International Journal of Language and Literary Studies

Literature Review Related to Cultural Identity Challenges of ESL Learners in African Rural Contexts

2025-10-09T07:31:33+00:00

This systematic review examines the complex relationship between cultural identity and English as a Second Language (ESL) acquisition in African rural contexts. A comprehensive literature search strategy was conducted across multiple academic databases, from which 127 peer-reviewed studies published between 2010 and 2024 were identified. Through an analysis of relevant theoretical frameworks and a purposively selected sample of 49 empirical studies, this examination synthesizes current understanding of how rural African learners navigate cultural identity challenges while acquiring English proficiency. The review integrates psychosocial theories, sociocultural learning theory, social learning theory, and postcolonial perspectives to provide a multidimensional understanding of the intersections between identity and language. The findings reveal that rural African ESL learners face unique challenges, including cultural identity conflicts, community resistance, intergenerational tensions, and limited culturally responsive pedagogical resources. They suggest that successful ESL acquisition in rural African contexts necessitates culturally responsive approaches that validate local identities while promoting English proficiency development. This review contributes to the growing body of literature on culturally sustaining pedagogy and provides recommendations for educators, policymakers, and researchers working in African rural educational contexts. The implications extend beyond language learning to encompass broader questions of cultural preservation, educational equity, and sustainable development in rural African communities.

Memory Through Sahrawi Oral Poetry: The Path to Cultural Emancipation in Morocco

2025-09-23T14:11:08+00:00

This paper examines Sahrawi Hassani oral poetry as a vital site for negotiating cultural memory, identity, and resistance in Morocco’s Saharan regions. Drawing on memory studies and border-poetics theory, it argues that Hassani's verse operates as a living cultural archive that challenges colonial narratives portraying the Sahara as separate from Morocco. The study situates Hassani poetry within its nomadic origins—performances under the khaima (tent) that transmitted genealogies, moral codes, and heroic histories—and shows how these verses historically resisted Spanish colonial strategies that exploited local customs to legitimize territorial separation in Rio de Oro and Sidi-Ifni.

The paper reviews existing scholarship (Deubel, Lopez Martin, Bubrik, among others) and highlights its own contribution by foregrounding the shared cultural heritage and political bordering processes that shape Sahrawi identity. It further analyzes the digital transformation of this oral tradition, demonstrating how YouTube festivals, such as Khaymat al-Shi?r and Layali Azawan al-Sahra, reterritorialize memory in virtual space and expand their audience to diasporic and global communities.

MTB-MLE Classroom Interactions: A Pedagogical Analysis of Language Functions Among Meranaw Grade 1

2025-02-15T06:59:27+00:00

This naturalistic research was undertaken with the intention of analyzing the pedagogical linguistic functions of actual classroom interaction settings among Grade 1 students. It aimed to observe how MTB-MLE is actually used in classroom interactions, specifically among the multilingual Grade 1 Maranao students in Marawi City and Lanao del Sur. Employing an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, classroom interactions were recorded and analyzed using the UAM Corpus Tool and Flanders' Interaction Analysis Categories. These are broadly classified into two groups in this study: 1) Teacher-related categories — teacher asks questions, the teacher gives direction, the teacher criticizes, the teacher gives a lecture, and the teacher repeats the pupil's answer verbatim, and 2) Pupil-related categories — pupil-talk response and pupil-talk initiation. Quantitative analysis revealed a prevalent teacher-dominated discourse, characterized by frequent questioning and directives, across both public and private schools. However, qualitative analysis revealed a stark contrast in MTB-MLE implementation: public schools predominantly used Meranaw, which fostered more student-initiated talk, while private schools heavily favored English. As these are both forms of positive reinforcement, which is the only popularly endorsed type of extrinsic motivation, the adequate attention or low valuation accorded them is deemed a loss for teachers who probably do not realize well enough the importance of motivation and the advantages accruing from the optimal use of this as a critical factor in the teaching-learning environment. These findings suggest that while teacher questioning remains a key pedagogical strategy, its dominance may limit student-initiated discourse. Furthermore, the variable implementation of MTB-MLE highlights challenges to policy uniformity, which may impact students' linguistic development. The study underscores the potential of the mother tongue to foster engaging learning environments in public schools. Recommendations include a stronger mandate and support for the equitable implementation of MTB-MLE across all school types, comprehensive teacher training in multilingual pedagogy, the development of high-quality Meranaw-based resources, and the alignment of assessment practices with MTB-MLE principles. Further research is needed to explore the long-term impact on academic achievement and to investigate teacher language use patterns in more detail. This study contributes valuable insights into the micro-level dynamics of MTB-MLE implementation in a specific multilingual context, informing policy and practice for enhanced language education.

Adinkra Symbols and Political Communication: Analysing President John Mahama’s Inaugural Apparel on 7th January, 2025.

