Reading and Language Commons^™

The Maze Of Shanghai Memory In Kazuo Ishiguro's When We Were Orphans, Biwu Shang

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "The Maze of Shanghai Memory in Kazuo Ishiguro's When We Were Orphans" Biwu Shang analyzes the memory writing of the novel by combining current memory studies with narratology. The paper pursues three major goals. First, it delves into the maze of Shanghai memory embedded in this novel, which is typically formulated by two contrasting aspects: Christopher Banks's naïve and beautiful childhood memory of Shanghai, and his unhappy adulthood memory of it. Second, it explores how memory plays a dual function of deception and decoration. That is to say, Christopher deliberately uses his memory to create positive …

A Comparative Minoritarian Study Of Language Poetry Of Iran And The United States, Sama Khosravi Ooryad

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "A Comparative Minoritarian Study of Language Poetry of Iran and the United States" Sama Khosravi Ooryad analyses Language poetry of the United States (1970s) and Language poetry of Iran (1990s) through Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari's concepts of minor literature and rhizomic text. The argument of the article is that the two movements, in both their poems and theoretical passages, carry potentialities to be related to Deleuzian concepts. The practice of minor literature, rhizomic text and book as machine is more evident in the works of U.S. language poets. Moreover, Iranian language poetry, while being analyzed alongside …

Curricular Requirements, Critical Traditions, And Adaptation In The Paratext Of Chinese And American School Editions Of Robinson Crusoe, Haifeng Hui

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "Curricular Requirements, Critical Traditions, and Adaptation in the Paratext of Chinese and American School Editions of Robinson Crusoe" Haifeng Hui analyses a Chinese new curricular edition and an American common core edition of Defoe's Robinson Crusoe to reveal how the paratext can be utilized to reveal different ways of understanding in different educational cultures. He argues that the paratext powerfully exerts the publisher's authority over the text and the reader, thus shaping readers' interpretation of the story in the service of fulfilling specific national curricular needs. The Chinese edition aims more at how Crusoe's story should …

Involute Analysis: Virtual Discourse, Memory Systems And Archive In The Involutes Of Thomas De Quincey, Kimberley A. Garcia

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Thomas De Quincey’s involutes inform metaphysical thought on memory and language, particularly concerning multiplicity and the virtual, repetition and difference. When co-opting the mathematic and mechanic involute in Suspiria de Profundis, De Quincey generates an interdisciplinary matrix for the semiotics underpinning his philosophy of language and theory of memory and experience. Involutes entangle and reproduce. De Quincey’s involute exposes the concrete and actual through which all experience accesses the abstract or virtual. The materiality of their informatics and technics provides a literary model and theoretical precursor to a combination of archive and systems theory. The textuality of involute system(s)—both …

Reinventing Translation: Toward A Common Language For Scholar-Practitioners, Ann Kowal Smith, Karen R. Nestor

Engaged Management ReView

Translation starts in one language, and converts to a second. But it doesn't change the languages or the people who "speak" them. We propose – instead of translation – the joint development of theory and practice that becomes a common language – a common language of a community of scholar-practitioners. This paper describes the work of two scholar-practitioners committed to addressing a pressing problem of practice: the educational attainment and skills required for positive outcomes in the 21st century workplace. This paper considers the original design and implementation of an innovative, theory-based workplace learning initiative (Books@Work) and, arising from this …

Building A Culture Of Peace Through Critical Literacy With The Net Generation, Dumrong Adunyarittigun

PASAA

Conflicts and violence either inside or outside the classroom can affect the quality of learning within the classroom. Critical literacy is proposed as a strategic instructional practice which aims at teaching a nation's citizens to be literate and raising their critical and social consciousness (Freire, 2007). This paper suggests how teachers, as intellectual labor (Smyth, 2011), can implement a critical literacy framework to build a culture of peace in a reading class where students hold different 'taken-for-granted' ideologies of being 'us' and 'them'. It also proposes how Net Generation students in our EFL classrooms can make a significant contribution to …

Review Of Graduate Research On Language Assessment In Turkey Between 2011 And 2016, Aysenur Uzun, Ferit Kilickaya

PASAA

Language assessment is one of the key factors affecting language learning contexts since it not only provides information about the learners and teachers' performance in the classroom but also shapes how languages are learned and practiced depending on how assessment is conducted. Technology, different learner profiles, problems with the existing assessment tools, learners and teachers' needs, and differences in educational settings and policy are some of the leading factors in language assessment. In order to determine the main findings and the current trends on language assessment in Turkey, this study aims to review 25 theses and dissertations that investigate various …

