Swami Vivekananda's revisionary ambitions: Consequences of the incorporation of orientalist discourses or the influence of western colonial discourses
October 2024
It is asserted that Vivekananda, regarded by many Americans and British as both a spiritual and intellectual equal, utilized his physical attributes and rhetorical prowess to reframe the Indian subcontinent's subservient relationship with the West. However, Vivekananda participated in the very lectures he attempted to disprove. As a culturally diverse and intellectually composite figure, Vivekananda exemplifies the...
Utilising motifs as a technique in isiXhosa creative texts through the lens of narratology theory
September 2024
This article examines the use of motifs as literary devices to reinforce a central idea and themes, and to enhance the narrative features of isiXhosa creative texts. The motifs are not only crucial for reinforcing the central idea of a story or poem but are also useful for enhancing emplotment, plot, and explotment of a story. However, the pivotal role of motifs is often overlooked by some isiXhosa creative writers in...
Marching to heaven or marching to hell, foreign projects in Africa in relation to the environmental crisis: A case study of Wizard of the Crow
September 2024
Since its publication in 2006, Ngugi wa Thiong'o's English translation of Wizard of the Crow has captivated the interest of academics and critics alike. The novel has been debated and researched from various viewpoints, employing multiple theories and methodologies. Some scholars focus on topics such as politics, authoritarian regimes, gender issues, economic inequality, corruption, and environmental challenges....
Exploring the effects of integrating a research-led activity in the English pronunciation class: An evaluative study with Argentinian pre-service teachers
May 2024
The present study aimed to examine the effect of implementing a Research-Led Activity (RLA) on the development of phonological awareness in students of a university-level English course in an English teaching program in Mar del Plata, Argentina. Seventeen students, aged between 19 and 26 years, with English language proficiency levels ranging from B2+ to C1, participated in the study. At the time of the research,...
An in-depth review of the two most common feedback forms in English undergraduate programs: The connection of their consequential academic damages to students’ perceptions of their teachers, and how video-recorded feedback can combat these effects
February 2024
This review, built upon the criticism receiver’s harmony theory and incorporating the voices of the majority of English undergraduate students and English department professors at California State University, Northridge, and North Central University as its primary foundation, explores the two most prominent types of personal feedback in undergraduate English courses. It delves into their individual psychosocial...
Research on MTI talent cultivation under language education planning-- A case study of MTI granting program at a private University in Shanghai
July 2023
In order to tell China’s stories well, promote the Chinese voice, and show a true and comprehensive China, to enhance our capacities of international communication, our country has elevated its understanding of the regularities of international communication work to a new level. The authors recognize the close connection between the industries and propose that graduate students majoring in translation in the new...
Translation style: A systemic functional perspective
April 2023
Translation serves as an effective bridge connecting multiple cultures and provides convenience for people from different countries to understand foreign cultures. This article aims to analyze the essence of literal translation and free translation from the perspective of systemic functional linguistics. It argues that translation activities need to start from the characteristics of the source language and the...
The importance of listening to minority groups especially street children
April 2023
The voices of minority groups have been ignored for too long! Who are they? Why and how should we listen to them? It is imperative to listen carefully and thoughtfully to the voices of everyone; especially those who belong to minority groups. This article summarized and analysed recent published literature on street children and thus it is not a new fieldwork. However published research unquestionably indicated that...
Children’s literature in the new millennium: A review of research
March 2023
Children’s literature is an indispensable educational tool that helps children develops essential competencies. It provides new knowledge about various life issues, enriches children’s vocabulary, offers emotional support, and enhances communication skills. Traditional children’s literature exposes children to circumstances they may face, such as stories of morality, education, ethics, and other...
The Greek depiction of Muslims in Tamburlaine the Great: Orientalist study
March 2023
As one of the most famous works of Marlowe’s plays, Tamburlaine the Great implied the theme of distorting the orient images, particularly Muslims. The orientalist representation of Muslims in the Elizabethan stage was deliberately oriented against Islam. However, more than 50 literary works targeted Islam during the Elizabethan era. Tamburlaine the Great is considered an oriental play that targeted Islam horribly...
