LRC

  Dr. Michael Hadzatonis spoke on the subject of Discourse Analysis in Linguistic Anthropology (Part 2) on October 16, 2019, at a seminar organized by the Language Research Center.   Hadzantonis focused on Goffman's Frame theory. He stated, "Erving Goffman stipulated that instances of talk should be complexified, and that talk becomes recontextualized, predicated on its current or situated 'frame, 'following work on Frame theory by anthropologist Gregory Bates. As such, Erving Goffman suggested a methodological framework to separate the speaker into four parts: The producer, the mediator, the author, and the figure. The framework also separated the hearer into multiple parts, including the ratified audience, the unratified audience, eavesdroppers, and bystanders."   Hadzantonis added that in the 1980s, rap music changed significantly from Early New School rap to Golden Age New School rap, where the figure, that is, the person or a subject referred to in the telling, shifted from self (the rapper) to societal issue (for example drugs or violence). This signified a marked shift in rap music and in society at large, grounding Goffman as highly relevant to modern society. The talk emphasized the possibility of employing a simple analytical framework as a Discourse Analytical technique in Linguistic Anthropology, where the framework can contribute to understanding ways in which we see rap music as restylized diachronically.   The seminar was a great success. King Abdullah Road campus also participated in the seminar. Date: 11/5/2019 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique

  The 14th Annual Research Day, under the supervision of Dr. Ismail Al-Refaai, Director of the Language Research Center, was held on April 03, 2019 at King Khalid University.   This event successfully achieved the 2nd position according to the evaluation made by the Deanship of Scientific Research, King Khalid University.   This success was the result of dedicated efforts made the members of the organizing committee led by Dr. Abdullah Al-Melhi, Dean of the Faculty of Languages and Translation and Dr. Ismail Al-Refaai. The committee members included Dr. Sayed Rashid Shah, Javed Ahmed, Mohammad Adil, Azaad Hayat, Khalid Abdullah Al-Asmari, Faisal Alfadhil, Mohammad Jaber, Salahud Din Abdul Rab, Md. Mahmudul Haque, Amal Abdelsattar Metwally, and Ghada Al-Amri.   In total, there were 19 oral presentations and 28 poster displays. Date: 4/8/2019 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique

  The 14th Research Day, under the supervision of Dr. Ismail Al-Refaai, Director of the Language Research Center, was held on April 03, 2019 at King Khalid University. The program began with a recitation of the Holy Qur'an and a welcome speech by Dr. Abdullah Al-Melhi, Dean of the Faculty of Languages and Translation. In his remarks, he encouraged faculty members as well as the graduate students to take part in such an event and at the same time emphasized its importance. He highly appreciated the faculty members and especially the students who made substantial contributions to the event. He also suggested the researchers be more interested in topics having practical importance that would cater to our current teaching and learning situation. He conveyed his heartfelt thanks to the organizing committee who had worked day and night behind the scenes.   The first speaker of the first session was Dr. Abdul Wahed Al-Zumor whose presentation was titled “Stance-taking Strategies in Advanced L2 Students' Critique Writing: A Corpus Based Study”. His study explored stance-taking strategies as employed by MA Applied Linguistics students when they write a critique. Dr. Karem Abdullateef spoke on the subject of “The Effect of Training College Freshmen on Direct Negotiation Strategies on Improving Their Acquisition and Use of These Strategies and Foreign Language Anxiety”. He emphasized the improvement of students' post-performance in meaningful negotiation strategies. Dr. Hala Mohamed Osman Salih and Dr. Mazeegha Ahmed Al-Tale presented on “Saudi Female EFL Learners' Cognitive Styles and Reading Comprehension: Implications for Reading Instruction”. The paper focused on the cognitive styles of Saudi female EFL learners and their relationship to academic performance in reading comprehension. Tanzin Ara Ashraf spoke about “Strategies and Enhancing Saudi EFL Learners' Oral Fluency by TBLT (Task-Based Language Teaching) Approach”. Her presentation emphasized the application of the TBLT approach in order to enhance EFL learners' fluency in speaking.   The second session started with Dr. Ahmad Al-Faifi's paper titled "Why Does the End-Product of Students' Translations Not Match the Input (ST)?”