Critical Discourse Analysis Of Discursive Reproduction Of Identities In The Thai Undergraduates' Home For Children With Disabilities Website Project: Critical Analysis Of Lexical Selection, Melada Sudajit-Apa

PASAA

Analyzing discourses can shed light on language as a social semiotic system, the construction of identity and the operations of ideology and power. The purpose of this study is twofold. Firstly, it aims to unveil Thai fourth-year English-major students' utilization of lexical choices with connotations that enact the identities of the Baan Nontapum Foundation (BNF) or Home for Children with Disabilities, in their website project. Secondly, the study was conducted to further explore how and why those discursive strategies were utilized to construe the BNF and disability identities through the participants' lexical selection. In this study, the social model of …

The Role Of Frequency On The Acquisition Of L2 English Infinitive And Gerund Complements By L1 Thai Learners, Raksina Keawchaum, Nattama Pongpairoj

PASAA

This study investigated how frequency influenced acquisition of L2 English infinitive and gerund complements among L1 Thai learners. Participants were separated into low and high proficiency groups based on their CU-TEP scores. Each group consisted of 30 participants. Data were collected using the Word Selection Task (WST) and the Grammaticality Judgement Test (GJT). Initial findings revealed that L1 Thai learners acquired infinitive complements before gerund complements. This could probably be explained by the usage-based theory, specifically, the concept of type frequency. It was assumed that learners acquired infinitive complements first because they were considered a high type frequency construction, and …

Bridging The Gap Between Linguistic And Pragmatic Assessment In Turkish Contexts, Aysegul Takkac Tulgar, Oktay Yagiz, Turgay Han

PASAA

The purpose of this qualitative study was to reach an understanding of the perceptions and self-evaluations of faculty members and students regarding pragmatic assessment in foreign language education. The participants were the academics and students in EFL departments at six state universities in Turkey. The data were collected through six open-ended questions in which the participants were asked to provide written answers. The main findings pointed at three themes for discussion: perceptions of pragmatic assessment and its contributions to foreign language education, the challenges as well as the scope and ways of pragmatic assessment. The participants generally appreciated the contributory …

More Heads Are Better Than One: Peer Editing In A Translation Classroom Of Efl Learners, Sakolkarn Insai, Tongtip Poonlarp

PASAA

During the process of translation, students need to learn how to detect and correct errors in their translation drafts, and collaboration among themselves is one possible way to do this. As Pym (2003) has explained, translation is a process of problem-solving; translators must be able to decide which choices are more or less appropriate for the specified purpose of translation. Therefore, it is necessary for the teacher to create a learning environment that facilitates the students, not only to learn how to solve the problems, but also to be exposed to other possible solutions of those problems. This paper aims …

Pedagogical Practices In Teaching Reading Comprehension: A Case Study Of Three Efl Teachers In A Secondary School In Ethiopia, Yenus Nurie

PASAA

Various studies investigating psychological variables associated with reading comprehension are currently available. However, there has been little linguistic research conducted to examine the pedagogical practices of teachers in teaching reading comprehension of EFL Secondary Schools, Ethiopia. The present study was conducted to fill the research gap by examining the current practices of teachers in teaching reading and how the teachers handle and organize reading comprehension. This study employed a descriptive and interpretive case study design that was analyzed through qualitative methods. The data was collected from observations of the most experienced EFL teachers' best representative comprehension classes and interviews with …

What, How And Why? A Multi-Dimensional Case Analysis Of The Challenges Facing Native And Non-Native Efl Teachers, Yusuf Demir

PASAA

On a multifaceted basis, this paper explores the challenges experienced by native and non-native English language teachers (NESTs and NNESTs) in a tertiary-level EFL setting in Turkey. Adopting a qualitative case study design, the data were gathered from five NESTs through interviews and from five NNESTs through hand-written accounts based on the template for challenges in ELT (TCELT), and analysed through deductive thematic analysis. The findings showed that the NESTs and NNESTs perceive similar as well as different challenges in the language preparatory program where they are co-teaching. Student-related and institutional parameters accounted for the NNESTs' problems, whereas on the …

Exploring Thai Efl Teachers' Perceptions Of How Intercultural Communicative Competence Is Important For Their Students, Kanchana Cheewasukthaworn, Kasma Suwanarak

PASAA

In recognition of the growing volume of communication between people from different cultural backgrounds around the globe presently, this study was conducted to investigate Thai EFL teachers' perceptions toward intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in three dimensions: (i) their understanding of ICC; (ii) their views on how to integrate ICC into English language teaching; and (iii) their perceptions of ICC's contributions to learners' English communicative competence. Data were collected from sixteen Thai EFL teachers at a private university in Thailand via questionnaires and interviews. Quantitative data from the questionnaires were analyzed through descriptive statistics while the qualitative data from both the …