Behaviourism theory in teaching and learning English as a second language in primary schools
December 2022
The English Language is widely used in nearly all countries around the world, and Tanzania is not an exception. Learning theories such as humanism, cognitivism, constructivism, and behaviourism are applied as a way to achieve the expected aims of English learning and teaching in Tanzania. This study aims to understand the challenges of using behaviourism theory in English language learning and teaching. This will be...
Ian McEwan's Solar and Helon Habila's Oil on Water: A comparative ecocritical study
April 2022
This study juxtaposes Ian McEwan’s Solar and Helon Habila’s Oil on Water to illustrate their areas of convergence and divergence concerning their portrayal of ecological discourse. Attention is paid, to how McEwan and Habila deploy characterisation (particularly of the main characters and female characters) to bring to the fore the overwhelming influence of socio-political and...
Playing cat and dreaming butterfly – Skepticism of Montaigne and Zhuangzi
April 2022
Many scholars refer to Montaigne and Zhuangzi as “skeptics” because of their opinions on ethics, religion and language. Therefore, a detailed study on their philosophical thinking is conducted in terms of the four branches of modern skepticism: ethical skepticism, linguistic skepticism, epistemological skepticism and sensory skepticism. Then, in order to determine whether Montaigne and Zhuangzi treat...
No country for old men: Finding a place to be in New South Africa
March 2022
This paper examines the interconnectedness of masculinity and setting in African fiction by a close reading of Coetzee’s Disgrace. The negative effects of subscribing to a single masculinity have been discussed in scholarly works since masculinity studies were given mainstream attention over two decades ago. However, the importance of setting to the formation of and subscription to masculine archetypes has not...
The contribution of Freud’s structural model of the mind to the understanding of the personality of Ambrosio, the main character of the Gothic novel, The Monk
November 2021
Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytical theories may be helpful to the analysis of literary works since the contribution of psychoanalysis to literature provides useful interpretative insights. Reading novels, poems and other compositions through the lens of psychoanalysis gives the opportunity to analyse and evaluate these works in their genesis and functioning. The Gothic novel provides many elements such as fear,...
Exploring Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) teaching materials in Chinese universities: teachers’ and students’ perceptions and reflections
August 2021
This paper investigates the hindrances of textbooks identified in the process of implementing Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in Chinese universities based on the 4Cs framework. Purposive sampling was employed to elicit data through a series of semi-structured interviews conducted in seven different Chinese universities. The axial coding was used to analyze the data collected. The findings reveal some...
The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy: A critical analysis of Mrs. Yeobright
August 2021
This paper offers a critical analysis of Thomas Hardy’s novel, The Return of the Native and focuses on one of his characters, namely Mrs. Yeobright. Hardy sets the novel in Victorian England, a time when the country was very prosperous. Moreover, the society was dominated by a rigid social hierarchy. Victorian women were treated as second-class citizens and were given identities that corresponded to their roles in...
Metaphors stemming from nature in the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish
June 2021
This is a critical paper inspecting metaphors, the most artistic device, in Mahmoud Darwish's poetry. This research classified metaphors into three basic categories: metaphors of trees and plants such as wheat, metaphors of animals and birds such as butterfly, hoopoe, and dove, and metaphors of concrete and abstract natural elements. This study reports the fact that Darwish was brought up in a rural community. His...
Anthropological investigations of love through a medieval lens: The perspectives by the Middle High German poet, Walther von der Vogelweide
April 2021
One of the fundamental problems of the modern university is the artificial creation of departments which cuts up organic research fields and creates unnecessary divisions when cooperation and mutual learning would be called for. There are certainly differences in methodologies and theoretical concepts between archaeological anthropology, for instance, and literary studies (Humanities); but anthropology, ultimately, is...
Mimicry, rebellion and subversion of Western beliefs in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah
April 2021
Migration is a global issue that entails the movement of people from one place to another. Edward Said states that “our age, with its modern warfare, imperialism and the quasi, theological ambitions of totalitarian rulers is indeed the age of the refugee, the displaced person, mass migration” (2002: 138). The crossing of transnational borders and entry into the receiving country presents various challenges...
