Language Institute Research Articles

Экспедиционная деятельность А. С. Луковцева по исследовательской работе «Термины охоты и рыболовства якутского языка»

The aim of the study is to identify the terminological potential of the Yakut lexical units selected from unpublished materials resulting from the expeditionary activity of A. S. Lukovtsev, a junior research fellow at the Lexicology and Lexicography Sector of the Institute of Language, Literature and History of the Yakut subsidiary of the Siberian branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in the 1970s. The paper examines the Yakut lexical units belonging to the sphere of hunting and fishing extracted from archival materials to ascertain whether they can be used in the creation of specialized dictionaries. The study is novel in that it is the first to determine the terminological suitability and potential of using the Yakut lexical units belonging to the sphere of hunting and fishing identified by A. S. Lukovtsev. The results have shown that the vocabulary selected from the materials considered is a valuable resource for the development of the terminology of the Sakha language, especially in the sphere of hunting and fishing. The use of the selected lexical units in the compilation of a terminological dictionary of hunting and fishing of the Yakut language will make it possible to convey the specifics of these types of activities within the framework of the culture and traditions of the Sakha people more accurately and to a fuller extent.

New English Study Material for the Bachelor’s Degree Students of Biomedicine

Abstract This article attempts to depict the development of the new English study material for bachelor’s degree students of Biomedicine at the Technical University of Ostrava (VŠBTUO). This material is being created in accordance with the new concept of teaching English at the Institute of Languages VŠB-TUO, which aims to reflect the needs of students of a given field, i.e. above all to build and extend their knowledge in the field of specific professional vocabulary and develop their listening and communication skills. Firstly, the article introduces briefly the institutional conditions and barriers that have influenced the choice, use and design of study materials used at the Institute of Languages of the VSB-TUO. Secondly, the overall structure of the material is dealt with. Thirdly, the criteria set for the material to be met including its technical features following from its electronic nature and interconnection with Learning Management System (LMS) are presented.

Udmurt Folklore Material in the Folklore Archives of the Estonian Literary Museum and Its Collectors: A Brief Review

The digitisation and preservation of language and folklore sound collections are highly relevant issues for many archival institutions in the Russian Federation. The folklore archive of the Udmurt Institute of History, Language and Literature in Izhevsk has not been an exception to this. The first folklore and language recordings on analogue magnetic tapes appeared in the early 1960s. In subsequent years, local folklorists and linguists made numerous expeditions to survey all areas of Udmurtia and the neighbouring regions where the Udmurts lived. Estonian researchers also participated in the recording of the Udmurt language and folklore during expeditions both in Estonia and outside. The article covers the joint efforts of Estonian and Udmurt scholars in collecting Udmurt folklore and language materials, which are currently stored at the Estonian Folklore Archives.

Larsen-Freeman’s Writings in Teacher-Preparation Grammar Courses: Indispensable Resources for all Levels

Diane Larsen-Freeman’s work plays a crucial role in teacher preparation for second and foreign language instructors. Her work is useful with a variety of populations, including preservice teachers preparing to work with English language learners in elementary and secondary education; graduate students preparing to work in public or private language institutions; students with teaching experience who are preparing to direct teacher training, and others. In particular, her work on “grammaring” continues to be an essential basis for determining which activities are the most beneficial for learner language development. A major strength in Dr. Larsen-Freeman’s work is her ability to bridge the gap between theory and practice, to connect to language instructors in a clear, practical way that also gets at the heart of our best understanding of how language learning takes place. In this article, I outline the various ways my courses incorporate Dr. Larsen-Freeman’s work, with examples of particular activities that are inspired by her articles, The Grammar Book, and Grammar Dimensions, the textbook series she directs.

Measuring Integrativeness as a Motivation for Second-Language Acquisition of Arabic in Learners at Saudi Arabia’s Arabic Language Institutes

Integrativeness, or the desire a second-language (L2) learner to integrate into their target L2 community, has been shown to be a strong motivation toward L2 learning. Aspects of identity, such as desire to learn a liturgical language (LL) associated with the L2 learner’s religion, or the level of ability for the L2 learner to develop a clear vision of their future L2 self, have also been shown to be strong L2 motivators. Arabic is the LL of Islam, and it is also the heritage language (HL) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Although levels of integrativeness will likely greatly impact L2 learning progress among learners at these ALIs, currently, an instrument does not exist for accurately measuring integrativeness into the target L2 community in KSA. The objective of this study was to develop a new instrument to measure Saudi integrativeness in L2 Arabic learners from KSA ALIs Diploma Programs. A total of 66 learners in three of the ALIs Diploma Programs completed the instrument. Twenty-three items were reduced to 16 through factor analysis, which revealed the following subscales: intellectual integrativeness, social integrativeness, remote admiration, and anti-integrativeness. While most of the sample was Muslim and displayed high levels of social and intellectual integrativeness and were interested in learning about cultural topics, they also placed priority on the quality of the classroom environment. The ALI classroom environment could be negatively impacted by a predominance of learners with anti-integrative attitudes, who are also less likely to be motivated and succeed at the individual level.

