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Neoliberal Branding and the Commodification of Language: English as the Language of Success in Advertisements for Language Centre in Pakistan

Iftikhar Khan — 2024-08-02

Neoliberalism, an economic system rooted in free markets and market-driven policies, extends the concept of commodities beyond traditional goods to domains such as language. In this framework, the English language is assigned exchange value and is marketed as a commodity within neoliberal economies. This phenomenon is prominently observed in advertisements of language centers, where English is branded as essential for success. Drawing upon Bourdieu's theory of linguistic capital (1991, 1997), this study adopts an interpretivist paradigm and employs qualitative research methods. English language center advertisements were selected through purposive sampling, and Kress and van Leeuwen's multimodal model (2006) serves as the analytical framework. The study finds that language centers actively promote English proficiency as a means to empower individuals in the linguistic marketplace. These advertisements consistently portray English as a language of success, positioning it as a gateway to career advancement and personal development. However, some advertisements also employ tactics to influence potential clients by disseminating accurate information.

Folklore Storytelling: A Study into the Effectiveness of Traditional Short Story for Enhancing Vocabulary Development in EFL Learners

Aplonia Nelci Ke Lomi — 2024-09-06

This study explores the effectiveness of integrating traditional short stories into English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction to enhance vocabulary development among eighth-grade students in South Amarasi. Employing a mixed-methods design, the research assesses the impact of storytelling on vocabulary acquisition by administrating pre-test and post-test assessments to 26 junior high school students. The results indicate a significant 20% improvement in vocabulary knowledge following the intervention. Qualitative insights gathered from teacher interviews reveal several critical findings. Teachers reported challenges in integrating cultural values into the teaching, particularly due to limited resources. Nonetheless, they confirmed that storytelling and visual media are instrumental in enhancing vocabulary acquisition and cultural awareness among students. The use of traditional stories not only makes learning more engaging but also helps students relate new vocabulary to their cultural backgrounds. The research highlights the pedagogical benefits of storytelling in EFL instruction and suggests that this approach effectively supports both vocabulary development and cultural literacy. The study recommends further research with larger sample sizes and cross-cultural comparisons to gain a deeper understanding of the long-term effects of storytelling on language proficiency and cultural literacy, especially in similar suburban Indonesian contexts.

The Implementation of Autonomous Learning through Multimedia Oral Presentation to Develop Students’ Language Skills

Supriadi Supriadi — 2024-09-07

Autonomous learning has been implemented in various disciplines. In English Language Teaching (ELT), implementing autonomous learning through multimedia oral presentation could be one of the major strategies to develop students’ language skills. This study aims to investigate the implementation of autonomous learning through a multimedia oral presentation as well as its challenges and obstacles fostering the significant development of language skills among students at an Islamic university. The study involved thirteen students majoring English Education regarded as students of the Z generation. The primary data was obtained through a video project-based multimedia oral presentation, a semi-structured interview with open-ended questions. The observation of the videos with note taking and comments on YouTube were used as secondary data. Through a descriptive qualitative approach, a content analysis technique was used to investigate to what extent the implementation of autonomous learning through a multimedia oral presentation develops students’ language skills. The study found that the students’ performances ranged from competent to somewhat competent in their vocabulary and content coverage; and competent to minimally competent in their grammatical accuracy, pronunciation, comprehensibility, and presentation skills. Implementing the students’ autonomous learning did not significantly develop their language skills due to students' lack of language proficiency, the absence of feedback, technical challenges, time constraints, and motivation. This suggests that the implementation of students’ autonomous learning with guidance is necessary to raise students’ language proficiency and minimize the obstacles and challenges, and various technological tools with technical and practical strategies should be familiarized with the students.

Examining Mobile-assisted Language Learning as an Autonomous Writing Tool for Indonesian Secondary EFL Students

Adriani Yulia Purwaningrum — 2024-10-15

The integration of technology into education has illuminated new dimensions of English Language Teaching (ELT) practices. Although technology-assisted language learning has been introduced in the EFL context for some time, its application as an autonomous learning tool for teaching writing skills remains underdeveloped. This study aims to examine the impact of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) when employed as an autonomous learning tool on EFL students’ writing skills. Utilizing a qualitative case study design, data were collected through observations, interviews, and document analysis. The findings were categorized into two main themes; the degree of autonomy achieved and the students’ learning behaviors. The results indicate that the advantages of MALL significantly contributed to enhancement of students’ autonomous writing skills, as evidenced by an increase in the average writing score from 57.25 to 67.7. This study concludes that both the benefits and limitations of MALL implementation must be considered, as they present significant impacts and potential challenges in achieving a high-quality ELT classroom. Finally, the insights from this study may provide valuable guidance for teachers seeking to incorporate MALL into their writing classroom.

