Journal of Studies in the English Language

Contributors

Editorial JSEL — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0700

Harnessing the Power of Technology in ELT

Willy Ardian Renandya, Francisca Maria Ivone , Maria Hidayati — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0700

The aim of this paper is to delve deeper into the pivotal role that technology plays in the enhancement of second language (L2) learning, and more specifically, how technology can propel or even fast track L2 proficiency. Drawing upon insights from educational research and English Language Teaching (ELT) resources and practices, this paper aims to illuminate the multifaceted ways in which technology is reshaping the landscape of language education. The paper begins by discussing the advantages of using technology to enhance language learning. It suggests that while these benefits are valuable, it is crucial for ELT professionals to investigate whether relying solely on these benefits can actually enhance students’ language proficiency. The next part of the paper looks into a set of widely accepted principles related to second language acquisition. It then proposes how these principles can serve as a foundation for creating tech-enhanced language lessons that can potentially propel students’ proficiency development. The paper concludes that technology can and should be used to engage students more actively in their English language learning process.

Editorial Team

Editorial JSEL — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0700

Exploring Intercultural Sensitivity among Chinese Undergraduates at a Thai University

Xinrui Wang, Fei Zhao, ChuanChi Chang — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0700

In response to the internationalization of higher education, the number of Chinese students studying in Thai universities has increased in recent years. This has resulted in rising intercultural communication challenges. Accordingly, this mixed-methods study aims to understand Chinese students’ intercultural sensitivity and gain further information about their intercultural interactions while studying at a Thai university. Specifically, we sampled the perspectives of 51 Chinese undergraduate enrolled in one large Thai university in Bangkok, Thailand via an online questionnaire. Twenty-one of these students also voluntarily completed online reflective writings about their intercultural communication experience in Thailand. Data from the questionnaire was quantitatively analyzed, while data from reflective writings were analyzed through qualitative content analysis. Results show that overall intercultural sensitivity was at a moderate level. Interaction confidence, interaction engagement, interaction attentiveness, and respect for cultural differences were at moderate levels, whereas interaction enjoyment was at a low level. Results also show that students displayed open-mindedness and empathy in interactions, and they were able to self-monitor. However, they expressed no confidence and tended to make quick judgments about others. Based on these findings, we argue that the Chinese undergraduates we sampled are interculturally sensitive to a moderate degree. Therefore, we suggest that they need to be more involved in social interactions and seek to increase their self-confidence. The results of this study will help intercultural educators gain a better understanding of overseas students’ intercultural sensitivity. It will also help administrators and teachers with curriculum and activity design.

Pedagogical Strategies to Cope with the Post-Truth Phenomenon in UK University English Language Classrooms

Yi Sang — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0700

The rise of post-truth has transformed the landscape of education, particularly in higher education, where a strong emphasis on free expression can sometimes overshadow the pursuit of deeper understandings. One area where this is especially true is language teaching, where culturally loaded subjective opinions often trump objective facts. This is particularly evident in language learning courses that seek to improve both language proficiency and critical thinking. However, limited research within the language-teaching field has focused on this emerging issue, leaving gaps in our understanding of language teachers’ perceptions and coping strategies on how to deal with the impact of a post-truth world. Accordingly, this study employs thematic analysis to shed light on the impact of post-truth on language education from the perspectives of two in-service English language teachers at universities in the UK. Through in-depth interviews with the teachers, the research provides insights into how they respond to the challenges posed by post-truth in their classrooms. The findings highlight the teachers’ roles when helping students navigate the complexities of truths and perspectives in the post-truth era. Findings also emphasize the importance of fostering critical thinking skills while striking a balance between evaluating information and respecting diverse viewpoints. Overall, this research explores some practical strategies used by UK university English language teachers when addressing post-truth challenges, and thus contributes to the growing body of knowledge in English language education in the post-truth era, especially those works that seek to equip educators with ways to navigate this evolving educational landscape.