Communicating Your Way Through Clashing Cultures

This article examines the handling of Socially Acute Questions (SAQs) in the English language classroom. SAQs have been described as complex and controversial issues that are considered acute in society, in research and professional domains, and in educational contexts. Although intercultural communicative competence (ICC) is being encouraged by our educational authorities, teachers feel at a loss as to how to achieve that learning outcome in their teaching-learning units (TLUs). Many of them have encountered problems and even conflict when trying to deal with SAQs. Even though they are struggling with a sense of frustration, they continue to consider that addressing such issues in their TLUs is key to 21st-century education. In this article, a customizable toolbox is proposed that second language (L2) teachers can draw from to foster and facilitate constructive intercultural dialogue when dealing with SAQs in their increasingly diverse English language classrooms. It starts off with a literature review providing perspectives on SAQs from transdisciplinarity, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), and the Pedagogy of Encounter. It continues with an introduction to safe spaces, brave spaces, and story circles, as well as an overview of relevant concepts from cross-cultural pragmatics. The methods section then gives a detailed action-research-driven account of a racist incident that occurred in the author’s intervention group, a conversation class at the language institute of Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Belgium. Drawing from the literature review as well as the case study, and in the absence of institutional support to handle SAQs appropriately, the article concludes with a proposal for a customizable SAQs toolbox, meeting the stakeholders’ (the L2 learners’ and teachers’) academic expectations as well as emotional needs. Little or no work has been done so far on how to deal with SAQs in tertiary education. The actionable roadmap proposed in this article tries to bridge that gap. Even though the case study focuses on racism in the English language classroom, the customizable toolbox can be adapted across languages, academic disciplines, and other forms of discrimination.

Intersection of Gender, Globalization, and Religion in Local and Globalized ELT Textbooks in Iran

This paper examines gender representation in two textbook series: Solutions, published by an international publisher, and the Iran Language Institute (ILI) series, written by local writers. Evidence of gender representation is drawn from the analysis of their religious content in the narrative texts and the illustrations. The analysis of gender representation is guided by six criteria: visibility in pictures, visibility in text, firstness, character activity, occupations, and topic dominance. The findings indicate that in both textbook series, males exhibit greater visibility and dominance in relation to character and occupation. The gender representation varies significantly. These results substantiate previous investigations conducted elsewhere, highlighting the gender imbalance in textbook representation. The examination of gender representation at the intersection of religion in local textbooks also revealed that intersectionality in social sciences can further perpetuate gender bias in educational materials. These findings serve as a call to action for textbook authors and education policymakers to prioritize gender equality representation within the context of religion and globalization in language education textbooks authored by local writers. This research holds implications for language teaching approaches fostering intercultural competence, specifically in English as a lingua franca.

Hinderance or Assistance: A Case Study on the Application of First Language (L1) in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Classroom at an English Language Institution

L1 use inside EFL classrooms has been a topic of continuous discussion for a considerable period of time, with no prevailing opinion about its impact and extent within L2 (second language) learning environments, particularly within Chinese language institutions. The primary objective is to address the current gap in research and acquire a thorough comprehension of the true effects of L1 use in an EFL classroom. This was achieved through the observation of a specific teaching scenario and conducting an interview with the instructor. Data were classified using Tasçi and Aksu’s nine functions of L1 use. The results suggest that the most often observed functions of L1 in the context of education include imparting instruction, translating new terms, and attracting attention. Additionally, it was found that L1 is most frequently used during the vocabulary section and in the middle of each instructional session. Furthermore, the interviewed teacher expressed the belief that L1 usage in the classroom has positive effects, since it serves many functions and should be tailored differently depending on the students' levels of skill. This study implies that the inclusion and promotion of L2 in the EFL setting is advantageous, as learners can considerably benefit from a language immersion environment. However, L1 can still be used when deemed essential. Furthermore, during instructional sessions, educators have the opportunity to engage in reflective practices to assess the alignment between their pedagogical strategies and their intended instructional objectives.

