260 10 3494 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/688942e99ff054a1dfe709e540961979.pdf d8c7d1aaf6174335dc44bcbafd2f330d PDF Text Text 1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Teaching Business English for Distance Learning Students – Challenges, Problems and Potential Solutions Diana Zagan-Zelter Department of Foreign Languages and Business Communication Faculty of Economics and Business Administration BabeĢ-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania dianazelter@yahoo.com Sergiu Zagan-Zelter Department of Foreign Languages and Business Communication Faculty of Economics and Business Administration BabeĢ-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania sergiuzagan@yahoo.fr Abstract: Distance learning has become a type of learning which is increasingly preferred by students both in bachelor and master programs at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, mainly due to economic reasons which force young people to start working immediately after finishing high-school. However, distance learning is also a solution for middle-aged people who graduated different universities in their youth, but have professions which are no longer requested on the job market. As the spectrum of distance learning students is so heterogeneous from different points of view such as age or professional background, teaching English to such students has encountered a number of challenges and problems that we have been trying to cope with so far. In order to identify these problems, we have made a survey among distance learning students from our faculty by using questionnaires and guided interviews. We have also made a summary of the issues identified in our teaching experience and we have talked to colleagues who are in the same situation in order to discover the common points. The paper will present the results of this investigation and the solutions we propose, solutions which are based on our 10 year-experience in teaching distance learning students as well as on the review of specialized literature in this area. Key Words: distance learning, Business English, on-line platform, age, experience Introduction Distance learning – a general approach Distance learning is a generic term that includes the range of teaching/learning strategies largely referred as correspondence education, correspondence study, home study, independent study, distance learning, computer-assisted learning, on-line learning, distance education. Related terms such as open learning, nontraditional studies, off-campus learning also appear in literature. Distance learning has existed for more than 100 years in the more developed regions and for one generation in the developing countries. According to Berg (2002), the main elements which characterize distance learning are: - Physical separation between teacher and learner - Administration by an educational institution - Frequent use of different media - Synchronous and asynchronous communication between teacher and learner - Often a focus on the non-traditional learner. The history of distance learning goes as back as the 19th century, for example in the USA, where correspondence courses in the guided reading of the Bible or courses in Hebrew already existed. Hence derived the well-known Chautauqua courses and the first university practising this type of learning, which was recognized in 1883. Historically speaking, one can distinguish the following levels in the evolution of distance learning (Berg, 2002): Level one (between 1880-1960) may be called passive distance learning as there was no opportunity for the learner to interact with the instructor in real time. The materials used were mostly printed and later there were also audio materials and video tapes. This is also called asynchronous distance learning. 365 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Level two (between 1960-1990) is considered passive to moderately active distance learning. Distance learning became synchronous in this period as the learner and the instructor could interact in real time. The means used both for studying and interaction were two-way audio teletraining, computer-based training, CD, PC, electronic mail, audio-video transmissions. It is clear that the technological development led to the shift from asynchronous distance learning to synchronous distance learning, making it possible for the teacher and the learner to communicate more easily and contributing to the development and improvement of teaching-learning methods and materials. Level 3 (since 1990 until now) is highly interactive. Teachers and learners are using hybrid environments that combine in one virtual classroom elements of all distance learning technologies previously described plus the Internet and WWW. Benefiting from all the technological developments in the field of education and not only, distance learning has proved to be an effective and efficient type of learning encompassing a large range of advantages. Among these advantages we can mention: - Quality of learning is as good or even better than in traditional learning - Students are highly motivated - Instructors are better prepared and organized - Instructional resources are enhanced - Collaborative teaching is encouraged - It has not resulted in replacing the teachers. These advantages could be seen easily by applying the ARCS model (Attention, relevance, confidence and satisfaction model) validated in 1983, a model which has suffered changes and has been constantly adapted to the new requirements and the new technologies that have appeared so far. Whether we apply the model or not, it is obvious that open and distance learning has the potential of generating new patterns of teaching and learning. Linked as it is with the evolution of technology, it offers the promise of developing new ways to address learning needs and creating new patterns of information access and application. It can contribute to innovation in education and have effects beyond the realm of education. It may offer answers to education challenges as well. This is also the purpose of our study, i.e. to identify and deal with the challenges encountered when teaching Business English to distance learning students at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration from BabeĢ-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Distance learning at BabeĢ-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca Distance learning has a long tradition at the BabeĢ-Bolyai University from Cluj-Napoca, Romania, although it is not a type of learning used by all the faculties within the university. The Faculty of Economics and Business Administration has used distance learning for more than 20 years, even during the communist period. Of course, during that time, the curriculum was different as well as structure and requirements. Distance learning education has suffered a number of changes especially after Romania joined the European Union. Before that, distance learning at bachelor level meant 5 years (10 semesters) or 4 years (8 semesters). According to the Bologna system, the number of study years has been reduced to 3. However, master programs have been added which incorporate another 2 years. The curriculum for distance learning programs is the same like the one for full-time learning. Students meet the teachers twice a semester and the meetings usually take 4 hours each or even more, depending on the subject in question. The course syllabus is available both on-line, on the distance learning platform especially created on the faculty website and in a printed version students may get for free. Communication with teachers most often takes place through e-mail or through the on-line platform or the teacher‘s personal blog or website. Among the compulsory courses, both for full-time and distance learning students at bachelor level, we will find ―Modern Language in Business‖ (English, French, German, Spanish, Italian) during the first four semesters and ―The Language of Business Communication‖ (the same foreign languages) for semesters 5 and 6. At the master programs the curriculum stipulates a ―Course in Intercultural Business Communication‖ (English or French) for semester 1 and ―Modern Language in Business – second foreign language‖ (for semesters 2 and 3). It is obvious that we place great emphasis on the study of foreign languages in the academic environment, which is meant to answer to the current requirements on the job market and help our future graduates get better jobs in multinational companies in our country or abroad. 366 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo The curriculum for foreign languages courses is the same both for full-time and distance learning students. The major topics for the first 4 semesters refer to general business topics such as: recruitment, business ethics, management, finance and accounting, insurance, banking or business travel. The specialized vocabulary is accompanied by a revision of grammar items and all kinds of exercises testing the four basic skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing. In the third year the emphasis is on the language of business communication; the main topics include oral and written communication, i.e. presentations, meetings, negotiations, writing business letters, reports or proposals. At the end of the third year, students are supposed to get a certificate that will show their competence in a foreign language at B2 level. They may take an international exam such as CAE or BEC Higher or they may choose the certificate offered by our university, LINGUA, which is similar to Cambridge in many respects, but it has a validity period of only 2 years and it does not have such a large international acknowledgement. We have been teaching Business English practice courses for more than 10 years both to full-time and distance learning students. We have noticed that there are special problems that distance learning students encounter in comparison with full-time students when it comes to the study of foreign languages. In order to identify and solve these problems we made the following research. Methodology This study was designed mostly as a qualitative research involving focus groups, guided interviews, discussions and a questionnaire based predominantly on open questions. The purpose of the research was to find out what special problems teaching and learning Business English in the form of distance learning encompass from the students‘ and from the teachers‘ perspective. It is definitely a study which refers to the particular case of our faculty and the findings cannot be generalized. However, we believe that colleagues teaching languages at other universities may have the same problems and they will find our research useful for their activity. Sampling and data analysis We led a group discussion with 4 of our colleagues who teach modern languages at distance learning. Together with us, we were 6 teachers sharing the same experience; 3 of us have been teaching for around 10 years or less and the other 3 have more than 15 years of practice in the area. We all have been dealing with distance learning for more than 10 years. Four of the participants were female and the others were male. Four of us teach English, one teaches French and one German. Regarding the sampling of the students‘ group, we led a focus group with six students from the second and third year, distance learning, who expressed their availability to participate in this activity by e-mail as a response to a request we made on-line on the students‘ mail group. 2 participants were male and 4 were female; 3 have ages between 20 and 30 and the others between 31 and 50. The discussion took around one hour and it was recorded with the participants‘ agreement. We also built a questionnaire with several open questions (see Appendix 1) which were similar to those used in the focus group. The questionnaire was distributed to around 100 students from the second and third year, distance learning, either directly, after the course or by e-mail. 73% of the respondents were female and 27% were male. As for age, 55% were between 20-30 years old, 27% had ages between 31- and 40 and 18% were between 41-50. Findings and Discussion Teachers‘ opinions In this part of the study, we discussed with our colleagues who teach distance learning courses in foreign languages (English, French, German) at bachelor and master level. The first problem we all have encountered in our activity is the discrepancy between the students‘ foreign language level and the level requested by the syllabus and the assessment system. Theoretically speaking, students should have the B1 level in a foreign language when they start university, as this is the level they are tested at when they graduate highschool and take their baccalaureate exam. This works for students who are full-time learners; however, distance learners are not always recent high-school graduates. They may have graduated high-school a few years before and meanwhile they may have also taken another academic degree; some of them may have even graduated high-school 20 years ago. This is why they do not have the requested level (B1) and they cannot cope with the degree of difficulty in the syllabus and in the assessment. Even worse, some of them may have never studied 367 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo English or French or German, but only Russian (as it is the case with older students who graduated high-school before the Revolution from 1989) and they would need a course for beginners. Another problem was the design of the course syllabus. There is a standard design for the course syllabus at distance learning for all subjects, regarding the structure and the number of modules and the number of pages. We all consider that this standard is not suitable for the teaching of foreign languages because it does not allow us to introduce all the types of exercises that we need and a structure which is good for Maths or Management cannot be fully applied to a foreign language course syllabus. The third problem which was identified during the discussion with our colleagues refers to the limited number of course hours students have during one semester. 8 hours may be enough to summarize issues dealing with economics but it is certainly not enough for teaching business English or any other foreign language. In addition to the reduced number of hours, another problem is the large number of students who attend the courses (over 50 or even over 100) which makes it almost impossible for the teacher to use a lot of interactive methods or perform communicative activities which are essential in the study of a foreign language. Regarding the on-line platform, teachers complained that they could not use it properly, which is mainly the fault of the IT people who were still working on details. Access to the platform is still quite restricted, teachers can use it just to post materials or grades and they cannot have a direct communication with the students through the platform. In the future, it is considered that the platform will be improved and this communication will be possible. The solutions our colleagues proposed are the following: - The curriculum for distance learning language courses should be adapted to current needs; several groups should be created starting with A1 level so that students would have the opportunity of studying at the level which is suitable for them; - Consequently, the course syllabus should be changed; there should be a different course syllabus for each level, starting with A1 up to B2; - More teachers should be involved in distance learning and the number of course hours should be increased up to, at least, 14 hours per semester which means half of the number of classes full-time students have; - The on-line platform should be improved so that teachers and students could communicate directly and more often. Students‘ opinions Both the focus group question guide and the questionnaire we used referred to the study of Business English as a distance learning course and the same major issues were addressed by both research methods. We started with a few general questions about the distance learning system from our faculty and then we focused on the problems students had encountered in the study of Business English. We were interested in finding out why students chose distance learning instead of full-time learning since tuition fees are the same. The majority of them, no matter their age, said that they preferred to work in order to be able to pay for their studies and that their work places were in their home towns, at a distance of at least 30 km (the closest) up to 400 km (the farthest). People over 30 also mentioned the fact that they had a family and children and distance learning is a better solution for them although they live in Cluj-Napoca. 33% of the students who were interviewed said that they had already graduated another faculty and they were currently studying economics because of their job requirements or because their former qualifications were no longer needed on the job market and they wanted to find a better job. The students in this situation are all over 30 or even over 40. Another question referred to the frequency with which students used the on-line platform. The majority answered that they used the platform almost weekly in order to find out information about the timetable, the exams or to download course syllabi. Nevertheless, they complained that the platform had not been working very well and they wished it could be used more often and in a more effective way. Students were required to enumerate the qualities they thought a professor teaching distance learning students should have in comparison with one teaching full-time students. They said that such a professor should be very concise and able to select the most important information; he/she should focus on practical aspects and have an interactive approach. They also added that the professor should show availability to cooperate with students more often, he/she should be patient, understanding and show respect towards his/her students who, 368 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo sometimes, could be older than he/she is. The interviewed students consider that assessment for distancelearning students should be different from the assessment of full–time students. Moving on to the part referring to language courses, all students said they considered that it is necessary to study a foreign language at university and English would be the most useful. When asked about the problems they encountered in the study of Business English, most respondents enumerated the following: - The level imposed by the course syllabus is too high compared to the real level of the students (this applies particularly to students over 35 who graduated high-school a long time ago and do not have the necessary background knowledge in English); - The number of course hours is not enough for the study of a foreign language; - The lack of audio materials, listening and speaking activities; - Many students admitted they had problems with grammar and verbal tenses in particular; - The majority admitted it was quite difficult to learn a foreign language on their own. Students were also required to suggest solutions to the problems they enumerated. They proposed the following actions to be taken: - Students should be divided in groups according to their level (from beginners to upperintermediate) and each group should have a different course syllabus; - The course syllabus should be accompanied by a CD with listening drills or such drills should be made available on the platform; - The course syllabus should contain more grammar exercises and, if this is not possible, supplementary exercises should be posted on the platform so that students could work individually and receive on-line feedback from the teachers; - The number of face-to-face meetings should increase; - The on-line platform should provide the means for direct interaction between the teacher and the students at least once a week. Conclusions and Recommendations By summarizing the problems identified by the teachers and by the students, we can easily see that there are common issues. These issues refer to: - The level at which Business English/other foreign language courses should be taught and the necessity of adapting the curriculum and the course syllabus to the real level of the students and to their needs; - The limited number of face-to-face meetings during the semester; - The necessity of improving the on-line platform in such a way as to facilitate the use of audio materials and better communication between teacher and learner. We have gathered the suggestions both teachers and students made and we have designed a set of recommendations to be considered for the improvement of language teaching for distance learning students. It is clear that the existing system is not working very well and changes are needed. To start with, students should be divided in groups based on their level of foreign language knowledge. Although necessary, this idea could be very difficult to put in practice. The main reason is the impossibility of testing the students at the beginning of the academic year in order to assess their real level and decide on how many groups we have to create. A solution might be the students‘ registration on the on-line platform directly in the group they consider suitable for them. However, as this would be based on students‘ personal assessment, the degree of honesty and objectivity is questionable. Students may decide to attend a course which is below their level in order to make things easier for them and get better grades. At the same time, more groups will need more teachers and different course syllabi and this will take time and cannot be implemented in the near future. The main point stays that when students graduate, they are supposed to have the B2 level and they may not reach this level if they start from A1 level in the first year. It is difficult to change the existing system but we can do certain things to improve it. Our suggestion is team (or pair) teaching. It means that a teacher should not work on his/her own with distance learning students, but have a colleague or an assistant to help him/her. Practically, this means that one of the teachers will actually teach the course and meet the students during the semester and the other one will keep in touch with students through the on-line platform and meet them during office hours. The course syllabus will be the same for all students, however the assistant will deal more with the students who have difficulties in coping with the level and the requirements imposed by the course curriculum and syllabus. The assistant will have a certain number of 369 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo office hours when he/she can meet the students and also a certain number of teaching hours on the platform, according to a schedule students will be informed about. The communication through the on-line platform will be essential in such a system. This is why we need to enhance the collaboration between the IT department and the department of modern languages. By using their knowledge and the most recent techniques in the field, our colleagues from the IT department should facilitate the access on the platform both for the student and for the teacher and create an electronic communication system which will allow the student to post questions on the platform or do exercises and the teacher to be notified and answer in real time, according to an established schedule or correct the mistakes in the student‘s homework and add supplementary exercises on the platform. In this way, students who do not have the necessary level will work more and get feedback and they will be helped to improve their skills and fill in the knowledge gaps they may have. The use of the platform will make this cooperation between teacher and learner much easier than through e-mail or office hours, given the fact that the majority of the distance learning students do not live in the university home town. Some audio materials with corresponding exercises could be posted on the platform so that students would develop listening skills as well or a CD could be attached to the course syllabus (in the printed version) and the stuff on the CD should also be available on-line. This means that the course syllabus should contain listening exercises. A problem which still stays in place is the development of speaking skills. Speaking activities are difficult to develop with a large number of students and in a limited number of classes. A possibility would be the increase of the number of course hours from 8 per semester to at least 14. This proposal should be submitted to the approval of the university board and if approved, then the teacher should try to introduce more speaking activities, at least group work or pair work, depending on the number of students who participate in the course. In this study we have tried to identify particular teaching and learning issues we and our distance learning students are confronted with. It is probable that colleagues teaching at other universities in our country or abroad, especially in Eastern Europe, would encounter the same problems. The solutions we have proposed may work not only for foreign languages, but also for other distance learning courses. At the same time, pair or team teaching could be used for traditional language classes and especially for groups of learners who have special difficulties because of different causes such as age, cultural background or different types of disabilities. We are open to any other recommendations colleagues with similar experiences could make and we hope that our ideas will be implemented in the near future. Appendix 1 Interview/questionnaire guide Instructions: please provide comprehensive and precise answers to the open questions below and circle your situation where it is the case. Your answers will be used for research purposes and for improving the quality of distance learning education in our faculty. You had been informed about these purposes before you agreed to take part in the survey. Your answers will be confidential and anonymous. Thank you for your cooperation. 1. Why did you choose distance learning education for completing your studies? 2. Do you use the distance learning on-line platform? If so, how often and to which purpose? 3. Which qualities do you think a professor teaching distance learning students should have in comparison with a professor teaching full-time students? 4. Do you consider it necessary to study a foreign language during faculty? YES NO 5. Which problems have you encountered in the study of Business English as a distance learning course? 6. Which solutions do you suggest to these problems? 7. Which is your opinion about the syllabus for the Business English course? 370 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo 8. Would you like to communicate with your English teacher through the on-line platform? If so, how often? 9. Did you graduate another form of higher education before the one you are currently attending? YES NO 10. Your age 11. Your sex F M 12. Your place of permanent residence References Berg, G. (2002). Why distance learning? : higher education administrative practices. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group Dooley, K., Lindner, J., McCoy, L., Dooley, L. (2005) Advanced methods in distance education. London: Idea Group Inc. Harmer, J. (1993) The Practice of English Language Teaching. New York: Longman Richards, J. C. (1995) The Context of Language Teaching. New York: Cambridge University Press Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M. (2008) Teaching and learning at a distance: foundations of distance education. www.books.google.com Williams, M., Paprock, K., Covington, B. (1999) Distance learning: The Essential Guide. California: Sage Publications Widdowson, H.G. (1990) Teaching language as communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press . 371 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 54 Title A name given to the resource Teaching Business English for Distance Learning Students – Challenges, Problems and Potential Solutions Author Author Zagan-Zelter, Diana Zagan-Zelter, Sergiu Abstract A summary of the resource. Distance learning has become a type of learning which is increasingly preferred by students both in bachelor and master programs at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, mainly due to economic reasons which force young people to start working immediately after finishing high-school. However, distance learning is also a solution for middle-aged people who graduated different universities in their youth, but have professions which are no longer requested on the job market. As the spectrum of distance learning students is so heterogeneous from different points of view such as age or professional background, teaching English to such students has encountered a number of challenges and problems that we have been trying to cope with so far. In order to identify these problems, we have made a survey among distance learning students from our faculty by using questionnaires and guided interviews. We have also made a summary of the issues identified in our teaching experience and we have talked to colleagues who are in the same situation in order to discover the common points. The paper will present the results of this investigation and the solutions we propose, solutions which are based on our 10 year-experience in teaching distance learning students as well as on the review of specialized literature in this area. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-05 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed P Philology. Linguistics https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/f59dbd62758d2e87d97fd70493d65373.pdf eb1e8855476a062db68980ea6f493231 PDF Text Text 1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo A study of anxiety among the Graduation Learners of English as a Foreign Language in Pakistan. Ammara Adeel Comsast University Lahore, Pakistan The Department of English Language aammara84@gmail.com Abstract: The learning of English as a foreign language in Pakistan takes place in two different types of Educational Institutions – Urdu and English Medium. Some students, in a pilot study, were reported to have acquitted themselves well in their language class while others not so well, particularly in speaking the language in the classroom. The main reason for low performance in this regard was reportedly attributed to anxiety and nervousness among the low performers. In order to ascertain this hypothesis empirically, this researcher carried out a full fledge research to this effect. The study as such used qualitative semi- structured individual interviews and focus group discussion. A total of thirty four participants including twenty seven learners and seven experienced language teachers participated in the research. The findings suggest that anxiety in communication stems, on the one hand, in the learners from their self created perceptions and beliefs about themselves, and on the other, from the strict and formal classroom environment in the educational institutions. On the basis of these findings the study suggests some measures to be followed in the classroom to alleviate the element of anxiety in the learners. Such measures are expected to yield positive results in the performance of the learners. 1. Introduction Foreign language scholars, teachers and learners have long been interested in identifying variables which affect the process of foreign language learning. Foreign language researchers have empirically found that variables play a vital role in learners‘ success or failure in academic settings in learning a foreign language. Krashen (1985) observed speaking/talking in classroom as the most anxiety stimulating activity for learners. Kim (1998) reported that students in a reading classroom undergo lower anxiety level than students in conversation class. This study intends to find the answer of the following research questions related to anxiety in Pakistani learners in English at advanced level. 1) What kind of anxiety is encountered by Pakistani learners in speaking English language? 2) What are the various factors of anxiety in speaking English in language classrooms? 3) What kind of techniques can be used to alleviate anxiety while the English language in the class? 