2025-08-10T14:30:48+00:00

Adinkra Symbols and Political Communication: Analysing President John Mahama’s Inaugural Apparel on 7th January, 2025.

Isaac Horsu, PhD¹, De-Love Anobah Opare², Adwoa Sikayena Amankwah, PhD³, Emmanuel Kyei, PhD⁴

¹,^2&3Department of Communication Studies, University of Professional Studies, Accra, Ghana

⁴Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Mampong, Ghana

^???? email: ekyei@aamusted.edu.gh

ABSTRACT

The Akan people view Adinkra symbols as metaphoric expressions of their experiences, embodying their cultural identity. The study focused on how Akan Adinkra symbols serve as a means of communication in the socio-political context of Ghana. The study explored the meaning of the adinkra symbols printed in President John Dramani Mahama's apparel during his inaugural ceremony on the 7^th of January, 2025 as the President of Ghana. The study qualitatively analysed the symbols, highlighting their socio-political implications to show how they communicate in the political atmosphere. Framed as a visual rhetorical analysis, the research highlights the representation of Ghanaian culture and identity through Adinkra symbols, demonstrating their relevance beyond traditional contexts and into socio-political discourse. The study concludes that President John Dramani Mahama's selection of Adinkra symbols for his inaugural apparel was a persuasive act of visual rhetoric, symbolising unity, resilience, and divine guidance for Ghana's future. The study enhances critical thinking and raises awareness of the importance of visual rhetoric in socio-political engagement and advocacy.

Rasa Across Cultures: Applying Rasa Theory to Shakespearean Drama

2025-10-16T18:59:46+00:00

The present article explores the applicability of Bharata Muni’s rasa theory, as articulated in the Natyashastra, to the dramatic works of William Shakespeare, particularly his tragedies Othello, Hamlet, and Macbeth, and his late romances Cymbeline and The Tempest. While Western criticism, rooted in Aristotelian poetics, has traditionally emphasized structure, causality, and catharsis, later approaches, such as Marxist critique, foreground psychology or socio-political conflict. In contrast, rasa theory offers a distinct interpretive framework that privileges aesthetic experience and emotional universality. By closely analyzing Shakespeare’s plays through specific rasas, such as karuna (pathos), raudra (anger), srngara (love), soka (sorrow), and shanta (tranquility), among others, the study reveals how Shakespeare orchestrates not only narrative conflict but also deeply affects experiences that transcend historical and cultural contexts. Unlike Aristotelian catharsis, which purges emotions, rasa theory transforms them into shared aesthetic enjoyment, allowing audiences to savour universal sentiments beyond individual psychology or ideology. This comparative method demonstrates that Shakespeare’s art, when viewed through rasa, participates in a global aesthetics of emotion, situating his works within a broader intercultural dialogue that affirms the enduring power of drama to evoke beauty, wonder and transcendence.

Essay Writing Challenges among First-Year Early Grade Education Students: A Case Study at Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development

2025-09-24T13:10:34+00:00

Essay writing is a key component of language learning and development. Over time, writing has enhanced students’ linguistic proficiency and communication skills. However, students often encounter difficulties that hinder their ability to produce effective essays. This study aims to identify and assess the essay-writing challenges faced by first-year Bachelor of Early Grade Education students at the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development. A closed-ended questionnaire comprising 37 items was administered to 21 participants. The study examined five major challenges: plagiarism, grammatical errors, lexical difficulties, inadequate planning, and a lack of confidence. Findings revealed that lexical challenges were the most prevalent (M = 2.92), whereas grammatical errors were the least common (M = 2.3 on a 4-point Likert scale). The study concludes that the major obstacle to students’ writing performance is their limited vocabulary and difficulty using contextually appropriate diction. Recommendations are provided to improve students’ writing competence through targeted pedagogical interventions.

Exploring Moroccan Teachers’ Perspectives on Integrating ChatGPT into Higher Education Curriculum

2025-10-12T06:09:02+00:00

This study explores Moroccan teachers’ perspectives on ChatGPT-Assisted Language Teaching in higher education. It examines the various factors and barriers influencing the integration of ChatGPT into teaching practices. This study is framed within Technology Acceptance Model (Davis,1989). TAM encompasses the constructs that this study aims at exploring: Perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived risk (PR), attitude and actual use (ChatGPT practices). An online questionnaire was administered to 50 professors in different Moroccan universities. Descriptive statistics show that most professors hold favorable perceptions of integrating ChatGPT in teaching practices. Notably, key barriers to ChatGPT adoption include ethical concerns, lack of training, and insufficient AI knowledge. Correlational analysis shows that PU and PEU significantly influence the actual use of ChatGPT. In contrast, there is no significant correlation between perceived risk and use. This study suggests that offering AI-training programs could enhance the integration of ChatGPT in Moroccan academia.

