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Pragmatic Functions of English/Setswana Code-Switching in WhatsApp Groups of a Communication Class
WhatsApp is a widely used technological and social platform. It is officially recognized as a channel of communication between lecturers and students at some public tertiary institutions in Botswana. As a multilingual digital space, WhatsApp enables users to alternate between languages within a single interaction, making it a fertile environment for code -switched communication. The features and purposes of code-switched communication therefore deserve scholarly attention because they provide a rich linguistic resource for pragmatic analysis. Thus, this study aimed to identify various situational uses of code-switching in the WhatsApp group of Communication Skills classes, analyze the pragmatic functions of code-switched messages, and relate these functions to students' learning needs. The research adopted a mixed-methods approach involving content analysis and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Drawing from the Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT), data was collected from WhatsApp groups of two classes for content analysis and from discussions with twenty (20) students. The findings reveal that except for subtle rebukes and requests, the pragmatic analysis of extracted WhatsApp data aligned with the Focus Group Discussion findings. The main convergent pragmatic functions were clarification, emphasis, humour, and cultural identity, and the only divergent pragmatic function was exclusion. The research concludes that code-switching is influenced by socio-cultural factors, particularly culture and language, as students strive to provide detailed information and seek clarification concerning their academic studies. The research recommends that students should be encouraged to communicate in English, which is understandable to lecturers and students, as code-switching often leads to linguistic marginalization and dominance.
Copyright (c) 2026 Theory and Practice in Language Studies
Translating Narrative Voice in The Book Thief Into Arabic
Narrative voice is a central element of prose fiction, as it shapes the story structure, conveys values, and establishes the narrative stance. This study investigates the translation of the narrative voice in Markus Zusak’s (2005) The Book Thief, in which Death serves as narrator. Voice is studied through Phelan’s (2023) triad of style, tone, and values, with Leech and Short’s (2013) stylistic categories used to trace voice across source and target languages. Chesterman’s (1997) strategies are employed to explain and classify shifts identified in translation. It is hypothesized that although Arabic translation accurately conveys narrative events, it recurrently introduces modifications to narrative voice through explicitness and trope change. The study draws on five selected samples taken from The Book Thief, through which narrative voice is identified using foregrounding and deviation. The study reveals shifts in Death’s voice that stem from overlooking narrative voice. These shifts align with Arabic norms of clarity and descriptive detail, yet at the expense of weakening narrative voice. Cross-cultural variations further shape how voice is perceived across the two languages. The study concludes with an examination of the impact of translation strategies on style, tone, and values. A lack of thematic awareness leads to a loss of coherence in the representation of the narrator’s moral and emotional stance. It also concludes that translating complex narratives requires a unified sensitivity to the narrator’s style, tone, and values, along with awareness of the novel’s central theme and of cultural differences between Arabic and English.
Reframing Aging: Narrative and Cultural Gerontology in the Works of Penelope Lively and Helen Small
Literature possesses the efficacy to render human life artfully and to represent humanity through its narratives. Aging is one of the extensive areas still being studied, and the interdisciplinary nature of literary gerontology offers considerable scope for research in the contemporary world. The paper focuses on Penelope Lively's Ammonites and Leaping Fish: A Life in Time (2013) and Helen Small’s The Long Life (2007), two significant texts in the context of aging studies. Lively adopts a memoiristic style in her rendering of the aging experience, while Small takes up a philosophical approach to growing old. Two frameworks, narrative gerontology and cultural gerontology, have been used in analysing each of the texts. Penelope Lively’s portrayal of her aging, blended with the themes of memory and identity, is examined through the discourse of narrative gerontology. At the same time, Helen Small, through her work, carries out cultural representation and philosophical inquiry, and thus the theory of cultural gerontology has been applied to her text. A parallel study of both approaches is conducted in this research, offering possibilities for exploring the encompassing nature of the study of aging. Aging is an amalgamation of both lived experience and collective cultural expression, and the paper studies aging as a meaningful and dynamic phase of life. This study contributes to the existing body of gerontological discourse by highlighting the importance of personal narratives and cultural inquiry in fostering diverse and inclusive perspectives on ageing.
Turkic–Mongolic Lexical Layer in Shajara-i Tarakima: Historical-Phonetic and Semantic Perspectives
This article investigates the seventeenth-century chronicle Shajara-i Tarakima (“Genealogy of the Turkmens”) by Abu’l-Gazi Bahadur Khan as a key source for understanding the historical interaction of Turkic and Mongolic languages. Far beyond its genealogical narrative, the text preserves a rich lexicon and structural features that reveal a sustained bilingual environment in Central Asia. Using comparative-historical, philological, and contact-linguistic methods, the study examines more than four thousand distinct lexemes recorded in the best manuscript and printed editions. Quantitative analysis shows that roughly one quarter of the vocabulary is of Mongolic origin, while the remainder reflects Oghuz, Kipchak, and Chagatai Turkic layers. Administrative and military terminology–daruga, tümen, sölde–anchors the Mongolic component, whereas everyday, natural, and spiritual terms remain predominantly Turkic. Phonological evidence such as the retention of initial b- and the Mongolic d > j alternation confirms that two sound systems operated side by side. Morphological investigation demonstrates full integration of many borrowings. Words like tümen, sölde, and jirga accept Turkic plural, possessive, and case suffixes and even generate new derivatives (tümenlik, söldeshi, jirgalash). Semantic analysis reveals further adaptation: batur broadens from “warrior” to “moral leader,” nökör expands from sworn companion to intimate friend, and tör narrows to the concrete seat of rulership. These changes mirror shifting political and social realities of the Khivan Khanate. The findings show that Shajara-i Tarakima records a reciprocal, long-term process of language contact in which Turkic and Mongolic elements merged into a stable hybrid idiom.