2. Literature Review Anxiety which stems from learning and speaking a foreign language is termed as ‗Foreign language anxiety‘. This multifaceted phenomenon was defined as ―distinct complex of self-conceptions, beliefs, feelings and behavior related to classroom learning arising from the uniqueness of the language learning process‖ (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986, p. 128). Some researchers reported a negative relationship between foreign language anxiety and language achievement (Clément, Gardner, & Smythe, 1980; Clément, Gardner, & Smythe, 1977). However, others reported no relationship or a positive relationship between language anxiety and performance (Backman, 1976; Chastain, 1975; Pimseleur, Mosberg, & Morrison, 1962; Scovel, 1978). Research on ‗Language anxiety‘ has suggested that certain false beliefs about language learning have a constant source of tension, anxiety and frustration in the classroom (Horwitz et al., 1986, p. 127). Gynan (1989) used terms such as ‗erroneous‘ and ‗irrational‘ for the beliefs held about language learning by learners which can be a constant source of anxiety.. In addition to unrealistic beliefs different activities performed in the language classroom which mainly involves speaking in front of the class, have been marked out as most anxiety provoking factors. Koch and Terrell (1991: cited in Young, 1991,p. 429 and Horwitz 2001,p. 119) found that in Natural Approach classes 121 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo more than half of their subjects expressed oral presentations and oral skills in front of the class as most anxietyproducing activities. 3. Methodology In order to shed light on diverse experiences of individuals, qualitative method was considered as an appropriate approach in this study. 3.1 Population The population of the present study was a large university i.e. COMSATS Institute of Information Technology at Lahore, Pakistan where total of 4671 students were enrolled in various disciplines at graduation, post graduation, M.Phil and PhD levels. 3.2 Participants The participants of the study were seven experienced Non-Native teachers of English Language and twenty seven university students of graduation level. Out of thirty four subjects, eighteen were males and sixteen were females. Their ages ranged between seventeen years to thirty eight years. The teaching experience of all teachers ranged between one and a half years to eleven years at various levels. 3.3 Instrument a. Individual Interviews Individual interviews were conducted from learners as well as teachers within two weeks time. The time taken by interviews ranged from 10 min to 20 min. All the interviews were conducted in English language and tape recorded (see appendix for questions adapted from Tanveer, 2007). b. Focus Group interviews Fifteen learners in total from various disciplines participated on voluntary basis in focus group discussion which lasted for about forty minutes. 3.4 Data Analysis The tape recorded individual and focus group interviews of both learners and teachers were listened and transcribed ‗verbatim‘ by the researcher. Afterwards, initial and focused group coding was applied to obtain results. 4. Findings and Discussion 4.1 Types of Anxiety in Pakistani Learners Most of the previous researches identified the enervating effect of anxiety while communicating in the foreign language (Beier, 1951; Deffenbacher, 1980; Spielberger, 1966). Consistent with the past research approximately all the participants of the present research reported the negative impact of language anxiety on communication which result in hesitation and avoidance behavior. All the participants strongly agreed on the debilitative effect of language anxiety on learners while speaking. There were only two respondents who pointed out the facilitative effect of language anxiety apart from negative one. Types of Speaking Anxiety in Pakistani learners Debilitative (mostly) Facilitative (very rare) 122 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo De-motivation Hesitation Avoidance behaviour Loose confidence Forget things chance to learn more motivates prior preparation of activities 4.2 Sources of Anxiety in English Language Classroom The classroom environment, different communicative situations, and general perceptions of learners on speaking English language have been found to have strong links with language anxiety while speaking. 4.2.1 Strict and Formal Classroom Environment Consistent with the previous research, the participants (both teachers and learners) of the present research stated strict and formal classroom environment as one of the very important cause inducing speaking anxiety in learners. a) Fear of Negative Evaluation Many learners asserted that classroom is the place where so many students and teachers are constantly noticing their mistakes and the responses of the class fellows make them afraid to speak. The same apprehensive feelings of students were also pointed by language teachers. Many of them expressed that students get silent and unvoiced because of this fear clearly showing their speaking anxiety. Such responses articulate fear of negative evaluation under highly formal classroom environment which are similar to the past research which also revealed that the level of anxiety of learners increases under highly evaluative situations, specially in foreign language classroom where teachers and peers constantly monitor their performance (Daly, 1991: cited in Onwuegbuzie, Bailey, & Daley, 1999, p. 218). Due to dual schooling system (Urdu and English medium) of Pakistan many learners are unable to develop required communicative skills in them. In Pakistan Urdu medium schools do not provide exposure and practice of second language speaking to learners. As a result, whenever they are required to express themselves in front of others the fear of negative evaluation over powers them. b) Role of language teacher Teacher is responsible for creating communicative environment between students. While certain teachers are strict in terms of accuracy and they believe on snubbing the students at the spot. Their humiliating methods of error correction of learners induce anxiety in them. It was also elaborated that teacher has a ‗powerrelation‘ with the students and whenever they exercise this power it stimulates language anxiety in speakers and makes the classroom environment strict. Moreover, many of students felt that the method of error-correction of certain teachers is so direct and humiliating that they never want to participate in their class. In Pakistani education system mostly teacher is an ‗authoritative‘ figure and learning is ‗teacheroriented‘ instead of students. This reduces students‘ chance to speak in classrooms to a great extent. The negative image of teachers in the mind of students does not let them participate in their classrooms and they avoid future communication attempts and prefer to remain silent. c) Classroom activities Different classroom activities make classroom environment threatening for learners. Participants were of the view that class presentations make the classroom environment stressful and highly formal. Even the very confidant learner expressed his inability and lack of confidence in giving presentations. Similarly, teachers also articulated that students have to collect material and arrange data before giving presentation in front of the audience; which was found by many learners as stressful activity of language classrooms. 123 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo The present research reinforced the findings of previous research by Young (1990), Koch and Terrell (1991) and Price (1991). All of them found that participants of their study considered oral presentations most anxietyprovoking activity in the language classroom. Apart from class presentations, pointing students to speak or to give answers of the questions asked stimulates anxiety in them. On the other hand, group activities were pointed to be less anxious and comfortable by language teachers. In group work they have room to divide, discuss and share the given activity. In group work anxiety is present in learners but its level decreases. Most of the learners agreed with the teachers that group work is less anxiety inducing. Those individuals who tried to escape from individual tasks for them group work is relaxing. It was found that many students in university at graduation level had their schooling in Urdu medium where English was just taken as a subject to obtain marks by cramming. Moreover, in Urdu medium schools learners normally start learning English language from grade five or above from very simple text books. Such exposure to English language is not sufficient for students at all. When such learners reach at their university level, where different classroom activities are compulsory part of language classroom and good mastery of language is required. They find themselves unable to express due to low English proficiency which increases their anxiety many folds. In addition to that, the teachers who use to teach in Urdu medium schools are mostly found to be strict, authoritative and less skilled in language classrooms. This makes language classroom uncomfortable and exasperating for learners. 4.2.2 Self-related cognitions and perceptions about speaking English Past research has revealed that anxiety in learners is created by their ―cognitive interferences based on self-related cognitions‖ (Tanveer, 2007). The self-perceptions of learners, beliefs about speaking English language, perceived scholastic competence and self-esteem are some of the factors related to learners‘ cognition which produced language anxiety in them (see Krashen, 1985; Horwitz et al., 1986; Onwuegbuzie et al., 1999 ). Some of the self-related cognitions identified in this research correspond to earlier cited cognitions, but they vary from individual‘s personality traits and their experience of foreign language learning. Many of the teachers posited that their students believe that they cannot speak English at all. They perceive English as a tough language. This feeling makes them tense and anxious about speaking English language. Many of the teachers and learners shared identical views on the students‘ believe expressing their inability to speak English. One of the reasons for this perception is comparison with peers. As a result of this comparison many learners felt that they cannot speak English. This also generates inferiority complex in them. A female teacher asserted that many of the students believe that there is no room for mistakes while speaking. For them making mistakes was something highly negative. Another belief of learners was pointed by another teacher that speaking a language is ability, not possessed by all. This is consistent with the findings of Horwitz et al. (1986). Another identified belief of students was that many students compare themselves with the anchors and actors in TV and movies. They feel that they should be like them and in practical life when they find themselves unable to express the way they think; this creates a negative perception in them about their abilities and language competence. One more perception about speaking English was that it is used to share scholarly ideas only by learned and educated people. The most important belief of students was that speaking English is a ‗status‘ symbol and many of them felt that people speak English to ‗show-off‘ not to convey their message. The same belief of students was assured by teachers that general prevalent perception in our society is that English is a ‗status symbol‘ and people use to ‗show off‘ knowledge. It is considered in our society that English is language of elite class and people use it to impress somebody rather then conveying knowledge or ideas. Moreover, people believe that a person who speaks English belongs to educated and economically well settle family. 124 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Anxiety Model of Pakistani Speakers Self-related cognition and perceptions Strict and Formal classroom environment Can‘t speak English Fear of negative evaluation Role of language teacher Individual tasks Class discussions Group and pair work Presentations Singled out to answer Classroom activities Schooling system (Urdu, English) Social class/family background Lack of exposure and practice Comparison with peers Fear of linguistic mistakes Attitude towards mistakes Speaking --- an ability Perceived speaking competence English --- a status symbol English --- sharing of scholastic ideas English --- hinders relation building 4.3 Strategies to Reduce Speaking Anxiety In order to improve speaking, by lowering anxiety of learners in foreign language following techniques are suggested in language classrooms. 1. Truly communicative approach should be applied by language teachers which provide learners with maximum room for practice of speaking English. 2. Teachers should be supportive and congenial and should utilize indirect method of error correction. 3. Students should be realized that errors are part of speaking. 4. Adequate time for classroom activities and continuous practice should be provided to students to build up their confidence. 5. Teachers should help learners in realizing their irrational beliefs and they should be substituted with reasonable commitments for English language speaking. 125 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo 6. Different creative and fun activities like discussions, presentations, interviews, videos, songs, role plays etc should be employed by language instructors tactfully to make speaking of English language fun for learners. 5. Conclusion Like previous conducted research this interview study also revealed that speaking is most anxiety provoking second language skill. All the participants agreed that learners undergo language anxiety in speaking more then any other skill of language. There was no significant difference in the perceptions of teachers and learners on the identified language provoking factors but they differ in their experiences and observations. Almost all research participants emphasized that speaking English in front of others induces feeling of anxiety and nervousness. Most of the times classroom situations are extremely challenging to learners‘ communicative abilities in the form of class discussion, pair and group work, class presentations and answering questions when singled out. In addition to that, many other self-created concepts about speaking English were found to be aggravating factors of anxiety for learners. Appendix Interview Questions Q1: What do you think is the role of anxiety in speaking English language? Q 3: What are the different situations and language classroom activities that have been found by you to be anxiety- provoking? Q 5: Have you noticed any particular kinds of beliefs or perceptions about speaking English language? and what do you think how they play a role in causing speaking anxiety? Q 6: How do you think speaking anxiety can be successfully controlled? References Backman, N. (1976). Two measures of affective factors as they relate to progress in adult second-language learning. Working Papers on Bilingualism, 10, 100-122. Beier, E. G. (1951). The Effect of Induced Anxiety on Flexibility of Intellectual Functioning, by Ernest Gunter Beier...[A Thesis.]: American psychological association. Chastain, K. (1975). Affective and ability factors in second-language acquisition. Language learning, 25(1), 153-161. Clément, R., Gardner, R., & Smythe, P. C. (1980). Social and individual factors in second language acquisition. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 12(4), 293-302. 126 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Clément, R., Gardner, R. C., & Smythe, P. C. (1977). Motivational variables in second language acquisition: A study of Francophones learning English. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 9(2), 123-133. Deffenbacher, J. L. (1980). Worry and emotionality in test anxiety. Test anxiety: Theory, research, and applications, 111-128. Gillham, B. (2005). Research interviewing: The range of techniques: Open University Press. Gynan, S. (1989). Preferred learning practices of selected foreign language students. Paper presented at the American Association of teachers of Spanish and Portuguese Annual Meeting San Antonio, TX. Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. Modern language journal, 70(2), 125-132. Kim, S. Y. (1998). Affective experiences of Korean college students in different instructional contexts: Anxiety and motivation in reading and conversation courses. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at Austin. Koch, A. S., & Terrell, T. D. (1991). Affective relations of foreign language students to natural approach activities and teaching techniques. Language anxiety: From theory and research to classroom implications, 109-125. Krashen, S. D. (1985). The input hypothesis: Issues and implications: Longman. MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1991). Investigating language class anxiety using the focused essay technique. Modern language journal, 75(3), 296-304. Ohata, K. (2005). Language anxiety from the teachers‘ perspective: Interviews with seven experienced ESL/EFL teachers. Journal of Language and Learning, 3(1), 133-155. Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Bailey, P., & Daley, C. E. (1999). Factors associated with foreign language anxiety. Applied Psycholinguistics, 20(02), 217-239. Pimseleur, P., Mosberg, L., & Morrison, A. L. (1962). Student factors in foreign language learners. Modern language journal, 46, 160-170. Price, M. L. (1991). The subjective experience of foreign language anxiety: Interviews with highly anxious students. Language Anxiety From Theory and Research to Classroom Implications. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Prentice Hall, 101-108. Scovel, T. (1978). The effect of affect on foreign language learning: A review of the anxiety research. Language learning, 28(1), 129-142. Spielberger, C. D. (1966). Anxiety and behavior. New York: Academic Press. Tanveer, M. (2007). Investigation of the factors that cause language anxiety for ESL/EFL learners in learning speaking skills and the influence it casts on communication in the target language. University of Glasgow. Educational Studies, Faculty of Education: unpublished doctoral dissertation. Young, D. J. (1990). An investigation of students' perspectives on anxiety and speaking. Foreign Language Annals, 23(6), 539-553. Young, D. J. (1991). Creating a low-anxiety classroom environment: What does language anxiety research suggest? Modern language journal, 75(4), 426-439. 127 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 22 Title A name given to the resource A study of anxiety among the Graduation Learners of English as a Foreign Language in Pakistan. Author Author Adeel, Ammara Abstract A summary of the resource. The learning of English as a foreign language in Pakistan takes place in two different types of Educational Institutions – Urdu and English Medium. Some students, in a pilot study, were reported to have acquitted themselves well in their language class while others not so well, particularly in speaking the language in the classroom. The main reason for low performance in this regard was reportedly attributed to anxiety and nervousness among the low performers. In order to ascertain this hypothesis empirically, this researcher carried out a full fledge research to this effect. The study as such used qualitative semi- structured individual interviews and focus group discussion. A total of thirty four participants including twenty seven learners and seven experienced language teachers participated in the research. The findings suggest that anxiety in communication stems, on the one hand, in the learners from their self created perceptions and beliefs about themselves, and on the other, from the strict and formal classroom environment in the educational institutions. On the basis of these findings the study suggests some measures to be followed in the classroom to alleviate the element of anxiety in the learners. Such measures are expected to yield positive results in the performance of the learners. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-05 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed P Philology. Linguistics https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/aef3aac8f7d600aa8f864d39b6c88c1d.pdf 2669e7be2a2d95dda231428ada0dc060 PDF Text Text 1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Corrective feedback on the oral production and its influence in the intercultural classes Ceylani Akay English Department, International Burch University Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina ceylaniakay@hotmail.com Azamat Akbarov English Department, International Burch University Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina aakbarov@ibu.edu.ba Abstract: The role of error correction or corrective feedback has been studied and emphasized since the beginning of language learning. The term largely relates to the four skills of language such as reading, writing, speaking and writing. This article will focus on the oral production and will have a look at language acquisition in an intercultural classes. The positive feedback will be discussed and the attitude of the teacher towards the learners will be explored through the research. The language learning can be effected negatively or positively by the way of the teachers‘ attitude towards the learner. The article focuses on the different examples of corrective feedback and its influence in the intercultural classes. 1. Introduction The error correction and corrective feedback in the field of Second Language Acquisition plays a very important role. While orrective feedback clearly relates to both oral and written discourse, the focus of this discussion will focus on oral production, since the majority of research has largely focused on this aspect. We are going to focus on the positive factors on the language learners. The error correction should be carefuuly chosen according to the aim of the language activity. Since we are focusing on the oral production, the accuracy or the fluency should be our main criteria when we decide the time of the correction. In the oral production, the fluency in my opinion should be the main focus so that the corrective feedback can be given after the speaking process. Otherwise the learner can be effected negatively and the reticence appears in a large scale. 2. The definition of the corrective feedback and the error correction We come across many different terms in identifying errors in the SLA literature. To give a brief review of the definitions of terms and of the different types of feedback would be very useful. Chaudron (1988) has pointed out the fact that the term corrective feedback incorporates different layers of meaning. In Chaudron‘s view, the term ―treatment of error‖ may simply refer to ―any teacher behavior following an error that minimally attempts to inform the learner of the fact of error‖ . The treatment may not be evident to the student in terms of the response it elicits, or it may make a significant effort ―to elicit a revised student response‖ . Finally, there is ―the true‖ correction which succeeds in modifying the learner‘s interlanguage rule so that the error is eliminated from further production. Lightbown and Spada (1999) define corrective feedback as: Any indication to the learners that their use of the target language is incorrect. This includes various responses that the learners receive. When a language learner says, ‗He go to school everyday‘, corrective feedback can be explicit, for example, ‗no, you should say goes, not go‘ or implicit ‗yes he goes to school every day‘, and may or may not include metalinguistic information, for example, ‗Don‘t forget to make the verb agree with the subject‘. 270 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo According to Schachter (1991), corrective feedback, negative evidence, and negative feedback are three terms used respectively in the fields of language teaching, language acquisition, and cognitive psychology. Different researchers often use these terms interchangeably. The feedback can be explicit (e.g., grammatical explanation or overt error correction) or implicit. Implicit correction includes, but is not limited to, confirmation checks, repetitions, recasts, clarification requests, silence, and even facial expressions that express confusion. In addition, Krashen (1982, 1985) believes that SLA is the result of implicit processes operating together with the reception of comprehensible input. Conscious learning can only act as a monitor that edits the output, after it has been initiated by the acquired system. Krashen‘s input hypothesis posits that it is subconscious acquisition that gains dominance, and that learning cannot be converted into acquisition, even though adults can both subconsciously acquire languages and consciously learn about languages. In short, for Krashen, as for the nativists, negative evidence has a barely discernable effect on SLA. Krashen‘s views and theories of language learning have been challenged on the grounds that while comprehension is essential for language acquisition, such acquisition does not entail unconscious or implicit learning processes; and that noticing is indispensable for the acquisition process (Ellis, 1991; Gass, 1988, 1990, 1991; Gass & Varonis, 1991; Schmidt, 1990, 1994; Schmidt & Frota, 1986). According to the noticing hypothesis, in order for input to become intake for L2 learning, some degree of noticing must occur, and that it is corrective feedback that triggers that learners‘ noticing of gaps between the target norms and their IL, and thus leads to subsequent grammatical restructuring. According to Schmidt (1990), ―subliminal language learning is impossible, and that intake is what learners consciously notice. This requirement of noticing is meant to apply equally to all aspects of language‖ (p. 149). Language learners, however, are limited in what they are able to notice. The main determining factor is that of attention. As Schmidt (1994) points out, ―while the intention to learn is not always crucial to learning, attention to the material to be learned is‖ (p. 176). Attention, in addition, ―also controls access to conscious experience‖ (p. 176), thus allowing the acquisition of new items to take place. Gass (1988, 1990, 1991. According to her, for learners to be able to internalize input in order to affect the acquisition process, they must not only comprehend this input, but also must notice the mismatch between the input and their own IL system. She points out that ―nothing in the target language is available for intake into a language learner‘s existing system unless it is consciously noticed‖ (1991, p. 136). Corrective feedback, for Gass, functions as an attention getting device. She further argues that without direct or frequent corrective feedback in the input, which would permit learners to detect discrepancies between their learner language and the target language, fossilization might occur. Gass and Varonis (1994), moreover, point out that ―the awareness of the mismatch serves the function of triggering a modification of existing L2 knowledge, the results of which may show up at a later point in time‖ (p. 299). Similarly, Ellis (1991) shares the view that the acquisition process includes the steps of noticing, comparing, and integrating. 3. How and when to correct errors The way we correct the errors and the corrective feedback effects the attitude of the learners towards the target language. Here I would like to mention a few important points in error correction. 1. Be aware of the goals of the lesson, and the students‘ levels. Students gain the most from error correction when it‘s focused on a particular goal, which we always tie to the main learning objective of the lesson. For example, if the goal of a lesson is to learn the irregular forms of past tense verbs, and we do a speaking activity to reinforce that aim, l correct mistakes connected to the use of those particular verbs. In this controlled setting, the students tend to remember their specific mistakes from one lesson to the next. If a student is making mistakes with a structure that they haven‘t been introduced to yet, correct it, because chances are, they won‘t retain it. On the other hand, when higher level students struggle with structures and patterns that they‘ve learned once, twice or even multiple times, focus on correcting those errors. 271 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo 2. Encourage self-correction. Encouraging self-correction puts the learning process into the hands of the students, and allows for learning to happen beyond the confines of the classroom. Often, when a student makes a mistake, point out that a mistake has been made, and wait for the student to find it and correct it herself (often with the help of her classmates). For example, if an intermediate student says, ―He go to the store,‖ stop the student by repeating what he has said. ―He go?‖ ―He go?‖ The aim is to draw attention to it, leading the student to re-think what he has said. After making the mistake a few times, they‘ll begin to catch themselves. 3. Be aware of timing, and how to correct. Note down some basic or central mistakes, and bring them up later. One tactic is to write example sentences on the board, containing some of the same mistakes, and have students find and correct them. This approach ties in the method of self-correction and puts the learning process back into the hands of the students. 4. Do not waste time correcting mistakes In the language learning mistakes are inevitable. As the teacher do not waste time correcting and repeating the correct form. Allow the students make mistakes and learn fro thir mistakes. 4. Intercultural classes and corrective feedback influence on them Cultural differences cause a variety of errors in the SLA. When we have several nationalities and cultures in one classroom the teacher should be very careful for the corrective feedback. In the International School of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina I had a chance to observe about 10 different nationalities learning English in the same class. The students have different background of English language and they have different cultural background. The students take mother tongue interference to the class in various ways. The difficuly appears when we correct the errors and they all take these corrections in a different way. So the best way is to deal with the kids individually as much as posssible and orally the aim of our teaching is having good conversation with the students. The input they get from their teachers and being a good sample is very important. The more correct input they get the more they learn. I myself observed the age 6 or 7 children learning English in a year time very fluently by a lot of input given by their teachers. And the corrective feedback given at the right time and the amount play a very important role on these children. 5. Conclusion I think that normally the students are asked to speak too soon, when they aren't ready, so the mistakes are more frequent. Another important point is that sometimes the learners know the correct way to speak but they aren't used to produce it while speaking. In any case, the problem can be solved by having more input. When we speak we don't like to be corrected. Because we are focusing in communicating ideas and in being able to understand what has been said. You don't mind while you're producing the language. You don't have to take notes. But you can know what are your weak points. The mistakes are inevitable in learning SLA, the only way to correct and give positive feedback is choosing the right time. As the article suggests, especially in the intercultural classes the students get a lot of input and the mistakes are corrected in an appropriate way so the children learn the target language with less problems and this leads them use the language fluently. 272 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Correcting errors in a communicative speaking class needs a serious treatment since every learner will give different reaction to the feedback given by teachers. The aim of speaking class is to make the learners use the language they learn. That is why, it is worth considering that teachers should be more tolerant to the students errors in speaking class. It is hoped that the teachers correct selectively, choose productive items, and correct constructively. Creating a very good atmosphere in the classroom is very essential to gain the successful language learning. According to Mendelshon (1990) this is connected to classroom management , and the attitudes that develops in the class. It is strongly believed that the classroom atmosphere should be built on a premise of mutual respect. This means learners and the teachers should respect each other. The classroom must be healthy ; in a communicative speaking class there should be a place where there is a lot laughing with others, but there is never any laughing at anyone. The speaking class should be a sheltered environment in which it is always safe to take risk for the students to try thing out without fear or ridicule. By this the learners might be more confident to use the language they are learning. Correcting errors is a delicate matter and correction must always be handled with care. The teachers should be careful when correcting errors. Different learners and different cultures will react to feedback given by their teachers in different way. 273 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo References: Allwright, R. L. (1975). Problems in the study of the language teacher‘s treatment of error. Bohannon, J. N., & Stanowicz, L. (1988). The issue of negative evidence: Adult responses to children‘s language errors. Developmental Psychology, 24, 684-689. Bley-Vroman, R. (1986). Hypothesis testing in second language acquisition. Language Learning, 36, 353-376. Carroll, S., & Swain, M. (1993). Explicit and implicit negative feedback: An empirical study of the learning of linguistic generalizations. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 15, 357-386. Chaudron, C. (1977). A descriptive model of discourse in the corrective treatment of learners‘ errors Chomsky, N. (1975). Reflections on language. New York: Pantheon. DeKeyser, R. (1993). The effect of error correction on L2 grammar knowledge and oral proficiency. Modern Language Journal, 77, 501-514. Corrective feedback in SLA Doughty, C., & Williams, J. (1998). Pedagogical choices in focus on form. In C. Doughty & J. Williams (Eds.), Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition (pp. 197-261). New York: Cambridge University Press. Ellis, R. (1991). Grammar teaching practice or consciousness-raising? In R. Ellis (Ed.), Second language acquisition and second language pedagogy (pp. 232-241). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters. Gass, S. M. (1988). Second language vocabulary acquisition. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 9, 92-106. Gass, S. M. (1991). Grammar instruction, selective attention, and learning. In R. Phillipson, E. Kellerman, L. Selinker, M. Sharwood Smith, & M. Swain (Eds.), Foreign/second language pedagogy research (pp. 124-141). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters. Krashen, S. D. (1985). The input hypothesis: issues and implications. New York: Longman. Lightbown, P. M., & Spada, N. (1990). Focus-on-form and corrective feedback in Communicative Language Teaching: Effects on second language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 12, 429-448. Lightbown, P. M., & Spada, N. (1999). How languages are learned. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. 274 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 41 Title A name given to the resource Corrective feedback on the oral production and its influence in the intercultural classes Author Author Akay, Ceylani Akbarov, Azamat Abstract A summary of the resource. The role of error correction or corrective feedback has been studied and emphasized since the beginning of language learning. The term largely relates to the four skills of language such as reading, writing, speaking and writing. This article will focus on the oral production and will have a look at language acquisition in an intercultural classes. The positive feedback will be discussed and the attitude of the teacher towards the learners will be explored through the research. The language learning can be effected negatively or positively by the way of the teachers‘ attitude towards the learner. The article focuses on the different examples of corrective feedback and its influence in the intercultural classes. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-05 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed P Philology. Linguistics https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/ed03d460f80adf25df3abc9ee7cfda7d.pdf d9e42acbd06c2de7dfab4d4a6d1147a2 PDF Text Text 1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo An Analytic Interpretation of Grammatical Phrases Construing the English Articles Asst.Prof.Dr.Azamat Akbarov English Department, Education Faculty International Burch University Bosnia and Herzegovina aakbarov@ibu.edu.ba Abstract: This paper studies the English article system from the perspective of dialectics. The aim of the study is to expand the area of understanding the English article system by showing that at the very elementary communicative level is more relevantly indicated as a relational dialectical system rather than a simple binary one as characterized in most traditional pedagogical grammar books. This research attempts to reach this objective by interpreting such key metalingustic notions as anaphoric generic uniqueness etc as well as the three main descriptors of the English articles which involve article definite and indefinite For Plato dialogues or our Daily communicational acts are fundamentally dialectical. Thus the base reasoning for his research is that if we understand the Notion linked to dialectic or dialectical acts better this will in turn help us comprehend our own dialogical acts in general and the English articles as a key dialogical marker in particular. Key Words: English articles, dialectic, definiteness, indefiniteness Introduction The English articles the and a/an are most often used grammatical elements but are also salient as one of the most problematic areas in acquiring this language as a foreign language (Butler. 1999). A number of studies attempt have been made hoping to clarify what aspects of the English article system make the learner of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) have difficulty acquiring the system (Master. 1990: Song & Park. 2001). The goal of this research has been produced out of this line of pedagogical thought. The paper aims to extend the scope of understanding the English article system by demonstrating that at the very elementary communicative level it is more appropriately characterized as a relational dialectical system rather than a simple binary one as described in most traditional pedagogical grammar books. Specifically, this study attempts to reach this goal by reinterpreting key metalinguistic notions of the English articles which have been commonly used in the literature involving English grammar and linguistics. This will be done from the perspective of the semantics of dialectics. By nature, this study is more likely to pursue what Ellis (1997) calls practical knowledge as opposed to technical knowledge. As part of the discussion about the Professional relationship between Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research and language pedagogy, he characterizes the former as explicit while the latter as implicit. What he argues with the technical knowledge which is obtained primarily by analytical and empirical work. On the other hand, practicing professionals like doctors and teachers tend to rely more on the practical knowledge which is intuitive and experiential. In what follows, I will first briefly discuss in what respects this instrumental Notion of dialectic or dialectical help extend the scope of our understanding the English articles. A few key descriptions such as article, definite, indefinite and the like will then be analyzed. On Dialectic How has the nation dialectic or dialectical been defined in the literature? As Watson (1985 p 85) points out. Its origin seems to date back to Plato‘s period. Dialectic is Plato‘s Word coming from ―dialegesthai‖ to talk with and his works take the form of dialogues. As such the terms dialectic and dialogue are closely interrelated concepts. Here the implication is that our daily communicational act is fundamentally dialectical, so if we understand this notion better. This will in turn help us understand our own dialogical acts in general and the English articles as a key dialogical marker in particular. What follows are brief schematic descriptions of these terms. Which have been drawn selectively from the Webster‘s Third New International Dictionary (1967). The nominal forms dialectic and dialectics are defined in two respects. In one sense, they are often identified as the theory and practice of weighing and reconciling 186 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo juxtaposed or contradictory arguments for the purpose of arriving at truth –especially through discussion and debate. In another sense, and particularly on literature, they are often referred to as a type of systematic reasoning that seeks to resolve a conflict. While both senses indicate a reality of tension or opposition between two interacting forces or elements their ultimate purpose is directed toward obtaining truth and solving problems through transforming or transcending. Dialectics for Plato was used as a means of logical analysis or division of things and was expressed in the form of representing both ―genera‖ (or Form in his view of universe) and species (or particular) (Stevenson. 1987). In Aristotle, dialectics was viewed as a method of arguing the different sides of any given problem. It was also used as an art intermediate between rhetoric (thus, more symbolic, indefinite inclusive generic metaphoric and less referential) and strict demonstration (thus more concrete or referential, specific, definite, and exclusive). In the Kantian tradition, dialectics is used to account for paradoxical realities (i.e. both appearances and illusions), and it thus deals with paralogisms (i.e. reasoning contrary to the rules of logic), antinomies and transcendental ideas. Dialectics in this tradition becomes meaningful where these antithetical problems arise through logical fallacies, perceptual errors or the endeavor to use the principles of the understanding applicable only within experience for determination of such transcendental objects as the soul, the world and God. In a slightly more developed form the Hegelian interpretation is spelled out as:  a logical development progressing from less to more comprehensive levels that on its subjective side is the passage of thought from a thesis through an antithesis to a synthesis that in turn becomes a thesis for further progressions ultimately culminating on the absolute idea and on its objective side is an analogous development in the process of history and the cosmos. (Webster‘s Dictionary.1967.p 623) It is noteworthy that historically up to Hegel‘s use of dialectics. Its major function was the acquisition of truth and resolution of conflicts in problems. For Marx in contrast, the dialectic is viewed more as a conceptual tool responsible for bringing about some change or transformation. He expressed this Notion as:  the process of self-development or unfolding (as of an action, event, ideology, movement or institution) through the stages of thesis, antithesis and synthesis in accordance with the laws of dialectical materialism and the method that regards change in nature and history as taking place in this way. (Webster‘s Dictionary. 1967.p.623) For him reality is a changing process to be decoded by the human mind. The adjectival forms dialectic and dialectical are typically represented with the following characteristic semantic features. They are (a) marked by a dynamic inner tension, conflict and interconnectedness of parts of elements: (b) they are used to denote the idea of mutuality and reciprocity: (c) they are used to refer to the acts of practicing, being devoted to, or employing a dialectic and (d) as regarding something from the point of view of a dialectic. In summary the dialectic has been used as a conceptual catch-all to account for various paradoxical and co-existing aspects inherent in human reasoning and practices. Dialectics has been as both theory and practice as indicating a solution, recognition or acknowledgement of conflict contradiction, oxymoron and the like. This use of dialectics is responsible for denoting involves the recognition of change, difference, distinction, and the like over time. In fact because of its potential utility in constructing social theory the concept of dialectics has been given increased attention by psychologists (Gusfield, 1989: Georgoudi, 1984: Perin-banayagam, 1991). In reviewing many of the social psychological studies on this subject, Georgoudi (1984) concludes that dialectics has been employed not just at the level of theory construction but also at a metatheoretical level and at the level of methodological application. He has also noted that dialectics. In its most general sense is viewed as a process of relating nearly all aspects of human activity. Thus it is a form of mediation with a wide range of applications and nearly unlimited theoretical and practical potential. In other words, its unstated implications are widely and systematically disturbed to almost all sectors of the human and social sciences. As briefly illustrated above, the implications of the term dialectic are profound in terms of their philosophical, psychological and methodological applications. Let me point out in what sense the notion of dialectic can be helpful for one to understand the English article system, particularly from a pedagogical standpoint. First as seen in Plato‘s view of dialectic the English articles signify both generic or specific meaning and the articles are obviously key dialogical devices. Thus the system reflects the contradictory nature of relation between a whole and its part as well as the processual nature of our human praxis or action. Second similarly to the dialectic as a theoretical concept the semantic root of the English article connotes ―relation‖ which will be 187 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo discussed further later in this paper. Third just as the notion of dialectic entails system has an antithetical structure (i.e. definite and indefinite) The system is used for meaning differentiation and construction in dialogical context In sum it seems obvious that there exists a certain conceptual parallel between what we have seen about dialectic and the English articles. Key Descriptions of the Articles Let me start with the three basic descriptors of the English articles which involve ―definite‖ ―indefinite‖ and article. These terms have been commonly attributed and related to the usage of the articles ―the‖ and ―a/an‖. Although commonly used these three descriptors have not sustained a rigorous theoretical analysis by EFL/ESL researchers. Typically these researchers have simply followed the lead of many earlier theorists. Both philosophers and linguists who from a very different set of assumptions in the philosophy of science have usually resorted to using them as simple referring devices for ―the‖ and ―a/an‖. For instance Russell a leading philosopher of the logical positivist school28 is a typical case in point. As cited by Rosenberg an Travis (1971, p.167), Russell (1973) used these terms to distinguish different modes of philosophical description:  A ―description‖ may be of two sorts definite and indefinite (or ambiguous). An indefinite description is a phrase of the form ―a so-and-so,‖ and a definite description is a phrase of the form ―the‖ so-and-so (in the singular), (original emphasis) A similar but more specific usage of these terms has been proposed by Bickerton (1985):  In English ―definite‖ really means presumed known to the listener whether by prior knowledge (the man you met yesterday) uniqueness in the universe (the sun is setting) uniqueness in a given setting (The battery is dead-cars do not usually have more than one battery) or general knowledge that a named class exists ( The dog is the friend of man): and ― indefinite‖ really means presumed unknown to the listener whether by absence of prior knowledge (A man you should meet is Mr. Blank) nonexistence of a nameable referent (Bill is looking for a wife) or nonexistence of any referent (George couldn‘t see an aardvark) (p.147) Accordingly, authors of English grammar books usually use these notions as received categories. They assume the word ―the‖ is responsible for definiteness and the words ―a/an‖ are responsible based on simple clear and straightforward categorical meanings, it has had a broad pedagogical appeal. However because of its theoretical simplicity this classification has also been problematic and misleading to many students. The fact is that ―the, a/an‖ or no use of these words is found in the same or a similar communicative context without a substantial difference in meaning (e.g. the tiger, a tiger, and tigers). This could thus lead one to confusion about what it means to be definite and indefinite. A separate descriptive analysis of these terms will, I believe, show that a more relational meaning of these articles is warranted. Article The term ―article‖ is probably the most common descriptor used in reference to the words ―the‖ and ―a/an‖ and is used either when referring separately to one or the other of these articles or to both as a common category of grammatical elements A clue to the meaning of this term may be found by looking into its historical origins its ancestral forms found both in Greek and Latin, are arthron and articulus, respectively. They are said to be no more than the ordinary words for link or joint (Lyons, 1977) and appear to be analogous to relation or connection. Note also that in the early Greek language no sharp distinction was drawn in terms of the forms or syntactic and semantic functions between demonstrative pronouns the definite and indefinite articles and the relative pronouns. As Herndon (1976, p.10) states, the term ―syndesmoi‖ was at first applied to them all, and it was chosen, presumably, because they were all regarded as connectives of various kinds. The primary function of these various words is based on notions of linking, connecting, and other relating schema.29 28 From Bertrand Rusell, (1919). Introduction to mathematical philosophy. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd. Chapters X and XI,pp.167-180. 29 For a full discussion of the theoretical differences between these usages, see Hawkins (1978), where he makes specific analyses from a particular theoretical linguistic viewpoint. 188 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo These relational concepts are virtually all time-bound in that relating one thing with another requires time: namely a diachronic relation. Note also that the verb form ―articulate‖ is related to the notion ―article‖ in a morphological sense. From this we can further speculate that the use of the articles as an act of articulation or saying is itself an act of relating in a dialogical sense. The Definite When turning our attention to the notion of definite we are initially led to question why this adjective is prefixed to the noun article (i.e. as the name of ―the‖ which is an arbitrary array of written signs or that of aural markings) and is used together as in the definite article. A basic level of understanding this relation may, however, already be found in some of our usual dictionary meanings of this term. Some of these meanings include: (a) exact limits: (b) precision and clarity in meaning: (c) explicitness and certainty: (d) limitation and specificity. From these lexical entries one can sense that the meaning of ―definite‖ is assumed to be something obvious and self-evident which implies a type of confinement or a line-drawing and conversely excludes something vague and unintelligible. This dictionary definition informs us that things or phenomena can be ontologically absolute while at the same time remaining somewhat less defined. In fact, for us to be definite about something (or to define something clearly) has been a central part of our knowledge what is definable through reasoning becomes the source of knowledge as the definite or absolute Truth. He symbolized the truth with the concept ―Forms‖ in the sense that they are ―more real than material thing for they do not change or decay‖ (Stevenson 1987, p.29). More specifically in relation to the referential function of a word (i.e. a word used to refer to truly many different individual referents). Plato thought that corresponding to each usage of the word there is one Form, which makes the particular individual referents meaningful entries in terms of its idealistic formal or symbolic resemblance to the referents. This formal and universal resemblance connotes the characterization of a class of certain entities by a process of objective definition. Moreover, for Plato, ―only this intellectual acquaintance with the ―Forms‖ can really count as knowledge since only what fully exits can be fully known‖ (Stevenson 1987, p.29). In relation to a common interpretation of Plato, Hergenhahn notes that:  Before being placed in the body at birth the soul dwells in pure and complete knowledge. Thus, all human souls know everything before entering the body. Upon entering the body the knowledge of soul begins to be contaminated by sensory information (198,3 p.34) This implies that if humans naively accept what they experience through the senses they are doomed to live a life of opinion and ignorance. For this reason Plato‘s concern was with reaching an idealistic state of ―Forms‖ responsible for uncontaminated human mind and society through education. In this regard, the most convincing illustration of his theory of Forms comes from the Euclidean geometry, which Stevenson has described as follows:  Consider how it deals with lines circles and squares but may always have some irregularity. Theorems concerning these ideal objects-straight lines without thickness perfect circle et-are proved with absolute certainty by logical arguments. Here we have indubitable knowledge of timeless objects which are the patterns that material objects imperfectly resemble (1978, p.29) In light of this, one can think about the geometrical concept of point, which in a perceptual sense is thought of as standing in its own right, but which is in fact a meaningful construct only if related to other geometrical notions like line. Its understanding requires formal conceptualization. Plato‘s conception of idealistic knowledge has to do with this kind of geometrical definition of knowledge that he indefinable (thus indefinite and perceptually contaminated) point in its own ontogenesis becomes definable (thus definite) only in relation to its totality the line. It is in the process of becoming definable that things become definite for us. In fact Plato‘s conception of knowledge is typically dialectic. Thus, following Plato‘s, we become both knowledgeable and ignorant by having a means to define it is very improbable to speak of a ―definite point‖ as found in a geometrical sense. When we see a given point on a geometrical plain, it may be viewed as having its own definite and obvious confinement but it is clear that this is not the case because a point in its own right is theoretically impossible. In the mathematical word (e.g. the 189 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Mobius strip, numerical entities divided by zero, etc.) the matter of definition is similarly not posited as an absolute and separate notion. This does not mean however that our acts of defining are always meaningless but that the definite becomes meaningful only in relation. What appears as definite does not necessarily make it so and the term definite with its dictionary significance is plausible only when the usage presupposes an indefinitely-given or taken-for-granted condition. In effect this term must be seen in essence to presume an indefinitely-given as well as a totality against which our acts of defining limiting confining specifying identifying and idealizing occur. Thus even at a very general definitional level our uses of ―definite‖ and ―indefinite‖ are essentially relational and dialectic. When judged from only dictionary meanings, the concept of exclusiveness may be seen as semantically analogous to definiteness. However, Hawkins (1978), in an apparent reversal, has characterized the grammatical role of the definite article as inclusiveness and that of the indefinite article as exclusiveness on the basis of his semantic and pragmatic analysis. His argument for the grammaticality of the definite and indefinite article, based on pragmatic premises, is probably quite appropriate in the context of his analytical and philosophical approach. But based on the two apparently opposing definitions we might infer that things or phenomena can be thought of as both ontologically absolute and not so at the same time in that the definite or the absolute connotes both exclusion (by the criteria of its lexical meanings) and inclusion (by the criteria of Hawkins‘ linguistic analysis). Here again, one cannot ignore the dialectic. The Indefinite With the notion ―indefinite‖ one may also question why the adjective attaches itself so naturally to the noun article (i.e. as the name of ―a/an‖) when they are used together like indefinite article. The lexical entries for this term involve (a) Having no exact limits or having no limits at all (B) not precise sharp and clear in meaning and outline vague: (c) not sure or positive inexplicit and uncertain and (d) not limiting and specifying not referring to the specific. Given that all these descriptions imply no exclusion a prototype meaning of indefiniteness may be said to be that of ―inclusiveness‖. As stated earlier this is contradistinctive to Hawkins‘s (1978) generalization about the grammatical function of the indefinite articles in terms of ―exclusiveness‖. This apparent contradictory nature of the English articles as related to their mate languages may be a partial explanation for many non-native speakers‘ difficulty and confusion in mastering them. The fundamental meanings of these attributive adjectives presuppose the postponement or reservation of the act of defining. They are also suggestive of a certain contingency which requires further action. Having no limits implies that, whatever it means the meaning is to be open. This openness to contingency gives rise to the question of motive, potential and intention to be defined, or on its way to becoming definite. All in all, the ―indefinite‖ as a concept can be viewed as reflecting a mental state or process which has not been fully acted out, but is ready to be acted out. Because it is paradigmatically open it in some sense signifies a syntagmatic (or simply temporal) induction and foretells a sense of meaning-making or of becoming definite. Other Metalanguages of the Articles What follows is an attempt to reinterpret some descriptive terms that have commonly been used in analyzing English articles usages. There are quite a number of ―classificatory notions‖ which are reflected in our common usages of the articles and which form another major class of metalanguages about the English articles. Some of these most commonly used notions which are used to describe our various communicative functions of the English articles include the following: (a) deictic or demonstrative use: (b) back-pointing or anaphoric use: (c) forward-pointing or cataphoric: (d) uniqueness: (e) communal sharing: (f) generic and specific: and (g) endophora or in-text reference and exphora or out-text reference. It should be noted at the outset that a general and common feature of all these categories can be described as ‗the communicative act of pointing.‘ The key feature of the articles has generally been interpreted as being dualistic and mutually exclusive. This has been the case, I contend, because our treatment of the grammatical aspects of the articles has usually been restricted to a within-sentence analysis. In order to have been better understanding about the articles, I feel that we need to extend to scope of analysis to the much broader context of communicative act. What follows is thus discussed from a communicative perspective which involves all forms of human actions reflecting one‘s psycho-social-cultural history. 190 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Deictic The notion of ‗‘deictic‘‘ along with its etymological link with ‗‘deixis‘‘ is analogous to the philosophical notion of indexical expression (Crystal, 1986). And its literal meaning is pointing or indication. It should be renoted that a major function of the definite article has been understood as revealing an indicative or determining role, not unlike that of deixis. Lyons (1977) states that deixis refers to the variety of grammatical and lexical features ―which relate utterance‘‘ (p. 636). Here note that the essential features of deixis are also defined as relational: in other words at the level of identifying which is linked to which the relational act must have a context in order to make sense. This act necessarily involves both ―agency‖‘ (i.e. who relates) and ―object‖ (e.g. enactive, iconic, or symbolic) we are to relate and thereby implies that a relational act arises from within an instrumental context. From this interpretation of the term ‗‘deixis‘‘ one is able to derive at least two meanings namely what is pointing as inner motive—the pointer or intention and what is being pointed to—outer evidence or actualization of pointing. The nature of indication itself is not a simple mechanical pointing behavior but is a relational, intentional and psychological gesture mediating between pointer and pointee. It is this dual reality of a pointing act that, I content, can be characterized as being dialectical and dialogical. More specifically we may say that deixis entails a double dialectic: a relation between intention and a deictic sign: and a relation between the sign and its referent in actual communication. In many cases of human communication the second relation turns out to be reflexive in that the referent itself is language. In this sense language is our existential reference. ―Deixis‘‘ involves not only the characteristic feature of the demonstrative pronouns, but also tense and person, and a number of other syntactically relevant features in the context-of-an utterance (Thavenius, 1983; Wilkins, 1985). According to Lyons (1977), it also refers to the philosophical notion of ostension or ostensive definition. It is worth nothing that ostensive, deictic, and demonstrative are all based upon the idea of identification or drawing attention to something in a communicative space by pointing. So too is Hardwick‘s (1977) term ―indexical‖, which has been employed in the recent philosophical literature roughly in the sense that we are assigning deictic to discursive acts (Lyons, 1977, p.637). As such, the notion of deixis is understood as an indicative function which is conceptually similar to the acts of pointing, locating and identifying. Lyons accounts for the act of pointing as follows:  The canonical situation-of-utterance is egocentric in the sense that the speaker by virtue of being the speaker casts himself in the role of ego and relates everything to his viewpoint. He is at the zero-point of the spatiotemporal co-ordinates of what is referred to as the deictic context (1977 p. 638) What is insightful here is the use of the notion ‗‘zero-point‘‘ because it is conceptually similar to the notion of indefinite. Specifically, it does not seem to be a mere co-incidence that this egocentric sense of zeroness in one‘s utterance is initiated with an indefinite expression such as ‗once upon ―a‖ time, there lived ―a‖ farmer in ―a‖ village. It appears to indicate a speaker‘s self-awareness of where he or she is located in a given discourse space. In other words, the speaker knows that the story should start from scratch or nothingness. Or the speaker is likely to assume that the hearer knows ―nothing‖ about what he or she is going to talk about. Although it may sound speculative the phrase ―zero-point‖ above seems to connote the meaning of nothing. In addition as it is found in the earliest stage of a child‘s cognitive development deixis, in terms of its attention drawing property, is the most rudimentary identifying act in a child‘s communicative conduct. In summary English article usage when related to the metalinguistic notion of deixis, as with many others, reflects a dynamic and dialectical reality that is often missed when we treat the articles as simply either definite or indefinite. Anaphoric The notion of ‗‘anaphoric use‘‘ or ‗‘back-pointing‘‘ refers to the case where an entity in a narrative text which often occurs first with the indefinite article ―a/an‖ is identified again in that text by replacing ―a/an‖ with ―the‖ to indicate its reappearance in the discourse. For instance in the sentence ―Bill bought a TV and a radio, but he returned the radio‖ ―the‖ in ―the radio‖ is explained as revealing the anaphoric function. What counts here is that the signification of ‗‘the‘‘ is predicated on the precondition of ―a‖. In this context the use of ―a‖ as an indefinite expression is viewed as a necessary condition for the latter use of ―the‖. In other words ―the‖ becomes meaningful by virtue of ―a‖. Moreover their linguistic value becomes meaningful only when they are understood in temporal context because the notion of presupposition is a time-bound one. This anaphoric usage reflects the temporal coordination or history-sharing function which is so important between interlocutors in their broader mutual meaning-making and understanding processes. Accordingly here again it is 191 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo apparent that ―a‖ and ―the‖ are not really separate linguistic mechanisms or entities but are rather constitutive semantic poles forming an interactive whole between interlocutors. Moreover since this function can be expected to be acquired much later in conceptual and/or linguistic development than the simple deictic or indicative act. Cataphoric The ―cataphoric‖ use or ―forward-pointing use‖ of the articles is seen in the case where linguistic identity is established by the post-modification that follows the noun. For example it involves the use of ―the‖ in the sentence ―Bill returned the radio he bought yesterday‖ as well as in the sentence ―The‖ olives of Turkey (or which Turkey produces) are the best in the world. Insofar as the fundamental meaning of the sentence retains its central intent or sense the first sentence can be interpreted as ―Bill bought a radio, and he returned it or the radio.