محمد عبدالله مزيد الدعجاني

 

Project 1:

TSL 630: Midterm Discussion Paper.

1)      Discuss five generalizations (stereotypes) that apply to your native culture. Why have they

become stereotypes/generalizations? What exceptions do you find to each?

            Most people in my country have a reputation of being very friendly. They are well known by their generosity. Most of them are easygoing, tolerant and serious. The new generation is not that serious as their ancestors. Many outsiders have many stereotypes about people in my country. Some of these stereotypes are untrue.                                                                                                                                                     

  Some outsiders have many stereotypes about people back in my country. They think that people in my country are very aggressive, closed, illiterate, oppress women, or very rich etc, but these stereotypes are untrue. Most people there are sophisticated, well educated, and very friendly. We have many scientists and lots of doctors. We have high level educators, and well designed schools and universities. We have inventors, but with limited numbers because we do not have enough factories and I do not know why?

  People in my country are not closed as some foreigners think. We are very tolerant people, and accept new changes if they are not against our religion or belief. We encourage new inventions and participate in achieving them financially or with human power. We follow new technology and try to benefit from good new changes. We understand that the whole world now is becoming like a small village. We know exactly what do people mean by saying "what a small world".

  In my country, people have a reputation of being outgoing, tolerant. They like each other. Young revere and respect old people and old people have mercy upon young. We have a social correlation and a strong familial connection. We welcome our guests, from inside or outside the country, and do any thing to satisfy them. Arabs are well known with their generosity even if they are poor. They like to communicate with other nations peacefully. They accept changes in their lives, but in certain boundaries and limits. They accept new inventions, knowledge, science, medicine, art etc.     

  Many outsiders think that Saudis are very rich, wealthy, and has many financial resources, but again this is a mistaken point of view. Most people in my country are moderate, and a few of them are poor people. Only few people are very rich. For example, I was raised in a poor family until my siblings and I got jobs. We lived in our farm, looking after our sheep, goats and camels. Our farm was in the countryside. My siblings and I studied in schools outside the village, and after the secondary school, we attended the universities in the cities. It is true that my country has modern cities like Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and the Southern region, but that is natural in any country in the world. We do not have many skyscrapers like New York or Tokyo, but we do have some modern buildings.                                                                                                        

 One stereotype sticks to people in my country recently, and unfortunately, not only to people in my country but also to all Arabs which is the aggressiveness. All most all people in my country are not aggressive. I believe that the media exaggerates when it describes certain things. Every nation has good and bad individuals. It is true that bad individuals may destroy the whole nation's reputation. Outsiders, or most people in general, look to the dark side of other nations, and I think that this is an innate feature among human beings.

 Most outsiders think that we oppress women and do not give them their rights, but are they sure about this point. "For many years now; women in Islam have been the subject to immense scrutiny. The full wrath of the western media fell upon Muslim women in certain parts of the world. Many reports depict the false subjugations of Muslim women in certain countries and the end result being an extrapolation of the ill-treatment of women in these areas. This starts off an impression that gives the Western world near hatred towards the religion and sympathy towards the female followers of the faith".

  "Over hundreds of years, women have been persecuted both in and out of the home. Women had no defined rights which established themselves as women. Rather, as many stories clearly tell us, women were sold as slaves. “In Mosaic Law, the wife was betrothed. To betrothed a wife to one-self means simply to acquire possession of her by payment of the purchase money; the betrothed is a girl for whom the purchase money has been paid. From the legal point of view, the consent of the girl was not necessary for the validation of her marriage. The girl’s consent is unnecessary and the need for it is nowhere suggested in the law” (Badawi). Badawi continues to say that “In the Mosaic Law, divorce was a privilege of the husband only…” which clearly tells us that women’s rights were minimal and that the world was mostly dominated by men. Although this paper is not one to judge faith, but the simple idea of women’s rights prior to Islam seems to have been shred by male chauvinism. Basic rights such as the right to freedom of speech and the right to choose whom to marry were not fully advocated by the men of those days. What Islam brought to the women of those days, and subsequently to the women of today, has been tantamount to the status of the Muslim woman of today. When such rights were first endowed to women to the Bedouins in mid 600 A.D, the world saw the privileges that the Muslim woman had over others. So what makes the Muslim woman’s status heightened in society? Why are they not ‘oppressed’ as it is so commonly believed they are?" (Fadi Zamjawi. MSO Murray.)

  To conclude, history plays an important part in life as it transmits experiences along with its record of historical events. It also shows a great deal of similar experiences in different nations to confirm the fact that all humans belong to the same origin. Weather also affects people's health and behavior, and as you know my country is a desert area. Life in the desert is very difficult and has a great influence on the inhabitants' life and conduct. Therefore, some outsiders may encounter strange manners, and unfortunately, generalize this manner and regard it as a dominant feature.                                                                                                     

 

1)      In chapter 6 of Culture Bound, Genelle G. Morain compares and contrasts kinesics across cultures. She briefly discusses the idea of "universals". Do you agree, or disagree, with the notion that there are no body motions or gestures that are universal symbols?

    First of all, the verbal language is a creative entity so is the body language or gestures. People create a verbal system to communicate with each other, and to complete their communication, they create nonverbal language while addressing speeches to assure their messages and send them properly. This nonverbal language is known as paralinguistic or kinesics. Paralinguistic is the study or the use of non-vocal phenomena such as facial expressions, head or eye movements, and gestures, which may add support, emphasis, or particular shades of meaning to what people are saying. (Longman dictionary)

      From this small introduction, I agree and disagree with Morain in saying there are no universal symbols. Symbols or gestures do exist all over the world, and most those gestures are used universally. Fear, happiness, surprise, and wondering gestures are, according to my knowledge, universal, so we have little universal gestures. Bye bye gesture has a universal use. Come here, good, shaking one's shoulders, and putting both hands on one's head to show his astonishment are all used universally with the same meaning.

   I noticed in chapter 6 few important things that may disclose the reason of my disagreement. First, she stated that she traveled to French and saw a Frenchman put butter on radishes, whereas she used to put butter on roasting ears, pancake, and popcorn, (Morain 1977), and I think that we are now on the middle of the year 2006. I mean new vocabulary and new gestures are adopted by people everyday all over the world. The spread of language vocabulary and gestures that time is slower million times than nowadays.

     Regarding facial expressions, almost all people in the entire world share the same meaning of facial gestures. I can tell whether a person is happy, sad, startled, or angry from her/his face expression. I find most face expressions exist among people in my country and Americans, and to tell the truth, sometimes I understand the speaker not through his speech, but through her/his face expressions or movements. I conducted many listening tests, but honestly, I missed many things because there were no speakers in front of me to see their gestures or movements while they talk to each other. On the other hand, I did well in most listening tests because they were video based tests, through which I watched speakers and listened to their dialogues at the same time.

    What people do not say may be more important than what they do say during face to face communication or contacts. I have read that "60% of communication is nonverbal". "Distance during nonverbal communication or proxemics is one part and kinesics is the other part, and honestly, they vary from culture to another". Smiles and frowns, for instance, are universal according to my knowledge. People in my country use smiles to convey their apology or show their happiness about something, whereas they use frowns to convey their disturbance of something.

    Nodding one's head means "yes" in some cultures and "no" in the others. In Gulf countries, for example, if one nods her/his head in a rapid way up and down, he means "yes", whereas this gesture means "no" in India. The same gesture means "yeah, and then, or continue I'm listening" in the American's culture. There is a difference in using gestures universally. What is meant by a gesture in a certain culture may be different in another. Taking off one's shoes before entering a house is used differently in most cultures. In Arabs' culture, for example, it is better to take off your shoes before entering an Arab's house, whereas it is ok to enter an American's house with your shoes. Most Asian people take off their shoes before entering someone's house. Most Americans take off their hats before entering one's house. The fact that states that "there is nothing" should be reconsidered because people do not know everything in this small world. Whatever gestures people use in a certain culture may have another interpretation in another. Kissing one on her/his cheek, same gender, means "I miss you, or to show how close this person is" whereas this gesture has another interpretation in Americans' culture. Shaking hands or walking together and holding each others' hands means "we are close friends" in Arabs' culture, but means another thing in American's culture. I am not comparing between Americans and Arabs cultures, but I want to show the different interpretation among two different cultures.