Metaphor and the Lyrical Self: A Cognitive–Semiotic Analysis of Vietnamese Thơ Mới and French Symbolism
This study offers a comparative analysis of Vietnamese Thơ mới (New Poetry, 1932–1945) and French Symbolism (late nineteenth to early twentieth century), exploring how both traditions construct the lyrical self through the symbolic languages of nature, light, sound, and space. While earlier research has largely focused on stylistic parallels, this study advances the field by integrating conceptual metaphor theory (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980), the poetics of space (Bachelard, 1994), and semiotic theory (Kristeva, 1980) into a unified interpretive framework. Through close textual and intertextual analysis, it demonstrates how Thơ mới transforms nostalgia and colonial dislocation into an introspective meditation on being, while French Symbolism reimagines perception through abstraction and musical rhythm, evoking a dreamlike consciousness. Despite their differing historical and cultural contexts, both traditions reveal poetry’s enduring capacity to reconcile fragmentation through symbolic imagination. The study’s transnational framework not only redefines the dialogue between local and global poetics but also proposes an inclusive methodology for comparative and world literature.
The Poetry of Al-Mu’tadid bin Abbad: A Stylistic and Contextual Analysis
This study examines the stylistic aspects of aesthetic foregrounding in the poetry of Al-Mu’tadid bin Abbad to elucidate the pragmatic implications of his poetry. It addresses syntactic, phonological, and morphological issues by examining both internal and external rhythm, repetition, foregrounding and backgrounding, ellipsis, speech acts, and conjunctions. A descriptive-analytical approach is utilized to outline the intertwined semantic and pragmatic relations. The study concludes that Al-Mu'tadid Ibn Abbad's poetry reflects his complex personality through various themes and contradictory qualities. Overall, Ibn Abbad's cohesive use of language produces harmonious and coherent texts.
Effects of Arabic Emphatic Environment on the Perception of Plain Consonants in L1 Arabic and L2 English for Arabic Native Learners
Although some research has examined the influence of emphatic environments on the perception of plain Arabic segments, little is known about whether this influence extends to the perception of English consonants by Arabic learners of English. Accordingly, the purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of emphatic consonant environments on the perception of plain consonants in Arabic as a first language and in English as a second language. Fourteen second-language learners of English participated in a forced-choice identification task assessing their perception accuracy of Arabic and English consonants. The results showed that the presence of an emphatic environment (i.e., a plain consonant followed by a low back vowel) led learners to perceive the plain consonants /s/ and /ð/ as emphatic in both Arabic and English stimuli. These findings are discussed in light of the Perceptual Assimilation Model (Best, 1993) and the revised Speech Learning Model (Flege & Bohn, 2021).
Learners’ Perception of and Attitude Toward Pronunciation Accuracy in English as a Foreign Language in Indonesia
If one is skeptical about others’ pronunciation, then one might not be motivated to improve one’s pronunciation attainment. The major purpose of this study was to examine how learners’ perception of and attitude toward English pronunciation accuracy correlate with their pronunciation accuracy in English. The study adopted quantitative approach. A sample of 100 eighth-grade students were randomly selected from the population of 5 junior high schools. We employed an adapted questionnaire and a pronunciation test utilizing the ELSA Speak technology to collect data. The data was analyzed using the descriptive statistics, the Pearson Product Moment, and the Multiple Linear Regression techniques with the help of SPSS software. All three alternative hypotheses put forward in this study are accepted. Firstly, students’ perception of English pronunciation accuracy is significantly correlated with their English pronunciation accuracy. Secondly, students’ attitude toward English pronunciation accuracy has a significant correlation with their English pronunciation accuracy. Thirdly, both students’ perception of and attitude toward English pronunciation accuracy together hold a significant correlation with their English pronunciation accuracy. There is sufficient evidence that students’ perception of and attitude toward English pronunciation accuracy are correlated with their English pronunciation accuracy. As an implication of the present study, it is proposed as a reference to future research and pedagogical practices.
The Effects of Listening Strategy Instruction on Listening Strategy Use and Listening Self-Efficacy of Chinese Non-English-Major Postgraduate Students
The present study aimed at exploring the effects of listening strategy instruction on listening strategy use (LSU) and listening self-efficacy (LSE) among Chinese non-English-major (NEM) postgraduate students. To this end, a sample of 78 NEM postgraduate students from two intact classes at a public university in China was selected as the research participants. The two classes were randomly allocated to an experimental group (EG, n=39) and a control group (CG, n=39). The experimental group was instructed with the explicit integrated listening strategy instruction (LSI), while the control group was instructed using the traditional comprehension approach (TCA) without any explicit listening strategy guidance. To assess participants’ listening strategy use and listening self-efficacy, the Listening Strategy Questionnaire (LSQ) and the Listening Self-efficacy Questionnaire (LSEQ) were administered before and after the intervention. The study’s findings revealed that listening strategy instruction significantly enhanced EG learners’ listening strategy use and their listening self-efficacy. The outcomes of this research could provide SL/FL teachers, learners, and curriculum developers with notable insights into teaching listening skills to SL/FL adult learners.