‖ As seen in each interpretation we can infer or presume that at least part of the meaning of ―the‖ in the examples connotes the indefinite meaning which the indefinite article ―a‖ yields. The same reasoning which was developed in the discussion of the anaphoric function above seems to be at work here with the cataphoric function of the articles. What matters here is the matter of explicit observability or of implicit sharedness between interlocutors. While not directly observable what appears to be functioning is a certain dialectical interaction between the definite and the indefinite. The ―the‖ in ―Bill returned the radio he bought yesterday‖ may be thought of as only a grammatical choice but its significance derives from the recognition of the existential presupposition of ―a‖ as connected in ―Bill bought a radio yesterday.‖ Moreover, in a similar context, if Bill bought more than one radio, it would also be possible to say that ―Bill returned ―a‖ radio he bought yesterday.‖ Thus here again the definite and the indefinite meanings cannot simply be prefixed grammatical notions but are determined in actual communicative contexts, and choice for their usage seems to be determined mostly on dialogical grounds. In effect this dialectical schema of the articles is structured through various and processual dialogical experiences rather than the result of a simple instructional knowing of the meaning of the words and grammar rules. Uniqueness The notion of ―uniqueness‖ refers to the definite usage where an object or a group of objects is interpreted as revealing, characteristically, oneness and wholeness at the same time: for instance, the stars, the earth, the world, the sea, the North Pole, the equator, the Reformation, the human race, etc. In other words, its significance arises where referents are understood to be unique in a given context: the sun, the moon, the kitchen, the car, etc. This notion indicates the existence of only one thing either as an individual entity or as a kind. The definite expression seen in this category may be indicated as presuming a native speaker‘s ontological mental index regarding a specific referent. For instance, in the case of the earth, we may say that the passage indicates the native English speaker‘s recognition that something as a referent exists which is named ―earth‖ (i.e. the awareness of existential reality) and that the speaker learned to call it ―the‖ earth as a conventional label to indicate a common awareness of the referent. In this schema, the use of ―the‖ requires both a self and others: namely, without you as another, the use of ―the‖ turns out to be meaningless. We learn in this way that the meaning of uniqueness and the related use of an article is conditioned (or becomes significant) by a speaker in the face of a hearer. A native speaker‘s competence in this aspect of language, as with other aspects appears as internalization and increasing awareness in the context of communicative socialization processes. Here again, considering traditional language learning settings, where one-way instruction has been preferred over actual communication it is understandable why it is so difficult for learners to develop this kind of social sense, and have so much difficulty with the articles. This social sense can be properly acquired only through actual dialogical (i.e. social) experiences, rather than in simple monological, instructional acts. Situational/Communal Sharing Compared to the uniqueness expression the notion of ―situational or communal sharing‖ refers to article usage which is more adaptable to situational variations. The use of an article in this sense does not necessarily signify the uniqueness of the referent. The usual examples in this category are: the radio, the television and the telephone in a given social setting. In a similar way to what was discussed previously, I content that the expression, ―the radio‖ becomes intelligible only when interlocutors either explicitly admit that there actually is a radio both as a thing and as a word (i.e. a classical reference problem). Hence, when one says ―the radio‖ he or she presupposes the ontology of its referent as well as the existence of a meaningful symbol. 192 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo It should be noted, however that while this type of referential function is necessary in most communicative discourse acts. It is not sufficient. The referent which the noun phrase indicates is usually in a social context, and as such it is obvious that its referential reality varies from context to context. For instance, in the case of the phrase ―ten minutes before ―the‖ hour‖, we all know that the noted temporal referent is relative to the assumed time referent of the hour. Whether we are talking about a physical referent or an imaginary referent it is clear that the definite expression is contingent upon the existential cognitive index, which is characteristically adaptable to input, but which retains certain indefinite properties. Generic and Specific The ―generic‖ and ―specific‖ usages of the English articles refer to Noun Phrases (NPs) preceded by ―the‖, ―a/an‖ or ―the zero‖ article so that each reveals either the genericity or the specificity of the nominal entity in a context. A generic expression refers to what is general or typical for a whole class of objects. In the sentence, ―The tiger is a beautiful animal‖ it means that ―the‖ indicates the class of tigers, and not simply one individual member of the class. This sentence is thus understood as expression essentially the same meaning as the following sentences: ―Tigers are beautiful animals‖ on the one hand and ―A tiger is a beautiful animal‖ on the other. Traditional English pedagogical grammar books usually describe such sentence as having a common property of genericity simply taking their formal or morphological differences for granted without any plausible explanation. Accordingly, they are understood the mean virtually the same thing. Moreover almost all informants of native English speakers cannot find any meaning difference among the three sentences above nor can they explain ―why so?‖ To recapitulate the generic expression represents the concept or idea which is generally attributable to certain entities pervading all members of a given class. As shown in the previous examples while the dialectical phenomenon is self-evident in this function of the English articles, questions have rarely been raised about what this kind of semantic contradiction means in language pedagogy. Thus, what seems to be necessary to be equipped with some meaningful ideas concerning how to explain it to the student? In effect what I content here particularly in terms of seeing the article system as a dialectical relational system is that genericity as semantic representation of ―the‖ NP, ―a/an‖ NP and NPs is embodied along the line of semantic continuum between the definite and the indefinite. This in turn implies that ―the‖ tends to appear along the definite end of this continuum and that ―a/an‖ along that of the indefinite. Moreover NPs can then be viewed as a certain entity appearing somewhere in the middle. One may argue that seeing articles in this way is only speculative at most. But I would rather argue that this interpretive schema is meaningful in that it possibly offers a coherent way of explaining the varying nature of the English article usage both for the student and the teacher. The bottom line here is that until we have a better one, we should dig something out hoping that it‘s better than nothing. A specific expression in contrast represents the entities rather directly as seen in such sentences as ―Look at the tiger‖ or ―ask a boy in this group‖ and does so especially in the context where both interlocutors have specific knowledge about the referent. Hence, generally speaking, when representing a referent with its related NP, the generic expression reveals an indirect ―symbolic reference‖ (i.e. the referent does not have to be real, and moreover the referents that the interlocutors may have in mind are not necessarily identical): a specific expression reveals a direct symbolic reference in that both the speaker and the hearer are required to experience a common shared meaning in conjunction with a given referent. Here again, under this re-interpreted theoretical schema. I content that the locus of linguistic control that determines either the genericity or specificity of meaning is not in the language terms (i.e. ―the‖, ―a/an‖, or ―zero article‖) but in the degree of referent sharing between interlocutors. Endophora and Exophora Two more theoretical terms which appear to capture the relational properties of the English articles but which are also often seen in the study of pronouns are known as ―endophor‖ and ―exophora‖. According to Thavenus (1938)  A speaker will use pronouns to refer in two ways: he can refer to something that is mentioned in the conversation and the reference is then textual or ‗endophoric‘; or he can refer to something that has not been mentioned, but that can be retrieved from what can be perceived in the situational setting or from the speaker‘s and listener‘s shared knowledge and experience. (p. 140) He calls the latter case an example of situational or exophoric reference. Halliday and Hasan similarly introduce the term endophoric ―as a general name for reference within the text‖ (1976, p 33) but for them 193 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo endophoric covers both anaphoric and cataphoric reference (or forward-pointing) article uses, these two functional categories of English pronouns also manifest the relational nature of language use and modes of human thinking. CONCLUSION In order to isolate the dialectical aspects of the English article system study has attempted to reinterpret key metalinguistic terms concerning the system. I have tried to show that even at the grammatical level when viewed within the context of various metalanguages the articles are best seen as a relational and dialectical system. This dialectical system I content, can be seen as ―a higher system‖ (just as in the structuralists‘ world view) which controls the interactive processes (i.e both syntagmatic and paradigmatic forces or both mutually inclusive and exclusive). This higher system which may be represented as a symbolic sign of ―(IN)DEFINITENESS,‖ suggest that it be viewed in the holistic, communicative, relational context rather than solely within a somewhat limited grammatical intra-sentential and word-centered one. The rationale for my suggestion is not unlike our understanding that phonemic reality becomes more meaningful at the level of morphology and morphological reality at the level of syntax and so on. These ideas are illustrative of an understanding of our human language and communicative system as a multi-leveled and somewhat hierarchical meaning system in which the higher and more inclusive levels of meaning supersede, elaborate and constrain the lower and preceding ones. This mutually exclusive but at the same time codeterministic characteristic is a very essential feature of human language system. This idea was recognized some years ago by the structural linguist Roman Jacobson (1968), who identified the human sound system in this matter.30 Moreover this higher system is also indicative of our broader and more pervasive mental processes. One can find it not only in our language use but also in all of our psycho-social acts of meaning making. Although this argument requires much lengthy discussion. I wish to note briefly how our use of ―the‖ which usually presupposes the existence of ―a/an‖ can be seen as revealing a form of higher order metacognitive functioning. Specifically the use of one in relation to the other reflects our mode of metacognition (i.e. thinking about thinking) which presupposes a continuation of discourse and continuous meaning specification. This kind of metacognition is what makes text cohesion and coherence (i.e. meaning making and communication) possible in a given dialogical contest. Bruner‘s (1986) understanding of the semantics of human expressions while not explicitly stated in relation to the use of the English articles is conceptually congruent with the current argument:  The relation of words or expressions to other words or expressions constitutes along with reference the sphere of meaning. Because reference rarely achieves the abstract punctiliousness, a ―singular‖, ―definite referring expression‖ is always subject to ―polysemy‖ and because there is no limit on the ways in which expressions can relate to one another, meaning is always undetermined ambiguous. To make sense in language as David Olson argued persuasively some years ago, always requires an ―act of disambiguation.‖ (p. 64) In effect, this act of disambiguation is a most fundamental metacognitive function that is inherent in our cognitive activities and involves the various processes of differentiation, identification, definition, determination, etc. The articles often called determiners or grammatical markers, by grammarians and linguists can thus also and more importantly be viewed as a dialectical and semantically coherent system of symbols which not only reflects our cognitive and communicative contexts but may serve the more active function of constructing meaning in these contexts. 30 Roman Jakobson`s (1968) theory of phonology development is based on his distinctive feature analysis (or phonemic distinction in general) of the sound systems of many different languages. A central theme of the theory is that the pattern of phonological development is systematic in a relational sense. 194 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo References Bickerton, D. (1985). Roots of language, Ann Arbor. MI: Karoma Publishers, Inc. Bruner, J. (1986). Actual minds possible worlds. Harvard University Press. Gusfield, J. (Ed.). (1989). On symbols and society. The University of Chicago Press. Butler, Y. G. (1999). The role of metacognition in the development of the article system among nonnative speakers. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Stanford University. Crystal. D. (1986). A dictionary of linguistics and phonetics. New York, NY: Basil Blackwell Inc. Ellis. R. (1997). SLA research and language teaching. Oxford University Press. Georgoudi. M. (1984). Modern dialectics in social psychology. In Gergen. K. &Gergen. M. (Eds.) Historical social psychology. CEA. Halliday. M. A. K. &Hasan, R. (1976). Cohegion in English, London: Longman. Hawkins, J. A. (1978). Definiteness and indefinitieness: A study in reference and grammatically prediction. Atlantic Highlands, HNJ: Humanities Press. Hergenhahn. B. R. (1988). An introduction to theories of learning. Englewood Clifts. NJ: Prentice Hall Herndon, J. (1976). A survey of modern grammers. Orlando, FA: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Inc. Jakobson, R., & Halle. M. (1968). Child language, aphasiz and phonological universals. The Hague: Mouton. Lyons, J. (1977). Semantics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Master. P. (1990). Teaching the English articles as a binary system. TESOL, Quarterly, 24(3), 461-478. Hardwick. C. S. (Ed.). (1977). Semitics and significs: The corre-spondence of Charles S. Peince and Victorial Lady Welby. Bloomington: Indiana University. Perinbanayagam, R. S. (1991). Discursive act. New York. NY: Walter de Gruyter, Inc. Rosenberg, J., & Travis, C. (1971). Reading in the philosophy of language. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Inc. Son,. M. & Park, S. (2001). The usage of the definite article by Korean EFL collage learners. Foreign Language Education. 8(2), 23-44 Stevenson, L. (1987). Seven theories of human nature: Christianity, Freud, Lorenz, Marx, Sartre, Skinner, Flato. Oxford University Press. Thavenius, C. (1983). Referential pronouns in English conversation. Lund: Lund University Press. Watson, W. (1985). The ambitectoics of meaning : Foundation of the new pluralism. State University of New York Press. Webster‘s third new international dictionary. (1967). Springfield, MA: G. &C. Merriam Company Publishers. Wilkins, D. (1985). Grammatical, situational and notional syllabuses. In C. J. Brumfit & K. Johnson. (Eds.). The communicative approach to language teaching. Oxford University Press. 195 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 30 Title A name given to the resource An Analytic Interpretation of Grammatical Phrases Construing the English Articles Author Author Akbarov, Azamat Abstract A summary of the resource. This paper studies the English article system from the perspective of dialectics. The aim of the study is to expand the area of understanding the English article system by showing that at the very elementary communicative level is more relevantly indicated as a relational dialectical system rather than a simple binary one as characterized in most traditional pedagogical grammar books. This research attempts to reach this objective by interpreting such key metalingustic notions as anaphoric generic uniqueness etc as well as the three main descriptors of the English articles which involve article definite and indefinite For Plato dialogues or our Daily communicational acts are fundamentally dialectical. Thus the base reasoning for his research is that if we understand the Notion linked to dialectic or dialectical acts better this will in turn help us comprehend our own dialogical acts in general and the English articles as a key dialogical marker in particular. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-05 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed P Philology. Linguistics https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/6117bbae4e53e8465b2bbf893ba47bc6.pdf 1c61e4f6395d48b9a56a8f761b131ca1 PDF Text Text 1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Jezik SMS poruka - novi zajedniĦki jezik Maria Teresa Albano Odsjek za Italijanski jezik i knjiņevnost Filozofski Fakultet NikńiĤ, Crna Gora t_albano@hotmail.com Abstract: SMS poruke su postale jedan od najdominantnijih sredstava komunikacije u Ħitavom svijetu. Za lingviste predstavljaju poseban jeziĦki ―varijetet― sa specifiĦnim pravilnostima u razliĦitim vidovima jeziĦke upotrebe. Kroz kratki istorijat o nastanku SMS poruka, u nańem radu pokuńaĤemo da tumaĦimo specifiĦnost jezika SMS tekstualnih poruka, analizirajuĤi, prije svega, skraĤenice koje se u italijanskom jeziku najĦeńĤe koriste prilikom njihovog pisanja, kao i uticaj koji SMS poruke imaju na sam jezik. SMS jezik nije novi jezik, ali je sigurno jezik s daleko vińe moguĤnosti i promjena od onog kojeg uĦimo u ńkoli i kao takav, razvijajuĤi kreativnost, dozvoljava nam da se igramo jezikom i rijeĦima, pa Ħak i izmińljamo nove rijeĦi. KljuĦne rijeĦi: skraĤenice, akronim, sms - poruke, emotikoni. Uvod U posljednjih nekoliko decenija svijet je prolazio kroz proces razvoja raznih tehnologija, koji je i dalje u toku i koji je izazvao i nastavlja da izaziva sve veĤe promjene na svim nivoima. Od radija, preko televizije i kompjutera, sve do Interneta, naĦin na koji komuniciramo, i dakle na koji priĦamo, uznemiren je mnogim novim sredstvama komunikacije koja su nam omoguĤila da se probiju mnoge barijere vezane za vrijeme i prostor. Mobilni telefon je, na primjer, izazvao prevrat u nańem svakodnevnom ņivotu prenosom velikog dijela ljudske interakcije u neki drugi prostor i omoguĤio da se komunicira u svako doba i na bilo kojem mjestu. SMS je sastavni dio nas i nańeg svakodnevnog ņivota i postao je ―prirodni ― model razmjene podataka. SkraĤenicom SMS (Short Message Service) se definińe usluga koja omoguĤava da se pońalje kratka poruka sa jednog mobilnog telefona na mali ekran drugog. SMS poruke prvi put su se pojavile poĦetkom devedesetih, ali samo kod nekoliko operatora u svijetu. Prvi SMS poslat je 3. decembra 1992. godine, preko Vodafone mreņe u Velikoj Britaniji i glasio je ―Happy Christmas‖ (http://nonciclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/SMS, 13.04.2011. h. 19.24). Dok je na poĦetku to bila izrazito komplikovana usluga i veĤina ljudi ih uopńte nije koristila, zbog naĦina na koji su se razvijale, SMS poruke su postale pravi druńtveni fenomen koji je neizostavni dio moderne komunikacije, u skladu s unapreħenjem tehnologiije. Upotreba SMS poruka je sada postavljena kao novi oblik komunikacije i, kao takva, podstiĦe razvoj specifiĦnih jezika i novih odnosa izmeħu ljudi i duboko utiĦe na tradicionalni jezik, obogaĤujuĤi ga novim izrazima. U pitanju je ponovo izmińljen jezik, proizvod kreativnosti mladih ljudi koji komuniciraju putem telefona i Ħije porijeklo odraņava dinamizam vremena u kojem ņivimo. SMS predstavlja alternativni vid komunikacije a njegova glavna karakteristika je telegrafski stil koji upuĤuje na ograniĦeni i ńifrovani kod koji, izgleda da svakodnevno nameĤe svoj identitet, posebno u svijetu mladih. Uostalom, same karakteristike telefona zahtijevaju od korisnika da promijeni jezik: saņetost i neposrednost, kao i potrebu da se brzo privuĦe paņnju sagovornika, Ħine nemoguĤim upotrebu jezika kakav smo uĦili u ńkoli. SMS poruke se priliĦno razlikuju u sadrņaju, ali s obzirom na njihovu neformalnu upotrebu mogu izraziti zahtjeve, saopńtenje kratkih liĦnih vijesti koje sadrņi najvińe jednostavne informacije vezane za odreħeni kontekst, kao i ispoljavanje emocija i naravno odgovore na tuħe poruke. Najvaņnija karakteristika SMS-a je moņda lakoĤa kojom se upotrebljava ova vrsta pisanja, bez ikakve paņnje na najosnovnija gramatiĦka i sintaktiĦka pravila, koristeĤi jezik na pola puta izmeħu govornog i pisanog. U pitanju je drugaĦiji i nezavisni oblik jezika, koji polako zauzima svoje konvencije razvijajuĤi posebne karakteristike, razliĦite od drugih i najobiĦnijih oblika komunikacije. Tom procesu stvaranja novog jezika, doprinose i druga digitalna sredstva kao ńto su e-mail poruke, social network, blogovi, video igre, itd. koje sve ujedinjuje vrlo jednostavan, koncizan i efikasan jezik. ĥuveni italijanski lingvista, profesor Valerio Giacalone, jezik SMS-a smatra ―jezikom za mlade, koji pored toga ńto je gramatiĦki pogreńan, ne predviħa druga pravila, osim brzine pisanja‖ (http://www.zanichellibenvenuti.it, 13.04.2011, h.18.05). Glavni cilj ovog rada je da opińemo aspekte novog jezika kratkih tekstualnih poruka, Ħija je najvaņnija karakteristika upotreba mjeńovitog komunikativnog koda, hibridnog stila izmeħu pisanog i govornog jezika. Konkretno, 805 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo analizirali smo jeziĦke komponente tekstualnih poruka u odnosu na savremeni prototip upotrijebljen kako u pismenoj tako i u usmenoj formi. Posebnu paņnju smo posvetili jeziĦkim promjenama koje sve vińe karakterińu italijanski jezik SMS-a. Osnovni uzorak za realizaciju ovog rada predstavlja korpus poruka prikupljenih u periodu od januara do juna 2010. godine, a korisnici su uglavnom prijatelji i poznanici razliĦitog uzrasta. Pošto je standardnim SMS porukama mogude poslati poruke ograničene dužine, ono što zapravo karakteriše SMS jezik je njegova sažetost. Novi jezik se ističe kratkodom, kovanjem novih riječi, čestom upotrebom žargona i skradenica, ponavljanjem istih glasova za isticanjem emocionalnih stanja, izostavljanjem interpunkcijskih znakova. Ljudi razvijaju kreativnost prilikom pisanja, otkrivaju nove naĦine kako se izraziti i uspijevaju da sa ńto manje rijeĦi kaņu ono ńto je bitno. Osnovna karakteristika jezika SMS-a jeste odstupanje od normi i modela pisanih tekstova pa i izmjeńanost segmenata tekstova u kojima vlada govorna jeziĦka struktura a isto tako i pravila pisanog jezika. Glavne karakteristike jezika SMS-a Jezik koji se pojavljuje u SMS-porukama je rezultat ogromnog uticaja ńirenja i korińĤenja novih tehnologija na italijanskom jeziku i predstavlja neke posebne osobine. Jezik SMS-a, u stvari, Ħesto koristi privremeni hibridni oblik koji je posebno sklon niskom nivou u izboru rijeĦi, ponekad koristeĤi svakodnevne izraze Ħak i vulgarne koji svjedoĦe o velikom uticaju govora u pisanju. Iako je komunikacija putem SMS-poruka privremena, svakako ima svoja pravila, odreħeni kod i Ħak sopstveni rijeĦnik i raspolaņe odreħenim rijeĦima ili znakovima koji Ĥe na efikasan i razumljiv naĦin izraziti sadrņaj same poruke. Jezik preslikava druńtveno ponańanje, rijeĦi gube morfolońku vrijednost i postaju niz slova koja formiraju novo znaĦenje. Jezik SMS-poruka je, dakle, novi vid komunikacije, sklon pojednostavljenju i simulaciji govora, kako u pogledu jeziĦke funkcije, tako i u pogledu komunikativne svrhe. Razmjena SMS-poruka, koja podrazumjeva prije svega zanemarivanje pisanja, naroĦito pravopisa i interpunkcije, ponavlja brzi ritam dijaloga posebno meħu mladima. Jedna od karakteristiĦnih odlika ovog jezika je neformalnost pa u velikoj mjeri koristi podkodove i markirane oblike u odnosu na standard; oblik je promjenljiv, ali je i dalje pod snaņnim uticajem broja slova na raspolaganju za poruku. U nańoj analizi, utvrdili smo sljedeĤe karakteristike koje se mogu naĤi u italijanskom jeziku SMS-a: 1. Izbjegavanje znakova interpunkcije. Osim taĦke i tri taĦke koje zadovoljavaju potrebu telegrafskog stila i reprodukuju duge pauze tipiĦne u usmenom izraņavanju, najĦesĤi upotrebljeni znak interpunkcije je znak uzvika, ponekad u kombinaciji sa znakom pitanja da bi se naglasio vid dijalońke i emfatiĦne razmjene. Npr: Ciao come stai quando ci vediamo stasera!? 2. Prisustvo ortografksih i gramatiĦkih grešaka odnosno ukidanje akcenta i apostrofa. Npr.: Sono u po stanca > Sono un po‘ stanca. Npr.: Compri tu il pane? Lai gia comprato? >Lo hai già comprato? 3. Ukidanje razmaka izmeħu rijeĦi, odnosno stalno smjenjivanje velikih i malih slova. Npr.: CIAOcara!ANDIAMOaPRENDEREunGELATO! Npr.: MiDispMaNnPssVenir > Mi dispiace ma non posso venire; 4. Upotreba slovnih skradenica, odnosno akronima. Zbog ograničenog broja znakova i prostora, vrlo često, kako bi se u svega par slova izjavila jasna i tačno određena misao za koju bi inače trebalo znatno više pisanja, “sijeku” se riječi eliminacijom vokala ili konsonanata: Npr.: Sai k tvb? > Sai che ti voglio bene Npr.: cmq >comunque; 806 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Npr.: nn > non; Npr.: Cvd > come volevasi dimostrare Npr.: Tvtb > ti voglio tanto bene Npr.: Tat > ti amo tanto Npr.: Dmn ser ape? > Domani sera, aperitivo? Npr.: Grz del msg cia > Grazie del messaggio, ciao Npr.: Cm mai nn esci stas? > Come mai non esci stasera? Npr.: Kmm xke h bsgn d drt 1 csa > Chiamami perché ho bisogno di dirti una cosa Ono ńto je zanimljivo je da osim upotrebe slova k i dvostruke upotrebe slova n, Ħesto se koristi slovo x koji ima dvostruku ulogu jer moņe da zamjenjuje kako predlog per, tako i duplo s: Npr.: Cmq. la prox sett sn tt x te > Comunque la prossima settimana sono tutto per te Npr.: xche nn mi h tel? > Perché non mi hai telefonato? Npr.: sxo > spero 5. Uklanjanje Ħlana i predloga ili upotreba samo poĦetnih slova nekih rijeĦi. Npr.: C.A> Cara amica Npr.: T.M > Tesoro mio 6. Upotreba glagola koji Ħine razgovor aktuelnim: Ħesto se koriste oblici glagola prezenta i gramatiĦke strukture "―stare + gerund‖ ili ―stare per + infinitiv‖. Npr.: Sto leggendo in biblio> sto leggendo in biblioteca; Npr.: al 3 vado in fac > alle tre vado in facoltà; 7. Upotreba brojeva i znakova koji zamjenjuju Ħitav skup slova. Npr.: Se c6 c ved il 6 7mbre > Se ci sei ci vediamo il sei settembre Npr.: 8bre >Ottobre; Npr.: 3NO > treno Npr.: 6 3menda > sei tremenda Npr.: hai r8 > hai rotto Npr.: 80 vgl d vdrt > ho tanta voglia di vederti Npr.: st + o – bn > sto pi÷ o meno bene 8. Upotreba skraĤenica odnosno pozajmljenica iz nekih drugih jezika kao što su engleski, španski ili francuski ili mješavina italijanskog sa skraĤenicama drugog jezika. Npr.: kiss, kiss > baci Npr.: 4u > for you 807 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Npr.: 4se > forse Npr.: plz > please Npr.: OMG= Oh My God! Npr.: bjur > buongiorno Npr.: hola> salve U posljednjem sluĦaju, pońto se slovo 'H' u ńpanskom obiĦno ne izgovara, SMS jezik ga izostavlja pa se vrlo Ħesto moņe naĤi rijeĦ Ola. 9. Pribjegavanje skupu grafiĦkih obmana. Za prenos u malom prostoru mnogih informacija kao i emocija, korisnik SMS poruka ima ograniĦeni izbor. Za izraņavanje nijansi koje su u govornom jeziku povjerene prozodiji ili mimici SMS-poruke koriste grafiĦke moguĤnosti da bi zamjenile i simulirale karakteristiĦne osobine usmene komunikacije.U tom pogledu Ħesta je upotreba velikog broja znakova, takozvanih ―emotikona‖ (emotion icon, emotivne ikone), koji najĦeńĤe predstavljaju izraze lica, kao ńto je osmjeh :-) :-( , strah : -0 , itd. Da smo postali zavisni o elektronskoj abecedi i simbolima pokazuje i korińĤenje znaka „ludog a‖ odnosno @ koje ponekad zamjenjuje predlog at odnosno a, a ponekad oznaĦava popularan smijeńak u tekstu. Npr.: Dmn sn @ RM > Domani sono a Roma Npr.: nn sono @ casa > Non sono a casa Sve vińe se koristi i znak & umjesto slova e, koji se moņe ―zakaĦiti‖ na prethodnu ili sljedeĤu rijeĦ ńtedeĤi dva razmaka. Npr.: scrivi&riposati > scrivi e riposati 10. Upotreba onomatopeja. Najpopularnije onomatopeje u tekstovima SMS-poruka su izvuĤene sa jezika stripova pa nalazimo sigh, gulp, sob, gasp, ah ah, itd. u cilju imitacije neverbalnog govora. Sintaksa SintaksiĦki izbori jezika SMS-a u velikoj mjeri zavise od svrhe poruke: u takozvanim informativnim SMS-ovima preovladava sintetiĦki stil, poput telegrama, sa kratkim reĦenicama i ograniĦenom interpunkcijom, dok u sadrņaju emocionalnih SMS - poruka preovlaħuje ponavljanja i redundancija. U skladu sa karakteristikama savremenog govora, radije, umjesto hipotakse, odnosno upotrebe podreħene reĦenice, SMS-poruke upotrijebljavaju parataksu, odnosno naporedne reĦenice. Kao ńto smo veĤ rekli, jezik SMS-a preferira upotrebu indikativa prezenta na uńtrb konjunktiva i kondicionala odnosno potencijala. Sve ĦeńĤi su i pragmatiĦni veznici ili tekstualni elementi koji ukazuju na odnos izmeħu dijelova teksta, sliĦnih veznicima upotrijebljenim u pisanoj formi (allora, dunque, comunque, quindi). U tekstovima SMS- poruka rijetko postoji objańnjenje prostornog konteksta iz kojeg se odvija komunikacija. Ali, uprkos tome, Ħesto se pojavljuju implicitni odnosno deiktiĦki izrazi koji se odnose na odreħeni prostorni kontekst (qui, là ). Isto se moņe reĤi i za pokazatelje vremena koji se pojavljuju u porukama (oggi, domani, stasera, adesso i sliĦno). Sve to je definitivno povezano sa Ħinjenicom da oni koji razmjenuju SMS-ove posjeduju zajedniĦke informacije u odnosu na kontekst Npr.: ke tempo fa lass÷? Qua ieri sole. Leksika Sa leksiĦke strane rijeĦnik je jako ograniĦen. Upotreba nekoliko stereotipnih oblika i prekomjerno prihvatanje anglo – ameriĦkih rijeĦi zajedno sa italijanskim proizvode Ħesto bizarne hibride. Npr.: LUV U > Love you 808 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo U SMS porukama mogu se naĤi takoħe ņargonski termini Npr.: Raga, ci vdm Lune>, Ragazzi, ci vediamo lunedí i hiperboliĦni izrazi tipiĦni za leksiku mladih, kao ńto je mitico (tipiĦan izraz crtanog filma Simpson), grande ili sveprisutni glagol beccarsi, odnosno „incontrarsi/vedersi. Npr.: Ci becchiamo stasera > Ci incontriamo stasera. Svaka SMS-poruka pońtuje neku odreħenu ńemu tako da obiĦno poĦinje sa odreħenom formulom koja je, s obzirom na neformalnosti komunikacije, uglavnom pozdrav Ciao ili rijeĦi ekvivalentne vrijednosti, kao ehilà, ehi koja Ĥe privuĤi paņnju primaoca. Rijetko se spominje ime primaoca nakon pozdrava veĤ se Ħesto zamjenjuje nadimcima ili hipokoristicima, (caro, bello, piccola). Kao zakljuĦak se rijetko koristi potpis, odnosno ime pońiljaoca, veĤ opet pozdravne formule kao ci sentiamo, ci vediamo, a dopo, a domani ili najĦeńĤe kiss, smack, baci, itd. ZakljuĦak Fenomen ńirenja globalne komunikacije koja „putuje― preko kompjutera i mobilnih telefona sa svim sofisticiranim tehnikama, zahtjeva paņljivo praĤenje uticaja koji moņe da ima na nań pisani i govorni jezik a i na komunikaciju u ńirem smislu. Rad je imao namjeru da istakne da li se i u kojoj mjeri u jeziku SMS-a koji spada u domen pisanog jezika javljaju elementi karakteristiĦni za govorni jezik. VeĤi dio ovog rada je posveĤen gramatiĦkim, morfo-sintaksiĦkim i semantiĦkim karakteristikama jezika SMS-a, imajuĤi u vidu Ħinjenicu da je SMS danas praktiĦni naĦin komunikacije jer imamo sve manje vremena, pa teņimo k tome da komunikacija bude brņa. SMS-poruke nisu vińe prvilegija mlaħe generacije koja je u poĦetku bila gotovo njihov iskljuĦivi korisnik, veĤ je to zaista univerzalni jezik koji ne poznaje geografske granice ni jeziĦke barijere i zapravo postaje najbolji pokazatelj mahnitosti vremena u kojem ņivimo. Efikasnost na uńtrb formalnosti - pravilo je moderne komunikacije koje veĤini ljudi odgovara. Razumijevanje mobilnog rjeĦnika danas je gotovo nuņna potreba, jer osim ńto nam ńtedi vrijeme, nekako je opńteprihvaĤeno da jezik SMS-a svi razumiju. Novi jezik telefona karakterińe ukidanje interpunkcije, predloga, rijeĦi kao i prisustvo skraĤenica i znakova. U stvari je, sintetiĦki karakter i telegrafski jezik SMS-a na neki naĦin samo povrńinski efekat, jer rijetko se eliminińu kljuĦne rijeĦi ili sama struktura informacije, veĤ samo posljednja slova ( ch > k, non > nn, comunque > cmq, qualcuno >qno). Bez obzira na ponavljanje odreħenih elemenata koji su uńli u opńtu upotrebu (x, ke, ki ... itd.), taj poseban jezik je u stalnom razvoju s originalnim primjerima kao ńto su jednostavne skraĤenice (cmq, lune, lez, h, fig ) ili rijeĦi vezane za ―fonetsku‖ transkripciju (orekkie , KE , KI , Kase , koja se odnosi i na dijalekat, vekio,) kao i simboli (x, c, c6, &, h), kombinacija simbola ( xke k ) ili hibridne forme (3no, recuxare). Zanimljivo je primijetiti takoħe jaku tendenciju kontaminacije koja se ogleda u upotrebi oblika standarnog jezika sa dijalekatskim oblicima, skraĤenicama, ņargonom, rijeĦima stranog porijekla. References Bazzanella C. (a cura di), Sul dialogo. Contesti e forme di interazione verbale, Milano, Guerini Studio, 2002, pp. 9-34. Bazzanella C., I segnali discorsivi, in Renzi – Salvi – Cardinaletti (a cura di), Tipi di frase, deissi, formazione delle parole, Bologna, il Mulino, 2001, vol. III, pp. 225-257. Berruto G., Le varietà del repertorio, in A.A.Sobrero (ed.), Introduzione all‘Italiano contemporaneo. La variazione e gli usi, Bari, Laterza, 1993, pg.12. Berretta M., Il parlato italiano contemporaneo, in L. Serianni/P.Trifone (edd.), Storia della lingua italiana, vol.2:Scritto e parlato, Torino, Einaudi, 1994. Bocci V., Ragazzi nella rete: chi sono, e come comunicano: tutti alle prese con tv, videogiochi, internet, e-mail, telefonini, chat, sms e mms, Leumann (TO), Elledici, 2007, pp. 3-26. Canobbio S., Dalla ―lingua dei giovani‖ alla ―comunicazione giovanile‖: appunti per un aggiornamento, in F. Fusco – C. Marcato, Forme della comunicazione giovanile, Roma, ―il Calamo‖, 2005, pp. 33-50. Cortellazzo M. A., «6 proprio 3mendo»: dalla lettera ai messaggini in codice. Oralità, concisione, assenza di sintassi: Le caratteristiche di una scrittura «allegra», in «Il Corriere della Sera», Milano, 19/08/2000, p. 29. 809 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Cosenza G., I messaggi SMS, in C. Bazzanella (a cura di), Sul dialogo. Contesti e forme di interazione verbale, Milano, 2002, pp. 193-207. De MautoT., Gli sms hanno cambiato il nostro modo di comunicare?, in M. Costanzo (a cura di), Scrivimi subito: per dire tutto, dirlo bene e dirlo subito, Milano, Mondadori, 2004, pp. 15-21. M.A.K. Halliday, Lingua parlata e lingua scritta, Firenze, La Nuova Italia, 1992, pg.166- 167. Pistolesi E., Il parlato spedito. L‘italiano di chat, e-mail e SMS, Padova, Esedra, 2004, pp. 187-245. Radtke E., Varietà giovanili, in A.A.Sobrero (ed.), Introduzione all‘Italiano contemporaneo. La variazione e gli usi, Bari, Laterza, 1993TAVANI L. - SALA S. ( a cura di), Un progetto @gile: ascoltare i giovani via sms, Roma, Aracne, 2005, pp. 199-205. Sitografija http://www.gianluigizarantonello.it http://www.openstarts.units.it http://nonciclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/SMS http://www.zanichellibenvenuti.it 810 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 118 Title A name given to the resource Jezik SMS poruka - novi zajedniĦki jezik Author Author Albano, Maria Teresa Abstract A summary of the resource. SMS poruke su postale jedan od najdominantnijih sredstava komunikacije u Ħitavom svijetu. Za lingviste predstavljaju poseban jeziĦki ―varijetet― sa specifiĦnim pravilnostima u razliĦitim vidovima jeziĦke upotrebe. Kroz kratki istorijat o nastanku SMS poruka, u nańem radu pokuńaĤemo da tumaĦimo specifiĦnost jezika SMS - tekstualnih poruka, analizirajuĤi, prije svega, skraĤenice koje se u italijanskom jeziku najĦeńĤe koriste prilikom njihovog pisanja, kao i uticaj koji SMS poruke imaju na sam jezik. SMS jezik nije novi jezik, ali je sigurno jezik s daleko vińe moguĤnosti i promjena od onog kojeg uĦimo u ńkoli i kao takav, razvijajuĤi kreativnost, dozvoljava nam da se igramo jezikom i rijeĦima, pa Ħak i izmińljamo nove rijeĦi. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-05 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed P Philology. Linguistics https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/3758e359e701a2a8ea0338a279153b73.pdf b24a60ba0c3b6639d6779b2ba4c88257 PDF Text Text 1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo The Troublesome Subjunctive: An Examination of the Frequent Mistakes Made in Tense Conjugation Đurħica AnišiĤ Senior Lecturer of English Language, Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia djurdjica.anisic@zg.t-com.hr Maša Brala English teacher University College of International Relations and Diplomacy, Croatia masa.brala@gmail.com Abstract: Why do some English grammar issues pose problems to otherwise fully competent and fluent students in Croatia? From our experience, reported speech and conditional sentences rank high on the list of such issues. The aim of this paper is to explore some problems Croatian students have with the concept of the subjunctive and its application in conditional sentences. The key problems for Croatian students in forming conditional sentences derive from their inherent desire to translate Croatian to English directly, which does not address the changing tense of the verb in the conditional clause. For example, the sentence, ―If I were rich, I would travel the world‖ would translate into Croatian, ―If I am rich, I would travel the world.‖ In general, the concept of using a verb in the past tense to express a present or future desire is simply alien to native Slavic language speakers. Examples of common errors in the translation of conditional sentences type 2 and 3 from Croatian to English and vice versa are presented in the paper followed by some suggestions of how to help students master the concept of the subjunctive and successfully apply it in conditional sentences. Key words: English grammar, conditional sentences, subjunctive, Croatian to English Introduction Prior to analyzing on the concepts of the subjunctive and its application in conditional tenses, it is imperative to elaborate on our experiences with first-year university students at the Faculty of Political Science, Journalism Department and at the University College of International Relations and Diplomacy, respectively. At the beginning of each academic year, foreign language instructors conduct a diagnostic test to assess the language skills of the incoming students. Most of our students have graduated from grammar schools, i.e. schools that prepare students for higher education. The mean length of studying English is eight to twelve years. As a result, the majority of students have language skills that vary from B2 to C2 levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)66. In addition, the respective institutions review the diagnostic exams to identify how the language skills of incoming students have improved over time, especially when compared to generations matriculating more than ten or fifteen years ago, which can be attributed to the current generation‘s heavy exposure to Englishlanguage television, movies, music and, most of all, the internet. These circumstances have made our teaching profession much more enjoyable and even easier, largely because today‘s students are competent, competitive, and eager to participate in the acquisition of language. Most, if not all, understand that English is extremely important to their future professional endeavors, not only because their mother tongue is relatively unknown outside the region, but as well due to the fact that English has become the Lingua Franca of the modern age. The topic of our paper, however, has not been chosen randomly. Rather, we have detected that an unexpectedly high percentage of otherwise language competent students continue to experience problems with conditional sentences (as well as indirect speech). Thus, we consider the topic worthy of further scientific research and 66 Council of Europe, Directorate of Education, Education and Languages, http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/CADRE_EN.asp 372 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo welcome others to contribute similar inquiries in hopes that the use of the subjunctive in conditional sentences may be better understood for future generations of students. Method of the Study In order to establish the number of students who failed to translate conditional sentences correctly (Croatian to English), we have used descriptive statistics. Conditional sentences were only one segment of the grammar exam that we used to test students' skills of the most demanding grammar issues (conditional sentences, indirect speech, and passive/active voice). The test time was not limited and students were encouraged to ask for help with words they could not remember under the pressure of testing (however, the demands for help in vocabulary were not recorded, most likely because vocabulary was intentionally made basic not to interfere with our primary interest in analyzing. grammar skills). Spelling and preposition mistakes were marked as mistakes; however, they were not sanctioned. The test comprised of six conditional sentences, three sentences with the condition in the present, (but the condition cannot be fulfilled) and three sentences with condition in the past (obviously not a subject of fulfillment). Conditional sentences with realistic condition (condition can be fulfilled) were not in the test because, in our experience, students do not have significant problems with the concept of translating the condition that can be fulfilled. This can be attributed to the fact that similar structures appear in both Croatian and English. Following are the six conditional sentences that students were asked to translate from Croatian to English: Condition in the present: Ustajala bih ranije da sam na tvom mjestu. Vińe bih vjeņbala da imam vremena. Stigao bi na autobus da krene na vrijeme. Condition in the past: Bila bi poloņila ispit da je vińe uĦila. Marko bi bio kupio novi automobil da je dobio zgoditak na lutriji. Bila bih joj pomogla da je zatraņila pomoĤ. In one test group (G1), conditional sentences were grouped one after the other in the order given above. In the other test group (G2), conditional sentences randomly appeared among other grammar structures (indirect speech and active/passive voice). The reason for creating two distinctive groups was to check whether the grouping of similar structures improves overall performance. Based on our experience of correcting and grading exams, our primary assumption was that students encounter problems with the protasis clause. On the contrary, we expected the apodosis clause to be less of a problem. In order to discern which elements pose most problems, we divided each conditional sentence into two parts, the apodosis clause and the protasis clause, and marked correct or incorrect for each. The results of the test, however, proved our initial expectations were incorrect. . Findings and Discussion Each group comprised of 34 tests, which made for a total of 408 conditional sentences to be translated. We considered that more than four hundred sentences was a large enough population to gain an insight into not only the patterns, but also the types of mistakes students routinely make. By dividing sentences into elements, we ended up with 1,632 elements for analysis according to the type of mistakes. The primary difference between the groups is that G1 had conditional sentences grouped while G2 had conditional sentences intermingled with other parts of speech. For the purpose of analysis, we divided each conditional sentence into two parts, entitled A (for apodosis) and P (for protasis), in order to ascertain a clearer understanding of what primarily (at least in terms of statistics and percentages) is the root of the problem. For the purpose of measuring grammar performance, we ignored other mistakes, including spelling, incorrect use of prepositions, etc. The tables below depict the performance of the two groups, G1 and G2. G1 373 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Conditional sentences total Condition in the present (type 2) Condition in the past (type 3) Apodosis total Protasis total 204 102 Correct sentences 99 54 Incorrect sentences 105 48 Percentage sentences 51.5 47.0 102 45 57 55.9 204 204 141 128 63 76 30.9 37.3 of incorrect G2 Correct sentences Conditional sentences total Condition in the present (type 2) Condition in the past (type 3) Apodosis total Protasis total 204 109 Incorrect sentences 95 Percentage of incorrect sentences 46.6 102 59 43 42.2 102 50 52 50.1 204 204 157 135 47 69 23.0 33.9 Correct sentences Percentage of incorrect sentences 49.0 G1 + G2 Conditional sentences total Condition in the present (type 2) Condition in the past (type 3) Apodosis total Protasis total 408 208 Incorrect sentences 200 204 113 91 44.6 204 95 109 53.4 408 408 263 298 110 145 26.9 35.5 As can be seen from the tables, there is a difference of 5.9 % in the performance of groups G1 and G2 in favor of group G2, where conditional sentences were randomly placed among other grammar structures. This suggests that the grouping of the same grammar structures does not add to student performance. In other words, students do not see the same grammar pattern grouped as a facilitator. Quite the opposite, it seems that the grouping of the same structures only adds to the multiplication of errors. Nearly half of the sentences were incorrect. We looked further into the types of mistakes in both apodosis and protasis and divided all of the mistakes into two categories: the first category (C1) 67 refers to the incorrect use of a grammatical unit, e.g. would had instead of would have, would have eat instead of would have eaten, etc. The second category of mistakes (C2)68 refers to the incompatibility of the concept in Language One (L1 = Croatian) with the grammatical structure that expresses it in Language Two (L2 = English). Our initial consideration of this topic was that the problems for most native Croatian speakers with the conditional is their inherent desire to translate Croatian to English directly, which does not address the changing tense of the verb in the conditional 67 Some examples of C1 mistakes are: would had helped, would had pass, would had passed, would made, would have buy, would have help, would practiced, would have catched, would have had helped, had went, etc. 68 Some examples of C2 mistakes are: He would catch the bus if he goes on time, I would have helped her if she asked for help, I would practice more if I have time, I would have practiced more if I had time, I would have practiced more if I have time, etc. 374 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo clause. Hence, we expected more protasis clauses to be incorrect rather than apodosis clauses because the concept of using a verb in the past tense (i.e. present subjunctive) to express impossibility of fulfilling a condition in the present seems to be unnatural to native Croatian speakers. Below is the table that shows the types of mistakes, according to the above explained categories. G1 Type 2 Type 3 apodosis protasis apodosis protasis Total Correct 102 102 102 102 76 65 65 63 Total Correct 102 102 102 102 81 75 76 60 Total Correct 204 204 204 204 157 140 141 123 74.5% 63.7% 63.7% 34.0% Type of mistake C1 26 25.4% 18 17.6% 7 6.8% 34 33.3% C2 0 19 30 5 0% 18.6% 29.5% 4.9% 79.4% 73.5% 74.5% 58.9% Type of mistake C1 4 3.9% 20 19.6% 4 3.9% 25 24.5% C2 17 7 22 17 16.7% 6.9% 21.6% 16.6% 77.0% 68.6% 69.1% 60.3% Type of mistake C1 30 14.7% 38 18.6% 6 2.9% 59 28.9% C2 17 26 57 22 8.3% 12.8% 27% 10.8% G2 Type 2 Type 3 apodosis protasis apodosis protasis G1+G2 Type 2 Type 3 apodosis protasis apodosis protasis The analysis of the correct use of the apodosis in conditional sentences Type 2 and Type 3 reveals that 23% apodosis in Type 2 were incorrect, compared to 29.9% incorrect apodosis clauses in Type 3. The analysis of the correct use of the protasis in conditional sentences Type 2 and Type 3 shows that 31.4% protasis clauses in Type 2 were incorrect, compared to 39.7% incorrect protasis clauses in Type 3. Below is a summary table of incorrect apodosis and protasis according to the type of mistakes. Type 2 Type 3 apodosis protasis total mistakes apodosis protasis apodosis protasis Types of mistakes in percentages C1 C2 14.7% 8.3% 2.9% 27% 18.6% 12.8% 28.9% 10.8% Types of mistakes in percentages C1 C2 33.3% 21.1% 31.8% 37.8% 65.1% 58.9% C1+C2 23% 29.9% 31.4% 39.7% C1+C2 54.4% 69.6% As can be seen from the above table, and to our surprise, a higher percentage of mistakes in apodosis and protasis clauses belong to the incorrect formation of grammatical structure (C1 = 65.1%) than to inappropriate grammatical structure (C2 = 58.9%). Yet when the general mistakes are compared in apodosis and protasis clauses, the difference is 27.3%, i.e. 27.3% more protasis clauses were incorrect. The difference is significant enough to seek further explanation. 375 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Conclusions and Recommendations When we decided to research the causes for the numerous mistakes that Croatian students commit with conditional sentences, we began from the simple premise that there is no subjunctive in the Croatian standard language, i.e. that the concept of hypothetical discourse in Croatian is expressed by the construction with the relative conditional adverb ―da‖ and the present indicative for the hypothesis in the present (―Da sam bogata,...‖), and the past tense indicative for the hypothesis in the past in the protasis clause (―Da sam bila bogata,...‖). We believe that our research proved this hypothesis because out of all the mistakes, 71.2% were recorded in the protasis clauses. In other words, the problem of speakers of Croatian lies in the fact that they do not bind hypothetical discourse in Croatian with structures that express it in English. This is why speakers of Croatian mirror the present tense indicative into the English protasis clause where they should use present subjunctive. Another way to look at this type of mistake is to understand that speakers of Croatian see the present indicative in a Croatian sentence as a time reference, ignoring the implied content of hypothetical discourse. In the course of their study of English, students come across the concept of subjunctive in the English language, but since this category is expressed in a different way in Croatian, students seem to ignore the concept. The numerous mistakes within the category C1 and the incorrect formation of grammatical structures were the biggest surprise for us. The total number of this type of mistakes is 6.2% higher than the number of mistakes in the application of the correct grammatical structure. What is the reason for this? We believe that such a high number of mistakes in the formation of grammatical structure lie in the fact that conditional sentences use grammatical structures that have at least two or three forming elements, which make native Croatian speakers more prone to committing mistakes. It is instructive to assess some of the mistakes that students made, for example in the structures with two elements ... if he had win, ... He would caught the bus, ... I would got up earlier, ... She would passed the exam if; or in the structures with three elements ... I would had helped her if..., ... she would had pass the exam, ... Marko would be bought a new car..., ... I would been helped her if ..., Marko would have buy a new car if ..., etc. This Rashomon type interpretation of the formation of complex grammatical structures is, in our opinion, easy to solve. The solution is in exercising particular structures that cause problems, both in oral and written form. In our experience, students master the area after consistent exercise and repetition over a relatively short period of time. The next, and more demanding task, is to explain and make students understand the concept of hypothetical discourse. We have observed that providing explanations in connection with grammar issues in Croatian gives much better results because students rarely have the knowledge of specialized grammar vocabulary, which makes it difficult for them to follow explanations in English. We make them understand that different languages use a variety of conditional constructions and verb forms to form conditional sentences discussing hypothetical situations and their consequences. The instruction about the present subjunctive as not connected to past time reference in conjunction with translation exercises quite soon brings positive results. We begin translation exercises with English conditional clauses that are translated to Croatian and, after that, vice versa. After a period of pause, we do the same exercises again and, most often this is enough to help students understand and master the concept of conditional sentences in both languages. 376 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 56 Title A name given to the resource The Troublesome Subjunctive: An Examination of the Frequent Mistakes Made in Tense Conjugation Author Author Anišić, Đurđica Brala, Maša Abstract A summary of the resource. Why do some English grammar issues pose problems to otherwise fully competent and fluent students in Croatia? From our experience, reported speech and conditional sentences rank high on the list of such issues. The aim of this paper is to explore some problems Croatian students have with the concept of the subjunctive and its application in conditional sentences. The key problems for Croatian students in forming conditional sentences derive from their inherent desire to translate Croatian to English directly, which does not address the changing tense of the verb in the conditional clause. For example, the sentence, ―If I were rich, I would travel the world‖ would translate into Croatian, ―If I am rich, I would travel the world.‖ In general, the concept of using a verb in the past tense to express a present or future desire is simply alien to native Slavic language speakers. Examples of common errors in the translation of conditional sentences type 2 and 3 from Croatian to English and vice versa are presented in the paper followed by some suggestions of how to help students master the concept of the subjunctive and successfully apply it in conditional sentences. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-05 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed P Philology. Linguistics https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/82850200b6c92ae55c79d4ce11eef5d6.pdf f620ab661c739d3f03fd7398876048ae PDF Text Text 1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo The Role of Using Current Issues of Interest on Vocabulary Learning Majid Asgari Department of Humanities Islamic Azad University, Hidaj-Branch, Hidaj, Iran Email: asgarimaj@gmail.com Abstract: This study attempted to investigate the effect of the teacher‘s using currents issues of interest in the society in English classes on the students‘ achievement of the vocabulary in reading comprehension. It was hypothesized that using awareness of current issues of interest has a positive influence on the students‘ achievement of the vocabulary in English class at the university. The research was conducted at Islamic Azad University in Hidaj with participants--male and female-- who were majoring at courses other than English. The research method which was employed was an experimental pretest post-test control group design, and t-test was used to analyze the data. After analyzing the data, it was proved that when teachers contribute current issues of interest in the society to the class materials in teaching reading passages, their students learn vocabulary better. Key Words: Current issues of interest, vocabulary learning Introduction Teachers often teach only the materials which are in the textbooks while according to the findings of some research, they will have better achievements if they use authentic materials in their classes. Also, some research findings show that students become more interested to learn when their teachers integrate materials outside of class to class materials. Some studies claim that if teachers have good information about the issues of interest in the society, and use them in their teaching by referring to those issues as authentic materials they will help the students learn their lessons more successfully. According to research findings, teachers' using awareness of current issues of interest in the society in teaching helps them as it is an issue of common interest for both teachers and learners. Using such awareness in teaching usually leads to learner's interaction and increases their concentration and motivation to learn. Studies support that it helps teachers to have dynamic classes as the learners are being reminded and informed of the issues—regarding the life affairs and the society in which they live or with which they are in immediate contact. The learners see that keeping concentrative helps stay in a state of alertness, which in turn, helps the process of learning. To encounter new and different discussions in any session often leads to keep and increase class dynamism. Generally, most of the studies on this area of language teaching suggest that teachers' using awareness of current issues of interest in the society in language teaching classes has important role in language teaching and requires a close attention. The topic of this research-- teacher's using awareness of current issues of interest in the society-- has been usually studied and discussed under the term 'authenticity' and 'motivation' in language teaching. It has also been somehow related to the issues of 'relevance' and 'interest.' These topics directly and indirectly are related to the desire and determination of learners to learn. Research findings mostly state that language learners have better performance in their learning when they are interested to the topic or process of learning. Learners are in fact encouraged to use all their potential in language learning when the materials are authentic, interesting, and relevant. They become motivated to do their best when they are attentive and have a good concentration in their learning. Most researchers argue that the language aspects like interest, relevance and authenticity has a motivating effect on learners. According to most of the results of studies carried out on this area of language teaching, teachers are suggested to keep their learners motivated and the materials interesting so that learners are highly determined to learn. Stern (1991) citing from Gardner contends that an integrative motivation is needed for successful language learning. Making learners face authentic and interesting materials can probably help them experience their learning meaningfully and communicatively. There are different arguments over the definition of the term and the ways of using authenticity in language teaching. The term authentic materials may mean different things for different people; for some, materials generated by native speakers (Rogers & Medley, 1988). Genuineness, realness, truthfulness, validity, reliability, undisputed credibility, and legitimacy are just some of the words that are used when we talk about authenticity. Frankly there is a lot of confusion connected to the idea of "authenticity" (Tatsuki, 2006). Nunan (1999) defines authentic materials as spoken or written language data that has been produced in the course of genuine communication, and not specifically written for the purposes of language teaching. Pcolinska(2009) states that authenticity is clearly a relative matter and different aspects of it can be present in different degrees. Bax (2003) contends that Authenticity 774 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo has been a major feature in syllabus design, task-based approaches, materials development and the main focus of the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in the past. Gebhard (1996) sees authentic materials as a way to contextualize language learning. He continues when lessons are centered on comprehending a menu or a TV weather report, students tend to focus more on content and meaning rather than the language itself and this offers the students a valuable source of language input. In addition to improving students' English language skills; using authentic language would expand their real-world knowledge about their chosen field of study (Knox, 2007). According to Brinton (1991), authentic materials and media can reinforce for students the direct relationship between the language classroom and the outside world. Current issues of interest are also related to 'motivation' in language learning. Longman dictionary of language and applied linguistics define motivation as the factors that determine a person's desire to do something. It also argues that in second language and foreign language learning, learning may be affected by different types of motivation. Two types of motivation are sometimes distinguished: a) Instrumental motivation: Wanting to learn a language because it will be useful for certain "instrumental goals" such as getting a job, reading a foreign newspaper, passing an examination. b) Integrative motivation: wanting to learn a language in order to communicate with people of another culture who speak it. Brown (1987) discusses that motivation is an inner drive or stimulus which can, like self-esteem, be global, situational, or task oriented. Learning a foreign language clearly requires some of all three levels of motivation. The independent variable in this study is vocabulary learning. In the past, vocabulary teaching and learning were often given little significance in second or foreign language programs. Recently a good interest has been put on the role of vocabulary in language learning and teaching process. Vocabulary learning was usually limited itself and received only incidental attention in textbooks and language programs. More attention was given to the aspects of teaching like grammar, reading and speaking and less importance was given to vocabulary teaching or learning. But the research on this aspect of language revealed its significant place in language learning process. Now it is obvious that without good vocabulary knowledge level, and good strategies for vocabulary learning, learners will have little success in their language learning performance and then may be discouraged from using language learning opportunities around them like watching movies, reading newspapers and going into websites. Richards Renandya (2002) believes that Vocabulary is a core component of language proficiency and provides much of the basis for how well learners speak, listen, read and write. In recent years, research on vocabulary has done a lot to make clear what levels of vocabulary learners need to perform successfully in different language aspects. There are different discussions on the using of appropriate approaches and strategies to learn and teach vocabulary. Hunt and Beglar discuss three approaches to vocabulary teaching and learning: incidental learning where learning vocabulary is a product of doing other things such as reading or listening, explicit instruction, and independent strategy development. Nation discusses a systematic rather than and incidental approach to the teaching of vocabulary and argues that such a focus is an essential part of a language course. He points out the limitations of incidental learning and the fact that second language learners are often unable to benefit from incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading because of limitations in their vocabulary knowledge. Learning vocabulary through different approaches requires teachers to plan different activities and exercises, and subsequently demands learners to use different strategies. The amount of attention placed on vocabulary teaching programs depend on the learners' and the educational goal of the teaching program. Generally, there is no doubt that as learners' vocabulary expands in size and depth a high amount of success occurs in all aspects of language, such as reading, listening, speaking and etc. Therefore, This highlights the importance of trying to improve strategies of vocabulary learning. Method of Study The study is designed in quantitative research approach where the research method, an experimental pre-test post-test control group design, is used to examine the research question. The proposed thesis is examined experimentally by giving pre-test and post-test and comparing the means of two groups of the students. The design has been used because the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable has to be experimented. Sampling 40 students were recruited for this study. They were students of one class at IAU-Hidaj (Islamic Azad university-Hidaj Branch) in Iran. All of the students were taking the course of 'General English.' They were both male and female. The subjects' age ranged from 20-28. The subjects were majoring in such fields as ' mechanical engineering,' ' computer sciences,' and ' electrical engineering.' The subjects were randomly divided into two groups: each with 20 students. In fact, one of the groups was used as the experimental group (G1) and the other one as the control group (G2). 