Vol. 5 No. 3 (2023)

Open Access

Editorial

Article ID: 1083

Editorial review on Vol. 5 No. 3

by Zhonggen Yu

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 2100; , 2023; 15 Views, 10 PDF Downloads

N/A

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1057

The role of performative verbs in the English educational discourse in British and American fiction

by Natalia Srebryanskaya, Valentina Gurchenko, Irina Bakhmetieva

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1656; , 2023; 17 Views, 13 PDF Downloads

The issues of performativity of the English educational discourse (EED) are considered. Under the educational discourse, the authors understand the educator’s statements to the educatees in order to make an educational impact on them. The aim of the study is to define the types and characteristics of performative verbs in the English educational discourse. The authors suggest that performativity can become one of the important characteristics of educational discourse. The data for this study were collected from the English-language fiction of the 19th–21st centuries, devoted to the problems of education and upbringing. Attention is paid to performative verbs as the basis of EED. The classifications of Austin, Searle and Apresyan are taken as starting points. The results of the analysis show that performative verbs are typical of the EED, but their activity and frequency vary. The performativity of a verb depends on its position in the sentence. In some positions in the sentence, they may lose their illocutionary power and the ability to carry out an action; in this case, they are used in the phatic function. The analysis shows that the EED has a high degree of performativity, which can be considered a characteristic feature of the discourse under study.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1058

Officers and men and fallen heroes: The discursive construction of regimented masculinity in the Nigerian Army

by God'sgift Ogban Uwen, Anthony Ebebe Eyang

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1761; , 2023; 21 Views, 10 PDF Downloads

This paper examines the use of gendered language in the Nigerian Army’s community of practice through the application of insights from language ideology and theory of masculinity. Data were generated by means of participant observation and semi-structured interviews in a one-year fieldwork involving representative sample of 18 personnel of the 6 Battalion, Ibawa and 2 Brigade, Uyo, both in Akwa Ibom State in South-eastern Nigeria. The findings show that the Nigerian Army maintains institutional gendered language practices used among its personnel in regimented functions and social events. The gendered registers occur in the soldiers’ generic use of male address terms, adaptation to male-coded voice pattern in parades, masculinisation of Army’s workout songs, and the subordination of femininity in institutional associations, all combined to construct the regimented and performative masculinisation of the profession. This practice is observed to be informed by the numerical domination of men in the profession that was originally perceived as males’; a conception that has shaped the linguistic ideology and performance of the Nigerian Army to rehearse masculine orientations. It is however recommended that the Army’s language practices should capture modern ideals of a gender sensitive world that connect to the clamour for gender equality and equal social belonging through the inclusion of feminine linguistic markers in workplaces.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1059

EFL reading strategies used by high school students with different English proficiency

by Ru-mei Rebecca Tsai, Shenghui Cindy Huang

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1855; , 2023; 38 Views, 22 PDF Downloads

This study examines EFL students’ reading strategy use and explores the differences between the factors affecting the use of the reading strategies by high and low proficiency EFL learners. The participants consisted of students from a high school in Taiwan. Their reading strategy usage and the influencing factors were assessed using the Survey of Reading Strategy (SORS), think-aloud protocols, and semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal no significant disparities in problem-solving strategies and supporting reading strategies between high and low proficiency learners. However, no table differences were observed in the employment of global reading strategies. In addition, learners’ vocabulary size and syntactic knowledge emerged as influential factors in the utilization of reading strategies. The results also indicate that high proficiency learners employ top-down reading strategies, while low proficiency learners rely on bottom-up reading strategies to approach their reading tasks. Detailed results of the reading strategies used by the two groups of students and factors affecting the strategy results are shown and discussed, followed by pedagogical implications. At the end, suggestions for the future research will be presented. 

