. According to Xing Fuyi and Wang Guosheng (2010.3) phrases and simple sentence structure is substantially the same. Subject-predicate, verb-object, official, description supplement type, etc. Generally，predicate of subject-predicate sentence is the core of modern Chinese sentence structure and therefore the structure of the type of predicate ， subject-verb sentence: noun-predicate ， verb-predicate （ including serial-verb construction, general part sentence, double object sentence, ‘ 把 ’sentence, ‘ 被 ’ sentence, existential sentence) ， adjective-predicate ， subject-predicate sentences. The function of predicate of modern Kazakh subject-predicate sentence is divided personal, non-personal, extended and non-extended ， complete and incomplete ， nominative sentences. According to predicate construction, both languages have the verb as the center word of verb-predicate sentence，but both do not exactly correspond，Chinese special verb predicate sentence cannot be found in Kazakh. References Abdurakhyn N. (2010). Xiandai hanyu yufa. Almaty: KazNU. Ahanov K.A. (1996) Khazirgi khazakh tili gramatikasy. Almaty, 239 Akhmet, B. (1921). Klassifikaciya predlozhenii v kazakhskom yazyke. Almaty: Mektep. Amanzholov. D. (2004). Khazirgi Kazakh tili. Almaty: Mektep. Amanzholova, S., Amanzholov, A., & Kosymova. G. (2012). 8 synyp okulygy. Almaty: Mektep Chen, M. (2008). Tici weiyu ju yanjiu. Beijing: Zhongguo wenlian. Ecenov, H. (1974). Kazakh tildin kurmalas soilemder. Almaty: Mektep Ermekova, T. (1999). Imennoe skazuemoe predlozhenie v sovremennom kazakhskom yazyke. Almaty: Mektep. Fan, X. (2009). Hanyu juzi de duo jiaodu yanjiu. Shangwu yin shuguan. Huang B., & Liao, X, (1997). Xiandai hanyu. Zhending erban. Beijing: Gaodeng jiaoyu. Huang, B., & Liao, X. (2004). Xiandai hanyu. Zhengding sanban. Beijing: Gaodeng jiaoyu. Iskakov, A. (1974). Grammakita sovremennogo kazakhskogo yazyka. Almaty Kacymova, G. (2007). Kazakh grammatikasy. Almaty Kenesbayeva, I. (2010). Issledovanie kazakhskogo yazyka. Pavlodar. Khalibekuly. (2004). Xiandai hanyu yufa. Cihui bu. Almaty, 197. Lü. Sh. (1980). Xiandai hanyu babai ci. Shangwu yin shuguan. Meliorance, P.M. (1917). Vvodnyi kurs v kazakhskii yazyk. Almaty. S.Isayev, K.N., & Dauletbekova, Zh. (2011). 6 synyp okulygy. Almaty: Atamura Sadvakasova, F. (1996). Prostye predlozheniya sovremennogo kazakhskogo yazyka. Almaty. Sairambayeva, T. (1991). Juzide zhuyao chengfeng. KazNU Shaykenova, K. (1995). Leksicheskie i logicheskie svyazi. Almaty Xing, F. (2010). Xiandai hanyu. Beijing: Gaodeng jiaoyu. Xing, F., & Wang, G. (2010). Xiandai hanyu. Beijing: Gaodeng jiaoyu. Xing, F., & Wu, Zh.. (2005). Yu yan xue gailun. Beijing: Shifan daxue. Zhang B. (2002). Xinbian xiandai hanyu. Shanghai: Fudan daxue.

International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 5 No. 7; December 2016 [Special Issue on Language and Literature] Flourishing Creativity & Literacy

Australian International Academic Centre, Australia

Dickens's Dichotomous Formula for Social Reform In Oliver Twist Taher Badinjki Dept of English, Faculty of Arts, Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, Jordan E-mail: [email protected]

Received: 19-08-2016

Accepted: 22-10-2016

Advance Access Published: November 2016

Published: 10-12-2016

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.209

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.209

Abstract Oliver Twist was a direct appeal to society to take action against poverty, exploitation of children, oppression of women, and was meant to be a picture of the "dregs of life” in all their deformity and wretchedness. Among the most miserable inhabitants of the world of Oliver Twist, Nancy appears as a key figure. Dickens was anxious to expose the truth about such a woman because he believed it would be a service to society. Dickens's portrayal of Nancy illustrates the power of the dual conception of womanhood held at the time. On the one hand, a woman might be conceived as someone refined and somewhat remote from ordinary life like Rose Maylie. On the other hand, there was a certain fascination in a woman's degradation, even though that could be shown only indirectly. Nancy is a demonstration of the two elements combined together. Dickens took the ideal nature of womanhood and the depravity of the prostitute, and combined them in a remarkable dramatization which he had some right to claim was also true to life. The book is an astounding rebuttal of contemporary prejudice, and a call for more humane and liberal attitudes. These attitudes are based on the concepts that there is now a radically different way of looking at human nature, that everything ought to depend on what one is in oneself, and that it is only in love that humans can live purposefully and happily with each other. Keywords: radical, moral conventions, social, womanhood, reform, depravity, victim 1. Introduction Of the works of all great British authors of the 19th century who wrote on the social ills of the time, few can reach the same level of eloquence as Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. In this book, Dickens attacked English institutions with a ferocity that had never since been approached, and was labelled by many critics and readers as a subversive writer, a radical, and, one may say, a rebel. Lord Chamberlain banned the book and considered it "dangerous to public peace" (Bolton, 1987), while the Regius Professor at Edinburgh saw it as "dangerously frank" (Aytoun, 1864), and Lady Carlisle commented on it saying "I know there are such unfortunate beings as pickpockets and street walkers … but I own I do not much wish to hear what they say to one another” (Ford, 1955). Despite that, the book was reviewed overwhelmingly with admiration. It was read as a work of art, and the young Queen Victoria found it "excessively interesting" (Collins, 1971). How did Dickens manage to do that? The answer lies in his dichotomous formula for social reform which condemns the sin and tries to redeem the sinner. He managed to do it without making himself hated, and, more than this, the very people he attacked tolerated him so completely that he became a national institution himself. According to George Orwell, "In its attitude towards Dickens, the English public has always been a little like the elephant which feels a blow with a walking-stick as a delightful tickling" (1981). The book contains undertones of criticism of the Victorian standards, and preaches sympathy for the underprivileged in society. It is a form of direct appeal to society to take action against poverty, exploitation of children, and oppression of women. In his "Preface" to the third edition (1841), Dickens wrote that he meant it to be a picture of the "dregs of life” in which he could show them “in all their deformity, in all their wretchedness, in all the squalid poverty of their lives; to show them as they really are, forever skulking uneasily through the dirtiest paths of life”. Such a picture he believed was necessary, and it “would be a service to society” (Barnett, 1971). Among the most miserable inhabitants of the world of Oliver Twist we encounter Nancy, a lost woman of the underworld. Dickens's powerful portrayal of Nancy showed that his knowledge of lost women was clinical and complete. How he acquired this knowledge is difficult to say, but we can presume that his early experience as a worker at Warren's Blacking Warehouse, and his early life at Bayham Street, "the poorest part of the London suburbs" (Forster, 1875), might have brought him in contact with prostitutes who had quarters there, and implanted in his sensitive and intelligent mind a true picture of the nature of these women, and of their miserable lives. In the same "Preface" (1841) he wrote that the "conduct and character" of Nancy had been suggested to his mind "long ago" by what he "often saw and read of, in actual life" around him. It is also likely that through his career as a court reporter, he frequently saw prostitutes brought before the bar, and he acquired experience of their lives and manners, and was later able to draw upon for the purpose of his fiction.

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Dickens was anxious to expose the truth about such a woman as Nancy. He told Forster "I hope to do great things with Nancy” (Collins, 1962). The characterization both revealed and concealed the subject. In a work of fiction meant for general reading and entertainment, Dickens clearly felt that there was a limit to the degree to which he could be outspoken. 2. Discussion Nancy is not presented to the reader as a woman who basely sells herself for personal gain. She is presented as a victim, a youthful sacrifice to Fagin's greed. She had stolen for him when "a child not half as old as "Oliver and had been "in the same trade" of prostitution for "twelve years since” (OT, 104). Such fall as there is, has been from a state of which she could never have been aware. She is the only member of Fagin's gang who is able to show sincere human feelings and selfless love. She feels a human sympathy for the prisoners when she passes a prison, and tells Sikes that if he were among them, she would "walk round and round the place till [she] dropped, if the snow was on the ground, and [she] hadn't a shawl to cover [her]" (OT, 99). Through her, Dickens "emphasizes the fact that even the vilest environment cannot utterly obliterate or corrupt the principle of good in its victims” (Johnson, 1953). Though Nancy has fallen as low as a woman can fall, yet deep in her heart there is still something of the woman's original nature left which links her with humanity. She is touched by Rose Maylie's compassion and acts as Oliver's protector and Sikes's tender and devoted "wife". "I cannot leave him," she says of Sikes to Rose Maylie, even "if I knew that I was to die by his hand at last" (OT, 273). Her redemption is shown in human terms, although Dickens chose to justify it in the 1841 Preface as "emphatically God's truth… the truth He leaves in such depraved and miserable breasts… the last drop of water at the bottom of the weed-chocked well". When an offer' is made to abandon her miserable life with the gang, Nancy replies, (only after some inner struggle), "I am chained to my old life, I loathe and hate it now, but I cannot leave it" (OT, 316). Undoubtedly, Dickens wants us to respect her for her ill-fated loyalty, and pity her unhappy position by satirizing the remarks heaped on her by righteous females, such as the house-maids in the little family hotel who exclaim, It's no good being proper in this world,' said the first housemaid. 'Brass can do better than the gold what has stood the fire,' said the second. The third contented herself with wondering 'what ladies was made of;' and the fourth took the first in a quartette of 'Shameful!' with which the Dianas concluded (OT, 269).

Keith Hollingsworth believes that the origin of Nancy's character is the girl in the early sketch "The Hospital Patient", in which Dickens tells the story of a young woman who makes a last minute repentance on her death-bed and refuses to accuse the man who had brutally beaten and injured her. After summarizing the incidents of the sketch, Hollingsworth comments, "Bill Sikes and Nancy are here, and Nancy's unshakable devotion, her repentance, and her murder” (1963). Though this may be the origin, yet in Oliver Twist, Dickens succeeds in making Nancy a character of some complexity, and the conflict "between her devotion to Sikes and her pity for Oliver", as Edgar Johnson writes, "is wholly convincing” (1953). The book illustrates the power of the dual conception of womanhood held at the time. On the one hand, a woman might be conceived as someone refined and somewhat remote from ordinary life like Rose Maylie. On the other hand, there was a certain fascination in a woman's degradation, even though that could be shown only indirectly. It is also a demonstration that the two elements may be combined together as we see in Nancy. For at first, Nancy is no more than a “stout and hearty” girl, like Betsy (OT, 55). When she dreads to visit the police-station after Oliver's arrest, she winks and smiles to the company, and shows spirit in recapturing Oliver. Later, she realizes the evil she is involved in, expresses her contrition and shame, and demonstrates a positive capability of conversion. In creating her character, Dickens took these conventions, the ideal nature of womanhood and the depravity of the prostitute, and combined them in a remarkable dramatization which he had some right to claim was also true to life. One of the sympathetic points about Nancy is that "she never had a chance, and that though she might have been different, it has been too late” (Fielding, 1965). She comes from an environment of squalor and had nowhere better to live than the "cold, wet, dirty streets" (OT, 104), and no better company than "hunger, and riot and drunkenness" (OT, 271). Under the effects of Oliver's inherent goodness and innocence, and Rose Maylie's charitable attitude, the good side of her nature rebels, and her moral conscience starts to work, and from this point on in the novel, she works for good and makes the decisive move towards her salvation. She attacks Fagin and emerges as Oliver's only protector. Kathleen Tillotson believes that Dickens's view of Nancy changed as he was writing the novel. She localizes the change in chapter sixteen, finding "nothing in the three previous chapters in which she appears" to anticipate "her emergence as Oliver's defender” (1966). In fact, Nancy does change in chapter sixteen, but it is not an arbitrary change. It seems to me that the inconsistencies between the early Nancy and the later Nancy are really logical steps in her moral growth and in Dickens's formula for social change. In his letter to Forster (3 November 1837), Dickens expressed his intention to do great things with Nancy if "I can only work out the idea I have formed of her, and of the female who is to contrast with her". This does show that Dickens formed his idea of the character in advance, and at the same time it suggests that he already had Rose Maylie and the encounter between the two in mind too.

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Nancy's change is made to seem the direct result of the influence of the angelically innocent Oliver. Nancy's kidnapping of Oliver occurs at the end of chapter fifteen, and Dickens's title for the next chapter is "Relates What Became of Oliver Twist, After He Had Been Claimed By Nancy". It seems to me that it might be more properly called "Relates What Became of Nancy, After She Had Been Claimed By Oliver Twist". Oliver's inherent goodness makes him utterly different from any character in Fagin's gang. He reminds Nancy of her own lost innocence. The sight of him, she says "turns me against myself" (OT, 166). His influence begins immediately to work on her. After the kidnapping and on their way to Fagin's den in chapter sixteen, Oliver "felt" Nancy's "hand tremble; and, looking up in her face as they passed a gas-lamp, saw that it had turned a deadly white" (OT, 99). She acts as "a surrogate mother" (Ayres, 1998) who tries to protect and shield Oliver. When he attempts to escape and is pursued by Fagin and two of his boys, Nancy stands before the door and tells Sikes, "keep back the dog, Bill… the child shan't be torn down by the dog, unless you kill me first" (OT, 102). When Fagin returns with Oliver and takes up a club to punish him, Nancy bursts out, You've got the boy, and what more would You have? Let him be-let him be, or I shall put that mark on some of you, that will bring me to the gallows before my time (OT, 103).

Nancy's moral rebellion intensifies. She attacks Fagin passionately and curses him for what he has made her, You villain! … I thieved for you… I have been in the same trade ••• for twelve years…. You're the wretch that drove me to them long ago; and that'll keep me there, day and night, day and night, till I die! (OT, 1 04).

Through her contact with Oliver, Nancy becomes pure in heart. Her compassion for him seems to be prompted by nothing other than her womanly feeling, and his passive innocence. Even the boy himself senses that his power over Nancy is "her compassion for his helpless state" (OT, 131). At the time of the robbery, it becomes clear that Nancy's drunkenness is a result of her attempt to drown her own sorrow and her guilt for the innocence Oliver is on the verge of losing. The change in Nancy's moral stance is also stimulated by Rose Maylie's sympathetic attitude. The first words of Rose astonish and overcome her immediately, "Oh, lady, lady I", she said, clasping her hands passionately before her face, "if there was more like you, there would be fewer like me--there would-- there would!" (OT, 271). Rose Maylie is in fact a function rather than individual (Blount, 1968). She does not just change Nancy, she demonstrates what a woman really is--what Nancy really is too. Through her, Nancy realizes the gulf between her evil world and the virtuous world pursues good with energy and decisiveness and emerges as a power of good, a force that can defeat evil. She recognizes her sin, and tries to atone by risking her life to reveal the underworld plan to Rose and Mr Brownlow, which leads to her brutal death. Through Nancy's stimulated goodness, and through her positive response, Dickens pleads for a loving, sympathetic and above all humanitarian reform of society's "outcast". Nancy's womanly feeling, her selfless love and devotion take her back to Sikes. Her return to him after revealing the plot against Oliver is both justified and necessary for the novel. It is precisely this loyalty and selflessness, this heroic love which she shows that transforms her into a woman who wins our love and respect. Hence her brutal and crushing death at the end excites our feelings of pity and sympathy. There is some parallel between Nancy and Agnes Fleming. The account of Agnes's death and love for the infant Oliver is also intended to excite our sympathy for her. She runs away from home to save her father and little Rose from disgrace, and like Nancy, "can do nothing but die”. Nancy dies on her knees, raising Rose Maylie's white handkerchief, an emblem of repentance and an outward symbol of salvation. "Saved from despair at the last moment", she expiates "her guilt in her innocent blood” (Cockshut, 1977). Though she is not allowed any earthly reward, yet in portraying her repentant death, there is an indication that forgiveness and a heavenly reward are possible. Again, there is a parallel with Oliver's mother, Agnes. The book closes with the suggestion that the "weak and erring" Agnes (OT, 368) might return in spirit to the empty tomb hallowed by her son's love -- even if the tomb was in a church. Though in Mr Brownlow's offer to Nancy of "a quiet asylum, either in England, or … in some foreign country" (OT, 315), there is a hint at the idea of emigration as a possible solution to the problem of the repentant fallen woman--a solution which Dickens applied later in David Copperfield---yet the moral and the social climate of the thirties did not allow such a possibility to ripen, and the suggestion remained undeveloped. 3. Conclusion Nancy's violent death must seem shocking, but this was possibly the only way left for Dickens to end her story. To the early Victorian readers "it is only just. Sexual offence, notwithstanding its more laudatory elements of love and devotion, is still sexual offence and must be wiped out before a God-fearing society can grant its absolution” (Kennedy, 1978). Her death does not come as a surprise. It has been hinted at in the novel more than once. In her meeting with Rose, Nancy expects it,

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Look at that dark water. How many times. Do you read of such as I who spring into the tide, and leave no living thing, to care for, or bewail them. It may be years hence, or it may be only months, but I shall come to that at last (OT, 316).

Nancy's premonition came true, but instead of the "watery death", Dickens gave her a more tragic and moving end. The murder scene in which Sikes batters her to death not only succeeded in arousing the reader's feelings of pity and sympathy for Nancy, it also became one of Dickens's reading passages which obsessed him on his reading-tours and was one of the causes which hastened his own death (Johnson, 1953). Describing the immediacy of the effect of this scene on his audience, Dickens wrote, At Clifton the "Murder" brought about "a contagion of fainting. And yet the place was not hot. I shall think we had from a dozen to twenty ladies borne out, stiff and rigid, at various times. It became quite ridiculous" (Johnson, 953).

In addition to its sympathetic effects, Nancy's tragic end served moralistic needs. On the one hand, it was the only way to satisfy the righteous moralists of the period, and avoid their attack. Through her harrowing death, Dickens tends to show her as a victim of circumstances rather than a sinner. Oliver's half-sister, Rose, was at one time (apparently falsely), said to be illegitimate. The novel emphatically tries to show that it is what people are in themselves, which is important, not the circumstances of their parentage or birth. In certain respects it is an astounding rebuttal of contemporary prejudice and attitudes. In others, however, it supports new attitudes to which little attention has been paid. These are that there is now a radically different way of looking at human nature, and that everything ought to depend on what one is in oneself. Nancy's repentance after her "fall" is so elevating that though she dies before the end of the novel, she is refined to a ghostly figure and a pair of eyes that come back to haunt the evil world and destroy it. The novel is a plea for love and sympathy. It is the teaching of Henry Fielding, expressed with the power of Dickens. Its teaching is that it is only in love that humans can live purposefully and happily with each other. The prostitute must be reformed if respectable society is to survive, and the only way to reform her is to show her a humanitarian feeling of love and sympathy and a Christian readiness to forgive.

References Ayres, B. (1998). Dissenting Women in Dickens’ Novels: The Subversion of Domestic Ideology. London: Greenwood Press. Aytoun, W. E. (1864). Advice to an Intending Serialist in Blackwood’s Magazine, 60(1), 590-605. Barnett, G. L. (1971). Nineteenth-Century British Novelists on the Novel. New York: Appleton- Century-Crofts, Meredith Corporation. Blount, T. (1968). Dickens, The Early Novels. London: Longman. Bolton, P. H. (1987). Dickens Dramatized. London: Mansell. Cockshut, A. O. J. (1977). Man and Woman, A Study of Love and the Novel 1740-1940. London: Collins. Collins, P. (1962). Dickens and Crime. London: Macmillan. Collins, P. E. (1971). Dickens, The Critical Heritage. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Dickens, C. (1962). Oliver Twist. Oxford: Clarendon Press. . Subsequent references appear in the text as OT. Fielding, K. J. (1965). Charles Dickens, A Critical Introduction. London: Longmans, Green and Co. Ford, G. H. (1955). Dickens and His Readers, Aspects of Novel Criticism Since 1836. Princeton, Princeton University Press. Forster, J. (1875). The Life of Charles Dickens. Vol. I. 18120-1842. Boston, James R. Osgood & Company. Hollingsworth, K. (1963). The Newgate Novel, 1830-1847; Bulwer, Ainsworth, Dickens & Thackeray. Detroit, Wayne State University Press. House, H. (1979). The Dickens World. Oxford, OUP. Kennedy, G. E. (1978). Women Redeemed, Dickens’s Fallen Women. Dickensian, 74(1), 42-47. Johnson, E. (1953). Charles Dickens, His Tragedy and Triumph. 2vols. London, Victor Gollanz Ltd. Orwell, G. (1981). A Collection of Essays. Orlando, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Tillotson, K. (1966). “Introduction” in Oliver Twist. Oxford, Clarendon Edition.

International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 5 No. 7; December 2016 [Special Issue on Language and Literature] Australian International Academic Centre, Australia

Flourishing Creativity & Literacy

Roles of the Cited Author in Citations of the Literature Review by EFL Postgraduates Nayef Jomaa Jomaa (Corresponding author) School of Languages, Civilisation and Philosophy, Universiti Utara Malaysia, UUM, Sintok 06010, Kedah, Malaysia E-mail: [email protected] Siti Jamilah Bidin School of Languages, Civilisation and Philosophy, Universiti Utara Malaysia, UUM, Sintok 06010, Kedah, Malaysia E-mail: [email protected]

Received: 11-08-2016

Accepted: 25-10-2016

Advance Access Published: November 2016

Published: 10-12-2016

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.213

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.213

The study has been made possible through the postgraduate scholarship scheme (PGS) provided by Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM). Abstract The study analysed the clauses of the integral citations to identify the functional roles of the cited author1 used by EFL postgraduates. The Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) was adopted in analysing the clauses qualitatively. A purposeful sampling was utilized in choosing the literature review of 20 PhD theses in Information Technology and Applied Linguistics at a public Malaysian university. In terms of the interpersonal meanings, the cited author functions as a ‘Subject’, a ‘Complement’, and an ‘Adjunct’. For the experiential meanings, the cited author has functions based on the processes types used in each clause, including an ‘Actor’ and a ‘Goal’ with material processes, a ‘Senser’ and a ‘Phenomenon’ with mental processes, a ‘Sayer’ and a ‘Verbiage’ with verbal processes, a ‘Behaver’ with behavioural processes, a ‘Carrier’, a ‘ Carrier: Possessor’, an ‘Attribute’, a ‘Token’, and a ‘Value’ with relational processes, and an ‘Agent: Attributor’ with causative processes. Other functions related to the Circumstantial under the experiential meanings involved an ‘Agent’, a ‘Location (Place)’, a ‘Manner: Comparison’, an ‘Accompaniment’ and a ‘Matter’. Field and tenor affected the role of the cited author; field’s effect was demonstrated by using a higher number of the cited author’s roles in the Applied Linguistics, whereas tenor’s influence was illustrated in assigning similar roles to the cited author in the Applied Linguistics and Information Technology. These results extend the findings of previous studies, help students in using citations in academic writing, and present more outputs about citations that can be employed pedagogically. Keywords: academic writing, Arab postgraduates, cited Author, integral citations, Systemic Functional Linguistics 1. Introduction In academic writing, writers, particularly non-native speakers of English, face great challenges due to their less practice, lack of the skills (Hartley, 2008), as well as lack of clarity about the conventions of a certain genre (Murray & Moore, 2006). Writing in hard domains like Information Technology and soft ones like Education and Applied Linguistics requires specific skills because ‘’writing is a skill, and writing from sources is an important sub-skill for academic writers’’ (Pecorari, 2008, p.2). What distinguishes academic writing from other kinds of genres is the high degree of formality required in academic texts which is considered the most challenging and intimidating issue (Hyland, 2006). Hence, citation is essential in academic writing in order to present credible and reliable information that is basic for the persuation and the acceptance of the arguments (Thompson and Tribble, 2001; Charles, 2006b; Hyland, 2009a; Hewings, Lillis and Vladimirou, 2010; Gil-Salom & Soler-Monreal, 2011; Mansourizadeh and Ahmad, 2011; Petrić & Harwood, 2013;Yang; 2013; Samraj, 2013; Rowley-Jolivet and Carter-Thomas, 2014; Swales, 2014). Achieving academic success is also associated with the higher use of citations and varying their purposes and rhetorical functions (Petrić, 2007). However, for writers of other languages, citing in English seems to be challenging (Charles, 2006a; Polio and Shi, 2012; Rowley-Jolivet and Carter-Thomas, 2014, p.32). The majority of studies that addressed the citations have focused on the types of the citations adopting the classification of Swales (1990) or Thompson and Tribble’s (2001) taxonomy. In Hyland’s (1999) findings, the description of the cited author was limited to ‘Subject’, ‘Non-subject’, and ‘Noun-Phrase’, as well as Swales’ (2014) latest classification of the role of the cited author included inconsistency in labeling. Hence, the present study aimed to go beyond the classification of the integral and non-integral citations; the Functional Theory was adopted in order to identify the functional role of the cited author in the integral citations under the interpersonal and ideational (experiential) metafunctions, which are associated with the two register variables: Tenor and Field, respectively 1