Word Order Variation in Spoken Saudi Arabic: A Pragmatic Approach

2025-10-09T22:25:09+00:00

One aspect in which languages vary is their differing patterns of word ordering in sentences. Some languages follow a restrictive word order, whereas others allow a flexible word order that does not affect the semantics of the text. In the literature, the Arabic language is deemed one of the flexible or “free word order” languages, which allow both VSO and SVO word orders without changing a clause’s meaning. The present study aims to identify the pragmatic (morpholexical and discourse) factors that play a significant role in determining the variable subject-verb word order in spoken Saudi Arabic. A corpus-based approach was taken by collecting a sufficient amount of natural spoken Saudi utterances for analysis. The corpus contains data collected from six recorded Saudi Arabic TV interviews with Saudi personalities in which the guests related personal stories about their social and practical lives. A classification system proposed by Owens et al. (2009) was adopted as a study tool to distinguish between the diverse factors that may predict the variant word order in spoken Saudi Arabic and to determine whether any relationship exists between such factors. The study found that the distributions of SV and VS word orders in spoken Saudi Arabic are similar, with a slightly higher percentage in SV word order (58% SV vs. 42% VS), and that the morpholexical class of subjects significantly predicts word order. The findings also indicate that discourse-pragmatic functions play an important role in predicting word order.

A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Code-switching and Code-mixing in Radio and Online Advertisement Jingles in Nigeria

2025-02-23T00:39:08+00:00

The study of the linguistic phenomena of code-switching and code-mixing has been extended from conversations and music to advertisement jingles because multilingual codes are needed in advertisement jingles to reach or meet the intensely multilingual and multicultural nature of the Nigerian society without which, effective transferring of information about products and services to the diverse categories of people in the Nigerian society would be futile and just a waste of time. The objectives of this study are to identify the types of code-switching used in the selected Southwestern Nigerian Radio advertisement jingles and Online advertisement jingles and to find out the most dominant type of code-switching used in the advertisement. The primary source of data was drawn from 60 code-switched advertisement jingles collected from 30 radio commercials and 30 online advertisements on YouTube through purposive random sampling technique. The 30 radio jingles were collected from 12 radio stations in the Southwestern states in Nigeria which are Osun, Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, Ekiti and Lagos. In each of the states, a private radio station and a public radio station were selected. The design of the study is both quantitative and qualitative. It is quantitative because it showed the frequency of occurrence of the types of code-switching which is determined through simple percentile and quantitative because it discussed the reasons why the advertisers used the types of code-switching. The results showed that the three types of code-switching were present in the advertisement jingles with 129 (43%) instances of inter-sentential code-switching, 162 (54%) instances of intra-sentential code-switching and 8 (3%) instances of tag switching. Intra-sentential code-switching was prominently used by the advertisers which reflect their high level of bilingual proficiency and their linguistic skills of unifying codes in ensuring an effective dissemination of information to the listeners. The study recommended that these linguistic practices of code-switching and code-mixing should be used by advertisers when marketing their products and services so as to solve the challenge of multilingualism in the context of advertising.

Morphosemantic Analysis of the Pseudonyms of Disc Jockeys (D.J.) in the City of Ouagadougou: The DJ's Pseudonym Between Ostentation and the Quest for Celebrity

2025-09-27T16:05:34+00:00

This article focuses on the pseudonyms used by a category of artists called disc jockeys (D.J.). It aims to analyze the sociolinguistic characteristics of these pseudonyms and the linguistic dynamics that emerge from them. The analysis from a morphological and semantic perspective revealed the nature, form, and linguistic origin of these designations. The pseudonyms of disc jockeys are intended both to distinguish the bearers and to increase their popularity. The pseudonyms refer to the names of film actors, music artists, and political figures. The writing of this article uses the tools of sociolinguistics through a qualitative method. Cultural actors, nightclub owners, and disc jockeys were interviewed about pseudonyms and their ostentatious characteristics through an interview guide.

The Mask and the Play as Conceptual Components of M. Frisch’s Prose

2025-10-02T12:43:48+00:00

The article explores the existentialist problem of duality and the search for one’s own identity in the prose of the Swiss writer Max Frisch. According to M. Frisch, a man should “define himself” in such a way that he can accept his ego, should find his role and his place in society according to his subjective view, even if it goes against the generally accepted norms and principles. “Mask” and artistic “role-playing”, as the main concepts of the writer’s prose, are “tools” and conductors of the author’s ideas. The author emphasizes the possibility and even the necessity of freedom of choice, which is achieved through “changing roles” and “changing masks”. Diary entries, which are of exceptional importance in the writer’s work, in the analyzed novels depart from the genre specificity, characteristic of both personal and literary diaries, and become part of the general “game” of the narrative. It is the diary “memories” that gives the author the opportunity for a sharp and unexpected change of different angles and perspectives. Reality in M. Frisch’s novels is so skillfully intertwined with virtuality that it is difficult to find the line where the author’s sincere monologue with himself ends and the author’s play of imagination begins.