   Invitations in Arab's culture have many traditions and many gestures that are different from the Americans'. I noticed that a guest feels free to wear casual clothes or brings food if she/he is invited to a party. Everybody shares the host his responsibility. In Arab's culture, guests do not have to bring food with them, and they wear formal clothes. Women wear make up and men dress formally. If a guest wears casual clothes, the rest of the guests and also the host will look at this guest differently, without any insult. People in Arab's culture judge individuals from their speech, clothes, the way they sit, and even through their hair cuts. Crazy world, isn't it?

     If an individual, in Arab's culture, touches his nose or puts his forefinger on his nose, he means "I will do it, or at your service". Who knows! May be this gesture has a different interpretation in another culture. An acceptable posture in American's culture may be offensive in Arab's culture. For instance, if an American individual shows soles of her/his feet and point it to an Arab, this Arab will feel offended.

  To conclude, I agree that there are many interpretations regarding gestures universally, but some of these gestures do exist with the same meaning in most cultures as explained above. However, there are similar gestures that are used here and there, and there are gestures with different interpretations in the entire world.

 

2)      How would you describe the attitudes of the main characters of each of the two stories we read (" you have left your Lotus Pods on the bus" and " everything is Nice") towards the difficulties arising our of their misperceptions? Considering what we have discussed in this course, what kinds of attitudes would allow a "sojourner" to overcome these difficulties?

You have left your Lotus Pods on the Bus. (Paul Bowles)

 The main character encountered a new environment, a new culture, new people, and a new thought. There was a state of miscommunication between the participants of this story. Sometimes, outsiders act in a different way unconsciously, according to their nature or basing on what they have learned in their first culture, and offend people around them. No one wants to offend people around her/him, except barbarians. People ought to act properly especially when they encounter strangers. I have encountered situations similar to those of the main character's ones in this story.

   Last semester, I came to study alone in the United States of America, KY. I left my children and my wife because I wanted to see first if the new environment will fit them or not. Honestly, it was too difficult for me to study that semester without them. Every time I see children, that time, my heart was tearing because I really missed my children. I did not know a lot about Americans' culture, and I really do not know that if any one talk or smile to their children, they will interpret it differently. My friends told me many times that it is forbidden in the US culture to touch or talk to their children, but I have had no problem and continued smiling because I am a father and I honestly missed my children. I was ready to pay everything I have in order to just have a kiss from my youngest son Omar. I failed to understand this culture. Fortunately, I have a good neighbor who has a sister and her sister has three children. Would you believe that my neighbor talked to her sister to bring her children just to make me feel comfortable and play with the children? I played with them and I bought them gifts. We had a lunch together. It was a good time, but I still missed my children that semester.

  Being involved in a new society is the most difficult thing in the world. The main character of "you have left your Lotus Pods on the Bus" failed to understand that those monks have their own customs and that they do not eat but soft food until a certain time. I would describe the main character of this story as an ignorant individual of those Thais' culture. When those Thai monks said that professor Brooks is fond of buffaloes and the main character's response was that in America they do not have buffaloes in the fields, and said, unwisely, "He looks at buffaloes. I look at temples." One of the monks kept saying this sentence now and then. He interpreted it with a different meaning. What was meant by this sentence was different than what was understood. "May be you know what I said, but I know what I mean" is a famous quote of one of the famous US politicians when he was asked by one of the journalists. I do not think that this has something to do with bold respect, but rather it has something to do with the ignorance of others' cultures.

 

II: Everything is Nice, Jane Bowles

  The main character of this story wanted to practice two cultures, Muslim and Nazarene culture, and obviously failed to do so from the beginning. When she went to the Muslims' house and felt that she was insulted from the old woman by saying eat with us and eat in the hotel with your Nazarene. She felt that she was ignored by this old woman and they laugh at her, but she failed to understand this old woman properly.

  I was invited to an American party, and before that I was told that I have to bring something with me. I asked myself "what should I bring with me?" Finally, I decided to bring some fruit. When I reached the party, I found that most guests were wearing casual clothes. Most guests brought something with them. It may mean nothing to Americans, but it does to me. I felt that I am an outsider among insiders. Back in my country, everything is on the host, and guests bring nothing with them. The host is proud of serving his guests. It was a new experience added to mine, and honestly, I like Americans invitation customs. Feel free to serve your self and eat what ever you want. You can full your plate as many kinds of food as you want. When we were about to leave, I said, loudly, "you'll have a good night and it was my pleasure to be with you tonight". One of the guests said "listen to the prince!!". What does that mean? Did I offend any one? If I did, I swear it was unconsciously. I just wanted to be polite, but I think I made a mess unconsciously.

   I do not know why do most people avoid knowing each others' cultures? I think if I ask about someone's culture and want to have a closer look to this culture, I will have a great chance to avoid misunderstanding. If I explain the reason for having more than two children among Arabs to an American, why is she/he startled? On the other hand, why am I shucked if an American tells me that she/he left his parents when he was 18? Every culture has its own norms that distinguish this culture from others. People in a certain culture have their own gestures and their customs too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 project 2:

Mohammad Al-Dajani

533-01   Final project.

Spring 2006.

 

Abstract

  This study is based on two movies that mainly concentrate on cultural differences between two cultures: Greek and American, especially during wedding nights. I added an analysis of Arab culture. The movies' titles are: Father of the Bride, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I explained what happened during some Arabs' wedding nights according to my own knowledge and compared it to what happened in those movies. I found that there are many similarities and a lot of differences among those three cultures. Similarities that I found, drew my attention to the fact that all people are related to the same origin. It is for sure that the spread of customs and traditions is not from nothing. Despite the limited contact between Arab and Greek, there is a great deal of similarity in language, and customs. America is known as a melting pot because Americans have traditions and customs from all over the world. In order to achieve the wanted goal of knowing similarities and differences within the three cultures, I discussed almost all specific details in both movies and I tried hard to figure out answers to many questions bared in my mind.

 

Introduction

   Among all cultures, we find similarities and differences, exist in more than one culture, and that can tell the fact that all people are related to the same origin. Private actions or speech, that may take  place inside a house or between a man and his wife or his children, may exsist in many cultures, and to me they may reveal a big answer to the questions: Why do we have similarites and differences everywhere? Why is this custom or tradition exist in many cultures? etc.

A Comparison between Arab and Greek Culture:

  My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a movie that mainly discusses a wedding night and traditions of the bride's and groom's families of greek and American people. This movie took place in Chicago. It was raining, and the father of the bride Toola is saying to her "you have to marry", but she does not like the Greek traditions because the women has to marry a Greek man and must beget children and raise them till her death. This happens in my culture too. The women has to marry an Arab man and live with him forever except if the man divorces her. In the movie, the mother cooks food and says " when we were your age we did not have food like you" she is trying to send her daughter a message in that they have to thank god for his blessings upon them. Their house is surrounded by statues. These statues are, according to the movie, statues of the god. Her father says "the Greek has to teach people how to be Greek". "you have to be proud of being a Greek girl who works and helps her father in his restaurant" he said to his daughter.

Some utterances in this movie are "Kimona – winter – kimono, arrachnophobia. The strange thing is that phobia has a Greek origin which means fear. The father said to his sister that his daughter does not want to marry, and they startled and started to pray. These actions happen in my culture too. A father wants his daughter to have a good chance to marry a man who can support her and her children, whether she likes him or not. In my culture, the father and the mother explain the advantages and disadvantages of the man who wants to marry their daughter, and then their daughter decides yes or no. There is no relationship before marriage between the man and the woman. The woman does not date the man or even see him except after they are being engaged. He is allowed to see her to decide, and that happens mostly but not always.