Vienojuma, pretstata un šķīruma saikļi Lejaskurzemes izloksnēs

The article analyses the use dynamic of cumulative, adversative, and disjunctive conjunctions in sub-dialects of Lower Kurzeme in the 20th – 21st centuries, based on the survey data of the Atlas of Latvian Dialects (ALD) in comparison with the texts in the collections of Kurzeme Institute of Humanities at Liepāja University and Latvian Language Institute at the University of Latvia, and published texts. The texts of the latest sources are written down by hand or recorded in the speaker’s conversation with the interviewer, which allows us to determine the use of connecting words in live speech. It is concluded that in the second half of the 20th century and the 21st century, the coordinating conjunctions characteristic of Latvian literary language dominated the sub-dialects of Lower Kurzeme (an observation made in the ALD survey already in the middle of the 20th century). The conjunction i < ir in the second half of the 20th century and the 21st century is much rarer than un but has not disappeared entirely from everyday speech and is usually used to connect several equal components, e.g. in Rucava, a riteni braûcu uz dârbu: piêci kilometri i rîtâ, vakarâ, i pusdiênâ. In the ALD survey, the conjunction bet dominates in the expression of the contrary, although in some sub-dialects, dialectal conjunctions have been recorded (abar in Rucava, aba in Grobiņa). In the second half of the 20th century and the 21st century in Lower Kurzeme, the colloquial adversative conjunction a is also in use, e.g. in Bārta, cic izvãra un sastampâ tuõs kartfeļus, a mana mamma vis:us kuõpîgi vãrija. In the ALD survey, as well as in the second half of the 20th century and the 21st century in Lower Kurzeme, mostly the conjunctions vai // va and jeb are used to express disjunction; jeb is more uncommon, it has both an explanative meaning, e.g. in Gramzda, ķeblis jeb kraģîtis – tas tâc krêsliņš mas:, kur pasēdēt, and a disjunctional meaning, e.g. in Rucava, gã a kũrpemis jeb pastalamis. The amount of available texts yet does not allow for quantitative research on the choice of coordinating conjunctions and the use of coordinating conjunctions not mentioned in the ALD.

The Effect of Emotional Intelligence and Self-Efficacy Awareness on EFL Teachers’ Pedagogical Practices: A Qualitative Study in the Saudi EFL Context

The study aims to explore the EFL Saudi teachers’ perceptions of awareness of emotional intelligence (EI) and self-efficacy. It aims to explore the EFL teachers’ awareness of EI and self-efficacy that might influence their performances in EFL classrooms. Moreover, the study examines EI and self-efficacy strategies used by EFL teachers to aid them in their classrooms. The study uses a qualitative paradigm by collecting data using two tools: a workshop and follow-up semi-structured interviews. The data were collected at a Saudi university’s English Language institute. The sample consisted of six Saudi EFL teachers. The findings reveal that teachers have positive perceptions of the awareness of EI and self-efficacy. In addition, teachers utilized their social surroundings in attempting to understand their students’ needs to facilitate the learning process. Despite being unfamiliar with technical terms, teachers’ responses were aligned with the cornerstones of EI and self-efficacy. Teachers emphasized the role of gaining knowledge through their experiences which thus helps them in their pedagogical practices. Based on the findings of the study, pedagogical implications and future research recommendations were suggested.

Unveiling the Impact of Journal Writing on EFL Teachers’ Professional Growth

This study aimed to explore and document language teachers’ beliefs and perceptions of journal writing as a tool for improving their practice and enhancing their professional growth. The significance of reflective journals in improving professional practice has been widely reported in pre-service teacher education research. However, research on in-service English as a foreign language teachers’ perceptions of teaching journals has yielded competing views, and it remains an underexplored area. Prompted by this, a qualitative research design was adopted to document language instructors' perceptions of and experiences using teaching journals in their daily lives. Four female English language teachers from the English Language Institute (ELI) at a university in Saudi Arabia participated in a two-week journal writing intervention to reflect on and document their experiences. The findings drawn from the focus-group interviews revealed that the participants had both positive and negative experiences with teaching journals but, for the most part, found journal writing to be a valuable tool for reflecting on their teaching and enhancing their professional growth. Additionally, the participants reported some challenges encountered in integrating journal writing, including lack of time, miscommunication with superiors, lack of motivation, and heavy workload. The study also discusses recommendations for using journals for classroom practitioners and professional development researchers.

