Ethno-Cultural Identity of Northeast India with Reference to Temsula Ao’s Select Poems

Northeast part of India is known for its ethnogenic significance which has many roots of civilization, and it is distinct from the other part of the country. Therefore, the culture of Northeast India faces tremendous challenges due to its vast ethnographic diversity. Temsula Ao, is one of the most widely read and studied women writers of North-East India. She has been the recipient of many awards including the Padma Shri in 2007 and the Sahitya Akademi award in 2013.  She is also a pioneer writer from Nagaland. The main aim of this study is to explore ethno-cultural aesthetics of the Northeast Indian region which exists in Temsula Ao’s poetry. For that purpose, fifteen of her poems are selected from her anthology titled Books of Songs. The select poems were analysed qualitatively.  This descriptive qualitative research methodology deals how Ao-Naga regional people know about human values, beliefs, behavious, and social conditions within their own environmental contexts. The major finding of this paper is in what way Temsula Ao revitalizes Ao-Naga culture and tradition by picturising her region, history and condition of women relating them with nature through her poems. Implications were identified for the people of diverse cultural backgrounds. And, it is concluded that the beauty of a region is retained by the people who have a staunch belief in their traditional cultural values and ethics

Diagnosing Engineering Students’ Competence of English Language Skills at Entry Level Academic Programme

In the Indian context, an academic study program at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) comprises a mixed group of learners coming from various social-economic, education, and a wide range of linguistic backgrounds. These learners secure admission into various engineering programs at IITs, having qualified for the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE), a national-level competitive exam. To qualify for this exam, students prepare rigorously, even at the school level. The JEE exam tests students’ knowledge in the core subjects such as Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Aptitude and Reasoning; hence, students seem to focus more on these core subjects but not on the English language. These learners vary widely in their English language proficiency level in terms of oral and written English proficiency. It is believed that the level of language proficiency of learners has a direct influence on their academic performance in the program in which they are admitted. Therefore, the study aims at diagnosing 405 engineering students’ competence of English language skills at the entry-level undergraduate engineering study programs of Bachelor of Technology at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar. A diagnostic test that comprised the components of English language skills was designed and administered to 405 students. The results were analyzed and interpreted qualitatively and quantitatively. It was found that the majority of the students who performed well in the test had better education backgrounds. For the students who performed poorly, the study recommends possible implications besides some remedial measures

Building Students’ Personality for Employment Readiness through Soft-skills Training

A winning personality is the physical attribute of a person and is considered as his or her success in personal, academic, and professional careers. However, in the ESL context, most engineering students seem to be unaware of the need for and importance of an appealing personality for achieving success in both personal and professional careers. Although students are given a short-term training in soft-skills by their respective college or institute, engineering students seem to lack aspects of a pleasing personality which helps them in job placements and later in the work environment. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to understand and build engineering students’ personality traits such as enthusiasm, dependability, and teamwork for a successful career. For this purpose, to understand the students’ personality types, 25 engineering students were administered a pre-test based on Carl Jung and Isabel Briggs Myers’ typological approach to personality. Students were helped in building personality through the soft-skills training. The data was analyzed and interpreted both qualitatively and quantitatively. The results indicated that having a pleasing personality and exhibiting soft-skills enables in building students’ individual personality for employment readiness. Implications were offered to students, placement trainers, and teachers. It is concluded that having a charming personality will support students in landing their desired jobs

242 An Overview of Saudi EFL Learners' Self-assessment of Vocabulary Learning Strategies LANGUAGE IN INDIA Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow An Overview of Saudi EFL Learners' Self-assessment of Vocabulary Learning Strategies

Abstract This paper presents Saudi EFL learners' self-assessment of vocabulary learning strategies. The participants of the study were 50 advanced Saudi EFL learners. 25 statements of vocabulary learning strategies were presented to the learners for selfassessment on a 0-4 point scale. The data was analyzed qualitatively. Results show that learners are unaware of the most of the strategies and also do not use them in learning words. It was found that learners' poor language skills at school level indicate learners' lack of awareness and use of vocabulary strategies. This paper suggests that acquirin