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1060

Instrumental analysis of loss of assimilation of English nasal stops in adult Saudi EFL learners’ speech

by Pradeep Sharma, Mahboobeh Khaleghi, Mohammad Saleem

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1787; , 2023; 11 Views, 9 PDF Downloads

Assimilation of consonant sounds within words and at word boundaries is a common phenomenon in English. However, EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners may fail to observe the rule which makes their English sound sub-standard. This paper investigates whether adult Saudi EFL learners follow assimilation rules in English. Selected words and phrases spoken by a group of participants, where assimilated nasal sounds were used, were recorded using Praat software. Drawing spectrograms of the sound signals, time taken by participants to pronounce the assimilated sound segments was calculated. The time taken by native speakers of English to pronounce the same sound segments was also checked. The mean values of time taken by participants and native speakers to pronounce each assimilated sound segment were compared, with the assumption that if the participants took more time to pronounce the sound segments, they missed assimilation. The findings revealed that although in comparison to native speakers, Saudi EFL learners clocked slightly higher time duration, for most sounds the difference in time was not significant from the statistical point of view. The conclusion is that Saudi English learners are making efforts to be as close to native speakers as possible in using assimilated nasal sounds in English.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1061

“記念錯過的DUET_T”: Negotiating translanguaging practices in the legitimate graffiti of a multilingual schoolscape in Hong Kong

by Ruijie Li, Guangxiang Liu

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1825; , 2023; 30 Views, 18 PDF Downloads

Hong Kong’s higher education institutions, with their unique socio-political context and global reputation, have presented multiple and diverse schoolscapes where multilingual students can collectively construct a shared repertoire to perform their desired identities and create specific meanings. Recognizing the semi-public whiteboards on a Hong Kong University library wall as a genre of schoolscape, this paper aims to explore the intricate ways in which students negotiate their varied linguistic and semiotic resources to create and engage with multilingual graffiti that is deemed legitimate on these whiteboards. Drawing upon the concept of translanguaging (W. Li, 2011, 2018), we employed a sociolinguistic ethnographic design and collected 151 photographs of graffiti. Through a semiotic and ethnography-informed analysis of the linguistic landscape data, we argue that these graffiti signs encourage students to establish the schoolscape as a collaborative translanguaging space by enabling them to collectively participate in translingual and transmodal practices for fun. The graffiti signs also invite students to perform translanguaging practices to substantiate their sense of affiliation with the institution and its people in the translanguaging space where their affective experiences can be constructed and shared. The study concludes by advocating for further ethnographic investigations to enhance our understanding of translingual practices within multilingual schoolscape environments.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1062

A meta-synthesis study on the effect of critical thinking on improving language skills

by Reza Taherkhani, Mandana Gholizadeh

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1687; , 2023; 17 Views, 11 PDF Downloads

The current meta-synthesis study investigated the effective strategies for improving critical thinking ability among EFL/ESL learners, and the relationship between language learning skills and critical thinking ability. To achieve this aim, meta-synthesis was selected as the design of the study. Therefore, some databases were searched using the defined key terms, in order to select the related qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method studies. As a result, 550 articles were found, 43 articles of which were included in the final review. Using thematic analysis, the obtained data from these 43 articles were analyzed in 6 steps and then coded for each research question. Although no single method was proposed in this study as the best to improve critical thinking, it was indicated that a number of them together can be effective when properly implemented. It was shown that all 4 language skills can be improved by enhancing the level of critical thinking ability among EFL/ESL learners.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1063

The effectiveness of using simulation in learning a foreign language

by Iryna Zvarych, Iryna Tonkonoh, Ihor Bopko, Serhii Melnychuk, Kateryna Mehela, Tetiana Shyrmova

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1916; , 2023; 15 Views, 9 PDF Downloads

