Anthropological report on the Ibo-speaking peoples of Nigeria.

pt. I. Law and custom of the Ibo of the Awka neighbourhood, S. Nigeria.--pt. II. English-Ibo and Ibo-English dictionary.--pt. III. Proverbs, narratives, vocabularies and grammar.--pt. IV. Law and custom of the Ibo of the Asaba district, S. Nigeria.--pt. V. Addenda to Ibo-English dictionary.--pt VI. Proverb, stories, tones in Ibo.

‘Neutral, native-like or authentic’ : Investigating attitudes and beliefs of expanding circle speakers of English

The status of English as the language of international communication is by now well-established. However, in the past 16 years, research has tried to emphasize the fact that the English spoken in international contact situations and between people with other first languages than English has different needs than the English spoken locally amongst native speakers, resulting in the emergence of English as a lingua franca (ELF) as a scholarly field. However, the impact of findings in ELF has so far only led to a moderate shift in English language teaching. Especially in expanding circle countries, where ELF should have the biggest impact, change is only gradually becoming palpable. Accent and pronunciation, as one of the biggest factors on both identity and mutual intelligibility (Jenkins 2000; 2007) are at the root of discussion. The scope of this study is therefore to examine accent choices and the extent to which native speaker ideology informs the preferences of ten speakers of ELF and 27 German natives with experience in international communication. Both ethnographical and sociolinguistic methods, as well as auditory analysis have been applied and conducted. The auditory analysis of six variables in the recorded speech production of the ten speakers suggests that there is no significant preference of one norm-giving variety over the other. Rather, speakers tend to mix-and-match General American- and Standard Southern British English-like features in their pronunciation. When reporting their accent ideals, the idea of a ‘neutral’ English accent is mentioned by four participants. Neutral accents seem to have been understood as ‘unmarked accents’. Expressed beliefs on their own English pronunciation show a comparatively high level of reflection on and confidence in their own production. Results from a rating task and a survey given to 27 German participants reveal attitudes that are more negatively stacked. While Germans reported openness towards NNS (non-native speaker) accents and showed awareness of the priority of intelligibility over accent choice in both their own and others’ pronunciation, they still largely reported NS accent preference. The ratings of the production from ten ELF speakers confirmed this and showed that ‘neutral’ is equated with native-like. In the light of these findings, issues are discussed that ultimately relate to the influence of NS Englishes, identity and the development of English as an international language.

Nations and organizations:a comparative study of English and Indian work-related attitudes and values in matched manufacturing firms

This thesis reports a cross-national study carried out in England and India in an attempt to clarify the association of certain cultural and non-cultural characteristics with people's work-related attitudes and values, and with the structure of their work organizations. Three perspectives are considered to be relevant to the objectives of the study. The contingency perspective suggests that a 'fit' between an organization's context and its structural arrangements will be fundamentally necessary for achieving success and survival. The political economy perspective argues for the determining role of the social and economic structures within which the organization operates. The culturalist perspective looks to cultural attitudes and values of organizational members for an explanation for their organization's structure. The empirical investigation was carried out in three stages in each of the two countries involved by means of surveys of cultural attitudes, work-related attitudes and organizational structures and systems. The cultural surveys suggested that Indian and English people were different from one another with regard to fear of, and respect and obedience to, their seniors, ability to cope with ambiguity, honesty, independence, expression of emotions, fatalism, reserve, and care for others; they were similar with regard to tolerance, friendliness, attitude to change, attitude to law, self-control and self-confidence, and attitude to social differentiation. The second stage of the study, involving the employees of fourteen organizations, found that the English ones perceived themselves to have more power at work, expressed more tolerance for ambiguity, and had different expectations from their job than did the Indian equivalents. The two samples were similar with respect to commitment to their company and trust in their colleagues. The findings also suggested that employees' occupations, education and age had some influences on their work-related attitudes. The final stage of the research was a study of structures, control systems, and reward and punishment policies of the same fourteen organizations which were matched almost completely on their contextual factors across the two countries. English and Indian organizations were found to be similar in terms of centralization, specialization, chief executive's span of control, height and management control strategies. English organizations, however, were far more formalized, spent more time on consultation and their managers delegated authority lower down the hierarchy than Indian organizations. The major finding of the study was the multiple association that cultural, national and contingency factors had with the structural characteristics of the organizations and with the work-related attitudes of their members. On the basis of this finding, a multi-perspective model for understanding organizational structures and systems is proposed in which the contributions made by contingency, political economy and cultural perspectives are recognized and incorporated.

