VOCABULARY ACQUISITION AMONG ESL LEARNERS: A LOOK AT STRATEGIES AND BARRIERS

Having good vocabulary can help language learners go a long way towards mastering their target language. Language learners need to know both grammatical aspects as well as the meaning of words in order to communicate effectively. This study investigates the vocabulary learning strategies and also language learning barriers of undergraduates in a higher institution of learning. The instrument used for this study is a survey. The survey has three main sections; (a) personal details, (b) vocabulary strategies, and (c) language learning barriers. Data collected is analysed using SPSS and presented in the form of mean scores. Findings revealed that learners use vocabulary strategies such as metacognitive, guessing, dictionary, note-taking and rehearsal strategies. Findings also revealed that language barriers such as effective, environment and motivation can hinder learners’ learning of vocabulary of the target language. Article visualizations

ANALYSIS OF CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES IN THE MOVIE ‘OUTSOURCED’ (2006)

Cross-cultural communication has sparked many cultural misunderstandings in today’s world. This happens because of the challenges faced by people from different cultural backgrounds who communicate with each other without having knowledge or familiarity with each other cultures. Besides, different cultural values can be one of the main reasons for cross-cultural communication challenges to happen. This study aims to identify the cross-cultural communication challenges faced by the American and Indian main characters in the movie ‘Outsourced’ (2006). This study investigates the cross-cultural communication challenges faced by the main characters from two different countries: America and India and how the challenges affect them. The researcher employed a qualitative research design by using content analysis to identify the challenges faced by them. The researcher employed two types of data: primary and secondary data, to collect the best materials to support this study to have a better understanding of the study. The researcher employed the purposive sampling method to select the movie that depicted the cross-cultural communication challenges. In this study, the researchers used coding guidelines and coding themes to get the relevant answers to the research questions. The researcher analysed six themes according to the Stumbling Block in Intercultural Communication by Laray M. Barna (1994) to answer the research questions of this study. The results are presented in a table to get a clear view of data on the cross-cultural communication challenges. This study revealed the common challenges of cross-cultural communication faced by people from different cultures based on the movie ‘Outsourced’ (2006) such as the Assumption to Similarity, Language Differences, Nonverbal Misinterpretation, Stereotype or Preconception, Tendency to Evaluate and High Anxiety or Stress. Hence, this study is significant for people who want to learn about cross-cultural communication as well as those who are in a cross-cultural situation at work or institution because it exposes cross-cultural communication challenges and their effects.  Article visualizations

LANGUAGE GAMIFICATION IN ESL CLASSROOM: TEACHING PERSPECTIVE

Language games have always been the reinforcement activities in second language acquisition. Such activities will not only help the learners to retain the knowledge but to ensure the sustainability of it for a long run. It was not until the early 2000s when researchers began to carry out studies on online language games. Soon after, the terminology of Language Gamification came into perspective. This paper discusses on the notion of language gamification from a teaching perspective. It starts by discussing the related theories on language gamification and second language acquisition before moving to discussing on creating gamification in classroom. This paper is also set to disclose the ramifications of language gamifications in teaching and learning. Article visualizations

LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS ON BUSINESS SALES PITCH SCRIPTS

Many challenges are faced by sales representatives in the effort of closing sales deal of product or service offered to their prospective clients. The goal is to persuade the clients to invest in the offered products or services. To perform this, sales representatives need a well-constructed sales script that can help them in enticing their clients. In relation to this, numerous tips and step-by-step advices are given by business professionals on how to craft a good sales script. However, looking at this situation in linguistic spectrum, it is observed that those tips and advices given are lacking justification from the linguistic perspectives which may provide new insights in the craftsmanship of a well-structured sales script. Hence, this paper serves to provide a steady parameter set to give linguistic guidelines for crafting an excellent pitch script. With reference to the theories developed by scholars like Schffrin (1994), Martin (2012), and Widdowson (1996), an analysis was conducted on 10 samples of sales script taken from one of the most successful international sales companies. Data collected shows that there are 6 different types of key linguistic components embedded within the scripts at a different frequency level. One prominent discovery of this study revealed that the different frequency of these key components leads to a rhythmic patterns and themes that immediately distinguish a good sales script with a successful one. Article visualizations