Students' Perceptions about the Impact of AI Chatbots on their Vocabulary and Grammar in EFL Writing

Winia Waziana — 2024-10-22

The rapid integration of AI technologies in education necessitates understanding their potential effects on language acquisition and proficiency, particularly in writing—a critical skill for EFL learners. This study aimed to investigate the types of Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots and scrutinize the students' perceptions about the impact of AI chatbots on their vocabulary and grammar in EFL writing. Using a mixed method, this study involved 100 undergraduate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students from five universities in Indonesia, highlighting the various AI chatbots they employed in their digital activities. Data collection consisted of questionnaires, interviews, and observation sheets which were analyzed using quantitative descriptive statistics and qualitative thematic analysis. ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Bing Chat, Ernie, Character AI, Discord Bot, Wren, and Ginger emerged as the most widely used chatbots among the students, with reasons such as helpfulness, work simplification, skill and knowledge transfer, and ease of use serving as the primary motivations for their use. The findings revealed that a significant majority of students experienced substantial improvements in their vocabulary range, syntactic variety, and writing quality when using these AI chatbots. They also unanimously reported AI chatbots had a major positive impact on their language proficiency, particularly in the areas of vocabulary and grammar used in writing. The results of this research suggest that incorporating AI chatbots can be advantageous for improving the writing skills of EFL students. The study also addressed its shortcomings and offered recommendations for future research.

The Impact of Gender-Specific Cultural Knowledge and English Proficiency on the Reading Comprehension of Saudi EFL Undergraduates

Usman Shah — 2024-10-20

The present study aimed to examine the impact of gender-specific background knowledge and language proficiency on reading comprehension among Saudi EFL undergraduate students at Majmaah University. The primary method of data collection was quantitative, involving two culturally distinct texts – one familiar and one unfamiliar to the participants. The research design included 120 second-year undergraduate students (60 males and 60 females) majoring in English at Majmaah University. The study employed a quantitative approach, with statistical analyses conducted utilizing regression models to explore the relationships between gender, language proficiency, and reading comprehension scores. The findings revealed several gender-related factors influencing reading comprehension, including social and cultural influences that may affect students’ understanding of texts. These findings suggest that teachers can modify curricula and instructional methods to account for these factors, while teacher training programs should incorporate elements of language development and cultural competency. Furthermore, promoting inclusivity in education can be achieved by revising policies and implementing tailored student support programs. Future research is required to investigate additional relevant factors and conduct cross-cultural comparisons. In particular, further studies should investigate the effects of multicultural reading materials currently used in EFL instruction on undergraduate students' reading comprehension and language proficiency.

Language Choice in Multilingual Speech Communities: A Sociolinguistic Study in the Wetland Area, Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan

FATCHUL MU'IN — 2024-11-13

The Banjar language is locally predominant in Banjarmasin City, whereas Indonesian is primarily used in educational and governmental settings. Research on language choice often centers on single-ethnicity groups, examining their use of mother tongues, national languages, or languages with colonial influence. This study, however, investigates the impact of cultural, social, and political factors on language choice within multiethnic communities – each with its own native language - across family, educational, and government domains. Using a mixed-methods approach with questionnaires and in-depth interviews, the study reveals the following findings: (a) Banjar speakers predominantly use the Banjar language at home and in public spaces but shift to Indonesian outside of the household, avoiding other regional language. (b) Members of the Dayak community favor either Banjar or Indonesian over their native language. (c) The Madurese, Bugis, and Minangkabau communities primarily use their native languages at home but prefer Indonesian or Banjar in public settings. (d) Javanese and Sundanese speakers use their native languages domestically but switch to Indonesian or Banjar in external interactions. In educational settings, (a) teachers predominantly use Indonesian for instruction and professional meetings, while (b) students use both Indonesian and Banjar. Within governmental contexts, sub-district employees use Indonesian in informal interactions with guests and Banjar in formal situations. These findings underscore important implications for fostering both local languages and Indonesian within educational and governmental framework.