The cited author is the author whose work has been cited

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2. Literature Review Factors for variations in citation practices are not known (Swales, 2014). For instance, citation practices can be influenced by the discipline (Hyland, 1999; Thompson and Tribble, 2001; Thompson, 2002; Okamura, 2008; Harwood, 2009; Hyland, 2009a; Shi, 2012; Petric` and Harwood, 2013; Hu and Wang, 2014), language (Gil-Salom and SolerMonreal, 2011; Rowley-Jolivet and Carter-Thomas, 2014; Hu and Wang, 2014), experiences of writers (Mansourizadeh and Ahmad, 2011; Samraj, 2013), and genres (Charles, 2006b;Yang, 2013; Samraj, 2013). Thus, each discipline has its own ideology and epistemology (Maroko, 2013). For example, writing PhD theses is varied based on the language used and the discipline to which the PhD thesis belongs (Irvin, 2010). On the one hand, PhD theses of arts are based on the strength of the arguments, revealing more personality and subjectivity. Similarly, theses of the social sciences are based on arguments supported by evidence. On the other hand, science theses are less based on arguments (Parry, 1998). These differences enforce the traditional division that puts the natural sciences and technology on one side as hard disciplines, whereas humanities are on the other side as soft ones, and social sciences are inter-mediating the two (Coffin, et al., 2003; Hyland, 2006, 2009b, p.63). Therefore, due to the differences of citation practices of each discipline, it is a ‘danger’ to adopt general rules related to citation practices because they cannot be ‘valid in certain contexts’. (Shi, 2012, p.145). Citations were divided by Swales (1990, 2014) into two types: the integral and the non-integral citations. The former type integrates the cited author within the structure of the clause, giving him/her the function of a subject, an agent or a part of a noun phrase (Swales, 2014). For instance, in the following citation ‘Swales (1990) divided citations into two types.’, the cited author ‘Swales’ is integrated with the clause, and functions as the subject. On the other hand, in the non-integral citation, the cited author occurs in parenthesis or represented by a number. For example, in the following citation ‘Citations were divided into two types (Swales, 1990).’, the cited author is not integrated with the clause; therefore, it is called a non-integral citation. In another study, Thompson (2001, 2002) subcategorized the integral citation into three subcategories. For example, the subcategory Verb Controlling in ‘’Davis and Olson (1985) define a management information system more precisely as...’’, focuses on the use of the verb rather than on the role of the cited author. The other subcategory Naming is used to refer to the citation as a part of an NP, as in the example ‘’Typical price elasticities of demand for poultry products in Canada, Germany and the UK are shown in Harling and Thompson (1983)’’. The third subcategory, Non-citation, refers to the other two subcategories except that the year is not used with the cited author. However, such usages do not present a sufficient description of the citations that include more than one clause with more than one category in the same citation. In Swales’ (2014) latest classification of the role of the cited author, there is inconsistency in labelling. For example, the cited author as an ‘adjunct’ is classified under the functional label, whereas an ‘NP’ belongs to the class label. Moreover, the cited author functioning as a ‘subject’ can be also a part of an ‘NP’. For example, the cited author in the following example ‘’Myers (1966) hypothesized that the freshwater fishes of the West Indies dispersed from Central America. . . . (BIO.G2.01.1)’’, has the role of the ‘subject’, and it is also a part of an ‘NP’ at the same time. Furthermore, the role played by the cited author as an ‘adjunct’ does not cover all other roles under this classification. Consequently, the universal pedagogical approach in teaching citations has failed to present a comprehensible, sufficient view of the diversity and complexity of the citations (Hu & Wang, 2014). Hence, Hu and Wang (2014) suggest ‘’Importantly, pedagogical work on linguistic resources for citation needs to be informed by a coherent functional theory of language as a semiotic tool for construing ideational, interpersonal, and textual meanings in social context (Halliday & Martin, 1993).’’ Systemic Functional Linguistics is a social theory of language use, in which language is structured to make simultaneously three kinds of meanings, fusing ideational, interpersonal and textual meanings together (Halliday, 1985). Ideational (experiential) meaning is concerned with making a kind of real world through the Transitivity System; in other words, experiential meanings express the real world by means of processes, demonstrated in Figure 1: Processes

Material

Mental

Verbal

Behavioural

Intensive

Relational

Existential

Circumstantial

Possessive

Causative

Figure 1.Types of Processes in Transitivity System (Halliday, 1985) Examine, adopt, and use are examples of material processes. Think, feel, and believe are examples of mental processes. State, mention, argue, and suggest are examples of verbal processes. Observe, look, and notice are examples of behavioural processes. Be and become are examples of relational intensive processes. Take and last are examples of circumstantial processes. Have and possess are examples of possessive processes. Exist and be in the structure ‘there

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(be)’ are examples of existential processes, whereas make and encourage are examples of causative processes. For the interpersonal meanings, they reflect the strand of meaning to express the writer’s attitude and stance toward the subject matter as well as his/her role relationship with the reader. When analysing the clauses under the interpersonal meanings, constituents, such as the ‘Subject’, ‘Predicator’, ‘Complement’, and an ‘Adjunct’ are involved. The ‘Subject’ is the doer of the action. The ‘Predicator’ is the verb. The ‘Complement’ is the direct object, whereas the ‘Adjunct’ is either an adverbial or a prepositional constituent that adds unessential information to the clause. For the textual meanings, they are concerned with the way of relating and hanging what we say to what was said before and how it is related to the context around us. Thus, due to the limited studies that adopted SFL, the aim of the present study was to identify the functional role of the cited author in the clauses of the integral citations by EFL Arab postgraduates at a public Malaysian university. 3. Methodology Within the genre analysis of the textual approaches for analysing academic discourses, the Systemic Functional Linguistics was utilized as a social theory of language (Halliday and Martin, 1993). 3.1 Procedure The focus was mainly on the citations in the literature review chapters of 20 PhD theses by EFL Arab postgraduates at a public Malaysian university. Two types of analyses are possible: the macro (text) level and the micro (sentence) level (Eggins, 1994). For the present study, the micro (sentence) level of analysis was conducted taking into account only the experiential and the interpersonal meanings when analysing the clauses to identify the role of the cited author. The citations that were analysed represent the micro (sentence) level of analysis because each citation is a complete sentence, which may include either a clause simplex or a clause complex. Thus, the clause in each integral citation is the unit of analysis focusing mainly on the functional role of the cited author under these two meanings: the interpersonal and the experiential. The textual meaning was not included in analysing the roles of the cited author since identifying the interpersonal and experiential roles entails the textual ones. In the integral citations, the name of the cited author may be used or a pronoun is used to refer to him or her. For further clarification, the conceptual framework in Figure 2 that is adopted in the present study demonstrates how the integral citations are analysed through two language metafunctions of Systemic Functional Linguistics:

Field

Tenor

Ideational Interpersonal (experiential) Integral citations (Swales, 1990)

Figure 2. Conceptual Framework of the Present Study (Swales,1990; Halliday and Martin,1993) Since the role of the cited author is limited to the integral citations in which the name of the cited author is integrated with the structure of the clause, non-integral citations are excluded. Each citation is considered as one citation regardless if it has a single citation or multiple citations. Citations that involved both the integral and the non-integral citations were also examined because the name of the cited author is integrated as a clause constituent. The study adopted a qualitative analysis that was supported by quantifying the findings. Using numbers in qualitative studies, according to Maxwell (1992), makes a contribution to the internal generalizability of the claims of the researchers, and enables the researcher to attribute specific features to the varied perceptions, actions of groups or settings under study. Using numbers also helps identify patterns that are not apparent due to using ‘unquantitized qualitative data’, and present an evidence of the researcher’s interpretation to counter the claim that qualitative researchers ‘cherry-pick’ only specific types of their data to support their interpretations (Maxwell, 2010, pp.478-480). 3.2 Sampling A purposeful sampling was employed in choosing the literature review of 20 PhD theses which are produced by EFL PhD Arab postgraduates at a public Malaysian university, and were deposited in a library of one of the public Malaysian universities. The details of these theses are presented in Table 1:

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Table 1. Data used in analysis in the present study Description of Data Number of theses (LRs)2 Harvard system3 Vancouver system4 Number of pages5 Number of words Number of citations Number of integral citations6

Applied Linguistics 10 10 736 185,207 3,539 2,446

Information Technology 10 7 3 656 148,383 2,169 1,244

Total 20 17 3 1,392 333,590 5,708 3,690

10 PhD theses were from Information Technology discipline (ICT or IT) which belongs to the hard domain of knowledge, where Vancouver (numbering) system was used in citations in three theses, whereas Harvard system (author, date) was used in the other 7 PhD theses. Additionally, 10 PhD theses that belong to the soft domain were from Applied Linguistics, where Harvard system was used in the citations in the 10 theses. 5,708 citations were extracted from the literature review chapters of 20 PhD theses; 3,539 citations were from the Applied Linguistics theses, whereas 2,169 citations belong to the Information Technology theses. 3,690 citations were found of having the name of the cited author integrated with the structure of the clause; 2,446 integral citations are from the literature review of Applied Linguistics theses, whereas 1,244 integral citations are from the literature review chapters of Information Technology theses. 3.3 Coding the data Coding was used in documenting the extracted citations for the purpose of supporting the findings with examples and abiding to the ethical issues when conducting the study. Table 2 represents the codes used under each extracted citation: Table 2. Coding system used in documenting the data Participant

Discipline

Nationality

Section

Paragraph

Line

Page

P.

AL

e.g.Yemen (YE)

S.

Pr.

L.

Pg.

The Discipline coding also included IT to refer to Information Technology and another coding for the nationalities of the EFL Arab postgraduates; these included IR for Iraqi, SY for Syrian, JO for Jordanian, PA for Palestinian, and LI for Libyan. These PhD theses are written in English and a permission to use them academically was approved by the Dean of the Graduate School at the university after getting a list of EFL Arab postgraduates’ names from the Graduate Studies Unit (GSU) at the university. 4. Results The findings are based on the analysis of the clauses used in the integral citation by EFL Arab postgraduates in the literature review chapters of PhD theses. The Systemic Functional Linguistics was adopted in analysing the functional roles of the cited author in the clauses of the integral citations. The findings revealed that the cited author has varied functional roles. These roles exist at two levels of meanings: interpersonal and experiential. 4.1 Cited Author: roles under the interpersonal meanings The cited author has different roles in the clauses under the interpersonal meanings. These roles are: a ‘Subject’, a ‘Complement, and an ‘Adjunct’. 4.1.1 Cited Author: Subject In such a usage, the cited author functions as a ‘Subject’ of the clause in the integral citation. The ‘Subject’ provides the person that is responsible for the success or the failure of the proposition. When functioning as a ‘Subject’, the name of the cited author occurs outside the brackets in the integral citation only, as in the example (1): (1) ‘’Singh [6] states that the goal of control analysis….’’.7 (P.16/IT/YE/S.2.4.1.4/Pr.5/L.227-229/Pg.26). In the example (1), the cited author is ‘Singh’, which functions as the ‘Subject’ of the clause based on the interpersonal meanings. The name of the cited author in the example (2) was replaced by a pronoun to function as a ‘Subject’ of the clause in the integral citation: (2) 2

‘’He

found

that

m-learning

“has

already

started

to

play

a

very

important

role…..”.

Number of theses refers to the number of the literature review chapters of the PhD theses (Author, date) referencing style, e.g. (Swales, 1990) 4 Number system, e.g. [1] 5 Number of pages and words refers to only the literature review chapter of each PhD theses 6 Citations with a mixed (integral and non-integral) type were considered as integral citations in the present data 7 Only the part of the citation that is involved in the analysis was mentioned, whereas the rest of the citation was omitted due to the limitations of the number of words allowed in the article. 3

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(P.14/IT/JO/S.2.4.5/Pr.5/L.304-307/Pg.38-39) In other usages, the name of the cited author is a part of a nominal group that functions as a ‘Subject’ of the clause in the integral citation, as in the example (3): (3) ‘’One of the limitations of Taghizadeh and Tajabadi’s (2013) study is the small number of participants.’’ (P.4/AL/YE/S.2.4.3/Pr.17/L.471-472/Pg.60) In the example (3), the name of the cited author ‘Taghizadeh and Tajabadi’ is a part of the nominal group, which functions as the ‘Subject’ of the clause. In some citations, particularly those extracted from the literature review chapters of IT theses, the name of the cited author is not stated explicitly; rather, it is replaced by a number, particularly in theses with a numbering (Vancouver) system used in citations. Nevertheless, the clause is analysed as having ‘[50]’ with the function of the ‘Subject’ of the clause on behalf of the cited author, as in the example (4): (4) ‘’Then [50] proposed an improvement, namely in the form of the Proportional Share Replication policy.’’ (P.15/IT/PA/S.2.4.8/Pr.10/L.533-534/Pg.39) The cited author in the abovementioned examples was used before the verb ‘Predicator’, following the order (S*P: Subject/Predicator) in active clauses. Hence, the cited author in these examples functions as the ‘Subject’ that is a part of the MOOD of the clause. However, when the cited author is used in passive clauses, it has another different functional role under the ‘Adjunct’ that is explained later under the functional role of the cited author as the ‘Adjunct’ (see 4.1.3 Author: Adjunct). The example (5) illustrates how the functional role of the cited author has been changed from the ‘Subject’ in the active clause to the ‘Adjunct’ when used in the passive clause: (5) ‘’Distance education is defined by Greenberg et al. (1998) as „a planned teaching/learning experience………..‟.(P.14/IT/JO/S.2.2/Pr.2/L.81-84/Pg.24) The cited author in the example (5) is represented by ‘Greenberg et al.’ that is a prepositional constituent functioning as the ‘Adjunct’ in the passive clause of the integral citation. Hence, the roles of the cited author as the ‘Subject’ of the clause can be realized through the name of the cited author, the name of the cited author as a part of the nominal constituent, a pronoun or a number. 4.1.2 Cited Author: Complement In this type of the functional roles, the name of the cited author, occurring alone or as a part of a nominal group, functions as the ‘Complement’ under the Residue part of the clause, as demonstrated in the example (6): (6)’’This study adopted Bhatia’s (2004) multi-dimentional and multi-perspective framework for critical genre analysis.’’ (P.2/AL/JO/S.2.5/Pr.1/L.1342-1344/Pg.78) In the example (6), the name of the cited author ‘Bhatia’, which is a part of a nominal group, functions as the ‘Complement’ of the clause. The functional role of the cited author as the ‘Complement’ is used in active clauses; however, when the clause is turned into passive, the ‘Complement’ function is changed into the ‘Subject’, whereas the ‘Subject’ is turned into an ‘Adjunct’ which is discussed in the subsection (4.1.3) below. The example (7) demonstrates the conversion of the ‘Subject’ into an ‘Adjunct’ and the conversion of the ‘Complement’ into a ‘Subject’ in the example (8) when converting the active clause into a passive one: (7) ‘’This term was coined by Vinay and Darbelnet (1995) to define ‘’. (P.11/AL/LI/S.2.5.1.9/Pr.1/L.12391240/Pg.68) (8) ‘’Bhatia’s (2004) CGA approach was used in a number of recent studies….’’(Bonini, 2010; Ching, 2011). (P.2/AL/JO/S.2.2.4/Pr.7/L.612-614/Pg.45) Thus, the functional roles of the cited author as the ‘Complement’ can be realized through the name of the cited author or through a nominal constituent, where the name of the cited author forms a part of it. 4.1.3 Cited Author: Adjunct The cited author functions as the ‘Adjunct’, which is a constituent of the clause under the RESIDUE part of the clause. This ‘Adjunct’ adds additional information that is not essential to the clause. Unlike the ‘Subject’ and the ‘Complement’ constituents, the adjuncts are not nominal; rather, the adjuncts are either adverbial or prepositional constituents, as in the examples (9) and (10): (9) ‘’This point was emphasized by Swales (1990), who stated that…..’’. (P.2/AL/JO/S.2.4.2/Pr.7/L.12321234/Pg.74) (10) ‘’As has been demonstrated in [128], personal judgments…..’’. (P.16/IT/YE/S.2.5.4/Pr.2/L.564-566/Pg.45) In the examples (9) and (10), the cited author functions as the ‘Adjunct’. In the example (9), the name of the cited author ‘Swales’ is stated explicitly in the literature review chapter of a PhD thesis in Applied Linguistics discipline that used Harvard System (author, date referencing style), whereas in the example (10), the name of the cited author is not stated explicitly; rather, it was replaced by a number in theses using the Numbering (Vancouver) System. Nevertheless, the prepositional constituent represented by ‘in [128]’ still has the functional role of the ‘Adjunct’. As a result, the cited author has the functional roles of a ‘Subject’, a ‘Complement’, and an ‘Adjunct’ in the clauses of the integral citations under the interpersonal meanings, as summarized in the Table 3:

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Table 3. Roles of the cited author under the interpersonal meanings Functional roles of the cited author

Applied Linguistics

Information Technology

Total

Frequency

Percentage

Frequency

Percentage

Author: Subject

1,925

67.59

923

32.40

2,848

Author: Adjunct

601

73.47

217

26.52

818

Author: Complement

140

66.66

70

33.33

210

The findings in Table 3 show that EFL Arab postgraduates of AL discipline depended heavily on integrating the name of the cited author with the citations through the roles of the ‘Subject’, the ‘Adjunct’, and the ‘Complement’, whereas IT EFL Arab postgraduates depended less on integrating the name of the cited author with the citations. This shows the disciplinary influence on using citations that is represented by the Field (Applied Linguistics) as a register variable that can affect the use of language within the social context. This also reveals the effect of the domain on the use of the citations. In soft domains like the Applied Linguistics, the cited author has a prominent role; therefore, EFL Arab postgraduates integrated the name of the cited author with the structure of the clauses in the citations. On the other hand, in hard domains like the Information Technology, the focus is on the procedures and findings rather than on the cited author; therefore, the role of the cited is less emphasized, resulting in less integral citations. The density of the citations in the Applied Linguistics also affected the high percentage of using the ‘Subject’, the ‘Adjunct’, and the ‘Complement’ in the literature review of Applied Linguistics PhD theses. Thus, the disciplinary influence has an effect on increasing the density of the citations and the integral citations. In spite of their different domains, The Tenor (EFL Arab postgraduates) also affected the use of the cited author in the literature review of AL and IT by having the cited author with the highest percentage in the function of the ‘Subject’, followed by the ‘Adjunct’, whereas the ‘Complement’ occupied the lowest percentage. 4.2 Cited Author: Roles under the experiential meanings Roles of the cited author under the experiential meanings involved two parts; one part of the roles is associated with the types of the processes used in the clauses of the integral citations, whereas the other part of the roles is represented by the Circumstantials that are prepositional constituents. 4.2.1 Cited author: roles associated with processes Analysing the clauses of the integral citations resulted in several roles of the cited author under the experiential meanings that are directly associated with the processes types (verbs), represented by material, mental, verbal, behavioural, relational, and causative ones. These roles included ‘Actor, Goal, Senser, Phenomenon Sayer, Verbiage, Behaver, Carrier, Attribute, Token, Value, Carrier: Possessor, and Agent: Attributor’. The following subsections clarify each functional role of the cited author based on each process used in each clause of the integral citations in the literature review chapters of the PhD theses by EFL Arab postgraduates in AL and IT disciplines. 4.2.1.1 Cited Author: Actor The cited author functions as an ‘Actor’ based on the processes types, such as examined, carried out, and investigated. These are material processes of DOING, representing concrete and real tangible actions, as in the example (11): (11) ‘’Varttala used Salager-Meyer’s (P.4/AL/YE/S.2.4.1/Pr.2/L.216-217/Pg.48)

taxonomic

model

(i.e.

five

pre-established

items.’’)

In the example (11), ‘used’ is the material process of actions that involved actors called participants. These participants are realised by nominal groups. In the example (11), there are two participants; one of these participants is the cited author ‘Varttala’ functioning as the ‘Actor’. Thus, the cited author functioning as an ‘Actor’ is the constituent of the clause who performs the action. The cited author functioning as the ‘Actor’ can be in either active or passive clauses. In the active clause, it is conflated with the function of the ‘Subject’ under the interpersonal meanings; the roles of the ‘Actor’ and the ‘Subject’ are mapped onto the same constituent. However, in the passive, the ‘Actor’ at the experiential meaning is not the ‘Subject’ at the interpersonal meaning; they are not mapped onto the same constituent, as in the example (12): (12) ‘’The acceptance process model (P.14/IT/JO/S.2.5.1/Pr.1/L.607-609/Pg.61)

was

first

introduced

by Rogers

(1962),

based

on…..’’

4.2.1.2 Cited Author: Goal The cited author functions as a ‘Goal’ with material processes. This ‘Goal’ is the participant at whom the process is directed. In other words, this participant is the Direct Object in the traditional grammar, and it maps onto the ‘Complement’ participant in the Mood analysis of the interpersonal meanings, as in the example (13): (13) ‘’Most researchers have adopted Salager-Meyer’s (1994) approach in dealing with hedges and boosters in different contexts.’’ (P.4/AL/YE/S.2.4.1/Pr.1/L.211-213/Pg.48)

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The cited author ‘Salager-Meyer’s’, which is a part of a nominal group, has the function of the ‘Goal’ under the experiential meaning based on the material process ‘adopted’. The same constituent has the function of a ‘Complement’ under the interpersonal meanings. Thus, the ‘Complement’ at the interpersonal meaning and the ‘Goal’ at the experiential meanings are mapped onto the same constituent when they are used in active clauses. 4.2.1.3 Cited Author: Senser The cited author functions as a ‘Senser’ participant depending on the mental process types, such as think, believe, and feel that are used in the clause of the citation. These processes may vary including cognition verbs such as thinking, knowing, and understanding, affective verbs, such as liking and fearing, and perception verbs, such as seeing and hearing. With any of these subdivisions of the mental processes, the cited author functions as a ‘Senser’. This ‘Senser’ participant feels, thinks or perceives the phenomenon, as in the examples (14) and (15): (14) ‘’In other words, Kaplan believes (P.4/AL/YE/S.2.6/Pr.1/L.600-603/Pg.66-67)

that

as

children

acquire

their

native

language,…’’

(15) ‘’Mehlinger (1995, p. 3) feels that there is no need to be careful….’’ (P.6/AL/IR/S.2.9.1/Pr.5/L.919920/Pg.68) In the examples (14) and (15), the cited authors ‘Kaplan’ and ‘Mehlinger’ play the functional role of the ‘Senser’ under the experiential meanings based on the mental processes ‘believes’ and ‘feels’ which were used in the clauses of the citations, respectively. 4.2.1.4 Cited Author: Phenomenon The other participant that is involved with the clauses of mental processes is called the ‘Phenomenon’; the participant is a nominal group that can be represented by an abstract noun. (16) ‘’Generally, the present research considers Faerch and Kasper’s (1983a) taxonomy as a better classification of the OCSs.’’ (P.19/AL/YE/S.2.5.4.3/Pr.6/L.440-441/Pg.25) In the example (16), the name of the cited author is a part of a nominal constituent, which functions as the ‘Phenomenon’ because the mental process ‘considers’ was used. The role of the cited author as a ‘Phenomenon’ at the experiential meanings and the role of the cited author as a ‘Complement’ at the interpersonal meanings are conflated onto the same constituent in active clauses. 4.2.1.5 Cited Author: Sayer Clauses with verbal processes, such as point out, suggest, indicate, argue and say contain three participants: a Sayer, a Receiver, and a Verbiage. The cited author in such clauses functions as the ‘Sayer’, who is a conscious participant, responsible for the verbal processes, and capable of putting out a signal, as in the examples (17) and (18): (17) ‘’Hinkel and Fotos (2002) argue that there is no single best approach in grammar ..’’ (P.6/AL/IR/S.2.1/Pr.1/L.6-7/Pg.22) (18) Meanwhile, [39] proposed a replica placement the …………….(P.15/IT/PA/S.2.4.8/Pr.4/L.486-487/Pg.37)

scheme

that

tries

to

overcome

The cited authors ‘Hinkel and Fotos’ in the example (17) and ‘[39]’ replacing the name of the cited author in the example (18) play the functional role of the ‘Sayer’ under the experiential meanings based on the verbal processes ‘argue’ and ‘proposed’, used respectively. Similarly, the role of the cited author as a ‘Senser’ and the role of the cited author as a ‘Subject’ are also mapped onto the same constituent in the active clauses. 4.2.1.6 Cited Author: Verbiage The cited author also functions as the ‘Verbiage’ participant when used in clauses with verbal processes. The ‘Verbiage’ is a nominalized statement of the verbal process which represents or expresses a kind of a verbal behaviour, as in the example (19): (19) ‘’This finding agrees with that of Ling and Baron’s (2007), who reported that 60% of the text messages…’’. (P.10/AL/JO/S.2.4.2.2/Pr.5/L.1630-1631/Pg.103) In the example (19), the name of the cited author is a part of a nominal constituent that functions as the ‘Verbiage’ in the clause with the verbal process ‘agrees’. The role of the cited author as a ‘Verbiage’ at the experiential meanings is conflated with the role of the cited author as a ‘Complement’ at the interpersonal meanings in active clauses. 4.2.1.7 Cited Author: Behaver The cited author functions as a ‘Behaver’ when used in clauses with behavioural processes, which are of physiological and psychological behaviour that intermediate between the material and the mental processes. The ‘Behaver’, represented by the cited author, is a conscious being, as demonstrated in the example (20): (20) ‘’In order to answer this question, Baron (1998) looked at the social dynamics,email format, grammar and style of email…’’ (P2/AL/JO/S.2.4.2/Pr.2/L.1171-1172/Pg.71) In the example (20), the behavioural processes ‘looked’ was used. Therefore, the cited author ‘Baron’ plays the functional role of the ‘Behaver’. Similarly, the ‘Behaver’ is mapped onto the same constituent of the ‘Subject’ constituent when used in the active clause.