ANALYSING THE CADENCE OF GROUP CONFLICTS ACROSS GENDER DURING ONLINE LEARNING

It has been two years since the world has been forced to cope with doing things online. Even in normal face-to-face group discussions, participants face difficulties and conflicts, and now online learning has not made it any easier. This study explores the ups and downs in group discussion. 72 participants responded to a survey to find out how they perceive the conflicts in group formation. The findings in this study revealed that there were significant differences the norming stage and also performing & adjourning stage. In addition to that, the total mean score showed interesting differences across gender. Not all group formations with different genders go through conflicts. Not all team members with the same gender are conflict-free. Sometimes discussions/some activities are more difficult to carry out because of conflicts across genders are not properly addressed. Then again, not all group conflicts are negative. Conflicts are good in several ways. The conversations improve the communication and negotiation skills of the team members. In addition to that, defending for one’s point helps to sharpen critical thinking skills. The findings in this study cannot be generalized for all situations in group work. This study can be a springboard for more group formation and group conflicts research. Article visualizations

EPIdemiology of Surgery-Associated Acute Kidney Injury (EPIS-AKI) : Study protocol for a multicentre, observational trial

More than 300 million surgical procedures are performed each year. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication after major surgery and is associated with adverse short-term and long-term outcomes. However, there is a large variation in the incidence of reported AKI rates. The establishment of an accurate epidemiology of surgery-associated AKI is important for healthcare policy, quality initiatives, clinical trials, as well as for improving guidelines. The objective of the Epidemiology of Surgery-associated Acute Kidney Injury (EPIS-AKI) trial is to prospectively evaluate the epidemiology of AKI after major surgery using the latest Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) consensus definition of AKI. EPIS-AKI is an international prospective, observational, multicentre cohort study including 10 000 patients undergoing major surgery who are subsequently admitted to the ICU or a similar high dependency unit. The primary endpoint is the incidence of AKI within 72 hours after surgery according to the KDIGO criteria. Secondary endpoints include use of renal replacement therapy (RRT), mortality during ICU and hospital stay, length of ICU and hospital stay and major adverse kidney events (combined endpoint consisting of persistent renal dysfunction, RRT and mortality) at day 90. Further, we will evaluate preoperative and intraoperative risk factors affecting the incidence of postoperative AKI. In an add-on analysis, we will assess urinary biomarkers for early detection of AKI. EPIS-AKI has been approved by the leading Ethics Committee of the Medical Council North Rhine-Westphalia, of the Westphalian Wilhelms-University Münster and the corresponding Ethics Committee at each participating site. Results will be disseminated widely and published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at conferences and used to design further AKI-related trials. Trial registration number NCT04165369

Ferric Sulfate and Proline Enhance Heavy-Metal Tolerance of Halophilic/Halotolerant Soil Microorganisms and Their Bioremediation Potential for Spilled-Oil Under Multiple Stresses

The aim of this study was to explore the heavy-metal resistance and hydrocarbonoclastic potential of microorganisms in a hypersaline soil. For this, hydrocarbonoclastic microorganisms were counted on a mineral medium with oil vapor as a sole carbon source in the presence of increasing concentrations of ZnSO4, HgCl2, CdSO4, PbNO3, CuSO4, and Na2HAsO4. The colony-forming units counted decreased in number from about 150 g-1 on the heavy-metal-free medium to zero units on media with 40–100 mg l-1 of HgCl2, CdSO4, PbNO3, or Na2HAsO4. On media with CuSO4 or ZnSO4 on the other hand, numbers increased first reaching maxima on media with 50 mg l-1 CuSO4 and 90 mg l-1 ZnSO4. Higher concentrations reduced the numbers, which however, still remained considerable. Pure microbial isolates in cultures tolerated 200–1600 mg l-1 of HgCl2, CdSO4, PbNO3, CuSO4, and Na2HAsO4 in the absence of crude oil. In the presence of oil vapor, the isolates tolerated much lower concentrations of the heavy metals, only 10–80 mg l-1. The addition of 10 Fe2(SO4)3 and 200 mg l-1 proline (by up to two- to threefold) enhanced the tolerance of several isolates to heavy metals, and consequently their potential for oil biodegradation in their presence. The results are useful in designing bioremediation technologies for oil spilled in hypersaline areas