Conscience and Conformity: Societal Roles and Individual Actions in Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden Party” and George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”

2025-10-18T17:53:36+00:00

Through a comparative analysis of Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden Party” (1922) and George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” (1936), this paper argues that both authors uncover how social conformity—rooted in class and empire—systematically suppresses moral autonomy and distorts human conscience. While Mansfield situates her critique within postwar English social hierarchies and Orwell within the structures of British colonial power, both reveal how societal expectations dictate behavior and distort moral agency. Through qualitative, interpretive, and comparative analysis grounded in modernist ethics and postcolonial criticism, the study argues that both authors expose the performative mechanisms by which social order sustains itself—through the silencing of conscience and the valorization of conformity. By juxtaposing Mansfield’s domestic modernism with Orwell’s colonial narrative, this research contributes to the broader literary discourse on morality and power by identifying a shared ethical trajectory between two seemingly disparate traditions. It reveals that class and empire operate as parallel systems of coercion that compel individuals toward moral compromise. The paper thus advances the understanding of early twentieth-century literature as a site where aesthetic form becomes an instrument of ethical inquiry, bridging modernist and postcolonial studies through the theme of conscience under constraint.

Psychological and Sociological Impacts of Male Chauvinism on Women in Beyond The Horizon and So Long A Letter

2025-09-28T21:05:11+00:00

This study explores the psychological and sociological impacts of male chauvinism on women in Amma Darko’s Beyond the Horizon and Mariama Bâ‘s So Long a Letter. Using radical feminism and narcissistic theory as lenses, the paper qualitatively employs a textual analysis of the two novels to show how male chauvinism, as a belief that sees men as superior to women, and the oppression and relegation of women in patriarchal African societies, psychologically and sociologically greatly impacts women. The study reveals that emotional trauma, depression, loss of self-esteem, identity crisis, fragmentation of women, deep scars of psychological oppression, male superiority over women, economic disempowerment, and loss of autonomy are the main psychological and sociological impacts on women. The paper concludes by summarizing male chauvinism’s psychological and sociological implications before recommending women's empowerment in African societies as a shield to male chauvinism.

Ecocriticism and Sacred Space in Raja Alem’s The Dove’s Necklace: Urban Transformation and Cultural Displacement in Mecca

2025-10-17T11:59:53+00:00

This study analyzes The Dove’s Necklace by Raja Alem from an ecocritical perspective, focusing on the novel’s depiction of the dynamic, often antagonistic, relationships between modernity, cultural memory, and environmental conflict in Mecca. The novel’s critique of cultural and ecological consequences of development is set amidst rapid changes to the urban fabric of the Saudi state as per Vision 2030. The problem addressed in this research relates to the scant attention given to ecocriticism within contemporary Saudi literature, most especially literature that deals with sacred urban spaces. The study is qualitative in nature. It uses thematic and textual analysis within the framework of five interconnected ecocritical themes to analyze urbanization and environmental degradation, the conflict of modernity and tradition, the significance of the natural world in cultural and spiritual identity, the human-nature dynamic, and the environmental degradation and loss in the personal and collective psyche. The ecological and cultural disruption is demonstrated by the literary figures of the vanished doves, the lost deserts of the ancestors, and the streets of Mecca. This study contributes to the field of ecocriticism, especially for non-Western scholars, by juxtaposing Western scholarship on ecocriticism and Islamic environmental ethics. The study provides evidence of literature’s ability to articulate urban change’s impact on cultural discontinuity and addresses issues of interest to researchers, teachers, and policymakers on the intersections of urban development, cultural sustainability, and then, of course, literature.

Retrieving Sources in the Digital Age: Information Literacy Skills among Moroccan English Department Students

2025-10-16T13:27:36+00:00

This study examines the development of source retrieval skills among students in the English department at Moroccan universities. It draws on data from the Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (SAILS) test. This research aims to identify the performance trends of students and instructional gaps related to the skill of retrieving sources. The population is undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students. Descriptive and ANOVA analyses revealed variation among the groups. The doctoral students outperformed the others but still demonstrated moderate proficiency in general. The weaknesses across all levels highlight primarily the limited integration of information literacy skills into English studies curricula. Therefore, the findings indicate that there is a tendency for retrieving source skills to improve with academic progression; however, they are often acquired through faculty's informal practices rather than through structured instruction. This means that these gains are only marginal and unsystematic. The findings also emphasize the need for targeted and specific pedagogical interventions and closer collaboration between faculty and librarians to maximise the students’ research competencies. As it shows on Moroccan policy documents, this study also situates these challenges within the country's efforts to enhance digital and academic literacy in higher education.