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4.2.1.8 Cited Author: Carrier In active clauses that include relational intensive processes, the relationship between the two terms (Carrier) and (Attribute) is one of the sameness. In such clauses, the cited author plays the functional role of the ‘Carrier’ that is realized as a nominal group or a pronoun, as demonstrated in the example (21): (21) ‘’Halliday’s (1985) approach is functional grammar…..’’. (P.2/AL/JO/S.2.2.1/Pr.1/L.176-178/Pg.26) Similarly, the functional role of the cited author as a ‘Carrier’ conflates with the functional role of the cited author as a ‘Subject’ in active clauses. 4.2.1.9 Cited Author: Attribute In active clauses that include relational intensive processes, the second constituent that follows the process is called the ‘Attribute’ that is realized as a nominal group. The cited author in such clauses plays the functional role of the ‘Attribute’, as demonstrated in the example (22): (22) ‘’It is Chomsky’s (1965, p.3) idealized way in approaching language that aims to specify the universal principles…’’. (P.1/AL/IR/S.2.3.1/Pr.2/L.62/64/Pg.33) In the example (22), the relational intensive process ‘is’ was used in the clause of the citation, and the name of the cited author ‘Chomsky’ which is a part of the nominal constituent plays the functional role of the ‘Attribute’. Similar to the functional role of the cited author as a ‘Goal’, a ‘Verbiage’, and a ‘Phenomenon’, the functional role of the cited author as an ‘Attribute’ is conflated with the functional role of the cited author as a ‘Complement’ in active clauses. 4.2.1.10 Cited Author: Carrier: Possessor In clauses with the relational possessive processes, the relationship between the two terms is one of the ownership; one entity possesses the other. In such clauses, the process reflects the ownership relationship, where the cited author is a nominal group that plays the functional role of the ‘Possessor’, as demonstrated in the example (23): (23) ‘’Romaine (1994) for instance has one such definition...’’ (P.1/AL/IR/S.2.4/Pr.1/L.278-280/Pg.43) In the example (23), the citation includes a clause with the relational possessive process ‘has’, in which the cited author ‘Romaine’ functions as the ‘Carrier: Possessor’, which conflates with the functional role of the cited author as a ‘Subject’ in active clauses. 4.2.1.11 Cited Author: Token In clauses that include relational intensive identifying processes, the cited author functions as the ‘Token’, as in the example (24): (24) ‘’Dewey (1933) and Schon (1983, 1987) are two of the most cited contributors to foundational concepts of reflective practice’’ (York-Barr et al., 2006). (P.5/AL/YE/S.2.2/Pr.3/L.29-30/Pg.32) In the example (24), the citation included the clause with the identifying intensive process ‘are’, in which the cited author functions as the ‘Token’, which is conflated with the functional role of the cited author as a ‘Subject’ in active clauses. The difference between the functional role of the author as a ‘Token’ and a ‘Carrier’ is that the relational intensive process with the ‘Carrier’ is used in clauses that are irreversible; passive cannot be formed. On the other hand, relational intensive process with the ‘Token’ is used in clauses that are reversible; passive can be formed. 4.2.1.12 Cited Author: Value In clauses with the relational intensive processes that are reversible, the cited author can be a nominal constituent that functions as the ‘Value’, as in the example (25): (25) ‘’Several researchers have delved into the notion of writing stages and among them are Emig (1977); Perl (1980); and Sommers (1980)’’. (P.3/AL/JO/S.2.2/Pr.2/L.61-62/Pg.23). The cited authors ‘Emig, Perl, and Sommers’ in the example (25) are a nominal constituent used in the clause with the relational intensive process ‘are’. In such a usage, the cited author functions as a ‘Value’ that is conflated with the functional role of the cited author as a ‘Complement’ in active clauses. 4.2.1.13 Author: Agent ‘Attributor’ In the example (26) below, the cited author ‘Gardner and Lambert’ is a part of the nominal constituent which functions as an ‘Agent: Attributor’ because it is followed by the causative process ‘led’. (26) ‘’Gardner’s and Lambert’s (1972) research led them to propose two types of motivation in language learning….’’ (P.19/AL/YE/S.2.11.2/Pr.1/L.1003-1007/Pg.60) Table 4 below summarizes the functional roles of the cited author that are associated with the processes types in the clauses of the integral citations under the experiential meanings:

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Table 4. Roles of the cited author associated with processes under the experiential meanings Roles of the cited author Applied Linguistics Information Technology

Total

Frequency

Percentage

Frequency

Percentage

Author: Sayer

1160

73.97

408

26.2

1568

Author: Actor

589

54.28

496

45.71

1085

Author: Senser

219

78.49

60

21.50

279

Author: Goal

114

67.05

56

32.94

170

Author: Carrier

68

79.07

18

20.93

86

Author: Attribute

28

68.29

13

31.70

41

Author: Carrier (Possessor)

24

77.41

7

22.58

31

Author: Verbiage

18

81.81

4

18.18

22

Author: Behaver

16

80

4

20

20

Author: Phenomenon

10

90.90

1

9.10

11

Author: Value

5

55.55

4

44.44

9

Author: Token

4

100

-

-

4

Author: Agent ‘Attributor’

1

100

-

-

1

The role of the cited author as a ‘Sayer’ dominated the integral citations in the literature review chapters of Applied Linguistics, whereas the role of the cited author as an ‘Actor’ dominated the integral citations in the literature review chapters of Information Technology. These findings demonstrate evidently that field represented by Applied Linguistics and Information Technology is a register variable that affects the use of the integral citations. Soft domains like Applied Linguistics are based on arguments; therefore, EFL Arab postgraduates emphasized the role of the cited author by integrating him/her with the structure of the clause in the citations, giving him/her the role of the ‘Sayer’ that is used with verbal processes. On the other hand, hard domains like Information Technology are based on facts rather than arguments; therefore, the name of the cited author was emphasized through using the material processes, giving him/her the role of the ‘Actor’. This finding is another evidence of the distinction between the hard domains and the soft ones, in which Field plays the role of the disciplinary factor in affecting the use of the integral citations and the high percentage of certain roles of the cited author. 4.2.2 Cited author: roles as circumstantial The role of the cited author as a ‘Circumstantial’ under the experiential meanings adds more meanings to the clause of the integral citations, represented by Location (Place), Agent, Manner (Comparison), Matter, Accompaniment, and others. 4.2.2.1 Cited Author: Location (Place) In this type of the Circumstantial roles, the cited author is represented by a possessive adjective that is a part of a prepositional constituent. In such citations, the cited author functions as the place of the information from which a piece of information was cited by the citing writer, as in the example (27): (27) ‘’In her research, she used different types of authentic materials...’’ (P.6/AL/IR/S.2.8.1/Pr.13/L.472473/Pg.44) (28) ‘’According to Meyer (2001), context is arguably an under-theorized area within the CDA approach.’’ (P.12/AL/IR/S.2.18/Pr.3/L.1509-1510/Pg.93). In the example (27) the name of the cited author is represented by the possessive adjective in the prepositional constituent ‘in her research’ to refer to the place of the information. In the example (28), the name of the cited author ‘Meyer’ is a part of the prepositional constituent which functions as the Location (Place) of the cited information. The functional role of the cited author as a ‘Location (Place)’ under the experiential meanings is conflated with the functional role of the cited author as the ‘Adjunct’ under the interpersonal meanings. 4.2.2.2 Cited Author: Agent The cited author functions as the ‘Agent’ in passive clauses, preceded mainly by the preposition ‘by’ as in the example (29): (29) ‘’The TCP NewReno variant was (P.7/IT/SY/S.2.1.4.3/Pr.4/L.217-220/Pg.28-29)

proposed

in

1995–1996

by

Floyd

et

al.

[37]..’’

In the example (29), the cited author ‘Floyd et al’ is a part of the prepositional constituent preceded by the preposition ‘by’ and functions as an ‘Agent’. The role of the cited author as an ‘Agent’ is conflated with the functional role of the

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cited author as an ‘Adjunct’ under the interpersonal meanings. In other usages of the cited author as an ‘Agent’, the name of the cited author is not mentioned explicitly; rather, it is represented by the preposition ‘by’ to refer to the cited author as an Agent and expressed by numbers in brackets used in theses employing Numbering System in citations, as in the example (30): (30) ‘’Meanwhile, an optimal replication (P.15/IT/PA/S.2.4.5/Pr.10/L.322-324/Pg.28)

strategy

(DORS)

has

been

proposed

by

[111]….’’

In the example (30), the name of the cited author is not stated explicitly; nevertheless, it is still considered as an integral citation, where the cited author has the role of the ‘Agent’ in the clause. 4.2.2.3 Cited Author: Manner (Comparison) The cited author plays the role of the ‘Manner (Comparison)’ when used to compare the cited author with other authors or studies. In such a usage, the cited author is a part of a prepositional constituent that refers to either his/her study, methodology, or findings to compare them with other authors’ studies or findings, as in the example (31): (31) ‘’In line with Hillock’s study, Anderson, Saden and Hunter (2001) examined the writing of 30 undergraduate psychology students.’’ (P.4/AL/YE/S.2.7/Pr.4/L.722-723/Pg.72) 4.2.2.4 Cited Author: Matter In such a usage, the cited author ‘Rummens’ is a part of a prepositional constituent that plays the role of the ‘Matter’, as demonstrated in the example (32): (32) ‘’For Rummens (1993), it is (P.12/AL/IR/S.2.9/Pr.1/L.512-514/Pg.45)

the

distinctive

character

possessed

by

an

individual..’

4.2.2.5 Cited Author: Accompaniment The name of the cited author can be a part of a prepositional constituent that functions as an ‘Accompaniment’, as in the example (33): (33) ‘’The shift started with Labove’s (1966, 1972a; Trudgill, 1974) view of style variation as different levels….’’(P.1/AL/IR/S.2.3.2/Pr.6/L.142-146/Pg.37). In the example (33) the name of the cited author ‘Labove’ is a part of a prepositional constituent that functions as the ‘Accompaniment’. This role is conflated with the role of the cited author as an ‘Adjunct’ under the interpersonal meanings in active clauses. In summary, when the cited author is used as a prepositional constituent or a part of it, he/she several functional roles under the experiential meanings to add more information that is not essential to the clause. These roles of the cited author are represented mainly by Location (Place), Agent, Matter, Manner (Comparison), Accompaniment, and others, which are demonstrated in Table 5: Table 5. Roles of the cited author as circumstantial under the experiential meanings Cited author as circumstantial Applied Linguistics Information Technology Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage Author: Location (Place) 346 71.48 138 28.51 Author: Agent 177 73.14 65 26.85 Author: Matter 39 86.66 6 13.33 Author: Manner (Comparison) 36 80 9 20 Author: Accompaniment 4 80 1 20 Author: others 21 80 14 40

Total 484 242 45 45 5 35

In spite of their different domains, the cited author functioning as a ‘Location (Place)’ dominated the integral citations in the literature review chapters of Applied Linguistics and Information Technology theses, followed by the role of the cited author as an ‘Agent’. On the other hand, the role of the cited author as a ‘Matter’, a ‘Manner (Comparison)’, and an ‘Accompaniment’, occupied a lower occurrence in the integral citations of the literature review chapters of Applied Linguistics and Information Technology PhD theses. This shows the effect of the Tenor represented by EFL Arab postgraduates who have relatively similar educational, cultural, and social backgrounds. Thus, Tenor affects using the cited author with similar roles in two different fields. On the other hand, the highest percentage of using the cited author with several roles in the integral citations of the literature review chapters of Applied Linguistics demonstrates the disciplinary influence on the role of the cited author. This latter finding illustrates the effect of the Field on using the role of the cited author in the literature review chapters of Applied Linguistics PhD theses. Thus, the Tenor represented by EFL Arab postgraduates and the Field represented by Applied Linguistics and Information Technology are register variables that affect the use of the cited author in the integral citations of the literature review chapters of Applied Linguistics and Information Technology PhD theses. Based on identifying the roles of the cited author at the interpersonal 8 and experiential 9 meanings in the integral 8 9

Arrows represent the functional roles of the cited author under the interpersonal meanings. Squares represent the functional roles of the cited author under the experiential meanings.

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citations of the literature review chapters of Applied Linguistics and Information Technology by EFL Arab postgraduates, Figure 3 summarizes these roles:

Roles of the cited author

Adjunct

Complemen t

Location (Place) Agent Matter Manner (Comparison) Accompaniment Others

Subject

Actor Sayer Senser Behaver Carrier Carrier: Possessor, Token Agent: Attributor

Goal Phenomenon Verbiage Attribute Value Figure 3. Conflation of the Cited Author’s Role at Interpersonal and Experiential Meanings The roles of the cited author at the interpersonal meanings are conflated with the roles of the cited author at the experiential meanings when used in the active clauses of the integral citations, except for the role of the cited author as an ‘Agent’ which must be in the passive clause. 5. Discussion, conclusions, and future research The present study aimed at identifying the roles of the cited author in the integral citations of the literature review of PhD theses by EFL Arab postgraduates in two disciplines: Information Technology and Applied Linguistics through the Systemic Functional Linguistics Approach. The clause in each integral citation was analysed with respect to two types of meanings: the interpersonal and the experiential meanings. The findings of the study presented a systematic description of the roles of the cited author in the clauses of the integral citations. Therefore, a re-classification of the cited author’s role is derived from the results of the study and presented in Figure 3 (p.11) Under the interpersonal meanings, the ‘Subject’ role dominated the literature review chapters of AL and IT PhD theses, followed by the ‘Adjunct’ role, whereas the ‘Complement’ role was the least used one. These findings evidence the effect of the Tenor (EFL Arab postgraduates) in assigning similar roles to the cited author. The Field also has an effect on using these roles with a higher number (Subject:1925, Adjunct: 601, Complement: 140) in the literature review chapters of Applied Linguistics theses compared with a lower number (Subject: 923, Adjunct: 217, Complement: 70) in the literature review chapters of Information Technology. The two roles of the cited author, ‘Subject’ and ‘Adjunct’, are similar to Swales’ (2014) findings. However, the findings of the present study are more comprehensive because Swales’(2014) findings seem to be inconsistent; his classification of the cited author’s role included class labelling (Author in NP) and other Functional labeling (Subject, Agent, Adjunct). Using Swales’ (2014) classification may lead to a kind of misclassifying the role of the cited author because the cited author in the ‘Subject’ position can be also an ‘NP’ at the same time. However, through adopting the SFL in analysing the functional role of the cited author in the present study, using ‘Adjunct’ to classify the role of the cited author at the interpersonal meanings also included the role of the cited author as the ‘Agent’ at the experiential meanings. This classification seems to contrast with the findings of Swales’ (2014) who addressed the two roles of the cited author that are ‘Agent’ and ‘Adjunct’ separately. Another missing role of the cited author in Swales’ (2014) findings is ‘Complement’; this role was not mentioned in his study, but in the present study, it was found that the cited author has the role of the ‘Complement’ at the interpersonal meanings. The dominance of the ‘Sayer’ role (n=1160) of the cited author in the integral citations of the literature review chapters of AL on the one hand and the dominance of the role of the cited author as an ‘Actor’ (n=496) in the integral citations of the literature review chapters of IT theses on the other hand can be attributed to the effect of the Field as a disciplinary influence on the use of the cited author in the integral citations. The disciplinary influence represented by the Field was also clear in using the roles of the cited author with a higher percentage in the integral citations of the literature review chapters of Applied Linguistics theses, compared with Information Technology. These findings imply that EFL Arab postgraduates in the soft domain put more emphasis on what the cited author says, whereas, in the hard domain, the emphasis is on what the cited author does. These findings re-enforce the distinction between Applied Linguistics as a soft domain and the Information Technology as a hard one.

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The variety of the cited author’s roles that are determined by the processes types, such as ‘Actor, Goal, Sayer, Verbiage, Senser, Phenomenon, Behaver, Carrier, Carrier: Possessor, Attribute, Token, Value, and Agent: Attributor’, which were not included in Swales’ (2014) findings, reveal that several processes are used in the citations; they are not limited only to the three types of reporting verbs, such as research acts, cognition acts, and discourse acts which were explored by several studies (Thompson and Ye,1991; Thomas and Hawes, 1994, Hyland, 1999; Yang, 2013). Additionally, the two classifications of the cited author as an ‘Agent’ and an ‘Adjunct’, which were classified separately by Swales (2014), are classified in the present study under the ‘Adjunct’ role at the interpersonal meanings and the experiential ones. Under the experiential meanings, the cited author plays several roles represented by the ‘Agent’, the ‘Location: (Place)’, the ‘Manner (Comparison)’, the ‘Accompaniment’ and the ‘Matter’, which are conflated with the role of the cited author as an ‘Adjunct’ Based on Hu and Wang’s (2014) suggestion, ‘’Importantly, pedagogical work on linguistic resources for citation needs to be informed by a coherent functional theory of language as a semiotic tool for construing ideational, interpersonal, and textual meanings in social context (Halliday & Martin, 1993)’’, the present work was initiated adopting Halliday’s (1985) Functional Theory in identifying the role of the cited author in the integral citations. The findings of the present study clarified the probability of applying Halliday’s (1985) Functional Theory on analysing the citations types; instead of limiting the description into only integral and non-integral citations, the SFL extended the analysis and presented more comprehensive details about the roles of the cited author in the clauses of the integral citations. A modified proposed taxonomy of the roles of the cited author was presented in Figure 3 (P. 11). The findings also demonstrated the diversity of the processes ‘verbs’ used in the citations based on the roles of the cited author associated with these processes; therefore, there is a need to study the usage of such processes in the citations in the different genres by Native speakers and ESL/EFL speakers because the performance of students in social science as another domain intermediating the hard and the soft domain might be different, and also the performance of students in other genres, such as academic articles and dissertations might be also different. Studying the citations can be achieved accurately and appropriately when the three register variables: Field, Tenor, and Mode are considered due to their effect on the use of the language. This was demonstrated through showing the ethnolinguistic and the disciplinary influences on the use of the citations (Hu and Wang, 2014). The findings are limited to the role of the cited author in the integral citations of the literature review of two disciplines: Applied Linguistics and Information Technology by EFL Arab postgraduates at one of the public universities in Malaysia. Nevertheless, the findings are useful in academic writing for students who pursue their postgraduate studies. The findings are also useful for those who are interested in preparing pedagogical materials for postgraduate students to enhance their academic writing skills. Acknowledgement I would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers and the 20 Arab postgraduates whose PhD theses were analysed after getting their personal data from the Graduate Studies Unit (GSU) at the university. Also, I would like to thank the Dean of AHSGS for granting us a permission to use the theses for academic purposes. References Charles, M. (2006a). Phraseological patterns in reporting clauses used in citation : A corpus-based study of theses in two disciplines. English for Specific Purposes. (25), 310–331. Charles, M. (2006b). The Construction of Stance in Reporting Clauses: A Cross-disciplinary Study of Theses. Applied Linguistics. 27(3), 492-518. Coffin, C., Curry, M. J., Goodman, S., Hewings, A., Lillis, Th.M., & Swann, J. (2003). Teaching Academic Writing. USA and Canada: Routledge. Eggins, S. (1994). An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics. UK: Printer Publishers Ltd. Gil-Salom, L. & Soler-Monreal, C. (2011). A cross-language study on citation practice in PhD theses. International Journal of English Studies. 11(2), 53–75. Halliday, M.A.K (1985). An Introduction to Functional Grammar. UK: Edward Arnold. Halliday, M. A. K., & Martin, J. R. (1993). Writing science: Literacy and discursive power. London: The Falmer Press. Hartley, J. (2008). Academic Writing and Publishing: A Practical Handbook. New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. Harwood, N. (2009). An interview-based study of the functions of citations in academic writing across two disciplines. Journal of Pragmatics. 41(3), 497–518. Hewings, A., Lillis, T., & Vladimirou, D. (2010). Who ’ s citing whose writings ? A corpus based study of citations as interpersonal resource in English medium national and English medium international journals. Journal of English for Academic Purposes. 9(2), 102–115. Hu, G., & Wang, G. (2014). Disciplinary and ethnolinguistic influences on citation in research articles. Journal of English for Academic Purposes. 14, 14–28.

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Hyland, K. (1999). Academic Attribution: Citation and the Construction of Disciplinary Knowledge. Journal of Applied Linguistics. 20(3), 341-367. Hyland, K. (2006). English for Academic Purposes: an advanced resource book. London: Routledge. Hyland, K. (2009a). Writing in the disciplines : Research evidence for specificity. Taiwan International ESP Journal. 1(1), 5–22. Hyland, K. (2009b). Academic Discourse: English in a Global Context. London and New York: Continuum International Publishing Group. Irvin, L. L. (2010). What Is “ Academic ” Writing ? Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Vol. (1). Parlor Press. Mansourizadeh, K., & Ahmad, U. K. (2011). Citation practices among non-native expert and novice scientific writers. Journal of English for Academic Purposes. 10(3), 152–161. Maroko, G. M. (2013). Learning about author positioning in written academic discourse. Argentinian Journal of Applied Linguistics. 1(2), 47–60. Maxwell, J. (1992). Understanding and validity in qualitative research. Harvard educational review, 62(3), 279-301. Maxwell, J.A. (2010). Using Numbers in Qualitative Research. Qualitative Inquiry. Vol. 16(6), pp. 474-482. Murray, R., & Moore, S. (2006). Handbook of Academic Writing: A Fresh Approach. Buckingham, GBR: McGraw-Hill Education. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com. Okamura, A. (2008). Citation Forms in Scientific Texts : Similarities and Differences in L1 and L2 Professional Writing. Nordic Journal of English Studies. 7(3), 61-81. Parry, S. (1998). Disciplinary differences in doctoral theses. Higher Education. 36, 273-99 Pecorari, D. (2008). Academic writing and plagiarism: A linguistic analysis. London: Continuum. Petrić, B. (2007). Rhetorical functions of citations in high- and low-rated master’s theses. Journal of English for Academic Purposes. 6(3), 238–253. Petrić, B., & Harwood, N. (2013). Task requirements, task representation, and self-reported citation functions : An exploratory study of a successful L2 student’s writing. Journal of English for Academic Purposes. 12, 110–124. Polio, Ch. & Shi, L. (2012). Perceptions and beliefs about textual appropriation and source use in second language writing. Editorial/Journal of Second Language Writing. 21, 95-101. Rowley-jolivet, E., & Carter-thomas, S. (2014). Citation Practices of Expert French Writers of English: Issues of Attribution and Stance. A.Lyda and K. Warchal (eds.), Occupying Niches: Interculturality, Cross-culturality and Aculturality in Academic Research. Second Language Learning and Teaching. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. Samraj, B. (2013). Form and function of citations in discussion sections of master’s theses and research articles. Journal of English for Academic Purposes. 12(4), 299–310. Shi, L. (2012). Rewriting and paraphrasing source texts in second language writing. Journal of Second Language Writing. 21(2), 134–148. Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Swales, J. M. (2014). Variation in Citational Practice in a Corpus of Student Biology Papers: From Parenthetical Plonking to Intertextual Storytelling. Written Communication. 31(1), 118–141. Thomas, S., & Hawes, T. P. (1994). Reporting verbs in medical journal articles. English for Specific Purposes. 13(2), 129-148. Thompson, G. & Ye, Y. (1991). Evaluation in the Reporting Verbs Used in Academic Papers. Applied Linguistics, 12(4), 365–382. Thompson, P. (2001). A pedagogically-motivated corpus-based examination of PhD theses: macrostructure, citation practices and use of modal verbs. Unpublished thesis submitted for the degree of PhD to School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, The University of Reading, UK. Thompson, P. (2002). Manifesting intertextuality in the PhD theses. Revista Canaria De Estudios Ingleses. 44, 97-114. Thompson, P., & Tribble, C. (2001). Looking at citations: Using corpora in English for Academic Purposes. Language Learning and Technology. 5(3), 91-105. Yang, L. (2013). Evaluative Functions of Reporting Evidentials in English Research Articles of Applied Linguistics. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics. 3(2), 119–126.

International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 5 No. 7; December 2016 [Special Issue on Language and Literature] Flourishing Creativity & Literacy

Australian International Academic Centre, Australia

A Study of the Inter-Cultural Sensitivity among the Faculty of English Language Centre of Jazan University, Saudi Arabia Saeed Ahmad (Corresponding author) English Language Center, Jazan University, Saudi Arabia E-mail: [email protected] Muhammad Riaz Khan English Language Center, Jazan University, Saudi Arabia E-mail: [email protected]

Received: 22-08-2016

Accepted: 27-10-2016

Advance Access Published: November 2016

Published: 10-12-2016

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.226

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.226

Abstract The study explored intercultural sensitivity of 103 faculty members of the English Language Centre (ELC) of Jazan University, Saudi Arabia. A quantitative and non-experimental design was adopted for this study in which intercultural sensitivity of the English language teachers was evaluated on five demographic variables (e.g. gender, education, religion, total teaching experience, and experience of teaching in intercultural context). The results revealed that the international faculty of ELC abreast the basic canons of Intercultural adjustments. This suggests that the teachers are not only familiar with different cultural patterns (like beliefs, values and communication styles) they are willing to minimize these differences and adopt universal set of values for effective educational practices. The results indicate the participants’ higher level of empathy, respect for others’ culture, tolerance on differences and high willingness to integrate with other cultures. The data reveals no statistically significant difference between the two groups in three variables, i.e. gender (Male & Female), qualification (Masters' & Ph.D) and religion (Muslims & Non-Muslims). However, there was found a statistically significant difference in the two groups (Less than ten years & More than ten years) in two variables, i.e. total teaching experience and teaching experience in intercultural context. Keywords: Adaptability, English Teaching, Intercultural Sensitivity 1. Introduction Today, the process of globalization in education is shaping the world societies in which Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) is of the significant importance. Large scale mobility of teachers across borders is a growing demand by the stake holders that is indeed contributing to major reforms in this sector. The establishment of effective intercultural relationship is a well-recognized concept in a global context. The manner how the individuals construe being in different cultures and how ready they are for the intercultural adaptation has remained a matter of great interest for many scholars and researchers. The underlying assumption is that 'as one’s experience of cultural difference becomes more complex and sophisticated, one’s potential competence in intercultural relations increases' (Hammer et al, 2003). According to this assumption, 'experience does not occur simply by being in the vicinity of events when they occur. Rather, experience is a function of how one construes the events' (Kelly, 1963). Hammer et al, (2003-Pp. 423) explained it as follows: Individuals who have received largely mono-cultural socialization normally have access only to their own cultural worldview, so they are unable to construe (and thus are unable to experience) the difference between their own perception and that of people who are culturally different. The crux of the development of intercultural sensitivity is attaining the ability to construe (and thus to experience) cultural difference in more complex ways. The educators play an important role in promoting intercultural dimensions in the students’ personality. The goal is to achieve a comprehensive global understanding with respect for diversity and to attain intercultural perspectives for a life-long learning. The researchers and scholars have emphasized the need for developing cross-cultural adjustment in a diversified globalized world for the teachers. Diller & Moule (2005) claim that many educational institutions profess commitment to support intercultural competence and diversification in their educational set-up, but that is hardly seen in real practice. Students and teachers from diverse cultures experience discrimination in many countries. George & Louise-Spindler (1994) asserted that the international teachers bring with them personal cultural backgrounds which reflect in their beliefs and assumptions.