   The daughter's character in the movie is Toola. Toola takes the trash out of her father's restaurant, and helps cleaning the place. The persecution of the father makes his daughter want another life and another father. Many fathers treat their children improperly in all cultures. Toola saw an American young man entering her father's restaurant while she was in duty. It was the first time she felt something attracted her toward this young man. She loves this man from the first sight. This young man said to his friend, while they were sitting in the restaurant, "wow cool place" because it has a greek design and taste. She comes toward them and stared at this young man for  three minutes, and he was talking to his friend and he did not know that she was staring at him. She was in an ugly looking, and she did not put makeup and she was wearing glasses. Then  his friend asked her for a cup of coffee. She gave this young man a cup of coffee and did not give his friend uncosciously. The young man and his friend left the restaurant after they ate and drank their coffee, and while they were leaving, they gave her a tip and she was still staring at the young man.

   The son, Toola's brother,  brings to his father the newspaper while he was writing the restaurnt's budget. Toola said "I took "As" in the computer subjects, and I want to go to college and take some courses" because she wants to get rid of her routine and find a good job. The father listens to her and he was so angry of her and he said "Toola you want to go to the college and leave me", " I am not going to leave you what do you want me to do" she said. "marry and bring children" her father answered. Her mother came and tried to comfort her broken daughter. "the man is the head, and the women is the nick" her mother said to her, in order to absorb her stress. These actions happen in my culture among many families. The girl should obey her father and mother, and must not say no, no matter what it costs. This movie forced me to recount and criticize my culture in some aspects. The most important thing is to let the girl choose her future without violating our religious rules. People have to be flixible to a reasonable degree. Back to the movie, the mother said to her daughter "I cook, clean, raise three children and still happy" by saying so, it drew my attention to the fact that many parents raise their children according to the way their parents did with them. They do not follow new techniques that exist and are available in the modern societies. Children suffer from old fashions and regard them ugly. Toola's mother is everything in the house.

       Mother, in the greek culture, is everything in the house. In my culture, everything happens under the auspices of the house, is the mother's responsibility. During the developments in this movie, Toola began to put makeup and changed the glasses with lenses to attract men. She started to sit with her friends and talk in order to change her boring life. The first thing she did, she looked at the vacancies advetisements. Because she is good at computing, she worked in a travel agency office. Her mother and her aunt made a plan to convince the father to allow Toola to work. Her aunt said to Toola's father that she needs someone to work with her in her office, and this one should know how to use computers, and we want one of us, means Greek, and while she was dicussing this issue with the father, Toola brought the coffee to her aunt and her father. The aunt and the mother pretended that they do not know anything about it. The father said "Aha Toola knows how to use the computer, why do not you hire her" "ok" Said her aunt. Toola began her journey and she will hit the trail in her new life. They managed to convince the father to release Toola and set her free. One day, the young man passed by this travel agency office, where Toola works, and she saw him, but he did not receognize her because she put  make up and she was different from the girl he saw in the restaurant. She stared at him and he noticed that she wanted to say something. Finally he entered the office and they began their relationship. They all fall in love. He dated her many times, and finally her dad knows that she is datting an American young man. He cried and stayed at his room and turned the light off. He said to her mother "I told you that I am not satisfy with this miss".

      The young man invited Toola to a Greek restaurant, but she strongly refused. He tried to know why? She told him that her father owns that restaurant. The young man said "do not tell me that you are the lady in that restaurant" she said "yes I am, and that restaurant belongs to us". He invited her to an Italian restaurant, and she agreed. His aim behind all that is to get close to Toola and her family. Here  We have two different cultures, with totally different point of views, are trying to get close to each other, an American culture and a Greek culture. Each culture has different traditions, customs, and habits.

  Toola was singing at one day and her mother asked her about her classes and Toola told her that everyting is ok. She lied to her. In my culture, the girl cann't lie except if she did something extremely wrong, and Toola did. She dates this young man secretely and she does not want her family to know as if she is doing something bad. This young man came to Toola's father and asked him to accept him, and he wants him to agree to date his daughter Toola. The father denied his appeal and said "that it is impossible" in his culture. Toola's father said that he told her not to violate their traditions and stick to it, but she violated and denied their ruls and dated this young man. The father described this young man as a long-haired person as if Greek disrespect people with long hair. Toola's mother asked her to end her relationship with this man, but Toola said that she loves him and she could not break their love. Toola's father wanted to end this miss, and invited Greek men to see his daughter in order to marry her. Every night there is a new man, but Toola did not choose anyone of them. Toola still dating this young man and struggles againest her family and their boring traditions.

      One day Toola went with this young man to his family. Toola told his parents about her culture, and that her name means "god's name". his parents startled, and tried to make jokes on her culture. The young man's mother fail to differentiate between Greeks and Armenians. Toola's father still sad and stays at his room and does not want to speak to anybody. Toola's mother wanted to comfort him and he told her that he does not know this young man or his family or whether he is good or bad. Toola's mother said it is done and Toola loves him. This situation is similar to what happens in my culture in that the mother is burning to fix everyting. When a girl fall in love in my culture, she tries to keep it secret untill the end of this relationship whether by breakdown it, or marriage. The relationship between a male and a female in my culture and in Greek culture is different from the American's in that, in the American culture they allow their daughter to date anybody and go with him anywhere without a question as long as she is satisfied. My culture does not allow dating females because they regard it a sin. A male and a female can not stay under a roof unlis they are married. Toola told the young man that she feels happy with him, but her family is dissatisfied of her, and that she wants him to take her away because she loves him. He told her that he wants to do anything to satisfy her family whatever it costs. The young man went to the restaurant, where Toola's family are, and talked to Toola's father and said that he wants to marry Toola in the church. The father said to the young man "so you are going to be a paptist tomorrow". " yes " the young man said. The father said that his family will be as your family, and the young man accepted that. They went to the church and the whole family are looking at him while the monk is giving him a religious bath in the church in order to be an Arthodox paptist. The young man became an Arthodox Paptest after this bath. Toola invited the young man to their restaurant and taught him Greek words, and it was the beginning of a big change in his traditions and habits, and converting a new religion. The extended Greek families came to congratulate him and Toola, because they are engaged now. They celebrate this night and there was a lot of food. Toola's brother talked with this young man seriously and said that he wants to kill him. The young man startled and wondered why, but Tolla's brother laughed and said that he was joking. Here, again, we have two different cultures and different use of jokes whether light or heavy jokes. It is normal in Greek's culture to say that "I am going to kill you" to your friend and laugh at this, whereas Americans are not familiar with such jokes. If you say it to an American guy, you mean it, and he/she considers it seriously.

   A Greek woman invited this young man to her house to cook for him, but Toola interfered and said that he is a vegetarian. The woman asked "what does that mean?" Toola answered "he does not eat meat". They startled and pray. They do not have vegetarians in the Greek culture. Toola went to the youg man's parents again, and while they were drinking their coffee, Toola said "silence". The parents said what did you say, she said I mean delicious coffee. The youg man explained that she said silence, and in her culture they speek loudly during their meetings, and during tea time, they do not remain silent. Toola said that we are familiar with the loud arguments during our meetings, and that we do not stay saying nothing. The young man said to his parents that his wedding is going to be in a certain date. His mother smiled and said "just tell me when to reserve a club". Toola said what club?, and the young man explained, again, by saying we are going to marry in the church according to her culture and that her family is a religious family.

  Toola showed the invitation card to his parents, and it was so big as an A4 page size. The mother startled of this invitation card size which is not as big as the Americans' invitation card. Toola's family began their wedding's party. Women are choosing their dresses, and make ups, and men are choosing their suits and ties. Their preparations was in Toola's house. All these events occure in my cultre except the wdding is not in a religious place. In my culture, weddings take place in a public building or in the bride's own house. The separation is a remarkable issue in my culture, men stay in a separate place, and women do so. Bothe men and women dance and celebrate. Women present gifts to the groom's mother and men give the husband gifts or money to support him, because weddings cost a lot in my culture. The man is responsible for everything in his new kingdom, and his wedding party.