Inside the Sentence: An Evaluation of How Thai University EFL Learners Build Academic Sentences
Academic vocabulary is essential for successful university-level writing, yet Thai EFL university learners often struggle to use it productively in context. This study investigates Thai university students’ academic vocabulary knowledge through a sentence-writing test that captures three dimensions of productive performance: lexical, semantic, and structural complexity. Thirty English major students enrolled in an English Composition Writing course completed a Sentence Writing Test consisting of 16 Academic Word List verbs, each requiring three sentences. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied, with strong reliability demonstrated through Cronbach’s alpha (α = .747) and inter-rater Kappa agreement (κ = .821, p < .001). Results revealed low overall performance, with learners achieving only 17% of the total possible score, indicating limited productive academic vocabulary knowledge despite an estimated general vocabulary size of approximately 10,000 word families. ANOVA findings showed significant differences across the three dimensions, F(2, 478) = 67.263, p < .001, η² = .22, with pairwise comparisons indicating that learners performed significantly best in lexical complexity, followed by semantic, and weakest in structural complexity. These patterns reflect a developmental progression from reliance on lexical form toward meaning and syntactic application. The findings suggest that productive academic vocabulary requires higher-order cognitive skills and is constrained by limited academic language resources. The study highlights the need for pedagogy that integrates sentence-level production, explicit academic vocabulary instruction, and support for deeper semantic and syntactic development.
Evaluative Voice and Interpersonal Shifts in ChatGPT-Translated Feedback for EFL Writing
This study investigates how ChatGPT’s machine translation from English to Arabic affects the realization of interpersonal meaning and learner engagement in academic feedback for EFL learners. The main aim is to compare evaluative features in original and machine-translated feedback, addressing a significant gap in understanding the implications of AI-assisted translation for EFL writing pedagogy. Adopting qualitative comparative analysis, ChatGPT-generated English feedback and its Arabic translations were examined through the lenses of Appraisal Theory by Martin and White (2005) and Hyland’s (2006) Reader Engagement Model. The findings reveal that in the Arabic translations the authorial voice shifts to be more distant and directive, often resulting in more instructional but less empathetic feedback. The study concludes that while ChatGPT feedback has potential, human oversight is essential to maintain interpersonal depth, learner engagement, supportive and personalized characteristics crucial for effective feedback in EFL contexts. Future research is recommended to explore EFL learner perceptions of translated feedback and to develop strategies for achieving the full pedagogical potential of AI-assisted feedback translation.
Improving Thai High School Learners’ Writing Ability: A Comparative Study of Anonymous and Non-Anonymous Peer Review
This research investigated the effects of anonymous and non-anonymous peer review on writing performance among Thai high school students, and their attitudes towards anonymity when providing and receiving feedback in a blended learning environment. One hundred and thirty Thai EFL learners in a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design were assigned to one of two groups, receiving either anonymous or non-anonymous peer review. The students wrote their opinion paragraphs and peer feedback in two closed FB groups created to support blended instruction. Data were obtained via a writing pretest and posttest, a questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data revealed a significant increase in all aspects of writing (content, organisation, grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics) for both groups after they performed peer review tasks. The difference between the two groups, however, was not statistically significant, suggesting that both types of feedback contributed to improving writing. Attitudinal findings indicated that, in general, students felt positively toward the utility and engagement inherent to peer reviewing, as reflected in perception-based factor items on motivation and attitudinal measures. The non-anonymised group yielded significantly higher scores in trustworthiness, responsibility for learning, and confidence. Qualitative findings also indicated that anonymous feedback encouraged objectivity and critical introspection, whereas non-anonymous feedback generated social bonding and emotional investment. Overall, empirical confirmation of this essential pedagogical implication of peer review not only sheds light on how linguistic ability, learner autonomy, and motivation can be enhanced in blended EFL writing courses but also supports the predominant use of the non-anonymous peer-review format.
The ESKAMI Method: A Multisensory Approach to Enhancing Early Reading Skills
Early reading competence serves as a critical foundation for literacy development in the early years of schooling. This study explores the effectiveness of the ESKAMI approach—an instructional model encompassing spelling, syllables, words, sentences, and singing—in fostering initial reading proficiency among first-grade learners in Gowa Regency, Indonesia. The ESKAMI framework incorporates phonological and multisensory strategies that synergize cognitive, emotional, and musical dimensions to reinforce literacy acquisition. Employing a one-group pretest/posttest design, the intervention was implemented across six learning sessions involving 21 participants. Assessment procedures were adapted from the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA), focusing on five key domains: phonological awareness, letter recognition, letter–sound correspondence, word reading, and oral reading fluency. Data analysis included normality testing, paired-samples t-tests, and effect size estimation using Cohen's d. Findings revealed a marked improvement in students' reading performance, with the mean score increasing from 79.76 (SD = 7.98) to 95.62 (SD = 4.50), t(20) = 13.59, p < 0.001, mean difference = 15.86, 95% CI [13.43, 18.29], and a large effect size (Cohen's d = 2.97). These outcomes confirm the efficacy of the ESKAMI method in strengthening early literacy through sound-based and rhythm-integrated learning activities. Although constrained by a limited sample size and the absence of a control group, this study contributes valuable empirical insights into the implementation of the ESKAMI model as a promising phonological–affective literacy framework for early primary education in Indonesia.
