Asian Journal of Literature, Culture and Society

University Students’ Preferences of Assessing Levels of Intelligibility and Comprehensibility of Native English Teachers’ (NETs) Accents Compared to Non-native English Teachers’ (NNETs) Accents: A Case-Study with Undergraduate Students at Huachiew Chalerm

Valentin Valentinov Tassev — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This study investigates students’ preferences regarding perceived levels of intelligibility and comprehensibility of various English accents, and also students’ preferences regarding the accents they would like to use in their future communication in English. The findings suggest that from students’ perspectives, the accents of native English teachers (NETs) were both more intelligible and comprehensible than the accents of non-native English teachers (NNETs). The findings strongly suggest that the majority of the participants expressed preference for native speaker (NS) accents as their desired future models of use in terms of oral production. The findings also revealed that the issue of familiarity or exposure to those particular accents was extremely important in terms of determining their preferences for accents, both in terms of input and output. These preferences were largely shaped by a prevailing sociological construct or bias in favour of NS models, as the desired accent models for Thai learners of English, a construct which largely dominates the theory and practice of teaching and assessing pronunciation. The suggestions are that students need to be informed and introduced to a variety of accents of English, both various NS and non-native speaker (NNS) accents, as students’ future interlocutors will include large numbers of both, especially in an intercultural and international setting, such as Thailand.

Those Unheard Voices: A Study of Indian Feminism in Maitreyi Pushpa's Muskurati Aurtein ("Smiling Women")

Deepa Kumawat, B.K. Anjana — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Undeniably, humans are social beings as well as individuals. When an individual exists, s/he enjoys as well as suffers for time does not always remain the same. However, when it comes to the issue of the relationship between the individual and society, the question that perplexes one whether the society exist for individual or the individual for the society? After having deep insight into the experiences, ideologically the answer seems in agreement with the penultimate part of the question i.e. 'society exists for the individual'. Now when society takes responsibility for the fruition of an individual, it must provide freedom and opportunity to each and every of its individual for their comprehensive development. Unfortunately, the role of society here seems not to be as transparent as it should be for the simple reason of marginalization of the so-called second wheel of the humanity or 'The Second Sex' in the feminist term. It is from this stance, the second answer arises and finds suitability to the above-mentioned question. To put into other words, traditionally the answer reverses in favour of the second assumption that 'individual exists for society'. As individuals must obey the set societal norms for their better and peaceful survival, so now it becomes the matter of adaptation where if one goes astray, s/he may be discarded at various levels be it economic, social, physical, mental, and material. Evidently, the case becomes more serious with women folk of the society. When all the ideals to keep the social order and virtues are applicable for women and not for men, the double standard of society gets unveiled. And here the pens of the authors bleed and the blank white pages assort various bitter realities of sufferings and pains of women. In the same light, the present paper is an attempt to bring forth the idea of 'Indian Feminism' with special reference to the short stories of Maitreyi Pushpa.

The “Little Girl” and the Power of Recollection as Poetic Style in the Writings of Bing Xin

Salvatore Giuffré — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The writings of Bing Xin have drawn the interest of readers and critics worldwide for their unique nature, exclusive perspective, and emotional force. While many agree that the lyrical material of her works predominantly derives from her childhood memories, with the writer also attempting to propose a solution to China’s social problems with her philosophy of love, the aim of this essay is to undertake a deeper study on the psychological perspective of Bing Xin’s literary persona and conclude that much of the world depicted in her works is nothing else than the moderated universe as perceived by a little girl kept alive within the adult writer. The writings of Bing Xin can be regarded as epitome of this perpetual survival of the “little girl” inside the writer who exalts childhood through memories and emotional allegory as well as universal love as a possible solution to man’s problems in modern society.

Understanding the Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) of the Chinese-English Major Students in Chengdu College University of Electronic Science and Technology, China

Jia Ji Zhou — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This study was conducted in Chengdu College of University of Electronic Science and Technology, China and the English major’s Chinese students, as participants. The two objectives and research questions were answered by using a mixed design methodology. These different instruments: questionnaire survey organized in four dimensions: Knowledge, Attitudes, Skills and Awareness, classroom observation and semi-structured interview were employed to gather data from 184 English major’s students who participated in this study using purposive sampling.

The findings revealed that the Chinese students who participated in this study had moderate Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC). This implies that all four components of ICC; knowledge, attitudes, skills and awareness were found in the students’ English language teaching and learning.

The implication therefore is that, ICC should be inculcated in all levels of teaching and learning activities, as this likely to help students to be confident when communicating with people from different cultural and linguistic background, as this helps them to be familiar with varieties of English spoken by different users in the world.

Chinese Medical College Students’ English Vocabulary Learning Difficulties, Attitudes and Preferences towards the Use of Mobile Application for Vocabulary Learning

Yawen Luo — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

English language teaching and learning have undergone a lot of changes in the past decades. Among these changes is the use of mobile application in learning, a new learning method where users use mobile platforms to learn.

The purpose of this study is to identify Chinese medical college students’ vocabulary learning difficulties, as well as, to determine their attitudes and preferences on the use of mobile application in English learning vocabulary. The study used quantitative research design using descriptive statistics to analyze the data and report the result of the study. There were 282 Chinese medical college students who participated in this study in which a questionnaire survey was used to collect data.

The findings indicated that Chinese medical college students have faced difficulties in English vocabulary learning, such as, spelling, pronunciation, word meaning and word usage. In terms of attitude, the results found that students have had favorable attitudes toward the use of mobile application in terms of its benefit in reading, listening and writing. However, in terms of speaking students tended to have different opinions on whether mobile applications are beneficial for developing their speaking.

However, incorporating, textbooks and mobile technology in vocabulary teaching and learning, might be a good way to help students in building their English language ability to become competent learners.

Distinguishing Text Analysis and Translation: Overcoming the Security Barrier

Paul Mirabile — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Translating texts and the grammatical or literary analysis of texts adhere to distinct methodical pedagogies and very different psychological approaches. Translation requires thinking in and with the two languages translated, whereas text analysis necessitates thinking in and within the one language of the text. Continual translation of texts during grammatical or literary analysis erects a psychological and linguistic security barrier between the mother tongue and the foreign language studied which prevents the thinking in and with the foreign language. The methods of text analysis aim at decoding or interpreting the text with the use of synonym and antonym exercises, the application of syntax deconstruction and morphological formation, with aspect, tense and mood verbal phrases, with etymological research, tropes and figures of speech, with the comparing of different discourses through the study of learned words and common words, jargon and slang. Translation and literary analysis should be taught as parallel subjects the very first year of university with the same texts or easy-to-read books in order to show students how both apply different methodical terminologies, and how they require contrasted psychological approaches. Their parallel study is the first step towards bilingualism, and consequently biculturalism since it demarcates clearly the two disciplines, and at the same time, obliges students to reconsider his or her mother tongue in relation to the foreign language in question. For to learn a foreign language has no negative bearing or impact on one's mother tongue; on the contrary, they are mutually enriched.

Language, Space, and Cultural Play: Theorizing affect in the semiotic landscape

Andrew Jocuns — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Cambridge University Press, 1-209

The Poem of Seven Deadly Sins

Arya Kesjamras — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000