  Toola and the family discussed the guests list, and Toola realizes that they are too much, but it is a tradition. Toola's mother asked the young man "are you hungry?" he said no, I already ate, but she said "ok" I will make you something to eat!. He was so confused, how did he say no, and she said that she will make him something to eat !, another difference.

  During the wedding night, all guests brought gifts with them, gold or something valuable. Toola's mother prepared food enough for an army. When the young man's parents came to Toola's house, they startled with the number of the guests, they were too much. Toola's father welcomed them and intrduced his extended family to them. All guests hugged them and welcomed them enthusiastically. The young man's mother brought a bun, cake, with her. Toola's mother startled what is this, we have many people and she only brought a small cake, but this is the Americans tradition, they are very easy people. After this party, when people left, Toola asked her mother "is my marriage going to kill my dad?" Her mother told her no, but the father have to assure his daughter's future. The mother said to her daughter "in my village, there were many wars, Turks, and Germans, and they are both made a miss, and my mother told me we are lucky to survive, but she did not know how to be happy and live with these wars, where to live, and what to eat, and the mother continued, then I saw you and your brother. Therefore you have to live, and I gave you the life". It is a kind of giving her daughter a live lesson to begin her new life and not to hesitste in her decisions as long as it is right.

     Everybody went to the church next day to participate the wedding night. The father held his daughter's hand and move to the monk before the guests, where the husband is. The father revealed the bride's face and kissed her head and left her to the husband. The monk said his prayers and psalms, then the husband kissed his wife and took her to their room in the hotel. I noticed that the all guests spit on the bride and groom, and when I asked about the reason, I startled because the answer shocked me. A greek guy told me it is to prevent jealousy, and by doing so, this happens in my culture too, but in a different way. They just blow the air toward the begrudged person.

    In the hotel, where Toola and her husband were, the guests came to the hall of this hotel. Toola's father welcomed them again, and presented a gift to his daughter and her husband. The husband shocked when he realized what the gift was. It was a house. Toola's father bought them a house. Toola and her father cried and hugged each other. Many English words, that have been said, have a Greek origin, but the remarkable thing is that they exisit in my language too. For instance, phobia is a greek word, and exist in English, the portokani in Greek means orange, and the same word exisit in my language with all most all the same pronounciation.

    At the end of this movie, Toola explained that her family is a big family and they like to argue loudly all the times, and that it is their culture. Toola has a six-year old girl and she studies in a Greek school and learns Greek language in addition to English.

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    The second movie was "Father of the Bride". The story of this movie took place in the US, California, San Marino. The father started telling his story with his daughter's wedding and that it cost him more than his house's price. During the movie's events, his daughter, Anny, told her father that she loves a young man and his name is Brian and that she met him in Rome during her last semester. First, in my culture, it is strictly prohibited for a lady to travel abroad alone. She can not tell her father or her mother that she loves a man or dates him. In this movie, Anny told her parents about many things and she is going to marry Brian. Her parents kept cool and dicussed her story with him, and asked her about his major. She told them that he is an independent communication consultant. The father did not like it, because he claimed that Brian will not afford her a good life. Anny explained that he is a good and briliant man. The father asked her where is he now, and she told him that he is going to visit them. In my culture, a girl does not dare to discuss such matters with her father, she discusses it with her mother, but that is rare, because they choose their daughter's groom. In these two movies we have seen two different things; Toola who has changed her customs and chosen an American man, and Anny who has chosen an American man while she was abroad. They are both different from what happen in my culture, in that the lady does not choose her fiance. She agrees to marry a man chosen by her parents or refuses, or that's it.

   Anny's father said that was ridiculous and told his daughter that she was still young. Her mother interfered and said "I married you when I was her age". Anny spoke to her father and called him George instead of father, and that can tell that Americans are very easy people, and they always discuss their issues in a wise way together, not individually. In americans' and Greek's culture, the groom called the bride's father "my father" and that does not happen in my culture. We call the bride's father "my uncle".

  Brian came to Anny's house and explined his major and what is he going to do in the future, and while he was speakin with Anny's family, he was putting his left hand on Anny's thigh and the funny thing is that her father stared at him in an humerous way and said nothing. After their discussion, Anny and Brian went out the house and Anny's father said to Brian "do not forget the cundom please". Wow, he said that to his daughter's boyfriend  and did not pay attention to anything else. Anny's parents went to Brian's parents' house. Brian's father said to Anny's father "how did you receive this issue" Anny's father said "I was shocked". Brian's father said I was surprised. They newly knew each other, it was six months only. Anny's fther went to wash his hands, and he looked in Brian's father's private documents.

     Doing so is not a part of my tradition or habits. We do not do like Anny's father, and in this movie, this caused a serious problem but it was solved finally. Anny's family was preparing a BQ dinner and Brian came and brought a shampain bottle with him. This is not a part of my culture, we do not drink alcohol. It was normal to bring it with him. They discussed their marriage and Anny wanted it to be in the church, and she does not want fat food. The father said that it is a good idea to have this party in our house and celebrate it together with our friends. Anny's mother discussed the invitation issues with Brian, the groom, and asked him about the flower and the wedding coordinator.

    They went to the coordinator and saw what he has. They finally agreed to coordinate their wedding, but Anny's father did not like it, because it was so expensive. I startled because the bride prepare her wedding night. In my culture, it is the man who does everything and pays for. In this movie, Anny's father presented a gift to his daughter, but it was not like the present of Brian's parents'. Brian's parents presented him a car, whereas Anny's father presented her a coffee maker. I noticed that Brian's parents are not Americans, but I am not so sure.

  Gifts still arrive to Anny, and the invitation cards are too many, which means this wedding will cost a lot. The cost was 250 per head. As I mentioned, the responsible of the invitation is the husband and he has to bring the invitation cards and prepare for his night in my culture.

  The preparations for the big day began, and everybody is ready to go to the church. The father teach his young son how to dance and discussed him as a young man, and said to his son that he is sorry about what he has done during this wedding, and his son forgave him. That what I like in the Americans' culture, the discussion among the family members regardless their ages. In my culture, we do not say sorry to small children, we just say SHUT UP, I do not know why, but we are tough sometimes with our children.

   Anny's father asked her to hurry up to go to the church because they are too late. He entered her room and saw her wearing her wedding dress, and said "wow you are so beautiful". In the church, Anny's father held her hand and entered toward the monk were Brian is. The monk said his speech and if they accept each other as a bride and groom and they accepted. At this moment, guests stood up and applaud for them. They went out the church, and that was it they are a couple now. This is different from what happens in my culture. In my culture, we do not go to religious places during weddings, and men do not stay with women during that night. Americans and Greeks stay together, but we separately. At the end of the performance, Anny is going to throw the flower towared the guests. We do not throw flower toward guests and that was the end of the movie.

 

 

 

The conclusion

  Three different cultures are dicussed in this study, Greek, American, Arab regarding weddings, and the relationship between males and females before their weddings. I noticed that the father of the bride, in the Greek culture, is everything and he decides what is right and what is wrong, and controls his daughter's life and her future. It is similar to what happens in my culture. In my culture, the father is everything in the household. The girl, in my culture, is free to agree or disagree to marry a man, but there is no relationship among males and females before their weddings. Males and females may know each other by a mediator. This mediator can be the man's sister, mother, his brother's wife, or any close female relative. I noticed that there is a kind of liberty among Americans, and that the girl can express her relation's details to her father and mother, and that is impossible in my culture and doesn't exist in Greek culture. Americans allowed their young girls to travel abroad alone, an example is Anny's case. Americans discuss the houshold issues with all family members, rgardless of their genders or ages. On the other hand, only Arab males discuss their issues, and sometimes they ask females for participation. An  Arab girl can not kiss her husband, let alone her boyfriend, with the presence of anybody, but American girls do. Greek mothers are similar to Arab mothers in that they all burn to fix broken situations inside the household, but within American culture, everyone is responsible for his mistakes.