Literacy ‘Resettlement Stories’ of South Sudanese Refugees in Australia

2025-09-18T13:37:16+00:00

The early years of the twenty-first century were a distinctive period in the history of Australia’s hospitality to refugees from Sudan and South Sudan. Significant numbers of South Sudanese refugees arrived in Australia in the decade 2000–2010. Although these numbers later decreased, commitments were made by the Australian government to provide refugee-sensitive initiatives to settle refugees successfully. This study explores the literacy resettlement experiences of South Sudanese refugees in Australia between 2000 and 2010, examining how diverse literacy practices shaped their resettlement experiences. Highlighting the challenges and opportunities these refugees faced in adapting to a new linguistic and cultural environment, this paper shows that these refugees engaged in a range of informal, non-formal and formal literacy practices—including in Adult Migrant English Program language classes—that were significant for their resettlement journeys. Understanding these refugees’ literacy resettlement experiences can be both empowering and challenging experiences, can provide valuable insights into their integration process.

The Role of Saudi Animation in Preserving and Reviving Saudi Cultural Identity

2025-10-18T21:56:01+00:00

Amid the dominance of Western animation—which often imposes idealised beauty norms, rigid gender roles, and orientalist depictions of Arabs—Saudi animation is emerging as a countercultural force reclaiming local narratives. This paper critically examines Ya’rub, a Saudi animated series rooted in mythology and heritage, to analyze how it reconstruct Saudi identity through indigenous storytelling. By drawing on identity theory, postcolonial theory, and feminist critiques of media, this analysis reveals that Ya’rub reframes gender by portraying intellectually and morally empowered female figures, reclaims folklore as a source of national pride, and integrates scientific imagination within culturally grounded framework. These strategies collectively challenge Western hegemonic aesthetics and position Saudi animation as a site of epistemic resistance and creative nation-building. The findings highlight how Ya’rub employs mythic imagination and cultural pedagogy to cultivate self-awareness, reassert cultural authenticity, and promote a multidimensional Arab identity.

Evaluating the Teaching Performance in the English Language Proficiency Program at Al-Ahgaff University in the Light of Quality Assurance Standards from Students' Perspectives

2025-11-04T06:43:40+00:00

English Language Proficiency Programs (ELPPs) have proliferated in Yemeni tertiary institutions due to the Ministry of Higher Education's requirement that all students intending to enroll in graduate programs in Yemen should obtain certification in the English language. The present study aims to evaluate the teaching performance in the ELPP at Al-Ahgaff University in light of quality assurance standards. It investigates students' perceptions of implementing the indicators of teaching performance based on quality assurance standards in the ELPP. This study employed a descriptive quantitative method, utilizing a questionnaire distributed to the participants to assess the implementation of quality assurance standards in teaching performance. To achieve the objectives of the study, 162 students responded to a closed-ended questionnaire in which the collected data were quantitatively analysed through the SPSS program. Descriptive and inferential statistical measures were computed to analyze the respondents' responses. The findings showed that (10) of the teaching performance indicators were as highly implemented while the other six indicators were moderately implemented by the teachers in the ELPP. The results also revealed significant differences in the students' perceptions of implementing the indicators attributed to gender, in favor of female students. However, no statistically significant differences appeared due to the participants' level of study. Such significant implications were categorized based on resource demand and potential impact for developing English language proficiency programs.

An Exploration of the Strategies ESL Teachers Use in Teaching English Grammar in Selected Rural Ghanaian Junior High Schools

2025-10-08T02:55:53+00:00

The persistent difficulty of learners in rural Ghanaian junior high schools (JHS) in mastering English grammar raises important questions about the instructional strategies employed by teachers. This study explored the strategies that ESL teachers adopt in teaching English grammar in selected rural JHS in Ghana, specifically Nkwanta North context. Anchored in Vygotsky’s (1978) Zone of Proximal Development and scaffolding, the study adopted a qualitative case study design to gain an in-depth understanding of grammar teaching practices within these environments. Ten English language teachers were purposively selected from public JHS. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations, and analyzed thematically using Saldaña’s (2021) in vivo and pattern coding methods. Findings revealed that teachers employed group discussions, role-play, storytelling, sentence correction, and construction to foster grammatical competence. Despite the absence of adequate instructional materials, teachers exhibited remarkable pedagogical adaptability through the use of improvised teaching aids to support grammar instruction. The study concludes that effective grammar teaching in rural Ghanaian classrooms is sustained by context-responsive scaffolding, collaborative learning, and creative resource utilization. It recommends that stakeholders should strengthen regular in-service training, focused on interactive grammar pedagogy, and contextual adaptation of teaching aids to enhance learner outcomes in resource-constrained settings.