The aim of this study was to measure how the use of simulation contributes to the improvement of speaking skills and the enhancement of students’ motivation to learn a foreign language. The methods of observation, testing, and expert evaluation were used to diagnose the criteria of foreign language communicative competence (motivational, cognitive, and behavioral). The quality of the manifestation of interaction was correlated with its development, and three levels of foreign language communicative competence among students were distinguished: low (reproductive), medium (reproductive-productive), and high (productive). The study results showed that the EG significantly increased the indicators for all foreign language communicative competence criteria. The comparison of the results of the two experimental stages revealed a higher increase in indicators of high and medium levels of foreign language communicative competence in the second stage (high level—by 10.1%, medium level—by 4.9%). It was determined that simulations contribute to the gradual development of all foreign language communicative competence criteria. The main advantages of simulations are that they provide an opportunity to reproduce various communicative situations, thereby contributing to improving speaking skills, understanding the language in real time, and adapting to the requirements of real communication. The prospect for further research is the study of the impact of different forms of simulation on the effectiveness of foreign language learning.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1064

Using Adobe Connect application in an EFL context: Does it have an effect on learners’ speaking skills

by Kamran Janfeshan

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1919; , 2023; 15 Views, 13 PDF Downloads

The main aim of the present study was to explore the impact of Adobe Connect on Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ speaking skills. Furthermore, the study investigated whether the learners’ attitudes to language learning changed after using Adobe Connect. For that purpose, 100 upper-intermediate EFL students were chosen through the convenience sampling method. The selected students were randomly assigned to two classes. The experimental group applied the Adobe Connect application; however, the conventional teacher-fronted instruction was used for the control group. The results showed that the Adobe Connect class considerably outperformed in speaking skills in comparison to the control group. This demonstrated that the Adobe Connect application is effective in improving learners’ speaking skills. The findings suggest that Adobe Connect has a positive impact on enhancing learners’ speaking skills. The platform’s interactive features promote engagement and collaboration, leading to improvements in fluency, accuracy, pronunciation, and confidence. The results also revealed that there was a difference in attitude change between the participants in experimental and control classes. Adobe Connect has enhanced EFL learners’ attitudes toward language learning as well as speaking skills. Thus, it can be suggested that the Adobe Connect application is an effective online instrument that can be used by EFL teachers.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1065

Dynamicity of interaction in academic discourse: Evidence from a corpus-based study

by Mehrdad Vasheghani Farahani

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1895; , 2023; 9 Views, 11 PDF Downloads

Metadiscourse features are the rhetorical devices that serve to maintain the writer-reader and speaker-audience interaction. The way metadiscourse features are utilized in spoken and written modes may differ given the nature of these two modes of communication. For this reason, the present study set to unpack the distributional pattern of metadiscourse features as well as investigate the construction and maintenance of writer-reader and speaker-audience interaction in academic written and spoken English. To achieve this goal, two corpora of The British Academic Written English Corpus and British Academic Spoken English Corpus were utilized as the data gathering resources. To categorize the metadiscourse features, Hyland’s taxonomy was selected. The quantitative analysis of the data showcased that the written corpus was more interactive oriented despite the fact that the spoken corpus showed a propensity towards the interactional category of metadiscourse features. On the other hand, the analysis of the concordance lines illustrated that academic conventions differed significantly in spoken and written academic English which resulted in a dynamic interaction between writer-reader as well as speaker-audience. The results of the study at hand may have implications in such lines of research as corpus linguistics, contrastive analysis and genre studies.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1066

A longitudinal investigation of the impact of code-switching versus target language only on Saudi EFL students’ written receptive vocabulary knowledge development in terms of breadth

by Ahmad Ibrahim Mugableh, Talal F. Alruwaili

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1719; , 2023; 22 Views, 11 PDF Downloads