 

 

 

 

 

 Project 3:

 Running head: Final Exam.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. G. Zou.

Mohammad A. Al-Dajani

TSL: 510

Murray State University

Spring 2006

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Five Theories of the Second Language Learning/Acquisition:

A - A Brief Summary of: (1) Universal Grammar. (2) The Monitor Model. (3) Acculturation/ Pidginization Theory. (4) Interlanguage Theory. (5) Cognitive Theory.

1)      Universal Grammar (UG):

a-       Definition: Universal Grammar (UG) is a theory which claims to account for the

grammatical competence of every learner despite his/her language. It claims that every speaker has a set of principles that are applicable to all languages, and a set of parameters which, in a certain limit, can vary from a language to another. It was proposed by Noam Chomsky (1997) when he claimed that acquiring a language means applying UG grammar principles to a particular language, and learning which value is appropriate for each parameter. Structure dependency, for instance, is one of the UG principles. It means that knowledge of language relies on knowing its structure and the relationship between the article, subject, verb, and the object rather than judge it as a sequence of words. One of the parameters that may vary from language to another is the head parameter. It differs among many languages, and also the verb position. English word order, for instance, is a (SVO) whereas Arabic is a (VSO). The role of the Universal Grammar (UG) in second language acquisition (SLA) is still arguable. There are three possibilities: 1) if the UG works as the same way during learning a second language, the knowledge of the learner in his first language is irrelevant. 2) The learner's essence grammar is fixed and UG is no longer available to the second language learner, particularly not to the adult learner. 3) UG is partly available but it constructs only one factor in the acquisition of the second language. There are other factors and they may interfere with the UG influence.(Longman dictionary of Language teaching & applied linguistics)

b)      Noam Chomsky (1997) and his supporters noted many factors which they claimed promote the idea that humans are innately, genetically, endowed with universal language-specific knowledge, or what Chomsky calls Universal Grammar (UG). Chomsky claimed that there are certain principles that form the basis on which knowledge of language develops. These principles are biologically determined and specialized for language learning (Chomsky 1969). Originally, UG theory did not concern itself with L2 learning. it referred to the first language learning. its principles, though, were adopted by L2 learning researchers and were applied in the field of SLA. UG was used in order to explain the developmental sequences in the interlanguage and to support the view of interlanguage as a natural language which is subject to the constraints of the Universal Grammar (Hilles 1986:45). The use of UG for language transfer, fossilization, and L2 pedagogy was also suggested. Felix (1985) proposed a similar model to UG. The competition model consists of two sub-systems: the language-specific cognitive system (LSC system) and the problem-solving system (PSC system) and it is responsible for the learning process among children and adults. Children process is guided by LSC-system whereas adults use the problem solving system. 

  The argument, often referred to as the logical problem of language acquisition is that without some such endowment, L1, or L2 learning would be impossible, because the inputs are insufficient to allow the acquisition process to occur, less to occur so quickly in about five years for child language, and especially not if the child or the adult were only equipped with general inductive learning procedures with which to attempt to make sense of that input.

  According to Chomskyan view, the input is poor in two ways. 1) It is poor in the sense that it marred by performance features, such as false starts, slips, fragments, and ungrammaticality resulting from pressures inherent in real time oral communication, and is therefore an inadequate data base for language learning. This is not true because the language addressed to non-native speakers, in many studies, have been found to be well formed. 2) The input is weak in the sense that it is inadequate in various ways. Thus it does not provide negative evidence, data from which the learner could work out what is not possible in a given language.

2)      The Monitor Model:

a- Definition: The Monitor Model is a theory proposed by Stephen Krashen, University of Southern California, an expert Linguist, specializing in theories of language acquisition and development. His theory distinguishes two distinct processes in second and foreign language development and use. One, called "acquisition", is said to be a subconscious process which leads to the development of "competence" and is not dependent on the teaching of grammatical rules. The second process, called "learning" refers to the conscious study and knowledge of grammatical rules. In producing utterances, learners initially use their acquired system of rules. Learning and learned rules have only one function: to serve as a monitor or editor of utterances initiated by the acquired system, and learning can not lead to acquisition.

b-   Krashen's Monitor Model is one of the best known theories in SLA during 1970s and 80s. It began not as a theory of SLA, but as a model of SL performance. It was an attempt to capture and reconcile two phenomena: 1) a generalization was emerging from the morpheme studies that there existed statistically significant association between the orders of appearance of certain English grammatical morphemes, accurately supplied in obligatory contexts, in the speech and writing of SL learners of different ages, L1 backgrounds, and conditions of exposure. 2) disturbances were observed in this natural order on certain performance tasks, specially the reading and writing tasks, as compared with three other listening and speaking tasks, in his study.

  Krashen (1976) claimed that two separate knowledge systems underlay SL performance. The first and the most important was the product of application by learners of the same language-learning abilities children used for first language acquisition, and consisted of subconscious knowledge of the SL grammar, like the subconscious knowledge in L1 acquisition.

The second and less important was the product of formal instruction, class room teaching, and comprised conscious knowledge of easy SL grammatical rules, such as those for subject-verb agreement, or for pluralizing NPs in English. The learned system was only accessible when three conditions were met: there was time the learner was focused on form, and when the learner knew the rule. This theory led to five major claims, over time:

a- the acquisition-learning hypothesis which states that there are two independent ways of learning a second language: acquisition and learning. b- the natural order hypothesis which says that SL rules are acquired in a predictable order, one apparently not determined solely by linguistic complexity, and certainly not in the order in which the items appear in teaching syllabuses. c- the monitor hypothesis which states that the acquired system is the utterance initiator, with the learned system acting in a planning, editing, and correcting function when the three conditions are met. d- the input hypothesis which attempts to explain how a learner acquires a second language, the central claim of MT according to Krashen. It maintains that a second language is acquired through comprehensible input. e- the affective filter hypothesis in which various effective factors, such as motivation, self-efficacy, and anxiety play a facilitative, but non-causal role in SLA. Lack of motivation, or high anxiety can combine to raise the filter to form a mental block which may prevent CI from reaching the LAD and thereby being used for acquisition.

 

3) Acculturation/ Pidginization Theory:

a- Definition: In second language acquisition, the theory that the rate and level of ultimate success of second language acquisition in naturalistic settings, without instruction, is a function of the degree to which learners acculturate to TL community. Acculturation may involve a large number of social and psychological variables, but is generally considered to be the process through which an individual takes on the beliefs, values, and culture of a new group.

b- Acculturation/ Pidginization Theory: According to Schumann (1978) "second language acquisition is just one aspect of acculturation and the degree to which a learner acculturates to the TL group will control the degree to which he acquires L2. From this perspective, second language acquisition is greatly affected by the degree of social and psychological distance between the learner and TL culture. Social distance refers to the learner as a member of a social group that is in contact with another social group whose members speak a different language. Psychological distance results from a number of different factors that concern a learner as an individual, such as culture shock, language shock, and culture stress. If this distance is great then acculturation is impeded and there will be no progress in SLA. The TL, accordingly will remain pidginized. Simplifications and reductions, associated with L2 learner, are characters to pidginization, and may lead to fossilization if the L2 learner's interlanguage system does not progress in the TL. The Acculturation Model fails to explain how the social factors influence the quality of contact the learner's experience. (Ellis, 1994).

  Schumann documented this process in a case study of a 33-year-old Costa Rican immigrant, Alberto. Alberto’s interlanguage was characterized by many simplifications and reductions. These simplifications and reductions that Schumann saw were a form of pidginization, which may lead to fossilization when the learner is no longer can revise the interlanguage system in toward TL. This process occurred not because of a cognitive deficit, but because of a minimal amount of acculturation to the target language group. The social distance in Schumann's model is due to eight factors. They are: 1- Social domination. 2- Integration pattern. 3- Enclosure. 4- Cohesiveness. 5- The group size. 6- Cultural Congruence. 7- The attitude. 8- The intended length of residence.