The Use of van Dijk’s Ideological Square in The Construction of In-Group and Out-Group Dichotomy in Dunya Mikhail’s Poetry

2025-10-20T14:34:16+00:00

This study applies van Dijk's ideological square model to the war poetry of the Iraqi poetess Dunya Mikhail to identify the discursive strategies that construct an in-group/out-group dichotomy and represent the multifaceted impacts of war on Iraqi society. A qualitative analysis of sixteen purposively selected poems was conducted, focusing on the four mechanisms of the ideological square: emphasising positive self-representation and negative other-representation while de-emphasising their opposites. The analysis reveals Mikhail's consistent deployment of these strategies, augmented by rhetorical devices such as stark imagery and ironic personification. This approach vividly portrays civilian estrangement and the devastation of war, creating a discourse that scrutinizes the ideologies of war perpetrators. Mikhail’s poetry offers a compelling counter-narrative that not only documents civilian suffering but also serves as a critical tool for challenging dominant conflict narratives. The study concludes that Mikhail has succeeded in systematically employing the model’s four strategies of emphasising “our” good and “their” bad, while deemphasising “our” bad and “their” good—to construct a powerful artistic expression and moral critique.

Gender Mediation Discourse and the Prospect of Sustainable Peace in Nawal El Saadawi’s The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab World

2025-09-05T23:02:05+00:00

The objective of this article is to analyse Nawal El Saadawi’s critical ideas regarding gender mediation in The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab World. It is to show how she negotiates discourse to encourage dialogue between men and women to construct a balanced society that encourages participatory development. It specifically explores her ideas that level criticism against the unjust/inhuman treatment of women in the Egyptian society thereby calling for a change of attitude towards women, aiming to end sexism, oppression and exploitation of women by patriarchy. As methodological and theoretical approaches, the study is a textual analysis sustained by an African Feminist critical approach developed by Molara Ogundipe-Leslie and Flora Nwapa.

- Enhancing EFL Speaking Skills through AI-Supported Literary Works: A Quantitative Study on Drama, Poetry, and Short Stories

2025-09-30T18:16:32+00:00

Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have opened new avenues for enhancing English?as?a?foreign?language (EFL) instruction. Integrating AI?driven literary tasks promises to enrich speaking practice by providing personalized feedback and authentic language exposure. However, empirical evidence on the efficacy of such interventions remains limited. This study examined the impact of a 12?week AI?assisted literary intervention on EFL speaking proficiency among university learners. Twenty?eight undergraduate participants (mean age?=?20.4?years) completed a pre?test/post?test design. Speaking performance was assessed using a standardized rubric covering pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, fluency, and interaction. Scores were analyzed with paired?sample t tests and Cohen’s d for effect size. Additionally, semi?structured interviews captured learners’ qualitative perceptions of the intervention. Mean speaking scores increased from 12.86?(SD?=?2.14) in the pre?test to 24.07?(SD?=?1.03) in the post?test, reflecting an 11.21?point gain (t(27)?=?42.47, p?<?.001) and a large overall effect size (d?=?1.55). Sub?scale analyses revealed significant improvements across all dimensions (p?<?.001), with the greatest effects on vocabulary (d?=?1.72) and interaction (d?=?1.64). Qualitative feedback highlighted enhanced vocabulary acquisition, increased confidence, immediate corrective feedback, heightened motivation, and appreciation for the personalized nature of the AI support. The modest sample size and absence of a control group constrain the generalizability of findings and preclude definitive attribution of gains to the AI component. Uniformly large effect sizes raise concerns regarding potential ceiling effects or measurement bias. The AI?assisted literary approach demonstrates promising potential for boosting EFL speaking proficiency, yet future research should employ larger, randomized controlled trials to validate efficacy, explore long?term retention, and assess scalability across diverse learner populations.

Roots, Revolt, and Redemption: A Comprehensive Review of the Recent Literature on Elif Shafak

2025-11-27T20:40:26+00:00

In a world defined by displacement and fragmentation, Elif Shafak’s works offer a powerful narrative on identity, resistance, and transformation. Her literary corpus intricately weaves themes of home, exile, migration, diaspora, intergenerational trauma, and gender dynamics. This study critically examines Shafak’s recent literature through the thematic framework of ‘roots, revolt, and redemption,’ focusing on identity crises, the deconstruction of gender structures, and the pursuit of reconciliation. Drawing on scholarly contributions published after 2000, the research explores Shafak’s narrative techniques, character development, and intertextual references, providing insights into her engagement with cultural hybridity, historical memory, and the quest for existential belonging in a globalized world. The study is structured into four thematic sections. The first focuses on the complexity of Shafak’s writing. The second, ‘Roots and routes: Identity, memory, and belonging,’ explores collective and personal histories, especially the experiences of displaced lives. The third section, ‘Breaking chains: Gender, resistance, and autonomy,’ examines the struggles for freedom and self-determination faced by women in Shafak’s works. The fourth section, ‘Sufism, spirituality, and self-Reconciliation: A pathway to healing,’ explores Shafak’s engagement with mysticism, transcendence, and the healing process leading to self-reconciliation. This structure reflects the interconnected nature of Shafak’s exploration of identity, autonomy, and spiritual growth.

Teaching English Speaking in Myanmar: A Phenomenological Exploration of Teachers’ Experiences

2025-10-29T06:59:03+00:00

This study investigates the lived experiences of five non-native English teachers responsible for teaching speaking skills at a high school in Myanmar. Using a descriptive phenomenological approach, it examines how these teachers perceive and navigate the complexities of speaking instruction within a multilingual, resource-limited, and politically unstable environment. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and a focus group, providing rich insights into their instructional practices and coping strategies. Teachers reported challenges such as low confidence in oral English, limited training in communicative methodologies, inadequate resources, and systemic pressures that prioritize exam-oriented learning over spoken proficiency. These constraints often lead to reliance on translation, rote memorization, and traditional drills, with only sporadic attempts at interactive or student-centered approaches. Despite these limitations, teachers actively negotiate their roles and adapt strategies to foster speaking skills where possible. The findings highlight the urgent need for targeted professional development and institutional support that enable teachers to implement communicative, context-sensitive approaches to speaking instruction in Myanmar’s high schools.

Rhetorical Resonance: Exploring the Role of Repetition and Parallelism in Pablo Neruda’s Poetic Style

2025-11-06T17:47:47+00:00

Pablo Neruda’s love poetry derives much of its poetic force from the deliberate use of repetition and parallelism, both of which constitute the poems’ emotional resonance and meaning. This essay examines the aesthetic, rhetorical, and affective valences of repetition and parallelism in the love poetry of Pablo Neruda, with particular attention to The Captain’s Verses. In this collection, Neruda’s iterative phrasing, syntax, and imageries act as the means through which desire, longing, and absence are intensified. These recurring patterns generate a rhythmic and musical cadence of repetition that is distinct. Guided by Roman Jakobson’s concept of poetic function, generative approaches of classical rhetoric, and stylistics based in contemporary scholarship, repetition and parallelism are analyzed as processes that assist interpretation and solicit interactivity as a reader. The strategies Neruda deploys mediate the porous boundary between private desire and communal emotion. This essay contends, through the close reading of Neruda’s emblematic poems and the integration of critical theory, that these poetic devices operate in synergistic concert as instruments of structural innovation, emotional amplification, and stylistic distinction.

Fostering Environmental Awareness in Moroccan EFL Classrooms Through Project-Based Learning (PBL)

2025-11-20T01:10:59+00:00

In an era of environmental crisis, survival requires tireless efforts to develop ecological awareness, promote sustainable behaviors, and encourage environmental activism among school learners. On this basis, this paper explores the role of green project-based learning (PBL) in fostering ecological awareness among EFL learners at Tiztoutin High School, Morocco. It considers green project-based activities, such as recycling and planting, as practical strategies learners can benefit from to link theoretical knowledge acquired during the ecology and environmental unit content incorporated in Ticket to English textbooks with practical experiences in EFL classrooms. To achieve relevant results, this investigation employs a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative data collected from a questionnaire completed by 40 participants across two classes with qualitative data gathered through focus group discussions and systematic observations. Descriptive statistics revealed that 95% of participating learners reported positive experiences with the green PBL projects, declaring that green PBL activities enhanced their environmental awareness, instilled a strong sense of accountability, and inspired sustainable actions. The findings also indicated transformative results in learners’ attitudes towards sustainability, shifting from a poor interest in environmental concerns to adopting sustainable behaviors within their school and community. The qualitative data not only corroborated the quantitative findings but also revealed an emergent finding that learners developed a high level of vocabulary related to the environment, which enabled them to present their projects fluently. Based on these details, this study suggests that integrating green PBL into EFL in Moroccan high school classrooms is a rewarding strategy, as it enhances language skills, empowers environmental awareness, and promotes sustainable behaviors among learners.

Confronting Gender in Literature: Male-Female Conflict in Dorothy Parker’s and Kate Chopin’s Short Stories

2025-11-20T19:28:24+00:00

This article examines the portrayal of male–female conflict in Dorothy Parker’s short story “The Last Tea” (1926) and Kate Chopin’s “The Storm” (1898) and “The Story of an Hour” (1894). Through a comparative literary analysis grounded in feminist theory, the study explores how each narrative depicts power dynamics, gender roles, and the struggle for female autonomy in different historical contexts. Parker’s “The Last Tea” presents a subtle battle of the sexes in which a young woman’s quest for male attention and validation leads to quiet despair, illustrating the imbalance of power and emotional cruelty in modern courtship. In contrast, Chopin’s stories challenge 19th-century gender norms: “The Story of an Hour” depicts a repressed wife’s fleeting freedom from patriarchy, while “The Storm” presents female desire as natural and unpunished. Using close reading and comparative analysis, the article discusses how each author uses irony, symbolism, and narrative perspective to illuminate the conflicts (overt or latent) between men and women. The results show that, despite tonal differences, all three stories highlight women’s limited agency and critique cultural norms shaping male–female relationships, while offering new insights into early feminist themes in American short fiction through a comparison of Parker and Chopin’s works.