Supporting English language teachers doing further degrees at a distance:a web based strategy researched

This thesis explores how the world-wide-web can be used to support English language teachers doing further studies at a distance. The future of education worldwide is moving towards a requirement that we, as teacher educators, use the latest web technology not as a gambit, but as a viable tool to improve learning. By examining the literature on knowledge, teacher education and web training, a model of teacher knowledge development, along with statements of advice for web developers based upon the model are developed. Next, the applicability and viability of both the model and statements of advice are examined by developing a teacher support site (bttp://www. philseflsupport. com) according to these principles. The data collected from one focus group of users from sixteen different countries, all studying on the same distance Masters programme, is then analysed in depth. The outcomes from the research are threefold: A functioning website that is averaging around 15, 000 hits a month provides a professional contribution. An expanded model of teacher knowledge development that is based upon five theoretical principles that reflect the ever-expanding cyclical nature of teacher learning provides an academic contribution. A series of six statements of advice for developers of teacher support sites. These statements are grounded in the theoretical principles behind the model of teacher knowledge development and incorporate nine keys to effective web facilitation. Taken together, they provide a forward-looking contribution to the praxis of web supported teacher education, and thus to the potential dissemination of the research presented here. The research has succeeded in reducing the proliferation of terminology in teacher knowledge into a succinct model of teacher knowledge development. The model may now be used to further our understanding of how teachers learn and develop as other research builds upon the individual study here. NB: Appendix 4 is only available only available for consultation at Aston University Library with prior arrangement.

Utilising fiction to promote english language acquisition

Towards the end of the university stage, students residing in the United Arab Emirates and specialising in subjects other than English are expected- amongst other university requirements- to have acquired adequate communicative competence as well as a repertoire of critical thinking skills. Despite the efforts made within the field of teaching English to EFL university students in the country, the output gained in terms of acquired skills and competencies is still below expectations. The main concerns of the current thesis are, therefore, a) to investigate the factors which inhibit EFL university students’ progress in the areas of acquiring adequate communicative competence as well as critical thinking skills, and b) to propose a course book and pedagogic methods to improve students’ progress in the areas of acquiring adequate communicative competence as well as critical thinking skills. Believing in the essential role literature plays in enhancing critical thinking and promoting communicative competence on the part of EFL learners, the current study introduces a course, designed and implemented by the researcher: LEARN AND GAIN. The proposed course is fiction-based language teaching, adopting the view that literature is a resource rather than an object, thus advocating the use of literature as one of the main resources in foreign/second language acquisition. Investigating whether or not the proposed course was effective in promoting EFL university students’ communicative competence as well as enhancing their critical thinking skills, a study sample taken from the study population was selected. Adopting an experimental design, the research project involved two groups: experimental and control. The experimental group students were exposed to the proposed course whilst the control group students were exposed to a general English language course. To examine treatment effectiveness, the researcher set and administered a pre-post test. Divided into two main parts, communicative critical reading competence and communicative critical writing competence, the pre-post test measured subjects’ communicative critical reading competence and subjects’ communicative critical writing competence. In addition, a pre-post questionnaire was administered and a semi-structured interview was conducted involving the experimental group students, to gain an awareness of students’ attitudes towards learning literary texts in general, and the proposed course in particular. To examine issues of interest and relevance, gender differences: male vs. female, and university major: science vs. non-science, were also examined for enrichment purposes. For the purpose of gathering sufficient data about subjects’ achievements on the pre-post, the following statistical tests were conducted: Mann-Whitney test, and paired data t-test. Based on the statistical findings, the experimental group students’ performance on the communicative critical reading competence pre-post test and the communicative critical writing competence pre-post test was significantly better than their counterparts of the control group students. Speaking of gender differences in relation to language performance on the communicative critical reading competence pre-post test and the communicative critical writing competence pre-post test, no significant differences were cited. Neither did the researcher cite any significant performance differences between science/non-science students on the communicative critical reading competence pre-post test and the communicative critical writing competence pre-post test. As far as the questionnaire’s findings are concerned, the experimental group students’ responses to the post-questionnaire’s items were more positive than those of their responses to the pre-questionnaire’s, thus indicating some positive attitudes towards literature, which students possibly gained throughout the course of implementation. Relating the discussion to the interview’s results, students conveyed their satisfaction with the proposed course, emphasising that promoting English language skills through the use of literary texts was rewarding. In the light of findings and conclusions, a number of recommendations as well as implications have been proposed. The current study aimed to arrive at some appropriate suggestions to a number of enquiries, yet concluding with some areas of enquiry to be explored for further research.