Negotiating Identity Through Culinary Signage: A Linguistic Landscape Study in Hail, Saudi Arabia
This study explores the linguistic landscape (LL) of culinary signage in Hail, Saudi Arabia, focusing on how language and visual semiotics construct identity and mediate local–global dynamics. Drawing on 332 storefront signs analysed through both quantitative and qualitative methods, the study identifies three dominant identity orientations: local Saudi, pan-Arab, and global cosmopolitan. These identities emerge through strategic language choices (Arabic, English, and others) and multimodal elements such as imagery, colour, and typography. While Arabic remains dominant, the growing presence of English and hybrid forms reflects increasing linguistic flexibility among businesses targeting youth and international consumers. Culinary signage in Hail operates as more than functional communication; it embodies sociolinguistic transformation and contributes to the visible negotiation of cultural identity in public space. Situating the Saudi context within broader linguistic landscape scholarship, the study underscores the need for multimodal, regionally diverse, and context-sensitive analyses of language use in commercial environments.
Reproducing Cultural Imagery in Allusions in Political Texts: A Transitivity Perspective
Transitivity is a lexico-grammatical system for construing experiential meaning through both grammatical structure and lexical choice. This study investigates how the experiential meaning is reproduced in translating cultural imagery in allusions in Chinese political texts, with particular attention given to its structural realization. Drawing on a parallel corpus of 449 instances from Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Volumes I to IV), it examines how imagery, in translation, is grammatically realized as participant or circumstance through different processes, together with lexical choices. A strong preference is observed for structural equivalence, especially when the imagery conveys universal or ideological significance. Shifts in structural role or process type are employed to clarify abstract reasoning, foreground general principles, or facilitate intercultural understanding. Material and relational processes are predominant, and shifts often signal rhetorical movement between action and evaluation. As to lexical choices, a strong preference is also observed for retaining the original image rather than rendering its sense or omitting it. These results indicate that the selection of imagery reflects the diplomatic principle of proximity, and its retention in translation aligns with harmony-oriented institutional norms. This study offers a replicable model for analysing cultural imagery in political translation from a transitivity perspective.
Ethnopharmacology in BIPA Teaching Materials: A Study of the Vocabulary Acquisition of Indonesian Herbal Medicine and Drink
Indonesia has a rich heritage of ethnopharmacology, which is reflected in its traditional medicines and herbal drinks. This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of vocabularies related to herbal medicine and drinks and to test the feasibility of integrating them into Bahasa Indonesia bagi Penutur Asing (BIPA) teaching materials. This study implemented mixed methods with a sequential exploratory design that involved qualitative and quantitative data collections. Qualitative data were obtained using in-depth interviews with traditional herbal practitioners and observations. Quantitative data were obtained using a feasibility assessment by experts of BIPA. Results of the study revealed that herbal vocabularies were organized in four main dimensions, namely herbal ingredients, preparation methods, health benefits, and cultural values. Quantitative analysis showed that BIPA teaching materials containing ethnopharmacology received a very high feasibility assessment in all aspects, including suitability of vocabulary, clarity of cultural context, accuracy of terminology and ethnopharmacology content, language readability, and feasibility of pedagogical and supporting media. The findings of this study showed that the integration of ethnopharmacology into BIPA learning was effective for vocabulary enrichment and authentic media for cross-cultural understanding. It also served to preserve Indonesian local wisdom. This study concluded that the ethnopharmacology-based approach is an innovative model to teach BIPA by combining language learning and cultural values.
Bringing Suffering Closer: A Proximization and Affect Analysis of Vegan Digital Activism
This study explores how Earthling Ed, a prominent vegan activist, uses language on Instagram to construct emotional urgency and moral responsibility regarding animal rights. Combining Proximization Theory (Cap, 2013a) with Affect Theory (Ahmed, 2004; Wetherell, 2012), the research analyzes how three core emotions — guilt, fear, and compassion — are discursively constructed and proximized in Ed’s posts. Drawing on a sample of Instagram posts published over the past two years, the study applies a qualitative framework to identify linguistic carriers of emotion (e.g., deictics, modality, narrative framing) and their proximization across spatial, temporal, and axiological axes. Findings indicate that Earthling Ed consistently uses second-person address, emotive storytelling, and moral appeals to collapse symbolic distance between the audience and the suffering of animals. Guilt is proximized through ethical contradiction, fear through vivid representations of harm, and compassion through personalization of animals.
The Impact of Linguistic Challenges on Cross-Cultural Adjustment of International Students in a Thai University Studying Context
This study examines the linguistic challenges encountered by international students in Thai higher education, with a particular focus on how these challenges impact their academic success and psychological well-being. A survey of 204 international students revealed that 72% experience significant anxiety during English interactions, which leads to social isolation and a diminished sense of belonging, as 68% struggle to connect with peers. The research identifies that language barriers hinder participation in extracurricular activities, contributing to feelings of alienation. Conversely, effective language support systems were found to enhance academic outcomes and reduce anxiety among students, with 78% reporting improved comprehension and 70% feeling more secure in communication. This study emphasizes the importance of comprehensive language support in facilitating the integration process, mitigating psychological distress, and fostering social connections, ultimately enhancing the overall experience of international students in Thailand. Recommendations for targeted interventions and support mechanisms are proposed to enhance linguistic competence and foster a more inclusive academic environment.