Exploring EFL teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge, beliefs and practices on writing skills: The case of Wollo University
November 2020
The main objective of this study is to explore EFL teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge, believes and practices in writing skills. The qualitative approach was employed. The participants of the study were three English language teachers who were teaching basic writing skills. Two data collecting instruments were used to carry out this study. Namely, classroom observation and semi- structured interview....
The role of applicative morphology in marking the telicity of applicative verbs in Ruruuli-Lunyala
August 2020
This study examines the role of the morphology of applicatives in marking the telicity of applicative verbs in Ruruuli-Lunyala. Applicative verbs in Bantu languages have largely been investigated as allowing a new object Noun Phrase (NP) within the subcategorization of their base verb; this leads to a change of valency with the new Noun Phrase (NP) often giving a certain thematic role. However, less attention has been...
Thematic functions of oral literature in the speeches of legendary Oromo heroes in Bale Zone, Oromia
August 2020
The major purpose of the study was to analyze thematic functions of oral literature used in the speeches of Oromo heroes (Haaji Adam Saddo, General Husen Bune, Colonel Aliyyi Cirri, General Waqo Gutu, and Colonel Adam Jilo) from the three selected districts (woredas) (Madda Walabu, Gobba, and Sawwena) of Bale zone, Oromia region. Qualitative research design was employed. To this effect, relevant data was collected...
The influence of Pidgin English on educational outcomes among secondary school students in Nigeria
August 2020
This study was carried out in view of the influences of Pidgin English amongst the students in Nigeria using Port Harcourt Local Government Area in Rivers State as a case study. It was conducted on two hundred students and eight teachers from four selected schools, four government workers and eight staff from the media. This research was executed because of the high rate of communication in Pidgin English amongst...
Hesitancy as an innate flaw in Hamlet's character: Reading through a psychoanalytic lens
May 2020
This paper concentrated on hesitancy as a character's flaw from the Freudian psychoanalysis focal point. Hamlet's uncertainty is especially identified with his natural complex which frames his oblivious love for his mom and his lethal abhor for his dad. Freud's ideas of man's concealed want for annihilation and eradication may shape the reason for understanding Hamlet's craving for death and suicide...
The contribution of Freud’s theories to the literary analysis of two Victorian novels: Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre
May 2020
Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytical theories can be used with reference to the analysis of literary works. Reading novels, poems and other compositions through the lens of psychoanalysis gives the opportunity to analyse and evaluate the works of literature in their genesis and presentation. Freudian doctrine can be considered as a reading tool that allows the investigation of the enigmatic areas of human experience...
Semantic roles in Ruluuli-Runyala
March 2020
In this paper, we provide a detailed analysis of the semantic roles of applicative arguments in Ruluuli-Runyala. We present the semantic roles of applicative objects in view of the participant roles as semantically defined under sense relations: There is a general assumption that arguments of a verb could be allocated only one of these roles. The analysis follows the theoretical framework which contextualises...
Deconstructing postcolonial scopic regimes: The subversion of power imaginaries in the novels of Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Sony Labou Tansi
January 2020
This paper examines the relationship between visuality, knowledge and power in the postcolonial African novel. With examples from selected texts of Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Sony Labou Tansi, it argues that visual culture, usually employed in the analysis of cultural images and material iconographies in media studies, can aptly be employed in textual analysis given that postcolonial novels are primarily engaged with...
“What a Lark! What a Plunge!†The influence of Sigmund Freud on Virginia Woolf
June 2019
To what extent did Sigmund Freud influence Virginia Woolf? Although they shared an advocacy for truth by means of stream of consciousness narration and free association, Woolf claimed to have had only superficial knowledge of Freud. Even if this was true, she could not help but be aware of his theories of psychoanalysis through the media of her day or by way of her publisher Hogarth Press, which published Freud. As...
Ambivalent identity and self repatriation in the plot characterisation of selected black auto/biographical novels
March 2019
Literature of the Black Diaspora locates within its multi-layered gamut, a kaleidoscope of artistic productions; self-narratives careered by the quest for identity and self-expatriation from a ruthless atmosphere of slavery and racial subjugation. Studies have fixated on thematic preoccupation, language form in works of Afro-American and Caribbean traditions. Not so much has been explored especially on identity and...
Are these students strategic enough? The study of college students†application of self-regulation strategy into task oriented English learning
January 2019
Self-regulation is a popular theoretical application into discussing the second language (L2) learning efficacy. Students apply a variety of strategies to regulate their learning processes. In order to explore students’ self-regulatory learning strategies, this study assigned a 3-minute English introduction for the freshmen of the sport college students and observed their process of completing the task. Students...
The Magnificence of Arabic: Orwa ibn Al-Ward an Epitome
December 2018
Orwa ibn Al-Ward is one of the greatest knights, heroes and poets who presented elegant pictures of Arabs before Islam by word and deed. In this literary article, the researcher attempts to probe the depth of the poetry of Orwa ibn Al-Ward as an instance of the greatness of Arabic poetic language as well as being a symbol of dignity, hospitality, generosity, manliness and sacrifice. Orwa ibn Al-Ward deserves a literary...
Lyrical life: The prevailing mysticism of the evolution and inevitable putrefaction of the great human race
November 2018
“Souls come to light after a fierce fight / among lovely ‘xx or xy’ pairs at day or night” This hypothetical review is regarding the poem “Lyrical Life” which is a fourteen-line poem in a sonnet structure written by the author of this article. This article is intended to share the author’s philosophy of life with that of other scholars and philosophers including pre-Socratic...
An analysis of bullying in schools as presented by two Ugandan novels
November 2018
This paper analyzes the depictions of bullying in schools in two selected Ugandan novels: Goretti Kyomuhendo’s The First Daughter (1996) and Mary Karooro Okurut’s The invisible Weevil (1998). The study is about the vices that education transmits to the learners depending on the socio-cultural and political context. One of them that education transmits is the bullying of fellow students. Bullying is both...
Learning the English Passive Voice: Difficulties, learning strategies of Igbo ESL learners and pedagogical implications
October 2018
From the author’s teaching experience, a greater number of Nigerian university students either stick monotonously to the active English sentences or use the expletive “It” structure. This paper investigated the difficulties Igbo bilinguals encounter when learning the English passive and the grammar learning strategies they adopt to overcome the difficulties. For the study, 30 Igbo speaking 100 level...
The practice of process approach in writing classes: Grade eleven learners of Jimma preparatory and Jimma University community preparatory school in focus
October 2018
The purpose of this study is to explore the practices of process writing approach in grade eleven students at Jimma Preparatory School and Jimma University Community Preparatory school in Oromia Regional State. To accomplish this purpose, the study employed a descriptive study method, which was supplemented by both quantitative and qualitative research to enrich the data. The study was carried out in two school selected...
Capitalism versus narcissism: Death of a salesman's psychoanalytic critique
September 2018
Arthur Miller's, Death of a Salesman seems to have lost some ground to its once established position as many critics of late downplayed the demise of its protagonist Willy Loman by inscribing the causes of his death on 'narcissism' and excessive self-importance other than delving into the deeper causes behind his tormented and isolated private life. However, the author argues that Willy's life gets...
A study of the portrayal of virginity in Ugandan novels
September 2018
This paper examines the portrayal of virginity in Akiki K. Nyabongo’s, Africa Answers Back (1936), Mary Okurut’s Invisible Weevil (1998) and Jane Bakaluba’s Honeymoon for Three (1975). The study analyzes the place of virginity in African traditional marriage. The girls are trained by the elder mothers and aunts to remain a virgin until their wedding night. In Africa, virginity is highly valued that...
Investigating the negative impact of pragmatic transfer on the acquisition of English pragmatic as perceived by L2 Learners: A review
August 2018
Pragmatics is a basic and vital part of dialect capacity all together for L2 learners to comprehend and be comprehended in their communications with native speakers (NSs). This study aims to identify pragmatics and pragmatic transfer, and to make an overview about the relation between pragmatic transfer and language acquisition. One of the main results that are demonstrated from this study is that there are several...
Sacrificing the bull: Conceptualisations of fanÄ (spiritual death) in Rumi’s Mathnavi
May 2018
This study examined conceptualisations of FANÄ€, the case of ‘the cave’ and ‘the bull’, in Masnavi (complete six books) using the theoretical and analytical frameworks of Cultural Linguistics. The study was motivated by an increasing number of Rumi readers all over the world, and specifically in Western contexts. Furthermore, the dearth of empirical research that addresses conceptual metaphors...