West Midlands English:Birmingham and the Black Country

This volume focuses on the closely allied yet differing linguistic varieties of Birmingham and its immediate neighbour to the west, the industrial heartland of the Black Country. Both of these areas rose to economic prominence and success during the Industrial Revolution, and both have suffered economically and socially as a result of post-war industrial decline. The industrial heritage of both areas has meant that tight knit and socially homogeneous individual areas in each region have demonstrated in many respects little linguistic change over time, and have continued to exhibit linguistic features, especially morphological constructions, peculiar to these areas or now restricted to these areas. At the same time, immigration from other areas of the British Isles over time, from Commonwealth countries and later from EU member states, together with increased social mobility, have meant that newly developing structures and more widespread UK linguistic phenomena have spread into these varieties. This volume provides a clear description of the structure of the linguistic varieties spoken in the two areas. Following the structure of the Dialects of English volumes, it provides: •A comprehensive overview of the phonological, grammatical and lexical structure of both varieties, as well as similarities between the two varieties and distinguishing features •Thorough discussion of the historical and social factors behind the development of the varieties and the stigma attached to these varieties •Discussion of the unusual situation of the Black Country as an area undefined in geographical and administrative terms, existing only in the imagination •Examples of the variety from native speakers of differing ethnicities, ages and genders •An annotated bibliography for further consultation

Unresolved issues and new challenges in teaching English to young learners:the case of South Korea

The introduction of languages, especially English, into the primary curriculum around the world has been one of the major language-in-education policy developments in recent years. In countries where English has been compulsory for a number of years, the question arises as to what extent the numerous and well-documented challenges faced by the initial implementation of early language learning policies have been overcome and whether new challenges have arisen as policies have become consolidated. This article therefore focuses on South Korea, where English has been compulsory in primary school since 1997. The issues raised by the introduction of English into the primary curriculum are reviewed and the current situation in South Korea is investigated. The results of a mixed methods study using survey data from 125 Korean primary school teachers, together with data from a small-scale case study of one teacher are presented. The study shows that, while some of the initial problems caused by the introduction of early language learning appear to have been addressed, other challenges persist. Moreover, the data reveal the emergence of a number of new challenges faced by primary school teachers of English as they seek to implement government policy. © 2013 © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

Teaching English to young learners in Europe:teachers' attitudes and perspectives

The introduction of languages into the primary curriculum has been the major development in language-in-education policy around the world over the last 20-25 years. In the vast majority of countries the language taught is English and it is being taught at an ever-earlier age. A relatively large amount of research has been carried out in Asia into teaching English to young learners (TEYL) from the point of view of language policy and planning and of policy implementation, especially in terms of the gap between policy and practice caused by the introduction of new methodologies such as communicative language teaching. However, to date far less research has been carried out into the situation in Europe, particularly concerning the attitudes of those most closely involved in policy implementation - the teachers themselves. This chapter examines the attitudes of teachers in six European countries (Italy, Latvia, Macedonia, Poland, Spain and Ukraine), uncovering the challenges they face and the changes they would like to see enacted to improve English language learning and teaching in their countries. The implications for policy, planning and teacher education are also discussed.