  The Psychological distance consists of four factors. They are: 1- Language shock. 2- Culture shock. 3- Motivation. 4- Permeability.

4)      Interlanguage Theory:

  The term ‘interlanguage’ was coined by Selinker (1969, 1972) to refer to the interim grammars constructed by second-language learners on their way to the target language. The term won favor over similar constructs, such as ‘approximative system’ (Nemser 1971) and ‘transitional competence’ (Corder 1967). Since the early 1970s ‘interlanguage’ has come to characterize a major approach to second-language research and theory.

Selinker (1972) argued that the interlanguage, which he saw to be a separate linguistic

system resulting form the learner’s attempted production of the target language norm, was the product of five central cognitive processes involved in second-language learning:

1.      Language transfer: elements from L1 are transferred to the interlanguage.

2.      Transfer of training: some elements of IL may result from features of the training process used to teach L2.

3.      Strategies of second-language learning: some elements of IL may result from a specific approach to the material to be learned.

4.      Strategies of second-language communication: some elements of IL may result from specific ways people learn to communicate with NSs of TL.

5.      Overgeneralization of the target language linguistic material: some elements of IL may be the product of overgeneralization of the rules and semantic features of TL.

   The development of the interlanguage was seen by Selinker as different from the process of first-language development because of the likelihood of fossilization in the second language. Fossilization is the state of affairs that exists when the learner ceases to elaborate the interlanguage in some respect, no matter how long there is exposure, new data, or new teac5)

 

5- Cognitive Theory: psychologists and psycholinguists view second language learning as the acquisition of a complex cognitive skill. Some of the sub-skills involved in the language learning process are applying grammatical rules, choosing the appropriate vocabulary, following the pragmatic conventions governing the use of a specific language (McLaughlin 1987). These sub-skills become automatic with practice (Posner & Snyder, 1975). During automatisation, the learner organizes and restructures new information that is acquired. Through this process of restructuring, the learner links new information to the old one and achieves increasing degree of mastery in L2 (McLaughlin). This gradual mastering may follow a U-shape curve sometimes (Lightbown, Soada, & Wallace 1980) indicating a decline in performance as more complex internal representations replace less complex ones followed by an increase again as skill becomes expertise (McLaughlin).

       Language acquisition is dependent in content and developmental sequencing on prior cognitive abilities, and is viewed as a function of "more general nonlinguistic abilities" (Berman, 1987).

      McLaughlin and other many authors, such as Hulstijn (1984); Levelt 1978; Segalowitz 1986) have argued that such a perspective raises new questions that are empirically testable, and sheds light on findings from a number of areas of L2 research.

Evidence against the cognitive theory is provided by (Felix, 1981) who describes the general cognitive skills as "useless" for language development (Felix, 1981). The only area that cognitive development is related to language development is vocabulary and meaning, since lexical items and meaning relations are most readily related to a conceptual base (Felix, 1981).

   The language acquisition theories based on a cognitive view of language development regard language acquisition as the gradual automitization of skills through stages of restructuring and linking new information to old knowledge. However, the differences between the various cognitive models make it impossible to construct a comprehensive cognitive theory of second language acquisition and furthermore, as Schmidt (1992) stated:

“There is little theoretical support from psychology on the common belief that the development of fluency in a second language is almost exclusively a matter of the increasingly skillful application of rules” (Schmidt, 1992:377).

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   The theories of second language acquisition/learning, mentioned above, discuss different aspects of language, whether acquisition or learning, but no theory of them provide an accurate explanation about the whole process of SLA. After knowing these theories by the assistance of my professors here at Murraystate University, I think that these theories are very helpful to me in my career. I teach English as a foreign language in my country, and most these theories dealt with nonnative speakers. I am going to apply knowledge I gain from this course in my techniques. I am going to avoid anything that may lead to language fossilization among my students. I will not let my students to acquire any mistakes, either grammatical mistakes or in pronunciations. The aim of teaching English in my country is to furnish the students at least with one of the living languages in addition to their first language to enable them acquire knowledge and science of other English speaking communities, and participate in the spreading of this knowledge.

    These theories, in my opinion, supply teachers with the necessary ideas, feelings, and power that will enable them to carry the message of teaching. Education process should be based on theories, experiments, and studies that were made in real life, and benefit from them. Most Saudi students are like Alberto, the Costa Rican labor, in Schumann's study. Students in Saudi Arabia practice English only in the class, some have little contact with English out schools, but still limited. Despite the formal education and the effort that was done with Alberto, in Schumann's study, he stilled in the first stage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Project 4:

 Running Head: DIRECT INSTRUCTIONS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mohammad Al-Dajni

TSL 610

Dr. L. Trites.

Murray state University

Fall 2006

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Direct Instructions: The Use of English Articles by Arab Learners before and after direct instructions.

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the use of English definite and indefinite articles by Arab learners. The study addresses the problem by examining the metalinguistic knowledge of the English articles that Arab learners of English as a second language (ESL) employ before and after direct instructions.  Arab ESL learners at a regional University in the US were given a pretest, an intervening class, and a post test. The results of the pretest show that there is a language transfer from Arabic into English regarding the use of English articles. The posttest results, however, show that there is a kind of improvement, and most participants interacted with the direct instructions which were given in the intervening class. Statistics tables in the appendix show the learners' performance before and after the intervening instructions, and the results prove, to some extent, that Arab learners may perform well after direct instructions. My hypothesis is: Arab ESL learners will perform better after direct instruction. The question I sought its answer was: will Arab ESL learners function better in the use of English definite and indefinite articles after direct instructions?

Introduction

            The English article system is considered one of the most difficult obstacles that face second language learners (L2), especially when it comes to those learners whose first language (L1) does not have a similar article system. This system causes even the advanced Arab learners of English to make errors when they speak or write. It has been proven that this area of English grammar is a critical problem for Arab-speaking learners because the Arabic language does not have indefinite articles (a/an). Instead, Arabic employ diacritical markers placed upon the last letter of a noun to show its indefiniteness. For instance, a car equivalent in the Arabic language would be sayaratun, a window equivalent in Arabic would be nafithatun, and a glass equivalent is kaasun. From the previous examples, one can say that un in Arabic is equivalent to a/an the English indefinite article. The problem here is the place/location of the English indefinite article. The English language rule states that the article should precede the noun it defines, whereas the Arabic rule states that the marker of indefiniteness should be placed at the end of the noun it associates. Hence, from examples above, one can say that the English indefinite articles a/an are equivalent to the Arabic indefinite marker un. Most Arab learners' errors stem from this difference. As for the definite article, Arabic and English use the same definite article (the, al). This definite article, in both languages, is used before the noun it modifies. For example, I saw the yellow car yesterday, raytu al syaratu al safra belamse. Arabic language defines the adjective (color) and the noun it describes, whereas the definite article in English precedes the adjective. The aforementioned examples were to explain the difficulty that may encounter Arab L2 learners concerning the use of English definite and indefinite articles, and the goal of this study is to investigate the learners' performance after direct instructions.

Literature Review

            Many studies have been conducted to investigate the root of this problem. For instance, Hussein A's (1998) findings indicate a remarkable awareness among Arab learners after intervening instructions. He found a considerable awareness of exemplary and descriptive metalinguistic knowledge. Hussein suggested that metalinguistic knowledge promote the process of language learning. He stated that "Moreover, although metalinguistic knowledge in its own right can not lead to acquisition in the absence of using comprehensible input in communicative activities, the results of the study manifested significant positive correlation, which suggests a facilitative role for metalinguistic knowledge in enhancement of language learning."