An exploration of Difficulties and Strategies Encountered by Yemeni EFL Undergraduates in understanding idiomatic expressions

2025-11-21T17:14:34+00:00

Idiomatic expressions are an integral part of English proficiency, reflecting both linguistic and cultural competence. However, they present persistent challenges for non?native speakers due to their figurative nature, cultural specificity, and lack of direct equivalents in learners’ first language. This study investigated the difficulties Yemeni undergraduate EFL learners face in understanding idiomatic expressions and explored the strategies they employ to overcome these challenges. A structured questionnaire was administered to 30 level?four English major students at Sana’a University. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, frequencies) and inferential analysis via SPSS to identify patterns and potential differences across gender and educational background. The findings revealed that learners’ main obstacles stemmed from limited cultural knowledge, insufficient exposure to idioms in authentic contexts, and the arbitrariness of idiomatic meanings. To address these challenges, students reported using strategies such as guessing meaning from context, literal interpretation, consulting L1 equivalents, memorization, and visualization. No significant differences were observed based on gender, suggesting that, within this small group of Yemeni EFL undergraduates at Sana’a University, the reported difficulties and strategies were broadly shared. Given the limited sample size and single?institution context, these findings should be viewed as preliminary and cannot be generalized to all advanced EFL learners. The study highlights the pedagogical importance of systematic instruction in idioms, emphasizing contextualized practice, authentic materials, and interactive classroom activities. Incorporating these approaches can enhance learners’ comprehension and production of idiomatic expressions and contribute to both linguistic proficiency and cultural competence. These findings offer practical insights for EFL educators seeking to improve idiomatic competence, which remains a key marker of advanced English mastery.

Cockfights and Colonial Ghosts: Identity and Violence in Latin American Postcolonial Horror

2025-10-30T04:05:39+00:00

This paper analyzes Cockfight by María Fernanda Ampuero through a postcolonial lens, focusing on identity fragmentation and cultural dislocation as shaped by historical trauma and colonial legacies. Using Homi Bhabha's concepts of "cultural hybridity" and the "Third Space," the study reveals how Ampuero's short stories explore gendered violence, familial horror, and psychological trauma within postcolonial Ecuador. Through horror motifs, the narratives depict women navigating oppressive domestic spaces and confronting hybrid identities shaped by the clash between colonial structures and indigenous traditions. Stories such as Auction and Monsters illustrate how violence is embedded in cultural memory, while Griselda and Blinds expose the lingering effects of colonial exploitation on identity and autonomy. Ampuero's use of horror not only subverts patriarchal and religious norms but also foregrounds the resilience of her female characters, making Cockfight a critical contribution to contemporary Latin American postcolonial literature and demonstrates the enduring relevance of postcolonial frameworks in analyzing contemporary literary expressions of trauma.

(Un) Gendering Bullying in Academic Spaces: The Case of Queer Resistance and Identity Assertion

2025-11-17T02:07:28+00:00

This study examines how queer students in University of Southern Mindanao, Cotabato, experience, negotiate, and resist gendered bullying within academic settings. Using discourse analysis of questionnaires, interviews, and focus group discussions, the research addresses three central questions: the linguistic features of gendered bullying, the strategies queer students use to resist it, and the ideologies that shape both bullying and resistance. Findings show that gendered bullying relies heavily on language, including slurs, religious moralizing, metaphors tied to purity and masculinity, and labels that enforce a rigid gender binary. These linguistic acts reflect broader cultural and religious ideologies that define gender as fixed, morally evaluated, and publicly policed. In response, queer students employ a range of resistance strategies that emphasize both safety and agency. These include silence, off-record language use, humor, code-switching, calm assertion, and deliberate educational dialogue. A significant form of resistance that emerged is excellence-driven resilience: many queer students strategically cultivate academic excellence, leadership, and intellectual competence to assert worth, reclaim dignity, and reduce their vulnerability to bullying. By anchoring their social position in demonstrated merit, they lessen their vulnerability to bullying and neutralize gender as the basis for discriminatory treatment. By combining Butler’s performativity lens with sociolinguistic theory, this study demonstrates how queer students actively negotiate identity, challenge rigid gender norms, and transform academic spaces into arenas of empowerment. The study finds that ideologies shaping bullying are rooted in patriarchal norms, community expectations, and faith-based interpretations that privilege conformity. However, queer students reinterpret these same cultural and religious values to promote empathy, inclusivity, and spiritual resistance. By combining linguistic strategies with academic performance as symbolic capital, they create new forms of identity assertion that challenge traditional norms. A key finding of this study is that queer Cotabateño students navigate the university as a contested space where identity is continuously negotiated through performance, scrutiny, and the pursuit of symbolic capital. By strategically leveraging academic merit, they reshape how others perceive them, resist gendered bullying, and create alternative pathways to recognition. This form of academic-based queer resistance underscores how language, achievement, and personal performance collectively serve as tools of empowerment, enabling students to challenge gendered oppression and redefine belonging in academic settings.