This longitudinal research was conducted to investigate the effect of code-switching versus target language only on Saudi students’ written receptive vocabulary knowledge development in terms of breadth. A total of sixty male samples were randomly chosen from the population of Saudi EFL students at Jouf University in Saudi Arabia who enrolled in extensive English courses. This course is provided for those who scored less than the direct admission score of 2.5 out of 5 in the English replacement test. Samples were equally divided and allocated into two classrooms. In the first class (i.e., C1), thirty students were instructed by a non-native English speaker who employed code-switching as a pedagogical strategy. Students in the second class (i.e., C2) were instructed by non-native English speakers who employed the target language only as a pedagogical strategy due to the different language backgrounds between the instructor and participants. Data were collected from samples of both classes using the Vocabulary Size Test developed by Nation and Beglar (2007) at four different intervals and over four months (i.e., one academic semester). Results revealed that Saudi students’ vocabulary knowledge in terms of breadth had developed significantly at four different intervals in both classes. However, the development in C2 where the instructor employed the target language only, was significantly higher than in C1 where code-switching is employed. Moreover, results also indicated that samples in C1 where code-switching is employed experienced a newly coined linguistic status called Receptive Vocabulary Recission (RVR) which indicates the act of avoiding the acquisition of new English vocabulary since they were habituated to be given an additional explanation for new vocabulary using their first language knowledge. This rescission was very tangible from the mean difference between C1 and C2 score averages.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1067

Bibliometrically and systematically analyzing automated writing evaluation for English learning

by Tiantian Wu, Zhonggen Yu

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1907; , 2023; 29 Views, 17 PDF Downloads

Automated writing evaluation is highly discussed in artificial intelligence for English learning. It is necessary to explore the effect of automated writing evaluation on learning English as a second language. This study combined bibliometric analysis and systematic review to explore the use of automated writing evaluation for learning English as a second language. VOSviewer was used to identify the highly discussed topics, the top ten cited authors, organizations, countries, references, and sources in the studies on automated writing evaluation. Fifty-six peer-reviewed articles were selected according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols. The analysis revealed that automated writing evaluation is helpful, but its effectiveness varies according to the types of feedback, and it cannot replace the role of human feedback yet. Teachers’ roles are significant in integrating automated writing evaluation into the classroom. Future research could focus on the specific ways to integrate automated writing evaluation into the classroom better.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1068

Verb-centered means of expressing self-presentation in the English-language job-hunting discourse

by Irina Kotova, Natalia Srebryanskaya, Irina Bakhmetieva, Natalia Ignatenko, Inessa Zlenko

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1842; , 2023; 17 Views, 9 PDF Downloads

This article presents a semantic, syntactic, and contextual analysis of the language means of self-presentation, conceptualized as the dominant speech strategy in the job-hunting discourse. The scope of our research is limited to the written variety of texts expressed via the genres of CVs/resumes and cover letters. The material was taken from English-language job-hunting resources: Balance, Career Addict, Career Blog, Indeed, Resume.io, StandOut CV, and Zety. It is stipulated that self-presentation can be viewed as a system of interrelated speech tactics: self-nomination, self-description, presentation of professional achievements, description of professional responsibilities, and identification with an ideal candidate type. Each tactic has its unique semantic profile. All self-presentation tactics roughly fall into two major categories—nominative and verb-centered. The latter category, which incorporates the tactics of presentation of professional achievements and description of professional responsibilities, was the primary focus of this research. A careful semantic and syntactic analysis revealed that active verbs with two-complement (in some cases, three-complement) valency are the core of the aforementioned tactics. This leads us to believe that the actant situation almost always includes the agent and theme, sometimes the benefactive. As a result of semantic analysis, lexical units were classified according to their sentimental modality—positive, negative, or neutral. Our research documented the prevalence of positive evaluation semantics in self-presentation units. A syntactic analysis was employed to identify the formal aspects of sentences containing self-presentation. The analysis showed that most sentence structures fall into three basic types of syntax reduction: a) subject omission ( [I] perform regular check-ups ); b) omission of the subject and the link verb ( [I am] professionally trained ); c) the omission of the subject and the verb of possession ( [I have] numerous awards ). The authors conclude that the self-presentation blueprint of verb-centered constructions identified in this article persists across all verb-centered tactics proving to be an effective means of constructing written job-hunting discourse.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1069