. He concluded that many of the students' translation errors could be avoided if they made optimal use of the Arabic courses provided by the university, as well as the English ones. Dr. Adel Bahameed delivered a presentation titled “Nine Practical Formulas for Translating Proverbs” that aimed at showing the translation equivalences used and present justifications for the preferred equivalences and developing a comprehensive strategy or a model for translating proverbial expressions. Dr. Eyhab Abdulrazak Bader Eddin spoke about “Fleeting Glimpses into the Semantic Peculiarity of Translating Nouns in the Glorious Quran”. His paper concluded that the seemingly noun synonyms in the Quran are not so, resulting in a lexical asymmetry in translation. Rahaf Khalid Asiri and Ameena Awad Algarni talked about “Translation from English into Arabic from Linguistics' Perspective”. They highlighted the interrelation between linguistics (syntax and semantics) and translation, and how this relationship affects the process of translation from English into Arabic. Dr. Najat Ahmed Busabaa and Dr. Zahra Ahmed Misfer talked about “Stress Placement and the Difficulties Encountered by EFL Female Students at Faculty of Languages & Translation, KKU”. They highlighted the reasons for the inability to apply the rules of stress placement properly and practically by the EFL Female students at the Faculty of Languages & Translation. Shanjida Halim, Dr. Rizwana Wahid, Tanzina Halim, and Dr. Oveesa Farooq spoke about “Why Don't Learners Learn What Teachers Teach?”. They emphasized the fact that both teachers and learners need to go to the language classroom with well-determined plans or intentions. The last speaker of the session, Mohammad Adil, presented his paper titled “Practical Application of Learners' L1 to Teaching Meaning in EFL Classes”. He revealed that learners' first language plays a significant role in helping them with the clarification of meaning in a more straight-forward way provided the teacher simultaneously uses strategies to reduce L1's negative impact on the learning process.   The first presentation of the third session was delivered by AmatulHaffez AbdulRaheem Alvi. Her paper was titled “Multimodal Interactive Teaching Methodologies as Effective Tools in Literature Courses in EFL Classrooms”. She emphasized that there is a dire need of implementing multimodal and interactive teaching methodologies that reconcile traditional teacher-centered methodologies (LM, CM, PGM, SG, etc.). Md. Mahmudul Haque spoke on the subject of “Cognition, Metacognition and Autonomy: Understanding the EFL Learner's Cognitive Process”. He explored the connection among cognition, metacognition and learner autonomy, examined the EFL learners' cognitive process, and provided suggestions for checking the possibility to conduct empirical studies in order to identify the ways by which cognition, metacognition, and learner autonomy are connected. Dr. Shadma Iffat Rahmatullah talked about “Female Undergraduates' Inclination Towards Studying English Literature for Learning English Language”. Her study examined whether the students are inclined towards or are reluctant to study English literature for the purpose of critical study or language enhancement. The factors which lead to students' tendencies to avoid opting to choose literature for further studies were analyzed and presented. Ayman Hassan Hammady Zoli talked about “Mutual Intelligibility between Bani Malek and Al-Rayth Dialects”. The degree of mutual intelligibility between 'Malekis' and 'Al-Raythis' and the factors causing this phenomenon was highlighted. Dr. Eman Mahmoud Ibrahim Alian delivered a presentation titled “The Effect of Some Reflective Thinking Strategies Based Program on Developing Literary Reading Skills and Metacognitive Reading Awareness of the EFL Student Teachers”. Her paper examined the effect of reflective thinking strategy based programs on developing literary reading skills and metacognitive reading awareness of the EFL student teachers. Eman Alzaanin presented her paper titled “Theorizing Language Teacher Cognition: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Analysis”. She highlighted the flexibility of procedures in grounded theory to build a theory that effectively captures language teachers' cognition, explains their pedagogical practices, and depicts how language teachers perceive and react to their ecological contexts where they operate. At the conclusion of this session, Dr. Hasan Mohammed Jaashan presented his paper titled “Decoding Sense in Caricatures: A Study in Semio-Stylistics”. He showed that the relationship between sign and object in all caricatures results in one of the three ways (interpretants) and concluded that caricatures are mere connections between signs and objects. He explained that this results in formulating specific perceptions about the highlighted phenomena.   