Effects of a modified English listening comprehension curriculum on students' achievement in English listening comprehension at Tamsui Oxford University College in Taiwan

Due to increased international trade, English as a foreign language is important to Taiwan. However, ESL teaching and learning in Taiwan emphasizes reading and writing skills only. ESL teaching in Taiwan causes students to lack competence in complete communication. Improving students' listening and speaking is a vital issue in Taiwan. ^ The purposes of this study are to determine the effects of a modified curriculum for the English listening comprehension course, to investigate whether the modified curriculum results in a significant improvement in student's listening comprehension, and to determine whether students were motivated to increase listening comprehension ability as a result of the new listening activities. An experimental and a control group, randomly assigned, received either the modified or the traditional curriculum at Tamsui Oxford University College (TOUC) in Taiwan over a fourteen week period of time. ^ A Michigan Listening Comprehension posttest was used to determine the difference in achievement between the two groups. A final examination was conducted to compare the two groups' achievement and to determine whether the goal of increasing listening comprehension achievement by using a modified curriculum was met. Subjects completed two questionnaires, one common form prior to class and another unique form for each group at the end of instruction. ^ Frequency distribution, chi-square, t-test for independent samples and analysis of covariance were used to analyze the data. The findings indicated that there were no significant differences in students' attitude and interest in English listening comprehension between those who were taught with an English listening modified curriculum compared with those students who were taught with a traditional curriculum. The findings also indicated that there was a difference in the final examination with the control group taught using the traditional curriculum scoring higher than the experimental group taught using the modified curriculum for performance in English listening comprehension, but there was no difference in scores on the Michigan Listening Comprehension Test (posttest). In addition, it was found that learning attitude and motivation influence students' learning. ^

Roadblocks to Teaching English as a Foreign Language in a Climate of Accelerated Curricular Change

This paper examines the global "English craze," in which non-Englishspeaking countries, especially in Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East, are engaged in a concerted push to get the language taught more widely and at increasingly lower grade levels. The goal of this paper is to document how this phenomenon has impacted teachers of English as a Foreign Language and how they can try to alleviate these problems.

Vocabulary learning through use of the picture-word inductive model for young English learners in China: A mixed methods examination using Cognitive Load Theory

English has been taught as a core and compulsory subject in China for decades. Recently, the demand for English in China has increased dramatically. China now has the world's largest English-learning population. The traditional English-teaching method cannot continue to be the only approach because it merely focuses on reading, grammar and translation, which cannot meet English learners and users' needs (i.e., communicative competence and skills in speaking and writing). ^ This study was conducted to investigate if the Picture-Word Inductive Model (PWIM), a new pedagogical method using pictures and inductive thinking, would benefit English learners in China in terms of potential higher output in speaking and writing. With the gauge of Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), specifically, its redundancy effect, I investigated whether processing words and a picture concurrently would present a cognitive overload for English learners in China. ^ I conducted a mixed methods research study. A quasi-experiment (pretest, intervention for seven weeks, and posttest) was conducted using 234 students in four groups in Lianyungang, China (58 fourth graders and 57 seventh graders as an experimental group with PWIM and 59 fourth graders and 60 seventh graders as a control group with the traditional method). No significant difference in the effects of PWIM was found on vocabulary acquisition based on grade levels. Observations, questionnaires with open-ended questions, and interviews were deployed to answer the three remaining research questions. A few students felt cognitively overloaded when they encountered too many writing samples, too many new words at one time, repeated words, mismatches between words and pictures, and so on. Many students listed and exemplified numerous strengths of PWIM, but a few mentioned weaknesses of PWIM. The students expressed the idea that PWIM had a positive effect on their English teaching. ^ As integrated inferences, qualitative findings were used to explain the quantitative results that there were no significant differences of the effects of the PWIM between the experimental and control groups in both grade levels, from four contextual aspects: time constraints on PWIM implementation, teachers' resistance, how to use PWIM and PWIM implemented in a classroom over 55 students.^

English Language Learners: A Correlational Study of the Relationship Between A Proficiency Level Assessment and End of Course Test Scores at one Georgia High School

Understanding the language of one’s cultural environment is important for effective communication and function. As such, students entering U.S. schools from foreign countries are given access to English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs and they are referred to as English Language Learner (ELL) students. This dissertation examined the correlation of ELL ACCESS Composite Performance Level (CPL) score to the End of Course tests (EOCTs) and the Georgia High School Graduation Tests (GHSGTs) in the four content courses (language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies). A premise of this study was that English language proficiency is critical in meeting or exceeding state and county assessment standards. A quantitative descriptive research design was conducted using Cross-sectional archival data from a secondary source. There were 148 participants from school years 2011-2012 to 2013- 2014 from Grades 9-12. A Pearson product moment correlation was run to assess the relationship between the ACCESS CPL (independent variable) and the EOCT scores and the GHSGT scores (dependent variables). The findings showed that there was a positive correlation between ACCESS CPL scores and the EOCT scores where language arts showed a strong positive correlation and mathematics showed a positive weak correlation. Also, there was a positive correlation between ACCESS CPL scores and GHSGT scores where language arts showed a weak positive correlation. The results of this study indicated that that there is a relationship between the stated variables, ACCESS CPL, EOCT and GHSGT. Also, the results of this study showed that there were positive correlations at varying degrees for each grade levels. While the null hypothesis for Research Question 1 and Research Question 2 were rejected, there was a slight relationship between the variables.