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2. Background of the study This study shows partial results of a larger study, a part of which can be seen in Ahmad & Ahmad (2015) which was taken with the objective to explore the extent of teachers’ readiness for the cross-cultural communications within themselves and the students. It was limited to the faculty of English Language Center of Jazan University, Saudi Arabia. Jazan University is one of the leading universities in the region with the aim to academic leadership and excellence in scientific research and innovation in community development and service. The English Language Center of Jazan University was established in 2008 with the purpose to offer general English language and ESP courses to its various departments and faculties. This center is striving hard to provide high quality English pedagogy for its students with staff and faculty members from around the world, like Europe and Western countries, Asia and Africa. The total number of faculty members of ELC is above 400, from which 103 teachers, male and female who belonged to different regions of the world, and from various campuses of the university, participated in this research. 2.1 The significance and historical development of ICC as a discipline Institutes of higher learning across the world are facing a big challenge in producing inter-culturally competent intellectuals. These institutions are concerned with: how many of the international students study at their campus, how many of the foreign faculty members teach their courses and how many of their taught courses abreast the standards of internationalized curriculum. And more so, how many of their students succeed in obtaining admissions in the international institutions abroad. Graduating cross-cultural savvy students is thus an obvious target for many of the colleges and universities across the globe. However, a few institutes address the challenges of making their students adaptable in a new culture. ICC is now a well-established universal phenomenon. Its history dates back to hundreds of years ago when people from different parts of the world started business and trade with each other and established a new era of internationalization which led to the present situation of globalization. The first work towards ICC is believed to be a book ‘The Silent Language’ by Hall (1959). This book played an influential role in creating interest in the study of ICC and setting an agenda for new explorations in this context, though some researchers also claim that Hall was not the only scholar working in this direction, his work massively rested on the work of a series of anthropologists and scholars who understood the importance of ICC and played their role in establishing and maintaining international relations between America and the rest of the world. However, it is said that ICC as a separate discipline in college and university education started in 1970s. The historical development of intercultural education as a separate discipline can be traced in America (Polat, 2011) where the presence of a major racial diversity compelled the stakeholders start nationwide discussions on the emerging needs of multicultural, multiethnic and multiracial curriculum. A multicultural education was felt necessary to reduce marginalization of minorities residing in the USA. Since then, an overarching awareness of such issues paved way for the mass-education promoting intercultural elements of education and bringing forth the need of a standardized curricula which may effectively teach students not only to recognize their own cultural diversity but also identifying and respecting cultural identities of the other nations. In the USA, the concept of multicultural education emerged from the Civil Rights Movement in 1960 (Stuhr, 1994) which led to reconstruction of school and society. It was considered to be a solution of social problems of multiethnic and diversified students who were suffering on the social front due to the ethnocentric views of the prevailing educational system. The emergence of a multicultural education safeguarded civil rights, ‘promoting cultural pride and equal learning opportunities for all children in U.S. schools’ (Adejumo, 2002, Pp. 34- as quoted in Weiner, 2010), teaching them a curriculum with the features of a cross-cultural curriculum (Gay 2000, Pp. 29- as mentioned in Celik, 2013). 3. Literature Review A plethora of research in exploring the intercultural competence suggests the significance of this topic, yet very few studies have been taken to evaluate the level of adjustability among teachers in the international settings, especially keeping in view the recent increasing cultural diversity and the consequent need to increase intercultural competence among all the stake holders. Chen & Starosta (2005- Pp. 4) suggested that, ‘the development of a global mind-set is pivotal for further human progress’. Many researchers have focused on intercultural competence in education and a number of terms have been coined over time which are used synonymously in the current literature, e.g. Culturally Responsive Teaching (Gay, 2000; Klump & McNeir, 2005; Villegas & Lucas, 2002), Culturally Proficient Instruction (Robins et al, 2006), and Culturally Relevant Teaching (Ladson-Billings, 2001)—as mentioned in Bayles (2009). The researchers (like Jodry, 2001; Kellecher, 2006; Ladson-Billings, 1994; Lundgren, 2007) have asserted that culturally responsive teaching affects students’ achievement (Bayles, 2009). 3.1 Assessment of Intercultural Sensitivity: Measuring Intercultural Competence and Intercultural Sensitivity among the students and employees have gained popularity in the recent years. In the Intercultural settings, employers increasingly show their concern for the assessment of their employees’ level of Intercultural adaptability, and the educational organizations who consider intercultural adjustment as an important outcome of the education they provide to their graduates. An important question at this point arises as to how to accurately and appropriately measure Intercultural adaptability and sensitivity. Lucky enough, various measurement tools have been developed over time by many scholars and experts in this field which are being used by the institutions and organizations worldwide. Fantini (2006b) has mentioned eighty seven

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assessment tools which have been developed and used in numerous contexts worldwide. Research studies in diversified areas, as International Management (for example Adler, 1991; Black, 1990; Black, Gregersen et al, 1992; Black & Mendenhall, 1990), Overseas Effectiveness (for example Brislin, 1981; Cleveland et al, 1960; Kealey & Ruben, 1983; Landis & Brislin, 1983; Landis & Bhaget, 1996), International Study Abroad (for example Klineberg & Hull, 1979), International Transfer of Technology and Information (for example Hawes & Kealey, 1979, 1981; Kealey, 1996), etc., have signified the concept of ICC. Using these assessment instruments allows the employers and educators to assess the effectiveness of their plans, and helps them intervene at the proper times and provide remedial measures to obtain the desired objectives. These assessment tools can be approached easily which are available on commercial or noncommercial basis. Five of these instruments (Lombardi, 2010) which are more frequently used than others, are: the Assessment of Intercultural Competence (Fantini, 2006a), the Intercultural Development Inventory (Hammer et al, 2003), The Intercultural Sensitivity Inventory (Bhawuk & Brislin, 1992), The Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory (Kelly & Meyers, 1995) and The Cross-Cultural World Mindedness Scale (Piage, 2004). The Intercultural Development Inventory and the Cross-Cultural Assessment Inventory are available on cost while the other three instruments are the emerging non-commercial instruments (Lombardi, 2010). However, more research is needed to validate the constructs of these measurement instruments since the dimensions of intercultural communications are ever evolving and the human behaviors are never stagnant. Chen & Starosta (1996) model of measuring the ICC has also been considered important by the experts which comprises three dimensional aspects including INTERCULTURAL AWARENESS, INTERCULTURAL SENSITIVITY, and INTERCULTURAL ADROITNESS. Further, Chen & Starosta (2000) also prepared an instrument with 5 factors and 24 items to measure the intercultural sensitivity, about which Fritz, et al (2002) claim that - ‘the instrument as a whole is a valid one through which a culture-free scale for measuring intercultural sensitivity can be developed’. This model is worthwhile since it integrates cross-cultural attitudes and behavioral skills of the individuals. The originators of this scale employed it during their research with the German students’ population of 400 by means of factor confirmatory factor analysis. 4. Research Methodology To achieve the research objectives of this study, a survey study method was selected. A semi structured questionnaire with five demographic variables, i.e. gender, qualification, religion, total teaching experience, and experience of teaching in intercultural settings, along with an Intercultural Sensitivity Scale adopted from Fritz, et al (2002) was delivered to all the campuses of ELC at the Jazan University, Saudi Arabia. This instrument was used because of its easy access, validity issues and appropriateness for the assessment of intercultural communication among the culturally diverse employees. The data was collected and thereon analyzed using quantitative techniques. 5. Results 5.1 Demographics A total of 103 faculty members of English Language Centre of Jazan University participated in this study from which forty two (41%) were male and sixty one (59 %) were female members. The majority of respondents in this study held a Master’s degree (87) which constitutes eighty five percent of the total population. And, there were sixteen Ph.D degree holders who constitute fifteen percent of the population. The participants of this study belonged to different religions, i.e. Muslims constituted the majority (89 %), with other religions like Hindus and Christians (11 %). The sample population has had myriad experiences that were categorized into two, less than 10 years (40 %) and more than 10 years (60%). The intercultural experience of the respondents was also categorized into two, less than 10 years (70 %) and more than 10 years (30 %). 5.2 Intercultural Sensitivity Bayles (2009) examined seven variables in her study including gender, age, education, bicultural living experience, total years of teaching experience, experience of teaching ethnically diverse students, and years teaching in the bilingual classrooms in her study to assess the intercultural sensitivity of the elementary teachers in bilingual schools. The factors, like gender, age and education have also been examined by Frethiem, 2007; Westrick & Yuen, 2007; and Helmer, 2007. Following the latter studies, the present study, however, added two variables that were considered to be important, i.e. total teaching experience and the participants’ experience of working in the intercultural environment. The present study found no statistically significant difference among the respondents in terms of the above mentioned variables while the statistical level of difference was less than 0.05 on alpha. The results were calculated by assigning 5,4,3,2 and 1 with every individual positive item in the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (and the order of assigned marks was in the reverse order with the items with negative statements). The marks obtained by the respondents on every single item were calculated and Mean scores with Standard Deviation were assessed to find any possibly significant difference/s among the population on multiple variables. The overall results, however, showed no statistically significant difference among the double-grouped population on three demographic variables, i.e. gender, age, and qualification. However, a statistically significant difference was found in two demographic variables, i.e. total teaching experience, and the experience of working in the intercultural context (Table 1).

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Table 1. Comparison of results in five variables Groups

N

Mean

SD

S.E (M)

T

Sig.

95% Confidence interval of Dif. Lower

Upper

Gender Male

42

4.528

0.505

0.078

-.170

Female

61

4.541

0.502

0.064

-.169

Masters

87

3.524

0.804

0.124

-.108

Doctorate

16

3.541

0.787

0.101

-.107

Muslims

89

4.143

0.843

0.130

1.419

Others

14

3.910

0.850

0.109

1.422

Less than 10 Yrs.

40

3.610

0.936

0.120

4.428

More than 10 Yrs.

63

4.357

0.692

0.107

4.676

Less than 10 Yrs.

72

4.119

0.803

0.124

-3.281

More than 10 Yrs.

31

4.541

0.502

0.064

-.3.024

0.754

-.217

0.183

-.218

0.184

-.3320.

298

-.335

0.300

-.096

0.578

-.096

0.578

0.414

1.087

0.432

1.069

Qualification 0.953

Religion 0.957

Total Exp. 0.009

Intercultural Exp. 0.002

-.677

-.167

-.701

-.143

The researchers examined five demographic variables using One-Sample t Test of SPSS 17 making two groups on each, i.e. Gender (Male and Female), Qualification (Masters’ and Doctorate), Religion (Muslim and others), Total Experience (Less than 10 years and More than 10 years), and Intercultural Experience (Less than 10 years and More than 10 years). These are the most plausible variables that may affect intercultural sensitivity. The table 1 shows a comparison of results between two groups in every individual variable: in gender, i.e. male and female; in qualification, i.e. masters’ and doctorate; in religion, i.e. Muslims and others; in total experience, i.e. less than 10 years and more than 10 years, and in intercultural experience, i.e. less than 10 years and more than 10 years. The data reveals no statistically significant difference in three variables, i.e. gender, qualification and religion. However, in two variables, i.e. total experience and intercultural experience, there was found a statistically significant difference. The significance value was less than .05 on alpha. The Mean score on the two groups in gender was 4.528 and 4.541, SD 0.505 and 0.512 and the t score -.170 and -.170 for male and female respectively with a significance of 0.754 which was higher than the point of significance on 0.05 alpha. Hence, no statistically significant difference was found on this variable. The Mean score on the two groups in qualification was 3.524 and 3.541, SD 0.804 and 0.787 and the t score -.108 and -.107 for masters and doctorate respectively with a significance of 0.953 which was higher than 0.05 alpha. Hence, no statistically significant difference was found on this variable. The Mean score on the two groups in religion was 4.143 and 3.910, SD 0.843 and 0.851 and the t score 1.419 and 1.422 for the two groups Muslims and others with a significance of 0.957 which was higher than the point of significance 0.05 alpha. Hence, no statistically significant difference was found on this variable. The Mean score on the two groups in total experience was 3.610 and 4.357, SD 0.936 and 0.692 and the t score 4.428 and 4.676 in two groups less than 10 years and more than 10 years respectively with a significance of 0.009 which was lesser than the point of significance 0.05 alpha. Hence, statistically significant difference was found on this variable that means the respondents with longer experience in job were more prone to adjustment in the intercultural settings. The Mean score on the two groups in intercultural experience was 4.119 and 4.119, SD 0.803 and 0.502 and the t score -3.128 and -3.024 with a significance of 0.002 which was lesser than the point of significance 0.05 alpha. Hence, a statistically significant difference was found on this variable that means the teachers with longer experience in teaching interculturally diverse classrooms are nearer to the adaptation process as compared to their counterparts with lesser experience. 6. Conclusion The study was taken to evaluate the level of intercultural sensitivity on five variables, i.e. gender, qualification, religion, total experience and the intercultural experience among the faculty of English Language Centre of Jazan University, Saudi Arabia. The participants’ responses on the given items in a questionnaire were collected. The results show that the participants belonged to both genders, male and female. They hailed from various religious backgrounds. They have had myriad sources of professional and personal experiences ranging from less than ten to over ten years. They have had myriad experiences of working in the intercultural settings that range from less than ten to over ten years. Their responses on the intercultural sensitivity scale (appendix 1) clearly indicate their readiness and adjustability in the crosscultural settings. They respect cultural differences as indicated on items number 2, 7, 8, 16, 18 and 20. They are confident for intercultural communications as indicated on items number 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10. They believe in interactional engagement as indicated in items number 1, 11, 13, 21, 22, 23 and 24. They enjoy intercultural interactions as indicated

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in items number 9, 12 and 15. They also show interactive attentiveness with multicultural colleagues as indicated in items number 14, 17 and 19. 7. Discussion ‘As human society moves to a global community, the demand of cultural interdependency in the macro level and intercultural communication competency in the individual level become stronger’ (Fritz et al, 2002). Today, living in a culturally diverse globalized society has become a norm of life for the people rather than an exception. In this sense, a rigorous research is needed to further elaborate complexities involved in fully understanding the implications of intercultural interactions in order to help humanity for a comparatively better adjustment to the ever changing demands of the new world, and to live a peaceful and progressive life. The globalization trends in the modern world have significantly increased the importance of ICC. The internationalization led the stake holders to know how to act successfully in the culturally diversified settings. Although this study attempted to evaluate the level of intercultural sensitivity and adjustability of the international and multicultural faculty, yet many other measurement instruments and scales could be used for a clearer picture of the phenomenon. The scarcity of resources hampered to access some possibly more authentic and reliable tools available at cost for this current study. Further research can be taken with a larger population, using more sophisticated and authentic techniques as mentioned above. The research should also be taken with a population from different disciplines at college and university levels. A comparative analysis of the phenomenon will also be a subject of interest for many researchers. Acknowledgement The researchers would like to acknowledge the contribution of the entire population of this study. Their sincere thankyou is also due to the administration of English Language Centre (Jazan University, Saudi Arabia) for their unceasing support and facilitating the process of data collection. References Adejumo, C. O. (2003). Considering multicultural art education. Art Education, 55(2), 33-39. Adler, N. (1991). International dimensions of organizational behavior (2nd Ed.). Boston: PWS-Kent. Ahmad, S. & Ahmad, N. (2015). Fostering Inter-Cultural Communication Skills among Learners through Teaching English as an International Language. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 4(6), 52-57. Bayles, P.P. (2009). Assessing the Intercultural Sensitivity of Elementary Teachersin Bilingual Schools in a Texas School District. Doctorate dissertation, retrieved on 22.06.2015 athttps://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/.../Bayles_umn_0130E_10245.pdf. Bhawuk, D.P.S., & Brislin, R.W. (1992). 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The challenge of international personnel selection. In D. Landis, & R. S. Bhagat (Eds.), Handbook of intercultural training (2nd Ed.) (pp. 81–105). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Kealey, D. J., & Ruben, B. D. (1983). Cross-cultural personnel selection criteria, issues, and methods. In D. Landis, & R.W. Brislin (Eds.), Handbook of intercultural training, Vol. 1: Issues in theory and design (pp. 155–175). New York: Pergamon. Kelleher, W.C. (2006). A twenty-year history of Rainbow sections of first-year composition. (Doctoral dissertation, Arizona State University). DissertationAbstracts International, 67 (06), (UMI No. 3220312). Kelly, G. (1963). A theory of personality: The psychology of personal constructs. New York: Norton. Kelley & Meyers (1995). The cross-cultural adaptability inventory: Self-assessment. Minneapolis: MN: NCS Pearson. Klineberg, O., & Hull, F. (1979). At a foreign university. New York: Praeger. Klump, J., & McNeir, G. (2005). 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(Doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota). Dissertation Abstracts International, 68 (03), (UMI No. 3256875). Paige, M.R. (2004). Instrumentation in Intercultural Training. In Dan Landis, Janet. M. Bennett, & Milton, J. Bennett (Eds.), Handbook of Intercultural Training (3rd Ed., Pp 147-165), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Polat, S. (2011). The attitudes of school directors to the multicultural education in Turkey. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2(2), 385-393. Robins, K.N., Lindsey, R.B., Lindsey, D.B., & Terrell, R.D. (2006). Culturally proficient instruction: A guide for people who teach (2nd Ed.). Thousand Oaks,CA: Corwin Press. Stuhr, P.L. (1994). Multicultural art education and social reconstruction. Studies in Art Education, 35(3), 171-178. Villegas, A. M., & Lucas, T. (2002). Educating culturally responsive teachers: A coherent approach. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Weiner, S.D. (2010). My Experiences of Integrating a Cross-cultural Curriculum with Latino Students in an Art Education Classroom, Thesis M.A. retrieved on 21.04.2015 http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&context=art_design_these. Westrick, J.M. & Yuen, C.Y.M. (2007). The intercultural sensitivity of secondary teachers in Hong Kong: A comparative study with implications for professional development. Intercultural education, 18(2), 129-145.

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Appendix 1: Intercultural Sensitivity Scale Statements on Intercultural Sensitivity (1)

I enjoy interacting with people from different cultures.

(2)

I think people from other cultures are narrow minded.

(3)

I am pretty sure of myself in interacting with people from different cultures.

(4)

I find it very hard to talk in front of people from different cultures.

(5)

I always know what to say when interacting with people from different cultures.

(6)

I can be as sociable as I want to be when interacting people from different cultures.

(7)

I don’t want to be with people from different cultures.

(8)

I respect the values of people from different cultures.

(9)

I get upset easily when interacting people from different cultures.

(10)

I feel confident when interacting with people from different cultures.

(11)

I tend to wait before forming an impression of culturally-distinct counterparts.

(12)

I often get discouraged when I am with people from different cultures.

(13)

I am open minded to people from different cultures.

(14)

I am very observant when interacting people from distinct cultures.

(15)

I often feel useless when interacting with people from different cultures.

(16)

I respect the ways people from different cultures behave.

(17)

I try to obtain as much information as I can when interacting people from different cultures.

(18)

I would not accept the opinions of people from different cultures.

(19)

I am sensitive to my culturally-distinct counterparts' subtle meanings during interaction.

(20)

I think my culture is better than other cultures.

(21)

I often give positive responses to my culturally distinct counterparts during our interaction.

(22)

I avoid those situations where I will have to deal with culturally distinct persons.

(23)

I often show my culturally distinct counterpart my understanding through verbal and nonverbal cues.

(24)

I have a feeling of enjoyment towards differences between my culturally distinct counterpart and me.

International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 5 No. 7; December 2016 [Special Issue on Language and Literature] Australian International Academic Centre, Australia

Flourishing Creativity & Literacy

Developing Undergraduates’ Awareness of Metacognitive Knowledge in Writing Through Problem-based Learning Muhammad Mukhtar Aliyu Department of English, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia E-mail: [email protected] Yong Mei Fung (Corresponding author) Department of English, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia E-mail: [email protected] Mardziah H. Abdullah Department of English, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia E-mail: [email protected] Tan Bee Hoon Department of English, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia E-mail: [email protected]

Received: 28-08-2016

Accepted: 24-10-2016

Advance Access Published: November 2016

Published: 10-12-2016

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.233

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.233

Abstract Metacognitive awareness can improve students’ writing proficiency. Engaging and supporting students in the writing process can increase their metacognitive awareness. This study investigates the effects of a problem-based learning approach on the awareness of metacognitive knowledge of Nigerian undergraduates in writing. An intact class of second-year students in an English composition course participated in the study. The study was conducted over a period of 12 weeks. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used in data collection. A metacognitive questionnaire was administered before and after the PBL treatment. Semi-structured interview was also carried out at the end of the treatment. The results showed significant effects of the PBL approach on the participants’ awareness of metacognitive knowledge of task requirements, personal learning process, strategy use, text and accuracy, problem solving and discourse features. The findings from the interview revealed that the nature of the ill-structured problem, which is related to their real life, and the interactions during the PBL process increased the participants’ awareness of metacognitive knowledge. The findings further showed that PBL approach could be adopted by ESL instructors and teachers to increase students’ awareness of metacognitive knowledge which in turn can enhance their writing proficiency. Keywords: ESL writing, metacognitive awareness, metacognitive knowledge, undergraduates, PBL approach 1. Introduction Acquiring writing proficiency has been a difficult task for undergraduate students especially in a second (L2) or foreign language (FL) context (Barkaoui, 2007). Over the years, researchers have been analysing students’ writing processes and strategies in order to provide solutions to the students’ writing problems (Bitchener & Basturkmen, 2006; Crossley, Kyle & McNamara, 2016; Paltridge, 2004; Raoofi, Chan, Mukundan & Rashid, 2014). Various factors that influence students’ writing skills have been identified by different scholars (Mu, 2005; Xiao, 2007). One of the contributing factors is awareness of metacognitive knowledge. In a writing process, awareness of metacognitive knowledge allows writers to be aware of the attributes, structures and demands of the different genres (Harris, Santangelo & Graham, 2010). It also allows writers to be aware of how to regulate their cognitive process in writing, their knowledge of writing process and the demands of different writing genres (Wong, 1999) through conscious use of strategies, namely planning, monitoring and evaluating. Scholars suggest that metacognitive awareness is the main factor that separates high-level writers from low- level ones (Tsai, 2009; Wei, Shang & Briody, 2012). Many studies have been carried out to investigate the relationship between awareness of metacognitive knowledge and the writing proficiency of students and discovered positive relationships between the two (Kasper, 1997; Yanyan, 2010). Yanyan (2010) investigated the relationship between metacognitive knowledge and writing proficiency of Chinese freshmen. She found that students with a higher metacognitive knowledge base performed better in their writing than those with lower metacognitive knowledge. Similarly, Wei et al. (2012) found out that high-level writers employ metacognitive skills effectively in their writing process especially

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during planning and reviewing than low-level writers. The former generates complete ideas and is more concerned with the needs of the audience and the demands of specific genres. Therefore, to develop students’ writing ability, the scholars emphasise the need to develop students’ awareness of metacognitive knowledge. Students need to be aware of their writing purpose and processes and learn to actively set and regulate their own cognitive goals associated with writing in order become good writers (Kasper, 1997). Researchers also highlight the need to adopt instructional approach that would develop students’ metacognition to enable them to become successful writers (Xinghua, 2010). Graham and Harris (2009) suggest that instructors should adopt approaches that engage students in the writing process and allow them to work together to learn strategies for planning, revising and editing their writing. The term metacognitive knowledge is described as the knowledge a learner has about him/herself, the learning task or the learning process. Wenden (1998) classified metacognitive knowledge into three different but related knowledge: person knowledge (general knowledge that learners have acquired about themselves as learners, which may facilitate or hinder their learning such as age, language aptitude, motivation); task knowledge (knowledge about the purpose of a task. It also includes knowledge about the nature of a particular task and information about a task’s demands, such as the knowledge and skills needed to complete a task); and strategy knowledge (strategies to employ in order to manage, direct and regulate learning). In relation to writing, Kim (2013) subcategorises metacognitive knowledge into six components: metacognitive knowledge of task, personal learning process, strategy, text and accuracy, problem solving, and discourse features. Metacognitive knowledge of task is the awareness of various aspects relevant to a writing task, such as the purpose of the writing task and the characteristics of the genre of writing. She describes metacognitive knowledge of personal learning process as the awareness of various aspects of learning to write in English, such as individual ways to improve L2 writing proficiency by oneself or through instruction. For metacognitive knowledge of strategy, she describes it in general as the awareness of effective strategies in L2 writing; for example, strategy to compensate for lack of vocabulary knowledge. Metacognitive knowledge of text and accuracy involves the awareness of the use of discourse markers and accurate textual features in writing. Metacognitive knowledge of problem solving is the awareness of means of problem solving when confronted with difficulty in writing, for instance, sentence formation, and management of time limitations. For the final subcomponent, metacognitive knowledge of discourse features is the awareness of the characteristics of discourse of English and L1 in writing and speaking. Based on the suggestions of Graham and Harris (2009), the present study adopts a problem-based learning approach in order to improve the students’ awareness of metacognitive knowledge in writing. Problem-based learning approach (PBL) is a student-centred approach (Wilkerson & Gijselaers 1996) where students assume the major responsibility for their learning by deciding and discovering for themselves what they will learn and how they will learn. In the PBL approach, a problem that is related to students’ real life is given as a trigger for the students’ inquiry. This leads the students to discovery of relevant knowledge and skills required to solve or understand the problem. Working in groups to discuss the problem, the students eventually develop their collaborative and cooperative learning skills (Mardziah H. Abdullah & Tan, 2008). Many studies have employed the PBL approach in developing students’ metacognitive awareness in science related fields. For example, Downing, Kwong, Chan, Lam, and Downing (2009) investigated the effect of the PBL approach on metacognitive skills of students in China and found that it is effective in developing the students’ metacognition. Similarly, Tosun and Senocak (2013) revealed the effectiveness of the approach in increasing metacognitive awareness of chemistry students. Numerous other studies have been conducted using the PBL approach and found it effective in in developing students’ learning skills such as critical thinking skills (Yuan et. al, 2008), problem-solving skills (Bigelow, 2004), language skills (Norzaini Azman & Shin, 2012) and motivation to learning (Barrows, 2002; Tasoglú & Bakaç, 2010). Although studies have shown the importance of engaging and supporting students in developing their metacognition in a writing process, many of the instructional methods adopted in Nigerian classrooms do not engage or support students in this way (Muodumogu & Unwaha, 2013). Researchers have identified various problems in the writing of Nigerian undergraduate students. Most of these problems are attributed to the students’ lack of awareness of metacognitive knowledge. For example, many students are not aware of the skills required for them to achieve their writing goals, such as grammar and rhetoric (Bodunde & Sotiloye, 2013). Despite the importance of metacognitive knowledge in the development of writing proficiency, there is lack of research that aims to develop students’ awareness of metacognitive knowledge in the Nigerian context through problem-based learning approach. Therefore, the objective of the study is to investigate the effect of a problem-based learning approach (PBL) in developing students’ awareness of metacognitive knowledge in writing. The following research questions are formulated to guide the study: a)

What are the effects of PBL on undergraduates’ awareness of metacognitive knowledge?

b) How does the PBL approach improve undergraduates’ awareness of metacognitive knowledge?

