Current Topics In Language And Literature

This volume brings together 15 peer-reviewed papers which discuss numerous current topics in language and literature. It synthesizes various contemporary practical topics in post-secondary education written by active researchers and practitioners in their respective areas. By using research methods such as mixed methods, case studies, discourse analysis, grounded theory and the repertory grid, the contributors offer insights into the ways in which higher education continuously changes and evolves to face constant challenges resulting from new instructional practices. Taking this into consideration, this book will help educators, researchers and students to keep up with these changes, and to stay aware of contemporary issues relating to post-secondary education.

This book offers contemporary perspectives on different registers of instruction, media language, the effectiveness of a multi-literacies program for introducing English as a Foreign Language, promoting religious tolerance through literature and music, teaching drama, intercultural communication, gender studies and literature studies. By using contemporary research methods, the contributors here offer insights into the ways in which the world of languages and literatures changes and evolves to face the constant challenges resulting from new instructional practices and research investigations, allowing educators, researchers and students alike to keep up with, and stay current in, all areas relating to language and literature. These illuminating essays highlight the dynamic global prism through which contemporary scholars view these issues and surpass any strict set of rules, which would otherwise lead them to ignore the ever-shifting changes in language and literature and the accompanying cultural spaces and realities.

This book introduces the notion of ‘educational ecology’ as a necessary and promising pedagogic principle for the teaching of Anglophone literatures and cultures in a time of climate change. Drawing on scholarship in the environmental humanities and practice-oriented research in education and literature pedagogy, chapters address the challenges of climate change and the demand for sustainability and environmental pedagogy from the specific perspective of literary and cultural studies and education, arguing that these perspectives constitute a crucial element of the transdisciplinary effort of ‘cultivating sustainability.’ The notion of an ‘educational ecology’ takes full advantage of the necessarily dialogic and co-constitutive nature of sustainability-related pedagogical philosophy and practice while it retains the subject-specific focus of research and education in the humanities, centring on and excelling in critical thinking, perspective diversity, language and discourse awareness, and the literary and cultural constructions of meaning. This book will be of great interest to academics, researchers and post-graduate students in the fields of language, literature and culture pedagogy, as well as transdisciplinary researchers in the environmental humanities.

Language and literature teaching are a keystone in the age of STEM, especially when dealing with minority communities. Practical methodologies for language learning are essential for bridging the cultural gap. Teaching Language and Literature On and Off-Canon is a critical research publication that provides a multidisciplinary, multimodal, and heterogenous perspectives on the applications of language learning and teaching practices for commonly studied languages, such as Spanish, English, and French, and less-studied languages, such as Latin, Gaelic, and ancient Semitic languages. Highlighting topics such as language acquisition, artistic literature, and minority languages, this book is essential for language teachers, linguists, academicians, curriculum designers, policymakers, administrators, researchers, and students.

This book unpacks recent changes in the landscape of literature and language teaching, and aims to find new explanations for the altered relationships between readers and writers, the democratisation of authorship, and the emergence of new ways of using language. By examining topics as various as literature and technology, multimodality, and new Englishes, the authors take a fresh look at the use of literature as a tool in the teaching of English to second-language speakers. More than simply a way of teaching aesthetic and ethical values and rhetorical skills, they argue that literature can also be used to help students to critically evaluate assumptions about society, culture and power which underpin the production and reception of texts. The book relates theories of language acquisition and literary criticism to examples of literary texts from a wide range of global literature in English, and discusses new ways of engaging with it, such as transmedia story telling, book blogs and slam poetry. It will be of interest to language teachers and teacher trainers, and to students and scholars of applied linguistics, TESOL, and digital literacies.

A state of the art critical review of research into literature in language education of interest to teachers of English and of modern foreign languages. There are prompts and principles for those who wish to improve their own practice or to engage in projects or research in this area. The primary focus is on language of literature, reading of literature, literature as culture, and literature in education.

This volume encompasses the range of research questions on language-related problems that arise in language teaching, learning and assessment. The [150] chapters are written by experts in the field who each offer their insights into current and future directions of research, and who suggest several highly relevant research questions. Topics include, but are not limited to: language skills teaching, language skills assessment and testing, measurement, feedback, discourse analysis, pragmatics, semantics, language learning through technology, CALL, MALL, ESP, EAP, ERPP, TBLT, materials development, genre analysis, needs analysis, corpus, content-based language teaching, language teaching and learning strategies, individual differences, research methods, classroom research, form-focused instruction, age effects, literacy, proficiency, and teacher education and teacher development. The book serves as a reference and offers inspiration to researchers and students in language education. An important skill in reviewing the research literature is following a study’s “plan of attack.” Broadly, this means that before accepting and acting upon the findings, one considers a) the research question (Is it clear and focused? Measurable?), b) the subjects examined, the methods deployed, and the measures chosen (Do they fit the study’s goal and have the potential to yield useful results?), and c) the analysis of the data (Do the data lead to the discussion presented? Has the author reasonably interpreted results to reach the conclusion?). Mohebbi and Coombe’s book, Research Questions in Language Education and Applied Linguistics: A Reference Guide, helps budding researchers take the first step and develop a solid research question. As the field of language education evolves, we need continual research to improve our instructional and assessment practices and our understanding of the learners’ language learning processes. This book with its remarkable 150 topics and 10 times the number of potential research questions provides a wealth of ideas that will help early career researchers conduct studies that move our field forward and grow our knowledge base. Deborah J. Short, Ph.D., Director, Academic Language Research & Training, Past President, TESOL International Association (2021-22) As a teacher in graduate programs in TESOL I frequently come across the frustration of students at centering their research interests on a particular topic and developing research questions which are worth pursuing so as to make a contribution to the field. This frustration stems from the fact that our field is so vast and interrelated, that it is often impossible to properly address all that interests them. Hence, I wholeheartedly welcome this most relevant and innovative addition to the research literature in the field of TESOL and Applied Linguistics. Coombe and Mohebbi have created a real tour de force that stands to inform budding researchers in the field for many years to come. Additionally, the cutting-edge depiction of the field and all it has to offer will no doubt update the research agendas of many seasoned researchers around the world. The 150 chapters are organized in a most powerful, yet, deceptively simple way offering a positioning within the topic, suggesting questions that might direct inquiry and offering a basic set of bibliographic tools to start the reader in the path towards research. What is more, the nine sections in which the chapters are organized leave no area of the field unexplored. Dr. Gabriel Díaz Maggioli, Academic Advisor, Institute of Education, Universidad ORT del Uruguay, President, IATEFL

DISHA Children’s Yearbook 2019 is a complete roundup of the basic General Knowledge and Current Affairs. The 2nd Edition is an attempt to impart basic Fundamental Knowledge in the various subject areas such that students start understanding these changes and their positive and negative impacts on the society. The various subject areas covered are Polity (Civics), Geography, Economy, History etc. covering aspects like Indian History, Freedom Struggle, Constitution, Indian States & their Salient features, Our Government, various landmark events, Popular people, events, issues and ideas, etc. The book further covers Current Affairs of 2018 related to events in areas like Politics, Economy, Science & Technology, Defence, Environment & Bio-diversity, Sports, Art & Culture etc. The book serves as a one-stop source of information concerning Events, Issues, Ideas and People that made headlines across India as well as the world in the last 1 year. With distinctive illustrations and graphics to help boost the general knowledge, the book is a fact-finder, an almanac.