MOBILE ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING (MALL):Teacher uses of smartphone applications (apps) to support undergraduate students’ English as a Foreign Language (EFL) vocabulary development

The purpose of this study is to highlight how smartphones, specifically smartphone applications, can be integrated into the vocabulary development of adult English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) or English for Academic Studies (EAS) context. In the literature on Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL), it is largely claimed that the development of language-related technology is on the increase and that the number of tech-savvy students will also grow in the future. These ubiquitous tools, which may also be defined as widely-used, could potentially improve teaching and learning outcomes in vocabulary development, especially through applications installed on smartphones. However, schools and other higher education institutes have not yet fully integrated these devices into their courses and have mostly perceived them as distractors. Moreover, there is limited research on how smartphones could be utilised sensibly, both inside and outside the classroom. This study, therefore, aims to explore methods and approaches which could facilitate vocabulary development and pre-teach EAP words outside the classroom through smartphone applications, while saving in-class time for other activities. The focus in the present study is on vocabulary development, as it is considered to be a priority area in language learning. The majority of language teachers and applied linguistic researchers have recognised the importance of vocabulary learning and aim to promote it further. McCarthy (1990) promotes the idea further, stating that the single, biggest component of any language course through the experience of most language teachers is vocabulary. It is the knowledge of words, which expresses a wide range of meaning. The participants in the present study were required to develop their academic vocabulary, this being a common problem area for EFL learners. Academic vocabulary development is important for them, because when submitting academic assignments, learners have a pressing need to use advanced level academic vocabulary items. This study was conducted using a case-study approach focusing on 20 EFL students at a university in Britain who were attending Pre-sessional EAP classes during the period of the study. Uses of smartphone applications were developed by the teacher, who also acted as the researcher in this study. The focus has been on the students’ perceptions, opinions and overall experience of using these smartphone applications in their EAP vocabulary development, as well as how effective they were. The intention was to discover how the tools can be incorporated into the learning process. The data were collected through questionnaires, a pre-test and a post-test, interviews, diaries and the researcher’s logbook. The latter included a written report of the students’ daily activities and learning experiences, their challenges and success/lack of success in learning. The study provides a rich description and analysis of the effectiveness of smartphone applications in vocabulary development mainly through qualitative data analysis. Limited use of quantitative analysis is made when reporting through numbers and percentages as well as displaying figures. It is anticipated that the results of the study will help to determine the appropriate use of smartphone applications in the vocabulary development of adult EFL students

A linguistic landscape study of signage in Museum Angkut Batu East Java

Recently, there has been growing interest in the study about the linguistic landscape. Linguistic landscape study investigates a new approach to multilingualism and is typically focused on signs in public area. This research aims to find out the linguistic landscape in Museum Angkut. This study analyzed language displayed, the characteristic of the signs and the reason of showing those signs. The present study utilized an exploratory design and the data in the present study was collected and analyzed first quantitatively and then qualitatively. The researcher took 306 pictures that were collected from the street, parking lots and outdoors, main building, and an interview with the Museum Angkut authority. The researcher used an interview to know the reason of authority showing those signs in Museum Angkut.By the end of this research, the researcher found nine different languages in Museum Angkut and spread out in three area street, parking lots and outdoors, and main building. Those languages are Indonesian, English, Chinese, Arabic, Germany, Italian, French, Dutch, and Sundanese. From 306 signs, the researcher only found one top-down signs that created by National Anti-Narcotics Agency. Although it was found nine languages, Indonesian and English are still dominant languages in Museum Angkut. The reasons for showing bi/multilingual signs are: (1) to attract the International tourists (2) to promote the product (3) to educate public (4) to present authentic atmosphere from different countries (5) to present various local culture. Moreover, the use of foreign languages are important to introduce local tourist attractions to international level.Finally, the resarcher hopes that the findings of this study can be useful for the development of science in the linguistic landscape, especially in a multilingual world. For the next researchers they should try to investigate the reader response toward the signs by spreading questionnaire or conducting an interview with the visitors