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2. Methodology 2.1 Design of the Study The study employed a quasi-experimental research design. The independent variable in this study was the PBL treatment which was incorporated in the participants’ writing process. The dependent variable of the study was the participants’ awareness of metacognitive knowledge in writing. The participants’ awareness of metacognitive knowledge was measured twice, before the PBL treatment, and at the end of the treatment. The PBL treatment was given to the participants in two cycles. In each cycle, the participants were given an ill-structured problem to work collaboratively and propose viable solutions within three weeks. With tutor facilitation, the participants generated possible solutions, brainstormed and identified available information related to the problem. They also identified learning issues, namely things they needed to find out more information about. Thereafter, they divided the learning issues among them and identified resources to look up or consult. They gathered the information through self-directed learning and finally proposed viable solutions. A debriefing session was conducted by the tutor to discuss writing and PBL-related issues with the participants at the end of each cycle. 2.2 Participants of the Study This study was conducted at a college in North-Eastern Nigeria. An intact class of 18 second-year undergraduates taking a compulsory course of English Composition for one semester participated in the study. Before enrolling in the course, the participants studied an Introduction to Composition course where they acquired the basic knowledge of writing in English. The participants were of mixed-gender and their ages ranged from 24-38 years old. They had no experience of collaborative learning as it was not practised in the institution. The participants shared the same first language and culture. They were assigned into three groups to carry out the PBL activities. 2.3 Instruments Two instruments were used in data collection of the study: a metacognitive questionnaire and semi-structured interview. The metacognitive questionnaire used in the study was adapted from Kim (2013). It comprised 29 closed-ended items designed in a 5-point Likert scale. The questionnaire elicits information regarding the participants’ metacognitive knowledge of task requirements, personal learning process, strategy use, text and accuracy, problem solving, discourse features (see Appendix). To test the reliability of the questionnaire, a pilot study was conducted prior to the actual study. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated for the pilot and actual studies. The reliability levels were 0.96 and 0.97 respectively. To triangulate the data collected from the questionnaire, a semi-structured interview was conducted with all the participants at the end of the PBL treatment. The interview enabled the participants to express and share their experiences of PBL in relation to their awareness of metacognitive knowledge of their writing. The interview was audio-recorded, transcribed and categorised based on emerging themes. 3. Results and Discussion To analyse the quantitative data obtained from pre- and post-treatment questionnaire scores, SPSS Version 22.0 was used to calculate descriptive statistics. To address the first research question, the means of the pre- and post-treatment scores were compared using Wilcoxon signed-rank test because the data were not normally distributed due to the small number of sample (Mayers, 2013). The results of the descriptive analysis of the metacognitive questionnaire showed that the participants’ awareness of metacognitive knowledge increased after going through the PBL approach. It revealed an increase in the mean scores of all the aspects of metacognitive knowledge tested in the questionnaire as shown in Table 1. The mean score for metacognitive knowledge of task requirements in post-treatment (M = 40.16) is bigger than that of the pre-treatment (M = 31.83). The mean score for personal learning process is also bigger in the post-treatment (M = 22.16) compared to the pre-treatment score (M = 17.33). Metacognitive knowledge of strategy use has a low mean score (M =7.33) in the pretreatment but higher in the post-treatment (M =10.11). The mean score of metacognitive text and accuracy in the pretreatment is 11.88 and it shows an increase in the post-treatment (M = 17.00). For metacognitive knowledge of problem solving, its mean score is lower in the pre-treatment (M = 14.38) but higher in the post-treatment (M = 17.44). Finally, the mean score for discourse features is (M = 15.33) in the pre-treatment, and it shows an increase in the post-treatment (M = 17.66). In order to answer the first research question about the effect of the PBL approach on the participants’ awareness of metacognitive knowledge, Wilcoxon signed-rank test was run. The results showed that there were significant differences between all the components of metacognitive knowledge before and after the PBL sessions. The results are as follows: task requirements (z = -3.73, p = .000), personal learning process (z =-3.73, p = .000), strategy use (z =-3.55, p = .000); text and accuracy (z =-3.59, p = .000), problem solving (z =-3.63, p = .000), and discourse features (z =-3.42, p = .001). Table 1 shows the summary result.

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Table 1. Wilcoxon signed-rank test for pre- and post-treatment metacognitive scores (n=18) Components

Pre-tr.

Post-tr.

Mean

Mean

Mean

Diff.

Z value

Sig.(2 tailed)

Task Requirements

31.83

40.16

8.33

-3.73

.000

Personal Learning Process

17.33

22.16

4.83

-3.73

.000

Strategy Use

7.33

10.11

2.78

-3.55

.000

Text and Accuracy

11.88

17.00

5.12

-3.59

.000

Problem Solving

14.38

17.44

3.06

-3.63

.000

Discourse Features

15.33

17.66

2.33

-3.42

.001

p value= .05 The results of the analysis show that PBL significantly increased the participants’ awareness of metacognitive knowledge in writing. It is shown that the PBL approach prompts participants to reflect and think about what they already know and motivates them to write. The findings are similar to those of Downing et al.’s (2009) study which showed the effectiveness of the PBL approach in improving students’ metacognition. Furthermore, the findings confirm the findings of Yanyan (2010) which showed positive correlations between metacognitive awareness and writing proficiency. In order to find out how the PBL approach improved the participants’ awareness of metacognitive knowledge, to answer the second research question, a semi-structured interview was conducted with all the participants at the end of the PBL treatment. From the responses of the interview, three themes were identified. The themes revealed that the group interactions during the PBL process encouraged the participants to retrieve task knowledge. It also allowed the participants to be aware of their knowledge of personal learning process. Finally, PBL gives the participants a new perspective to writing stages. 3.1 The PBL Approach Encourages Thinking and Retrieval of Task Knowledge It was revealed from the findings of the interview that the participants were used to writing alone. None of them had experience of PBL approach or any writing class where students collaboratively write with the help of a teacher. Whenever a writing activity was given, the majority of them relied on their own ability. As the result, they faced some problems while writing alone which include limited knowledge required for the completion of the writing task, such as, ideas relevant to the topic, grammar and appropriate vocabulary. Having gone through the PBL approach, more than three-quarters of the participants reported that the approach encouraged them to think and retrieve knowledge which allowed them to develop and present their ideas clearly and logically. A number of things helped the participants to acquire knowledge relevant to their writing activities, such as, the nature of the ill-structured problem and the support they received from their tutor and peers during the process. Because all the participants have first-hand experience of the ill-structured problem, it was easier for them to contribute and generate ideas to enrich the content of the writing. One of the participants, Yunus, explained that the ill-structured problems given to them during the PBL activities motivated him to think and generate many ideas to write about. This is because the ill-structured problems were related to their real-life situations. In addition, the complexity of the ill-structured problems, the extensive reading and self-directed learning involved in the PBL process allowed the participants to view the problems from various perspectives. This prompted their thinking and allowed them to expand on group member’s idea. Ummi explained that the extensive reading and self-directed learning involved in the PBL approach helped her to acquire new knowledge relevant to their writing. Yunus also felt that after the PBL activities he could generate more ideas than he used to do. This is because he learned to improve the content of his writing through the interactions he had during the PBL session. He also learned to generate more ideas from their discussions and consulted other sources to gain new knowledge or ideas that would improve his writing. As for the content, I think now I can write better because I would think of more ideas and I have learned to refer to others materials while I have to write about something not just what I already know alone. So it has improved the content of my writing. Amina also believed that she learned a number of vocabularies from her group members. She gave an example of the word dexterous which she did not know its meaning before but learned it during their group discussion. My vocabulary has increased. I heard a word from a group member, “dexterous” I didn’t know the word before, but I heard it from a member in the group. You know you can’t just take a dictionary and keep on reading the words inside it. But when you hear a word then you try to find out the meaning. Amina also learned to think and generate new ideas relevant to her writing topic as the result of the support given by her group members. Whenever she was stuck in the process, her group members helped either through suggesting new ideas

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or by explaining ideas mentioned previously. The interactions allowed Amina to look at various perspectives while writing on a topic. This helped her to improve her writing unlike the occasions when she was writing alone. When you generate ideas yours alone, you may get stuck in an idea, so you can ask a member to help you by explaining more. If that person explains, you can put it down in your own words. So I think this PBL approach is an effective way of improving writing. Another factor that helped the participants to share their ideas freely and acquire new knowledge from one another was the support given by tutors in the process. Habib explained that their tutor encouraged them to speak their minds during the PBL sessions reminding them that there was nothing like a wrong or right answer in PBL. Habib further explained that because he was not used to speak English in public, he sometimes felt nervous during the sessions. However, their tutor encouraged him to speak which helped him to express his ideas and improve his speaking skills. This theme shows that PBL allowed the participants to retrieve knowledge required for them to achieve their writing goals such as the knowledge of the writing topic, grammatical knowledge and vocabulary. This knowledge includes Kim’s (2013) metacognitive knowledge of task, discourse features and discourse markers and accurate textual features. The findings are in line with those of Downing et al.’s (2009) study which showed the effectiveness of the PBL approach in helping their students to identify and select important information in the learning situation. 3.2 PBL Increases Awareness of Personal Knowledge Kim’s (2013) describes metacognitive knowledge of personal learning process as the awareness of various aspects of learning to write. The findings from the interview revealed that PBL helped the participants to identify factors that may positively influence their writing, such as their motivation and attitude in writing. The PBL approach increased the participants’ motivation and changed their attitude towards writing in English. It is further found out that the approach stimulated their interest and increased their confidence in writing. These are as the results of many factors. For example, the participants’ different expertise allowed them to help one another in the process. In addition, the ill-structured problems given were related to the participants’ real-life situations. They could easily generate as many ideas as possible. Another reason is that the participants worked in groups where they were all familiar with one another. One other factor that encouraged and motivated the participants is the fact that there is no right or wrong answer in the PBL process. Therefore, they could easily share their views and support one another without anxiety. All these helped the participants to overcome their writing difficulties and change their attitudes towards writing. For example, Khadija explained the PBL approach motivated and changed her attitude towards writing in English. Before she participated in the study, she did not like writing at all. One of the reasons was that she used to write in English only for academic purposes such as assignment, test or examination. However, after going through the PBL process, her motivation and attitude towards writing in English increased. This is because during the PBL sessions, she was supported by her group members which made her realise how interesting writing is. As the result, she even started writing on her own at her leisure not only for academic purposes. Before I don’t like writing at all; I don’t use to write anyhow. The only thing I used to write is when it comes to exams or test, they give us something to write and I write. But now I like it. My attitude towards writing has changed. Now I write my diary every day. At my leisure time I will just pick up my jotter form a topic and start writing on it so that I see if I can develop my writing skills. Ishaq explained that the PBL approach increased his motivation towards writing in English. Before this, he had no interest in writing because he considered it as a difficult activity as he lacked ideas. However, his attitude changed after going through the PBL process. He began to develop interest in writing in English. He also learned to generate more ideas to write about because the ill-structured problem was interesting. He even concluded that writing generating ideas was not as difficult as he thought. He explained: Really, it motivates me to write because before I don’t like writing because it is difficult but now I began to have interest and see the simplicity of writing. Especially, the second ill-structured problems, the one talking about students engagement with the social network, it was more interesting and motivated me to generate more ideas to write. These findings also concur with those of Downing et al.’s (2009) study which showed the effectiveness of the PBL approach in improving students’ development of students’ confidence, motivation levels, and increased their attitudes and interest towards their academic activities. 3.3 The PBL approach gives a new perspective to writing stages It was further revealed from the interview that the PBL approach gave the participants a new perspective to the writing stages: planning, drafting and editing. The participants explained that the PBL approach increased their awareness of the importance of the writing stages and how to carry out each of the stages. This includes their metacognitive knowledge of strategy, problem solving, text and accuracy, and metacognitive knowledge of discourse features. For example, for planning, more than half of the participants explained that they were taught that planning is one of the stages of writing. However, when writing alone they did not usually plan, brainstorm or outline ideas before writing. This is because they were not aware of the importance of planning in improving their writing quality. Nevertheless,

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having gone through the PBL approach, their awareness of the need of planning to ensure successful writing increased. Abdul revealed that before he went through the PBL approach, he did not bother about brainstorming or organising his ideas. Through the PBL process, he learned how to outline his ideas and to make a rough draft before engaging in the actual writing. During the PBL session, they spent the two-hour session planning their essay and everyone contributed different ideas. Organisation is another challenging part of writing because it requires the participants to think of appropriate sequence to present and support their ideas logically. More than half of the participants did not think about organising their ideas or paragraphs when writing alone. Many of them did not know how or why they should organise their ideas. However, when they participated in the PBL activities, they learned that organisation is an important aspect of writing. They learned to take their time to organise their ideas. As there were many group members, it was easier for them to suggest better ways to present ideas in the writing. Binta explained that she learned from her group members how to organise ideas clearly. Because, they say two heads are better than one. If you want to put down your points and you don’t know how to do that, you have someone with you and that person can assist you present it clearly. In the actual writing process, the participants revealed that the PBL approach helped them to keep track of the writing progress from one aspect to another and to identify any problem that hinders the writing process. Ishaq, explained that during the PBL process his group was cautious of time. They used to remind themselves whenever they were about to exceed the time allocated for a session, or when they unnecessarily spent too much time on a particular aspect of writing. The PBL process helped them to focus on the important things to do. Editing process is another difficult and boring stage of writing for the participants. However, the findings showed that the PBL approach gave the participants a new perspective to editing. It allowed them to be aware of the need to edit and revise their writing, as well as to use punctuation marks and spellings. When writing alone, more than half of the participants did not edit their work after drafting. About one-quarter of the participants only read their essay and made minimal correction. One of the reasons was due to lack of time. Other participants explained that they did not see the need for editing because they thought that their writing was good. However, the interactions during the PBL sessions gave the participants a new perspective to editing. This is because during editing they could also improve the content and organisation of their writing not only spelling and punctuation mistakes. Ummi believed that the PBL approach helped her to improve her editing. She became more aware of the need to edit her work better than before. Before this, she only did minor corrections of grammatical mistakes. However, through the PBL sessions, she learned to plan her work and go through the first draft in order to make appropriate changes and rewrite when necessary. Similarly, Ishaq, did not bother to check his spelling and punctuation after writing. He did not consider it important because he thought all his spellings and punctuations were correct. During the PBL sessions, he realised the importance of checking his spellings and punctuations because some mechanical errors can only be detected while proofreading. You know, it also affects my spelling because I usually, before, I didn’t mind to check my spellings after writing but with this approach I learned that spelling is of paramount importance as well. The third theme includes metacognitive knowledge of strategy, problem solving, text and accuracy, and metacognitive knowledge of discourse features. It revealed how the participants learned to carry out their writing successfully following the writing stages. In general, the findings revealed that the PBL approach increase the participants’ awareness of metacognitive knowledge in writing due to the nature of the ill-structured problem, tutor support and peer collaboration. The findings are in line with the Graham and Harris’ (2009), and Xiao’s (2007) propositions which emphasise the need for peer collaboration and teacher support throughout the planning, drafting and editing processes in order to develop students’ metacognition in writing. Furthermore, the findings of this study concur with Ruan (2005) who showed that students’ metacognitive knowledge could be developed through classroom instructions. 4. Conclusion The findings of the study revealed that PBL could be used to increase students’ awareness of metacognitive knowledge in writing. When metacognitive awareness increases, writing performance will also improve. This supports the view that engaging students in a writing process where they could be helped by both teachers and peers helps to improve the students’ metacognitive awareness (Xiao, 2007). There are some limitations in this study. The study is limited to a small number of participants and was conducted in a short period. To address the limitations of short time frame and small number of participants, further studies can be conducted with larger number of students particularly in public universities in Nigeria and for a longer period. Despite the limitations, various benefits could be derived from the findings. The study contributes to the field of ESL writing by providing an empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of the PBL approach in developing students’ awareness of metacognitive knowledge. Language instructors and teachers can adopt the approach in their writing classrooms to develop students’ metacognition and writing performance. They should provide learners with some opportunities to engage actively with peers in the writing process. Eventually, students will change their attitude towards ESL writing,

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realise their potentials as they take charge of their learning and appreciate learning through self-discovery and the use of real-life problem. References Barkaoui, K. (2007). Teaching writing to second language learners: Insights from theory and research. TESL Reporter, 40(1), 35-48. Barrows, H. S. (2002). Is it truly possible to have such a thing as dPBL? Distance Education, 23 (1), 119 -122. Bitchener, J., & Basturkmen, H. (2006). Perceptions of the difficulties of postgraduate L2 thesis students writing the discussion section. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 5(1), 4-18. Bodunde, H. A., & Sotiloye, B. S. (2013). A critique of undergraduate students’ writing skill in an ESL setting: Samples from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria. World Journal of English Language, 3(2), 10–21. Bigelow, J.D. (2004). Using problem-based learning to develop skills in solving unstructured problems. Journal of Management Education, 28(5), 591-609. Crossley, S. A., Kyle, K., & McNamara, D. S. (2016). The development and use of cohesive devices in L2 writing and their relations to judgments of essay quality. Journal of Second Language Writing, 32, 1-16. Downing, K., Kwong, T., Chan, S. W., Lam, T. F., & Downing, W. K. (2009). Problem-based learning and the development of metacognition. Higher Education, 57(5), 609-621. Graham, S., & Harris, K. R. (2009). Evidence-based writing practices: Drawing recommendations from multiple sources. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 6, 95-111. Harris, K. R., Santangelo, T., & Graham, S. (2010). Metacognition and strategies instruction in writing. In H. S. Waters, & W. Scheneider (Eds.), Metacognition, strategy use, and instruction (pp. 226-256). New York: The Guilford Press. Kasper, L. F. (1997). Assessing the metacognitive growth of ESL student writers. Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language, 3(1), 1-20. Kim, S. H. (2013). Metacognitive knowledge in second langauge writing. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Michigan State University. Mardziah H. Abdullah. (1998). Problem-based learning in language instruction : A constructivist model. ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading English and Communication Bloomington, 1–6. Mardziah H. Abdullah, & Tan, B. H. (2008). Wired together : Collaborative problem-based language learning in an online forum. Malaysia Journal of ELT Research 4, 54–71. Mayers, A. (2013). Introduction to statistics and SPSS in psychology. Harlow: Pearson. Mu, C. (2005). A taxonomy of ESL writing strategies. In proceedings of redesigning pedagogy: Research, policy, practice (pp. 1-10). Singapore. Muodumogu, C. A., & Unwaha, C. O. (2013). Improving students’ achievement in essay writing: What will be the impact of mini-lesson strategy? Global Advanced Research Journal of Arts and Humanities, 2(6), 111-120. Norzaini Azman, & Shin, L. K. (2012). Problem-based learning in English for a second language classroom: Students’ perspectives, The International Journal of Learning, 18 (6), 109-126. Paltridge, B. (2004). Academic writing. Language Teaching, 37 (2), 87–105. Raoofi, S., Chan, S. H., Mukundan, J., & Rashid, S. M. (2014). A qualitative study into L2 writing strategies of university students. English Language Teaching, 7(11), 39-45. Ruan, Z. (2005). A metacognitive perspective on the growth of self-regulated EFL student writers. Reading Working Papers in Linguistics, 8, 175-202. Tosun, C., & Senocak, E. (2013). The effects of problem-based learning on metacognitive awareness and attitudes toward chemistry of prospective teachers with different academic backgrounds. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(3), 60-73. Tsai, H. M. (2009). Examining metacognitive performance between skilled and unskilled writers in an integrated EFL writing class. Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on English Teaching and Learning in the (pp. 678-689) Republic of China. Wei, Z., Shang, H., & Briody, P. (2012). The Relationship between English writing ability levels and EFL learners’ metacognitive behaviour in the writing process. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 1(4), 154-180. Wenden, A. L. (1998). Metacognitive knowledge and language. Applied Linguistics, 19 (4), 515–537. Wilkerson, L. A., & Gijselaers, W. H. (Eds). (1996). Bringing problem-based learning to higher education: Theory and practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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Wong, B. Y. L. (1999). Metacognition in writing. In R. Gallimore, L. P. Bemheimer, D. L. MacMillan, D. L. Speece, & S. Vauughn (Eds.), Developmental perspectives on children with high-incidence disabilities (pp.183-198). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Xiao, Y. (2007). Applying metacognition in EFL writing instruction in China. Reflections on English Teaching, 6, 1933. Xinghua, L. (2010). An investigation of Chinese university EFL learners’ knowledge about writing. Language Studies Working Papers, 2, 51-63. Yanyan, Z. (2010). Investigating the role of metacognitive knowledge. Papers in Applied Linguistics, 14, 25-46. Yuan, H., Kunaviktikul, W., Klunklin, A., & Williams, B. A. (2008). Improvement of nursing students’ critical thinking skills through problem-based learning in the People’s Republic of China: A quasi-experimental study. Nursing and Health Sciences, 10, 70-76.