Besides the oral presentations, the following posters were displayed as well. “Paperless Assessments and Lectures in EFL classes at FLT Female Campus: Teacher's Perspective”, Aisha Alvi; “Interrogatives in Classical Arabic as Represented in the Quran”, Alaa Al-Qarni, Ashwaq Al-Qahtani, and Maryam Shami; “Inductive versus Deductive Approaches of Grammar Teaching and Learning: A Case Study on Teaching Grammar to Diploma Students at King Khalid University”, Amal Abdelsattar Metwally; “The Translation of Four Types of the Particle Lam (Casualلام التعليل, Imperativeلام الأمر, Denial Lamلام الجحود, لام جواب لو  in the Holy Quran into English”, Asma'a H. Albin Hassan, Saja Alahmari, Hajar Asiri, Ohood Al-Qahtani; “The Epistemological Aspects of Discourse Analysis Toolkit in Analyzing Business Texts”, Ayman Hamad Elneil; “Investigating the Role of Medical Terms Translation in Facilitating Learning Process for Medical Students”, Dr. Abdulrahman Elyas; “Utilization of Video Technology to Promote Saudi EFL Students' Authentic English Language: With Reference to Unlock Level 1 Course”, Dr. Ali Albashir Alhaj; “The Impact of LEP Activities on Speaking Skills: A Case Study on EFL Students at King Khalid University”, Dr. Dawood Ahmed Mahdi; “Hegemony of English and Englishes from Linguistic Imperialism and American Perspective”, Dr. Elsadigh Ali Elsadigh Elnadeef; “Demotivating Factors Affecting EFL Learning of Saudi Undergraduate Students”, Dr. Fadi Maher Al-Khasawneh; “Investigating the Role of Comprehensive Reading in Understanding the Contextual Meaning of a Written Discourse", Dr. Hasan Mahill Abdallah Hasan; “Exploring EFL Graduate Students' Attitudes Towards and the Use of Mobile Phones in Language Learning”, Dr. Ismail Al-Refaai; “Implementing the Eclectic Method to Teach English to Science Undergraduates in KKU”, Dr. Najmus Sharifa; “The Role of Motivation in Second Language Learning at King Khalid University”, Dr. Rafiq Ali Al-Shameri and Mohammad Al-Fuad; 'Ideological Conflicts in Tahmima Anam's 'The Good Muslim', Dr. Safia Asad; “Summary Writing Strategies Used by EFL Learners”, Dr. Wafa Ismail Saud; “Experience and Mystery of the Marabar Caves in A Passage to India”, Irin Sultana; “Attitudes and Perceptions of Applied Linguistics and Translation Female Students Towards Using Virtual Classes in the Master Program at King Khalid University”, Messadah Shaye Al-Qahtani; “Pedagogy: Learning Enhancement with Technology”, Nusra Mehtab and Sufia Sultana; “Investigating the Role of Classroom Interactional Activities in Developing University Students' Writing Skills at Arab Countries”, Rana Muhammad Nadim Akter; “The Impact of the Linguistic Hegemony of English on Saudi EFL Learners Identity: English Department-Female-at King Khalid University”, Rawiah Ali Al-Shehri; “Investigating Saudi Female Students' Speaking Problems and Solving Strategies in Asir Region”, Roa'a Abdullah Hussein, Khadijah Hezam Al-Shehri, Manal Mohammad Abdulhadi, and Nidaa Abdullah Albakri; “Linguistic Analysis of the Print Media Advertisements”, Saba Sarwar; “The Effect of Stopping Regression on Reading Speed and Comprehension of EFL Undergraduate Students of King Khalid University”, Salahud Din Abdul Rab; “The Impact of Using E-Learning Technologies as a Tool in EFL Learning/Teaching in the Department of English at King Khalid University: An Empirical Research on Its Effectiveness”, Samar Al-Almner; “The Impact of Age on Second Language Learner Fluency Critical Period of Speaking Second Language Fluently: A Case Study of FVIS Students”, Sara Ahmed Abdullah Alasiri; “Learning Goals and Teachers' Roles”, Sharmin Siddiqui; “An Interactive Tool to Promote Effective Learning for EFL Learners”, Sufia Sultana, Nusra Mehtab, and Richa Rastogi.   The Language Research Center is committed to enhancing and expanding scientific research efforts throughout the university system. Advanced research is a vital element of the national development strategy and a primary objective under Vision 2030. The Faculty of Languages and Translation is continually increasing its research efforts to contribute towards the achievement of these goals. It goes without saying, the 14th Research Day was a great success and it gave the participants an opportunity to discuss and share their thoughts. Date: 4/5/2019 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique Multimedia Source: Mohammad Taisir Albokai