Multimodal Literacy: Journey Through The Collaborative Transmediation Of Wordless Picturebooks, Catherine Todd Thomson

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

With a shift towards 21st century literacy practices and a greater variety of literature, the mere definitions of literacy and text are shifting. The focus on traditional text that heavily relies on words and supporting pictures to convey meaning has changed to text of multiple modes. Teachers are now charged with fostering new skills in students in order to help them engage with these texts effectively and to allow them to make meaning of the multimodal texts that surround them (Siegel, 2006).

In this qualitative case study, the primary investigator assumed a dual role as the classroom teacher and researcher …

Adults' Engagement In Reading, Writing And Numeracy Practices, Stephen Reder

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Analyzing information from the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), this paper explores the frequency with which adults engage in reading, writing and numeracy practices and the relationship between these practices and a range of social and economic outcomes. Results are examined for the general adult populations as well as adult populations with low literacy or numeracy proficiencies. For most social and economic outcomes, levels of engagement in literacy practices appear to be as strong predictors as proficiency measures are, indicating the importance of encouraging more intense engagement in literacy and numeracy practices both in and outside of work.

Changing Publishing Ecologies: A Landscape Study Of New University Presses And Academic-Led Publishing: A Report To Jisc, Janneke Adema, Graham Stone, Chris Keene

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

Introduction

A new wave of university presses is emerging. Common characteristics are that they are open access (OA), digital first, library-based, and they often offer a smaller set of services than a traditional publisher, blurring the line between publisher and platform. In tandem, a small but notable number of academics and researchers have set up their own publishing initiatives, often demonstrating an innovative or unique approach either in workflow, peer review, technology or business model.

These new publishing initiatives have a potentially disruptive effect on the scholarly communication environment, providing new avenues for the dissemination of research outputs and acting …

A Comparative History Of Resurrection Plants, John Charles Ryan

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "A Comparative Literary History of Resurrection Plants" John Charles Ryan assembles a comparative history of resurrection plants through textual analysis of early botanical commentaries, herbal references, prose, poetry, and other sources. Resurrection plants include a diverse range of botanical species, typically of arid regions, that appear to come back to life after complete desiccation. Historical and contemporary observers—from sixteenth-century herbalist John Gerard to contemporary Australian poet John Kinsella—have expressed an abiding fascination for resurrection plants' capacity to survive harsh environmental conditions. The plants court their own deaths by paring down—then restoring—physiological processes in relation to shifting ecological …

The Representation Of Instinctive Homosexuality And Immoral Narcissism In Gide’S The Immoralist (1902) And Mann’S Death In Venice (1912), Louise Willis

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "The Representation of Instinctive Homosexuality and Immoral Narcissism in Gide’s The Immoralist (1902) and Mann’s Death in Venice (1912)" Louise Willis examines two early literary representations of homosexuality in André Gide's The Immoralist (1902) and Thomas Mann's Death in Venice (1912). She reads them with fin-de-siècle sexological theory, mainly Freud's Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (1905). Willis argues that the texts reflect the reconception of homosexuality as a latent instinct with pathological expression, rather than a sinful act of free will. The article explains that visual imagery conveys homoerotic desire, by incorporating Nietzsche's concept of …

The Indian Empire And Its Colonial Practices In South Asia, Yubraj Aryal

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "The India, Empire and its Colonial Practices in South Asia" Yubraj Aryal claims that Bharatiya discourse supports colonization in South Asia. This discourse justifies oppression of institutions, practices, of the non-Bharatiya colonized. The article examines Indian Empire's colonialism toward the weaker, smaller nations along its border and the Bharatiya ideology at the heart of the repressive empire, which is taken to represent the South Asian subcontinent. The article looks at the way in which Bharatiya is perhaps a more oppressive ideology than Orientalism and gives a glimpse into how society, culture, history, and textuality work around power …

Adoption, Cynical Detachment, And New Age Beliefs In Juno And Kung Fu Panda, Fu-Jen Chen

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "Adoption, Cynical Detachment, and New Age Beliefs in Juno and Kung Fu Panda" Fu-Jen Chen situates his study within today's prevailing climate of global consumption to argue that the 2007 film Juno—featuring an unconventional portrayal of the adoption triad and a cynical detachment from public values—not only trivializes and depoliticizes the practice of adoption but also serves as an ideological supplement to today's global capitalism. Furthermore, Kung Fu Panda 1 & 2 (2008; 2011) provide two ideological messages of contemporary New Age spirituality—"the belief in nothing" in part I, and "the attitude of inner peace" …