Performing "Up The Shore": a stylistic analysis of Newfoundland Irish English vowels in the Ferryland dinner theatre

This study is a variationist sociolinguistic analysis of two speech styles, performance and interview, of a dinner theatre troupe in Ferryland on the Southern Shore of Newfoundland. Five actors and ten of their characters are analyzed to test if their vowels change across styles. The study adopts a variationist framework with a Community of Practice model, drawing on Bell’s audience and referee design to argue that the performers’ stage conventions and identity construction are influenced by a third person referee: the Idealized Authentic Newfoundlander (IAN). Under this view the goal of the performer is to both communicate with and entertain the audience, which requires different tactics when speaking. These tactics manifest phonetically and are discussed in a quantitative, statistical analysis of the acoustic measurements of the vowel tokens [variables FACE, KIT, LOT/PALM and GOAT lexical sets with Newfoundland Irish English (NIE) variants] and a qualitative discussion.

Vocabulary Learning through Use of the Picture-Word Inductive Model for Young English Learners in China: A Mixed Methods Examination Using Cognitive Load Theory

English has been taught as a core and compulsory subject in China for decades. Recently, the demand for English in China has increased dramatically. China now has the world’s largest English-learning population. The traditional English-teaching method cannot continue to be the only approach because it merely focuses on reading, grammar and translation, which cannot meet English learners and users’ needs (i.e., communicative competence and skills in speaking and writing). This study was conducted to investigate if the Picture-Word Inductive Model (PWIM), a new pedagogical method using pictures and inductive thinking, would benefit English learners in China in terms of potential higher output in speaking and writing. With the gauge of Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), specifically, its redundancy effect, I investigated whether processing words and a picture concurrently would present a cognitive overload for English learners in China. I conducted a mixed methods research study. A quasi-experiment (pretest, intervention for seven weeks, and posttest) was conducted using 234 students in four groups in Lianyungang, China (58 fourth graders and 57 seventh graders as an experimental group with PWIM and 59 fourth graders and 60 seventh graders as a control group with the traditional method). No significant difference in the effects of PWIM was found on vocabulary acquisition based on grade levels. Observations, questionnaires with open-ended questions, and interviews were deployed to answer the three remaining research questions. A few students felt cognitively overloaded when they encountered too many writing samples, too many new words at one time, repeated words, mismatches between words and pictures, and so on. Many students listed and exemplified numerous strengths of PWIM, but a few mentioned weaknesses of PWIM. The students expressed the idea that PWIM had a positive effect on their English teaching. As integrated inferences, qualitative findings were used to explain the quantitative results that there were no significant differences of the effects of the PWIM between the experimental and control groups in both grade levels, from four contextual aspects: time constraints on PWIM implementation, teachers’ resistance, how to use PWIM and PWIM implemented in a classroom over 55 students.

Children's TV and Digital Media in the Arab World

Who analyses children’s screen content and media use in Arab countries, and with what results? Children, defined internationally as under-18s, account for some 40 per cent of Arab populations and the proportion of under-fives is correspondingly large. Yet studies of children’s media and child audiences in the region are as scarce as truly popular locally produced media content aimed at children. At the very time when conflict and uncertainty in key Arab countries have made local development and diversification of children’s media more remote, it has become more urgent to gain a better understanding of how the next generation’s identities and world-views are formed. This interdisciplinary book is the first in English to probe both the state of Arab screen media for children and the practices of Arabic-speaking children in producing, as well as consuming, screen content. It responds to the gap in research by bringing together a holistic investigation of institutions and leading players, children’s media experiences and some iconic media texts. With children’s media increasingly linked to merchandising, which favours US-based global players and globalizing forces, this volume provides a timely insight into tensions between differing concepts of childhood and desirable media messages.