International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 5 No. 7; December 2016 [Special Issue on Language and Literature] Flourishing Creativity & Literacy

Australian International Academic Centre, Australia

You Are Not Logged In: Context and Interpersonal Meaning of Instructions and Links in a typical Learning Management System Hakeem Olafemi Ogunmuyiwa English Language Institute (ELI), Jubail Technical Institute, Royal Commission for Jubail Jubail Industrial City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia E-mail: [email protected]

Received: 19-08-2016

Accepted: 28-10-2016

Advance Access Published: November 2016

Published: 10-12-2016

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.241

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.241

Abstract It is common knowledge that the incorporation of Learning Management Systems (LMS) in ESL/EFL instruction has enhanced learners understanding of the language just as it has helped teachers in monitoring students’ progress. However, the use of these eLearning platforms can be quite challenging for EFL learners who are yet to be proficient in the English language. This is because all course information and instructions are offered in the language. Following the notion of context and language metafunctions by Halliday (1985) and his followers, analysis of some linguistic expressions in typical learning management systems is conducted. I show how context and interpersonal meanings are established, and how they can enhance learners’ comprehension of information and instructions. The linguistic expressions used as data are sourced from student-specific pages of the web-based Learning Management System (Blackboard) and the Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (Moodle) as adapted in colleges and institutes in Saudi Arabia. Keywords: Systemic Functional Linguistics, Interpersonal Meaning, Mood, Context, Learning Management Systems 1. Introduction The use of online course management systems (CMS) otherwise referred to as virtual learning environment (VLE) or learning management system (LMS) in ESL/EFL teaching is undoubtedly gaining more awareness day-by-day as educational institutions strive to provide learners with learning opportunities that complement face-to-face classroom interaction and teaching endeavors. This is not unconnected to its multiple benefits. Murray and Mcpherson (2004, p.65) explain that LMS helps students participate in a course from a distance or at their convenience; collaborate and negotiate in English with peers to meet objectives and review course content in their own time. For teachers, it helps them reflect on both the ‘product and process of learning’ (see also, Johnson 2003). This is as a result of the fact that interactions with students via this medium can be captured, kept and archived. They also help teachers integrate the web as an information source with materials produced by teachers, and with interactive online communication as may be done through answering questions, feedbacks, blogs and emails. For teachers and students alike, King Koi (2002) maintains that it provides an opportunity for individualized instruction capable of meeting the needs of disparate learners in the same class. A number of learning systems have been developed. For the purpose of this paper, I refer to them as learning management systems (henceforth LMS). Some of them are proprietary while others are open source. Central to effective maximization of LMS is language. What learners are expected to do in terms of activities and how they are to do it are all expressed using the instrument of language. It is therefore imperative for learners to understand the ramifications of meaning of any linguistic structures found in their adopted LMS. The functional approach to language provides interesting perspectives by which appropriate understanding can be achieved. This is the gap that the functional approach to language learning comes to fill. It is, thus, clear that language does more than showing and enacting our experience. The use of language can express the kind of relationship that exists between interactants, be it in speech or writing. Within the functional perspective to language study, the aspect that expresses the kind of roles and relationships that may exist in language communication is called interpersonal metafuntion. Interpersonal metafunction is part of the three metafunctions advanced by MAK Halliday, the ‘father’ of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). The other two are experiential (ideational) and textual metafunctions. Halliday views language as not just as a system of rules which govern language structure, but rather, one with meaning potential (Halliday, 1973:346). This is a departure from the perspective of traditional language studies, including traditional school grammar, where there is no commitment to the study of meaning in language. Halliday believes that the process of acquisition and understanding is inclusive of “mastering certain basic functions of language and developing a meaning potential for each” (1975:33). In traditional school grammar, the categories or classes of words

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found in English such as nouns, verbs, adverbs and the like are most prominent. Although some of these word class labels are retained in SFL, but the theory also uses many other functionally relevant terms like participants (nominal), processes (verbs), circumstances (adverbials etc.), theme or rheme which are essential because “they are part of the general enterprise of exploring how people construct and negotiate meanings in the many contexts in which they interact” (Christie and Unsworth, 2000). From the dimension of language learning, Halliday (1973) canvasses for the need to see language acquisition as the mastery of linguistic functions. He argues that “learning one’s mother tongue is learning the uses of language, and the meanings, or rather the meaning potential, associated with them. The structures, the words and the sounds are the realization of this meaning potential. Thus the process of language learning is learning how to mean (Halliday 1973, p345; see also Saville-Troike, 2006). Coming from the perspective of language learning, Saville-Troike (2006) distinguishes the functional approach from the Chomskyan tradition. Accordingly, there is no sharp distinction between the use of language in real situations (performance) as well as underlying knowledge (competence). Also, the study of second language from the functional perspective begins with the assumption that the purpose of language is communication, and that development of linguistic knowledge (be it in First or Second Language) requires communicative use. Finally, the scope of concern goes beyond the sentence to include discourse structure and how language is used in interaction, and to include aspects of communication beyond language (see also, Tomlin 1990). Tomlin (1990, p155) admits that the functional approach “represents a comprehensive orientation to matters of language use and interaction which underlie and affect the temporal acquisition of second languages”. The current study may, therefore, be justified in the sense that various learner information, links and instructions in LMS are structurally constructed different forms ranging from a single lexical item to (short) phrases or groups and clauses/sentences. Learners (regardless of their English language proficiency level) are expected to create meaning and understand instructions in order to do the required studies, assignments, tests and other interaction endeavors. Learners’ understanding of what is required in terms of instruction may be enhance by an understanding of the context. Thus, an understanding of certain linguistic strategies may greatly help. 2. Previous studies, problems, aim and objectives Investigations have been carried on the learners’ challenges in using the online course management systems. Al-Jarf (2005, p.7) has examined whether the complexity of an online course design can affect its frequency of usage. He also identifies technological and linguistic barriers to students' participation and interaction. In doing a juxtaposition of three online management course systems (Nicenet, WebCT and Moodle), he points out that linguistic factors relating to learners limited proficiency affect understanding; adding that ‘Moodle and WebCT use many technical terms with which the students were not familiar’. Berg and Lu (2014, p. 326-328) also conducted a research on Student Attitudes towards Using Moodle as a Course Management System. Using the Taiwanese context, the research was conducted using the population 86 students studying English in a Department of Applied Foreign Languages undergraduate degree program at a private university in central Taiwan. According to them, the analyzed data show that ‘students are not overly satisfied with using Moodle, but they do agree that it offers great functionality for learning outside the classroom’ (Berg and Lu, 2014). One of the reasons which may be adduced to this seemingly dissatisfaction is problem relating to language. As alluded by Al-Jarf (2005), technical expressions or expressions with multiple semantic implications may be too complex for adequate understanding for learners with limited proficiency. With linguistics theory such as Systemic Functional Linguistics (henceforth SFL), understanding concepts in functionalism such as the context of situation (COS) and language metafunctions are some of the resources in understanding of the language of LMS is built on. Developed in the early 1950s, SFL is a model for analyzing language in terms of the interrelated systems of choices that are available for expressing meaning. Basic to the approach is the notion, which is also derived from the anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski, that language structures cannot be idealized and studied without taking into account the circumstances of their use, including the extralinguistic social context (Saville-Troike, 2006, Halliday, 1991). Halliday and Hassan (1985, 1989) examine context from two major perspectives namely; context of situation (COS) and context of culture (COC). Our focus is on context of situation as it makes reference to the environment, time and place of discourse. From Hallidayan perspective, context of situation is ‘the immediate environment in which a text is actually functioning’.

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Figure 1. The figure explains the context of situation (adapted from Frances Christie and Len Unsworth, 2000) They approach the study of context from what they called field, tenor, and mode. Halliday and Hassan (1985, p. 29-30) maintain that the field of discourse refers to ‘the kind of activity, as recognised in the culture, within which language is playing some parts’. The tenor of discourse refers to ‘the actors, or rather the interacting roles that are involved in the creation of the text. The mode of discourse is ‘the particular functions that are assigned to language in this situation, and the rhetorical channel that is therefore allotted to it’. Christie and Unsworth (2000, p.7) agrees with Martin (1992a) that there is bi-directional relationship between language and context of situation as indicated above. Interpersonal metafunction is thus a piece of interaction between the speaker and the listener (Halliday 1985, p. 20), and by extension, between the writer and the reader as the case in online learning interactions. Halliday observes that the speaker is using language as the means of own intrusion into the speech event: the expression of his comments, attitudes and evaluations, and also of the relationship that he sets up between himself and the listener in particular, the communication role that he adopts of informing, questioning, greeting, persuading, and the like (Halliday, 1971). Structurally, the interpersonal metafunction is represented by mood and modality. Mood and Modality are generally used to express the interpersonal meaning. Mood expresses what role the speaker selects in the communication situation and what role he assigns to the addressee (listener or reader). Mood, as used in English, is made up the two elements (subject and finite) of a clause. This in turn determines the form of the clause which could be imperative, declarative, or interrogative. Modality involves words that mark necessity, possibility or impossibility such as should, probably, maybe, etc. (Daulay, 2011). Wang (2010, p. 225) also noted that the interpersonal function embodies all uses of language to express social and personal relations which includes the various ways the speaker enters a speech situation and performs a speech act. Thus the paper is aimed at employing the frameworks of SFL in analyzing some commonly-found linguistic expressions in Blackboard and Moodle. Part of the objectives is to see how nominalizations used can be used to achieve meaning. It is also to explore the kinds of interactions maintained in LMS through the use of Mood; and to show that an understanding of (online learning) context is vital for purposeful student-teacher interaction. 3. Method and data The method adopted is qualitative. Samples of commonly used linguistic expressions in interacting with learners via LMS are analyzed. Some of the expressions are obtained from an open source platform – Moodle - as adapted by Jubail Technical Institute solely for conducting quizzes and examinations for its students. Others are obtained from the proprietary Blackboard. The Blackboard is currently used by the three tertiary institutions owned by the Royal Commission in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. However, we have made no distinction between the data obtained from the two sources because our interest is not to create distinctions but to generally look into how language is used generally in these LMS as a means of instruction and direction for learners. As observed above, context plays significant role in understanding the message contained in a text. At the background of our analysis is the notion of context expounded by Michael Halliday and Ruqaiya Hassan (1985, 1989). Thus, analytical focus on field of discourse, tenor of discourse and the mode of discourse presents the picture of context in which the expressions are used. Based on this understanding, analysis is done with deeper concentration on the use of nominalization (Eggins, 2012, p. 94-95) and the semantics of interaction instantiated by Mood (Eggins, 2012, p. 151161). All of these assist in engaging various expressions used in the Moodle and Blackboard, which, in turn, help in understanding how learners with limited English proficiency can work with LMS as he/she acquires the target language. The following are links and instructions extracted from Moodle and Blackboard.

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3.1 Extract A: Expressions in clauses/groups I. You are not logged in. II. Log in. III. You have quizzes that are due. IV. One attempt(s) made on this quiz. V. This quiz will close on Tuesday at… VI. To attempt this quiz you need to know the quiz password. VII. Time limit: 50 minutes. VIII. The quiz has a time limit. IX. Are you sure that you wish to start? X. You are logged in as… XI. No Course or Organization Announcements have been posted in the last 7 days. XII. No tasks due. XIII. Create Forums to organize discussions. XIV. No items found. XV. Edit Notification Settings. XVI. Forums are made up of individual discussion threads that can be organized around a particular subject. XVII. What’s new. XVIII. What's Past Due. 3.2 Extract B: Expressions consisting of one or two lexical items Home, My Home, Courses, My Courses, My Profile, Courses/Organizations, Needs Attention, Administration, My profile settings, Edit profile, Change password, Messaging, Blogs, Badges, Announcements, Calendar, Tasks, My Grades, Send Email, User Directory, Address Book, Personal Information, Goals, Course Entry Page, Home Page, Discussions, Groups, Tools, Help One of the elements instantiated through instructions and links in Moodle and Blackboard is nominalization. Nominalization is simply turning things that are not normally nouns into nouns. In other words, it is a way of turning processes (verbs) into actions and/or action-oriented expressions. 4. Analysis: interaction and meaning potentials in the clauses Halliday and Matthiessen (2004, p. 106-111) considers the grammar of interaction from semantic perspective (see Eggins, 2004). They mean that as we use language to interact, we establish a relationship between us (the speaker or writer) and the person listening or reading. In the analysis of interpersonal metafunction, we look at mood and modality. As mentioned above, the major grammatical components of Mood (as interpersonal function) is MOOD and RESIDUE. The MOOD constitutes the Subject and the Finite. The RESIDUE on the other hand constitutes a PREDICATOR, one or more COMPLEMENTS, and a number of different types of ADJUNCTS (Eggins, 2012). All of these determine the form of the clause: whether it is an imperative, declarative or interrogative. Modality focuses on those words that mark necessity, possibility or impossibility such as should, probably, maybe, etcetera. The first part of the data is made up of elements that can best be described as clauses. Structurally, they are made up Subject (the nominal component) and Predicate (the verbal component). This structure assists us to know that there is an ongoing interaction between the author (the teacher) of e.g. ‘You are not logged in’ and the reader (student) who is being notified. In terms of interaction, the clause is declarative. It is expressing a present state. Since it is an online interaction, it is assumed that time the information is read by the student(s) and the time of response is that time of interaction. In this case, the nominal ‘You’ referred to the student who is being addressed. By this function, the clause can be classified into MOOD and RESIDUE as shown in the following table A below. The Finite component take the negative ‘not’ which will require a positive tag ‘Are you’? Table A shows a classification into Mood and Residue You Subject MOOD

are not

logged

Finite

Predicator

in RESIDUE

Other related clauses that attempts to perform declarative function are ‘You have quizzes that are due’ ‘One attempt(s) made on this quiz’, ‘No Course or Organization Announcements have been posted in the last 7 days’, ‘To attempt this quiz you need to know the quiz password’. However, considering the context in which these statements are made, we can see that there are participants who are interacting in the setting that can be described as formal or semiformal. The mention of a quiz in at least clauses III, V and VI, suggests a learning environment. This is because it is in the formal learning environment that quizzes take place. Thus, a learner can use his/her understanding of the context of the lexical item ‘quiz’ to decipher the general meaning of the other components of the sentence. In contrast, clauses such as Log in (II) and Create Forums to organize discussions (XIII) and Edit Notification Setting (XV) appear to possess an interactive function of imperative Mood. Certain actions are required to be carried out. Also, a kind of relationship is being foregrounded in the sense that the reader may probably have no alternative option than to carry out the ‘command’. Language has been described to involve ‘interactions where we initiate or respond to the act of giving or demanding for goods-and-services or information’ (Halliday, 1994, p.64). Structurally, expressions such as in (II) appears to be made up of Residue solely. In simple present or simple past verbs, the finite element gets fused with another element known as Predicator. Eggins (2004, 2012), explains that ‘in earlier forms of English, and still in the emphatic forms of contemporary English, these forms (do, did) used to be present in the main part of the clause as well as in the tag. In English grammar, do can also occur at the beginning of an imperative sentence to emphasize the importance of that imperative verb or clause. The point being made here is that the word ‘do’ is actually regardless of whether is explicitly mentioned or not. This is similar to what we see in the table B below:

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Table B presents another example of the classification -

Do

log

Subject

Finite

Predicator

MOOD

in RESIDUE

Therefore, the obscured subject may be ‘You’ which represents the individual learner using the online tool. What is therefore happening is an enactment of interpersonal relationships (personal and social). Personal, because the learner is personally responsible for what he/she does and he/she does it; and social because the process of interaction is taking place in a presumed social setting of learning. In the two LMSs, there are examples of clauses that points to interrogation or question. The function is to ask short questions: ‘Are you sure that you wish to start?’(IX), ‘What’s new.’(XVII), ‘What's Past Due.’(XVIII). The (IX) is called polar interrogatives (see Eggins, 2004). It is structurally complex as it made up a main clause and a subordinate clause; and it can be analyzed based on individual clauses as shown in the table C below. Table C shows a more complex analysis Are

you

sure that

you

wish

to start

Finite

Subject

Predicator

Subject

Finite

Predicator

MOOD

RESIDUE

MOOD

RESIDUE

Eggins (2004, 2012, p.168) re-echoes the involvement of WH interrogative in analyzing mood. This is identified with the presence of a WH element. When WH element is used, it is conflated or fused with another element of clause structure; and is shown as a constituent of the MOOD or RESIDUE according to the status of the element with which it is conflated. Although the clauses (XVII) and (XVIII) are written without the question mark (from the source), analysis shows that they are probably meant to serve an interaction purpose not necessarily a question. It is textually position as link through which any new information or assignment can be sourced from the LMS. In terms of structure, there represent question which the user of the LMS can probably ask himself/herself. ‘What is’ will fall under MOOD while ‘new’ and ‘due’ will align with RESIDUE respectively. Seeing the two clauses online such LMS requires that the learner incorporation his knowledge of context to escape confusion. 5. Analysis: interaction and meaning potential in words and phrases For learners, the meaning of various nominal expressions as used in LMS can be achieved (by learners) when the context of situation of their use is considered along with other processes such as nominalization. The Extract B, which is being considered here, is made up of words and phrases. With the structural make-up of the links and instructions (in form of single lexical item and phrases), the learners are required to partake in certain communication endeavor and take certain actions. Understanding the ramifications of meanings embedded in those expressions can greatly enhance understanding. From the table below, the first column contains one-word expressions. What is being expected here is the user to take certain actions, however the action-oriented words have been condensed into noun forms. This can be described as nominalization. Sušinskienė (2010) maintains that ‘nominalization allows eliminating information like participants, time or modality’. To him the “nominalization is ‘materially’ related to the clause; semantically it is related to the propositional content of the clause” (Sušinskienė, 2010, p. 144). This relationship with the clause supports the fact that certain action-related activity may have been condensed in those lexical components as seen below. For instance, the ‘Home’ may probably be telling the learner that all information regarding the learning platform can be accessed there and not the home as where people live. Our understanding of context of situation from the perspective of the field of discourse as relating the ongoing activity or experience, (which is online learning); tenor of discourse as interactants or ‘players’ in the language of Halliday (1985, p.30) (teacher and student or student and student), and the mode of discourse which is done (here) through writing (using computer) help to conceptualize the kind of message the lexical items are trying pass. See table D: Table D presents structural description and the anticipated learner actions (in largely single lexical item) Lexical items Home Courses Messaging

Structural description

Action-focused on

N/C/S

getting necessary information

N/C/P

accessing your courses or subjects of study

Gerund (N)/S

sending a message or messages

Blogs

N/C/P

participating in the discussion in the blog

Badges

N/C/P

accessing your learning achievements

Announcements

N/C/P

reading and taking notes of announcements

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Calendar

N/C/S

view the (learning) calendar

Tasks

N/C/P

exploring the things to do

Goals

N/C/P

exploring the various study milestones

Courses/Organizations

N/C/P

looking through how the courses are organized

Administration

N/C/S

knowing how the study is organized

Discussions

N/C/P

participating in discussions

Structural description- N: Noun, C: Count, S: Singular, P: Plural A study of expression such as ‘Announcement, Tasks and Discussion’ may require a student to read announcements made in relation to the course of study, look at activities such as assignments he/she needs to turn in, as well as to see what others are saying in relation the course. The first level of the context of situation is for identifying the environment and relation that environment to the expression. We can see more of interpersonal function in the use of the possessive “my’ in the table below. The five noun phrases preceded by the possessive adjective is creating an atmosphere of familiarity which can assist the learner that remove any form of apprehension that goes with learning. Table E presents structural description and the anticipated learner actions (in largely two-word phrases) Phrases

Structural description

Action-focused on

My Home

NP

Inviting the learner to a more personal arena.

My Courses

NP

My Profile

NP

My profile settings

NP

The possessive adjective expresses the connection of home, courses and profile, profile settings and grades to the learner. It carves out the LMS area to the learner.

My Grades

NP

Change password

V/C

requesting the learner to change password

Send Email

V/C

requesting the learner to draft and send email

User Directory

NP

inviting the learner to view other users

Personal Information

NP

requesting the learner to view (edit or change) personal information

Course Entry Page

NP

instructing the learner to view courses

Needs Attention

V/C

calling the learner to what needs to be responded to

Structural description- NP: Noun Phrase, V: Verb, C: Complement As seen above, the phrasal expressions require the user or learner to perform certain actions which is based on an understanding of what the structures represent. The argument being foregrounded here is that the use of LMS such as Moodle and Blackboard could be a daunting task for (adult) learners with ‘humble’ background in English. When learners contend with difficulties in understanding instructions, it can substantially affect their overall activities and understanding of the subject. However, by approaching instructional expression and links with consideration of the context of usage and the parties involved in the communication, learners can have a great deal of what to do and how to do what to do in any typical LMS. 6. Conclusion This paper picks interest in the commonly-used expressions in LMS and analyzes the ramifications of linguistic interpretations that a learner may require to be able to use the system effectively. First, it is argued that the LMS such as Moodle and Blackboard also involve interaction. Although, the interaction is substantially done through writing, it however creates great opportunity for teachers and the learners to engage in a number of interpersonal functions. Lessons, assignments and checking information and announcements are forms of tutor-learner interaction. It is also maintained that these interactions are foregrounded and made possible through language; and that understanding the language of instruction and direction is as important as the activity the learners aspire to do on any LMS. Thus, the aspect of language that assist in examining these online language learning at a deeper level is grounded in SFL. The context of situation as well as interpersonal meanings as provided through this functional approach to language has been utilized. It is hoped that education experts with strength in online course management system pay more attention to language and other semiotic systems that can enhance comprehension and use by learners. Learners with limited English language proficiency can, thus, advance their understanding of LMS by adapting some of the frameworks provided by the functional approach to language.

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References Al-Jarf, R. S. (2005). Using Three Online Course Management Systems in EFL Instruction. Asia CALL Conference, 211. Berg, R. D., & Lu, Y. (2014). Student Attitudes towards Using Moodle as a Course Management System. International Conference on Recreation and Leisure Industry & Language Application, 327-336. Daulay, F. Y. (2011). Systemic Functional Linguistics and Appraisal Theory. In Appraisal in the Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of America from Bush to Obama (pp. 9-29). Medan: University of Sumatera Utara. Eggins, S. (2012). An introduction to systemic functional linguistics. New York: Continuum. Halliday, M. A. (1973). Explorations in the functions of language. London: Edward Arnold. Halliday, M. A., & Hasan, R. (1985). Language, context, and text: Aspect of language in a social-semiotic perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Halliday, M. A. (1991). The notion of ‘context in language education. In T. Le & M. McCausland (Eds.), Language education: Interaction & development (pp. 1-26). Launceston: University of Tasmania at Launceston. Murray, D. E., & McPherson, P. (2004). Using the web to support language learning. Sydney, N.S.W.: National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research. Song, L. (2010). The Role of Context in Discourse Analysis. Journal of Language Teaching and Research JLTR, 1(6). Sušinskienė, S. (2010). Nominalization as a Cohesive Device in British Newspaper Editorials. FILOLOGIJA, 15, 142150. Tomlin, R. S. (1990). Functionalism in Second Language Acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 12(02), 155-177. Unsworth, L., & Christie, F. (2000). Researching language in schools and communities: Functional linguistic perspectives. London: Cassell. Wang, J. (2010). A Critical Discourse Analysis of Barack Obama’s Speeches. Journal of Language Teaching and Research JLTR, 1(3). Xiao, W., Li, W., & Du, J. (2010). The Review of the Emotional Contagion Theory Based on the Interpersonal Perspective. 2010 International Conference on Management and Service Science.

International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 5 No. 7; December 2016 [Special Issue on Language and Literature] Flourishing Creativity & Literacy

Australian International Academic Centre, Australia

Disturbance of Native Americans as Reflected in Selected Folkloric Poems of Luci Tapahonso, Joy Harjo and Simon Ortiz Widad Allawi Saddam (Corresponding author) Faculty of Modern Languages and Commination, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia E-mail: [email protected] Wan Roselezam Wan Yahya Faculty of Modern Languages and Commination, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia Hardev Kaur A/P Jujar Singh Faculty of Modern Languages and Commination, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia Manimangai Mani Faculty of Modern Languages and Commination, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia

Received: 25-08-2016

Accepted: 21-10-2016

Advance Access Published: November 2016

Published: 10-12-2016

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.248

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.248

Abstract As a result of colonialization and assimilation, the natives were disturbed between past and present. Adopting the colonizer culture, style of life, language and changing home place come together in the mind of Native American people and lead them to be confused; they intermingle between past and present. They want to be themselves but the colonizer wants them to be the others. This feeling of disturbance affected Native American people, especially the chosen poets for this study. This paper shows how Native American people reflect their disturbance toward the colonization in their folkloric poetry. It explains how each element of folklore represents their disturbance towards the colonizer’s dominant culture. This paper will be done under postcolonial framework utilizing Frantz Fanon’s second views about the natives. Disturbance follows assimilation and they together forced Native Americans to present fighting literature which shows the third phase of Fanon. Keywords: assimilation, disturbance, Native Americans, Frantz Fanon, folklore 1. Introduction Disturbance, or the second stage of Fanon’s views concerning the Natives, occurs just before the start of the anticolonial battle, that is, just before the emergence of a fully conscious and concerted decolonizing force. In this stage, we find the native is disturbed; he decides to remember what he is. He tries to remember the old legends and will try to reinterpret them in the light of a borrowed culture. He remains, however, unable to fully participate in or reflect the lived experience of his people because he has only a superficial relation with them. Native American people show their disturbance because of the harsh circumstances caused by assimilation, like displacement and hybridity. The oppression and the suffering of Native American through the practices of the colonization lead them to be confused and disturbed between their glorious past and their difficult present which is full of discrimination and disruption. 2. Analysis Tapahonso reflects on her disturbance in her poem “Starlore.” The first stanza of the poem “Starlore” by Luci Tapahonso illustrates the split-up of past and present, and appears to depict a mixture of the two. The Natives drive their cars to attend a ceremony and park them by the traditional Native houses called hooghan; they are apparently living in both present and past at the same time. This stanza finishes by voicing that the people wait for “he…who knows the precise songs, the long, rhythmic prayers that will restore the world for us” (Tapahonso 2.16-19). It appears that this character could simultaneously be interpreted as a number of figures. A way of interpretation, definitely, is that he is a kind of medicine man. A medicine man in Navajo culture was someone who was familiar with the meanings of the stars, and has probably the power to heal and restore the world. Medicine man is a famous character in Native American folklore. He is such an important person and his position is like a leader. By referring to this person Tapahonso reflects her need to him to relief her from her feeling of disturbance. A round and cone-shaped structure for traditional dwelling enclosed the lives of the Navajo people, and became the homes to their culture. These homes for Navajo families were known as hogans, or “hooghans”(15). The speaker of Tapahanso’s poem, “Starlore” experiences an ethereal life while being surrounded and connected to her family and community and her environment and nature. This traditional life enriches the native person with spiritual awareness of