            Chuan Lu's (2001) found that overgeneralization existed in the performance of her study's participants. Her analysis stated that some of her participants overgeneralize the use of the indefinite article a. She found that the lower-intermediate learners had more difficulty in (a or X article) usage than in (the) usage, and they misuse (a for X). Because Chinese language has no article system, Chinese second language learners, in this study, tended to overgeneralize the English rule regarding definiteness and indefiniteness. Overgeneralization is a major problem among second language learners.

            Ekiert M. (2003) stated that the English article system is a difficult structural element that may retard the second language learners. In her introduction, she stated that "according to Master (2002) the difficulty stems from three principle facts about the article system: (a) Farticles are among the most frequently occurring function words in English (Celce-Murica & Larsen-freeman, 1999) making continuous rule application difficult over an extended stretch of discourse; (b) function words are normally unstressed and consequently are very difficult, if not impossible, for a nonnative speaker to discern, thus affecting the availability of input in the spoken mode; and (c) the article system stacks multiple functions onto a single morpheme, a considerable burden for the learner, who generally looks for a one-form-one-function correspondence in navigating the language until the advanced stages of acquisition."

Ekiert's conclusion stated that second/foreign language learners follow the same steps of acquisition, but the environment is an open question. As for the acquisition of the English article system by her participants, the five semantic uses of the articles yielded different levels of difficulty for second language learners and did not appear to be acquired at the same time. Findings, as she mentioned, interpreted as an indication of mastery of the zero article in the first stages of second language acquisition.

            Bada E. (2006) concluded that "second language learners need more training to develop their active vocabulary and oral language skills effectively in order to avoid repetitions and employ more native-like filters in extended discourse." "English as foreign language teachers should better understand the speaking problems of their students and help them to achieve a target-like use of oral discourse strategies." He added. Bada findings stated that second/foreign language learners may show some improvement after instructions. Despite that Turkish language does not employ definite and indefinite articles' system such as English, participants of this study show a target-like in their results.

            Ardeshir G. (2000) found that Persian learners of English have problems identifying the English definite article when it comes in the subject position. Ardeshir concluded that there is no available theory states the causes of Persian difficulty with English articles. He analyzed his participants' results and attributed the errors to the syntax and semantics. The remarkable thing in this article for me is that Persian language differs from English in the level of articles and that the Persian learners, in this study, made errors in this area.

            Habash Z. (1999) research's findings stated that 65.3% of the total errors analyzed were attributable to interference from the first language while 34.7% were due to other learning problems. She stated that there was a literal translation where some participants tried to translate from Arabic into English word for word. Overgeneralization was discovered among the participants' performance as well. To summarize, most Arab L2 learners' errors may be attributed to overgeneralization, interference of the first language, or other learning problems where learners do not have the proper learning.

            Holker J. & Hashi A. (2005) stated in their case study that instruction may enhance the second language learners' abilities. Reading outside class may also promote the proficiency level especially in a foreign language leaning environment. Their success in overcoming the English article problem, the two participants of this case study showed that determination and direct instruction may enhance the learning process. The study proved that extrinsic motivation is stronger than intrinsic.

            Keiko k. (2006) concluded that the Japanese intermediate learners, but not advanced learners, associated the definite article the with referentiality. Japanese learners reassemble the lexical items in second language grammar. Japanese language, according to Keiko, does not have a similar article system to the English one; instead it has different linguistic means such as case markers and demonstratives (Goto-Bulter 2002).

            Learners whose their first language differs from English regarding article system, find it difficult to employ this system easily because of this difference. What Chomsky suggested in his famous theory (UG) does not exist among those learners in studies mentioned above.

In her article, Diab N. (1999) stated that "every foreign language teacher has had experience with interference which is the negative influence of the mother language (L1) on the performance of the target language learner (L2) (Lado, 1964)." That clarifies the reason of why L2 learners, especially those who do not have the definite article system or different one in their L1, make errors in this area when they learn English. Research on second language acquisition (SLA) has long acknowledged the important role of this linguistic influence, which results in language transfer.

Diab found 155 errors regarding the use of English articles in 73 English essays written by Arab sophomore students studying at the American University of Beirut. She stated that in English, we can use abstract words referring to ideas, attributes, or qualities without the definite article (the) to refer that idea or attribute etc. which belongs to everybody or everything. In Arabic, however, we put such abstract words after a definite article equivalent to the English one. Because of that, errors related to the misuse of the English definite article occur. Diab found that there was a transfer of Arabic structure in the English writings of her participants and this transfer produced a number of errors on the grammatical, lexical, semantic, and syntactic levels. According to her analysis, it appears that her participants made more errors in the areas where they felt English and Arabic were rather similar in (articles, prepositions, or the choice of diction). According to Oldin (1989) "Transfer is the influence resulting from similarities and differences between the target language and any other language that has been previously acquired."  That means, during this stage, learners try to depend on their L1 structure, and try to compare between their L1 structure and L2 performance. Cited from: The Transfere of Arabic in the English Writing of Lebanese students. Nuwar Diab.

Hakuta's (1976) findings on his "longitudinal study of a 5-year old Japanese learner acquiring English in a natural way, proved that articles (a, the) are acquired as a system. Performance on the was initially better than on a. Overuse of these articles involved specific/nonspecific distinctions as well as violations of "a for singular NP only" rule.", Huebner (1983) stated that "the emerges early, overgeneralization of the results in " the-flooding." a appears late in L2 acquisition. Differences in approach to data analysis result in different and sometimes apparently opposing conclusions concerning the nature of interlanguage." Cited from:  Acquisition of the English Article System by Speakers of Polish in ESL and EFL settings.

What Hakuta found was evidence to that if the learners' first language does not employ the article system, the acquisition of English article system will be difficult for those learners. ESL learners have to go through many stages in order to acquire the second language article system.

            Ramires' & Maria's (1998) findings of the acquisition of Spanish definite articles by English speaking learners stated that there is an overuse of the Spanish definite article. Those Spanish second language learners created their own rules of article usage based on number and continued using it; they made their own rule and generalized it. In their discussion, Ramires and Maria stated that their study suggests that their "participants construct a system of transitional linguistic rules with which they are continually experimenting in their approximation toward the target language." Learners in this stage create a rule, let us say with plural use the indefinite article, and then continue using it.

            The gap between the English language and the Arabic language causes some sort of difficulty. For instance, the Arabic article system obliges the speaker/writer to put the definite article before the defined noun, whereas this system necessitates putting a marker to show the indefiniteness case on the last letter of the indefinite noun. On the other hand, however, the English article system requires an article, whether definite or indefinite, before a noun. From this point, Arab English learners, especially the beginners, find it difficult to employ this rule unless they are enlightened thoroughly by experts in this rule.

            In this study I hypothesized that Arab English learners will perform better in the use of English articles if they are enlightened and or given direct instructions. My question that I sought its answer was: will Arab English learners function better in the use of English articles after direct instructions?

Method

Participants:

            Participants of this study were 12 Arab learners learning English as a second language at a regional university in the US, ESL center. Their proficiency levels were between levels 3-6. Their ages ranging from 18 to 29 years old, they are all males, and their first language is Arabic. They all spent more than 8 months studying at this university. They all have scholarships awarded by their government to study in the US, and they are all undergraduate students.

Materials

            The tests were taken from a website in the internet (http://a4esl.org) and slight modifications were made on these tests. I concentrated on the English definite and indefinite articles, the essence of this study, and to give the goal of my study away, I gave them questions about the simple present and progressive tenses. To make sure that the participants of this study employ the English article system properly, some words were not familiar to them and were in the singular and plural forms. For example, Reptile, Dalmatian, Insect, and pandas were in the test and the participants' task was to put a suitable article if needed.