Memory And Identity-Focused Narratives In Tănase's 'Lived Book', Nicoleta D. Ifrim

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Memory and identity-focused narratives in Tănase's 'lived book'" Nicoleta Ifrim analyses România mea (My Romania), Virgil Tănase's first book published after the fall of Ceausescu's regime, a collection of interviews in which personal history is fictionalized according to the narrative rules of a "spoken book." The text is representative for the Eastern intellectual travelling to the West, carrying out his own personal post-totalitarian traumas now mirrored in a self-oriented narrative.

Selected Readings On Augmented Reality, Ekphrasis, And Michael Field, Robert P. Fletcher

Sight and Song Augmented: Painting and Poetry in Mixed Reality

No abstract provided.

Music As The Architect For Speech And Language: A Systematic Review, Savannah Vance

Honors Projects

It is hypothesized that before the complexity of speech and language developed, much of human communication was based on basic forms similar to music and gesture (Hamilton, 2010). Differences in pitch and tone in conjunction with expressive gestures were used in conveying excitement, fear, danger, or happiness. Today, music is used as a way to express emotions when spoken words are just not enough. As a result, many have begun to see the significant relationship between the use of music and language in human development as a whole. Specifically, some speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are learning to accept music in speech …

Creative Advertising Portfolio, Hayley E. Sunderman

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Since I was a young child, all I wanted was to draw and write. I would compose entire binders of my artwork, as well as Microsoft Word documents of the beginnings of mystery novels. As I grew older, I let my self-doubt take over and I convinced myself that I was not talented enough to pursue any type of creative career path. I came into college as a Marketing major knowing that my future career options would be fairly vast. During my junior year, I realized my strong desire to work in creative advertising. Graphic design, copywriting, photography, videography, and …

The Iallt Language Center Evaluation Toolkit: Context, Development, And Usage, Elizabeth Lavolette, Angelika Kraemer

Language Resource Center

In the summer of 2014, a committee composed of members of the International Association for Language Learning Technology (IALLT) began discussions toward accomplishing the following charge:

Design a tool that internal evaluation committees can use to evaluate and make recommendations for the improvement of their institution's language center. We emphasize the fact that it is the university appointed evaluation committee that will use this evaluation toolkit, not the language center directors themselves (although the LC Director should have input on how the toolkit should be deployed). Such evaluation committees might be composed of language department Chairs, TA/Language coordinators, Dean or …

Cracking The Code: Redefining Text Complexity, Complicating Reading Pedagogy, Creating Lifelong Readers And Learners, Sarah Bruns

Honors Program Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

What Does It Take To Learn A Language? Strategies For Teaching Esl And Japanese, Andrew Mikesell

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

ABSTRACT

This portfolio reflects what the author believes to be effective tools and methods for teaching a second or foreign language. The first section includes the author’s teaching philosophy which addresses teacher and student roles, communicative and meaningful tasks, learning environments, and the importance of literacy development. Following the teaching philosophy are three research perspective papers which discuss the use of digital storytelling as a tool for developing language proficiency, how blogs can be used to help students develop writing skills in their second language, and alternative approaches to teaching and learning kanji, which are one of three sets …

Literacy Revolution: How The New Tools Of Communication Change The Stories We Tell, Molly Gamble

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

The transmission of culture depends upon every generation reconsidering what it means to be literate. The way we consider ourselves to be a literate species is changing, which puts us at a unique turning point in human history. Verbal literacy, or the ability to read and write, is slowly being replaced by visual literacy as a primary tool for human communication. As a culture, we tend to underestimate the creative ferment of our increasingly visual world. The linear, structured pathways of traditional literacy are shifting towards a creative and participatory pursuit of unstructured information that emphasize dimensional thinking. The acceleration …

Disabled ≠ Disempowered: A Critical Framework For Analyzing The Representation Of Mental Disabilities In Young Adult Literature, Michele L. Dobbins

English Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this honors thesis, I focus on young adult novels that highlight rather than minimize the experience of having a mental disability, and I argue that this topic must be included in education and book discussions in order to create more inclusive classrooms and communities. I examine representations of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and autism in popular young adult novels, paying special focus to the way characters represent the relationship between power and disability. After reading a wide range of novels from award-winning bestsellers to reviewers’ recommendations, I noted the frequency of topics such as identity, community, institutions, and romanticization …