Exploring the Microinsult Strategy (Assumption of Criminal Status) in 12 Years a Slave Through the Judgment System
Assumption of criminal status is a microinsult subcategory within racial microaggressions, explored in this study through the appraisal system of judgment to analyze its depiction in the movie 12 Years a Slave. The research focuses on utterances containing judgment evaluations, extracted from narrative stages, including Orientation, Complication, and Resolution. Data were collected through Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with linguistic experts and analyzed using Spradley’s (2016) framework, modified by Santosa (2021), encompassing domain, taxonomy, and componential analyses. Findings indicate the prevalence of microinsults across the film's narrative stages, with specific judgments categorized into social esteem (SOC)—normality, capacity, tenacity—and social sanction (SAC)—veracity and propriety. In the Orientation stage, microinsults were minimal, with evaluations highlighting normality and propriety. The Complication stage showed significant intensification, with 27 instances, including capacity (10), tenacity (3), veracity (7), and propriety (7), reflecting heightened racial bias and prejudice. In the Resolution stage, microinsults persisted with 16 evaluations, predominantly propriety (15), suggesting moral judgment remained a focal point. Overall, 45 judgment evaluations were recorded: 2 in normality, 10 in capacity, 3 in tenacity, 7 in veracity, and 23 in propriety. These findings underscore how the assumption of criminal status is systematically embedded and reinforced through various evaluative dimensions, aligning with the narrative's portrayal of racial microaggressions. This study contributes to understanding racial microinsults in media, emphasizing how cinematic narratives perpetuate social biases through evaluative judgments.
Footing in Courtroom Discourse: A Forensic Linguistic Analysis of Opening Statements in George Floyd's Murder Trial
Drawing on Erving Goffman’s (1979, 1981) interaction model of footing, which distinguishes between the different speaker's roles of animator, author, and principal, this study explores how shifts in speaker alignment serve as linguistic and ideological strategies that frame competing communicative acts in courtroom discourse. This paper provides a forensic linguistic analysis of opening statements presented in George Floyd's murder trial (2021). The study's main objectives are to demonstrate how courtroom discourse is not only a site of legal argumentation but also of ideological performance, to identify the various speakers' roles in the opening statements of Floyd's murder trial, and to show how these participation roles are manifested linguistically in discourse. The study uses a qualitative forensic discourse analysis approach to discuss how the different speakers' roles are linguistically represented in the opening statements of the trial at hand. Findings reveal that the lawyers adopt particular participation roles during their opening statements, including the roles of animator, author, and principal. These participation roles are linguistically realized by various strategies, including the use of speech acts, modality, agency, emotive language, nominalization, attitude markers, lexical choices, active and passive voice, and evaluative language. Theoretically, the study contributes to forensic linguistics by demonstrating the analytical efficacy of Goffman’s participation framework in uncovering the pragmatic and ideological dimensions of courtroom discourse.
A Quantitative Inquiry Into Translation App Usage and Post-Editing Strategies Among Taiwanese EFL Tertiary Students
With enhanced technology, numerous students increasingly use varied applications to facilitate their English learning, and some have chosen translation apps to improve their comprehension. However, due to the imperfect and inconsistent quality of translation, the content produced by these apps may still require verification and correction. This study examined how Taiwanese tertiary students utilized translation apps to help them learn English, what post-editing strategies they adopted to check the final product, and their perceptions of using these apps. A total of 519 participants were recruited, and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, and one-way ANOVA through SPSS Statistics 23. The results revealed that students primarily used translation apps for reading comprehension, vocabulary acquisition, and pronunciation practice. They frequently applied light post-editing strategies to correct grammar and word choices and full post-editing strategies to add context or rectify inaccurate translations. It also showed that English proficiency influenced students’ use of post-editing strategies; intermediate and proficient students employed post-editing strategies more frequently than those at the preliminary level. Most students expressed positive attitudes toward using translation apps to learn English. Finally, this study highlights the potential of integrating translation apps and post-editing strategies to improve students’ learning efficiency, reinforce their linguistic abilities, and foster metacognitive development.
Foreign Learners’ Perceptions of Plurilingual Pedagogy in Indonesian BIPA Classrooms: Insights Into Learning Engagement and Performance
This study investigates the perceptions of foreign learners toward plurilingual pedagogy in BIPA (Bahasa Indonesia for Foreign Speakers) programs and examines how these perceptions impact learning performance. Drawing on translanguaging theory and the CEFR’s plurilingual framework, the study responds to a gap in Indonesian language education where multilingual learner realities are often mismatched with monolingual instructional norms. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative data were gathered through a 15-item Likert-scale questionnaire, followed by qualitative data from reflective essays, interviews, and classroom document analysis. Four BIPA learners with diverse linguistic backgrounds participated in both phases. Descriptive and thematic analyses were used to triangulate perception scores with students’ learning behaviors and narratives. Findings indicate that positive learner perceptions toward plurilingual strategies, especially those incorporating cultural context and cross-linguistic scaffolding, are associated with greater engagement, metalinguistic awareness, and reflective learning. Conversely, students with limited multilingual proficiency or linguistic insecurity showed cognitive overload and lower performance. Challenges identified include teacher readiness, affective resistance, and monolingual instructional materials. This study contributes to the discourse on inclusive language education by demonstrating that perception is not peripheral but central to plurilingual pedagogy’s success. It advocates for pedagogical shifts in BIPA instruction, including integration of learners’ language repertoires, culturally anchored materials, and teacher training in translanguaging. The findings have broader implications for language programs operating in linguistically diverse, transnational contexts. However, challenges such as limited teacher readiness and scarce plurilingual resources persist. Based on research at a state university in Indonesia, the study underscores the need for curriculum updates and teacher training aligned with CEFR’s plurilingual principles.