  Those who presented research in the bi-monthly Language Research Center seminars were recognized for their hard work this academic year. The Faculty of Languages and Translation awarded certificates of appreciation at a ceremony on March 20th organized by the Language Research Center.   Dr. Yahya Asiri, Vice-Dean of Faculty of Languages and Translation, represented the department at the ceremony. He conferred certificates of appreciation to the following valued faculty members:   Ms. Hanan Al-Subai, Linguistic Hegemony of the English Language in the Medical Context of Bisha King Abdullah Hospital; Dr. Munassir Alhamami, Attention to Intention; Mr. Erich Beer, Some Practical Considerations Regarding the Teaching of Reading Comprehension; Dr. Mohammed Shuaib Assiri, Comparing Multiple Choice, Verb Conjugation, and Error Correction in Grammar Assessment; Prof. Hamad Al-Dosari, Developing and Assessing the Relationship Between Intercultural Communication Competence and Intercultural Sensitivity in the EFL Classroom; Dr. Mazeagha Al-Tale', The PECAL Model: Bringing the Best Together for Dynamic Gains; Dr. Michael Hadzantonis, Frame Theory and Footing in Linguistic Anthropological Analysis- Part 1 and Discourse Analysis in Linguistic Anthropology (and beyond): Part 1; Ms. Saja Al-Ahmari & Ms. Jawaher Al-Enzi, Translation and Culture; Dr. Fouad Elkarnichi, Examining What Translation Education Research Say about Practices in Translation Programs (Special Focus on the Arabic Context); Dr. Hasan Mohammed Jaashan, An Overview of the Book 'STYLISTICS'; Ms. Hanan Al-Shahrani & Ms. Maryam Al Shamrani for, Translator’s Message; Dr. Barbara Rumbinas, A Multimodal Analysis of Minstrel Performance and the Codification of the African American Stereotype in Nineteenth-Century Culture; Dr. Mahmoud Radwan, Madness in Arabic Narratives; Dr. Eyhab Bader Eddin, Multiplicity of Different English Functional Semantic Realizations of the Translation of the Arabic Preposition ب  and Translation Process Mapping: Key Tools to Explore Translation Cognitive Dimensions.   The Language Research Center and the Faculty of Languages and Translation are committed to faculty development in order to better serve our college and the university at large. These programs inure to the benefit of all. Date: 3/25/2019 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique

  Dr. Eyhab Bader Eddin delivered a presentation titled Translation Process Mapping: Key Tools to Explore Translation Cognitive Dimensions at a seminar organized by the Language Research Center of King Khalid University held on March 20, 2019.   Dr. Bader Eddin, in his presentation, focused on the translation process from the cognitive point of view. He explained the Communication Theory. He stated that this theory is based on the premise that product-based models are inadequate to explain the realities of translation. He noted that this theory was adopted by Nida and Reyburn in 1981. According to this theory, as observed by Dr. Bader Eddin, one is not likely to comprehend and respond to a message in identically the same way. The rationale is that no two people share the same linguistic, educational, cultural, social backgrounds.   Dr. Bader Eddin also mentioned that a translator is an active participant in communications who, either wittingly or unwittingly shapes or shades messages being translated. This phenomenon became widely recognized by way of Koller's research in 1979. Later, the 'Relevance Theory' (RT) rose in popularity among linguists and translation professionals. This theory recognizes a shift from static linguistic conceptualization of translation to a cognitive approach to translation.   It is worth mentioning that Dr. Bader Eddin is uniquely qualified to opine upon the various methods of accounting for cultural differences in language translation. He is a full member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists (MCIL) and a Chartered Linguist (CL). Many language professionals have never heard of the Chartered Linguist professional designation, and for good reason. The CL was adopted fairly recently, as per Royal Charter of HM Queen Elizabeth II in July of 2005. Only 520 translators worldwide have achieved CL status, only 3 of whom are in the Middle East. Dr. Bader Eddin noted: 'Enlightened linguists place a high value on all languages, and truly respect the societal values and cultural norms of the various peoples that use each language. Of course, translators and interpreters must have a thorough understanding of the technical aspects of their subject languages. But technical competence is not enough. To ensure truly accurate communication between and among people, language professionals must have a deep understanding of each participant's culture and society. Critical information can be overlooked or misinterpreted because of the inherent nuances of language. One must really know the society and the