Writing anxiety among prospective nonlanguage teachers: A quantitative study of a nonmetropolitan state university

by Tricia Magne DeLeon, Jovannie Sarona, Arvin Casimiro, Helengrace Lao, Kent Adnil Lao, Cimon Pantaleon, Ericson Alieto

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1933; , 2023; 34 Views, 20 PDF Downloads

This research focuses on exploring the aftermath and diverse impacts of writing anxiety experienced by prospective nonlanguage teachers. The study primarily delves into the levels and types of writing anxiety that disrupt the academic performance and personal pursuits of future educators. The participants in this study encompassed 165 students pursuing majors unrelated to language, such as Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in Mathematics (BSED Math), Bachelor of Culture and Arts Education (BCAED), and Bachelor of Special Needs Education (BSNED). To ensure accurate data collection, the study employed assessment tools, namely, the Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI) and the Causes of Writing Anxiety Inventory (CWAI), both exhibiting high-reliability scores of .757 and .936, respectively. Employing one-way ANOVA, the collected data were subjected to statistical analysis. The findings of the study indicated that the participants consistently experienced heightened anxiety levels in writing. The investigation also revealed that among the various types of writing-related anxiety, cognitive anxiety emerged as the most prominent, followed by somatic anxiety and avoidance behavior. Furthermore, the study identified time constraints and the pressure to achieve perfection as the two most prevalent causes of writing anxiety among the participants. The conclusions drawn from these findings are extensively discussed within the study, shedding light on the implications for both educators and students in a nonmetropolitan state university.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1070

The significance of typography in the linguistic landscape during the Fascist period in Italy 1922–1943

by Paolo Coluzzi

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1885; , 2023; 9 Views, 9 PDF Downloads

This paper discusses the use of lettering and typeface in the linguistic landscape in Italy during the Fascist period (1922–1943), focusing on inscriptions on public buildings and the lettering used in propaganda posters and other materials. After a general introduction, some definitions, and an overview of Italian Fascism, the paper introduces the methodology employed, which consists first of an analysis of the lettering used in Fascist public writings and their link to ancient Rome on the one hand and modernity on the other, and second of a simple test carried out among a sample of students at Universiti Malaya (Malaysia) to investigate their perception of ‘Fascist’ fonts. There follows an analysis and discussion of the data, which leads to the conclusion that some of the ideas behind this right-wing movement seem to be portrayed by the specific lettering and fonts used. Finally, these conclusions are compared to those arrived at in previous research on fonts

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1071

Language attitudes of the Konjo community toward the Indonesian language: A sociolinguistics study

by Indarwati Indarwati, Nurhayati Nurhayati, Lukman Lukman, Harlinah Sahib

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1613; , 2023; 22 Views, 13 PDF Downloads

Language attitudes are beliefs, preconceptions, and opinions that speakers have about a language. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that linguistic attitudes affect social interaction’s behavioral cooperativeness. In general, behavioral cooperativeness is increased by favorable attitudes toward another person’s language diversity, while behavioral cooperativeness is decreased by negative attitudes. Therefore, this study examines the positive or negative the language attitudes of the Konjo language in South Sulawesi. This research aims to analyze the language attitudes of the Konjo Community toward the Indonesian: a sociolinguistics study. A mixed-methods quantitative-qualitative approach was employed using the results of questionnaires and interviews. The data was collected from 135 respondents from various age and education groups. The results showed that most Konjo people in Gantarang have a positive attitude towards Indonesian as the national language. This indicates that Indonesian has been accepted as an official language essential to the Konjo community. However, although Konjo people have a positive attitude towards Indonesian, they still use the Konjo language as their identity language. This shows that the Konjo language is essential to their identity and culture. In addition, using the Konjo language can also strengthen social relations and togetherness among the Konjo people.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1072

A comparative study on the effects of e-picture books and printed books on story comprehension and reading motivation among Chinese preschoolers

by Zhaoqi Wu, Fadzilah Amzah

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1954; , 2023; 17 Views, 17 PDF Downloads

With the development of multimedia technology, the electronic reading method has greatly increased the enthusiasm for reading among initially less motivated children. This form of reading exhibits considerable potential, underscoring the necessity of determining the impact of employing such novel software on the emergent reading of young children in China. The aim of this research investigation is to contrast the influences of electronic books and printed book reading on story comprehension and reading motivation in Chinese five-year-olds. Preschoolers participating in this study were randomly selected from three different classrooms in a public kindergarten in Chongqing, China. These participants were again assigned to electronic and printed book reading groups according to their pretest scores. During the four-week reading intervention period, each preschooler read a picture book once a week, for a total of two books. The results indicate that the incorporation of screen-based reading for preschoolers holds promise in reducing reading fatigue and fostering interest in reading. In addition, there was a notable disparity in story comprehension levels, even though varying reading mediums were used in the two groups.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1073

What do we know about L2 teachers’ emotion regulation? A bibliometric analysis of the pertinent literature

by Hanwei Wu, Yongliang Wang, Yunsong Wang

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 2012; , 2023; 20 Views, 22 PDF Downloads

Since emotion regulation is a key factor in second language (L2) education, multitudes of studies have been conducted on this emotional factor. Yet, the majority of previous research has focused on the emotion regulation strategies used by L2 learners. In recent years, some scholars have started to explore L2 teachers’ emotion regulation from various perspectives, but to the best of our knowledge, no systematic review to date has been carried out in this area. Using CiteSpace software (Version 6.2.R2), the present review study analyzed 26 articles published from 2020 to 2023. The analysis outcomes showed that L2 teachers’ emotion regulation is a growing but still nascent research area that attracts interdisciplinary attention from psychologists and linguists around the globe. The results also demonstrated that Iran and China are the most fruitful and fertile lands in this area with Iran having a higher degree of collaboration among institutions and authors. Considering the limitations of previous studies, this study provides some suggestions for future research.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1074

Current state of knowledge and theories on second language reading

by Hammad Ali Alshammari

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1795; , 2023; 17 Views, 13 PDF Downloads

There is a thorny controversy regarding defining second language (L2) reading based on the required levels of interacting with the decoded texts and including theories that could prevent or facilitate the L2 process. This research attempts to fill the gap through providing a comprehensive analysis to the current state of knowledge and theories on second language reading; schema theory, orthographic depth hypothesis, socio-cultural theory, as well as influence from prior educational experiences, the concept of common underlying proficiency, and cross-language interference. Understanding such second language reading-related theories and hypotheses could enhance redirecting the attention to more practicality and reliability in the field as well as justifying insufficient learning outcomes of second language reading; dedicated particularly to Saudi EFL learners.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1075

The ESP teaching and learning at the military academies in Ukraine: Psychological and sociocultural aspects

by Oleksandr Lahodynskyi, Olena Schcherbyna, Volodymyr Borynskyi, Ihor Bloshchynskyi, Alina Zinchenko

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1956; , 2023; 18 Views, 12 PDF Downloads

The article deals with the psychological and sociocultural aspects of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teaching and learning at the military academies in Ukraine. Considering the high-risk environment, the cadets will serve in after commission, it offers ways of using emotional means to facilitate the ESP learning as well as to keep up their motivation and will in order to develop appropriate abilities to perform professional functions in such hard conditions. The article proposes a range of exercises and activities at each ESP lesson stage (Introduction, Presentation, Practice, Application, Verification, and Conclusion) and develops the strategies contributing to cadets’ learning motivation. The article also provides activities and actions for the teachers, which will help them to properly organize and conduct ESP courses for the military developing cadets as ‘secondary communicative personalities’ based on the military culture of the English-speaking countries. Both the psychological and sociocultural aspects of ESP teaching and learning are analyzed with the aim of improving cadets’ professional training.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1076

Academic achievement, creativity, multiple intelligences, and motivation in Iranian medical students

by Reza Kafipour, Daviq Rizal, Farzaneh Faramarzizad

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1620; , 2023; 12 Views, 10 PDF Downloads

Exploring the relationship between academic achievement, creativity, multiple intelligences, and motivation among Iranian medical students can provide valuable insights into their educational experiences and inform the development of effective strategies to enhance learning outcomes. This study investigated the relationship among Iranian medical students through a correlational-descriptive design. Participants included all 200 BA-level students of Islamic Azad University, Iran. The Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) in Persian, the Torrance Creative Thinking Test (TCTT) in Persian, and Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Questionnaire in Persian were used to collect data. The university archived their grade point averages (GPAs) to determine students’ academic progress. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov Goodness-of-Fit Test, descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation tests, and independent samples t -tests were used to examine the acquired data. The data analysis revealed a significant correlation between Iranian EFL learners’ creativity, multiple intelligences, motivation, and academic success; creative learners outperformed non-creative learners in terms of academic achievement; extrinsic learners outperformed intrinsic learners in terms of academic achievement; the highest academic achievement was associated with the interpersonal intelligence profile, while the lowest academic achievement was associated with the intrinsic intelligence profile. The findings may provide insight to stakeholders in the field, such as curriculum planners, tutors, and policymakers, regarding the relationship between creativity, multiple intelligences, motivation, and academic achievement, as well as the importance of factoring this relationship into ELT program design.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1077

An analysis of English as a foreign language undergraduate students’ written errors

by Sarkawt Muhammad Qadir, Hanife Bensen Bostanci

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1881; , 2023; 16 Views, 13 PDF Downloads

Writing is an intricate process in the first language and its intricacy increases when writing in the targeted language. Although Kurdish students of English study English writing at most levels of their education in Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), it has been observed that they commit serious errors even in the basics of writing. These errors may influence their writing in English and their overall English language proficiency level. Nevertheless, meticulous research in the arena of error analysis is scanty in the KRI context compared to the body of research conducted in this area in the Arab world. This study was undertaken to analyze the errors committed by English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) undergraduate students to recognize the most and the least prevalent errors committed by students and present and explain some possible causes and sources of those errors. The study investigated errors in a collection of 57 argumentative essays. Four categories of errors were taken into consideration, namely, grammatical, lexical, spelling, and punctuation as well as their subcategories. Frequencies and percentages of errors were first recognized, and then the common subcategories of each of the errors were tabulated, explained, and described with examples from the corpus. The reported results showed that the overall frequency and percentage of the errors were high and grammatical errors were the most common. Lexical errors were found to be the least common errors in students’ written productions. Additionally, the most prevalent subcategories of the errors were presented and interpreted. The study concluded that the major causes of written errors in the KRI context were both interlingual and intralingual errors.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1078

Language consciousness and poetic reconstruction: A re-examination of goddess as a modern Chinese poetry anthology

by Jiantao Li, Wenhao Hong, Ying Hu

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 2060; , 2023; 7 Views, 13 PDF Downloads

Goddess, as the inchoation of Chinese New Poetry, has significant meaning and always attracts the attention of researchers. However, there is a lack of a practical understanding of the ontological characteristics of the goddess in modern Chinese poetry (MCP). Guo Moruo consciously uses the rich grammatical functions and means of modern Chinese to construct the textual space of poetry. The subjective, dramatic, and rich modality system of modern Chinese has created the intense lyricism and dramatic, poetic aesthetic style of goddess, which makes goddess the anthology that genuinely practices the writing of MCP. Re-examining the goddess from the perspectives of language consciousness and poetic reconstruction is of excellent enlightenment significance for understanding the linguistic properties of early new poetry.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1079

Defining media speech effectiveness: A case of Ukrainian president Zelenskyy’s addresses to national parliaments

by Nataliia Talavira, Serhiy Potapenko

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1990; , 2023; 9 Views, 7 PDF Downloads