Minority Languages in Linguistic Landscape: The case of Medina in Saudi Arabia

Linguistic landscape (LL) is the linguistic objects that mark the public space (Ben-Rafael, Shohamy, Amara, & Trumper-Hecht,2006). This dissertation examined the LL of Medina, a holy city in Saudi Arabia. The study of linguistic landscape is a site-based research, meaning any study is most likely oriented by the nature of a research site and what important observations are found in that site. Accordingly, the LL study of Medina compelled us to pay attention to the role of religion. In addition, LL study has its inextricable links to multilingualism and language policy establishing it as a marker to a given community and its language status. Therefore, this dissertation is performed to fill the gap of three unexamined concepts of LL in the context of Medina; religion, multilingualism and language policy. A total of 300 signs, accompanied with interviews and recording of soundscape were conducted in three axes; the Prophet Mosque, the Central Zone, and Modern Streets. The data were analyzed quantitatively relied on several types of categorizations; Top-down vs Bottom-up, Language Arrangement, Score-system, and Religious content. The qualitative analysis revealed three themes relevant to understanding the construction of the LL of Medina; religion, language policy, minority languages, and globalization. The investigation yielded valuable insights into the language ecology of the city and the ways in which everyday citizens and visitors to the city experienced the multilingual environment. The findings indicated that religion, to a large extent, contributes in shaping the public sphere of Medina in different applications such as to show the citys identity, and to introduce its holiness. In commercial signs, religious elements were commodified to appeal to customers, as well as to construct tokenism around a product. The study also found that in some parts of Medina multilingualism is a normal and everyday part of public life. Primarily, because of the religious importance of the Prophet Mosque that is a focal point of the city, and prime destination for religious pilgrims and visitors. The varied methods and analysis in this study led to a complex picture of the LL, and subsequently, understanding of the language policy of Medina. While Arabic is the dominant language in the city, multiple languages are also used in official and nonofficial signs, suggesting that there is permissible use of different languages, and that government was aware of the need to disseminate messages and religious education to international visitors

6th International Meeting on Retouching of Cultural Heritage, RECH6

RECH Biennial Meeting is one of the largest educational and scientific events in Retouching field, an ideal venue for conservators and scientists to present their research results about retouching. The main focus will be to promote the exchange of ideas, concepts, terminology, methods, techniques and materials applied during the retouching process in different areas of conservation: mural painting, easel painting, sculpture, graphic documentation, architecture, plasterwork, photography, contemporary art, among others. This Meeting aims to address retouching by encouraging papers that contribute to a deeper understanding of this final task of the conservation and restoration intervention. The main theme embraces the concepts of retouching, the criteria and limits in the retouching process, the bad retouching impact on heritage and their technical and scientific developments.This Meeting will discuss real-life approaches on retouching, focusing on practical solutions and on sharing experiencesColomina Subiela, A.; Doménech García, B.; Bailão, A. (2023). 6th International Meeting on Retouching of Cultural Heritage, RECH6. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/RECH6.2021.1601

Rethinking Theatrical Documents in Shakespeare’s England

This book is open access and available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. It is funded by Knowledge Unlatched. Rethinking Theatrical Documents brings together fifteen major scholars to analyse and theorise the documents, lost and found, that produced a play in Shakespeare’s England. Showing how the playhouse frantically generated paratexts, it explores a rich variety of entangled documents, some known and some unknown: from before the play (drafts, casting lists, actors’ parts); during the play (prologues, epilogues, title-boards); and after the play (playbooks, commonplace snippets, ballads) – though ‘before’, ‘during’ and ‘after’ intertwine in fascinating ways. By using collective intervention to rethink both theatre history and book history, it provides new ways of understanding plays critically, interpretatively, editorially, practically and textually

Rethinking Theatrical Documents in Shakespeare’s England

This book is open access and available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. It is funded by Knowledge Unlatched. Rethinking Theatrical Documents brings together fifteen major scholars to analyse and theorise the documents, lost and found, that produced a play in Shakespeare’s England. Showing how the playhouse frantically generated paratexts, it explores a rich variety of entangled documents, some known and some unknown: from before the play (drafts, casting lists, actors’ parts); during the play (prologues, epilogues, title-boards); and after the play (playbooks, commonplace snippets, ballads) – though ‘before’, ‘during’ and ‘after’ intertwine in fascinating ways. By using collective intervention to rethink both theatre history and book history, it provides new ways of understanding plays critically, interpretatively, editorially, practically and textually

Bread, Cement, Cactus

In this prize-winning exploration of the meaning of home, Annie Zaidi reflects on the cultural conflicts in India that have shaped her identity. Zaidi provides a nuanced perspective on land and regional affinity, migration and otherisation, and the ways in which memory works to attach us to a particular place