Gender-dependent language anxiety in Polish communication apprehensives

This paper analyzes the relationship between communication apprehension and language anxiety from the perspective of gender. As virtually no empirical studies have addressed the explicit influence of gender on language anxiety in communication apprehensives, this paper proposes that females are generally more sensitive to anxiety, as reflected in various spheres of communication. For this reason, language anxiety levels in communication apprehensive females should be higher, unlike those of communication apprehensive males. Comparisons between them were made using a student t test, two-way ANOVA, and post-hoc Tukey test. The results revealed that Polish communication apprehensive secondary grammar school males and females do not differ in their levels of language anxiety, although nonapprehensive males experience significantly lower language anxiety than their female peers. It is argued that the finding can be attributed to developmental patterns, gender socialization processes, classroom practices, and the uniqueness of the FL learning process, which is a stereotypically female domain.

Sytuacja komunikacyjna w kulturze archaicznej a symboliczność komunikacji

Celem niniejszego artykułu jest wskazanie i przedyskutowanie (z perspektywy filozofii komunikacji i teorii komunikacji) kilku konsekwencji wynikających z badań nad fenomenem komunikacji. Oprócz zagadnień związanych z filozoficznym ujęciem procesu komunikacji podejmuje się również problematykę wyłonienia się myślenia metafizycznego w starożytnej Grecji. Artykuł ten jest próbą wskazania warunków, które należy spełnić, aby prowadzić filozoficznie uprawnioną refleksję nad procesem komunikacji. Całość została podzielona na trzy główne działy: w pierwszym są prezentowane dwa poziomy rekonstrukcji sytuacji komunikacyjnej w kulturze archaicznej; w drugim rozważa się zagadnienie początków relacji symbolizowania oraz zjednoczenia myślenia i działania. Trzecia część poświęcona jest źródłom myślenia metafizycznego oraz symboliczności komunikacji. Najistotniejszy wniosek wynikający z rozważań zawarty w artykule dotyczy nie-symbolicznego ujęcia procesów komunikacyjnych.

Rorty's Elective Affinities. The New Pragmatism and Postmodern Thought

The present book is devoted to "European connections of Richard Rorty's neopragmatism". The theme, chosen carefully and intentionally, is supposed to show the motivation behind the writing of the present work, as well as to show its intended extent. Let us consider briefly the first three parts of the theme, to enlighten a little our intentions. "European" is perhaps the most important description for it was precisely that thread that was most important to me, being the only context seriously taken into account, as I assumed right from the start that I would not be writing about rather more widely unknown to me - and much less fascinating (even to Rorty, the hero of the story) from my own, traditional, Continental philosophical perspective - American analytic philosophy. So accordingly I have almost totally skipped "American" connections (to use the distinction I need here) of Rorty's philosophy, that is to say, firstly, a years-long work within analytic philosophy, secondly struggles with it on its own grounds, and finally attempts to use classical American, mainly Deweyan, pragmatism for his own needs and numerous polemics associated with it - the questions that are far away from my interests and that arise limited interest among reading and writing philosophical audience in Poland, and perhaps also among Continental philosophers. It did not seem possible to me to write a book on Rorty in his American connections for they are insufficiently known to me, demanding knowledge of both post-war American analytic philosophy as well as pragmatism of its father-founders. I could see, setting to work on Richard Rorty, that a book on his American connections (leaving aside the issue that it would not be a philosophical problem but rather, let us say, the one of writing a monograph) written by a Polish philosopher in Poland and then in the USA was not a stimulating intellectual challenge but rather a thankless working task. Besides, having spent much time on Rorty's philosophy, writing extensively about him and translating his works, I already knew that the "Continental" context was extremely important to his neopragmatism, and that thinking about it could be relatively prolific (as opposed to the context potentially given by American philosophy).