775 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Data Analysis Process The data have been gathered though two tests (pre-test and post-test). The performance of the subjects of the two groups has been compared through analyzing their scores in the post-test which is the achievement test. A t-test has been used to verify the significance of the difference between the means of the scores of two groups (G1, the experimental group, and G2, the control group) in the post-test. Findings and Discussion Pre-test In order to see whether there is any difference between the two groups regarding their basic English knowledge, the 'Nelson Test,' (050 D) which is used to determine the examinees' English proficiency level was administered. The test results showed that the two groups had nearly the same level of initial English knowledge; that is, the subjects in the two groups appeared to be at the same level of general English. This is clearly shown in the following tables 1 and 2 which demonstrate statistics and graphic representations of the results for the proficiency test (pre-test) for both groups of G1 and G2. It has to be clarified that the score scale is 0-50, that is, the perfect score is 50. N refers to the number of the students in a group, SD is the Standard Deviation of the scores and Sum is the total of the scores for all of the students in a group. Table 1. Descriptive Statistics and Graphic Representation for the Proficiency Test (Pre-test) G1 N Mean Mode SD Variance Minimum Maximum Sum 20 37.75 38 2.0487 4.197 34 42 755 Frequency Bar Graph for Proficie ncy Te s t (Pre -te s t) G1 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Series1 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 Score s Table 2. Descriptive Statistics and Graphic Representation for the Proficiency Test (Pre-test) G2 N Mean Mode SD Variance Minimum Maximum Sum 20 37.35 38 2.183 4.765 32 42 753 776 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Frequency Bar Graph for Proficie ncy Te s t (Pre -te s t) G2 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Series1 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 Score s As it is evidenced in the tables above, the two groups of subjects have scored very similar results. The mean for both groups is nearly the same: 37.75 for G1 and 37.65 for G2. The Standard Deviation (SD) for the scores of the groups of subjects is also very close: 2.048 for G1 and 2.183 for G2. Other measures also show high similarity between scores of the subjects in the two groups. While the scores could range from 0—50, the highest score for G1 is 42; the lowest is 34 so the Range is 8. For G2 the highest score is 42; the lowest is 32 so the Range is 10. The total of scores for G1 is 755 and for G2, it is 753. Administering the Pre-test and evaluating the related data here was an attempt to find out if the subjects in the two groups were similar or the same with regard to their basic English knowledge before presenting the treatment. After analyzing the results of the Proficiency test (Pre-test), it was concluded that there were not any major differences between the two groups concerning their background English knowledge. Treatment (Teaching the Materials) The subjects who had been randomly divided into two groups of G1 (experimental group) and G2 (control group) were separated and placed into different classes. They were taught in two different one-hour sessions. Each group was taught for one hour; G1 (experimental group was taught from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and G2 (control group) was taught from 9: 15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. The materials that were taught included a passage entitled ‗Culture Shock‘ from the book ‗Select Reading‘ by Linda Lee and Erik Gunderson. This book was intermediate level and provided learners of English with high-interest reading passages from authentic sources that contained reading comprehension activities, reading skills development, vocabulary building and grammatical analysis and practice. The same passage (Culture Shock) was taught for both groups and the teacher was the same. The only difference was that for G1 (experimental group) the teacher attempted to relate certain words and points in the passage to ―current issues of interest in the students‘ society.‖ These issues included popular state TV programs that the subjects often watched, and the news and reports from newspapers, and interesting issues of the university and city where the study took place. In other words, some interesting happenings of TV, newspapers, the university or city had already been studied and selected to be contributed to new words in the passage in G1 class. Most of the students in G1 class could easily remember the mentioned points or characters that were being referred from state TV programs, newspapers, and students‘ university or city. This was probably because people of this country (Iran) usually watch TV and follow news from newspapers or other sources. Perhaps one more reason to this interest is the fact that they are more careful about the current happenings in their country since they are usually expecting some changes to occur. It needs to be pointed out that in teaching the passage in G1 class, certain words of the passage had already been determined as the words to which interesting issues were related. Actually, the new words of the passage were the same for both G1 and G2 students. On the other hand, for the students of G2, the passage was taught without any attempt of contributing any materials from outside of the class; that is, the passage and its words were taught by definition of the words that had already been determined as new words of the passage or by providing explanations and examples from the passage itself, not from out of the class. Post-test The teaching was one session for each group; a one-hour session was held for G1 and another one-hour session for G2. Immediately after teaching, all subjects, students of G1 and G2 took an achievement test (post-test) to determine any difference in students‘ success in achieving the objectives of the course. The achievement test had been individually (course) developed on the reading passage (Culture Shock) taught during one-hour session. The achievement test was the same for both groups and began and finished equally regarding testing time. The results of the achievement test for both groups were collected and organized. Then, these results were analyzed and compared to show any probable differences. The following tables 3 and 4 show the statistics and graphic representations of the results for the achievement test for both groups. 777 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Table 3. Descriptive Statistics and Graphic Representation for the Achievement Test (Post-test) G1 N Mean Mode SD Variance Minimum Maximum Sum 20 13.6 14 3.1689 10.042 7 19 272 Bar Graph for Achievem ent Test (Post-test) G1 Frequency 5 4 3 Series1 2 1 0 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Scores Table 4. Descriptive Statistics and Graphic Representation for the Achievement Test (Post-test) G2 N Mean Mode SD Variance Minimum Maximum Sum 20 11.55 13 3.2032 10.4 6 18 231 Bar Graph for Achievem ent Test (Post-test) G2 Frequency 5 4 3 Series1 2 1 0 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Scores The tables above evidently show that the two groups of subjects have scored different results. The means for the two groups are different: 13.6 for G1 and 11.55 for G2. The Standard Deviations (SD) for the scores of the groups of subjects are also a little different: 3.1689 for G1 and 3.2032 for G2. Other measures also show difference between scores of the subjects in the two groups. While the scores could range from 0—20, the highest score for G1 is 19; the lowest is 7 so the Range is 12. For G2 the highest score is 18; the lowest is 6 so the Range is 12. The total of scores for G1 is 272 and for G2, it is 231. Administering the achievement test (Post-test) and evaluating the related data here was an attempt to find out if the subjects in the two groups were different with regard to their level of achievement of the materials of the passage after treatment. After analyzing the results of the achievement test (Post-test), it could be shown that there were differences between the two groups concerning the students‘ achievement in vocabulary learning. 778 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo T-test A t-test was also used to show whether or not the difference between the means of the scores of two groups (G1, the experimental group, and G2, the control group) in the achievement test (Post-test) was significant enough. The purpose of t-test was also to assess the hypothesis which assumed that ―teacher‘s using awareness of current issues of interest in the society in teaching new vocabulary has a positive effect on students‘ leaning vocabulary in English classes at university.‖ In t-table, it was observed that when the ‗level of significance for two-tailed test‘ was 0.05, with the ‗df‘ of 38, the critical value would be 2.021. As it is shown in the table below the t-observed value is 2.07. Fortunately, the t-value is enough above t-critical that we are quite safe in rejecting the null hypothesis, ―teacher‘s using awareness of current issues of interest in the society in teaching new vocabulary has no effect on students‘ leaning vocabulary in English classroom at university,‖ and approving the positive hypothesis. Our two groups have scored differently on the achievement test (Post-test). The difference is statistically significant. This is a support for our claim that using awareness of current issues of interest in the society by the teacher in English class can help students learn vocabulary of the passages better. Table 5. t-observed and t-critical for scores means of the two groups ( G1 and G2) in the Achievement Test t-critical two-tailed df t-observed 2.021 0.05 38 2.07 Discussion The results of this study demonstrate that learners do differently depending on teacher‘s using awareness of issues of interest in the society. The analyzed data provides evidence that this difference is significant enough. Actually the findings of the study approve that when teachers use current important matters of their society in their teaching in class, the consequence is the learners can learn the new words better and have better accomplishments in their learning. This clearly supports the idea that teachers should attempt to study more about this issue and put more values for it in their career. They are suggested to study and determine some issues which look to be interested by students because of any possible importance. Then, they can contribute those interesting issues to the materials of their class, which will end in promoting better learning by students. Undoubtedly, this work will encourage students to attend the class happily and with high motivation. It is really useful for teachers to know that by keeping their students happy and attentive, as one of their main tasks, teaching and learning in class can be easily and efficiently performed. The major reason to this improvement in learning is the fact that teachers by relating the points of the passage being taught in class to issues of interest out of the class help their students to build up stronger schematic relationships in their mind. This, in turn, leads to easy increase of the vocabulary knowledge for students. As the results showed students‘ performance became better in learning vocabulary because of teacher‘s continually contribution of interesting issues of the society to the materials in the reading passage. This implied that learning becomes promoted when students‘ lessons are mixed with issues of their life. Generally, issues of interest in a society are a common point for both teachers and students. A lot of research findings claim that learning process can take place much better if the materials of lessons are presented with information that is shared by the teacher and students so that the learning becomes meaningful for learners. Omaggio (2003) contends that learning and practicing language in meaningful contexts is more appealing to both students and teachers than learning isolated bits of language. When teachers bring examples, explanations or etc. from TV programs, newspapers, the students‘ city or university, they provide learning environment that is easily comprehensible by learners, and facilitates their learning. According to different language teaching experts, one way to facilitate learning for learners is by keeping them attentive and encouraged in class which is one of the vital responsibilities of teachers. Chastain (1986) discusses that those teachers who strive to keep students interested, occupied, and reasonably content are the most affective. There is no doubt that addressing and reminding issues of the society where students live in the middle of their lesson easily assists them to keep attentive in their learning. The fact that according to the results of this study teacher‘s using awareness of current issues of interest helps students learn vocabulary better highlights the need for teachers to try to keep updated with issues of interest in the society. In fact, teachers have to be informed about the interesting or important issues that are happening currently in the society. For example, they are suggested to watch popular TV programs, read significant news of newspapers and try to know about important and interesting things that are taking place in their city or university where the teaching goes on. Otherwise, teachers can hardly find things that are interesting and common for both themselves (teachers) and students. Therefore, teachers are required to have pre-planning about choosing issues of interest to be 779 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo used in classes, and this will create a demand in teacher education for teachers to be taught in this regard. Also, special care should be taken on the development of language teaching books and syllabuses. Let‘s say, for example, in any unit of the language teaching book, special sections should be predicted for teacher‘s using current issues of interest in class, and subsequently certain time should be allotted for performing those sections. Conclusion and Recommendations Authenticity, Motivation, Relevance and Interest are the topics where integrating issues of interest is discussed to be helpful for students, facilitating their language learning. This research investigated a special aspect, related to those topics. The focus was on using current issues of interest on vocabulary learning in reading comprehension. The findings and results showed that contributing current issues of interest in the society to the class materials in teaching reading passages, significantly improves students vocabulary learning. In fact, the findings revealed that integrating some very important events of students' society that are currently significant, like those that are on TV or newspapers, creates interest and motivation in students to learn and be attentive in class. Then, such interest leads to easily domain of class materials, including the vocabulary in lessons, as well. As the most previous studies on using issues of interest have shown, the results of the present study showed a significant role of it on students' vocabulary learning. So, it can be concluded that to have better and improved vocabulary learning, teachers and also students should take some points into consideration. The found positive effect of using current issues of interest suggests teachers to try to increase the integration of currently interesting issues to class materials. Actually, the more a teacher blends newly important materials with lessons the more encouraged the students become to learn. For example, it will be helpful to watch the mostly-viewed programs of the television or the popular movies; to read important news of the newspapers or web-sites which are often seen by many people. Teachers are strongly suggested to try to be informed that what programs are currently followed as favorite ones and/or what issues are considered as important ones by their students. Teachers are especially suggested to explain about the significance of this integrating life materials with class materials to the students so that they are convinced and keep informed of the current issues of interest. Thus, both teachers and students will experience more success in their language teaching and learning if they are aware of current interesting topics of the society they live in References Bax, S. (2003). The end of CLT: a context approach to language teaching. ELT Journal, 57(3), 278–287. Brinton, D.M. (1991). The use of media in language teaching. In M, Celce-Murcia (ed.), teaching English as second or foreign language, Boston: Heinle and Heinle Publishers. Brown, H. D. (2001). ‗Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy, (second edition), Longman. Carter, R. & Nunan, D. (2001). Teaching English to speakers of other languages, Cambridge University Press. Chastain, K. (1988). Developing second language skills: Theory and practice, Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Gail, K. (2009). Authentic task-based materials: Bringing the real world into the classroom. Retrieved on Oct 23, 2009 from www.jrc.sophia.ac.jp/kiyou/ki21/gaio.pdf Ghebhard, J.G. (1996). Teaching English as a foreign language: A teacher self-development and methodology guide, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. Hunt, A. & Beglar, D. (1998). Current research and practice in teaching vocabulary. The Language Teacher, 22(1), 7-11. 780 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Knox, J. (2007). Foreign eyes on Thailand: An ESP project for EFL learners. Planning and teaching creatively within a required curriculum, TESOL Inc. Nunan, D. (1999). Second language teaching and learning, Boston: Heinle and Heinle Publishers. Pcolinska, A. (2009). Authenticity of communication in the language classroom. Humanizing Language Teaching. Year 11, (1). Omaggio, H. A. (2003). Teaching language in context, Boston: Heinle and Heinle Publishers. Richards, J. C., Platt, J. & Platt, H. (1992). Longman dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics, The United Kingdom: Longman Richards, J. C. & Renandya, W. A. (2002). Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice, The United Kingdom :Cambridge University Press. Rogers, C. & Medley, F. J. (1988). Language with a purpose: Using authentic materials in the foreign language classroom. Foreign Language Annals, 21, 467–478. Shomoossi, N. & Ketabi, S. (2007). A Critical look at the concept of authenticity. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 4 (1). 149-155. Retrieved October 25, 2009 from http://www.e-flt.nus.edu.sg/main.htm Stern, H. H. (1983), Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching, Oxford University Press. Tatsuki, D. (2006). What is authenticity? The Language Teacher, 16(5), 17–21. Retrieved October 1, 2006, from http://jalt.org/pansig/2006/HTML/Tatsuki.htm Taylor, D. (1994). Inauthentic authenticity or authentic inauthenticity? TESL-EJ, 1(2), 1–12. Retrieved October 1, 2006, from http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/TESL-EJ/ej02/a.1.html Ur, P. (1996). A course in language teaching: Practice and theory, Cambridge University Press. 781 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 114 Title A name given to the resource The Role of Using Current Issues of Interest on Vocabulary Learning Author Author Asgari, Majid Abstract A summary of the resource. This study attempted to investigate the effect of the teacher‘s using currents issues of interest in the society in English classes on the students‘ achievement of the vocabulary in reading comprehension. It was hypothesized that using awareness of current issues of interest has a positive influence on the students‘ achievement of the vocabulary in English class at the university. The research was conducted at Islamic Azad University in Hidaj with participants--male and female-- who were majoring at courses other than English. The research method which was employed was an experimental pretest post-test control group design, and t-test was used to analyze the data. After analyzing the data, it was proved that when teachers contribute current issues of interest in the society to the class materials in teaching reading passages, their students learn vocabulary better. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-05 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed P Philology. Linguistics https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/74963e889532946976b66af29b76bbf9.pdf eef4c755009c9e4e4373ff3ff667879e PDF Text Text 1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo The founding myth of the Schola Salerni: the importance of contact among languages and the activity of translation for interreligious and intercultural dialogue and the development of knowledge. Davide Astori Department of Classical and Medieval Philology Parma University, Italy davide.astori@unipr.it davide.astori@gmail.com Abstract: According to the legend, the Schola salernitana was born by the casual meeting of four physicians, symbolic characters, whose dynamics and values aim to underline the confluence (in the civitas Hippocratica, cosmopolitan Mediterranean port, ‗open‘ and ‗syncretic‘ as its nascent School) of different medical, and cultural more in general, traditions: disembodied from their legendary traits, the four figures show how peculiar, in that intercultural and interreligious dialogue (among the Jewish, Arabic, Greek and Latin ones), is the role of languages and the importance of the work of translation, in its first, and primary, etymological meaning of tra(ns)-ducere, ‗transport from coast to coast‘. The proposed contribution intends to frame the founding myth of the Schola Salerni in the wider cultural background which was its host, contributor and supporter, highlighting the modern, meaningful value of its everlasting message also for the contemporary world, which is risking to lose sight of the main way of meeting, contact, exchange, dialogue for welfare and peace. The exemplum of the Schola medica Salernitana, a litmus test of a wider cultural and linguitic debate (from the quite medieval research of the ‗language of God‘ to the experiments of Frederick II), is emblematic of the absolute necessity of comparison in the construction of civilization and knowledge, comparison primarily passing through communication, and then, ultimately, on the linguistic field and activity of translation: the figure and work of Constantine Africanus are perhaps, in the specific case, the most significant examples. Key Words: traductology, intercultural education, cultural studies, languages and cultures in contact, multilingualism Introduction The legend of the foundation of the Schola Salerni has it that48: Quidam magister fuit qui primitus legit medicinam in Civitate Salerni. Nomen ejus vocabatur magister Helinus et habuit quendam Sotium qui vocabatur Sarach, qui legebat phisicam prudens hebreus lingua hebrea unde magister Helinus cum Jone moratus fuit in castello lufoni. Unde lufonus vocatur cum dicitur apud Gramaticos funus Iovis, quia magister Helinus et Iuppiter cum magistro Sarach ubic defunti fuerunt unde illi tre magistri, sive Magister Pontus, magister Salernus et magister Primus ex ipso magistro Helino commemplati fuerunt in ipsa Civitate Salerni in loco qui nunc dicitur porta nova et prius illa porta dicebatur porta Helina, quia ibi moratus fuit magister Helinus et tres ipsi magistri invenerunt predictam istoriam, quae inferius hunc narratur. The story, later modified, is to be found in De antiquitate Scholae Salernitanae: Origo Scholae Salernitanae ex Cronico Civitatis reperto apud Cassinenses asserit quod cum adesset in civitate celeberrimus medicinae professor nominatus magister Salernus, qui medicinam Latinis de litera latina docebat in loco dicto bonae diei, et peregrinarent per orbem experiendi causa Rabinus Elinus haebreus, et Magister Adala Saracenus, tracti a fama magistri Salerni in hanc civitatem successive se contulerunt, et tam ob loci amoenitatem quam ob doctrinale commercium, et diversarum nationum affluentiam, pedes hic sistere deliberarunt, adeoque Helinus medicinam haebrais de litera haebraica at Adala Saracenis de litera Saracenica publice legere coeperunt. Cumque temporis progressa e Graecia advenisset magister Pontus quaedam 48 From the Cronica di Elino, quoted by De Renzi (1857: xxvi). This passage, like the following ones, is quoted verbatim. 342 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Hippocraticis conscripta secum ferens, eaque communicaverit dictis tribus magistris, in eorum societate fuit receptus, et Hippocratica medicina, vivente adhuc Hippocrate, coli coepit, unde Civitas denominata fuit Hippocratica, ut hinc orta fuerit primae medicinae universitas eaque in Italia post centum fere annos a quo tempore Pythagoras Samnius Cotrone Philosophiam docebat, nempe circa annum ab Urbe condita 350, ante Christi Domini nativitatem annis 100 circiter.49 Also in Dell’origine di Longobardi e di Normandi. Di Matteo Geronimo Maza Patricio Salernitano 1608: Ma più d‘ogni altra cosa ha fiorito, e fiorisce in essa Città la filosofia et medicina, et hoggi più che mai ne tiene il grido, essendosi il suo antiquissimo Collegio, quale per la sua antichità non si sa il tempo della sua fondatione, pur si uede una Historia antichissima uersata assai in Salerno, et in altre Città d‘Italia, et specialmente in Siena, della quale appresso a compimento si parlerà, et tra le molte cose dice, che il Primo che leggesse Medicina in la Città di Salerno, fu Maestro Helino Hebreo, del quale si scriue, che insieme con Gioue habitato hauesse, et in Gefone dopo moresse, onde Giuffone altro non risuona in lingua latina che Jovis funus, per le cenere di Giove che iui furono sepolte con l‘ossa del sopradetto Helino. Doppo costui lesse filosofia naturale il Maestro Dottor Sarra di Natione Hebrea in la lingua sua natia, et questo insieme con Helino predetto facevano stanza nel Borgo di Salerno, in quel luogo stesso, doue si disse per un tempo dal nome di costui Porta Helimana; ma dopo allargatosi l‘accinto della Città si lasciò quel nome, et fu detto Portanoua. Laciorno scritto tra le molte cose quel che segue. Maestro Helino, et Maestro Pontio Greco, et Maestro Salerno mediante il fauor di colui, che a gli uomini diede il senso furono i primi, che a gli Hebrei, et a Saraceni leggessero medicina in lingua Arabica. Ma poiché i predetti Dottori hebbero i libri, che si tovarono in Arpaio gran tempo dopo la sua desolatione, ne andarono a Salerno, et tradussero quelli in lingua greca, et latina […]50 Mutatis nominibus, the story appears again in the abridged version by Piscitello (2002): Il medioevo fu tempo di pellegrini. Uno di questi - tale Antonio, discendente dalla nobile famiglia romana dei Flavi - fu sorpreso una notte da un violento temporale: trovato riparo sotto un arco dell‘acquedotto romano nei pressi della città di Salerno vi incontrò un tale Areteo, proveniente da Alessandria, e gli tese amichevolmente la mano. Areteo si avvide di una ferita nel braccio di Antonio e voleva trattarla con un empiastro di melissa. Il ferito si oppose: preferiva coprirla con carne di gallo nero. Presto la discussione si allargò ad altri due uomini, sopraggiunti nel frattempo: Isacco, un ebreo proveniente da Betania, e Abdul, un arabo di Aleppo. Isacco proponeva, in luogo della melissa di Areteo e della carne di gallo di Antonio, issopo e nepitella, mentre Abdul avrebbe preferito della ruta. La discussione fece sí che i quattro si riconoscessero come medici: e poiché nessuno di loro aveva una meta definita, decisero di fermarsi e di mettere in comune le loro conoscenze a beneficio dei malati e di farne parte a chi volesse apprenderle: era nata la Scuola medica di Salerno. Findings and discussion The cultural humus This ―insulsa favoletta‖ (―silly tale‖), unfairly discarded by De Renzi (1857: xxxi), can be read through the sources, the dynamics and the importance of its symbol-characters, in order to emphasize the converging, in Salerno, of different medical traditions and of their cultures, summed up in the following diagram (the value of number 4 is only hinted at since, in this case, it can be reinterpreted as an accent on the totality of knowledge convergence, from the four corners of the orbis terrarum: Adela (‘Abdullah) 49 50 As quoted by De Renzi (1857: xxix). As quoted by De Renzi (1857: xxx-xxxii). 343 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Abdul (from Aleppo) Helinus (Eliseo) Isacco Alexandria) Pontus Areteo (from Salernus Antonio (Romano, of the Flavians) The variant richness testifies the existence of a humus, of a wider cultural background where the symbolic reflection on which the ―istoria‖ (‗history‘) is based can be inserted. ―Discussion among three medical doctors‖, Bagdad 1224. Some unavoidable analogies have become necessary, almost a fil rouge still present today. From the Dialogus inter Philosophum, Judaeum et Christianum by Pietro Abelardo51, who, with these words, introduced the comparison (between disputatio and altercatio) among different religions, which are cultures, visions of the world: Aspiciebam in visu noctis et ecce: viri tres diverso tramite venientes coram me astiterunt, quos ego statim iuxta visionis modum, cuius sint professionis vel cur ad me venerint, interrogo. ―Homines‖, inquiunt, ―sumus diversis fidei sectis innitentes. Unius quippe Dei cultores esse nos omnes pariter profitemur diversa tamen fide et vita ipsi famulantes. Unus quippe nostrum gentilis ex his, quos philosophos appellant, naturali lege contentus est. Alii vero duo Scripturas habent, quorum alter Iudaeus, alter dicitur Christianus. Diu autem de diversis fidei nostrae sectis invicem conferentes atque contendentes tuo tandem iudicio cessimus‖. to Nathan der Weise by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, who condensed Daja‘s disillusioned hope at Nathan‘s smile about her dreams in the tragic stanza (I, 1, 151-153): Laßt lächelnd wenigstens ihr einen Wahn, In dem sich Jud‘ und Christ und Muselmann Vereinigen; - so einen süßen Wahn! The famous Ringparabel (the source of his Nathan, acknowledged by Lessing himself)52 was told by Boccaccio in this way: 51 One of the many examples belonging to the same genre, such as Disputatio judei et cristiani by Gilberto Crispino or De Pace Fidei by Nicola Cusano, or the Llibre del gentil e dels tres savis by Ramon Llull (Raymond Lully). 52 In the third short story of the first day (cat III, scene 7, ll. 1911-2054), to the Saladin who asked him ―quale delle tre leggi tu reputi la verace, o la giudaica o la saracina o la cristiana‖ (―Which of the three great religions is the truly authentic one? 344 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Un grande uomo e ricco fu già, il quale, intra l‘altre gioie più care che nel suo tesoro avesse, era uno anello bellissimo e prezioso; al quale per lo suo valore e per la sua bellezza volendo fare onore e in perpetuo lasciarlo né suoi discendenti, ordinò che colui de‘ suoi figliuoli appo il quale, sí come lasciatogli da lui, fosse questo anello trovato, che colui s‘intendesse essere il suo erede e dovesse da tutti gli altri essere come maggiore onorato e reverito. E colui al quale da costui fu lasciato il simigliante ordinò né suoi discendenti e cosí fece come fatto avea il suo predecessore; e in brieve andò questo anello di mano in mano a molti successori; e ultimamente pervenne alle mani ad uno, il quale avea tre figliuoli belli e virtuosi e molto al padre loro obedienti, per la qual cosa tutti e tre parimente gli amava. E i giovani, li quali la consuetudine dello anello sapevano, sí come vaghi d‘essere ciascuno il più onorato tra‘ suoi ciascuno per sé, come meglio sapeva, pregava il padre, il quale era già vecchio, che, quando a morte venisse, a lui quello anello lasciasse. Il valente uomo, che parimente tutti gli amava, né sapeva esso medesimo eleggere a qual più tosto lasciar lo dovesse, pensò, avendolo a ciascun promesso, di volergli tutti e tre sodisfare; e segretamente ad uno buono maestro ne fece fare due altri, li quali sí furono simiglianti al primiero, che esso medesimo che fatti gli avea fare appena conosceva qual si fosse il vero. E venendo a morte, segretamente diede il suo a ciascun de‘ figliuoli. Li quali, dopo la morte del padre, volendo ciascuno la eredità e l‘onore occupare, e l‘uno negandolo all‘altro, in testimonianza di dover ciò ragionevolmente fare ciascuno produsse fuori il suo anello. E trovatisi gli anelli sí simili l‘uno all‘altro che qual di costoro fosse il vero non si sapeva conoscere, si rimase la quistione, qual fosse il vero erede del padre, in pendente, e ancor pende. E cosí vi dico, signor mio, delle tre leggi alli tre popoli date da Dio padre, delle quali la quistion proponeste: ciascuno la sua eredità, la sua vera legge e i suoi comandamenti dirittamente si crede avere e fare; ma chi se l‘abbia, come degli anelli, ancora ne pende la quistione. Like in a karstic river, this Weltanschauung, in its sensitivity, has saturated and permeated the whole Europe since the Enlightenment, showing, among the many possible reflections, that scientia, knowledge, derives from dialogue (―mettere in comune‖, ―put together‖, as brilliantly underlined by Piscitello), which is respect and appreciation of diversity, whose peculiarities (different points of views of the same Reality) give rise to a preliminary complementarity, ancillary to that reductio ad unum that moves towards the process and leads to one shareable and shared truth. Languages and translations Let‘s get back to the founding myth of the Schola Salerni, setting it in its linguistic point of view. Mazza, (quoted by De Renzi, 1857: 121) underlining the use of many languages due to the variegated listeners, summed up: HELINUS primum Salerni Medicinam Hebraicis de litera Hebraica legit. Magister PONTUS graecus de litera graeca Graecis. ADELA Saracenus Saracenis de litera Saracenica. Magister SALERNUS Latinis Medicinam de litera latina legit. Now, the diagram can be re-written in the following way: Arabic Adela (‘Abdullah) - Abdul (from Aleppo) Hebrew Helinus (Eliseo) Isacco Alexandria) Greek Pontus - Areteo (from Latin Salernus - Antonio (Romano, of the Flavians) Judaism, Christianity, or Islam?‖), Melchisedec the Jew, ―il quale veramente era savio uomo‖ (―who was really a man of wisdom‖), in order to get out of that predicament and face the ―quistione‖ (―question‖), replied with what was, according to his words, a ―novelletta‖ (―short story‖). 345 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Hence the importance and the meaning of tra(ns)-duzione (―translation‖) that characterized the Schola Salerni, in primis, since its beginning. To translate means to mingle, to let people know each other, to impregnate thoughts making them create cross-breeds: it is the strength of the races that have mixed and won biologically in their most powerful ability to adapt. To translate means to pass through and criss-cross different ways of seeing things, hoping for sharing, for a germ of dialogue. The following passage, taken from the founding myth in the Cronica di Elino is particularly meaningful: isti tres magistri sive magister Primus, magister Pontus, et magister Salernus, mediante gratia illius qui dedit et tribuit memoriam et sensum eis. Ipsi fuerunt primi qui legerunt medicinam hebreis atque Saracenis de litera Saracenica et qui invenerunt praedictam istam istoriam quatenus ipsorum magistrorum, qui fuit Magis. Pontus qui legit graecis medicinam, omnes isti magistri traslaverunt libros medicinales qui inventi fuerunt in civitate Arpae quae destructa fuit, predictos libros translaverunt in civitate Salerni and tra(n)slaverunt underlines, as a whole and polysemously, ‗to transport‘ and ‗to translate‘. Knowledge occurs primarily in communication, in that ‗communicating‘ which is so pregnant in its etymologic value. We can‘t help thinking of the Tower of Babel myth: if taking the Universal language away from Mankind resulted in tragedy and destruction, restoring communication leads to the re-establishment of the primary perfection. The value of contact, of pouring off, of osmosis, in all its richness and diversity appreciation, translation, in short, (both linguistic and cultural), become a sublime medicamentum: in the endless exchange, even under a merely linguistic point of view, life is perpetuated and its quality improved. Costantinus Africanus Hippocratic medical doctor who studied Chaldean, Arab, Persian, Indian and the Ethiop science and contributed with his translations from Greek (Aphorismata and Prognostica by Hippocrates and some works by Galen), from Hebrew (Liber dietorum, Liber urinarium and Liber febrium by Isacco Giudeo) and from Arabic (Kitāb-al-malikī – Liber Regalis by ‗Alī ibn ‗Abbās and Viaticum peregrinorum – Zād al-Musāfir by Ibn alJazzār, Liber divisionum and Liber experimentorum by al-Razi) Costantinus Africanus is an emblematic figure: the ‗ifrīqiyy who, as an ante litteram popularizer, contributed to spread Ars Medica from the East to the West, till his death, in 1087, in Monte Cassino. Let‘s re-write the diagram according to his translations: Arabic ‗Alī ibn ‗Abbās – etc. etc. Hebrew Isacco from Toledo Greek Hippocrates Galen Latin The West Schola Salerni 346 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Salerno, civitas Hippocratica, new Andalusia53, meeting place of different cultures, on the Mediterranean seashore, was to host and support a school, as ‗open‘ and ‗syncretic‘ as the town itself, a harbour and a great trade area in the middle of mare nostrum. In a definite socio-cultural unity in Eurasia, that was to lay the foundations of its nature on the concepts of emigration and trade, the new Europe secundo millennio ineunte was reborn in contacts, pollinations, trade, mingling and interpenetrations. People from all over Europe used to go there, as underlined by Matteo Geronimo Maza: Non erano dimorati appena due anni in Salerno questi ualenti Dottori che ebbero concorso grande di Ualent‘huomini, et gran filosofi, Ui ferno uenire da 150 maestri semplicisti, et furonui portati dalle parti di Fenicia, et di Arabia più di cento sorte di spetie, et all‘hora giudicarno delle cinque maniere di mirabolani, et delle tra sorte et maniere di sarali ciò è bianco rosso et cedrigno. Questa radice è da pochissimi conosciuta, unirno tutti i libri composti da Hippocrate, et altri dotti, et ui ferno un collegio. It was among the members of that ‗college‘ (in the etymological sense of cum + lego ‗gather together‘), and only at that juncture that the possibility of a sound discussion with the Other emerged. The―Devil‘s bridge‖ and its pointed arch. Frederick II It was not by chance that Frederick II, with the Constitution of Melfi in 1231, ratified the auctoritas of the Schola, the Frederick whose ―mentalità indagatrice e sperimentale‖ (‗inquiring and experimental mentality‘)54 along with his proverbial curiositas, led him to that meaningful experimentation (superstitio, in the anti Hohenstaufen propaganda perspective of the time55) into the linguistic path that was taking shape, as Salimbene said: Secunda eius superstitio fuit quia voluit experiri cuiusmodi linguam et loquelam haberent pueri, cum adolevissent, si cum nemine loqueretur. Et ideo precepit bauli et nutrici bus ut lac infanti bus darent, un mammas sugerent, et balnearent et mundificarent eos, sed nullo modo blandirentur eis nec loquerentur. Volebat enim conoscere utrum Hebream linguam haberent, que prima fuerat, an Grecam vel Latinam vel Arabicam aut certe linguam parentum suorum ex quibus nati fuissent. Sed laborabat incassum, quia pueri sive infantes moriebantur omnes. Non enim vivere possent sine aplausu et gestu et letitia faciei et blanditiis baiularum et nutricum suarum Without entering into the question of the primeval language research, it is interesting to point out that even in this passage the sensitivity being inquired about is emerging. To the ones that in the past were considered the three sacred languages56, among which Hebrew was chosen as God‘s language57, Frederick added Arabic, 53 Where the religiuos tolerance and the linguistic-cultural synergy of the Arab period were proverbial, to such an extent that Maimonide, among the greatest Hebrew philosophers, knew the name in its double form: ‫רבי משה בן‬ ‫( מיימון‬Rabbi Moshe ben Maymon, from whose vocal acronym comes the name Rambam) and ‫موسى به میمون به عبد‬ ‫( هللا القرطبي اإلسرائیلي‬Mūsā ibn Maymūn ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Qurtubī al-Isrāʾīlī), pace the many modern misunderstandings. 54 Definition given by De Stefano (1990: 89). 55 Salimbene is the best example: about that ―Federicus <qui> fuit homo pestifer et maledictus, scismaticus, hereticus et epycurus, currumpens universam terram, quia in civitatibus Italie semen divisioni et discordie seminavit‖ (Scalia 1998: 45), Salimbene denounced superstitiones et curiositates et maledictiones et incredulitates et perversitates et abusiones. 56 Isidoro is a good example, when he said (Etymologiae, libro IX, 1, 3): Tres sunt autem linguae sacrae: Hebreaea, Graeca, Latina, quae toto orbe maxime excellunt. His enim tribus linguis super crucem Domini a Pilato fuit causa eius scripta. 347 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo thus re-establishing that kind of ―linguistic τετρακτύς‖ illustrated supra: it must be stressed that such a choice, made by Frederick, was not taken on a religious basis, but on secular considerations connected with the growing importance of Arabic in a cultural, scientific, trade and, more in general, ‗circulation‘s environment‘. Onomastics A short note, of onomastic character, as a conclusion: from Arechi II, who chose Salerno as his residence in the second half of the VIII century, till the last magister who witnessed the dissolution of the institution, on 29th November 1811, decreed by Joachim Murat, the selfsame list of the names of the medical doctors would be enough to testify the variety of the origin of the different people who founded the school and to emphasize the importance, never to be ignored, of meetings, dialogues and discussions among the diversities which were the basis of the richness and the novelty of the Salerno experience. A simple parade, even without any unrealistic aim at completeness, impossible to quote here because of evident lack of space, would prove to be results that speak for themselves. Conclusions If we take for granted the universal and eternal principle that ―truth is symphonic‖, the complex and rich linguistic-cultural dialogue that the Schola Salerni has been able to epitomize is its sublime exemplum: talking to the heart and the conscience of Mankind, it offers itself to contemporaneity as an ever present occasion of reflection, an emblematic beacon, a happy event in History, too often fragmented and dumb, unable to deal with itself, to grow and improve. Acknowledging meeting and dialogue as the ultimate purpose, the Salerno School still keeps its message of modernity, offering itself as a possible model, in a whirling globalization climate, where diversities might sooner or later crash against each other: the present magistri must create a dialogue basis on common, neutral grounds, in a neo-humanistic perspective that gathers together the basics of the different visions on man and on the world in order to support a constructive cooperation and a true integration within a healthy and real evolution. All this passes also, not to say primarily, through communication and, in the ultimate analysis, through language(s). * 57 Cfr. at least Augustin., De civ. Dei, xvi, xi, 2: Et ideo credenda est ipsa [scil. lingua Hebraea] fuisse prima illa communis.. I am thankful to Corinna Galeazzi for helping me out with the english version of the text. As always, all mistakes that undoubtedly crept in are all my own. * 348 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo References Scalia, G. (1998), ed. critica a cura di. Salimbene De Adam, Cronica, Brepols, Turhout 1998. De Renzi, S. (1857). Storia documentata della Scuola medica di Salerno, Stabilimento tipografico di Gaetano Nobile, Napoli 1857. De Stefano, A. (1990). La cultura alla corte di Federico II Imperatore, Edizioni all‘insegna del Veltro, Parma 1990. Piscitello, F. (2002). ―Storia della medicina. La scuola medica di Salerno‖, Eos a. 1, n. 1 (2002) [electronic version: http://www.eosrivista.com/503.asp?ID_Rivista=6 349 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 51 Title A name given to the resource The founding myth of the Schola Salerni: the importance of contact among languages and the activity of translation for interreligious and intercultural dialogue and the development of knowledge. Author Author Astori, Davide Abstract A summary of the resource. According to the legend, the Schola salernitana was born by the casual meeting of four physicians, symbolic characters, whose dynamics and values aim to underline the confluence (in the civitas Hippocratica, cosmopolitan Mediterranean port, ‗open‘ and ‗syncretic‘ as its nascent School) of different medical, and cultural more in general, traditions: disembodied from their legendary traits, the four figures show how peculiar, in that intercultural and interreligious dialogue (among the Jewish, Arabic, Greek and Latin ones), is the role of languages and the importance of the work of translation, in its first, and primary, etymological meaning of tra(ns)-ducere, ‗transport from coast to coast‘. The proposed contribution intends to frame the founding myth of the Schola Salerni in the wider cultural background which was its host, contributor and supporter, highlighting the modern, meaningful value of its everlasting message also for the contemporary world, which is risking to lose sight of the main way of meeting, contact, exchange, dialogue for welfare and peace. The exemplum of the Schola medica Salernitana, a litmus test of a wider cultural and linguitic debate (from the quite medieval research of the ‗language of God‘ to the experiments of Frederick II), is emblematic of the absolute necessity of comparison in the construction of civilization and knowledge, comparison primarily passing through communication, and then, ultimately, on the linguistic field and activity of translation: the figure and work of Constantine Africanus are perhaps, in the specific case, the most significant examples. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-05 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed P Philology. Linguistics https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/cc23771ce7e0b9fc961853d0647e8745.pdf 392d09d6e6e729d4b05c7ee7cc97fdb5 PDF Text Text 1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Turkish EFL Learners‘ Beliefs about Learning Second Foreign Languages Ufuk AtaĢ Department of Foreign Language Education, Faculty of Education Middle East Technical University, Turkey atas@metu.edu.tr Abstract: This paper reports on a study that investigated beliefs about second foreign language learning of Turkish EFL learners, compared their beliefs about learning German, Italian and French as a second foreign language and explored within-group variation in these learners‘ beliefs. The primary purpose of this study is to identify Turkish learners‘ beliefs about compulsory second foreign language courses in French, Italian and German at an English-medium university in Turkey. Another aim of the study is to identify the underlying reasons the students have for choosing and not choosing a particular second foreign language course among available options as well as to see whether beliefs varied according to the semester of the students. The results indicated that the participants had different beliefs about second foreign languages and that their beliefs are stable over time. Key Words: learner beliefs, belief about language learning, second foreign language learning Introduction Language teachers and researchers currently consider the role of the learner as an important part of the language learning process; learning styles, strategies, attitudes and motivations are some of the factors that learners have in shaping this process. One of the more recently investigated learner variables in the field is learner beliefs about language learning, which refer to opinions that learners hold about various aspects of language learning (Horwitz, 1987). As most language educators argue, these beliefs affect students‘ success in learning the target language and direct their learning strategies in that way. It has been noted that successful learners develop insightful beliefs about language learning processes, their own abilities and the use of effective learning strategies which have enhanced their performance in language learning. On the other hand, students can also have misconceptions, uninformed or negative beliefs about language learning, resulting in their reliance on less effective strategies and negative attitude towards learning and autonomy (Victori & Lockhart, 1995), classroom anxiety and poor performance. For instance, a student who believes that learning a second language primarily involves learning new vocabulary will predominantly focus on mastering new vocabulary, while adults who believe in the supremacy of younger learners probably begin language learning with some negative expectations of their own achievement (Bernat, 2004). Beliefs are defined as psychologically held understandings, premises or propositions about the world that are held to be true (Richardson, 1996). Beliefs about language learning consist of ―general assumptions that students hold about themselves as learners, about factors influencing language learning and about the nature of language teaching‖ (Victori & Lockhart, 1995:224). The first attempts to systematically investigate these beliefs started with Horwitz‘s pioneering studies (1985; 1987; 1988) and from then on, many studies have been conducted with different learners in local contexts such as Malaysian (Wong, 2010); Turkish (Altan, 2006; Ariogul et al., 2009); Japanese (Sakui & Gaies, 1999); Vietnamese (Bernat, 2004); Lebanese (Diab, 2006) and many other native and non-native English contexts. These studies have noted that successful learners develop insightful beliefs about language learning processes, their own abilities and the use of effective learning strategies which have enhanced their performance in language learning. According to Horwitz (1987), learners‘ beliefs or notions about language learning can influence both their experiences and actions as language learners but Horwitz (1987) also asserts that studying learner beliefs about language learning is important not only because such beliefs may influence students‘ expectations for and commitment to their language learning, but also because such beliefs may be more susceptible to change than cognitive style variables or affective variables such as attitudes and motivation. Thus, knowledge of students‘ beliefs about language learning may provide language educators with a better understanding of their students‘ ―expectation of, commitment to, success in and satisfaction with their language classes‖ (Horwitz, 1988, p.283). As a result of this teachers can make more informed choices about teaching (Bernat & Gvozdenko, 2005) and adopt ―a 1212 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo more sensitive approach to the organization of learning opportunities‖ (Cotterall, 1999, p.494) in their lessons. According to Stevick (1980), what goes on inside learners, which includes learners‘ beliefs, seems to have a strong impact on learners‘ learning process. Beliefs about language learning have become an interesting subject among researchers in the field of second language acquisition and second language learning due to the assumptions that success depends on materials, techniques, linguistic analyses and what goes on inside and between the people in the classroom (Stevick, 1980). Beliefs are central construct in every discipline which deals with human behavior and learning. In the psychological literature, there is a rich body of theoretical and empirical work on beliefs. Different theoretical orientations and concerns have produced somewhat different, but nonetheless clearly related, views of the nature of beliefs (Dole & Sinatra, 1994 as cited in Sakui & Gaies, 1999). Although there are numerous studies in the field, the term beliefs about language learning were not clearly defined by researchers in the previous studies. In most studies, the term is used as a known construct without providing further explanation while some of the studies define the term beliefs by itself. According to Vibulphol (2004), even Horwitz, one of the pioneer researchers of the studies on beliefs about language learning, did not give an operational definition of beliefs about language learning in her articles (Horwitz, 1985, 1987, 1988). She only refers to beliefs using the terms like preconceptions (1985), preconceived ideas (1987) and preconceived notions (1988) without giving specific descriptions about the construct. She used the statement ―opinion‖ to refer to beliefs to introduce the Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory, namely BALLI, which has been used widely for researchers studying beliefs about language learning. Horwitz (1985) and Wenden (1986) were the first ones to study beliefs about language learning. In more than 25 years, the scope of research on learner‘s beliefs has grown and several studies have been conducted. Most of these studies were based on the normative approach. Halliday (1994) used the term normative to refer to studies on culture that sees students‘ culture as explanation for their behaviors in class. The normative approach includes studies that have used Likert-scale questionnaires to investigate beliefs about language learning. The most widely used questionnaire is the Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) developed by Horwitz (1985). In the field of student beliefs about language learning, most studies in the literature investigate student beliefs about English or other languages either as a second or foreign language. One of many studies in the literature dealing with the issue is of Bernat‘s (2004) study who investigated learner beliefs about language learning. In the study, there were 20 adult Vietnamese ESL learners who were given the BALLI. Their responses to the questionnaire are analyzed in order to identify learner beliefs about second language learning for the purpose of informing syllabus design and teacher practice as well as to discover if links existed between students‘ motivation for language learning and their beliefs. 12 of the participants were males and 8 were females aged between 24 and 59. The data was analyzed using the frequency of each item and the results indicated that no links were established between motivation and beliefs about language learning in this study. Altan (2006) investigated the beliefs about language learning with a total of 248 foreign language-major university students at five universities. BALLI was given to students of English, German, French, Arabic and Japanese who were all going to be the teachers of the language they were learning. The study is a replication of the study Horwitz (1988) conducted with American students. The results of the questionnaire were evaluated again under the five language areas of the BALLI and indicated that students hold a wide range of beliefs with varying degrees of validity. Another study by Ariogul et al. (2009) addresses the differences and similarities among English, German and French language groups‘ beliefs about language learning using a questionnaire. There were a total number of 343 participants; 143 students of English, 138 students of German and 62 students of French. All the participants were freshmen students enrolled in the intensive language school of a university in Turkey with a minimum workload of twenty hours of week of foreign language training. Their degree programs ranged from nursing to German language teaching. In their research, they used the BALLI, as well as a demographic questionnaire to answer the research question: Do English, German and French language learners in Turkey differ in their beliefs about foreign language learning? Descriptive statistics, including mean, standard deviation and frequency, were calculated. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistical analysis was used to understand the differences between the three language groups‘ scores on BALLI. The results revealed that there have been significant differences in beliefs among the language groups in four categories; foreign language aptitude, the nature of language learning, learning and communication strategies and motivation and expectations. The primary purpose of this study, therefore, is to identify Turkish learners‘ beliefs about compulsory second foreign language courses in French, Italian and German at an English-medium 1213 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo university in Turkey. Identification of these beliefs and the reflection on their potential impact on language learning and teaching in general might inform teachers about their future syllabus design in the course as well as making teachers teaching a compulsory second language course gain insight about learners‘ thoughts. In spite of the growing number of studies investigating beliefs about language learning of different groups of EFL/ESL learners from various cultural backgrounds since Horwitz‘s pioneering study in 1985, not much importance has been given to the investigation of students‘ beliefs about a second foreign language. This study is significant in the sense that it investigates the beliefs about learning a second foreign language. In the light of the aims discussed above, the following questions will be answered for the study to reach its aims. 1. What are METU FLE (Middle East Technical University, Dept. of Foreign Language Education) students‘ beliefs about learning a second foreign language? a. What reasons do METU FLE students have for choosing their second foreign language among the alternatives? b. What reasons do METU FLE students have for not choosing the other second foreign languages available at the department? c. Is there a difference between the students‘ beliefs about German, French and Italian as their second foreign language? d. Do students‘ beliefs about a second foreign language change as they make progress in learning the language? Method of the Study Quantitative research, defined as a formal, objective, systematic process in which numerical data are utilized to obtain information about the world (Burns & Grove cited in Cormack, 1991, p.140), is used in this study. Survey research is one of the most important areas of measurement in applied social research. The broad area of survey research encompasses any measurement procedures that involve asking questions of respondents. One of the most common survey techniques is using questionnaires of various kinds. They are certainly the most often employed data collection devices for researchers doing a quantitative study. As Dôrnyei (2003) states, the popularity of questionnaires is due to the fact that they are easy to construct, extremely versatile and uniquely capable of gathering a large amount of information quickly in a form that is readily processable. By making use of questionnaires, we can gather three types of data about the respondent: factual (such as age, gender, ethnicity, level of education, occupation etc.), behavioral (such as people‘s actions, life-styles, habits etc.) and attitudinal (such as attitudes, opinions, beliefs, interests and values). A main advantage of questionnaires is that while evaluating student attitudes/beliefs about a particular issue, one can collect a huge amount of information in a relatively short time. Therefore, quantitative survey research forms the basic research methodology for this study. Sampling For the sample of the study, all students in all the sections of the entire second foreign language courses (FLE 177 and FLE 277) at the department of Foreign Language Education, METU in Ankara, Turkey were selected. 133 students participated in the study. Among these 133 students, 64 of them were learners of German; 42 of them were learners of Italian and 27 of them were learners of French. There were 32 males and 101 females. Data Analysis Processes As part of the quantitative survey research methodology, a questionnaire was developed and administered in order to obtain the relevant data for the study. In order to analyze the survey results, a quantitative process was used. The data concerning the participants‘ demographic information and beliefs about second foreign language learning were coded and entered into the PASW 18 statistical analysis program. Descriptive statistics, that is, frequency of items, mean scores and standard deviation scores were calculated to answer the research questions. In order to analyze the association between the beliefs of the participants about German, French and Italian and to find out if these beliefs change as they make progress in learning the language, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was calculated. If there was a statistically significant difference between the variables, Post Hoc Scheffe Test values were considered to further analyze the differences. Findings and Discussion In this part of the paper, the findings of the statistical analyses of the data collected from the questionnaire will be reported. The results are presented according to the order of the research questions. 1214 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Participants‘ Beliefs about SFL in General The first research question, what are METU FLE students‘ beliefs about learning a second foreign language, was answered by item frequencies, that is, according to the frequency of the answers the students gave to the related items in the questionnaire. The items 4, 6, 9, 14 and 18 were composed of statements related to the learners‘ beliefs about SFL. The items referred to both the nature of language learning in general and to the local situation of the learners. More than half of the participants (91 out of 132; %68.4) agreed that the instructor teaches the language well. However, 26 participants (%19.5) stated that they were not sure whether the language they are trying to learn is taught well by the instructor. Item 6, stating that, it is important to learn a SFL from a native speaker of the language, received agreement from the participants. 