Distinctive Discourse Features of Ho Chi Minh’s Political Speeches
As a politician, Ho Chi Minh wrote a substantial amount of political discourse to serve the revolutionary cause of the Vietnamese nation. However, many of his political speeches go beyond their fundamental social function, attaining the aesthetic qualities of literary and artistic works. In the anthology On Revolutionary Ethics published by Su That Publishing House in 1976, Ho Chi Minh skillfully integrated the distinctive features of political discourse with those of literary memoirs, a recognized artistic genre, to create a discourse that embodies profound cultural value.
The Integration of Individual and Cooperative Data-Driven Learning (DDL) as a Learning Innovation to Promote Collocational Acquisition
Collocational competence is a crucial component of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ linguistic knowledge, contributing to fluency, accuracy, and naturalness in communication. Despite its importance, Thai EFL learners frequently experience difficulties in acquiring English collocations, and effective instructional approaches to address this issue remain underexplored. To bridge this gap, the present study investigates the integration of individual and cooperative Data-Driven Learning (DDL) as an innovative approach to teaching English adjective-noun collocations in EFL classrooms. A quasi-experimental study employing a One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design was conducted with 50 Thai EFL learners over a 12-week period, during which target adjective-noun collocations were studied through a combination of individual and cooperative DDL activities. The findings revealed that the integrated DDL approach significantly enhanced learners’ collocational knowledge, particularly in recognizing and categorizing collocational patterns. However, its impact on productive use was comparatively limited, indicating the need for more targeted practice to facilitate the transfer of receptive knowledge into active production. In addition, Thai EFL learners revealed positive attitudes toward the integrated DDL activities, particularly valuing their interactive and engaging features. Overall, the study underscores the pedagogical potential of integrating individual and cooperative DDL as an effective instructional innovation that promotes collocational competence while fostering an active learner-centered and inclusive learning environment for Thai EFL learners who may be disadvantaged by traditional teacher-centered instruction.
Navigating Stylistic Hybridity: A Stylistic Analysis of Scientific Indonesian in University Students' Academic Writing
This study investigates the stylistic characteristics of scientific Indonesian in university students’ academic writing, identifying a pervasive phenomenon of stylistic hybridity. A qualitative descriptive design was employed, involving textual analysis of ten undergraduate research articles from various disciplines. The analysis was guided by an integrated framework drawing on Halliday and Hasan’s cohesion theory and metadiscourse analysis. The findings reveal persistent challenges across multiple linguistic levels, including emotive and imprecise diction, syntactically complex yet functionally ineffective paratactic structures, mechanical use of cohesive devices, a strong preference for active voice, and fluctuating formal–informal tone. Quantitative indicators further show relatively low lexical density (45–55%) compared to professional academic writing. These patterns suggest that students are situated in a transitional phase, negotiating between colloquial expressiveness and scientific rigor. The study underscores the need for integrated stylistic training in academic writing curricula to enhance linguistic competence and strengthen the credibility of Indonesian as a language of global scholarship.
Imperial Ideology and Narrative Complicity in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness: A Postcolonial Stylistic Reading
This research examines how imperial and ideological power is stylistically recorded in Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness (2007) using a postcolonial stylistic framework. The study explores Conrad’s critique of empire while simultaneously revealing his inability to escape the confines of imperial ideology. The African characters are not portrayed as fully human, as they remain in the perpetual darkness. The narrative marginalizes Africans by allowing only one European to speak on their behalf. The integration of postcolonial theory and stylistics works to critically interpret the role of language in literature for reflecting, reinforcing, or resisting imperialist ideologies. The research demonstrates how imperialist attitudes are imposed or countered within the text at the level of choosing syntactic structure, transitivity, and metaphorical language. This work offers insight into language as an instrument for creating and maintaining colonial hegemony. The findings suggest that the critical narrative of empire in the story remains intertwined with imperial ideology, thus reflecting both a denunciation of colonial violence and a tacit complicity with imperial discourse.
Echoes From the Sertão Across Linguistic Boundaries: A Study on the Chinese Translation and Reception of João Guimarães Rosa’s Works (1949-2025)
This study examines the Chinese translation and reception of the works of the Brazilian literary titan João Guimarães Rosa. Employing a literature-based research approach that integrates academic research in both Chinese and Portuguese, historical translation data, publishing archives, and literary criticisms, it systematically charts the trajectory of the Chinese translations of Rosa’s works from 1949 to 2025. Focusing on the socio-historical factors driving translation practices across different time periods, the analysis explores how different translators, publishing markets, and literary fields interact in the cross-cultural circulation of Rosa’s works. By juxtaposing the distinctive linguistic features of Rosa’s works with Chinese readers’ reception preferences, this study reveals the changing logic behind the dissemination of Rosa’s works in Chinese, from the single-title translation of The Third Bank of the River to their eventual canonization within the Chinese literary world. The study offers both theoretical insights and practical references for Sino-Brazilian literary exchanges and future research on the translation of Portuguese literature.