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their existence. For example, they build their doors facing the rising sun from the east to welcome each day with good luck which helps connecting their physical life to their spiritual life. This entrance signals the place that happiness and joy come indie the Navajo housing. The narrator in this poem tells of her and her family’s entrance into the hooghan “clockwise” and then making room for themselves on the “smooth, cool ground” (15). This “clockwise” movement highlights the spiritual ties of the Native people with the elements of this world. However, this spiritual connection has its own limits. It has effect only inside this close knit inside the hooghan. Tapahonso does mention that the members of the family feel the sense of fear inside them when they go outside this familiar world into the outside. She says, “Families could split into hardened circles over one sentence uttered in anger” and “parents would not know all they (their children) endured” (15). Moreover, the poem is concluded by admitting that “we address our fears in ways that have never changed”(15). The narrator mentions her family’s lack of understanding about each others with regret by emphasizing that the emotions and connection tie the members inside their traditional houses and environment but outside of it, the hardships and challenges of the world pull them away from each other and this is an awareness that comes late. “Starlore” talks of a time of transition and how families are trapped in a culture of past and present families have split. While there used to be a time that community was very important to the tribe people, now it is replaced with standalone families which suffer from strife and misunderstanding between their own members. “The Wrap is even” illustrates Luci Tapahonso’s great craving to the past through demonstrating the image of her own father and her certain attitude to nature. The repeated line “Today I began a new”, indicates the poet’s internal shift which begins with the ‘grey,’ ‘moisty,’ ‘damp,’ ‘cold’ early morning she describes. The following stanza transfers the reader to the present situation which is, in fact, the past. In ‘This afternoon’; there are related things to her native culture like ‘phone call, class preparations, since she is decisive to begin anew on that day. Addressing the ‘loom,’ she mentions that it ‘has not rained here for months.” She makes a tactful connection between her mother’s weaknesses of eyesight and the lack of ‘rain.’ The repetition of the word ‘today’ denotes something changeable. In order to remember the past, she decides to do a ‘new’ rug. She remembers the old wonderfully done rug her aged grandmother made for her deceased father. By “a new for my mother’s memories” the poet signifies the permanency of her culturally inherited traditions, folklore and customs. The mother and grandmother stand for their own traditions and history. In order to make connection between the past and the present, she teaches her grandson all her customs as well as traditions, and finally, makes a new rug for him. 3. Recalling the past In his novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell states that “He who controls the past controls the future’’. These lines are very significant in stating why it was important for the natives to regain control of their past and cultural history and why it can be a useful tool for resistance. The first step that Fanon suggests colonized people take in finding their own voice and identity is to reclaim their own past. That is getting in touch with who they were and how they lived before being influenced by colonizers. The European colonizing power devalued the nation’s past for centuries, considering its precolonial era as a pre-civilized limbo, or even as historical void. Since the arrival of European, Children, both black and white, were taught to see history, culture and progress as the beginning. So if the colonized want to regain their past they should get rid of the colonialist ideology by which that past had been devalued (Barry, 2002, 193) . This homogenization of native culture, according to Fanon, becomes contradictory towards the past and far from the real events of the present. What it holds in the end is a non-existent core that has become stable and made permanently coherent. He also asserts that the popular efforts of the people must be related to the construction of national culture. (Zhaogue , 2011) In other words, this homogenization alienates the Native Americans from their own past and make them unfamiliar with their present actual events. This brings about a fake essence which becomes internalized by the people and consequently, deprives them of having a real national culture. The native intellectuals, who refused imitating the colonizers’ culture and mindset, began to work enthusiastically on their own cultural history. As a result, they looked back and honored their indigenous background. According to Fanon, this literature which embraces the Native intellectuals’ reflection upon their own ethnical culture and history is of ‘just –before-the –battle’. (Mcleod, 2000, 86). Joy Harjo argues poverty, depression, self-doubt, alcoholism and violence are troubles forced upon the Natives by colonization. The natives have experienced an endless war for one or two centuries. During these suffering times, many of them sing, express, and reminisce through the language of enemy. (Bird & Harjo, 1997, 20) The native’s past was controlled and diminished by the white, their present and future was affected too. Sense of loss is the outcome of losing one’s history and identity; Identity is who a person is in both the past and present and it also determines a person’s future too. Native Americans’ identity is inseparable from their lands. Therefore, when they got displaced what they really lost besides their land was a part of their culture, and the idea that they are the true dwellers of America. (Carpenter, 2004) According to Harjo, the Natives have been expatriated and vanished in their own homeland. This provides them with a vague sense of history, since they are not aware of the fact and history of how America appeared. Joshua Barnes compares the Natives and African Americans and says that in contrast with the Native Americans who seem to live in a kind of exile, Africans possess their own lands and that only one half of one percent indigenous people live there, and the tribes have their original lands. (Barnes, 2013 )

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Simon Ortiz’ observations about the fate of his race is scripted in "From Sand Creek" his cycle of poems published in 1981. Ortiz starts his preface talking about the Native American history and culture. Unfortunately, this is the same history Native American people felt foreign to sometimes. Moreover, Native American people felt they have no history. They intermingle between American history and U.S. history. Since they were alienated from history, Native American people felt that they were pushed away consciously. Ortiz believes that Native Americans were made to vanish, and the aim of his poetry is helping them retrieve their past. In “This way still we shall go on,” Ortiz emphasizes the idea of looking back to the past life of the Native American life. He tells his readers that the past life was perfect and well guided, and then they should follow it to get the right way in the present life. It is necessary to look back to the past. How they were guided, how they lived well, We who are living today, that is how we are to be guided by, That is the way of living that will be correct and good for us. Through re-imagining and remembering history in from Sand Creek, Ortiz appears as a witness to the massacre of the past which he believes continues the trend of subjugation embodied by the massacre. He also asks his readers to witness by listening to and accepting these histories. (Fast, 2000, 53). In addition to voicing the realities of indigenous people, Ortiz, probably, expresses all people’s lives. He articulates struggles when confronted with oppression and genocide of colonizers which is currently relevant on a universal scale. As a significant poet and teller of tales, an activist, and an educator, Simon Ortiz writes poetry for all native people in the world from Acoma to Pueblo. Not only does his writing reflect the future of universal literature but embraces the glow of novel orientation of history, psychology, philosophy, language studies and folklore. (Powell, 2006, 6-7) In this long epic poem, the lyric segments are written in the style of rhythmical Indian oral tradition preceded by a prose segment in italic which separates the fact from them. In this poem, he portrays the disastrous and heart rending massacre of Cheyenne and Araphoe people who were settled trusting the president who had guaranteed their safety. They were showing their commitment to the promise through raising the American flag visible even from the far distance. However, just ten years after Longfellow’s prophecy, they were betrayed by devious Colonel W. Chivington in November 29, 1864. The colonel along with his mob of Colorado volunteers looted the miserable scattered Indians who were suffering from hunger. The Epilogue of the long narration includes a fragmentary perspective of history after the encounter of two races with completely different traditional and cultural qualifications and backgrounds, Indians with their spirituality and white men with their materialism. This Epilogue is created through recalling this catastrophic slaughter of the Indian race. Ortiz’ historiography asserts that bigoted whites considered Indians as evil creatures that must be eradicated from the vision of moral and honorable Puritans. Moreover, they regarded them as uncivilized people and accordingly practiced violation against them. They justified that this violent behavior was in favor of the civilized world. (Cruz , 2013) In 1864, U.S. soldiers mascaraed women and children of Cheyenne and Arapaho in Sand Greek. In 1998, the battlefield of this genocide which was an appalling event in American history was identified as a National Historic Site in order to commemorate the innocent victims. Seventeen years earlier, Simon Ortiz also paid homage to these victims in his own fashion. According to Ortiz in from Sand Creek, if Natives and non-Native Americans want to heal the wounds of the past, they first have to assent that despite its acrimony they have the same history. The beginning of Ortiz’s first poem appropriately articulates a testimony of America’s violent past: “This America / has been a burden / of steel and mad / death” (1-4). By using the word “mad death” the poet tactfully rejects President Roosevelt’s famous perception that whatever America has done has been necessary and just. He declared that it was worthy to get together in order to demonstrate that Americans do not forget what their Western pioneers had done in the past (Cruz, 2013). The episodes include randomly chosen snap-shots that expose the main spots in the encroachment of the white people to the heart of the Native people’s land. They also represent the principles that would fashion the future ideology of white man as well as their greediness for power and land which stimulated their activities. In his poem, “Hunger in New York City,” Simon Ortiz declares his responsibility to his culture as well as his deep nostalgic sense of connection to “mother earth” and lands of his ancestors. The poem’s simple title can easily create misinterpretation, since a reader may visualize images of hungry homeless people in New York City who are wandering or queuing for food. Although this assumption is related to the title of the poem, Ortiz shifts the concept of hunger to something considerably more profound. In the beginning of the poem, Ortiz talks about the hunger which originally comes “from somewhere out of your muscles, or concrete or the land, or the wind pushing you.” Hunger may be related not just to food but to many things that have been lost, place, culture and tradition. In order to show how hunger grows the poet uses the verb crawl. As a slow process that creates and forms an increasingly perceptible feeling, hunger crawls into the man’s awareness. In the poet’s viewpoint, the origin of hunger is something deep inside man, from out of his muscles. This hunger is a symbol for the natives’ yearning for identity. Ortiz’s poetry is inspired by his Native American heritage and develops a strong connection and a certain sense of identity with his past. Hunger crawls into you from somewhere out of your muscles

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or the concrete or the land or the wind pushing you. (1-4) At the beginning what the hunger asks seems minor but time by time the demands become higher. For example at the beginning, hunger asks for memory of human contact but after some time, it begins to ask for human contact itself, and not just any contact but one in the poet’s native homeland; it demands a return to native traditions and rituals and the world the poet knows. It means, the poet doesn’t know New York City at all and there, he is only an outsider. The poem opens by describing hunger as a kind of an animal that can “crawl into you.” It is shown as something that emerges from outside but in line 2 it turns out that it actually comes from somewhere “out of your muscles”. Thus, this hunger is not spiritual; it emerges out of the tension in one’s muscles. The final two lines of the stanza show that hunger can have more than one source through using “or.” In other words, this hunger must come from somewhere before crawling into one out of their muscles. Once hunger has consumed one, it starts to ask things. Hunger, here, is personified as it has the ability to demand things. It comes to you, asking for food, words, wisdom, young memories of places you ate at, drank cold spring water, or held somebody’s hand, or home of the gentle, slow dances, the songs, the strong gods, the world you know. (5-11) Through igniting the poet’s desire to go back home, hunger ‘’searches [him] out’’. Little by little it processes the poet and starts asking more personal questions. At the beginning, the answers to these questions seem easy but after some time, they become more difficult. Finally hunger assumes full power and by asking difficult questions, reminds the poet of his responsibility towards his homeland That is, hunger searches you out. It always asks you, How are you, son? Where are you? Have you eaten well? Have you done what you as a person of our people is supposed to do? (11-16) Consequently, the poet feels guilty for his attempt in answering the questions the hunger poses so he draws his attention away from his memories and his wish to go to his homeland and gets back to “the concrete of this city”. And the concrete of this city, the oily wind, the blazing windows, the shrieks of automation cannot, truly cannot, answer for that hunger although I have hungered, truthfully and honestly, for them to feed myself with. (17-23) In the second stanza, the poem elucidates that besides demanding food, hunger asks for other needs such as “words, wisdom, young memories, of places you ate at, drank cold spring water, or held somebody’s hand, or home of the gentle, slow dances, the songs, the strong gods, the world you know.” These other things that hunger demands are mentioned correspondingly and interchangeably with food which is necessary for man’s survival. Ortiz holds that hunger asks for his home in Acoma Pueblo, the very world he comes from. In this phrase, the poet asserts that he feels as a stranger in New York City and conveys his sense of unfamiliarity with the city and also discomfort to the reader. The unpleasant concrete and wind of New York City take the poet to a place in his memory in which he can find comfort, peace, familiarity and relationships So I sang to myself quietly: I am feeding myself with the humble presence of all around me; I am feeding myself with your soul, my mother earth; make me cool and humble. Bless me. (24-31) Ortiz clarifies that hunger continues to catch man in order to remind him that it exists. In the poem, hunger asks some questions similar to the ones that a close member of family usually asks in a long distance phone call indicating that this

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hunger is not only a food hunger. “How are you, son? Where are you? Have you eaten well? Have you done what you as one of our people is supposed to do?” In fact, Ortiz has personified hunger in this poem in order to represent his profound desire for his homeland generated by his unpleasant life in the unfamiliar and cruel atmosphere of New York City. Ortiz’s strong sense of identity along with his abundant sense of responsibility to his Indian culture is revealed in the last question. The next stanza expresses the poet’s view that what the city provides him with cannot really satisfy his hunger. He cannot be pleased in a violent place with polluted air, concrete, bright lights, and noise. He declares that he honestly did his best to adapt himself to the city life and to be satisfied with its atmosphere but he failed. The reader perceives the poet’s sense of resentment toward the city through his dull descriptions of it and understands that the city cannot satisfy the poet’s hunger. The last stanza the author seems to pray in a quiet song with closed eyes assuming that even his present environments are still a part of “mother earth” despite their disagreeableness. The poet also asks mother earth to comfort him since he is satisfied with her blessing soul. As a cool and placid appeal for peace and comfort, he wants mother earth to make him calm and modest, and to bless him. Ortiz’s profound connection with his Native history and culture is revealed in his poem. It demonstrates that regardless of how far away he may be, he feels the hunger for his own people indicating one’s past remains in them even if they go far away. He is proud of his rich culture and discovers his comfort there. In this poem, the concept of hunger signifies a type of homesickness that someone feels when they are away. In the poem “Going toward Pojoaque, A December Full Moon/72,” Harjo describes the moon’s action which is instantly evaluated in relation to its mythic sphere (Ruppert, 1983). The moon is making silver/ snail tracks over frozen / white earth/ it is a winter ghost hunter/ for old bones in the snow/ the full moon was so bright / I could see the bones in my hands. (Harjo 1979,25) Searching for some truth and also the essences of beings on earth, the moon becomes a hunter who must pierce the snow to find the essence. The woman’s implicit identification with the moon’s action determines her personal understanding. The Moon helps her in the process of searching and she can see into her own essences, deep to the bone. The process of understanding the mythic space and reaching self-recognition is obviously seen through understanding mythic space and fusion with it (Ruppert, 1983, 36). In her poems, Joy Harjo asserts this fact too. She first portrays the original loss of the Natives and their struggle to reclaim their expunged identity and then mentions that in order not to forget, one must keep telling the truth. She regards remembering as an animated factor which influences the future. For her, poems are originated from mingling imagery and pure memory. (Harjo 55). Harjo depicts this fusion in her poems when she remembers and expressed the lives of her ancestors as well as of the people who were not successful in their search for identity. She asserts that truth is demanded in poetry (Harjo 141). By truth she means representing the history in a most sincere way. Harjo represents the truth of the Natives through its illustration in her poems, a poetic discourse of testimony. "New Orleans," is a poem representing a journey along the Mississippi to New Orleans. The poem portrays the complaints of the poet who is in search of her ancient and valuable treasure of history-as-memory. The poem focuses on the massacre of the Creek people and their deprivation of own lands by European colonizers and the U.S. government which resulted in the peoples’ loss of identity and also the eradication of their native culture. Here, Harjo adopts the role of a speaker-traveler who holds presumptions of feeling the muted voices of the Natives who were slaughtered and buried under the mud of the Mississippi. The poem also represent the Native viewpoint in a humorous mode when visualizes an ornament seller devastated by magical red rocks which recompense the unwary for the crimes committed during the colonization of America by the European invaders. In search of an acquainted Indian face, the speaker shifts the shape skillfully and as a swimmer plunged into blood, a estuary in the skin. The climax of this non-linear poem appears quite late in its 37th line; however, deftly exposes its aim: The myth of El Dorado exacerbated the death-dealing Spanish conquistador/colonizer Hernando De Soto. In a city with black slaves, where merchants sell showy but cheap and of poor quality “mammy dolls / holding white babies”, the topic overlooks the white’s wrongs to needle Latino De Soto, who practiced violence against the Creek. While in history, De Soto died of fever and was buried in the Mississippi river, telling another version of history, the poem swings from the lavishness of New Orleans to the Creek lands, claiming that the Indians drowned the violent death-dealer in the Mississippi. Similar to the graves of Louisiana that "rise up out of soft earth in the rain," De Soto’s ghost accepts his fate and does a Bourbon Street death dance with "a woman as gold / as the river bottom." In Harjo’s viewpoint, the spirit of the Creek De Soto is still so strong that even centuries later one can feel it from the depth of the earth. As a result, the strength and richness of the Creek culture are the keys of its survival. In “New Orleans” the poet demonstrates her ability to re-create the history of her people in the vaster framework of the violence used to create America on Natives’ account. In addition to depicting the Native’s grief and heartbreak of the expatriation, the poem expresses the strength proven by their ability to survive which is called a “beautiful survival.” Harjo is very positive about the possibility of regaining what is lost. She says, “the focus on what is being “lost” reinforces what we are told about ourselves, that we are dying, that our cultures are dying. Yet all around me I see evidence of the opposite.” (Bird & Harjo, 1997,25 )

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4. Conclusion Since colonialism is a denial of a nation’s cultural history and values, what that nation is to do as a means of resistance is to reassert its history and culture and try to reclaim it. The challenge was made even more difficult as their history and even sense of identity was assimilated into the Whites’ history and identity; this, nevertheless, did not stop the native Americans, especially their thinkers, writers, and poets, from reclaiming what was theirs even if it meant using the Whites’ language against themselves; this is what each one of the Native American poets discussed in this paper tried to do achieving different degrees of success. This shows greatly in the art they produced and since art cannot exist apart from reality, the influence was carried over to the natives’ lives as well. One could say that Native American artists planted the seeds of resistance that later on bloomed to affect the whole cultural front of their people. Ortiz describes several changes which took place after Native American people’s expatriation from their own homeland as geographic dislocation. As a result of colonialization and assimilation the natives were disturbed between past and present. Harjo reflects her great sorrow with the colonizer who according to her steals her people land while forcing them to talk in English (the colonizer language). References Barnes, Joshue. Having to fight for it: An interview with poet/ Musician Joy Harjo. November 15, 2013, accessed March 8, 2014, http:// www.samponiaway.org/literary-voices/2013/11/15. Barry, Peter. Beginning theory: An introduction to literary and cultural theory. Manchester university press, 2002. Bird, Gloria, and Joy Harjo, eds. Reinventing the enemy's language: Contemporary Native women's writing of North America. WW Norton, 1997. Carpenter, Ron. “ Zitkala- Sa and Bicultural subjectivity.” Studies in American Indian literatures 16 (2004): 1-28. ProQuest. Cruz, Yaneirys. Ortiz’s poetic sequence challenges. 2013. Fast, Rbin Riley. “ “ It is ours to know: Simon J. Ortiz’s from Sand Greek.” Studies in American Indian Literature. 12.3. 2000: 52-63 print. Ruppert, Jim. "Paula Gunn Allen and Joy Harjo: Closing the Distance between Personal and Mythic Space." American Indian Quarterly (1983): 27-40. Mcleod, John. Beginning postcolonialism. Manchester university Powell, Malea ed. Studies in American Indian literature. University of Nebraska. 2006. Tapahonso, Luci. Blue horses rush in: poems and stories. Vol. 34. University of Arizona Press, 1997. Zhaogue, D. I.N.G. “On Resistance in Anti-colonial Marxist writings.” Candian Social Science 7.1 (2011): 38-48 “The poetic of Carol Muske and Joy Harjo.” 123Help Me.com.09Jul 2014.

International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 5 No. 7; December 2016 [Special Issue on Language and Literature] Flourishing Creativity & Literacy

Australian International Academic Centre, Australia

Revisiting the Content-Based Instruction in Language Teaching in relation with CLIL: Implementation and Outcome Abdul Karim School of Educational Studies Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia E-mail: [email protected] Mohammad Mosiur Rahman (Corresponding author) School of Languages, Literacy and Translation, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia E-mail: [email protected]

Received: 12-08-2016

Accepted: 30-10-2016

Advance Access Published: November 2016

Published: 10-12-2016

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.254

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.7p.254

Abstract The present article has reviewed literature on Content-Based Instruction (CBI) along with the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in Language Teaching based on the recent development in the field. This includes the learning principle, factors responsible for the successful implementation of CBI/CLIL, their prospect and outcome. The paper is written based on secondary data from different articles providing exploratory account of contexts observed, paying attention to the views and practices of participants, and review papers on previous studies. The goal is to understand the aspects of CBI, its relation with CLIL, success and shortcoming resulted from the implementation in language teaching. Keywords: Overview, Content-Based Instruction (CBI), Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), Immersion 1. Introduction The mastery of the learners in Second Language (L2) becomes high when the conditions applied during the First Language (L1) acquisition appear in the second language (L2) acquisition: that is, when the emphasis is given on meaning rather than on form; when the language input is above the competence of the student; and when there is ample opportunity for students to get access to the meaningful use of that language in a relatively stress-less atmosphere (Krashen 1985a; 1985b; Savignon 1983; Snow 1993; Wesche 1993).Thus, with the intention to attain the mastery of the students in English as a Second or Foreign Language by not solely focusing on the language itself, instead emphasizing the content of the subject matters, which students learn as parts of their academic journey, and which ultimately result in the English proficiency of the students as the course materials are developed in English, Content-based Instruction (CBI) emerged in the mid-1970s recommended by British governmental commission, which suggested two skillsreading (receptive) and writing (productive)- must be given emphasis during the development of curriculum. It was the result of the ‘Language across the curriculum’ movement during that time (Larsen & Freeman, 2000). 2. Research Problem Existing literature has been found to be divided and indulged the discussion among the terms CBI, CLIL and Immersion and its implication on language teaching (Cenoz & Zarobe, 2015; Chamot & O’Malley, 1994; Ruiz de Zarobe, 2008). Therefore, it has become obligatory to incorporate a conceptual analysis to distinct these terms or draw any relation that is predominantly established in the available literature (see Greere & Räsänen, 2008; Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010; Tedick & Wesely, 2015). CBI/CLIL/Immersion needs to be analised contextually before the adaptation in a different context or program since, potential impact of integration can lead various pedagogical impediment, which found to be a barrier in the implication among the literature and consequently, the learning of language (Cammarata & Tedick, 2012; Fortune, Tedick, & Walker, 2008; Tedick & Wesely 2015). Therefore, based on a categorical analysis of literature on the factors that influence CBI/CLIL/immersion, according to researchers e.g. Cenoz & Zarobe (2014); Gallagher and Leahy (2014); March, Hau, & Kong (2000); Bulter, (2005); Morris & Tarone (2003), is a predetermining factors of integration and impact the language teaching. However, in accordance to the problem stated, the specific aim of the article are following: 1. 2. 3.

To investigate, whether CBI, CLIL and Immersion are distinct or identical, or not. To explore what is the suitable context to implement CBI, in relation to the principle of CBI. To apprehend the potential impact of CBI in the language teaching and learning, in association to implication barriers of CBI. 3. Methodology In order to answer the research questions of the present study, an extensive amount of literature has been reviewed and explained. To the review of the related literature, a systematic search has been adopted by using the topic and keywords

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e.g. CBI, CLIL, Immersion, Bilingual education etc. Searches for peer reviewed articles were conducted in ERIC (EBSCO or CSA), Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (CSA) and Google Scholar of years year between (2000- 2016) to find out recent and as many numbers of literature as possible related to the topic and keywords. Collected data were analysed under each heading and sub headings. All data that are collected from different secondary sources are acknowledged accordingly in text and in the reference list. 2. What is CBI? CBI is defined as “the concurrent teaching of academic subject matter and second language skills” (Brinton, Snow, & Wesche, 2003, p. 2). It provides authentic, meaningful academic contexts aiming at developing both the language skill and subject-knowledge of the learners. In addition to CBI, some authors perceive that it also aims at improving the repertoire necessitated in the field of learning (Chamot & O’Malley, 1994). Butler (2005) elucidated that CBI facilitates learners in the process of negotiating meaning and practicing the productive language skills, which will help them to focus on forms as well as meaning. This is marked as “comprehensible input”, which is recommended as being an indispensable issue of CBI (Swain, 1985, 1993). CBI facilitates Cognitively-demanding tasks that, according to Cummins (1992), aid learners in attaining Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP), which leads the learners to the overall academic success. The incorporated cognitive skills and learning strategies into CBI are also corroborated by a number of cognitive and educational theories in principle (Butler, 2005). He added that teachers use a wide range of instructional strategies that entail visual aids, conceptual maps, and analogies by which they purportedly generate meaningful and organized information. As a result, students can successfully enrich their knowledge by adding the new one to the prior one (e.g. Anderson, 1990; Armbruster, 1996). CBI, by providing learners with cognitively challenging content materials and tasks, privileges the students in a way that they can develop self-esteem and critical thought process. In a word, CBI, intrinsically like Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), with corroboration from a number of theories belongs to different academic aspects, with a view to boosting integrated development of learners required to achieve language proficiency and content knowledge. 2.1 CBI and Immersion Highly influenced by Immersion Education is the content-based instruction, and Immersion Education implies the type of foreign language instruction, which theorizes that the medium of regular school curriculum is the foreign language (Richards & Rodgers, 2001). Cenoz & Zarobe (2015) define immersion as type of CBI, and it is one of the familiar L2medium programs. According to them it was introduced in 1960, Canada intending to assist the bulk of the language learners. So far, two types of immersion programs are designed - One-way immersion (OWI) and two-way immersion (TWI). OWI, as mentioned by Tedick & Wesely (2015), is designed for L1 speakers, and TWI is developed for learners who have heterogeneity in terms of language in the classroom. 2.2 CBI and CLIL, are they Different or Same? To be the member of the global family, in the first hand, it is important to adapt the International Language (English) in the curriculum. For last 20-25 years, it evident that, worldwide universities have been experiencing the growing necessity to be internationalized, which is resulted from getting access to English language by using it as the medium of instruction, and this scenery prone to take place mostly in non-English speaking countries (Coleman, 2006; Ljosland, 2005). Some approaches are associated with emphasizing on both content and language in an integrated way, and usually get carried out by subject specialists or team teaching (Greere & Räsänen, 2008). CLIL is one of them. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), which has flourished in Europe since the 1990s as Dalton-Puffer (2007) reported, has been dubbed as “an educational approach where [content] subjects [.] are taught through the medium of a foreign language” to the learners belong to all educational levels (Dalton-Puffer, Nikula, & Smit, 2010, p. 1). The action of CBI is often regarded as Content and Language integrated learning because learners’ primary focus is the content and secondary target is the mastery of the language. Occasionally, some controversies arise regarding whether CBI and CLIL are same or different. CBI is used mostly in North American setting (Brinton, Snow, & Wesche, 1989) and practice of CLIL is found in Europe (Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010; Ruiz de Zarobe & Jiménez Catalán, 2009). Ground studies on CBI/CLIL programs all over the world, discussed by Cenoz (2014), look at the similarities and differences between the programs generated from their definition. She criticizes the idea of dubbing CLIL as a unique approach. Cenoz leads the discussion focusing on an example in a school in the Basque Country where the languages of instruction are Basque, Spanish and English, and where the learners are linguistically heterogeneous. No monolithic variation regarding the properties like languages of instruction, the language, societal and educational aims and the typical type of children taking part in these program exists between CBI/CLIL, according to her analyses; therefore, it is to be claimed that if variation occurs circumstantially, it is accidental. Learning the subject matters through medium of second or additional language is considered as Content-based Instruction (CBI) or Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) (Cenoz & Zarobe, 2014). Coyle, Hood & Marsh (2010) opine, CLIL is an educational approach where teaching and learning of both content and language are accomplished using an additional language, and it explicates that in the classroom focus is not only on the content, and not only on the language. Accumulation of both is prevailed in the classroom. In addition, some authors identified both terms synonymous (Ruiz de Zarobe, 2008, p. 61 footnote). In fine, it the bottom line can be drawn in this way that CBI and CLIL, in respect to their setting, aim and objective, contents, and implementation, are same.

