Sumerianz Journal of Education, Linguistics and Literature

    
Online ISSN: 2617-1201
Print ISSN: 2617-1732

Quarterly Published (4 Issues Per Year)

Journal Website: https://www.sumerianz.com/?ic=journal-home&journal=33

Archive

Volume 4 Issue 1 (2021)

Politeness Strategies in Health Care Providers and Patients’ Communication

Authors : Mariam I. Athuman ; Eustard R. Tibategeza
DOI : doi.org/10.47752/sjell.41.30.39
Abstract:
This paper focuses on politeness strategies used by health care providers and patients in their interaction. Data collection was done in four hospitals within Nyamagana Municipality in Mwanza using observation and interview methods. The study employed content qualitative method and the theory of politeness as provided by Brown and Levinson (1987) for the analysis and presentation of data. The study employed the theory of politeness by Brown and Levinson (1987). Key findings reveal that different politeness strategies such as positive, negative, off-record and bald on record were employed in the communication between health care providers and patients. The study indicates that among the four politeness strategies employed, positive politeness was the dominant one while bald on record was rarely used. Moreover, the study reveals that there are different cases in which inappropriate use of the strategies of politeness led to impoliteness. It is recommended that health care providers and patients should consider using language in a way that will reduce the social distance between them which can impact their communication and health outcomes. This can be achieved by an appropriate application of politeness strategies in their interaction.

Pages: 30-39

A Corpus-Based Research on Ditransitive Constructions with Tell and Say

Authors : Hafissatou KANE
DOI : doi.org/10.47752/sjell.41.23.29
Abstract:
Learners’ errors give insights to teachers, textbook writers, curriculum designers and many applied linguists about the learning difficulty in the acquisition of a target language. Studying systematically these errors is therefore considered indispensable in learning teaching process. Basing on the corpus-based model, this paper investigates the constructions of two ditransitive verbs: TELL and SAY which cause much trouble to second language learners. After analysing the exam copies of 200 second-year students in the English department of Cheikh Anta DIOP University of Dakar, the study comes up with two general observations. First, the analysis of the overall data shows that learners of the corpus largely prefer using TELL (62, 5%) to SAY (14, 5%). The second observation is, these students use more correctly the ditransitive form involving TELL than SAY. For instance, 79, 2% of them employ TELL in the double object construction corresponding to the basic structure TELL + someone + something, while only 5,1% correctly use the dative construction of SAY which is SAY + something + to + someone. These findings conform to several studies which claim that the dative form is the most complicated construction, and is consequently the rarely used one. All of this indicates, that even if these students are English majors, they are still in their basic level in the acquisition of ditransitive constructions. This suggests that special strategies and mechanisms are required in teaching and learning ditransitive verbs. More efforts are also needed in teaching and learning constructions in grammar (e.g. alternating pairs like Passive /Active, Will /Be going to, Verb-particle constructions etc.). This will help students become more accurate in using English, the target language.

Pages: 23-29

Self-Concept, Self-Efficacy and Self Esteem As Predictors of Academic Performance in Mathematics among Junior Secondary School Students in Edo State

Authors : Margaret Ose Asika
DOI : doi.org/10.47752/sjell.41.15.22
Abstract:
This study examined Self-Concept, Self-Efficacy, and Self-Esteem as Predictors of Academic Performance in Mathematics among Junior Secondary School Students in Edo State. The main purpose of the study is to determine the relationship between self-concept and academic performance in mathematics of Junior Secondary School students in Edo state. The study adopted the correlation research design. A sample of 3,639 was drawn from a population of 36,615 junior students in Edo state. The data generated for the study were obtained through a self designed questionnaire. Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple Regression were used to analysed the data collected. The result obtained revealed the following: there was a positive relationship between self-concept and academic performance in mathematics among junior secondary school students, there was also a negative relationship between self-efficacy and academic performance in mathematics among junior secondary school students in Edo state. The study thus concluded that self-concept and self-efficacy are not only significantly related to academic performance, they significantly predict academic performance of students. It was therefore recommended that adequate and sufficient attention must be given to sustain the development of positive self-concept and self-efficacy of students in the school system, while deliberate efforts should be made to build up the self-esteem of the students and Teachers should be offered professional guidance by educational authorities on these self-constructs in students as an avenue to improve on students’ academic performance.

Pages: 15-22

The Use of Proverbs and Idiomatic Expressions in Chinua Achebe’s ‘No Longer at Ease’ and ‘Arrow of God’

Authors : Khaleel Bakheet Khaleel Ismail
DOI : doi.org/10.47752/sjell.41.10.14
Abstract:
The main aim of this paper is to critically analyze and examine the use of proverbs and idiomatic expressions in the two novels of Chinua Achebe; ‘No Longer at Ease’ and ‘Arrow of God’. It basically probes deconstructively, the sociocultural norms, traditions, and communal practices in Achebe’s narratives as exemplified via proverbs and idiomatic expressions in the selected texts. It is an analytical descriptive and thematic study whereby, proverbs are carefully sorted out, explained and analyzed according the contexts of their occurrences. After a thorough analysis   of the primary texts, the paper concludes that, Achebe has skillfully uses the proverbs as vessels of folklore and oral traditions and to buttress is ideas in addition to present his people’s collective thoughts, beliefs, cultural values and lifestyle. Thus, understanding his novels readers are recommended to contextualize his texts and put them within the confines of his schematic cultural milieu; because Achebe has juxtaposed the meanings of these proverbs manipulatively to project some aspects of African cultural and folkloric elements against the Western stereotypes.

Pages: 10-14

A Perspective on the Progress of the Theatre of Saad al-Faraj, with Emphasis on Censorship in Kuwait and the challenged Play Custom is Second Nature

Authors : Ali Ali al-Anezi
DOI : doi.org/10.47752/sjell.41.1.9
Abstract:
This study is an examination of the life and work of the Kuwaiti dramatist Saad al-Faraj (1938 - ). al-Faraj’s name is virtually unknown in the West – particularly in the English-speaking West, although he is well known in Arab World. Only one academic study of any significance has appeared in Arabic on this eminent and fascinating dramatist, who was honoured by NCCAL and the Arab Theatre Institute at the end of his life. This study do not attempt to be comprehensive but focus on particular stages of al-Faraj’s career. This study is, therefore, the only one to attempt to see al-Faraj whole. To do so it combines an account of his life which seeks to comprehend the various forces that shaped his thinking with an analysis of one of his main dramatic work. The study concentrates on the years following the trauma inflicted on the Arab world by the catastrophe of the defeat of June 1967. Al-Faraj’s career can be divided into two phases: the immature plays of his young manhood; his late period – the ‘Epic theatre’, when his Nasrism politics were the main factor shaping his drama.  The study places al-Faraj in his historical and sociocultural context and provides a brief background explaining the literary and theatrical traditions of the Arab world that influenced his activity as a dramatist. His late work is then examined in turn and his play Custom is Second Nature is analysed in accordance with the focus of the study. This means given to the late period, but no significant work is neglected. The study aims to trace the trajectory of al-Faraj’s development using a variety of sources: the plays themselves, al-Faraj’s own journalism and critical writings, interviews with him, and his close friends and colleagues, in addition to a number of journals, books and articles, some of which contain important interviews with  al-Faraj that shed light on his thought and ways of working. Conclusions will be drawn but, more importantly, questions will be raised, and it is hoped that scholars will consider this playwright and his work a subject meriting further research.

Pages: 1-9