A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis of Stance-taking in English News Reports on the Environment

Lishi Zhang, Andrew Jocuns — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0700

How corporate media represents environmental discourse (e.g., global warming) can dramatically influence how humans perceive environmental changes. Accordingly, this study employs multimodal critical discourse analysis (MCDA) to examine how English-language news agencies targeted toward Asian and Western audiences take stances on environmental issues. Drawing on one recent conceptualization of ideology in discourse, we explore how linguistic and visual strategies shape readers’ perceptions of environmental responsibility and awareness. To accomplish this, MCDA was combined with ecolinguistics and used to analyze eight news items. This sample was purposefully selected from China Daily, Thai PBS, the Guardian, and NBC. More specifically, we analyzed linguistic devices at the lexicogrammatical level, and images at the discourse semantics level from both Asian-targeted and Western-targeted news agencies. Three dominant ideologies were found in the stances taken by these agencies, which involve the obfuscation of causal agents and a corresponding focus on the results of the processes these hidden agents are responsible for. The findings demonstrate the utility of MCDA in revealing dominant ideologies within environmental news and, in doing so, emphasize the power of language and images in crafting ideological narratives. Overall, our analysis has implications for understanding corporate media’s influence on environmental discourse and public perceptions.

About the Journal

Editorial JSEL — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0700

From Instrumentalism to Humanistic Education: The Changing Purposes of Language Teaching

Michael Byram — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0700

This article makes an argument that language teachers should (re)consider their purposes and that humanistic purposes are as significant as instrumental ones. It demonstrates that this perspective is increasingly present in policy documents internationally. It also illustrates the possibility of realising such purposes by describing a teaching project developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project was based on three pedagogies: a pedagogy of discomfort, an arts-based pedagogy, and a pedagogy of intercultural (communicative) competence. The third of these is then explained by introducing recent work at the Council of Europe on a Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture, which includes democratic values. Values, it is argued in this Framework, should be taught, and this raises questions about whose values and whether there are universal values. The article then analyses the possible positions a teacher might take with respect to encouraging their students to critique the values of others and their own, and suggests that “critical cultural awareness” is perhaps the optimal position. The implications, if this argument is accepted, are significant with respect to pedagogy, to teachers’ definitions of their professional identity, and to the need for further experimentation at all levels of education.

Wedding Industrial Complex in Celia Laskey’s So Happy for You

Tanrada Lertlaksanaporn — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0700

This paper examines the wedding industrial complex in modern American culture via a feminist lens and through an analysis of Celia Laskey’s (2022) So Happy for You. It expands on Ingraham’s study from White Weddings: Romancing Heterosexuality in Popular Culture (2008), focusing on the impact of the American wedding business on American wedding beliefs, specifically on its role in promoting capitalist, heterosexist, and racist narratives about weddings. The paper highlights a variety of factors, ranging from familial and cultural pressures to internet matching and popular culture, that contribute to entrenched traditional roles, collective heterosexual fantasies, and the pursuit of marital perfection. The paper also emphasizes the negative effects of these factors on individual and relational well-being, such as mental and physical health difficulties, reduced intimacy, and strained marital compatibility. The paper goes on to explain how these interactions perpetuate established gender standards, racial biases, and socioeconomic distinctions. Laskey’s story is a sobering mirror of current society realities, warning of the dire consequences if the celebration of weddings continues unabated. The findings call for a critical analysis of the wedding industrial complex’s upheld values and narratives, as well as their ramifications on both personal and societal levels. The paper’s goal with this investigation is to develop a more thorough understanding of the complicated interplay between societal expectations, personal goals, and the commercialized wedding industry.

Note from the Editor

Neil Bowen — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0700

Journal of Studies in the English Language

Contributors

Harnessing the Power of Technology in ELT

Editorial Team

Exploring Intercultural Sensitivity among Chinese Undergraduates at a Thai University

Pedagogical Strategies to Cope with the Post-Truth Phenomenon in UK University English Language Classrooms

A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis of Stance-taking in English News Reports on the Environment

About the Journal

Table of Contents

From Instrumentalism to Humanistic Education: The Changing Purposes of Language Teaching

Wedding Industrial Complex in Celia Laskey’s So Happy for You

Note from the Editor