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3. CBI Contexts Typically CBI is implemented in English programs, bilingual programs, foreign language programs, heritage language programs, and other programs across grade levels (Butler, 2005). Some programs focus on learners’ language development (language-driven approaches) while others emphasizes largely on aiding students to acquire the content knowledge by providing different types of cognitive and linguistic corroboration (content-driven approaches) (Met, 1998). Cenoz & Zarobe (2014) categorizes the pedagogic situations where CBI/CLIL is practiced as the following: A. Where the local languages are not used institutionally. This is due to the minor users and/or the lower status of the language. Speakers of Quechua in Peru or Nahuatl in Mexico are the worth example belong to this setting. B. Situation where spoken languages are not part of the curriculum of the host country. To mobilize socially people use these languages, and in these cases home languages are dissimilar to that of the host one. In particular, children comprised to this situation are Turkish speaking people living in Netherlands or Germany. C. This is typically English as a home language situation. Intending to get excellence in the language skill some subjects are taught through the local minority languages. Example lies on the English–Spanish dual immersion programs in the USA. D. This situation includes contexts where English is learned as a Foreign Language such as Austria or Sweden and in bilingual regions in areas where English is taught as a third language. Usually, languages of majority or minority people are used at school. That to attain a good job requires the excellence in the English language backs the institutions to teach some subjects in English. Gallagher and Leahy (2014) refer situation B and C as ‘immersion by default’ and ‘immersion by design’ respectively. Situation in which schoolchildren have no access to their L1 at school and are taught in other languages such as English in the case of immigrant students in the UK and Ireland, German in Germany or English in the USA is marked as ‘immersion by default’. ‘Immersion by design’, they indicate, implies that the school as a place to improve bi/multilingualism and that there is assistance for learners intending to language learning. This is applicable for situation D. Situation A, as Paran 2013 expounds, devised due to lack of choice, which is a common phenomenon in the educational systems in Africa, Asia and South America. It is worth mentioning that in such contexts native language is different from the academic language. 4. Principle of CBI CBI intends primarily to the contents practiced in the classroom, and trivializes the active role of the teachers. Krahnke (1987) stated that little or no individual endeavor is given from the teachers’ part to teach the language only, rather subject matter or course contents are to be taught in the target language. Richards & Rodgers (2001) pointed out that one of the core principles of CBI is that, successful learning of second language takes place once it is learned during the acquisition of information, rather than triggering solely on the mastery of the language itself. The main focus on this regard is the content, which Brinton et al. & Wesche (1989) identified as ‘point of departure’ or ‘organizing principle’ the course. According to them, students’ effective learning of language is determined by presenting it in the course materials in a meaningful and contextualized form with the secondary focus on the language itself while primary objective is to acquire the information from the contents. In the formal academic journey, second language proficiency is highly achieved when the goal is to gain the expertise of the content instead of the language (scott 1974; Collier 1989; Grandin 1993; Wesche 1993). To assure the expected achievements in second or foreign language learning, as Richards and Rodgers (2001) suggested, learners learn language better once they find learning materials interesting, useful, and direct to reach the goal. Selection of the content should be done with the credibility. Advocates of CBI are with the view that, to make learning worthy the syllabus should consider the eventual uses will the learners make of the target language. Learners’ ‘morale’ and as a consequence effective learning will be promoted if the informational contents (subject matters) are relevant. CBI tends to bring students under the umbrella of learning of the second or foreign language with success by establishing certain features those make learning feasible for them. As D’Anglejan & Tucker (1975) pointed, task is influential on the learning of second language, and it leads to the effective acquisition of learning once it is associated with communicating with someone regarding any relevant issue, which appears attractive to the students. In a word, selection of the content has a pivotal role to play in CBI because it determines the attitude, aptitude and motivation of the students towards learning, and promises the desired attainment at the end of the session. 4.1 Influential factors for CBI to be succeeded Comprised factors affect the effectiveness of CBI are - lack of in-depth content knowledge (March, Hau, & Kong, 2000), insufficient attainment in L2 (Langman, 2003; Pica, 2002), increased anxiety for both teachers and students (Ryding & Stowasser, 1997), and the substantial investment of time and energy by both teachers and students that CBI requires (Stryker, 1997). The successful implementation of CBI seems to be determined by a number of factors including: (a) context and curriculum, (b) Characteristics of teachers, (c) Characteristics of learners, and (d) ample resources (Butler, 2005). In what follows, I will explicate these factors. 4.2 Context and Curriculum The setting in which CBI gets implemented can be different depending on educational and social contests, the role of students’ L1 and the target language (TL) within the given society along with the support from both academy and community for language education (Bulter, 2005). Accordingly, he added, variation takes place in terms of students’ and teachers’ needs, goals and expectation from CBI. Usually, CBI curricula vary when balancing the focus between

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language and content. Different emphases in curricula influence the kind of syllabi, activities, and materials used in CBI, as well as assigning the role of pupils and the teachers in such education (Davison & Williams, 2001). This elicits that no isolated or pre-fixed stuffs (syllabi, material and notion of practicing those) exists in CBI. What to be followed is decided only after being cognizant about the particular aim or goal of the program. 4.3 Characteristics of the Teachers In terms of language proficiency, generally two types of teachers conduct CBI programs – native and non-native speaking teachers of the target language. It has been seen that some CBI programs are taught by language teachers and content teachers lead the other ones. Successful implementation of CBI requires positive interaction between teachers and students. Without this, there is a greater possibility of the program being failed. Morris & Tarone (2003) stressed on the development of a meaningful and effective relationship between teachers and learners in second language acquisition while some identified indications that students in mainstream classes in ESL contexts impute a higher status to the content teachers than those of the language (e.g., Creese, 2002). Teamwork is perceived as the key determinants for successful CBI implementation, but Gilzow & Branaman (2000) found that assuring cooperation between language teachers and content teachers in a difficult task to accomplish. According to Leung (2001), different goals towards which two types of CBI teachers are heading to causes this complicacy. Several studies on CBI programs hypothesize some qualities of the teachers that lead to an effective implementation of CBI. Below are such ones: (i) Teachers’ good command in English or the target language, which means not only are the teachers able to explain things but also have to perform it with proficiency; (ii) Teachers have to have wider idea about the content they are teaching in the class; (iii) Teachers’ instructional strategies, which include strategies regarding the content and instruction; (iv) Teachers’ expectation for student achievement as part of their attitude (Butler, 2005). However, it is noteworthy that the actual relationship between the aforementioned qualities and students’ performance is not well defined. But is true that teachers with these quality can boost teaching and learning in the classroom and robust in the adverse setting. 4.4 Teachers’ Role Stryker & Leaver (1993) cited in Richards & Rodgers (2001) elucidated that mentors in CBI is more than just efficient language teachers; they must have the in-depth knowledge about the subject matter and the ability to bring out knowledge from students. They suggest some required qualities of the teachers which lead the program meeting the success. Below is the list of those: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Teachers should have the ability bring the change of direction if needed. They should have the ability to implement group work and team-building techniques. They should have the ability to organize jigshaw reading arrangements. They should have the ability to provide prior knowledge about particular topics and language skills required for learner success. They should help students to form coping strategies. They should execute the process approach in writing. They should use the appropriate error correction techniques. They should help students in developing and maintaining high level of enthusiasm.

These integrated skills of teachers determine the success of CBI/CLIL programs. The most these skills would be acquired by the teachers, more the probabilities of the successful implementation of CBI program. 4.5 Characteristics of the Students Like teachers students also vary in terms of following facts: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v)

Proficiency in the target language; Schemata about the content being discussed in the class; Learning strategies and styles they are familiar with; Age and level cognitive development; and Aptitude, motivation and anxiety level (Butler, 2005).

Some people claim that content-based program is comparatively feasible for the learners belong to advance level than those of novice. Klee and Tedick (1997) admitted the fact that, students with low proficiency, in their college level content-based foreign language immersion program, compare to Intermediate-High ACTFL, went through “extreme frustration” (p. 155), performed poorly, found it difficult to survive and left the program. However, this scenario does not connote that CBI does not entail students at the beginning-level of language (Stryker & Leaver, 1997), rather meaning that they are unwilling to perform well if language proficiency, prior knowledge, degree of development. and learning styles do not comply to the curriculum and instruction provided in CBI program having dubiousness (Butler, 2005). Thus, the curriculum and classroom instruction should be presented in a way that students with versatile characteristics can easily extract what they are supposed to do, and head towards that.

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4.6 Learners’ role “Learning by doing” underpins CBI (Richards & Rodgers, 2001). This, according to them, presupposes the active role of the students to be performed in several phases. They also stated that not only should the learners get them ready psychologically but also mentally for CBI. One of the goals of CBI, as discussed by Richards & Rodgers (2001), is to establish learners’ autonomy. Sryker & Leaver (1993) elicited the reason behind this by stating that autonomy leads the learners to be cognizant about their own learning process so that they can authorize their own learning. In addition, CBI students are expected to corroborate each other in the classroom (Richards & Rodgers, 2001). They also believe that learners should interact passionately in the classroom and should interpret input. They should maintain the patience to tolerate the uncertain things usually take place during learning and seek diversified interpretations presented by their peers. Learners are not assumed to act only like the typical ones. Instead, unlike other approaches, students are bestowed the authority in choosing learning contents. This motivates learners in the prolonged journey of education and directs them to reach their goal. 4.7 Resource Availability Resources are other determinants that facilitate effective implementation of CBI. In an educational program, teachers, learners, materials and classroom equipments etc. are exclusively considered as resources. Butler (2005) identified some important resources that include: (a) a good collaboration among teachers, administrative staff, parents and community, (b) allocation of required time and money, and (c) readiness for text book and other kind of materials. A number of studies conducted in CBI setting emphasize the importance of academic collaboration and corroboration, and both financial and human assistance for the program (Gilzow & Branaman, 2000; Stryker & Leaver, 1997). Butler (2005) admitted the fact that it is not always possible to prepare authentic materials that meet both the linguistic and cognitive needs of the learners and their interest. Hardly in EFL contexts, do the materials provide ease to the learners. This is because of importing textbooks that have rare match to the local curricula or national education policy. Students are far too unfamiliar to such kind of authentic ones. What is effective in this regard as Sternfeld (1997) suggested, as part of readiness teachers can ask students to go through the background of a given text in L1. 5. Potential impact of CBI/CLIL Studies have been conducted to know the potential outcome of CBI or CLIL. But it is noteworthy that, such investigations mostly took place in contexts where CLIL is practiced. Studies conducted in the context of USA and CANADA are mainly product oriented and notify that maximum students enrolling in immersion programs are learning several school subjects through the medium of L2, which results in achieving a greater degree of command in the second language at no cost to proficiency in the L1 or academic knowledge (Genesee & Lindholm-Leary, 2013; Tedick & Wesely, 2015). The principle of CBI connotes that students should be given input through their target language with greater priority on content itself rather than the language. By settling this in the pedagogy CBI facilitate meaningful learning of both information and language. Baker (2011) stated, the more exposure to L2 is provided, the more mastery in learning takes place, and same scenario is found every part in the world where it is practiced. However, it is to be considered that students taking part in CLIL classrooms do not attain the mastery of L1 to use it in productive skills. The fact admitted regarding this is that students belong to these programs achieve a good command in the receptive skills but encounter problems with grammatical accuracy and sociolinguistic competence when writing and speaking (Tedick & Wesely 2015). After having an exploration on several studies Cenoz & Zarobe (2015) state that mastery over the second or additional language is the outcome while the learning of content and development of the first language occurs simultaneously. In one of their papers namely ‘‘A review of research on content-based foreign/second language education in US K-12 contexts’, Tedic & Wesely (2015) unearth the results of a specific type of CBI: immersion programs in primary and secondary schools in the USA. Focusing both on one-way immersion designated for English L1 speakers and two-way immersion emerged to serve the purposes of heterogeneous classes where both English L1 and English L2 students are participating, they found that students belong to both groups are succeeded in academic subjects. Not only this, as they demonstrate, students of immersion programs also improve their cross-cultural competence. Most studies on the outcome of immersion programs in Canada and USA accord these results. Another admitted fact is that students enrolling in secondary and tertiary education such as CLIL are optimistic regarding such learning experience (Aguilar & Rodriguez, 2012; Dalton-Puffer, 2011; Doiz, Lasagabaster, & Sierra, 2014; Llinares & Dafouz, 2010; Lorenzo et al., 2010). This is due to diversification in terms of choosing materials for teaching as during the selection of the topics the academicians prioritize the interest of the learners. Other research evidence, students accentuate the reality that compare to the other approaches of teaching CBI, in particular, induce teachers to organize teaching stuffs with greater care so that those can lead the learners to manage desired proficiency, and this kind of effort from teachers’ part is very unlikely in other approaches of teaching (Aguilar & Rodriguez, 2012; Dalton-Puffer, 2011; Doiz, Lasagabaster, & Sierra, 2014; Llinares & Dafouz, 2010; Lorenzo et al., 2010). Thus students are seen enthusiastic in learning to reach the edge of expertise that are destined for. As Doiz et al. (2014) fortifies the fact that challenges thrown by CLIL please the students to a greater extent. This catalyzes the aptitude and morale of the learners to penetrate contents associated with difficulty. She exemplifies that, in terms of writing, students initially experience difficulty, and thus they do not like it but when they manage to produce plenty of writing, such achievement makes them feel proud and pleased. That CLIL tend to offer another privileges are the activities that necessitate the engagement of the students, and students are kind of partial to tasks where they can interact and collaborate actively, and to serve this purpose entail less use of textbooks (Coyle, 2013; Doiz et al., 2014). So teachers, as mentioned earlier, have to work hard for designing materials to facilitate effective classroom activities. Many studies reveal the fact that

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CLIL is effective for foreign or second language learning. The investigations conducted in Europe expose that in terms of foreign language development CLIL offers outstanding results (Dalton-Puffer, 2011; de Graaff, Koopman, Anikina, & Westhoff, 2007; Lasagabaster, 2008, 2011; Lorenzo et al., 2010). In addition, research conducted in Spanish context has deliver the similar indication of success by generating the information that CLIL students preponderate their nonCLIL peers when they are compared to each other regarding language expertise and measures. In terms of the measurement of academic achievement administered in English, several studies reported that proper application of US one-way language immersion (OWI) and two-way language immersion (TWI) programs indicates that students participated in these programs perform better than their non-immersion peers (Downs-Reid, 2000; Essama, 2007; Lindholm-Leary, 2001; Lindholm-Leary & Borsato, 2006; Padilla, Fan, Xu, & Silva, 2013; Thomas, Collier, & Collier, 2011). CLIL students, in particular, seem to do intensively well in listening and speaking skills, and organization skills as Naves & Victori (2010); Lasagabaster & de Zarobe (2010) asserted, vocabulary acquisition (Feixas, Cod_o, Couso, Espinet, & Masats, 2009; Marquez, 2007; Catal_an & de Zarobe, 2009), and word association (Moreno, 2009). Furthermore, successful implementation of CLIL results in the achievement of positive cognitive gains such as the improvement in the students’ L1, as contained in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies by Lorenzo et al. (2010). Duration of the course has an influence on determining the positive outcome of CLIL. Lasagabaster & Doiz (2016) endorse, learners’ achievement of certain skills are connected to the extension period of time allocated to them. The observation done by Ramırez-Vergudo, Alonso and Vinas cited in Linares & Dafouz (2010) explicates that teachers belong to the primary level provided 40% time to listening, 26% in speaking, 18% in reading and 16% in writing. Coyle (2013) strengthens this by arguing for, adequate time allocation to develop skill such as writing is a prerequisite, and therefore its implication assures students’ performance being highly improved. Although duration of CLIL is one of the determining factors of the success of CLIL, certainly, it is not certified by the researchers, in fact, according to them, the role of duration to gain positive results is questionable. Apprehended by Aguilar & Rodıguez (2012) is the ambiguity whether extended exposure or CLIL solely benefits the learners, but they perceive that the expansion of the exposure is partly facilitating the success. In her one of the hypotheses, Cenoz (2013) drew that if learners are facilitated with plenty of EFL classes, they would be likely to attain almost equal development as their peers in CLIL. According to her, the barrier is that schools lack sufficient time to spend on learning English as an individual subject; therefore, to foster learning schools can introduce contents on English and teaching them by following CLIL approach. Based on the proposition by Dornyei and Ushioda (2011) implies the fact that the way learners perceive themselves and others and the way they evaluate their achievement in a specific L2 learning context will have a momentous influence on foreign language learning. This statement is made regarding learning foreign language learning contexts. However, Lasagabaster & Doiz (2016) are of the view that this scheme can be applied to CLIL classes. The distinctive studies on students’ self perception reports have illustrated that learners of primary and tertiary level hold similar perceptions about their progression of both the receptive and productive skills and language area (Lasagabaster, 2014). Students of all levels, in particular, have registered their rank of their progression where vocabulary topped the rank, and pronunciation, speaking, reading, writing, grammar owned their position consecutively in the rank as Dafouz, Nunez, Sancho, & Foran (2007) mentioned for the results of tertiary level, and Ramırez-Vergudo, Alonso, and Vinas (in Llinares & Dafouz, 2010) for primary education. CLIL facilitate some additional advantages for which learners are so gravitated to this. By assuring those advantages, in a large scale, CLIL flourish learning. The increase in the learners’ self-confidence and a decrease in the reticence to get more exposure to the language are such advantages as noted by Dalton-Puffer et al. (2009, p. 21). CLIL privileges students to express their learning experience, and it is to be noted that being cognizant about learners’ opinion can be an asset Lasagabaster & Doiz (2016). 5.1 Shortcoming of CBI/CLIL Although a bunch of advantages to foster learning lies on CBI/CLIL, neither of them are not free from some shortcomings. The goal of such programs is to develop mastery of the content, which is correlated to attaining the mastery of the language. But when it comes to the reality, it shows the reverse scenario. It is found in practice that apart from triggering on certain terminology pedagogically, CLIL may have ambiguity in targeting at language learning goals (Dalton-Puffer, 2011). CLIL does not have overt emphasis on teaching grammar. This happens because of several identical factors. For the first, as Fortaner (2010) mentioned, teachers in CLIL suffer from short of potential training, which is a prerequisite of the successful implementation of any educational program. Teachers hold the perception that by attending classes conducted in English, learners will have the command in foreign language naturally (van der Walt, 2013). Secondly, complicacy is associated with the selecting procedures of course content. Lorenzo, Casal, & Moore (2010) identified, lack of doable materials is responsible in this respect. Finally, according to Huttner (2013), the deployed activities of the teachers and students are creating hindrance, and stakeholders such as researchers and policymakers are not made cognizant about these. In addition to these, the conventional thought of both teachers and students plays an unconstructive role for not having a pragmatic teaching and learning of grammar. Coyle (2013) stated that students’ goal is to get the exposure of the language regardless of accuracy. Carrying the same perception in their mind, teachers are less likely to discuss grammatical rules in the classroom. So grammar, core of a language, is not addressed properly in the CLIL/CBI classrooms. It is also elicited that in CLIL classrooms speaking and writing are widely emphasized; perhaps, this is one of the reasons for students not being engaged to learning grammar. The downside of CLIL, as Dalton-Puffer et al. (2009, p. 24) figured out, is that students criticizes the notion of focusing solely on speaking and reading in CLIL classes with writing being perceived as less important, despite the magnitude they feel associated with being skilled in writing to serve professional purposes such as writing reports, memorandum etc.

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5.2 Instructional problems in CLIL/CBI Teachers determine the successful implementation of any educational program and can often compensate for the lowquality contents (Richards, 2003). Required is intensive training to be proficient mentor. Teaching approach like CLIL/CBI or immersion programs necessitates potential teachers. Freeman (1998) revealed that in US immersion programs, it is difficult to recruit efficient bilingual teachers who have the expertise to teach language and content simultaneously. For most of the US immersion teachers, pre-service preparation or in-house training intended to language and content integration is not as beneficial. Some studies are conducted to uncover insight of how immersion teachers compensate content and language instruction Cammarata & Tedick, 2012; Fortune, Tedick, & Walker, 2008), and how the typical Foreign Language teachers perceive CBI and what is their preparation for the classroom. That the reflection of the teaching expertise, Stryker & Leaver had considered highly required for mentors, had been relegated in the classrooms. Teachers did not follow the process approaches to flourish students’ writing skills. Besides, they were unlikely to correct the students’ error. As being mentioned, teachers emphasize fluency over accuracy. Learners felt the need of learning grammar and being the master over writing. But teachers failed to initiate changes of direction. Teachers have to make students accustomed to the challenges by providing them some strategic platforms. However, lack of this derailed students. Dalton-Puffer et al. (2009) reported that a decline in the learners’ attendance in the classroom might have derived from the fear of English. The plausibly depicted problems arose from different contexts were due to the dubiousness from the instructors’ part resulted from not being well-trained and aware of their responsibilities. Cammarata and Tedick (2012), in a phenomenological study, stated the fact that a big challenge encountered by both OWI and TWI immersion teachers lies on the balancing of language and content. That teachers fight strongly to be both the language and content instructor and experience ambiguity regarding which features to present in the classroom. This puzzle is intrinsic when the teachers are about to integrate content and language; thus researchers suggest to arrange in-house training for the teachers on how to integrate language and content to overcome that hurdle. In addition, it is to be illuminated that these are the areas of opportunities, which after being attained assure the successful implementation of CBI/CLIL. Whatever tagline do the programs contain, CBI/CLIL got introduced to serve a great purpose to the students who are about to learn second and foreign language. Either of these offers learner-centered classroom. Handy teachers can highly participate to assure the programs’ success by taking part in preparing feasible materials for learners to lead them meaningfully get access to these. 6. Recommendation and Conclusion The recent research in the field of Second Language Education has been flourishing, so does the CBI/CLIL and it implication in language teaching. However, the development also leaving gap in the research and practice of the field (Rahman & Pandian, 2016). According to Rahman and Pandian (2016) sufficient support and assistance e.g. professional development, opportunity for classroom or action research, more research oriented in-service training of the teachers’ should be given to the teachers from the educational institution and the government. Teachers’ should have their liberty to take decision for the sake of better teaching and learning, allowing them to take part in the selection of the contents, and provide payments within stipulated time period, all kinds of support should be given to the instructors. These will help to develop the morale of the teachers. Butler (2005) illuminated that, not only do the content teachers require a good command in English but also need a greater degree of knowledge about language improvement and usage. He added that they have to be cognizant about learners’ proficiency level and language learning strategies. Similarly, he mentioned, language teachers intending to use CBI must be ornamented with the content knowledge to facilitate learning. However, such qualified teachers are absent in many East Asian EFL contexts. Teacher education program can solve this problem. CBI/CLIL oriented programs should be monitored by the related authorities. Multidimensional problems may arise while implementing this. The execution of skilled monitoring can facilitate the useful learning in CBI programs. Nevertheless, it helps to identify the problems, which by taking initiatives can easily be solved. Problem may arise from not understanding the instruction given by the teacher clearly or students’ of interest to learn or teachers’ lack of knowledge regarding the content or irrelevance between the goal and practiced content. These can lead to the inhibition of motivation and aptitude of the learners. The most controversy results from the accumulation of content and language. Butler (2005) elucidated that although it is difficult to distinguish language and content, some evaluations should be done to understand whether lack of language ability or lack of prior knowledge is responsible for students’ low performance. In addition, CBI classes are conducted in the target language. But students in EFL setting lack necessitated command to deal with content, and they are likely to use L1 to understand the content. It is a matter of concern as the primary focus of the curriculum here is to attain mastery over foreign language. The monitoring should also focus on whether teachers fail to encourage or motivate students to learn things using foreign language along with language itself or teachers themselves lack the required command in English. The materials and tasks prepared for classroom practice should also be scrutinized to check whether they suit the students’ interest. If any problem from any phase is sorted out, the authority can initiate to solve the problem. Not only this, such monitoring can help thrive the programs in future.

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