Bulgarian language policy

ABSTRACT The paper presents some general facts about Bulgarian, which is spoken by over 8 million people all over the world and is the official language of the Republic of Bulgaria. It is shown that language diversity within the country has been relatively constant and modest over the last 90 years (with a clear dominance of Bulgarian). The focus of the paper is the presentation of the legislation in Bulgaria that regulates language teaching and use in different spheres of life, the main activities of the national institute of language, and the role of language education. The main findings are as follows: There is no dedicated Bulgarian Language Act. Instead, over 100 legislative acts govern issues concerning the usage and study of the Bulgarian language. The Institute for Bulgarian Language at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences supports the Bulgarian state’s language policy through: researching the present state, history, and dialect variety of the Bulgarian language; monitoring changes in written and spoken language; publishing grammars and dictionaries; and developing language resources and technologies. The key factors that influence language education in Bulgaria include early childhood education and care, equity in education and educational outcomes, and the rise of new learning styles.

The Role of Target Culture in English Language Education: EFL Teachers’ Perspectives

This research inquired into the ways in which EFL teachers think of the role of target culture in English language education. Of special interest in this research was the issue of whether teaching the target culture is seen as important when it comes to English language learning and teaching in EFL contexts or not. Equally important was the question of whose target culture is taught. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with ten EFL teachers at different language institutes: five were from Khartoum, Sudan and five from Tehran, Iran. The interview questions, which were formulated after extensive reading of germane literature, explored themes related to culture and its role in English language education. The main and most important finding of the research indicates that EFL teachers think that it is necessary to teach elements of the target culture that are not at odds with their local cultures. Another related finding is that the target culture is conceptualized in monolithic terms and is equated with American and British cultures.

Problems on the path of formation of local self-government in France

The article is devoted to defining the peculiarities of the genesis of local self-government in France. The peculiarities of the formation of local self-government in the countries of continental law, in particular France and Ukraine, are determined. A superficial comparative analysis of the implementation of the powers of local self-government bodies in Ukraine and France at various stages of the countries’ development was conducted. The article states that the then French system of local self-government did not fully implement the principle of electability of all bodies and officials of local self-government, and at the end of the XIX century. this criterion was considered the main characteristic of administrative decentralization and began to be applied even to departmental self-government. It was noted that French society actively discussed the issue of the direction of the further development of the local self-government system. The scientific article contains information about forms of self-government similar to France in Belgium and Italy; in comparison with England, the state system of France should be considered not a democracy, but a bureaucracy. The article mentions the French revolution, the struggle against regionalism, the elimination of provinces and the creation of a new system of districts. The strengthening of the regionalization process, which went into decline only by the middle of the 20th century, is analyzed. The constant interest in the system of local self­government in France, especially the period of the French Republic, when a model of local self-government with broad representation, based on secret, universal, equal suffrage, was first proposed (during the 19th - early 20th centuries in Europe) is emphasized. The article states that the attitude towards the French model of local self-government depended on the perception of France itself, which sometimes led to a distorted perception of its organization of local self-government. The tendency is especially noticeable in the works of German political scientists and legal scholars. It was determined that the concepts of local self-government and decentralization of power were not distinguished and detailed in France, so due to the confusion of terms during administrative decentralization, the development of the system of self-government as a political institution of language in France was somewhat behind. It was established that the negative attitude towards the French system of local government, which developed during the period of the second monarchy and was supported by German jurists and political scientists, persisted even after the reform of 1871.
 It was concluded that the development and formation of local self-government in France had its own problems, but this did not prevent it from arriving at an effective both legislative and practical model of the exercise of powers by local self-government bodies.

Investigating the association of informal digital learning of English with EFL learners’ intercultural competence and willingness to communicate: a SEM study

Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE), such as watching online videos, playing games, or chatting with English speakers beyond the classroom, has received increasing attention over recent years as a potential source of intercultural competence (IC) and second language willingness to communicate (L2 WTC) development among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. However, little is known about how IDLE influences IC and L2 WTC among EFL learners, who face various challenges and opportunities in learning and using English in Iran. Thus, this research examined the relationship between IDLE and IC and L2 WTC in Iranian EFL learners. For this purpose, the study was conducted with the participation of 325 EFL learners from a language institute in Arak City, Iran, who were selected using convenience sampling. The participants completed the Digital Informal Learning Scale, the Intercultural Competence Scale, and the Willingness to Communicate Questionnaire. The results of the structural equation modeling revealed that IDLE had a significant positive association with both IC and L2 WTC. Further, the results indicated that IDLE dimensions, such as cognitive, meta-cognitive, social, and motivational aspects were significantly related to IC and L2 WTC. The findings approve that promoting IDLE among Iranian EFL learners could enhance their intercultural awareness and communication skills.