The paper argues that effectiveness of media speeches, i.e., their ability to influence the addressees, largely rests on national prototypes, representing cultural entities and historic events. The national prototypes are clear and accessible, resonating with the addressees’ values, attitudes, and beliefs. The article analyzes rhetorical effectiveness of Ukrainian president’s addresses delivered at the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian full-scale war to parliaments of seven states: Poland, USA, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and Greece. Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeals to the target audiences’ national prototypes representing events or cultural entities correlating with Ukraine’s current plight. It is found that with respect to the similarity to the national prototypes of other countries the arguments employed in Zelenskyy’s speeches fall into three types: direct, implicit, and gradual. The most effective is direct reference to prototypes at the global or national levels of the listeners’ worldviews. Less effective are implicit arguments left for the addressee to be inferred like any other implicature. The least effective are gradual arguments based on presuppositions about some commonly shared information: they modify the existing national prototypes with reference to the present or future which is not always accepted by the audience.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1080

Some methodological issues in language research: Dealing with transcribed interpreted courtroom data

by Paul Svongoro, Patson Kufakunesu

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1904; , 2023; 16 Views, 9 PDF Downloads

Transcription is a crucial tool in language research, particularly in discourse analysis, as it provides a distillation of real-time interactions. In the 21st century, researchers are increasingly interested in studying authentic data samples, such as audio-recorded court hearings, to turn evanescent speech into readable and analysable formats. However, transcription involves a complex process of theoretical or methodological issues about language, making it a rich source of examinable data. Researchers need to develop adequate methodologies to make such data available for their research endeavours. This exploratory research presents transcription as a methodology for researchers interested in language and ethnographic methods, addressing critical considerations such as the data to be transcribed, the transcriber responsible, and how to represent it. The paper explores innovations in transcription and presents the benefits and challenges of transcription as a methodology, particularly in language research.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1081

A cross-cultural study of differential item functioning analysis of beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI)

by Zahra Shahsavar, Reza Kafipour, Sara Kashefian-Naeeini, Peyman Jafari, Nooreen Noordin, Sayyidatul Fadlilah, Shudipta Sharma

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1701; , 2023; 15 Views, 10 PDF Downloads

This research examines students’ beliefs about language learning by evaluating the measurement equivalence of the beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI). The graded response model (GRM) was used to examine differential item functioning (DIF) in the BALLI across four different countries, namely: Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. The sample was drawn from 1613, including 500 males and 1113 females who completed the online version of the BALLI, comprising five subscales of beliefs about foreign language aptitude, the difficulty of language learning, the nature of language learning, learning and communication strategies, and motivations and expectations. Most BALLI items showed non-uniform DIF. This finding implies that students in different countries had different perceptions of the BALLI items. Therefore, researchers should be very cautious about using the BALLI in different countries. This cross-cultural comparison may generate new insights into revising the BALLI items or developing another scale to compare students’ beliefs about language learning in different countries.

Open Access

Article

Article ID: 1082

The phonology morphology and syntax of Sundanese

by Reham Alhammad

Forum for Linguistic Studies, Vol.5, No.3, pp. 5(3), 1945; , 2023; 18 Views, 13 PDF Downloads

Sundanese is an indigenous language that is spoken in West Java, Indonesia. This study considers the phonology, morphology, and syntax of Sundanese based on a corpus of more than two hundred words. It specifically aims to contribute to the literature of the language by providing some linguistic characteristics of Sundanese and comparing results to what has been previously introduced in the literature. Some previous studies of Sundanese have extensively covered the syntactic and some morphological structures of the language, but only a few studies have covered the phonological aspects. This study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the morphological, syntactic, and phonological aspects of Sundanese based on the production of a native speaker of the language. The participant translated all words into Sundanese and provided the singular and the plural forms for each word in the list. The participant also produced sentences using the same words in the corpus. Data were then observed, and patterns were grouped and categorized for analysis. Results showed some similarities and differences to the findings of previous work in the field. Conclusions were drawn and comparisons were made where appropriate.