culture to completely understand many of these nuances. We all benefit politically, economically and socially when human communications are thoroughly and precisely understood. We all may suffer when things get 'lost in translation'. One must make a sharp distinction between 'a loss in translation' and 'a loss of translation'. All languages differ in what they 'MUST' convey, rather than what they 'MAY' convey, and it is between that 'must' and 'may' what has attracted Translation scholars' attention to write on such many disciplines as translation criticism, translation didactics, translation quality assessment, and descriptive translation studies. The CL designation isn't something used to pad a Curricula Vitae or a certificate for bragging rights. Accepting the CL is an acknowledgment of responsibility to use one's linguistic acumen for the betterment of society. I am proud to represent King Khalid University and the Faculty of Languages and Translation as a CL professional'.   The seminar was very informative, interactive and overall successful. Date: 3/25/2019 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique Please click here to view a recording of the seminar.

  Dr. Mahmoud Radwan made a presentation titled “Madness in Arabic Narratives,” which was organized by the Language Research Center of King Khalid University on March 06, 2019.   Dr. Radwan began by defining madness as “the state of having a serious mental illness, or extremely foolish behavior, or a state of wild or chaotic activity.” He tried to relate the concept of madness to literature.   Dr. Radwan reiterated the fact that literature had always been interconnected with madness. He stated that not only is the idea about madness associated with the author; it also has a close association with characters created by him or her. Madness in literature can refer to both writers who are known to have been insane and to abnormal characters in literature. Thus, there are three major definitions of madness in literature; namely, the "mad writer," the "mad characters," and the application of psychological terms to literary madness, said Dr. Radwan.   Dr. Radwan mentioned the names of some writers (Guy de Maupassant, Ezra Pound, Jonathan Swift, Jack London, and Virginia Woolf) who had suffered from mental illness. He also spoke about mad characters created by some authors who were interested in exploring human behavior, contradictions, inner anxiety, and pathological actions.   Dr. Radwan finally showed how madness was involved in Arabic narratives. He mentioned that Mohamed Al-Samman's Madness in Arab Culture is one of the most comprehensive critiques of the discourse of madness. He added that Arab writers utilize the fictional conventions of madness as a textual strategy to break the culture of silence about a discourse evaded on purpose and thus they disinter a world that is mysteriously hidden. Examples of such writers include Khudeir Miri (Iraq), Samiha Khrais (Jordan), Usama Issa (Palestine), Ahmed Yousif Dawood (Syria), Ghazi Abdul Rahman Al Gosaibi (Saudi Arabia), Walid Damag (Yemen), Khairy Shalaby (Egypt), Ihab Adlan (Sudan), and Ismail Yebrir (Algeria).   The seminar was very informative and a great success. Date: 3/8/2019 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique

  Dr. Barbara Rumbinas delivered a presentation organized by the Language Research Center of King Khalid University on February 27, 2019.   Dr. Barbara began her presentation by defining Multimodal Analysis which is actually an inter-disciplinary approach that acknowledges that communicative acts contain more than verbal utterances or written texts. She said communicative acts are meaning-generating events including visual, spoken, gestural, written, and other three-dimensional modes of interaction. The Multimodal Approach to research, she said, examines the communicative interactions of these elements as well as their inter and intra-relationships to reveal, among other things, ideological perspectives and power relations.   The seminar was very informative and a great success. Date: 3/2/2019 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique

  On February 19, 2019, the Faculty of Languages and Translation held a seminar titled 'Translator's Message'. The seminar was organized by the Language Research Center, and the presenters were Hanan Saeed Al-Shahrani and Maryam Faisal Al-Shamrani. The presenters are MA students and volunteers for a program also named 'Translator's Message'. The purpose of the seminar was to raise awareness of the group's goals and objectives within the FLT community.   Translator's Message is an initiative organized by Master degree students in Translation at the FLT female campus. It is an all-volunteer group, which is dedicated to providing in-demand translation services to the community. The participants' motivation is based on their deep passion for translation and commitment to civic improvement.  'Translator's Message is primarily a community service volunteer effort. We are an all-volunteer group of specialized translators who have a message to deliver to non-specialists. In short, we are messengers of translation. The objective is to educate communities about the importance of translation services in daily life. In addition, this translation initiative helps the volunteers improve and sharpen their translation skills. Our initiative supports national objectives as set forth in Vision 2030', said Maryam Faisal Al-Shamrani. In addition, the translation initiative serves as a conduit between various communities and King Khalid University. This is important as there are many other initiatives involving the university and the public stakeholders in the region.   'Our volunteers visit a variety of different people both within and among different communities. Volunteers often visit secondary schools and high schools. In these settings, the volunteers can encourage young people in their international language studies, and convey both the importance and potential career opportunities involving language', said Hanan Saeed Al-Shahrani.   The 'Translator's Message' seminar also focused on the program outcomes they have experienced to date. The presenters expressed that their group is passionate about the benefits of real-world translation. Also, they find that constructive experiences from their volunteer work have made them more confident in practicing their craft. They also expressed their satisfaction in serving members of the public. The presenters made a call to action for additional volunteers in the program. As part of this request, Hanan Saeed Al-Shahrani and Maryam Faisal Al-Shamrani shared the group's current work plan with the attendees.   Please note that this is a follow-up regarding the 'Translator's Message' initiative. For more information, please click here. Volunteers are very much needed, and any contribution would be greatly appreciated. Please contact 'Translator's Message' on their Twitter handle @translatorsKKU. Date: 2/25/2019 Source:  Amal Metwally & Tanzina Halim, Scientific Research Committee – Female Campus

  Dr. Hasan Jaashan introduced his book about Stylistics at the seminar held on February 13, 2019, which was organized by the Language Research Center of King Khalid University. He started his presentation by showing the content of his book.   Dr. Jaashan, while highlighting the content of the book, spoke in detail about the relation between linguistics and literature, and what function stylistics has in understanding literature. He emphasized the significance of clear understanding of linguistics in appreciating literature, which, he added, involves perceiving the beauty of thoughts and expressions. He highlighted the fact that every writer has his or her honest and unique style of writing.   Dr. Jaashan also explained the features of the language of literature. Dr. Jaashan focused on his phonological and stylistic analysis of various literary texts.   The seminar was informative, interactive and a great success. Date: 2/13/2019 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique

  Associate Professor Michael Hadzantonis conducted a workshop on Linguistic Anthropological facets of language selection, which was organized by the Language Research Center of King Khalid University, on January 16, 2019. Here, the language of study was Greek, following a study and data collection in Athens, Greece in 2012.    The central premise of the study followed on from work by Duranti, which exposed that, in Italian, the act of dropping or including a subject pronoun constituent in/from any spoken construction, will alter the pragmatics of the sentence. In the Italian case, including the unnecessary subject pronoun will effect positive conceptions by speakers toward the referent. However, in the case of the Greek context, Hadzantonis argues that the opposite was found to be true. This metapragmatic conditioning of syntax aligns with work by Michael Silverstein in the 1980s, who discusses the importance of 'reference' in syntactic constituents, so to effect either deliberate or nondeliberate positioning of the subject referent, by the speaker.        This work constitutes the first part in introducing discourse analytic techniques in Linguistic Anthropology, and sits within a continual line of talks in the area of Research methods in Linguistic Anthropology, by Hadzantonis. Date: 1/30/2019 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique