THE USE OF ARISTOTLE’S CATEGORIES IN WORD DEFINITIONS IN ESL/EFL CONTEXTS
1Recep Bilgin, 2Yunus Yildiz
1,2Department of Languages, Education Faculty, Tishk International University, Iraq
Emails: 1recep.bilgin@tiu.edu.iq, 2yunus.yildiz@tiu.edu.iq
Correspondence: recep.bilgin@tiu.edu.iq
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31972/vesal12.12
Abstract
The categories introduced to the world of science by Aristotle basically express the different situations necessary for the definition of a noun. According to Aristotle, who put forward 9 different categories related to the noun, the features that will distinguish an object from others are determined by these categories. In its definition, the noun is expressed as substance, while the other categories are determined as accidents. In addition, he mentioned 4 different causes of the existence of an object. All these are effectively used for word definitions, especially in dictionaries. The concepts of universal, which are related to the word, and differentia, which distinguish the word from others in its own kind, are the concepts that dictionaries especially focus on. Knowing and using these concepts correctly by teachers will help students understand better. This study was conducted to confirm this aim. In this study, 15 teachers were asked to define the given words and then the problematic situations in the definitions were mentioned to the teachers. Afterwards, the issue of categories and what universal and differentia are, were explained to the teachers and asked to redefine the words. In this case, it has been observed that teachers were more successful. In addition, the word definitions were given to the students, and they were asked what the word was. The rate of students knowing the words correctly was found to be sixty-two percent.
Key Words: Aristotle, Categories, Word Definitions, ESL / EFL context
1Bunyamin Celik, 2Recep Bilgin
1,2Department of Languages, Education Faculty, Tishk International University, Iraq
Emails:1bunyamin.celik@tiu.edu.iq, 2recep.bilgin@tiu.edu.iq
Correspondence: bunyamin.celik@tiu.edu.iq
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31972/vesal12.11
Abstract
Specific learning disability is a psychological and mental disorder that prevents students from learning like normal students, especially in the primary school period. While other people often see this condition of students as a mental problem, it is treatable. They generally do not have any problems with their intelligence, and it is possible to educate them so as to be normal individuals because they are normal indeed. The application of the curriculum suitable for these students is very important to overcome the problem. Although they may exhibit some behaviours that are not compatible with their age because of slow improvement of emotional quotient, they may change into normal individuals in time. It is very common for the teachers to behave these students as if they are mentally retarded. In fact, the case is quite different. In this study, we applied a questionnaire to detect how aware the teachers are of their situation and how they approach these students. The aim of the study is to show that many teachers have the false idea that these students as if they were mentally retarded and there is nothing to do for them. A Likert-scale questionnaire was applied, and the teachers’ opinions were taken through it. The questions are about how aware the teachers are of these students and if they think these students are mentally retarded. In total, 789 teachers participated in the questionnaire, and 69% of them think that these students have mental problems.
Key Words: Specific Learning Difficulty, Dyslexia, Intelligence
Ahmed Qader Mohamedamin
Kurdistan Higher Council of Medical Specialties
Presidency Office
International Relations
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31972/vesal12.09
Abstract
This research aims to discover a different definition of interpretation and to prove that non-verbal communication is a fundamental part of interpretation. Therefore, an interpreter without a good knowledge of non-verbal communication cannot be a complete interpreter. The interpretation process is not only the process of meaning transference from one language to another; it is also the transference of the meaning of non-verbal communication such as; facial expression, tone of voice, eye contact etc.
The problem of this study is that most interpreters do not take non-verbal communication into consideration, and they do not have enough information about it. This will be proved through an incident occurred while USA president Joe Biden delivered a speech in April this year for which all details of the reason illustrated clearly. The lack of knowledge about non-verbal communication can cause problems while interpreting or analyzing a speech of a president or a government official or speaker. It leads to misunderstanding and misinterpretation that might be embarrassing for the interpreter and the organization or the Media network they are working for.
Non-verbal communication can be used in different forms, each illustrating or replacing a specific part of verbal communication. It contains many more figures than anyone might think in the first place. So non-verbal signs/Communications play a significant role in the interpretation. It is the essential base in the interpretation process; interpreters have to concentrate on these elements to carry out a successful interpreting process and achieve great interpretation results.
The data of this study is mainly taken from books and articles about translation, Interpretation and Nonverbal Communication. The exemplification is primarily drawn from English sources, books and articles that have partly been opted out depending on self-experience. Therefore, it is analyzed through a questionnaire in which eighteen professional translators/interpreters are asked seven questions regarding the importance of Non-Verbal Communication in Oral Translation. In conclusion, the outcome of this manuscript reiterated that interpretation and Non-Verbal Communication complete each other; the latter cannot be perfect without the former.
Keywords: Oral Translation, Non-Verbal Communications, Interpretations, Facial Expression, Interpretation.
Assist. Prof.Dr. Lanja A. Dabbagh Wrya Izzadin Ali Assist. Prof. Dr.
English Department, College of Languages, Salahaddin University- Hawler
Wyra.ali@su.edu.krd lanja.dabbagh@su.edu.krd
DOI: http://doi.org/10.31972/vesal12.08
Abstract
Interpreting as a profession has become the center of interest and focus for many linguists, translation scholars, translators, and professionals. Interpreting has played a vital role in bridging the gap and maintaining relationships among people of different languages. The output of interpreting, unlike written translation is entirely oral leaving behind no written proof. Interpreting is an activity or a process which consists of the facility of oral and sign language communicated either consecutively or simultaneously between two or more speakers who are not speaking the same language. Interpretation is the act of transposing a message from one language to another immediately in real time.
The study sheds light mostly upon non- linguistic factors in the process of interpreting which can be of no less important than the linguistic ones. The aim of the study is to provide an overview of interpreting in general with a detailed description of the non- linguistic strategies or skills from the perspective of interpreting process. Bearing these in tactics in mind, the interpreter tackles the interpreting problems and difficulties in a more skillful way.
Key Words: Non- Linguistic Aspects, Interpreting, Paralinguistics Aspects, Verbal and non- verbal messages.
Department of English- College of Education/ Salahaddin University-Erbil
Department of English- College of Education/ Salahaddin University-Erbil
Rizgar.mahmood@su.edu.krd
DOI: http://doi.org/10.31972/vesal12.07
Abstract
To be able to use the target language sentence structure efficiently, a speaker needs to learn and have a very large number of words (Nation, 2013). Research shows that understanding the meaning of a word is not sufficient, rather, it involves more than just its meaning; such as spelling, and grammatical behavior (Pigada & Schmitt, 2006). Vocabulary acquisition requires effective methods. One of the methods of learning vocabulary is learning the process of word formation in the target language. This research aims at investigating and exploring one of the productive word-formation processes in the English language which is conversion or zero-derivation in which the grammatical category of a word is changed without adding any affixes. For instance, every day, I walk(V) to the park near my house, or, every day, I take a walk(N) with my dog. The results will have several pedagogical implications for researchers, teachers, and learners. Based on the presented data in the current study, it can be concluded that zero-morph can be considered one of the productive word-formation processes, and pedagogical implications are discussed in the discussion section.
Keywords: Word-formation, conversion, Kurdish EFL learners, vocabulary acquisition
1KanarZirak Haseeb Chicho
English Language Teaching Department, Education Faculty, Tishk International University – Erbil kanar.zirak@tiu.edu.iq
2Ahmed Hussin Abdulla
Independent Researcher
ahmadd.hussein1998@gmail.com
DOI: http://doi.org/10.31972/vesal12.06
Abstract
Language educators aim to promote speaking skills because speaking skills are one of the productive skills that make language learners create meaningful conversations and dialogues with the target language. There are different methods and strategies for promoting speaking skills, such as communicative language teaching (CLT) and story-telling strategies. CLT aims to have communication and discussions in the class, and so does the story-telling. The researchers conducted studies on making foreign language learners speak the target language. They concluded that enhancing speaking skills requires actively involved students, and for that, the language instructors need to use some tools and strategies. Moreover, the story-telling strategy involves the students practicing their speaking skills, and this technique aims to improve their speaking skills in a real-life situation. Thus, this research paper explores the values of story-telling strategies in the EFL classroom. A qualitative research design was implemented, and the data was collected from secondary sources such as research articles. For analyzing the data, a thematic analysis was used. The results demonstrated that story-telling was highly sufficient in improving speaking skills. It enhances the capacity of capturing new vocabularies, fostering pronunciation. It also enables the learner’s imitation skill, expanding the learner’s communication, including their criticality, and increasing the learning desire to use the target language. In brief, story-telling strategies help the language learners to use the target language, and it also helps the learners to improve their speaking skills.
Keywords; Language teaching, speaking skills, story-telling, communication, EFL classroom
Alaa Younis Mohammad
Salahaddin University/ Erbil
alaa.mohammad@su.edu.krd
DOI: http://doi.org/10.31972/vesal12.05
Abstract
Semantic transfer, or sometimes semantic change, occurs when a word drops its old meaning and comes to refer to something different. This results in a change in a word’s meaning. The changes in meaning are usually gradual. Many words in both languages, English and Kurdish, have gone through semantic transfer, whether the change is an extension or narrowing of the original meaning of them. This paper compares a set of words in the two languages in terms of their semantically transferred sense of the original meaning they used to convey. Those words are sometimes used interchangeably by the Kurdish students as a result of language interference between their first language which is Kurdish, and English which is the target language of their learning.