Procedure

Two tests were given to those learners. I gave them a pretest to have a ground base, and after the results, I gave them an intervening class after four days of this pretest. Because they were having quizzes, I gave them a post-test after one week from the intervening class. In the intervening class, I explained the use of English articles and the present simple and progressive tenses to avoid alerting them of the goal of my study. Time was a crucial matter in this research because the participants were busy and have no time after their school. Pre, post-tests and intervening class were all during their brake which was at 12:30 p.m. They spent at least 30 minutes each session. They were cooperative with me and did not mind to complete this research study. I tried my best to behave naturally and make them feel that they are not different from other students to perform well and give me their best. The pretest was not different from the posttest in its procedure, but they differ in the syntactic and lexical levels. There were 13 sentences with 20 gaps concerning English articles to be filled by the participants on a separate page, and two questions on another page about simple and continuous English tenses in the pretest. However, the posttest was consisted of three questions; the first question was on a separate page and was about the English articles and has 16 sentences with 25 gaps to be filled by the participants, and the two questions were about simple present tense. The participants' tasks were to fill in the gaps. During the two tests, a standardized explanation of directions was given to the participants and what was needed in the question was also explained too. I told the participants to read the question before answering it to ensure their comprehension to the test. Dictionary was not allowed during the two tests, which were paper based tests.

Analysis

            The first question, of the pre test and post test, was the only corrected question; I did not correct the two questions because they were about simple and progressive tenses and not of my interest. In the pretest, each one of the 20 gaps worth 5 points and in the post test each one of the 25 blanks worth 4 points, so the total scores were out of 100 each. I gave 4 or 5 points only to the correct choice of the definite and/or the indefinite English article and zero for the incorrect one.

 

Results

            To test my hypothesis, which predicted that Arab learners will perform better after direct instructions, the pre and post test's results were compared. The results show a significant effect for learners' improvements after the intervening class. The mean increased from 59.17 to 72 due to the improvement in the participants' performance. Table 1 bellow shows the descriptive statistics for the experimental measure.

Table 1: Descriptive Statistics for the experimental measure.

Pretest              12                    59.17                           14.28                           4.12

 

            As can be seen, standard deviation increased from 14.28 to 14.87 which mean that the scores became more spread from the mean. There was a slight change in the SEM from 4.12 to 4.29 with a difference of .17 SEM and that indicates the high reliability of the test.

It is obvious from table 2 bellow that there is a statistically significant difference

(P < .01) between students’ mean scores in the pre-post test favoring the post test. This difference is attributable to the effect of training that they received in the instructional intervention.

                                                N                     df                        t                      p                          .

Discussion

            Findings I found after the posttest support my hypothesis and clearly prove the learners improvement regarding their reaction with the direct instructions.

The following points summarize what I found regarding my research question:

1-     The mean increased from 59.17 to 72 (see table 3) because the scores of each learner increased except for one learner.

2-     The median increased from 60 to 70 because of the same reason mentioned in 1.

3-     The mode changed from 75 in pre test to 60 in the post test and may be it was due the performance of one participant. See tables 4 & 5 in the appendix.

4-     The standard deviation increased from 14.28 to 14.87 which means that the scores became more spread from the mean. (Table 3)

5-     The range increased from 40 to 48 and that was due to the increase of both the lowest and the highest scores which is a good indication for the efficiency of the intervening treatment. (Table 3)

6-     The sum of the scores increased from 710 to 864 because of the increases of each learner's except one learner as I mentioned earlier and that was another good indication to the success of the approach used in the intervening class. (Table 3)

7-     There was a slight change in the SEM from 4.19 to 4.29 with a difference of .17 SEM and that indicates a high reliability of the tests. (Table 1)

Statistic            N         Missing    Mean   Median    Mode        Std. Deviation     Range     Sum      .

Pretest              12             0            59.17   60.00        75.00            14.28           40.00      710.00

 

Conclusion

From the results I discussed earlier, I proved my hypothesis: Arab ESL learners will perform better in the use of English definite and indefinite articles after direct instructions. I found that there was little L1 interference in my participants' performance in the pretest, but after the direct instructions they employed the use of English articles properly. They improved in this grammatical area which is regarded one of the most difficult areas in learning English to the Arab L2 learners. One of my participants did well in the pretest, but in the post test his performance was too bad. I asked him about the huge change in his scores "I have a TOEFL test that afternoon" he answered. Other difficulties I encountered, as mentioned earlier, was time, location, and gathering those participants.

Limitations and Further Implication

            It must be noted that the research findings of this study must be regarded with caution. First of all, despite that my participants' number is very small compared to other research in the acquisition of English definite and indefinite articles, this study proved that Arab learners may show some improvement regarding the use of English articles after direct instructions. However, all my participants were all from one Arab country, which limits the generalizability of the findings. Also, they were all males and that restricted my findings too. I may come up with different results if my participants' genders are males and females and from many Arab countries with a large number. For future research, I suggest to have a large number of participants (males & females from many Arab countries), find a good location for the study, ask the participants when to do tests and treatment, find educational facilities such as a class room and some technology, and find participants who are willing to complete the research.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Abul-fattah. H. (1998) Metalinguistic Knowledge and Formal Functional Proficiency in English: the    Case of Basic Education Stage Learners in Jordan, The Journal of Educational search studies, (Eric Document Reproduction service No. ED 435194)

Chuan Lu. C. (2001). The acquisition of English Articles by Chinese learners. Cited from:

http:/www.hawaii.edu/sls/uhwpesl/20(1)/Fen_Chuan.doc.

Ekiert1. M,(2003). Acquisition of the English Articles System by Speakers of Polish in ESL and EFL Settengs, Teacher College, Columbia University, working papers in TESOL & Applied Linguistics, Vol 4 No. 1.

Genc. B. (2006). ORAL NARRATIVE DISCOURSE OF ANAPHORIC REFERENCES OF TURKISH EFL LEARNERS. The Reading Matrix. Vol 6, No. 2, Sep. 2006. Cited from:

http://www.readingmatrix.com/articles/genc_bada/artile2.pdf

Geranpayeh. A. (2000). The Acquisition of the English Article System by Persian Speakers. (Eric Document Reproduction Service No. ED 453666)

Habash. Z. (1982). Common Errors in the Use of English Prepositions in the Written work of UNRWA(United Nation Relief and Works Agency) students. Cited from:

http://www.zeinab-habah.ws/education/books/master.pdf

Hoelker. J. and Hashi, A. (2005). Successful EFL writers from the Gulf, cited from:

http://www.englishaustralia.com.au/ea_conference05/proceeding/pdf/hoelker.pdf

Kaku. K. (2006). Second language learners' use of English Articles: A case study of native speakers of Japanese. Cited from: http//aix1.uottawa.ca/~clo/kaku.pdf

Nuwar. D. (1997) The transfer of Arabic in the English Writings of Lebanese students. The ESP, Sao Paulo, vol 18, No. 1, 71-83.

Ramirez. M. (1998) Acquisition of Spanish Definite articles by English-Speaking Learners of Spanish. Texas Papers in Foreign Language Education, vol 3, No. 3, 51-67. (Eric Document Reproduction service No. ED 427518).

 

Appendix

                      Frequency          Percent                Valid Percent      cumulative Percent           .

Valid 35.00          1                    8.3                             8.3                                           8.3

40.00         1                    8.3                             8.3                                          16.7

45.00         1                    8.3                               8.3                                         25.0

50.00         1                    8.3                               8.3                                         33.3

55.00         1                    8.3                               8.3                                         41.7

60.00         2                    16.7                             16.7                                       58.3

70.00         2                    16.7                             16.7                                       75.0

75.00         3                    25.0                             25.0                                       100.0

 

                    Frequency            Percent                Valid Percent      cumulative Percent           .

Valid 48.00          1                    8.3                             8.3                                           8.3

60.00         3                    25.0                           25.0                                         33.3

64.00         2                    16.7                           16.7                                         50.0

76.00         2                    16.7                           16.7                                         66.7

84.00         2                    16.7                           16.7                                         83.3

92.00         1                    8.3                             8.3                                           91.7

96.00         1                    8.3                             8.3                                           100.0