Sri Aurobindo’s discovery of the ‘Kingdom of Subtle Matter’ in Savitri and Albert Einstein’s discovery of the Four-Dimensional Plane of Existence
April 2018
Sri Aurobindo is a yogi of a very high plane of consciousness. His works like Savitri, The Life Divine, Letters on Poetry, Literature and Art etc. reveal that he is the Soul who has descended from the unknown eternal heights. It is from these eternal heights that he has discovered the existence of the plane of the Subtle Matter. In his epic Savitri which he has written from the plane of, to use his terminology,...
Gender identities and the search for new spaces: Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Paradise
November 2017
There is growing ambivalence in the concept of gender in our societies today principally because its definition has moved from biological to social, implying that gender categories are not simply limited to male corresponding to man and female corresponding to woman, as it was traditionally, but man can now pass for woman and vice versa depending on the individual. These new constructions have contributed to reshaping...
Assessment of the qualities of academic writing in senior essays of English graduates: The case of Dire Dawa University
October 2017
The main objective of this study was to assess the qualities of academic writing in senior essays of English graduates, the case of Dire Dawa University. In this study, qualitative method was employed to conduct the research. The participants of the study were all English Language instructors (advisors) who were involved in advising English graduates. The reason for taking merely advisors is that the researcher thought...
The politics of educational exclusion in the selected plays of Athol Fugard and August Wilson
September 2017
The South African regime during Apartheid spent more time educating white children than black children. As a result, millions of black South Africans did not go to school. Similarly, in the United States of America, during slavery, blacks were not allowed to read and write, although they did it secretly in underground prisons. The education they received in the 17th century was given to them by benevolent slave masters....
Needs analysis of the writing skills of HND Business Studies students at Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi Edo State
August 2017
This study, using Business Studies Students in the Departments of Accounting, Business Administration, Management, Banking and Finance, Marketing at Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi in Edo State, as subjects was carried out to determine the writing skill needs of the Higher National Diploma (HND) students. The population of the study comprised 731 students. Using the University of Ibadan Modified Needs Analysis Questionnaire...
Depiction of human society through epic literary genres: A comparative perspective of the function of two African heroic epics
June 2017
This study attempts to compare two main literary works. One is Niane’s Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. Another is Kunene’s Emperor Shaka the Great, a Zulu Epic. The study aims at showing how Literature mirrors society through a comparison between the protagonists in the above mentioned epics basing on their heroic characteristics each. This is a qualitative study and is basically concerned with a particular...
Semiotics in the Whatsapp conversations of undergraduate students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State, Nigeria
June 2017
Semioticians study signs not in isolation but as part of semiotic ‘sign systems’ (such as a medium or genre). They study of how meanings are made: as such, being concerned not only with communication but also with the construction and maintenance of reality. Structuralists seek to describe the overall organization of sign systems as 'languages'. However, for this study, we want to consider the...
Combining transformative generative grammar and systemic functional grammar: Linguistic competence, syntax and second language acquisition
May 2017
Transformational generative grammar (TGG) and systemic functional grammar (SFG) are two of the most influential theoretical linguistic schools. Previous literature has mostly taken the two approaches as two contrastive perspectives to language. In the present study, the author focused on the non-contradictory side of the two approaches to see how they could be bound together to supplement each other in terms of...
Silent pauses in the oral reading task: Pausing patterns and reasons for pauses
April 2017
This study investigated the occurrence of silent pauses, duration, frequency, distribution and the reasons for inappropriate pausing patterns in L2 reading tasks. The oral reading pauses of 44 Chinese learners of English as a Foreign Language were measured using two subtests of a proficiency speaking test, and the reasons for the measured pausing patterns were identified through a semistructured interview. In the oral...
Age variation in the use of Nigerian Pidgin (NP): A case of Sapele, Delta State, Nigeria
February 2017
Nigeria is a multilingual nation with over 450 indigenous languages, the English language and Nigerian English-based Pidgin competing over the linguistic space. Many of the indigenous languages have gone into extinction for lack of users of such languages; English is the second language, occupying official status and Pidgin is widely used especially in the South- South region of Nigeria as the language of their...
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