Keywords: Second Language Learning, Semantic change, Semantic transfer.
Distinctiveness of Juncture in English and Central Kurdish
Pakhshan I. Hamad(PhD)
Lecturer
Salahaddin University-Erbil
College of Education
Pakhshan.hamad@su.edu.krd
DOI: http://doi.org/10.31972/vesal12.04
Abstract
The present study attempts to find out the distinctiveness of juncture(pauses within words, phrases and sentences) in English and central Kurdish. Juncture is the relationship between one sound and the sounds that immediately precede and follow it. It is a morphophonemic phenomenon with double signification , a suprasegmental phoneme which changes the meaning and is important for phonological descriptions of languages. The aim of this study is to see how juncture affects the meaning of words , phrases and sentences. Slow or rapid speech can also determine the use of juncture which marks the break between sounds and the phonological boundary of words, phrases or sentences. However, the ambiguity of meaning resulting from the placement of juncture can be solved by context. Stress placement on certain words also affects the use of juncture and leads to a change in meaning. In this study, English and Central Kurdish junctures were identified within words, phrases and sentences. Based on the data collected and presented, it was found out that juncture in English is distinctive at all levels , namely , simple words, phrases and sentences .In Central Kurdish, however, juncture is distinctive in compound words and sentences. As for the sentence level, because Kurdish is an agglutinative language, there are cases where the pause or juncture is closely related to the morphological structure of the words and the personal clitics and prefixes added to the end. As for the implications of the results in the field of practice , teachers must take these into consideration while teaching stress , intonation and other aspects of connected speech.
Keywords: Distinctiveness , Juncture in English, Juncture in Kurdish
Rashwan Ramadan Salih
College of Education, Department of English, Salahaddin University – Erbil
DOI: http://doi.org/10.31972/vesal12.03
Abstract
This paper investigates the effect of using discourse markers on the writing skills of Kurdish university students. By revising the related literature, it appeared that so far there is no consensus on the actual effect of the explicit presence of discourse markers on foreign language writing. Many studies concluded that different discourse markers have different effects on the writing of foreign language learners (Morell, 2004; Ying, 2007; Castro and Marcela 2009; Dariush and Mohamad 2015, etc.). The current research tries to find out if there are any cross-linguistic factors that could cause issues for students in EFL modules. Data for the current study were collected from essays written by Kurdish students at the English Department in Salahaddin University, Erbil. In total, 20 essays were received with total of 19872 words and total 261 DMs were found in the data. A mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods was used to analyse the data. The raw frequencies of the DMs were: Additive (101 = 0.5 %), Adversative (45 = 0.22 %), Causal / Conditional (83 = 0.4 %), and Temporal (32 = 0.16 %). The findings suggested that level of attention to and appropriate use of discourse markers were significantly unbalanced, and various misuses were found. Sample errors in using the DMs were selected for a qualitative analysis. It is recommended that discourse markers are taught individually not in groups with more focus on the more difficult discourse marker types.
Key words: TEFL, Writing, Discourse Markers,
Rekan Rasheed Ismail1
College of Education, Department of English, Salahaddin University-Erbil
eden03418@student.su.edu.krd
Nawsha Ghaleb2
College of Education, Department of English, Salahaddin University-Erbil
nawsha.shareef@su.edu.krd
DOI: http://doi.org/10.31972/vesal12.02
Abstract
Minor changes and improvements have been made to syllabi in the universities in Erbil-Kurdistan over the years. Hence, this research aims to bring to light the need for student-centered syllabus in Erbil- Kurdistan. It further aims to find out the degree to which the syllabi of syntax class are student-centered, assess the items mentioned in the syntax syllabi, and identify the frequency range of the existing student-centered factors. Additionally, it identifies the items in the syllabi that need to be modified towards a more student-centered format. Document review is adopted as a quantitative research tool for collecting data. 15 syllabi of syntax class have been collected in 8 public and private universities in Erbil-Kurdistan. To assess the learner-centeredness of the collected syllabi, the researchers adapted Cullen and Harris’ (2009) rubric in accordance to the syllabi in the universities in Kurdistan. The results show that syllabi of syntax class in the public and private universities in Erbil-Kurdistan are teacher-centered to a high degree. Moreover, the findings also show that the syllabi of syntax class would sound more student-centered if teachers start working on certain elements in their syllabi, such as accessibility of teacher, learning rationale, teacher’s role, student’s role, grades, feedback mechanisms, and revision/redoing. The results will benefit all the teachers in Erbil-Kurdistan and show them a clear picture of the state of their syllabi in terms of student-centeredness and encourage them to work on certain aspects in their syllabi to design a more student-centered syllabus.
Key Words: Student-Centered Syllabus, Syllabus Assessment, Syllabus Design, Syntax Class, Teacher-Centered Syllabus.