107 of the participants (%80.5) marked either agree or strongly agree to the item which show that they believe a SFL is learned better from a native speaker. Another general belief the participants had about SFL was the statement that it is easier for someone who already knows a foreign language to learn a SFL. Out of 133 participants, 113 (%84.9) marked either agree or strongly agree. Since the participants have English as a foreign language (or other languages), they believe that English has an important role in their learning German, Italian or French as a second foreign language. General beliefs about learning a SFL in the local situation, which is related to the SFL courses they are taking at the department, were also investigated by two items, 14 and 18. The participants mostly disagreed to the statements if I had a chance, I would change the language I am studying now and I would drop the course if I had the chance. Item 14 received disagreement from 85 participants (%63.9) and Item 18 received disagreement from 104 participants (%78.2). This shows that the students are generally satisfied with their current choice of SFL. On the other hand, according to the results of the questionnaire, 26 participants (%29.5) were not satisfied with their current SFL and 22 participants (%16.5) were not sure. Participants‘ Reasons for Choosing and Not Choosing Their Current SFL Items 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24 aimed to answer the research question (1a); What reasons do METU FLE students have for choosing their second foreign language among the alternatives and (1b) What reasons do METU FLE students have for not choosing their second foreign language among the alternatives again from both a general and local perspective. The reasons for choosing and not choosing the SFL were themed under four categories; 1) difficulty of the language, 2) general attitudes towards learning a SFL, 3) its being compulsory in the department and 4) the influence of the instructor teaching the course. Almost all of the participants, 131 of them (%98.5), stated that it is important to learn a SFL (Item 7) and 109 of the participants (%82) stated that they will have many opportunities to use the language if they speak very well (Item 19). It might be inferred that these are some of the reasons why the students chose their current SFL. This argument is verified by their answers to Items 3, 11 and 23. Most of the participants (97 of 133; %72.9) disagreed with the belief that their choice of the SFL depended on the course‘s being a part of the curriculum (Item 3). Similarly, more than half of them (77 out of 133; %57.9) marked either disagree or strongly disagree with the idea that they chose the SFL since it was compulsory in the department (Item 11). A similar statement in the questionnaire (Item 23) received disagreement from 105 of the participants (%78.9) which stated that their choice of the SFL depended on the fact that they had no other choice. Regarding the difficulty of the SFL and their choice of the SFL, the three items (1, 12 and 15), the three of which stated that the language they were learning was either easier or more difficult, were analyzed. The results revealed that there is not a clear cut variance among the five statements. It might be inferred from these findings that difficulty of the SFL did not play a major role in the participants‘ choice of the SFL. Difference between the Participants‘ Beliefs about German, French and Italian In order to answer the research question (1c) is there a difference between the students‘ beliefs about German, French and Italian as their second language, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was calculated. Significance levels were set at P < 0.05. Items 1, 4, 12, 14, 15, 22 and 23 were found to be statistically significant between groups with different p values. According to the ANOVA results, there is a statistically significant difference among the beliefs of German, Italian and French learners about the difficulty of second foreign languages (Item 1, p=0.000). The results of the Post-Hoc Scheffe show that this difference is directed from German to Italian and French which might mean that participants had a tendency to state that German was easier than Italian and French. Item 4, which stated that the language I am trying to learn 1215 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo is not taught well by the instructor, was also statistically significant between the groups (Item 4, p=0.000). Item 15, I have chosen this SFL because it is easier than others, was found to be statistically significant between the groups (Item 15, p=0.000). It verifies the fact that German learners agreed with the fact that German is easier than other SFLs than learners of Italian and French. The results also showed that German learners thought they chose the language they are currently learning because of the instructor when compared to learners of French and Italian (Item 22, p=0.003). Difference between the Current Semesters of the Participants In order to answer the research question (1d), Do students‘ beliefs about a second foreign language change as they make progress in learning the language, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was calculated. Significance levels were set at p < 0.05. The results reveal that there is no change in the belief of the participants as they make progress in learning the language. There is no statistically significant difference in any of the 24 items in terms of their semesters. A surprising result is that the students do not think that they have progress in learning the SFL so far (Item 10, p=0.459). They also believe that they have not learned the SFL (Item 21, p=0.420). Conclusions and Recommendations This study aimed at uncovering the beliefs EFL learners have about a second foreign language at a university in Turkey. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate participants‘ beliefs about three second foreign languages (German, Italian and French) in general and to explore the reasons why they chose one over the others. Although these languages are compulsory in the curriculum of English Language Teaching, the participants‘ major area, different reasons that influence choosing one language were identified thus, this study investigated the learners‘ beliefs about a second foreign language. In the literature, there are many studies conducted by various researchers in various contexts (Altan, 2006; Ariogul et al., 2009; Bernat, 2004; Diab, 2006; Peacock, 2001 and Wong, 2010). This study differed from the others in two ways; firstly, BALLI is not used as a data collection tool. In most of the studies in the literature, BALLI was utilized to assess learners‘ beliefs about language learning. Secondly, this study is different from other since it focused on second foreign languages. Due to the fact that BALLI items were not written specifically for second foreign language learning, a questionnaire was developed by the researcher and by the help of some scholars in the field. The first research question of this study was a general one, what are METU FLE students‘ beliefs about learning a second foreign language, and the answer to the question was tried to be found by evaluating the responses the students gave to the items in the questionnaire. Items 4, 6, 9, 14 and 18 were analyzed and the results showed that the students had positive beliefs about learning a second foreign language in general agreeing that it is important for someone who already speaks a foreign language to learn a SFL. Participants‘ knowledge of English as a foreign language seemed to help them learn a second foreign language better. Since METU is an English-medium university and the department they are studying at is English Language Teaching department, most of them are advanced learners of English who study courses like the English language, English literature, methodology, educational sciences and linguistics in order to learn how to teach English to, primarily, students in the primary and secondary levels in Turkey. Also, almost all of the participants believe that it is important to know a second foreign language. They believe that learning a SFL will enable them to have many opportunities later on after they graduate. The second and third research questions were what reasons they had for choosing and not choosing the second foreign languages offered in the department (German, Italian and French). Results from the quantitative data showed that difficulty of language learning, general attitude towards the language and interest in the language, influence of the friends and necessity of knowing a SFL were among the reasons that directed the students to choose the language. Another research question of the study, difference between the students‘ beliefs about German, French and Italian as their second foreign languages, was answered with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to see if there was any difference between the groups. The results showed that German was considered to be easier than Italian and French. This might be inferred from the fact that the frequency of those who agreed with the statement ―the language I am learning is easier than others in the department‖ was higher in the German group. This might also stem from the fact that learners of German as a SFL comprised almost half of the whole population (%48.1). When the difference was analyzed according to the semester of the students, interestingly, there was no statistically significant difference in any of the items among the three groups. It can be inferred that the belief of the learners do not change as they make progress in learning the language. This was a surprising finding for the researcher since beliefs were expected to vary with the students 1216 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo who were in the first semester and those who were in their third semester. Wong (2010) investigated Malaysian pre-service teachers‘ beliefs about learning English and the stability of these beliefs over time. The results revealed that with the exception of slight change to two items on language learning difficulty and six items on nature of language learning, most of their beliefs were stable over time. Since Wong‘s study was different in that the same questionnaire was administered to the same students 14 months after the first administration, it might reveal that beliefs are stable and not easily change over time with progress in learning the language. The primary aim of this study was to investigate learners‘ beliefs about learning a second foreign language. Although the collected data provided some insights about various aspects of these beliefs, due to lack of time, only 133 participants were involved in this study. A further research might be conducted that investigates these beliefs from a wider perspective, with more participants and different contexts. Since the primary aim of this study was to look at the issue from a local setting, data was collected from only one university. The results presented here cannot be generalized and in order to have a general perspective of Turkish learners‘ beliefs about language learning, a comprehensive longitudinal study should be conducted. Also, the effect of gender has been ignored in this study since it was not the primary goal and due to the fact that there were not equal number of males and females in the study. According to Tercanlioglu (2004), gender is still a key variable that may directly influence or even determine attitudes, motivation and behaviors. Therefore it is reasonable to suppose that they might have different beliefs about what learning is and how it occurs. A further study might include gender as a variable. To conclude, exploring the beliefs of learners can lead to more effective language learning behaviors. If teachers are not aware of the beliefs of the learners, their efforts in applying some teaching methods to get maximum benefit might be in vain. Therefore, knowledge of learner beliefs will be important in increasing teachers‘ understanding of how the students approach the language and a result, will help the teachers to apply more effective strategies during the teaching of second foreign languages. 1217 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo References Altan, M. Z. (2006). Beliefs about language learning of foreign language-major university students. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 31(2), 45-52. Ariogul, et al. (2009). Foreign language learners‘ beliefs about language learning: A study on Turkish university students. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 1, 1500-1506. Bernat, E. & Gvozdenko, M. (2005). Beliefs about language learning: Current knowledge , pedagogical implications and new research directions. TESLJ-EJ, 9(1). Bernat, E. (2004). Investigating Vietnamese ESL learners‘ beliefs about language learning. English Australia Journal, 21(2), 40-55. Cormack, D. F. (1991) The research process in nursing. (2nd. Ed.) Blackwell Scientific Publications. Victoria: Australia. Cotterall, S. (1999). Key variables in language learning: What do learners believe about them? System, 27, 493-513. Diab, R. L. (2006). University students‘ beliefs about learning English and French in Lebanon. System, 34, 80-96. Dôrnyei, Z. (2003). Questionnaires in second language research: construction, administration and processing. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Halliday, A. (1994). Appropriate methodology and social context. Cambridge: CUP. Horwitz, E. K. (1985). Using student beliefs about language learning and teaching in the foreign language methods course. Foreign Language Annals. 18, 333-340. Horwitz, E. K. (1987). Surveying student beliefs about language learning. In A. Wenden & R. Rubin (Eds.), Learner strategies in language learning. (pp. 119-129). London: Prentice Hall International. Horwitz, E. K. (1988). The beliefs about language learning of beginning university foreign language students. The Modern Language Journal. 72 (3), 283-294. House Publishers, Inc. Peacock, M. (2001). Pre-service ESL teachers‘ beliefs about second language learning: a longitudinal study. System, 29, 177-195. Richardson, V. (1996). The role of attitudes and beliefs in learning to teach. In J. Sikula, T. J. Buttery & E. Guyton (Eds.), Handbook of research on teacher education. New York: Macmillan. Sakui, K. & Gaies, S. J. (1999). Investigating Japanese learners‘ beliefs about language learning. System. 27, 473-492. Stevick, E. W. (1980). Teaching languages: A way and ways. Rowley, MA: Newbury Tercanlioglu, L. (2004). Pre-service EFL teachers‘ beliefs about foreign language learning and how they relate to gender. Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 5, 3(1), 145-162. Vibulphol, J. (2004). Beliefs about language learning and teaching approaches of pre-service EFL teachers in Thailand. Unpublished Doctorate Dissertation. Oklahama University. Victori, M. & Lockhart, W. (1995). Enhancing metacognition in self-directed language learning. System, 23(2), 223-34. Wenden, A. L. 1986. Helping language learners think about learning. ELT Journal 40/1: 3-12 Wong, M. S. (2010). Beliefs about language learning: A study of Malaysian pre-service teachers. RELC Journal, 41(2), 123-136. 1218 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 669 Title A name given to the resource Turkish EFL Learners‘ Beliefs about Learning Second Foreign Languages Author Author Ataş, Ufuk Abstract A summary of the resource. This paper reports on a study that investigated beliefs about second foreign language learning of Turkish EFL learners, compared their beliefs about learning German, Italian and French as a second foreign language and explored within-group variation in these learners‘ beliefs. The primary purpose of this study is to identify Turkish learners‘ beliefs about compulsory second foreign language courses in French, Italian and German at an English-medium university in Turkey. Another aim of the study is to identify the underlying reasons the students have for choosing and not choosing a particular second foreign language course among available options as well as to see whether beliefs varied according to the semester of the students. The results indicated that the participants had different beliefs about second foreign languages and that their beliefs are stable over time. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-05 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed P Philology. Linguistics https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/db58f3a66df15a6952545a54d6425d71.pdf 0b636000f7ecddeff7434042ec85764b PDF Text Text 1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo POSITIVE IMPACT OF CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK IN SLA Ülkü Ayhan English Department, Faculty of Education International Burch University Bosnia and Herzegovina ulkuayhan@hotmail.com Muhammed Arikan English Department, Faculty of Education International Burch University Bosnia and Herzegovina muhammedarikan1988@hotmail.com Azamat Akbarov English Department, Faculty of Education International Burch University Bosnia and Herzegovina aakbarov@ibu.edu.ba ABSTRACT: This paper is aimed to discuss corrective feedback in oral reading skills. It mainly focuses on the role of transitions and conjunctions in texts and questions the conditions of efficacy of corrective feedback for the development of reading skill among 4 language skills. It discusses what corrective feedback is, what kind of types there are, and which type should be preferred mostly for the best result. Swain (1985), Pica (1988) and Pica, Holliday, Lewis and Morgenhaler (1989) provided that corrective feedback techniques lead to modified output and self-repair are more likely to improve learners' ability to monitor their output and lead to IL development. As it is a very dynamic subject, there are a lot of claims by the leading linguists such as Gass, Long, Krashen, Schachter, Varonis, Ellis and Schmidt. By dealing with their significant approaches to it in the light of various empirical and theoretical researches, its impact and issues related to it will be examined. Keywords: Corrective feedback, input, error, acquisition, feedback LITERATURE REVIEW There are various ways to correct errors it may be directly or after the utterance of the learner. In this paper corrective feedback and related implications are focused in Second Language Acquisition (SLA). There are different definitions in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) by linguists. They are mostly interrelated to each other with the sub concepts. Feed back given to learner can be positive or negative. If the given feedback indicates that utterance is correct it is called positive feedback. It is the signal of correctness of the response. While pedagogically, positive feedback is seen as both external and internal support to learner and affect him/her to go on learning, in Second Language Acquisition (SLA), positive feedback has not been seen as objective that it may show correctly whether the learner is correct or not. On the other hand, negative feedback directly shows the extent of the learners‘ correctness linguistically. On that field, the linguists and language educators have been very active, but, they have been in controversies whether or not to correct an error, what errors to correct, how to correct them and when to correct them. (Ellis, R). In Sla literature, mostly negative feedback and negative evidence or corrective feedback is used interchangeably. Lightbown &Spada (1999) defines corrective feedback (CF) or any indication of incorrectness in learners‖ use of the target language, after language learners utterance, corrective feedback given may be explicitly or implicitly. For example; L: ―He go to school everyday‖. T:‖ No, you should say goes, not go. or implicitly, 1379 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo T: ―Yes, he goes to school everyday‖ . Rod Ellis (2009) views corrective feedback as one type of negative feedback. According to him, it is for any form of response a learner‘s utterance including a linguistic error. The response can consist of any indication that error has been committed, provision of the correct target form or metalinguistic information or any combination of them. For decades, the role of corrective feedback in SLA has been argued a lot. Nativist believing that language acquisition is possible by Universal Grammar (UG) (Chomsky, 1975, p.29). the system of principles of conditions and rules that are elements of properties in all human languages. Their assertion is that the formation and restructuring of Second language grammar is possible via this innate human linguistic mechanism which works together with positive evidence. (Cook, 1991;Schwartz, 1993). Moreover, Schwartz points out that negative feedback has impact on solely on affecting performance, it doesn‘t lead any change in language competence, and therefore its effect is minimal. Francis (2007) attributes to some naturalistic approaches such as Krashen. Krashen (1998) has a tendency to see equal first language (L1) and second language (L2) acquisition processes. He is in favor of viewing them at the same side, more or less, through the same basic mechanisms. For the desired linguistic competence, sufficient positive evidence for first language (L1) is enough also for Second language (L2). But, input factors and social learning circumstances is effective to active acquisition process. At first, Krashen examined feedback as useless moreover harmful (Krashen,1994:Truscott;1996). He said: ―I did not want anxious students, so, I provided very little feedback‖. But this approach was different from Chomsky‖s rejective manner of corrective feedback but, as complementary or as a bridge towards corrective feedback. He recognized the significance to language learning of comprehensible input which is defined as input in the target language that is understandable in a particular context of use, but slightly more advanced that the learners‘ current level of ability. He believed that enough exposure immediately brings about progress, but, only if emotional barrier was sufficiently low (Affective Filter).He suggested that if second language learners were exposed to right kind of input, right attitude, target language will emerge naturally. Input‘s role is the activation of inner capacity or inner structure of language acquisition according to Krashen. In his input hypothesis attributed above, it is central to all acquisition, as he refers to some implications: 1. ―Speaking is a result of acquisition and not its cause. Speech cannot be taught directly but emerges on its own as a result of building competence via comprehensible input. 2. If input is understood, the necessary grammar is automatically provided. Teacher‘s main role is to ensure that learners receive right order with right quantity. In contrast to Krashen, Swain points out that the occurrence if language learning is something more than just an input, it occurs through interaction. So, such a broad subject, language acquisition should need to be faced from a broader aspect. In contrast to Krashen, Swain points out that the occurrence of language learning is something more than input, it occurs through the interaction. So, language acquisition should need to be focused such a broad subject, language acquisition from a broader perspective. Not only comprehension of input, but also other aspects of interaction plays active role. For instance; Lightbown & Spada (1990), Lyster &Ranta (1997), Doughty &Williams (1998) and others argued how interaction provides opportunities for both message of input and also focus on form as well. Some researchers, for example, Aljaafreh &Lantolf (1994) and Nassaj and Swain (2000) have examined which type of feedback will be most helpful to learners in interactions. According to Van Lier, interaction is more than a source of comprehensible input or input as feedback. Interaction also provides learners to use the target language (Swain, M.) which is called output. ―The meaning of output has shifted from the 80‖s till now from output being understood as a noun, a thing, a product to being output as a verb, an action, a process.(Swain, M. The Output Hypothesis: its History and its future). As Swain argued elsewhere (1995), ―output pushes learners to process more deeply with more mental effort than input. It stimulates learners to move from the semantic, strategic processing in comprehension to the complete grammatical processing needed for accurate production. It plays a significant role in language development. For example; one role of input is to promote ―noticing‖. Ellis examines noticing as the basis for the acquisition of linguistic form (1994). Schmidt in his noticing hypothesis (1990, 1995, 2001) points out the significance of noticing for learning. He states that attention or notice to input is crucial for L2 process. According to Kim, J.H., those subscribing to the noticing hypothesis (Ellis, R. 1991; Gass &Varonis, 1994); Schmidt 1990,1995, 2001) and the supporters of output hypothesis (Harley, 1988; Swain 1985; Swain & Lapkin, 1995; Izumi & Lapkin 1995) strongly attribute crucial importance to corrective feedback . In the light of empirical researches in immersion classes, its absence is seen as effective on the deficiencies in learner performance. They recognize the value of corrective feedback and its facilitative role in drawing learner attention to form. In noticing hypothesis, corrective feedback has a stimulus function and it helps the learner notice the gap between IL and the target form. 1380 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Similarly, Long supports the corrective feedback and asserts the interactions including implicit corrective feedback is facilitative in second language (L2) development in his updated version of Interaction Hypothesis (1996) in Kim,J.H.) At that point, Vygotsky‖s sociocultural perspective of learning can be seen in a strict relationship with the interaction hypothesis (Menti, M.,1972). Because, Vygotsky (1972) examines the occurance of learning through interaction and scaffolding in his ZPD. Scaffolding provides assistance the teacher or other learner, while dealing with the in a communicative task that is impossible without a teacher‘s assistance. He points out that secong language (L2) learners‘ progress to higher levels of linguistic knowledge in interactions with speakers of second language (L2). The basic differences between Vygotsky‖s sociocultural theory and interaction hypothesis: Firstly, according to Vygotsky, language acquisition occurs in the interactions of learner and interlocutors, while, interaction hypothesis focuses on the modification and negotiation for meaning. Secondly, Vygotsky attributes greater importance to conservations with learning occurring through social interaction, on the other hand, interaction hypothesis emphasize on the individual cognitive processes in the mind of the learner. Milani, N. (2009) says that there is variety of correction. The teacher may directly or indirectly can correct errors. Rod Ellis suggests a taxonomy of corrective feedback strategies: Implicit Explicit Input-Providing Recasts Explicit correction Output-prompting Repetition Metalinguistic Explanation Elicitation Paralinguistic Signal 1. Recast: The corrector incorporates the content words of immediately preceding incorrect utterance and changes, and corrects the utterance in some way(e.g. Morphological, syntactic, lexical)(Braidi, 2002) Example: L: I went there two times T: You have been. You have been there twice as a group? 2. Repetition: Corrector repeats the incorrect utterance and provides the correct answer. It is used often by teachers with metalinguistic feedback. ―Why was it wrong? We don‘t use ―more‖ with fast. It is faster.‖ S: The dog is more fast. T: More fast or faster? The dog is faster. 2. Clarification Request: The corrector indicates that He/She has not understood what the learner said. L: What do you spend with your wife? T: What? 3. Explicit Correction: The corrector indicates that an error has been committed, indentifies the error and provides the correction. L: On May. T: Not on May, In May. We say ―it will start in May‖. 4. Elicitation: The corrector repeats part of the learner utterance but not erroneous part and uses rising intonation to signal the learner should complete it. L1: My teacher always come late to the class. T: Say that again. L1: My teacher always come late to class. T: My teacher always...? L1:Comes? Comes late to class. 5. Paralinguistic Signal: The corrector uses a gesture or facial expression to indicate that the learner has made an error. L: Yesterday, I go cinema. T: Gestures with right forefinger over shoulder to indicate past. Tatatwy(2002) states that the effectiveness of different types of feedback is determined whether or not it results in uptake and whether or not it results in successful repair. Slimoni (1997) defines uptake as ―what the learners report that they have learnt from a particular lesson. In addition, Lyster & Ranta (1997) defines it as ― a student‘s utterance immediately follows the teacher‘s feedback(p. 49) Tatatwy points out that in order to meet Ll development, for corrective feedback, certain conditions should be met. 1. Teachers need to be systematic and consistent in their provision of feedback. 2. Corrective feedback should be clear enough. 3. The techniques employed should allow for time and opportunity for self and peer repair and modified 1381 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo output. 4. Feedback should be fine tuned in the sense that there should be as close a match as possible between teacher‘s intent. The targeted error, learners‘ perception of the given feedback. 5. Feedback provided should focus on one error at a time, over a period of time. i.e. the feedback should be intensive and consistent in intent. 6. The learners‖ developmental readiness to process the feedback provided should be taken into consideration. Conclusion This paper aims to show the positive effects of corrective feedback and related implications. As we all know language acquisition is one of the most complicated topics in the field and what makes it difficult is not because its hard to study but because every human being is a different world in him or herself. And it is hard to find something that you can give as an universal rule or method to this case. But so far as we have seen from the current studies done show that there are positive results of corrective feedback. These results indicate that corrective feedback more important that thought and shows us that more research on corrective feedback is needed to be done. 1382 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo References Lightbown, P.M & Spada, N.(1999). How languages are learned- Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.(CF tanimi) Elli, R. (2009). Corrective Feedback and Teacher Development. L2 Journal, volume 1, pp. 3-18 http:/respositories.cdlib.org/ucclt/l12/vol1/iss1/art2/ (CF tanimi) Chomsky N.(1975). Reflections on Language. Newyork: Pantheon Schwartz B. (1993). On explicit and implicit data effecting and affecting competence and linguistic behavior. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 15, 147- 163 Cook, V.(1991). Second Language Learning And Second Language Teaching. London: Edward Arnold. Swain, M., The Output Hypothesis and Beyond: Mediating acquistion throught collaborative dialogue. Francis, N., (2007) Corrective Feedback in l2 Assesment: Negative Evidence and Interaction Practice, Selected paper from the 16th International Sysmposium an English Teaching (2007) Swain, M. The output Hypothesis: Its history and its future Schmidt, R., (1995), Consciouness and Foreign Language Learning.Applied Linguistics, 11, 129-158 Schmidt, R. (1995), Consciouness and Foreign Language Learning: A tutorial on the role of attention and awareness in learning. In R, Schmidt (Ed.) AttentĤon and Awareness in foreign language learning (pp.-63) Honolulu: Universtiz of Hawai Press Schmidt, R.(2001), Attention. In P. Robinson (Ed.) Cogniniton and second language acquisiston (pp.3-32) Cambridge University Press. Kim.J.H., Issues of corretive feedback in SLA, Teachers College, Columbia University Working papers in TESOL & Applied Linguistics, Vol.4 no.2 Long, M.H (1996), The role of Linguistic environment in SLA. In W. Ritchie & T. Bhatia (Eds) Handbook of Second Language Acquisiston, (pp.413-468) San Diago : academic Press. Menti, M.M., Factors affecting Efl teachers` Choice for different types of corrective feedback, LINGUAABMM,APIRS VYGOTSKI, L. Thought and Language. Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1972 Milani, N. (2009), An analysis Of CF in Speaking Classroom At English Department Of Muhammediyah University OF Surakarta Ellis, R., Corrective Feedback In Theory, Research And Pratice, University Of Auckland Slimani, A.(1992). Evaluation Of Classroom Interaction. In C. Anderson &A. Bretta (Eds.), Evaluating Second Language Education (pp. 197-221). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Unversity Press. Lyster. R., & Ranta,. L.(1997). Corrective Feedback And Learner Uptake. Studies in Second Language Acquisiston19,37-66. 1383 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 690 Title A name given to the resource POSITIVE IMPACT OF CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK IN SLA Author Author Ayhan, Ülkü Arikan, Muhammed Akbarov, Azamat Abstract A summary of the resource. This paper is aimed to discuss corrective feedback in oral reading skills. It mainly focuses on the role of transitions and conjunctions in texts and questions the conditions of efficacy of corrective feedback for the development of reading skill among 4 language skills. It discusses what corrective feedback is, what kind of types there are, and which type should be preferred mostly for the best result. Swain (1985), Pica (1988) and Pica, Holliday, Lewis and Morgenhaler (1989) provided that corrective feedback techniques lead to modified output and self-repair are more likely to improve learners' ability to monitor their output and lead to IL development. As it is a very dynamic subject, there are a lot of claims by the leading linguists such as Gass, Long, Krashen, Schachter, Varonis, Ellis and Schmidt. By dealing with their significant approaches to it in the light of various empirical and theoretical researches, its impact and issues related to it will be examined. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-05 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed P Philology. Linguistics