“Padahal kan kamu beda agama sama saya. Kenapa kamu kok ngefans sama saya itu?” How Gus Iqdam Uses Positive Politeness to Build Solidarity in the Multicultural Congregation of Sabilu Taubah
This study examined how Gus Iqdam (GI), a young religious leader in East Java, Indonesia, employs positive politeness strategies to foster solidarity within the multicultural Sabilu Taubah congregation, whose members come from diverse religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. Using a qualitative socio-pragmatic approach informed by Brown and Levinson's (1987) politeness theory, data were collected through direct observation, audiovisual recordings, and publicly available sermon videos. The analysis identified eleven positive politeness strategies, including expressing attentiveness, using in-group markers, seeking agreement, incorporating humour, and offering gifts, that enabled GI to mitigate face-threatening acts, build rapport, and reinforce social cohesion. These strategies not only bridged religious and cultural divides but also nurtured communal identity and mutual respect. The findings advance socio-pragmatics and intercultural communication by demonstrating how contextually sensitive politeness practices can enhance inclusivity and unity in pluralistic religious settings, offering practical implications for religious, educational, and community leadership.
Aligning EFL Education With Digital Skills in Saudi Vision 2030: A Systematic Review
Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 aims to diversify the economy by enhancing human capabilities and essential skills, highlighting the importance of EFL education in fostering international collaboration and improving digital competencies for success in the global digital economy. However, existing EFL curricula and teaching methods appear to be misaligned with these digital goals. This systematic review analyzed the integration of digital skills in Saudi EFL contexts by synthesizing empirical research published from 2013 to 2025, employing the PRISMA framework and data from major databases, including IEEE Xplore, Springer, Taylor & Francis, ERIC, ScienceDirect, and Wiley Online Library. The review highlights five main themes: (1) the conceptualization of digital skills in EFL education as per Saudi Vision 2030, (2) integration of these skills into curricula and teaching practices, (3) alignment with workforce demands, (4) distribution across educational levels, and (5) identification of gaps, challenges, and potential future directions. The findings revealed conceptual inconsistencies in the EFL curriculum, highlighting the need for a unified framework. Key issues include insufficient managerial support, unclear policies, and a misalignment between curriculum goals and labor market demands, further exacerbated by the absence of policies to empower learners' digital skills across all educational levels. The study highlights that to achieve the Vision 2030 goals, there must be a shift in language learning, viewing technology not just as a tool but as a core competency, which necessitates agile, digitally integrated EFL frameworks from policymakers and curriculum designers.
On Some Unique Complementation Patterns in Korean: The Case of Monologual Question Complements
Korean has a large number of quotative constructions that have been grammaticalized into diverse functions in the domains of text and discourse (Koo & Rhee, 2019). Among these is a class of constructions that involve the speaker’s self-quoted monologual questions that serve the role of complement of verbs of locution, cognition, and perception. Even though these verbs are structurally the matrix-clause predicates, the matrix-clause subject typically does not surface, i.e., the matrix clause is subject-less. These complement constructions involving monologual questions (MQCCs) present intriguing features from the grammaticalization perspective. Self-quoted questions characterize a ‘dialogue’ between the speaking self and the thinking/hearing self (cf. Koo & Rhee, 2019, p. 256). This type of feigned interactivity makes a text more dramatic and vivid as compared to the texts that do not employ such rhetorical devices. The functions of MQCCs are not associated with a specific form but rather exist in the configuration of juxtaposed clauses, with contextual effects. Therefore, this grammaticalization involves no formal changes with observable trajectories but functional reinterpretation of existing forms, one resembling grammaticalization as reported in Koo and Rhee (2019). MQCCs not only display unique complementation patterns but also present diverse grammaticalized functions through formal and conceptual extension, including many far removed from their original quotative function.
Topic Interest and Engagement in Indonesian Primary EFL Classrooms: Cognitive, Behavioural, and Motivational Links
This study examined the relationship between topic interest and cognitive, behavioural, and motivational engagement among Indonesian primary EFL learners and whether this relationship strengthens across instructional cycles. Using a five-cycle mixed-methods longitudinal design (101 learners per cycle), we combined cycle-wise Spearman correlations, repeated-measures correlations (rmcorr) to capture within-student coupling, and linear mixed-effects models with person-mean centring to test change over time. Brief observations and student/teacher interviews provided explanatory vignettes. Cycle-wise associations ranged from moderate to very strong, and rmcorr indicated large within-student coupling between interest and each engagement strand (rrm ≈ .80–.88, p < .001). Mixed-effects models revealed robust positive effects of interest on all outcomes, as well as significant interactions between interest and cycle, indicating that the payoff of interest increased throughout the semester. Qualitative episodes illustrated mechanisms—topical resonance, clear criteria and rehearsal, and bounded autonomy—that converted value into strategy use, participation, and persistence. Findings position topic interest as a high-leverage, classroom-proximal target for primary EFL; curating resonant themes, making progress visible and manageable, and embedding minor choice points are low-cost moves that make engagement more likely and more durable over a semester.