Challenges for Multilingual Writers in Pakistan: Issues and Implications of Linguistic Diversity and Complex Language Landscape

Pakistan’s multilingual linguistic diversity is shaped by its colonial past and post-independence history. After gaining independence, Pakistan's major languages were Urdu, English, Punjabi, and Saraiki. However, multiple languages have posed challenges for multilingual writers. One of them is the lack of a standardized orthography for regional languages, making it difficult for writers to produce texts in their native languages. The prevalence of Urdu and English has resulted in a language hierarchy where these languages are seen as superior to regional languages. In the face of these challenges, the establishment of language authorities, such as the National Language Authority and the Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture, aim to promote and standardize regional languages. Efforts are being made towards the betterment of these writers. Promoting and standardizing regional languages and recognizing multilingualism as an asset can contribute to a more inclusive and representative society in Pakistan.

한·중 대등합성어 대조 연구

The purpose of this study is to examine the corresponding types of Korean-Chinese equivalent compound words based on a list of Korean equivalent compound words derived from the literature research method. To this end, a total of 34 Korean equivalent compound words that are educationally meaningful for Chinese learners were selected based on the Korean learning vocabulary list of the National Language Institute in Korea. Next, the list of Korean equivalent compound words was categorized into three types: 8 complementary compound words, 16 contiguous compound words, and 10 overlapping compound words. Finally, the corresponding types of Korean-Chinese equivalent compound words were presented in nine different cases. This study is significant in that it compiled a list of Korean equivalent compound words that differ from Chinese equivalent compound words based on the semantic relationships of the components, and further analyzed the corresponding types of KoreanChinese equivalent compound words in nine detailed cases.

Discourse markers in L2 learners' responses to teacher‐generated compliments during classroom interaction

AbstractThis study explores discourse markers (DMs) as they occur with compliment responses (CRs) in classroom interactions among Iranian learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). Using the tenets of conversation analysis, this paper draws on data from teacher–student interactions in several private language institutes in Iran. After audiorecording and transcription of the compliment–response exchanges, 148 DMs were identified within the responses. These sequences were analyzed to find out how DMs are combined with four distinct CR types; accept, mitigate, reject, and request interpretation. DMs were also identified and categorizedbased on their frequency of occurance and semantic features to allow comparison with previous findings. The results of this study revealed that Iranian EFL learners resorted to a limited number of DMs in responses to teacher‐generated compliments, with “linking” DMs being the most favorable type. Moreover, some DMs were accompanied by a specific CR type which helped the formation of an intended illocutionary force by the complimentee. It was also observed that a DM or a combination of these markers can stand alone as a legitimate and functional response to compliments, which further reveals that DMs can contribute to both semantic and pragmatic meaning. These findings clearly suggest that explicit teaching of DMs in English language classes should be taken into consideration, as these linguistic elements can provide learners with important tools to convey their intended meaning more smoothly and effectively.

A critical discourse analysis of ELT institutional contradictions in language policy and recruitment in Japan

This paper analyses a series of websites of language institutions in Japan and highlights the consistent contradictions between the language policies advertised and the recruitment of non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) conducted. I did a qualitative website study that involved an analysis of the most in-demand ELT companies and organizations in Japan. The websites were of ELT institutions, which were a mix of private institutions that teach for profit, and organisations that are mediators in supplying teachers (Assistant Language Teachers–ALTs) for schools around the country. The aim of this was to compare and contrast the discourse in language ideology with recruitment policies at these companies regarding NNESTs. Conducting a study of these companies’ websites enabled me to find and highlight trends in recruitment and language ideologies where I found a series of inconsistencies but also some encouraging trends in moves towards a more global outlook in teacher recruitment and discourse ideology. At the heart of the analysis was the question of whether a move towards more NNEST recruitment was due to changes in language ideology or economic necessity. The increase in non-native English-speaking teacher recruitment in Japan would be an encouraging development in attitudes and policy if it was related to a recognition of how the linguistic landscape in the 21st century is evolving but it seems apparent that economic factors are the motivating factor.

COMMUNICATIVE DICTATION FOR ADULT FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC CONTEXTS

Dictation is an effective tool in facilitating foreign language acquisition. But traditional dictation, while having some benefits for acquiring a foreign language, was neither engaging for students nor did it focus on the actual, real world communication that is fundamental to the communicative approach of today. Dictogloss introduced communicative dictation and has been used widely in classrooms around the world. But, however dictation is done in the classroom, it can 1) feel to adult learners at least somewhat like something for children and 2) even when designed for adults, typical dictation topics can be perceived to be more at home in a language institute than an academic university setting. This paper will summarize types of traditional dictation, outline the characteristics of dictogloss and how it is an improvement on traditional dictation, review some of the research on its additional benefits for acquiring a foreign language, and suggest how it can be used at the university level.