Beyond Traditional Teaching: A Systematic Review of Research on the Role of Technology in Teaching English Language Skills for Saudi University Students
This systematic review analyses the influence of technology on the teaching of English language skills to Saudi university students, emphasizing digital technologies, pedagogical frameworks, contextual variables, and research quality. Using PRISMA guidelines, 17 empirical research published between 2021 and 2025 were examined. The results show that Learning Management Systems (like Blackboard), mobile-assisted language learning tools (like WhatsApp), multimedia resources, and new artificial intelligence (AI) applications like automatic writing evaluation systems are all being used by the language teachers. Technology integration yielded primarily advantageous results, particularly in enhancing speaking, reading, and writing skills; nevertheless, grammar and pronunciation were insufficiently examined. The review emphasizes that the efficacy of technology is significantly influenced by institutional infrastructure, the digital proficiency of instructors, and access to specialized professional development. In terms of approach, the majority of studies utilized mixed-methods and perception-based designs, exhibiting a scarcity of experimental and longitudinal research. There were substantial gaps found in skill-specific methods, AI integration beyond writing, and rigorous outcome measurement. The study signifies that integrating technology-enhanced EFL instruction with evidence-based instructional methods and continuous institutional support is vital for attaining measurable language gains and supporting Saudi Vision 2030’s goals of digital transformation and human capital development.
The Discourse of Trauma and Representations of Resilience: A Semiotic and Discursive Analysis of the Film Sudan: A Hospital Under Siege
This study examines the documentary film Sudan: A Hospital Under Siege, focusing on how it frames a discourse of marginalization and resistance through linguistic and visual techniques. Employing a qualitative approach that draws on critical discourse analysis (Fairclough, 1995; van Dijk, 1993) and multimodal semiotics (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2001; Halliday & Hasan, 1989; Aiello, 2020), the study reveals how spoken testimonies and visual imagery collaborate to expose institutional neglect and convey stories of resilience. Key findings include the film's satirization of the "absent authority" through the foregrounding of infrastructural collapse and its reimagining of victims as subjects of moral resilience. Visual signs, such as malnourished children, bombed-out classrooms, and operating room teamwork, are texts fraught with ethical and political meaning. The paper argues that the film is not only a documentary but also a semiotic intervention that disrupts language, images, and power relations. It is an indictment of injustice and a validation of silenced voices in a forgotten war zone.
The Effect of TED Talk-Based Flipped Instruction on EFL Students’ Discourse Management in Speaking Performance
This research examines the effect of the flipped learning approach with TED Talks support on discourse management, particularly thematic development, coherence, and cohesion in the EFL students' speaking performances at a Vietnamese university. Fifty-seven English-major participants who were divided into an experimental group (EG) and a control group (CG) completed pre- and post-speaking tests. The data were analyzed using independent and paired sample t-tests, as well as ANCOVA. The results showed significant improvements in the EG in all three dimensions of discourse management, with high effect sizes, confirming the pedagogical value of using authentic input in combination with active and learner-centered practices. The study additionally proposes practical implications for curriculum design and language teaching as well as limitations and recommendations for future studies.
The Legacy of Transgenerational Trauma: A Qualitative Study of Elif Shafak’s The Island of Missing Trees
Elif Shafak is regarded as one of the most acclaimed authors of the twenty-first-century Turkish literature. Her works are authentic and distinctive, and most of her characters personify the enigma of displacement and the ensuing trauma–an experience that Shafak herself encountered. The protagonist of the novel, Defne, grapples helplessly with her past after being uprooted from her motherland, and this hinders her ability to live a pleasant life in the present. Defne, a native of the war-torn Cyprus, is burdened by displacement, and she bears the brunt of the past that ruthlessly infiltrates her present. Another appalling impact of displacement is that not only does the victim undergo the traumatic trials but the repercussions are also transferred to the succeeding generations. This paper tries to explore the magnitude of such an impact as well. Taking recourse to the metaphor, “the Sword of Damocles,” which exactly expresses the emotional turmoil that endangers Defne’s life, this paper examines how the past wreaks havoc on her existence and how her tribulations are transferred to the succeeding generation, Ada, her daughter. Though Defne wrestles with her daunting images and emotions of the past, helplessly anticipating recovery, the octopus-like grip of the past crushes and suffocates her to death. In the light of the novel’s events, the paper chronicles the interconnected sequences of forced displacement, the gradual but lethal progression to the disruption of one's self, and the culmination in the form of the disintegration of her mind and body.
Ethnopoetic Codes in Kazakh Media: Transformations of Proverbs, Mythologemes and Zhyrau Poetry
A comprehensive examination of the use of linguistic units with national-cultural content in contemporary media and the disclosure of their pragmatic dimension are of both theoretical and practical importance. The article explores the function of language as a cultural code representing national identity, as well as the manifestation of linguo-cultural units and ethno-poetic codes in the language of the modern press. From a linguo-cultural perspective, the study analyzes the paremial repertoire, mythologemes, and the transformation of zhyr traditions (zhyrau tolgau) in contemporary discourse. Such linguo-cultural units, being core objects of national artistic creativity, today serve as key instruments in identifying ethno-poetic codes. The research employs textual analysis, comparative-historical methods, as well as linguo-cultural and cultural studies interpretation, allowing for a comprehensive investigation of their semantic, pragmatic, and stylistic functions. The collected materials reveal the ethno-poetic foundations of linguistic creativity in Kazakhstani press and highlight new dimensions in transmitting national worldview and cultural memory.